Discouraged, Part II: Encouraged!

The cooking I've done since I got back from that fateful (fateful? A bit dramatic, but we'll go with it) trip to Philly has been encouraging, Au Naturale, and most importantly: delicious.  Yesterday I was commenting that I feel like I do nothing but clean up my kitchen over and over again.  I realized as I was saying it, though, that that is probably a good thing.  It means I'm cooking galore.  For this post I'm not going to list recipes, but if there is a dish below that you are interested in, please make a comment here and I will dedicate a post "post haste" to that recipe.  Now, come, follow me on a tour of some of my culinary delights throughout the week (all veggies below are organic wherever possible):

The Ultimate Au Naturale Dinner

Last Monday my boyfriend and I were apparently still high off the FamilyFarmed Expo buzz because we rocked an amazing yet simple 100% Au Naturale dinner.  What you see above is his homemade vegetable soup, quite possibly the tastiest veggie soup I've ever had (and I swear I'm not just saying that because the chef is my boyfriend).  Assorted veggies, broth, and quinoa seasoned to perfection.  For a little extra kick, mainly because we're slaves to spice, we threw in a few drops of the Co-op Sauce hot sauce he picked up at the expo-- the one made by the folks who run the West Side community garden. (Please patronize them, they do amazing things in the community.) Fantastico!  We served the soup with a side of our homemade wheat bread (batch #2) and homemade-- yes, homemade-- beer.  The beer is a bit cut off in the picture above: the better picture did not have a flash and couldn't do this spread justice.  (Dammit, Jim, I'm a blogger, not a photographer!)  But in terms of the meal: does it get any better?

Dilly Beans

While waiting for the above soup to heat up, the expo-buzzing bf worked on canning some dilly beans- otherwise known as marinated spicy green beans. Seriously, I should have skipped that session on canning and just watched him do this instead.  What you see above are jars filled with green beans, jalapenos, garlic, and dill (before they were filled with liquid and sealed).  Should they be a raving success, which I expect they will, I'll post the steps.

Spice-Rubbed Pork Chops

I picked up these flavorful pork chops from Black Earth Meats at my farmer's market.  Black Earth is a ranch up in Wisconsin that specializes in organic, free range beef and pork.  The rub is a combo sweet/spicy mix (the brown above is the brown sugar) with a side of tomatoes, spinach, and something else I can't think of right now, sauteed with just a touch of oil.  I also have Black Earth breakfast sausage in the freezer, just waiting for a lazy Sunday brunch.

Chicken & Chili Wraps

Not fancy at all, this is a light and refreshing wrap that is perfect for making extras, wrapping in foil, and bringing to work with you the next day (which is why you see this one sitting atop a foil bed).  Free range chicken, roasted chili pepper, avocado, spinach (of course you can use lettuce), and a dill mustard sauce leftover from a different recipe make up the inside of this wrap.  The wrap itself is actually a wheat berry tortilla, from Tiny Greens Farm in downstate Illinois, also sold at the farmer's market.  Literally made of nothing else but pressed wheat berries, these delicate tortillas pack a flavorful punch.  Their only fault is that they are a bit crumbly so it makes it hard to wrap the wrap tightly without it falling apart a bit.  Eh, I'll live.

Wasabi Pea-Encrusted Salmon Fillet with Miso Soup

For no particular reason, we decided to end the week with a Japanese meal-themed weekend. (While the Tsunami did not trigger the theme, we nevertheless raised our sake glasses to the health and safety of the fine people of Japan.)  Friday night's main course consisted of two things I would have never have thought to put together on my own: wasabi green peas and salmon.  Fear not, spice-adverse readers: while the peas were coarsely chopped and adhered to the top of the sustainable salmon fillet by gobs of wasabi paste, there was absolutely no spice in the dish whatsoever.  We were shocked.  I don't know if cooking wasabi somehow eliminates the spice factor or what. However, the texture combination of the crunchy peas with the flaky fish was fantastic.  We served it over a bed of sauteed purple cabbage and sugar snap peas.  Who's loving the color combo here, eh?  The meal was supplemented by organic miso broth with tofu and seaweed.  And, of course, a big bottle of sake.

Saturday night was make your own sushi night with striped bass, squid and halibut that we picked up from Dirk's Fish Market, the local sustainable fish monger.  While delicious, it once again became obvious why sushi chefs spend years apprenticing.  Our rolls were not so pretty and therefore did not warrant any photos.

Chicken with Dill Mustard Sauce

I saved this photo for last because the sauce in photograph form just looks nasty, even though it is quite tasty.  I should have spooned it on with an artistic squiggly line or something.  My apologies.  This is the same sauce used on the chicken & chili wraps above, and was actually originally from a different salmon dish.  But sour cream, all natural spicy mustard from Boetje's, a local Illinois purveyor (with some interesting sales stats- look at the homepage of his site), dill and lemon is an easy and refreshing sauce that works on so many things.  Think of it like a fancy tartar- and I'm not a tartar fan.  Here, I just did a simple grilled chicken atop sauteed heirloom tomatoes, spinach, and quinoa.

You may be noting that I didn't mention any of my breakfasts or lunches.  Because I can often be a creature of habit, for breakfast all week I stuck to my current favorite of rye bread, almond butter, and banana.  Lunch generally hops back and forth between a mixed salad with tofu and olive oil/vinegar dressing, and a roasted mediterranean veggie flatbread sandwich I discovered in the cafeteria and to which I have subsequently become addicted. Granted, I'm not entirely confident in the origins of the flatbread itself and the feta inside (as paranoia strikes again), but I'm sure I'll be sick of it soon and go back to just the salads.

I feel like I should be aiming for these kinds of meals on the road but most are complex (complex meaning multi-ingredient, not difficult) enough that I wouldn't trust them in packaged form. However, I know if I think simple, as in simple veggies, simple sauces, as little as possible out of a bag or box, I should be fine... remember, keep it simple, stupid.  And marching on I go.