Lettuce Soup:

The Community Environmental Council’s event was absolutely lovely this year: so many organic products to enjoy, wonderful people to talk to, and there was even a mini fashion show – you know I’m always up for clothes!   We had a great time keeping busy in the kitchen, and I met some really wonderful, thoughtful, and intriguing visitors.

Here is the menu:

To start, I made my Crostini of d’Affionios with Drunken Figs (http://eat-drink-garden.com/2009/10/fall-appetizer). I made these to demonstrate an easy and delicious option for a memorable Thanksgiving appetizer.

Then, I decided to do Lettuce Soup (http://eat-drink-garden.com/2009/12/cooking-class-roberto-cortez).  Lettuce is a vegetable that really thrives in my garden, so this soup is a great way to use up all of those extra greens (a person can only eat so much salad, after all).   On top of tasting great, this soup’s gorgeous color makes it a fantastic dish to serve for any occasion.

I finished my menu with Chef Cal’s addictively delicious carrot cake cookies (http://eat-drink-garden.com/2010/10/chef-cals-carrot-cake-cookies).  These cookies are just so good, and the rich, sweet, yet slightly spicy carrot-cake flavor makes them the perfect fall dessert.

One little trick I learned that is shown in this photo, is that I use an inverted cake stand to display the cookies.  It’s a great way to add some interesting height to the table, and the “bottom” of the cake stand is the perfect size for cookies.

All of these photos were taken by the talented, Erin Feinblatt. To see more of his work, you can check out his website at http://www.erinfeinblatt.com