Roasted Cauliflower with Breadcrumbs

I love when mistakes work out really well...

The other night, while Jordan was cooking the main meal, i was put in charge of vegetables.  I'd seen a recipe (another martha recipe...) for pasta with roasted cauliflower earlier in the week and it had kinda stuck in my head.  I'd suggested it for dinner, but we both decided it sounded a little bland, so we picked something else instead, but decided to roast the cauliflower as a side.

So you already know we cook in a teeny, tiny, cramped kitchen, but on this particular night, we were also juggling 6 loads of laundry...  and therefore, trying to time dinner just right to be able to move the laundry over to the dryer in time to be able to let it dry all the way before they locked up the laundry room.  (oh, did you think we had our own washer/dryer?  hahahahaha)

Why am i telling you the boring details of our day-to-day domestic life?  because hopefully you can see where this is going...  not enough space, not enough time, too much pressure...  it leads to mistakes...

So i get the cauliflower all ready - salt, pepper, onions, garlic all on the baking sheet and into the oven.

and just as its time to run downstairs to change that laundry over, i think, let me mix the cauliflower around once...  and i open the oven and realize, i never put the olive oil on it!

oh crap.

but i figured i'd try to salvage it so i poured some oil over it, tossed it all around and put it back in the oven.

and it worked.

not only did it work, but the next night, i tried to make it again, only this time without the mistake, and lest you think I'm making this story up to make myself sound like i've made something new thats really just totally basic, i'll have you know, from now on, i'm using method #1 - mistake style.

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Roasted Cauliflower with Breadcrumbs
courtesy of me

~ 2 large slices semi-stale bread (I had made bread in the breadmaker earlier in the week and 2 thick pieces of that worked really really well)

1 head cauliflower, rinsed and cut into florets
1 red onion, cut in slices
4 - 5 cloves garlic, slightly smashed and cut in half
salt
pepper

2 tbsp olive oil

***

Preheat oven to 300°

Tear bread into small pieces and then, using a food processor or minichopper, process until you have crumbs.
Spread on a foil-covered baking sheet and toast ~ 15 mins, tossing frequently.  When done, crumbs will be crunchy and smell, well, toasty.  Set aside.

Turn oven up to 475°
Toss cauliflower, onion & garlic on foil covered baking sheet (feel free to use the same one from above)
Salt & Pepper according to your personal taste.

Place in the oven for ~ 8 minutes.

Carefully pull the sheet out of the oven, toss cauliflower/onion/garlic to ensure no pieces are stuck to the sheet & drizzle about 2 tbsp olive oil over the top.

Toss again and return to the oven.

Roast for another ~15 minutes, tossing once.

While still hot, transfer to individual plates and sprinkle generously with bread crumbs.

Three Bean Salad

Courtesy of someone else's grandma this time...

Last week, part of our CSA share was pole beans. I expected pole beans to be like string beans so when i got to CSA and they looked like this:

(image courtesy of www.fooduniversity.com)

I was a bit surprised.

And had no idea what to do with them...  then i googled and was totally unexcited about using them, as most of the links i read told me that they were fiberous and needed a lot of cooking to be edible.  (spoiler alert:  those links were WRONG!  the pole beans were my favorite part of this salad...)

that didnt really sound fun, so i put them aside and hoped for a miracle use to fall into my lap...  (given my 'use it all resolve'...)

Then this past week, we got some string beans and some more favas.  and frankly, i was sick of favas with pasta so i started asking around...  and found out that fellow core member michelle had a great idea - bean salad...

So i asked her more about this bean salad...  she had taken her favas (last week featured favas as well) and her pole beans and some other beans she had at home and made a 3 bean salad...

I was intruiged and, frankly, pretty excited to use 3 CSA ingredients all at once!  So i looked it up - and had no idea what to do...

a quick email and she gave up her grandma's recipe for bean salad...  i didnt even have to bribe her...

We made a few adaptations based on her recommendations and the ingredients we had on hand and, oh, would you look at that?  Miracle use for pole beans AND 4 csa ingredients in one dish.

hell yeah.

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Three Bean Salad
courtesy of Michelle's grandma with adaptations by me


1 lb fava beans, shelled & blanched
3/4 lbs string beans, cut into 1-2" segments
1/2 lb pole beans, cut into 1-2" segments

1/4 c sugar
1/4 c olive oil
1/3 c red wine vinegar
1 head spring garlic, minced super-fine
salt
pepper

***

Boil a pot of salted water
Once boiling, throw pole beans in.
Allow to cook ~ 3 minutes.

Then throw string beans in with them.
Cook ~ 5 minutes

Then throw prepared favas in with them
Cook ~ 1 more minute.

Drain & run under cold water to stop the beans from cooking.

Whisk sugar, vinegar, olive oil and garlic together.

Once beans are cool, toss dressing with beans, add salt & pepper to taste and serve
*Or*
Refrigerate and allow to 'marinate' for an hour or more & serve cold.

my version of a mashup

it occured to me the other day that part of the reason i've been so bad about using my CSA stuff this year is partially due to the fact that i am rarely the one going to the site and picking the share up anymore, as the meat-eater has largely taken on that role as of late... that means that i'm not there hearing other people's ideas or being inspired by the sights and smells... instead, i come home and find a fridge full of plastic bags - which doesnt hold the same inspiration that cases of fresh produce do...

therefore, in an effort to be better, i've started keeping a little post-it with the share contents on my desktop at work... hoping that it will inspire me... and it finally worked...

last night, before i left work i called the meat-eater to ask what we'd be doing for dinner... we knew there was guacamole in the cards but what else? leftovers? bah. salad? bah. i finally suggested stuffed zucchini and while the meat-eater was less than enthused, he agreed...

so i scoured the internet for some options... many included beef which just wasnt happening. others included boring, which just wasnt happening either... so i did what i like to do best - found a couple recipes that sounded good and mash them all up into one... and cross my fingers...

the night was almost derailed by the distinct lack of onions in the house but thankfully the M-E was willing to run out and procure one and thus, dinner was saved! i guess thats why i'm marrying him - cause he always saves the day!

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Stuffed Zucchini
courtesy of me

1/3 of a baguette

1 tbsp butter
3/4 c couscous
1 1/8 c vegetable broth (or water + bouillon)

2 medium/large zucchini, halved
2 small zucchini, cut into pieces
1/2 of a medium sized red onion
3 small carrots, cut into dice-sided pieces
4 c loosely packed spinach
1 egg, lightly beaten
4-6 oz medium cheddar, half shredded and half diced


Preheat oven to 325°

Prepare baguettes to be used in stuffing:

• Slice baguette into rounds, no bigger than 1" thick.
• Arrange on cookie sheet and place in the oven ~ 15 minutes, or until dried/crisp (but not browned).
• Set aside & raise oven temp to 400°

Prepare couscous (using the Mark Bittman method):

• heat 1 tbsp butter over med heat.
• when butter is melted, add couscous, stir, and 'toast' for ~ 1-2 minutes, until fragrant.
• Add broth and bring to a boil.
• Once broth is boiling, remove from heat and cover and let sit for ~6 minutes or more.
• Fluff with fork & set aside.

Prepare Zucchini shells:

• Slice large zucchini in half, brush cut side with olive oil & place, cut side down, on cookie sheet (line with aluminum or parchment for easier cleanup)
• Place in oven ~15 minutes or until zucchini is soft
• When zucchini is done, remove from oven and scoop out the insides - including juices - (just leave little 'shells') and set aside.
• Reduce oven temp to 350°

Prepare stuffing:

• Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a large frying pan over med heat.
• Add onions & carrots, stirring and cooking until onions are transparent ~ 5 mins
• Add cut up zucchini & keep cooking.
• Add the zucchini that was scooped out of the shells
• Tear the crispy baguette into stuffing sized pieces and add 1 c to the pan.
• Add spinach, in batches, and wilt.
• Add ~ 1/3 to 1/2 c of cooked couscous
• Remove from heat.
• Add diced cheese + 1/2 of the shredded cheese and stir until the shredded cheese has melted.
• Allow to cool a bit and then add the egg, stirring to ensure that egg does not 'cook' in the pan.

Divide stuffing between the 4 zucchini shells. Arrange shells on cookie sheet, stuffing side up. Top with remaining shredded cheese. If there is any leftover stuffing, you can cook it right on the cookie sheet, next to the zucchinis, and serve over the remaining couscous.

Place back in the oven for ~20 minutes, or until cheese is melty and stuffing is firm. Serve warm.

because quiche is totally easier than grilled cheese

Last October i spent a considerable amount of time down with the family in Charlotte, NC... one of the days i was there, we headed out to a cute little cafe down in Davidson for lunch... a couple of us ordered sandwiches and two ordered quiche... when lunch seemed to be taking forever, someone remarked that someone 'had to go and order the quiche...' which caused me to comment back - 'quiche is easier than grilled cheese'...

hilarity ensued, as my family in no way believed that quiche was easier than grilled cheese... my take? sure, it may take longer to cook but i honestly believe that, if made using the simple ingredients found in the quiche they had ordered, it was less hands-on time-intensive... their take? "you think everything is easy..."

of course i was HELL BENT on proving them wrong and proving just how easy quiche could be... and i did. sure, we went the easy route - premade pie crust & pre-shredded cheese, but my claim of no more than 10 minutes hands on time proved to be pretty much on target - i think i had it in the oven in 7...

all that said? this isnt that quiche... this is typical 'me' food - meaning i take what starts off as an easy dinner and complicate it slightly... but i still maintain that quiche is easy to make - and hard to mess up...

I invented this combination last night due to the fact that, as a result of an insane schedule, the boyfriend (soon to be guest blogger) has been cooking for me nearly every single night and i really wanted to cook something good for him for once... but needed it to be fairly quick as that insane schedule will be raging on for at least another few weeks...

given that i had no idea what i was really putting together, i was pleasantly surprised by the results... and glad that i have this blog as a place to record the process as otherwise i never would be able to replicate it again...

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Confetti Quiche
Courtesy of me

1 par baked pie crust (~10 mins on 350° should suffice)
2 c shredded emmenthaler, divided

2 tbsp butter
2 shallots, diced

3 c loosely packed baby spinach

1 tbsp flour
2 plum tomatoes, insides removed and diced
1 small can no-salt corn (drained)

4 eggs
1 c half & half

salt, pepper, nutmeg

***

Preheat oven to 350°

Line pie crust with 1 c of the shredded emmenthaler and set aside

over medium heat, saute shallots in butter for about 4 minutes
add spinach and continue cooking until wilted.
turn off heat and stir in flour, tomatoes & corn

Spread mixture onto the emmentaler-lined pie crust. Sprinkle with nutmeg, if desired

In a separate bowl, mix eggs and half & half with a couple dashes of salt & pepper
Pour egg mixture into the pie crust (over the vegetable mixture)
top with remaining emmenthaler
top that with a couple dashes of salt, pepper and nutmeg, if desired

Bake at 350° for ~35 minutes
Allow to sit for 5 minutes and then serve

i *heart* fall

and i'm back... and i've figured it out - why i havent posted much, that is...

because honestly, summer food is BO-RING. i mean, i can only saute so many squash. make so many salads. eat so many pots of yogurt and granola.

its not rocket science - its nothing you need me to remind you or tell you how to do. its totally pointless to post about it. (yes, i am WELL aware that most of this blog isnt rocket science but at least the non-tongue-in-cheek posts are mostly things you wouldnt necessarily think of...) of course, my mom & sister seem to disagree - they think that my answer for everything is "oh, its really eaasy... you just........"

in fact, we had an argument - nearly came to blows - over the fact that i said that quiche is no more difficult to make - perhaps even easier (provided that you are using premade crust) than grilled cheese. longer to cook? yes. harder? not really.
i'll have you know - i won. My mom has made quiche like 3 times since i left NC.

ANYWAY - that all has absolutely 200% nothing to do with the recipe i want to share...

so, remember that whole CSA thing? i'm ashamed to say that LOTS of food went bad. a frighteningly huge amount. so much so that i wasnt even sure that i was going to rejoin for the winter share until i found myself in the core group... and figured the winter is only once per month anyway, so...

thats a long way to tell you that i'm glad that i did, because i *heart* root vegetables. (and wintertime should be full of them) nothing better. love them to death. so while you can all have your fresh peppers and tomatoes and all of that? give me some beets. or some turnips. or or or...
the final CSA pickup for the year included more of the usual - green tomatoes, garlic, greens... but it also had some big-ass carrots and some white turnips. and i dont know where the wild hair up my ass came from, but last night, i just HAD TO HAVE carrots and turnips...

lucky for me, i stumbled upon this page and immediately knew what i'd be making... a few tweaks but wow - one of the best things i've made in a while...

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Honey glazed turnips & carrots
inspired by the above link, but courtesy of me


1 lb white turnips, peeled and cut into just larger than dice-sized cubes
1 lb carrots, peeled and cut into dice sized cubes
1 1/2 tablespoons butter
2/3 cup vegetable broth
1 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon lemon-pepper
1 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

1 1/2 tablespoons wildflower honey (or can use any kind you have)



In a large nonstick skillet with a cover, melt the butter on medium

Add the turnips and carrots, stirring to coat, then let cook undisturbed for 4 minutes.

Stir again, let cook another 4 minutes.

Meanwhile, mix the broth, the brown sugar, the lemon-pepper and the lemon juice together.

Add the broth mixture and cover, reduce heat to medium low and simmer about 8 minutes.

Uncover, add the honey, stir to incorporate and then increase heat to high, allowing liquid to cook down while stirring frequently to avoid burning. The liquid will finally get to a point where, if pulled away from a section of the pan, it doesnt immediate return there... That is when you know you've cooked it down far enough. (took nearly 10 minutes for me!?!)

Spoon out and serve immediately, pouring any remaining liquid over top.

ideas instead of recipes

Let's face it - a lot of what i post isnt exactly rocket science.

this is even less so... Over the summer, i've made quite a few things and the problem is, if i dont blog them right away, i dont really remember the recipe. sure they were written down once, but if you ever saw my apartment, you'd know that its like the black hole and things disappear in there all the time. (case in point, my little friend the fieldmouse. i havent seen him in over 2 weeks but i have this sneaking suspicion he's still there. Though i have no idea how he hasnt starved to death yet - i've been vigilant about not leaving any food accessable - anywhere... if the stupid thing would've fall for my homemade humane trap he'd be happily playing in the park right now, but noooooo....)

Anyway, what does that mean for you? it means i've made lots of stuff, taken lots of pictures, but now only have a vague recollection of what's in them (or at least of the measurements). therefore, below is a collection of pictures and some approximations of what may be included... I hope they'll at least give you some ideas... cause sometimes just having an idea, but not a whole recipe, is the most fun way to cook anyway...

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Grandma J's cucumber salad (this grandma hated to cook. the italian one loves it. yet Grandma J's recipes have made this blog 3 times now. go figure.)
1 large cucumber, 1.5 tbsp mayo, 1.5 tsp chopped dill, salt & pepper to taste

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White Bean & Zucchini Salad -
basically taken from Martha, but used carrots instead of green beans cause thats what showed at CSA pickup up that particular week...

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Stuffed Pattypan Squash
compiled from the results of this google search

I know there's squash, probably carrots, onions, maybe garlic, definintely panko and parmesan... pine nuts and probably some other kind of cheese or maybe an egg? cant remember, but run that google search and you can come up with your own version...

the basics are boil the squash for about 10 minutes until its easy to pierce with a fork, hollow it out, mash the innards around with your other ingredients, restuff it all and throw it in the oven for like, 20 minutes on 375° or so...

get the cheese...

i've learned a very important piece of information... the best part of a CSA is the 'additional items'... to join, one always has to opt for a veggie share but beyond that, you are free to add on or not add on... some of the things available from the Columbus Circle CSA are fruit, milk, eggs, honey, yogurt, cheese and some kinds of meat... when i signed up, i opted for vegetables, eggs every other week and honey 3times during the season... what i've since learned is GET THE CHEESE...

one of the benefits of volunteering to work a closing time is if there is a lot left over, you might get to take a little extra... through the miracle that is people being on vacation and therefore not picking up their stuff, i got to take home some extra produce and a small milk and a cheese... i was most excited about the cheese...

cut it open as soon as i got home and for some reason, was inspired to make an all-CSA salad because as good as the cheese was, for some reason i just kinda knew it would be best eaten in a salad. which is weird, i know, but it was true... it kinda rocked.

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All-CSA Salad
courtesy of the inspiration of the cheese

2 cups baby greens
1 hard boiled egg, chopped up
6 cherry tomatoes, halved
1/3 of a purple pepper cut into small pieces
2 carrots cut into small pieces
2 - 3 oz medium cheddar cut into small cubes

oil & raspberry vinager
salt & pepper

the directions are difficult... mix and enjoy

make this now

I'm skipping the backlog and i'm not waiting for a cute story to come to me.

why? because corn season is going to be over and if i procrastinate, you will lose out on this one... Generally mexican corn is grilled, however, in this little apartment of mine, there is no grill, so i had to improvise...

I've had corn and guacamole for dinner 3 of the last 7 nights. if that doesnt say something about what i think of these two recipes, i dont know what possibly could.

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Ungrilled Mexican Corn and Guacamole
corn courtesy of me and guac adapted from Simply Recipes

Ungrilled Mexican Corn
1 ear fresh corn
1 tsp butter
1 tbsp mayonaise
1/4 tsp chipotle chili powder
1 tbsp cotija cheese
juice from 1/2 of a lime
sea salt
pepper

Boil water for corn
Remove husks, etc from
Once water boils, boil for 5 minutes

While boiling, mix mayo, chili powder and lime juice together

When corn is done, lightly butter and then brush with the mayo mixture
sprinkle with salt and pepper
crumble up cheese and sprinkle over the top


Guacamole
1 avocado
1/4 c red onion - diced
1/2 of a med sized jalepeno pepper
1 - 2 tablespoons cilantro leaves, finely chopped
lime juice from 1/2 of a lime
sea salt
pepper
1/2 plum tomato, seeds and 'gel' removed, diced
Blue corn chips for serving


cut avocado and remove the good stuff into a bowl.
mash a bit
mix in onion, jalepeno, cilantro & lime juice
salt & pepper to taste
just before serving, add tomatoes and mix but not so much as to mash the tomatoes
serve with blue corn chips

as fast as the chickens can lay them

welcome to today's installment of 'i'm so far behind in posting things that i'm going for doubles...'.

Today's topic? eggs. specifically, omelette-type dishes... i say omelette-type because while one of these is your traditional fold-it-in-half, the other is more of a fritatta that never made it to the oven... or, to make it sound planned - an open face omelette. or maybe an egg pancake? or, we can call it what it really is - the thing that i made with possibly bad eggs which may or may not have made me sick... no, its not the fault of the recipe or the cooking method - i'm a dumbass who left my eggs out while i passed out asleep on my couch at 830pm. (i know, i know - rockstar... you could never keep up with me...) don't worry, i wouldnt post a recipe that would make you sick. although, in some weird way, it may be funny... lol

ANYWAY... back to eggs... in addition to the veggies (notice how the group vegetable shots have disappeared after only 2 weeks of solid posting???) i also get eggs every other week. and a dozen eggs every other week shouldnt be difficult to use up, but somehow, it seems that it is... so i jumped in and looked for something to do with them, some of my vegetables and some cheese that may have gone bad if not used (a theme - i like cheese. i buy lots of it. i have lots of cheese ends in my fridge...)

first up, broccoli and comte... traditional fold-it-in-half preparation... (broccoli and eggs both from CSA) i like my eggs well cooked (some call this overcooked, i call it notindangerofchirping), so i tend to cook both sides, but if you prefer loose prep eggs, you dont have to... it takes a lot less skill if you dont have to flip half cooked eggs, btw...



second up, zucchini, carrot, spring onion and cantal cheese... (zucchini, onion and eggs all from CSA) this time, loaded with julienned zucchini and carrots (did i mention that i bought a cheapo mandolin??? oh yeah, vidalia slice wizard!)



both have an added bonus - they also used the garlic scape herb butter in the preparation! adding a nice little herby twist to the whole thing...

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Broccoli-Comte Herbed Omelette
courtesy of me

generous spoonful of garlic herb butter
2 eggs, whisked
about 3/4 c broccoli florets, cut into small pieces
about 1/4 c diced comte cheese
salt & pepper


prehead the garlic herb butter on a big, flat non-stick skillet over medium heat.
when its gets fairly hot, pour the eggs on the skillet and immediately rotate inorder to use up all surface space for egg-cooking.
*if desired, allow to cook for a minute or two and then carefully flip the whole thing.*
if not flipping, cook for about 1 - 2 minutes, depending on thickness of your eggs and your preferred omelette preparation.

either way, top half of the eggs with broccoli and cheese as well as a little salt & pepper.
fold omelette in half and allow to cook until cheese looks a bit melty and broccoli is bright green.

salt & pepper to taste.

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Open-faced Zucchini & Carrot Omelette/Pancake
courtesy of me

generous spoonful of garlic herb butter
2 eggs
one small zucchini, julienned
one carrot, julienned (or a handful of pre-shredded carrots)
1/2 of a small spring onion
1/4 c diced cantal cheese, pieces only slightly larger than a pencil eraser
salt and pepper


place butter in skillet over medium heat

while preheating the pan, mix 2 eggs, zucchini, carrots and onion. mixture should seem like vegetables outnumber the eggs, almost like the egg is just coating the veggies.

when skillet is ready, pour mixture into it, this time, not rotating the pan to spread, rather allowing to form a 'pancake'. allow to cook for a couple of minutes.

When it appears cooked enough to flip without breaking, flip it over.
Immediately place cheese on the now-partially cooked side, turn the heat down slightly, and allow eggs to finish cooking while the cheese melts.

Cook to your desired 'doneness'.

salt & pepper to taste.