Temperate Cooking

We had a good start to summer going on, so we sat in the sun and fired up the grill. One of my very favourite summer dishes is a medley of marinated grilled vegetables, served either plain or over noodles.



I always adlib the marinade so they never taste quite the same twice. Pete does a great job on the barbee, and they are always grilled to perfection.

Another night I had a hankering for spicy chinese. I searched the web for yet another way to do tofu. I found this.



It was really really good, even better than takeout because I could control the amount of oil in it.

Then the weather turned cold, so a steaming hot bowl of soup was in order. I had been eyeing Susan V's White Bean and Garlic Stew recipe.



I chickened out a little bit and only added half of the cloves of a garlic bulb. I also wanted to up the green content so I threw in some chopped swiss chard instead of parsley, and had only one can of cannellini beans so I added a can of chickpeas. It was absolutely delicious. I thought it would be super garlicky but it was really mellow.

Again, the weather was damp and cold tonight, so I improvised a little. I had an acorn squash in the cupboard and a few potatoes. Thus my Curried Squash Pumpkin Potato Soup.



I decided it needed a sexier name. Pete suggested:

Squish Squash Soup

1/2 tblsp olive oil
1 chopped white onion
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp curry powder
4 cups veggie broth
1 cup water
1 baked acorn squash, skin removed
1 can of pumpkin (but reserve 1 cup so you can make VwaV's pumpkin muffins another day)
2 potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 tsp salt
a small handful of cilantro leaves, chopped

Heat the oil in a soup pot. Add the onion and saute until soft. Add the mustard seeds and curry powder and stir for a minute. Add the broth, water, squash, pumpkin and potatoes. Heat to boiling and then reduce to a simmer for 15 minutes, or until potatoes are soft. Stir in salt to taste and fresh cilantro.

Let's hope the weather turns around so we can be on the patio with fruity drinks by Friday afternoon!