Mexican white squash & watercress soup, avocado-coconut soup, roasted vegetables, squash latkas, cucumber mint sauce, fresh fruit cornmeal cobbler..DELIVERY MENU IN PHOTOS

THE MEXICAN WHITE SQUASH -WATERCRESS SOUP

THE AVOCADO-COCONUT SOUP..both all vegan & GF thickened with just vegetables

PREVIOUS 2 PHOTOS THE MEXICAN WHITE SQUASH LATKAS BEING FRIED QUICKLY IN "SMOKING" HOT GRAPE SEED OIL

THE CUCUMBER-MINT-YOGURT-LEMON JUICE SAUCE FOR THE SQUASH LATKES ALSO COMES WITH A TOMATO-CHICKPEA SALAD (the clients who requested this dish are very low salt diets, so I used lemon  juice in place of any salt)

THESE 2 THE ROASTED ROOT VEGETABLES WITH BABY SWEET PEPPERS TO BE HEATED AT CLIENT'S HOME AND SERVED WITH IMPERIAL STYLE WHOLE WHEAT COUSCOUS

THE ROASTED NIGHTSHADE VEGETABLES TO BE SERVED IN  WHOLE WHEAT PITA POCKETS WITH FRESH CHEESE ( IN PLACE OF FRESH CHEESE YOU MAY USE STRAINED COTTAGE CHEESE OR FETA)

THE IMPERIAL STYLE COUSCOUS WITH ROASTED SWEET CORN, AND TURMERIC, GROUND CUMIN

THE GRATED FRESH CHEESE (this is just fresh milk curds set into blocks and lightly drained)

FRESH PEACHES, STRAWBERRIES AND APPLES THE BASE FOR THE FRESH FRUIT CORNMEAL COBBLER

FRESH PEACHES, ORANGES, CANTALOUPE MELON, APPLES, RED GRAPEFRUIT, SALAD

THESE 2 THE BAKED FRESH FRUIT CORNMEAL COBBLERS..THE TOPPING IS A CORNMEAL BISCUIT ( SCONE) THAT IS VERY MOIST, MADE WITH BUTTER AND ALMOND MILK..THIS IS FABULOUS THE DAY IT IS MADE AND WILL KEEP FOR 2-3 DAYS (unlikely with my client's)

Avocado-Coconut soup, Squash-watercress soup, raw soups, roasted vegetables, White Mexican Squash "cakes" with yogurt mint sauce and chickpea salad, fresh fruit cornmeal cobbler.

It is very important when cooking vegetable soups and stews for vegetarians-vegans to add many more vegetables and flavorings, than for regular recipes. As their main source of nourishment is plant based.

it is also a great idea to prepare the dishes the day before serving so the flavors can mature overnight.
This is especially important when cooking for Vegans, where a lot of dishes cooked and served that day can end up tasting like warm salads, or whatever is the strongest flavored vegetable, usually onions/garlic/scallions.

A lot of recipes I make for creamed/blended soups include more vegetables as a base, then add the main ingredient  eg. today I am making an avocado-coconut soup.
The soup base is carrots, parsnips, onions, potatoes, celery (lots of), sauteed in grape seed oil, then simmered in rice milk and vegetable stock.
it will be blended with coconut milk and raw avocado tomorrow before it is delivered, this way the soup base can develop more flavors overnight and the avocado flavors will be fresh and more powerful.
Avocado can discolor in soups, the secret is to add it last thing and maybe hit the soup with some fresh lemon or lime juice just before serving/packaging.

The watercress-squash (white Mexican squash) is made the same way except the watercress is added today and the soup blended.
Watercress can have an overpowering "peppery"  flavor that mellows out overnight.

left to right   tomatoes, avocados, cantaloupe peaches, eggplant, apples, baby sweet peppers, brown onions,bananas

L-R red grapefruit, white sweet potatoes, oranges, parsnips, carrots

L-R  Celery, Persian cucumbers, White Mexican Squash, sweet potatoes, watercress

The menu for tomorrow is:

Avocado-Coconut Soup

Squash and watercress soup

raw soup with avocado, sea vegetables, oranges, cucumber, greens and apple


Entrees:

Roasted root vegetables..parsnips, field carrots, onions, potatoes, sweet potatoes ( not yams) with imperial Couscous ( turmeric, onions, and sweet potatoes)


Roasted nightshade vegetables..baby sweet peppers, eggplant, tomatoes, red onion, white Mexican squash with whole wheat pita bread and fresh Mexican style cheese

White Mexican Squash cakes (latkas) with yogurt-mint sauce and tomato & chickpea salad..these are packed with nutrients and a great way to get folks to eat and enjoy more summer vegetables.


Desserts are:

Fresh fruit ( peaches, apples and berries) cornmeal cobbler...fresh poached fruit with a sweet corn bread topping...fabulous old fashioned dessert

Fresh fruit salad..peaches, cantaloupe melon, lime juice, apples, banana

 I will post more photographs tomorrow when I am getting the orders ready for delivery, have a great day..here it is getting hotter, day time temps will be in the 90f's which is why I will be up at 5am tomorrow cooking.
John Nigel 

Dill and poppy seed sour dough breads, roasted vegetables, fresh fruit salad, soups entire menu for delivery today in Photos

 

 

Summer Vegetable soup

Broccoli-lentil-veggie soup

Pasta e Fagioli

Sour Dough Poppy Seed and Fresh Dill Bread

Previous 3 The sour dough breads

The vegetables Before roasting

Nectarine-Apple Fresh fruit salad

Roasted Vegetables salad with rice and salad greens, curry spiced dressing

PHOTOS Pasta e Fagioli, Summer vegetable soup, Lentil and vegetable soup, dill & poppy seed whole wheat sour dough bread..

Local grown nectarines..try and get the ones with the toughest skin as these are grown in high summer sun with little water and are very sweet, we have had a very dry year so the fruit is very, sweet this year.

Soaking the Navy beans overnight for the Pasta e fagioli

We are having the most bizarre weather this summer in Southern California, July was the coldest since 1919, and tonight and for the next few days we are being told to watch out for thunderstorms and flash flooding, the Mojave Desert had rain this morning, just outside Palm Springs!

Maybe with this in mind my client's have all chosen more or less the same, hearty food for delivery tomorrow.

The menu is :

Summer Vegetable soup...packed full of fresh local vegetables, carrots, sweetcorn, zucchini, green beans, onions, pearl onions and garlic, finished with fresh chopped parsley.

Pasta e Fagioli..this is a very packed soup that almost eats like a meal, I have added red potatoes, navy beans and penne pasta to a tomato-white wine based soup, with Lima beans, celery, onions, carrots,garlic, mushrooms( I dried some of the Portobellos from last week and then reconstituted and added both the mushrooms and their "juice" makes more flavor layers) finished with fresh basil leaves.

Lentil and vegetable soup..this has added broccoli florets, carrots, onions, garlic, bay leaf, ground cumin and celery. Very Nutritional dense and good any time of year.

The entree is roasted vegetables (carrots, beets, red and white  "baby" potatoes, onions, Mexican white squash) with salad greens, Curry-spiced salad dressing and steamed brown rice  ( photo above is carrots and potatoes to be marinated in grape seed oil & rosemary overnight before roasting).


Dessert & Bread :

The Bread dough before molding and proving for 4-6 hours at room temp.

The bread is fresh dill and poppy seed whole wheat sour dough

The dessert is a nectarine and apple fresh fruit salad with Casero..crumbled fresh cheese

I will post more photos tomorrow, before the early morning deliveries, have a great rest of the day.

RECIPE Cookie OF the Month,SEPTEMBER..JAMMY NUTTERS

                               Jammy Nutters
           September's Cookie recipe of the month

I admit the name of these cookies reminds me of some  people I know in Southern California, but these are wonderful *( the cookies and the people) and so the name sticks.

I have made it global accessible and it is even better when made with own grown/picked fruit.

Enjoy... you can make the cookies as large as you like, and for the adamant taste testers you can easily admit the recipe only makes 6!
These are very simple ingredients and a very rich cookie.

The recipe can be found on Page 6...(Year round baking) on my website

http://www.goodelifelivingwell.com

Pecan-Mocha Triple Threat Brownies with a twist

The original recipe is on July 31st 2013 blog


Here I have made a runny glaze from powdered sugar, 3 tbsp espresso powder and cream. I also used chopped pecans and no chocolate liqueur.

I have an old college buddy popping in with her family from England tomorrow and her daughter likes chocolate things..this runny glaze will be easier to eat on the way to San Diego than the butter cream topped original TTB, as it will soak into the brownie overnight.

Below are the brownies in progress..these cut into bars and make about 12...the recipe is fantastic, packed with Dutch cocoa, Belgium semi sweet chocolate chips, butter, brown sugar and eggs, on a steel cut oatmeal butter cookie base...

Previous 2 the brownie batter is spread over a partially baked steel cup oatmeal cookie base

The batter is baked for just 25 mins at 350f

After 45 mins cooling the runny glaze is poured over and more chopped pecans added..then it will cool down and later be refrigerated before serving at room temp tomorrow with strong black tea and coffee

Crunchy, gooey, sticky, chunky, chocolatey ...Heaven