One of the easiest and healthiest sides I regularly make is the baked kale from Michael Pollan's salmon recipe on Martha Stewart. Once you've got your oven pre-heated, it takes no more than ten minutes to prepare and cook. I like sprinkling some paprika on the leaves before baking. These turn out so crispy, they taste almost fried, like delicate chips.
I'm craving a quick meal after a long day so I grab a pack of frozen half-shell mussels from the freezer (yes, I keep emergency mussels on hand). White sauce--sautee onions and mushrooms with a little butter, throw in white wine, chicken broth, fresh dill and spinach. Serve with toasted garlic bread.
Everyone has makes their own version of guacamole, with variations on tomatos, cilantro, onions, etc. My version (I like it somewhat chunky) is as follows:
- rough ratio of 3/4 chopped avocado to 1/4 seeded roma tomatos
- finely chopped green onion (adjust to taste)
- equal parts cayenne pepper and cumin (adjust to taste)
- dash of salt and black pepper
- squirt of lemon or lime juice
Mash all together in a bowl with a fork. I prefer green onion because it's milder tasting, and no cilantro either, because I hate cilantro.
Stuff on toast is the best. Fried some sausage, and with the bit of grease left in the pan, I threw in a handful of baby spinach (just the amount I needed to get rid of in my fridge), and a loosely beaten egg with some salt and pepper. Top the mix onto some pieces of toasted garlic-buttered rosemary & garlic bread.
Yum, two of my favorite things, now in a sandwich. I made David Leite's asparagus and proscuitto tea sandwich today, using garlic & herbs cream cheese instead of just plain whipped cream cheese. For the bread, I used two generous slices of Pan e Formaggio's Rosemary and Garlic. The sandwich was good, with a nice crunch from the asparagus. After I finished it, I had the wicked idea of frying the proscuitto-wrapped spears next time, before sandwiching them.
Hooray for these extra long weekends, because I can't stop. Especially when it comes to making full use of the ingredients I have on hand. Today, I layered asparagus stems along the bottom with proscuitto and parmesan, saving the spears to partially fence the outer rim. More parmesan on top. The possibilities are endless--I'm already looking forward to next weekend, when I can throw in some mushrooms and cream, or salami and basil!
Hooray for long weekends! Breakfast today consisted of eggs, tomato, spinach and proscuitto baked in ramekins. You can get the recipe here. I also had my usual big cup of coffee (with lots of cream), toast, and a sliced anjou pear.
Mmmm, this is why I love autumn--it's soup season! Last week, I made French onion soup one night, spending over an hour caramelizing two yellow onions in butter. There's not too much more to it other than all natural low-sodium beef stock, a dash of thyme, pepper, and some toasted Gruyere croutons (actually loaf ends). I had it with some extra bread and a basic green salad with balsamic dressing.
For dinner tonight, I sauteed some chard with a clove of crushed garlic in olive oil. Tossed it into a bowl of fluffy quinoa with a handful of dried cranberries. Salt, pepper, eat.
Lazy rainy day morning breakfast...scrambled eggs on buttered toast. Cup of coffee, bowl of cereal, and my news feeds.
