november nights

It's that time again! Time for me to reflect back on things I ate and cooked n stuff in November. So, without further adieu, I'm just gonna jump right in! Here we go.

Curried Collard Greens // Harissa Potatoes w Garlic

CSA season left me with a refrigerator fuuuuull of veggies. To be totally honest I still have some of the heartier veggies lingering in my crisper (cough, carrots, cough). ANYwho, this lovely lil dinner was something I whipped up from my CSA bounty. I tossed potatoes and whole cloves of garlic with olive oil, harissa, salt + pepper (maybe a lil lemon juice as well), and roasted them until golden brown and delicious. Meanwhile I made the curried collard greens recipe from Laura B. Russell's beautiful cookbook, Brassicas. Brassicas (kale, cabbage, broccoli, brussels sprouts, etc) are gorgeous, delicious, and just so happen to be super good for you. This cookbook is a gem, if you like veggies (which you probably do if you're reading this) you should definitely snap it up.

Cottage Potluck // Big ol' Salad

This month a new neighbor hosted a little get together for the residents of the Magical Bamboo Forest (or as she calls it, the Magical Kingdom. She's not wrong). Last time we had a Cottages Potluck, I made a big green salad that turned out to be quite a hit (if I do say so myself). So, I thought I would do something similar. I did a base of crunchy greens, added some CSA veggies like carrots and radishes, plus some black lentils to make it a little heartier. I used the harissa dressing from Diana Henry's A Change of Appetite, and topped the whole thing with plenty of fresh basil. Yumm. I guess I was really into harissa in November. It makes sense because harissa is delicious.

Porridge // More Butter Please

The cold, dark weather gets me craving big bowls of warm carbsy goodness. I made this bowl of porridge slightly healthyish by using half quinoa and half oats, and adding a mess of grated apple. And then I made it unhealthyish by adding loads of butter, brown sugar, and honey (yes, both). Topped it off with plenty of cinnamon and freshly grated nutmeg (which I'm obsessed with). Died happy.

Veggie Subs

When I was in high school, I lived in San Francisco and was vegetarian. Two sandwiches stand out in my mind from that era of my life: the veggie subs from Sub Center and The Yellow Submarine. I always go out of my way to snag at least one of them every time I'm back in SF. Anywho, this month I got a craving for a good veggie sub- soft bread filled with crunchy greens, avocado, melted cheese... mmmmmmmmmm. So, I whipped up my own version at home. Melted cheese and lightly toasted rolls, PLENTY of avocado, lots of crunchy lettuce and scallions, all dressed with olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper. I think I added pepperoni to the boy's sandwich, but couldn't resist leaving mine all veggie (tho I love me some pepperoni) for the nostalgia factor. These were so good I made several more over the next few days, adding sliced hard boiled egg as well. Yumm.

HONEYCRISPS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My favorite apple. They are normally pretty crazily expensive, but they go on sale this time of year!!!! To say that I stocked up would be an understatement. They're my favorite apple!

Nihari Beef

The month wouldn't be complete without a shout out to Anupy Singla! This time I made the Nihari Beef from The Indian Slow Cooker, one of my favorite recipes from my all-time favorite cookbook. SO delicious. You need her cookbook, srsly!

PIES PIES PIES PIES PIES

November brought Thanksgiving, obviously, so, obviously, I had to make pie. Claro. I don't use a recipe for pie- instead I use a process that I call Intuitive Pie Making. No two pies are exactly the same- they're each like beautiful snowflakes except so much better because they're warm and delicious and full of sugar. I could write an entire book about Intuitive Piemaking (I know it's not a word but I just like it better as one word, I can't help it). Perhaps someday I will. 

Also, I couldn't resist including both the before and after pics of this pie. There's something so beautiful about the pie before it goes into the oven... it's so naked and raw, so innocent and pure. Just lovely. In my humble opinion. And when it comes out of the oven, it's undeniably a showstopper.

Another Salad

This time of year I feel like without noticing it I slowly start eating more and more carbs and sugar and pie and gravy and fewer vegetables and green things. After Thanksgiving I made a concerted effort to reinvigorate my plate with things like this beautiful lil salad. It features some of my favorite salad-y things, like hard boiled egg and plenty of fresh herbs. Yumm.

Well, that's all for now folks! Hope everyone is having a lovely winter. See ya back here soon!

-Zoe Rose