Simple Summer Veggie Boules

Yes. They require the stove.
But most of the work is chopping and hollowing out little rolls (if you can find them), so it's quite meditative. And the work on the stove is painless.

Last weekend I was at the library looking for a cheesecake book immediately following my yard-sale find: a mini cheesecake pan. I did find the book, but didn't check it out.
Instead, I checked out the Tassajara Cookbook because the picture on the cover of some sort of marinated tofu looked so fresh and bright. Or maybe it was just the overall look of the picture. I know, I know. Don't judge a book by the cover. But what else am I supposed to judge it by when I'm skimming the racks of new books at the library?

I picked out a few recipes from the book to try. The book mostly consists of spreads and dips and the likes (or at least the first two chapters, which is as far I read before having found things I wanted to try.) This also happened to be two days after cilantro, jalepenos and serranos were all suspect and before jalepenos were confirmed as the culprit, so I wasn't sure if I'd be able to find jalepenos or cilantro at the store. Which ruled out two of the things I'd wanted to try: Garlic, Cilantro and Chipotle Hummus and Anka's Roasted Red Bell Pepper Spread with Chiles and Lime (the latter being a double whammy.)

So I wrote a grocery list with three possibilities, depending on what looked good. I was really hoping to try the fig and kalamata olive tapenade since I'd had some tasty figs the week before, but that day the figs looked gross.

But I digress. I finally settles on two options: making the vegetable tapenade and stuffing it into hollowed out tiny rolls that I found in the deepest clutches of our freezer and caper-garlic hummus.

The vegetable tapenade is a keeper. Somehow, I didn't imagine it making so much, even though the recipe did say "Makes 4 cups." I think I may have ended up with more. I may have used more leek than it called for. Regardless of the quantity, it was tasty! And great wrapped in a lettuce leaf with fresh ricotta the next day. And wrapped in a lettuce leaf with leftover lamb the day after that.

What to do with it is up to you.

Sweet Veggie Tapenade
from Tassajara Cookbook: Lunches, Picnics, and Appetizers


Note: I returned the book to the library before copying down the recipe... Not my brightest move. But the book is on amazon, and it is one you can "look inside" of.