under construction.. sort of

For about two weeks, our kitchen and family room floors have been in various stages of remodel. We've eaten out more than usual. Luckily, the very old original floor has now been blessedly covered with a new sub-floor. (Note on the photo the new pine boards positioned on the subfloor, and the very attractive mac and skype set up cords, etc.)  All this improvement has meant my trusty chopping block has been parked elsewhere, and I have lost important work space. 

My preparation habits have changed. I have become much tidier in food prep... less prep space means every inch counts. Things get put away immediately. Smaller cutting boards are used, my counters are narrow. Meals need to be chopped and dumped directly in to heat, no stages such as browning and de-glazing while one makes a tasty sauce.

Anyway, our vegetable garden is producing nicely  and I made the following for dinner twice this week, with variations.  I put about 2 C of white wine in a pot, and  an equal amount of water. I added some onion, chopped finely, and a couple of fresh tomatoes, diced up, and 3 or 4 smashed garlic cloves, a handful of kosher salt and a handful of chopped fresh oregano and basil and 1/2 a chopped jalapeno (including seeds) Let all that simmer for awhile. I then added a few diced zucchini and a pound of mussels. Also a glob of butter-like stuff ( I used smart balance)

Cooked til mussels were done, dumped the whole thing in to a big bowl and served at table in soup bowls. There is alot of broth so this is more like a soup that has mussels in it. We crunched on a good chewy, crusty baguette from our Farmers Market along with this. 

The variation for night # 2 was  not using the herbs and adding cumin and a bit of smoked papricka and a handful of frozen peas for a Spanish feel. 

 

This  #2 variation supper lived on as lunch today. Leftover broth and veg's became a soup when I added 1/2 freshly diced avocado.