Holiday Recap & DKM Nosh 8-January-2007

I spent hours hunting the enemy!

This stuff, called eggnog, is the elixir of gods!

Grammy introduced me to scallops - They are SUPER yummy!

I helped wrap gifts

And most important - got ear rubs from Popi!

DKM Nosh

Cooking this week from New Vegetarian Food - I made a commitment to myself to cook a week from every cookbook I have before purchasing a new one… sadly, I have 54 cookbooks.  No new books for me this year.

Tomato and Bread Soup

Olive Oil (I used basil & garlic oil)
1 Tbsp chopped sage (I used double)
8 Tbsp chopped basil (I used double)
2 onions, chopped finely (I used two large shallots)
1 ¼ cups finely diced celery (I left mine at a chunky dice)
2 cups thinly sliced Savoy cabbage (I used Lacinato Blue Kale – AKA Dino Kale – from my CSA)
Salt and pepper (I also added a dash of red pepper flakes – Jess, add two dashes)
4 cloves of garlic, sliced very thinly (I used 6)
3 lbs. canned copped tomatoes (I used fresh)
2 ½ Tbsp. tomato paste
3 cups veggie stock
6 oz. of day old bread, cut into 1-inch cubes

I changed the ingredients because I’m trying to use up items from the pantry and ensure I’m using everything from my CSA box. I’m altering the cooking instructions a bit – I’ll put the original in parenthesis.

- Sautée onions in a combo of basil & garlic oil until soft (heat oil, add all of the sage and half of the basil and gently fry for 1 min to flavor the oil. Add onions and fry for 7 min until soft).
- Add the celery, garlic, kale, half the sage and half the basil. Season with salt, red pepper flakes and black pepper to taste. (original recipe did not add sage & basil)

- Stir in tomato paste, tomatoes and stock. Bring to a boil, then cover, and simmer gently for 1 ½ to 2 hours, topping off with extra stock if needed (or if you want a thinner consistency).

- Place the bread on a baking sheet, and toast in the oven at 300 for 5 min, turn over half way through. Once toasted toss in the soup with the rest of the basil and sage, stir to cover the bread. (Put the bread in a saucepan. Drizzle with olive oil and allow it to soak in – I didn’t do this because I don’t need any extra oil in my diet – pour soup over the bread. Reheat and gently stir in the remaining basil)

Serve with a big salad and top with grated Parmesan Reggiano (regular or vegan). Enjoy.