This Week's Menu

An "interesting" week here in Sweet Bean's blogland. With our CSA produce, sometimes I have to plan bizarre meals in order to use up our bounty! Garlic mashed potatoes and salad, anyone? Oh, well...it works for me!

P.S. I made the summer squash gratin last week, as well. It was so delicious, I would eat it every day. Try it!

P.P.S. Salsa recipe from here.

This Week's Menu (and a recipe!)

This is one of my favorite super-fast go-to recipes for a busy weeknight.

Couscous Topped with White Beans, Tomatoes, and Zucchini
from Jeanne Lemlin's Simple Vegetarian Pleasures

The Vegetables
2 T olive oil
1 onion, finely diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 medium zucchini, quartered lengthwise and thinly sliced on the diagonal
1 (16oz) can tomatoes, finely chopped with their juice (or use 3 fresh Roma tomatoes)
1 (16oz) can small white beans, well rinsed and drained
1 T chopped fresh basil, or 1/2 t dried
1 t chopped fresh rosemary, or 1/4 t dried, crumbled
Salt
Generous seasoning freshly ground black pepper

The Couscous
1.5 c water
1/4 t salt
1 T unsalted butter
1 c couscous

1. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and saute until tender but not brown, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and zucchini and cook 5 minutes, or until the zucchini is beginning to get tender but is still crisp.
2. Stir in the tomatoes, beans, herbs, salt, and pepper and cook, tossing occasionally, until the zucchini is tender and the sauce has thickened slightly, about 5 minutes. (The vegetables may be prepared to this point up to 4 hours in advance and reheated).
3. Meanwhile cook the couscous. Bring the water, salt, and butter to a boil in a small saucepan. Pour in the couscous, cover the pot, and remove it from the heat. Let sit 5 minutes, fluff with a fork, then cover again and let sit 5 more minutes. Serve a portion on each plate and top with a mound of the vegetable mixture.

YUM! It's SO easy, and crazy delicious. I like to top it with cheese from Parma (I would probably put Parmesan on ice cream if my husband would let me). Make it. Now.

P.S. I'm trying a new recipe for the summer squash gratin from here.

CSA Share: Week 4

Yum! Minnesota's late spring is a thing of the past, and we are in the full throes of summer...at last. This week, we got a pretty full box (the poor farms are struggling to grow anything!) with: strawberries, cauliflower, cabbage (isn't that the cutest cabbage?),

fennel (love fennel), parsley, kale (lurking over on the left),


and some gorgeous ruby-red chard.

Here's a GREAT recipe featuring chard from Jeanne Lemlin's Simple Vegetarian Pleasures:

Baked Cheese Polenta with Swiss Chard

1 T olive oil
6 garlic cloves, minced
8-10 cups chopped Swiss chard, stems and leaves kept separate

The Polenta
Butter for greasing dish, plus 1 T
2 cups low-fat milk
1.5 cups water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup cornmeal
3 T grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup grated part-skim mozzarella cheese
1/3 cup sour cream

1. Heat the oil in a large skillet over med. heat. add the garlic and cook 30 sec, then stir in the Swiss chard stems. Pour in a few T of water and cover the pan. Cook the stems 2 minutes. Remove the cover, then mix in the Swiss chard leaves. Cover the pan again and cook until the leaves wilt, about 3 minutes. Toss occasionally. Remove the pan from the heat and let cool, uncovered.
2. To make the polenta, preheat the oven to 400F.
3. Butter a 2-to 2.5-quart shallow baking dish and set it nearby. Combine the milk, water, and salt in a med saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to med-low and slowly drizzle in the cornmeal, whisking all the while with a wire whisk. Continue to cook and whisk the polenta until it is the consistency of mashed potatoes and tears away from the sides of the pan (5 min.). Whisk in 2 T of the Parmesan, the 1 T butter, and the mozzarella.
4. Spread half of the polenta in the baking dish. Spoon on the Swiss chard and distribute it evenly. Drop on small spoonfuls of the sour cream and spread it with the back of a spoon. Spoon on the remaining polenta and spread it out. Sprinkle on the remaining T of Parmesan.
5. Bake the polenta 20-25 minutes, or until golden on top and sizzling. Do not overcook it because you want to retain its creamy interior.

It's SO good.

CSA Share: Week 3

In the box this week:

1. Cabbage (going to make a totally delicious Pain au chou)
   
2. garlic scapes
3. green onions
4. mixed leaf lettuce
5. broccoli
6. snow peas

Pain au chou aka, cabbage loaf (from Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone by Deborah Madison)

Butter and freshly grated Parmesan for the dish
1.5 lbs green or Savoy cabbage, sliced in 2-inch squares
1/3 cup flour
1 cup milk
1/4 cup creme fraiche or cream
2 T tomato paste
3 eggs
3 T finely chopped parsley or dill
Salt and freshly milled pepper

Preheat the oven to 375 F. Butter a gratin dish and coat the sides with the cheese. Boil the cabbage, uncovered, in salted water for 5 minutes, then drain. Rinse, then press out as much water as possible. Whisk the remaining ingredients until smooth, add the cabbage, and pour the miture into the dish. Bake until firm and lightly browned, about 50 minutes.

It sounds strange, but it's delicious!

This Week's Menu

Dear Friends,

I don't know how to break this to you. I've been searching for the right words. But, as "they" say, a picture is worth a thousand words. Last night, I became...



























a carnivore. Don't get too excited, Mom. This is an experiment.

Basically, this book that I'm reading, makes a very compelling case in favor of a carbohydrate-restricted (no sugar, or refined carbohydrates), high protein, high fat diet. I'll blog about it later.

I shared a steak with Tony (cooked as recommended by the lovely Alton Brown). I'm still alive. It wasn't even gross. Keep in mind, I don't think I've eaten any meat in the last 15 years.

Shopping for cow was quite an adventure. Who knew there was so much meat in the world? Not I. The nice man at Target was very helpful, and even wished me good luck (I had shared my personal eating journey with him...we bonded).

Here's what we're having for the rest of this week:

• Tuesday: yummy Jaime Oliver salad
• Wednesday: tofu/bok choy stir fry (I LOVE this stuff)
• Thursday: spinach salad with sugared walnuts, feta, dried cherries, and balsamic vinaigrette (we had something like this at Pizza Lucé and I'm trying to re-create it)
• Friday: lentils with roasted tomatoes and caramelized onions from this cookbook
• Weekend: ? we're off to a concert on Saturday night.

What are you having?

Leave me a comment or send an e-mail to request a recipe.

This Week's Menu

I got this wonderful idea from City Mama. Enjoy this new weekly feature! Please shoot me an e-mail if you'd like any of the recipes.




What are you having this week?

P.S. How do you spell portobello? portabello? I think it's portObello. Sorry I spelled it wrong.

Vegetarian Cookbooks: Jeanne Lemlin

I first discovered Jeanne Lemlin's cooking via the Food Network almost 10 years ago. She was preparing three different vegetarian dishes: a sweet potato/vegetable tian, couscous/spinach/pine nut casserole, and some yummy baked ziti. After trying all three dishes, Tony and I ran out and bought: Simple Vegetarian Pleasures immediately!

As Lemlin states in the forward to this book, her approach to cooking changed dramatically after the arrival of her son. She wanted to prepare delicious vegetarian fare, but no longer had the time and energy to spend hours in the kitchen every night. Thus the concept behind this cookbook, and her James Beard Award-winning Quick Vegetarian Pleasures was born (also on my bookshelf!).

I have yet to be disappointed in any of the recipes (she covers everything from breakfast to dessert) from this book. Here is a Lauren/Tony favorite:

Tortellini with Leeks and Cream

1 lb. frozen cheese tortellini
1 T butter
1 T olive oil
2 large leeks, thick greens and roots removed, thoroughly washed and thinly sliced
(leeks are very sandy! slice in half lengthwise, and fan the layers under running water to clean)
1/2 c heavy whipping cream
salt/pepper


Sauté leeks in butter and olive oil over medium heat until soft (about 10 minutes). Stir frequently, and do not allow leeks to brown. Add cream, and bring to a simmer. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.

Meanwhile, prepare tortellini according to package directions. Drain, and toss with leek/cream mixture. Serve with cheese from Parma!

Pretty cinchy, and SO delicious! Also try this recipe for 10-minute chilaquiles.

Vegetarian Cookbooks: Part I can't remember

Deborah Madison grew up, gastronomically-speaking, at the same time that Alice Waters's school of thought was beginning to take the food world by storm: use locally-grown, in-season, and (hopefully) organically-grown food. It's better for the earth, it's better for your body, AND the food tastes better. She opened her acclaimed restaurant, Greens, in 1979, and has, most recently penned Local Flavors: Cooking and Eating from America's Farmers' Markets, earning her another James Beard award (I have to get that book!).

She has also written my go-to "how can I cook that vegetable?" cookbook: Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone (James Beard award!). It's encyclopedic, like The Joy of Cooking, with different sections for different meal parts (soups, desserts, etc.), AND with an alphabetical listing of many, many vegetables, and how to prepare them in various ways. Want to know what to do with that kohlrabi? It's in there! Madison stresses uncomplicated, fresh cooking. The recipes are homey, delicious, and accessible. It's the perfect book for you farmers' markets shoppers and CSA farm members.

Here is a fantastic and simple recipe for spaghetti squash:



Spaghetti Squash with Gruyère and Parsley

1 large spaghetti squash (3 lbs.)
2-4 Tablespoons butter
1 cup Gruyère grated
1/4 cup parsley chopped with one garlic clove


Roast squash in 375 oven for an hour (or more or less), until the flesh yields easily to the touch (poke a few holes in it first!). Remove from oven, halve lengthwise, and scoop out the seeds. With a fork, scrape out the flesh---it will come off the skin in spaghetti-like strands. Mix with remaining ingredients, season with salt and pepper, and enjoy!

Other ideas for spaghetti squash?:

1. Serve with your favorite marinara sauce and cheese from Parma.
2. Prepare spaghetti squash aglio olio (saute garlic and red pepper flakes in olive oil, toss, season with salt and pepper).
3. Serve in a frittata with ricotta cheese, or maybe something with a bit more tang.

For another great recipe from this cookbook, check out this post.

Vegetarian "Cookbooks" Part II

First, I would just like to say that it was amusing to listen to MPR all day yesterday covering story after story about how the US is in pretty dire circumstances economically, and then have them repeatedly ask us all to contribute. MPR, are you listening to your own stories? Nobody has any money right now. Sorry.

OK.

While it is neither vegetarian, nor a cookbook, I get lots of inspiration every month from Everyday Food magazine. They always have several veg. recipes, AND I find I can easily adapt many of the other recipes to be vegetarian! Another plus, the recipes are really thoroughly tested in their kitchens (no surprises), and are easy for busy weeknights. Not that I really have busy weeknights, mind you, but it's nice to be able to throw together something delicious without always spending hours in the kitchen.

Here is a GREAT "two-fer," just use Morningstar Farms Crumbles instead of ground beef. The beer and the chipotle chiles make this AMAZING!



images via Everyday Food


P.S. If you don't have Neat Receipts, get it. I tear out recipes and ideas from all my magazines, scan them, digitally store them, and recycle the paper! Pretty tidy!

Vegetarian Cookbooks

photo © Mylene Bressan for openphoto.net CC:Attribution

We are vegetarians in my family (Tony, Hal and I, anyway), and I'm always on the lookout for great vegetarian cookbooks. I'm starting a new series that features some of my favorites.

A book I've come back to lately after a long hiatus is Mollie Katzen's Vegetable Heaven. You may remember Mollie from her Moosewood Restaurant fame, and her subsequent break from the restaurant, and stint on PBS. I have many of the Moosewood cookbooks, and use them on occasion, but find them a bit labor-intensive for everyday cooking.

Vegetable Heaven, however, breaks from the fussy tradition, and many of the recipes are doable on a busy weeknight. Here is one of my favorites:

Dreamy White Beans with olive oil, garlic and herbs

2c dried white pea or navy beans
2 sprigs rosemary
12 fresh sage leaves, tied together with kitchen twine (I don't tie them together)
1 1/2 T minced garlic
salt
freshly ground black pepper

1. Quick-soak the beans: place beans in a large pot, and cover with water by 2 inches. Bring to a boil, then turn off the heat, cover, and allow the beans to soak in the hot water for an hour or so.

2. Drain the beans, and put them back in the pot as before, covered with water by 2 inches. Add the rosemary and sage, and bring to a boil. Lower heat, and simmer until tender (30 minutes-1 hour). Remove the rosemary sprigs (the woody stem), and drain the beans, saving the water.

3. Put the beans back into the pan, and add the garlic. Season to taste with salt and pepper, then mash or partially puree some of the beans, using some or all of the drained water. The consistency should be smooth and thick.

4. Serve drizzled with extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar and minced parsley, if desired.

P.S. This makes a great party dip with some melba snacks!

P.P.S. You've got to try the Mexican Chocolate Cake with Mocha Buttercream. Wow.