Cauliflower, Beef and Bean Soup, and Pain A L'ancienne

I don't know why this picture uploaded sideways, but I guess it doesn't matter. On Saturday I made more of Craig's favorite vegetable, using another NY Times recipe (I think it's the editors' favorite as well). The cauliflower is cooked in the garbanzo cooking water, with some tomato paste and cayenne, then topped with cilantro and formerly frozen peas. Served over couscous, it was good, but we both agreed it needed a little something. Maybe next time I'll cook one of those delicious chickens and use the broth to cook the beans, and shred some of the chicken in the finished dish. The sweet peas were a really nice touch in this. Also, the recipe used harissa but said cayenne could be substituted, so maybe it's better with the harissa.

On Sunday I made more of that delicious pain a l'ancienne. This was my very first opportunity

to use the peel Craig made me for Christmas, and it worked great! I also refined my technique for making Hollie a hearth (a tall glass bottle is essential), and the bread was really good.

We ate the bread with a soup I made using the runner beans we grew and dried last summer. I wanted a soup bone but couldn't find one, so I got a little bit of short rib that I roasted a lot of the fat off of and used that. I was working without any recipe and at one point thought I was just making a big mess, but it turned out delicious. I threw in some leftover canned tomatoes and some turnip, carrot, and cabbage. The beans were really really good! I hope I'm able to grow more this summer.