Geoff's Goodbye meal

Geoff leaves tomorrow. (He comes back on Thursday, but he leaves tomorrow!) Tonight, I made a recipe I found on vegetarian times again. Farfalle with creamy tomato-goat-cheese sauce. Recipe (with updated/adjusted ingredients):

• Toast about 3 tbs pine nuts until golden in skillet at medium heat. Set aside.
• Boil 15-oz farfalle pasta according to package. Drain, add a little oil or butter to prevent clumping and set aside.
• Cook one bag of frozen petite peas in microwave (or according to package) and then set aside.
• Heat skillet at medium heat with 2 tbs olive oil, 3 cloves minced garlic, and 1 tsp basil.
• Once garlic begins to brown: add 10-oz can of creamy tomato soup, 1 tbs white wine, and 1/4 cup half-and-half. Bring to simmer at medium-high heat, then reduce to medium-low heat and simmer for about 3 minutes.
• Add 4-oz package of mild goat cheese to skillet and simmer until entirely melted and mixed. Season with salt as desired.
• Mix in pine nuts and pasta slowly. Add peas as desired. Serve!
• original
  

Mmm, mmm, good. Campbell's Soup In Hand was the only creamy tomato soup I could find--hence the "10 oz can" of soup. I only ended up using 3/4 of our pea package, the sauce could have used more goat cheese (original recipe listed 3 oz, so I write 4 oz), and the meal could have used more pine nuts (original called for 2 tbs). We served it with baked baguette and the crunchy was a good complement to the meal. Really good, REALLY easy to make--definitely will make again. :)

Bye Geoff! I can't wait till you're back and I can cook for you more. And Claudia! Woooooo

Some more meat for Geoff...

Tonight I made a stir-fry noodle dish with veggies, and I ended up adding some shrimp to it to make the rest of the fam happy. And, to be honest, I like shrimp. So I guess I added it for that reason too. :) Recipe:

• Cut and prepare all vegetables (feel free to add and subtract veggies as you so desire): one small yellow/sweet onion (cut into about 1/2 inch pieces), 1 stalk of broccoli (cut into small florets, keep leaves, and discard most of main stalk), 1 large carrot (cut into matchsticks), 1 half (or whole) yellow or red pepper (I used yellow; cut into about 1/2 inch pieces), 1 head of bok choy (cut into about 1-inch pieces; baby bok choy preferable, if a larger head, you probably won't use all of it), and 1 medium tomato (cut into relatively large pieces).
• Prepare 8-0z box of udon noodles according to package, drain, add about 1 tbs soy sauce, set aside.
• Heat skillet at medium/medium-low heat with olive oil, 2 cloves minced garlic (or 2 tsp garlic powder), 1 tsp fresh minced ginger (or 1 tsp ground ginger), and 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon. Add onion and saute until slightly browning.
• Add hardest vegetables, then softer vegetables, and saute until tender. (For me, I added all of the vegetables at the same time and covered the skillet occasionally to steam and help tenderize.) Add soy, ginger, garlic, and/or cinnamon as desired.
  
• While vegetables cook, heat another skillet at medium heat with 2 tbs soy sauce and about 30 peeled shrimp. Saute shrimp while vegetables saute as desired.
• When initial vegetable are fairly tender, add bok choy pieces and saute (covering occasionally) until leaves are wilted.
• Remove skillets from heat. Add tomato wedges to vegetable mix. Then, combine vegetables, shrimp, and noodles. Add soy sauce as desired, and serve.
• original
  

Mmmmmm.... Very good and flavorful. Cinnamon and fresh ginger really stood out. It was popular with all of the family, and I'll be making it again. Perhaps playing around with other veggies (asparagus? water chestnuts? red pepper? pineapple?). One thing: this meal, with the big eaters in my family, just satisfied the four of us. So, if you have a hungry family, you might want to look for a bigger package of udon, add more vegetables or protein, or serve with an appropriate side dish or appetizer--I know we'll need to do something next time we make this for the whole family.

no meat for me

Last night, my mom made philly cheese steak calzones. They're very delicious and something I love, but something I no longer eat. With the pizza dough in the house, I was inspired to create something veg with it. So, I made up a portobello and asparagus pizza...

• Preheat oven to 425.
  
• Cut pack of asparagus into 1-inch pieces, steam in boiling water for 4 minutes, set aside.
• Simmer about 4 tbs balsamic vinegar with 1 tbs cane sugar for about 20 minutes. (Makes balsamic glaze.)
  
• Gill and cut 2-3 portobello mushrooms into slices.
• Heat olive oil and 1 tsp basil in skillet, throw in mushroom slices and saute until golden brown. Add 1-2 cloves finely chopped garlic and saute with mushrooms and oil for about 30 seconds. Add 1 tbs balsamic vinegar, stir briefly, then remove from heat. Set mushrooms aside with asparagus.
  
• Get out pack of pizza dough and spread evenly out on a baking pan/sheet. Spread oil/garlic/balsamic mixture from skillet on top of dough. Put dough in oven and bake for 4-6 minutes, or until dough sets.
• Remove crust from oven, place mushrooms and asparagus on crust. Place slices of mozzarella cheese over vegetables and drizzle with any remaining oil.
• Place pizza back in oven and bake for 5-15 more minutes. Check occasionally, remove when cheese and crust are browning.
• Take out of oven, drizzle balsamic glaze over pizza, let set for few minutes, cut and serve!

So. Good. And I'm very proud of myself for 1) not eating the philly cheese steak calzone even though I really really wanted to, and 2) making up a recipe on my own! Might have only been a pizza recipe and relatively easy, but it turned out to be so delicious and all my own...

Geoff's Grand Return

Last night I cooked a special dinner for Geoff's return home: eggs and asparagus. Pretty easy and solid meal. Recipe:

• Preheat oven to 425F.
  
• Cook 1 pack green asparagus and 1 pack white asparagus in large, deep skillet of salted boiling water until crisp-tender, about 4 minutes. Transfer to paper towels to drain.
• Grease 4 individual gratin dishes, divide asparagus between them. Sprinkle asparagus lightly with thyme and with 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese.
• Heat 2 tbs butter in skillet over medium heat until foam subsides, then fry 4 eggs until whites are set.
• Transfer 1 egg to each gratin dish, lay over asparagus. Divide remaining butter in skillet between gratin dishes, sprinkle parm cheese over eggs.
• Bake until cheese is melted, or as much as desired. Bake shorter amount of time for runnier yolks.
• Serve immediately, with toast as desired.
• original
  

Mmm.... Wasn't my favorite though. I think I undercooked the asparagus, and it just seemed to be lacking something... Certainly good. But not awesome.

meal for two

Last night, dad went to go pick up Geoff and the train station, so it was just mom and I for dinner. So, again, I chose a recipe that I wasn't sure dad (or Geoff?) would like: pappardelle with artichoke hearts and arugula. (I added a few ingredients too.) Recipe:

• Coarsely chop 6 oil-packed sun-dried tomato halves and 6 oz jarred artichoke hearts. Set aside.
• Save 1 tbs oil from tomato packet/jar and 1 tbs oil from artichoke jar.
  
• Cut pack of asparagus into 1-inch sections, blanch, set aside.
• Heat oil in skillet at medium-high heat, add tomatoes and artichoke hearts, saute for 3 to 4 minutes.
• Add 1/3 cup white wine, saute for 3 to 4 minutes more, or until most has evaporated.
  
• Add 2 cups arugula, stir until wilted.
• Add asparagus to skillet, and take off heat.
  
• Cook 1 8.8oz box of pappardelle according to its box's directions. Drain. Add a light amount of butter to prevent clumping.
• Mix together pasta and vegetable mix. Serve with grated parmesean cheese as desired.
• original
  

Final vegetable medley (then mostly covered to keep heat it)

The original recipe for this comes from here. I added the asparagus, decreased the amount of arugula, and added the butter and the cheese. Asparagus- good call. Less arugula- good call for me, my mom said she'd probably like a few more cups next time. Butter and cheese- very good idea; if you're not worried about the fat, these ingredients added a lot of (needed, in my opinion) flavor. Overall- it was good, but not my favorite at all. It was way too salty for me, probably because of the jarred tomatoes and jarred artichokes. But, my mom said she really liked it, even more than the fettuccine alfredo from last week. It also says it serves four--not the four people of my family. My mom and I finished it alone, so I know that it would not have been nearly enough had my brother and/or dad been home. So, as my mom said last night, it's a recipe to keep and just play around with when we have the time and energy.

real eggs!

Tonight I made baked eggs florentine (with a twist--kale instead of spinach). Recipe:

• preheat oven to 350
  
• saute 1/4 cup onion in skillet about 3 minutes
  
• put about 12 leaves of kale into skillet, cover for 3 minutes or until wilted, and suate 2 minutes more
• add 2/3 cup low fat milk, simmer until most of the liquid is gone
• divide kale/onion evenly into three souffle dishes
• add one egg to each, top with shredded mozzarella cheese
• cook in oven for about 20 minutes
• serve with toast
  

Very simple, very good. Kale wasn't bitter at all, and egg was very tasty (especially for those who are used to eating egg beaters. :) ) Similar to a recipe I made over Thanksgiving. I forgot to take a photo of the before and after of the recipe itself, but I should be able to get you one later (I plan to make a similar meal on New Year's Day). In the meantime, here is a photo of my dad enjoying his meal, sandwich-style....

Day 5: bruschetta (and leftovers)

The plan for today was to make bruschetta with white bean paste as an appetizer, and then to eat leftovers for dinner. the recipe turned out to be a lot and to be super filling, so my mom and i only ate the bruschetta. recipe:

• To make Balsamic Glaze: Simmer 1 cup vinegar and 2 tbs cane sugar in saucepan over medium-low heat 20 minutes, or until syrupy. Cool.
• To make White Bean Paste: Blend 15 oz can white beans, 1/2 cup grated parmesean, 1/4 cup fresh orange juice, 2 tbs olive oil, and 1/2 tsp minced garlic in food processor until smooth. Season with salt and pepper, if desired.
• To make Chutney: combine in bowl 2 cups chopped tomatoes, 1/2 yellow bell pepper, about 1/2 cup chopped onion, 2 tbs chopped fresh basil, 2 tbs lime juice
• To make Bruschetta: Slice french baguette into about 1/2 slices, brush slices with oil, and broil until browned.
  
• Spread white bean paste on each grilled bread slice as desired. Top with Chutney. Drizzle with Balsamic Glaze.
• original
  

This meal was very pretty, and would totally be perfect for a holiday party (all the bright colors!). It also was awesome. The balsamic glaze was incredible and made the dish for me. As I said, the recipe made a lot--maybe around 25 slices? I did take a photo of it, but I sadly deleted it by accident. Here is the original recipe with a photo. I must say, I think mine was prettier because of the yellow bell pepper. :) (Edit: it actually look a little like the photo on the right side of my page. But the tomatoes were brighter red--they weren'y heirloom, like at the left--and there was a lot more chutney on each slice.)

Because we ended up not eating all of our leftovers last night, I believe the plan is to eat them tonight. I probably will not post about today. Don't miss me!

Ha.

Day 4: Diiner at the bfs

Today, I had dinner at my boyfriend's house. So, we tried to find a recipe that used what he already had. We tried to make couscous with sunflower seeds--ended up being with pine nuts. We changed a few things in the recipe (green onion to regular onion, sunflower seeds to pine nuts, etc) but kept the main gist of it. Unfortunately, it was pretty bad. Very very bland. Here's the recipe:

• Heat skillet over medium-high heat. Add couscous, and toast 3 to 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Transfer to plate.
• Heat oil on skillet. Add onion and saute.
• Stir in bell pepper, basil, cinnamon. Saute.
• Add water, bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer.
• Transfer to plate and top with pine nuts and goat cheese.
• original
  

Really not very good. I suspect that if we would have traded broth for the water it would have been better. So, maybe we'll try again. But probably not.
(I accidentally deleted the photo, so I have nothing at all to share with you tonight. Sorry!)

Day 3: Pescatarian Day

So, today I spent a lot of time making a craft for someone's Christmas present, so I was a bit lazy and didn't make the full meal from scratch. I used a pre-made mix for a wild rice pilaf with cranberries (sorry, already forget what it's called). I also served fish--so yes (Geoff) I'm a pescatarian. I marinated salmon in a teriyaki-based marinade for a couple hours, and then baked it at 400 for about 20 minutes. The marinade:

• About 1 1/2 cups tariyaki base
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tbs brown sugar
• Pinch of garlic salt
• Some sesame seeds

As I said, the rice was pre-mixed and not too complicated, so I don't think it's worth explaining.

Mom's plate. Prettiest salmon portion, accompanied by plum wine.

The meal, surprisingly, turned out really well. My dad couldn't stop complimenting me. (I think it's because he wants me to keep including meat... ;) ) The salmon did turn out really well. Super super flavorful (it did marinate for 2 1/2 hours) and moist. And, the sweet/spicy mix in the marinade was interesting. One thing I learned today: I should never buy salmon that's not already scaled. Cutting the scales off was a total pain in the butt.

Day 1: Minestrone

As promised, I'm adding a post about what I made yesterday. So. Day One. I made minestrone soup with a recipe from Vegetarian Times (here). Uh-mazing. Recipe (with slight adjustments):

• Heat 3 tbs oil in 3-qt. saucepan over medium heat.
  
• Add 1/s tsp oregano and 1/2 tsp basil, and stir 30 seconds.
  
• Add 1 cup chopped onion, 1 cup chopped carrots, 1 cup chopped celery, and 1 clove minced garlic. Cover, and cook for about 6 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Add 1 cup sun-dried tomatoes, cook 5 minutes more, stirring occasionally.
  
• Add 1 can (15 oz, drained and rinsed) cannellini beans, 4 cups water, and salt and pepper as desired.
  
• Bring soup to a boil, reduce to low, simmer 10 minutes.
• Add 1 can peas, simmer about 4 minutes more.
• Stir in 1 tbs white wine vinegar and 1 tbs sweet balsamic vinegar.

Hearty vegetables....

Soup was awesome. We baked bread with grated Parmesan cheese on it and served with the soup. Good for lapping up the flavorful broth (originally only water!). The beans helped make this meal filling, and the awesome amount of vegetables made it more of a stew than a soup. I took some to my grandma who gave it rave reviews. So, I actually made more of it today to put in the fridge for leftovers. Success.

...for a hearty soup.

Day 2: Fettucine Alfredo

Hello! So, today was my second day home and second day of cooking, although it's my first day of blogging. I'll update later with what I made the first day...

First, I made an appetizer for my mom and me (my dad needed to work late). I decided to make something I knew my dad would hate: kale! I found a recipe that put a bit of a spin on it though, and I baked it. Recipe:

• Preheat oven to 325.
• Rip kale into smaller sections (1-3 inches in length), discarding the stem. Rip enough to fill a large bowl, or enough to lie flat onto two cookie sheets.
  
• Toss kale with olive oil and lemon juice in bowl.
• Lay kale leaves onto coated cookie sheets so that none are overlapping.
• Bake for 15 minutes, check that all the leaves are crispy. If not, bake a few minutes more.

Kale leaf on cookie sheet after baking.

It was pretty good. I put a bit too much lemon juice on it for me, but my mom liked it. The lemon did help counteract the bitterness of the leaf, which I liked. I think the amount of olive oil and lemon juice is just a trial-and-error type thing. It was super crunchy, and really satisfying in that way. It was also very pretty. Potentially good for a party...

Crunchy. Pretty. Anticarcinogenic.

Then, today's main course was fettuccine alfredo with portobello muchrooms, asparagus, and peas. Pretty easy to make. I found the original recipe here, but made a few adjustments. Obviously, I decided to add the peas and asparagus (ended up being a nice choice) and I decided to cook the mushrooms first and add them at the end. (I'm not the biggest fan of mushrooms, so I didn't want the sauce to be mushroom-flavored.) Recipe:

• Cut asparagus into 1-inch pieces, blanch (so that they're still al dente), set aside.
  
• Remove brown gills from undersides of (2 large) mushroom caps using a spoon, and discard gills.
• Slice mushrooms.
• Cook mushrooms in skillet with olive oil until browned and tender; set aside.
  
• Prepare (12-oz, whole wheat) fettuccine according to package directions; drain; stir in a little butter, to prevent clumping, then set aside in a covered pot to keep warm.
  
• Melt (1/2 cup) butter in a large saucepan over medium heat.
• Stir in (1/2 cup) cream and (1 cup) milk.
• Bring to a boil over medium-high heat; reduce heat, and simmer, whisking constantly, 10 minutes.
• Stir in (1 cup) parmesean cheese, (1/2 tsp) salt, and (1/2 teaspoon) parsley; stir constantly until cheese melts and mixture thickens.
• Add mushrooms, asparagus, and (1/2 cup) peas.
  
• Serve over pasta.

Clockwise from left: cheese, parsley, salt; milk and cream; browned mushrooms, asparagus, and peas.

It was really good. Very, very rich (as you can imagine with all of the dairy that goes into it), but delicious. My dad, mom, and I all went back for seconds. Cool thing about this meal: with the combination of the dairy and the mushrooms, this meal offers a healthy dose of all of the amino acids! See: meat not necessary. :)

Tasty protein-, vitamin-, and mineral-packed meal!

After dinner, my mom and I made some ginger lemon tea with honey. Super easy to make...

• Cut about 24 slices of fresh ginger, pound, and place into pot.
• Add 6 cups of water to pot.
• Heat until boil, add juice of half a lemon, and then let simmer for 20 minutes.
• Add honey while still hot.
• Serve. Refrigerate extra for another day!

Ginger boiling.

The tea was very spicy--I had to add some more water to mine. In the future, I'll decrease the number of ginger slices... But, it was a light tea and good for drinking after the rich fettuccine. Plus, ginger is good for digestion AND the immune system! So double-bonus for my mom who has a sinus infection right now.


So. Three more successful recipes! Fettuccine was definitely my favorite. To say goodbye, I'll share with you Mr Honey Bear wearing his holiday hat: