The weather has turned cooler. Beautiful, crisp air with a loving sun shining down upon us. Perfect weather for taking a long hike in the surrounding hills or weeding out the tiny grasses popping up between the broccoli in the garden. The brassicas love this weather and I hope it will provide an abundant crop this year. Tonight it’s supposed to get below zero, so watering the plants is a good way to keep them from damage.
As a no-fuss gardener, I won’t trouble myself to cover the citrus trees. Hopefully, they will be fine with a night of cold. I’ve planted them in such a way as to give them protection, so I imagine all will be fine as in previous years.
Most of the leaves have fallen now and a lovely carpet of red greets me at the front door. Finally, I felt it was best to sweep them aside to avoid tracking too many into the house.
This weather turns my mind to baking and soups for supper. Orders for our holiday baking sales are slowly coming in and lots of time is spent enjoying the smell of freshly baked cookies in the kitchen. If you are interested in putting in a holiday order, send me a note and I’ll take your order directly. Please note our Ordering Policies at the end of this section.
Here’s what we have available:
Midnight Moons (Gluten-free cookies)…………………$9/dozen (Sweetened with molasses and honey) 
Tahini Moons (Gluten-free cookies)……………………….$8/dozen (Sweetened with brown rice and maple syrups)
Giant Chocolate Chip Cookies(1/2 pound)………….$5 each
Silky Chocolate Pie…………………………………………………….$14 each
Regular or Gluten-Free Vegan (Sweetened with brown rice and barley malt syrups)
Chocolate Fudge…………………………………………….$4 / ½lb. ……$8/1 lb.
Chocolate Fudge with Walnuts.………………….$5 / ½lb…….$10/1 lb.
Pure Vanilla Extracts:
Pure Mexican Vanilla – Grown in southern Mexico, Mexican vanilla is considered the highest quality. Its flavor is deep and sweet with a mild spice and is more subtle than the Madagascar. This vanilla is perfect in moderately flavored baked goods like chocolate chip cookies, carrot cake, banana bread or muffins. 2 oz. bottle $6, 4 oz. bottle $11
Pure Madagascar Vanilla – Often called Bourbon vanilla, the Madagascar vanilla is grown on the islands of Madagascar off the coast of Africa. This vanilla is earthy, sweet and richly flavored. We love this vanilla with chocolate everything – cookies, cakes, ice cream!
2 oz. bottle $5, 4 oz. bottle $9
Pure Tahitian Vanilla – This bean is lighter than the others with a fruity, floral flavor. Lovely drizzled over fresh fruit, added to yogurt, in lightly flavored baked goods like lemon bars, pie shells, dairy-free ice creams or sorbets. 2 oz. bottle $4, 4 oz. bottle $7
Organic Tahini – 16 oz. $7, 8 oz. $4
Ordering Policies: Order 5 – 7 days ahead of pickup date. Pickup on requested date with cash payment (we have change).
Always looking for a variety of flavors to enjoy at the end of the day results in experimenting regularly with new foods. This week alone I am serving Japanese, Thai and Indian style meals for dinner.
Last winter, this egg curry was a delicious way to cook fresh eggs for a simple winter meal. Japanese soups are also wonderfully warming and filled with nutrition. We like to add seaweed to a miso broth (Ofer has made a hearty red miso at home that is wonderful with little bits of soybean left in to bite into) for a simple addition to a quick meal.
Here’s a recipe from my cookbook that will definitely warm you up this season. This picture shows the different seaweeds in the soup. For a heartier flavor, use the red miso instead of white. Serve with some sushi for a complete meal.
Seaweed Soup
| 6 cups water | 1 sheet nori seaweed |
| 2” x 2” piece of kombu seaweed | ½ sheet dried laver seaweed |
| 2 small carrots, sliced | 1 onion, in pieces (not chopped) |
| 4 dried shiitake (black) mushrooms | 1-2 Tbsp. toasted sesame oil |
| 10 oz. firm silken tofu | white miso, 1 tsp. per bowl |
| 1 scallion, chopped (optional) |
1. Put sesame oil in large soup pot.
2. Saute onion and celery in oil over med-hi heat for 2-3 minutes.
3. Add carrots and saute for 2-3 minutes.
4. Add water and kombu, cut into small pieces.
5. Add mushrooms.
6. Cook for 20 minutes over low heat.
7. Remove the mushrooms, take off and discard the stems, slice into thin strips and return
to the soup.
8. Cut tofu into small squares and add to the soup.
9. Fold nori in half, three times and cut into strips with scissors into the soup pot.
10. Cut the laver into small pieces over the soup pot.
11. Cook over low heat for 15 minutes.
12. To serve, put miso in individual bowl. Ladle a little broth into bowl and mix in miso.
13. Fill bowl with soup. Add scallions if desired.
Feel free to add more vegetables to make it a one pot meal. Kabocha, a Japanese squash, would be a great addition. And Turnip greens, an often overlooked item, are delicious in soups.
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