weekend menu

i'm no vegan, but it's sort of fun experimenting, concocting & coming up with new vegan main courses. this week's dish is a vegan lasagna. the tomato sauce is chock full o' stuff: onions, garlic, peppers, mushrooms, celery, carrots, zucchini, eggplant, olives, and tomatoes of course. it will be layered with noodles, and a tofu/ nutritional yeast/ swiss chard & kale mixture to replicate the spinach & cheese layer. 

assembly takes place today, but the components are done & i'm quite pleased thus far. perhaps i should become a vegan... yeah right ;)

small $8 large $16

i also made a fresh batch of chowder this week. this one is super hearty and loaded up with mussels, salmon, smoked & regular haddock, potatoes, celery, onions, leeks, celery root & dill. this batch turned out extra stick to your ribs - perfect for abominable days like today!

the wild rice salad has even more treats in it this week: pears, roasted pumpkin & butternut squash, walnuts, pecans, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, cranberries, sage, red onion & maple - i may have gotten a little carried away.

and the quinoa salad is courtesy of lynne. you may remember lynne from the summer - avid baker, food blogger, volunteer extraordinaire... well she's back for the long weekend and diligently chopped cucumbers, tomatoes, olives, artichokes, sundried tomatoes & roasted peppers for the salad yesterday. today it will be dressed with herbs, lemon & kicked up with handfuls of baby arugula.

her return also means there will be extra baked goods on my table this weekend. perhaps some lemon squares and an oreo/toffee/coconut/creamy/chocolatey slice of decadence... i'm also in the midst of battling with some peppermint meringues - baked meringues and humidity are not a match made in heaven. if i come out on top, i'll have these cute little gems tomorrow;

but no promises, i'm at the mercy of mother nature & this epic storm...

 and i guess it's been awhile since i posted a thorough list of freezer contents, so here goes:

lobster mac & cheese - leeks, tomatoes, panko, foxhill curds, parmesan bechamel

small $12.5 large $25

broccoli mac & cheese - leeks, garlic, foxhill curds, old growler, panko

small $8 large $16 (very few left!)

braised beef brisket - blue cheese polenta, kale, roasted shallots, mushrooms, beef demi

large $23

chicken, leek, broccoli, bacon pies - shani's farm, puff pastry lid, herbs, rich gravy

small $10 large $20

shepherd's pie - getaway beef, peas, corn, cheddar-green onion mashed potatoes

small $9 large $18

curried chicken & chickpeas - steamed basmati rice, coconut, cilantro, butternut squash

large $20

fish cakes & baked beans - salt cod, savoury, molasses, maple syrup

4 fish cakes & 500 ml beans $15

ps: i've had lots of questions about the fish cakes. so, when cooking:

- heat up 1cm vegetable oil in the pan

- panfry the fish cakes from frozen

- it should only take about 30 seconds to 1 minute per side until the panko is golden brown

- transfer to a cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 15 mins or until hot inside

- good luck

sausage & cheese curd baked penne - shani's farm italian sausages, caramelized onions, roasted red peppers, kale, parmesan marinara

small $7.5 large $15

there may also be one small vegan moroccan pumpkin stew with almond/sumac quinoa in the freezer at the market but i'm not 100% - i burned through that one pretty quick!

for soups there's:

seafood chowder

beef stew

thai chicken & rice

baked beans

vegan chili

curried butternut squash

pumpkin, ginger & cardamom

beet, parsnip & pear

roasted pepper, tomato & sweet potato

miso, mushroom, udon & choy

potato, leek, celery root & parsnip

cream of cauliflower

jeepers - i've got a lot of stuff! thanks to my new freezer at the market, i can produce to my heart's content! next week i'm already planning a bean extravaganza - new batch of chili, lentil/bean/veggie soup & a braised pork dish with a hearty bean ragout side... and maybe a vegan version too... oh & maybe my first batch of tourtieres to kick off the holiday season...

this week i've also escaped the kitchen a few times - dinner party of phad thai & homemade rice wraps, dinner @ the wooden monkey, and then dinner @ brooklyn warehouse last night. thus far everything has been fab & i'm kicking myself for not taking pictures so i could blog about it all. tomorrow should see a trip to obladee for cheese & charcuterie after the market so i'll try to be on top of it for that one.

hopefully the weather clears & everyone comes out to the market in droves this weekend - see you there!

saturday 7am-4pm

sunday 8am-4pm

under the stairs, behind the line up for le vendeenne :)