March 24, 2012 Dinner: mushroom terrine and greens with olive soil and lemon tarragon dressing; spring vegetable paella with oyster mushrooms, braised tempeh romesco with grilled green onions, pickled zucchini and watermelon radish; almond flan with red wine caramel and strawberries

Photos from the March 3, 2012 dinner.

February 11: Purple Cauliflower, Romanesco, Brussels Sprouts, Pea Tendril and Coconut Curry; Saffron Coconut Moong Dal Soup; Samosa Ravioli with Beet Chutney and Saag (mustard greens); Chocolate Garam Masala-Crusted Cheesecake with Chocolate Sauce and Mango Gel. (Not pictured: Baby Lettuce with Tamarind Yogurt Dressing, Golden Raisins, Pistachios and Pickled Carrot).

Most of the produce from this dinner came from local farms: Urban Patchwork Farms and Johnson’s Backyard Garden.

Photos from November’s dinner: Porcini Pecan Pate with baguette; Smoked Tofu with Wild Rice Pilaf, Roasted Root Vegetables and Prickly Pear Chipotle Sauce; Kale, Cabbage, Pomegranate and Pumpkin Seed Salad; Pumpkin and White Chocolate Mousse with Pecan Crisp. Not pictured: Creamy Chestnut Soup.

Photos by Christy Morgan

Plates from the 9/10/11 pasta dinner: Fazolleti di Seta al Pesto (“silk handkerchiefs with basil pesto”); grilled zucchini ribbons and baby bellas with raw sun-dried tomato marinara and macadamia cheese; baby greens salad with almond ricotta filled golden beet raw-violi, pickled green beans, cherry tomatoes and tarragon vinaigrette; lemon thyme cake with extra virgin olive oil ice cream and black olive caramel. Not pictured: homemade tofu ricotta filled porcini tortellini and Italian sausage with spaghetti squash and “butter” sauce.

Photos from the July 2 dinner (photos courtesy of Christy Morgan theblissfulchef.com).

Here’s a photo of the test batch of the beefsteak tartare! Don’t worry, it’s not bloody raw beef! It’s just tomatoes and beet juice (and seasoning). It’s going to be the appetizer (actually garnished with basil oil and mochi crisps) for this Saturday’s dinner along with a chilled watermelon gazpacho, BBQ tempeh short ribs, sweet potato and turnip salad, slaw, cornbread, and for dessert: peach crisp with homemade MAPLE WHISKY PECAN ICE CREAM (made with Texas’ own Balcones Baby Blue corn whisky). The test batch of ice cream came out perfect, and I ate it all before I could take a photo. Teetotalers beware: you can definitely taste the booze, but the majority of the alcohol is cooked off. Oh, and as it turns out it’s all (the whole meal) gluten-free (enjoy it while it lasts because I’m planning a very glutinous pasta feast for September!).

Did you know that the vast majority (like 90%?) of ingredients we use are organic? We don’t use any sugar (cane or beet). Everything is free of animal and animal-byproduct ingredients. Everything is made from scratch (except tofu, soymilk, tempeh, etc.). We use the highest quality seasoning ingredients, like SI Sea Salt, Nama Shoyu/Tamari and Red River Miso. We use the best quality organic and unrefined oils (sesame, extra virgin olive and coconut). The head chef is a graduate of The Natural Epicurean Academy of Culinary Arts.

Thanks to everyone that came out to our first dinner a little over a week ago! We had a lot of fun, and hope to have another dinner soon before the heat really sets in (more dinners planned for September). The wonderful food photos were taken by a guest: http://lazysmurf.wordpress.com/

June 11 Dessert: Lemon almond amasake custard with lavender blueberry sauce and sesame lace