Laird Peas, Grits, Root Bake, Cherry Tarts

Dinner 1/10 by Rachel



• Laird Peas

• Grits

• Root Bake

• Cherry Tarts

Finally, after a long break of traveling and small numbers, Bobolink has gotten the band back together. That's right, we're back and better than ever. Things you can look forward to seeing (thanks to the generous gifts of our friends and families) include recipes from Veganomicon and Love, Eric and Sanae. As well as our snazzy new pasta drying rack and cast iron bread baker! Life in Bobolink is pretty sweet. :)

Tonight, Rachel whipped up one of my favorite bean dishes. Laird Peas are the creation of our neighbor and friend, Laird from Sandhill Farm community. He is also the originator of Laird Balls (chickpea "meat"balls great with tomato sauce), but that's for another dinner. To make them, take cooked chickpeas and fry them in a little oil in a pan. Once they have a nice fried outside, spray them with some soy sauce and continue cooking them until the soy sauce caramelizes onto the chickpeas. Then, consume in deliciously (and potentially embarrassingly) large quantities. They may not sound like much, but they are always a crowd pleaser. Laird's a pretty nifty guy, so I encourage you to make a big bowl of Laird Peas and check out his blog at http://communityandconsensus.blogspot.com

I believe the grits were purchased at Zimmerman's, our local general store. It's not something that we stock all the time, so it was a nice treat. I put some Earth Balance (that was left over from cookie baking last month) on mine, but I saw other folks topping theirs with honey, too. The root bake included carrots, sweet potatoes, potatoes, onion, garlic, rosemary and salt.

The cherry tarts were made with cherries that were canned in 2006. Rachel made up a whole wheat crust with wheat from Sandhill Farm. Tart and tasty, these were a delicious end to the meal.