MITCH IN THE KITCHEN

sardine tartine, bean tartine

Let me start by saying that I don’t actually like sardines (though I wish I did). I made a fishy open-faced sandwich for John because 1. it rhymes (though he insists on using “sartine”) and 2. he likes small oily fish a lot. I made myself a bean tartine and was delighted to discover that it also rhymes.

Sardine tartine
From bottom to top, it goes like this:
1. lightly toasted good bread
2. a smear of cream cheese
3. sardines, lightly smashed (if you’re working with grilled fresh sardines, good for you)
4. big squeeze of lemon
5. mixture of sweet red peppers (fresh, roasted, or pickled, whichever you prefer), minced red onion, capers, green olives, salt, pepper, and lemon juice
6. torn basil and/or parsley

Bean tartine
1. lightly toasted good bread
2. a smear of hummus or cream cheese
3. mixture of the red pepper mixture and chickpeas or white beans
4. torn basil and/or parsley

lentil and bulgur salad

Here’s a lentil salad I threw together for a weekend trip/beach picnic in Montauk. I scraped up some French green lentils from the back of the pantry and combined them with leftover cooked bulgur, chopped artichoke hearts, crisp radishes, minced red onion, lemon juice, olive oil, and lots of fresh scallions, mint, and parsley. (Tip: add a tiny splash of plain white vinegar to the cooking water to keep the lentils from getting too mushy.)

Pairs well with: half a baguette, a hunk of soft cheese, mixed olives, a sneaky carton of white wine, sunshine, the sound of the ocean, and a 1-year-old marriage. Anniversaries, Mitch & John style.

white bean, radish, and snap pea salad

After having several vivid dreams about shopping for spring vegetables (I am not joking), I decided to scratch that subconscious itch and head down to the Union Square greenmarket this week, with visions of radishes dancing in my head. And crunchy sugar snap peas. I combined them with a lightly tangy dressing, creamy white beans, and a bunch of fresh herbs to make a perfectly portable salad that I can bring to lunch at school, potlucks, barbecues, and picnics (check out an earlier post to see how much I over-think these kinds of things).

1 can (15 oz) of small white beans, drained and rinsed
3 radishes, thinly sliced (I used a mandoline set at 2.0mm)
about 1/3 pound snap peas, cut in half
1-2 teaspoons minced shallot (depending on how oniony you like things)
1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
a couple squeezes of lemon juice (about 2 teaspoons)
1 heaping tablespoon plain yogurt (optional)
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons minced fresh chives
2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill

Combine shallot, vinegar, lemon juice, yogurt, salt, pepper, and olive oil to make dressing. Toss with beans, vegetables, and herbs. Taste and adjust seasonings.

pasta with lima beans, lemon, and kale

Despite what the greatest hits on this blog may have you believe, the best tasting stuff from my kitchen does not require a lot of time and labor. Case in point: the old standby of pasta with beans and greens. No advance preparation is required, and you only need one pot and one pan. I love crinkly dinosaur kale an awful lot, but any kind of kale would work in this.

In a pot of boiling salted water: Cook pasta (I used whole wheat penne) and frozen baby lima beans together until both are tender.

In a saute pan: Heat olive oil over medium heat. Add minced garlic and stir it around. Add red pepper flakes. After a minute or so (don’t let the garlic get all burnt) add chopped dinosaur kale (aka Lacinato kale, Tuscan kale, cavolo nero) and saute for a few minutes. Add lemon zest, salt, and pepper. I also added chopped kalamata olives because I had some. Drain pasta-bean mixture and add to pan, along with a bit of the pasta cooking water. Toss everything together and top with a drizzle of olive oil and grated Parmigiano cheese (optional).

food stamp project week

One of the assignments for my community nutrition class is the food stamp challenge. Some 43.5 million people (about 1 in 8) in the U.S. are enrolled in SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) and the week-long experience is meant to be a take-home exploration of what it’s like (a little bit, at least). John (always a good sport) and I spent seven days on a food budget of $60 ($30 per person). To be blunt, I don’t have any earth-shattering revelations or provocative insights to report. Cutting a two-person weekly food bill down to $60 is doable, but not fun. Yes, I got hungry and missed being able to have cheese whenever I want, on whatever I want. But it was entirely possible to eat a reasonably healthy mixed diet. In fact, most of the dinners we had resembled what we normally eat: rice (the brown kind) with beans, rice with tofu and eggs, pasta with sausage and beans. All with vegetables and heavily doused with hot sauce. Breakfast was muesli with milk or yogurt, lunch was peanut butter sandwiches. Very monotonous, but peanut butter and banana slices smooshed between squishy wheat bread and eaten on a subway platform have never tasted so good.

The part that challenged me most wasn’t trying to put together a decent meal for a few bucks or not being able to grab dinner at a restaurant with my friends. It wasn’t about the horror that is 99-cent packs of imitation American pasteurized process cheese food slices or the self-discipline it takes to cross the street to avoid bakery smells, pizza smells, and the mere thought of ice cream on a 60-degree afternoon. The hard part was staying full and cheerful throughout the day, at the risk of not having enough to eat in the coming days. By looking at this blog, you can probably tell that I care an awful lot about food, for better or worse. For a week, it became all about staying as full as possible for as long as possible.

Here’s the first thing we made for dinner. Filling, nutritious, and cheap.

Beans & Greens Stew with Rice
serves 4 (total cost: $3.56, excluding seasonings)

8 oz dried kidney beans ($0.75)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil ($0.10)
1 small onion, chopped ($0.10)
1/2 large carrot, chopped ($0.15)
1 large clove garlic, minced ($0.07)
water
10 oz package frozen chopped collard greens or spinach ($0.99)
2 tablespoons tomato paste ($0.40)
a few shakes of dried oregano
salt, pepper, hot sauce to taste

1 pound long grain brown rice, cooked ($1.00)

Soak beans in cold water overnight or for 8 to 12 hours.

Heat oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add onion and carrot and cook for a few minutes, until soft. Add garlic and cook for another few minutes. Add beans and enough water to fully cover them. Bring to a simmer, then add salt and oregano. Lower heat and continue to simmer until beans are cooked through (40 minutes? something like that… just keep testing them). Stir them every now and then and add more water if necessary.

Stir tomato paste into cooking liquid. Add frozen greens and cook until they are un-frozen. Add more salt if necessary, pepper, and hot sauce to taste. Serve with cooked rice.

winter squash, carrot, and chickpea stew with quinoa

Sometimes I walk into my kitchen and wonder, what the heck am I going to do with all these squash? And carrots? And this cabinet full of precariously stacked spice jars that tumble out sometimes? Then a recipe like this comes along and answers all three of these questions. We followed it, more or less, and added chickpeas (aka garbanzo beans or “hehehe butt beans!” according to me and my cousin Brenda 20 years ago) because I think a little protein is in order, unless you want to be hungry again in like an hour. If you scroll through the hundreds of reader reviews and comments on the Bon Appetit/Epicurious recipe you’ll find other good ideas, like doubling the amount of spices in the stew (necessary), adding currants or raisins to the quinoa, and using broth instead of water.

lentils and butternut squash with chevre

I am having not one, not two, but three meals in honor of Thanksgiving this year. None of which will be on the official day itself. In fact, the first in this series of pants-splitting meals already happened at Pavla and Diana’s apartment. There was roast chicken, a pair of Tofurkey breasts, and tasty homemade side dishes. Every potluck I go to keeps getting better and better. And it wouldn’t be a proper party without a buffet of wine, beer, Christine’s apple-infused vodka, and alcoholic hot cider. Because the holiday season doesn’t start until everyone’s drunk and there’s an impromptu Pavement singalong.

I pitched in with a cake (whose post will come later) and a bowl of lentils with roasted squash I’d been meaning to make since seeing this and this. I used butternut squash and French green lentils, but you could easily swap them for sugar pumpkins or delicata squash (or sweet potatoes, as someone suggested) and black lentils. Happy Early Thanksgiving!

Very rough recipe:

about 1 cup dried French green lentils
2 small butternut squash (mine were about 7 inches long), peeled and cubed
olive oil
about 1 teaspoon ground cumin
about 1 teaspoon paprika (I used sweet paprika, but I wish I had mixed in some hot paprika)
salt and black pepper

for dressing:
1/2 small red onion, finely chopped
salt and black pepper
a few tablespoons of apple cider vinegar and sherry vinegar
a few tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil

handful of chopped mint
handful of chopped parsley
crumbly goat cheese

Bring lentils to a boil in a pot of water. Lower heat and cook until they are done (the only way to know is to eat a few). It should take about 30-40 minutes. Add salt toward the last half of cooking time. Drain and rinse with cold water.

While lentils are cooking, toss squash with a bit of olive oil, spices, salt, and pepper. Spread out on a large baking sheet and roast in a 425-degree oven for about 30-40 minutes, or until they are golden and soft.

Combine dressing ingredients. Toss with lentils, squash, and herbs. Taste and adjust seasonings. Top with goat cheese.

vegetable paella

Because you know, Spain, World Cup, had some escarole, found some arborio rice in the pantry. Recipe from Epicurious.

ricotta and edamame crostini

I’m back, I’m married, and I’m not ashamed to say that I have the greatest friends and family (including husband, whoa) in the world. Thanks to them, I had a blast. Best day of my life so far.

Now that we’ve returned, we’re back to the usual cooking and cleaning and working and studying. Not as fun as planning the biggest party of my life, but it feels good to settle back in.

explanation of what is in that photo above, and how to make it:

sliced not-too-dense, not-too-soft bread (I used a baguette)
extra virgin olive oil

fresh ricotta cheese
lemon zest

fresh or frozen edamame, shelled and cooked in boiling salted water

for the dressing:
6 garlic scapes (found at CSAs and farmers markets)
2 handfuls of cilantro (basil would’ve been good too)
2-3 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice
salt and black pepper
3-4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil

Toast bread in the oven or toaster oven until barely browned. Drizzle on some olive oil.

Combine ricotta with lemon zest. Smear on each slice of bread.

To make the dressing, combine garlic scapes, cilantro, lemon juice, salt, and pepper in a food processor until finely chopped. Drizzle in olive oil. Add dressing to edamame. Top crostini with edamame. Finish with a sprinkle of salt.