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This was Monday night’s dinner, finally! It included leftover salad from our weekend barbecue (lettuce mix, raw zucchini, shredded carrots, and grape tomatoes). Sharon inspired me to bother to grate the carrots; she was doing so when I stopped by the other day and it looked so pretty. I wouldn’t risk bloodied knuckles on a regular basis, but it was nice to do for company.
Then I caramelized a whole onion, diced, in a bit of olive oil. A whole bunch of broccoli rabe, also diced, went into the pan once the onions were soft. I covered the skillet and let the broccoli rabe wilt down for about 5 minutes, then added a chopped tomato and a bit of salt. I whisked four eggs together, poured them into the pan, and stirred the whole thing together until the eggs set. I served it all with some challah rolls I picked up from the store, and then watermelon for dessert.
This was an easy, rustic meal that was perfect after an afternoon at the pool. All in all, there were seven different vegetables in this meal, if you include the two different types of tomatoes. Very healthy, great for using up farm share vegetables, and delicious: a perfect summer dinner in my book.
July 2nd, 2008
We get a “braising mix” from our farm share which is an assortment of greens such as tatsoi, mustard, and escarole. I’m actually not sure of the exact mix we’re getting, but I’ve emailed Roxbury Farm to find out. In the past I’ve just chopped the greens into meatballs and stuffed peppers.
Tonight I heated olive oil in a large skillet and added a large, minced scallion. I chopped two small yellow squash into bite-sized pieces and added those to the pan as well. While they started to cook, I washed and spun dry the braising mix (about 10 loosely-packed cups), then added it on top of the squash and covered the skillet. It cooked for about 5 minutes, which was enough time for the squash to caramelize and the greens to soften. I did not add salt but I would definitely recommend that you do.
My mom and I ate it unsalted — she loved it and had seconds; I ate it because I knew it was good for me. I really don’t love the greens prepared this way, they are a little too sharp for my taste. Some kosher salt sprinkled on top might have helped. In fact, J. ate them this way later on and thought they were tasty. I’ll probably try cooking the braising mix in some sort of saute again, but I can’t say I’ll look forward to eating it!
June 25th, 2008
Mrs. Jones was one of my cousins’ nursery school teachers, and although I really think of this as my aunt’s recipe — she passed it on to me — I have preserved the original name because I like the history of it!
For me, this is the macaroni & cheese recipe to beat: it remains my favorite, and I compare any other mac & cheese I eat to it. However, I don’t make it often because the boys won’t eat it (they prefer to boxed stuff instead). Jodi was a willing diner last Monday, though, so I jumped at the chance to make it again. This time I cut the leftovers into several squares and froze them in individual portions. I was really pleased to see that this recipe defrosted nicely just by throwing it in the fridge overnight, and reheating it in the microwave for a couple of minutes.
If you are looking for a creamy, saucy recipe, this is not it. Mrs. Jones’ version bakes up into a firm, casserole-type macaroni & cheese that is very easy to prepare. The dry mustard and cayenne give it just enough dimension to taste like so much more than pasta and cheese mixed together, without being spicy. I usually use whole wheat pasta, which works just as well as plain white.
Mrs. Jones’ Macaroni & Cheese
Recipe from my Aunt Barbara
1 lb. small pasta (shells or macaroni), cooked in salted water
2 Tbsp. butter
1 lb. reduced-fat cheddar cheese, finely grated
2 eggs
12 oz. evaporated skim milk
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. dry mustard
pinch cayenne pepper
Preheat oven to 350° F.
Put the hot, drained macaroni back in the pot you cooked it in, and mix in the butter until pasta is completely coated. Mix in the cheddar cheese and stir until cheese is well-distributed. Spoon mixture into a 9 x 13 baking dish and use the back of the spoon to lightly pack it into the pan.
In a medium bowl, whisk remaining ingredients together and pour over the pasta and cheese. Bake 30-40 minutes, until set and crusty on top.
June 25th, 2008
Yes, it was as good as it looks! I wound up using Anna of Cookie Madness’ recipe for both the cake and frosting. My only change was that I used dark cocoa instead of regular, because that’s what I had in the house. That difference may have been just enough to totally obscure any Dr. Pepper flavor, but don’t worry:
My dad said this might have been the best chocolate cake he ever ate. J. thought it was delicious. GG mentioned several times how much she enjoyed it. And the boys, well, I’m sure I don’t need to tell you they gobbled it up. The cake itself has just the right density — substantial but not heavy-tasting, and a reserved sweetness that doesn’t overpower the chocolate flavor. A nice crumb that held together, and very moist without being sticky or cloying. The frosting, which is the first I’ve made without confectioner’s sugar, was luscious. Using melted Ghirardelli’s bittersweet chips in it give it an extra dimension — again not too sweet, and very smooth and decadent.
There were really rave reviews all around, and that’s a good thing because I am not joking when I tell you it took me hours to make! It is not a difficult recipe, and it is well-written, but there are a lot of interim steps in both the cake and frosting that just took me a lot of time, such as melting and then letting cool the chocolate chips (in each recipe). For a special occasion I didn’t mind the effort, but it was definitely a more involved recipe that I normally make — I am, after all, a huge fan of desserts where pretty much the instruction is “combine all ingredients in a large bowl.”
Want to see more pictures?
I’d save you a slice, but I think it’ll be finished off within the hour…
June 15th, 2008
- Don’t these three Frozen Fruity Pops from body+soul magazine look awesome and so grown-up? There are recipes for honeydew-basil, pineapple-cinnamon, and mango-parsley versions. I’d go for the honeydew.
- I got an e-mail last week that the Let’s Dish in Scarsdale is closing it’s doors. (See my previous post, “Make and Take” is Still Too Much Work.) To paraphrase their reason for closing, the people that came loved it, but not enough people came. I always feel badly when a business closes, even if it’s not one that I patronized.
June 10th, 2008
June is flying by… all of a sudden school is ending, Father’s Day is upon us, and then my dear friend Jodi is coming for a visit! It feels like I will blink and summer will be over.
More cooking this week than last, which I am looking forward to. I hope to fit in a batch of muffins somewhere, as well, once the temperatures go back into the low 80s.
This week I nailed down the proportions on the Slow Cooker Beef, Barley & Veggie Stuffed Peppers, which is a nice dish for the summer since it won’t heat up the kitchen. You could increase the barley or vegetables and decrease the meat to make it lighter.
Then on Saturday we had a fun barbecue with friends, even though the temperatures soared into the 90s for the first time this season, and the kids were sweaty, dirty messes. J. grilled steaks and asparagus, and I made a room-temperature pasta salad out of yellow squash and broccoli rabe (from my CSA) sauteed with garlic and olive oil, chopped sundried tomatoes, and whole wheat chiocciole.
Monday: Out to dinner on a playdate
Tuesday: Baked Tofu with Soy & Sesame, brown rice, steamed broccoli
Wednesday: Flapjacks, hard-boiled eggs, blueberries & strawberries
Thursday: Crock pot meatballs (beef), spaghetti, CSA vegetables
Friday: Leftovers
Saturday: Take out or go out
Sunday: Father’s Day BBQ for lunch (shish kebobs with pineapple & peppers, Bob’s Cold Sesame Noodles, Dr. Pepper Cake); leftovers for dinner
For more menu planning ideas, check out Laura at Organizing Junkie.
June 8th, 2008
As soon as I saw this recipe on Carol’s site, I knew I’d have to make it. I rarely try to duplicate meals I’ve had in a restaurant, but this is a dish I’ve ordered several times over the years. It often includes wedges of white potato, though this version does not and that suited my family perfectly. I served it with spaghetti and steamed broccoli (the boys had no interest in the chicken). Almost Italian has a nice history of the dish on their site.
Carol warned that her recipe was seriously spicy, so I cut down on the hot cherry peppers. It was still almost too much for my mom and I to take. Our noses were running, our tongues were numb… we were a mess. The flavor is delicious, but we just couldn’t get past the heat. We actually opened up some beer to help us cope. Still, I think J. would have loved the heat level (if he ate chicken or sausage!), so if you are hot pepper kind of a guy, go for it.
The kosher chicken & turkey sausage I used this time (Neshama) is pre-cooked, so it just needs some browning. If you are using raw sausages, you may want to start cooking them at the same time the chicken goes into the pan. Or, do as Carol does and pre-boil them to make the dish less greasy.
I will probably stick to ordering this meal in restaurants from now on, mostly because I don’t have many people to cook for that like this combination of ingredients. Let me know if you experiment and find a more manageable proportion of hot cherry peppers.
Chicken Scarpariello
Adapted slightly from Carol’s recipe
1 lb. skinless, boneless chicken breasts
black pepper
2 tsp. olive oil
8 oz. pre-cooked mild Italian sausage, cut into 1-inch lengths
2 tsp. garlic, minced
3/4 c. sliced hot cherry peppers
1 c. sliced, pickled sweet bell peppers (reserve 1/2 c. liquid)
1/2 c. vegetable broth
Rinse and pat dry the chicken breasts, then slice into bite-sized cubes. Season with ground pepper (and salt, if you like), and add to a hot pan coated with the olive oil. Cook for about 10 minutes over medium-high heat, until chicken is cooked through and golden brown.
Add sausage pieces, garlic, all peppers, pepper liquid, and broth to the pan. Raise heat until the sauce comes to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 10-15 minutes, until liquid is reduced.
June 3rd, 2008
This past week was super-slow on the cooking front. A construction project kept me from the butcher, so I didn’t get to the Chicken Scarpariello. But I’m looking forward to it tomorrow. I find that the less I cook due to circumstance, the less I want to cook. It’s not a good cycle. Unfortunately, there’s not too much cooking to do this week either, since one or more of us are not home for several dinners this week.
What I really need to do is start brainstorming some warmer-weather recipes. The Broccoli Slaw & Chicken Wraps are a great start — they were easy, delicious, and FAST! Even though it’s supposed to be in the high 70s this week, I chose rather wintery meals. What do you cook when it’s warm outside? Maybe I need to finally learn to grill this summer.
Finally, our first farm share pick-up of the season is this Wednesday! I can’t wait to see what we get.
Monday: Chicken Scarpariello, spaghetti, broccoli (bumped from last week)
Tuesday: Boys go out with my MIL; we’re at a benefit dinner
Wednesday: Boys have yogurt, challah, fruit (quick meal after a late playdate and farm share pick-up); defrost sweet potato & black bean burritos for J.; I’m out to dinner with friends
Thursday: Slow Cooker Stuffed Peppers, farfalle pasta, veggies from farm share
Friday: Roasted chicken, veggies from farm share, Israeli couscous
Saturday: We’re throwing a lunch barbecue here (menu TBD), so leftovers or take out
Sunday: Date night with J., boys sleep out!
For more menu planning ideas, check out Laura at Organizing Junkie.
June 1st, 2008
Last week had no great successes. I enjoyed the braised skirt steak with garlic sauce, but the boys wouldn’t touch it and I didn’t love it reheated, either. (Plus the photo makes me cringe every time I look at it, but it was the best one I got!) I had hoped to get to some baking this weekend, but we’ve been busier than expected so that dropped off the plan. Overall it was an uninspired week cooking-wise.
Here’s my short and sweet menu plan for this week:
Monday: Memorial Day! bringing a roasted veggie pasta salad to a lunch BBQ; then those elusive Spicy Cheese Enchiladas that I still have not made for dinner
Tuesday: Banana Pancakes (made with whole eggs), grapes or watermelon
Wednesday: Chicken Scarpariello with whole wheat spaghetti, steamed broccoli
Thursday: Bring in pizza, salads
Friday: Chicken Coleslaw Wraps
Saturday: Take out or eat out
Sunday: Grill steaks?
For more menu planning ideas, check out Laura at Organizing Junkie.
May 25th, 2008
- In case just eating enough vegetables (or getting enough into our kids) wasn’t enough of a challenge, new research shows that how we prepare the veggies we eat greatly impacts their nutritive value. (See Finding the Best Way to Cook All Those Vegetables, NYTimes.com) I never would have guessed that boiling anything would be more beneficial than steaming, but that’s true for carrots, zucchini, and broccoli. Thankfully, the article concludes with “the main lesson is to eat a variety of vegetables prepared in a variety of ways.” OK, I can do that.
- I made another batch of the vegan dark chocolate cupcakes this week, subbing 1/2 cup flax seed meal for the flour. You couldn’t see or taste the flax seed, though I did wind up with some of them caught on my teeth, which was unpleasant. The boys didn’t notice. Also, it made the crumb of the cupcakes a little too light and fluffy — not dense enough to stay together when bit into by tiny, messy mouths. I’ll keep experimenting.
- There are few things cuter than listening to my two-year-old clamoring for me to make him “flapjacks.” I made a flax seed meal version while he was sick (he was inspired to ask for them based on a Little Bear episode, where Father Bear makes his famous Flying Flapjacks), but wound up freezing most of them. One morning this week the boys went through all my frozen pancakes AND almost an entire additional fresh batch. This time I upped the flax seed to 1/2 cup and again they didn’t notice. I hope they get over this pancake kick somewhat quickly, only because I can’t face making that many dirty dishes so early in the morning. I need to add them back into my dinner menu again, and this time I might try sneaking in some banana and ricotta, like in Nick’s version.
May 22nd, 2008
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I'm Dara, the chick in the kitchen. Living in the suburbs of Manhattan with my two boys, ages 3 and 5, and husband. Trying to feed my family something more diverse than a different shape of pasta each night. Reach me at .