for another plate of food

Carrot Coconut Cake from Vegan With A Vengeance. I made a few modifications to the recipe. Namely: substituting apple juice for pineapple juice, apple sauce for canola oil, walnuts for macadamias and adding minced raisins and dried cranberries, as well as a healthy dose of flax seeds (although, I promise you wouldn't know they're in there.) Topped with vegan cream cheese frosting and toasted coconut, it didn't last 24 hours. This bundt was a goner from the beginning.

Two weeks ago we received our first box of Community Supported Agriculture produce from Full Circle Farm in Carnation, WA. You might be asking how in tarnation a Washington farm sent us avocados. Well, they're from Mexico. This is not a traditional CSA in that we did not pay hundreds of dollars up front for weeks of produce. Instead, we pay per box for produce that is sourced from other farms throughout the country. Presumably, the summertime should yield more Washington-grown food. For now, I'll take the Mexican Avocados.

Tonight I was solo in the kitchen. Usually, this means I'm eating a frozen burrito or, if I'm feeling up to it, some pasta. In other words, I eat boring food when I'm alone. Preparing food with or for someone holds much of the charm in cooking. Not tonight. I still had plenty of vegetables left from last weeks box and another coming this afternoon. So I raided the icebox for a half-cut onion, a wedge of green cabbage, a handful of radishes, and so on. What came out of my cloud of pots and pans and chopped vegetables was probably more suitable for a Saturday picnic in July than a Thursday night in February. But I won't apologize for making barbeque fare out of season.

Spicy Tempeh Baked Beans
Parsley Potatoes
Raw Pink Slaw

Pink Slaw.
Green cabbage, red radishes, red onion, carrot and a small beet tossed with a vegenaise vinegar dressing. The grated raw beet turns the slaw a bright pink and is surprisingly well suited to coleslaw. This dish ages nicely overnight--make it several hours in advance to let the flavors mellow.

Parsley Potatoes.
Wash and cube red potatoes. Toss with olive oil and seasonings (salt, white and black pepper, chili powder, dill.) Spread in a single layer on a rimmed cookie sheet or baking pan lined with parchment paper. Bake at 400 degrees for 30-40 minutes until browned on most edges, turning with a spatula every ten minutes or so. When sufficiently roasted to your liking, remove from oven and toss with chopped fresh parsley and a few more drops of olive oil.

Spicy Tempeh Baked Beans

Combine the following in a small casserole:

2 cups cooked pinto beans (or 1 can, drained and rinsed)
½ sweet yellow onion, diced
3 tablespoons tomato sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ tablespoon vegetable bouillon
3 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons dark molasses
2 tablespoons prepared yellow mustard
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 teaspoon unrefined sugar
½ teaspoon liquid smoke
¼ pkg (2 oz.) tempeh, cut into matchsticks and then coarsely chopped
2 tablespoon nutritional yeast
½ cup water (or liquid from the cooked beans)
spoonful sliced jalapeno peppers (omit if you don’t want the spice)
salt and pepper to taste

Bake uncovered at 400 degrees for 40 minutes, stirring two or three times.

I leave you with a picture of our second load of CSA produce from Full Circle Farm. Again, those pesky Mexican Avocados. Also: blood oranges, broccoli, red potatoes, onions, spinach, lettuce, Bosc pears, Fuji apples, carrots, mango and the hugest parsnip I've ever laid eyes on.