delish fish tacos

my family licked the plate of these delish fish tacos!
made with these flavorful potatoes.

Golash!

We all love this hearty stew from veganchef.com. It is a little work to peel the squash, but i have subbed out butternut (which is really smooth and easy to peel) and it tastes great.

2 cups onion, diced
2 t. olive oil
1 T. tomato paste
5 cups vegetable stock, divided
2 cups acorn or delicata squash, peeled, deseeded, and cut into 1-inch pieces
2 cups butternut squash, peeled, deseeded, and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 1/2 cups turnips, peeled, and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 1/2 cups carrot, cut in half lengthwise, and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 1/2 cups celery (including the green tops), cut into 1-inch pieces
1 1/2 T. ground cumin
2 t. paprika
1 t. salt
1/2 t. freshly ground black pepper
2 cups cabbage, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 1/2 cups zucchini, cut in half lengthwise, and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 - 15 oz. can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/3 cup freshly chopped Italian parsley
2 cups couscous
1/2 t. salt
2 T. freshly chopped dill

In a large pot, saute the onion in olive oil for 5 minutes or until soft. Add the tomato paste, stir well to coat the onions, and saute an additional minute to release its flavor. Add 2 cups vegetable stock, acorn squash, butternut, turnips, carrot, celery, cumin, paprika, salt, and pepper, and stir well to combine. Cover, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 20 minutes. Add the cabbage, zucchini, and chickpeas, stir well, cover, and simmer an additional 15 minutes or until the vegetables are tender. Add 3 T. chopped parsley, taste, and adjust seasonings as needed. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, place the remaining 3 cups vegetable stock, and bring to a boil. Add the couscous and salt, cover, remove from the heat, and set aside for 5 minutes. Fluff the couscous with a fork and stir in the remaining chopped parsley and chopped dill, and fluff lightly to incorporate. Serve individual servings in bowls and top with a sprinkle of additional ground cumin, if desired.

Serves 8-10

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

this soup's just home-cookin' at it's best! It IS our classic "sick soup" and that's how it got... fine-tuned, I guess, because we've made it quite a few times.

A four-pound(ish) whole chicken
3 quarts water
a few bay leaves
an onion
a few of the inner stalks of celery with leaves
some peppercorns

(this is loosely based on a Splendid Table recipe for stock)

Stick all of this in a giant pot and bring to a boil. Simmer for about ten minutes and then shut if off. Leave it in the pot with the lid on for an hour, and when you open it up the whole chicken should be done and silky (if not leave it with the lid on for another half an hour). Once it's cool enough to handle, de-bone the chicken and discard all the yucky bits. Break up the chicken. Strain the stock. Now you're ready to go.

Four (or so) whole carrots, sliced
Four (or so) stalks of celery, sliced
A giant onion, chopped
Four (or so) sprigs fresh thyme (I like a lot of this and would have liked to have doubled the amount in my soup from yesterday but ran out)
Sea salt
Pepper
Three cloves garlic, chopped

Saute all of this in a couple of tablespoons olive oil for about five minutes or so, until the veggies are tender but not browned. Add all the stock and bring to a boil. Simmer for about ten to fifteen minutes. Then you'll drop the noodles in. After you do this and simmer them for 12-15 minutes, you'll fold in all that chicken you made stock with and sprinkle a good handful or two of chopped fresh parsley. Salt and pepper to taste. Done!

The egg noodles are from a recipe from Marc's parents and they are (as you well know by now) TO DIE FOR...

3 eggs beat until fluffy, then mix in 1/3 c. milk and 1 t. salt
Add 2 cups flour (all-purpose is way yummier than whole wheat for this), use a wooden spoon and take your time. I hate this part!
Knead in 1/2 c. flour by hand (this also takes forever; Marc is super patient and amazing with any and all dough!)
Flour table or counter heavily; roll out putting a little flour on top and on rolling pin so it doesn't stick. Roll out to about 20' diameter (REALLY thin). Let sit for 10 or 15 minutes. Then we use a pizza cutter and cut the noodles thin and in half a few times (they really plump up). And there you go. Drop 'em in to boiling soup and turn down the heat to simmering. Delish!!

a simple meal

it used to be simple to think about what we were going to have for dinner. it isn't anymore. for me it is having two small children, for others it might be working long hours or crazy hours, or not being motivated.
we were inspired by some friends to start a supper club. there are many ways to do it, but here's how we do it:
four families, each one making a meal. the meal is split into containers for each family . on sundays at church, we exchange our meals.
sunday night we eagerly look at the feast we will be enjoying during the week.
bingo- four meals and the week has just begun!
our four families prefer to eat whole foods cooked from scratch, organic whenever possible. shelley prefers to eat gluten-free.
we don't want to short order cook for our children, and desire to expand their awareness of different foods and flavors.

the bewitching 4-o'clock hour is not quite so stressful - i know i have homemade chili in the fridge, and the kids can have a little more of my attention!
it is a beautiful thing to have the presence of friends at our table.

this is the place where our four families share the recipes we've made with one another and YOU!
Enjoy!