You are currently browsing the category archive for the 'Vegetarian' category.
Storkbite and I just returned from an extended tour of the Midwest and we are trying to get our groove back. Lately the goings on in our kitchen have been as easy on the chef as possible. It was hard traveling alone with the babe, but dealing with an unreliable napper after getting home has been hard on Storkbite Stew and harder on me. With all this in mind I’ve been making dinners that are both quick and comforting. This soup reminds me of the time when I was 22, single, living in Chicago in the middle of winter. I would find myself at the neighborhood bar under the “L” where all I could afford was a pint and a bowl of potato soup.
Basic Potato Soup
So, I recreate it now for my family and all those wonderful memories at the bar with a fireplace when the wind chill was 40 below come rushing back!
It’s easy: Skin a bag of small potatoes or half a bag of large potatoes. Cube them. Sautee a little garlic, an onion, and your potatoes in a few tablespoons of olive oil. Pour in a box of stock (I like Imagine brand - chicken or vegetable), then fill the box of stock up with water and add it. Make sure all the potatoes are covered. Add salt and pepper to taste. Let it simmer until the potatoes are cooked through. Puree in a blender or with a stick blender. Top with grated cheddar and chives and serve with buttered toast. That’s it - there is nothing to it.
Some nights are healthier than others at Storkbite’s house. Papa has been working hard lately, so I decided to reward him with the best fried chicken I could make. Because he loves it so much he even got involved in the production process so everybody won. Polenta night means that our coffers are empty, I’m out of ideas and there isn’t any time for preparation. Here is what we came up with.
Fried Chicken and Biscuits
Even though fried food is totally unhealthy, I did my best to select free-range anti-biotic free bird for the project. It all got washed, dried, dredged in flour, then in buttermilk, then in panko bread crumbs souped up with Old Bay and salt. Into the hot hot hot oil the little birds went. We ended up with best fried chicken I’ve ever made.
The biscuit recipe came from the Joy of Cooking with two amendments: instead of shortening I use LARD (you know it, manteca, ummmm), and instead of milk I used buttermilk. Lard is one of those guilty pleasures, it really does make a pie crust and a biscuit more crumbly, and if you don’t eat it every day you might live until your 65. I’m willing to take the risk and I’m going to feed it to my baby too. You will be pleased to know that the thought crossed our mind to fry the chicken in lard, but we did exercise some self-restraint. I served roasted potato chips on the side.
Polenta, Chard and Yellow Tomatoes
Sometimes I run out of ideas and processing all the vegetables the CSA is bringing on becomes and arduous task. In this case I baked up some polenta rounds and sauteed chard and yellow tomatoes in olive oil and garlic. Once the vegetables were tender enough to consume, I layered it on top of the polenta rounds. With a little cubed fresh mozzarella and a dusting of parmesan cheese it turned out to be an excellent and quick dinner and lunch the day after. For not having a plan it turned out to be a very rewarding and visually appealing treat.
It’s a bumper crop for zucchini this year - at least from our CSA. I’m almost running out of ideas on how to process it. Storkbite is consuming her fair share, it was her first “real” food after all. I’m not sick of it yet, but it’s getting real hard to be creative. There has been an overload of eggplant as well. I’m doing better with it than last year, the last one is going into a baba ganouge today. I don’t think we will see the end of it though now tomatos are abundant. My new breakfast is toast, grilled tomato and a friend egg. Here are a few highlights from the past few days:
Eggplant Rollatini
This was a really easy dish that was prepped over the course of a few days. One thing I’m learning is take time to prep when you can get it. Storkbite doesn’t allow me time to actually enjoy what I’m doing in the kitchen now that she slithers. On the day I got seven eggplants, I sliced them all the long way and grilled them with a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper. When they cooled, I neatly piled them into a plastic container and stashed them in the refrigerator. A few days later (not sure how many) I pulled out my eggplant and made the rollatini.
Simply use a small container of ricotta cheese, mix in an egg, salt, pepper and chopped parsly. Combine it in a mixing bowl and set aside. Add a ladle full of some sauce (in this case my very own Basic Sauce) to the bottom of your olive oiled baking dish and begin to roll your eggplant. It doesn’t have to be pretty and sometimes it’s easier to put two eggplant peices together laid flat. Add a dollop of cheese and roll. Once you have all your rollatini in the dish, cover it them with sauce and shredded mozzarella cheese. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes until the cheese is golden brown. This was a Papa pleaser - he loves cheesy baked goodness and it’s a great way to use up your eggplants.
Salmon Loaf
I have no idea what to call this except “Salmon Loaf” which sounds horrible because it was so delicious! I realized that I had nice grilled salmon left over from the onigiri which was just sitting in the refrigerator calling my name. Storkbite’s Papa was so taken with this that he wants it worked into our regular menu. It was very easy so that is fine with me. The filling consists of chopped grilled salmon, chopped scallions, chives, black sesame seeds and a dash of sesame oil to combine it. Then I wrapped the filling in sheets of puffed pastry dough available in the freezer section of any super market. Once it was nicely rolled up I put slits on the top to let the steam out, brushed them with a little oil and sprinkled with black sesame seeds. I baked these at 425 (as indicated on the dough package) for 30 minutes until golden brown and puffy. I served by slicing these through the pre-sliced slits which helps to keep the pretty puff pastry in tact. With a simple salad these were a huge hit, and made great room-temp leftovers for lunch.
Mini Burgers
One of my favorite things is a mini burger. It satisfies my itch for a burger and doesn’t weigh me down after eating 1 lb. of beef. I like to buy mini dinner rolls at the bakery and make them at home. In this case I used ground turkey, doctered it up with an egg, salt, pepper, chopped scallions and diced green peppers which I combined in a mixing bowl. I grilled zucchini chips for toppings and cut up tomatos. Once I formed my mini burgers into balls, I grilled them on my trusty grill pan.
These got assembled on a toasted bun with olive oil mayo, grilled zuccs, cheddar cheese and fresh tomatos. They knocked my socks off and were probably on the healthier side of things too.
The CSA vegetables this summer are getting really darn fresh. We have gotten the best watermelon - way better than the kind you get down at the Key Food. Storkbite’s Papa doesn’t like his watermelon with anything on it, so I made this salad for my lady friends. The summer chowder is one of those basic soups that has everything but the kitchen sink - an old summer standby.
Watermelon Salad with Feta
The key to this dish is to cut the watermelon as nicely as possible. I sprinkled crumbled feta, basil and olives over it then drizzled on balsamic vinegar and olive oil. A sprinkle of salt and pepper and that’s it. The sweeter and juicier the watermelon - the better. It’s a classic summer treat.
Summer Chowder
This starts with a box of chicken or vegetable stock (I like Imagine brand), the equivalent in water, then a bunch of chopped vegetables. In this case I sauteed onion, celery, zucchini in a little olive oil, salt and pepper. When the onions were glassy I added carrots and corn cut off the cob. I added the stock and water, more salt and pepper, and just let it simmer away until the vegetables were tender. Maybe about 20 - 30 minutes. Once I was ready to serve, I added heavy cream until the soup turned pale yellow and fresh cut basil.
We ate this hot and cold for days and days. It’s always nice to have soup in the refrigerator for lunches, especially now with Storkbite when mama’s lunch can be a daunting prospect.
Every now and again I try out a recipe from a magazine. Generally I look at all the pictures, scan the ingredients and make my own variation. I prefer that method because I do not have a suitable stand to hold a recipe book on my small kitchen counter. However, this time I “tested” out the recipe for braised chicken with dried plums from the September 2008 issue of Martha’s Everyday FOOD. There are a lot of great things about this magazine especially the small format and excellent photographs of mouth watering food. The one problem I always encounter with the dishes that I try is that richness is somehow missing. Either there is not enough butter, cream or cheese. I’m sure it’s more healthy, but I’m often left wanting more…
Braised Chicken with Dried Plums
You can get the precise recipe from Martha. My problem with the dish is that the wine (2 cups of dry white) was very overwhelming. The polenta on the side was too dense and the chicken seemed undercooked since it was browned on either side for 6 - 8 minutes total and then braised in the liquid for another 8 - 10 minutes. I was a little bit squeamish since my chicken was glassy and had colored juices running forth. Hmmm… Back to making up my own stuff, I guess.
Basic Sauce
Every summer when I have loads of vegetables to process I make this sauce. It’s easy, delicious, requires no canning equipment and was my mother’s idea. My mom is an expert canner. In this case I do not use the term lightly as the lady wins blue ribbons and this year Best in Show at our local county fair. No fear of botulism with her goods. I don’t have nearly the amount of vegetables that need to be processed so I make this simple freezer sauce and it’s just as delicious in my opinion because everything is roasted first. In this batch I roasted zucchini, eggplant, tomatoes, garlic and green peppers at 425 for about an hour. Everything got a good dousing of olive oil and salt and pepper sprinkle before their roast. Once the vegetables are roasted, remove the skins on the tomatoes and let them cool in their juices on the pan. After it’s all cool, simply process the sauce in a food processor (in batches if you have a lot) adding olive oil to emulsify and freeze in small portions. I generally use it up within the first month because it’s so amazing. It’s great on pasta, pizza, ice cream.
The last two nights have been hot as hell here in the City. If you live here then you know that you might as well take all your clothes off and try and cook a meal if you absolutely need to cook yourself a hot meal. Last night I was unable to bring myself to turn on the gas, but tonight I was much more brave. I paid for it tonight and everyone was in a bad mood because of it. Storkbite nearly expired. She had to be excused, took a cool shower and went to bed. I, on the other hand, was able to chill out with a crisp glass of rosé avec an ice cube.
Piyaz
This bean salad is something that I learned from our local Turkish restaurant and it suddenly became a favorite hot day food at our house. It’s so simple, just combine one can of white beans with chopped red onion, garlic, basil, parsley, salt, pepper and olive oil. Mix it up and you have a delicious antipasti called Piyaz that can be eaten with olives, feta, and toasted bread. This is a perfect meal for a hot day, no heating or cooking required.
Striper Filets and Zucchini
Tonight’s dinner required the kitchen to get heated up and it was unpleasant - I’ll warn you. However, it was well worth it to taste the fresh zucchini and butterstick squash cooked down in butter, cipollini onions and olive oil. All of those fresh vegetables were compliments of our CSA. I simply thawed and grilled some white striper filets on my grill pan. Standing over the grill plan was not my most brilliant idea of the day, but fish cooks in a few seconds so it was painful for only a moment. Delicious combination and seriously fresh.
It’s been a hot week in NYC and since we forwent our CSA box last week we almost had to eat mac n’ cheese this week. Instead I got creative with my sandwich making skills. The first night we had variation of a BLT with A (for avocado) and no L (for lettuce) and the next night we had a hummus and avocado masterpiece. The key to these great sandwiches is this amazing Turkish bread which is spongy on the inside yet toasts up crunchy on the outside. It’s SO delicious and versatile. Every time I ask the folks at our local Turkish grocery about this bread they only tell me that it’s called “Turkish bread”, not very helpful for those who do not have a local Turkish grocery. That’s one of the many beauties of living in ethnically diverse Queens. Anyhow, for consumers out there - foccacia is a similar type of bread and can be used to build this sandwich.
Tuesday night we built the following sandwich: bacon, sprouts, tomato, avocado, cucumber (no lettuce) and olive oil mayonnaise. The particular brand I used was called Mayoliva which I first bought in Argentina and then subsequently found at a bakery in Corona Queens.
Wednesday night it was more of the same: avocado, tomato, sprouts, hummus and olive oil mayonnaise. It really hit the spot and the cucumbers cool things down after a hot day. It’s CSA night tonight and I’m feeling a big pizza coming on. We will see if we can swing it and if Storkbite cooperates tonight.
Start to finish -This sandwich can be prepped and ready in 10 minutes.
When I was younger and had the time and money to travel around on a shoestring and crash on people’s couches, I went to Paris for a few weeks and tried to find the best salade chevre chaud. I found it too, I know exactly where it is and it’s one of the best in Paris. I took my then fiance and now husband to the same little cafe and had it many years later - it was the same. When I had more time in general before Storkbite came along, I used to make this extremely elaborate chevre chaud and it was delicious. It was a very colorful composed salad situated on a bed of greens tossed in a moutarde vinagrette. Shredded carrot, red cabbage and couscous was carefully arranged and to top it all off were the square packets of goat cheese stuffed crepes. This salad rocket my world and I would really give anything (except Storkbite) to go to Paris right now and eat ten of those salads at that very sweet cafe.
What I learned on my quest is that the salad was made differently everywhere I sampled it. Sometimes I didn’t even like the salad at all. If I hadn’t had the best one ever first then I may never have liked it. My personal salade chevre chaude has deteriorated over the years. Now it’s really nothing more that toasted goat cheese on bread over salad. I make it differently every time - knowing that it’s completely OK to do so.
So for tonight’s chevre chaude I toasted some bread with olive oil and salt. I cut my goat cheese (it works better to cut it with dental floss) and coated the rounds in store bought bread crumbs. I popped them into the freezer while catering to Storkbite’s every whim. Once I got back I tossed greens in vinagrette and sliced some cherry tomatoes. I heated butter and olive oil in a pan and then put in the little chevres. Just a couple minutes on each side - too long and the chevre will melt.
Arrange them on the toast and you done. It’s a very quick process and to me this salad is equally as comforting as baked mac n’ cheese.
It’s a challenge to try and use the entire CSA box every week. It’s only the second week, the boxes are still small and I’m already slightly overwhelmed. The weather is unseasonably hot here in NYC and I want to stay away from my kitchen as much as possible. Last night was Friday and I wanted to make something special, but what to do with mushrooms, arugula and strawberries?
On hot nights a sandwich is really the way to go. While Storkbite sat in her bouncy seat in the middle of the kitchen, I cleaned the mushrooms and coated them in a garlic, olive oil and white balsamic vinegar marinade. Then Storkbite started to loose it, and Papa was running behind schedule so I had to abandon our dinner preparations and restart the process later.
During bath time I was able to get myself back to those mushrooms and grill them on a very hot stove top grill pan. It didn’t take long until I was called away again so I turned off the stove and let the mushrooms carry-over cook on the grill.
Finally we got Storkbite in bed and we were free to open the bottle of Rose I was saving for the weekend. I sliced a loaf of bread, layered it with the grilled baby bellas, arugula, orange and yellow tomatoes and smeared on some goat cheese. With a nest of argulua leaves on the side covered in lemon, olive oil and slivered Parmesan cheese it hit the spot on a hot night.
I really like to make an event out of Friday nights and make a special dessert. Sometimes it’s nothing fancy - just a scoop of ice cream. However, this week our CSA came with these sweet little strawberries which were the first of the year’s crop. I almost ate the whole box when I got them on Thursday, but instead I came up with the idea of making a pavlova after seeing the meringues at the bakery earlier that morning. I had seen a picture of this extravagant dessert in a magazine not long ago and decided that I will never have the patience to make it. What I didn’t realize at the time is that the meringues are available at bakeries and all I have to do it whip cream and cut strawberries! Any berry can be used and it’s simple, delicious and a real crowd pleaser.
Meringue for Pavlova - $1 each
Recent Comments