Lazy Wednesday

By in quick

It’s almost always a lazy day, cooking-wise around here on Wednesdays. You see, Shane is 6 foot 5 and cycles 16 miles per day. I’m a relatively small person. And Rose, well she’s four and doesn’t like to eat much. So when Shane is at his studio, which he is most Wednesdays, it takes so much less effort to feed us that I can’t help but take advantage.

Tonight we had grilled cheese sandwiches with butter on the outside, which is the way I learned to make them in 7th grade Home Ec. Also a very simple cucumber and fennel salad.

Half & half

By in left overs

Tonight’s meal was half-fresh and half-left over. It consisted of yesterday’s summery salads, soy & lime grilled chicken, and farro with avocado. The poultry eaters said the chicken could use some improvement, once I get it right I’ll post the recipe. Shane wasn’t crazy about the farro but I liked it a lot.

• Basic Farro •
I think farro is generally good when boiled until al dente, cooled and mixed with olive oil, salt and pretty much anything (think crumbly cheese, nuts, dried cranberries, beans, etc.) Tonight I added lime juice and perfectly ripe avocado chunks. 

Scallops & summery salads

By in family

Tonight we had pan-seared scallops, watermelon & feta salad with mint from this pbs recipe (who knew pbs had recipes?), an Irishman’s Thai cucumber and mango salad, and rice.

There’s something about “pan-seared” that sounds very pretentious to me, particularly since pan-seared scallops are so easy to make. But, I don’t know what else to call them, so here goes.

• Pan-seared Scallops •
Rinse and pat scallops dry with paper towels. Get a skillet really hot and add a decent amount of butter and olive oil, turn heat to medium-high. While butter and oil is heating, pat the scallops dry again (if necessary) and season both sides with salt and pepper. Put the scallops in the pan so they don’t touch each other and cook each side for about 3 minutes or until nice and brown. Remove scallops to a plate, you can serve as-is at this point. Or, for a bit of sauce, clean the skillet and melt some butter in it. Add a minced shallot and cook until soft. Add a splash or two of white wine and simmer to reduce a bit, so it’s saucy. Pour over scallops and serve with lemon wedges.

My fabulous sister-in-law Trish’s brother David, owns a Thai restaurant in Wexford, Ireland. No this is not a riddle. Last week during one of our big family dinners in Ireland, Trish made the Thai cucumber and mango salad that they serve at David’s restaurant. It was absolutely delicious. I asked for the recipe and was given the following two pieces of information: 1. It’s all about the rice vinegar. 2. You have to cut the cucumbers “paaaper theen.” Nevertheless, I think I managed to recreate it quite well tonight. It took 20 minutes start to finish.

• David’s Irish-Thai Cucumber & Mango Salad •
2 cucumbers, seeded, peeled (all the way or in stripes), and sliced “paaaper theen” (a mandoline is great for this)
1 mango, peeled and cubed (you can use a carrot peeler to peel a mango)
1/2 – 3/4 cups seasoned rice vinegar (see my note here if you’re not sure about what kind of vinegar to use, exactly)
1 bunch cilantro, leaves pulled from stems and coarsely chopped
a pinch of red pepper flakes, to taste

Combine all ingredients, taste for seasoning and refrigerate until ready to serve.  

Eggs

By in quick

Is it just me, or are eggs underrated as a dinner food? I mean, they’re quick, easy, versatile and all nutritiony. Eggs are great when you don’t have much time, or much in the fridge, or when you’re just not up for putting a lot of effort into cooking because you caught a cold on the plane.

Shane has some elusive yet very particular ideas about what constitues a “proper meal.” He does not agree with me about eggs being a good dinner food. Shane was not home for dinner tonight, I’m feeling lousy, we had eggs. I like mine scrambled with cheese, 50/50 is my preferred ratio of cheese to egg. Rose takes them soft boiled, with buttered toast fingers, for dipping.

I really shouldn’t go on for so long about eggs though, because the carrots we had were out of this world. Ginger Honey Glazed Carrots, so easy, so delicious, perfectly sweet, buttery and salty. But really, it’s the fresh ginger that makes the dish.

There were a couple of bulbs of fennel in my csa box this week. I love fennel, do you? I use it a lot and am not sure how other people feel about it. It was perfect tonight, thinly sliced with slivered mint leaves and Rita’s dressing.

 

Back to dinner

By in quick

We returned home last night from a wonderful visit with Shane’s family in Ireland. I’ll post all about our meals there soon, but for tonight, we’re back to dinner!

All of the veggies came from my csa box this evening, except the mint. I’m not sure if it’s because I’m excited to be home, but I thought everything was really delicious. And Rose even ate a slice of pepper, hallelujah!

Thanks to a generous neighbor, my csa box was waiting in the fridge for me when we returned. I was thrilled about the eggplant and tomatoes and found the perfect recipe for both, Roasted Eggplant with Tomatoes and Mint, over at Smitten Kitchen. I skipped the red onion and instead let a smashed clove of garlic sit in with the tomato & cheese mixture while the eggplant cooked, and then removed the clove before serving. Also, my neighborhood was out of ricotta salata today, so I used Halloumi cheese, which turned out to be a great alternative. I could have used feta instead of ricotta salata, but I plan to use it tomorrow.

One of my favorite simple side dishes is roasted peppers. They become so rich and juicy when cooked this way.

• Quick and Easy Turkey Burgers •
1lb lean ground turkey
1/2 c bread crumbs
1 egg lightly beaten
salt and pepper to taste
cheese optional (I use cheddar or gouda, usually)

Mix (with your hands) the first four ingredients in a bowl, try not to mix too much or else the burgers will get really dense. Form into 4-5 patties and salt and pepper each side. Cook in olive oil over medium heat for 4-5 minutes. Flip burgers and add thinly sliced cheese. Cover and cook for another 4-5 minutes, until not pink on the inside. Serve with or without buns and condiments.

Off line

By in family

The Steady Table will be off line for a few days while we travel to Ireland to spend time with family. Look for a whole bunch of posts coming soon.

Salmon in a hurry

By in quick

This meal takes 30 minutes to make, start to finish: salmon cooked in parchment, jasmine rice, broccoli and salad.

I used this Salmon in Parchment recipe it takes less than 10 minutes to prep and 20 to cook. Turn the oven on immediately, by the time the salmon is prepped, the oven will be pre-heated. As soon as the salmon is in the oven, put the rice on. While the rice and salmon are cooking, prepare the broccoli and a simple salad. That’s it!

I usually use a different salmon in parchment recipe, but this one popped up when I googled salmon in parchment, and I’m glad it did. It was quicker than my usual recipe and I happened to have all of the ingredients on hand.

A couple of notes: I couldn’t find any string, so I didn’t tie my parchment packages. Instead, I folded the right and left side of the parchment up over the salmon and then the top and bottom back behind the salmon to make a little packet that would stay intact enough for cooking. It worked fine. The broccoli was steamed and buttered, but any quick and simple broccoli would work. The rice was jasmine, cooked with a little butter and Better Than Bouillon. The salad was just organic lettuce from my csa box, but with my mom’s signature dressing, which would make even a less qualified leaf taste really delicious.

• Rita’s Dressing •
Zest or peel and cut into slivers the skin of one lemon. If you’re Rita, you might enlist a team of friends and family members to sit around and slice hair-thin slivers of lemon peel for you, otherwise, just do your best. Add the juice of one lemon and more or less an equal amount of seasoned rice vinegar. I prefer Nakano Original or Marukan Seasoned, (some of the other brands have inferior flavor). Any fresh herbs you have on hand can be chopped and added to the dressing at this point. So far we have not found an herb that didn’t compliment this recipe. Add olive oil until it tastes good, not too oily and not too tart. 

 

Eh

By in left overs 2 Comments

I’m not going to lie, tonight’s dinner was just so-so. I’m off my game. Does this happen to you? Maybe I was trying to hard to accommodate last night’s pasta. Also I had some ideas about a cucumber yogurt dish that weren’t entirely clear. We had great company though, my cousin Kirst came by, fresh back from the Galapagos Islands.

The broccoli tonight was good, from my csa box of course. I like to use the broccoli leaves as well as the florets.

• Basic Broccoli •
Heat some olive oil in a large skillet until shimmering, add a smashed clove or two of garlic and saute until just barely golden. Add the broccoli florets and leaves, some red pepper flakes and salt. Cook stirring frequently until still bright but tender. Yum.

Almost simple Sunday

By in dishes by shane, quick

We had my sister Anna over for an almost simple meal tonight. Almost simple, because Shane made the pasta from scratch. Otherwise it would have been a really quick and easy prep. I’m labeling this post quick assuming most folks don’t make their own pasta on a regular basis (we certainly don’t), and would be using pre-made.

Shane cooked his (delicious, fresh, homemade) fettuccine with pepper and pecorino cheese. I like the Lidia Bastianich recipe and this one from Smitten Kitchen for this dish. Both are super-quick and simple to prepare.

I used up three whole zucchini from my csa box with only a little leftover (for lunch tomorrow).

• Basic Zucchini •
Cut zucchini into 1/4″ thick rounds. Saute zucchini in equal parts butter and olive oil, I use about 1.5-2 tablespoons of each for 3 medium zucchini. Zucchini cooks better when it’s not too crowded in the pan, so use a large saute pan. While cooking add salt and pepper to taste. When zucchini is tender but still bright and not mushy or greying add a handful of slivered basil leaves. Remove from heat and serve topped with parmesan cheese.

I made the carrot salad from two nights ago, again tonight, per Rose’s request but without the radicchio or chick peas. Frankly it was quite boring. The very exciting news is that Rose, a dedicated non-veggie eater, has eaten more carrots in the past three days than in the previous three years. If you are a parent you’ll understand my excitement, apologies to non-parents.

 

All the Swiss chard

By in Vegetarian

Thanks to the bounty of the Golden Earthworm Farm this season, I had in my possession today, not one but two large, bunches of beautiful, organic Swiss chard. I don’t get much help around here, eating-wise, with my csa veggies. When we go to the Cape I bring them with me and they are gleefully consumed, but when at home, it’s pretty much all me.

I was almost stressed out about the chard so I called my mom to ask for the recipe for her Torta Verde, or Swiss Chard Pie. The recipe only calls for 8 to 10 leaves but I was determined to use it all. My mom says she also uses much more chard than it calls for. She adds a bunch of cilantro, which can be parsley if you have a cilantro problem. Below is the recipe as I made it tonight, and more or less as my mom makes it. You can be pretty flexible with this one.

To add some color we had a radicchio and carrot salad (both from my csa box) with chick peas and a honey-balsamic dressing. Even Rose ate some of the carrots (for the first time in four years). The meat eaters had Weekday Grilled Chicken, this time with Camp Mix’s Spud Fixin’ as the seasoning.

• Torta Verde •
Adapted from I don’t know where, because my mom sent me the recipe in a series of 5 photos taken with her iPhone. 

Dough:
1 ¼ cups flour
½ teaspoon salt
1 ½ tablespoons olive oil
water

Filling:
2 bunches swiss chard leaves, washed, stems removed and coarsely chopped.
1 medium yukon gold potato, boiled, peeled and diced
2 cipollini onions (or 1 medium sweet onion of another kind) 
1 bunch fresh cilantro (or parsley if you prefer) washed and leaves pulled from stems
1 ¼ cups feta cheese, crumbled
salt and pepper to taste
2 eggs, lightly beaten
4 tablespoons olive oil

Directions: 
1. Mix together the salt and flour in a large bowl. Drizzle in the olive oil, stirring with a fork. Add in up to ½ cup of water one tbsp. at a time until dough just holds together. Knead dough on a lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic. Cover with a damp towel and refrigerate for 2-4 hours. You can probably refrigerate it for longer, but I haven’t tried.
2. Put chard in a colander and sprinkle with 1 ½ tbsp. salt, toss to mix and set aside to drain for 20 minutes or more.
3. Mix together potatoes, onions, cilantro or parsley, and feta in a bowl. Season to taste with pepper. Squeeze juices out of Swiss chard by hand or by pressing chard against the side of the colander with a wooden spoon. Discard juices and add chard to potato, onion, feta and herbs. Mix in eggs and 2 ½ tbsp. olive oil.
4. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly oil and flour a large baking tray (the pie will be about 14” in diameter). Divide the dough into two balls, using 2/3 of the dough for the bottom crust and 1/3 for the top. Roll out the larger ball, the bottom crust, on a lightly floured surface (this will take some persistence) until it is 15” in diameter. Lay the bottom crust on the baking tray and top with the filling leaving about 1 ½” of dough sticking out around the edges. Roll out the smaller ball of dough, the top crust, into a 13” diameter circle. Place top crust on top of filling. Brush exposed edges of bottom crust with water and fold up to meet top crust. Use a fork to crimp the two crusts together. Poke the top crust a few times with a fork. Then make small indentations with your fingertips (I love this part) and drizzle the rest of the olive oil (1 1/2 tablespoons) over it so it pools in the indentations.
5. Bake for about 35 minutes or until golden.

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