Growing, cooking new foods & Jamie Oliver

Feel like I've been in kind of a cooking rut the last couple of months.  Winter produce around here is terrible so it's hard to get inspired without fresh vegetables from the garden everyday.  I found myself cooking the same things over and over and over and it was just boring.  I'm sure a lot of people can relate to this. No one complained but I was pretty sick of my own cooking.

Over the holiday I picked up a couple of new Jamie Oliver books for myself.  The bookstore by my in-laws house was having a big sale and I think I got them for about $6 each.  We love Jamie Oliver in this house and with these I now own 6 of his cookbooks.  

I marked a ton of new things to try and so far have tried the following from Jamie's Food Revolution:

Broccoli & Pesto Tagliatelle: Meh.  It was good and a nice change but I don't think I'll make it again.  It somehow managed to be rich and bland at the same time.  The idea of adding potato was intriguing and I may do that again in another fashion.

Pot-roast Meatloaf: I didn't think I would ever call a meatloaf stunning but this is damn delicious and shockingly fast to pull together.  I think 10 minutes, tops, to get the meatloaf in the oven and the sauce came together in about 5. 

Parsnip and Ginger Soup: Again, quick. I prepped and cooked the veg while simultaneously re-heating leftovers and eating lunch.  Then I blended it with the chicken stock (see below) and put in the crock pot on low to hang out until dinner.  He suggests a little crumbled bacon on top, but I don't know if I'll bother because it seems incredibly rich already. I don't know what I was thinking.  YES to crumbled bacon and some toasted panko crumbs.  It's delicious.  

Not Jamie Oliver related, but part of the parsnip soup:  yesterday I cooked an Easter Egger layer hen that was culled this fall.  She was almost 5 years old and I really had my doubts about if the meat was going to be edible.  She simmered all day with carrots, celery and herbs and then the shredded meat was made into enchiladas.  I am not kidding when I say this is the BEST CHICKEN I HAVE EVER EATEN. Legs and thighs were so dark, they nearly looked like lamb.  The meat was a little stringy, sure, but the intense flavor more than made up for it.  Besides, it worked fine for the dish I made.  Also got about 2 quarts of the most intensely yellow chicken stock.  

So, reading about these new dishes prompted another seed order from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds.  

Dixie Speckled Lima Bean, Carentan Leek, Masterpiece Fava Bean, Thai Lavender Frog Egg Eggplant, Free Seed - Black Vernissage Tomato

Would anyone like these tomato seeds?  They seem identical to Violet Jasper, one of my favorites, but I already have seeds for them.  Send me an e-mail cottontailfarm@yahoo.com and I'll send them to you.

Updated my seed inventory again.  I've never grown leeks or fava beans before, any tips?  Never really had any luck germinating eggplant either but I hope I can get a couple of these plants started.  They look really pretty and are supposed to be the size of a cherry tomato!