raw tomato sauce

1 very large red or yellow bell pepper, deseeded
¾ cup cherry or roma tomatoes
¼ cup sundried tomatoes
1 Tablespoon olive oil
¼ teaspoon salt
a sprig of fresh oregano
a few sprigs of fresh basil
2 dates or honey to taste

blend

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adapted from here

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EDIT:

today’s fantastic herbed tomato-”cream” raw pasta sauce:

a fistful of sundried tomatoes, soaked for four or six hours
a fistful of cashews, soaked for four or six hours
a huge pinch of fresh oregano
a fistful of fresh basil
a few cloves of garlic
a few turnip greens
a fistful of other assorted fresh herbs
three big locally grown heirloom tomatoes
two locally grown red peppers
a squeeze of lime juice
two pinches of salt
a dash of oil (olive, nut oils, whatever)

chicken liver pate

my first pate

fry a little slice of pork belly, add chunks of onion, add chicken livers
i seasoned it with some cajun seasoning, sage, parsley, marjoram, tarragon, chives, salt

fried til livers were cooked through.

then blended it up with a little cooking marsala and two cooked potatoes
(i only added the potatoes because they were left over and i wanted to use them.)

IT’S VERY GOOD.

next time, i’ll do it tuscan (toscana) style by cooking the livers in olive oil and add capers.

never make gnocchi with self-rising flour

gnocchi recipe – i followed this tried-and-true recipe for delicious vegan gnocchi. the only substitution? self-rising flour.

BAD IDEA!

they became soupy, barely-held-together clumps of what can only be described as a toddler’s art project. practically inedible.

after one boiled-up batch, my wonderful friend s decided to investigate a way to fix them.

three batches.

one were boiled, then baked.
one were boiled, then fried.
one were just baked.

boiled, then baked – exactly identical consistency to the way they were before they were baked – gluey and inedible.

boiled, then fried – more similar to gnocchi consistency, but not too similar – actually, they were crunchy outside and liquidy inside – edible, but not good.

just baked – AAGH! THEY TURNED INTO PASTABREADS, sort of pretzely, dense orange puffs.

amazed, we twisted the rest of the dough into small pretzels and tiny rolls – definitely bread-like. not delicious bread, but much better than the creepy boiled ones.

we’d already discovered that frying gnocchi after boiling them is the easiest way to firm them up a bit, but this isn’t true with goopy gnocchi.

if this ever happens to you, my condolences, but they can be saved!

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also, did you know that gnocchi comes from a phrase meaning “a knot in wood”?

crema di limoncello

a lemon-creamsicle liqueur? whoa! my mom’s homemade irish cream, with whiskey, eggs, and a mess of other strange things, was completely magickal. this sounds easier: just infuse, heat milk, and combine? i’m in!

5 lemons
2 cups Everclear (You could substitute vodka in this recipe, but Everclear has a higher alcohol content than other vodkas. If you use another vodka, reduce the amount of milk used)
4 cups of whole milk
1.5 cups of sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla (or half a a vanilla bean)
Cheesecloth or a fine mesh strainer

Zest the lemons (using a grater, or by peeling strips off with a knife/peeler). Place Everclear and lemon zest into a jar and seal. Store in a cool, dry place for one week (or more. I let mine steep for two weeks). Strain using cheesecloth or strainer to remove zest.

In a small pot or saucepan, warm the milk over medium heat. Add in the sugar and the vanilla, and cook (stirring frequently) until the sugar has dissolved. Remove milk mixture from heat and allow to cool.

Once cool, mix milk and infused Everclear together in a large bowl or pitcher. Funnel into bottles, jars, or other tightly sealed containers. Store in the fridge or freezer. Serve chilled.

Note: Limoncello is usually served as an after dinner cocktail. I like to serve it in small glasses, poured straight out of the freezer. The colder the better!

fresh chive pasta

fresh chive pasta

vegan pumpkin (or squash) gnocchi

15 OZ PUMPKIN/SQUASH
SALT, PEPPER, NUTMEG
2 3/4 C FLOUR
1/3 C BUTTER
6-7 CHOPPED SAGE LEAVES
1 CLOVE MINCED GARLIC

DIVIDE DOUGH INTO ROPES AND SLICE.

SALT WATER AND BOIL UNTIL THEY FLOAT.

made two batches – GF and non-GF. i added a little extra “flour” and a whole egg to the GF batch, and froze the dough for a few mins before boiling it. the non-GF dough didn’t give any problems and were delightfully gluteny and sweet. the GF folks were delighted by having homemade GF pasta. this was my first attempt at any sort of pasta and they were as easy as dumplings.

both batches turned out fantastically. i’ll definitely be making these again.