March 14, 2010
Broccoli Slaw
The snow piles have almost completely disappeared around here thanks to a week of sunshine and near 60 degree temperatures. What remains are a few slushy piles of white along the driveway where, less than a few weeks ago, mini mountains stood. The result of our snow plow. Our snow plow team, rather, known as Kyle and trusty sidekick Blue Shovel. They moved a lot of snow this year. Up and out by 5:30 am to make way for cars and early commutes to work. Working under the light of street lamps until 8 pm after a long day at the office, zigzagging back and forth across the drive in an attempt to make the following morning’s plow a little easier. Believe me, I offered to help. But to no avail. Kyle is a gentleman, through and through, and wouldn’t have me hauling snow. (After ten years he still insists on opening car doors for me. I’m a lucky girl.) And, on multiple occasions (read: daily) I insisted hiring a plow service would be worth its weight in gold. Again, to no avail. Kyle is a sucker for physical labor. He thrives on it and argues that as long as he is young and able enough to do it, he will. And that’s that.
We are both relieved to kiss the snow piles goodbye (fingers crossed we’ve seen the last of them). Though I’d argue this is the worst part of Winter’s end and Spring’s beginning. Happy as I am to see it melt, I’m not crazy about what the sparkling white snow leaves behind. Gray grass. Brown mud. Murky puddles. Crayola could name a really ugly brownish-grayish-blahish crayon color “March in Ohio”. Needless to say I’ve been craving a little bright green in my life. Enter Broccoli Slaw.
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March 8, 2010
Roasted Beet and Carrot Salad with Watercress
I am a salad person. A vegetable devotee. A greens munching, carrot chomping, beet roasting enthusiast. An addict. Our vegetable drawer gets more action than fruit and dairy combined. I spend a ridiculous amount of time in the produce section, pondering the peppers and tubers and brassicas. I’m the person you want to run over with your cart because I’ve parked in front of the green leaf lettuce and romaine, searching for the best looking bundle. Yes, I’m that person. My crazy affinity for all things vegetable may be pushing the limits of social acceptance. Lunch is usually a head turning Tupperware of leafy greens. Head turning because people are in awe of its sheer size, not because they are necessarily pining for its contents.
That….is your lunch? Do you have to take, like, 4 beano or something?
Um, no, but thanks for your concern.
But over the past couple of months, green leafy salads have been MIA from the lunch hour. My trusty Tupperware containers sit idle. The vegetable drawer is wondering if it will ever see the likes of spring greens or spinach again. Over the course of a drawn-out-waaaayyy-too long winter, leafy lunchtime fare has been replaced with soups and heated leftovers, toast with peanut butter and oatmeal. Desperate as I am for springtime eats, my cold salad cravings remain dormant so long as snow piles abound. That is to say until I met this salad last week. A transitional salad, if you will. Part crisp and cool, part roasted and room temperature, this salad was made for March in the Midwest when Mother Nature is an evil flip-flopper.
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March 5, 2010
Red Lentil Soup
I’m considering renaming this blog ‘for the love of lentils’ or ‘the sentimental lentil’. Have you caught on to my mild obsession with this legume?
The past few sunny days we’ve been enjoying suggest that Spring weather might actually make an appearance before May (details on the exact date and time are forthcoming; Mother Nature is all about the element of surprise this year). But, alas, Winter still reigns which means soup is still on the menu. You won’t hear me complaining, especially when it comes to this red lentil soup. Kyle and I used to enjoy something very similar at a tiny Middle Eastern restaurant in Chicago. It was always served before the main course in a small white bowl with a generous wedge of lemon. While all of the food was authentic and fantastic, the soup won me over every time. Before finishing school and moving back to Cleveland, we asked The Nile’s ever gracious owner about the secret to his soup. He claimed there was really no exact recipe (which I took to mean he wasn’t disclosing the family secret), just a sauté of aromatics blended with stock, red lentils, turmeric and lemon (if my memory serves me correct). While this version isn’t The Nile’s, it’s pretty close and takes me back to my favorite college days.
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February 27, 2010
Baked Eggs in Tomato-Parmesan Sauce
March appears to be working its way into 2010 like a blustery, snow blowing, hail throwing, sleet casting helluva lion. But that’s okay. Really. Because even if next month brings more snow, sleet, ice and cold, we’ve made it to March. And after March comes April and, well, need I say more? It’s all down hill from there. In the Midwest/Great Lakes region we can get ready for asparagus and spinach, then cherries and berries. Before you know it, we’ll be stuffing our faces with sweet corn, vine-ripe tomatoes and all the zucchini we can handle.
So while we hunker down to wait out the last(!) weeks of this winter weather, we’ll keep warm with another batch of this soup and this bake and these eggs. These eggs which are perfect for any time of day, are easily prepped ahead of time and cost mere pennies (ok, I can’t validate this, but it’s an inexpensive dish). These eggs which bake until just set in a simple tomato sauce spiked with garlic and rosemary and Parmesan. These eggs which pair perfectly with some hearty whole grain toast or crusty garlic bread for dipping and mopping. These eggs which, when enjoyed while cozied in your favorite corner of the couch, make watching the last of the snow drifts and swirls a bit more bearable. Bring it, March.
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February 8, 2010
Red Quinoa with Broccoli Rabe
I won’t pretend that red quinoa salads have been regularly scheduled eats in my house. But one of many things I’ve learned during my limited experience as a blogger of food jargon is this: Trying new things is good and fun. Trying new things keeps it interesting for blogger and readers alike. Trying new things means we’re not eating salads comprised only of spinach, or pasta or lentils and a random assortment of standard produce section staples. And while I don’t foresee ever tiring of big green salads with all of the fixings and simple vinaigrettes, I definitely welcome this breath of fresh air. This new take on greens and grains. This roving of less-familiar-but-oh-so-delicious-where-have-you-been-all-my-life territory. It is a new decade after all (This has become my overused catch-all phrase to justify change. I fear it may be losing its effect). And, having salivated over images of this and this, I couldn’t waste any more time.
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