Marinated Feta

Rachel here.

Ok, so somewhere in my house is the camera that a dear friend lent me after I had posted too many picture-less posts here. Perhaps it's in M's train or lost in the shuffle of what has become my endless kitchen reorganization project. Wherever it is, I can't find it right now (worry not, dear lending friend...it's here and I will find it!) and right now is when I have time to post so, you know, pardon the fact that there's no picture.

About a month or so ago, there was this marinated feta on sale at the grocery store. At a steal, we bought it on a whim and promptly devoured it. Everywhere we went people were talking about this incredible marinated feta. This got me to thinking. Maybe I should try marinating feta on my own! And so I went to buy feta and try my hand at this nifty little concoction.

Did you know that there are like, no joke, a million different kinds of feta? Because there are. And I think that I had known this before and just refused to become ensnared in an endless inner debate about which one to buy, but not on the day that I went to pick up feta to marinate. All of a sudden the stakes felt BIG.

So I bought French feta. I think I usually buy French when I'm not sure what my options really indicate. French folks make good food so I figure I'm in safe territory. I brought it home, put it in a little bowl, and doused it in olive oil. I smashed a clove of garlic and put it in along with a big bay leaf. Some chives, fresh rosemary and cracked pepper finished the mixture off. I wrapped the bowl in saran wrap and put it in the fridge overnight. We had friends coming over and about an hour before they arrived I set the cheese on the counter to let the oil return to its liquid state. Everyone kept exclaiming about how wonderful the cheese was and I've made it a few times since for John and me.

It's so simple, right? Marinate some feta! But it makes it feel that little bit special that can go such a long way sometimes.

I Thought This Was A Post About Pizza, But Really It's An Homage To Our Grill

Rachel here.

So, we have a grill, right? I'm pretty sure I've mentioned this before around these parts. It's kind of been our summer maker. I've been looking for work (still am, if you happen to know anyone in the Bay Area looking for someone like me...ok, plug done. Moving on...) and so we've--like so, so, so many other folks--have been a single income family. And we've been lucky to have that income (so, so, so many other folks don't even have that) and we've known it, but that doesn't mean that we haven't lamented how locally we've been living as of late. Usually we'd get away for at least a couple of days, a trip north or south for a change of scenery and a fresh perspective on our selves, our home, and each other. That wasn't in the budget this summer, though, and so our grill became the center to our little bits of get away.

We've strung lights and gotten chairs and a little table (which, mind you, just might be the ugliest table ever made, but it was free and sturdy, so here we are...and yes, I was going to paint it...and yes, that was nearly 2 months ago...and no, no I haven't yet...YET) and at night, after M has gone to bed, we've retired to sit under the giant and slightly creepy old pine tree out back, sipping wine while coals get hot and snacking on cheese and crackers while our main meal cooks.

And you know what? Not once--NOT ONE NIGHT--have I not absolutely relished every second of it. Vacation is awesome, and I hope our ability to take them returns soon, but there's something really magical about stepping out the back door and finding myself in a space that we've managed to keep exclusively associated with relaxation. My shoulders sink, my mouth slips into a half smile, my worries are checked at the door. I feel really proud of us for making this little summertime oasis for ourselves, for remembering to find a way to step away from the day-to-day so we don't get mired down in it, and for remembering to hold a space for us to come together in.

We've grilled all sorts of things. Chicken and steaks, vegetables and s'mores and whatnot. The other night, with friends who we've enjoyed several evenings out back with, John grilled up a pizza that was absolutely fantastic. He pre-baked the crust in the oven earlier in the day and then covered it with lemon zest, garlic, goat cheese, mozzarella, sliced Early Girl Tomatoes (so, so, so good--go find them and try them before it's full-blown tomato season and they're gone), torn basil, leeks (which we sauteed earlier as well) and crumbled bacon. I mean, really. This pizza was GOOD. So good that my mouth is watering right now as I write this even though I just ate half of M's sandwich and, really, I wasn't hungry when I sat down and began the post.

And tonight? Tonight we've got a date on the patio again. We'll plug in the lights and talk about our days, grabbing sweatshirts as the sun disappears and, for an hour or two, stepping away from it all.

Simple Sides

Rachel here.

As my mom mentioned on Monday, illness has descended upon our household. And despite our best efforts, over a week later we're still kicking this uninvited visitor around. John was all ready to sit down and write a post for today (it is his Friday after all), but then I made puppy eyes and asked him to make dinner instead. So, I'm sitting in bed with a heap of tissues and he is off scrounging together leftovers from a most excellent visit we just had with family.

Oh man--mentioning a heap of tissues on a food blog is probably something you're not supposed to do unless they accumulated from patting something fried down. Oh well. My nose, throat and brain are proverbially fried so...deal.

One of the things that I've really been enjoying about generating concoctions for M in the kitchen is that so many of these dishes are simple and make excellent sides for those of us with bigger appetites and more teeth than an almost one year old. It's been a cool minute since I spent any time rethinking side dishes, usually whipping up something from a rotation of standards that are yummy but, you know, maybe appearing a little too often on our dinner plates. Anyway, in the past few weeks I've come up with two meals for M that are absolutely fabulous. They're simple, interesting and healthy, too. Give 'em a try and let us know what you think!

Apple-Ginger Carrots
ingredients (for 4)
1 large carrot
a knob of ginger
6-8 T. applesauce (homemade, right? right)
olive oil+salt

method
Halve carrot lengthwise and then slice. Put into pan over medium heat with a drizzle of olive oil (to prevent sticking) and a dash of salt (to help the carrot cook and to open up flavors). Thinly slice ginger and then mince (do this to taste...we can eat a lot of ginger in this family, but I know not everyone can so start with about a tablespoon and build from there) before adding to skillet. Once carrots have begun to soften (around 10 minutes), add applesauce by the heaping tablespoon, stirring well. If using store-bought applesauce, I'd suggest adding cinnamon to taste, too. Saute until carrots are cooked and serve.

Garlic-Parmesan Zucchini
ingredients (for 4)
1 medium zucchini
2 large coves of garlic
freshly shaved aged parmesan
olive oil+salt
fresh cracked pepper

method
Peel zucchini. Halve lengthwise and then slice. Place in pan over medium heat with a drizzle of olive oil and a dash of salt (wait--this sounds really familiar, right? See--I told you these were simple sides). Mince your garlic and add, sauteing until zucchini is cooked. Remove from pan and toss with fresh cracked pepper and parmesan to taste. Serve and watch everyone smile.

Red Lentil Dhal, for All

Rachel here.

A while ago I posted about "Toddler Meals" and it's glorious effort to beat back the dinner blues. When I wrote about it, though, the idea of making a meal for M that involved much more than breast milk was just that--an idea--and nothing more. My first kid, I had no idea what was in store for us as the year progressed.

"Toddler Meals" has become our kitchen bff. Not only does it offer up tons and tons of simple combinations that are baby-kid friendly (because M is definitely a baby-kid right now...), but it also includes recipes for the whole stinking family to enjoy. Be still my beating heart. The recipes are definitely on the bland side (we are feeding an eleven month old after all...and the book is divided into age categories), but John and I are both more than capable of adding salt and whatnot to our plates once M has noticed that we are, in fact, all eating the same thing.

And so, last week I made the Red Lentil Dhal recipe. It's super easy, which is super wonderful and totally what I'm looking for come 6 o'clock. I doubled the recipe because I wasn't sure if the serving suggestion of 3 meant kids or adults. Doubling it made a ton and enough for leftovers (always welcome), but if you're interested in not stocking your fridge with dahl then just follow the recipe and enjoy a warm, hearty and healthy meal.

Red Lentil Dhal, for All

ingredients
1/2 cup split red lentils
2 cups chicken stock (or water)
1/2 tspn. cumin
1/4 small onion, diced
1/4 mild green chili, diced
1/4 tspn. ginger
1/4 tspn. garlic

method
Peel garlic and ginger. Chop finely. Bring stock/water to a rapid boil in a medium sauce pan. Add lentils, onion, ginger, garlic, chili, and cumin, and reduce heat to a simmer. Cook for about 45 minutes, or until the lentils are completely soft. Serve with couscous or, you know, in a pile on a place mat depending on the age of the eater.

P-P-P-Pizza! (w/ peas, prosciutto and other awesomeness)

Rachel here.

So, we've been making pizza. And by making pizza, I mean letting store-bought dough rise and then rolling it out (ok, John's been doing all of this...he's just, you know, sooooo good at it) in some semolina flour and topping it as we please. It's yummy and it's gotten kind of fun as it's become a bit of a weekly routine. Plus, it's cheaper than delivery or take-out AND we can put whatever we want on it.

Until recently, we weren't re-inventing the wheel with this whole toppings shindig. This past week, though, we upped the ante. And now, with not only no reservations but also kind of intense enthusiasm (I only say "kind of" because, you know, it's pizza...not the end of the US involvement in the Middle East...trying to keep things in perspective), I can recommend this combination to you:

Fresh peas (so much better than frozen and so, totally worth shelling all those little buggers)
Pea shoots
Caramelized onion
Gruyere
Garlic
Prosciutto

Ok, my mouth totally watered while I was writing that list. When I told my mom about the pizza before we made it she said, "You had me at caramelized onions." When I asked John whether shoots was "shoots" or "chutes" he answered and then said, "Thanks, now I'm totally hungry." Seriously, people, make this pizza. I know you're probably still full from the various April holidays, but hop up and down to make a little more room and then dig in. You won't be sorry, even if it sends you right back into the food coma you only recently emerged from after the holidays.

And stay tuned. This whole toppings thing just might have to become a regular feature.

What do you like on your pizza?

Hummus for Babies (That Parental Types Might Sneak a Few Bites of Too)

Rachel here.

So, we've got an eater on our hands. I mean, M has been eating since day 1, obviously, but something has changed recently. The kid wants food, like the mama and dada kind, and her patience for being spoon fed just any old jar of baby food is disappearing before our eyes (unlike a good number of her jars of said baby food). I have been slow to get on board with this new development, clinging a little bit to the simpler mealtimes of picking a vegetable and a fruit, maybe mashing it in with some tofu, and watching her gobble until she turns her head away, full. John has been quick to meet her burgeoning interest in new foods, offering her little tastes of most things he eats and giggling with delight as she nods her head in affirmation of deliciousness.

So, in short, these are the days of beans (This was obviously where I was headed, right? No? Well, keep reading). Using her very refined pinching skills, M has been enjoying black beans. A little while back she was eating her beans and I was eating mine in hummus form on carrots when she started reaching towards my lunch and grunting. If I've learned anything in the last 10 months (holy crap! ten months? TEN MONTHS!) it's to selectively resist my grunting child, saving said resistance for dangers and, in the process, my sanity (she will grunt diligently until satisfied). So I dipped a carrot in the hummus and offered it to her, only to watch her eyes grow wide while she slobbered the stuff off before demanding more while nodding fiercely in testimony to the awesomeness of hummus. I gave her a few more licks and then returned the hummus to the fridge, noting its saltiness. While we're all for flavor when it comes to M's meals, we are also interested in holding off on the salt. Cumin is good, salt is to be staved off as long as possible for its health detriments from where we're sitting. Anyway, as I closed the refrigerator door I vowed to try my hand at making M some hummus of her own, filled with all of the yumminess but none of the salt.

Fast forward to this weekend and I can proudly declare victory. Oozing with raw garlic and lemon, tahini and cumin M devoured my homemade hummus today at lunch. She then took the tub (ok, I let her have it) and dumped the rest of the batch on the floor. In terms of a 10 month old's valuation system, I consider this a raging success. She liked it so much she wanted to eat and play with it and that's about as big a compliment a mama can get.

Hummus
2-3 cloves garlic
25 oz. garbanzo beans (If using canned, buy without salt and rinse thoroughly. If cooking your own, cook well.)
Tahini
1 tspn cumin
1 large lemon

method
In food processor fitted with steel blade, mince garlic until very fine. You may need to scrape the sides and give the blade a few more spins. Add the garbanzo beans, all of the tahini (I bought some made at our local and fabulous grocery store, but no matter where you got it from add it all), the cumin and the juice from the lemon. Run food processor until all is smooth. Voila!

If you wanted to make this for adults, which I did with part of mine after removing most for M, add another 1/2 tspn cumin, 1 tspn onion powder, salt to taste, a drizzle of olive oil and then water to thin for dippability. The part I reserved for M I left thick so I could roll it into balls that would withstand her pinching fingers. Both versions are pretty darn yummy.

My First Foray Into "The Flavor Bible"

Rachel here.

My brother, S., gave me a cookbook for Christmas that I've been meaning to dive into as soon as I found myself with a little leisurely time. The Flavor Bible by Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg is unlike any other cookbook we own. Instead of recipes, as one might expect, it offers flavor combinations, ingredient by ingredient. So cool! So often I find myself cooking and unsure of what to pair with what absent a step-by-step recipe. This book is just the ticket for such moments.

I've been wanting to make soup for a while (ok, all winter). With the aid of The Flavor Bible, I concocted a totally delicious chicken, mushroom and white bean soup in a lemony garlic broth.

To start, I made chicken stock. I'm yet to find a store-bought version that comes anywhere near the homemade stuff and so, for the time being, homemade is how we're rolling when it comes to chicken stock in our house. I piled a stockpot full on chicken bones and one complete breast, big hunks of celery, wedges of onion and halved carrots. A few bay leaves and brimming with water, I let the stuff simmer for hours until our whole house smelled warm and welcoming. I strained the vegetables and bones out, shredded the chicken from the breast and set it aside in the fridge along with the strained stock until evening.

The trick to making your own stock, as I learned from my Great Uncle David, is to leave time for it to chill in order for the fat to solidify on the top. Then, before you put it back on the stove to generate your soup, you can scrape the fat from the top quite easily. It is far preferable to the oily skimming I've done in the past, both in terms of ease and effectiveness.

For the soup proper, I diced up half an onion and a few stalks of celery and sliced three carrots. Into a saute pan they went until they were browned and softened, at which point I added them into my stock pot. Then I sliced and sauteed mushrooms, adding these to the soup once they were browned along with the shredded chicken and the juice from one lemon. I minced a few cloves of garlic and thinly sliced another lemon (a la my grandmother's chicken soup), tossing these in towards the end along with a rinsed can of white beans. I simmered the soup a bit longer, adding a generous dash of hot sauce and salt and pepper to taste until everything came together. John (using store-bought pizza dough) whipped up some breadsticks (rolled in parmesan and fennel seeds and other delicious things that he can't recall...he doesn't need The Flavor Bible's help the way I do) which finished baking just in time for us to heap soup into bowls and sit down for a cozy dinner on a rainy night.

Purgatory Is Lovely

Rachel here.

Ok, so first off, pardon the photos. I accidentally spilled a giant glass of water all over my camera in an effort not to spill coffee all over my computer (ok, probably too many beverages around valuable and expensive pieces of equipment...lesson learned). While my computer was spared (::phew::), my camera has decided to open but nothing else. Awesome. So these photos were taken on my cell phone. Better than no photos? Probably, but definitely not ideal.



What I made the other night was Eggs in Purgatory. What I will now be making probably once a week is Eggs in Purgatory. You know those bits in your fridge that are still good but instead of trying to navigate the tedium of figuring out a delicious way to use them all you close the fridge door, hoping that by the next time you open it they'll have turned and you can legitimately throw them away? Here is your solution.



Click here for the original recipe that I found on the Food Network. The version I made followed the general form but I had substitutions for most of the ingredients (pepperoni instead of salami, different peppers, no parsley, etc.). Therein lies the brilliance of this dish. I could see it working well with mushrooms or potato, some spinach...really, just about anything.

OH! And it's easy. Really easy. And quick, too. It's like, the perfect recipe for weeknight cooking.



Have you ever made this dish before? A variation on this theme? What do you do with the incredible edible egg?

Ma's Greek Pizza

Rachel here: The other night I made, for the very first time, my favorite childhood meal: my mom's Greek pizza. Growing up, this was what I asked for for my birthday dinners and the leftover I hoped would be mine when my brothers and I ate leftovers for dinner. I remember feeling like I had sophisticated taste buds because I was eating spinach and feta cheese, foods that weren't staples per se due to the fact that I shared meals with G and S who, as has been mentioned before, weren't always game for eating food that didn't come in cute shapes. Anyway, since my mom did a post featuring this dish a few months ago, I've been craving it. The day that I was going to make it I felt a little bit excited all day. I don't think I'd eaten this meal since I lived with my parents and I was nearly giddy by dinner time at the prospect of revisiting my favorite childhood food. If you haven't made your favorite meal from growing up in a long time, I highly recommend that you do so. Cooking and eating this Greek pizza left me feeling all warm and fuzzy and nostalgic for dinners in my parents' kitchen, talking with my brothers and my mom about our days. It was fun to share it with John, too, since he had never had it. He dutifully ate seconds and totally understood why I was so excited to make this meal. This is a recipe, for sure, that I can't wait to make for our kid in a few years. After all of these years of missing this meal, I'm glad I finally incorporated it into my kitchen. I didn't make it quite as well as my mom, but I still felt like she was there by the stove with me and that, in and of itself, is just the kind of nourishment we all need sometimes.

Janet here: It's funny to read Rachel's post because I really didn't realize as she was growing up, that this was such a big deal meal for her. I knew she liked it, of course, but I had no idea it was infused with so much emotion.

We really are so clueless aren't we? We work so hard to make a moment special — cooking a special meal with all the right ingredients and candlelight, say, for a significant other — and yet so often it's the little every day moments that actually make it all matter. While cooking with phyllo dough, a major ingredient in Greek pizza, was not something I did every day, I certainly never thought the nights I served it were "special," and yet those moments apparently were. I guess the message is we should try to remember it's all special because you never know the moment that's going to "count" in someone else's memory. Good to be reminded of that, I think, don't you?

tomato sauce

Rachel here: For those who've been following, you know I've been meaning to get around to making a big batch of pasta sauce to freeze. I have this idea that somehow between now and when the baby comes (at the end of June) I will not only baby-fy my house, get straight As in school, spend lots of quality time with John and make sure to do some stuff just for myself, but that I will also somehow prepare and freeze months worth of food so that we can be well-fed during those early sleepless months. It's a great idea, sure, but I am increasingly aware that there is no way this entire dream to-do list is going to get done. I'm trying, instead, to focus on the little victories, to incorporate a little of each of these things into the coming days and weeks and to figure that, though the baby isn't here yet, this is just a glimpse of the impending upheaval in our home. But anyway, I now have two large jars of frozen pasta sauce that, some summer evening, I am sure I'll be glad I took the time to make last night.

I should say that I love making pasta sauce. I've only done it twice, but there's something so liberating about cooking without a recipe. Pasta sauce is up there with making soups for me, both leisurely and informal with lots of stirring (I think stirring calms my brain down). Plus, the end result is a hearty and simple meal that is virtually guaranteed to put a smile on the faces I'm feeding, along with my own. What do you like in your pasta sauce?

Mushroom and Olive Pasta Sauce
makes approximately 12 cups

Ingredients
1/2 c. balsamic vinegar
1/2 lg. white onion, diced
1 c. brown mushrooms, sliced
2 lg. cloves garlic, minced
56 oz. whole peeled tomatoes (nope, I didn't mill my own...someday)
15 oz. crushed tomatoes
1 c. olives, chopped (I used kalamata and green italian)
4-6 basil leaves, torn into small pieces
fresh thyme, stripped from stems and to taste
3/4 c. red wine
salt and pepper

Method
In a pan, reduce the balsamic vinegar until thick and sweet. In a large pot, saute the onion. Add the mushrooms once the onion has started to brown, and then add the garlic. Add all of your tomatoes. Add olives, basil and thyme. Add the balsamic reduction a few tablespoons at a time, to taste. If you use up all of the balsamic reduction and you want a sweeter sauce, feel free to add a bit of brown sugar. Add salt and paper to taste before pouring in the wine and bringing sauce to a simmer. Simmer until sauce thickens, around 1 hour, checking periodically. Adjust seasonings as needed. Yum!


Janet here: So, yeah, I used to do homemade tomato sauce back in the day when I was childless and an afternoon puttering around the kitchen making up a huge batch of tomato sauce for freezing was something I had the time and inclination to do. And then the children arrived, and between that and the full-time job, something, as they say, had to give. So my tomato sauce looks like this:



And it is still pretty damn tasty.

The I-Don't-Want-to-Cook-But-I-Have-to Dinner

Janet here: Much as I enjoy cooking, there are certainly days when I walk in the house, exhausted, and all I want is for dinner to magically appear. And while I love, love, love my man, Peter, with the exception of going out to dinner (we don't live in a take-out or deliver-in area, sadly), if I don't cook it, we don't eat. It's one reason why I find a man who cooks so hot — only in my mind of course.

Anyway, it's good to have a couple of go-to, fast recipes for days like these. This one from Ellie Krieger's So Easy is just that. If you have pasta and frozen shrimp on hand, all you've got to do is add a little basil and a tomato and you are good to go.

What's your I-Don't-Want-to-Cook-But-I-Have-To dinner?

Garlic-basil Shrimp
serves 4

Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/4 pounds large shrimp (20-25 per pound) peeled and deveined (I keep a pound frozen in my freezer all the time just for nights like this.)
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (or more to taste)
3/4 cup dry white whine
1 1/2 cups grape tomatoes, halved
1/4 cup finely-chopped fresh basil (I used dried and it was fine)
3 cups cooked orzo pasta

Method
Heat the oil in a large heavy skillet until not but not smoking. Add the shrimp and cook, turning once, until just cooked, about 2 minutes. Transfer with a slotted spoon to a large bowl.

Add the garlic and red pepper flakes to the oil and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the wine and cook over high heat, stirring occasionally, for 3 minutes. Stire in the tomatoes and basil and season the sauce with salt and pepper. Return the shrimp to the pan and cook until just heated through. Serve with the orzo.

Added idea: a little crumbled feta works very well with this combination.

Rachel here: Oh, fast dinner. On those days that feel interminable, dinner can feel like the last great mountain to climb before release. As I head into my last few weeks of school, I anticipate more and more of those (in addition to feeling more and more exhausted as this baby grows). Anyway, I keep vowing to make a big batch of pasta sauce (because homemade pasta sauce is far superior to store-bought) to have on hand for evenings such as this but, alas, it hasn't happened yet. And so, this week I've turned to my tried-and-true friend, the quesadilla. See my take on this quick and easy staple here. How do you navigate this type of evening?

I'll Have a Side of ???

Janet here: Deciding what's for dinner only starts with the main item on the plate (chilis and stews aside obviously). The right "sides", as they say in the restaurant business, make or break a meal.

As a vegetarian, figuring out food combinations becomes even more critical because you don't have the meat entree dictating the meal. You have to become more creative pretty quickly and, frankly, I think making this transition is one of the main reasons people interested in eschewing red meat actually never make the leap: they just figure it's too hard to work out the rest of the plate.

I know I certainly felt that way when I decided to give up red meat over 30 (!) years ago. Without that piece of meat to center the plate, how exactly do you figure out how to put together a meal? Thanks to the Moosewood Cookbook, which was my bible in those beginning years, I realized you don't need a blob of meat on the plate to make a meal work. I got more creative, I think, because I was liberated by the constraints of thinking I needed a meat protein, vegetable and starch staring up at me from the plate in order to have a complete meal.

Anyway, we decided to do a side this week and, no surprise to anyone who has spent any time with me or read much of this blog, I picked broccoli because I am a broccoli freak. It's funny because I didn't love it as a child and I didn't even eat it that much as a child. But now I eat it every chance I get and have to stop myself from serving it more than twice a week with dinner.

Mostly I stir fry it in various ways so I was happy to come across this recipe for Dirty Broccoli in Ellie Krieger's cookbook, The Food You Crave. It's the first time I have ever microwaved a vegetable and I have to say I will probably stir fry it in the future before adding the bread crumb part. I just like my vegetables crispier. That said, it's a tasty, quick way to serve up this wonderful vegetable. What's your favorite way to serve broccoli?

Dirty Broccoli
serves 4

Ingredients
1 bunch broccoli (about 1 1/4 pounds)
1 tablespoon water
2 tablespoons
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 plain dry bread crumbs
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon salt
pinch pepper

Method
Cut the broccoli into spears and put in a large microwave-safe bowl with the water. Cover tightly and microwave on high for five minutes. Carefully remove the cover, drain the broccoli well, and set aside.

While the broccoli is cooking, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook fo rone minute. Add the bread crumbs, oregano and salt and cook, stirring. Cook until the crumbs are toasted and gold brown, about two minutes. Add the broccoli, toss to coat with bread crumbs and serve. (This is pictured with Ellie's salmon cakes...recipe to come soon.)


Rachel here: So, this post is a continuation of my post from Monday. Below you will find my recipes for black-eyed peas and collard greens. Tune in Friday for cornbread and have yourself a feast this weekend!

Collard Greens

Ingredients
2 bunches collard greens, rinsed, trimmed and chopped
half of a large ham hock (or use bacon instead)
40 oz. of chicken stock
1 T. white vinegar
salt and pepper

Method
Place greens in a large pot with ham hock or bacon. Add chicken stock, vinegar and salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for at least 1 hour. The greens will get notably darker and the bitterness will be largely cooked out (although you want a little of that bite to balance the sweet pork). The liquid will reduce but never disappear, so just serve with a slotted spoon.

Black-eyed Peas

Ingredients
1 pound black-eyed peas, rinsed
5 c. water
the other half of your large ham hock
salt and pepper
2 bay leaves

Method
In a large pot, combine all ingredients (I cut the ham hock into large pieces and dispersed it throughout). Bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook uncovered until the peas and ham are tender (around an hour and a half). Remove ham and cut meat away from fat and skin. Chop meat up and stir back into black-eyed peas.

Yummy!

Under the Sea

Rachel here: Seriously? I have an awesome husband. Not to gloat, but I really do, and only one of the reasons is that he is a great cook. Throughout our relationship he has been making me linguini (almost always freshly made with his own two hands) with clams and other various undersea creatures, and every time he does, it feels wonderfully decadent, partly because I have never made clams in my life and so it's a food I feel like I access through his culinary prowess. The other night, though, I asked him to teach me how one deals with these little shelled critters, and he did. John doesn't use recipes; he just thinks about food and then makes it and so, what you'll find below are loose guidelines for approaching a seriously delicious (and, to my surprise, rather easy if you don't make the pasta) and hearty dinner.

Ingredients
linguini (As I mentioned above, John usually makes it fresh; this time we bought it freshly made at the grocery store)
2-3 cloves garlic, minced (depending on how garlicky you like your food)
1 small shallot, diced
chicken stock (see recipe)
white wine (see recipe)
2 T. butter
clams (we used 8 small ones per person, although John prefers using the large ones--and thus fewer per person--for better flavor)
lemon
2+ T. parsley, chopped
grape tomatoes, large handful, cut in half
salt

Method
Make your linguini, cooking it until it is nearly done. Remove from heat and douse in cold water to stop the cooking. If you are using fresh pasta, toss with olive oil to prevent the pasta from sticking to itself. Wash your clams. In a large pan, saute the shallot and then the garlic. Add 1/2 c. to 1 c. white wine and 1/2 c. to 1 c. chicken stock (using less will make a less brothy meal, more will make it brothier...this second way is how we prefer it) plus the 2 T. butter to pan. Squeeze the juice from half a lemon in and add the clams. Cover the pan and simmer until the clams are cooked. Once the clams are cooked (they'll all be open now), add the pasta, parsley and a large handful of grape tomatoes. Other additions that are yummy include capers, chili flakes, or a little cayenne. Serve with crusty bread and a wedge of lemon and enjoy!



Janet here: I am a huge shrimp fan and was very excited to discover this recipe in Ellie Krieger's cookbook, The Food You Crave. My parents loved to eat out and on Saturday nights, we often traveled an hour away to a restaurant my dad had somehow discovered in the pre-internet era in the middle of nowhere in upstate New York. Cows munched contentedly in a field across from the farmhouse restaurant. Inside, my sister and I had run of the place while my parents enjoyed a cocktail with the innkeeper before we ordered dinner in front of a roaring fire.

Shrimp cocktail was one of my favorite hors d'oeuvres. I felt so grown up munching on jumbo shrimp and sipping my Shirley Temple (later named a Barbra Streisand by my father when I was older). This baked shrimp with tomatoes and feta isn't the same obviously, but if you love shrimp, you'll love this. I served it over orzo, which worked quite well.

Baked Shrimp with Tomatoes and Feta
serves 4 (with plenty for leftovers)

Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, diced (about 1 1/2 cups)
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 14.5 ounc cans diced tomatoes with their juices
1/4 finely minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 tablespoon finely minced fresh dill (I used dried because I didn't have fresh and it was fine)
1 1/4 pounds medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/4 teaspoon salt or to taste
1/4 teaspoon pepper or to taste
2/3 cup crumbled feta

Method
Heat oven to 425 degrees
In an ovenproof skillet heat oil over medium high heat. Add the onion; cook, stirring, until softened, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic, cook one minute. Add the tomatoes and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and let simmer for about 5 minutes until the tomatoe juices thicken.

Remove from heat. Stir in the parsley, dill, shrimp and season with salt and pepper. Springl the feta over the top. Back until the shrimp are cooked through and the cheese melts, about 12 minutes. Enjoy.

It's Ch-Ch-Chili

Janet here: In the winter in the Northeast, I turn to chili when I want an easy dinner that will satisfy. First, I can make it ahead. Second it's easy. Oh and then there's the nutrition factor. It's made of all kinds of stuff that are good for you (which also meant that it was a dish that I used to sneak good food into my kids when they were younger without them realizing it. I have one son, for instance, who will not eat beans or onions in pieces ... except he does in chili so haha.)

But I digress.

Anyway, I make a lot of different kinds of chili, including a very tasty white one that I just discovered this past year. I decided for this post, however, to do the vegetarian one since my carniverous daughter was going to be including some kind of meat. So on to the dish, which of course is also just a great way to have a lot of melted cheese too. :) This batch will serve 6-8.

Ingredients
1 large yellow onion, diced
2-3 cloves garlic, diced
1 19 ounce can red kidney beans
1 15 ounce can black beans
1 28 ounce can diced tomatoes
1 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes with jalapeno
about 1/2 cup rice
chili powder, hot sauce, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper to taste


Method
In a large cooking pot, put in the oil and saute the onions and garlic until translucent. Then add the beans, tomatoes, rice and seasonings. Cook, covered, on low heat until the rice is done. Serve with grated cheese and sour cream.


Rachel here: Chili is awesome. I really think this. First, it's a vehicle for cheese and sour cream. Second, it's warm. Third, it's hearty. Fourth, it's easy. Really, it's like a wonder-food. For this batch I used a combination of leftover items in my fridge along with umm...non-leftover items (there must be a better way to say that). And, in the end, I now have new leftovers, but now they are of the chili variety (yeah!) and some will be frozen in portions for a future evening and the rest will be eaten for lunches and whatnot this week. It's a happy day here in Oakland (oh, and it's a bit chilly, too...ha ha ha).

Ingredients
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium sweet potato, chopped
28 oz. whole peeled tomatoes (I use the organic variety and, I dare say, you should, too)
28 oz. ground peeled tomatoes
2/3 lb. flank steak, cubed
1 large bone-in, skin-on chicken breast
1 c. chicken stock (or more if you have it...just use that instead of the water)
2 c. water
4 c. beans (NOT dried...I used the leftover black beans I posted about last week)
6 large fresh basil leaves
2-3 T. fresh lemon thyme
2 c. couscous (already cooked)
2 c. fresh chopped spinach
fennel
dried oregano
paprika
cayenne
orange peel
chili powder
worcestershire sauce
salt and pepper

Method
In a large pot, saute the onion, garlic and sweet potato in butter. Add tomatoes, steak, chicken stock, water, beans, chicken breast (I like to put it in whole and then pull it out after it's cooked, chop it up and throw it back in), couscous, spinach, basil (I just tear these up as I throw them in) and thyme. Let simmer until starts to cook down and chicken is cooked. Add spices listed above to taste. This recipe makes a big old pot of chili so I don't cook it down quite as far as I would if I were serving it all at once so that in future re-heatings I won't have to water it down. Sprinkle cheese on top and add a dollop of sour cream and go get cozy.