Potato Leek Soup

Very hearty and wonderful in the winter. The leeks were in the nearly frozen ground until this past weekend. The potatoes needed a bit of peeling of the worst blemishes. The frozen corn is from last summer.

Chop the potatoes fairly small - this is dinner in under an hour and they need to cook fast. About 30 minutes on a high simmer. Then mash them in the pot while they are still cooking to make a heavy broth.

While the potatoes cook, wash and cut up the leeks.

It's a pleasant job since they're so nice to look at.

We needed to use up some shitake mushrooms while they were still fresh.

When the potato broth is ready, put in the leeks, chopped mushrooms and frozen corn along with some salt or tamari. Bring to simmer and cook another 10 or 15 minutes. I like to put lots of newly ground black pepper in the soup, but others don't, so I do that at the table. We had this tonight with popcorn and a "salad" of romaine lettuce with a sprinkling of balsamic vinegar.

Buying and Storing in Bulk

It's not that hard. And it's so very much cheaper. We don't buy too much prepared food. At all. I don't know how people afford it. Really. Real, unprocessed food tastes so much better and is so much better for you. We get whatever we can in bulk, often organic, and from local sources when possible. Twenty five pounds of steel cut oats, 10 pounds of flax seed, 10 pounds of barley, 25 pounds of rice, 5 pounds of walnuts... Most people will have access to some kind of food co-op or buying club where you can order medium or large quantities and split the order with others. You just have to find them. You do need storage space - somewhere cool and not too damp. I built a small room in the basement with walls made of rigid styrofoam insulation. It has a vent to the outside through the 1st floor sill so even though it's only 8 feet from the woodstove that is our only non-solar heat supply it stays cool all winter. But if you don't buy in very large quantities there is no reason you can't do something similar in the city. The storage containers need to be well-sealed and the contents kept as cool and dry as possible.

It helps if you have a garden, but even if you don't you can still get these things from the market.

And for short-term storage, jars are fine. Dried beans, lentils, rice, barley, spelt, popcorn... all the essentials.

Oat Breakfast

I have eaten oats for breakfast for at least 20 years. Maybe that's boring, but I like it. It makes early morning breakfast very easy - no decisions. I used to use rolled oats, usually uncooked, in milk or soymilk. A couple years ago we realized that steel cut oats are far better - they taste much nuttier and richer. There is no comparison. The trouble is you have to cook them for quite a while. The solution is to do them the night before while cooking dinner. About one quart of water for one cup of oats, bring to a boil (I invariably boil it over), turn it off and let then let it sit all night. It will be ready to heat up in the morning.

Add some fruit and a couple tablespoons of fresh ground flax seed, a bit of soy milk and you're set to go. This will last you a while. If you're really hungry, put some nuts in. This time of year we have our own frozen blueberries which is a treat in the winter.

Basic Garden Minestrone Soup

Simple if you have fresh vegetables from garden or market. We have lots of things in the root cellar and a few from the Belfast farmer's market even in December. Start with some dried beans - these are Vermont Cranberry from a local farm. About 3 parts water to 1 part beans - but here that doesn't matter since you will be putting in a lot more water later. They take about an hour to cook depending on how fresh they are.

Some canned tomatoes (I used about half of this mason jar full), some green onions from the market, our carrots and potatoes and garlic from the cellar, frozen green beans from last summer, a bit of chili powder and salt, some Chinese cabbage, some cooked pasta to be added at the table...

While the beans cook, cut things up.

Even in December in central Maine we still have kale in the garden (and some brussels sprouts) - not growing, but still quite edible. You can strip the central stem out with your hands - it's too tough this time of year. Then chop into small pieces.

When the beans are nearly done, put in more water and in go the denser vegetables - carrots, potatoes - and the tomato and garlic and other seasonings. After 15 minutes of gentle simmering you can add everything else - the Chinese cabbage can go at the last minute as it needs almost no cooking - the same goes for parsley if you have any. Don't cook too long - the vegetables don't need it - another 5 or 10 minutes at a simmer at the most. We like to put the cooked pasta in the bowls before we add the soup since if you cook it any more it just turns to mush. Serve with popcorn, and maybe a jar of extra chili powder and salt to taste.

Simplest Winter Squash Pie

No eggs, no dairy, no trouble. Everyone loves it.

We like Long Pie Pumpkins, but any winter squash will do.

Bake in a bit of water for 40 minutes at 350F.

Cool and scoop out the insides.

The crust is made from pastry flour, ground rolled oats, chopped walnuts, a bit of salt and cinnamon.

Mix it well, add enough vegetable oil to moisten. Work it in with a spoon and then your hands.

Press it out into the pie plate with your fingers.

The custard is made with 12 oz. of silken tofu (any mild tofu will do), about 2 cups of squash, fresh chopped ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, a bit of salt and...

about 1/2 cup or more of maple syrup and enough soymilk to make the mix wet enough to blend.

Just pour into the plate (any extra can be baked in a small bowl for between meal treats). Bake for about 40 minutes at 350. If you're quick you won't even need to turn off the oven after cooking the squash. Once the squash is done this can all be completed in about 15 minutes.

Custard and crust should both be light brown. Cool and eat! It's even better the next day. This particular pie had, for the first time, too much salt in the crust - an error attributable I think to the photography as it disrupted the semi-meditative haze in which I generally work. The crust doesn't even really need salt so maybe that's an end of that.