It's Spring: At least on the dinnertable...

I wanted a quick and easy dinner and found this recipe for Pasta with Peas.  We have a summertime favorite that is Pasta with Pesto and Peas, so this sounded like a sure winner for the wintertime and early spring. 

Pasta with Peas

1 lb box of pasta (I used Orecchiette, the ear shaped pasta)

1-2 tbs of olive oil

1-2 cloves of garlic, chopped

1 can of Le Seur baby peas

¾ cup of heavy cream

1 cup of grated Romano or Parmesan cheese

¼ cup of shredded mint leaves (loving my aerogarden for this)

Cook the pasta according to the box.

Heat the oil in a heavy skillet

Add the garlic and peas and sauté briefly

Stir in the cream  and half of the grated cheese

Simmer until it thickens

Mix the sauce and the cooked pasta and the mint.

Serve the remaining grated cheese on the top

St. Patrick's Day: Hungarian Style

It’s St Patrick’s Day!!  Are you wearing green?? I actually forgot my green until I started this post --- and went ARRRGGGHHHH!!  I quickly ran upstairs for something with a little touch of the Irish in it. 

No, we’re not Irish ourselves, but isn’t everyone Irish today??? That’s what my favorite Irishman tells me anyway. 

I’ve moved my menu plan around a little bit (I didn’t factor in St. Patrick’s Day when I made the plan) so we’re having broiled fish and Hungarian cabbage and noodles for supper (sorry Sean, that’s as close to and Irish meal as we’re going to come – it does have cabbage!!)

For those of you looking for a way to serve the super-cheap cabbage this week (especially those of you not overly fond of the traditional Corned Beef and Cabbage – that would be us) I thought I’d share my friend Esther’s Hungarian Cabbage and Noodles with you:   

Hungarian Cabbage and Noodles

Ingredients:

1 large head of cabbage cored and sliced into thin ribbons

1 tsp salt

3 tbs oil (she said vegetable oil, I used olive oil)

1 tbs sugar (I cut this down a little bit)

1 onion, diced

fresh ground pepper to taste

1 package of egg noodles (get the good ones for this recipe)

Salt the cabbage and let it rest for a half an hour --- this will help to drain some of the excess water out of it.  Blot it with paper towels to get the drained water. 

Heat the oil in a skillet and add the sugar --- gently brown the sugar.  Add the onions and the cabbage and sauté gently for about 20 minutes.  Be sure to stir them frequently – we don’t want charred onions. 

Season with the pepper to taste.

Transfer all of this to a large bowl and keep warm.

Follow the directions on the package to cook the egg noodles – you’ll want to undercook them just a tiny bit --- al dente sort of . 

Add the noodles and the cabbage mixture together.

Serve with fish or pork or chicken (Esther says beef too, but I like it better with a white meat or fish)

Christmas Comes to an End

We had our final hurrah for the Christmas season this weekend.  I know, its late, but its tradition.  The Christmas decorations around here stay up until Martin Luther King Day.  (We both have the day off and can do the work of un-decorating the house and get it all done and cleaned up at once.)

So -- MLK weekend is traditionally the last holiday party at our house.  Always with the same friends -- and its always wonderful.  There was snow on the ground, a fire in the fireplace, and laughter throughout the house.  We rocked the Christmas CD collection one last time.  And we ate and talked and ate some more.
I wasn't feeling all that energetic (been fighting off some kind of respiratory thing) -- so I wanted a menu that was festive, simple, and that I could make in stages throughout the day.  Thank you Pioneer Woman!!  Seriously -- this lady ROCKS.
I used her Pork Loin menu here --- I even made the homemade cranberry sauce (I may never eat canned again!!)  This was the most amazing cranberry sauce I have ever tasted (and I made it myself!!).  The second part of the recipe -- where you take the cranberry sauce and jazz it up more --- I could have skipped.  I didn't skip it -- I made it..... but truly the cranberry sauce itself was so amazing, that the jazzed up version just paled.
So -- here was my lazy cooking plan (with a couple of menu adjustments from Pioneer Woman's menu)
Saturday --- make an Apple Pie --- these are seriously easy --- I got the apples from the orchard down the road (yep, they still had apples --- Got to love them -- I sent my husband to the shop.  He tells them "My wife is making an apple pie".  They pack a bag for him with a mix of apples perfect for pie.  All I do is peel and assemble the pie --- Easy, peasy)
Sunday after church --- make the mashed potatoes --- I used Pioneer Woman's recipe to the T.  Then I piled them all into my crockpot, set it to warm and left it sitting on the counter until dinner time.  I made the Cranberry Sauce at the same time.  Let it sit in a glass dish -- with the measure pulled out that I needed for the jazzed up sauce.
Took a nap (I told you I didn't feel like myself)
Around 2:00 Threw some greens and other veggies in the salad bowl and set it in the fridge.  Salad -- done.
Around 4:00 --- cranked up the Christmas music --- started the Pork Loin.  Mixed up a batch of popover batter (another tradition for this party) and let it sit on the counter.  Pork Loin and Popovers went into the oven together --- my pork loin took a lot longer than Pioneer Woman's --- that was good, because it worked out perfectly with the popovers.  Yay.
Around 4:30 (by now all of the guests are in the door and the wine is flowing)  Zapped some spinach in the microwave while we ate a salad.  Dinner is served.
Mine didn't look as pretty as Pioneer Woman's ---- but it tasted pretty darn good.

Corn Fritters

Corn Fritters:  I can’t tell you how much I love corn fritters.  When I was a kid, my mother was an absolute pro at stretching the food budget and making food that felt luxurious and special without breaking the bank.  I didn’t realize until I was an adult with a food budget of my own to manage, just how creative she was with cheap food.  Corn fritters fit that bill. They’re just good, satisfying food. They’re yummy. They’re festive.  They feel luxurious and special. And best of all, they’re good cheap food.  I found a recipe (from an old edition of All You) that brought back memories ---

Corn Fritters:

5 cups of oil (I will NOT be using that much)

2 1/3 cups of pancake mix (the kind where you just add water)

½ cup cornmeal

1 package of frozen corn

1 small red onion, chopped

Pour 2 inches of oil into a cast iron fry pan.  Heat until water droplets snap back and sing (my great grandmother’s directions for knowing when oil is hot enough). 

In a large bowl, mix the pancake mix, and cornmeal.  Stir in 1 1/3 cups of water to make a batter.  Stir in the corn and the onion. 

Scoop 2-3 Tbs of batter into the hot oil and cook until golden brown and crispy (3-4 minutes each)  Cook in small batches to avoid greasy fritters. 

Drain on paper towels and serve.  Yum. 

Squash Soup

I’m experimenting with squash soup recipes --- here’s my latest try from a neighbor’s recipe (I don’t know where she got it from)

1 tbs olive oil

1 onion chopped

1 apple peeled and chopped

2 packages of frozen butternut or other winter squash (I’ll be modifying this to use fresh squash – I can’t bear the idea of spending extra money on the frozen stuff)

1 can of vegetable broth (I’ll be using stock from the freezer)

1 tsp curry powder

1 tsp ginger powder

1 cup apple cider

1 cup of cream

heat the oil in a large pot.  Add the onion and cook until softened.  Add the apple and continue cooking about 5 minutes.  Add the next 4 ingredients.  Boil and then reduce heat.  Simmer for 15 minutes.  Remove from heat and cool slightly

Process soup in batches until smooth using an immersion blender.  Add in apple cider and cream.  Re-heat over low heat, stirring constantly until heated through.

Sparkling Lemonade

Ah! The joy of simple food (and drink).  This is so simple and easy -- and yet I'm always astounded by how impressed my guests are by it.  I've already made two pitchers of sparkling lemonade this season.  The first was for the Memorial Day picnic at our house.  The second was for a family gathering this past weekend.  The family is well accustomed to my sparkling lemonade (although they all seem to think its far more challenging to make than it really is), so not too many oohs and aahs there.  

This is one of those emergency treats that turns any simple summer meal into a party.  We take it to Tanglewood with us in the summer (almost time!!) and we take it to the beach.  Unless I make it for just the two of us (yes, sometimes) - there are never any leftovers.  By keeping the two primary ingredients in the pantry and freezer, I can throw this together any time on the spur of the moment.  

Sparkling Lemonade

1 can frozen lemonade concentrate (the cheap store brand will be just fine)

1 bottle (2 liter size) seltzer

1 lemon, sliced thinly

That's it --- pour out the frozen concentrate into a pretty pitcher.  Gently pour in the seltzer (try not to let it fizz overmuch or it will get flat quickly).  Gently stir/mash the lemonade concentrate so that it dissolves nicely.  Add the lemon slices to make it look pretty.  

All done!! 

This lemonade is lighter and less sweet than what you might associate with frozen concentrate lemonade.  That's partly because we're using seltzer, which has that tiny bit of bitterness to it.  But its also because we're using more liquid than is generally called for by the directions on the can.  Its light, nicely sweet, but not overly so, fizzy and wonderful.