Luscious Sides, My Favorites: Cayenne Sweet Potato Fries, Lemon Green Beans, Cumin Carrots, and Spinach Orzo

Dave and I took a pot of Italian Sausage chili and a salad over to our friend Jim's new house the other day. 

 When Jim bought his new house, I promised him I'd bring supper over one night to christen the dining room.  Something terribly simple and portable, complete with a great bottle of wine (or two) that we would "break" open to celebrate this incredible homecoming.  I finally made good on the promise and:  it was a night to remember --complete with dessert later on at Minneapolis' incredible CORNER TABLE restaurant.  (Go soon...)

Microwaved Potatoes and Onions with Asparagus

Happy New Year!

I haven't yet recovered from Christmas, much less New Year's.  I don't know about you, but while it's mostly beautiful and full of family, friends and  good food (and church, if you're me), it is also occasionally a tad much.  Holiday meals, travel with goodie bags in the back seat, food gifts, meals out...it goes on a bit.  I have one friend who woke up December 26, said Christmas is over, and drove in to the office.  Time to move on.  I was not there, as I totally buy into the 12 days of Christmas...but I get it.  And today is the ninth day of Christmas.  9 Ladies Dancing!

Would You Bring a Side? Green Beans, Mushrooms, and Jasmine Rice with Tarragon and Mustard Vinaigrette

When it's green bean time, I often make a green bean salad with mustard vinaigrette.  Sometimes it has tomatoes and sometimes mushrooms or potatoes.  I'm fond of one-dish sides and am always looking for dishes easily served alongside a chop or a piece of grilled chicken or fish. 

Green Beans Sauteed with Onions and Garlic-- or My Sister Loves Green Beans

It's my sister's birthday month.  She loves green beans!

Sides like green beans, carrots, spinach, asparagus--otherwise known as vegetables-- aren't something I usually blog on their own.  Today  I'm  changing all that in honor of my younger sister.   You just  get the words "green beans" off your tongue, and she nearly swoons.  "I just love green beans!" is her immediate comeback.  And it doesn't matter how you make them, she'll eat them and be glad.  In our childhood days, our southern parents would talk about "a mess of beans" for supper.  That could mean anything from butter beans to pole beans to wax beans, but it usually meant a big pot of green beans.  That, along with some bacon or ham thrown in, a pot of rice, a pan of corn bread, and a plate of sliced tomatoes was a typical summer meal.  And, oh, by the way, you wouldn't throw out the juice or "liquor" the beans were cooked in because you might want to dip your corn bread in it or add your rice to the bowl for an instant soup, though no one would ever call it that.

Butternut (and other) Squash Soup

Ladle into your prettiest bowl and be happy.

 I know.  I know.  Everyone and her brother makes butternut squash soup in the fall.  And I do, too.  In November, I mean.  As a first course for Thanksgiving dinner.  That soup holds roasted pears and apples, bits of flyingly fragrant ginger and garlic, and is served with a small glass of Riesling to open a beautiful meal.  It might even have a drop or two of real cream as a garnish.

But this soup is not that long-winded, almost poutingly full bowl of autumnal bounty.  This soup is a 1-2 punch meal, light but nutritious and perfect for dinner with a bit of cheese and bread.  Almost better warmed up in the microwave at work the next day. It makes use of the rest of the zucchini (geez) or yellow (summer) squash, but takes into account the winter squash you couldn't resist at the market. Freeze a bowl or two for next week and you're done and feeling rich.  Here's the drill:
 

Chop your veg, season, and saute in a bit of oil.

Add the butternut squash.

2 quarts of stock and bring to a boil, then simmer until veg are tender.

 

Puree with an immersion blender (or in food processor blender)--or not.  It's tasty chunky, too.

 Butternut (and other) Squash Soup

2T olive oil
1 cup each chopped onion and celery
1 each:  small-medium zucchini and yellow (summer) squash, diced--no need to peel
1/2 cup chopped carrot
2 cloves minced garlic
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
Pinch of crushed red pepper
2 T fresh thyme, divided (or 1 1/2 tsp dried thyme, divided)
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/4 tsp ground ginger, optional
2 -3 cups chopped and peeled butternut squash
2 qts chicken or vegetable stock (plus or minus)
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt, optional or 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

In an 8-10 qt soup pot, saute over medium-high heat onion, celery, zucchini and yellow squash, and carrot until softened.  Add garlic and season liberally with salt and pepper.  Add crushed red pepper and 1T fresh thyme (or 1 tsp dried thyme), parsley, and ginger.  Cook, stirring, another minute or two.  Stir in butternut squash and cook a few minutes, stirring.  Add broth, stir well, and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer until vegetables are all tender--15-20 minutes.  Taste and adjust seasoning.  Puree with immersion blender or food processor or blender, if desired. If too thick, add a little more stock. If too thin, set back back on stove to simmer until reduced and thickened.  Ladle into bowls and garnish with a bit of thyme and a spoonful of Greek yogurt (or a sprinkle of Parmesan) if desired.  Serve hot.

Note:  This is a lovely meal for an ill friend. Go easy on the seasonings and check about the yogurt.

Have fun cooking and taking care of yourself,
Alyce

Ratatouille (Not the Movie)

Ah, summer.

I loved the movie.
Also "The Big Night"
And "Babette's Feast"
Try them.   Food movies.  Ah.

I love the real deal better.   If you become a devoted cook, your world will revolve around the seasons.  Stews in winter.  Apple pie in the fall.  Berries in the spring.  And...
High summer: Tons of vegetables at their peak.

Tomatoes
Zucchini
Eggplant
Peppers
Garlic just  harvested

If you don't know ratatouille (the real deal), here's a definition from dictionary.reference.com:

 ra·ta·touille
   [rat-uh-too-ee, -twee; Fr. ra-ta-too-y^uh]  

noun

a vegetable stew of Provence, typically consisting of eggplant, zucchini, onions, green peppers, tomatoes, and garlic, served hot or cold.

My basil, yellow zucchini, and Japanese egglant in the bath together.

I am unsure if I would call it a "stew."  I'm thinking a melange suits my ratatouille better.  This mixture of great vegetables, some cooked separately and some together (all mixed in the end) is, like much cooking, a totally personal dish.  While it can be a side dish, a main, served over pasta (rice, cous cous), or in an omelet, it can contain various proportions (depending on your garden/taste or market) of the vegetables mentioned above.  It can have more or less (I like more) garlic.  It can have crushed red pepper.  Fewer tomatoes.

The vegetables could be grilled, then mixed.  Or sautéed in the typical way.  I have, in a pinch, frozen it and brought it out in late fall so we can close our eyes and drum up summer days.  Tell me how you make and use yours?   For a solo cook, this is perfect.  You can share with a vegan friend, keep some for tomorrow, cut the recipe in half, or do it all and throw containers in the freezer for lunches. Here's a starter recipe:

Asparagus Risotto or Si Place (Do as you please.)

There are crocuses.  Perfect harbingers of spring.

So determined, these bloomed indoors.

But asparagus...in the spring...there's nothing like it.  And, unlike the beautiful crocus, you can actually chew it up.  Of course, the crocus stamen is edible and we call it expensive...no.  We call it saffron.

Risotto, that dish we think of as so very special (but which the Italians just think of as rice) is one of those often made for a side that is perfect for  a main course as well.  Especially for the solo cook.  Most people make it in larger quantities, but, like pasta, it can be made in small batches as well.  An inexpensive, but hearty meal, it's sufficient unto its own.  A bit of Parmesan cheese added and you have vegetables, starch and protein. 

Sauteing the asparagus and onion before adding the rice.

At sea level, my risotto was a bit softer than al dente (I like it like that.) in about 25 minutes.  You cannot rush the cooking by turning up the heat; only time and care finishes the risotto.  It takes nearly constant supervision.  So if you don't care for that kind of cooking, don't make it.  Or make the same dish as a sopa seca (dry soup) or a pilaf (no constant adding of stock and stirring-just saute, and add 2x as much liquid as rice--cover and cook on low or bake) and blend in cheese with a bit of cream at the end for a fake "risotto."  Of course, it will no longer be a risotto.

Black-Eyed Pea Soup with Yellow Pepper Salsa and Coffee Cup Cornbread

An hour's time... a small pot of soup just for you

Your Coffee Cup Cornbread

 One of the things people (solo cooks or other cooks) often say to me is, "I just never know what to cook."  Sometimes this is an excellent cook talking and other times it's someone who seldom wields a spatula except to shake it at fools or make a grilled cheese.

To know what you want to cook isn't as important as just going ahead and cooking.  People who cook daily don't always know what they want.  They peer inside the frig or freezer and bang the cabinets a few times, wondering what's to eat.  Or they jump in the car and run to the store, only to wander around aimlessly until something strikes them.  Everyone does this...experts and beginners.    More important is to have a head-start on the process

• by maintaining a pantry of some sort
• by making a habit of shopping a couple of times a week for fresh food and specials
• spending some time thinking about what you'd like to cook and what you're willing to cook (often two very different things)
• having access to recipes or cookbooks

This means you will have already made a time and financial commitment to feeding yourself well, which is an effort well worth the time.  If you can't think of something that looks worthy of the Food Network or your favorite expensive restaurant, then that's exactly how it should be.  We all can't eat like that every day (nor should we) and what's cool is that you jump in and make something.  Anything.  Something like:

Corncakes...using the recipe for cornbread on the cornmeal container.  Why not?

• Huevos rancheros (Fry up eggs and put them on tortillas with salsa and some shredded lettuce, tomatoes, beans and cheese...)
• Broccoli salad (Just like at Whole Foods...broccoli, mayo, nuts, raisins...maybe a little soy sauce or curry)
• Fried rice (Last night's Chinese take-out rice leftover..cook some eggs and push them to the side, then add chopped garlic, celery and carrots (cook 'til tender), throw in  the cooked rice and soy sauce or stir fry sauce, let it cook a couple of minutes more and--top with chopped green onions if you have any.)
• Black Bean Soup (Saute onions and garlic, add drained black beans, toss in a sprinkle of cumin, a couple of cups chicken stock, salsa and hot sauce.  Top with sour cream if it's in the frig.)
• Turkey burgers (You  made patties and froze Italian-seasoned Jennie-O; you also keep frozen whole wheat bun or wraps in the freezer.  Some sliced tomatoes finish the meal.)
• Omelet and whole wheat toast (Made with the cheese that's starting to mold and the cold asparagus you cooked the other day and didn't finish.)
• Fried corncakes served up with the chili you brought home from Wendy's. (Follow the directions on the cornmeal canister, add chopped onion  and fry up big spoonfuls in butter or olive oil.  After one side is golden, turn and cook the other side.)