Don't Let a Down Economy Interfere with a Good Dinner

I love it when dinner is good enough to make two nights in a row, and the total tab for both nights is around six bucks. That was certainly the case with Crispy Black Bean Tacos with Cilantro Slaw. This adaptation from the "Fast Easy Fresh" feature in the February Bon Appetit went together quickly, needed minimal clean up, and used mostly things I had on hand. It was quick and easy enough to make last night, when I was so exhausted with a cold that I needed to be in bed two hours after I got home, and it was good enough to make again tonight, when I got home late. Now, we probably won't have it again tomorrow night, but still...two nights in a row is good, don't you think?

This works best if you come in and turn on the oven as soon as you get home. You have plenty of time to change clothes, check the mail, and mosey back into the kitchen. Four corn tortillas get spritzed with cooking spray on both sides, then go into the oven just long enough to soften. If you're fast, this gives you time to drain a can of beans and mash them with a bit of cumin, salt and pepper. As the smell of corn begins to fill the kitchen, pull the tortillas out of the oven, divide the bean mixture among them, fold over the tops, and slip them right back into the oven. In just a few minutes, you'll see the tacos begin to crisp up. That's a good time to turn them over, so both sides have good contact with the baking sheet.

Meanwhile, toss a couple of cups of coleslaw mix with the juice of a lime, a splash of olive oil, a couple of chopped onions, and a handful of cilantro. By now, the tacos are crisp, ready for the cold, crunchy topping to offset the crunch of the tacos. Really, what could be easier? Grab a diet Coke, the remote control, and dinner is served!

The Soup Kitchen

The weather is turning cold here again--the high was only 61 degrees at our house today. (For those of you who are buried under snow, I DO know the reality is that you would be prancing around in your Speedo if you were here, really enjoying this. My feet, however, are only warm when they are in a bathtub full of really hot water, and this is my blog, so 61 degrees is cold!!!! We now return to the regularly scheduled blog post.) Given the fact that I needed warming up from the outside in, coupled with my intense desire to try several recipes from The Splendid Table's How to Eat Supper, I decided that this was the time to make Soup of Fresh Greens and Alphabets. And what goes better with soup than hot bread? Nothing--which gave me a chance to test drive another new cookbook, rebar modern food cookbook. One of their many claims to fame is their Rosemary Garlic Foccacia, which sounded like just the thing to go with my soup.

I started by making Cheater's Homemade Broth from The Splendid Table. I started with a base of No Chick'n Broth, and freshened it by simmering with white wine, tomatoes, garlic, onions, carrots, celery, and bay leaves. After half an hour in the pot, the solids were strained out, leaving behind a very rich, golden broth which served as the base of this soup, along with several others in the cookbook.

Next, the strained broth went back into the pot with wine and crushed tomatoes, followed after a quick simmer by finely chopped escarole, chickpeas, minced onion, garlic, and basil. At this point, the soup calls for a 20-minute simmer. Although I did have a solid simmer going, it took 40 minutes for the greens to begin to "melt" and the onion to lose its crunch. I wouldn't hesitate to up the heat the next time, but I would still plan on a bit more than the 20 minutes called for. Once the simmering is done, a mere half cup of dried small pasta is added to the simmering soup, where it cooks until it is al dente.

In the meantime, I started the foccacia, setting it out for its first rise just before I started the Cheaters Broth. To give you an idea of just how much extra cooking time was required, the foccacia came out of the oven just as the soup reached a point of being edible. Yes, two complete rises, the shaping of the foccacia, and the prebaking rise--all to get the "quick" soup on the table. I have modified the recipe extensively from what was in the book, and will probably make it again with my modifications to see if I like it better. I've cut the oil and the amount of salt which tops the foccacia. I would also do caramelized onions with the garlic, and cut way back on the rosemary, possibly even replacing it with sage. Some chopped kalamata olives would be good, as well, if your husband doesn't gag on sight of them like mine does.

I wish I had glowing reviews for either of these recipes. They were both okay, but only okay. The Husband's comment about the soup was, "Well, we should eat all of it, but I wouldn't make it again." I liked it better than that, but not enough to make it my secret dinner on nights when he isn't home. So, that is two for two disappointments from The Splendid Table cookbook. I do have a couple more recipes to try from there, which hopefully will turn things around to a winning streak, as there are LOTS of recipes I've marked to try. Stay tuned. I'll keep you "posted." (Yes, folks--that's blog humor there.)

It's been a couple of months since I ordered (and received) The Splendid Table's How to Eat Supper. However, I have only just gotten around to looking through it, and that was prompted by my beginning efforts to reorganize my cookbook shelves again. You know how it is--you've been lugging dozens of books from one spot to another, and something new and interesting catches your eye. You pretty much have a moral obligation to stop and read the new book--at least that's how I see it.

So, a quick glance turned into a day and a half of close inspection. I can't even tell you how many of the recipes I want to try. There are many recipes that are vegetarian without this being a cookbook for vegetarians. Not much modifying I have to do, then. The recipes seem focused on relatively quick and easy weeknight dinners, something else that is a plus for me. And many of the recipes just have a fresh twist that seems to set them apart from a legion of others. That was certainly the case with Pasta with Chopping-Board Pistachio Pesto--at least in theory. I liked that the pesto focused on green onions (or chives), with basil providing back up instead of taking center stage. I really liked the idea of roasted, salted pistachios taking on another supporting role, especially since I just bought a big bag of them at Costco. And I loved the idea that cheese wasn't an integral part of the recipe, since the Husband doesn't like cheese. Easy enough to add it to my finished dish and leave it out of his.

Unfortunately, the finished dish was a disappointment. I didn't even take a picture. It looked boring. It was boring. I think I'm seeing a trend in myself that I just don't love unsauced pasta dishes. I did add back in all of the reserved pasta cooking water, but it was still dry and virtually flavorless. I added more salt, lots of grated Parmesan...still nothing to make my taste buds tingle.

So, now I'm trying to come up with some ideas that will lend some excitement to the quart of this recipe that's still sitting in the refrigerator. Any ideas? Feel free to share.

Something even the non-veg friends will eat

Wow! What a great start to the new year. I've had this recipe for White Bean Enchiladas printed out and sitting around for several weeks. Somehow, I just didn't get around to making it. My loss. These were amazingly fantastic enchiladas which would be equally enjoyed by vegetarians and omnivores alike. The filling is simple: white beans zipped in the food processor with sour cream, onion, cilantro and a little cheese. Tortillas brushed with a light coating of oil and softened in the oven. The filling is scooped on the tortillas, which are rolled and placed in a baking pan, then covered with the red sauce of your choice. Our favorite is Trader Joe's Enchilada Sauce. I always stock up when I get to go. A little bit more cheese over the top, and a bake in the oven yields substantial, toothsome enchiladas which exceed the sum of their parts. While they would be good served with Spanish Rice, we just had them au naturale--and enjoyed every bite.

Worth the Wait!

I know, I know. It's been a long time. Many the time I've thought, "I really need to go blog this recipe," only to get carried away with other busyness until it just doesn't happen. However, tonight's dinner, Almost Tarascan Bean Soup, was one of those, "I really have to blog this--right NOW!" kinds of meals. If nothing else, it's beautiful. Who doesn't want to get out a spoon and dig in to this on a cold winter night?



Second, it is a great showcase for Rancho Gordo cranberry beans. For whatever reason, it has been taking me forever to get beans cooked to doneness, but I do not hold the fact that I was up until 2 a.m. making this sound against it. Not at all. I really should have known better, the way bean cooking has been going. However, this made a good-sized batch of soup, much more than the 4 servings the recipe states. This would be dead simple to double up and keep in the freezer, and the garnishing steps take only minutes on the night you want to serve it.

While the beans were simmering, plump Roma tomatoes were halved and cooked on heavy foil in a skillet, and turned several times until they began to char. Half an onion was sliced thinly, garlic was minced, and they were sauteed, along with the cooked, chopped tomatoes, until thick and jammy. This mixture is then set aside until the beans are tender. An immersion blender made quick work of the pureeing step. At that point, since we were not up for an early breakfast, I put the soup in the refrigerator, which allowed the flavors time to meld and deepen.

When it was time to eat, I spent the few minutes it took to warm the soup to quickly fry some very thin tortilla strips and thinly sliced ancho chile strips. That's right--fried dried chiles. I was skeptical, but the deep, almost fruity taste of the chiles was an amazing offset to the more staid basic soup. These two items topped the soup that was ladled into the bowls, along with sour cream, queso fresco, and some chopped cilantro. Next time, I'll try to have a lime on hand, as I think the acid would add one more layer of flavor and brightness to the finished dish. Served with warm chips and guacamole on the side, this was a memorable meal that I look forward to having again.

More end of summer bounty

Have I mentioned that I love arugula? Yes, I'm sure that I did. So why, oh why, do I never think to buy it at the grocery store? So, many thanks to Kelly Saxer over at Desert Roots Farm (my CSA) for reawakening my interest. I don't know what it is about this leafy green that is so intriguing. Maybe it's the smell--as distinct as cilantro, but more earthy and mysterious. Or the slap-your-face bite of the raw leaves, which mellows with just a bit of heat. Or could it be the way it plays an outstanding supporting role to almost any other vegetable? Could it be that it's just fun to say, or makes people look at you like you're crazy (because most of them have NO idea what it is)? Or maybe it's all of those things.

All I know is that I now have a mighty craving for arugula. Today, I was sitting in the hospital with my mom (who, thank God, is okay, but we had quite a scare involving hot--according to her--paramedics and an ambulance ride) and trying to figure out what I could throw together for dinner when I got home. I knew it MUST contain arugula. A recipe for a roasted potato salad with arugula came with my CSA delivery, but I knew that I had other vegetable delights that needed to be used. Once again, for instance, I have the most gorgeous, tiny eggplant--some of them only about 3" long. And there was that bell pepper half. And an onion starting to look tired.

Perhaps it was sleep deprivation, or maybe just inspired instincts, but I tinkered with the recipe to include all the things I had on hand. The result--an amazing, simple, and delicious dinner of Roasted Vegetable Salad with Arugula. The potatoes, eggplant, bell pepper, and onion were chunked and cooked to a crispy turn in a very hot oven. A light dressing of olive oil, grainy mustard, and wine vinegar was whisked together with just a few turns of the fork. The vegetables came out of the oven, danced through the bowl of torn arugula, and were kissed by just enough dressing to enhance the flavors. Another keeper was born.

Arugula and Eggplant--A Marriage Made in Heaven

First, I have to apologize for no pictures. This was beautiful, but it disappeared in a flurry of flying forks before I got the camera out. This is another recipe that came from efforts to combine and use the CSA bounty. We got more eggplant this week, along with a new treat--arugula. I love arugula, and I'd forgotten how much. If you want to have your taste buds send thank you notes, toast a whole wheat English muffin, spread with some cream cheese, and top with a roasted red pepper half and some arugula. But I digress. This particular harvest burst with the earthy heat this green is known for. I started looking around at what I had in the cupboard and the refrigerator, checking out the crisper drawer, and digging deep for inspiration.

Ratatouille came to mind, but it just sounded like more work than I was interested in. I knew I liked the preparation of the eggplant I used in the stir-fry with the ginger-pepper sauce, as it resulted in a nice, meaty texture. I wanted to try that again. What else did I have? Half a bag of bow-tie pasta. A container of roasted grape tomatoes. Pine nuts. Onions from the CSA. So, I put on a pot of water to come to a boil for the pasta, sliced up the eggplant and got it in a skillet, then let inspiration take it from there.

One important step is the deglazing of the pan once the eggplant, onions, and red peppers are finished. I used a dry white wine, which added a nice undertone to the finished dish, but I'm sure you could use white grape juice, apple juice, vegetable broth, or another liquid of your liking just as successfully.

In the end, it only took about half an hour to complete the Ratatouille Pasta Toss and sit down to dinner. For now, there's nothing left but the memories.