Grilled Chicken Salad from Martha Stewart

Oh my oh my. Martha Stewart. Just when I was ready and set to give up on you. Just when I felt like every recipe in your magazine required the purchase of either (a.) a new specialized baking dish or kitchen utensil or (b.) a farm in New Hampshire, you came through for me.

In the May issue of the magazine is the feature "Lunch in the Garden," in which Dana Gallagher rewarded several of her friends for helping rescue her weedy garden by serving them a delicious lunch that she made largely with the fruits of their own labor.

It was another one of those serendipitous moments for me. I was leisurely leafing through the magazine, just about to quit my Martha habit cold turkey, when I spied the recipe for the Grilled Chicken Salad. It listed several ingredients that happened to come in my box again this week (thanks be to seasonal cooking once again! Dana Gallagher's garden and the Abundant Harvest Farms both seem to have produce that understands it should be ripening right now. Those smart little veggies.).

Lettuce, peas, mint, lemon? I've got that!

This recipe is really easy to put together, especially considering lots of it can be done ahead of time. If you've been around here for very long at all, you know I love something that can be done ahead. There just isn't time between school and karate class and baseball practice and piano lessons and scout meetings to really dedicate any length of afternoon/evening to the kitchen. This salad let me marinate the chicken in the morning, grill it while I cleaned the veggies and whisked up the dressing at lunch time, and throw the salad together just in time to intercept the starving family as they zipped though my dining room. The chicken can actually be cooked at any time during the day and kept refrigerated until showtime.

I sat at dinner and ate and ate and ate until I was uncomfortable (which has been pointed out to me, isn't easy to do with a salad). It was just so delicious that I couldn't stop! I didn't know how I was going to feel about mint in my salad, but it was amazing! I am hoping to get more peas right quick so I can make this one again!

Here is the recipe just how Martha presents it. The only substitution I made was to use Romaine instead of butter lettuce. I think the butter lettuce would have been even better, but Romaine was what I got this week, and so Romaine is what I ate. I also cooked a little less chicken (feeding only five, rather than the 20 or so that seemed to be at the featured garden party). I loved that it called for both legs and breasts. The kids love eating chicken drumsticks!

Grilled Chicken Salad
from Martha Stewart Living May 2012

• 3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 2 tablespoons plus 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice (from 3 or 4 lemons), divided
• 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon minced garlic (4 cloves), divided
• 5 boneless, skinless chicken-breast halves (10 to 11 ounces each)
• 12 chicken drumsticks
• 2 cups shelled fresh peas (from 2 pounds in pods)
• 2 tablespoons minced shallot
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon coarse salt
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh mint leaves, plus 1/2 cup packed fresh mint leaves (from 2 bunches)
• 1 to 2 heads butterhead lettuce such as Bibb or Boston, trimmed and separated into leaves

Directions

1. Whisk together 1/4 cup oil, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, and 1 tablespoon garlic. Pour over chicken, and refrigerate 2 hours.
2. Cook peas in a large pot of boiling water until just tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Drain, and submerge in ice water to stop the cooking and retain color.
3. Preheat grill to medium-high heat or set up grill for indirect heat. Remove chicken from marinade, and grill chicken, turning often, until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees, 15 to 20 minutes for drumsticks and 20 to 25 minutes for breasts. Let cool, and refrigerate until ready to serve. Just before serving, cut chicken breasts into thick slices.
4. Whisk together remaining 1/2 cup oil, 1/3 cup lemon juice, and 1 teaspoon garlic, the shallot, mustard, salt, and chopped mint in a medium bowl. Arrange lettuce, whole mint leaves, and peas on a large serving platter. Toss chicken in dressing, and arrange on salad. Pour remaining dressing over salad.

Asparagus Pesto

I have to admit, I am a fool for anything with the name pesto in it. I adore basil (as much as any person can adore an herb), and by the time you add some garlic to it, I am in flavor heaven.

I also happen to be a fool for asparagus. I was thrilled to see it it my Abundant Harvest Box this week. I have read that there are many cultures who see the first asparagus as the official start to spring, and hold festivals to celebrate its arrival. I totally get it.

When two worlds collide, and I see a veggie I love and a recipe that intrigues me on the same day, I know the vegetable gods are asking that I make it. Who am I to defy the gods?

This pesto is everything I hoped for. The salty, garlic-y, basil-y nutty flavors were perfect. It's not a sauce so much as a paste, and it seems perfect for spreading on crackers or crostini for an appetizer, or with chicken, pork, or fish for a delicious main dish. If you wanted to toss it with pasta I would recommend adding a bit more oil, and letting it puree finer. I served it with chicken breasts that I grilled. A big salad and some fresh strawberries and orange slices, and it was a perfect spring dinner.

Asparagus Pesto
(Adapted from here)

one pound asparagus, tough ends trimmed
3 cloves garlic
1/4 cup cashews
3/4 cup fresh basil leaves, packed
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper

First, steam the asparagus until tender. I used a microwave steamer that I love for its handiness, but you can do it on the stovetop as well. Set aside to cool.

In a food processor, whir the garlic cloves until they are chopped pretty finely. (This way no big chunks will be left to overpower any one mouthful). Add the remaining ingredients, and pulse until they are all chopped finely and mixed well, but not pureed into a sauce. You want some bite to it.

That's it! Serve it with your favorite accompaniment!

Veggie Scraps Pasta Sauce

Basically Free Pasta Sauce

--or--

Making Something From Nothing

-or--

You can eat that?

I just couldn't decide what to call this post. 

The very last thing I did with my week of roasted vegetables was to make a sauce out of the scraps. In An Everlasting Meal, she calls it a pesto, but I didn't think it was quite tangy enough to fit the connotation of a pesto.

It is indeed a delicious sauce, and it is indeed made from scraps. The parts of the vegetable that I have always thrown away became the basis for this sauce, and therefore the inspiration for dinner. 

As I prepped my vegetables, I kept aside those things I ordinarily toss in the compost bin. The leaves from the broccoli and cauliflower, the cauliflower core, the tough ends of the broccoli stalks, the chard stems, and the tiny little cores from the brussels sprouts all went into my cooking pot.

I chopped everything into smallish cubes and put them in a pot, just barely covered with water. To that, I added a few whole garlic cloves and a tiny little bit of salt.

Bring it to just under a boil, and let it simmer a good long time, until everything is tender enough to easily smash with a fork. This takes a good half hour at least, so it is a good thing to do while you are cooking something else. I let this pot simmer the same evening I was making the risotto. The cooked veggies will then keep in the fridge another couple of days, so you can be making two dinners at once!

Once everything is cooked through, puree it all in a blender with a good dose of olive oil and a handful of parmesan cheese. If it needs more water, pour it in a quarter cup at a time, and keep it pureeing until it is a nice, thick, pale-green sauce. Season it with salt and pepper and whirl it one more time.

That's it!

Serve it over pasta, and wait for comments like I got:

"Mom, I usually don't like tortellini at all, but this is really good!"

--and--

"Yum! Can I have seconds?"

That, my friends, is turning trash into a treasure.

Sandwiches made with sautéed greens, mozzarella,and garlic

This was the second meal I made out of the pile of veggies I roasted and sautéed earlier this week.

I am telling you, I love each meal more than the last one!

These sandwiches took only minutes to prepare, but they were so very flavorful and scrumptious, that I am already wishing I could have another one tonight!

First, make some more vinegared onions (thinly slice some red onion or shallot, sprinkle vinegar over them, and let them sit for 10 minutes or so to soften). When the onions are ready, take some good crusty bread (I bought a fresh baguette), and slice thickly. Take out 2-3 cloves of the garlic you roasted with the vegetables, and squeeze the mushy garlic out of its skin. Spread this over one side of the bread. Then spread a thick layer of the sautéed greens (mine were chard, green garlic, and beet greens). Finally, top each with a slice of mozzarella cheese and close the sandwich.

Place the sandwiches on a baking sheet, and place another baking sheet on top. If your baking sheets are not heavy, you may want to put another pan on top of that, to weigh it down.

Place the smooched sandwiches in the broiler for just a few minutes... until the sandwich is a bit warm and toasty and the cheese just on the verge of melting.

Enjoy one of the tastiest, easiest meals ever!

Martha Stewart's creamy cauliflower soup with greens

My recipe yesterday was a little bit labor intensive, no? Let's switch things up today, and talk about a soup that is far more rich in the veggies, while taking a fraction of the amount of time.


But first, let's talk about the little miracle in my life.


I work at a preschool, where my duties include... well, everything. I never really know what I am going to be responsible for until I arrive in the morning. I often supervise the playground, shop for the groceries that become the kids'  afternoon snack, or keep the toy storage room clean and organized. I stuff envelopes, accompany kids to the bathroom, and file paperwork. 


And, as it turns out, I do laundry. Due to a series of events that won't interest you in the least, our regular system of getting the school laundry (mainly the cloth covers for the little mats where the kids take their naps) broke down last week. When I arrived in the morning, I was greeted by some teachers in a slight panic, because they were going to have nowhere for the cherubs to lay down at nap time. If you have ever faced 40 kids who need a nap at the same time, you would panic too.


And so I gathered up the dirty items, a stack of magazines from the staff room, and some detergent, and I headed out to the laundromat. There is probably a whole blog post about the people one encounters in a laundromat, but for today, let's talk about my miracle, okay?


After I got the laundry agitating, I sat down with the magazines. I mentally pleaded Come on, magazines. I know that one of you is going to have a recipe that calls for lots of the veggies I have right now... While we're at it, is there any chance it can please be the cauliflower and collard greens? Oh yeah, one more thing. Please don't require a stop at the supermarket, kay?


And guess what!? Martha Stewart Living had a recipe that onehundredpercent answered my little prayer to the magazine gods. 


I introduce you to Creamy Cauliflower Soup. It, of course, uses cauliflower and collard greens. It also uses onion, fresh dill, and copious amounts of garlic, all of which I have on hand, all out of the Abundant Harvest Organics box. Other than that, all it required was olive oil, salt, pepper, and water. Hooray!

As if that weren't enough excitement among the industrial washers, the soup is really quick to put together. Saute the onions and garlic, simmer the cauliflower and collard greens, and puree it all. 


It is creamy (thanks to the cauliflower) without using cream. It is bright and fresh and filling, and the drizzle of olive oil and fresh pepper on top give it just enough heartiness to let it stand as a main course.

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
1 medium onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
4 cloves garlic, chopped
Sea salt
1 medium head cauliflower (about 3 pounds), florets and stems cut into 1-inch pieces (8 to 9 cups)
4 1/2 cups filtered water
1/4 cup chopped fresh dill, plus more for garnish
5 large kale or collard leaves, or a combination, tough ends removed and leaves roughly chopped
Freshly ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS

Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat; cook onion, covered, until soft, 4 to 5 minutes. Add garlic and a pinch of salt, and cook for 3 minutes more. Add cauliflower and pour in filtered water until it reaches just below the top of the cauliflower.

Bring to a boil over high heat. Add 2 tablespoons dill. Reduce heat to low, and simmer until cauliflower is just tender, about 10 minutes. Stir in greens, and simmer for 3 minutes.

Let sit for 5 minutes to cool slightly. Stir in remaining 2 tablespoons dill. Puree soup in batches in a blender until very smooth, adding more water (about 1/2 cup) if it's too thick. Return to pot and reheat. Season with salt and pepper. Garnish with dill, black pepper, a drizzle of oil and a pinch of sea salt.

Veggie and Sausage Roast

This meal was actually billed as "Lazy Sunday Casserole." Well, as a rule I don't do casseroles. I make exceptions from time to time, of course. Like when my husband mentions two or a hundred times that he would just die for some Green Bean Casserole. Or once in a  great while when I'm going out and I feel guilty about giving the kids a frozen pizza, I might make a casserole I remember from my childhood. 

But typically? This is a no-casserole zone. Purposely.

However, if you look at this beautiful dish, you will have to agree that this simply got misnamed. I mean no offense to Kay at Kayotic Kitchen which is where I got the recipe. I love this dish, I do. Which is exactly why it can't possibly be a casserole.

Anyway, the lazy part of the name, on the other hand, is correct. There is little to do except allow for plenty of time resting while the oven does the work, and some time chopping beforehand. 

The great thing about this casserole is that is calls for exactly what you happen to have on hand.  Really. The vegetables are completely interchangeable. I would be sure to always include the sausage, as well as carrots and potatoes the way Kay suggests, but beyond that... you choose!

I happened to have celery and onions on hand in addition to the carrots and potatoes, so that is what went into mine. Kay had a fennel bulb and bell pepper. I could also see using parsnips, turnips, corn, broccoli, asparagus, cauliflower... I could go on forever. Use what you have. Or buy what looks good. It's completely up to you!

At any rate, here is how it all comes together:

4 Italian sausages
1 pound potatoes, cut into wedges
3-4 carrots, cut into 2-3 inch pieces
3-4 stalks of celery, cut into 2-3 inch pieces
1 large onion, cut into wedges
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons oil
salt and black pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons Italian herbs
1/2 cup chicken broth

Preheat the oven to 450.

Wash and cut the vegetables. Place them all in a large roasting pan. In a small bowl, combine the garlic, oil,  salt, pepper, herbs, and broth. Pour it all over the vegetables and toss. Cover the pan with aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes, until the veggies are just becoming tender.

Cut the sausages in half. Add them to the baking pan, and put it all back in the oven (uncovered) for about 30 more minutes, turning the sausages over about halfway through. When the sausages are cooked through, take it out and enjoy a very easy meal!

bell peppers stuffed with quinoa, tomatoes, beans and cheese

Woo hoo! I got meatless Monday back on track. I got lost for a couple weeks there, but now I am back. One in a row.

For our Monday dinner, I wanted to find a way to use up some green bell peppers from the AHO box, but most recipes for stuffed peppers that I could find are made with rice and ground beef or turkey. After thinking a while about this, I decided to use one of the oldest vegetarian tricks in the book... substitute beans for meat, and therefore lose the animal, but retain the protein.

Instead of rice, I went for my new favorite grain, quinoa. (Okay, technicality police, I know it's not a grain. It's the seed from a plant related to the tumbleweed. But really? Tumbleweed? Let's just think of it as a grain. It goes down a little easier that way.)  Ever since my fist quinoa experiment, I have been using it instead of rice just about everywhere. I like it better, and supposedly it is nature's miracle. So I feel better about eating it.

Anyway, I took the quinoa and I took the beans and I saved some tomatoes from death on their vine, and I added some cheese and I stuffed the peppers. Oh my oh my. What a delicious dinner. Lucky for me, there was enough for two days of leftovers! (You may not end up with so much to eat tomorrow. I have kids who won't tough most of what I make, and that leaves more for me. This recipe should serve 4-8, depending on whether you are using it as a main dish or a side.)

This recipe is loosely based on one I found at Vegetarian Times.  I have to warn you, it takes about 2 hours from start to finish!

Stuffed Bell Peppers

4-5 tomatoes, chopped (about 2 cups)

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped

3 carrots, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon ground cumin
3/4 cup quinoa
2 cups vegetable broth
pinto beans (again, I used some that my husband cooked, but you could use a can. I used about the equivalent of one can of beans)
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
bell peppers (I used 9 very small peppers, because that is what I had. I imagine that 4-5 average peppers would use up this amount of stuffing. But if you have some extra stuffing leftover, lucky you! It makes a great burrito for lunch!)

First, chop the tomatoes. Reserve as much liquid as you can from the cutting board. Place a small colander into a baking dish on your counter.  Put the tomatoes into the colander and let the juice drain into the baking dish. This will help steam the peppers when you bake them, as well as keep them from sticking to the dish). Set this aside to drain while you prepare the rest of the dish.

Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the oil, and then the carrots, onion, garlic, and cumin. Saute for about 5 minutes, until the carrots and onions are soft. 

Add the quinoa and vegetable broth and bring it all to a boil. Reduce heat to low and cover. Let it simmer for 20 minutes, until the liquid is absorbed and the quinoa is fluffy. At this point, start heating the oven to 350.

When the quinoa is done cooking, stir in the drained tomatoes, beans, and about half of the cheese.

Cut each pepper in half, and remove the ribs and seeds. Stuff each pepper with a mound of the filling, and place them in the baking dish with the tomato juice.

Cover the pan with tin foil, and bake for an hour. After the hour, remove the foil, sprinkle the rest of the cheese evenly on the peppers, and bake for another 15 minutes, until the cheese is lightly browned.

Enjoy with some crusty bread and a big green salad!

Crock Pot Chicken Taco Soup

If you don't live in Southern California, you may want to just skip down to the next paragraph. It feels so wrong to say it, but I am getting so weary of warm sunny days! I am not in the mood for Halloween (which may explain the lack of work on the costumes that need to be done in time for a party in 10 days). I put out some decorations, but only because the kids asked me to. I wasn't feeling it. My friends and acquaintances are full of stories of apple and pumpkin and baking and roasting, and I am just not feeling it. I need to at least put on a sweater before I feel like having pumpkin pie. I know this is a silly complaint. I know I would be lamenting the rain or the wind or the snow if I lived anywhere else. But I don't. I live in Los Angeles and I am tired of sunshine. I want fall to feel like fall so I can feel like doing fall things.

One day last week it actually did rain. For one day it felt a little more like we were getting to a new season... time for roasting squash and baking apple pie. However, the vegetables are still coming off of summer. Which makes sense, because right after that rainy day we shot back up to sunny days in the 80s and 90s. I'm no farmer, but I imagine we have to have a few cool days in a row before the fall and winter veggies can ripen.

For one day, though, it was cool. For one day, I felt a desire to make a crock-pot dinner. It seemed like a good day for some comfort food, and we had a busy schedule, so coming home to a ready meal worked out great.  Instead of a stew with carrots and potatoes, though, it was going to have to straddle seasons... a slow-cooked, warm, comforting meal made all out of summer veggies like tomatoes and corn.

I have to stop and wonder, though... why does "Crock Pot" cooking need to be "Canned Food" cooking? Just because I want something to be cooked slowly and to be conveniently ready for me when I get home, doesn't mean I want to just open a few cans of food and stir them together.

All of the recipes I found for taco soup asked for canned corn, canned tomatoes, canned beans, and a packet of taco seasoning. Instead, I went for the fresh(er) equivalents of those ingredients. It worked out great, and I am sure we saved at least a heart attack's worth of sodium by not getting all that stuff out of a can! (I did, however, include the bottle of beer that was in most recipes. I'm glad I did! It gave the soup a sort of yeasty, malty flavor.) I'm almost embarrassed to still call it Taco Soup. Somehow I feel this revamped, fresh-ingredient meal deserves a loftier name than "soup that is named after quasi-Mexican, Americanized food."

At any rate, here is Taco Soup that doesn't require a can opener whatsoever. Unless you buy canned beans. I am lucky that my husband likes to cook beans and freeze them, so that is what I use. If it were up to me, I would open a can of beans. So I am certainly not going to judge you canned-bean eaters.

Crock Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup

1 onion, chopped finely
1-2 cups (or 1 can) beans of your choice (I used pinto beans, but black or kidney would be good too)
4 cobs of corn, kernels removed from the cob
6 tomatoes, diced (and try to retain as much juice as you can)
1 bottle or can of pale beer
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons dried cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
2 chicken breasts
shredded cheddar cheese


In your Crock Pot, combine the onion, beans, corn, tomatoes (and as much of the juice as you can keep), and beer. Add the garlic, chili powder, onion powder, red pepper flakes, oregano, paprika, cumin, salt and pepper and stir to combine. Place the chicken breasts on top of it all, and push them down until they are just covered in liquid. Cook on low for five hours. Take the chicken breasts out, shred them with a couple of forks, and stir the shredded chicken back in. Let it cook for a couple more hours.

Top each serving with a bit of cheddar cheese. Serve it with a big green salad and some quesadilla wedges.

zucchini and herbed ricotta torte

A few weeks ago I made a hummus and roasted vegetable torte that just rocked my world.  Actually, it was the simple, four-ingredient, flaky delicious crust from Soma at ecurry that was the world-rocking part.

And so, on meatless Monday yesterday, at about 4:45, when I had no idea what to make for dinner, I remembered Soma's awesome torte crust. Luckily I had all the ingredients on hand, and away I went!

After making the crust (this time with rosemary), I went about loading it up with the vegetables that are still lingering from last week's box. Ahem. That is to say that this week I am somehow faced with catching up on all the stuff we somehow didn't get around to eating last week, and at the same time tackling this week's bounty. I am not sure how this is all going to work out, but I guess there are worse problems in the world than having too much delicious, fresh, organic produce on hand.

Back to 4:45 yesterday. With my crust safely baking in the oven, I had 12 minutes of free time to figure out how to top it. We have no hummus on hand right now, but while rooting around in the fridge I found some ricotta. Perfect! Mixing the ricotta with some fresh herbs gave it plenty of zip, and topping it with a couple of the veggies I needed to attend to made it perfectly tasty. Again, I think it would make a perfect appetizer, cut into  small squares. However, though, this time it was the main course here, served alongside a big salad.

And so, I give to you, my zucchini, tomato, and herbed ricotta cheese torte!

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

freshly ground black pepper

1 teaspoon fresh rosemary (or any other herbs you have on hand)

1/3 cup + 2 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup + 1 1/2 tablespoons very cold club soda

1 cup ricotta cheese

1/4 cup basil leaves, cut into thin slivers

2 tablespoons chives, chopped finely

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 medium zucchini

about 12-14 cherry tomatoes

crushed red pepper flakes

salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Mix the flour, salt, pepper and herbs together. In a separate small bowl, whisk the club soda and olive oil for a couple minutes, until they become creamy and well incorporated.

Pour water-oil mixture into the flour mixture, and combine with a fork just until there is no dry flour left. Using your hands, form the dough into a ball.

Divide the dough into two pieces and roll each one separately. Place the dough between two pieces of parchment paper, and roll in only one direction (not back and forth). Last time I did it, I went for a rectangle. This time, I let it take on the shape it wanted... a sort of loose oval.

Bake it for 12 minutes, until the crust is starting to become golden.

While it is baking, prepare the toppings:

First, mix the ricotta with the garlic, chives, and basil, and set aside.

Using a vegetable peeler (I used my new y-shaped peeler. For $4.99, it is giving me a whole new happy life in the kitchen! Why didn't I invest in this baby sooner?), cut the zucchini into thin ribbons. Cut the cherry tomatoes in half.

When the crusts are done, remove it from the oven and let it sit for a few minutes to cool a little bit.

Spread the ricotta mixture evenly over both crusts.

Spread the zucchini strips in an overlapping layer over the torts, and sprinkle with the crushed red pepper, salt and pepper. Place it back in the oven for about 10 minutes, until the zucchini starts to soften.

When it comes out of the oven, top it with the tomatoes, and cut into pieces.

End of Summer Chili Pot

I had one of those days last week, where I just didn't know what to make for dinner. I needed something to put on the table, but for the life of me, I couldn't think of anything that sounded appealing. It was Monday, so I was looking for something meatless. Unfortunately, Meatless Monday has sort of become "Pasta Monday" around here, due largely to my lack of planning and creativity. However, I am trying to watch my carbs, so I wanted to do something different.  But what?

I was on the verge of cooking a baked potato for each member of the family and handing it to them plain, but I am not so sure that would do much for my carb concerns!

Luckily, I ran into my friend Kirsten who also happens to get the Abundant Harvest Organics produce box every week, and she suggested that I look up their recipe for End Of Summer Chili Pot. She assured me it would be yummy, and that it would use many of the items in my current box.

I am not usually a huge chili fan, but my husband is. I figured it would be good enough for me, great for him, healthy, chock full of veggies, and far better than a plain potato. As a matter of fact, we went ahead and ate the chili on baked potatoes, but it is certainly good -- and hearty -- enough to stand on its own.

The recipe calls for ground beef or turkey, but I left that out since it was meatless Monday. I added in some beans instead, since I can't quite reconcile the name "chili" with anything that doesn't contain beans. I happened to have some pinto beans in the freezer, but red beans, kidney beans, white beans or black beans would probably do nicely. Use whatever you like... or whatever you have on hand.

I wasn't thrilled about cooking this dish... it just seemed like a good enough dinner idea when I started. I have to say, though, that I ended up loving it!! As a matter of fact, I think I know what we might have for dinner again tonight!

Here is the chili the way I made it:
(Here is the way Abundant Harvest makes it)


1 tablespoon olive oil
1 red onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 zucchini, chopped
1 bell pepper (red or green), chopped
2 jalapenos, seeded and chopped
salt and pepper
kernels cut from 3 ears of corn
2 tbsp. chili powder
1 tbsp. paprika
12 ounces vegetable stock
3 cups diced tomatoes
2 tbsp. shopped fresh thyme
2 cups beans

Heat a large, heavy pot over medium heat. Add oil. When the oil is hot, add the onion, garlic, zucchini, bell pepper and jalapenos. Season with salt and pepper and cook until the vegetables start to soften (about 6-7 minutes). Add the corn, chili powder, and paprika, and cook for another minute or two. Stir in the stock, tomatoes, and thyme, and cook until slightly decreased, about 10 minutes.  Stir in the beans, cook for another couple of minutes, until the beans are heated through.

Serve over a potato or in a bowl. Top with shredded cheese or sour cream if desired.

tomato soup

One of my favorite combinations is grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup. I've liked it since I was a wee little thing.  Once in a while, so I remember, we got away with it on a Friday in lent, instead of having to eat dreaded tartar sauce with a little bit of even more dreaded fish underneath it. Those were the days.

Here is the thing about tomato soup from a can, though. It's really really good, but it doesn't exactly taste like... tomatoes. Nor does it really look like tomatoes. It has it's own color. Once, a friend asked me to help her make some curtains. "They need to go with our new couch," she said. "It's tomato-soup colored." And it was, exactly. It was that odd, almost-red color of tomato soup straight out of the Cambell's soup can. Not tomato-colored, tomato soup-colored.

Anyway, this recipe will definitely fill any nostalgic need you might have for the tomato soup of your youth. It is creamy and sweet, goes great with grilled cheese sandwiches, and just feels like going home. But here's the kick. It also manages to taste like tomatoes! Bonus!

Tomato Soup
This recipe makes enough for 10-12 servings. Plan to freeze some for a future night of easy dinner prep, or make only half.

2 tablespoons olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, finely chopped
8 cups tomatoes, chopped (including juice, skins and seeds)
1 quart vegetable stock (or chicken stock)
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 cup heavy cream
salt and pepper to taste


In a large stockpot, saute garlic in olive oil. Add onion and saute until translucent and soft, (about 8 minutes). Add the tomatoes and bring it to a boil. When it comes to a boil, add vegetable stock. Simmer for about 20 minutes.

Let it cool. When it is relatively cool, add basil. Puree in a blender, a couple cups at a time, until it is an even smooth consistency. Set aside.

Make a roux in the now-empty pot, by melting butter and then stirring in flour until it is a medium brown color. Add the pureed tomato mixture back into the pot. Mix together, and then add in the salt, pepper, vinegar, and cream.

Let it all simmer about 20 minutes more. Serve warm... perhaps with a grilled cheese sandwich?

Broiled Tomatoes with Asiago and Herbs

Know what my friend told me the other day? "Hey guess what?! You have a blog!" I had almost forgotten. Or so it may seem.

You see, though, we went out of town. And we cancelled the box for that week.

So there's that.

And then my camera battery ran out (you know, from taking millions of pictures of my cute kids while we were out of town.)

So there's that.

And I couldn't find the battery charger for a couple of days, because it went out of town with us, and somehow it came back home with us in the cupholder of my car. I know it makes no sense, but there it is.

So there'e that, too.

And then I finally did get the battery out of the car, charged, and plugged back into the camera. And I got the next box of produce the next week.  And then, about 2 hours later, I was hit with a nasty stomach bug and spent the weekend in bed.

So there's that on top of it all.

And then the dog ate my blog.

Okay, that's not true. But the rest of it is. And although it is just a list of excuses, they are real excuses, and so I can do nothing but work on the assignment and turn it in late and hope that you give me partial credit.

Anyway, what we did do in between all of the doing things wrong and making excuses for them, was to collect a whole bunch of tomatoes out of the garden. Oh my oh my. I am not much of one for pale, orange, mealy tomatoes that you get from the supermarket or at a restaurant. I am, however, quite smitten with fresh, juicy, red tomatoes that come right off of a vine and into my kitchen. Especially when you dress them up with warm melted cheese and crisp bread crumbs.

These particular tomatoes became the focus of our Meatless Monday dinner last week, just before the camera battery died. (ahem. Sorry for the horrible pictures. It was an unexpected death.) We ate them with a twice-baked potato casserole, and a salad. Again, it seems a tad like a dinner of side dishes, but it is working for me right now!

Broiled Asiago Tomatoes

5-6 tomatoes, sliced thickly
1/4 cup asiago cheese, grated
1/4 cup chopped fresh parlsey
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup panko bread crumbs
salt and pepper

Slice the tomatoes and lay them in the bottom of a baking pan, overlapping if necessary.

Mix together the remaining ingredients, and sprinkle evenly over the tomatoes.

Turn the broiler on to high, and place the tomatoes on the oven rack closest to the broiler. Broil for only a few minutes, until the cheese is melted and the bread crumbs are toasted. (they can burn quickly, so watch closely!)

garlic chive pesto

Before we begin, a little disclaimer:

I can't endorse you trying this recipe unless you promise to first make sure you have some breath mints handy. With all of its oniony, garlicy goodness, you won't make any new friends after you eat it.

Unless you invite them to eat some too. In which case, they will most likely find it so compellingly delicious that they become your best best friend forever.

This pesto had a little more bite to it than traditional basil pesto... and a little bit more complex flavor. It goes well with chicken (or fish, I suppose), pasta, or spread on a sandwich. This time around, I tried to imitate an appetizer I had at the very trendy Pizza Mozza in Hollywood -- served with crackers and ricotta cheese. Absolute heaven.

This is my own version of a few different recipes for chive pesto I found online. They are all more or less the same (chives, garlic, olive oil, nuts, cheese).

I'll give you the recipe the way I did it:

Garlic Chive Pesto

1/2 - 1 cup chopped garlic chives
1/4 cup parsley
3 tablespoons cashews
3 tablespoons parmesan cheese
1 large clove of garlic
4-5 tablespoons olive oil

Place the chives, parsley, cashews, garlic, and cheese into a food processor. Pulse until it is all mixed up and uniformly minced. Add the olive oil (enough to reach your preferred consistency), gradually as you continue pulsing.

Store it with a tiny bit of olive oil poured over the top, to help keep that beautiful bright green color.

Roast Vegetable and Hummus Tart

I will admit that all week long  most days  once in a while I look at a recipe, and instead of thinking to myself That looks delicious! I think to myself That uses up a ton of veggies!


Such was the case when I saw a picture of this tart on Pinterest. It involves several different species currently living in the biosphere that is my crisper drawer. And that was good enough for me.

As it turns out, though, this baby is delicious! I plan to make it many more times... and it can be adapted to use whatever vegetables are in season, so I imagine it will become a semi-regular part of the rotation around here. Plus, it is meatless, so it can be a part of the Monday routine. Although I served it as a main course, it is presented cut into smaller pieces and served as an appetizer. Look out Book Club... it's coming your way soon!

Without any further ado, I present to you Roasted Vegetable and Hummus Tart.

Thanks to Soma at eCurry. You have no idea how much this recipe means to me.

The recipe that Soma has on her blog allows for making the crust, the hummus, and the veggie topping separately and then combining them. I happened to have some hummus on hand already, so I used pre-made hummus. If you want this hummus recipe, head on over and check it out. It's not hard at all, although it requires some ingredients you may not have around (chickpeas, tahini).

I used her recipe for the crust (so delicious! And flaky! And without any butter!) She uses somewhat odd and very precise amounts of ingredients for the crust, but don't doubt her. She clearly knows what she is doing. She topped her tart with onions, zucchini, eggplant and tomatoes. I (of course) used the veggies that came in my box this week... summer squash, bell pepper, tomatoes, and potatoes.

To make the Crust:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup + 2 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup + 1 1/2 tablespoons very cold club soda
1 teaspoon salt
freshly ground black pepper
optional -- any herbs you like. I added some fresh thyme, since that was in my box this week

The trick is to handle this crust as little as possible. It isn't hard at all, so handling it very little is easy to do.

In a bowl, combine flour, salt, pepper and herbs. In a separate bowl, whisk together the olive oil and club soda for a couple of minutes, until it is almost creamy-looking.

Pour water-oil mixture into the flour mixture, and combine with a fork just until there is no dry flour left. Using your hands, form the dough into a ball.

Divide the dough into two pieces and roll each one separately. Place the dough between two pieces of parchment paper, and roll in only one direction (not back and forth). I rolled mine into rectangles like Soma did, by rolling out a more or less rectangular shape and cutting the edges. I was tempted to leave it as a sort of loose oval, because it looked rustic and charming. You can make it whatever shape you like.

Remove the top parchment paper, cut the edges if you wish, and pierce with a fork.

Bake the crusts on the parchment paper at 400 degrees, for about 12 minutes, or until golden.


To prepare the veggies:

Again, use whatever vegetables you prefer, or whatever you happen to have around.

2 summer squash, sliced into rounds
2 tomatoes, sliced
2 potatoes, sliced
2 red bell peppers, sliced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
salt and pepper
olive oil
herbs, to taste (again, I used the thyme from my box, plus some sage and rosemary)

Lay all of the vegetable slices out on parchment paper. Combine the oil with the herbs and salt and pepper. Drizzle over the vegetables.

Roast at 350 for about 30 minutes, or until the vegetables are soft. Turn once, about halfway through.

To Assemble the Tart:


2 tart crusts
1/2-1 cup of hummus
roasted vegetables
sea salt
olive oil

Let the crusts cool after baking. Spread 1/4-1/2 cup of hummus on each one. Layer the vegetables on top. Sprinkle with salt and drizzle with olive oil. Bake at 350 for about 15 minutes, to warm it all up.

Fresh Ranch Dressing

Sing this (out loud or in your head, you choose) to the tune of Love and Marriage:

Ranch and Veggies, Ranch and Veggies, The shock of healthy is so much less edgy...

Okay, a poet I am not. I guess I'll keep my day job.

We go through so many salads and miscellaneous other veggie dipping experiences that Ranch Dressing is a hot commodity around here. 

I love the stuff. But I have to say, I don't love it out of a bottle. I found that Marie's brand dressing (found, refrigerated, in the produce department) is pretty dang close to fresh ranch. Except it's pretty pricey. And still not perfect.

The good news, though, is that ranch dressing is super easy to throw together, and it's pretty much all ingredients you probably have already. I wish I could remember where I got this recipe, so I could give props to the creator. 

Here is the recipe I use:

1/2 - 1 tsp. sugar

1-2 cloves garlic

1/4-1/2 onion powder

salt to taste

1/4 cup Italian flat-leaf parsley

2 tablespoons chives

1 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup sour cream

2 tsp. apple cider vinegar

1/2 - 1 tsp fresh dill

1/8 black pepper

1/2 tsp. dried oregano

buttermilk (as needed for desired consistency)

Mince the garlic with a knife, and then sprinkle about 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon salt on it and mash it into a paste with a fork.

Chop the parsley, and chives very finely and add to the garlic.

In a bowl, combine all ingredients, tasting frequently and adjusting seasonings as needed.

Chill for a couple of hours before serving, and thin with buttermilk if desired. I usually leave it thick if it is going to be for dipping, and I thin it before I pour it over a salad.

Summer Vegetable Tian

Ahhhh. I am content.

We are back in a routine.  School, girl scouts and boy scouts, karate and piano lessons. Dad gets home at dinner time, kids are in bed at 8:00. It's lovely.

Don't get me wrong. I do love summer, what with the sleeping in, running off to the beach on a whim, eating dinner any time between 4:00 and 9:00 pm, and going days at a time without looking at a clock. Now that I think about it, I am not sure why I feel so happy to be back at school.

But it's true. After a couple of months of relaxing, we are ready to get back to normal. I get tired of running a 24-hour diner, and there are only so many times I can ask "Who left the __________ (legos, books, dirty clothes, dirty dishes, towel, shoes, crayons, athletic supporter) on the ____________ (living room floor, dining table, stairway, hallway, entryway, doorway, kitchen counter)?" before I go insane. It's nice that the kids get away from each other and from me for a few hours a day.

Last week, I left some green beans roasting in my oven when we went to karate class. I had it all planned out so that the food would cook while we were gone and I could do the last minute glazing and tossing when we got back. I forgot, though, to set the oven timer. Oops. So the green beans were a little bit shriveled and dry. There are worse things, right? Like... the house could have burned down, and it didn't. So there.

If the kids continue to be as involved in after-school activities as they are now, I see a lot of crock-pot cooking in my future. Crock-pot cooking seems so autumn-ish, that I think I'll wait a while yet.

Anyway, part of the new routine is Meatless Mondays, and here is a roast vegetable dish that I managed not to overcook. Although it is probably considered to be a side dish, I served it as the starring attraction, along with some crusty bread and a green salad.

Summer Vegetable Tian
(I got this recipe here.)

1 sweet onion, cut in half and then sliced
2 Tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 potatoes, un-peeled
1 zucchini
1 summer squash
4 roma tomatoes
salt and pepper, to taste
dried thyme, to taste
1/2 cup grated Asiago cheese

Preheat oven to 375. Coat a round baking dish with cooking spray.

In a skillet, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil. When hot, add the onions and saute for about 9-10 minutes, until translucent. Add the garlic and continue to saute for about another minute.

Transfer the onion mixture to the baking dish.

Slice the potatoes, zucchini, summer squash, and tomatoes into 1/4 inch slices. Stand them upright in a spiral in the baking dish, alternating the vegetables. Sprinkle the salt, pepper, and thyme on top, and drizzle the remaining olive oil over it all.

Cover the dish with foil, and bake until the potatoes are tender (about 40 minutes). Uncover, and sprinkle the cheese over it all. Bake another 25 minutes, until the dish is browned.