Corn Chowder, Miss Lindsey's Tempeh, Brown Rice

Dinner 12/14 by Amy



• Corn Chowder

• Miss Lindsey's Tempeh

• Brown Rice

Tonight, I made some corn chowder with some of the corn we froze over the summer. We have a Sun Frost refrigerator, so our freezer is pretty small. So, even though we do have the occasional pint of Soy Delicious, we usually try to prioritize freezing corn, spinach, and sometimes fruit. I used two quart-sized bags and a few potatoes from our stash. I didn't follow a recipe in particular, but this one is pretty close. I used cashew-macadamia nut butter from East Wind community instead of the cashew milk.

Miss Lindsey's Tempeh is a recipe from the inside of a Sandhill tempeh package. It's fried tempeh that is glazed with a sauce of water, soy sauce, sorghum, ground coriander, paprika and minced garlic. I also added some fried onions. It's quick and easy. Short grain brown rice soaked up the extra glaze.

Cookie Swap

Dessert 12/13 by Various Rabbits



This was my haul from the annual DR Cookie Swap!

• Buckeyes

• Spritz Cookies

• O'Henry Bars

• Blueberry Scones

• Peanut-Jelly Thumbprint Cookies

• Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

• Jam Bars with Marzipan Crust

• Peanut Butter Coconut Cookies

General Tso's Seitan, Brown Rice, Veggie Stir-fry

Dinner 12/13 by Juan and Amy



• General Tso's Seitan

• Brown Rice

• Veggie Stir-fry

Juan and Tony are involved in a big project, so tonight's dinner was pretty simple. Juan made his usual seitan and I put together the General Tso's Sauce. We also pressure-cooked some short grain brown rice.

The veggie stir-fry was made of onions, garlic, carrots and brussels sprouts. All of which were grown this year either by us or our neighbors. This is the first time since I moved here that the produce that we grew has lasted this long into the winter. Pretty amazing and delicious! I feel inspired to build our root cellar so we can do an even better job next year!

Ethiopian Feast with Injera, Brussels Sprouts and Collards, Lentil Wat, Potatoes and Carrots, and Sauerkraut and Green Beans

Dinner 12/10 by Tony



• Injera

• Brussels Sprouts and Collards

• Lentil Wat

• Potatoes and Carrots

• Sauerkraut and Green Beans

It may seem like Tony only ever makes his super-delicious vegan pizza all the time, but he also makes incredible Ethiopian food. He makes injera from a sourdough batter (frequently barley and/or wheat). I think tonight's was made with millet and wheat. It's typical to eat the food with one's hands using the injera as a scoop/utensil. Side benefit: fewer plates to wash!

The brussels sprouts are from our garden. Tony mixed them with the last of the collards from Ironweed's garden. Sautéed with onions, it was a very sweet greens dish. Lentil wat uses a combination of spices that Tony blends up each time he makes Ethiopian. The potatoes are from a neighboring organic gardener and the carrots are ones that we harvested before the frost that have been stored in a bucket of straw on the front porch. The sauerkraut and green beans dish is made with sauerkraut we canned with cabbages from our garden and green beans we canned last year.

Barbecue Seitan, Mashed Potatoes, Veggie Soup

Dinner 12/7 by Dan



• Barbeque Seitan

• Mashed Potatoes

• Veggie Soup

I love it when other people make seitan because Juan and I seem to make it a lot and I always like to see how they make it. Everyone seems to have a different technique.

The mashed potatoes were made from our stash. They were grown by a neighboring organic farmer. We bought a large quantity, cured them and they are hanging out in boxes in the dark back area of the house. We're hoping they'll last for most of the winter.

The veggie soup was made with tomato juice as a base. Dan threw in onions, garlic, carrots and brussels sprouts. I'd never had brussels sprouts in soup before and they were juicy and tender. I'm still pretty amazed that we are still eating things from the garden (brussels sprouts at this point) even though they're covered with snow and ice.

Lasagna, Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Dinner 12/5 by Amy and Juan



• Lasagna

• Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

The recipe was adapted from Joanne Stepaniak's recipe for 3 Cheez Lasagna in "The Uncheese Cookbook". We made a lot of substitutions, but in the end, it turned out great. We doubled the recipe because there is a no-cook night tomorrow and added a couple layers of collards from Ironweed's garden. They said this is the last harvest of greens for the year.

For dessert, Juan chose Isa Moskowitz's Big Crunchy Peanut Butter Gigantoids from "Vegan with a Vengeance". As usual, I substituted sorghum for the sweetener. And at Juan's request, I added lots of chocolate chips. I'm feeling really fortunate that our neighbors at Sandhill Farm are growing wheat. We eat so much of it and it's nice to know that some of our calories are coming from only 3 miles away. Not to mention how delicious freshly milled flour is!

Pizzas of Deliciousness

Dinner 12/2 by Tony



• Pizzas of Deliciousness

Every Sunday, Bobolink has a meeting right after lunch where we set the cook shifts for the week. At today's meeting, Tony volunteered to do tonight's dinner, so he didn't have time to do his usual sourdough crust. These pizzas had yeasted crusts that were airy and crunchy.

The toppings were some combination of the following: seitan spiced like pepperoni, squickles, sauerkraut, fermented hot peppers, and a special pie that was nutritional yeast cheeze, no sauce and pesto. YUM!

If you want to try this at home, you can try Tony's recipe sometime!

Pinto Bean Soup, Cabbage and Carrot Salad, Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Dinner 11/30 by Rachel



• Pinto Bean Soup

• Cabbage and Carrot Salad

• Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Tonight's soup was made with pinto beans, corn that we froze from the summertime, some green peppers that we harvested before the frost, chunks of windowsill-ripened tomatoes, onions from a neighboring farmer and various spices.

Rachel found a few cabbage heads that have been living out in the garden despite the freezing cold. She combined one with some carrots from our garden that have been living in a bucket of straw on the front porch. I'm not sure what was in the dressing, but it was tasty.

The brussels sprouts (I have only recently learned that this is the more correct name) from our garden were roasted with soy sauce and I'm not sure what else, but it really brought out their sweetness.

Black Beans, Hash Browns, Salsa, Chocolate Pudding

Dinner 11/29 by Dan



• Black Beans

• Hash Browns

• Salsa

• Chocolate Pudding

I wasn't around in person to eat this for dinner because I was attending the Tri-State Locally Grown Conference in Quincy, IL. However, it looks pretty self-explanatory. Black beans and potatoes (from a neighboring farmer) served with salsa along with leftover chocolate pudding.

Chunky Minestrone, Vegetable Fritters, Chocolate Pudding

Dinner 11/28 by Juan and Amy



• Chunky Minestrone

• Vegetable Fritters

• Chocolate Pudding

Though it would appear so, Juan and I don't cook almost every meal. :) We're two out of five people, so between our two shifts, plus two no-cook nights where I don't blog, plus a potluck once a week where I don't blog, sometimes the blog doesn't get to show the whole picture. And it will probably get worse as Bobolinkers travel for the holidays. I'm just getting you prepared so it's not a total shock. :)

Because the weather's been getting so cold, Juan made a big pot of soup. He started with sauteéd onions and garlic and added half tomato juice and half water. Then threw in potatoes, carrots, white beans and a bunch of spices. I love a big bowl of soup on a wintry night.

I made some vegetable fritters based on this recipe from vegan-food.net, but I used all chickpea flour and added some carrots and corn for color.

The chocolate pudding was inspired by the recipe for Mom's Chocolate Pudding from "La Dolce Vegan". We didn't have any soymilk handy, so I used Thomas' technique of blending cashew-macadamia butter with some water to make it milky. Also, I used sorghum as the sweetener. It formed a nice skin on top (which we made the mistake of mixing in) just like mom's used to make!

Black Beans, Brown Rice, Salsa

Dinner 11/27 by Tony



• Black Beans

• Brown Rice

• Salsa

Tuesdays are potlucks with the surrounding communities, so I usually don't blog, but no one from Bobolink went so I thought I'd share what we ate. It was originally going to be one dish in a larger potluck, so it's not too fancy.

Black beans with windowsill-ripened tomatoes, brown rice, salsa, and I put nutritional yeast on mine. Dan provided some fresh cilantro that has been hiding out in the fridge since before the frost. These days, the temperature is frequently below freezing at night.

Seitan, Homemade Whole Wheat Dill Pasta, Tomato Sauce, Pesto, Oatmeal Cookies

Dinner 11/25 by Amy and Juan



• Seitan

• Homemade Whole Wheat Dill Pasta

• Tomato Sauce

• Pesto

• Oatmeal Cookies

This is our version of spaghetti and meatballs: homemade whole wheat pasta with chunks of seitan fried (or baked) to perfection with tomato sauce and/or pesto. The pasta was made with a hand-crank machine following Bryanna Grogan Clark's recipe. For fun, I threw some dried dill into it.

The tomato sauce was made from tomatoes we canned earlier in the season. Juan spiced it and used an immersion blender to really smooth it out and then mixed in nutritional yeast for creaminess and flavor. The pesto was made over the summer by a visiting friend and then frozen, so I'm not sure what's in it, but mixed all together, it tasted great.

Dessert was from The New Farm Vegetarian Cookbook slightly modified. Instead of half oil and half margarine, I used all oil and instead of white and brown sugar, I used sorghum. They were a bit runnier than usual, so some of them baked into each other (creating The Omega Cookie!), but they were still edible in the end. :)

Chocolate Chip Cat Pancakes

Breakfast 11/24 by Juan



• Chocolate Chip Cat Pancakes

It's CATURDAY!

And in honor of such a wonderful occasion, Juan created these amazing cat-shaped pancakes. Sooo delicious! If only every day was Caturday...


more caturday pictures

Vegetable Soup, Miss Lindsey's Glazed Tempeh, Brown Rice

Dinner 11/23 by Juan and Amy



• Vegetable Soup

• Miss Lindsey's Glazed Tempeh

• Brown Rice

Since Juan and I spent yesterday making an UnTurkey for the potluck, we didn't feel like going overboard tonight. We kept it simple. Juan made a vegetable soup. He started out by sautéing onions and garlic in a little oil with some salt. Then he added tomato juice, tomato sauce, carrots, potatoes, whole wheat elbow macaroni, sorghum, and nutritional yeast. It was hearty and sweet. I was sorry I didn't have enough room for two bowls.

Miss Lindsey's recipe for glazed tempeh was so good that Sandhill put it on the inside of their tempeh packages. It's basically fried tempeh glazed with a sauce made of minced garlic, sorghum, soy sauce, tomato juice, ground coriander, and prepared mustard. I added some fried onions, too.

BTW: Due to a technological failure (why have you forsaken me, hard drive?!), I don't have photos from the past few meals. I'll see if I can round up some that folks took of Thanksgiving so you can see the feast!

Red Lentil Dal, Brown Rice, Coleslaw

Dinner 11/19 by Tony



• Red Lentil Dal

• Brown Rice

• Coleslaw

Tonight's dinner was simple because Tony and I were busy cleaning our chimneys and boiler late into the afternoon. He put together a red lentil dal over long grain brown rice. The coleslaw was cabbage and carrots from the garden with a yummy tahini dressing. Very well done and not a bit of soot in it! :)

UnTurkey with Stuffing, Ginger Glazed Squash, Gravy

Dinner 11/18 by Amy and Juan



• UnTurkey with Stuffing

• Ginger Glazed Squash

• Gravy

This was our second attempt at making an UnTurkey and this time it came out much, much better. Instead of 8 cups of wheat gluten flour, I used 6 cups of wheat gluten flour and 2 cups of whole wheat flour. The texture was a bit softer and held together nicely. I also used the yuba that I bought online. I've tried to make it myself, but haven't mastered the skill at all. The yuba made a nice crispy skin that helped keep the moisture of the seitan in. With a few technique tweaks, I think this is how we'll make it on Thursday.

Here's what the UnTurkey looked like coming out of the oven. I haven't figured out how to keep it from breaking in half, so I just made each half into its own UnTurkey. I invited a neighboring family to dinner and one of their kids asked if it was real turkey!



The squash recipe came from Christina Pirello's "Cooking the Whole Foods Way", but instead of acorn squash, I used some sweet dumplings that we grew in our garden. Juan also made some other substitutions, like using black currant jam and apple butter in place of the apricot jam. I hear that apricots don't grow too well around here, so we used what we had. The sauce was sweet and gingery. We even roasted the seeds for a treat tomorrow.

Potato Knishes, Kasha Varnishkes, Golden Gravy, Yellow Cake with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

Dinner 11/16 by Amy and Juan



• Potato Knishes

• Kasha Varnishkes

• Golden Gravy

• Yellow Cake with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

Tonight I was in the mood for some comfort food like my mom makes. This is a meal that I probably make once a year around this time — while we still have potatoes and onions in enough abundance that I don't feel like I'm using up something precious.

Dinner was made with recipes from The New Farm Cookbook. The dough for the knishes was made with whole wheat flour and mashed potatoes and they were filled with mashed potatoes, fried onions, salt and pepper. There were extra mashed potatoes, so people could eat that as a side as well.

Kasha varnishkes (toasted buckwheat groats and noodles) is something my mom used to make all the time when I was growing up. I love it with it's tasty buckwheat, fried onions and bow-tie pasta. My version didn't turn out quite the same (since her recipe calls for egg to keep the buckwheat from becoming mushy), but it still hit the spot. Especially with the golden gravy smothering everything.

The yellow cake recipe was from "Very Vegetarian" and it was topped with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting from "Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World". I took a photo, but it didn't really capture it well and I thought y'all have better uses for the bandwidth I'm saving by not posting it. :)

Tamale Casserole, Steamed Broccoli and Cauliflower, Cherry Muffins

Dinner 11/15 by Dan



• Tamale Casserole

• Steamed Broccoli and Cauliflower

• Cherry Muffins

Masa was the highlight of this casserole, which Dan based on a recipe from The New Farm Cookbook. It's not something that we have handy and he picked it up at the seconds store in town. Also included pinto beans and spicy peppers. Very tasty with salsa. Optional cilantro on top for those who aren't totally soaped out by it. :)

Broccoli and cauliflower came in from the garden. To my knowledge, at this point, due to the cold, we only have brassicas left in the — broccoli, cauliflower, and brussel sprouts. Maybe a head of cabbage. Plus the celery and carrots that we picked before the frost. But no worries, we have lots of canned, dried and fermented deliciousness to enjoy through the colder months!

Cherry muffins used cherries canned last year since this year's fruit didn't really happen. They had big, yummy, juicy cherries in them and he even used the canned juice as the liquid in the recipe. Though I don't know what recipe he based them on. Here's a pretty nondescript pic. Next time I'll cut the muffin in half or something:

Pizza! Pizza!

Dinner 11/14 by Tony



• Pizza!

Tonight's toppings included olives, tempeh, soysage, squickles, peppers, and broccoli.

Check out Tony's recipe and try making your own whole wheat, organic, vegan, sourdough pizza at home. If you don't want to do it for me, do it for Isa and the VeganMoFo! :)

Lentil Loaf, Curried Stir-Fry, Chocolate Chip Cookies

Dinner 11/11 by Juan with a little help from Amy



• Lentil Loaf

• Curried Stir-Fry

• Chocolate Chip Cookies

Juan put together a lentil loaf using the recipe from The New Farm Cookbook. He uses red lentils so they turn into a skinless mush that holds the rice together well. Tonight, it was served with homemade ketchup and BBQ sauce.

Using one of the last cabbages from our gardens, he made a yummy stirfry that also included onions, carrots from the Skyhouse garden, and broccoli from Dan's garden.

I helped out by whipping up some chocolate chip cookies with chips from the general store in town. I used the recipe from The New Farm Cookbook substituting sorghum for the sugars. Between the darkness of the sorghum and the whole wheat flour, our cookies always come out looking nice and golden brown.

UnTurkey with Stuffing, Mashed Potatoes, Gravy

Dinner 11/10 by Amy and Juan



• UnTurkey with Stuffing

• Mashed Potatoes

• Gravy

With Thanksgiving right around the corner, it was time to start practicing which dish to make for Dancing Rabbit's annual TDay potluck. I decided to try recreating the sadly missed UnTurkey. I have Miyoko Nishimoto's "Now and Zen Epicure", so I armed with the all of the necessary ingredients (minus the yuba), I gave it my first shot. There were definitely some things that I will do differently when I cook one next time. For example, I've ordered some yuba online, so I can make the crunchy outside and hopefully it will help keep the gluten moist. Also, I'll cut the gluten flour with some whole wheat flour so it's less rubbery. On the upside, it was the first time that some of us Bobolinkers have used a knife at the dinner table in quite a while. :)

Mashed potatoes were made with potatoes we bought from a local organic farmer. The gravy recipe was also from the "Now and Zen Epicure". I thought it was yummy, but people seemed to prefer the Herbed Brown Gravy recipe from Joanne Stepaniak's "Nutritional Yeast Cookbook".

Juan's friend came to visit and was sweet to buy us some Rice Dream and Purely Decadent for dessert. It was quite a feast!

Refried Beans, Pan-Sweetened Carrots, Thai Cabbage Salad, Spanish Rice

Dinner 11/9 by Dan



• Refried Beans

• Pan-Sweetened Carrots

• Thai Cabbage Salad

• Spanish Rice

Dan created a meal with a variety of flavors and textures that highlighted some of the last harvest. The beans were accented with fresh cilantro and chopped tomatoes from his garden. The carrots from Skyhouse's garden were steamed first and then pan-fried to bring out their caramelized sweetness. I'm not sure what the dressing was on his salad was, but it was creamy and was an enjoyable way to eat one of the last cabbages from his garden. The rice was flavorful and I still haven't found out how he ends up with each rice an individual grain rather than some bursting open. If he lets me in on the secret, I'll let you know!

Baked Stuffed Tomatoes, Glazed Tempeh, Rice, Salad

Dinner 11/8 by Rachel



• Baked Stuffed Tomatoes

• Glazed Tempeh

• Rice

• Salad

Tonight, Rachel stuffed tomatoes from our garden with rice, TVP, celery, carrot, some spices and then baked them in the oven. The tempeh was from Sandhill Farm and a was glazed with a simple soy sauce marinade. Rice and salad rounded out the meal

Baked Beans, Brussel Sprouts, Biscuits, Gravy

Dinner 11/4 by Amy and Juan



• Baked Beans

• Brussel Sprouts

• Biscuits

• Gravy

Tonight I was feeling a bit under the weather, so I tried to keep dinner simple. The baked beans were Christina Pirello's recipe from "Cooking the Whole Foods Way". They were baked with apple butter, miso, mustard, onions, vinegar, and a little brown rice syrup. Tony gave them an A+!

The brussel sprouts were harvested from our garden. Rachel gave us the tip that they are sweeter if left until after the frost, so we've been trying to wait patiently for the cold to come. Last year, we would bring completely frozen stalks inside so they would defrost before we cooked them. Tonight, they were simply boiled and people ate them with gravy or some margarine that we had left over from the Bloody Finger Cookies.

Juan whipped up Janie's Good Biscuits from The New Farm Cookbook. Slathered with Herbed Brown Gravy from Joanne Stepaniak's "Nutritional Yeast Cookbook", they rounded out the meal nicely.

Vegetable Soup, Proteinated Rice

Dinner 11/3 by Juan



• Culinary Experiment #1: Soup

• Culinary Experiment #2: Proteinated Rice

For tonight's dinner, I decided to go nuts and just try experimenting. I mixed up some soup based on tomato juice, and then added potatoes and sweet potatoes (both bought from the Mennonite farmers up the road), celery, onions, and some herbs in the Italian vein, all from our garden. I felt it was fairly successful.

For the second experiment, I took some rice and fried it up with some TVP and some spices. This was really good with pepper relish.

Now that the frost has hit, we'll likely start using our preserved vegetables. The garden is essentially dead for the winter, although a few brassicas supposedly taste best after the frost.

Chiles Rellenos, Spanish Rice, Steamed Broccoli and Cauliflower, Fresh Salsa

Dinner 11/2 by Dan



• Chiles Rellenos

• Spanish Rice

• Steamed Broccoli and Cauliflower

• Fresh Salsa

This meal was a surprise. Pulling peppers out of his garden right before the frost last week, Dan stuffed them with black beans and corn that we had in our freezer. The result was his own brand of chiles rellenos, and I heard no complaints.

Continuing the theme, Dan made Spanish rice and two versions of fresh salsa also with vegetables saved before the icy cold killed off many of the plants. The main difference between the two was the presence or absence of cilantro.

Rounding off the meal were the brassicas - They say they taste best after a frost, and in this case, it turned out They were right. Go They.

EDIT: That grated yellow stuff is the Sheese! I think it was pretty good!

Pizza-licious!

Dinner 11/1 by Tony



• My favoritest pizza in the universe!

Tonight's toppings included red peppers, broccoli, squickles (pickled yellow squash), pickled garlic, and marinated artichoke hearts (courtesy of Rachel's folks). We also had a small section of pizza with some Sheese on it. I bought a package out of curiousity and we've been slowly experimenting with it.

You, too, can make this yummy pizza at home. Just try the recipe.

Samosas, Coconut Mint Chutney, Split Pea Dal, Brown Rice, Salad

Dinner 10/31 by Brian



• Samosas

• Coconut Mint Chutney

• Split Pea Dal

• Brown Rice

• Salad

Not much time to blog tonight since the Progressive Fiasco starts in 20 minutes and I still have to get into my "tourist" costume, but dinner was delish. The samosas were stuffed with potatoes and carrots. Brian made the chutney with a can of coconut milk leftover from the Reunion cooking and fresh mint from the garden.

The dal was made with some seriously old yellow split peas that don't get used too often. This means that they didn't cook all the way through after and hour and a half. So, that dish didn't really come out, but he's continuing to cook it so it will be ready by lunch tomorrow.

Rice and an Ironweed salad rounded out dinner nicely. I'm kind of glad that the dal didn't cook up because we all need to save room for all of the Halloween treats tonight!

Bloody Finger Cookies

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!



Here at Dancing Rabbit, we're pretty rural, so trick-or-treating is near impossible. We'd exhaust ourselves walking to the nearest neighbor's house! So instead, we have our own tradition of the Progressive Fiasco. The way it works is that various people volunteer to host a part of the celebration and we all travel around together. That way everyone gets to party instead of sitting at home waiting for the party to come their way. It works out great and we each only end up hosting for 10 or 15 minutes.

Tonight, we're hosting tarot, ouija and Bloody Finger Cookies at Skyhouse. The *AWESOME* recipe come from Lindy Loo who I am totally in love with. Her blog is so funny, it totally rocks and I not-so-secretly worship her, so when The End Times come, I hope that she'll look kindly on my devotion and we'll get to share recipes together forever. At least that's how I like to think it will all go down. That's the best endorsement I can come up with. :)

Anyway, back to cookies. Here are some pics just in case you didn't get enough on the recipe page. So far, everyone who has seen the cookies thinks they are the best thing ever. Even Alline, who I know has seen some pretty cool stuff in her time. Thanks for the compliments, Alline!

Before they go into the oven:


The final display before I put a candle in the middle:

Shepherdess Pie, Herbed Brown Gravy, Pumpkin Pie Brownie

Dinner 10/29 by Amy and Juan



• Shepherdess Pie

• Herbed Brown Gravy

• Pumpkin Pie Brownie

Shepherdess Pie is my take on old-fashioned Shepherd's Pie, but instead of meat inside, I used green lentils with onions, garlic, celery, carrot, green peppers along with thyme, rosemary, sage. No parsley though. :) Simple potatoes mashed with oil, salt and pepper topped off the dish.

Juan made some herbed brown gravy from Joanne Stepaniak's "Nutritional Yeast Cookbook". I love this gravy because it's fast and tasty. I've even made it without the tahini and it's still delicious. Tonight, we made it with the tahini and it smothered the pie perfectly.

The pumpkin pie brownie was a recipe that I couldn't resist trying after seeing it on the Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World blog. It's basically a brownie with pumpkin mixed in with a layer of pumpkin pie filling on top. Seriously worth getting two bowls dirty! Check out her site for a good pic. Mine looked just as good, but I ate it too fast to take a photo! :)

Chili, Sweet Potato Fries, Homefries

Dinner 10/27 by Dan



• Chili

• Sweet Potato Fries

• Homefries

Dan had a busy day, so he put together this meal in record time. We appreciated his still cooking despite spending most of the day working on his house so he'll have a warm place to stay this winter. :)

The chili was made with beans and TVP for protein. He says that despite putting at least half a cup of chili powder, it still doesn't taste much like chili. Sweet potatoes roasted into sweet perfect fries were a tasty side along with the homefries made with onions and garlic.

Miso Soup, Veggie Maki, Salad, Apple-Peanut Butter Maki, and Cracker Jacks

Dinner 10/22 by Amy and Juan



• Miso Soup

• Veggie Maki

• Salad

• Apple-Peanut Butter Maki with Caramel Sauce

• Cracker Jacks

I wanted tonight's dinner to be simple, but instead I got a little carried away. The miso soup was made with onions, garlic, powdered ginger sautéed in a little oil and then I added water, cabbage, carrots, and lakota squash from our garden (which boiled into something wonderfully creamy). At the table, I had a small bowl of miso mixed with broth that people could add to their personal tastes along with some wakame and nori squares. I also put out a little sesame oil that helped add to the richness of the soup and complimented the nori's flavor.

The nori maki was sweet red peppers and carrots from our garden. Ironweed's salad was jazzed up with sliced almonds and marinated artichoke hearts — both a gift from Rachel's parents during their last visit with us.

The apple-peanut butter maki was my foray into dessert sushi. Since I was afraid that the apples wouldn't be sweet enough on their own, Juan put together a caramel sauce made with brown rice syrup, cinnamon, vanilla and a little soy sauce. I had suggested salt, but he figured the soy sauce would go well with the nori and he was right! It was a delicious sauce and definitely a dessert I would make again.

Dan was talking about sweet popcorn at lunch today, so I felt inspired to make some cracker jacks. The recipe came from Aveline Kushi's "Introduction to Macrobiotics" cookbook. It's very simple — just mix equal parts brown rice syrup and barley malt and heat until runny. Then mix with popcorn and bake for a few minutes. It hardens as it cools. Surprisingly, this tasted just like I remember the cracker jacks of my childhood tasting!

General Tso's Seitan, Brown Basmati Rice, Veggie Steam-Fry

Dinner 10/21 by Juan



• General Tso's Seitan

• Brown Basmati Rice

• Veggie Steam-Fry

Where have we been? Friday night I came down with a cold and didn't manage to tap anyone for blogging responsibility. Sorry Brian! Yesterday was a no cook night, so Juan and I went into town to watch Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix at the $2 volunteer-run cinema. Dinner was a Pizza Hut. I'm sure my cold appreciated the cheeseless pizza with the delightfully oily pan crust — and let's not forget the vegan cinnamon sticks!

So, Juan cooked on his own tonight like a trooper! Unfortunately, I couldn't taste any of it due to my stuffy nose, so I can only describe it for you. Juan made his usual seitan and then made some Bobolink's favorite General Tso's Sauce to put on top of it all. The basmati was pressure-cooked to perfection.

The veggies were prepared using a technique he calls steam-frying. He sautéed onions, carrots, cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, and green peppers (most from Skyhouse's and Dan's gardens) until crisp tender. Then threw in some soy sauce and vinegar and put a lid on for a few minutes. The result is a tender stir-fry of sour veggies. The vinegar was pretty much the only thing I could taste. Such a bummer!

Party! Pizza Party!

Dinner 10/18 by Tony



• Tony's fantastic, organic, wonderful, vegan, homemade pizza!

Tonight's toppings included, fried onions, sweet red peppers, okra, fried tempeh cubes, sliced black olives, broccoli, sauerkraut, pickled yellow squash, and there was even a special hot pizza with hot peppers.

We love the pizza! You can make the pizza at home! Just use the recipe!

White Bean Vegetable Soup, Salad, Gruel Bread and Avocado

Dinner 10/17 by Rachel



• White Bean Vegetable Soup

• Salad with Tahini Dill Dressing

• Gruel Bread

• Avocado

Believe it or not, but there hasn't been a frost yet, so we're still getting fresh veggies from the garden. Tonight's soup had white beans, carrots, red pepper, tomato and celery. A big bowl of soup went perfectly with the colder weather outside.

Our Ironweed salad had some of their tender baby kale and sliced tomatoes from our garden. Rachel whipped up a creamy tahini dill dressing that complimented it deliciously.

The gruel bread was made by Brian from The Tassajara Bread Book. I *LOVE* this bread. The whole rice keeps the bread quite moist (even days after baking) and it has an almost-sweet sourness to it. The avocados are from Rachel and Tony's recent trip and when mashed up on the bread with a little salt, it was quite the treat.

Refried Beans on Rice, Garlicky Spinach, Nut Yeast Cheez, Guacamole, Fresh Tomatillo Salsa, and Lettuce

Dinner 10/15 by Amy




• Refried Beans

• Brown Rice

• Garlicky Perpetual Spinach

• Nutritional Yeast Cheez

• Guacamole

• Fresh Salsa with Tomatillos

• Lettuce

• Sliced Hot Peppers

I was supposed to help Amy with tonight's dinner, but an injury knocked me off my feet and out of the kitchen for the evening. Nevertheless, Amy proved she doesn't need me at all to whip up a fabulous Mexican feast.

Because we didn't plan very far ahead, Amy had to use the quick-soak method to soften the pinto beans, soaking them in boiling-hot water and allowing them to cool there until she needed them. The perpetual spinach came from Dan's garden, as did the lettuce and hot peppers.

The salsa was a brilliant act of reusing of leftovers, since when I made salsa last time I made a huge overabundance. A few tomatillos from Dan's garden added a little spice. Rachel and Tony brought back some avocados from their journey, which allowed us the all-to-rare treat that is guacamole. All in all, a delicious and filling meal.

Sloppy Yoshis, Brown Rice, Root Bake, Salad

Dinner 10/14 by Juan and Amy



• Sloppy Yoshis

• Brown Rice

• Root Bake

• Salad

Tonight Juan was inspired to make a variation on sloppy joes. But since his was made from soysage which is made from okara (soybean pulp leftover from tofu making), we thought a Japanese name was more fitting. It was basically the sloppy joe sauce recipe from The New Farm Cookbook but instead of TVP, he threw in chunks of soysage (also made from that cookbook). Somewhere along the way, the soysage all broke down and though no soysage was visible, the sauce was infused with soysage flavor.

The root bake was made up of onions, garlic, potatoes, turnips, okra and a big yellow sweet potato. All of the veggies were cut into big chunks except the garlic was left whole and the okra was just cut in half. Then it was all tossed with oil, salt, pepper and rosemary and put in the oven for a few hours at 400-some odd degrees. Hard to know since our oven dial doesn't match the temperature gauge inside and I never looked inside. :)

Tempeh Stirfry with Peanut Sauce, Brown Rice, Cupcakes with Chocolate-Cashew-Macadamia Icing

Dinner 10/13 by Brian



• Tempeh Stirfry with Peanut Sauce

• Brown Rice

• Cupcakes with Chocolate-Cashew-Macadamia Icing

Too stuffed with deliciousness to write much. Stirfry had onions, broccoli, red peppers. Pan-fried Sandhill tempeh mixed in. The sauce was Chinese Peanut Dressing from Nina Simond's "Asian Noodles". Served with brown rice, dinner was simple and satisfying.

The cupcakes were "vanilla" which usually means "with sorghum flavor". They had an icing made from cashew-macadamia nut butter, cocoa, maple syrup, vanilla and salt. He made enough for each person to have two -- one for tonight, one for tomorrow. They were so good, some of us couldn't help but eat both of them tonight!

Butternut Squash Soup, Pierogi, Sour Cream, Fried Onions, Salad

Dinner 10/10 by Amy and Juan



• Butternut Squash Soup

• Pierogi

• Sour Cream

• Fried Onions

• Salad

It's been a few days since my last entry. Monday was a "no cook" night because a few Bobolinkers are traveling, so there are nights were we end up fending for ourselves. Some people find it preferable to cooking for the co-op twice in one week. Then, Tuesday night was the Tri-Communities Potluck with Sandhill Farm and Red Earth Farms. Usually, I end up with a small serving of many things, most of which, I don't even know who made, so blogging about it would be a bit challenging. So, if you've noticed, that's why we don't usually post entries on Tuesdays.

So, be it that Bobolink is smaller this week, it seemed like a good opportunity to do something labor-intensive. First, I roasted some butternut squashes and made them into a soup very roughly based on this recipe. But instead of cumin, I went the sage, thyme, cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg route. I used an immersion blender to smooth it out which made cleanup much easier.

The pierogi were loosely based on this recipe, but we didn't have margarine (we rarely do), so I used oil. The dough ended up being rather flaky — perhaps if I had added sweetener, it would have made a good pie crust. Also, instead of kasha filling, I made a big bowl of mashed potatoes with salt, pepper and dill to use. After baking them, they were more like little potato puffs, but no one was complaining. I usually make them by boiling and frying them, so tomorrow for lunch I'll try making them that way.

We didn't have any tofu around, but pierogies aren't the same without tofu sour cream, right? So, I bit the bullet and made tofu from scratch using Sandhill's organic soybeans. We used the resultant block to make a big bowl of tofu sour cream. That plus a big pan of fried onions, made the pierogies a treat and I felt all the hard work was worth it.

Oh, and we had a very nice salad from the Ironweed garden. :)

Seitan Steaks, Baked Potato Bar, Assorted Goodies

Dinner 10/7 by Juan with help from Amy, Chris and Liberty



• Seitan Steaks

• Baked Potato Bar

• Assorted Goodies

Have you missed me? This past weekend was the 10th Anniversary of the purchase of Dancing Rabbit's land, so we had a big reunion inviting back anyone who ever lived or interned here. Quite a few people showed up including neighbors and friends! We had lots of yummy food, but it was all coordinated so the party could eat together, so I thought it would be a good time to take a few days off.

Now that most people have left, Bobolink is back in action! Juan made his usual seitan in steak form. We bought a boatload of potatoes from a neighboring organic farmer, so some of those got baked up. Toppings included, nut yeast cheez from The New Farm Cookbook, steamed broccoli from the garden, hickory bits from Joanne Stepaniak's "Vegan Vittles", fresh salsa (made with tomatoes and a hot pepper from the garden, onions, garlic, salt and vinegar) and some Earth Balance that was left over from the reunion food.

One of our guests, Chris, brought a few packages of treats for us. Tonight, we had a wheat-free chocolate brownie (which was surprisingly fantastic) and blueberry fig bars (which were as fantastic as I was hoping). Yay treats!

Tony's Yummy Pizza, Tahini Cookies

Dinner 10/4 by Tony and Molly



• Pizza with various delicious toppings

• Tahini Cookies

Tonight was pizza night — one of my favorite meals here. Toppings included soysage (that I made from okara that Dan had left over from when he made tofu), fried onions, black olives (from the seconds [aka dented and out-dated] food store in town), squickles, and red peppers from the garden.

The sauce was made fresh with tomatoes picked today from the Skyhouse garden. You can get Tony's recipe here.

Dessert was tahini cookies. I'm not sure if Tony used the recipe from "Simple Treats", but that's what they tasted like. :)