Comfort Food

One of the first things I did when I got home was to start several kinds of sprouts. Soaking beans overnight is, if you think about it, just a prelude to sprouting. I often sprout beans for a few days even if I plan to cook them. Once they have just sprouted (usually after two+three days), cooking time to tender is only 10-15 minutes. I had some sprouted chickpeas, a couple of potatoes in cold storage (aka the vegetable bin in my refrigerator). Today was the first day I was really able to get into the garden since my return. In addition to carrots, I was able to pull a substantial quantity of various greens: kale, chard, curly endive.

The stew: saute in olive oil (or a mix of olive oil and butter), minced onion and garlic, diced celery and carrot until translucent. Add to pot peeled and cubed potato and sprouted chickpeas (if using only soaked chickpeas, cooking time will be 3-4 times as long; or you could use already cooked chickpeas) and stir to coat with cooking oil. Add a couple of dried hot chilis (optional) and some sprigs of rosemary and oregano (fresh is best). Cover with vegetable stock or water and cook until chickpeas and vegetables are tender. In a pressure cooker this took about 10 minutes. Chop whatever fresh greens you have on hand (anything, but collards; if all you have are collards, kidney or pinto beans would work better than chickpeas). Add the greens just before serving and cook only long enough to wilt greens. Season with salt and black pepper to taste. I used rind from a spanish rosemary-crusted goat cheese when cooking. This would be optional, but if you want just a hint of cheese flavor, cooking with the rind of a hard cheese is very nice.

Ah, it is good to be home.

Peace and light, E — Posted with WordPress for BlackBerry.