Not Quite Vegan

You'd think after all these years as a dedicated carnivore after 6 weeks on a vegan diet I'd be dreaming of grilled t-bones and super smokey ribs. But no, day in and day out the thing I missed most -- except of course for cheese which has been my go to snack, lunch, treat for decades -- were anchovies.
A fish I don't even particularly like on it's own, I found myself craving the briny tang and edible umami of anchovies.
Tonight for a subtle break from our daily vegetable diet I cooked up a batch of braised broccoli. First I sautéed 2 minced garlic cloves and 10 anchovies in olive oil along with a tiny sprinkle (James has been staying away from chiles much to my dismay) of red pepper flakes. Then I added in a couple pounds of trimmed blanched broccoli (I used the pasta water to blanch the vegetables) and let it braise almost fully covered for about 15 minutes until soft -- way softer than Americans normally eat vegetables but comforting somehow. Then I piled in the drained 100% whole wheat (in deference to our diet) pasta and a splash of the pasta cooking water and stirred around over low heat to make a quick sauce.
A treat with my tiny fishy favorite flavor friends.

Broccoli and Beans

A simple sauté of vegetables and beans with a familiar family secret -- anchovies. I started in the usual way; a pan with warming olive oil and chopped garlic. For extra flavor I added in about 6 anchovy filets and a dash of crushed red peppers. I stirred as the pan warmed to dissolve the anchovies into the oil and then added in broccoli florets. After 5 minutes or so the broccoli was bright green and crisp. I added in some pre-cooked beans (these were borlotti I had in the fridge) about 1/2 cup of water and brought everything to a simmer. After 5 minutes the broccoli was tender and ready to serve over warm goat cheese polenta and a sprinkling of parmesan cheese for a hearty spring supper.

Simple Weeknight Dinner

Some nights I just don't feel up to a big production. I've got a vicious case of poison oak and just want to lay around and try not to itch. Dinner has to be easy.
I love to roast vegetables. So simple. Peel (or trim), cut, toss in a little olive oil and seasoning and pop in the oven. Tonight at the same 425º setting I did cubes of butter nut squash sprinkled with cayenne pepper and fresh broccoli with garlic topped with parmesan cheese for the last couple minutes in the oven. In the middle, maybe a misnomer, crock pot fried chicken. I toss chicken pieces in seasoned flour and layer them in the slow cooker drizzled with melted butter. 8-10 hours on low makes the ultimate walk away and forget it entree. James always likes it and has no idea how easy it is. A great weeknight dinner -- itch or not.

Quick Dinner At Home

Hands off cooking. That's what I call it. Long cooking dishes that simmer with barely any help at all. More often than not I am doing three or four other things while I am getting dinner ready. So I keep a mental catalogue of busy day dinner recipes.
At the top of that list is crock pot polenta. I don't know why I would ever make it any other way (except maybe baked). Whisk together 2 cups of polenta with 7 cups hot water  (sometimes I use part stock or milk), a pinch of salt and 2 TB of olive oil. Then whisk in a good quantity of grated cheese (12 ounces maybe) -- I like parmesan but cheddar, fontina, or pecorino are all good choices. No stirring (unless I walk by and feel like peeking in), no worrying just 2 hours on high and you have a creamy, cheesy, comforting base for dinner.
Vegetables are usually the last minute dish I am struggling to have ready with the rest of the meal. While I was slow cooking I thought I'd try a variation on long cooking broccoli rabe. I combined 2 cups of broccoli florets and peeled stems. 1 cup of olive oil, a hearty pinch of crushed chile peppers,  6 peeled cloves of garlic and a sprinkle of salt in a saucepan. I put everything over medium heat until the oil started to sizzle, tossed in 1/2 cup water, covered the pot and let the broccoli simmer on low for an hour and 15 minutes. This is old fashioned. Not modern crunchy vegetables, but soft warm deep green flavor.
I turned the polenta to low after maybe an hour and 45 minutes and let the broccoli wait while I pan fried spicy Italian sausage.
A perfect combo, homemade with hardly a moments work.

Trying Something A Little Special

I try to find little treats for James when I can.
The fish monger at the farmer's market had beautiful dry scallops just waiting for my skillet. Dry scallops are shucked on the boat much like wet scallops but instead of being plunged into cold water (and often preservatives or chemical salts) they are kept dry. They don't plump up absorbing water so the flavor is more concentrated, more pure scallop.
I didn't have to do much to make these special. I seared the scallops (seasoned with salt and pepper) quickly in a hot pan with about 1/4 of cup olive oil, 3 sliced cloves of garlic and a bit of butter then removed them to a waiting bowl. Scallops cook quickly and in about 3-4 minutes even these jumbos were finished. Into the pan went the juice of 2 lemons, 2 tsp chopped rosemary, and a pinch of red paper flakes. I let the juice reduce and then added in the scallops (and collected juices) and a small pat of butter, gave everything a good toss to coat with the lemony butter sauce and served the mollusks over steamed broccoli and tiny new potatoes from our garden. Three of James' favorites on one simple but still special plate.

Think Of Something Quick

After a whole day weeding and digging in the garden I was too tired to move much less think about dinner. But there dinnertime was, staring me in the face with no plan in sight.
I started with the rice cooker. We'd have something over rice.
I was moving kind of slowly so I decided on a slow dinner -- slow-cooked broccoli and pancetta over rice. I only had to get up every few minutes or so to stir.  It doesn't look like much, but with a drizzle of oregano vinaigrette James thought it was pretty special -- just like I had it planned.

Summer's Favorite Sauce

Stretching our backyard harvest into yet another meal I whipped up a batch of one of my favorite garden treats -- arugula pesto. I pulse together grated parmesan (1 cup -- or whatever sharp aged cheese I have in the fridge), arugula (4-5 cups), garlic (3-4 cloves), 3-4 TB lemon juice to taste, S&P, around a half cup of blanched almonds and about 3/4 cup olive oil into a hearty, still a bit chunky paste. An all purpose sauce that keeps well in the fridge or freezer, arugula pesto is great on sandwiches and stirred into soups . Tonight I topped a big bowl of spaghetti and broccoli (boiled with the pasta for the last 4 minutes of cooking time) with a good sized dollop of the piquant co cooking required sauce and a super fresh lightly olive oil fried egg (thanks Foggy).

Sunday Soup

James was feeling a little under the weather so soup seemed just the thing. Plus he loves broccoli rabe and I happened to have an easy recipe tucked away for lentil soup topped with the tasty, bitter vegetable.
First I started chopped onion (1), 2 stalks of celery, 2 carrots carrot, 1 plum tomato and 3 cloves of garlic sautéing in olive oil (I started the onion first and then added the other vegetables to give the onion a chance to soften). Then I added in two cups of green lentils, 4 cups of chicken broth, 4 1/2 cups of water, 2 bay leaves, S&P, and several sprigs of thyme. I brought the soup up to a boil and let it simmer for 30 minutes, just until the lentils were tender. I had some cooked rice in the fridge so I added that into the pot and heated it through. When the soup was finished I added a splash of lemon juice to the pot for a little acidity.
Meanwhile I boiled the chopped broccoli rabe in salted water for about 4 minutes. I topped the soup with a sprinkle of goat cheese, broccoli rate, and a drizzle of flavorful olive oil.
Mmmmm soup.

Carrie Called It, "Secret Single Behavior"

James is out of town. I'm home doing all the things I don't do when James is around -- catching up on some sewing, wearing pajamas 'til noon, watching "My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding", eating Chinese food. Tonight I made a simple tofu and broccoli stir-fry. Delicious and diet-friendly.

Foiled By Technology

One small disadvantage of our new home is the not up to urban parr internet service. On a good day it's slow and on a bad day -- well you can wait quite a while for repairs. So, James' dinner has been a blog free secret for the last couple meals.

Tonight I am back with a real winner: spaghetti with squid, broccoli, and chckpeas. Simple and something slightly different. I started with hot olive oil in a pan and sautéed sliced garlic, crushed red peppers, 3 anchovy filets. I mashed the anchovies into the oil and tossed in the squid sliced into rings (or manageable tentacle pieces) for just a few seconds really until the squid picked up a little color. Then I added a drained can of chickpeas, chopped parsley and a splash of white wine and let the squid simmer until just cooked. meanwhile I was cooking the spaghetti along with the broccoli florets in boiling salted water. n a departure from my usual process I put the broccoli in the pot when I added the pasta so it would cook down and be extra soft. When I added the drained noodles and veg to the sauce the extra soft broccoli formed a light green sauce -- almost like a pesto -- that clung to the noodles deliciously.

Potatoes and Beans

James, the dogs and I spent all day outside doing yard work. When it came time for dinner I could barely think. I just had no idea. I put some potatoes in the oven to bake. Figured that was a good place to start no matter what went with it. James loves broccoli so I decided to steam some up. My first thought was baked potatoes with broccoli and cheese, but that seemed like it would need a salad and I just didn't feel like washing any lettuce. Besides it never hurts to have a little protein after a long day's work. I looked in the cupboard and happened on a jar of big beautiful white beans and quickly decided on a bean sauté to top those baked potatoes. I mixed diced bacon, onion, celery, crushed red peppers, parsley, thyme, and a bit of fresh sage in a saucepan with warm olive oil and let the vegetables sauté until the onions were tender. I added in the beans, heated through (well a little more than just through to let the beans absorb some of the flavor) and finished the "sauce" with a touch of cream.

How Many Points Is That?

New Year's resolutions come and go, but let's just say I wasn't the only new member at the WeightWatcher's meeting in town. Sigh.

Tonight's dinner, in the interest of success, was a Weight Watcher's recipe (if you can call it a recipe). Seasoned chicken breasts were drizzled with 1 tsp of olive oil, 2 tsp of lemon juice, fresh thyme and oregano then baked at 400º for 30 minutes in a pan with 1/4 cup of chicken broth in the bottom. I tossed in some mushroom caps to roast alongside the chicken. A small baked potato and a diest-size, zero points pile of steamed broccoli rounded out the plate. I gave James' dish a little extra flavor with a drizzle of olive oil and buttered potatoes.

For those of you keeping track, this is a 10 point dinner. For those of you not -- lucky you.

Baked Pork Chops

Around four o'clock James called to tell me he was already really hungry. Should he eat something while he was out running errands or could we have dinner on the early side, he wondered. I was just about finished with my chores and started to dream up a dinner I could make happen quickly but would still be satisfying on a nice fall Saturday night. Plus -- we spent a good part of the morning cleaning the house so something I could do and keep the kitchen fairly clean was a bonus.

Somehow I landed on pork chops. I usually cook them in a frying pan but in the interest of my splatter free kitchen I decided to bake the chops with a tasty crunchy crust. I mixed together panko bread crumbs, matzoh meal (okay I had it in the house from a past matzoh ball adventure and used it in spite of the odd combo with pork chops), thyme (both dried and fresh) chopped parsley, onion powder, oregano, lemon zest, S&P, parmesan cheese and crushed red chiles into a coating. I dipped each chop in an egg mixed with buttermilk and then in the crispy coating. The chops baked for about 17 minutes at 350º. The coating (and the buttermilk) protected the meat and what can often be a dry dish was perfectly tender, moist and juicy. Alongside on James' plate were home grown mini potatoes roasted in lemon juice, oregano and olive oil, and roasted broccoli topped with parmesan cheese.

Simple saturday night fare.

Not So Pretty But Plenty Tasty

I know most people make risotto with white wine and it does preserve the creamy white color . . . but that dash of red wine instead is just so tasty and a great combination with plain shredded parmesan. Since I had homemade chicken broth in the fridge I whipped up a quick red wine risotto and topped the creamy rice with garlic and red pepper sautéed broccoli, just because James loves it. Easy homerun dinner

Simple Soup

A quick snack before an afternoon meeting in Budapest turned out to be a very interesting idea. Smooth broccoli soup with sauteed wild mushrooms and a poached egg. To be honest I like my poached eggs a little less firm (well a lot less) but I love the idea of the runny yolk flavoring the grassy, simple soup.

Steamed Vegetable Salad

Vegetables tend to pile up in the drawer. They look so beautiful in the garden or at the farmer's market and I tuck them away in the crisper, usually with no idea of what I intend to make. Today I looked in and realized it was time to put those veggies to work. James and I are popping out of town and I didn't want them to wait on our return. So and unusual combo of vegetables turned into a summer salad. I steamed broccoli rabe and yellow beans and dressed them (while still warm so they soaked up the flavor) in olive oil, S&P. Then I roasted a couple of red peppers over a flame (right on the gas stove) and added them, peeled and chopped, into the bowl. Before serving I dressed the mixture with lemon juice, more olive oil, oregano, chile peppers, peperoncini, and a sprinkle of feta cheese. I cooked some quinoa in the slightly colored and flavored water left from steaming the vegetables and brought this salad of necessity to the table. A cleaner fridge and a summer salad dinner. James never suspected.

Martha Let Me Down

Since James enjoyed last night's salad and crostini combo so much I thought I'd try again and find a really interesting salad. After a little internet search I settled on a Martha Stewart recipe for a broccoli rabe salad with carrots and radicchio. James loves broccoli rabe. We have a load of carrots from a juicing binge not too long ago. That salad seemed perfect for us. It was beautiful in the bowl but the dressing was just kind of ordinary and in fact didn't add much to the combination. It was just okay. Not good enough.

Mercifully I paired this lackluster salad with super delicious crostini. I sautéed mushroom slices in butter and olive oil until they were golden brown. I added in a minced clove of garlic, chopped fresh thyme, and a finely diced shallot and cooked for about 5 minutes more -- until the shallot was tender. I deglazed the pan with a splash of water and topped slices of toasted (drizzled with olive oil) ciabatta with the mushroom mixture. A delicate goat's milk gouda topped the mushrooms. After two minutes under the broiler and a shower of chopped parsley the best part of dinner was ready to serve. Sorry Martha, tonight was not your night.

Another Vegetarian Treat

James has never really been what I'd call a "meat and potatoes" kind of guy. Lately he's been in the mood for vegetable dinners and lighter salads. Tonight I paired up some white beans I had cooked a while ago and stored in the freezer with fresh steamed broccoli. I sautéed sliced shallots, garlic, crushed red chiles, and a sprig of fresh rosemary in olive oil and added in the drained beans and a portion of the bean cooking liquid. I let the beans simmer over medium heat until the liquid cooked down and the simple ingredients combined to a thick sauce, almost a chunky purée. I seasoned the beans with salt and pepper and topped them with the broccoli, a drizzle of olive oil and a few shreds of parmesan cheese. Super rustic, super easy, super dinner.

Broccoli Telefono

"Honey, if I put on some water can we have spaghetti?" James called from the kitchen.

I had just walked in from work and started to type up some notes from the day -- forgetting, for a moment all about dinner.

The water was already boiling when I popped up so I decided on a quick broccoli sauce (I had a bag of florets in the fridge). I dropped the spaghetti into the salted, boiling water and when it had four minutes left to cook added in the broccoli. I saved about a cup of the pasta cooking liquid and put the drained spaghetti (with the broccoli) back into the cooking pot along with a large handful of shredded pecorino cheese, lots of cracked black pepper, about 1/2 cup of the cooking water and a good sized knob of butter. I gave everything a good stir combining the broccoli (and breaking it up a bit) and the cheese into a light sauce. Somehow I felt a little extra cheese might be right and I added some cubed, fresh mozzarella to the pot and let it melt and form the long chewy strands the Italians call "al telfono."

Oven Fried Chicken

Buttermilk is back.

I always found uses for it, but lately it's been my go to ingredient. I've been baking and soaking and whipping and mashing, all with sweet low-fat buttermilk.

Tonight it became a tenderizing marinade for oven fried chicken. I added sliced onions, garlic, hot sauce, and S&P to the buttermilk and plopped in nice fat chicken drumsticks. I let the whole package soak for about 12 hours. For the coating I used a seasoned combo of panko bread crumbs, flour, parmesan cheese, paprika, and thyme. I drained the chicken (and saved the buttermilk for some later, hold in the freezer, pork chops) and rolled the legs in the coating. I let the chicken sit at room temperature for about 20 minutes while the oven preheated to 425º. I drizzled the chicken with melted butter and baked it for 50 minutes while I roasted some rosemary potatoes. Twenty minutes before the chicken was ready I popped some broccoli spread on a baking sheet and tossed with garlic, S&P, and olive oil in the oven. When the broccoli was roasted I tossed it (following a Barefoot Contessa recipe) with lemon zest, pine nuts, lemon juice, parmesan, and more olive oil (always more oil with Ina).

Oven-ready dinner, minimum fuss -- maximum flavor, thanks to my old friend buttermilk.