Spring Panzanella

I realize that only small parts of the country are currently experiencing Spring-time weather.  Austin is on the verge of Summer for those parts.  I’m sad that Winter is over.  I feel like it only just arrived.  I suppose this is why I still don’t own riding boots (that and most aren’t designed for those of us that are barely 5’2”) and why I try to justify wearing cardigans throughout the summer. 

Winter leaving is bittersweet.  About this time every year, I am tired of the few seasonal vegetables and I long for a fresh, crisp salad, grilled corn, and watermelon.  Well, we aren’t quite there yet.  Even those of us in 80 degree weather are still in the middle of February.  I have noticed the first of the Spring-time veggies popping up at the market. I know they will only get sweeter as the rest of the world catches up.  As we all patiently wait for the sweet and delicate baby greens of Spring, this is a wonderfully rustic salad that will satisfy those cravings while we sit on the cusp of seasons.

Spring Panzanella

Adapted ever-so-slightly from Smitten Kitchen

For the croutons:
1/4 cup olive oil
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
6 cups day-old bread, cubed
6 tablespoons finely grated Parmesan, plus more for garnish
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the vinaigrette:
Half a red onion, finely diced
2.5 T balsamic vinegar
Juice of half a lemon
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 t Dijon mustard

For the salad:
3/4 lb french green beans
2 teaspoons salt
3/4 lb asparagus
1 19-ounce can of cannellini beans, rinsed and drained

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Fill large pot with water and bring to boil.

Mix the bread cubes with the garlic, olive oil, parmesan, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Toss to coat well. Transfer bread to a baking sheet and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake stirring once or twice, until the croutons are crisp and lightly colored on the outside but still soft within, about 10 to 15 minutes. Set aside and let cool.

Mix the red onion with the vinegar and lemon juice in a small bowl and set aside for a few minutes before whisking in the remaining vinaigrette ingredients: olive oil and dijon. Set aside.

Add green beans to boiling water, and cooking for about 5-7 minutes or until they reach desired tenderness.

Without draining the cooking water (you will reuse it for the asparagus), transfer green beans to a bowl of ice and cold water to stop cooking, then pat dry with paper towels. Break off tough ends of asparagus and cook it in the boiling water until crisp-tender, no more than three minutes if they’re pencil-thin, more if your asparagus is thicker. Transfer it to another bowl of ice water, drain and pat it dry.

Cut the green beans and the asparagus each into one-inch segments. Place pieces in a large bowl and mix in beans and cooled parmesan croutons. Pour vinaigrette over and toss well. Season with salt and pepper.

As a main course, serves 4.  As a side, serves 6.

Anasazi Beans

This is an example of a food impulse purchase.  Usually those come in the form of gummi bears or cupcakes, but occasionally they are healthier, more beautiful, choices.  Anasazi (ahn-a-sa-zee) beans remind me of a Paint Horse, or an impressionist painting, or a gorgeous progeny of a kidney bean and a Great Northern.  The latter may not be too far off. 

When I bought these beauties I wasn’t quite sure what my plan for them would be.  When in doubt, I read the packaging. Since the recipe on the bag recommends cooking them with hamhocks, I assumed that their flavor was similar to a pinto bean. 

Usually, I cook beans with a 4 (liquid) to 1 (bean) ratio.  This works for my stove, cookware, spot in the universe.  After about 2 hours, these little gems were the perfect texture and had produced a beautiful saucy-gravy that is the perfect compliment to cornbread or chips.  Notable differences between Anasazi and other beans:  They cook faster (Biggie in my book.) and have a slightly sweeter flavor. (They really would compliment ham, for all you omnivores out there.)

Interesting fact: Anasazi is a Navajo word meaning “ancient ones”.

Anasazi Beans

1lb Anasazi beans

1qt vegetable stock

1qt water

1T pinto bean seasoning

salt and pepper to taste

Optional Garnishes:

sharp white Cheddar

sour cream

freshly chopped cilantro

Rinse beans and cover with vegetable stock and water.  Cover and place over medium-low heat.  Stir and check water level occasionally.  Once beans have reached desired texture, season to taste.  Serve with cornbread, corn chips, or tortillas.  

Serves 6

More-Vegetable-Than-Egg Frittata

I’ve always loved breakfast.  I look forward to brunch on weekends and I get really excited about breakfast for dinner.  I even enjoy non-breakfast foods early in the morning, ie for breakfast.  If you’re the same, then I’m sure you can feel my disappointment when I woke up this morning and only found 3 eggs to make breakfast for two.  Fortunately, Mark Bittman can cook anything, and writes recipes open to anyone’s pantry.  Which is perfect for those of us that don’t follow recipes anyway.

More-Vegetable-Than-Egg Frittata

Adapted from Mark Bittman

2T olive oil or butter

1/4 onion, finely chopped

4 to 6 cups of any chopped or sliced raw or barely cooked vegetables {I used asparagus, mushroom and spinach.}

2-3T thyme or any other herb

3 eggs

1/2 cup freshly grated gruyere

Salt and ground black pepper to taste

Put olive oil or butter in a skillet (preferably nonstick or well-seasoned cast iron) and turn heat to medium. When fat is hot, add onion, if using, and cook, sprinkling with salt and pepper, until it is soft, 3 to 5 minutes. Add vegetables, raise heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until they soften, from a couple of minutes for greens to 15 minutes for sliced potatoes. Adjust heat so vegetables brown a little without scorching. (With precooked vegetables, just add them to onions and stir before proceeding.)

When vegetables are nearly done, turn heat to low and add herb. Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender.

Meanwhile, beat eggs with some salt and pepper, along with cheese if you are using it. Pour over vegetables, distributing them evenly. Cook, undisturbed, until eggs are barely set, 10 minutes or so; run pan under broiler for a minute or 2 if top does not set. Cut into wedges and serve hot, warm or at room temperature.

Serves 2

Broccoli, Sun-dried Tomatoes & Goat Cheese

Lately, I’ve been trying to keep my culinary conquests under an hour.  {Hence, the Lunch-for-Dinner posts.}  I’ve also been interested in introducing new foods to our diet.  My new years resolution has cut out all of the most-obvious sources of protein out of our dinner rotation, so I’ve taken an interest in a few new foods that before now I’ve been nervous to try. 

Quinoa is grain-like and is a great substitute for rice or couscous.  Unlike true grains, this pseudo-cereal is high in protein and is gluten-free.  Quinoa can be cooked by using the same method as rice, the 2 (water) to 1 (rice, or in this case, quinoa) ratio.  Of course, I immediately, and correctly, assume that my rice cooker is the proper tool for this task.  After a quick rinse (easier said than done) and a pinch of salt, I set the rice cooker to cook, and 15 minutes later I had a fluffy and healthy new protein to put on the table.

Broccoli, Sun-dried Tomatoes & Goat Cheese

Adapted from Vegetarian Times

1 large head of broccoli, cut into small florets

1/3 cup soft goat cheese

1/4 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, about 5

2 T pine nuts

2 T balsamic vinegar

1 cup quinoa

Once your quinoa is set to cook, toast pine nuts in dry skillet over medium heat 3 to 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Transfer to large bowl.

Heat oil in same skillet over medium-high heat. Add broccoli, and cook 2 minutes, or until florets are evenly coated with oil and are beginning to soften and brown, stir frequently. Carefully add 1/3 cup water; cover tightly with lid. Steam broccoli 4 minutes, or until water has evaporated and broccoli is tender.

Transfer broccoli to bowl with toasted pine nuts, and season with salt and pepper, if desired. Sprinkle goat cheese over broccoli, and stir in sun-dried tomatoes. Drizzle vinegar over top, and serve warm over quinoa.

Serves 3

Grilled Halloumi

David and I love cheese.  Our dogs are named after cheeses.  Our cheese drawer is always stocked, even when there isn't a cracker in the house.  Maybe this fact is too obvious to those that know us.  But because we flaunt our cheese obsession so proudly we have wonderful friends that bring us cheese back from their favorite Greek market and change the way I'll look at my grill pan forever.  Before I continue, I have to go back to clarify.  Halloumi is a Cypriot cheese.  It is a cheese made with sheep and cows milk, salt, and a bit of mint.  Halloumi has a very high melting David point so it is perfect for grilling.  I have big plans for my new favorite new cheese in shish kabobs this summer.  I'll even make a few for my omnivore friends.

Grilling Halloumi is simple.  Cut slices about a quarter of an inch thick and lay on a hot grill.  Try not to adjust the cheese, it will be easier to remove once it's grilled.  After a few minutes, flip and grill the other side.  That's it!

I toasted a bit of pita to go along with store-bought hummus.  The grilled lemons and green beans were a wonderful suggestion of 101 cookbooks.  Anytime I try a new ingredient I attempt to read as many recipes as I can to see the common techniques.  Halloumi is simple.  I think it's best when you serve it with other simple foods.  I had never grilled a lemon before, or any fruit now that I think of it, and it is amazing how a bit of heat can transform the flavors and draw so much juice out of this little yellow fruit.  Since becoming a vegetarian, I haven't used my grill pan once.  Now, I see so many other possibilities...  Maybe even dessert?

Deviled Egg Salad Sandwich

 

Some of the best recipes are the simplest.  They use few ingredients and use them well.  Simply put, this is one of those recipes.

Deviled Egg Salad Sandwich

6 hard boiled eggs {see my technique below}
2 T of mayo {or miracle whip, if you live in my house}
1 cup chopped celery, about 2 stalks
4T fresh chives, chopped
1t paprika
salt and pepper, to taste

There are 100s of ways to boil an egg.  If you have a way that works for you, use it.  This is what works for me:  Cover room temperature eggs with room temperature water.  Set burner to almost high {slightly higher than medium high}.  When the water comes to a low boil, remove the pot from the heat source, top it with a lid and set a timer for 7 minutes.  At 7 minutes, drain hot water and run eggs under very cold tap water until they are no longer hot, and thus have stopped cooking.  Cold eggs are easier to peel.  I always try to chill mine before I get started, but since we are crumbling them, I suppose it isn't important.

Once your eggs are ready, crumble them in a medium-sized bowl with the back of a fork.  Stir in celery, mayo, spices and herbs.  Remember that you can always add more mayo if your mixture is a tad dry, but you can't take it out.  Spread salad over toasted bread with a few leafs of lettuce and a bit of yellow mustard.

Serves 4

Ploughman's Sandwich

A great deal of learning to cook, is trial and error.  I think this is where a lot of people get frustrated with cooking.  There is little that can surpass the disappointment of slowly carmelizing 5 onions over and hour and a half, spending 30 minutes more developing this into a vegetarian French onion soup, to then be left with a wine colored soup that tastes exactly the way it looks, like wine.  Yes, I'm speaking from experience.  Yes, this very thing happened to me last week.  But, we ate soup.  And I now know that some recipes take some time and forethought to make them into tasty vegetarian suppers.  This experience, and the many more coming in the future, will make me a better cook.

Last week, I had several unsuccessful meals.  I attribute this to the lack of groceries in our house and the fact that I didn't use a single recipe.  This week, I have a stocked pantry and I have started baby stepping back into success with a couple of easy recipes.  To rectify the waste of caramelized onions with Barney Soup, I've made my version of the Ploughman's Sandwich.  I feel in love with these when D. and I were in London a couple years back.  I've made my version grilled sandwich, but traditionally this simple sandwich is served cold.

Ploughman's Sandwich

2 onions, cooked down into a sweet onion marmalade
bold, sharp Cheddar, room temperature
stone ground mustard
fresh baked sourdough, sliced
3 T butter

Finely slice onions and slowly caramelize over medium with 2 tablespoons of butter.  This should take 45 minutes to an hour, depending on how much liquid your onions produce.  While these are cooking, bring your cheese to room temperature.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Heat a large fry pan, with lid, over medium heat.  {I just wiped out the one I was using for the onions.} Use remaining butter for one side of each slice of bread. {Concentrate on the crust, this will make a huge difference once cooked.} Starting butter-side down assemble your sandwich: stone ground mustard, a healthy amount of sliced Cheddar, a few tablespoons of onion marmalade, topped with another slice of bread butter-side up.  Place your sandwich in the the fry pan and cover with lid.  {I always start with the cheese closest to the pan.  This will help make sure your cheese melts and your sandwich is nice a gooey inside.}  After a few minutes, turn sandwich and brown on the other side.  Cover with lid.  Once browned, let sit for a minute or 2 before slicing to let your cheese set up just a bit.

Serve hot with chips, crisps, salad, or your favorite sandwich accompaniment.