Opus2Cafe

Sunday, December 13, 2015

Winter?
tentative menu
12/14/15 thru 12/18/15

Mon. Vegetarian Chili, Cream of Tomato Basil Soup, Roasted Pumpkin Couscous Salad, Hummus Wraps, Quesadillas
Tues. Vegetarian Chili, Pumpkin Asiago Soup, Za'atar Marinated Tomato and Feta Salad, Hummus Wraps, Pesto Artichoke and Spinach Pizzettes
Wed. Vegetarian Chili, Caribbean Sweet Potato Soup, Peanut Noodles, Hummus Wraps, Spicy Cheese Stuffed Naan with Mango Basmati Rice Salad,
Thurs. Vegetarian Chili, Roasted Butternut Squash Soup, Green Salad, Hummus Wraps, Cheddar and Apple Panini
Fri. Vegetarian Chili, Friday's Special Vegetable Soup, Pesto Tortellini Salad, Hummus Wraps,

Music Menu

Requests

The low down on this weeks menu - it's an all request week here.

Sunday, December 6, 2015

Comfort and Joy
tentative menu
12/7/15 thru 12/11/15

Mon. Vegetarian Chili, Curried Pumpkin Soup, Moroccan Couscous Salad, Hummus Wraps, Baked Chevre and Fig Hero
Tues. Vegetarian Chili, West African Peanut Soup, Pesto Tortellini Salad, Hummus Wraps, Chimichangas
Wed. Vegetarian Chili, Masala Root Soup, Red and Green Salad, Hummus Wraps, Pear and Pepper Jack Panini
Thurs. Vegetarian Chili, Thai Coconut Curry Soup, Asian Quinoa Salad, Hummus Wraps
Fri. Vegetarian Chili, Moroccan Potato Bean Soup, Orzo Fattoush Salad, Hummus Wraps, Butternut Squash and Spinach Lasagna

Music Menu

Ho, Ho, Oh No

The low down on this weeks menu - requests honored every day this week. Thanks for making them, Ali, Claire & Co.

Sunday, November 29, 2015

If We Make It Through December
tentative menu
11/30/15 thru 12/4/15

Mon. Vegetarian Chili, Roasted Red Pepper and Smoked Gouda Soup, Peanut Noodles, Hummus Wraps, Spicy Cheese Stuffed Naan with Mango Basmati Rice Salad
Tues. Vegetarian Chili, Potato Cheddar Soup, Caesar Salads, Hummus Wraps, Artichoke Hero
Wed. Vegetarian Chili, Crimson Lentil Soup, Red and Green Salad, Hummus Wraps, Baked Chevre Caprese Hero
Thurs. Vegetarian Chili, Smoked Corn Chowder, Moroccan Couscous or French Lentil Salad, Hummus Wraps, Roasted Chickpea and Cauliflower Tostadas
Fri. Vegetarian Chili, Mushroom Barley Soup, Coconut Samosa Potato Salad, Hummus Wraps, Kale and Sweet Potato Panini

Music Menu
The Fabulous Thunderbirds

snow snakes on Iron Mountain

The low down on this weeks menu - Comfort.
Thursday will be a French Lentil Salad providing we have enough tiny french lentils in house.

Sunday, November 15, 2015

Hunting Season
tentative menu
11/16/15 thru 11/20/15

Mon. Vegetarian Chili, Broccoli and Cheddar Soup, Peanut Noodles, Hummus Wraps, Burritos / Chimichangas
Tues. Vegetarian Chili, Pumpkin Asiago Soup, Black Bean and Corn Salad, Hummus Wraps, Baked Chevre Caprese Hero
Wed. Vegetarian Chili, Southwestern Corn Chowder, A Green Salad, Hummus Wraps, Cheddar and Apple Panini
Thurs. Vegetarian Chili, Caribbean Sweet Potato Soup, Marinated Tomato and Feta Salad, Hummus Wraps, Pizzettes
Fri. Vegetarian Chili, Cream of Tomato Basil Soup, Hummus Wraps, Calzones

Music Menu

In the Crespuscular Air

nuclear smoke signals

The low down on this weeks menu - yes, there will be salads served on Friday this week. No idea what yet. Feel free to call us if you're curious and they don't make it to this post.

Sunday, November 8, 2015

Leonids
tentative menu
11/9/15 thru 11/13/15

Mon. Vegetarian Chili, Chipotle Tomato Vegetable Soup, Ginger Noodles, Hummus Wraps, Chevre and Fig Hero
Tues. Vegetarian Chili, West African Peanut Soup, Spicy Soba Noodle Salad, Hummus Wraps, Spicy Cheese Stuffed Naan with Mango Basmati Rice Salad
Wed. Vegetarian Chili, Portuguese Kale and Potato Soup, One of Our Green Salads, Hummus Wraps. Baked Cavatappi and Aged Cheddar
Thurs. Vegetarian Chili, Acorn Squash with Roasted Garlic Soup, Pesto Tortellini Salad, Hummus Wraps, Pear and Pepper Jack Panini
Fri. Vegetarian Chili, Thai Coconut Curry Soup with Rice Noodles, Caesar Salads, Hummus Wraps,

Music Menu

Call Me Al

The low down on this weeks menu - been batting 100 lately and why should that stop?

Sunday, November 1, 2015

The Rut
Tentative menu
11/2/15 thru 11/6/15

Mon. Vegetarian Chili, Roasted Red Pepper and Coconut Soup, Peanut Noodles, Hummus Wraps, Artichoke Hero
Tues. Vegetarian Chili, Masala Root Soup, Moroccan Couscous Salad, Hummus Wraps, Quesadillas
Wed. Vegetarian Chili, Moroccan Potato Bean Soup, A Green Salad, Hummus Wraps, Baked Chèvre Caprese Hero
Thurs. Vegetarian Chili, Onion Cheese Bisque, Raw Kale Salad with French Lentils and a Sweet Apricot Vinaigrette, Hummus Wraps, Quiche
Fri. Vegetarian Chili, Sweet Potato-Chipotle-Fresh Sage Soup, Andean Quinoa Salad, Hummus Wraps, Fajita Bowl

Music Menu

Love Songs of Course

The low down on this weeks menu - going with the simple, comfort type menu items this week, nothing the least bit exotic. Green salad will probably be Red and Green.

Sunday, October 25, 2015

Whistlin' Past The Graveyard
tentative menu
10/26/15 thru 10/30/15

Mon. Vegetarian Chili, French White Bean and Cabbage Soup, Pesto Tortellini Salad, Hummus Wraps, Spicy Cheese Stuffed Naan or Not Very Spicy Cheese Stuffed Naan with Mango Basmati Rice Salad
Tues. Vegetarian Chili, Chinese Velvet Corn Soup, Massaged Kale and Chickpea Salad, Hummus Wraps, Pear and Pepper Jack Panini
Wed. Vegetarian Chili, Sherried Carrot Soup, Some Sort of Green Salad, Hummus Wraps, Arugula Calzones
Thurs. Vegetarian Chili, Black Bean and Sweet Potato Soup, Spicy Cold Soba Salad, Hummus Wraps, Soft Tacos with Chipotle Lime Red Quinoa and Fire Roasted Vegetables
Fri. Vegetarian Chili, Madras Curried Tomato Soup, Asian Succotash Salad, Hummus Wraps, Panini

Music Menu

I Scare Myself

The low down on this weeks tentative menu - ok, to be honest, I wrote up this week's menu and left my notes somewhere, it's getting late, I can't find them and I can't really remember whatever it was I had in mind. It was a particularly tempting menu as I recall. This one is a guesstimate, and will certainly change if I ever find the original.

There has been some grumbling over the spiciness of the cheese stuffed naan lately (really). The vocal minority wins out, and we shall try to make some not so spicy cheese stuffed naans on Monday. I'll see how that goes.

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New Dish of the Week Profile -Acorn Squash with Roasted Garlic Soup - so o.k., this isn't very new to us here, but it hasn't been profiled yet. Do we have any curious cooks in the house? Both the squash and the garlic are roasted. The shallots and celery are sauteed. The spinach is tossed in raw. Dry sherry and whatever extra dribs and drabs of milk we have are added towards the end. Seasonings are exactly what you'd expect. Mom approved. nutritional info per 8 oz. serving, based on the assumption that I'm going to find mainly skim milk dribs and 1% drabs -cal. 197, fat - 8.7g, carbs - 27g, pro - 4.3g, choles. - 22mg, sodium - 135mg

Here's the Opus 2 recipe for clumping granola - melt 1/2 c butter, stir in 1/4 c honey and a splash of vanilla, set aside. In a large bowl, mix 4 c rolled oats with 1/2 c sunflower seeds and 2 cups almonds (whole or sliced). Toss butter/honey mix with oat mix. Add a bit of water if it seems too crumbly. Spread granola out on a parchment lined half sheet pan. Press firmly. Seriously. Cover with foil and bake at 250 degrees for about 70 minutes, or until you can smell the granola. Remove the foil and continue baking until desired shade of medium brown, anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes. Cool in pan, and when totally cool, break up into clumps. Mix in some dried cranberries or raisins. Some times we add wheat germ and/or pepitas,

Wild Grape Pie
We at O2 spent a pleasant day making a wild grape pie. Here's the recipe.
Harvest at least 2 pounds worth of wild grapes. Wash and dry them carefully. Measure out 6 cups worth, and gently peel them. Put the skins in a bowl, the pulp and seeds into a saucepan. This will take a couple of hours if you have help, but it'll be a fun couple of hours.
Bring the saucepan of pulp to a full, rolling boil, and boil vigorously for 5 minutes. Strain the seeds away from the pulp, discarding the seeds. Mix the pulp in with the skins, and between 1 and 3 tablespoons of tapioca. Place this mix of skins and rapidly thickening pulp into a refrigerator to chill for about 2 hours. While this is chilling, make a pie dough recipe of your choosing. We are fond of a basic pate brisee, heavy on the butter.
When the pie dough has relaxed sufficiently, roll it out and fit it into an 8 or 9 inch pie pan. Remove the grape filling from refrigeration, and stir into it about a cup's worth of sugar. Scrape this filling into the bottom crust, top with a full or latticed top crust. Bake as any fruit pie, making sure you have a pan underneath it in your oven. Enjoy cool.

O2 Onion Cheese Bisque.
really.
Cook up a big bunch of onions in butter over a low flame. When they are just starting to caramelize, stir in some flour. Cook off the raw flour taste, and add in milk. Lots of milk. We use an assortment of fat levels. Add in some grated cheese. We use an assortment of types. Stir, taste, season. Add in some vegetarian worcestershire sauce and dijon mustard. Partially puree with your wand of chaos.
nutritional facts based on 2% milk and medium sharp cheddar - calories for a 12 oz serving - 315.4, fat - 21.2 g, carbs - 19.1 g, protein - 13.5 g

Dear Charlotte [crispy];
Thank you for being such a loyal customer. I hope that this will help.
1. Acorn Squash, Roasted Garlic and Spinach Soup -
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cut 2 acorn squash in half, scoop seeds out. Roast squash, cut side down for about 45 minutes, until it feels tender. Roast 4 heads of garlic at the same time. In a pot, saute 2 onions in butter until starting to brown. Add 4 cups of water or vegetable broth and 2/3 c dry sherry. Add in the flesh from the squash and the roasted garlic. Puree. Add in 1 bunch of clean, chopped spinach. Heat and add salt, pepper, a little bit of fresh nutmeg, and 2/3 cup half and half or heavy cream.

2. Chinese Velvet Corn Soup
In a splash of oil, saute 4 cups of diced onions. Cook until caramelized, then add 6 cups of corn kernels and 8 cups of water. Cook a bit, then add 1 teaspoon of szechuan peppercorns, 2 teaspoons sesame oil, 1/2 cup dry sherry, 2 tablespoons rice vinegar, 4 teaspoons sugar, a good dollop of sambal oeleek, and some chopped chives. Remove about a third of the soup and with an immersion blender, coarsely puree what's left in the pot. Add the unpureed soup back. Dissolve 1/2 c of cornstarch in about 1/3 cup of cold water. Pour this into the hot - but not boiling- soup. Taste for and add salt.

3. Chipotle Sweet Potato and Fresh Sage
4. Masala Root Soup
5. Onion Cheese Bisque
6. Pumpkin and Black Bean Soup
7. Roasted Cauliflower Soup
8. Roasted Red Pepper and Coconut Soup
9. Sherried Carrot Soup
10. West African Peanut Soup.
Let me know if something really important to you is missing.

Pesky Wild Violet Invasion
It's that time of the year again, wild violets marring the new lawn. Spraying is so politically incorrect.
'Violets contain rutin, a phytochemical with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties that may help strengthen capillary walls'. Eat them.
Clean violets carefully. Dry thoroughly.
Beat a couple of egg whites, then strain into a small bowl.
Work with one violet at a time.
Using a clean paintbrush, paint egg white on all surfaces of the violet. Don't get excessive, egg shouldn't be dripping.
Immediately sprinkle superfine sugar over all coated surfaces.
Place violet on a wax paper covered wire rack to dry.
Repeat process.
Flowers are extremely perishable and should generally be served fresh. Candied flowers like these wild violets will last up to a year. Do not store in the refrigerator.
Today's important [p.c.] disclaimer here;
Introduce flowers slowly to your diet to avoid any potential upset or allergic reaction, especially important if you have allergies to pollen.
Next week - dandelion jelly.

Opus2Cafe

Sunday, December 13, 2015

Sunday, December 6, 2015

Sunday, November 29, 2015

Sunday, November 15, 2015

Sunday, November 8, 2015

Sunday, November 1, 2015

Sunday, October 25, 2015

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