Only Shades of Grayscale

With Channukah’s Festival of Lights and all the other Religious and secular holidays, many people think of December as a colorful time of the year. But, if you strip away all the flash, it’s evident that December is Only Shades of Grayscale. Not to be confused with the Monkeys song of a similar title. Of course, with modern technology, we have to update terminology to reflect the colors found on your printer driver. I know, it sounds depressing. But, Today is the shortest day of the year. On the bright side, though, it is winter solstice. All those holidays everyone looks forward to are based on the solstice.

Christmas, in particular owes its date to solstice celebrations. No one actually knows what day Jesus was born. But, historians placed it somewhere around the solstice. According to some records, a second century AD historian, Sextus julius Aricanus, claimed that Jesus was conceived on March 25. Then he did the math: 9 months later would be December 25. There are a couple problems with this. First, SJA sounds like a badly made up name. Second, how many births are 9 months to the day. Third, how does he know that march 25 was the actual day of conception? Also, about 100 years later, the Roman church adopted Christian lore into their canon. And, Christmas fell on their sun worshiping holiday: Saturnalia AKA Sol Invictus Marking the return of longer days after solstice.

So, we can see, even the celebration of major holidays isn’t black and white, Only Shades of Grayscale.

If December is Only Shades of Grayscale, Solstice Brings light.

Unlike the commercialized holidays based on religious lore, like Hanukkah and Christmas, Solstice celebrations are based on Physically determinable facts. The proximity and angle of the Earth in relation to the sun results in More dark than light at latitudes where population centers are. At the North and South Poles, There is no sunlight at this time of year. No wonder Santa wants to get away (but, why does he sneak around at night here? Dumbass). With more time in the dark, Lights and candles become a necessity. And, we have more time to reflect on our lives and plans.

That is why many people celebrate Solstice in a holistic way. Mainstream holiday observers mock “New age” celebrants for Doing Yoga, lighting incense, and Setting intentions. But, isn’t that what this time is really for? Granted, I couldn’t hold a yoga pose for more than a split second. But, the whole approach to solstice focused on reflection and intention is a good thing. In a way, it’s similar to Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur. These are periods of Atonement, reflection, and setting of intentions. But, their dates don’t align with any physical manifestations of the real world (except harvest time). With the shortest amount of daylight in the year, winter solstice is a perfect time for reflection, especially if you’re snowed in like a good portion of the USA is at this time.

So, light a candle, reflect, and project to your heart’s desire. Why wait for New year to make those resolutions? And, Why is January 1st the new year? Wouldn’t the shortest day of the year make a better starting point?

Burn off the old, ring in the new…

Maybe that’s the best way to help people accept solstice as an actual event. Most people associate Solstice celebrations with Pagan rituals and general flakiness. But, it actually marks a measurable occurrence. But, I guess celebrating a giant elf somehow piloting a sleigh with reindeer around a globe that has a 25,000 mile circumference bringing gifts to billions of people through their chimneys makes more sense to some people. Or that a deity impregnated a woman a couple thousand years ago. Or that a rabbu lit 8 candles with a couple ounces of oil for 8 days and that’s reason to celebrate.

Doesn’t celebrating solstice make actual sense? It’s the darkest day of the year because the sun is at its closest point to the Earth. The days will only get longer from here on out, then wain back to short days. It should be the first day of the calendar year just based on that fact alone. And, it reflects life itself. We start at our smallest pint. Grow to our fullest potential mid life, then enter a steady decline toward returning to our original state. So, you can play at your man-made holidays all you want. But, this one is actually created by nature itself. So, why not burn off the old, ring in the new?

What’s for Solstice Supper?

Since this is an observation of the beginning of a New Year, that adage of burn off the old holds weight historically. People in most temperate zones harvest crops in the fall. And, planting season is a few months away. So, Winter Solstice marks a period when stocks will be about halfway depleted. So, it’s time to celebrate making it to the darkest day, and plan getting through the rest of the winter. Of course, in most developed areas, this isn’t really an issue anymore. Thanks to global shipping and developments in production, you can go to the supermarket (or have them come to you) to get whatever supplies you need.

So, even though December is only shades of grayscale, WE can have pretty much anything we want. But, let’s take this opportunity to honor the earth and eat something indicative of what our ancestors would have experienced. Think produce heavy on root vegetables and grains that will last through the winter. And, in the dead of winter, killing an animal wouldn’t have been very practical. So, chances are, vegetarian dishes would be prominent. So, that’s what we will focus on today.

here are a couple vegan recipes that will make for a special holiday. And, they use ingredients that will last in your fridge and pantry.

Quinoa and Spinach Stuffed Portobello Mushroom served with Saffron Sunchoke Puree, Roasted Baby Carrots, and drizzled with Balsamic reduction and Basil Oil

cheffd

Print Recipe

Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine American, Mediterranean, Vegan

Servings 4 people

Ingredients

  

• 4 Large Portobello mushroom caps, stem removed
• 6 oz Baby spinach
• 1 cup diced sweet onion
• 1 Tbsp fresh chopped garlic
• 1 cup quinoa
• 2 cups water
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Olive oil for cooking
• For Sunchokes:
• 1 Lb Sunchokes (aka Jerusalem artichokes)
• 1/2 Lb Gold or white potatoes
• 6 or 7 strands Saffron (If you don't have saffron, substitute turmeric)
• 1/4 cup Coconut oil Or vegan butter spread
• 1 Tbsp chopped fresh thyme
• Salt and pepper to taste
• For Basil oil
• 1 cup fresh basil
• 1/2 cup fresh green onion (chives or scallions)
• 3 each garlic cloves
• 1/2 cup Olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 12 to 20 each Baby Carrots Depending on size and desired presentation
• Aged or thickened balsamic (available at specialty stores or make from scratch)

Instructions

 

• Make the Basil Oil: Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Dip Basil and scallions in to make more pliable and make the color more vibrant. Cool under cold water or ice. Strain as much water as possible out.
• Chop the basil and scallion. Place in blender with garlic, oil, salt, and pepper. Blend on high speed until the mixture is a vibrant green. You could strain out the herbs after for a clean look. But, I like leaving the herbs in for this dish to give it body and texture. Put the oil in a squeeze bottle or something you can drizzle it with later.
• For the Sunchokes: Peel and cut the sunchokes and potatoes. Put in a pot of salted water. Bring to a boil. Boil until soft enough to break apart (about 10 to 15 minutes). Strain. Put in a food processor while hot. Puree. Scrape down the sides. Add in saffron, coconut oil, salt and pepper. Puree until smooth. Add in the Thyme, and adjust seasoning. Set aside to reheat at service time.
• For Portobellos: Toss mushrooms in Oil, salt, and pepper. Allow them to absorb oil. Then, either on a grille or in a large saute pan, sear the mushrooms, about 2 minutes on either side. They should be pliable, but not super soft.
• Make the quinoa: Heat oil over high heat in a sauce pot. Add in the onion and garlic, cook to translucent. Add in the quinoa, and stir to coat with oil. Add the cumin, then the water, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil, then taper back to a simmer. Cook down 5 to 10 minutes until the quinoa grains are soft, but not breaking apart.
• Wilt the spinach: heat olive oil in a large saute pan. Toss in the spinach. Sprinkle in salt and pepper, and begin stirring the spinach. It will begin to wilt. When all the spinach is wet and wilty, remove from heat and strain out extra liquid.
• Fold the spinach and quinoa together, and stuff into the Mushrooms. Pt in a sheet pan to heat in the oven for service.
• Cook the carrots: Toss the baby carrots in olive oil, salt, and pepper. Place in a sheet pan and roast in a 400 degree preheated oven about 15 to 20 minutes until soft.
• Heat the stuffed portobellos about 8 to 10 minutes until hot. Reheat the sunchokes. When all items are hot, Plate the meal: make a base of the sunchoke puree. Balance the portobello on top or put it to the side. Prop the carrots against the mushroom. Then drizzle basil oil and balsamic over and around the plate. Serve immediately.

Notes

This may look like a lot to do. But, this is a case where multi/serial tasking comes in handy. You can boil the artichokes while assembling the stuffed mushrooms and roasting the carrots, so everything finishes around the same time.

The basil oil can be made ahead of time. It will hold, refrigerated for a couple weeks. Make extra to have on hand for other dinners or salads. You could also buy a quality basil oil. For this recipe, I wanted to make my own, because I want the herbs still in the oil for texture and flavor.

If you want to make your own balsamic reduction, it requires a lot of balsamic and a little sugar. I used to reduce a gallon of balsamic to get 1 pint of drizzle. It is more cost effective and time saving to buy a quality reduction. Most specialty stores have vinegars that are already thick.

Keyword baby carrots, balsamic, basil oil, Earth Day, mushroom, portobello, puree, Quinoa, Roasted, Saffron, spinach, Sunchoke, vegan