Pasta and spring things

This dish came about from various little tubs of leftovers; the steamed green beans and asparagus from the garden that had served as a side to grilled steaks, the last bit of yogurt-and-mustard sauce used for dipping grilled potatoes, and some of Alison Roman's glorious savory granola I always keep around. You can make all of these things fresh, or substitute your own steamed veggies and creamy sauce here, and I'm sure it will be glorious. 

Springy Leftover Pasta

Serves 4

4 cups steamed green veggies (peas, asparagus, green beans, broccoli, whatevs)
1/2 pound whole grain farfalle pasta
salt, red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons plain Greek yogurt + 2 tablespoons grainy mustard
garnishes: lemon wedges, a bowl of savory granola or roasted nuts/seeds of your choice (toasted groats would also be good)

In a small bowl, combine the yogurt and mustard. Set aside.

In a well-salted pot of boiling water, cook the pasta according to package directions.  If you don't already have steamed veggies on hand, you could throw them in for the last 3-4 minutes of cooking time. Drain pasta and, if you're using leftover veggies, toss together to take the chill off. Season with crushed red pepper, drizzle with some of the yogurt sauce, and garnish with a spritz of lemon and a generous sprinkle or granola. Eat hot or at room temperature.

What to do with those terrible neon cheese balls at Safeway

You know those cheap cheese balls in the grocery store, the ones that are bright orange and covered in ground up nuts, stored next to the Sabre hummus and other things you really should just make yourself? In a rare moment of optimism, we picked one up at the beginning of the holiday season. It wasn't good.  It didn't cause any gastro-intestinal distress, but that's about all I can say for it.  So, we choked some down with crackers and beer one night and then shoved it to the back of the cheese drawer. TYhree weeks later, the thing was still edible, but not edible enough to actually put on any more crackers.  I hate to waste food, so I wondered what I could do with it.

If you have ever found yourself in this situation, I can highly recommend these two super-easy recipes that will also help you use up some other holiday meal leftovers shoved in the fridge. And if you'd like to try making a cheese ball you and your guests will actually enjoy for New Year's Eve, there's a recipe for that at the bottom, too.

Party Mac and Cheese

Serves 4

1/2 pound macaroni or pasta shape of your choice
4 oz. or so of your sad cheese ball
1/2 cup leftover vegetables (I leftover pesto peas from Christmas: pesto stirred into some thawed frozen peas and gently heated by Chef Mike while my dad carved the turkey)
2 tablespoons chopped sun-dried tomato (optional)
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese (optional)
salt and crushed red pepper to taste

Bring a well-salted pot of water to boil.  Cook the pasta al dente and drain, reserving about 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid. Stir in the cheese ball and Parmesan, if using, adding some of the cooking liquid if necessary (try a tablespoon at a time) to form a smooth sauce.  Stir in the cooked vegetables, sun dried-tomatoes, and season with salt and red pepper.  Serve hot.

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Cheese Ball Potatoes

Serves 8 as a side

4-6 cups leftover mashed potatoes
1/2 cup (4 oz) leftover cheese ball
2 eggs

Mash everything together and spread in an 8x8 pan. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.
OR, to make it faster, reheat the mashed potatoes in the microwave before adding everything, bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes, then move it to the top rack in the oven. Broil for 2-4 minutes (check at two minutes), until browned on top.

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Edible Cheese Ball

Serves: depends on how drunk you are

16 oz softened cream cheese 

3/4 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
3/4 cup crumbled cooked bacon (don't you dare use Bacon Bits)
1/4 cup chopped green onions
1/4 cup chopped pecans 

Whip the cream cheese and cheddar cheese together in a high power blender, food processor, or stand mixer with a paddle attachment. Form the cheese into a ball, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 1-2 hours, until firm.

In a medium bowl, stir together the bacon bits, green onions, and pecans. Roll the cheese ball in the mixture.

Wrap the ball tightly in plastic wrap. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Wild Rice and Miso Soup

Planning on having wild rice again for Christmas dinner?  Just go ahead and plan on making this soup now, because you know you're going to have a big tub of the dried-out stuff taking up precious space in your refrigerator afterwards. I did this one after Thanksgiving a few weeks ago, and I already miss it.

Wild Rice and Miso Soup

Serves 4

1 tablespoon neutral oil, like peanut or grapeseed

1 small yellow onion, chopped

2 small carrots, chopped

2 teaspoons fresh grated ginger

1 large garlic clove, minced

pinch salt (maybe 1/2 teaspoon?)

2 oz. dried shitake mushrooms

4 oz. mixed fresh mushrooms (portobello, white button, whatever)

6 cups water

1/4 cup soy sauce

2 packed cups chopped kale

3-4 cups leftover (cooked) wild rice

1 tablespoon white miso

1 tablespoon seasoned rice vinegar

1 teaspoon dark toasted sesame oil

1/2 teaspoon (or to taste) Sambal Olek or other chile sauce

In a Dutch oven or stock pot, heat the oil over medium heat and, when it shimmers, add the onion and carrots.  Saute until fragrant and slightly soft, then add the ginger, garlic, and salt.  Continue to cook until you can smell the garlic, then add the mushrooms.  Give them a stir, then add the water and soy sauce.  Cover and increase heat to bring to a boil, then reduce heat again to maintain a gentle simmer.  Cook until the shitakes are soft, about 15 minutes, then stir in the kale and continue to cook another 5 minutes.  Finally, dump in the wild rice and break up any clumps. 

While the rice is coming up to the temperature of the soup, place the miso, vinegar, sesame oil, and Sambal along with about a tablespoon of the hot broth in a jar with a tight-fitting lid.  Shake thoroughly to break up the miso, and when you have a thick sauce, pour it into the soup.  Turn off the heat, give it a stir, and serve. 

Lazy end-of-summer meals

Because I do a fair amount of traveling during the school year, I am always asked again and again over the summer, "so, are you going anywhere exciting?" The answer is occasionally yes, but the summer months are frighteningly lean for a freelance classical musician, and so the answer is, quite often, a big fat NO. That's OK, because I live in a state other people save up to visit on vacation, and we have created a modest yet cozy habitat here in Northern Colorado, homemade patio, messy vegetable garden, and all. So while I spend my days at home writing, practicing, and teaching flute lessons, I would much rather mix up a cocktail and fix the quickest snack I can at the end of the day in order to maximize that precious patio time. With summer drawing to a close, I feel all the more impatient to hurry up and sit down without resorting to Doritos for dinner. Here are some ideas I've played around with this summer; perhaps you'll find something here to help you live the good life a little sooner, too. 

Current lazy girl dinners at the DFT house:

• Finely chop cauliflower, garlic, and onion, sear in a lightly oiled pan over high heat, then crack in an egg and cook till set.
• Mix together chili oil, soy sauce, sesame oil, and black vinegar while you cook soba noodles. Toss noodles in sauce. Top with sliced green onion. Fry an egg and add it to the bowl. 
• While you cook noodles, blend together avocado, lime juice, cilantro, and salt. Toss hot pasta with the sauce, top with freshly ground pepper, and chopped cilantro. Toss in some chopped tomato.
• Fry garlic slices in oil. Add a can of clams, chopped herbs, and butter. Then stir in cooked pasta, along with a spoonful of its cooking liquid, and a splash or white wine or light beer. Zest a lemon over top.
• Fry up leftover bits of any cured meat or a lone breakfast sausage with a little sliced bell pepper, stir in greens, dump in a container of takeout rice or leftovers form the freezer, and warm through. Splash in some rice vinegar and soy sauce before serving.
• Mix canned tuna with canned chickpeas or white beans, diced red onion, olive oil, and lemon. Plop onto salad greens or toast.
• Warm a can of black beans and a can of fire-roasted tomatoes together on the stove, seasoning as you like. Spoon over a pile of tortilla chips. Top with avocado slices and a fried egg.
• Dip slices of bread into beaten eggs seasoned with a salt, pepper, cayenne, finely grated Parmesan, and chopped chives or scallions. Fry like French toast, then eat with hot sauce.

Goes well with hangovers

When I was a graduate student at Indiana University, my Korean friend would take me to the only Korean restaurant in town (no doubt one of very few in the entire state) and, while pointing out all of the inauthenticities, treat me to Pa Jun, the lovely, comforting savory pancake filled with bits of vegetables and meats and served with a fun dipping sauce.  It was meant to soak up all the leftover alcohol in our systems after overindulging (I would like to take this opportunity to thank my colleagues at the IU School of Music for teaching me just how much I could drink without puking), and I still have fond memories of hazy Saturdays slowly downing Pa Jun and trying to recall embarrassing things I said to cool string players and composers the night before.  Now, in my much more boring (but also more stable and happy) life as a 40-something musician who cooks a lot, I adore Pa Jun as a fun way to use up leftover bits of veggies, meat scraps, and yes, even tiny bits of tofu littering the fridge. 

Pa Jun

Serevs 4

FOR THE DIPPING SAUCE
3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 ½ teaspoons sugar, optional
Pinch of hot red pepper flakes
FOR THE PANCAKES
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
4 large eggs
1 cup all-purpose flour or rice flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup very finely chopped vegetables asparagus, broccoli, green beans, scallions or chopped cooked leftover meat chicken, beef, pork or both

For dipping sauce: In a small bowl, combine vinegar, soy sauce, sugar (if using) and red pepper flakes. Mix well and set aside.

For pancakes:  Place a small (6- to 8-inch) nonstick or well-seasoned skillet over medium-low heat. Coat bottom with vegetable oil and allow to heat.

In a medium bowl, whisk eggs just until frothy. Add flour and salt and whisk to combine. Add vegetables or meat and stir to blend. Add 1 cup cold water and mix again to blend.

Fill a 1/2-cup measuring cup with batter; pour into hot pan. Allow to sit until browned and crispy on bottom, about 2 minutes. Flip pancake and cook another 2 minutes. Place on a serving plate and keep warm (or set aside to serve at room temperature). Repeat with remaining batter. Serve with dipping sauce, tearing or cutting off pieces of pancake to dip in sauce with fingers or chopsticks.

Also goes great with drinking: shinjaga shouyu bataa!  Think of this as the Japanese version of Spanish/Cuban patatas bravas--just a simple dish of potato chunks with a little seasoning.  These are traditionally new potatoes dressed only with soy sauce and butter (a remarkably wonderful combination you can use on any and all cooked vegetables, by the way), but I like the addition of cilantro and peanuts, and of course, lime juice is fantastic over just about everything. You can easily whip these up after a night out, offer to friends with their beers, or just treat them as a respectable app or side in the light of day. There they are with Pa Jun, above!

Potatoes with butter and soy sauce

Serves 4 as a side

3-4 medium russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 2-inch chunks
Salt
2 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon soy sauce
Coarsely ground black pepper 

2 tablespoons fresh chopped cilantro

1 tablespoon chopped peanuts

lime wedges for serving

Put the potatoes in a pot with water to cover; add salt (the water should taste almost as salty as sea water). Bring to a boil and cook for about 5 minutes.

Drain the potatoes and keep int the pot. Add the butter and soy sauce and mix. Once the butter is melted, stir in the cilantro and peanuts and serve with lime wedges to squeeze over the top. 

Gingery fried rice with kale and mushrooms

I love recipes that utilize leftovers.  In fact, I love creating new things with leftovers so much that it's even a category on this blog "leftover recipes".  Fried rice is about as classic a leftover dish as lasagna, and I can never get enough. And leftover fried rice, in turn, makes an excellent breakfast. (what?! there's egg in it!)

Ginger Fried Rice with Kale and Mushrooms

Serves 4-6

1 tablespoon peanut oil

4 large eggs, beaten

Salt

Pepper

½ yellow onion, chopped

2 cups finely chopped kale

2 cups mixed mushrooms, chopped

4 garlic cloves, minced

2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger

4 cups cooked white or brown rice

1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar

1-2 tablespoons soy sauce (to taste)

3-4 sliced scallions

2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

Lime wedges for serving

In a large nonstick skillet, heat the oil. Add the eggs and season with salt and pepper. Cook the eggs over moderate heat, stirring, until just set, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board and coarsely chop.

Return the skillet to the heat and add a little more oil if it’s dry.  Add the yellow onion, kale, and mushrooms and season with salt. Cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until kale is wilted and mushrooms have released their water, about 12 minutes. Add the garlic and ginger and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Add the rice, vinegar and eggs, soy sauce, and cook, stirring, until well mixed. Spread the rice evenly in the skillet and cook without stirring until golden and crispy on the bottom, 4 to 5 minutes. Stir in the scallions and cilantro and serve with lime wedges and hot sauce on the side.

Thanksgiving afterglow: leftover heaven

The meal was great the first time, but the leftovers are a gift that keep on giving.  Get creative in your snacking this weekend, and if you're lucky enough to still have some leftovers by Monday, you can pack a blissful reminder of your holiday break to eat as your sad desk lunch.

Mashed Potato Biscuits: These work well as English muffin-type breakfast food, slathered with cranberry sauce. If you really want a window into my dark soul, I like to split one apart, melt thin slices of sharp white cheddar on each half in the toaster oven, and then slather with cranberry sauce.  Delicious.

Mixed Roasted Potatoes: You know how I love breakfast, right?  Warm these back up in the oven or toaster oven (never the microwave--they are sad and soggy beyond words when you do that) and serve underneath eggs cooked to your liking with cooked greens and a little curry ketchup on the side.

Braised Radishes with Orange: You're not going to have any leftovers of this.  Have you tried them?  They're insane.  But if you do, sprinkle with red chili flakes and toss with pasta and steamed broccoli.  Throw some pine nuts on top if you want to get all fancy about it.

Wasabi Green Beans: These work in any kind of stir fry or Thai curry; just throw them in to any Asian-inspired recipe that calls for green beans. In fact, throw in the leftovers from the stuffed squash and you've got the meal in minutes!

Cheesy baked potato soup

Serves 4

2 tablespoons butter

1 small yellow onion, chopped

2 large garlic cloves, minced

4 large russet potatoes, peeled and chopped into small cubes (or a combination of russet and sweet)

4 cups vegetable broth

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1 cup sour cream or Greek style plain yogurt

2 teaspoons salt

Freshly ground black pepper

2 green onions, finely chopped

2 slices crisp bacon or Morningstar Breakfast Strips, crumbled (optional)

Heat the butter in a Dutch oven over medium heat; when it foams, add the onion.  Sauté  until onion is translucent, about 4 minutes.  Add salt, garlic and chopped potato and sauté another 3 or 4 minutes, stirring constantly to keep potato from sticking.  Add 2 cups of the vegetable broth, stir, cover and bring to a boil.  Once boil begins, lower to a simmer and cook about 15 minutes, until potato is soft enough to mash. 

Mash the potato mixture in the pan with a hand masher or use an immersion blender to create creamy mashed potatoes. Add the other 2 cups of broth, sour cream and cheese and stir to incorporate.  Cover  and lower heat to medium-low until cheese is melted into soup, about 5 minutes.  Add black pepper to taste.  Garnish with chopped green onion and bacon, if desired (you can also top with additional cheese and sour cream if you have it). 

Chicken Vatapa

Serves 6

1 teaspoon canola oil

½ cup finely chopped onion

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 tablespoon peeled, grated fresh ginger (purchase ready-to-go in the produce section of Safeway on 3rd Ave.)

1 jalapeno pepper, minced (remove seeds for milder flavoring)

1 cup water

1 (28 oz.) can diced tomatoes with juice

1 (12 oz.) can light beer

¼ cup dry-roasted peanuts

3 cups cooked chicken or turkey

½ cup coconut milk

½ cup chopped fresh parsley

½ cup chopped fresh cilantro

1 tablespoon lime juice

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon black pepper

Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat.  Add onion, garlic, ginger, and jalapeno and sauté 2 minutes or until onion is soft.  Stir in water, tomatoes in their juice, and beer.  Bring to boil, then cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes. 

Place peanuts in a spice or coffee grinder (or a good old-fashioned nut grinder) and process until finely ground.  Add ground peanuts, chicken, and coconut milk to Dutch oven, stirring to combine.  Increase heat to medium.  Bring mixture to a simmer and cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Stir in parsley, cilantro, lime juice, salt, and pepper. 

cleaning out the peanut butter container and other adventures in using food scraps

Sorry for the long title--I think I just had a grad school flashback. Perhaps this will one day become a dissertation (I'll only have to add fifteen more words to make it an academically worthy title!), but for now it's a list of easy stuff to do with those last little bits of things that seem a shame to throw away.

leftover peanut butter +
soy sauce
garlic
ginger
hot sauce
rice vinegar
= salad dressing, marinade, dip, soba noodle sauce...

Pour all ingredients to taste directly into the offending peanut butter jar with sickly remains clinging to the sides.  Shake vigorously and pour.

vegetable scraps (tossed into a container and kept in the freezer until ready)
= broth

Simmer scraps in salted water until flavorful, which can take up to an hour depending on how many and what kind of scraps you have.  Strain and make your soup. Every time I make a salad, I add the scraps to the freezer container, and eventually I have enough to make a broth.

apple peels+
3-4 C water
1/2 tsp. cinnamon (or 1 cinnamon stick)
1 T honey
1 T lemon juice

Place about 6 full apple peels in a sauce pan and cover with water and lemon juice and cinnamon. Boil about 10 minutes, then strain.  Add the honey to taste and serve.

broccoli stems become pickles in this genius recipe from Purple Kale Kitchen Works.

bread crusts+
food processor
= breadcrumbs (keep in freezer if not used quickly)

stale bread+
olive oil
salt
dried herbs
= croutons
Allow to dry out thoroughly, chop into small pieces and coat with oil, salt, and herbs.  Toast in the oven at 350F, turning once, until golden.

Egg, Spinach, and Potato Chop

This works best if you've got some leftover roasted potatoes (or baked or steamed) sitting in the fridge.  If you do, you can whip this up for a hearty snack, lazy dinner, or heavy breakfast very quickly. Oh, I guess it helps to have hard boiled eggs on hand, too.  But you always do, right?  They keep a long time in the fridge and they're a great source of protein in a pinch or on the road. OK, I'll write the recipe assuming you have these things laying around.  If not, you really should consider adjusting your living habits a little bit.

This is my work snack as I update this blog!

Egg, Spinach, and Potato Chop

Serves 1

1 hard-boiled egg, peeled and chopped
1 cup loosely packed spinach leaves, washed and drained
1/2 cup chopped cooked potatoes
teaspoon olive oil
salt and Sriracha to taste
lemon wedge

In a small skillet, heat the oil over high heat. Saute the spinach with a little salt, and when it's wilted but still bright green, add the potatoes just to warm them up.  Remove from heat, toss with the chopped egg, and season with a squeeze of lemon and Sriracha.

Have a party, walk away with a sandwich

You think that I am writing this blog post to pander to the Super Bowl fans out there, with their need for myriad snacks on Sunday.  Maybe I am, maybe I'm just doing this for myself because I like snacking AND eating on the road.

So the thing is, I have long eschewed sandwiches as the food you eat when you can't do any better.  Bread, often dried out and boring, with some slippery stuff inside that makes said bread soggy.  It's not exciting. And it's not worth writing recipes about, is it?

But I eat while traveling a lot, and while I would love to have the time to eat a nice cold noodle dish out of a container with a fork like a civilized adult, or even to heat my homemade burrito in a nearby microwave oven, I don't always have that luxury.  Sandwiches are really practical.  And I figured out how to make them suck less: use spreadable dips as your flavoring!  Smear some hummus or guacamole on a piece of bread, pile on some vegetables, and cover with another piece of bread--that is actually pretty good. So, in honor of my a) love of cocktail hour + snacks and b) the fact that I will mostly be eating on the road all of next week (look for tips on all the hot spots to try in Omaha in a future blogpost!!), I offer you a little pairing guide, along with links to some of my favorite dips...


Guacamole + sliced red onion + slice red bell pepper
Hummus + pickles + fresh spinach
Ricotta and Herb Spread + chopped sundried tomatoes + smashed peas
Tuscan White Bean Dip + kalamata olives + sliced green bell pepper
Walnut-Feta Spread + arugula


If you're at home and can enjoy these leftovers warm, you can also easily toss the ingredients listed above with some freshly cooked pasta and gloat about not having to eat in your car.

Wild Rice Crustless Quiche

Is it too late to make suggestions for your leftover wild rice?  Because this brunch-dinner-anytime recipe is definitely a keeper.  Really, any leftover rice will work well here, but since I still had wild rice in the freezer from my Thanksgiving feast, that's what ended up in the bottom of this simple crustless quiche for brunch last week.  Sub any veggies you like, as well. 

Wild Rice Crustless Quiche

Serves 6

4 slices bacon
1 small onion, diced
1 garlic clove, minced
4 oz. white mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
1 teaspoon chopped fresh sage or rosemary (or a mixture)
1 heaping cup cooked wild rice (or wild rice mix)
6 eggs
½ cup milk
1 cup plain yogurt
1 teaspoon grainy mustard
1 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
½ cup shredded cheese of your choice ( prefer smoked cheddar)

Heat the oven to 325 °F. Prepare a 9-inch baking dish with cooking spray.

In a large skillet, cook the bacon over medium-low heat until crisp.  Drain on paper towels and reserve about 1 teaspoon of the grease.  Crumble bacon when cool enough to touch and set aside.

While bacon cooks, combine eggs, milk, yogurt, mustard, salt, and pepper in a mixing bowl and whish thoroughly.

Place the skillet back on the burner and increase the heat to medium.  Cook the onion, garlic, and mushrooms in the bacon grease until onion is soft, about 8 minutes.  Remove from heat and stir in the fresh herbs and wild rice.

Spread the rice mixture evenly in the bottom of the baking dish. Pour the egg mixture over the top and place in the oven to cook for 20 minutes.  Then, sprinkle the bacon and cheese evenly over the top and continue baking for another 15 minutes or until the quiche is firm and a knife inserted near the center comes out clean.

Convertible meals

I have been hosting family for over a week, which is why I have not been online much.  This visit has also reminded me of an inevitable truth about myself: I am terrible at gauging how much food I should make for more than two people. I know that I don't want anyone to go hungry or feel robbed of seconds, but for some reason I always manage to make way too much food, rather than exactly twice what I normally make, when four people are involved instead of two. I also have a small refrigerator, so I can't just let leftovers build up if I want to continue being able to close the door to the fridge between meals.  So, although I cannot seem to get portions right, I have become fairly decent at planning meals that can morph into something new in order to make the thought of eating leftovers less odious.  Here is an incredibly easy pairing:

Baked Lemon Chicken with sides

Serves 4 with leftovers

8 chicken breasts
olive oil
2 lemons, washed and sliced into rounds
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
8 twigs fresh thyme
salt and pepper to taste
1 head broccoli, washed and cut into bite-sized pieces (including stem!)
2 cups jasmine rice
handful fresh mild herbs (dill, parsley, basil, cilantro...) minced
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Preheat oven to 400°F.  Coat a large baking dish with olive oil, then scatter half of the lemon slices and all of the garlic and thyme evenly across the bottom. Remove excess fat from chicken breasts and sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper. Lay the chicken breasts down over the lemon in the pan, making sure everything is as covered as possible.  Top chicken with remaining lemon slices and drizzle with olive oil.  Place in the oven to bake for 30 minutes, then turn chicken pieces over and cook another 15-20 minutes or until done all the way through.

Meanwhile, cook rice in lightly salted water according to package directions.  Steam broccoli.  When rice is done, stir in more salt if necessary along with all of the chopped fresh herbs.  When broccoli is crisp-tender, toss with the tablespoon of lemon juice and a little olive oil, along with salt and pepper to taste.

Serve chicken, rice, and broccoli in separate dishes or heaped alongside each other on a big platter.

And the leftovers...

Lemony Chicken-Broccoli Soup

Leftovers needed: broccoli, rice, and chicken in its juices
New ingredients:
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 small yellow onion, chopped
1 large carrot, peeled and sliced into rounds
8 cups vegetable or chicken stock
salt and pepper to taste

Cut leftover chicken into small bite-sized pieces; remove any leftover lemon slices from the baked chicken.  In a stockpot, heat the oil over medium heat and sautee the onion and carrot until both are soft, about 8 minutes. add the chicken and the vegetable stock, cover, and bring to a boil.  Lower heat, stir in the leftover rice and broccoli, and cook until just heated through.  Season with salt and black pepper to taste.

A new kind of potato salad

This is really just a combination of one of my favorite roasted vegetables, potatoes, and a variation on Smitten Kitchen's Kale Salad, but putting the whole mess in the oven makes for a tasty dinner salad or side to accompany fish, and the kale gets a little dried out here and there, reminiscent of kale chips but still substantial enough to actually feel like you're eating food. Sprinkle a little smoked paprika on top if you're missing the meat--the smokiness will make this seem even more complete!

Roasted Potatoes and Kale

Serves 4

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 lb. fingerling potatoes, scrubbed and cut into 2- inch pieces
1 bunch kale, washed and finely sliced (chiffonade)
1/8 cup balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon grainy mustard
1 teaspoon honey
Black pepper to taste
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons roughly chopped kalamata olives

Preheat the oven for 425°F.  Toss the potatoes with the olive oil and kosher salt on a baking sheet and place in the oven.  Roast potatoes until lightly browned, about 20-25 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine the vinegar, mustard, honey, and black pepper in a medium bowl.  Add the kale and stir thoroughly to combine.  Set aside until the potatoes are golden, then add them to the baking tray with the potatoes.  Stir to combine and put back in the oven to cook another 10 minutes, or until kale is wilted.

Remove from oven, stir in the parsley and olives, season to taste, and serve.  Leftovers can also be eaten cold with enough plain yogurt and dash of lemon juice stirred in to create a creamy potato salad.

Pulled pork with a touch of the exotic

I'm still working on the leftover braised pork shoulder from December (I froze it in 2-cup increments), and I'm ready for some good old fashioned pulled pork sandwiches.  Or maybe not, because actually, that sauce is like a melted candy bar with tomato in it.  I mean to say that I think it's too sweet.  I hate sweet BBQ sauce.  So instead, my tomato-based sauce is going to have some Indian flair to it.

Indian-spiced Pulled Pork Sandwiches

Serves 4-6

Sauce:

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 tablespoon minced ginger

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 serrano chile, seeded and finely minced (save the other half for the turkey)

1 teaspoon garam masala

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce

1 cup water

¼ cup half and half

¼ cup raisins

Other ingredients:
2-3 cups pulled pork
chopped fresh cilantro
4-6 sandwich buns

Warm the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat, until it shimmers. Add the ginger, garlic and serrano pepper. Saute until the ginger and garlic brown a little. Add the garam masala, cumin, and paprika and saute for 30 seconds. Stir in the tomato sauce, water, and raisins. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, until thickened, about 15 minutes. Stir in the half and half and 2-3 cups shredded pork or 1 lb. cooked ground turkey and season with chopped fresh cilantro if desired.  Serve on buns as open or closed sandwiches.  

What am I supposed to do with that?

Ever end up with a little bit of something in your fridge that seems destined to become a pretty blue-and-green science experiment?  Maybe it's part of a can of tomato paste or a little bit of coconut milk. Or perhaps you think it will make you a better person to snack on cottage cheese until you realize you're not quite that lactose tolerant anymore (true story). Here are some items that always end up abandoned in my fridge with some simple ideas for using every last drop.

Tomato paste: I truly detest the useless size of these little cans; you never need this much at a time. But I hate them a lot less now that I realize I can do other things besides make spaghetti sauce or chili with it.

It's great for adding richness and thickening up any Italian-flavored soup, but I particularly like it in this quick and simple Miso-Tomato Soup from an earlier post.

You can also freeze it into ice cubes, place cubes in a large zip-top freezer weight bag, and use later.

Cottage cheese: Really, what is with the size of these containers?  I am not Catholic or a Mormon.

Quiches: Replace the milk in your egg mixture with cottage cheese for a fluffy and incredibly moist filling.  I generally use 1 heaping tablespoon per two eggs.

Replacement for ricotta in lasagna: if you're from the Midwest or near West, this is standard procedure. Ricotta is too sweet and feels like a lump of sand in your mouth, anyway. Gross.

Make a casserole: Don't forget, this is cheese!  When it's cooked, it gets reasonably melty while retaining some firmness and structure to the individual curds.  It's great mixed into a casserole dish with other leftovers, like this fantastic one from 101 Cookbooks.

Coconut Milk:  I often end up with a little extra after making a 4-serving batch of Thai curry. Here's what I do:

Add to soups for a Thai twist (along with some lime juice and chopped cilantro, perhaps).  Or make a batch of Brazilian Vatapa Soup

Replace the milk in no-cook overnight oatmeal.  Throw in some shredded coconut while you're at it, too.

Make this amazing smoothie: Pineapple-Coconut Smoothie.

And like the tomato paste, you can also freeze it into ice cubes, place cubes in a large zip-top freezer weight bag, and use later.

Tomato juice, Bloody Mary mix, or V8: I occasionally buy this for brunch with friends, but I can never get through all of it before it goes bad.  Bloody Marys are great fun in theory, but they're so heavy, and I'm trying not to replace meals entirely with vodka based drinks (anymore).

Use as a base for soup.  1/3 V-8 or BM mix to 2/3 vegetable or chicken stock makes a great base for both Mexican tortilla soup and any host of Italian pasta e fagioli kinds of recipes.  If you've got plain tomato juice, just throw in some chopped garlic and  Italian seasoning or pesto.  But be forewarned: most of these products are pretty high in sodium, so use low-sodium broth whenever possible.

Thicken with tomato paste (see above) for a tomato sauce.  Just experiment until the thickness seems right to you and season as you normally would.  And don't forget a generous splash of red wine at the end.

Did I mention you can freeze these types of things? Then you could use them later in the next round of Bloody Marys!

Packets of soy sauce, ketchup, etc. leftover from last week's takeout:  No.  Throw that shit away.  You are not a hoarder.

Your Food New Year's Resolutions Made Easy

January blogs, magazines, and newspapers are littered with self-help style recipes and exercises tips.  I could scoff, but after the gluttony that was late November through December, I feel the same way: it's time to simplify, clean up, and get back to normal.  It's also time to go back to working long days without breaks in the middle of the week now that the holidays are over, which makes cooking those halo-bequeathing meals a little more challenging.  So, here's my plan for making separate ingredients ahead and adding various flavors quickly and easily throughout the week.  I can knock out these basics on a Saturday afternoon if I multi-task and stay focused by not drinking too many work beers. I'd love to see some of your ideas/favorites to have on hand, too--add to the comment section, please!

Goal: Eat healthy, filling breakfasts with a minimum of time in the morning.

Make-ahead fixes: 

• Keep at least 6 hard-boiled eggs in the fridge--just peel and season in the in the morning.
• Keep fresh or frozen fruit on hand (freeze fresh fruit by laying out on a baking sheet in a single layer and placing in the freezer at least 4 hours; then toss in a zip-top bag and keep frozen until ready to use).  You can use these in smoothies or as stir-ins for your yogurt or oatmeal.
• Make overnight steel-cut oats. All you have to do is dump everything into a container before bed, give it a stir, and it's ready in the morning.  
• And of course, revisit my "Cook, freeze, and pack it for later: breakfasts" post for more healthy recipes you can make ahead.  I always have breakfast burritos and muffins in my freezer.

Always have in the pantry: multi-grain bread for toast, mustard and capers for the eggs, nuts and seeds to stir in to oatmeal and yogurt, Greek yogurt

My favorite way to start the day!

Goal: Eat more fiber

Make-ahead fixes:

• Make a big pot of beans with minimal seasoning: black beans, garbanzos, pintos, mung beans, and lentils are particularly versatile and fiber-rich.  Freeze portions (for two people, I usually freeze 1 cup servings) in small zip-top bags and you can toss them straight into stir fries, soups, or just serve with seasoned rice and hot sauce. Keep a small amount in the refrigerator for up to a week to toss into salads. 
• Make a big pot of grains to replace white rice in your recipes (though you can also do this with white rice). Quick-cooking quinoa, bulgar, millet, and couscous can be "cooked" overnight by soaking in equal parts grain and water, so those don't need to be cooked far in advance.  But wheat berries, farro, barley, and the like all freeze beautifully as described in the bean method above.  
• Keep plenty of fresh and frozen veggies on hand.  Freeze fresh veggies by blanching them in boiling water for about 30 seconds to a minute and spreading out on a tray as described above with fruit. 
• Single portions of grains, beans, and veggies can be combined in a bowl and heated quickly in the microwave, then seasoned to taste, for a quick, filling, and very healthy lunch or dinner.  In fact, you can even pop the frozen stuff in a container the night before, refrigerate until you head to work the next morning, and then everything will be thawed and ready to eat as a cold salad by lunchtime.  Hot or cold, you can toss everything with a dressing below for a really brainless meal when you're exhausted...

Farro with asparagus, almonds, feta, and Mustard and Caper Vinaigrette.
The farro and asparagus were frozen and reheated together in the bowl. 

Goal: Use less salt without sacrificing flavor

Solution: Make dressings!  These may have originally been intended as salad dressings, but they can be used over veggies and pasta, beans and rice (or other grain), and just about anything else you can think of. These are some of my favorites right now--they'll all keep a couple of weeks in the refrigerator:

Tahini-Lemon Dressing: whisk together

1/2 garlic clove, smashed and minced

1 scant tablespoon tahini (for a milder flavor, use almond butter)

zest and juice of 1/2 lemon

1 teaspoon honey

2 tablespoons olive oil

salt and black pepper to taste

I love this on steamed potatoes, green beans, and kalamata olives.

Mustard and Caper Vinaigrette: whisk together 

1 garlic clove, smashed and minced

1 teaspoon capers, chopped

1 teaspoon mustard

pinch sugar (optional)

4 tablespoons vinegar

6 tablespoons olive oil

salt and black pepper to taste

This keeps for weeks on the countertop; refrigerating makes it gloppy. Different vinegars will give a different level of acidity, with apple cider being the most intense I ever want, and balsamic being the mildest, so experiment. This is clearly a standard salad dressing, but it is also delicious on hot foods.  I like it on pasta with steamed broccoli.

Miso-Ginger Dressing: blend in a food processor

1/4 cup peanut oil 

1/4 cup rice vinegar

2 tablespoons mild or sweet miso, like yellow or white

Juice of 1/2 lime

2 medium carrots, roughly chopped

1 inchlong piece fresh ginger, chopped OR 1 heaping teaspoon minced ginger form the jar

Salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Obviously, this works well in stir-fries, but it's also surprisingly perfect over steamed greens like kale or collards, along with a little hot sauce on the side. 

"Ranch" Dressing: whisk together

1 small garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon lemon juice
½ cup plain yogurt
¼ cup milk (any kind will do)
½ teaspoon dried summer savory
½ teaspoon dried dill
¼ teaspoon Italian seasoning
¼ teaspoon dried onion
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

If you're from the Midwest like me, you already know that Ranch dressing is not only a salad condiment, but a replacement for sour cream, a dip, and a general salve for life.  

Dinner tonight: quinoa, frozen Sante Fe veggie blend, 

and Tahini-Lemon Dressing

A Quick Leftover Recipe: Pork Colorado

Remember that slow roasted pork recipe I shared?  This would be a great way to use some of those leftovers in the freezer.  And if you have some other kind of meat, it will work just as well--roast beef, chicken, turkey...just pull it apart with two forks and substitute it.  This meal should be simple, fast, and comforting.  It's not for showing off, though it is delicious.

Pork Colorado

Serves 8-10

1 teaspoon olive oil
1 small yellow onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups shredded pork
8 oz. light beer (or the leftover beer juice from a slow-roasted pork shoulder)
2 cups homemade enchilada sauce
2 15-oz cans red beans (or pintos)
1 tablespoon New Mexico chili powder
2 teaspoons cumin
Salt and black pepper to taste
bunch cilantro, chopped (optional)

In a Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium heat and saute the onion until soft, about 8 minutes.  Add the garlic and stir until fragrant, about 1 minute.  Add the pork, beer, and enchilada sauce.  Cover and cook until the sauce begins to bubble, about  minutes.  Stir in the beans (do not drain), chili powder, cumin, and salt and pepper to taste.  Lower to a simmer, return cover, and cook until beans are heated through.  Stir in the chopped cilantro and serve over steamed rice.