Week 10: Colorful Corn Chowder

Vegetable ingredients: Corn, red and green pepper, mushrooms.


I know, I know, it's not really the season for corn chowder, but there aren't too many vegetables I like and this recipe seemed comparatively healthy. Also, I'm running out of ideas (too many vegetables I don't like, too many preparation styles that sound too complicated), and chowder is something I know and like.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons butter

• 1 large onion, chopped

• 1 green bell pepper, chopped

• 1 red bell pepper, chopped

• 2 carrots, chopped (forgot about those, tossed in a handful of sliced mushrooms instead)

• 2 (10 ounce) packages frozen corn kernels, thawed

• 1 1/2 cups dry potato flakes 

• 2 teaspoons salt

• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

• 1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper

• 3 cups water

• 2 cups milk

• 1 cup half-and-half

• 1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

• 
  

  Direction

  In a large saucepan, melt butter over medium high heat. Cook onion, red and green bell peppers, and carrots until tender. Stir in thawed corn, potato flakes, salt, ground peppers, and 3 cups water. Bring to boil. Reduce heat. Cover, and simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in milk and half and half. Warm only. Do not boil. Serve sprinkled with grated cheese.

  
  
  Verdict: 7/10
  
  
  Nice enough, not spectacular, but we had some baguette, cream cheese, and smoked salmon left over, which made for a nice addition. It looks cheesier than it tastes (a good thing). I pureed some of the soup and tried to sell it to my four-year old as cheese soup, but she took only one spoonful and frowned. Definitely took longer than 30 minutes to prepare (I'm not very good at prepping vegetables). One comment was "too soupy," but I didn't mind. Would have fed 4 people for dinner (recipe said: "serves 10", which, as usual, was a joke). Was also good the next day.

Week 9: Curried Eggplant With Tomatoes and Basil

Vegetable ingredients: Eggplant, tomatoes, chickpeas.


I feel I'm running out of vegetables that I like. Or at least don't dislike. A student recommended recipes published by the magazine Real Simple, so I gave their website a try. I didn't really find many appealing (to me, anyway) vegetarian recipes. In the end, I decided on Curried Eggplants with Tomatoes and Basil, mainly because I have never cooked a dish with eggplants (I think). Getting adventurous, right?

Ingredients

• 1 cup white basmati rice

• kosher salt and black pepper

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• 1 onion, chopped
(love pre-chopped onions!)

• 2 pints cherry tomatoes, halved
(very expensive at Whole Foods, $8 or so, so I settled on a large can of diced tomatoes instead -- not sure if that helped or harmed the dish, but it cut down on prep time) 

• 1 eggplant (about 1 pound, cut into 1/2 inch pieces)

• 1 1/2 teaspoons 
curry powder

• 1  15.5 ounce can chickpeas, rinsed
(it took me a while at Whole Foods to figure out that chickpeas = garbanzo beans, which tells you all you need to know about my culinary talents)

• 1/2 cup fresh basil
(basil really made a difference!)

• 1/4 cup plain low-fat-yogurt, preferably Greek (I used 1/2 cup whole-milk yogurt)

Directions

1. In a medium saucepan with a tight-fitting lid, combine the rice, 1 ½ cups water, and ½ teaspoon salt and bring to a boil. Stir the rice once, cover, and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 18 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand, covered, for 5 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 4 to 6 minutes.
3. Stir in the tomatoes, eggplant, curry powder, 1 teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon black pepper. Cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 2 minutes.
4. Add 2 cups water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, partially covered, until eggplant is tender, 12 to 15 minutes.
5. Stir in the chickpeas and cook just until heated through, about 3 minutes.
6. Remove the vegetables from heat and stir in the basil. Fluff the rice with a fork. Serve the vegetables over the rice with yogurt, if using.

Verdict: 6/10


My family found it "vegetably," but I quite liked it (more than I had expected, eggplants are not really my thing, they look better than they taste). It was easy enough to prepare and would have served 4 (as stated in the recipe). My daughter didn't eat any of it, no, she ate a single chickpea and then frowned. Ah well. We enjoyed the leftovers the next day, when it was more like a stew. I forgot to take a picture, but the recipe website (linked above) has a pretty accurate one. It seems like something one could take to a potluck.

Week 8: Fruited Tofu Curry Salad

Vegetable Ingredients: Grapes (does tofu count?)


It was very warm this week, which is why I decided to make a cold dish: Fruited Tofu Curry Salad (no coconut milk, no mayonnaise).

• Ingredients

• 1/2 cup white rice
(I made more to set aside for the next day)

• 2 cups extra-firm tofu, drained and cubed
(I used a 1 pound package from Trader Joe's)

• 1 cup yogurt

• 2 tablespoons lime juice

• 1 tablespoon curry powder

• 1 cup halved grapes
(I used a bit more because I ditched the dried cranberries. Hate the texture)

• 1 tablespoon dried cranberries
(ditched)

• 1/2 cup diced celery
(ditched. I detest celery.)

• 3 tablespoons diced green onions

• 1/4 cup walnuts

• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. In a saucepan bring water to a boil. Add rice and stir. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes; set aside.
2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook cubed tofu for 3 minutes; drain, and set aside to cool.
3. In a bowl, blend yogurt with lime juice and curry powder; set aside. In a large mixing bowl, toss together halved grapes, cranberries, celery, green onions, walnuts, rice, and tofu. Drizzle with curry dressing, and toss until well coated. Season to taste with salt and pepper, as desired.

Verdict: 7/10


It looked rather unspectacular (a little beige-y), but really grew on us, especially the fruity flavor and the crunch of the walnuts, and the leftovers were eaten the next day. The flavor of the green onions and the lime juice seemed rather pronounced (perhaps use less lime juice and sautee onions next time). The little person tried a tiny piece of tofu and frowned. Overall, an okay dish, good for summer. This would make a good potluck or party dish. (Potluck invitations always make me nervous because I have no repertoire to draw on. Well, perhaps I now have.)

Week 7: White Spinach Lasagna

Vegetable ingredient: Spinach


I had talked about wanting to make lasagna for a while, now it was my turn. There are lots of recipes, obviously, and it's hard to find something that doesn't make you think of artery blockage. I settled on Rachael Ray's (never watched her show) White Spinach Lasagna.

 

At the end, I had to switch on the broiler for a couple of minutes. My first time of using the broiler in our house (we moved in 8 months ago).

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons butter

• 4 tablespoons flour

• 2 cups milk

• 2 cups chicken stock

• A generous dash fresh nutmeg (love nutmeg!)

• Salt and ground black pepper

• 1 box oven-ready lasagna noodles  (from Trader Joe's, was surprised to see how many places sell lasagna noodles one is supposed to cook)

• 2 10-ounce boxes frozen chopped spinach, defrosted and squeezed dry

• 4 cups shredded Italian four-cheese blend (I used less. The arteries....)

Preparation: 


Preheat oven to 375ºF. Place a large saucepot over medium heat and melt the butter. Sprinkle the flour over the butter and cook for about 1 minute. Whisk in the milk and chicken stock, and bring the sauce up to a bubble. Add in the nutmeg and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Simmer until the sauce thickens, 3-4 minutes. Assemble the lasagna by ladling a small amount (about 1/2 cup, just eyeball it) of the sauce into the bottom of a 13x9" baking dish. Lay three of the lasagna noodles over the sauce and top them with about 1/3 of the spinach. Top with about 1 cup of the sauce and about 1 cup of the shredded cheese (about 2 generous handfuls). Make two more layers of the lasagna by laying down three lasagna noodles, about 1/3 of the spinach, 1 cup of the sauce and about 1 cup shredded cheese for each layer. Top the lasagna off with the last three noodles, the remaining sauce, and the remaining shredded cheese. (I think I had fewer layers) Cover the pan with aluminum foil and bake the lasagna for 30 minutes. Remove the foil from the baking dish and bake another 15 minutes until the cheese is melted and the sauce is bubbly.

Verdict: 8.5/10

Making this recipe felt like "real" cooking! It felt like a real dish!  Loved the nutmeg taste. Recipe would have fed 3-4 hungry people. My daughter liked the cheesy taste, but didn't touch the spinach. This would be a nice entree for when we have guests. Broiling at the end was crucial.