The diners started with “Grandma’s Buttermilk Dinner Rolls with Coconut Olive Butter,” which sounds quaint and simple but these rolls were buttery and fluffy with black sesame seeds and a mix of black and flake white salt. Nothing like my grandma’s dinner rolls aka dinner bricks. Crepeau also made her own butter for this dish and from what I remember about butter, hers is better by a long shot.

The second course I looked forward to the most since as a Canadian gal, I have never had a true hush puppy. The diners received three jalapeno-dotted hush puppies on a grey slate tile and served with a bright green goddess dressing. The hush puppies were golden and crispy on the outside and revealed a tender doughy inside that had the right amount of freshness and spice from the jalapenos. The green goddess sauce was a perfect balance of cilantro, acid and spice. My plate was scraped clean.

The third course looked almost too pretty to eat and Crepeau’s artistic eye really came out in the plating of this dish. Savoury and perfectly seasoned miso braised yellow squash atop of a bed of grilled corn succotash and dotted with meaty Christmas Lima, creamy Scarlett runner beans and juicy cherry tomatoes. The dish was topped with crispy popped sorghum grains, red micro-greens and a sweet citrusy edible flower. At this point, I wish I had brought my stretchy pants. Conversation amongst the diners became less frequent as everyone was too consumed by their plate.

The fourth course, a smoked and very crispy tofu reminded me of smoky ham from taste to texture. Another diner, who is not a vegan, commented on the dish and asked if it was really tofu. To me, that is one of the best compliments a vegan chef can get. The texture was meaty, juicy and could fool any carnivore without fail. The dish was accompanied with glazed carrots and turnip over creamy Southern-style grits and drizzled with a sweet sorghum syrup glaze. The piece I really loved about this dish was the salty crisp mustard green leaf fanned out in between the roasted vegetables since frankly, I never thought I would ever like this type of green. Crepeau’s methods have won me over.

Dessert is probably my favourite part of most fancy dinners and Crepeau is just as good a baker as she is a cook. In my experience, it is usually one or the other but it just shows the amount of talent this chef has. The buttery pecan tart was served with a warm roasted Texas peach and a vanilla bourbon ice cream that had a bourbon caramel sauce drizzled on top. I like when food reminds me of an experience or brings back a memory and this dish made me think of Christmas time with my grandma. My grandmother made this “adults-only” bourbon sauce that was served on the dessert table after Christmas dinner. Since she had a heavy hand with the bourbon to make this sauce, the children of the family were not allowed to have any. Naturally, telling a child that they can’t have dessert only makes getting it all the more enticing so we did whatever we could to dip our fingers in the sauce. One year, I managed to get my spoon in the dish, licked it and ran from the table to avoid the adults. This dish reminded me of this memory even when I thought I would never again have bourbon caramel after going vegan. A big thanks to the chef.

Crepeau ended the meal perfectly with the dessert and I saved half of the tart for breakfast the next day. Christy and I left feeling very full and I left a little bit jealous of Christy who is a friend of the chef and lives close by. The experience was great as I had never been to a supper club dinner before. The food trucks in Austin are good but if you want a proper dinner with multiple courses, warm atmosphere and exceptional food, I highly recommend Roots to Leaves Supper Club. You will not get this kind of food in a restaurant for this price ($40 for a 5 course dinner). If you are in Austin, definitely check out Roots to Leaves Supper Club, it usually runs once a month with different menus. Check out her Facebook page for more details, menus and dates! I wanted to adapt a dish from my experience of the Roots to Leaves Supper Club with a dish that surprised me the most: the Miso Braised Yellow Squash. Normally I am not crazy about zucchini besides zoodles but this dish was tender, perfectly seasoned and miso butter has become a new favourite. Special thanks to Chef Crepeau for preparing this memorable dinner and Christy Morgan for inviting me.

Roasted Zucchini & Tomatoes w/ Miso Butter + Roots to Leaves Supper Club

 

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Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

30 mins

Total time

40 mins

 

This dish is light, fresh and naturally gluten free. Feel free to add some beans or lentils if you wish to up the protein in this meal.

Author: Jessica DeMarra

Serves: 2-4

Ingredients

• For the Miso Butter:
• 2 tablespoons white miso
• 2 tablespoons vegan butter
• 1 teaspoon organic cane sugar
• 1 green onion, finely sliced
• For the Squash:
• 2 yellow or green zucchinis
• 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
• For the plate:
• 1 pint of cherry tomatoes
• 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
• Fat pinch of fine grain sea salt
• ⅓ cup chiffonade basil leaves
• 2 cups warm cooked quinoa (I cooked red quinoa in vegetable stock)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Cut the zucchinis in half lengthwise and with the tip of a sharp knife, cut slits diagonally across the exposed flesh of the zucchini. Do not cut all the way through! This is to ensure the miso butter doesn’t just slide off the zucchini. Rub zucchini with olive oil and bake cut side down for 12-14 minutes, depending on the size of the zucchini. If you zucchinis are on the skinnier side, bake for less time. Meanwhile, cut the cherry tomatoes in half, toss with olive oil and spread onto the other prepared pan. Gently flip zucchini so it is cut side up now exposing the crosshatch cuts.
3. Whisk together the butter, miso, sugar and green onion together in a small bowl and brush half of the miso butter onto the zucchinis. Return the zucchini to the oven along with the cherry tomatoes and bake for 12-15 minutes, turning the tomatoes halfway through.
4. Toss the warm quinoa with the remaining miso butter and the basil, add in the tomatoes and divide amongst serving dishes and top with the roasted zucchini. Serve.

3.3.3077

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My brain has been drained a little bit lately as I get ready for another round of exams coming up and with the weather being particularly freezing lately I have wanted to go into full-fledge hibernation mode. Homework has been piling up because I am the worst at doing any sort of homework during Christmas break. As much I curse my procrastination, I did need the downtime to relax and not overthink everything to death. But now we are the second week of 2015 and I had to get right back into the full-schedule, juggling school and work full time. Blasted adulthood!

Mark has also returned to school and started his internship at a Toronto fine dining restaurant to complete his culinary degree. Nights at our house have become pretty lonely when I am not working and I usually have dinner by myself (with the exception of Barb snuggling on my lap). I haven’t really wanted to cook for myself too much since it always seemed like a waste but I asked myself why I thought like that. Perhaps I read too many women’s magazines in my youth (thinking that adults actually did these things) and thought that the phrase “Cooking for One!” was pathetic. Just because they put an exclamation point at the end and in a cheery bright font does not make the phrase any better. However the act of cooking a proper healthful dinner for myself should be a priority and I must devote some time in my evening to do so. A daily devotion to myself and my well-being. A dollop of hummus, peeled carrots and some pita sometimes doesn’t cut it as a proper dinner since I usually use the hummus container lid as a plate for the veg and pita. Oh how my mother would cringe.

Roasting vegetables with some chickpeas is pretty easy, comes together quickly and is versatile when you get tired of the same vegetables you have been eating all week. You can make this dish go even further when served on a bed of cooked grains like brown rice, quinoa or millet (all gluten free grains!). I cook my grains on a Saturday morning before work so I can eat them for my long shifts on the weekends and have some left over for school. I soak my grains on Friday night after work to get them all sprouted to cook the next day. Living it up. “Sorry guys can’t go out, I have to sprout my grains…” Don’t worry I have never said that.

Mark is appreciative of the leftovers he gets when he comes home late from his internship and I get an actual dinner. Double win.

P.S. I am digging this new addition to my pantry: za’atar, a savoury Middle Eastern spice blend that I have been sprinkling on everything. I also made this hummus with it.

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Chunky Guacamole

Makes about 3 cups

•  4 ripe avocados
• ¼ cup minced fresh cilantro
• 2 tablespoons finely diced red onion (I bought 1 large onion and used 1 cup diced for the bean mixture)
• 1 small jalapeno, deseeded for less heat if desired and minced
• 1 medium garlic clove, very finely grated through a microplane
• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 1/2 tablespoons lime juice

 Halve, pit and scoop out the flesh of two avocados. In a medium bowl, combine all the ingredients except for two of the avocados, mash lightly with a fork or a potato masher. Halve, pit and cube the remaining two avocados. Add cubes to the mashed mixture and stir gently keeping the guacamole chunky. Cover with plastic wrap, pressed directly onto its surface to ensure it doesn’t brown. Making the guacamole before the rice allows the flavours to blend together.

Rice: Makes 3 cups

• 2 teaspoons coconut oil
• 1-cup long grain white rice, rinsed
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• ½- teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 ½ cups water
• Zest of 1 lime, very finely grated through a microplane

For the rice:

In a small pot with a tight fitting lid, melt the coconut oil over medium heat. Add the rice and cook for 2 minutes (some of the rice should become opaque), stirring occasionally to ensure you don’t burn the rice. Add the cumin, pepper and salt and stir frequently for 1 minute until fragrant.

Add the water slowly since it will bubble and add the zest. Crank up the heat to high and bring to boil. Place lid on pot and turn down to low. Simmer for 20 minutes until the water is fully absorbed by the rice. Fluff with a fork.

 Quinoa: Makes 3 cups

• 1 cup dried white quinoa, rinsed through a fine mesh strainer
• 2 cups water

Combine the water and the rinsed quinoa in a small pot and bring to boil over medium high heat. Reduce the heat to low and simmer covered under quinoa is tender, about 17 minutes. After both the rice and quinoa are cooked, you can add them together.

 **I tried to make the quinoa and rice in the same pot, but because of the water difference it was unsuccessful**

Bean Filling: Makes about 6 cups

• 2 teaspoons coconut oil
• 1 cup diced red onion
• 2 large peppers, stemmed, deseeded and diced, about 2 ½ cups
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 small jalapeno, deseeded for less heat, minced
• 3 small cloves garlic, minced
• 2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed (Pinto beans would be a good choice too)
• 2 cups frozen corn, preferably organic
• Juice of 1 lime, about 2 tablespoons
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt

 In a large non-stick skillet, melt the oil and when heated add the onions. Sauté the onions for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally then add the peppers and cook for another 5 minutes. Add the cumin, cayenne, jalapeño and garlic, sauté until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the beans, corn, lime juice and salt, cook, stirring occasionally until corn and beans are thoroughly heated, about 8 minutes.

Garnish

•  1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt

 Mix together in a small bowl and set aside until ready to layer the bowl. You can easily substitute salsa for this step if you wish.

Other Add Ins

• Romaine lettuce, sliced into thin ribbons
• Minced fresh cilantro
• Hot sauce

 Layering

Add the rice and quinoa to the bottom of the bowl then the bean mixture. Sprinkle cherry tomatoes around the bowl and top with a big dollop of guacamole in the middle. I didn’t photograph the dish with the lettuce since it covered almost the entire dish. Serve. 

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