Week 6: I forgot

I think it was something with lentils and tomatoes, but I can't remember and I didn't write it down either.

Week 5: Fish & Chips

Vegetable ingredient: Peas (again)


I felt a bit under the weather this week, which is why I gave myself permission to bend the make-from-scratch rule. Dinner was fish (Trader Joe's baked cod) and chips (Trader Joe's sweet potatoe fries), with peas added for color. Plus ketchup.

Verdict: 5/10


Not healthy, but tasty. The little person ate some fries with ketchup and tasted the fish. I felt guilty, because it wasn't really dinner from scratch.

Week 3: Baked Eggs With Creamy Leeks

Vegetable ingredient: Leeks.


For week 3, I also attempted to make a dish I had made before. It's from the "Four Ingredient Cookbook" by Joanna Farrow (not in print anymore).

Ingredients:
1 table spoon butter plus extra butter for greasing8 oz small leeks, thinly sliced5-6 table spoons whipping cream4 medium/large eggs

Instructions:

Prehead oven to 375 F, butter 4 ramekinsMelt butter, cook leaks over medium heat for 3-5 minsAdd 3 table spoons of the cream, cook over low heat for 5 minsPlace ramekins in a small roasting pan and divide the leeks among themBreak an egg into each, spoon over the remaining cream, seasonPour boiling water into the roasting pan, transfer pan into oven, bake for about 10 mins

Verdict: 4.5/10


This dish was so-so (definitely not as good as I had remembered it). Plus, I'm not really a fan of leeks. (I do like eggs, though). It also wasn't really enough to feed two hungry people (this is more of an appetizer for 4). Would I make this dish again? Probably not. I think I should turn to new recipes from now on.

Week 4: Risotto with Parsley and Basil

Vegetable ingredient(s): Parsley and basil (does that count?)


This week's recipe is from a great cooking book: How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman. It seems that many people are afraid of making risotto, but I can attest to it being a fairly uncomplicated dish. One just has to stay near the oven. (That's what audio books are made for.)

Ingredients:
4-6 cups chicken or vegetable stock (sorry, I don't make stock from scratch, one has to draw the line somewhere)2 table spoons olive oil1 medium onion, minced1 1/2 cups Arborio ricesalt, pepper1/2 cup dry white wine1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves2 table spoons butter1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Preparation:


Warm stock, place oil in skillet, heat, add onion, cook for 3-5 mins.
Add the rice and stir until coated with oil, add salt and pepper, add wine
Begin to add warm stock, 1/2 cup at a time, let stock evaporate, add more
Begin tasting after 20 mins, it could take up to 30 mins


Verdict: 7.5/10


I love risotto and this one turned out well (was supposed to make 4-6 servings, but it's more like 3-4 servings for hungry eaters), but it didn't feel very healthy -- all that rice, butter, and cheese. Still, the great thing about risotto is that one can easily make different versions of this dish (by adding vegetables, such as mushrooms, spinach, or peas). The little person didn't eat anything.

Week 2: Lentil Soup With Pasta

Vegetable Ingredients: Lentils, tomatoes, carrots


This week I made lentil soup. Again, this is something I made in the past (with some success), but I couldn't find my original recipe anymore. So I used this one, by Giada De Laurentiis (a person I had never heard about before).

• Ingredients
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus extra for drizzling (I did without the drizzling)
• 1 medium onion, chopped (this is when I discovered that one can buy prechopped onions. Hooray!)
• 2 carrots, peeled and chopped
• 2 celery stalks, chopped (ditched these, I hate celery)
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped (used frozen garlic cubes from Trader Joe's)
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 (14 1/2-ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 1 pound lentils (approximately 1 1/4 cups)
• 11 cups low-salt chicken broth (11 cups? That's a lot!)
• 4 to 6 fresh thyme sprigs
• 2/3 cup dried elbow pasta (I used a little more)
• 1 cup shredded Parmesan

Directions

Heat the oil in a heavy large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and carrots. Add the garlic, salt, and pepper and saute until all the vegetables are tender, about 5 to 8 minutes. Add the tomatoes with their juices. Simmer until the juices evaporate a little and the tomatoes break down, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes. Add the lentils and mix to coat. Add the broth and stir. Add the thyme sprigs. Bring to a boil over high heat. Cover and simmer over low heat until the lentils are almost tender, about 30 minutes. Stir in the pasta. Simmer until the pasta is tender but still firm to the bite, about 8 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Ladle the soup into bowls. Sprinkle with the Parmesan and serve.

Verdict: 7/10

The soup didn't taste as rich and stewlike as the one that I meant to make, but it was really quite good, especially the next day. 6 servings seems about right (4 servings for hungry people).