How to Jazz up Tomorrow's Dinner with Today's Leftovers
Autumn Relish
Use leftover autumn vegetables on hand such as:
Sweet Potato - Baked or Roasted or Steamed
Winter Squash - Baked or Roasted or Steamed
Carrot - Chopped
Apple - Chopped & Cooked or Sauced
Fennel - Chopped or ribboned
Onion - minced or chopped
Roasted Nuts or Seeds such as cashews, almonds or pumpkin seed
If using onion, saute first. Make sure all your vegetables are cooked through; fennel or apple or carrot cooked just till there's still some bite to it;
Then assemble your ingredients & cook by warming thoroughly & mixing in the dried fruits & spices of choice. If you don't have apples, use fresh apple juice or cider or a touch of maple syrup or agave syrup to taste.
Some favorite spices of mine for this northeastern autumnal quick mix is star anise, anise seed, cinnamon stick, ground cloves, cardoman, powdered cinnamon, lemon peel. Not all of them at once of course. For instance, a combination like star anise & cinnamon stick would be sweet & spicy.
Use any of one of the following: dates, figs, prunes, raisins, goji berries, jujubes, cranberries, chestnuts, persimmons, etc etc as dried fruits to add to your relish.
If starting this recipe from scratch, chop up your vegetables into similar size pieces & steam until just barely tender. Or cook in a pot by first sauteeing onion & carrots in a little olive oil, then adding your roots or sweet potatoes, add hot water, raisins & chopped apples, cinnamon stick, several star anise & a dash of butter or ghee.
Bring to the boil, turn down & cook until tender. If you have fennel, saute separately until crisp tender & set aside. Add just before serving & mix into relish. Add fresh chopped herbs on hand or from garden, if there's anything surviving the cold, such as parsley, anise hyssop, lemon balm, sage or lavender.
Meanwhile: roast nuts, toast slowly in a pan over avery low flame until fragrant & lightly browned. Or preheat the oven to 225 and cook for 20-40 minutes depending on the size of the nut/seed you choose.
Just before serving add toasted nuts such as pumpkin seeds, walnuts, cashews, almonds or pine nuts. Sprinkle with a nice sea salt to taste.
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Jane Sherry, one of the Founders of Satya Center is a well known artist, Reiki practitioner/teacher, spiritual counselor, creator of healing art talismans, healing gardens & loves to cook! She has a background in the visual arts before moving into the healing arts and has been a longtime lover of herbs & spices & cooking. She currently resides in Winston Salem, North Carolina. She works the Satya Center healing practice with co-founder and husband, Curtis Lang and co-operates the Satya Center Crystal Gallery and web portal.