the joy of simple roasted root vegetables

i love roasted vegetables all year long, but especially in the cold, early darkness of winter. just turning on the oven to preheat makes the kitchen seem warm and productive. then, just a little chopping, a quick toss with a few generous swirls of olive oil and a cavalier sprinkling of salt and off they go. these could make a meal on their own with just a bit of cous cous on the side, or maybe a side of some terrific hearth bread and marinated goat cheese. traditionally, they make a terrific accompaniment to roasted or grilled meat, or even a simple risotto.

the mix is always slightly different in our house, whatever we have on hand really. this time i used celery root, golden beets, parsnips, sweet potatoes and russet potatoes. however turnips, rutabagas, any of the winter squashes, they all work equally well. be creative here, it's fun to experiment. i like to cut them fairly small, which maximizes the crispy browned edges and makes for quick even cooking times.

roasted root vegetables

preheat oven to 400° Fahrenheit, or if you've got a convection roast setting, 375°

2 sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped

4 parsnips, peeled and chopped

1 celeriac bulb, peeled and chopped

2 golden beets, peeled and chopped

2 russet potatoes, peeled and chopped

couldn't be much simpler really. peel and chop your mix of vegetables. place in a medium size bowl. add several large swirls of olive oil. toss while giving a good dose of sea salt, i am really liking grey sea salt lately. slide into a roasting pan. set in your preheated oven. and forget about them for 30 to 45 minutes, depending on your oven, and your pan and how browned you like them. wonderful. and not just for restaurants. i think roasted vegetables are sadly under-represented in american cookbooks, which makes no sense because they are such a simple wonderful delicious thing to make. enjoy.

kabocha

today's friday photo and harbinger of autumn: the kabocha squash or japanese pumpkin. bright orange flesh, like a butternut, but with a rich creamy chestnut sort of texture. so delicious so many ways. simmered with a dashi-based sauce. roasted. in soba or udon soup. in japan, you can find them atop pastries and desserts and always with the skin intact, the green is so striking with the orange. don't know how i'll be using this one yet, but i am very much looking forward to it. it is great to have new ingredients to play with for inspiration, marvelous these seasons. have a lovely weekend.

vegetable lineup

i worry about the quality of the food we eat. i buy organic food as often as possible. i wont buy milk or mozzerella cheese or root vegetables that arent organic and natural (no preservatives, gums, etc). i do this not because i think this food is perfect and so worth the money. i buy it because it is something i want to support. things done the right way. things done with less chemical interference.  

i am suspicious of chemicals. they have their place of course. but less on my table and in my children. i know we are bombarded with pharmaceuticals in our drinking water and every imaginable pollutant in our air and oceans. but less is more. less is what i want. 

i am serious about putting more green on the table at dinner. at least 7 vegetative items at dinner seems like a good place to start. the meal above had okra, green beans, roasted yukon gold mini potatoes, mache lettuce, carrots, leeks, frisee, radiccio, and some fruit types (with seeds) tomatoes, avocados, cucumbers. the vegetation is the star of the meal. what protein source we serve with it becomes less important. as it turns out we ate all natual air chilled chicken tenders with it. i feel a little guilty about this, but they taste awfully good, like fried chicken without the oil all over my kitchen. anyway i also hope that the farms that grow these organic foods care a little bit too about doing things the way they should be done. with a little more care. i am probably dreaming. but maybe not. anyway. i am trying to influence my family to eat more green in general. 

as luck would have it there was a fun article in the nytimes science section about food influence yesterday. it generally says each household has a food gatekeeper, an influencer. the individual that is doing the cooking matters as does what their food habits are. according to the article, i am definitely the gatekeeper around here. luckily i am vegetable crazed. and when i take the survey to find out what my cooking personality is, i come up as a healthy cook with a generous dose of innovation. phew. right where i want to be. who is the gatekeeper at your house? and what is your cooking personality? take the nytimes survey here.

roasted vegetable gratin and broccoflower pasta

i love roasted veg. this recipe is so easy. 30 minutes for the whole recipe start to finish. i served it with broccoflower pasta, which my family loves. really simple recipes. oh and yes a bit of garlic bread on the side.

roasted eggplant, zucchini, tomato gratin

1 medium eggplant, sliced into thin rounds

2 medium zucchin, sliced into thin rounds

8 smallish tomatoes, seeded and sliced 

1 clove garlic

olive oil

salt pepper

preheat oven to 450 degrees farenheit. rub garlic clove all over oval baking dish, really smash it as you go. put sliced eggplant and zucchini in a medium bowl. toss with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. now arrange veg in pan. i did waves this time. drizzle with a bit more olive oil and salt and pepper. pop the whole thing into the oven. roast for 25 minutes or so. (if you don't overpack your veg into the pan like i did it may be done in 20). ready to serve. now, if you like you can sprinkle with breadcrumbs or parmesan, or parmesan and breadcrumbs and put the whole thing back in the oven under the broiler for a few minutes until nicely browned. easy.

broccoflower pasta

1 head broccoflower, tough stems removed, chopped in 1/2 inch pieces

1 medim onion, chopped

3 tablespoons heavy cream

1/4 cup parmesan cheese

olive oil

1 lb linguini, fettucini or penne

set large pan of water to boil for your pasta noodles and cook according to package directions. i usually use rustichella d'abruzzo spaghetti for this dish. i really like italian pastas. anwyay, set medium pan of water to boil for broccoflower. cook broccoflower in salted water until just tender. drain and reserve. saute chopped onion in a medium pan on medium high until tender (about 4 minutes). add broccoflower and stir around for a minute. add about 3 tablespoons heavy cream. allow to simmer for about 4 more minutes. add parmesan. simmer another 2 minutes. pour over drained pasta and mix around a bit in the pan before serving. this is a rich pasta, but something about the flavors and the way they join in the cooking is really special. broccoli or caulifower would also work quite well here. even savoy cabbage. this meal has a lot of parmesan cheese. really good supply of calcium.

salad days

i know i keep talking about how spring is going to show up any minute. and it is. well it has already shown up in my food preferences. i am wanting lighter food and fresher food and SALAD. i try to squeeze as many vegetables i can into family dinners these days. i am in love with vegetables, i really am. and i really agree with michael pollan that we should "eat food, not too much, mostly plants." an easy way to accomplish this is salad. 

the salad above is the one r and the kids are so in love with lately. they are quite used to my garden salad (avocado, cucumber, leek, cherry tomato etc) and my caesar salad. oh, and i never ever in a million years buy pre made salad dressing. i think it is unnatural. it takes 3 seconds to make your own, mixed just the way you like it, so fresh and lively. light. anyway. the salad above is based on one i happened to eat at sundance resort on a ski trip a few years back. only that one had some dried fruit in it as well. a few dried cherries would be great in here, now that i think about it, and maybe some pumpkin seeds. 

but i digress. the salad. it is a mixed baby lettuce salad (red oak, green oak, mache, baby romaine), with a tiny smidge of fresh dill, red cabbage, green apple and leek. the colors are fun dark purple and bright greens and every shade in between. the dressing is a riff on a simple french vinaigrette with a bit of dijon, and a fruity twist.

vinaigrette dressing with a fruity twist

1 heaping tsp dijon mustard

1 minced shallot

1 TBSP apple cider vinegar

2 TBSP seasoned rice vinegar

2 TBSP pomegranate cherry juice

1/4 cup olive oil (extra virgin and organic)

favorite salad late winter 2009

6 oz fresh lively organic baby greens

1 TBSP fresh dill

1 granny smith apple, slide extra thin

1/4 red cabbage, sliced thin and chopped

1 leek, sliced (slices rinsed to remove sand)

dried cherries (optional)

pumpkin seeds (optional)

to make a vinaigrette: start with the mustard and shallot in a small bowl. add the vinegars and whisk around lightly. then add the pom juice. maybe a little bit of salt or pepper if you are inclined to such things. and then last add the olive oil whisking like mad, but just for 30 seconds or so.

grab a giant salad bowl (your favorite one). add washed lettuces. tear up a bit of dill (only a little, don't want to overpower it). the red cabbage. the leeks. and last but never least the green apple slices. pour the dressing over and toss lightly. it is especially nice if you can pour the dressing slowly, ever so slowly, over the salad in a uniform way to avoid overdressing or drowning your salad greens. a common problem around here (as some of us love homemade salad dressing a little too much). anyway toss lightly. use only half the dressing at first and add in small increments.

i usually serve this salad with a bit of sausage and roasted potatoes plus some brussels sprouts, or maybe pork chops and wild rice and perhaps some green beans. munch munch. nom nom nom. i cook to eat...

simple food

with the shifting sands of financial storms swirling about us, this winter has been especially cold and especially hard. uncertainty is everywhere. the weather is just plain awful. anxiety about the economy is trending up. gloom. doubt. worry. household budgets are under greater scrutiny. eating out less is in. what to do, what to do?

luckily, i love eggs. they go so well with scallions and tomatoes and spinach and cheese. they are so easy. they are so cheap (perfect recession food). they are so fast. so full of protein and even all important omega 3 (if you buy the eggs of chickens fed with omega 3 which i always do, as i want to feel they are nutritious and not just a lot of cholesterol, but then i am a sucker for that gimmick every single time). eggs have been rehabilitated since their days as public food enemy #1 after we learned that scientific error caused a cholesterol scare. it turns out eggs are pretty healthy and that only around 15% of the cholesterol in our blood is affected or caused by dietary sources of cholesterol. in other words. don't blame eggs.  

i generally make something halfway between a french omelet and a scramble. the eggs cook really fast this way and don't have time to get rubbery or stiff, still wiggly and luscious, yet fully, safely cooked. and i love the way eggs taste with vegetables. other kinds of onions and red peppers and lots of other things would be good. eggs are as versatile as tofu. and there is so much veg in this dish that it feeds two people until they are happily, luxuriously stuffed.

eggs with scallions, cherry tomato, spinach and parmesan

3 eggs, whisked

3 scallions, chopped

12 cherry tomatoes lightly chopped (and seeded if you like)

1 cup baby spinach leaves

1 TBSP olive oil (i use organic extra virgin from italy)

freshly grated parmesan cheese

salt and pepper to taste

put an 8 or 9 inch nonstick pan on the griddle. heat it up nicely. add olive oil. throw spinach into pan. stir around for 15 seconds. add scallions and tomatoes. saute quickly for a minute or two at most. pour in the whisked eggs. sprinkle the parmesan cheese over the top and any salt and pepper you like. with spatula in hand, as soon as bottom of eggs are set, tilt pan and push cooked eggs into center of pan allowing runny uncooked egg to fill the void. turn pan and repeat on other sides of pan until all egg is set. gently fold in the sides and slide onto serving dish. slice in two. serve with some nice sourdough toast, a few olives, maybe a slice of prosciutto on the toast. a whole mediterranean thing going on. mmm. i do love breakfast for dinner. or eggs any time of day. there there now. it is not so bad. everything will turn out okay. 

spinach lasagna

my kids are crazy for spinach lasagna. it is the most requested dish. last night it turned out especially delicious. i got lots of compliments. lots of "i love you moms" "best mom in the universe" that sort of thing. 

this lasagna is much more than the sum of its parts, comforting, noodly goodness, with an entire pound of fresh organic baby spinach hidden inside of there.

spinach lasagna

1 box lasagna noodles 

16 oz ricotta cheese

milk

somewhere between 6 and 16 oz mozzarella (depending on taste and type)

16 0z fresh baby spinach leaves

giant jar italian tomato basil pasta sauce

1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

olive oil

salt

i always start this process by assembling all the ingredients. it goes together quickly then. preheat oven to 375 degrees. put giant stock pot of water to boil.

hum to yourself as you open the ricotta and squeeze and wiggle the plastic container until the ricotta falls out into a medium mixing bow. grab a small wire whisk and mix in the milk. (milk? you ask, yes, milk, if you thin your ricotta with milk it is much easier to spread, and your lasagna is more liquidy-juicy and not at all dry. i learned this trick from lidia bastianich). mix in enough milk until it is about the consistency of cake batter. i never measure but it is a bit more than half a cup and can vary depending on the thickness of the particular ricotta you choose. now add a whole lot of freshly grated parmesan cheese. again, i grate and don't measure but i would guess that it is about 3/4 cup parmesan. we like a lot of parmesan

about now the stock pot should be boiling. dash over and throw all the spinach in the water. stand by with a nice mesh strainer. push all the spinach under the water. as soon as it wilts, it is done. which is immediately. now scoop it all out with the strainer into a bowl. let cool for 2 minutes. meanwhile. keep the stock pot water at a low boil. add a tablespoon of salt and 2 tablespoons of olive oil to the pot. drain the water from the spinach and place it on a cutting board. chop away with a large kitchen knife. mix the chopped spinach into the ricotta milk parmesan mixture and stir till combined. now add your lasagna noodles to the stockpot. cook for 3 maybe 4 minutes tops. no more. they should still be quite undercooked (they cook more in the oven) don't listen to the package that tells you to cook them for 6 to 9 minutes, they will be overdone.

time for assembly. add a couple tablespoons tomato sauce to the bottom of the lasagna pan. layer your noodles. 3 per layer i find. leave plenty of space around them. next smear the ricotta mixture. top with some grated or slice mozzerella. but not too much. add another layer of noodles. now smear some more ricotta. so easy with a little spatula. sprinkle or layer on some more mozzarella. okay more noodles. okay repeat until you end with a layer of noodles on top. now pour the gigantic jar of italian tomato basil jar across the noodles. cover all the noodles and all the sides. now for the final step. layer on another 1/2 to 3/4 cup of freshly grated parmesan. into the oven it goes for 45 minutes. allow to rest for 10 minutes before serving. maybe serve a caesar salad with homemade croutons, or some steamed artichokes or broccoli or something and you are good to go.

snowed in with snuffles (guatemalan chicken soup)

what to do when your children have colds and the world turns into 8 inches of slushy snow and the schools are closed? make guatemalan chicken stew. a cure-all for even the most stubborn snuffle.

food is powerful medicine. guatemalan chicken stew has nearly every vegetable in the world in there (ok, not really, but when you are chopping, it seems like it). it also has lemon, tomato and cilantro and chile heat if you choose.

guatemalan chicken stew

ingredients

1 onion, chopped

5 cloves garlic, smashed

1 stalk of celery, chopped

1 butternut squash, peeled, cubed

2 potatoes, peeled, chopped

3 tomatoes, seeded, chopped

1 red pepper, seeded, membrane removed, chopped

2 zucchini, sliced and quartered

green beans, sliced into 1 inch lengths

3 ears of corn, cut into 4 slices each (or if it is winter, 1 bag frozen sweet corn)

2 chicken breasts

1/2 cup of long grain brown rice

chiles (optional and to taste)

6 cups chicken stock

1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes

1 large bunch cilantro, stems minced and leaves reserved

2 lemons, juiced

okay. it is a lot of chopping. you may use every cutting board in your house. but so worth it. i made this yesterday and am feeling better already. this makes lots of stew, plenty to last 3 days.

saute onion celery and garlic for 4 minutes in about a tablespoon of olive oil. add the 1/2 cup of long grain brown rice. stir around until rice is coated for a minute or two. add chicken stock and crushed tomatoes. turn the heat up to high and bring to a boil. once boilage is achieved, add potatoes and butternut squash, minced cilantro stems and whole chicken breasts. let cook for 25 minutes at a nice simmer. keep covered so the rice doesn't eat up all the liquid and chicken poaches thoroughly. when potatoes and squash are tender and rice and chicken are cooked, add pepper, zucchini, fresh tomatoes, chiles (if using) and corn on the cob (if using frozen corn, do not add yet). simmer another 10 minutes until fresh veg are tender. remove chicken breasts from the stew, shred chicken meat into bite sized pieces, return meat to stew. (if using frozen corn, add it now) add salt, pepper, cayenne pepper if you like, juice from two lemons or limes. serve in bowls. garnish with fresh cilantro leaves and lemon or lime wedges. heal thyself.

lentil soup

why do i love lentil soup so much? (and i do). it has a ton of iron and protein in it. it has onion, celery, carrot, potato, and leek as well as lentils. it is delicious and doesn't require bean/legume soaking of any kind. better than split pea and no soaking! comes together in 30 minutes. hearty peasant fare. it really helps to have really great quality lentils lying around your pantry, which i have recently found grown in the usa from a stylish lentil company in montana. they sell a few different varieties. the ones in the soup above are the larger green lentils, next i am going to try the smaller, darker european style ones.

lentil soup

1 onion, chopped

1 celery stalk, chopped

2 carrots, small dice

1.5 cups diced potatoes

1 large leek, sliced

1 cup lentils

2 quarts natural chicken stock (i use health valley from whole foods)

sautee onion and celery for 3 minutes or so on medium/medium high heat in a bit of olive oil (i use organic extra virgin olive oil because we eat so much of it, i use it for just about everything, no more butter for me except in baked goods). next add lentils and chicken stock. stir. add carrots and potatoes. bring to boil, then cook for 20 minutes at a nice strong simmer. add sliced leeks. cook another 10 minutes. adjust seasonings. add salt or pepper if needed. 

lemon juice or sour cream can finish this off nicely. but i rarely use them and tuck right in as is, au naturale. love it. r and the kids often request the addition of a bit of ham, i rarely listen, but it is delicious when you do add a bit of ham, if you are in the mood for that sort of thing. but me, i rarely want ham in the way while enjoying some delicious vegetables, but this is family cooking isn't it? occasionally i give in, but truthfully, i sometimes say with a sly smile, "that would be lovely, go ahead and put some in, next time you make the lentil soup." yes, it must be awful, having to eat the food my preferred way most of the time. in my view, it is for their own good (nutritionally speaking) and i always invite them to cook anything they want anytime. of course, i'll help them along, chopping, setting the table, even clean up. everyone needs motivation, a reason to cook. my greatest motivation as a cook is the eating. i love to eat healthy, delicious, wonderful food and i will work hard to make it, as long as i get to eat it.

Meiji Shrine

for some reason, i like to start every visit to Tokyo at the Meiji Shrine, after my tummy is full of tofu or onigiri or creme puffs, of course. it is a beautiful, graceful, peaceful place despite a constant stream of visitors and activites like weddings and blessings. Meiji welcomes and absorbs them all, while maintaining a kind of transcendent peacefulness. and special this time, the harvest festival. gorgeous displays of cabbages and daikon and leeks and carrots and broccoli and more all the way around the courtyard. i love this place.

muji cafe marunouchi

tokyo. where to begin? muji cafe. we were fortunate to be staying in marunouchi, a newly fashionable area with a lot of great shops, restaurants and cafes. especially exciting for us was muji cafe. we love all things muji. we fell in love with muji stores in tokyo and they expanded to new york, london, paris, and rome. we have been enjoying their wares ever since, and now a cafe. hooray muji. here is what we were eating, fried tofu patty (gonmae or gonmo or gonmodoki) and salads, hijiki romaine, and napa cabbage with slivered carrots and apple. great pastries and things also. very pleasing and comfortable in every way. always the flatterer, my youngest child said, "the food here reminds me of your food mom." what i am thinking this means is, "obsessed with vegetables." i have just now realized that nearly every post so far on this new little blog has been about vegetables and maybe some fruits. even the pie was a squash pie. i guess i am obsessed because i would love gigantic photos of vegetables on our walls.