What to do with your Farmer's Market Goods!

COOK! I have spent the past few days at home with yet another sinus infection. But this time I had a fridge full of goodies from the farmer's market to keep me busy. Too bad you have to avoid company when you are sick... but no big deal, I still ate well. Here are a few photos of my creations...

 Veggie Soup

 

Look at all those fresh farmer's market veggies...

This was a super tasty soup. I made it on Saturday night when I was beginning to feel sick. The warmth of the broth and the Vitamin C in the veggies were a bonus on a cold rainy night!

I enjoyed this soup with an open faced ham and smoked cheese melt, oh and a chunk of Fall Czech bread.

Spaghetti Bolognese w/Whole Wheat Noodles

On Monday, I was craving pasta with a preference to a favorite meaty sauce!

 I used my basil and tomatoes from the Farmer's Market, 2 cloves of garlic and a pat or two of butter to make this fragrant and fresh base for my Bolognese sauce...

 The smell was intoxicating with basil, butter and garlic...

 Add a carton of tomato sauce and the mixture was ready for the simmering...

 Yum! Thick, meaty, perfectly spiced Bolognese Sauce!

Add a side salad with cucumber and fresh mozzarella and dinner is served!

 BAKING with CZECH ingredients! (Attempt #1)

 So far while living in Prague, I have not experimented with my love of baking... too many Czech words to translate and then hunt for in the market. BUT feeling the need to try an conquer something new, I decided to make muffins. 

 Zucchini-Cranberry Spice Muffins to be exact... but it wasn't until I arrived home from TESCO that I remembered I don't actually have a muffin pan. This is one of those moments you wish you knew your neighbors, right! Instead I searched the internet for a recipe to make a cake with the same ingredients...

And it turned out excellent! My German made oven is a rockstar when it comes to baking... 

and doesn't it look even better baked all pretty inside my Polish Pottery!

Butternut Squash- SOUP!

 Butternut Squash is a coveted find in Praha. It is very seasonal, and one is very lucky to stumble upon it. But I happened to do just this, stumble upon, my squash last Friday at a local BIO potraviny. So I bought one- my friend Lynne did also, and then I told Anne about my find and she went for one the next morning... like I said, coveted!

and then I turned mine it into a savory soup... with a hint of Nutmeg!

Complimented by a fresh ear of corn from the Farmer's Market and paired with a green salad and a roll for dipping, it was the perfect "stay-warm and get healthy" meal on a cold Tuesday evening.

Stuffed Eggplant with Basil and Cheese

 This was the first time I made this delicious meal. I halved an eggplant (or aubergine as the Brits say), scooped out the middles then chopped the middles up and sauteed in olive oil with onion and mushrooms. I then mixed this yumminess with the left over Bolognese sauce from Monday night and stuffed each half of the eggplant. Topped with slices of Mild English Chedder (a special find at TESCO) as well as strips of fresh Parmesan (Parmesano Reggiano to be exact), sprinkled with basil and then baked for 20 minutes.

Perfection- really! I never used to eat eggplant- except in Thai food because I didn't care for the texture... but then I gave it a whirl a few times and it changed my palate!

So, that is how you can spend time when you are sick... cooking comfort food. Like I said in last week's blog... whether you enjoy jumping in the leaves, picking the first pumpkins, or cooking with seasonal foods, I hope you too are enjoying the beginning of Autumn... and stay healthy!

Cau Cau- Nikki