With a frittata in the house you’re only about 3 minutes away from a delicious lunch. This is not the most attractive sandwich ever, but it’s delicious and healthy! I used this frittata and whole wheat bread with a swipe of harissa oil. Mayonnaise (if you’re inclined that way) mixed with something spicy is also always a good bet.
As a mostly-vegetarian (and especially during this time in my life when I’m nursing babies), I find that one of my challenges is getting enough protein without overdoing it in the fat/calorie department. (Not that I’m OPPOSED to overdoing it in the fat/calorie department–but, you know, moderation in all…nah, scratch that.) So anyway, I am tentatively experimenting with things that I don’t normally consider food, like egg whites from a carton–which I can only bear to do because our chickens have stopped laying for the winter–and low-fat cheeses. So if that sounds terrible to you, stop right here and skip to the soup below. But if you’re looking for a way to add protein to your diet and/or cut back on fat and calories, this frittata isn’t half bad.
A Spinach-Mushroom-Swiss Egg White Frittata could really have any combination of veggies and cheese, of course, but here’s what I did: Cook nearly a pound of mushrooms like crazy over high heat in a little olive oil until they release their liquid and it evaporates and they get nice and brown. Then and only then, add a 
pinch of salt, then some handfuls of spinach, then another pinch of salt. When the spinach wilts, take the pan off the heat and scoop the veggies into your waiting bowl of 16 oz. egg whites beaten with 4 whole eggs, more salt, a splash of water and 4 shredded slices of lite Jarlsberg cheese. Return your pan to a medium-low burner, wipe it out and add a little more olive oil, and pour in the whole mixture. Once the edges of the frittata have set, I like to transfer the pan to a hot oven to finish baking, then brown the top by flipping on the broiler for a well-supervised minute or two. This was lunch today on a slice of toast with a drizzle of lemony, salty harissa oil–and it will be breakfast for the rest of the week.
To recover from my slight queasiness over the very idea of low-fat cheese, I needed a good honest lentil soup for dinner. This is a pure, clean recipe, courtesy of Alice Waters from her book In The Green Kitchen. Of course, I doubled the recipe, because you know how I feel about soup–and about leftovers. Both divine.
Lentil Soup with Rosemary: Finely dice 2 small onions, 4 ribs of celery, and 4 carrots. Sautee with a tsp. salt until the onion is lightly browned, then add 6 big cloves of chopped garlic and the chopped-up leaves of a big branch of rosemary. When these additions become fragrant after a minute or two, add 2 c. sorted and rinsed tiny black or French green lentils, 3 1/2 quarts of water, and another Tbsp. salt. Bring to a boil and simmer until everything is very soft, about an hour. Season to taste with salt and black pepper and serve each bowl with a dollop of greek yogurt.
It is lovely to be invited to dinner. Tonight our gracious hosts fed the many kiddos first and then sent them off to play while we enjoyed an adult dinner in peace. Brilliant! Why didn’t I think of that? We were served this elegant Coq au Vin from Sunset Magazine. I contributed dessert.
I don’t make these Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes because they’re vegan. I make them because they’re delicious and very, very moist. And today I made them because my friend who invited us to dinner can’t eat eggs or dairy. The recipe is originally from Epicurious. I scaled it down because a dozen big chocolate cupcakes seemed adequate for two families.
Also, did I mention how easy it is to make a dozen Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes? Mix 1 c. plus 2 Tb. flour with 1 c. sugar, 1/2 c. cocoa powder, 1 tsp. of baking soda and 1/4 tsp. salt in a big bowl. Get out a 2-cup measuring cup and mix 1 c. water, 1/3 c. canola oil, 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla and 1 tsp. white vinegar. Mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, divide between 12 lined muffin cups, and bake at 350 for 20 mins. The wonky-looking bit of frosted cupcake you see in the picture up there is glazed with 1 c. powdered sugar sifted with 1/4 c. cocoa powder with 3-4 Tbsp. boiling water mixed in (just enough to make it pourable, then you dip the tops of the cooled cupcakes in).
We served a make-your-own yogurt parfait bar this morning when friends came to breakfast with their kiddos: just-baked Cherry Almond Granola, yogurt and milk, fruit salad, honey and jam. With strong french press coffee with cinnamon mixed into the coffee grounds–why didn’t anyone tell me about that trick before this week? Delicious. I am going to try cardamom next.
The Cherry Almond Granola is a riff on my usual granola recipe from Deborah Madison’s Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone. Mix 6 c. oats, 1 c. wheat germ, 1 c. almonds (we had delicious tiny ones that my mom sent; there are lots of almond orchards near where I grew up), 1 Tb. cinnamon and 1 tsp. nutmeg in a big bowl with a big pinch of salt. Pour in 1/2 c. canola oil and 3/4 c. honey and stir well. Spread onto two baking sheets and bake for 30 mins. at 300, stirring well and switching the pans every 10 minutes. Mix in 1 c. dried cherries and let the granola cool to get crunchy.
I’ll give you that it’s 2012 already. But when this soup showed up on 101 Cookbooks recently, it reminded me of how much we loved it last year. Friends came over for dinner and I made a few little things to go along with it, too.
First, Nash’s Field Pea or (if you don’t have Nash’s Field Peas, poor you) Split Pea Soup with Curried Brown Butter: I, myself, like to make a big pot of soup–enough to serve unexpected company or to have leftovers for the freezer. So you could scale this down if you prefer a smaller quantity. Saute 2 big onions, 6 minced cloves of garlic, and 1/2 to 1 tsp. red pepper flakes in a knob of butter. When soft, add 3 c. field peas (well sorted and washed and soaked overnight)–or, once the field peas run out, green split peas. Add 3 quarts water, bring to a boil and simmer until soft. If you’re using split peas or lentils this might take 30-60 minutes. If you’re using last year’s field peas from Nash’s, it might take all day. When the peas are soft, mix in 2 tsp. salt and 1 can light coconut milk. Puree well, then add additional salt to taste. In a separate pan, brown 1/4 c. butter, then sizzle in 4 tsp. Indian curry powder for one minute. Mix most of the curried brown butter into the soup, then serve bowls drizzled with the remaining curried butter and chopped chives.
This Easy Little Bread is just as its name implies and goes great with (butter or cheese and) soup. Dissolve 2 tsp. yeast in 1 1/4 c. warm water, then mix in 1 Tb. honey. Meanwhile, mix 1 c. all-purpose flour, 1 c. whole wheat flour, 1 c. oats and 1 1/2 tsp. salt in a large bowl. Mix wet ingredients into dry until well combined, then scoop dough into a buttered loaf pan. Let rise for 30 minutes, then bake for about 40 minutes at 350. Cool on a cooling rack.
A Lemony Kale Salad kept the meal from being too brown: Chop 1 washed, stemmed bunch of kale to smithereens in a food processor. Toss in a handful of currants and a handful of toasted pine nuts. Mix up a dressing of 1/4 c. lemon juice, 1/4 c. olive oil, 1/4 c. microplaned parmesan, a minced small clove of garlic, and salt and pepper to taste. Toss it all together with more parmesan.
And finally, a Meyer Lemon Olive Oil Cake, made from lemons we picked from the tree outside the window when were in California last week. It’s from Rustic Fruit Desserts, and it’s a family favorite (we call it “glaze cake”). First, preheat the oven to 350 and coat a 9″ cake pan with olive oil, then granulated sugar. Beat 3 room-temperature eggs, 3/4 c. sugar, and the zest of 5 Meyer lemons at high speed for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine 1 1/4 c. all purpose flour with 1/4 tsp. salt and 1 tsp. baking powder. Mix 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla into the egg mixture, then add 1 c. olive oil while the mixer is running at low speed. Add flour mixture just to combine, then scoop it into the pan and bake for 25-30 minutes. Glaze with 3/4 c. powdered sugar mixed with 2 Tbsp. Meyer lemon juice.
So here’s the plan. I love to eat. I love to cook. I have a passel of small children (where passel=3) and suddenly it seems like I never have enough time to cook/feed myself the kind of meals I want to eat. Delicious. Healthy. Delicious. (Did I say that already?)
Mostly this is a function of poor planning. We don’t eat out a ton these days (you try enjoying a restaurant meal with said passel of small children), but we do eat a lot of scrambled eggs. Scrambled eggs with a tumble of veggies and charred poblano peppers laced with a salty, spicy chile de arbol oil, maybe–but scrambled eggs.
I think with some advance planning we could branch out. In the olden days (read: before kids), J and I used to cook together for hours, stuffing handmade pasta for ravioli or pounding our own curry paste or reducing fancy sauces. I’m not talking about that. I’m talking about just making dinner.
I’m usually the cook in our family these days, so we’ll follow my peculiar dietary guidelines: Yes vegetables! No red meat! Yes fish with fins! No shellfish! Maybe chicken. I haven’t eaten meat for years but I think I should try to introduce my children to some protein sources beyond yogurt and edamame (and those scrambled eggs, of course). So yes chicken!
Do you have any great recipes for me? I’m ready to get cookin’.
Emmy Cooks 