Elisa's Eye on the World

Dinners this Week

Hi Readers;

I really have to get my photos in synch - until then, here's the list of the latest meals:

• Superbowl Sunday Lasagna. While the game dragged on this got a little dry, but still very tasty with a crisp salad. We've been lucky to get great California lettuce this time of year.
• Snow Chowder. Drawn from the freezer this still was tasty, especially with TJ Oyster crackers bobbing around.
• Chili. Also drawn from the freezer, reheated on the stove top while a fresh bath of brown rice cooked. Served with Colby Jack cheese and some home made chips made by baking torn tortilla shells sprayed with canola. There was a bit leftoever and I baked them into fresh tortillas with cooked rice and sliced cheese. Chili Burrittos Mmmm!
• Veggie Pizzas. Using a portion from this month's fresh batch of dough
  
  ...Last night I made a full size pie using up the mushroom sauce from the lasagna and topped it with chopped orange peppers, sliced mushrooms and shredded mozzarella cheese. A sprinkle of dried oregano and it was ready to bake...meanwhile I had an odd amount of dough and made one deep dish invidiual pie with the same sauce, cheese and mushrooms, but added sweet onion and some fresh spinach. That one I baked until it was almost done, with the intention of serving it today for lunch. Sorry No Photos.

More Dinner and Meals

My, the end of January is near and I"m glad to report on more home cooking.

• A double batch of Joy of Cooking (JOC) macaroni and cheese made two great dinners, served with spinach, sliced almond, cherry tomato salads. Four big pieces were wrapped in wax paper and stowed in a plastic freezer container.
• More JOC action with split pea soup to warm up some very wet and cold nights. A simplier variety than the Jane Brody receipe - having time to simmer is key. The leftovers were poured off into an 8 cup glass lidded container and the next night it was extra thick and hearty. Served with rustic potato rolls and a bit of cheddar.
• Half batch of Artisan pizza dough - or enough for 2 14" crusts. Splitting the measurements made my head hurt, but the dough was airy and light. I'm still waiting for a 6 quart container so I can make full recipes. But once the measuring is done it's just quick mix, set to rise then stow in fridge. No Need to Knead.
• Pizza 1 was a classic veggie: sauce, green pepper, yellow onion, fresh mushrooms with mozzerella.
• Avocado and cheese Sandwiches on Rustic Bolo Rolls. Bun toasted, cheese melted and blended avocado spread on an airy crusty roll, squished down before cutting into 1/2's or 1/4's. Quick and satisfying with a spinach salad with carrots, sliced almonds and cherry tomatoes.

Eating out is fabulous, but so expensive. Eating at home takes planning but the results are so satisfying to the tummy and purse. I hope you are able to enjoy these everyday meals in your own home.

Joy of Cooking Split Pea Soup

On this blustry, wet but not too cold January evening I'm about to serve up some "Joy of Cooking" Split Pea Soup. There were two slices of Candadian bacon in the freezer and I defrosted them and threw them in with the spring water and lovely organic peas. Just to see.

After it came to a boil it simmered for an hour, then chopped onion and carrots were added to the mix with an assortment of herbs. Bay leaf, salt, pepper, basil, ground celery.

Some potato buns heating in the toaster oven - let's eat!!

Creative Planning Boosts Menus

It's been some time since I made a full fledged shop with the car for groceries at our natural food cooperative. Impending snow, actual snow and now lots of slush are not my kind of driving conditions.

So here we go, another week into January making the best of what's in the pantry and freezer; with supplements from the nearby conventional grocery (read icky produce).

• The last of the New Year's Risotto, served with TJ samosa,which we have now deemed too spicy
• Lentil soup with Franks in Blankets
• Homemade JoC "New England Clam Chowder" made with 3 cans of TJ Cherrystone clams from Maine, new potato and milk instead of cream
• Naan pizza with sweet onion, blue cheese, provolone and cherry tomatoes
• Store bought frozen Potato and Cheddar Ravioli, prepared then combined in a casserole wth sweet onion, chopped carrots and peas along with some grated cheddar and sprinkle of Panko breadcrumbs and baked with slivered almonds on top
• The last of the JoC Mac and Cheese served with a salad of baby spinach, cherry tomatoes, slivered almonds and carrots
• JoC Tuna casserole over baby spinach

First Week of Meals (updated w pix)

Best wishes to you dear readers!

This year has been off to a good start with lots of home cooking, mix matching and use of the freezer:

• NY Eve we made risotto, and the leftovers were formed into cakes. Some of the cakes were served a few days later - baked, after dusting in panko bread crumbs and grated Parmesan.

 The rest were formed into cakes, not dusted, then frozen.

• With a dough pulled from the freezer we had a 14" pizza pie with baby spinach, red sauce, mozzerella, chopped green peppers and herbs de Provence.

• Using brown rice noodles and following directions on the package I made Phad Thai with tofu.

The following night we had the leftovers with some baked Risotto cakes.

• Joy of Cooking vegetable chili came out good, but a bit too spicy due to some poor estimates - but some more tomato and sugar balanced things out so it was tasteful with brown rice and grated cheese.

The next night I formed "wraps" from the chili, leftover rice and cheese; these were served with yogurt for a very filling meal. One big and three small containers are now stowed in the freezer. Most have labels!

• Tonight, it's Joy of Cooking tuna casserole. Fresh mushrooms, rather than the canned soup; pasta spirals vs. egg noodles, but otherwise I have the ingredients of: onion, red & green peppers, mushrooms, tuna, breadcrumbs, butter and a nice big pan. Thinking about adding peas. More later, including phtotos.

Here's to Happy and Heathful Eating in 2012!

 

Franks in Blankets

Although I rarely eat meat, something about making Latkes brings on the urge to make these. The Joy of Cooking 75th Anniversary Edition has a great "recipe" that elevates the usual to quite special.

Of course the franks have to be Kosher, Hebrew National. Usually refrigerated crescent rolls are used. but the traditional brands are quite disgusting in terms of trans fat, and I was thrilled to find an alternative at our cooperative. The cookbook suggests spreading Djon mustard on the dough before rolling them up.

While they were baking and Hubs was making the Latkes I made the suggested "Honey Mustard" sauce (1/3 cup mustard, 6 tbsp. honey and some black pepper)...awesome!!!

Homemade Mac and Cheese - Thin

Not too long ago I made this "Joy of Cooking" macaroni and cheese recipe, and it was fantastic! Just regular sharp cheddar, TJ pasta (shaped like little caps) and panko breadcrumbs (which are very fine). I used a larger pan, so the dish is thin, not thick and the results were outstanding.

Today, when I wanted something for lunch, I pulled a wax paper wrapped slice from a glass container in the freezer, and it heated up real fast. For those of us who live without a microwave this is a very good thing.

Trying to eat a balanced meal, I ate it with a salad similar to the one shown here. Very satsifying and much better than any frozen meal or store prepared dish.

 

Sunday, Stuffed Sunday

I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving! The stuffed shells came out better than expected and the real surprise was serving up Sweet Potato Surprise with some Trader Joe's Stir Fried Egg Rolls. Talk about yum!

The weather was dreary and I made some Joy of Cooking Baked Mac and Cheese that came out great; and pulled some JOC chili from the freezer tonight to serve up with a fresh batch of rice.

List of Cooking and Baking Projects

Dear Readers;

I'm back, and do apologize for the lack of posts this past month.  With Thanksgiving just a week away and some time on my hands, I got the shopping out of the way so now I can move through the list.

Done:

• Yogurt muffins with mini chocolate chips and cherries from the freezer. These came out great and I'd call them Cherry Garcia muffins if it was not an obvious copyright infraction.
• Quinoa with avocado and greens with a citrus dressing
• Brocolli quiche with rice at the bottom instead of crust
• Hub's Awesome burritos with brown rice

To Do:

• Mollie Katzen's "Sweet Potato Surprise" a seasonal favorite
• Mollie's "Ricotta and Spinach Dip" to serve with baked potatoes
• Baked shells stuffed with green and cheese
• A rice, tomato, feta and shrimp dish similar to the one the neighborhood Greek place makes
• Joy of Cooking "Macaroni and Cheese" this time doubling the recipe so there's some on hand in the freezer
• Jane Brody's "Favorite Lentil Soup"
• Cheddar Cheese scones from a new cookbook I've been pursuing

Oh oh- time to serve tonight's dinner. Photos and further updates to follow.

-Elisa

Three Stage Eggplant Parmesan

I spotted these slender lovelies at our natural food market - that's about 2 lbs. I got home and scanned some cookbooks which reminded me: do not refrigerate - highly perishable.

1. Step I.  Rinse and pat dry, I sliced them in to 1/4 rounds for baking on a parchment paper lined, canola sprayed pan. Once cut they turn brown fast, I brushed the tops with Extra Virgin Olive Oil.  The pan was full but not crowded and cooked nicely in the pre-heated 425 degree oven for 15 minutes. No flipping, they are too tender. Once they looked brown, they were removed from the oven and cooled. Truth is the were stowed in the fridge till the next day.
2. I came up with this step, which is usually part of the first one but I was not ready to do so on Friday. The eggplant bits are best when covered in tasty breadcrumbs so there's a crunchy outside and creamy soft inside. Traditionally, this is done by deep frying. No thanks. I mixed up an egg with 2/3 cup of non-fat milk and poured it over the roasted eggplant while they were still in the glass container you see above. Meanwhile I mixed up 2 cups of breadcrumbs with some basil (garden fresh), thyme and oregano as suggested by Mollie Katzen. Once again lining a baking sheet with parchment, I dipped each bit and lined them up on the  tray for the second bake. The liquid was nicely absorbed and held the crumbs together. I baked all this for about 20 minutes.
3. Finally time to assemble. Following cues from Mollie and the Joy of Cooking I layered a nice totmato mushroom jarred sauce in a deep pan, followed by 1/2 the crispy eggplant and 1/4 lbs. of Provolone (instead of Mozzeraella, as suggested by a Mainer friend.) More sauce, more eggplant... ...more cheese, then topped with sliced romas dipped in the remaining crumb mixture and some grated Parmesan. Soon as the oven was pre-heated this went in and I started a short pot of water from some thin spaghetti.  

Here's the pan after  I cut the first slice: nice and firm, so the second one was easy too. The remaining four were wrapped in wax paper and stowed in the freezer. Oh. So. Good.

Asparagus with Macaroni & Cheese Topped with Caramalized Onions

Early Washington State asparagus, gently steamed; my homemade mac and cheese pulled from the freezer. When it was cooked 1/2-way I added the last of the caramalized onions from last weekend. The oddity on the side a small bit of burritto that does not match the meal, but it fit in the oven had to be eaten, so it made a nice starter. This all went wonderfully with crisp Chardonnay.  A nice Friday night at home dinner without the $13/plate tab charged at local places for simlilar fare.

:-D

End of April Minestrone Style Soup

The latest in my take on Minestrone Soup, mostly based on the Joy of Cooking recipe.

I believe these are "armoatics" onion, garlic, carrot....slowly cooked in a bit of butter. I wish I used the heavy saucepan instead of this Revere pot...but it will be okay.

Finely chopped cabbage....a nice Sunday Holiday organic find at the convential grocer. The only thing we did not have aside from the loaf of crusty bread.

Not shown, plum tomatoes whirrled in the food processor, broth and drained Navy Beans which are white and some chopped fresh parsely. To all that I (unconventially) added cubed red potato. 

All was brought to a boil and the rind of some Parmesan cheese added. Now it's slowly simmering with the lid a little ajar. Soon as the potatoes are done it will be time for the elbow shaped pasta and an early dinner. Then chocolate!

Vegetarian Chili from Joy of Cooking

Flavor, not fire is the goal. Here's a tablespoon each of chili powder and cumin. Omitted were the chilies and/  or jalapenos, which upset my stomach every time I try them.

The chopped onion and garlic was browning about 15 minutes when I added the carrots, and then....

Chopped sweet red bell pepper. We didn't have green, but three red ones will add acceptable color and texture. But it nice to have something green in there.

Three Beans are the Best: Kidney, Pinto and Black were used today.

Add some chopped tomatoes and water, mix really well, cover and bring to a boil. Wow, it's only 1:30, the wet weather and achy lower back made this an early project. I plan on simmering until 4, getting rice going an hour before.

Once the batch is boiling, time for a really good stir again. The texture is wonderful and so is the aroma. Hubs came in from the yard and said it smelled good. Yay! Simmer simmer simmer

 

 

Vegetable and Tuna Casserole in the New Skillet

The distinctive base of the dish are slowly sauteed onions, mushrooms, yellow pepper and green peas. The milk is standing by on the stove, warmed by this and the pasta water pot.

The cooked egg noodles, tossed with pepper, parsely and olive oil.

Bringing to a simmer after whisking in flour and milk. The spaciousness of the pan made this easier than last time.

After the sauced vegetables were simmerd for a bit the pan was removed from the heat, and tuna & cheddar cheese mixed in.

Homemade breadcrumbs with fresh thyme and a wee bit more cheddar cheese topped the dish.

The finished product cooling on the counter. Some of the fresh thyme did not get chopped right, so I plucked those stemmy pieces away before serving.

My First Tuna Casserole

Here's the tuna and vegetable casserole from The 75th Annivesary Edition of the Joy of Cooking. The book also has the "quick" version with canned soup, but this has sauteed leeks and onions, green and red pepper to enhance the egg noodle and white sauce and bread crumbs from scratch. Not school lunch. Perfect with a crisp white wine.

Risotto with Peas and Smoked Salmon

With the "Joy of Cooking" as my guide, we made a very tasty risotto for Christmas night. Peas (1 package frozen, defrosted) and onions (1/2) are in the recipe, we used red to add color along with red pepper and carrot (1/2 cup each). Three tablespoons of butter to brown the onions and coat the rice. Flaked, Alaska Smoked Salmon (1/4 cup) was used instead of the pancetta specified in the book.

Naturally creamy. Quite delicious. Very filling!

Two New to Me Cookbooks

This year two cookbooks became primary sources in my ongoing pursuit for reliable recipes.

• Joy of Cooking 75th Annivesary Edition A great "how to" book and source of good recipes.  A huge, clumsy book that would be fabulous to own electronically in the future.

• The Barefoot Contessa Parties! The inspirng photos of the buffets and spreads are fabulous and her ingredients are not so much fussy and well selected.