Fall Preparations, Part I

Step 1:: Move in with three cuddly cats {the top one's my buddy}



Step 2:: Finish up a new pair of socks

Step 3:: Start cooking {and remember that food is so hard to photograph}
Meal #1: Collards and such
For fun, here's the plan, in my plain jane, probably not correct use of cooking terms, but you get the idea ~
Saute 1 leek in olive oil until soft, but not browned. Add one carrot & one sweet potato, cooking at medium to low heat with a lid on to keep the steam in, but still not browning the leek. Add some water if necessary to keep things moist, but really not too wet, just not sticking to the bottom of the pan. I then added a spice mixture of equal parts juniper berries, whole cloves, coriander, cardamom, and dried rosemary that I ground together with a mortar and pestle.

After that mix cooked for a few minutes, I added the rinsed and coarsely chopped collards - with the water from rinsing still on them to help the steaming process.

Once the greens were steamed and the potatoes & carrots were soft, I served this over brown rice, topped with some herbed goat cheese. Thus the lovely picture you see above.



Meal #2: Bok Choy, Eggplant, and Tomatoes

Again, start off with a leek, softened, but not browned, in olive oil {there's a pattern}. Add the eggplant and chopped tomatoes. At this point, I generously salted everything and added two dashes of balsamic vinegar. Let this cook for a little while with the lid on, or off, depending upon your moisture levels. Once the eggplant is mostly done, add the bok choy {again, with some water to help the steaming process}. Once the bok choy was steamed, I added soy sauce {about two times the amount of vinegar}. Serve over rice, and smile.

Happy October!