Vegetarian

Salsa Omelet on Avocado Toast (+ a few other fave egg dishes)

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above: omelet shown on two pieces of toast

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~after lightning, hail!

Back home after two glorious weeks away and facing a birthday dinner party as well as the 4th of July weekend, I somehow found myself getting a bit on the tired side of grilling. I mean, that’s summer; right? But occasionally it’s too hot — or too stormy — to get out on that deck. Or, like any other time of the year, I sometimes want a meal that’s done faster than the lightning I watch way out east. And that’s what eggs, now at a bit more reasonable price (thank you Jesus) are good for. But I’m not jonesing for something akin to boiled eggs with Triscuits, though I’d eat that happily and soon enough were I famished on a car trip. Or even if I weren’t famished, to be truthful. I’m leaning into an omelet on a nice plate with vegetables and toast, please and thank you. I don’t want to be hungry in an hour and I want something to snug up to a glass of very cold rosé. Or two. If you want testament to my egg love, just type “eggs” into the search box and see what happens. Or click on “Breakfast and Brunch” in the search cloud. Or you could just scroll down here to: “If you liked this, you might also like…” I do make a slew more than ever end up on the blog. You’ll have to follow me on fb to see at least a few more egg dream meals. But for today, let’s look at a quick and cheery salsa omelet slung over a piece (or two) of avocado toast, crowned with diced sweetly ripe tomatoes, then garnished with a sprig of basil (or cilantro? cheese? minced scallions?) on top for grins or giggles.

Oh, what’s a salsa omelet? Well, honey, I guess it could be a few things but at our house, it’s an omelet where the eggs are whisked together with salsa instead of water or cream. Yep. And it’s awfully good.

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Chickpea-Pasta Salad with Shrimp + Feta

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Travels well to 4th of July picnics, under-the-weather friends, or campsites

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Early in our marriage, best sous husband Dave and I somehow fell upon a simple summer recipe for pasta –let’s face it, that was spaghetti back then — topped with lots of fresh, diced tomatoes, shrimp, chopped feta, and dried oregano. (Not to be confused with the more current uber-popular feta sheet pan meal.) For a few years, we served it a lot to ourselves and also to anyone who came to eat outside on the deck in warm weather, of which there was plenty in northern Virginia. Compared to the cookout meals we were used to in the midwest (i.e. burgers and dogs, baked beans, and huge bowls of potato salad and slaw), this felt like sophisticated fare indeed. And while we adored the shrimpy spaghetti, we later put it aside for a few years as seafood-averse children came and went, houses were bought and sold, and moves were made only 25 times or so. Occasionally, it would pop back up in the summer repertoire, but only briefly. I’m sad to say I don’t even think there’s a copy of the recipe in the house, though a recipe probably isn’t necessary. I just might have to put it on this summer’s desirable meal list.

For the last month, I’ve had a note on my fridge (where all important information in life resides) to make a chickpea and pasta salad that I thought I might stuff in halved sweet peppers or …. I don’t know. Somehow, it didn’t get made right away as we had so much cool, rainy weather, but the thought kept perking. Chickpeas, as you’d know or maybe not, have been having a moment for a few years now. It seems chickpea salad recipes keep flying across my social media feeds and, when I look back at my own blog, these peas (beans?) have found a home here, too. Just in case you think I don’t get trendy. But as I finally got around to creating the salad –which I knew would contain feta because I love it — the old Virginia summer spaghetti routine passed through my brain and, I thought, “Why not add shrimp and tomatoes to this chickpea goodness?” And that’s how you’re getting my Chickpea-Pasta Salad with Shrimp + Feta, along with a tasty oregano vinaigrette that could also grace a cold chicken sandwich or a grilled lamb chop.

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Cottage Cheese Frittata

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26 grams of protein and about 8 grams of fiber to start your day off right
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If you’re in the same spot I am, you’ve survived the holidays but are struggling to get everything put away (my tree isn’t gone yet, though it’s on its way), get yourself back to a routine (including a workout routine, ugh), and get on track mentally and physically. Let me help; I might have you sorted for a healthy breakfast, at least. While I regularly consume eggs and vegetables each morning — and I’m not on cholesterol meds yet at 71 — I’ve just recently upped the ante to more than double my morning protein grams. And, “How?” you ask. By whisking into my eggs a 1/2 cup of non-fat cottage cheese along with a good scoop of last night’s cooked veggies to make a filling, luscious and light Cottage Cheese Frittata. (frih-TAH-tah) Now I’ve added cottage cheese to the middle of an omelet or on top of toast a time or two with tomatoes, but have never mixed and cooked eggs and cottage cheese together. This is a game changer! First: You have cheesy eggs, which you don’t often have while watching your calories. Next: You have a meal full of vegetables and can check morning fiber right off your to-do list. And last and maybe best: This doesn’t take long; isn’t expensive; and keeps you full right up until lunchtime or beyond.

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Eggcellent Veggie Burrito

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Going on vacation next week....details at the end of the post. 
See you in September!

When I was a younger woman, I had no time for breakfast. Of course I choked down all the coffee I could manage and then, on high throttle, ran to catch the bus for work or jumped in the car to run kids to school. By lunch I was Starved with a capital “S” and surely ate more than I needed. I particularly remember drinking chocolate milk with my noon meal every day for one year of my short teaching career. (I also had to buy new and larger pants that year. It only takes one constant change, you see.) It wasn’t that I hadn’t been raised to eat a good morning meal; I had. Thanks, Dad. Somehow that daily oatmeal had gotten lost in the shuffle along the way, perhaps at college, much to my detriment. One fateful fall, however, weight having finally gotten the best of me, I joined Weight Watchers (WW). The doctor also called me on my caffeine habit; sigh. (I drink half-caff now so I can still have a humongous mugful.) If you know anything about WW and particularly old school WW –before points–you’ll know you must eat breakfast. You’ll fall flat on your face if you don’t. While I’m still a faithful member of the WW tribe (I’d be even larger if I weren’t), I also have become even more attached to the idea of a filling, substantial breakfast so I don’t lean into snacking or want two lunches. Plus I simply love breakfast!

Aside: Why have I done WW for so long? It keeps me honest. Can’t forget that ice cream bar if you’re tracking everything you eat.

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Chicken Sausage on Polenta with Asparagus

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For vegan or vegetarian version ideas, scroll down to CHANGE IT UP.
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A few weeks back, while doing my monthly Trader Joe’s run, I scored a package of fresh chicken Italian sausage. Upon returning home, I stuck it in the garage freezer and promptly forgot all about it. Ok; it’s my MO. Finding myself with most of a pot of polenta leftover from Friday night’s bœuf bourguignon dinner and wondering what to do with it (there are myriad uses–no worries), I remembered that sausage and easily pictured it with a simple tomato sauce along with a cascade of sautéed mushrooms. A little garlic, of course–but not a lot. How about some fresh asparagus, I thought? It is asparagus season, after all. (Here in Colorado Springs –and I know this because of a longtime faithful reader, thanks–, we have wild asparagus that should just about be coming on. Take a peek around.) While it did dirty a few pans (hello wonderful DACOR dishwasher– ours was made by Asko, the Swedish company–and is still running perfectly without mishap after 9 years/knock on wood), within 45 minutes we had an easy-scrumptious dinner on hand with which to watch a couple of episodes of Netflix’ addictive new series “Transatlantic.”

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Lemony Green Bean and Goat Cheese Salad

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A different sort of “green salad.”
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When good friends Patti and Jim came for dinner and to watch the movie “Chocolat” a couple of weeks ago, it was easy to choose a quintessential French do-ahead cold weather meal like Bœuf Bourguignon (aka Beef Burgundy or BB). The movie, a forever fave starring Juliette Binoche, Alfred Molina, Judy Dench, and Johnny Depp, is set in France and why not follow a great location theme for our menu? I had been wanting to make the fun Salmon Rillettes out of Dorie Greenspan’s AROUND MY FRENCH TABLE and so that was tidily in the bag (with Kir to drink), as was dessert. Patti, a much-in-demand local caterer and baker extraordinaire, decided to make Julia Child’s Queen of Sheba Cake ( Reine de Saba–a famous chocolate and almond confection) and who wouldn’t take her up on that… My stumbling block was a first course salad. I wanted green, green, green because “BB” is a hefty-heavy meal and there was chocolate cake, too, wasn’t there? I liked the idea of totally simple and fairly quick but stunning– a show stopper sitting on the table when they arrived sort of deal. (I don’t like to be too busy when friends come and I want them to see what’s ahead food wise.) Of course I didn’t want just a green salad. Tooling through the produce aisle trying to figure it out, what looked the very best to me were some skinny green beans also known as haricots verts, which while lovely on their own tossed with olive oil, salt and pepper, lemon zest, and crushed red pepper needed a boost or larger venue for this special meal. I brought them home, cooked them until just past “crisp” and settled on lightly slathering them all in a two-vinegar, very very Dijony vinaigrette. Which was great. Fine. Totally.

Except, we couldn’t just eat green beans. Well, we could… but. So I dolled the whole shebang up with crisp mixed greens, bright white crunchy fennel, juicy cherry tomatoes, tender roasted red peppers, and creamy goat’s cheese. In other words, not so much that you couldn’t see what was there but just enough to show it all off. Thinking hard about balance — comes right after color– there was nothing to do but finish it off with yellow-yellow lemon zest for acid and capers for salinity. Right after I chose the best big round platter in the cupboard, you see. (24″ in diameter and made in Provence) And that’s how I got “Lemony Green Bean and Goat Cheese Salad.”

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Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Broccoli Bean Bowl

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If you’re like lots of other folks come January, you might be cutting back on this or that–maybe carbs, red meat, fat, sugar, or alcohol. Or did you make a commitment to increase your veggies? Sigh. Same here; I’m watching what’s going in with the hope of making up for the few extra pieces of bread and glasses of wine I enjoyed during the Mexican cruise. But there’s no need to suffer and every reason to adore the meals meant to increase health and decrease the waistline. This Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Broccoli Bean Bowl (how do I name these things?) is a new favorite at our house and because it’s made up of mostly pantry and colorful vegetable bin ingredients, it goes together pretty quickly and fills you up. While the Brussels sprouts and broccoli roast, there’s time to chop the rest of the vegetables and grab the last few ingredients that serve as a dressing. Garnishes of juicy cherry tomatoes and perky olives top the whole thing off and, while I didn’t think hard about it at first, this vegetable-heavy meal scores at the checkout, too at about $4 or less per serving (depending on how you make it or which sales you hit.) And if that’s not enough, you’re getting about 15 grams of protein in each 2-cup serving! Between the tender-crisp roasted sprouts and broccoli, the crunchy fresh vegetables, the creamy beans, the bright lemon, and the briny high notes, my bowl sings of balance, textural difference, and colorful vibrance. Since the ingredient list isn’t terribly short (chop, chop, chop), I offer a quicker option without a few of the fresh vegetables. (Perhaps as a side for a game day spread? Add feta for fun.) Many home cooks look at long ingredient lists and quickly move on, so I offer this option if that’s you. I keep any number of vegetables at one time because I like God’s own garden in my salads and a mixed variety of choices for dinner without making another grocery run. And, as a mostly retired person, I don’t mind lots of chopping. I know not everyone is like that. Ti piace, as my choral conducting professor at University of St. Thomas (St. Paul, Minnesota) used to say. You like it! Do as you please. Make it just the way you want it. (Or, as we Americans might say, “do it your way.”) Ti piace always sounded better!

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Summer Vegetable Tart

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If you’re lucky enough to spend a little summertime in Europe, and particularly in France, you might see quite a stunning visual array of savory tarts, quiche, pizza, pissaladiére, Flammkuchen, Zwiebelkuchen, and many other pastries in bakeries, cafes, and restaurants. The pastry or crust fillings may include a little bacon or anchovy here and there, but often as not vegetables and/or cheese are the superstars. Baked before the day gets hot or in a blissful outdoor oven, these tasty light meals are the perfect hot weather treats served warm or at room temperature on their own or with a crisp green salad on the side. A little white wine? But of course.

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Here in the states, we’re typically more into pizza across the board (a few quiches, too, I’ll admit) but lately I’ve been spying — and maybe you have, too –quite a few Tomato Pies showing up here, there, and everywhere while the ruby red tomatoes are coming in hot and heavy. (I will have to make one as they feature tomatoes and mayo–one of my warm weather favorite combos.) My tomatoes here in Colorado are still just barely ripening — and they’re all of the cherry or grape variety given our short growing season. But a slew of sweet Camparis on my counter found me searching for a French-style tomato tart I remembered seeing somewhere. But where? A little google mining brought me to Ina Garten’s Barefoot Contessa website and a reminder about Anna’s Tomato Tart, which is in Ina’s COOKING FOR JEFFREY book — right on my own shelf! Now I didn’t particularly want a tomato-ONLY tart, but rather had in mind something with a sort Provençal feel that included olives, fennel, mushrooms, peppers, and more. Anna’s tart would definitely serve as my springboard. Scroll down to read up on the late cook-caterer-writer, Anna Pump and her great store on Long Island– Loaves and Fishes. Links to other savory tart recipes included there, too.

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Bruschetta for Dinner

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Who said dinner couldn’t be fun?!

Bruschetta (broo-SKET-ta), the incomparably attractive Italian appetizer, is simply too big of a starter come the dog days of summer. I mean, it’s like eating pizza for hors d’oeuvres before Thanksgiving dinner when the temps are 95 F in the shade–like today. Typically grilled bread rubbed with garlic and topped with chopped silky ruby-ripe tomatoes and a scatter of fresh basil slivers, I like to instead offer it up with a variety of toppings for an al fresco dinner and let everyone make themselves happy. And while I thought I was being somewhat imaginative this July, when I dug out some of my Italian cookbooks to get a little background, I of course discovered that while not everyone, certainly certain someones have been there before me. (Curses, foiled again.) Folks like one of my favorite food writers, Lynne Rosetto Kasper.

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Creamy Pumpkin-Peanut Soup

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Every once in a while, it’s time to cook up an old recipe on the blog, take new photos, and tweak the dish up to today’s standard. That’s exactly what happened the other day with the blog’s very first pumpkin soup from way back in November, 2009. With my book club meeting in my living room last Thursday, I thought I’d move away from the same-old, same-old cheese and whatever….and make a soup I could serve in coffee mugs along with the glass of wine we enjoy. Change = good. I looked at the not few pumpkin soups I’ve blogged and settled on the simple, but fun 12-year-old version that is finished off with peanuts and grated Parmigiano-Reggiano. As I sometimes will, I tried making it right from the original recipe, which is so old it’s not even printable. While good, it needed perking up, thickening, and expanding. I was amazed, though, to see how readable the recipe was even then. That’s not to say it didn’t need editing and redoing. It did.

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