Dinner: Sunchoke (Jersualem artichoke) and Salsify Soup with Vegan Samosas

Samosas were store-bought but the soup was Jay's creation, and he shared his deliciously simple recipe...

2 cups sunchoke

5 stocks salsify (we used both white and black)
2 large shallots
2 large toes of garlic
3lt water
salt
pepper
1oz Earth Balance (Vegan Butter)

Method:
- peel and slice the sunchokes and salsify, put in water so it doesn’t oxidize
- wash the sunchokes and salsify very well (sometimes they can be really gritty with dirt)
- once clean, put in pot, add water
- clean the skins off the shallots and the garlic, slice them a bit and add both ton the pot
- season with some salt and pepper (use your taste)
- let it all cook for 30 min
- turn the heat off and let sit for 10-15 min
- add the Earth Balance and puree it all together in a blender or using a wand
- taste, add more salt and pepper if needed
- Enjoy

it was beautifully white... I topped mine with some hot sauce, because I can't get enough of it...

 samosas were delicious as well...

 look at all the tasty goodness inside...

yum, yum, yum....

Our Fourth Annual Holiday Get Together

The evening started out with some cheese and toasts... some cheese was stinky, I didn't care for it, but the rest of the crowd sure did :)

 this year I whipped out the welcome cocktail... a cranberry-orange gold flecked martini...

 eventually we sat down to dinner, almost everyone had a lobster trio to start. From left to right, lobster and avocado tacos, lobster mac and cheese,and lobster croquettes with sun-dried tomato sauce and deep fried capers... fried capers are deliciously salty :)

 I had avocado and tomato tacos on greens with a sprinkle of fried capers...

 for main 6 mushroom and truffle stuffed chicken breasts on a puree of Jerusalem artichoke, roasted salsify and asparagus... with a drizzle of red wine port reduction...

 1 halibut with sun-dried tomato paste and the same veggies as above

 for moi veggies as above, soy marinated oven roasted sweet potato, and miso-chili marinated tofu cube

 then a finale of sticky toffee pudding with an injection of bourbon for those who wished it, whipped cream, and a brûléed fig...

 for moi a few more brûléed figs on top of a almond-poppy seed paste that my mom made for Christmas dinner...

as always food was outstanding, as was the company... Jay is already contemplating dinner for next year :)

lazy holiday dinner

We had some family time, but we also had just us time. A super lazy day spent in pj's :) For dinner a bottle of bubbly and take out from Cafe 668

 some steamed brown rice

 pan fried veggie dumplings with red wine dipping sauce...

 Rice paper stuffed with lettuce, bean sprouts, cucumbers, green chives, peanuts, and vermicelli noodles, spiked with spicy and sweet sauce.

 Vegetarian Pho - rice noodle soup cooked vegetarian style. It came in two parts: a container of stuff for the soup...

 and the broth itself...

 

Spicy fried coconut tofu...

 and Hot n’ Sour Vermicelli  soup...

yum it was delish... all vegan... plenty of leftovers for the next day :)

pizza for dinner

We like to make our own.

List of ingredients used:
- dough (store bought)
- sun dried tomato pesto (Jay's own)
- thinly sliced Japanese eggplant
- small thinly sliced potatoes
- roasted tomatoes (store bought)
- shredded oyster mushrooms
- cooked green asparagus (store bought)
- sliced white onion
- salt and pepper
- drizzle of extra virgin olive oil

Once the pizza was baked we topped it with some fresh dill... one of my all time fave herbs... it was delicious while hot for dinner... and even better cold next day for lunch :)

soup for dinner

I craved it he made it. It was so filling and delicious...

What he used to make it... 
1 red onion (diced)
4 celery stalk (4 diced)
1 red bell pepper (diced)
piece of fresh ginger (minced)
4 cloves of garlic (minced)
1 red chillie pepper (sliced)
1 tbsp mild curry powder
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground corrianced
vegetable oil to sautee all of the above
2 cups of red lentils
1 med sweet potato
2 youkon gold potatoes
1.5 lt vegetable stock
salt and pepper
before serving stir in 1/2 bunch of fresh chopped cilantro

Served with some soft, chewy baguette... so filling

I topped mine with Sriracha

asian veggies and dumplings

easy breezy dinner one night last week... some sauteed asian veggies with baked and pan-fired store bought dumplings... it was delish

 the perfect dipping sauce for dumplings is equal parts Sriracha and mustard... pictured below we tried it with orange-ginger mustard... it was good, but the mustard was a bit strong...

 so we had a backup made with the classing yellow French's... this is simply delish, it was served to us a few years back at a restaurant, we couldn't believe how good this combo is...