Sunday, November 19, 2006

Delicata Squash, Rosemary Garlic Roasted Potatoes, Smoky Tempeh

An aunt from Connecticut arrived today for a week and a half or so visit. After picking her up from the airport and going for a hike, I got to work on dinner. I cut some small white potatoes into quarters and thirds, depending on size, and tossed with some olive oil, salt, freshly ground black pepper, and chopped rosemary needles from my garden. I baked the potatoes at 400° F for about a half hour till they just started to brown.

In the meantime, I cut some delicata squash into halves, removed the seeds, and baked them, cut side down on plates with a little water in them, for a little less time (I could have baked them at 350° or so). I prepared a sauce as well - I put into a bowl Earth Balance non-hydrogenated margarine, salt, paprika, and Volcano Lime Burst (water, organic lime juice, lemon oil), and put the bowl into the oven for a few minutes till the margarine melted. When the squash was soft, I served it with a generous coating of the sauce and some pomegranate kernels.

I also sauteed tempeh. When it was nearing completion and getting nicely browned, I added some red bell pepper for a few minutes, and put a few drops of hot sauce and Colgin Liquid Smoke on each piece of tempeh. Lemon sourdough boule, lightly toasted, and heirloom tomato rounded out the meal.

I was planning a nice dinner last night, but we went to a pottery festival a few hours away and it became fairly late, so we decided to eat out. We chose Queen of Sheba's Ethiopian Restaurant in Chapel Hill. We had a good dinner (and ran into a number of folks we know) of a mixed vegetarian platter and would have picked up a raffle prize for Thanksgiving but the owner had just mailed it. But the discovery I am so happy to have made is an appetizer that is like hummus but much more garlicky and creamier. It is made with chickpeas and lots of garlic; I don't know what makes it so creamy, but the waiter assured us it is vegan. We loved it! Though I love to cook, I'm starting to think that going out, even when we don't "have to", is also a joy.

6 Comments:

At Tue Nov 21, 05:48:00 PM EST, Blogger urban vegan said...

Nice autmun dinner.

 
At Wed Nov 22, 12:57:00 AM EST, Blogger Dilip said...

Thanks, urban vegan!

 
At Wed Nov 22, 10:14:00 AM EST, Blogger bazu said...

I have to agree with you, I love cooking, but eating out can be really enjoyable too. As long as it's not, you know, every night!

 
At Wed Nov 22, 02:54:00 PM EST, Anonymous Anonymous said...

love all the colors!

 
At Wed Nov 22, 02:57:00 PM EST, Anonymous Anonymous said...

i forgot wishing you a good weekend and thanksgiving day :)

 
At Wed Nov 22, 02:59:00 PM EST, Blogger Dilip said...

Like I tell my students, in interpersonal relationships looks don't (or shouldn't, anyway) count, but they do with food! Thanks for your kind comment. It was my aunt and wife who suggested adding the lovely pomegranate; we had to use it up within another day or so, anyway. What is the phrase - necessity is the mother of invention? Happy Thanksgiving (did you see details on the event I organize? we are expecting almost 400 people!)

 

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