Ya win some ya lose some

Tonight's dinner. Believe it or not, it was supposed to be pizza. Damn I was looking forward to it, too!

A homeade life

I highly recommend purchasing this book by Molly Wizenberg, a local writer of the blog Orangette. A Homeade Life was just released this month, and not is not only a charming, enjoyable read, but it also has excellent recipes. I have made three things so far, and two of them were absolutely fantastic: the buckwheat pancakes and this:



Banana bread with bittersweet chocolate and crystalized ginger. I made it this morning and we've been snacking on it all day. It's incredible.

I won't share the recipe because you should really buy the book!

I think I did it

I think I made the best meal of my life. This past Monday night my mom was in town so I made us a nicer-than-average dinner: Cumin rubbed halibut with an heirloom tomato vinaigrette, and a black lentil and roasted chanterelle ragout.

These pictures don't do it justice. But these lentils were amazing.

Veggies

Everybody (meaning my mom & Lindsay) is freaking out about my veggie tray that I made on Friday night. It was actually really fun to put together.

Sharing a "recipe"

I've been writing about the surgical treatments of hip dysplasia for the last hour and a half. I need a break.

My last post was depressing.

You have to try this recipe, let's call it ravioli with kalamata olives and pine nuts, for lack of a more interesting title. I made it up and it's easy and delish. The recipe is not very precise. I hate recipes.

First, go buy these raviolis. Rising Moon Organics, Basil, Asiago, Pine Nuts & Pesto. (Can ravioli be made plural?)



Boil 'em up. Simultaneously put these things in a saute pan:

• Some olive oil
• A reasonable amount of minced garlic
• A few flakes of red pepper
• A healthy smidgen of white truffle oil, yum
  

....Over like, let's say, medium heat.

Also, toast up some pine nuts. Watch them carefully because they burn easily.

When the raviolis are done, toss all ingredients together and add a handful of feta.

It's really good. This photo does not do it justice. It's really really good.

Sharing a recipe

When fall comes around, soup starts sounding like the perfect dinner. The following is a super easy recipe that I've been making for years and years, and felt the need to share. It's from the Williams Sonoma "Vegetarian" cookbook. It takes less than a half an hour to make, and it's full of greens.

Greens & Farfalle Soup



Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• small pinch of red pepper flakes
• 8 cups vegetable stock (they give you a recipe for this, but the short cut secret is to buy the vegetarian "Better than Bouillon"mix -- it comes in a glass jar)
• 1/4 lb dried farfalle pasta (or you can use penne, orzo, fusilli, etc.)
• 1/4 lb escarole, carefully washed and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1/4 lb Swiss chard, stemmed, carefully washed, and cut into 1-inch pieces (I used Kale, it worked...you just have to cook it a bit longer)
• 2 tsps fresh lemon juice
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
  

Directions:
In a large soup pot over medium low heat, warm the olive oil. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring constantly, until the garlic is soft but not golden, about 2 minutes.

Add the vegetable stock and bring to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta, reduce the heat to medium and simmer, uncovered, until the pasta is cooked, 12-15 minutes.

Add the escarole and Swiss chard, stir well and continue to simmer just until the greens wilt but are still bright green, about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the lemon juice and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Ladle into warmed bowls and serve immediately. Pass the Parmesan cheese at the table.

Serves 6.

I love this recipe!!!

I can't get enough of mushrooms

There's something that has happened to me in the past year. I've become increasingly less interested in my career path (which used to be nearly everything I thought about - I know, sad) and more interested in things like gardening, cooking, and organizing my home. I'm fairly sure this all has to do with my ovaries somehow, but that's probably not very scientific. Last night, while listening to some adorable French pop music from the 1950's that Brian downloaded, we cooked dinner together. Well, I cooked and Brian chopped.

During the past year's evolution of domesticity, I've also realized my love of mushrooms. Not the kind you chop up and put in salads, but wild mushrooms all sauteed up. Yum. Here's a good combination that I put together tonight: Saute a combination of mushrooms in butter (I chose chanterelle and oyster mushrooms) for about 5 minutes. Add some garlic and scallions, finely diced. Add some fresh Italian (the flat kind) parsley, and saute for another 10 minutes. Squeeze a little fresh lemon on it if you have one around.



This would be good alone tossed with some angel hair pasta, but I made a little cream sauce because why not? It consisted of some heavy creme, butter, fresh herbs (more Italian parsley plus fresh chives and watercress). I tossed the pasta with a little sauce plus the mushrooms, and then I added some toasted pine nuts for good measure. It was goooood.