Farmers Market today was rife with new surprises.
First i ran into my favorite white eggplants
The remnants of fig season…guavas
My favorite vendor with a huge array every week
Fresh ginger and even galangal
Kohlrabi
The nearby whole foods had dragonfruit
And my prizes were:
Sunchokes, zuchini blossoms, two kinds of white eggplant, potatoes, kohlrabi, chienese green onions, and baby butternut squash! Like super baby butternuts!
Im deep into projects with a short time horizon so wine simmered kraut with grilled sausage sounded like the trick for this saturday
I bought two each neuremberger brats, swiss brats, and smoked brats
Saurkraut
A riesling to drink
Yummy marzipan
And here goes the kraut:
One bottle of dry white wine, juniper berries, bay leaf, peppercorns, clove….and its off to simmer
And a potato and beet salad
Dinner for one tonight
Some quick fries:
A mozzarella grilled cheese (heels only)
Easy day with gluten free crust and a salad.. 
Its not frozen but i love this anyway
Leftovers from last night…tastes like a feta but texture like a jack
Added some olive oul, sherry vinegar, an acocado, olives (leftover from pizza) and some italian broad beans with penzeys greek seasoning (i love it!)
#pulsepledge 4 days in a row
Coincidence…i had a plan inspired by kevins closet cooking but the only gluten free soy chorizo is the wrong texture…i havent made pasta in a bit so i went that route…
First i gathered sauce ingredients:
Elephant garlic
Gluten free pasta
Some cheese..i love this brand… Feta tastes like feta but the texture is more like jack
Salad parts:
#pulsepledge
With a canned speed it up:-)
Last nights leftover rice gets a new cibe with shrimp and bamboo shoots…with a side of stir fried kale and chard 
It needed more singapore to stir fry the shrimp in
And a dash of one of my new favorite things
Stir fried greens with bankok spice and red pepper flakes…elephant garlic, ginger, leftover orange pepper, and some mushrooms…veggie broth too
The shrimp get goingbwith the bamboo shoots and singapore spice
Yes, my akbar sushi pieces came to visit again
#pulsepledge
while at the farmers market and out and about we found a few fun things to try or think about trying.
Root veggies are the spotlight at the farmers market this week 
I bought some pretty pink and blue potatoes…these are colored clear through so they lose their color less than those with just a colored skin
It’s been cold so the avocado su ply train is getting a bit week. 
Tiny iceberg lettuces!
Assorted cute little lettuces
And a Penzeys trip
My penzeys haul this week… The Turkish oregano was free (coupon)
Macaron for Jim at lemonade
Buffalo milk butter at whole foods
Cognac barrels! I already have the bourbon barrel version at home waiting to be savored
Needed to try my Singapore spice from penzeys so made a sort of Singapore noodle
And some tofu lettuce cups
new years day is usually about snacks and the inevitable greens, sauerkraut, and black eyed peas.
First is a beautiful pile of a new rendition of one of my favorite appetizers. Peppers stuffed with goat cheese, mint and cucumber. The original recipe was for peppadews. At Xmas I found jarred cherry peppers which were nice because of the subtle heat…and then for New Years I used jarred piquillos which were nice and gave a whole new flavor and texture (plus a wide stuffing space) 
The simmered sauerkraut hit the pan–this likes at least a three hour simmer and is even better with smoked pork or nice German sausages in the mix. A whole bottle of dry white wine goes in, a little sugar and salt, and juniper berries, a few cloves and a few peppercorns. A bay leaf. This year I added some fresh thyme and Rosemarie…all of the latter to be removed before serving
Deviled eggs! Using vlassic new spice dills and my grandmas spice blend in top of the usual suspects of mayo, mustard and celery seed
Leftover cheese hunks from the night before (ps..I like every Cheese that wicked river makes particularly the steakhouse)…chips and Suzuki crackers and a nice dip with an avocado mixed in (try this sometime…it adds a layer of creamy flavor without distracting form the dips other flavors)
Dinner is the summer kraut, simmered kale and mushrooms in broth, and some smoky black eyed peas.
I made this the same night I made the spice blend…quick easy weeknight dish.
Into the pot goes canned tomatoes (1 roasted and crushed and 1 chopped)…a can of limas and a can of cannelini .. Some low sodium chicken less chicken flavored broth and a touch of water and I let it simmer and reduce 
Omg…don’t talk about the lid of my pot–this is my favorite everyday pot and whatever…it gets a periodic scour otherwise just a quick wash
Anyway…make some wells, add the eggs…these happened to be from my friends hens in her own yard given to me the day they were laid
Cover them up and about 7/8 minutes later they are perfect
Pair with some gluten free focaccia from Palm Springs Thursday night street fair with an olive oil and balsamic dip
A quick salad with evoo and tarragon white balsamic
The vinegar is from Palm Springs too
I made this year as part of my Christmas gifts to family. This is a concoction that my great grandmother used to make and use mixed into the egg dip when she fried chicken. After all the chicken was ready to go, she would fry the egg dip for her grandchildren to eat while she cooked (and later, this great grandchild who spent hours in the kitchen cooking with her).
The color and taste will never be exact because decades have passed and things change…this batch was a giant purchase from Penzeys and she always used Spice Islands. The exact ingredients have been hotly debated but I have transcribed my version from one that she wrote—however I think she took some liberties….(this is the same woman who taught me to cook by measuring things by her hand/eyebal).
I don’t make fried chicken but I love this on fried eggs and in deviled eggs (I assume that’s the mental connection with eggs).
She used to make it and give it away freely but in today’s dollars from penzeys it ran me about 17.65 a jar to make.
Below you see another actual mise en place from me which is rare.
It’s equal parts of onion and garlic and thyme and cumin and marjoram and more for a total of thirteen ingredients. The mace and cloves need to be half portions though.
It all gets combined
Jarred in handy penzeys jars
And labelled!
I also dated the jars so it doesn’t get stale dated …however, after she died, I nursed my last jar for years and it still tastes like childhood:-)
Brian and Jim Eat 