Moroccan Spiced Lentil Vegetable Soup/Khobz

All I can think about is lentils. I love lentils partially because they are so versatile, but mostly because they are so delicious with their faintly peppery bite. This week the flavors shall be Moroccan and the only version will be vegetarian. I plan on loading it up with the tastiest aromatics and vegetables, plus a hint of tomatoes. A finishing touch will be the flavors of ras el hanout, a traditional Moroccan spice blend of cumin, ginger, black pepper, cinnamon and more. It's going to be great, I promise!

To accompany the soup, I'm baking loaves of Moroccan bread, called khobz. Almost a cross between a flat bread and a round loaf, there will be plenty of crust to soak up every bit of soup!

Prices as follows:
 

1 quart/$8     2 quarts/$15      3 quarts/$22     4 quarts/$28

Loaves: $3/each

(Payment via cash, check, credit, or Paypal)

I'm taking orders till mid-afternoon on Wednesday. Orders taken via emails, text messages, carrier pigeon, smoke signals, etc. Pickup will be Friday evening and Saturday. Delivery available for an additional $2 to City and inner ring suburbs locations.

Tiny Montgomery Kitchen returns! Portuguese Caldo Verde and Broa Loaves!

Hello TMK friends!

It has been much too long since I've made a giant pot of soup for you. I think the weather this week merits something nice, hearty, and warming so I've settled on a Portuguese dish called Caldo Verde or Green Soup, so named because of the abundance of healthy greens like kale and collard greens. The soup itself is fairly simple, full of creamy potatoes, greens, garlic, and homemade linguica sausage (if you choose the meaty option), a slightly spicy and smoky pork sausage with lots of garlic, paprika, and red wine. A bit of appropriately seasoned tempeh will add some heft to the vegetarian version. 

To accompany this Portuguese dish, I've chosen a bread popular in that region too, called Broa. It's a cornbread/yeast bread hybrid with a crusty exterior, perfect for soaking up soup juices!

Prices as follows (you can mix and match meaty/veg): 

1 quart/$8     2 quarts/$15      3 quarts/$22     4 quarts/$28

I am taking orders until Wednesday afternoon! Please share with anyone you think might be interested! To order, email me: cattmkitchen@gmail.com or clp772@gmail.com. You can also message me on Facebook or you can text me if you have my number! This season I do need to add a $2 delivery fee per order (and the delivery area of inner ring suburbs/inside I-170 still stands). Of course, pickup is available as well. Delivery/pickup will start Friday evening and continue on Saturday this week.

White Chicken Chili/White Not-Chicken Chili

Who wants chili? We seem to have another week of less than lovely weather coming up with cold temperatures and possibilities of snow. I think that forecast calls for chili and this week I'm going to try something new with some of the familiar flavors of regular chili with a bit of a different, brothier spin.

This week it's White Chicken Chili made with rich, homemade chicken broth, plump, white, great northern beans, different types of green chiles, herbs and spices, and lots of chicken. This is going to be really good, I just know it!

For the vegetarians, I will make a version of the white chili using a veg "chicken" product and vegetable broth; it shall be equally delicious!

I think that small round loaves of bread made of white, whole wheat, and cornmeal are the perfect accompaniment for $3 each!

Soup is priced as follows:

1 quart/$8   2 quarts/$15   3 quarts/$22     4 quarts/$28

To order, please email me at clp772@gmail.com or cattmkitchen@gmail.com. I will take orders until Wednesday evening, with deliveries/pickups starting Friday and continuing Saturday (if it's available earlier than Friday, I will let customers know!) Delivery is available to City residents and the inner ring suburbs (no further than 170 to the west). 

I can't wait to make this chili!

Ratatouille Stew and Baguettes

This week I am craving the flavors of the south of France so I hope you are too! To satisfy that craving, I'm cooking up my take on the classic French ratatouille. Rather than a baked casserole, I will transfer all those flavors into a thick, savory vegan stew. Traditional ratatouille combines eggplant, zucchini, onions, garlic, peppers, and tomatoes, along with the wonderfully fragrant herbs de Provence; my stew will have all that and more! 

To accompany the ratatouille, I'm baking crusty baguettes this week!

Serving suggestion: To make the ratatouille into a side dish, you could serve it over a bit of brown rice or couscous with a nice piece of roasted or poached fish!

Soup:

1 quart/$8    2 quarts/$15      3 quarts/$21     4 quarts/$28

Bread:

$3/loaf

As usual, I accept cash, check, Paypal or Visa/Mastercard/etc. Delivery available as far as inner ring suburbs (Webster, U City, inside 170), and you can always arrange pick up here in South City. I'm aiming to have the ratatouille done and available for delivery/pickup by Friday afternoon. Email me to order: clp772@gmail.com or cattmkitchen@gmail.com.

Thank you!

Vegetable Soup with Quinoa, Beer Bread with Herbs!

I don't know why I'm so indecisive lately, but I'm finding it harder and harder to make up my mind about which soup to make each week. I just want to pick the perfect one, I guess. At any rate, this week I think the perfect soup is Vegetable with Quinoa, Beefy or Vegetarian.

Vegetable soup is one of my favorite things as I have so many ingredients to choose from depending on what looks good at the market. Suffice it to say both versions will be chock full of vitamin rich vegetables of all colors from red cabbage to yellow squash to green peas. A hint of tomato in the broth will add a nice acidity and the quinoa will make each bowl satisfying and full of protein.

I'm loving the idea of an herb-y beer bread little loaves this week. Remember, it may be warm today, but it's going to be soup weather again in a matter of HOURS! Be prepared!

Soup:

1 quart/$8    2 quarts/$15      3 quarts/$21     4 quarts/$28

Bread:

$2.50/loaf

As usual, I accept cash, check, Paypal or Visa/Mastercard/etc. Delivery available as far as inner ring suburbs (Webster, U City, inside 170), and you can always arrange pick up here in South City. I hope to have soup done by Thursday and will need all deliveries/pick ups made by Friday afternoon/evening please! Email me to order (please specify beef or vegetarian): clp772@gmail.com, cattmkitchen@gmail.com.

Thank you!

Black Bean and Sweet Potato/Split Pea with Ham/Madeleines

This week I will bring back the Black Bean and Sweet Potato  stew I made earlier this season. I plan on loading it full of vegetables including carrots, celery, onions, garlic (lots of garlic!), a variety of peppers, a splash of tomatoes, and for a bit of sweetness as a counterpoint to the savory spice, bite-sized chunks of sweet potatoes. I want to keep it vegetarian, so I will add homemade soy chorizo to round out the flavors. This is a hearty and filling bowl that you can eat as is; but if you want, it would be delicious served over your favorite grain like brown rice, quinoa, or couscous.

The second soup this week is Split Pea with Ham and Barley. You'll get the creamy pea soup along with barley and a bit of potato for heartiness. Carrots, celery, onions, plus herbs and spices round out the rich flavor, along with smoky salty ham.

Both of these soups freeze well!

My sweet tooth is a bit out of control so all I can think of is a dessert this week. And mini-madeleines it shall be! Dark chocolate or white chocolate dipped if you so desire, plain if you don't! FYI, madeleines are a buttery French cake-like cookie with a hint of lemon baked in a shell-shaped mold (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madeleine_(cake) ).

Soup
1 quart/$8     2 quarts/$15     3 quarts/$22     4 quarts/$28

Cookies
$5/doz (I can mix and match plain and choco dipped!)

Since I'm starting a bit late this week, I have shorter turnaround time. Please get your order to me by 10:00 a.m. on Thursday. Pick up/delivery should be by Friday afternoon and into the weekend. As always, I accept cash, check, credit, and Paypal. Please email your orders to: cattmkitchen@gmail.com or clp772@gmail.com. You can also message me on Facebook!

Italian Wedding and Vegetarian Curried Lentil

Hello and happy January!

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season! Who's ready for soup? I know I am!

This week I am finally going to make Italian Wedding Soup. This rich, brothy soup features vitamin-packed spinach, little meatballs made of a combo of spicy sausage and turkey (to keep it a bit leaner), and a small pasta for body and extra goodness. I'm getting hungry just thinking about it!

For the vegetarians this week it shall be a spicy, thick Curried Lentil. I will combine a few different varieties of lentils (red, brown, and French!) for fantastic texture and superior flavor, plus add assorted vegetables, and gorgeous Indian spices for a low-fat, vitamin-packed soup that will stick to your ribs and keep you warm and cozy.

I have a lovely Christmas tree-shaped rosemary topiary that's just dying to be plucked and used to top small (approx. 1lb.) ciabatta loaves.

I've had too long of a break; I'm ready to cook! Who wants soup?

The facts:

Soup:

1 quart/$8     2 quarts/$15      3 quarts/$22     4 quarts/$28

Loaves:

$3/each

To order, email me: cattmkitchen@gmail.com or clp772@gmail.com. Delivery/pickup will be towards the end of the week, before the weekend if possible. You can also message me on Facebook or you can text me if you have my number! I'm aiming for Friday/Saturday delivery and pick up!

CHILI - Two Ways!

The word is cold weather is finally coming. It didn't really happen this past week, but there are murmurs of snow flurries on Thursday. Not that I really need an excuse, but colder weather makes me think of chili! I love chili, particularly Midwestern chili, full of beans and tomatoes. I know some Texans get all heated up when they hear of their beloved dish being perverted by any vegetable/legume other than peppers, but this isn't Texas, and I like our chili just the way we do it.

My chili is meaty (featuring a combination of ground beef and ground turkey), full of beans, in a tomato-y base. Of course, there are onions and garlic galore, sweet and hot peppers, lots of warm spices like cumin, cayenne, and coriander, plus my own secret ingredients (if I tell you, then you wouldn't need me, would you?). Because I care about my vegetarian friends, I shall also be making a batch of meatless chili, with essentially the same ingredients, switching out the meat for a soy-based product, and the addition of some extra vegetables.

Unfortunately, my baking schedule is a bit busy, so there will only be chili this week! Fresh bread after the holidays, I promise!

You know the drill:

Chili is priced as follows (you can mix and match meaty and vegetarian!): 

1 quart/$8     2 quarts/$15      3 quarts/$22     4 quarts/$28

To order, email me: cattmkitchen@gmail.com or clp772@gmail.com. Delivery/pickup will be towards the end of the week, before the weekend if possible. You can also message me on Facebook or you can text me if you have my number!