Tuscan Salad and Greek Lentil Soup

Yummy salad tonight. It's Giada's Tuscan Salad. Also, Greek Lentil Soup from Cooking Light 1/08. It had parsnips, potatoes, carrots, shallots and sherry vinegar. The feta was my own personal touch. Talia actually stood by me for about 45 minutes helping with tasks such as putting the cut green beans into a bowl and weeding out the "yucky ones," using the salad spinner, measuring out the lentils and wearing an apron. I'm becoming more efficient in my kitchen (we've lived here 6 months already so it's about time) and I was able to clean the prep dishes more or less before we sat down to eat (by which I mean, of course, took turns to either eat or entertain Alex) so the goodness to dish ratio seemed high (which is good). I had to blanch the green beans though and that's a pot, a bowl of ice water and a colander to clean for the salad. Plus the lemon juicer (my favorite tool EVER), the whole salad spinner thing (thought I was being good by buying actual lettuce NOT from a bag), the peeler for the parmesan, a jar for the dressing and cleaning out the can of white beans to recycle. So actually, there was a lot of cleaning if not a lot of WORK for the salad. Then again, it was delicious. The soup, which turned out to be more like a stew (I kind of forgot to turn it down to simmer so it boiled hard for about 40 minutes uncovered), was ok. It tastes pretty good and has a nice zesty sherry vinegar zing but is also kind of boring as a meal. Whatever. That was dinner tonight. Talia had her usual beans and noodles. She ate a whole can of white beans. Alex ate noodles, cheerios and about three bites of some nasty babyfood before he put his hand in the jar and tipped it all over his high chair. I *may* have been paying more attention to the Hancocks of Paducah catalog than to him at the time...

Butternut Squash and Gnocchi

This was pretty yum from Deborah Madison's Vegetarian Suppers. I'm getting hungry just looking at it. I'll try to post the recipe when I get a chance. It's basically store-bought gnocchi with steamed butternut squash which was then tossed in the saute pan with garlic, spinach, salt, pepper, nutmeg and olive oil. Shaved Parmesan on top.

White Bean Rosemary Stew

This is so fast and easy-- you might actually have the ingredients on hand AND there is only one pot to clean. It's pretty yummy too. Ron requested leftovers for work and, if anyone knows Ron, he NEVER eats leftovers. I can't remember what cookbook this recipe originates from because I've been using it for so long... Serve it with a green salad and maybe a baguette to soak up the broth.

White Bean Rosemary Stew

olive oil
1 onion
2 cloves garlic
1 cup vegetable broth
2 cans white beans
1/2 tbl rosemary
salt and pepper
1 jar roasted red peppers
2 tbl balsamic vinegar

1. saute onion and garlic; 5 minutes
2. add vegetable broth, white beans, rosemary and pepper; simmer 10 minutes
3. add red peppers and balsamic; 2 minutes
4. salt and pepper to taste

Goodness to Dish Ratio: 4/1

What we're eating: Squash and Rice Gratin

I've been meaning to add a new section to my blog called "What we're eating." I cook a lot and am always trying new recipes so I thought I'd keep track of them online. Unfortunately the pictures never look as good as the food. For example, this one looks like vomit. Whatever-- I'm going to do it anyway. This recipe is from Deborah Madison's Vegetarian Suppers. It's a book I've had out of the library for a LONG time now and I'm enjoying pretty much everything I've made. Unfortunately, Deborah Madison must have someone else to clean up her kitchen for her because many of the recipes use every dish in my kitchen. I guess you have to get messy to eat well. Ron and I have something called the goodness to dish ratio. Basically you rate the tastiness of a meal and compare it to the messiness of kitchen (with the difficulty of preparation as well). If the goodness outweighs the dishes, you've got a winner. This was a winner. It was pretty good, (maybe a 4 out of 5?) and not a lot of dishes were used (maybe a 2/5?). I think I even cleaned up most of the meal while it was cooking-- something I rarely do. Decently healthy too-- without the cheese the meal is vegan!

Crookneck Squash and Rice Gratin with Summer Herbs from Deborah Madison's Vegetarian Suppers

1/2 c long grain rice (I used basmati and I made it in the rice cooker)
salt and pepper (fresh of course)
fresh parsley, a handful
marjoram and thyme (I used dried)
2 garlic cloves (I might recommend more)
2 tbl olive oil (I probably used more)
2 large leeks (white and some green, cut into thinnish moons)
2 pounds crookneck squash (I used two yellow squash and two zucchini, cut into thin rounds)
2 ounces of Gruyere (I probably used more like 5 ounces, grated)
1 tsp lemon zest

1. preheat oven to 350
2. make the rice (1 cup water to 1/2 cup rice, of course!)
3. chop the herbs and garlic and set aside
4. heat 2 tsp oil over medium low heat and saute the leeks for about 12 minutes. add some dry white wine if it starts to brown (I wanted to do this but was out of white wine! I think I added a tiny bit of water after a while)
5. add a bit of the garlic/ herbs and generously salt and pepper the leeks. saute a little longer and then scrape the mixture out.
6. return the pan to the stove and switch to high heat. add 4 tsp oil. saute the squash until golden brown. I thought I would never get a good result because the squash filled the pan but it shrinks a bit and all of the squash eventually made contact with the pan to brown. add more garlic and herbs, salt and pepper and saute a little longer.
7. turn off heat. add the leeks and rice and cheese. toss, season with salt and pepper and the rest of the garlic and herbs (I didn't have any left at this point!)

8. put the food into a pyrex or whatever you have and drizzle olive oil over the top (I didn't read about the oil until just now so I didn't do that). bake for 25-30 minutes.

9. sprinkle lemon zest on top just before serving. YUM! the recipe says serve hot or cold.