What we ate for dinner

I am very seldom daunted by food. That said, when Sara picked me up from my volunteer gig a couple weeks ago complaining that her hand hurt from handling the nettles in our CSA box, I was concerned. She was ready to chuck the whole bunch, but I couldn’t let them go. I got out my tongs to handle them and successfully created the sunchoke and nettle soup featured in the Harmony Valley Newsletter (with skim milk instead of cream). Sara looked skeptical when I served up the steaming bowls of green, but I can now say that they do not sting once cooked. Look how benign they are pureed to hell with a side of bread:

Maybe next year I’ll get more adventurous.

I also tried making this sorrel pesto last week.  I can only imagine how much better it would have tasted if I could have used pine nuts instead of walnuts. I just can’t justify the cost of pine nuts right now, though.

Last week was all about beans. I usually try to think of two very different dishes each week so that we have some variety for our taste buds. Sometimes this works better than others. Sometimes (like last week), I manage to get very different flavors with similar ingredients. I probably wouldn’t do a bean-bean pairing again, though.

Recipe 1: Black Bean Chilaquiles

This recipe comes from one of my favorite everyday cookbooks, Jack Bishop’s A Year in a Vegetarian Kitchen, but I did manage to find the recipe online for those of you who don’t own it. Chilaquiles are always a hit over here. Sara made some guacamole to go with hers, but I am (sadly) allergic to avocados.

Recipe 2: White Bean and Swiss Chard Soup

This soup is a hodge-podge of things I had on hand, and things that looked good at the co-op. Substitute ingredients as you see fit.

White Bean and Swiss Chard Soup

2 Tbsp olive oil
2 med onions diced
2 celery stalks diced
2 carrots diced
4 garlic cloves minced
2 tsp dried rosemary
1 yam diced
2 15oz cans white beans
salt
4 Cups vegetable broth
1 Cup orzo or other small pasta
1 bunch swiss chard, stems and leaves chopped
2 tsp red wine vinegar or lemon juice

1. Heat olive oil in a large pot.
2. Add onions, celery, and carrots and saute until carrots are tender (about 10 minutes)
3. Add some salt, and the rosemary and garlic and saute for 1-2 minutes more.
4. Add the yam and saute for 2 more minutes
5. Add beans (with liquid) and vegetable broth, and some more salt and bring to a boil
6. Reduce to a simmer and add orzo. Simmer until orzo is cooked through (about 10 minutes)
7. Add chard leaves and stems and simmer until stalks are tender (about 4 minutes)
8. Add vinegar (or lemon juice) and more salt to taste.

Here’s everything all packaged up for us to pack in our school/work bags.

Time: 2 hours

I don’t come from a touchy-feely sort of family, but last week I felt compelled (in the midst of peeling butternut squash and juicing lemons) to call my mother to thank her for cooking healthy meals for us while I was growing up. The impetus: An MPR story on childhood obesity. I realize now what a privilege it was to grow up expecting a home-cooked meal every day — even when my mom was working, grandma would cook for us, or my sister and I would cook with our aunt and serve up meals as part of our favorite game, Starlight Cafe.

My mother’s nonchalant response to this: We lived in the middle of nowhere — where would we have gone out to eat?

True enough. But still, I’m grateful.

And what was I peeling that squash for? Two winner meals this week: a soup and salad that were perfect for the spring weather.

Recipe 1: Lemon Lentil Spinach Soup

This recipe is one of mine:

Lemon Lentil Spinach Soup
Makes 5-6 servings

2 Tbs olive oil
2 onions diced
3 celery ribs diced
2 medium carrots diced
coarse kosher salt
4 garlic cloves, minced
zest of 2 lemons
1/2 tsp ground cumin
2 1/2 C red lentils
1/4 C red cooking wine
5 C vegetable broth
3/4 lb baby spinach leaves
juice of 2 lemons

1.  Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add onions, celery and carrots, and saute until carrots are tender (about 7 minutes). Use some of the wine for deglazing if necessary.
2. Add garlic, cumin, lemon zest, and a good sprinkling of salt, and saute for about 2 minutes.
3. Add lentils and some more salt and saute for 1 minute more.
4. Add cooking wine and vegetable broth. Bring to a boil, then turn down head and simmer, covered, until lentils are cooked (about 20 minutes).
5. Stir in spinach and cook until wilted (3-5 minutes).
6. Turn off heat and stir in lemon juice.
7. Adjust seasonings to taste and serve.

I served it with crusty bread and a dollop of cumin yogurt (1 C yogurt + 1/2 tsp salt + 1/2 tsp ground cumin).

Recipe 2: Warm Wild Rice Salad from Hola Jalapeno

We got our fill of asparagus last week, so I made this with chickpeas instead (also a good way to add protein since we were eating it as a main course). I doubled the recipe and we had so much we were able to eat it every day and still have some leftover to freeze. It was super tasty, but I think I need a break now.

Time: 2 hours

Soundtrack: aforementioned MPR story

Back when Sara and I started school and found ourselves either rushing off to class or hunkering down with homework every night, we worked out a system to make sure that we still had some good meals on hand for lunch and dinner: Every Sunday, we cook two giant meals that we package up to eat throughout the week — not brilliant or revolutionary, but it works for us. Also, it means that we get to spend some time together on Sunday nights, and we try to do it when something good is on the radio.

This week was all about mushrooms and love songs.

The first recipe we used was a tried and true favorite: Hot & Sour soup from Veganomicon by Isa Chandra Moskowitz. Ingredient-wise, I always make several tweaks — specifically, adding a lot more of everything. We always like it a little more hot and a little more sour than it is when we follow the recipe, so I add a lot more rice vinegar (at least 2 or 3 times what the recipe calls for) and I substitute red pepper flakes for chili oil. I also add more tamari, nearly double the vegetables, use black pepper instead of white, cremini mushrooms instead of white and regular green cabbage instead of napa cabbage.

I like to take liberties with this recipe is what I’m saying. See how it’s so full of stuff?

Second up was a mushroom and barley pie from the Smitten Kitchen, which turned out to be much more high maintenance than I’d expected. I have a problem with not reading recipes ahead of time and being panicked when, say, things need to be chilled or cooled for a number of hours. It didn’t help that our city was apparently experiencing a great shortage of puff pastry sheets, and poor Sara had to shuttle glasses-less me to 4 different stores until we found some. It’s pretty good, but a little much for our weekly meals. Also, puff pastry is not so glamorous when reheated in the microwave.

Time: about 3 hours

Soundtrack: Love songs on the Current