hopeful

I'm just a few short weeks from completing my first school year as the full time working mother of two, and I think that overall it has been a success. When I am home, I'm happy to be home; when I am at work, I'm happy to be at work...so I guess that is a win. But on those occasional days when I've got a sick kid who has to stay home from day care, I like to pretend I'm still a stay at home mom. The thing is, I'm really good at it. My boys and I spent those two and a half years fine-tuning a highly functional system, and when I'm unexpectedly handed a day at home with the kids, it comes back so naturally. Don't get me wrong, having a sick kid is, hands-down, the hardest part of being a working parent, particularly when you work in education and have to deal with subs and sub plans and the terror of finding out what happened in the library in your absence the next day. But once I've got the professional details handled, I sink so happily into the familiarity of being home with my boys.

Emmett came down with an out of nowhere crazy high fever at dinner time last night. Finn could have gone to school but, as he so eloquently explained to me this morning, "I just kind of feel like I need a day at home." Don't we all, kid? So home we stayed. Sean actually spent the morning with the boys and passed the baton to me at lunchtime when I returned from a morning at work. And how did I spend my afternoon? In between stories and snuggles and naps, I made a batch of homemade chicken broth which led naturally into making a wonderful pot of risotto.

Risotto is, in my opinion, the perfect dish for enjoying the experience of being in the kitchen. It's not super quick, and it is definitely not hands-off, but for those evenings when you have the time and inclination to stand at the stove stirring, it can be a really blissful process. Tonight was that night for me. This recipe features the beautiful spring flavors of asparagus and baby peas...so if your farmer's market, like mine, kicks off the season this weekend, get your hands on some early asparagus and make some of this. You won't regret it.

Happy spring, all!

1. In a large saucepan, bring the broth to a boil. Add the asparagus and cook three minutes. Use a slotted spoon to remove all the asparagus from the broth. Set asparagus aside to cool.
2. Lower the heat under the broth and keep at a simmer.
3. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the leeks and garlic; cook until softened, about 3 minutes. Add the rice and cook, stirring, until coated with the oil, about 1 minute. Stir in the wine and cook, stirring constantly, until it is absorbed. Add the simmering broth, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring until it is absorbed before adding more, until the rice is tender but firm in the center, about 20 minutes total.
4. Stir in the asparagus and peas with the last addition of broth. Stir in the Parmesan and season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.

It snowed here yesterday. A lot.


Ignoring the fact for a moment that it is March 25th, it is a beautiful snow - the trees are decked out in thick layers of white, their delicate bud-covered branches weighed down by the heft of it. We spent most of Sunday afternoon watching from inside and waiting for the snow day to be called. It was.



I wasn't planning on making anything particularly impressive for dinner; it was, after all, the last day of spring break. But when it started looking more and more like spring break was going to last one day more, I got creative, with delicious results. This is a combination and modification of several recipes from my newest favorite cookbook - The Vegetarian Family Cookbook by Nava Atlas. There are admittedly a lot of steps, but none of them are difficult and many are hands-off. I had some roasted tomato sauce in the freezer that I blended to a puree and used to top the eggplant, but feel free to use a jarred sauce - I'd recommend something somewhat light.

This recipe is infinitely adaptable by switching out the type of bean and seasoning. As written in the book, the recipe calls for black beans and cumin, which we might try next time with plain couscous and salsa in place of the tomato sauce.

Hope you enjoy it - it was a big hit around here.



Couscous and Bean-Stuffed Eggplant with Garlic Tomato Sauce
Adapted from The Vegetarian Family Cookbook

Makes 6 eggplant halves

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3 medium eggplants
1 5.6 oz box couscous with toasted pine nuts
1 can cannelini beans, drained and rinsed
1 tbsp. olive oil
2 cups prepared marinara
grated Parmesan

1. Cut off the stem ends of the eggplant and slice in half lengthwise. Slice a tiny bit off the rounded side to allow the eggplant to lie flat. Place eggplant shells in a 9x13 baking dish and set aside.
2. With a sharp knife, carefully cut away the pulp. Don't worry about making it pretty or uniform - you are going to chop it in a minute. Leave a sturdy shell about 1/2 inch thick. 
3. Chop the eggplant pulp finely and steam until tender (about 10 minutes). Set aside.
4. Prepare couscous according to package directions. 
5. In a large bowl, combine prepared couscous, steamed eggplant, beans, and olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.
6. Preheat oven to 375. Evenly divide couscous mixture among six eggplant halves. Cover loosely with foil and bake at 375 for 30 minutes. 
7. Uncover and bake 10 to 15 minutes more, until shells are tender but have not yet collapsed.
8. During the last 10 minutes of baking time, warm up the marinara sauce.
9. Top each eggplant half with warmed marinara and a sprinkle of grated Parmesan.

Enjoy!

I haven't posted a weekday winner in a while, but this is just the recipe for my comeback. I have loved this dinner for years, and it meets all the qualifications for a great weeknight meal - family-friendly, easy to make, quick to assemble then hands-off to cook. I wish I could tell you where I got the recipe from, but I wrote it by hand years ago into a notebook where I sometimes stick recipes and thus have no source.

This makes enough for dinner and leftovers. The photo below shows the casserole  as it looks in the first step. It's not the prettiest casserole once you dish it out and put it on a plate but, as my grandpa use to say, "it all goes to the same place."

Enjoy!

Corn Bread Casserole
Serves 8

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1 8 oz. can corn, drained
1 15 oz. can kidney beans, half drained
1 15 oz. can black beans, drained
2 c. shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 c. chopped green onions
1 tbsp. chili powder
1 tsp. cumin
1 package cornbread mix (plus one egg and some milk as directed)

• In a large bowl, mix together everything but the cornbread.
• Pour into greased 2 quart baking dish.
• Make cornbread according to package directions. Spread over the top of the bean mixture.
• Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes.
• Serve with plain yogurt or sour cream. 

I'm trying so hard to like mushrooms, really I am; everyone else in my family loves them, and they are in many instances a logical meat alternative. I really liked this casserole, which includes mushrooms, so perhaps I'm getting better. This isn't a super fast dish, but once you have the casserole assembled it is pretty much hands-off, so I count it as a quick weeknight meal.

I served this as a main dish with a salad for dinner. It was even tastier a few nights later as a side dish with scrambled eggs. The original recipe (which comes from Bon Appetit) calls for fresh artichokes, but I used canned to make it quicker and easier. I used the slicing side of my box grater to slice the potatoes super thin; they turned out crispy and oh-so-delicious. And I love a recipe that calls for 1/2 cup of white wine, as you are certain to have some leftover to enjoy with dinner...

Enjoy!



Artichoke, Potato and Portobello Mushroom Casserole
Serves 8

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4 tbsp. olive oil
2 cans quartered artichoke hearts, sliced
2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, very thinly sliced
4 large portobello mushroom caps, thinly sliced
6 oz. fresh goat cheese
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 tbsp. freshly grated Parmesan
1/2 cup dry white wine

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Brush 9x13 glass baking dish with 1 tbsp. oil.

Arrange half of potatoes in dish, covering bottom completely. Top with half of artichoke hearts and half of mushrooms. Coarsely crumble half of goat cheese and sprinkle over artichokes and mushrooms. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and half of garlic, then 1 tbsp. Parmesan. Drizzle with 1 tbsp. oil.

Cover with remaining mushrooms, then artichoke hearts, goat cheese, garlic, 1 tbsp. Parmesan and 1 tbsp. oil.  Top with remaining potatoes. Pour wine over; drizzle with remaining oil.

Cover dish with foil. Bake 40 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 400 degrees. Sprinkle top with remaining Parmesan. Bake uncovered until potatoes are tender and top is brown, about 25 minutes. Cool slightly and serve.

Oh my goodness, this was a huge winner all around...sooooo delicious. It has a lot of the same flavors as our favorite peanut sauce, but with the yummy textural addition of sweet potato and chard. I served it over quinoa with roasted plantains on the side. I had never thought of roasting plantains - I typically fry them - but they turned out super good and were so much less messy and hands-off to prepare. In this household, things that cook at high heat in the fully enclosed oven are much more easily prepared than those cooked on the stovetop, particularly if there is splashing oil involved. I roasted them at 450 for about 20-25 minutes, flipping once about halfway through.

As with so many savory dishes, this tasted even better the next day. Make a big batch and enjoy, enjoy, enjoy!

Mmmmmm.

Roasted plantains

You put it all together...

West African Groundnut Stew
Adapted from Vegetarian Soup Cuisine

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1 tbsp canola oil
1 medium onion, diced
1 red pepper, seeded and diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. ground ginger
1 serrano chile, seeded and minced
2 cups water
2 cups tomato juice
1 14 oz can stewed tomatoes
1 medium sweet potato, peeled and diced (2 cups)
1 tbsp dried parsley
1 1/2 tsp. thyme
1 1/2 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup chunky peanut butter, preferably natural
2 cups chopped Swiss chard

In a large saucepan, heat the oil. Add the onion, pepper, garlic, ginger, and chile and saute 4 to 5 minutes. Stir in the water, tomato juice, stewed tomatoes, sweet potato, and seasonings and cook for 25 minutes over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until the potato is tender.

Aggressively stir in the peanut butter. Stir in the chard and return to a gentle simmer, stirring frequently. Remove the stew from heat and let stand for 5 to 10 minutes.

Ladle into bowls and serve with couscous or rice and roasted plantains.

My family can't get enough of this baked tofu; we snack on it after school, bring it for lunches, take it on picnics, stick it in sandwiches or in salads. The marinade is actually adapted from one that I found in a seafood cookbook and is intended for fish, but it works beautifully for this recipe. For my local readers, this reminds me a lot of the marinaded tofu at Strawberry Fields, which I have always loved, and, like their tofu, it works equally well straight up or on a sandwich. The flavor and texture deepen the longer that you bake it, and the resulting strips are positively addicting.

I use the really grainy, dense organic tofu that is available at our co-op, but this also works with standard grocery store fare. When I use the denser tofu, I don't think it is necessary to press it, but I always press the vacuum packed variety.

To make it a dinner, I cooked up some frozen shelled edamame and prepared soba noodles that I served cold with a noodle base (I like the Shirakiku Soba Noodle Soup Base, which I get at the Asian market). So pretty, so fresh, and so satisfying!

Enjoy!



Baked Tofu

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For marinade:
3 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. lemon juice

1 16 oz block extra firm tofu

Drain and rinse the tofu. Place it on a plate and cover with paper towels. Put another plate on top then weigh it down with something heavy (I typically use a big ol' cookbook). Let sit ~20 minutes. You can skip this step if you are short on time.

Slice the tofu into 1/2 inch slices. Place in a shallow baking pan and cover with marinade. Let sit in marinade for 20-30 minutes, flipping every ten minutes or so. The longer it sits, the more flavorful the tofu will be.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Temporarily transfer the tofu to a plate. Rinse and wipe out the baking pan and cover it with foil and cooking spray. Move the marinaded tofu slices bake onto the baking pan.  Bake the tofu slices for 30-40 minutes, flipping every ten minutes. The longer you bake it, the chewier it will be. This is good warm, cold, or at room temperature.

I'm rolling out a new feature on this here blog. My world is suddenly structured in a way it hasn't been in a while, so I think it would be advantageous to throw in some structure to my blogging efforts as well. That said, I present to you the inaugural Weekday Winner posting!

Here's the idea:

• Every week I cook three or four dinners I haven't cooked before. This isn't changing because I've gone back to work. If anything, cooking has once again become my beloved, much anticipated, end-of-the-day hobby, and I'll be eager to try new things.
• At the end of every week, I'll share my family's favorite from the week before. 
• If you play along with me, you'll have a whole arsenal of weeknight meals at your disposal. Doesn't that sound great?

I'll say upfront that most of these will be vegetarian, since that is pretty much how we are eating these days. Most of these will be fairly kid friendly (though my kids are more adventurous than some). Most of these will be fairly easy on the budget. Most of them will take thirty minutes or less to prepare. And all of them -- I promise -- have been tested and tasted and passed the rigorous weekday winner criteria.

So...to start off the weekend, a DELICIOUS recipe for garden gazpacho that is just the thing to have in hand before heading to your Saturday morning farmer's market. I served this on my fancy soup and sandwich platters with open face egg salad sandwiches on the side...super yummy all around.

Enjoy!


Garden Gazpacho
Adapted from Vegetarian Soup Cuisine

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2 large ripe tomatoes, diced
1 small red onion, diced
1 medium red bell pepper, seeded and diced
1 medium cucumber, peeled and diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 small serrano pepper, seeded and minced (optional)
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
salt and pepper to taste
2 cups canned tomato juice
Tabasco to taste

Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl and blend thoroughly. Transfer about three-quarters of the mixture to a blender or food processor; process for five seconds. Return the pureed mixture to the mixing bowl. Alternately, use an immersion blender in the original bowl, being careful to leave some chunks. Refrigerate for at least two hours. Serve in chilled bowls garnished with fresh parsley. 

It's May now, and my thoughts are very much on the fact that come August, I'm going back to work full time. I have mixed feelings about this, admittedly, but am very blessed in that I have the wonderful opportunity to go back to a job that I absolutely love working with people I adore and doing work that I believe in. And that takes some of the sting out of imagining life without my little sidekicks filling my days.



In addition to thinking realistically about my actual future, I also like to dream about what I would be doing if I could patch together all the things I love into one fantastic reality. Wouldn't it be great if we could turn those tiny experiences in life that bring such joy into steady employment? Among the bullet-points on my imaginary resume would be such fantastical details as:

• creates beautiful customized hand-knit hats

• sings and plays guitar for adoring preschoolers

• bakes really good bread  

• writes wildly successful early chapter books that get kids super excited about reading

• runs family-friendly coffeeshop full of engaging playtime opportunities for children (I'm thinking treehouse), comfortable armchairs for parents, and perfect lattes

• prepares and delivers meals for friends and families in need

I've thought a lot about that last one lately. I absolutely love to make food for people who may not be up to making food for themselves. I believe so strongly in the importance of food during times of transition. Is there a business plan in there somewhere? Perhaps. In the meantime, I'll just keep churning out casseroles and quiches and loaves of bread for friends who have just had a baby, or who are caring for a sick relative, or who just need help getting a meal on the table.

Our friends brought home a new baby girl last week. We dropped off a few meals for them, including this yummy frittata. I hope it was good for their bodies and souls...which is in turn good for their beautiful baby. This recipe, like the one I posted a few weeks ago for stuffed peppers, comes from Moosewood Restaurant New Classics. We had it for dinner, but it would also make a lovely main course for brunch. The recipe requires roasting the various vegetable before assembling the fritatta; this can be done in advance to save time.

Enjoy!

Just before adding the cheese and the egg mixture

Spanish Frittata
Serves 6-8

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2 to 3 cups peeled and sliced potatoes (1/2 inch thick)
3 tbsp. olive oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp. paprika
2 cups thinly sliced onions
2 cups sliced bell peppers, any color
1/4 tsp. cayenne
6 eggs
3 oz. cream cheese
1 tbsp. flour
1 1/4 cups milk
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup sliced Spanish olives
1 cup grated Monterey Jack or Cheddar cheese

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Lightly oil a 7 x 11 inch or 9 inch square baking pan (I doubled the recipe and used 2 8" cake pans).

In a bowl, toss the potato slices with 2 tbsp. olive oil, half the garlic, the paprika, and a dash of salt. Spread in an even layer on a baking sheet and roast for about 20 minutes, until tender and golden brown. In the same bowl, toss the onions and peppers with the cayenne and the remaining oil and garlic. Spread in an even layer on a second baking sheet and roast until tender and brown, about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine the eggs, cream cheese, flour, milk, and salt in a blender and puree to a smooth custard.

When the vegetables are roasted, reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees.

Layer the roasted potatoes in the prepare baking pan. Spread on the roasted onions and peppers, sprinkle with the olives and the grated cheese, and pour the custard over all.

Bake for about 45 minutes, until the custard is set and the top is golden brown. Serve hot or at room temperature.

This week's menu was largely inspired by this week's sale paper; when peppers go on sale (10 for $10!), we eat a lot of peppers in a lot of different colors for a lot of nights in a row. Since I had recently made my standby roasted red pepper soup, I went searching for something new. This was a delicious and beautiful meal that I found in Moosewood Restaurant New Classics, a favorite tome of mine. The cookbook recommends serving the peppers with a tangy salad, which would be lovely, but I think it would also be great with black beans on the side. You could also serve it with eggs as a brunch dish.


This makes a lot of peppers - between the four of us, we ate five halves, saved one, and packed the other six up for a friend who just had a baby (you know who you are!). While there is a bit of preparation involved in this meal, you could make and stuff the peppers in advance then do the final bake just before dinner.

Enjoy!

Quinoa Stuffed Peppers
Adapted from Moosewood Restaurant New Classics
Serves 6

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1 cup raw quinoa
6 medium bell peppers, any color
3 tbsp. olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp. cumin
1 1/2 tsp. coriander
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper
1/2 tsp. salt, or more to taste
1 cup peeled and diced carrots
1 cup diced zucchini
1 1/2 cups frozen corn
1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Place the quinoa in a fine mesh sieve and rinse well under running water. In a covered pot, bring quinoa and 2 cups of water to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for about 15 minutes, until the quinoa is soft and the water is absorbed.

While the quinoa cooks, cut the peppers in half lengthwise and, leaving the stems intact, seed them. Brush the peppers on both sides with oil. Place peppers cut side down on an oiled baking sheet and roast for 15-20 minutes, until softened and slightly browned but not collapsed. When the peppers are roasted, remove from oven to cool and reduce the heat to 350 degrees (or turn off oven if you are going to bake them much later).

In a large skillet, warm 1 tbsp olive oil and saute the onions and garlic on medium heat for about 5 minutes, until the onions have softened. Stir in the spices, carrots, zucchini, and corn. Cover the pan and cook for 10 minutes, until the vegetables are very tender.

Combine the sauteed vegetables and the cooked quinoa and add salt to taste. Turn over the pepper shells and spoon filling into each half. Sprinkle each bell pepper half with some cheese. Bake 10 to 15 minutes, until the filling is hot and the cheese is melted.

Whew! It has been an absolute whirlwind since my last post, filled with all kinds of fun that, over time, I will get around to writing about here. In brief, my husband had the week off for spring break, my in-laws came for the better part of the week, we took three separate road trips, Sean and his dad built a swing set, and we celebrated my baby boy's second birthday -- twice.

It wasn't a big week for cooking (though I do have a yummy muffin recipe I'll share at some point) and definitely not a time for crafting, but it was a week to celebrate being together with family, in various combinations. We spent some time with mine, some time with Sean's, and some with all of them together. In fact, this past weekend was the first time that our two boys were with all four of their grandparents at the same time. I wish it happened more often.


In the earlier part of the week, we rented a beautiful little cabin in the Galena region of northwestern Illinois and spent a few nights there with my mother and father-in-law. We often rent vacation homes together, so we've learned a few tricks over the years. One of the most useful things I've learned, especially since having kids, is that it's a good idea to have a meal ready for the first night. After multiple hours on the road, no one (particularly the one-day-short-of-two-year-old) feels like using restaurant manners. So I made a casserole over the weekend, froze it, and stuck it in the oven upon arrival in Galena. We grabbed some bread, wine, and salad on our way into town and had a delicious meal together.


This is one of my favorite dishes, and I remember very clearly how I first came across the recipe. Many years ago, Sean had a really fantastic graduate assistantship, wherein he worked for Family and Graduate Housing at the University planning social events for residents. There were many international students who lived in the Family and Graduate Housing apartments, and Sean spent a lot of time that year with students from all over the globe. Among them was a couple, Kostos and Angeliki, from Greece and Cyprus, respectively. In December of 2005, we were invited to their wedding celebration. It was held at a bed and breakfast in the heart of rural Illinois - really, it wasn't close to anything or anyone else. The woman who did the cooking worked very hard to research and prepare Greek dishes for the event, and I absolutely fell in love with this vegetarian take on moussaka.

This recipe does take a bit of time to prepare; I generally roast the eggplant a day in advance to break it up a bit. The moussaka can be frozen, but I have found it is best to defrost it before baking. This is a very rich dish and perfect served with thick slabs of bread for sopping up the juices.

Enjoy!

Vegetarian Moussaka
Adapted from Bon Appetit

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3 lbs. eggplant, unpeeled and cubed
1/2 cup olive oil
1 large onion, thinly sliced
1 cup finely chopped peeled carrots
1 cup finely chopped celery
4 garlic cloves, minced
12 oz. portobello mushrooms, cleaned, stemmed, and diced
1 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
1 cup grated Parmesan
4 oz. diced feta cheese

6 tbsp. butter
7 tbsp. flour
3 1/2 cups whole milk
4 egg yolks, lightly beaten

Cover 2 baking sheets with paper towels. Sprinkle eggplant with salt. Arrange in a single layer on towels. Let stand 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Remove eggplant and paper towels from baking sheets. Pat eggplant dry. Oil same baking sheets. In a large bowl, toss eggplant with 1/4 cup olive oil. Arrange in a single layer on baking sheets. Bake 10 minutes. Turn eggplant and rotate pans in oven. Continue baking until tender, 10-15 minutes more. Cool. (Can be done a day in advance. Refrigerate.)

Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees. Heat 1/4 cup olive oil in a heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add onion, carrot, and celery. Saute until onion is very tender, about 12 minutes. Mix in garlic then mushrooms. Saute until juices evaporate, about 10 minutes. Mix in oregano and cinnamon. Add tomatoes and parsley. Cook until thick, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Lightly oil 9x13 baking dish. Arrange half of eggplant in single layer in dish. Spoon half of tomato mixture over the top. Sprinkle with 2 tbsp. Parmesan and half of the feta. Repeat layering with remaining eggplant, tomato mixture, 2 tbsp. Parmesan and the remaining feta.

Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in flour.. Stir 2 minutes. Gradually whisk in milk. Simmer until sauce thickens, stirring constantly, about 5 minutes. Whisk in 1/2 cup Parmesan. Season with salt and pepper. Gradually whisk beaten egg yolks into sauce. Pour sauce over vegetables in dish. Sprinkle with remaining Parmesan.

Bake moussaka until heated through and sauce is golden on top, about 45-55 minutes (longer if chilled). Cool 15 minutes before serving.

I'd say that nearly 90% of what I cook for dinner can be made in 45 minutes or less, and I would venture to guess that the same is true for many of you. I put a lot of effort into planning and making good meals for my family, but I generally avoid recipes that require a lot of time; I'd rather spend that time with aforementioned family, after all. There are, however, a handful of super special recipes in my stash that take a lot of time and effort but that are so worth the time and effort. This recipe is one of those.


If you ever have the opportunity to visit Chico Hot Springs in Pray, Montana, do. It is an incredibly special place with a rich history, year-round geothermally heated pools, and an amazing gourmet restaurant. It also happens to be up the road from Yellowstone National Park and in the foothills of the Absaroka Mountains. I have been fortunate enough to spend some time at Chico, and on my first visit, I picked up their cookbook, A Montana Table by Seabring Davis. Of all the recipes I've made from this book, this recipe for Roasted Red Pepper Soup is the one I go back to again and again.  



The recipe as transcribed below includes several tweaks I have made over the years. Additionally, here are a few tips:

- The original recipe calls for 2 quarts of homemade chicken stock. I have always used vegetarian Better than Bouillon to keep the recipe meatless.

- I typically take two days to make this recipe - one to roast, peel, and seed the peppers and a second to throw the soup together. I have always used fresh bell peppers (this is my go-to recipe when red peppers are really cheap at the farmer's market) but I suppose you could use jarred. Eight peeled and seeded roasted peppers yields about 3 cups.

- The recipe calls for 1 cup of sherry. I typically use super cheap cooking sherry with great results. You can also use red wine if that is what you have around.

- Because the soup gets pureed in the end, don't waste your time with precision cutting on the veggies. Just give them a rough chop.

- The original recipe has 1/2 tsp saffron whisked in with the cream. I have always skipped this since I generally don't have saffron around, but if you do, by all means use it.

- As noted in the cookbook, you can add steamed mussels, clams, or other shellfish as a last-minute topping. You can also add a generous sprinkling of Parmigiano Reggiano.

Enjoy!

Image courtesy of A Montana Table

Roasted Red Pepper Soup
Adapted from A Montana Table

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6 to 8 large red bell peppers
2 quarts soup stock
canola oil
2 large yellow onions, peeled and chopped
1 large carrot, peeled and chopped
4 large shallots, peeled and chopped
4 stalks celery, chopped
3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
28 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 cup sherry, divided
1 cup heavy whipping cream
Juice of 1 lemon
1/2 tsp of hot sauce (optional but oh-so-good)
salt and pepper to taste

1. Roast whole red bell peppers over an open flame on a gas burning stovetop or grill; remove from flame when skin is mostly blackened and immerse in an ice bath to remove skin easily. Seed and dice. ALTERNATE METHOD: Roast peppers in a 450 degree oven, turning occasionally, until blackened. Put peppers in a paper bag and close the top for 10-15 minutes to loosen the skin. Peel, seed, and dice. Set aside. (Can be done one day ahead - store in fridge).


2. In a large soup pot, warm stock on medium-high heat until boiling. Add roasted red peppers and let simmer.

3. Heat a large saute pan with canola oil and saute onion, carrot, shallots, celery, and garlic until browned (about ten minutes). Add tomatoes and heat through. Transfer vegetables to soup pot. Use 1/2 cup sherry to deglaze the saute pan and add to soup pot. Cook over medium-high heat, allowing mixture to reduce to half, about 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.

4. The next step is to puree the soup. I have found that this is both difficult and dangerous to do while the soup is hot unless you have an immersion blender. If you don't, let it cool a bit before transferring it to a blender or food processor and pureeing until smooth.

5. Return to soup pot on low heat. Whisk in cream, lemon juice, remaining 1/2 cup sherry, and the optional hot sauce. Add salt and pepper to your taste, simmer for ten minutes, and serve!

Spinach and feta has to be one of my favorite flavor combinations of all time: there is just something about how creamy feta balances the delicate texture of cooked spinach. Growing up in Chicago, spanikopita was available at just about every corner family restaurant and I have long loved it. This recipe replaces the typical phyllo dough for store-bought pizza crust. The result is a super yummy, super easy weeknight dinner that was a huge hit around here.

While I have not yet actually done this, I like the potential adaptability of this recipe. There are so many things you could seal into two triangles of pizza dough, from the obvious pizza ingredients for a quick calzone to an adaptation of samosas, with potatoes and peas and curry. I got this recipe from the free magazine they give you at my grocery store if you spend $50 or more. You never know where a good recipe is going to pop up.


Spinach Feta Turnovers
Prep: 15 minutes
Bake: 10 minutes
Serves 6

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1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Spray large cookie sheet with nonstick cooking spray.
2. In 10-inch skillet, heat oil over medium-low heat. Add onion and cook 4 to 5 minutes or until golden, stirring occasionally. Add spinach and stir until well combined. Remove skillet from heat; stir in feta, dill and pepper. Let filling stand at room temperature 5 minutes to cool slightly.
3. Unroll dough onto prepared pan. Cut dough into 6 equal squares. In center of dough squares, evenly divide spinach mixture. Fold 1 corner of dough over filling to the opposite corner to form a triangle. Press edges of dough to seal tightly. With sharp knife, cut 3 small slits in top of each turnover to allow steam to escape. Brush tops with beaten egg.
4. Bake turnovers 10 to 12 minutes or until crust is golden brown and filling is hot. Serve turnovers warm.

I was somewhat ambivalent about beets in my youth. They didn't show up often at the family dinner table, and on the rare occasion that they did, they were typically the pickled-in-a-jar variety. Then I went to Mongolia. You see, Mongolia doesn't have a lot going on in the vegetable department. Bitter, long, arid winters don't make for great growing conditions, so the diet there is mostly based on flour, meat, and potatoes. The vegetables that were available in the regional center where I lived included onions, carrots, rutabagas and - you guessed it - beets. So I learned to appreciate beets and included them in just about everything I cooked.

Now, I LOVE beets in a ridiculous way, particularly when they are roasted long and slow. This divine recipe comes from my dear friend Maggie who writes at Kitchie Coo and, oh boy, is it ever good! Knowing my love for beets, she prepared this for us when we visited her family last summer, and I have been meaning to make it again ever since. It was the perfect dish for our family Christmas Eve celebration, particularly given its festive ruby red coloring set against our green stoneware. If you have the foresight to roast the beets in advance, it is also a very quick recipe to throw together. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

Fettucine with Roasted Beet Sauce
adapted from epicurious.com

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1 pound beets, cleaned
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup water
1 pound fettucine (we used fresh, but dried would work - adjust timing accordingly)
6 tbsp butter
1 heaping tablespoon poppy seeds
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup pasta water
1/4 pound goat's milk cheese

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place the beets in a glass or ceramic baking dish. Cover with the olive oil and water. Bake until soft, about 1 1/4 hours. Let cool.

2. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.

3. Peel the beets and cut into chunks. Add to the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade and process to a rough puree. Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook according to the package directions.

4. Add butter to a 10-inch skillet. Turn the heat to high. Brown the butter, about 2 minutes. Add the poppy seeds and toast for 2 minutes. Add the pureed beets, salt, and 1/4 cup pasta water to the skillet. Stir well.

5. Drain the pasta and add it to the skillet with the sauce. Stir to combine.

6. Divide among plates and sprinkle each serving with goat cheese. Serve immediately.

This weekend, we are hosting a brunch in honor of Iona who, unbelievably, heads back to France in one week. I cannot believe how quickly the four months have gone.

While I could dedicate this post to reflections on the many wonderful times we've had during Iona's stay, I will instead share the recipe for the casserole that I will be bringing to the brunch. This is one of my favs, and I am excited to share it with my extended family.

As an added bonus, I've adapted this very successfully as a vegetarian recipe, so I'll include those directions below.

Enjoy!

Sausage and Egg Casserole with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Mozzarella

(with deepest apologies to the creator of this recipe, I do not have a source. Bad librarian!)

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1 pound sweet Italian sausage, casing removed
1/2 cup chopped shallots
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup chopped drained oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes
4 tbs. chopped fresh parsley

5 large eggs
3 large egg yolks
1 cup half and half
1 cup heavy cream
2 cups mozzarella cheese
1/2 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Butter 13x9 glass baking dish.

Saute sausage in medium skillet until brown and cooked through, breaking it into small pieces as it cooks, about ten minutes.  Add shallots and garlic and saute 3 minutes.  Add tomatoes and 2 tbs. parsley and stir 1 minute.  Spread sausage mixture in prepared dish. (Can be made one day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)

Whisk eggs, egg yolks, half and half, whipping cream, 1 1/2 cups cheese, and salt in a large bowl to blend well. Pour egg mixture over sausage mixture in dish.  Sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup cheese and 2 tbs. parsley over the top.  Bake until golden brown and knife inserted in center comes out clean, about 30 minutes.  Let stand five minutes before serving.

VEGETARIAN VARIATION:
In place of the Italian sausage, I used Morningstar Farm sausage patties (2 8 oz. packages).  First, cook them in the microwave to soften them up. Then crumble into small pieces.  Heat 4 tbs. oil. Add  sausage crumbles, 1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper, and 1 tsp. Parmesan.  Heat about four minutes. Continue with shallots and garlic as above.

Au revoir, Iona!

So I returned from the farmer's market this beautiful Saturday morning to a voicemail from my dad. "Hey, I've got a question for you. A friend of mine is having a dinner party and three of the guests are vegetarian and one is gluten-free. Do you have any suggestions?"

Oh boy! Recipe reference? It's a librarian-who-loves-to-cook's dream come true! I put Emmett down for a nap and tuckered down with a pile of cookbooks and my laptop to write up a response to my father.

First off, my father thinks I have a lot of experience with gluten-free cooking. I don't. My father-in-law has a bizarre allergy to white flour, but it isn't a gluten allergy as he is able to eat whole wheat flour without any problems. So in the process of preparing a list of recipes, I found myself having to do a little research. I found that typing "Is ________ gluten-free" in the Google search box brought me the answers I needed in my quest. Ain't the Internet grand? One particularly useful website I came across was www.celiac.com, which included an entire list of safe foods for easy reference.

Listed below are the recipes that I shared with my father so that he could share them with his friend so that he could choose one to share with his guests. Hooray for passing on food love. The first four are recipes I have tried and loved. The last few are links to recipes that I haven't tried, but I happen to think Mexican food is always fun for a dinner party so I added them in.

If anyone out there has any recipe reference queries, please pass them on! Might as well get some use out of that M.L.S., right?
Spinach Enchiladas Verde

Vegetarian Enchiladas

Portabella Mushroom Enchiladas

When it comes to cooking, I am constantly on some kick or another. I rely heavily on the cookbook section of my library to support my changing moods and will post frequently here about the many cookbooks I check out. My kicks run the gamut from slow cooker recipes to low fat recipes to five ingredient recipes to meatless recipes to cheap recipes to all of the above (not easy to find, I might add).  Sean and I recently watched the film Forks Over Knives and it led to a lot of discussion about the foods we eat. We were both vegetarian for many years before moving to Mongolia for Peace Corps (that's where we met), where vegetarianism isn't really an option. And while we do eat meat now, we don't eat much. The film really impacted both of us, mostly because we both have family members dealing with the health issues addressed in the film.  Anyway, in the weeks following, I have had some different approaches to cooking, two of which worked their way into tonight's dinner.

Quinoa.  The stuff is amazing! A complete protein source and full of essential amino acids, it has the added benefit of also being really pretty; when you cook it up, the grains separate into delicate little curlicues.  The other featured component of tonight's dinner was part of my effort to bake more bread from scratch; I made two loaves of multigrain bread based on the recipe on the back of a bag of wheat bran that I found in the cupboard.  The bread was very good, though I'd probably use part whole wheat flour the next time I make it. All in all, it was a delicious dinner and received rave reviews from all around (except from Emmett, who dumped not one but two bowls onto the floor...)

 



South American Quinoa and Corn Soup
(adapted from Vegetarian Soup Cuisine)

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1 tbsp canola oil
1 medium yellow onion, diced
1 red pepper, seeded and diced
2 celery stalks, sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes in juice
1 1/2 tbsp dried parsley
2 tsp paprika
6 cups vegetable broth (I use Better than Bouillon) or water
1/2 cup quinoa, rinsed
2 cups frozen corn kernels
1 15 oz can red kidney beans, drained

In a large saucepan heat the oil.  Add the onion, bell pepper, celery, garlic, and jalapeno and saute for about 5 minutes.  Add the tomatoes and seasonings and saute for 3 to 4 minutes more, until the mixture forms a thick pulp.

Add the broth, quinoa, and corn and cook for 25 minutes over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally.  Stir in the beans and cook for about 5 minutes more. Let the soup stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Multigrain Bread
(adapted from the label of Bob's Red Mill Wheat Bran)

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1 cup water
1 cup plain yogurt
1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 cup oatmeal, uncooked
1/3 cup wheat germ
1/3 cup wheat bran
5 to 5 1/2 cups unbleached white flour (see note above)
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 packages fast-rising yeast
2 tsp salt
1 egg

Heat water, yogurt, and vegetable oil to boiling.  Transfer to large bowl. Stir in oatmeal, wheat germ, and wheat bran.  Set aside for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine 1 cup flour, sugar, yeast, and salt.  Stir in cooled bran mixture, 1 egg, and enough remaining flour to make soft dough. Knead on lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic, about 6 to 8 minutes.  Cover and let rest 10 minutes.

On a lightly floured surface, divide dough in half.  Roll each half into a rectangle, 7" by 12".  Roll up tightly from short end.  Pinch seams and ends to seal.  Place seam side down in two greased loaf pans.  Cover and let rise in a warm, draft-free place until doubled, about 30-45 minutes.

With sharp knife, make three short diagonal slashes, 1/4" deep, on each loaf.  Bake at 375 for 25-30 minutes or until done. Remove from pans; cool on wire racks.