Chicken and Spinach Salad

One of James' favorites and maybe the quickest dinner ever -- crisply fried chicken cutlet over -- in this case -- a warm spinach salad. A rare treat, with these bright green super fresh leaves I tossed up a warm bacon vinaigrette.
First I fried several slices of bacon over medium heat to render out the fat. I removed the bacon from the pan (leaving about 3 TB bacon fat) and added in a thinly sliced shallot. After about 30 seconds -- just long enough for the shallot to soften I poured in 3 TB of red wine vinegar and a half teaspoon of dijon mustard and whisked over low heat. Just when the dressing had come together I poured the vinaigrette over the waiting spinach mixed with sliced hard boiled eggs (wish I had a couple mushrooms) and served before the leaves really had a chance to wilt.

Flaky Spinach And Arugula Pie

Our garden is overflowing with greens. Tonight I chopped up some spinach and the overgrown arugula into a Greek style spinach pie. James loves flaky pastry (I am more of a muffin scone kind of girl) so I topped the savory filling -- a combo of cooked greens, feta cheese, sautéed onions, spring onions, fresh dill, S&P, and eggs -- with butter soaked, crisp, flaky phyllo dough.

Winter Squash

Winter squash, I find, though it is something I love is also -- at least according to Weight Watchers -- diet friendly. Amazing. One of my favorites is the slightly dry but super sweet kabocha, bright orange flesh with edible green skin. No peeling. I decided to roast up slices and build our dinner from there.
Most often I see kabocha squash in Japanese of vaguely Asian "health food" meals. I decided to head down that path and pull out one of my favorite (though I suspect it is more of a good for you chore for James) rice cooker recipes, courtesy of Martha Stewart Living. Brown rice, mushrooms, tofu and spinach steamed together and dressed with just a dash of soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, and sesame oil. I steam 1 1/2 cups brown rice, 1/2 ounce dried mushrooms (shitake if I have them), 8 oz cubed firm tofu, and a dash of salt in a rice cooker until done (about 45 minutes). I let the mixture steam for 15 minutes more and then add in about 4 cups of baby spinach, close the lid and let the spinach steam in the rice cooker (about 2 minutes), Just before serving I mix through chopped scallions, chopped cilantro (tonight it was parsley), 2 1/2 TB soy sauce, 1 1/2 TB rice wine vinegar and 1 tsp sesame oil. Very diet friendly indeed.

Cream "Poached" Eggs

Not quite coddled and not quite poached, these are, quite frankly, eggs of my own invention. Delicate and creamy with salty bits of prosciutto. In a small non-stick pan I sautéed bits of prosciutto followed by a handful of fresh spinach in olive oil and butter over medium heat. Next I cracked in two yard fresh eggs. I covered the eggs with a handful of shredded peppered cheddar cheese and a healthy drizzle of fresh cream. After a sprinkle of salt I covered the pan and let it simmer away (medium low heat) for about 5 minutes until the whites of the eggs were just set and the cheese melted. Much easier than boiling water and vinegar these almost poached eggs will be topping salads (with just water and olive oil in the cooking pan) and English muffins around here from now on.

James Gets His Potatoes

No unusual fries tonight. After last night's "cruel joke" I fried up a little pile of baby potatoes from our garden for James' dinner. Just slightly bigger than a marble these pink tubers are just about the last of our spring potatoes -- it's nearly time to put in a new crop.

I dropped the halved spuds in hot oil (I admit it, I saved the oil from yesterday's squash) until they were tender inside and crisp outside. Meanwhile I dipped thin slices of pork cutlet in beaten egg and then in a mixture of panko bread crumbs and grated parmesan cheese. The cutlets only take about 5 minutes to brown in a hot pan with oil and butter. I kept all of that warm for just a few minutes while I sautéed some spinach in the pan from the cutlets.

A super quick dinner with crunch.