Split pea soup with garlic toast

Begin by sauteing a mirepoix of leeks and celery, and add some thyme leaves. Then add about a cup of dried split peas and about three cups of water. Bring to a boil and simmer until the peas start to get tender, ten to twenty minutes. Then add spinach or young braising greens. If using non-spinach greens, be sure to remove any tough stems, and use only greens: no amaranth or beets or rainbow chard. When the greens are tender, puree everything with the immersion blender, and adjust the salt.

Meanwhile, chop and toast some walnuts for serving on top of the soup. For an extra special soup, before adding the walnuts swirl (but don't thoroughly mix) in some cream or creme fraiche. Also, mash some garlic with a little salt, spread on bread, and broil briefly to toast.

Autumnal pizza: onions, squash, kale, blue cheese, and walnuts

We made one of our better pizzas a few days ago, when J and A joined us for dinner. As with our other recent meals, we forgot to take photos.

In the morning, make a pizza dough. Dissolve a tablespoon or so of honey in about a cup of warm water, and then whisk in a tablespoon of instant yeast. In the standing mixer, combine two cups white flour and a bit more than a cup whole wheat, and a tablespoon of salt. Then pour in the yeast mixture and mix to combine. You don't need to knead that much. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in the warmest part of your house. Since our heater isn't working, the best spot for us was in the oven (turned off) right above the pilot light.

About an hour before you want to eat, remove the dough from the oven, and begin preheating to 450–500ˆ with the pizza stone inside. Divide the dough into two pieces and roll it out with a floured rolling pin. You want to let the dough rise a little rolled out, so if your kitchen is still very cold, place the rolled-out dough in the oven for just about two minutes (enough to get a bounce, but not enough to kill the yeast).

Thinly slice a large white onion, and saute it in some olive oil and salt until translucent. Set aside. Peel two delicata squash, cut into half- or quarter-inch rings, and poke/cut out the seeds. Heat some oil, and fry the rings of squash on both sides until just starting to brown. Bring to a boil a medium pot of water with a teaspoon of baking soda. Wash, destem, and cut into half-inch ribbons one bunch kale, and boil in the soda water for just a minute or two, so tenderize and bring out the bright green color (the soda is to prevent discoloration: what makes vegetables discolor when cooking is the acids released from the veggies). Drain the kale and rinse under cold water so you can handle it.

Cut a little less than a pound of mozzarella into thin slices. Begin assembling the pizzas: onions as a "sauce", then a single layer of squash, then the kale, then mozzarella. On top of that, crumble about half a pound of a strong blue cheese, and then top the pizza with fresh walnuts.

Bake each pizza between twenty and twenty five minutes. This type of autumnal pizza will pair with any wine or beer that you like, but cold weather calls for a hearty red.

Gnocchi with blue-cheese-almond "pesto" and arugula

Pork chops, roasted carrots with fennel, and caramelized radishes

Radishes are a bit of a pain, because they are very tasty individually, but you never really want more than one. B sliced a bunch of radishes thin and sauteed them with onions, red wine, and brown sugar to caramelize them.

The roasted carrot recipe came from Cook's Illustrated (November & December 2010). A close paraphrase: "Adjust oven ract to middle position and heat oven to 425 degrees. In large bowl, combine 1 pound carrots (peeled, halved crosswise, and cut lengthwise if necessary to create even pieces), 1 small fennel bulb (cored and sliced ½ inch thick), 2 tablspoons unsalted butter (melted), ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper; toss to coat. Transfer carrots to foil- or parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet and spread in a single layer. Cover baking sheet tightly with foil and cook for 15 minutes. Remove foil and continue to cook, stirring twice, until carrots are well browned and tender, 30 to 35 minutes. Transfer to a serving platted, and toss vegetables with ¼ cup toasted sliced almonds, 1 teaspoon lemon juice, and, optionally, 2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley."

While the carrots were in the oven, B roasted the pork chops under the broiler. Before serving, he coated them with more chopped almonds.

Stuffed delicata

Wash, remove the tips from, halve, and scoop out the seeds from two delicata squash. Rub some salt inside the squash, place the squash halves face-down in an oiled glass pan, and bake ten to minutes. Meanwhile, in a food processor combine onion, apples, walnuts, mushrooms, and a little salt and oil, until coarsely chopped. (If the onion is particularly piquant or the mushrooms a little touch, saute them first.) Remove the squash from the oven, turn upright, and stuff with the onion-and-walnut mixture. Sprinkle grated cheese on top, and return to the oven for half an hour.

Pesto with garden basil

Pizza with apples, walnuts, and blue cheese

This pizza, with sauteed apples, mozzarella and blue cheese, and walnuts was very tasty, but would have made a better lunch that dinner. Somehow, without the tomatoes or another sauce (sauteed onion would have works well), the pizza didn't really feel full enough for a dinner. But it was very good, and I do recommend the combination: in general, anything that can go on a salad can go on a pizza.

Three dinners: Asparagus pizza; Pasta primavera; Broiled salmon with red wine reduction

Pad Thai

Inspired by the New York Times.

Long time ago: Greek Dinner for Columbae

I was recently going through some very old posts at a different web journal. I came across this collection of recipes, and I do not think I have posted the here. The following is from May 14, 2005.

At a recent bookstore sale, I picked up two vegetarian cookbooks, each for $6 (one normally goes for $13, the other for $28). The cheaper one looks especially like a keeper: called Vegetarian's A to Z Guide to Fruits & Vegetables, it provides a number of simple but yummy-looking recipes for each vegetable (the veggies are alphabetized by name), as well as nutrition information for each recipe and discussion of the vegetable's properties, time of year, location, storage, etc. I can imagine living near a local organic farm and subscribing to a weekly produce box that would provide me with seasonal produce with, at any given time, a small selection. In such a situation, a book like this would be a lifesaver: we're eating cucumbers for a week? Fine, let's see what we can do with cucumbers. The farmers decide to grow Batavian endive? We can look that up too.

In theory, Columbae would opperate that way, and we do try to keep to local seasonal produce. That said, I've been looking forward to preparing a traditional (well, with vegan modificaitons) Greek feast tomorrow, and although we did get baby spinach from the local organic supplier, I wanted celery, cucumber, grapes, all of which are seasonal in mid- to late summer. Our produce manager, however, is currently my most favoritest person in the world: she got me a couple heads of celery, a big box of grapes, and a big box of cucumbers, all conventional. So I'll have to wash everything, and the cucumbers are probably waxed, which is a shame, because the skins are the healthiest part, but still.

I have filo dough, which I need to remember to move to the fridge tonight to defrost, and I have my veggies and recipes. I need to soak the beans, too, and look up the spices suggested for apple rather than pear filling for the desert (pears aren't in season, whereas we have a hella lot of apples, but apples aren't as delicate, so require more spicing). I don't get olives --- dry goods and dairy came through for me with the feta but not with everything --- but oh, well. It will be good.


Soup: Fassolada me Spanaki Serves 6-8

Soak for 4 hrs, drain, boil, and drain

• 1.5 cup dried cannellini

or open

• 2 cans beans

In a large saucepan on medium heat, saute in plenty of olive oil for 30 minutes

• 2 medium onions, finely chopped
• 4 medium carrots, finely diced
• 2 sticks celery, finely diced

Add, and bring to poin, cover, and simmer

• 4 sprigs celery leaves (optional)
• 2 large cloves garlid, finely chopped
• 2 Tbsp dried thyme (and/or greek oregano)
• 1/2 a medium bunch of fresh parsely, coarsely chopped
• the beans, if used dried
• 8 cups water or light vegetable stock
• 1 large can diced tomatos (or skin and dice three large tomatoes and let sit salted 15 minutes)
• 1 Tbsp tomato paste diluted in 3 Tbsp water
• 8 oz spinach, cut in thin ribbons

Simmer perhaps 20-30 minutes, adding the tomato paste and spinach in the last 5-10 minutes. Stir in

• another 1/2 bunch of parsely
• a little more oil

Serve hot, with

• 1 Tbsp red wine vinegar

sprinkled over each bowl.


Bulgari Pilafi Serves 4

Heat gently in large saucepan

• 3 Tbsp olive oil

and saute until translucent

• 1 large onion

Break up with fingers into roughly 2-inch pieces

1/4 cup thin spaghetti, vermicelli, or angel's hair

and add to onion. Continue stirring until pasta is pale golden and arromatic, 2-3 minutes.
Soak for a few minutes to enlarge, then rinse in a fine sieve under running water

• 2 1/4 cup coarse bulgar, picked clean

and add to pan, stirring, and add

• 1 1/2 cup vegetable stock (scale sublinearly)

Cover and simmer gently 7-8 minutes, until mixture looks almost dry. Cover with cloth, replace lid, and let stand off heat at least 10-15 minutes, or up to 1 hr.


Spanakopita Fills 13x15 lasagna pan, enough for 8 people as a main course

Make sure to have left the filo dough out to defrost to room temp 5 hrs before use.
Chop into uniform 1/4-1/2 inch cubes

• 1 large onion

and saute until clead. Add

• 1 clove garlic, mashed
• 2 lbs fresh or frozen spinach

and saute until limp.
Mash to chunks less than 1/2 inch

• 16 oz firm water-packed tofu (frozen and defrosted if you have time)

and add to pan, along with

• 2 tsp salt
• 3/4 tsp black pepper
• 2 Tpsp oregano

Remove from heat and drain excess water. Let cool slightly.
Preheat oven 350°F, oil a large lasagna pan, and get ready to work with filo dough: as the dough will dry quickly, don't open the package until everything is ready. Have 3-4 people working. Each sheet should be lightly oiled (so keep a brush and a bowl of oil handy) after it's placed in the the pan, and someone should keep a clean, barely moist towel over the unused dough. Anyhoo, when ready, cut open

• 1 pound filo dough

and place individual oiled sheets, with edges hanging over edge of pan, in varying directions. Use a third of the dough (roughly 6 sheets), then fill in half the spinach, then a third of the dough, then the other half spinach, then the last third of the dough. Fold edges over or in, make sever slashes through the top of the pastry to the filling, and bake 45 minutes to 1 hr, until golden brown.


Apple filo strudel makes 3 rolls (?)

Preheat oven 350°F.
Wash, peel, core, and dice

• 10 medium apples

to get about 14 cups. Mix in

• 6 Tbsp lemon juice
• 8 tsp cinnamon
• 5 cups walnuts, chopped or cuised
• 2-3 Tpsb white sugar
• 3 Tbsp brown sugar

Prepare to work with filo dough (see above), and stack 4 sheets, individually oiled. Spoon some filling along one long edge, leaving a 2-inch boarder. Fold filo dough over filling, tuck in ends, and roll up. Brush with canola oil. Place rolls seam-side down on greased baking sheet at least 2 inches apart. Slice into 1.5 inch pieces half way through roll. Bake 20-30 minutes until golden brown.


Greek Salad

We will be using

• mixed greens
• celery
• onion
• shredded carrot
• grapes
• feta on the side

Traditionally a summer salad would also include

• kalamata olives or possibly capers
• tomato
• possibly bell pepper

whereas winter salads are normally cabbage-based. Dressing is always olive oil mixed with lemon juice; one would normally place slices of feta on top of the salad, sprinkle everything with dried oregano, and then pour the oild and lemon juice on top, but I'm going to use crumbled feta and mix the oregano into the dressing. Grapes wouldn't normally be in the salad, but I don't get olives, and it will be yummy.

Butternut squash lasagna

Begin by preparing all the components of the lasagna. Make a hearty pasta dough with semolina flour, egg, and a little salt and water, and roll it pretty thin and hang to dry. Meanwhile, halve and deseed a butternut squash, and set it baking face-down in a little olive oil in the oven. In the food processor, first make a "pesto" of hazelnuts and fresh sage (and maybe some garlic). Then combine the cheeses: shredded mozzarella, grated asiago, and ricotta. Bring a large pot of salt water to a boil, and cook the lasagna noodles one at a time, as needed, for just one minute each.

Assemble the lasagna in layers as you always would, letting the noodles hang over the sides of the pan. When you are done, trim away the excess noodles. If you like, you should also make a quick bechamel sauce — heat butter and whisk in some flour to cook, then whisk in milk, salt, and nutmeg to the desired consistency — and pour over the lasagna. Bake about an hour.

Steamed broccoli with garlic, couscous with garbanzo beans and spices

The little heads of broccoli were steamed and topped with garlic. The couscous recipe is an old and easy standby from The Joy of Cooking:

Heat in a large skillet [I do the entire dish in our smallest saucepan] over medium heat:

• 3 tablespoons olive oil

Add:

• 1 cup sliced blanched almonds

Cook, stirring, for about 1 minute. Stir in:

• 1 teaspoon sweet or hot paprika
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• ½ to 1 teaspoon hot red pepper sauce [I usually leave this out]

Cook until heated through, about 1 minute more. Stir in:

• 2½ cups chicken or vegetable stock of water [it's a flavorful dish; use water]
• 2 cups cooked chickpeas (about ⅔ cup dried), rinsed and drained if canned [1 can]
• 1 cup chopped raisins or whole dried currants [or dried red peppers or...]

Bring to a boil and stir in:

1¼ cups quick-cooking couscous

Cover, remove from the heat, and let stand for 5 minutes [or longer; it will holds its heat]. Fluff the couscous with a fork. Season with:

• Salt and ground black pepper to taste [or include some salt and pepper at the beginning]

Garnish with:

• ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley or cilantro

Snapper wrapped in collard greens, with leeks and walnuts

Bake about 20 minutes. Perhaps we should have steamed the greens a bit first — they were tasty but a little tough.

Pizza with walnuts, blue cheese, onions, and arugula

Make a pizza dough of 2 1/2 cups white flour, a handful of yeast, a handful of salt, some honey, and 1 1/2 cups warm water. Let rise.

Slice two red onions into rounds. Heat some oil in a large pan, add the onions, and cover in red wine. Cook on high until the wine has reduced.

Mash garlic with some salt in a mortar and pestle, and mix in olive oil. Set aside.

Combine 7 oz part-skim brick mozzarella, cut into small cubes, with 4 oz blue cheese, crumbled, and 4 oz grated parmesan.

Have ready also one 1/2-lb bag walnuts, one bunch wild arugula, washed, and a lemon.

Place a pizza stone in the oven and heat as hot as it will go. As with any pizza-making time, be sure to close any doors to rooms with smoke alarms, and learn where the "silent" button is on the smoke alarm in the kitchen.

Divide the pizza dough in half. Roll out half the dough on a lightly floured surface, and transfer to a pizza peel that has been sprinkled with corn meal. Assemble the pizza: half the now-carmelized red onions, 1/4 the cheese mixture, half a bag of walnuts, 1/3 of the arugula, another 1/4 of the cheese mixture, a sprinkling of salt, and zest of half the lemon. Brush the crust of the pizza with the garlic oil.

Transfer pizza to the oven and set the timer for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, assemble the second pizza. When the pizza has cooked, remove from the oven and sprinkle with 1/6 of the arugula. Let cool five minutes before even thinking about trying to cut it.

Finish dinner with a lettuce salad with dressed in the juice from the lemon, olive oil, salt, and any leftover mashed garlic. Then conclude with chocolate mousse.

Salad with walnuts and blue cheese, mashed butternut squash

The salad had a fine blue cheese, very fresh walnuts, halved grapes, sliced apple, and a lemon-garlic dressing, if I remember correctly. Serve next to mashed butternut squash: roast halved squash for forty to sixty minutes, let cool enough to handle, peel, and mash with a little butter or olive oil and some salt.

Fesenjan, rice, and greens

Rice: Combine 1 cup dried brown rice with 1.5 cup water and a small handful salt. Bring to a boil covered, and simmer on low 20-25 minutes; then steam at least another 20 minutes. Rice will hold its heat for a long time if left covered, and just get better as it does.

Fesenjan: In a large pot, sauté two large red onions, coarsely chopped, in a mix of walnut and olive oil, with a bit of salt. Then add a lot of garlic, minced, a lot of dried cinnamon, and some turmeric, nutmeg, and ground pepper. Reduce heat to low. Process 1 lb walnuts in a food processor until coarsely ground (or in the kitchenaid with the paddle attachment; some will pulverize, but you'll still have some medium-sized pieces), and add to the onions. Then stir in 1/2 cup pomegranate syrup. Cover, and let cook on low at least 30 minutes.

Greens: Sauté lots of garlic in olive oil. Then add one head each red russian kale and turnip greens, washed, stems removed, and coarsely chopped, with plenty of water clinging to the leaves from the washing. Cover and let steam five or ten minutes. When the greens have reduced in volume, remove the cover, and mix in golden raisins, salt, a pinch of sugar, and a little cinnamon. Cook on high until most of the water has cooked off, and serve immediately. The greens determine the timing of the meal; the other dishes can sit on the stove for an extra ten or fifteen minutes no problem.

Leek tart and Autumn salad

We've made this leek tart, from Chez Panisse Vegetables, before, but I don't think I've posted the recipe here. Make a galette dough with 2 cups white flour, 1 tsp sugar, 1/4 tsp salt, 6 oz room-temperature butter, and 1/3 cup cold water. (Combine dry ingredients, then cut in half the butter, then add the rest of the butter in small pieces and add the water; at best, let everything relax at least an hour, or in the fridge all day, or frozen for as long as you want.) Sauté the whites of three leeks in olive oil with some salt and fresh thyme. Roll out the dough, transfer to a cookie sheet, top with the leeks, and fold over the edges. Brush the crust with an egg wash, and bake 400 degrees F for 45 minutes.

The second dish tonight was a luxurious salad. In the bottom of a large salad bowl, crush three small cloves garlic, and combine with salt, plenty of olive oil, and a splash of sherry vinegar. Then assemble the salad out of:

• One bulb fennel, washed and shaved (the trick is to cut off the stems and then use a vegetable peeler, holding the base of the bulb and shaving from the top down).
• Four heads baby gem lettuce, carefully washed and dried.
• 1/2 pound green beans, tips removed and cut into 1-inch pieces; boil a few minutes, then plunge into ice water a few minutes before drying.
• Four small asian pears, cut into thin slices.
• 1/4 pound shelled walnuts.
• 2 oz shaved romano (or parmesan; use the vegetable peeler).
• Croutons, made by chopping old bread into small cubes, tossing with oil, salt, and dried basil, and baking 10-30 minutes.

Ravioli with butternut squash and hazelnuts

I was utterly exhausted on Monday, so my boyfriend nicely did all the dinner prep and all the dishes. The ravioli filling included butternut squash (peel, remove seeds, and bake with a little salt and oil about 45 minutes, then mash), Oregon hazelnuts (chop fine), Locatelli pecorino Romano (grate fine), and ricotta. The sauce was mostly butter, with garlic, white wine, thyme, and frozen peas. My boyfriend is amazing.

Medical note: As my boyfriend found out first hand, so to speak, the skin of butternut and acorn squash can cause contact dermatitis. (His was very mild, and went away with some washing — and we've each peeled squash before without problems.)