Menu for One

What to Eat First

Hey guys!  I don't know about you, but I don't like cleaning out my refrigerator.  I like having a clean refrigerator, it just pains me to throw away food that spoiled before I got around to eating it (a real struggle if you're cooking for one!).  I don't know if it's true or not, but VegetarianTimes.com reported the average family throws away approximately $600 in food every year (approximately 14% of food purchased, 25% of all produce purchased) - yikes!

To help, the website features a handy, dandy chart of what to eat first to avoid unnecessary spoilage.  It's been around for awhile, but I just stumbled upon it and plan to stick it on my refrigerator.  I hope this is helpful!  I really recommend that you read the whole article for more information about should (and should not) be stored next to each other, what should NOT be stored in the refrigerator, etc.  A copy of the whole article is available here.

Eat First: Sunday to Tuesday Artichokes Asparagus Avocados Bananas Basil Broccoli Cherries Corn Dill Green beans Mushrooms Mustard greens Strawberries Watercress

Eat Next: Wednesday to Friday   Arugula Cucumbers Eggplant Grapes Lettuce Lime Mesclun Pineapple Zucchini

Eat Last: Weekend   Apricots Bell peppers Blueberries Brussels sprouts Cauliflower Grapefruit Leeks Lemons Mint Oranges Oregano Parsley Peaches Pears Plums Spinach Tomatoes Watermelon

And Beyond! Apples Beets Cabbage Carrots Celery Garlic Onions Potatoes Winter squash

Tavoris C.'s Garlic Couscous with Cabbage, Broccoli, Carrot, and Peppers

From time to time I get emails from fellow Menu For Oners out there like you who tell me about how they like to experiment in the kitchen.  Keep 'em coming, and better yet, post them on the website!  I think we'd all be encouraged and inspired by your ideas.

This picture comes from Tavoris C. in Atlanta.  Eager to try something new in the kitchen, he decided to give couscous a try - a rolled semolina dish that is popular in West Africa and the Mediterranean.  Tavoris flavored the couscous with a little olive oil and roasted garlic, and topped it with cabbage, broccoli, peppers, and carrots he had pan-steamed in a little bit of butter and water.  It looks great!  Very colorful.  This would make a great weeknight dinner because both the couscous and vegetables can be prepared in under 20 minutes.

Truth is, Tavoris is not some random reader from the internet world.  I actually know him.   Did I mention I have a part-time job at a tea shop?  It's staffed by a motley crew of students, professionals, tattooed persons, non-tattoed persons, documentary-film lovers, aspiring poets, designers, and cross-country travelers.  He was our amazing barista until recently, when he decided to take on more responsibility at his day job.

Anyone who has ever worked in a small shop knows, your experience falls into one of two camps: great, or really, really miserable.  I'm happy to report that mine is the former.  Although our lives outside the tea shop are very different, one thing --well, two things really --that each of us have in common are 1) tea, obviously, and 2) talking about food.  And we like talking about food a lot. 

Thanks, Tavoris, for sending this in!  If you've got ideas, or want to share what you've been working on in the kitchen, send it in!  menuforone AT gmail DOT come.

Pickled Cauliflower - No Scurvy for You this Winter

 

Saturday was the best day off I've had in a long time.  The sun was shining, the leaves were starting to turn color, the air was crisp.  My alarm went off, I opened up the kitchen windows, turned on some tunes (not to be confused with toons, come to think of it), and started planning. 

Every once in a while I love taking on a big kitchen project.  Like the Insane Cookie Baking Festival (ICBF) of 2008 where my friend Kathleen and I made no fewer than 11 different kinds of Christmas cookies, or that day when my friend Emily and I tried to make perfect petit fours, little confectionary presents, and instead created the ugliest, squint-your-eyes-they're-so-sweet mini cakes you've ever laid your eyes (or tastebuds) on:

No false modesty here. 

But I digress.  What was I talking about?  Oh right - pickled cauliflower, of course.  As you may recall, I got a great book last Christmas called Well-Preserved Eugenia Bone.  She provides a master recipe for canning something, be it a fruit, vegetable, or something like tuna, and then shows you how you can put it to use in an actual meal.  Months from now, when the sun shines only a few hours a day and the ground is frozen solid, while I eat a hearty dish of Roasted Chicken and Cauliflower, a delicate Poached Fish Salad with pickled vegetables, or Penne with Pork and Cauliflower, I will look back with fondness on the Saturday I pretended to be one of Laura Ingalls Wilder's sisters living on the prairie. 

Short of tossing around a pig's bladder as a balloon, I can now attest that at least part of prairie living - canning and preserving - is really kind of fun.  Although I started this post suggesting that this project was a big undertaking (for I really thought it would be), all told, it probably took less than an hour and a half.   It I hadn't been taking my sweet time, as I am want to do on a lazy Saturday, I probably could have canned all this cauliflower start to finish in under an hour.

WHAT YOU'LL NEED

SUPPLIES (most you already have on hand)

- (6) 6 oz. canning jars (available at your local hardware store or grocery store).  I used jars I had hanging around the house, and came up with the four 6oz jars and two 4oz jars you'll see in the photos below.  Don't freak out, everything turns out just fine.

- (6) rims and lids.  If you buy new jars, they will usually come with all the lids and rims you'll need.  The great thing about canning jars is that they can be repurposed for all sorts of things, but know this: lids cannot be reused in future canning projects and can be purchased separately from your local canning jar supplier.

- a large stock pot that is taller than the jars (you'll be sterilizing them in boiling water in just a minute).

- a medium-sized, non-reactive saucepan.

- spring-loaded tongs.  Alternatively, if when purchasing your canning supplies you see canning tongs, get those.  Some places sell handy-dandy canning kits that come with all the tools you'll need for this project.

- an oven mitt to protect your hand.

- a drying rack or kitchen towel to place between your jars and kitchen counters.

INGREDIENTS (again, most you already have on hand)

- 1 quart of white wine vinegar or plain white vinegar (5% acidity) (I used a mixture of both)

- 1 large onion, sliced thinly

- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

- 2 cups sugar

- 2.5 lbs cauliflower (approximately two heads)

- pickling or kosher salt

Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat, add 1/4 cup pickling or kosher salt for every gallon of water in the pot.  Add the cauliflower florets and boil them for about 3 minutes and drain.  Keep in mind that the cauliflower will have time to finish cooking later in the canning process!

In a medium non-reactive pot, stir together the vinegar, sugar, onions, and hot red pepper flakes.  Bring to a boil over medium heat and simmer for 5 minutes, then remove from heat.

Bring 6 pint jars and their ring bands to a boil in a large pot of water fitted with a rack, if you have one (it keeps the jars from jiggling around). I don't have one, but it wasn't a problem.  Boil for 10 minutes. Remove the jars and ring bands with tongs and air dry on a tea towel.  Bring the water down from a boil to a simmer, and add the new jar lids to soften their rubber edges.  Do not get rid of the water in this large pot until I say so!

When the jars are dry but still hot, gently pack the cauliflower and the onions into the jars. I just used tongs to scoop some of the onion mixture out of the vinegar solution and alternated cauliflower and onion layers in the jar.  Pack loosely so the cauliflower retains its shape.  Cover the vegetables with the vinegar solution, making sure the hot red pepper flakes are distributed well throughout, and leave 1/2 to 3/4 inch of headspace above the vinegar solution.  Wipe the rims of the jars with a towel, place the lids on the jars, and screw on the ring bands fingertip-tight.

Gently place the jars back in the large pot of water.  Bring the water to a boil over high heat, and process the cauliflower for 10 minutes.  Turn off the heat, let the jars sit for a few minutes, then remove them from the water.  (They’ll be hot, so if you don’t have canning tongs, ladle out some of the boiling water and grab the jars using an oven mitt.)  Don’t leave the jars in the water to cool, or the cauliflower will overcook.

Allow the cauliflower to season in a cool, dark place for 4 weeks before using it, after which it will keep for up to a year. Refrigerate after opening. 

But wait!  How can your cauliflower sit on your pantry shelf, unrefrigerated for so long?  According to The Science of Cooking's article on home canning safety, in the first 6-8 hours after you finish the canning process, "the atmospheric pressure outside the jar is greater than the pressure inside. This difference in pressure pulls the lid down onto the jar and forms a vacuum seal."  When the seal forms, you'll hear a popping noise. 

If you were washing your hair or your favorite episode of Dragnet was on and you didn't hear the popping noise, don't worry, you'll still be able to tell if the seal has formed.  Press down gently on the top of the lid.  If it gives, it hasn't formed a seal yet.  Generally, you can re-process a jar within 24 hours.  Try a new jar or lid, and give it another go.  If you have more questions, check out PickYourOwn.org, a great canning website (and a one-stop website to find out where to pick fruits and vegetables in your neck of the woods!)

I hope I've inspired you to give this a try.  It's not as scary as it looks.  It's not scary at all.  The best part about it is that you'll not only have fun, you'll walk away from this project with a great sense of satisfaction (that'll hit you when you hear the last pop! AND when you enjoy the fruits of your labor in the months to come).  You were productive and frugal.  You were old school and trendy.  Your tastebuds and wallet will thank you. 

Ok, now you can get rid of the water in the large pot.

Summer Vegetable Tian - "Act Now! While Supplies Last!"

With the end of summer upon us, I'm dedicating the next few posts to summer produce so that we can all enjoy one last hurrah.

Do you remember this moment from the end of Disney's Ratatouille when the snobbish food critic Anton Ego sits down to a rustic ratatouille? The smell alone is enough to melt away his ego (get it? Anton EGO?), but one bite transports him back to the dinner table of his childhood, where he remembers his favorite dish prepared lovingly by his maman. Food can be powerful, and whether you're seated at the family table or dining solo like Anton Ego, a meal can be more than just the means to keep you going throughout the day.

I've enjoyed this dish twice this month, and each time it takes me back to the semester I spent studying in Paris. It was the first meal my host family served. I wish I could say that moment was as magical for me as it was for Anton, but alas, it was not. After a long day of traveling, I sat down at the table feeling awkward and self-conscious, trying to think of something, not even intelligent - just coherent, to say. As she would do every night, my host mother served a table red wine, a simple salad, three cheeses, and an entree. That night: ratatouille, the rustic stew of tomatoes, yellow squash, and zucchini. I remembered thinking, "Oh no! I HATE SQUASH! But I'm so hungry! I'm going to have to eat this and look like I like it.  If this is how it's going to be every night, it is going to be a LONG semester." [Ungrateful guest that I was, I ate every bite. My host mother turned out to be a wonderful cook (although she was too modest to agree) and I looked forward to every meal that she served.]

Unfortunately, I did not get this recipe from her. She often served a wonderful tomato tart (which I am still trying to recreate), and when I asked her for the recipe, she was genuinely surprised that I'd want it, because to her, these meals were nothing special. Alas, she did not cook with recipes, and so I have only my memories to go on.

A word to the Haters out there. If you don't like squash, or mushrooms, or green beans, whatever - I get it, believe me, I do. There is no rule that when you become an adult you have to like every food on the planet. However, it would behoove you (as my mother would say) to figure out what it is exactly that you hate. Is it a flavor or a texture thing? Or was it just the fact that your mother cooked it until it was limp and army green, and you haven't wanted to try it since? For me, with squash it's a total texture thing. So slicing the squash and zucchini very, very thin works for me. They get a little crispy. Plus, parmesan cheese makes everything taste better.

Vegetable Tian
adapted from Barefoot in Paris, by Ina Garten

Note: This recipe is very flexible, and can easily be adjusted to serve 1 or 30, using any rimmed, oven-safe baking dish.  I used a 7x10 inch baking dish (although I just got a 5x7 inch Le Crueset baking dish for my birthday - thanks Emily!) which would be even better when making this dish for one.  Try to cut the vegetables the same thickness for even cooking time.  I used a mandoline (take it from me and my bandaged finger, use the hand guard or a nifty kevlar glove like this one to protect your hand).  For the prettiest results, try to pick vegetables that are about the same size.

Olive Oil
1/2 to 1 whole yellow onion, cut in half and sliced
1 garlic clove, minced
3-4 gorgeous summer tomatoes
1 large or 2 small zuchinis
1 large or 2 small yellow squash
2-3 yukon gold or red potatoes (no need to peel)
kosher salt
freshly ground pepper
1/2 tsp fresh thyme leaves or chopped chives
handful grated Parmesan or Gruyere cheeese

Preheat the oven to 375F degrees and grease the baking dish (see Note above).  In a tablespoon of olive oil, sautee the onions for 8-10 minutes, until they become soft and translucent.  Add the garlic and cook for another minute.  Spread the onion mixture on the bottom of the baking dish.

Here comes the fun part.  While the onions are cooking, slice the vegetables into thin slices.  Ina sliced hers about 1/4 inch think, but I used the 3 mm setting on my mandoline.  Layer the vegetables tightly on top of the onions, alternating the tomatoes, potatoes, and squash in whatever order you like (one layer only, please).  Sprinkle with salt and pepper, drizzle with a little olive oil, and cover with foil.  Bake for 35 to 40 minutes.  Pierce a slice of potato with a fork - it should be tender.  Sprinkle the dish with the cheese, and cook uncovered for another 30 minutes to allow the cheese to melt and brown.

If (and I do mean IF) there's any leftover, spoon some of the onions and the vegetable mixture on top of a baguette for a great sandwich.  Bon appetit!

Broccoli Slaw with Almonds, Dried Cranberries, and Red Onion

With the advent of grilling season, I'd like to welcome you to Menu For One's Slaw Week!  What goes better with a hunk of smokey goodness straight off the grill than something colorful, crunchy, and a little tangy?

 

I didn't grow up eating slaw.  Not for any particular reason - I don't think my mom had anything against it, it just wasn't something she made.  If anyone did have something against slaw, it was me.  Slaw always meant little orange, white and green matchsticks of who knows what, slathered in mayo and vinegar, scooped into a little white paper cup and placed by the lunch lady on the side of my tray.  I don't even think I tried it (did any kid?).  And although I don't remember specifics, I'm pretty sure it wasn't worth much on the cafeteria trading floor.

Who knows?  For years, I may have been missing out.  If you've ever felt the same way, today can be the first slaw day of the rest of your life.  This first recipe of slaw week comes courtesy of Deb Perelman of SmittenKitchen.com, a woman with a serious hankering for slaw.  Aside from the buttermilk, you may already have everything on hand.

Broccoli Slaw with Almonds, Dried Cranberries, and Red Onion
by Smitten Kitchen

Take a head of broccoli and cut into thin slices.  I used my food processor's slicing blade - watching it just never gets old.  Toss then in a large bowl with 1/2 cup of toasted sliced or slivered almonds, a handful of dried cranberries, and half of small red onion, finely chopped.  

[With regard to the cranberries, my brother Stewart turned me on to Traverse Bay, a company that sells all sorts of dried fruits online.  I bought a box off of Amazon to see what all the fuss was about - Ocean Spray Craisins seemed fine enough to me.  But seriously, take the taste test challenge.  I ate these by the fistfuls.] 

Back to slaw.  In a small bowl or lidded jar, combine 1/4 cup buttermilk, 2 dollops of mayo, 1 tablespoon cider vinegar, 2 teaspoons of sugar, 2 tablespoons of red onion, finely chopped, and a pinch of salt and pepper.  Whisk (or shake if using a jar) to combine and toss with the broccoli mixture.  And you didn't even have to use the stove!  [no small thing on a day like today.  Here in Atlanta it was in the upper 90s and my A/C has been working overtime.]  If you wanted to, you could probably assemble this all outside next to the grill.  Depending on your appetite, there should be enough for lunch the next day.  Enjoy!

Next up: Raw(!) Asparagus Salad...

Salmon en Papillote

 

If you've been reading this blog for awhile, you can tell that I'm drawn to one pot meals.  Although there are times when I'm up for a square meal made up of a protein, a starch, a vegetable...and a sink full of dishes, by and large, I like combining ingredients into one vessel and seeing how they meld together to create something new - perhaps something even greater than just the sum of its parts.

 

This is such a dish.  I "heart" Salmon en Papillote (ok, that was lame...).  Taken from one of Alton Brown's uses  of this versatile cooking method, fish was placed on a bed of vegetables and steamed in a little pouch for one.  The end result was colorful, aromatic, tasty, and fun to eat!  The pouch can go straight from kitchen to table, and I've got to tell you: it's oddly satisfying to rip open your own dinner...sort of like digging through a Cracker Jack box for the prize.

You can see in the recipe below that the recipe is built for a 1-inch fillet of fish.  I substituted shrimp (I had some frozen in my freezer that I wanted to get rid of), but I do not recommend that you follow my lead in this instance.  Shrimp cooks too quickly, and with a fillet, the vegetables and fillet will be finished cooking at the same time.

Salmon en Papillote
from Alton Brown 

1/3 cup each of the following: fennel, leeks (whites only), and carrots
1/3 cup snow peas (no chopping here, nice!)
1 tsp salt
pinch of pepper
pinch of ground coriander
8 oz. salmon fillet (ignore the shrimp in these photos!)
1 orange cut into wedges with pith removed
1 tsp dry vermouth (I didn't have any, so I subbed in white wine and it was fine)

1.  Prep everything first - you'll thank me later (take advantage of chopping momentum).  For the carrots, I cut them into planks, and then cut those planks into thick matchsticks.  You don't need to achieve perfection here, but you do need uniformity for everything to cook in the same amount of time.  With regard to the orange, he's looking for the flesh of each orange segment to be exposed on each side.  I'm not sure the way I did it was the most effective (or the safest), so check out this example of how to supreme an orange.

 
 2.  Take a 15 x 36 inch piece of parchment paper and fold it like a book.  Draw half of a heart (with the folded side of the paper at the center of the heart) and then cut along that line with a pair of scissors.  Unfold to reveal a heart-shape...or should I say a pair of butterfly wings!  ("Papillote" is French for butterfly)

3.  In the center of one half, lay the fennel, leeks, carrots, and snow peas.  Sprinkle the salt, pepper, and ground coriander on top.  Place the salmon fillet on top of the vegetables, and the orange segments on top of the salmon.  Sprinkle the tablespoon of dry vermouth or white wine over everything.

   
 4.  Fold and seal.  The key here is to get a tight seal so that the steam produced from the juices of the fruits, vegetables, and vermouth will stay inside the pouch and cook the salmon.  Start at the top of the heart.  Take an inch-long stretch of the paper and fold it over about 1/4 inch.  Then, take the next segment of paper and fold, taking out some insurance by having that fold overlap the first fold and so forth.

5.  Place on a microwave safe plate and microwave on high for 4 minutes, or until the salmon reaches 131F.  Open carefully and enjoy!

Once you try this, I think you'll find that the recipe is easy to riff.  For example, swap in asparagus or bell peppers or chicken.  Don't have parchment paper?  At the suggestion of that Canadian chef who traveled around in an RV shaped like a toaster (does anyone remember The Surreal Gourmet?), I once tried something like this by using a brown paper bag (lunch sized), smearing it in olive oil, filling it, sealing it, and then baking it in the oven.  If you do try a new variation, let me know!

Bon appetit!

WANTED: Hippy fruit and vegetable combo seeks italian sausage to give ensemble heat and sex appeal.

 I'm unemployed at the moment, and like many of us in this economy, I'm trying to do what I can to tighten my purse strings.  To that end, I have developed a strategy that has significantly reduced my grocery bills, increased my intake of the "good for you" foods, and heightened the excitement level in my kitchen each night by at least three notches.

Here's how it works: at the beginning of the month, I go to the grocery store and stock up on staples (everything in the interior of the store), enough to fill up my whole pantry.  I skip the perimeter of the store where the produce and gourmet items are.  If it is shelf-stable or freezer-friendly (rice, pasta, canned tomatoes, etc.) it goes in cart.  Next, I rely on a farmer's market or CSA (community supported agriculture group) for produce, meat (if I don't have any stashed in the freezer) and dairy.  Here in Atlanta, I use Moore Farms - I cannot recommend them highly enough.  First of all, unlike other CSAs, you don't have to subscribe, meaning there's no contract, and you have the freedom to buy from them only when you need to.  Second, you can get a farmer's choice box full of what's in season, but you can also pick out exactly what you want.  But I digress...

In addition to all of the benefits that come from buying from local purveyors (supporting local agriculture, eating what's in season, finding out you actually LOVE swiss chard, yada, yada, yada...), you drastically reduce impulse purchases at the grocery store, especially those super-expensive prepared foods.

Long story short, it is according to this strategy that I came to make this colorful recipe.  Each of these ingredients is in season and can be found at your grocery store or farmer's market.

SAUTEED KALE, SWEET POTATOES, AND APPLES
Traci Des Jardins - Epicurious, November 2007

(2) tablespoons butter, divided
(1) Sweet potato
(1) Apple
(2) cups of kale or swiss chard, stems removed, cut into 2-inch pieces
(1) link hot italian sausage, cooked and cut into bite-sized pieces
salt
parsley, chopped (optional)

Total Cost: $2.85 (not including the sausage)

The picture doesn't do this dish justice.  You've got to try this.  Even without the sausage, I really enjoyed it.  Melt a tablespoon of butter in a large skillet over medium heat.  Meanwhile, take one firm apple (e.g., Granny Smith or Gala), peel, core, and quarter it.  Cut each quarter in half width-wise and add to the pan, stirring occasionally until they are golden brown (about 15 minutes).  Remove them from the pan to a plate and keep warm.

Add another tablespoon of butter and two tablespoons of water to the skillet.  When the butter has melted, add approximately two (2) cups of kale (or chard), stems removed, and leaves cut into two in pieces.  I cheated by buying a bag of pre-cut, pre-washed kale and just grabbed a couple of handfuls.  Sauté, stirring occasionally, for about five minutes, until the kale is bright green and wilted.  

Next, add 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt.  Return the apple to the pan and add one pre-cooked sweet potato, cut lengthwise into quarters and then into 1/8 inch slices.*  It is at this point I would recommend added some browned, ground, hot italian sausage to the party to spice things up.  Cook until the dish is heated through, and fold in a palmful of coarsely chopped parsley.

 

I was concerned about having both sweet potatoes and apples - wouldn't the dish be too sweet?  I'm happy to report that wasn't the case.  The greens are a little bitter (in the best sense), the sweet potatoes are smooth and sweet in that roasted/caramelized  sort of way, and the apples are tart.  Like I said, there's crunchy, smooth, tart, sweet, bitter - the only thing that could round this dish out would be some spicy, slightly salty sausage.  Give a it a chance - it might surprise you!

* A word about the sweet potatoes.  The recipe's author advised that the sweet potatoes be cooked and kept warm.  Doing this did not work out so well for me.  As you can see, the dish became sauteed greens and apples with mashed sweet potatoes.  It still tasted great, but didn't look as pretty.  If you cook them first before you start prepping anything else, they'll be cooked, and slightly cooled by the time you need to use them.  Either peel and cut them as described above, toss lightly with olive oil, salt, and pepper, and roast at 425F for 20 minutes, OR, jab a sweet potato five or six times with a fork, places on the middle rack of a cold oven, turn the heat to 450F, and remove from the oven after 45 minutes have passed.  Cut lengthwise, scoop out the inside, and then cut.

French Onion Soup

 

It has been freezing here, in a technical sense.  Yes, yes, I know it's probably been colder wherever you happen to be sitting, but for Atlanta, it has been unseasonably cold.  That's why I was thankful to have this french onion soup ready for me in my freezer.  

Everyone needs an emergency recipe like this in their back pocket.  It comes from a great cookbook I got for Christmas, Eugenia Bone's Well-Preserved.  She shows country folk and city folk alike how to can (aka put up or preserve) fruits, vegetables, or meats in small quantities, AND THEN shows you what to do with them when you open them up later, other than just eating them out of the jar.  The greatest part of the book is that, for a great many of the recipes, you don't need any special equipment.  This french onion soup is one of those beauties.  All you need is a large pot and some freezer bags/containers.

As with each of the recipes in the book, this recipe is made in two stages.  You start first by making Stewed Onions with Marjoram, to be divided into 2-pint portions and stored in your freezer.  Whenever you're craving something warm and seriously delicious, you just grab a pack out of your freezer and reheat it with some chicken stock.  Voila!

Over medium-low, heat 6 tablespoons in your largest pot (I learned this the hard way - you'll need plenty of room for the onions).  In the meantime, thinly slice 24 medium yellow onions.  If you have a food processor, this is a moment where your slicer disk can really shine.  It will save you a lot of time and tears.  Add the onions to the pot and let them hang out for 30 minutes or so, stirring every few minutes.  [If you're concerned after adding the onions that there won't be room for any other ingredients, don't worry - their volume will decrease significantly.]  Next, add two quarts of low-sodium beef stock and 3 tablespoons of dried marjoram.  I recommend low-sodium because it gives you a little more control over the saltiness of your food.  It's much easier to add a little bit more than to take any out.  Let this all hang out on the stove for an hour and fifteen minutes.  The onions will be soft and stewy.

When the mixture has cooled, I used tongs to transfer the onions to 6 freezer-safe plastic bags, then ladled in the broth.  End of STAGE ONE.

 

STAGE TWO: When you're ready to enjoy the soup, grab a bag from the freezer.  Defrosting it overnight would probably be best, but I just cut the bag open and reheated it over a low flame with a quart of chicken stock.  When I could see steam start to rise from the surface of the soup, I ladled it into two ramekins, topped it with some thick-sliced bread, and sprinkled it with shredded parmesan cheese.  After 5-10 minutes in a 400F oven, the bread had soaked up some of the soup and the cheese had formed a delicious golden-brown crust.  I'm happy to report that STAGE TWO took all of fifteen minutes to prepare, maybe less.  One portion from the freezer comfortably feeds two.  Enjoy!

 

Sweet Potato and Black Bean Salad with Lime Vinaigrette

There were times during college where money was tight, usually at the end of the semester.  And even though I had a meal plan at the school dining hall, by the end of the year, I couldn't bear the thought of eating another cafeteria meal.  

What to do?  I had a microwave, and sometimes had access to a hot plate and a two-quart pot.  I didn't have a car, and there wasn't a grocery store within walking distance, but there was a CVS nearby.  I created all sorts of odd meals with convenience items, notably a breakfast burrito made with scrambled eggs, packaged deli ham, cheese, and jarred salsa wrapped in a tortilla.  But the uniting characteristic of most of these drug store purchases (other than the fact they were cheap) was that they were ORANGE.  And although I still have a fondness for orange food, such as orange juice and goldfish, orange food always reminds me of those low-budget, make-shift dinners. 

That's why when I read Mark Bittman's recipe in the New York Times for a roasted sweet potato salad a few weeks ago, I decided to revisit orange food again to see if it could really be good eats.  The sweet, orange sweet potatoes are combined with black beans, crunchy red onion, bright red bell pepper, and flecked with green cilantro.  A light lime-jalepeno vinaigrette ties all the elements together.  As an added bonus, it's a warm salad, perfect on an autumn day like today.

Here's the recipe and a short Mark Bittman video showing how to make this absolutely delicious meal that doesn't require a lot of hands-on cooking time.  It can easily be cut in half for a menu for one, but honestly, I don't think you would mind making and eating the whole recipe over a couple of days.  It would make a great side dish next to spicy, roasted pork tenderloin or steak, but I can testify it's great on its own.  It's got a little zip to it from the lime and jalapeno, but if you'd like it a little spicier, I'd double the jalapeno or pick a smaller, spicier pepper.  [note: if you taste the vinaigrette before you add it to the sweet potatoes it will be very tart and spicy.  Don't be alarmed, it'll all mellow out].  Enjoy!

Spinach Frittata

As I see it, there are two avenues of success, if you will, in this cooking for one business: improvisation and/or careful planning.  I gave improvisation a shot in my last soup post.  As we all know, practice makes perfect, so here I go again.  Breakfast.  I figured if I got some proportions down (appealing to the side of me that loves to plan), it would facilitate my efforts in improvisation.  So, Kathryn-the-Planner pulled out a whole bunch of cookbooks to gather as many different frittata recipes as she could find, in hopes that she could determine the egg to filler ratio.  Well, low and behold, Mark Bittman already did the work for me: 1-2 cups of filling for every 4-5 eggs (See How to Make Everything).  

In a small, oven-safe omelet pan cook most of the way through (or reheat, if you're working with leftovers) the frittata fillings.  Meanwhile, whisk together the eggs, salt and pepper, and a handful of grated cheese.  Lower the heat to medium-low and add the egg mixture.  Let it hang out until the bottom starts to firm up, then transfer the omelet pan to a 350F oven to finish cooking in there (roughly 10 minutes, but check frequently).

In this version, I think I added spinach, onions, and parmesan cheese.  Since the onions take a little longer to cook than spinach, I started cooking them first. When they were nearly soft, I added some frozen spinach I had defrosted and squeezed dry.  As Bittman instructed, I added the egg/cheese mixture, let it set up a little bit in the pan and then transferred to the oven.  Here's where I went wrong: I let it cook too long in the oven.  Still edible, but not a masterpiece.  So be careful!  Check often! 

As you can see, I ate it with fruit and a glass of milk.  Looking at it now, if only I had added a bowl of cereal and a glass of orange juice in the photo, you would hear a voiceover at the end of this post saying, "Part of this complete breakfast," just like they did during the commercial breaks of Saturday morning cartoons.