The beginning....
Lately, I've been craving time to cook in my own kitchen. I had lost my inspiration sometime at the beginning of the summer mostly just because I was so busy with things I had to do, that I felt like there was no time for the things I wanted to do. Now that fall is rapidly approaching, I feel tremendous inspiration. I can't wait to cook the first kabocha squash of the season, or to make the first vegetable bake of the fall. My inspiration is not just limited to the new fall flavors, but to the summer bounty as well.
We stopped by Boggy Creek Farm on Saturday, but arrived late so the selection was rather limited. I bought sourdough from Sweetish Hill, fresh arugala and while I was debating over whether or not to get basil--I had some, but did I have enough? CAN you have enough?--Jeremy took a fancy to some very pretty little bell peppers and since it's so rare that he shows an interest in any vegetable, I bought one green bell pepper and one yellow and green bell pepper.
Once we got home, I made some Pesto Arugala Couscous by bringing water to a boil, then adding whole wheat couscous, stirring in some of the fresh, chopped arugala while the couscous was still hot so it could slightly wilt and finally adding about two tablespoons of leftover pesto and garnishing with toasted pine nuts. Yum!
I also made an Avocado-Grapefruit Salad. I'm not a huge grapefruit fan, but the creamy richness of the avocado balances their tart sweetness in this dish. For the bulk, I used some green leaf lettuce (but any green lettuce would work well) some shredded radicchio trevisano, half a supremed grapefruit, and half an avocado, sliced. I made a vinagrette with balsamic vinegar, juice from the grapefruit, minced garlic, sea salt, a few drops of agave nectar and some hemp oil.
Sunday evening, I soaked and Monday afternoon cooked two very plain-but-full-of potential staples, black eyed peas and medium grain brown rice. I was thinking of making sushi, but haven't really figured out what to do with the black eyed peas.
