A Weeknight Dinner

I've gradually gotten back into cooking, first in my trusty office chair, then standing on one leg, and now, finally, I'm back on my two feet! Hubband and I worked together to make this a few weeks ago, while I was still on one leg. He made it possible for us to eat outside in the garden, which was a huge treat for me, having been stuck in the house so long! 

We shared one of the thick NY Strips that I butchered up and individually froze; Hubband grilled it after we concocted a dry rub of sea salt, freshly ground black pepper, cumin, clove, chili powder, and cayenne. The rub turned into a flavorful crust after a meeting with the grill, and I sliced it and laid it alongside some simply roasted Brussels sprouts (olive oil, salt, and pepper) and our surprise side of the night. I don't even know what to call it, but it really ended up being the star of the dinner! I thinly sliced a yellow onion and caramelized it along with two zucchini that needed to be used up. When they were soft and browned, I added a minced garlic clove, a tiny minced jalapeno from our garden, fresh thyme, and a half can of creamed corn leftover from corn muffins, then finished with a little butter and pepper. The corn added wonderful sweetness that played with the caramelized vegetables, but the little hint of garlic and spice kept a great balance.

It was a great weeknight dinner!

Zucchini-Onion Side Dish

Not only does this dish lack a snazzy name, I don't have an exact recipe, as this was yet another case of me making something up on the fly with whatever I had. This should be close enough. 

1 med. yellow onion, peeled and thinly sliced

2 med. zucchini, thinly sliced width-wise

1 tsp minced garlic

1 tsp minced jalapeno, seeds and rib removed

1 tsp fresh thyme leaves

1/2 can of creamed corn

1 Tb butter, unsalted

salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. 

Place a large skillet over medium heat. When hot, spray with a little nonstick spray or add about 1 Tb olive oil, and add onions. When they are translucent and beginning to brown around the edges, add the zucchini slices. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until onions and zucchini are both deeply browned and limp. Add garlic, jalapeno, and thyme leaves and stir until fragrant. Add creamed corn and heat through, then stir in butter to finish. Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper to taste. 

Simple Things

There's too much controversy right now. This election has brought out the best, and the worst, in so many people. The best, because voter turnout is expected to be the highest it's been in years. The worst, because of the mud-slinging, the confrontations... even in my friendly little town, political yard signs are being ripped out and tossed around in the night. I am not a confrontational person. I like it when the course is smooth, when everyone can come to a compromise. These turbulent times tire me. Do I have a candidate? Yes. Do I plan on voting this afternoon? Yes. Do I feel the need to share my political views and reasonings with you and argue if yours aren't the same? No. 

I can't wait for this election to be over. Why? Is it because I want to know if my candidate will win? No. Well, yes, but that's not the real reason. I want this election to be over because I am tired of all the repetition! I'm tired of seeing the same election commercials over and over.  (Thank goodness for DVR's!) I'm tired of seeing the predictions on my homepage when all I want is my email. I'm tired of the fliers (waste of paper and postage), the radio ads and opinions, the analysis, the t-shirts, the celebrity endorsements...I'm tired of hearing and seeing the same things every day, all day. Repetition is bad for me. I don't like repeating myself more than twice, I don't like being told something more than once, and I don't like seeing the same two faces/slogans plastered on every media outlet, lawn sign, and chest that I pass. I'm so done. 

In this mildly grumpy spirit, I made myself a breakfast that I AM willing to repeat, even though it is nothing fancy. Warm, tasty, blanketed with cheese and crunchy with broccoli, it's my old homey standby, eggs, again. 

Pretty? No. But today, when I'm preparing myself to wait in line for two hours to vote, when the sky is grey and cheerless outside, I wanted something good in my tummy. 

Crisp but tender sauteed broccoli, sweet cherry tomatoes, and pungent green onions, scrambled with two eggs and gently draped in Muenster cheese, topped with fresh black pepper and crunchy crystals of grey salt. I love the different textures, the fresh flavors of the vegetables with the mild cheese (a childhood deli favorite). 

Do you need a recipe? No. You probably already make something similar, but I wanted to share my comfort with you on a turbulent day. 

Keeping It Cool

A few weeks ago we went to dinner at a local Greek restaurant with good friends T. and J. The restaurant was insane; the loudest place I have ever tried to eat in, with servers throwing napkins everywhere and belly dancers sidling up to, and sometimes on top of, tables. Needless to say, it was a good time. Another plus? The sangria was excellent. We had hummus, Tzatziki, and Saginaki, a flaming dish of broiled salty cheese, for starters. We followed with various entrees, mine being a lamb kebob. I enjoyed the oregano and lemon on the meat, and put it on my mental list of flavors to play with at home. The Tzatziki, a combination of thick yogurt, cucumber, and dill, reminded me of a simple cucumber salad I used to make, which was just sliced cucumbers, sour cream, and dill. I added it to my mental list as well. 

Florida is hot in August. I may have mentioned this before. It's most likely something you could have guessed on your own. Still, it provides motivation to look for meals that aren't going to completely negate the effects of air conditioning. On a scorcher of a day recently, I decided not to turn on the stove at all, and turned to those refreshing Greek flavors to make a simple grilled dinner a little more interesting. I mixed chopped oregano with lemon zest, minced garlic, salt, and pepper and rubbed it beneath the skin of a chicken, letting it marinate for an hour or so. I made a simple oregano-infused oil to brush on the vegetables, and mixed up some Tzatziki for dipping. The chicken went on the rotisserie attachment to the grill, the veggies beneath, and the Tzatziki came together in about 5 minutes. It was a great summer evening dinner.

Tzatziki 

Greek yogurt is getting easier to find, but if you can't, it is possible to use regular yogurt. Be sure it doesn't have any added stabilizers like food starch, gelatin, or gums. Line a strainer with a few coffee filters and put 2 cups of regular yogurt in it. Set the strainer into a deep bowl that will allow drained liquid to sit without touching the strainer. Cover the setup tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate 10-12 hours, or until about a cup of liquid has drained out of the yogurt. 

Feel free to add more or less dill to your taste. I find it to be a very strong herb.

I use 'English' cucumbers, which have fewer seeds and thinner skins. If you have a regular cucumber, you may wish to peel the thick waxy skin.

1 medium cucumber, halved and seeded

1 C plain whole-milk Greek or Greek-style yogurt

2 Tb olive oil

1 Tb + 1 Tsp chopped dill leaves (try mint for a change)

2 Tb lemon juice

1 clove garlic, minced 

Salt and pepper, to taste

Shred the cucumber on the large holes of a box grater. Whisk together the yogurt, olive oil, dill, lemon juice, garlic, and salt and pepper. Mix in cucumbers. Check for seasoning, adding more salt, pepper, dill, or lemon as you like. Serve chilled. 

Free-Form Food

When I was younger, I liked to watch my mother cook. My favorite spot to watch from was a bend in the counter. I sat there, on the counter, taking up precious work space and swinging my feet into the lower cabinet when something was interesting. Why always the corner area on the counter? I don't know. My sister, my mom and I all still like to sit in the counter-corners in our respective kitchens. Sitting on the counter gave me an excellent view of everything going on. I could see into the pots, watching the sauce burble and bubble away happily. I could watch my mom cutting ingredients or opening things. I could sniff each seasoning as she put it into the pan. I loved those times, and I know that those hours spent on the counter are the times that this love affair with good food began. I don't remember Mom cooking from a book too often. She used them for baking, when exact measurements are needed, and she did have a little box of index cards, and although she would take out a card for a dish, she usually didn't look at it very much. She seemed to cook by memory and by taste, by look and feel. Maybe she would dispute my childish memory, but to me, Mom just knew that this needed a little more garlic, and that needed 2 more minutes. 

As I grew older, I began making what I called 'experimental food'. No recipes, no rules. Sometimes they were versions of dishes described on television, sometimes they were a thought as nebulous as "Well, ham and cheese sandwiches are good...how can I put together ham and make the cheese sort of saucy and I like broccoli with cheese sauce too, so I'll put that in..." Some of those dishes turned out much better than I expected, and of course some were just a learning experience. One has even evolved over time into my signature soup recipe. 

These days, I've got more confidence, and I no longer feel the need to add the warning label of "experimental" to my recipe-less creations. Occasionally though, I do still label something as a 'fridge-cleaner'. Fridge-cleaners are recipes that can be twisted and turned to fit anything that's lying around in that crisper drawer or languishing in the freezer. This pasta can take any vegetable you throw at it. Here's what I used the other night: 

I sauteed some pancetta that was hiding in the freezer, chopped asparagus, broccoli, red bell peppers, and cremini mushrooms, and julienned some zucchini. Lots of yellow onion was already caramelizing on the stove as I took this photo. With some tiny tomatoes and fresh basil from our patio garden, I had the makings of a great fridge-cleaning comfort meal. I must confess, though: our fridge didn't really need cleaning. All of these vegetables were lovely and fresh, and fridge-cleaners are supposed to make greatness out of wilted, neglected veg. Why, then, did I make this dish? Because there was a lot of cutting to be done, and I really, really wanted to use this:
Isn't it gorgeous?! Hubband got me some surprises this week, and this was one of them. It's a Shun Ken Onion Santoku, and let's face it people, this is a sexy knife. It goes through veggies as if they're soft butter, and I just love it. (Yes Mom, I know I'm spoiled. And yes, I enjoy it.) Hubband got me other thoughtful gifts as well: a Santoku sharpener, a second bowl for my stand mixer, some silicone Le Creuset ingredient cups (see top photo), and one other thing that I think I'm going to save for another post. I know, the suspense is murder! After everything was sauteed, mixed with a little olive oil, garlic and chili flakes, tossed with whole-wheat spaghetti, and topped with crunchy sea salt, this is what we had:
It really is an adaptable dish, so I don't think I will put up a recipe. Just take your favorite veggies and saute them, caramelize onions for some sweetness, and mix it all with pasta. I used pancetta this time, I've used a sun-dried tomato-basil chicken sausage in the past, or you don't need any meat at all. Free-form food. Embrace it! 

And in just another example of the circle of life, a few weeks ago Hubband went away on a business trip and Mom came over for dinner and a movie. I made this dish for her, just chucking the ingredients in the pan willy-nilly, spending time with my mom in the kitchen again. This time, she sat on the counter.