notes from my food diary

Dinnertime could be stressful and to make things easier, I choose easy but equally tasty meals.  One of my family’s favorite proteins is egg.  Eggs could be made into frittata or omelette, with the addition of vegetables or cheese and pair it with a side dish, you’ll get a meal in about one hour.  I made the latter about a month ago and it was also submitted to ThinkSpain guide for the recipe section in its October edition.  The recipe was adapted from my favorite cooking book, Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone by Deborah Madison.  Armed with this one book, I won’t go hungry at every meal time

Chard and Onion Omelette (Trouchia)

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 large white onion, quartered and thinly sliced crosswise

1 bunch chard, leaves only, chopped

Salt and freshly milled pepper

1 garlic clove

6 to 8 eggs, lightly beaten

2 tablespoons chopped parsley

2 tablespoons chopped basil

2 teaspoons chopped thyme

1 cup grated Gruyere

2 tablespoons freshly grated Pecorino-Romano

Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a 10-inch skillet, add the onion, and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until completely soft but not brown, about 15 minutes. Add the chard and continue cooking, stirring occasionally,
until all the moisture has cooked off and chard is tender, about 15 minutes. Season well with salt and pepper.

Mash or chop finely the garlic with a pinch of salt, then stir into the eggs along with the herbs. Combine cooked chard mixture with the eggs and stir in the Gruyère and half the Pecorino-Romano.

Preheat the boiler. Heat the remaining oil in the skillet and, when it’s hot, add the eggs. Give it a stir and keep the heat at medium-high for about 1 minute, then turn it to low. Cook until the eggs are set but still a little moist on top, 10 to 15 minutes. Add the remaining Pecorino-Romano and broil 4 to 6 inches from the heat, until browned. Serve trouchia in the pan or slide it onto a serving dish and cut into wedges.

Source: adapted from Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone by Deborah Madison

My plan was to make some sushi with baked marinated tofu but I failed big time in the rolling department.  Making sushi is such an art that one should plan to take a class or at least have repeated tries before producing very good sushi.  I have problem in that the sushi rice didn’t cover the filling completely.  All my rice went to one place and the filling stayed in another place, it’s like they hated each other   This is a very easy recipe though, just pile up the tofu, cucumbers, carrots, green onion, a dab of wasabi and then roll it.  But in the end, I used all my tofu to make a stir-fry dish, using garlic, ginger, oyster sauce, soy sauce, and a bit of sesame sauce.  Eaten with hot rice, it’s just better than my mediocre sushi!

I’m submitting my top photo for the CLICK event this month that has the theme Cheese/Tofu. 

Lately I’ve been cooking vegetarian dishes for my family.  It’s not a new diversion for me because I cooked vegetarian on and off, sometimes it’s a means for wanting to be creative with my weekly menu.  I don’t want to be bored with same old dishes day in day out.  I own several vegetarian cookbooks and I also spend much time browsing the Vegetarian Times magazine.  It’s a great magazine and with its new look this year I think I’m going to borrow it more often. 

I don’t particularly have a resolution every new year because I could never keep it up for the whole 12 months.  But this year I’m trying to cook better food and try out more vegetarian dishes.  I’ve even tried baking something vegan and they turned out good, in this case they were banana muffin.  I could see some belly fat disappearing from my significant other and I felt good in doing so.  You could say that I’m very concious about what my family is eating.  Some things need eaten more than once to be enjoyed fully but I think it’s worth the try. 

A few days back, I tried these potato pancakes with avocado salsa.  They’re not bad at all for a quick dinner meals.  These reminds me of potato latkes and croquette.  Simple and satisfying.

Potato Pancakes with Avocado Salsa

Serves 6

Avocado Salsa

1 large avocado, peeled and seeded

2 medium tomatoes, seeded and finely chopped

4 green onions, finely chopped

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 teaspoon red pepper sauce, such as Tabasco

Potato Pancakes

1 pound potatoes, cooked and mashed

3 tablespoons butter, melted

2 eggs, lightly beaten

3 onions, finely chopped

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons self-rising flour

1/2 teaspoon all-purpose seasoning

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Extra virgin olive oil or cooking spray, for frying

To make Avocado Salsa:  Mash avocado with fork.  Stir in tomatoes, green onions, lemon juice, and red pepper sauce.  Season with salt and pepper.  Mix well, and chill for 20 minutes.

To make Potato Pancakes:  Mash potatoes with butter.  Transfer to medium bowl, and add eggs and onions.  Sift flours, spices, and salt to taste with potato mixture; stir well to combine.

Heat oil in nonstick skillet over medium heat.  Spoon potato mixture into skillet in 2 tablespoons dollop.  Cook 3 to 4 minutes, then flip, and cook 3 to 4 minutes more, until golden brown.

Drain pancakes on paper-towel-lined plate, transfer to separate plate, and keep warm in oven.  Repeat process with remaining batter.  Serve pancakes warm, topped with Avocado Salsa.

Source:  adapted from Vegetarian Times, issue June 1, 2008

I’ve been watching Sara Moulton’s show "Weeknight Meals" on PBS (Public Broadcasting Service) for a while.  When she was in Food Network, I’ve never watched her since her show time was in the morning and I didn’t remember to tape any of it.  Here, now that she moved to PBS, I could catch her show because it’s aired on nightime here.  I don’t always like her performance in the show, sometimes she seems to be hurried to finish the dish, and other times I just don’t like the food she prepared   But recently I watched an epidsode where she made a quick asparagus lasagna. 

Instead of the regular lasagna noodles, she used wonton skins.  I’ve either watched or read about using wonton skins for making lasagna but have never tried it.  The steps are pretty easy and quick, no question that the name fits the description.  Since asparagus is not in season anymore, I substituted with frozen spinach that’s been defrosted and drained well.  Sara Moulton suggested using broccoli too if people like broccoli better.  Her method included roasting onions, garlic and asparagus with a little bit olive oil, salt and pepper in the beginning.  You could imagine the smoky flavor in the lasagna already.  A little different is not a bad practice.  The only disadvantage of using frozen spinach is that I couldn’t roast it in my broiler and I was too lazy to sauté it, so I left it as it was.  But I still roasted the onions and garlic that way I could get a bit smokiness in the lasagna.  The other thing that bothered me a bit was that my wonton skin was of thin variety.  I purposedly bought the thin variety because when I make fried wonton I’ve always like biting the thin skin of wonton.  As a result the middle layer of the lasagna seemed a bit lost in the spinach-cheese mix.  And I used two kinds of cheese available in my fridge which were Italian Fontina and Provolone.  All is not lost because the lasagna still turned out great and tasted delicious.  They’re like round cheesy mounds easily divided for individual portion.

It’s not bad for a weeknight meal in my household!

Quick Asparagus Lasagna

Makes 4 to 6 servings
 

2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly milled black pepper
1 pound asparagus, trimmed—I used frozen spinach, thawed and drained well 
1 medium onion, halved and sliced (about 1 cup)
2 garlic cloves, sliced (about 2 teaspoons)
One 15-ounce container ricotta cheese
2 teaspoons unbleached all-purpose flour
18 refrigerated wonton skins
8 ounces Italian Fontina cheese, coarsely grated (about 2 cups)—I used half Italian Fontina and half Provolone 

Preheat the broiler to high. Lightly oil a rimmed baking sheet and a lasagna pan (9-by 13-inches roughly). Combine the oil, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper in a shallow bowl. Peel the lower stalks of the asparagus if they are thicker than 1/3 inch. Toss the asparagus in the oil mixture and arrange at one end of the oiled baking sheet. Toss the onion and garlic in any remaining oil in the same bowl and arrange them on the other end of the baking sheet. Broil until the edges just begin to brown, about 5 minutes.  If using spinach, you could sauté it on the pan with a little bit of olive oil.

Reduce the oven to 375°F. Combine the onion and garlic with the ricotta, flour, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper in a blender; puree until smooth. Cut the asparagus into 1-inch pieces. Arrange 6 wonton skins in the bottom of the pan. Top with half the asparagus, one-third of the ricotta mixture, and one-third of the Fontina. Add another 6 wonton skins, the remaining asparagus, and another third of the ricotta mixture and Fontina. Top with the remaining wonton skins, ricotta mixture, and Fontina.

Bake the lasagna in the top third of the oven, 30 to 35 minutes, until bubbly and lightly browned.

Note: On the show I added the onions and garlic to the asparagus; if you prefer to do that rather than purée them with the ricotta, that is fine.

Source:  adapted from Sara Moulton Weeknight Meals episode #101

Are you tired of making spaghetti with marinara sauce?  I feel the same from time to time.  My son loves spaghetti so I find a way to make it in a different way.  Try this recipe.  Not only it’s easy for a weekday meal, it’s pretty wholesome too.  Round it up with green salad and maybe garlic bread, you’ll have the same feeling as if you’re eating spaghetti marinara, only baked.  The recipe came from a book that I have for a long time, it’s Vegetarian Pasta by Rose Elliot.  She has recipes which are straightforward but with great flavors.  The original recipe suggested using Cheddar or Gruyére cheese which I chose Gruyére, and I didn’t use a whole cup of cheese in my pasta dish.  It was more like 1/3 of cup but it still tasted very tasty.  It also suggested using fresh oregano in the dish, but since I had this canned diced tomatoes with oregano and basil that’s what I used.  My oregano leaves served as decoration at the end.

I’m sending this for the Presto Pasta Night which is a brainchild of lovely Ruth, hosted by Kevin at Closet Cooking this week.  Hope I’m not too late!

Spaghetti, Mushroom and Tomato Bake

Serves 4

6 ounces spaghetti

Salt

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 onion, peeled and chopped

8 ounces mushrooms, washed and chopped

1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed

14 ounces canned diced tomatoes with basil and oregano

1 egg, beaten

1 cup Gruyére cheese, grated

Freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup fresh bread crumbs

1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Fill a large saucepan with 4 quarts of water and bring to a boil over high heat for the pasta.

Set the oven to 400° F.  Grease a casserole dish or roasting pan about 8×12 inches and at least 2 1/2 inches deep.

When the water in the saucepan boils, add the spaghetti, holding it straight up like a bunch of flowers and gently pushing it into the water as it softens.  Add a tablespoon of salt and give the pasta a quick stir.  Briefly put the lid on until it starts to lift, showing that the water has come back to a boil, then let the pasta bubble away, uncovered, for about 8 minutes, or unitl it is tender but still  has some bite to it.  Drain the spaghetti.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a medium-sized saucepan and put in the onion; cover and sauté for 5 minutes.  Then add the mushrooms, garlic and tomatoes and cook, uncovered, for further 10 minutes, until the onions and mushrooms are tender.

Add the egg to the vegetable mixture and stir well over the heat for a minute or two until the egg has cooked.  Remove from the heat and add the spaghetti, along with the Gruyére cheese.  Season with oregano and salt and pepper.

Spoon the spaghettti mixture into the ovenproof dish, scatter with the bread crumbs and Parmesan and bake for about 30 minutes, until golden brown and crisp on top.

Source:  adapted from Vegetarian Pasta by Rose Elliot