Opus2Cafe

Sunday, October 21, 2012

Orionid
tentative menu
10/22/12 thru 10/26/12
Mon.   Vegetarian Chili, French Canadian Split Pea Soup, Moroccan Carrot Salad, Hummus Wraps, Baked Cavatappi and Aged Cheddar Au Gratin, Chocolate Ganache Cake, Gluten Free Fudge Brownies
Tues.   Vegetarian Chili, Spanish Potato-Chard-Bean Soup, Tom's Bulgar SaladMenu change - due to time constraints, the bulgar salad will be switched with the marinated tomato salad today. Look for the bulgar salad on Thurs., Hummus Wraps, Garden Panini, Caramel Apple Cheesecake
Wed.    Vegetarian Chili, Curried Pumpkin Soup, Mixed Grain and Grapefruit Salad, Hummus Wraps, Quesadillas, Whoopie Pies
Thurs. Vegetarian Chili, Chinese Velvet Corn Soup, Za'atar Marinated Tomato Salad, Hummus Wraps, Calzones, Black Bottom Cupcakes
Fri.       Vegetarian Chili, Herbed Carrot Soup, Black Bean Salad. Hummus Wraps, Artichoke Heroes

Music Menu

Beyond Cool

The low down on this week's menu - As always, the menu is tentative. Produce deliveries, time constraints and mood swings all play a part. The beautiful chard we'll be chopping into the soup on Tuesday came from the Hamilton community farm. Quesadillas on Wednesday will probably be chipotle black bean, sweet potato if we have any, baby spinach and mixed cheeses. Our resident whoopie pie expert wants pumpkin-chocolate chip whoopie pies this week. The marinated tomato salad might be switched with Tuesday's bulgar salad, depending on time available for prep. Calzones could be marinated artichoke heart and asiago.

News from the dark side - from my official source - 'Opus goes intellectual on the weekends:

Red Weather lit mag hosted a "Play With Words" session in Opus 1 on Saturday afternoon... poems abounded! Next Sunday at 5pm in Opus 1 (yes, it'll be open!) WHCL presents Hamilton HUM live storytelling from students and community members.'
Last week's employee of the week was Nick. Nick can self direct.
Last week we shared one of our favorite recipes for Crumbobblious Cutlets.
Last week's plane of the week was the Mohawk River, between Canajoharie and The Noses.

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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, October 21, 2012

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