Pesto Kale Pasta

Our local farmer's market has basil at incredible prices. Basil is one of my favorite flavors: it reminds me of summer, gardening, fresh mozzarella and eating outside.

A few weeks ago, we got a tremendous amount of basil and almost immediately processed it into a huge jar of pesto. Our pesto is distinctly garlicky, with a few hunks of parmesan and pine nuts ground in, and plenty of fruity olive oil.

We use it on lots of things: sandwiches, rice bowls, pastas, salads, crackers...

Most recently, we combined it with kale, white beans and pasta to create a quick and easy dinner.

We used white beans because of their neutral flavor and soft texture--a great way to add creaminess to a pasta dish without busting out the dairy. We made a big batch in our slow cooker to use in chili and the leftovers went into this dish.

The next day, I added some fresh corn to my leftovers and it became a whole new meal: crunchy, sweet and lightly summery, instead of warm, creamy and comforting summer flavors. Make it either way.

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Pesto Kale Pasta
serves 4-6


1 lb shaped pasta
1T olive oil
1T chili flakes
15 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed with the side of your knife
3 bunches kale, washed, gently dried and chopped (feel free to remove the stems--I think it's a pain)
2 cobs of corn, kernels only (optional)
2c cooked white beans
0.5c pesto

1. Bring copious amounts of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta until al dente--usually 2-3 minutes short of time indicated on package. RESERVE 2 CUPS OF COOKING LIQUID BEFORE DRAINING.
2. Heat the olive oil in a large, wide, lidded pot. (We used our wok. A dutch oven would also work.)
3. Add the chili flakes and garlic, stirring gently for 1-2minutes or until fragrant.
4. Add the kale to the pan, stir/toss to combine, and cover. Cook for 10-12 minutes, or until wilted. If all the liquid evaporates, add 0.25c of pasta water.
5. Stir corn kernels and beans into kale and let warm.
6. Meanwhile, add pesto and 1c of pasta water to pasta pot; bring to a boil and let thicken for 1 minute. Stir in pasta and simmer for 2 minutes. There should still be some sauce left--if not, add pasta water, 0.25c at a time.
7. Gently combine pasta, sauce and vegetables. Serve in warm bowls, with extra parmesan cheese.
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Red Coconut Curry Lentil Soup

The ingredients for this recipe went into our slow cooker in less than five minutes, just after breakfast. It was ready by lunch time, and perfect for the cold, rainy day.

Because of the curry paste, it's not vegetarian. However, it's a super low-meat meal, and both hearty and flavorful. It's got a little bit of spice to it--the kind that leaves your mouth gently smoldering--so if you're sensitive to heat, consider halving the curry paste.

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Red Coconut Curry Lentil Soup
serves 3-4


2.5c red lentils
4.5c water
1 15oz can light coconut milk
2T thai red curry paste [ours was from Mae Ploy, but Thai Kitchen has a version, too]


1. Mix all of the ingredients together in the slow cooker, breaking up any large chunks of curry paste.
2. Cook on high for 4 hours. For a heartier meal, serve with rice.

All soups are better with a garnish. Try toasted, unsweetened coconut or strips of homemade naan.
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Better than Expected

Earlier this week, I had an afternoon off of practice. In addition to catching up on some grocery shopping and work (planning practices, making line-ups, etc.), I decided to make a somewhat elaborate dinner.

The first two components of this dinner are super simple--open some cans, make a few chops, toss, heat, serve. The third, a recipe whispered by my aunt during the festivities leading up to our wedding, is perhaps the most spectacular potato recipe I've ever eaten.

Each of these dishes could be served solo. Together, they merry incredibly well for a savory, filling, and flavorful meal.

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Chickpea Salad
serves 2


This salad could be served warm, but was extra delicious heated just above room temperature in the microwave. The lemony brightness contrasts well with the garlicky richness, and the soft bite of the beans provides the perfect texture.

2c cooked chickpeas
1t paprika
0.5t salt
freshly ground pepper
1 clove garlic, finely minced or microplaned
1T garlic oil or extra virgin olive oil
0.5 lemon, juiced
1t sugar

1. Mix all of the ingredients together in a bowl. Microwave for 1-2 minutes, or until just warm.
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Roasted Broccoli
serves 2


The rest of the meal was super complicated, so this had to be utterly simple. The roasting softens the stems and crisps the florets, making a wonderful play on textures. A little bit of salt cuts any bitterness, leaving pure, sweet broccoli joy. Dan, of course, added pepper.

1 large head of broccoli
salt

1. Preheat the oven to 450°F
2. Rinse the broccoli and cut it into big chunks (maybe 5 or 6 pieces per head). Sprinkle lightly with salt.
3. Place the broccoli on a baking pan and roast for 25-30 minutes, or until the florets are as close to burned as you're comfortable with.
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Crispy Herb Potatoes
serves 3 (or 2...)


Crispy on the outside, soft of the inside, herby, garlicky, carby, fatty--everything you could want from a potato.

7-8 waxy skinned potatoes
3T olive oil
0.25c minced herbs (we used basil, oregano, tarragon, parsley and marjoram)
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
salt, pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 450°F.
2. Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. Meanwhile, wash your potatoes and cut them into equal size chunks.
3. Lightly salt the boiling water, and return to a boil. Add the potatoes and boil for 10 minutes (and not a minute more).
4. Drain the potatoes and toss with the oil, herbs, garlic and salt/pepper.
5. Spread the mixture on a baking tray. Bake for an hour, tossing every 20 minutes.
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A lot of this can be prepped ahead of time. You can pre-boil the potatoes and let them sit in the oil/herb mixture all day. The chickpea salad can be made a day in advance. The broccoli can be pre-cut and salted, ready to go on the baking tray. In addition, most of the clean-up can be completed while dinner is cooking.

This would make great party food. Lots of oohs and ahs, without tons of effort. It's also not overly heavy or fattening, and very food-restriction friendly--vegan, gluten-free, nut/soy/dairy free--and without any weird substitutions.

Let me know what you think by leaving a comment or emailing me at piquantprose [at] gmail [dot] com.

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Brussel Sprout Pasta

As we were menu planning last week, we realized we'd been relying heavily on Asian flavors for our weeknight meals. (Probably thanks to our local farmer's market.) We were ready for a change.

We don't usually make pasta because meat-free sauces tend to be tomato-based and too sweet/acidic or cream-based and too fatty. Instead, we dreamed up this awesome vegan "sauce"--really it's more like a hot pasta salad.

This dish is full of vegetables--way more than the standard pasta sauce--and can be customized to your tastes. We added parsley, basil and oregano. Add your favorite herbs (or whatever is in season). Throw in some chickpeas (I did--the next day for lunch!) or top with parmesan/nutritional yeast. We decided to go for simplicity--we wanted dinner on the table ASAP--so the ingredients are brussel sprouts and herb.

As for pasta shapes, I recommend campanelle, mostly because it's our favorite shape, but also because the strings of sprout get tangled in the dough. Fusilli, radiatore or rotini are good alternatives.

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Brussel Sprout Pasta
serves 3-4

1T oil
1.5-2 pounds of brussel sprouts
1c veggie stock
0.25c parsley, basil, oregano, chopped
2T garlic oil {optional}
0.5 meyer lemon
1 pound pasta
salt

1. Put a pot of water on to boil. In the meantime, slice your brussel sprouts into 0.25 inch disks. They will unravel into small shreds.
2. Once the water is boiling, add copious salt. Return to a boil and add the pasta.
3. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large frying pan. Once hot, add the brussel sprouts, stirring every minute or two until the sprouts begin to brown nicely.
4. Once the sprouts are browned and a bit wilty, add the veggie stock, and simmer to reduce a bit.
5. Once cooked, drain the pasta, reserved about a cup of the cooking liquid, and return to pot. Add the brussel sprouts and herbs to the pasta, tossing to combine. Add pasta water or garlic oil as necessary until the noodles glisten.
6. Squeeze half of a meyer lemon over the top. Add the zest if you feel inclined.
7. Serve hot, with any toppings you desire. Suggestions: poppy seeds, more herbs, parmesan cheese (not vegan), nutritional yeast, garbanzo beans, blanched almonds
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Slow Cooker: Lentil Soup

When we moved into our own apartment, we quickly realized how great slow cookers are. We have a 2.5 quart super basic model--it has four settings: high, low, keep warm and off. It's a little bit small for two people, but a soup recipe will usually give us two generous dinner servings and one lunch serving.

When we moved out, my parents gave us a collection of beans as a moving out present. Slow cookers and beans are best friends. We use our slow cooker to make batches of garbanzos and black beans for use in salads, salsas and dips. Lentil soup is also one of the first things we made in our slow cooker.

This recipe can be as simple or complicated as you desire. We like to brown all of the aromatics in a big frying pan and then add them to the slow cooker. That takes time, but makes the house smell delicious. For the quick and easy route, chop everything in a big food processor, dump it in the slow cooker and go.

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Slow Cooker Lentil Soup
makes 2.5 servings

2 carrots
2 celery stalks
0.5 onion
3 cloves garlic
2t cumin seed {optional}
3c water or broth
1c green/brown lentils
1 28oz can tomatoes
2-3t cumin

1. {Optional} Chop/mince the carrots, celery, onion and garlic and saute in a pan over low heat until the onions are translucent. (You are trying to mingle flavors first.) Add the cumin seed. Turn the heat up to high and briefly brown the ingredients until things are just about to burn.
2. Dump all of the ingredients into the slow cooker. Turn on high for 3-4 hours or low for 6-8 hours.
3. Garnish with cilantro or parsley, and more cumin seeds.
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Preventing Self-Pity with Peanut Sauce

When I get home in the evenings, I'm usually ridiculously hungry. When I get hungry, I get grumpy. And when I get grumpy, the only thing I want to eat is chocolate.

So usually, I end up eating nothing and just wallow in self-pity about just how hungry I am while reading food blogs and Tastespotting. This generally doesn't alleviate the problem.

Since Dan usually gets home before me, he's been starting dinner so I have no choice but to eat well. However, there are nights when both of us get home late, or he goes to the gym after work and can't start dinner.

We've been using our slow cooker to its max to help out; we start a soup midday and it's ready to go around 7:30 or 8pm--right as I get home. Sometimes I pre-chop ingredients for a quick stirfry, or we have grilled cheese and apple sandwiches for dinner.

Last night, we tried something a little bit different: pasta salad! This isn't just a normal pasta salad, though--it's a peanut sauce soba noodle pasta salad from Smitten Kitchen!

Because the salad is meant to be eaten cold, I made it in the morning, when I was fresh, awake, and full from breakfast--the perfect time to cook.

You can find the recipe here. We used bell peppers, carrots and broccoli (we cooked the broccoli with the noodles), and used edamame instead of tofu. It was absolutely delicious--it was savory from the peanut butter and soy sauce, but tangy from the ginger. The sauce was creamy and coated all of the ingredients, but wasn't overly heavy.

Next time, I would use about 2/3rds the amount of noodle, and maybe a bit more vegetable.

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Vietnamese Spring Rolls

We've made these for dinner a few times. They're relatively quick, and very light on the palette--great for hot summer days, and directly after the holidays.

I don't think they even merit a recipe, they're so easy, but I'll give you one anyways.

This is not how you should fold them.. unless you put in too much filling.

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Vietnamese Spring Rolls

Ingredients
rice wrappers (two per roll)
leftover meat or fried tofu in small pieces
julienned veggies (carrots, cucumbers, bell peppers, snow peas, cabbage, lettuce, etc.)
julienned basil
dipping sauce (recipe below)

Directions
1. Prepare all of your ingredients in an assembly line.
2. Fill a bowl with warm water (110-120°F).
3. Soak two rice wrappers together in the water (for structural stability) until they soften. Working quickly, remove the wrappers from the water (they should stick together) and fill the center with about .25 cup of filling (more if you're using a big wrapper, ours were about 6" across)
4. Fold the wrapper on itself like a mini burrito.
5. Dip in the sauce and enjoy.


Dipping sauce

Ingredients (approximately)
3.5t fish sauce
2T lime juice
2 small cloves of garlic, minced
0.5t white sugar
0.5T cock sauce
1t grated ginger

Directions
1. Mix ingredients together in a small bowl.
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Split Pea Soup: Peas Optional

In an effort to declutter, I sold a number of old books to our local used bookstore, Moe's. In addition to making space for the books I'll actually read, they gave me Moe's money to spend in the store.

I spent a long time browsing (as I do in all stores), and eventually ended up in the cookbook section. (Somehow, I always end up there--like father, like daughter.) As I flipped through the various books, mostly from long disproven fad diets, I saw the yellowed spine of a small, unassuming, paperback book.

<Image Source>

I'd heard the name before, but never bothered to delve deeper. When I opened the pages, I was immediately enchanted--the recipes were all about the vegetables. They were simple, varied, fresh, savory, delicious.. I bought it.

Of course, it has taken me months to actually read its contents, and select a trial recipe: split pea soup. Dan and I made this last night and it was marvelous. The soup is thick, hearty, filling, and flavorful. 

Due to Dan's dislike of mustard and vinegar, I had to alter the recipe somewhat. If you do not have such an aversion to mustard, a squirt of Dijon upon servings does wonders to brighten the flavors and tickle your tongue.

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Split Pea Soup

serves 4 when served with bread

based on Molly Katzen's Moosewood Cookbook

Equipment

2 qt. slow cooker (or a big pot and lots of time)

sharp knife

frying pan

stirring utensil

Ingredients

1.5c dry green split peas

3.5c water

1 bay leaf

1t salt

2T oil

0.5 onion, minced

3 stalks celery, minced

1 potato, thinly sliced (2-3mm thick)

2c sliced carrots

2 cloves garlic, minced

0.5c chopped tomatoes

0.25t thyme

0.25c freshly chopped parsley

Dijon mustard, pepper for serving

Directions

1. In the slow cooker, combine the split peas, water, bay leaf and salt. Cook on high for 3-4 hours. (If you don't have a slow cooker, simply simmer this, covered, for 3-4 hours.)

2. Saute the onion, celery, potato and carrots in the oil until the potato and carrot begin to brown slightly. Add the garlic and chopped tomatoes; saute for an additional 5 minutes. (This looked good enough to eat plain!!! I may make this for lunch some day.)

3. Add the vegetable mixture to the slow cooker, along with the thyme. Let cook for an additional 15 minute.

4. Just before serving, add the mustard and parsley. Serve with toasted hunks of bread, in warm bowls.

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The ingredient list is long, but you probably have most of the things on the list already. The process couldn't be simpler.

Each serving has just under 400 calories, with around 20g of protein, and less than 10g of fat. (You could cut the fat by using just 1T of oil.)

If you're a carnivore, chorizo would be good in this, as would the more traditional ham. (Great way to use leftover Christmas ham!!!)

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Butternut Squash

Maybe your knives are sharper than mine, but I think butternut squash is a pain to prep. Most recipes call for peeled, cubed squash, which just counts me out right away.

So when I came across a recipe in the Moosewood cookbook for butternut squash soup with pre-cooked squash, I went for it. (Especially necessary seeing as I'd already cooked the squash just to get it off my counter.)

One of the biggest problems with butternut squash is its overwhelming sweetness. The flavor is too strong to conceal in sweets, and it's too sweet to hide in savory dishes. (We tried a butternut squash chili--it was too sweet to be hearty chili.)

This recipe counters that with the addition of mushrooms and curry powder.

P.S. No blender required!!!

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Butternut Squash Mushroom Soup
serves 4
adapted from the Moosewood Cookbook

Ingredients
3T butter
0.5 onion, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
1 carrot, diced
6-10 medium brown mushrooms, sliced
1T cumin seeds
2T curry powder
1c vegetable stock
1c water
1 butternut squash, pre-cooked to softness and scooped from its skin
salt + pepper

Directions
1. Melt the butter over medium-low heat in a heavy bottom saucepan. Add the onions and a dash of salt, stirring to coat in butter and cooking until just softening.
2. Add the celery and carrot, stir and cook for an additional 3-4 minutes.
3. Add the mushrooms and cumin seeds, stirring every minute or two, and cooking until the mushrooms are browned and fond is forming on the bottom of the pan
4. Add curry powder, stock and water, scraping the fond off the bottom of the pan. Stir to coat the veggies and mix the curry.
5. Add the butternut squash and stir again. Simmer over low heat for 30 minutes, periodically mashing the squash against the side of the pan with a spatula (unless you want chunkier soup).
6. Add salt and pepper to taste.
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10-Minute Dinner

The other day, Dan and I got home at 7:15 starving, with no plans for dinner. So we emptied the fridge and acted fast.

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Quesadillas and Bean Salsa
(serves 2)


Ingredients:
6 corn tortillas
3 oz. shredded cheese
1 can black beans
2 tomatoes
1 can corn (or kernels from one pre-cooked cob that's sitting in the fridge waiting to be made into salsa)
1 lime
1 green onion
1t cumin
cilantro to taste

Directions:
1. Divide the cheese between tortillas and make 6 open-face quesadillas over medium heat. (You'll probably need to do this in batches. Or, you can make 3 normal quesadillas and then peel them open.)
2. While the cheese is melting, drain, rinse and mix the black beans and corn in a large serving bowl. Finely dice the tomatoes and green onion, and add.
3. Add the juice from your lime, sprinkle on the cumin and chopped cilantro, and toss to combine.
4. Serve the quesadillas. Apply salsa liberally. Never apologize for the consequences.
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Veggie Stir Fry

My mom is currently on a low-gluten diet and I'm not eating a lot of meat, which eliminates two of my family's standby meals--pasta and meat+potatoes. We decided to make this delicious veggie stirfry instead.

A few stirfry tips:
- Cut the veggies small--you want them to cook quickly and evenly.
- Put in the hardest vegetables first (like broccoli or carrots) and save the softest veggies for last (like bean sprouts or bok choy). This way they will all be fully cooked.
- Use a really, really hot pan, and stir often. Adding veggies in stages will help keep the pan hot.
- Good seasonings include: ginger, garlic, soy (or tamari to keep it gluten free), sesame oil and sesame seeds. We also used garlic chives for added flavor and vegetable.
- If you want a sauce, add a lot of wilty vegetables (like bok choy) to get extra water and thicken it with cornstarch.

Our stirfry included: green beans, carrots, garlic chives, celery, bok choy, cabbage and bean sprouts.

This are garlic chives. We cut them into 1-2 inch pieces
and added them with the bean sprouts.

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Everyday Veggies: 20 Minute Dinner

Our meal contracts ended at the end of the semester (almost three weeks ago). Because we're on campus training, we are given per diem to pay for our food.

Our budget for this week is $12/day. I know this seems like a lot, but with no cooking equipment, and very few resources (like olive oil, or spices) this is a pretty limited budget. It feels even smaller when you need to eat between 3000 and 4000 calories a day just to maintain weight.

So I've been all about cheap, easy, fast meals. (When it's 95 and you finished practice at 7PM, easy and fast are key ingredients.)

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20-Minute Dinner: Rice and Veggies
serves 2 (generously)

Equipment
stove
big pot
frying pan
knife

Ingredients
1c white rice ($0.50)
a large bunch of kale ($2)
0.5 small head of purple cabbage ($0.50)
pre-chopped mushrooms (or you can chop your own)  ($2)
0.25 medium onion (optional) ($0.08)
olive oil (as much as you can pilfer from the public kitchen)
chili flakes, or whatever other spices you find in the kitchen

Directions
1. Put the rice and 2c of water into a big pot. (Use more rice to stretch this meal even further.) Turn it to high.
2. Remove the stems from the kale. Keeping them separate, chop the cabbage and the onion.
3. When the rice boils, turn it to low and add the kale to the pot. Put the lid on.
4. Heat olive oil in a frying pan. When it's hot, add the spices and onions. Cook 2-3 minutes, then add the mushrooms and cabbage. Continue cooking until the mushrooms and cabbage are softening, about 5 minutes. (If you like well-cooked mushrooms, add these before the cabbage.)
5. Add the mushrooms/cabbage to the big pot. (The rice should be finished cooking at this point.) Mix everything together and enjoy.
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This would also be good with some romano grated over the top, or with frozen spinach instead of kale. The spinach would be a lot cheaper.

Still, $5 for two very generous servings was a great deal. (More rice would have made it an even cheaper meal, albeit less nutritious, by stretching it to three servings. Unfortunately, it was the last of my rice.)

The meal was capped off with raspberry sorbet from the The Bent Spoon and chocolate-hazelnut fudge sauce, courtesy of the public refrigerator. (Everybody has left for the summer--these were clearly abandoned by their previous owners.) Free dessert! YAY!


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Happy Easter: A Lent Recap

Today marks the end of Lent, which is the most important part of Easter for me. Although I'm not religious, I chose to observe Lent this year by giving up meat.

I made the decision somewhat on a whim, but also under the impression that I didn't eat much meat anyways, so it wouldn't be much trouble. Boy, was I wrong!

The hardest part about giving up meat was finding food to eat. Our dining halls are very veg friendly and almost always have a main entree for vegetarians or vegans beyond just the salad bar. Unfortunately, if you don't like that one option, you're out of luck! What I didn't realize before was that those were the days I would end up eating meat. Since I could no longer eat meat when I didn't like the veg entree, I had to get creative.

Fortunately, I quickly learned some good alternatives that kept me going. One of my favorites was a cheese panini. The grilled cheeses here are usually white bread with American cheese, drenched in oil and grilled. Instead, I order a cheddar cheese sandwich on whole grain bread and put it in the panini machine. That plus a salad is perfect for lunch.

I also found my dessert consumption increased significantly. That may have been partly due to an increase in calorie consumption now that we're in season, but I also think it was often the easiest thing to eat. As a result, though, I have often craved savory foods instead of sweet foods over the past few weeks.

Of course, I wasn't perfect. There were one or two nights where I just didn't have the energy to find something without meat. I also didn't go vegetarian, so I could still eat things like marshmallows, or just pick the meat out of a dish that was otherwise made with chicken or beef stock, for example.

To celebrate Easter and the end of Lent, D and I made pork chops for dinner tonight. Even though he didn't give up meat, he's been eating less. Both of us found our 4oz portions of pork to be overwhelmingly large. I also didn't find it particularly satisfying. Sure, it was moist and flavorful, but it wasn't special or that delicious. I would rather have had twice as much roasted broccoli.

Going forward, I expect that I will only eat meat when it is inconvenient to do otherwise. Although I'm sure many vegetarians probably scoff at this lack of commitment, for me it is about cost, convenience and taste, rather than morality or environmental impact. I also hope to find a way to decrease the amount of sweets I eat, too.

I'm sure this will change as Dan and I begin to cook for ourselves this summer and next year. Fortunately, Dan is super patient and understanding, and willing to experiment with not eating meat while I try to figure out what works for me. I'm sure his needs and wants will influence me, but he's been very open to change so far.

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45-Minute Dinner: Roasted Veggies with Pork Loin and Rice Pilaf
serves 2

Everyday Vegetables

Since both D and I have finished our senior theses, we have a lot more time on our hands and have been cooking dinner more often. This was our simple creation for dinner last night.

This would be a great dish to serve on a Meatless Monday. Add a can of chickpeas to the roasted veggies along with the bell peppers if you're concerned about getting enough protein.

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45-Minute Dinner: Cauliflower, Green Beans and Rice
serves 3-4

Equipment:
Baking sheet
Pot
Stove
Knife
Cutting board
Tongs

Ingredients:
1.5c brown rice, uncooked
1 head cauliflower
0.5 lb green beans
0.5 red bell pepper
1 can garbanzo beans (optional)
2 cloves garlic
2t garam masala (optional)
olive oil
salt, pepper

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 450°F.
2. In your pot, put the 1.5c of brown rice along with 4c of cold tap water. Turn the heat to high. When it boils, turn the heat back down to as low as possible, and set a timer for 40 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, clean and chop your veggies. Toss the cauliflower with olive oil and the garam masala on the baking tray. Add salt and pepper to taste.
4. At 20 minutes left in the rice cooking, put the cauliflower in the oven. Toss every 5 minutes to prevent burning and to let any steam escape from the oven.
5. At 10 minutes left in the rice timer, add the green beans and garlic to the cauliflower, tossing to mix. Turn the broiler on and place the veggies back under the broiler.
6. At 5 minutes left on the timer, toss the bell pepper and garbanzo beans with the veggies and return to the broiler.
7. When the timer is done, remove the rice from the stovetop. Check your veggies. If they are golden brown in places, they're done. Otherwise, toss them again and throw them back in for 5 minutes. (The rice will stay hot, I promise.)
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Note: If you have a separate broiler compartment or your broiler takes a while to heat up, you may want to preheat it. Mine heats in about 30 seconds and can't be used at the same time as the oven, so I just changed it over when the veggies went back in the oven at step 5.

Do you participate in Meatless Mondays? Leave a comment or email me at piquantprose [at] gmail [dot] com. 


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Savory Oatmeal

Every time I make this, I get weird looks in the dining hall.

"Is that cheese in your oatmeal?" my companions ask me with wrinkled noses. "Gross!"

Yes, people, that is CHEESE in my oatmeal, delicious, gooey, savory cheese. And if you've never tried it, you're missing out big time!

Not eating meat, dining hall brunch options can be fairly limited. Donuts aren't exactly a great post-practice fuel and buffet style scrambled "eggs" got old about 2 years ago. Plus, I like to get at least one of my 10 daily servings of vegetables (yes, I normally eat ten, not five) before dinner time.

Here's the solution:
1. Pile spinach high in a bowl (I'm talking as much as you can possibly fit) and microwave it for a minute and a half. If there's no microwave, use a little bit less spinach and the oatmeal will be hot enough to get it mostly cooked.
2. Put a big scoop of oatmeal on top of the spinach. Microwave for another 60 seconds if you like your food mouth-burning hot like I do.
3. Add cheese, pumpkins seeds, and whatever else looks good from the salad bar. (If you're a meat eater, bacons bits are particularly delicious!!!)
4. Stir thoroughly and chow down (carefully--it's hot!!!)

Don't eat in the dining halls? Make it at home with your slow cooker!

M+D's Favorite Pasta Sauce

A while back my dad sent me his amazing meat sauce recipe... but I lost it. I asked him for it again, but I don't think he ever remembered to resend it (probably for fear that I would lose it again and it would fall into undeserving hands).

Found this frying pan in the kitchen. It was perfect for tossing.

Instead, D and I searched the archives of Tastespotting for a recipe and found this one. Of course, we didn't actually follow the recipe (for a lot of reasons) but it ended up being delicious.

Over the past year, it's transformed a couple of times and improved a lot. It takes a decent amount of time to get everything in the pot, but most of it is inactive time. It's a great project if you're working on something else in the kitchen--writing blog posts, watching a movie or even making/decorating cookies.

The instructions are long, but they're very step by step. (You don't even have to read all the way through them before starting--they walk you through when to chop and when to add.)

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M+D's Meat Sauce
makes enough for 3lbs of pasta

Equipment:
Cutting board
Chef's knife
Wooden spatula
Medium frying pan
Large pot (plus one for cooking pasta)
Grater (for nutmeg)
Butter knife (or you can use the chef's knife)
Sink
Two burners

Worth every minute. Yum!

Ingredients:
2T olive oil
3T butter, divided
0.5 large onion
2 large carrots or 2 handfuls of baby carrots
2-3 stalks of celery (you want about the same amount as the carrot)
4 cloves garlic
1.5lbs ground beef (as fatty or unfatty as you desire)
1c milk

1 can sweet corn kernels

1 can (15oz.) beef broth (or you can use half broth and half wine--we weren't 21 when we first started making this recipe)
1 32oz. can and 1 15oz can of whole peeled tomatoes (if you have tomato haters, use crushed or diced, or crush them with your hands)
5-10 brown mushrooms (optional, although D's pretty upset that they ever became an option..)
1t red pepper flakes
2 bay leaves
1-2t Italian seasoning, basil or thyme (whatever you have)
0.5 nutmeg
salt, pepper

Roasted Root Veggies

While D and I were picking up ingredients for our energy bars, we also thought we'd grab some veggies for dinner. I contemplated swiss chard, because I was craving it a little bit, but realized I didn't really know how to cook it or what else I'd need to cook it. D also seemed unenthusiastic.

Instead, we picked up a collection of root veggies and stems, and roasted them in the oven. We also added some chicken breast to make it a meal, although to keep it vegetarian, I'd just eat it with a liberal helping of parmesan cheese grated on top, and maybe some shitake mushrooms sauteed in butter. Yum!

The sweetness of the parsnips and the sweet potatoes works really well with the starchy potatoes. We watched an episode of House while dinner was cooking. This is pretty much the easiest dinner ever.. you don't even have to preheat the oven!!! It comes up to temperature while the food is cooking.

Ready for the oven.

Delicious and roasty.

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Roasted Root Veggies

Ingredients:
1 red potato
3 Yukon Gold potatoes
1 purple potato
1 "Japanese" sweet potato (or some other kind)
1 Garnet yam
3 carrots
3 parsnips
0.25c olive oil
1 large clove garlic
salt and pepper

Directions:
1. Cut all the ingredients into 0.5 inch cubes and place them on a baking tray. Mince garlic and add it to the mixture.
2. Pour olive oil over them, grind pepper on top, sprinkle with salt, and toss to mix.
3. Put the veggies in the oven and turn it to 475°F. Bake for about 35 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. The veggies will be soft, fragrant and starting to brown when they're done.
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thirty minute dinner and dessert

We prepped a bit beforehand because we had to travel to the kitchen with all of our stuff, but I got home from practice at 6:15 and we had dinner on the table by 6:45. Dinner was pasta with chicken and veggies plus chocolate chip cranberry nut scones for dessert. If you spend 10 minutes (or less) prepping in the morning before you head out for the day, you could have dinner + dessert ready in thirty minutes or less.

The leftover scones make great breakfast/snack the next day, too!!!

The recipe looks complicated, but it's pretty simple. Basically, mix the scone batter while you're waiting for the water to boil, and bake them while the pasta is cooking. (You can also bake them while you're eating, if it's too hectic to try to bake them while cooking.) Then once the pasta is in the water, cook green beans, and heat pre-cooked chicken, canned corn and tomato sauce; combine with pasta and you have dinner. Yum!

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Thirty Minute Meal
serves four

Dinner in the Microwave: part 2

It's finals week(s) so time is stretched pretty thin right now. Of course, the solution is not to take a blogging break, but to make dinner in the microwave instead!

This is a delicious, protein-packed meal, perfect for two. To make it vegetarian, leave out the chicken, and grate 1-2oz. of cheddar, mozzarella or jack cheese on top of each serving.

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Protein-Packed Microwave Dinner
serves 2


Ingredients:
1c quinoa
2c water
1 15-oz can beans (I used black beans)
6oz. leftover chicken (preferably still cold from the fridge)

Directions:
1. Microwave the quinoa and water in a large, microwave safe container with a loose-fitting lid or plastic wrap for 5 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, cut the chicken into small pieces. Rinse and drain the beans. Mix together in a microwave safe container.
3. When the quinoa has finished, take it out of the microwave and put the chicken and beans in for 2.5 minutes.
4. When the chicken/beans are done, put the quinoa back into the microwave for an additional 5 minutes. Set the table while you're waiting.
5. When the quinoa is done, let it sit for 2 more minutes; if your chicken/beans aren't hot enough, put them back in the microwave during this time.
6. Serve with some freshly grated cheese and some sort of spice. (I used Italian seasoning and romano cheese... yum!)
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It turns out, quinoa is much easier (and faster) to make in the microwave than rice.

Hasselback Sweet Potatoes

We made this for dinner last night. They took a bit of time to prep, but once they went into the oven they were super easy. They're also really pretty and delicious. The sweet potato goes really well with the garlic, since the roasted garlic is a little bit sweeter than raw garlic.

Unfortunately, once again, there was no time to get pictures before they disappeared into our hungry bellies. If you've never heard of hasselback potatoes before, I suggest looking at a recipe like this one, with pictures, so it makes more sense.

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Hasselback Sweet Potatoes

Ingredients
sweet potatoes or yams (I used garnet yams)
garlic, thinly sliced (you'll need about one cloves for every potato)
olive oil (you'll need about a tablespoon per potato)
salt
pepper

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
2. Wash the potatoes and cut off the ends. Slice the potatoes almost all the way through every quarter inch.
3. Place a slice of garlic in each slit of the potato. (These should help hold the potato slices apart.) This is easiest to do if you hold the potato up off the cutting board--the potato opens up like a fan.
4. Rub each potato with olive oil and sprinkle generously with salt. Grind a some fresh pepper on top.
5. Bake for 40-60 minutes, until a knife slides through the potato easily. These are really good when they get really soft.
6. Eat fresh or as leftovers. Yum!!!
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