Wednesday, December 13, 2006

Penne alla Vodka

...from Cook's Illustrated p 10. This was heaven! I've made vodka sauce recipes from Everyday Italian, Emeril, and Rachel Ray. I love Emeril's- before becoming vegan This one is fantastic and I feel the best of the bunch. I even licked my plate ;) I used Rain vodka- my fave. (I first tried it at Buffalo Trace distillery in Frankfort KY- it's an organic vodka made by bourbon people but oh my good!) I substituted a can of chunky crushed tomatoes for the can of whole tomatoes- my personal perference. I added the full amount (1/2 t) of red pepper and a little extra garlic. Unfortunately the store didn't have fresh basil so I subbed some rehydrated Penzeys. What a dinner on a work night- YUM!!!

I used just a bit of rice milk for the creaminess and it worked.

I think I need to try this again with pepper vodka as rec by CI and maybe adding peas like a dish from my local Italian restaurant and maybe...

Soup Club!

I have the recipe for the Red Pepper Soup! A friend made this for the soup club but I have no source for the recipe. She claims it is the easiest soup to make. I loved the flavor :)

Red Pepper Soup

2 onions, peeled and chopped
3 T butter- vegan of course!
6 cups veggie broth
2 10-oz cans roasted sweet red peppers, drained and cut into pieces
1 t salt, if desired
1/4 t ground whiter pepper
2 T chive snippets, to garnish

Place onions and butter in a 3 qt suace pan; cook over medium heat for 8 minutes or until tender. Add broth and peppers. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, covered for 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Puree with a hand blender. Garnish with chives.

*Soup may be prepared in advance and reheated over moderate heat. Freezes well.


This soup is good but I've made a version where I roast my own red peppers and it's really really good. This is a great example for using whole foods that are minimally processed.

Tuesday, December 5, 2006

Book Club!

The book- Something I've Been Meaning to Tell You by Alice Munro
The restaurant- Stella's in Alexandria

What a great time! Good friends, good wine, good book, and great presents- what else is there? We wish the friends who couldn't make and who we really missed could have been there.

Noteable quotes:
"Forgiveness in families is a mystery to me, how it comes or how it lasts." p105

"I thought about Mother's life, the part of it I knew. Going to work every day, first on the ferry then on the bus. Shopping at the old Red-and-White then at the new Safeway- new, fifteen years old! Going down to the Library one night a week, taking me with her, and we would come home on the bus with our load of books and a bag of grapes we bought at the Chinese place, for a treat. Wednesday afternoons too when my kids were small and I went over there to drink coffee and she rolled us cigarettes on that contraption she had. And I thought, all these things don't seem that much like life, when you're dong them, they're just what you do, how you fill up your days, and you think all the time something is going to crack open, and you'll find yourself, then you'll find yourself, in life. It's not even that you particularly want this to happen, this cracking open, you're comfortable enough the way things are, but you do expect it." p 99


Next book-
The Many Aspects of Mobile Home Living: A Novel by Martin Clark

Monday, December 4, 2006

Soup Club!

Yeah for Mondays Soup Club! :) I was very curious about the Garlic Soup that one member made- always wanted to try that one. YUM! The recipe for the this soup was given without credit- I'll search because that seems like a good source to know!

Garlic Soup

2 Tbsp olive oil
Pinch red pepper flakes
1 ½ cup sliced onion
1/3 cup peeled garlic cloves (about 12-14)
3 bay leaves
2 ½ tsp salt (or less to taste)
7 turns freshly ground black pepper
2 quarts veggie broth
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 tsp freshly chopped basil leaves
1 tsp freshly chopped thyme leaves
2 cups croutons
½ cup cream- I made a cashew cream
pinch salt


Heat 2 tbls of the oil in a soup pot over high heat. Add the red pepper flakes, onions, bay leaves, salt, and pepper. Stir well and sauté until the onions are caramelized, about 7 minutes. Add garlic cloves and sauté 2 minutes.

Stir in the stock, minced garlic, basil, and thyme and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for about 40 minutes Increase the heat to high and whisk in the croutons and the cream and continue whisking until the bread has disintegrated into the soup, about 10 minutes. Puree the soup with an immersion blender.

Serve the hot with additional croutons

1 ¼ cups per serving


Ok I went back and made this vegan- used veggie bo