Cottage Pie and a Plan

We are heading to England on Thursday. This is our first international trip in our 2.5 years of marriage, and we are really excited. In honor of our upcoming trip, my husband came up with the idea of some shepherd's pie for dinner. I looked up a a recipe in Joy of Cooking, and learned that traditional shepherd's pie is made with chopped lamb. When you substitute beef, the name changes to cottage pie. The traditional recipe includes 1 carrot, 1 onion, 1 celery stalk, 1 lb of ground beef, some beef stock, rosemary, thyme and several potatoes mashed up for a topping. That sounds delicious for a cool fall day, doesn't it? We had to make a couple changes for what we had on hand (our recipe is below). For example, I looked through the cabinet to discover we were out of rosemary and thyme.

Our plan for the rest of the week is:

Monday- Chicken Scampi

Tuesday- Leftover Cottage Pie

Wednesday - Fried Rice with vegetables

Thursday - Off to England





Cottage Pie inspired by Joy of Cooking
2 potatoes, chopped
3 small salad turnips, chopped
2 leeks, whites sliced in half, and cut in thin slices
1 carrot, chopped
6 medium radishes, chopped
1 lb ground beef
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 T flour
2 t Old Bay
1 C Cheddar cheese, grated
olive oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Add the potatoes and turnips to a pot of cold water. Bring to a boil and cook until tender. Meanwhile, chop the other vegetables and add the leek, carrot, and radishes to a hot frying pan with oil. Cook until tender. Remove from the pan and set aside. Add the ground beef to the pan. When it is almost cooked through, add the tomatoes, flour, and Old Bay. Cook until the tomatoes are softened. Add the leek, carrot, and radishes back in, and stir to combine. Mash up the potatoes and turnips, if necessary add a bit of liquid. Transfer the mixture to a baking dish, and top with the potatoes and turnips. Bake for about 15 minutes. Add the cheese to the top and cook for 15 more minutes.

The traditional recipe does not call for turnips, radishes, leeks or tomatoes. I think this is a very flexible dish that allows you to substitute any vegetables you have on hand.

Joy of Cooking suggested baking it in a pie plate, but I didn't think our pie plate was deep enough to fit everything. We cooked ours in a 9 x 11 pan, so I guess ours was less like Cottage Pie and more like Cottage Cake.

This post is part of Monday Mania and Menu Plan Monday.

Tomato Sauce

Our kitchen counter was starting to disappear. The tomatoes from our farm share were taking over the kitchen. Our efforts at putting fresh tomatoes in every dish imaginable was not keeping up with supply. It was time to take action. It was time to make sauce.

People are really passionate about their tomato sauce recipes. They will defend their method like their lives depended on it. I won't claim that this is the best way to make sauce. It's just one way to make it, and the method I chose this time around.

I can only remember making sauce from fresh tomatoes once before. It was years ago, and that time around I chose to ignore the directions to remove the skin and seeds from the tomatoes. I thought it seemed like a big hassle, and didn't believe it would make much difference in the flavor. The resulting sauce was really thin and low on flavor. It took me a long time to admit it, but I do think removing the peels and seeds makes a difference. Removing the seeds also removes the excess liquid which helps produce a thicker sauce.

This was my first time removing tomato skins. I have read about it in cookbooks and blogs, but had never tried it myself. They all assured me that it was a really easy process, but I was skeptical. You know what? They were right! It was a little messy, and it took a bit of time, but it was easy.


Core the tomatoes.


Score an "x" on the bottom of the tomato.


Carefully lower tomatoes into boiling water. When skins begin to split (30 to 60 seconds), use a slotted spoon to transfer tomatoes to ice water.


When tomatoes are cool, peel off the skins. Halve tomatoes. Remove seeds with a spoon, and discard. Finely chop tomatoes.


Saute some onions and garlic until softened. Add the tomatoes and cook the sauce for about 1.5 hours.


Here is the finished sauce.

Tomato Sauce

5 - 8 lbs tomatoes (we used a combination of heirloom and cherry tomatoes)
1/4 C olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
6 garlic cloves, smashed
Coarse salt and ground pepper

Bring a large pot of water to a boil, and prepare a large bowl of ice water. With a paring knife, core tomatoes, and score an X on the bottoms. Carefully lower tomatoes into boiling water. When skins begin to split (30 to 60 seconds), use a slotted spoon to transfer tomatoes to ice water.

When tomatoes are cool, remove skins. Halve tomatoes. Remove seeds with a spoon, and discard. Finely chop tomatoes.

In a large pot, heat oil over medium-high. Add onion and garlic and cook until tender, stirring frequently (about 4 to 5 minutes). Add tomatoes, and stir to combine. Bring mixture to a boil; reduce heat to medium-low. Cover, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until thick and saucy, about 1 1/2 hours. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

We froze a jar of sauce, and set aside a bowl to use tonight.

Thank you to everyone that voted for me in Project Food Blog. The competition was stiff, and only 400 participants made it in to the next round out of 1,800. I am not in that group of 400, but I look forward to following the rest of the competition.

Burgers and Greek Salad

I have been trying to avoid gluten for a few weeks. It's a bit of a dietary experiment. I haven't noticed any differences, but I haven't been a purist for too many days in a row. Tonight's dinner was a relapse into the world of gluten, but it was worth it. We had a Greek diner inspired dinner of burgers with fried onions and Greek salad. It tasted really good. Our burgers were made from some grass-fed ground beef we found on sale at Whole Foods, and they were seasoned with sage, garlic and a bit of Old Bay (my husband made them). These flavors combined beautifully with some melted cheese and the sweet, smoky onions. Delicious! The salad helped us eat up some of our CSA bounty. The dressing was a real success. The recipe is below.



City Share Burgers
1 lb ground beef
4 cloves of garlic, chopped
2 T sage, chopped
1 T Old Bay
1 large onion, sliced
Cheddar cheese, sliced
oil

Combine the meat, garlic, sage and Old Bay, and let sit for 30 minutes. Heat up a cast iron skillet, lightly oil the pan and add the onion. Cook until tender and browned. Remove the onions from the pan. Form the meat mixture into small patties and place them in the hot pan. Cook to your liking. Top with cheese shortly before done cooking and cover. Top with onions to serve.

Greek Salad Dressing
2 T Greek yogurt
1 t apple cider vinegar
1 clove of garlic, finely chopped and smeared
1/8 t dill

Mix the ingredients and let sit for 30 minutes.

We served the dressing over a salad of greens, radishes, golden cherry tomatoes, red onion, corn and feta.

This post is part of Simple Lives Thursday at GNOWFGLINS, Pennywise Platters Thursday at The Noursishing Gourmet, Tasty Traditions at Coupon Cooking, and Things I Love Thursday at The Diaper Diaries.

Mediterranean Salad

One of the great things about eating out is getting inspiration for dishes to make at home. Last weekend we had lunch at Miriam Restaurant in Park Slope, Brooklyn. I had a Mediterranean salad that was delicious. It was fresh and used seasonal ingredients. I promised myself that I would make it at home this week, and here it is. It was a great opportunity to use up some green, yellow, red and orange varieties of heirloom tomatoes. We had gotten some sorrel at the farmers' market. I had never used sorrel before, and it provided a great lemon taste to the salad. One regret: I didn't seed the tomatoes. After I had them chopped up, I wished I had. So I placed them in a small strainer to remove the excess liquid while I chopped the onions and cucumbers. I tried to recreate the look of the dish at Miriam with only moderate success. I just used my hands to form it when I really should have used a ring mold. Ring molds count as gadgets we do not have space for in our small kitchen, so the rustic look will have to do. We served our Mediterranean salad with some pan fried salmon, but it could be a meal on its own.







Mediterranean Salad
1 eggplant (or 4 very small eggplants in our case), thinly sliced
5 small tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1/2 red onion, finely chopped
1 medium English cucumber, finely chopped
16 oz chickpeas
2 T sorrel, finely chopped
feta
oil
sea salt

Heat a large skillet and add a drizzle of oil. Place eggplant in the pan and sprinkle with sea salt. Cook for 2 minutes on each side (or until tender). Cook batches of eggplant until it is all ready. While cooking, chop the rest of the vegetables. Combine the tomatoes, onion, cucumber, chickpeas and sorrel. Dish up the veggies, wrap in eggplant slices and sprinkle feta over the top.

This post is part of Simple Lives Thursdays at GNOWFGLINS, Things I Love Thursday at Diaper Diaries, Tasty Traditions at Coupon Cooking, and Ultimate Recipe Swap at Life as Mom.

30 Minute Stuffed Peppers

When I think of stuffed peppers, I think of a meat and rice mixture baked inside a whole bell pepper smothered in tomato sauce. There is prep time for the meat mixture and the sauce that runs between 15 and 30 minutes, plus almost an hour to bake them. We rarely want to spend that much time on dinner on a week night, so I was pleased when I saw some stuffed pepper boats popping up on different blogs recently. They were baked, but they took a lot less time.

I planned on making stuffed pepper boats tonight, but our apartment was pretty hot when I got home and I was hoping to take a yoga class. I saw on-line Rachel Ray had a cheat. She cooked the peppers and the stuffing separately on the stove top. Her recipe was for Southwestern peppers, but I adapted her technique to my flavors. It was great! Thirty minutes and only one pan was dirtied! Plus, it was delicious and we have enough leftover to serve over salads for lunch tomorrow. Quick, tasty and delicious (and nutritious)with leftovers - pretty much my definition of a successful weeknight dinner.






30 Minute Stuffed Peppers
4 green peppers
2 carrots
3 small tomatoes
3 green onions
4 large cloves of garlic
1 t dried Oregano
1 T fresh sage
1/2 t red pepper flakes
1 lb ground beef
2 T oil
salt to taste
grated cheese (optional)

Slice the top off the peppers, and slice in half. Remove the seeds and ribs and rinse. Place in a dry, large skillet with a lid. Cook over high heat for 4 minutes covered. Flip them over and cook for 4 more minutes covered. Turn off the heat and let sit while preparing the rest of the vegetables.

While the peppers are cooking, chop the carrots, tomatoes, green onions and garlic. Once finished preparing the vegetables, remove the peppers to a large serving platter. Add the oil to the pan, cook the vegetable for 5 minutes over high heat. While cooking the vegetables, measure out the spices and add to the pan.

Once the 5 minutes are up, push the vegetables to the side of the pan and add the ground beef to the other half. Cook until no longer pink (about 5 minutes). Drain off the excess liquid, and spoon mixture into the pepper boats. If desired, top with grated cheese.

This post is part of Real Food Wednesday at Kelly the Kitchen Kop and Works-for-me Wednesday at We are THAT Family.

Chicken with CSA Succotash

My husband made dinner last night while I worked away on the computer. I worked at the table while he was cooking about 9 feet away (I know because I counted floor tiles.) We chatted about our days as we cooked and worked. He asked a couple of times if I was ready to type up the recipe, and taunted me that I was going to find the succotash recipe shocking. Mmm, what could make succotash shocking?


As he was plating up dinner, he revealed his recipes. The "shocking" ingredient was Sazon. It is really tasty, but I worry that it's full of chemicals.

This was a great meal for using leftover bits of veggies. We were getting down to the end of our CSA veggies, so my husband supplemented the succotash with the "emergency" can of black eyed peas from the cabinet. You can substitute whatever you need to eat up, and if you want to forgo the Sazon choose some spices of your own. A little chili powder would be a good choice for a similar flavor.

Chicken with Herbs
4 cloves of garlic
2 T fresh basil, chopped
2 T fresh oregano, chopped
1/2 t red chili peppers flakes
1 t paprika
1/2 t Dijon mustard
1 T apple cider vinegar
1 T melted butter
1 T olive oil
2 large chicken breasts, thinly sliced
salt and pepper to taste

Combine the garlic, spices, mustard, vinegar, butter and oil in a mixing bowl. Add the chicken and mix together with your hands. Let marinate for an hour or more. Heat a wok or pan with deep sides, and add the chicken mixture. Cook until cooked through (about 5-8 minutes).

CSA Succotash
4 cloves of garlic, sliced
1/2 onion, chopped
2 ears of corn
6 oven roasted tomatoes
2 frying peppers, julienned
1/2 lb of green beans, chopped
16 oz black eyed peas
1/4 c pepitas
1 package Sazon

Saute corn for 2 minutes. Add garlic, onion and peppers and cook for 1 more minute. Add the rest of the ingredients and cook for 5 minutes or until they are tender.

This post is part of Fight Back Fridays from Food Renegade, Finer Things Friday, Frugal Fridays, and Grocery Cart Challenge Recipe Swap.

Chicken Bulgogi Salad

We always enjoy Bulgogi when we eat at Korean restaurants. Bulgogi is made from thin slices of steak (or sometimes chicken or pork). The meat is marinated with a mixture of soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, garlic and other ingredients such as scallions, or mushrooms. We have had it served by itself or with cellophane noodles.

We decided to recreate bulgogi at home, but with chicken that we had on hand. Because it was a scorcher again today, we decided to serve it over a salad. My husband already had the chicken thinly sliced and marinating by the time I got home from work. I rummaged through the fridge to see just how many salad fixings we had. We were going to be three for dinner tonight, so I had to stretch a bit. We ended up having spinach and finely shredded cabbage tossed in oil and vinegar. Topped with blanched green beans, chopped heirloom tomato, chicken and corn. It was very tasty, a little chewy because of the cabbage, but overall really good.


Chicken Bulgogi
2 large chicken breasts
1 T sesame oil
2 T tamari or soy sauce
5 green onions, chopped
1/2 small red onion, chopped
1 T maple syrup
1 t sesame seeds
2 T oil

Thinly slice the chicken (if it is slightly frozen this is much easier). Mix with the sesame oil, tamari, onions, maple syrup and sesame seeds. Cover and let marinate for at least an hour. Heat a wok or a deep frying pan, and add oil and the chicken and the marinade. Cook until the chicken is cooked through (about 5 minutes).

This post is part of Real Food Wednesday at Kelly the Kitchen Kop.

This post is part of Works-For-Me Wednesday at We are THAT Family.

A Local Foods Feast with Friends

Yesterday, we had a bunch of veggies to eat up, a clean apartment and no plans for the evening, so we decided to invite a couple of friends over for dinner. We have done almost no entertaining this summer. I blame it on the fact that it has been so hot. We have felt like eating simple meals that required limited cooking and lazing about in minimal clothing. Finally it is cooling off a bit, so we can start being more hospitable again.

We quickly decided on our menu. We prepared thin slices of raw beets and cucumbers with a smear of goat cheese for starters, plus our friends brought two types of feta, olives, hummus and pita. We almost didn't need dinner.


I made a corn and tomato salad with a couple of tablespoons of olive oil and apple cider vinegar, one clove of garlic finely minced, and a pinch of salt and pepper. The last few time I cut corn off a cob, I made a huge mess. I recently picked up a tip from the blog How to Cook Like Your Grandmother that made a big difference. He suggested placing the corn cob in the middle of a bundt pan or an inverted bowl inside a bigger bowl. I don't have a bundt pan, so I used the latter method. It worked like a charm. I don't know why I never thought of it myself.


The other side was green beans with lots of garlic and some sesame seeds, but the real star was the pork chops with mustard sauce and onions. I made the corn and tomato salad and my husband made everything else. Everything was fabulous. All of the vegetables came for our CSA share, and the pork chops came from the Winkler Family Farm (we bought them at Whole Foods). We also served some lacto-fermented sauerkraut from Hawthorne Valley Farm. Here is a photo of the spread:


Pork Chops with Mustard Sauce and Onions
2 pork chops
Old Bay
oil
1 onion with its greens*, sliced

Set the pork chops on the counter and let them reach room temperature. Dust both sides with Old Bay. Heat a cast iron skillet. Coat the bottom with oil. When it begins to smoke add the pork chops. Cook about 5 minutes per side (more if they are really thick). Remove from the heat. Let rest and then slice. In a separate pan, cook the onions stirring frequently. Cook until caramelized.

Our onions from our CSA share come with the greens still attached. If you don't have onion with greens, you may use an additional onion, or some scallions.

Mustard Sauce
6 oz beer (we used Brooklyn Brown)
1 T mustard
2 T butter

After the pork chops have been removed from the skillet, drain off the excess fat. Scrape the bottom of the pan, and add the beer to help deglaze it. Turn on the burner to medium heat. Add the mustard and butter. Whisk continually, and let cook down and thicken.

The heat was too hot for our sauce, and it "broke". The butter separated from the other flavorings. Don't worry if that happens - it's still delicious. We served our on the side (we use our creamer as a gravy boat).

This post is part of Two for Tuesdays at A Moderate Life blog.

Sausage and Peppers

When I got home from work today, I flipped on the TV and listened to a news program while I tried to figure out what to make for dinner. Have you noticed how they advertise the upcoming news segments with shocking titles? This one was something like, "What in your dining room is making you fat?" When they finally aired segment after several teasers, they reported that blue is the best color for plates, dining room walls, tablecloths, etc. Why? Because supposedly when people eat surrounded by the color blue, they eat less. The worst colors are yellow and red. One group of people ate dinner in a blue room and another in a yellow room, and the group in the blue room ate 30% less. I'm not sure about the quality of scientific research, but it's intriguing.

Have you noticed the color of our plates that play a supporting role in all of our food photos? They are mustard yellow! (They came with my husband. I like the style of them. The color, well, it is tolerable. The best thing about them is that they are almost indestructible.) Are we overeating every day because of our yellow plates? Maybe we should start using salad plates for dinner...


Last week, we had a hearty dinner served on salad plates. Sausage and peppers cooked with kale, tomatoes, onions and potatoes. I don't think I had ever made sausage and peppers with potatoes until I met my husband. He's Italian-American (among other things), and it's a family classic. His dad usually makes it with sausage, vinegar peppers and potatoes. It's FABULOUS! It's amazing how simple, classic meals are so good - no wonder they have stood the test of time. We added some extra veggies, and cooked it in our dutch oven on top of the stove. It was great - we got some oven fresh taste without heating up our apartment.

Sausage and Peppers with Kale, Tomato and Potatoes
1 lb Italian sausage, cut in half
1 lb potatoes, chopped
2 onions, chopped
2 peppers, chopped
1 tomato, chopped
1 bunch kale,chopped
oil

Drizzle oil in the bottom of the Dutch oven. Add the rest of the ingredients, and stir to combine. Cook over medium heat stirring occasionally. Cook until the desired crispness is achieved, about 1 to 1.5 hours.

We served it on small plates because it is so filling.

This post is part of Monday Mania at The Healthy Home Economist.

Oven Roasted Tomatoes

Yesterday I wrote about the delicious sage polenta with fresh corn. Mmmm, it was so good we could have eaten it by itself, but we didn't stop there. We topped it with some sauteed chicken breast and a quick sauce of garlic and oven roasted tomatoes. Sun dried tomatoes or oven roasted tomatoes are like nature's candy. They have a really intense sweet and tangy flavor, and pretty much improve anything they accompany.

We got two pints of cherry tomatoes in our farm share last Saturday. I was worried we wouldn't eat them all up in a week, and the weather had cooled for a couple of days. I decided take advantage the cooler temperatures and roast one of the pints. Here are some photos of the process:


One pint of tomatoes awaiting their fate.


I covered a cookie sheet in foil to help prevent sticking. Drizzled it with olive oil. The tomatoes were sliced in half and spread out on the cookie sheet.


The tomatoes cooked for about 3.5 hours at 200 degrees. I stirred them after the first and second hour, and then every 30 minutes. (I became a little neurotic that my precious roasted tomatoes would burn.)


I put the roasted tomatoes in a glass, and had to take a photo by the other pint of tomatoes next to them to show how much they shrank.

This post is part of Simple Life Thursday at A Little Bit of Spain in Iowa.

Cucumber, Corn and Tomato Salad

Sunday we headed over to Tompkins Square Green Market to supplement our farm share. We got some peaches and tomatoes from Madura Farms, milk from Ronnybrook Farm, and corn from Stannard Farms. When I saw a tomato and corn salad on Dinner: A Love Story, I had a plan. It's a great way to combine the best of summer's bounty. Here's our take:

Cucumber, Corn and Tomato Salad
3 ears of corn, kernels cut off the cob
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tomato, chopped
1 cucumber, chopped
several leaves of basil, finely chopped
1 T apple cider vinegar
oil
salt and pepper

Heat a frying pan and coat with oil. Add corn and saute for 1 minute. Add half the garlic and saute for 1 more minute. Combine the corn and garlic with the tomato, cucumber, basil and vinegar. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper to taste.

Cucumber

Italian Vinaigrette

I learned on my way home from work that we had a last minute guest coming over for dinner tonight. I did a quick mental run through of the kitchen contents and decided we really didn't have the makings of a dinner that would comfortably serve 3 (or 1). My husband suggested that he pick-up pizza, and I loved the idea. I picked up some lettuce, and we were in business.


I have worked in some restaurants along the way, and two of them were casual Italian-American places. Both restaurants had the same recipe for their house vinaigrette. It's really complex. Are you ready for it? Large squirt bottle filled with about half olive oil and half red wine vinegar (slightly more oil). Place thumb over the nozzle and vigorously shake. Squirt on some chopped lettuce. Sprinkle it with a couple of shakes of oregano. Garnish with a tomato wedge (two if the customer is a regular), and you are finished.

As a step up, the salad I made tonight even included local tomatoes, cucumber and carrots. Pizza pie and salad with leftovers for tomorrow. Perfect. Here is my dressing recipe for home:

Italian Vinaigrette
3 T olive oil
3 T red wine vinegar (or I used apple cider vinegar)
pinch of oregano, salt and pepper
Parmesan cheese (optional)

Combine the oil, vinegar, oregano, salt and pepper. Toss salad with dressing and garnish with grated Parmesan cheese.


We are heading to Boston tomorrow and leaving the computer at home, so no posts for several days. I hope to bring back news of exciting adventures and fun family time. Do you have any suggestions for restaurants in the North End/Financial District of Boston?

Heirloom Tomato and Mediterranean Tuna Salad Napoleons

There is a blog called A + M that has a weekly recipe/cooking contest on a featured ingredient. We have entered twice before, once with a Deconstructed Eggplant Parmesan Salad (for fresh mozzarella) and another time with Cherry Chutney topped Pakoras (for cherries). I thought both of these were pretty good. They tasted great and were creative, but neither one even made it into the final list. I guess I shouldn't feel too bad because there have been between 100 and 200 recipes in entered in both of those rounds.



The contest topic for this week is Heirloom Tomatoes, and we decided to try throwing our hat in the ring once again. We tried to think of something that was fresh, summery and unique for the tomatoes. We decided to create a no-cook dish with Mediterranean tuna salad layered with tomatoes. Here's the recipe:

Heirloom Tomato and Mediterranean Tuna Salad Napoleons Serves 4

16 ounces tuna
16 ounces cannellini beans
1 handful Niçoise olives, pitted and chopped
1 small roasted red pepper, finely chopped
2 tablespoons capers
3 scapes, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon herbes de Provence
2 heirloom tomatoes, sliced
4 cups salad greens
Parmesan cheese curls

Combine the tuna, beans, olives, peppers, capers and scapes in a mixing bowl. Mix the oil, vinegar, Dijon mustard, herbes de Provence and drizzle over the tuna mixture. Layer the salad greens, tuna mixture, tomatoes and top with cheese curls.

Summer Tomatoes

I woke up yesterday morning racking my brain for a dinner that would require no cooking and use our leftover pesto. I decided it would be wonderful to have sandwiches with fresh mozzarella, tomato and pesto. We could get some bread and cheese from around the corner, but finding GOOD tomatoes is a little bit more difficult. I never used to like tomatoes. I blame it on those mealy, unripe tomatoes that show up in the grocery store throughout the year. I have now decided that I don't hate all tomatoes. I just hate bad tomatoes.

I got to work and learned that one of my coworkers had brought in some home grown tomatoes to share. What luck! She offered me a beautiful, deep red tomato. She said that she will be bringing some in most days... I'll have to be careful to not get too greedy, and I'll have to think of a way to thank her.

We enjoyed our simple supper of bread, fresh mozzarella, tomato and walnut pesto. It was so good that we had it again today for lunch. The tomato was perfect and complemented the creamy mozzarella and the basil and garlic of the pesto. It was the essence of summertime in a sandwich.

A guest in the house

I'm reading the book, Home Cooking: A Writer in the Kitchen, by Laurie Colwin. It's a series of short essays that offers recipes and humorous stories. Yesterday on my subway ride home, I read the chapters on her worst cooking experiences and the worst meals she's eaten at other people's homes. I was just innocently reading the next chapters in the book, but this might have affected me.

When I got home, I made dinner for my husband, a potential business partner, and myself. The plan was to serve a simple dinner of ravioli with a quick fresh tomato sauce and a side of sauteed broccoli rabe with garlic. My husband planned to pick up the ravioli on his way home from the Piemonte Ravioli Co. It turns out that they close at 5:00 and not 6:00, so we had to settle for dried pasta.

We saved 6 pakoras from the night before, and I quickly reheated them in a hot saute pan and served them with the mint and cherry chutneys. This bought me some time while I prepared the rest of the dinner. I quickly washed and chopped up the 2 bunches of broccoli rabe and dropped it into our large skillet. As it began cooking, it shrank, and shrank, and shrank down to almost nothing. I knew that it was not enough for three people, so I added in the greens from a bunch of turnips. This too shrank down to very little, so I decided to make an additional side of carrots. Of course we only had a few small carrots, but I sauteed them and tossed them with lemon juice and cilantro. Meanwhile, I put the pasta in boiling water, and started my sauce. Two tomatoes chopped up and several cloves of garlic sliced went into a sauce pan with a generous amount of olive oil. I soon realized that this was not enough for the pound of pasta I had cooking.

All this time I was trying to be really quiet and not disturb them, but I was unsuccessful. It reminded me of the early morning when you are trying to tip-toe around and not wake the other people in the house, but you invariably drop things, trip over chairs, etc. That was me in the kitchen last night. I was dropping pots, spoons, getting myself all wet, and I was very self-conscious because they were having a technical discussion only 4 feet away (because our apartment is really small). My husband reassures me that he didn't even notice, so maybe I was being overly self-conscious.

In the end, the dinner was fine. We had pasta with a light tomato, garlic and basil sauce with carrots and greens, but it was very stressful getting there. I realized that I'm not used to cooking for 3 (cooking for more somehow isn't a problem) and for someone I have never met.

Eggplant Parm Salad

During my recent blog trolling, I discovered the website The A + M Blog. This website has great recipes and they host weekly recipe contests. Each week they feature a selected ingredient. Readers submit their recipes for editors and other readers to test. The winning recipe each week wins prizes and will be featured in an upcoming cookbook. This whole process was intriguing to me, and my husband and I decided to throw our hat in the ring.

This week's contest ingredient is fresh mozzarella. We brainstormed lots of ideas for fresh mozzarella, and landed on eggplant parm salad. We were inspired by the deconstructed green sushi salad from Green Kitchen Stories that we tried last week. Our salad was designed to be a summer alternative to the traditional eggplant parm that requires oven time. (Please vote for our entry here.) The only down side of this plan is that it only used a little bit of purslane from the share. We will have to get back on the CSA bandwagon tomorrow.

Eggplant Parm Salad serves 4
1 C Balsamic vinegar
1 small eggplant, cut into 1/4 inch thick slices
1/2 C flour
2 large eggs, beaten
1 cup bread crumbs
6 oz arugula
small handful of basil, stems removed and torn into pieces
olive oil
1 clove garlic, finely minced
1/2 lb fresh mozzarella, cut into strips
2 tomatoes, cut into strips
salt
pepper

Pour the Balsamic vinegar into a sauce pot. Bring to a boil, and then reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Let cool and place in sealed container. It should be the consistency of a thick syrup. If it gets too thick, it can be thinned with additional vinegar.

Dredge an eggplant slice in the flour, then dip it in the egg, and finally dredge it in the breadcrumbs. Shake off any excess breading and transfer the eggplant to a wire rack. Repeat with the remaining eggplant. Allow the eggplant to dry for 15 minutes once all of the slices are finished. Pour the oil to a depth of 1/4 inch in a small saute pan. Once the oil is warm, work in small batches frying the eggplant slices until golden brown, about 2 minutes per side. Using tongs, transfer to a paper towel-lined baking sheet and season with salt to taste. Repeat with the remaining eggplant. Once cool, cut the eggplant slices into thirds.

Place arugula and basil in a mixing bowl and toss with 2 T olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper.

Layer the greens, eggplant strips, tomatoes, and fresh mozzarella on dinner plates. Drizzle the Balsamic vinegar reduction over the top.