Four Nights A Week

Adventures in Eating

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Amy’s Writing, Photography and Art can be found at amybisson.com

  • The Fab Five

    My Comments: This week I’ve been down and out with yet another virus, one of the hazards of working in an elementary school. So what do we do when no one is in the mood — or otherwise able — to cook? We eat leftovers that we’ve frozen from past meals. At Adrien’s suggestion then, are the “Fab Five” – with apologies to the Beatles (you know, Paul McCartney BEFORE Wings and BEFORE that hideous Superbowl performance).  These are our favorites from January:

    Senegalese Peanut Sweet Potato & Spinach Stew
    Copyright © 2011. Adrien Bisson.

     

     

    Senegalese Peanut Stew with Spinach and Sweet Potatoes

    I had a lot of feedback on this recipe. It’s just as good as a leftover as it was on the first night.

    No creamy peanut butter – use crunchy. Don’t use or like ginger, try something else.

    Vadouvan spiced Red Lentil Soup
    Copyright © 2011. Adrien Bisson.

     

     

     

     

     

    Vadouvan Spiced Red Lentil Soup

    When I originally found this recipe, I had no idea how hip it was to cook something with Vadouvan spicing.  In fact, I used Garam Masala curry in place of the Vadouvan – which I was unable to find pre-made. Duh.  Here’s a link to a couple of recipes for making the mixture yourself.

    Copyright © 2011. Adrien Bisson.

     

     

    Quinoa with Balsamic Roasted Mushrooms

    When is a grain a protein? When it’s Quinoa — and it’s a complete protein. How cool is that?

    The dressing, made with pear and balsamic vinegar provides a nice contrast to the nuttiness of the quinoa.

     

    Kale Lasagna Diavolo
    Copyright © 2011. Adrien Bisson.


     

     

    Kale Lasagna Diavolo

    I love kale for two reasons – number one it’s inexpensive (currently $1.56 for a very large bunch) and number two it’s tasty… in all of the varieties I’ve seen around here. Even quicker, it’s available frozen, which makes this a quick fix meal on a weeknight.

    While I favor Muir Glen tomato products, my mother also mentioned that Pomi makes a good diced tomato – available in a cardboard carton. Whatever your preference, this is an excellent twist on lasagna.

     

    Hot from the oven
    Copyright © 2011 by Adrien Bisson.

     

     

    Home baked pizza

    Sometimes you just need to have pizza – and this is definitely worth the wait. There’s not much effort to it, especially when mixing the dough in a stand mixer with a dough hook.

    Are there fancier dough recipes? Sure. But this one can be on the table in 90 minutes to 2 hours…. mostly spent waiting for the dough. A glass of your favorite beverage makes the time fly.

  • 09 Feb 2011 Butternut Squash with Wilted Spinach and Blue Cheese

    Adapted from Whole Foods Market. Butternut Squash with Spinach. Downloaded from the web on February 5, 2011.

    My Comment: Butternut Squash and blue cheese – delicious!

    Squash with SpinachIngredients

    1/4 cup blue cheese crumbles
    3 TBSP lemon juice
    Salt and ground pepper to taste
    1 1/2 tsp olive oil
    1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced
    1 5-oz. package baby spinach
    4 cups cubed and roasted butternut squash, warm

    Method

    1. Use a fork to mash together blue cheese and lemon juice in a large bowl to make a thick smooth dressing. Season with salt and pepper, set aside.

    2. Heat olive oil n a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onions, salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally until golden brown (about 5 minutes).

    3. Add spinach and cook, tossing often until slightly wilted and warm (about 1 to 2 minutes).

    4. Transfer the spinach mixture to the bowl with dressing. Add squash, salt and pepper. Toss to combine.

    Serves 4. Weight Watcher Points = 5 points.

  • Feb 06 2011 Greens and Soft Polenta

    Adapted from Moosewood Collective. Moosewood restaurant new classics. (2001). New York: Clarkson Potter/Publishers. Page 262.

    My Comments: Someday I hope to go to the Moosewood Restaurant in Ithaca, New York. This polenta recipe originally calls for corn meal — which is technically what polenta is — I prefer to use the real Italian food product, which is readily available everywhere.  The addition of fennel and Parmesan (fresh grated, not the green can!) make this especially tasty with broccoli rabe as the green. Feel like experimenting with greens? Go ahead and try others like kale, escarole, etc.

    I love that this is just 2 points! Makes it something I would bring for lunch when I am typically conserving points.

    Ingredients:

    1 bunch of broccoli rabe (or green of choice)

    Polenta Ingredients

    3 cups water
    1 cup polenta cornmeal
    1/2 tsp salt
    1/2 tsp ground fennel seeds (or if you’re adventuresome, use red pepper flakes)
    1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese (optional)
    ground black pepper to taste

    For sauteing the greens

    1 TBSP olive oil
    2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
    1/4 tsp salt

    Method

    Polenta and Broccoli Rabe
    Copyright © 2011. Adrien Bisson.

    1. Cut off and discard the tough bottoms of the broccoli rabe stems. Coarsely chop the broccoli rabe, stems and all, to make about 6 cups. Rinse well and set aside to drain.

    2. Bring the water to a boil in a large pot and slowly pout in the cornmeal while stirring briskly with a whisk. Break up any lumps that form. Simmer on low heat, stirring frequently until the polenta is thick and tastes done. Stir in the salt, fennel and cheese if you are using it. Add pepper to taste.

    3. Meanwhile heat oil in a heavy pan. Add the garlic and salt and saute on medium heat just until the garlic is golden. Add the broccoli rabe, increasing the heat to medium high, and cook stirring frequently for 3 to 5 minutes or until tender. Set aside until the polenta finishes cooking.

    4. Serve the polenta with broccoli rabe on top or stirred in.

    Makes 4 servings as a main dish. Weight Watcher points = 2 (!).

  • 3 Feb. 2011 Winter Vegetable Stew

    Adapted from The Moosewood Collective. Moosewood restaurant cooks at home. (1994). New York: Simon & Schuster. Page 220.

    My Comments: The Moosewood recipe calls for beer or vegetable stock. The beer would have been an intriguing addition, but I wimped out and used vegetable stock here — less Weight Watcher points.  Our New England weather has been — well, let’s call it hideous — with snow storm after snow storm after snow storm. Looking out my kitchen window all I can see is a wall of snow which is at least 7 feet high! Needed something warm and comforting on this mid-winter night.

    Wondering about tonight’s pictures? Well it’s an extra long story that starts out in Cambridge with an all-day photo shoot, a dead car battery, trucking equipment through the streets of Cambridge in the frozen slush, and a 10+ year old car on it’s last legs. Didn’t have the heart to insist. We’ll update them the next time.

    Ingredients

    2 onions, chopped (about 2 cups)
    2 celery stalks chopped
    2 TBSP olive or vegetable oil
    2 medium carrots
    2 parsnips
    2 large potatoes
    10 oz. green beans (about 2 cups trimmed and halved) — here’s where I used frozen
    1 TBSP fresh chopped dill (1 tsp dried)
    1 TBSP chopped marjoram (1 tsp dried)
    1 cup beer or vegetable stock
    1 1/2 cups water
    1 green or red pepper
    2 cups sliced mushrooms (about 6 oz)
    1 TBSP Dijon mustard (or more to taste)
    1 TBSP molasses (Blackstrap is too strong – keep it subtle)
    salt and ground pepper to taste

    Method

    1. In a heavy pot, saute the onions and celery in the oil until the onions are translucent.

    2. While the onions saute, peel and coarsely chop the carrots and parsnips. Stir them into the pot.

    3. Cut the potatoes into 1-inch cubes, and stem and halve the green beans. Add these to the sauteing vegetables along with the dill, marjoram, beer or stock, and water. Bring the stew to a low boil.

    4. Coarsely chop the bell pepper and stem and slice the mushrooms; stir them into the pot.

    5. Add the mustard and molasses and continue to simmer for about 10 minutes (wishful thinking? I’d keep it going until the potatoes and root veggies are cooked through).

    6. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serves 4.

    Weight Watcher Points = 4.

  • 31 Jan. 2011 Stuffed Eggplant “Hippie-Style”

    Adapted from Katzen, M. Moosewood Cookbook. (1977). Berkeley, CA: Ten Speed Press. p 115.

    My comment: Does the fact that I have an original edition of the Moosewood Cookbook make me an old hippie? I guess it might. Tonight I made the Hippie-Style Stuffed Eggplant (there are 2 other versions in this book).

    I’ve adapted this recipe for the ingredients we routinely use: reduced fat cheese, olive oil in place of butter, and nonfat cottage cheese.  I have a bad history with sunflower seeds so I won’t use them. For tonight, I just left them out, but I imagine you could substitute something else with a crunch if you wanted. Pine nuts anyone?

    Ingredients

    3 medium eggplants
    1/2 lb. chopped mushrooms
    2 cloves minced garlic
    1 cup chopped onions
    1 1/2 cup cottage cheese (I used fat-free)
    1 cup cooked brown rice
    1 cup grated cheddar (I used 50% fat Cabot cheddar)
    salt and pepper
    1 tsp thyme
    a few drops of tabasco (I used red pepper flakes)
    1/4 cup sunflower seeds (I omitted these because I don’t like them)
    1/4 cup freshly chopped parsley
    about 3 TBSP of olive oil (original recipe calls for butter!)
    paprika

    Stuffed Eggplant
    Copyright © 2011. Adrien Bisson.

    Method:

    1. Slice the eggplants in half lengthwise. Use a soup spoon or a grapefruit spoon to scoop out the insides right down to 1/4 inch of the skin.

    2. Chop the eggplant innards into 1/2 inch bits, and saute with the onion, garlic, mushrooms, salt and pepper until the onions are clear and the eggplant is soft.

    3. Combine everything else and season according to your nature. Stuff the shells generously and with love. (Yes, that is indeed what this recipe says to do!). Dust with paprika and bake uncovered* on an oiled tray.

    Oven temperature = 350 F. Time 35-40 minutes.  *Cover is the dish seems dry.

    Servings: 6. Weight Watcher Points = 5 (without the sunflower seeds and using the revised ingredients); 6 points with sunflower seeds added to the dish.

  • 29 Jan. 2011 Red Pepper – Carrot Soup

    Adapted from Prag, E. “We Love Soup” Vegetarian Times. (February 2010) Issue 374, Vol. 36, No. 3. Page 34.

    Carrot Red-Pepper Soup
    Copyright © 2011. Adrien Bisson.

    My Comments: In my school, we have been teaching our students to “eat a rainbow” — here’s a beautiful, colorful soup for a cold winter night, although I’ll try it again in the summer and eat it chilled.  I did take the time to slow-roast my own red peppers. Full of beta-carotene and lycopene, this soup promotes heart health.

    Ingredients

    2 large red bell peppers (1 lb) plus slices for optional garnish
    2 TBSP olive oil
    1/2 tsp curry powder
    1 bay leaf
    1 large onion, sliced (2 cups)
    2 large carrots, sliced (1/2 lb)
    4 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
    1 tsp salt
    2 TBSP lemon juice

    Method

    1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Place bell peppers on baking sheet and roast 1 hour or until skin is wrinkles and blackened all over, turning peppers occasionally. Transfer peppers to a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Allow to sit for 10 minutes to steam. When the peppers are cool enough to handle, rub off the blackened peel and remove the seeds.

    2. Heat oil in a 2-qt. saucepan over medium heat. Add curry powder and bay leaf and stir for 10 seconds. Add onion, carrots, garlic and salt. Cover and cook 10 minutes or until onion is translucent.

    3. Add 4 cups of water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, covered, for 25 minutes.

    4. Transfer carrot mixture to blender (or, if you prefer use a hand blender in the pot), add bell peppers and puree until smooth. Stir in lemon juice.

    5. Garnish using bell pepper slices.

    6 servings. Weight Watcher Points = 3 points (!).

  • 28 Jan. 2011 Malaysian Tropical Curry with Lemongrass and Shallots

    Adapted from “Malaysian Tropical Curry with Lemongrass and Shallots“. Vegetarian Times. (July 2009). p 38.  Downloaded from the web on Feb. 10, 2010.

    My Comments: Is there anything better than fresh pineapple? I don’t think so. This week when I originally purchased the supplies for this meal, I bought the pineapple and promptly ate it for dessert — which meant this meal got put off until I could negotiate the snowdrifts (yet another 10 inch storm 2 days ago – uncle!) and return to my local food market.  I used flash-frozen mango for this recipe – I think if the mangoes are ripe, I’d prefer fresh, however finding perfectly ripe fruit is often a challenge here in New England. On the other hand, Lemongrass is fairly common in this area due to the many Southeast Asian families (and cooks) living here.

    Ingredients

    1 TBSP vegetable oil
    4 shallots, peeled and chopped (1 cup)
    3 stalks lemongrass, minced (1/3 cup)
    1 TBSP cumin seeds, lightly crushed
    2 cups diced jicama
    1 medium red bell pepper, sliced (1 cup)
    1 cup diced (fresh) papaya
    1 cup diced fresh pineapple
    3 TBSP low-sodium soy sauce
    1 TBSP lime juice
    1 TBSP agave or honey
    2 tsp chile-garlic sauce
    1/3 cup chopped cilantro

    Malaysian Curry
    Copyright © 2011. Adrien Bisson.

    Method

    1. Heat oil in a wok or large skillet over high heat.

    2. Add shallots, lemongrass, and cumin. Stir fry for 2 minutes.

    3. Add jicama and bell pepper. Stir fry for 3 minutes.

    4. Stir in papaya, pineapple, soy sauce, lemon juice, agave nectar (or honey), and chile garlic sauce. Stir fry 1 minute.

    5. Garnish with cilantro.

    Serves 4. Weight Watcher points: 4 points.

  • 27 Jan. 2011 Eggplant Parmigiana

    Adapted from Weight Watchers International. “Eggplant Parmigiana.” Downloaded from the web on January 27, 2011.

    My Comment: I’ve made this recipe from Weight Watchers (subscription) several times. Not only is it delish the night it’s cooked, but it makes great leftovers. Honestly, I’d eat it cold! I dislike powdered garlic, so I used a clove, well minced. Also, I just purchase plain bread crumbs (or if you have stale bread, toast it and pulverize it) and add some basil and oregano – voila! Italian seasoned crumbs without all the preservatives. Also, don’t bother with the shaker can on “Parmesan” cheese — a hunk of cheese and a box grater is much more economical and tastes better too.

    Tonight’s photographs were taken with Adrien’s new Nikon D300S camera.  Cool!

    Eggplant baking
    Copyright © 2011. Adrien Bisson.

    Ingredients

    1 spray of cooking spray
    1/3 cup seasoned bread crumbs, Italian style
    1 TBSP grated Parmesan cheese
    1 tsp Italian seasoning (basically basil + oregano + salt + pepper)
    1/4 tsp garlic powder (or use a well-minced clove of fresh garlic)
    1 medium eggplant, raw
    2 large egg whites, lightly beaten
    1 1/2 cup canned tomato sauce
    1/2 c part-skim mozzarella cheese, shredded

    Method

    1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Coat a 9×13-inch baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.

    2. Combine bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, Italian seasoning and garlic powder in medium-size bowl and set aside.

    3. Remove the skin from the eggplant, trim off the ends and slice eggplant into 1/2-inch thick slices.

    Eggplant Parmigiana
    Copyright © 2011. Adrien Bisson.

    4. Dip eggplant first into egg whites and then into bread crumb mixture. Bake eggplant on a non-stick cookie sheet until lightly browned, about 20-25 minutes, flipping over once.

    5. Place a layer of eggplant on the bottom of prepared baking dish, then add 1/3 of the tomato sauce and 1/3 of the mozzarella cheese. Repeat with 2 more layers in the same order. Bake until cheese is melted and sauce is bubbling – about 10 minutes more.

    6. Slice into 4 pieces and serve.

    Weight Watcher Point 4

  • 25 Jan 2011 Senegalese Peanut Stew with Spinach & Sweet Potatoes

    Adapted from Weight Watchers. “Senegalese Peanut Stew with Spinach and Sweet Potatoes“.  Downloaded from the web on March 5, 2010.

    My Comments: Because of the interesting combination of flavors, I am fascinated by African cooking. The blending of peanut butter with garlic, cloves, and ginger make this a delicious stew.  Because I didn’t have cayenne on hand, I substituted red pepper flakes.  According to the Weight Watcher site (available by subscription), a serving size is 1 2/3 cups and is just 4 points.

    Senegalese Peanut Sweet Potato & Spinach Stew
    Copyright © 2011. Adrien Bisson.

    Ingredients:

    1 spray of cooking spray
    2 medium onions roughly chopped
    1 medium green pepper, cored and chopped into 1/2 inch cubes
    1/2 pound sweet potato, peeled and chopped into 1/2 inch cubes
    2 medium carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
    2 medium cloves of garlic, minced
    2 TBSP ginger root, fresh and minced
    1/2 tsp ground cloves
    1/2 tsp salt
    1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (I used about 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes)
    4 cups reduced sodium vegetable broth
    6 TBSP creamy peanut butter
    8 cups spinach leaves (stemmed and chopped)

    Method

    1. Coat a large saucepan with cooking spray and set over medium heat. Add onion and bell pepper, cook, stirring often until softened (about 3 minutes).

    2. Stir in the sweet potato, carrot and garlic; cook for 1 minute stirring often. Add the ginger, cloves, salt and cayenne Cook for 30 seconds.

    3. Pour in the vegetable broth and bring to a simmer, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Stir in the peanut butter until smooth.

    4. Cover, reduce the heat to low and simmer slowly; stirring once in a while until the sweet potatoes are tender – about 30 minutes.

    5. Add the spinach, cook, stirring occasionally for 10 minutes. Serves 6.

    Weight Watcher also warns to keep the heat low as the soup simmers so the peanut butter doesn’t break (separate).

    Weight Watchers Points 4.

  • 24 Jan 2011 Layered Vegetable Enchiladas

    Adapted from Whole Foods Markets. “Layered vegetable enchiladas.” Downloaded from the web on Jan. 21, 2011.

    My comment:  This one is on the high-end of Weight Watcher points – 9 – but after a long day at work and virtually no points expended, I deserved it!  One of the posts on Whole Foods recipe site, suggested using refried black beans and because it saves me some time on a school night I am in favor of that.  Just added the cilantro and lime to already smushed up beans (they also came with some jalapenos mixed in – sweet!).

    Ingredients

    2 cups frozen corn, thawed
    1 cup frozen bell pepper strips, thawed
    3 TBSP lime juice, divided PLUS lime wedges for garnish
    1 1/2 TBSP salt-free chili powder, divided (skip if you are using canned refried beans)
    1 (15 oz) can of no-salt-added pinto or black beans, rinsed and drained (skip, if you are using canned refried beans)
    4 TBSP chopped cilantro
    1 (15 oz) can no-salt-added diced tomatoes
    8 oz. frozen leafy greens, thawed
    8 corn tortillas
    3/4 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese (optional)

    Layered Vegetable Enchilada
    Copyright © 2011. Adrien Bisson.

     

    Method

    1. Preheat oven to 400 F.

    2. In large pot combine corn, 2 TBSP lime juice, 1 TBSP chili powder, tomatoes and greens. Cook over medium high heat until liquid is almost evaporated (about 10 minutes)

    3. FOR PEOPLE MAKING THEIR OWN BEAN MIX: in large bowl, mash beans with 2 TBSP cilantro and remaining chili powder plus 1 TBSP lime juice.

    AND FOR COOKS USING REFRIED BEANS: Add lime juice and chili powder (only if you’d like) to the can of refried beans.

    4. Arrange 4 tortillas on a large parchment paper lined baking sheet. Spread bean mixture evenly on tortillas. Top each with 1/2 cup of the vegetable mixture and some cheese (if using). Top with remaining tortillas, vegetables and cheese and bake until hot throughout and cheese is melted – about 15 minutes.

    5. Transfer to plates and garnish with remaining cilantro and lime wedges. Serves 4.

    Weight Watcher Points = 9