Opus2Cafe: February 2012

Sunday, February 26, 2012

Leap Year Limerick

(Look Below for Contest Rules)
tentative menu
week of 2/27 thru 3/2/12
Mon.     Vegetarian Chili, Pumpkin Asiago Soup, Moroccan Couscous Salad, Hummus Wraps, Spinach and Feta Quiche, Crazy Good Cayuga Mud Cake
Tues.    Vegetarian Chili, Aiigo Bouido [Portuguese Garlic and Potato Soup], Jicama Carrot Slaw with Lime Vinaigrette, Hummus Wraps, Artichoke Hero, Salted Fudge Brownies
Wed.    Vegetarian Chili, Curried Broccoli Soup, Orzo Fattoush Salad, Hummus Wraps, Avocado Hero, Chocolate Cheesecake
Thurs.    Vegetarian Chili, Cuban Garbanzo Bean Soup, Brown Rice Salad, Hummus Wraps, Caprese Calzones, Black Bottom Cupcakes
Fri.        Vegetarian Chili, Sherried Carrot Soup, Za'atar Marinated Tomato Salad, Hummus Wraps, Chipotle Black Bean and Sweet Potato Quesadilla

Music Menu

Jazz it up, Walk Between The Raindrops in the Crepuscular Air and Moondance.

A heads up on this weeks menu -

The big question this week will be how soon until the avocados ripen? I'm hoping that they'll be usable on Wednesday. If by chance that isn't the case, avocado heroes may be switched out. Wait and see.
Unedited News from the dark side - "...Official Sources " the dark side closed the light side! woo! [sic]"
Unofficial sources however, claim the light side never closes. 'Look deep into your heart, grasshopper'
Last week we profiled the French Lentil Salad.
Last week's personality of the week was Nick

Sunday, February 19, 2012

New Moon Sitting in the Lap of the Old
tentative menu
week of 2/20/12 thru 2/24/12
Mon.    Vegetarian Chili, Chipotle Tomato Soup, Black Bean and Corn Salad, Hummus Wraps, Baked Cavatappi and Aged Cheddar Au Gratin, Walnut Brownies
Tues.    Vegetarian Chili, Roasted Cauliflower Soup, Mixed Grain and Grapefruit Salad, Hummus Wraps, Cheddar and Red Onion Pickle Panini, Crazy Good Cayuga Mud Cake
Wed.    Vegetarian Chili, West African Peanut Soup, Pesto Tortellini, Hummus Wraps, Chevre Baguette, Caramel Apple Cheesecake
2/22/12 Menu change alert - due to an error in our produce delivery on Wednesday, there will be no wasabi soba salad on Thursday. Some lovely basil did come in though, so that will be on the pizzettes.
Thurs. Vegetarian Chili, Chinese Velvet Corn Soup, Wasabi Soba Salad, Hummus Wraps, Pizzettes, Apple Cake
Fri.      Vegetarian Chili, Crimson Lentil Soup, Jicama and Grape Salad, Hummus Wraps, Greek Wrap with White Bean Hummus

Music Menu
Music from Jamaica, Minnesota, Detroit, Upland, The Spanish Moon and Duck Kee Market

The low down on this week's menu -
Monday's walnut brownies are by Frankie.
Tuesday's grapefruit will be artfully supremed by Eunice.
Wednesday's caramel sauce is a new skill perfected - so soon - by Ian.
Wednesday's Chevre Baguette - hunk of baguette filled with a chevre-pesto spread and a chop salad of artichoke hearts, tomatoes, peppers, red onions and pepperoncini - was requested by Nick.
Thursday's Apple Cake was requested by former personality of the week, Annie.
I'm hoping to have enough extra chives from the Chinese Velvet Corn Soup to make cheddar chive scones.
News from the dark side - Official sources are being coy again this week.
Last week we profiled the O2 vegetarian Chili.
Last week's literary references were form Edward Lear, Malcolm Lawry, and Andrew Marvel.

Sunday, February 12, 2012

No se puede vivir sin amar
Malcolm Lowry, Under The Volcano

tentative menu
week of 2/13/12 thru 2/ 17/12
Mon. Vegetarian Chili, Spicy White Bean and Sweet Potato Soup, Caesar Salads, Hummus Wraps, Cheddar and Apple Panini, Chocolate Cheesecake
Tues.     Vegetarian Chili, Gingered Butternut Soup, Dragon Noodles, Hummus Wraps, Barbecued Tempeh with Cornbread - Coleslaw-and Beans, Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge Brownies
Wed.     Vegetarian Chili, Roasted Red Pepper and Coconut Soup, Mediterranean Corn Salad, Hummus Wraps, Antipasto Hero, Volcano Brownies
Thurs.   Vegetarian Chili, Pumpkin and Black Bean Soup, Greek Salad, Hummus Wraps, Blue Moon on a Bagel, Mint Chocolate Brownies
Fri.       Vegetarian Chili, Cuban Red Bean Soup, Edamame Salad, Hummus Wraps, 5 Spice Tofu Wrap with Thai Peanut Sauce and Asian Vegetables

Music Menu

I can't wait 'til we take our blood tests,
Oh, baby, let's take our blood tests now!

A head's up on this week's tentative menu -

On the off chance that I have an extra couple of hours Wednesday morning, the Antipasto Hero will become an Artichoke Calzone. Things are looking pretty good for the menu this week, the only real wrench could be produce delivery times.

News from the dark side - Official sources declined to share any news with us this week. Unofficial sources, though, claim Disco is not dead.

Last week's personality of the week was Daniel.

Why?

engage him in witty repartee and see for yourself

Last week we profiled our Hummus Wrap.
Last week's psychedelic clown of the week was Hugh Romney - Wavy Gravy. Still going strong.
Happy Birthday, Kristen.

Sunday, February 5, 2012

Fab Urury

tentative menu
week of 2/06/12 thru 2/10/12
Mon.    Vegetarian Chili, Mushroom Barley Soup, Pesto Tortellini, Hummus Wraps, Chipotle Black Bean and Sweet Potato Quesadillas, Chocolate and Peanut Butter Marble Brownies
Tues.    Vegetarian Chili, White Bean and Cabbage Soup, Peanut Noodles, Hummus Wraps, Chile Relleno Torta, Black Bottom Cupcakes
Wed.    Vegetarian Chili, Masala Root Soup, Wasabi Coleslaw, Hummus Wraps, Avocado Hero, Snickerdoodle Blondies
Thurs. Vegetarian Chili, Balsamic Butternut Soup, French Lentil Salad, Hummus Wraps, Swiss Melt, Pumpkin Whoopie Pies
Fri.      Vegetarian Chili, Southwestern Corn and Potato Chowder, Artichoke and Bulgar Salad, Hummus Wraps, Chevre and Fig Hero

Music Menu

Requests . . . just kidding

The low down on this week's tentative menu -

The biggest question mark in this week's menu is the Avocado Heroes planned for Wednesday. Will the avocados be ripe by then? Stay tuned. I'm also hoping that our expected delivery on Thursday will include dried figs. If the figs don't arrive, Friday's anticipated chevre and fig will change.
News from the Dark Side - Check out the aprons. Decide for yourself.

Last week's personality was Annie.

Why?

she goes above and beyond the minimum when she trains. Not only the what, but the why.
an O2 Rock of Gibraltar, an oasis in a sea of chaos. a tranquil stream in our consciousness. Have you ever seen Annie frazzled?
parsley chopping skills - extraordinary

Last week we profiled our O2 cornbread.
Last week's old dead white guy of the week was Kurt Vonnegut.

We miss you, Corinne.

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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, February 26, 2012

Sunday, February 19, 2012

Sunday, February 12, 2012

Sunday, February 5, 2012

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