Simple Saturday

It is Saturday night and at our house, that is not usually dinner party night but "eat a simple dinner and get back to your sermon" night.  Today I'd picked roma green beans, and some ripe tomatoes.

I stemmed and cut the beans in half and cooked til just done. Chilled quickly.  I seeded and cut up a large tomato, finely chopped a garlic clove, and diced about a third of a large vidalia onion. Tossed chilled beans with the other veg and added olive oil,  a handful of fresh chopped herbs (oregano and basil).

 I cooked some penne and chilled and added to the other salad ingredients. When I serve it I'll squeeze a lemon over as a dressing. ( if you make a green bean salad, do not add the acid until you serve so they retain their pretty color)  Maybe add a few hot pepper flakes and a few greek olive pieces.  I'll put a serving on each plate, then place a oven roasted  half chicken breast on top. 

I think it will be delicious. 

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. 

2 long!

its been too long since I've posted. I've been thinking alot about many foodish things: Thanksgiving... a textural yawn, easy meals from my bitchn' kitchen, the REAL basic ingredients, etc. etc. 

Will get back to business very soon. After I finally get the vegetable garden planted!!! 

2wet

2plant!

election eve quick supper

Last night we were very tired and it was getting late. I opened a package of mezzaluna ravioli and made a wilted spinach mixture while the pasta water heated to a boil. I chopped some onion and nearly caramelized it in some olive oil, added about 8 handfuls of chopped baby spinach , a splash of red wine, around 4 smashed and chopped cloves of garlic, a handful of raisins, and a heavy sprinkling of dried red pepper.  All this cooked fragrantly as the mezzaluna bubbled happily in their pot. I browned a handful of pine nuts. After the pasta was drained and resting on a little butter in its bowls, I topped with the spinach mixture, the pine nuts  and some shavings of romano cheese.

We were very happy with this simple dinner on election eve. 

a few thoughts on cake

Yesterday I made a german chocolate cake for a church thing on Sunday. That means that this morning there was a huge cake on our dining room table.  Well, it's been whispering to us since I frosted it last night: "try me, try me", so, as it is a gigantic two layer rectangle, I  guiltily sliced off about an inch from one end.

We happily ate most of this as our Saturday morning second breakfast.

Cake is so very special, particularly purloined church cake, I think it is best enjoyed on a plate with a fork. 

By the way, I used buttermilk in the cake batter. It makes it nice and tender.

bluefish

 I remember when I was a young, poor art student in Maine. We would eat whatever fish was running at the time. We would buy bluefish, which was really cheap then, then  stuff  it with brown rice, carrots and season with tamari.  It was a great dinner to share with friends.  So today, when I saw bluefish at the market, I had to buy one and re-visit this often overlooked fish. 

 Yes, it is fishy. But that is not a bad thing! It is also inexpensive and full of Omega 3. So I selected a 3 pounder and had it headed and cleaned there. Here is how I cooked this fellow and what you will need;

a fresh bluefish

some rice, or you could use any grain actually

some onion

a nice fresh bunch of kale

a handful of mushrooms (not essential)

an apple

a garlic clove, slice into slivers

some lemon, soy sauce, wine

Please keep in mind you can use whatever you have around in this. I do, however, think a fresh green, like kale or swiss chard or even spinach or mustard greens are essential.

Cook some brown rice, not alot, about 1/3 cup.

Clean and cut up a bunch of SC kale. In a large frying pan, sautee 1/2 onion sliced, add kale, a little Slap Yo Mama (actually garlic salt and cayenne) and add a generous T or so of hungarian paprika. 

Slorp some red wine over, cover pan and cook til kale was done.

Meantime, split the fish open more so it opens like a book, and further clean him up: cleaning the cavity, removing the spine and ribs using needle nose pliers,  rinsing well. 

Rub cavity with soy sauce  and fresh lemon juice.

Mix the rice with the kale mixture, and add about 3/4 granny smith apple chopped up.

Now, there is too much of this to use in the fish. You can heat up leftover for lunch as is, or, add a little broth and make it a soup.

Back to the fish.  Stuff fish with veg rice mixture. Tie with a string in 3 places ot hold it together. Rub skin side up wiuth olive oil. Slash this side in 4 places and insert slivers of garlic.

Slorp a little wine (red or white, whichever) over filling to keep it moist.

Roast at 400 til done, approx 30-40 minutes. Serves 3 generously. Or more, if you buy a larger fish

rainy morning

We are finally having the rain we need. Rick came back from the barn with only one egg. Our chickens are molting and their output is much diminished. I decided a colorful breakfast would be great, and made a saute of a little onion, a few small garden tomatoes, a bit of garlic in a little olive oil. I added a handful of spinach after the other items had softened. While this was wilting , I boiled a fresh egg for 4 minutes. Instead of salt, I added just a little (about a tsp) of feta to the veg mixture when I put in in a smallish bowl. Dropped the shelled egg on top of.

The runny yolk combined with the veg to make a colorful, rich, delicious and filling breakfast.