Veggie Here, Veggie There

When my family comes I buy about 83 pounds of fruits and vegetables. And it is never enough! After a couple of days with 6 grownups and 5 kids eating three meals/day plus snacks, I have to run out again and get a few packages of blueberries or a bunch of spinach and stuff.

But last visit I got it right! Not only did I buy enough, there were a couple of leftover items.

Not enough of one particular thing to do much with -- a couple of yellow squash, two portobello caps, a few grape tomatoes. Like that.

I put them all together in a saute pan with a little olive oil and some fresh basil and we polished it off as a side dish for dinner. The recipe will serve 4, but Ed and I finished most of it.

Mixed Vegetable Saute

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 jalapeno pepper, deseeded and chopped
• 3 scallions, chopped
• 1 large clove garlic, chopped
• 2 small yellow squash, cut into bite size pieces
• 2 portobello mushroom caps, cut into bite size pieces
• 1 cup halved grape or cherry tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Heat the olive oil in a saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the jalapeno pepper, scallions and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, for 1-2 minutes, or until softened. Add the squash and mushrooms and cook, stirring frequently, for 3-4 minutes, or until softened. Add the tomatoes, basil and salt and pepper to taste, and cook, stirring frequently, for about 2 minutes or until the tomatoes have softened slightly.

Makes 4 servings

Roasted Arctic Char with Meyer Lemon and Rosemary

Arctic char is one of my favorite kinds of fish to eat. It's delicate but has lots of flavor and besides, Ed likes it too, though fish is never his first choice for dinner. 

It's also easy to dress Arctic char up and it takes very little time to cook. This entire recipe required about 15 minutes from start to finish. That's a good thing for busy midweek isn't it?

I used Meyer lemon because they're available now, but regular lemon would be just good for this recipe.

 

ROASTED ARCTIC CHAR WITH MEYER LEMON AND ROSEMARY

• 20-24 ounces Arctic char
• 2 tablespoons Meyer lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon grated Meyer lemon peel

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Place the fish on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Set aside. Combine the Meyer lemon juice, olive oil, Parmesan cheese, rosemary, Dijon mustard and Meyer lemon peel in a bowl and mix to combine the ingredients. Spread this mixture evenly over the fish. Roast for about 10 minutes or until the top is lightly crispy.

Makes 4 servings

Spur of the Moment Chicken

The fresh pineapples at my local Fairway were on sale when I went shopping this week. They were so well-priced that I bought one, even though most of the time I forget about the one I already have at home, sitting in a corner near the cabinet, getting over-ripe and mushy.

But as I put the fruit in my cart I made a spur of the moment decision to roast it with a chicken breast, which I also purchased and which we ate for dinner last night. 

The pineapple added a juicy acidity; I also seasoned the meat and fruit with just a hint of Aleppo pepper (you can use cayenne too) and cinnamon. The dish was sweet and hot, mild and tangy. Perfect.

All gone! Not a morsel left for lunch today!

Here's the recipe:

Roasted Chicken Breasts with Fresh Pineapple

• 2 cups cut up fresh pineapple
• 2 whole bone-in chicken breasts (or 4-6 whole chicken legs (including drumstick and thigh)
• 1-1/2 tablespoons olive oil
• salt to taste
• 2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh ginger
• Aleppo pepper or cayenne
• ground cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Place the pineapple chunks and chicken breasts in a roasting pan. Brush the chicken with the olive oil and sprinkle with salt to taste. Scatter the ginger over the chicken and fruit and sprinkle lightly with Aleppo pepper and cinnamon. Place the pineapple under the chicken breasts. Roast for 10 minutes. Lower the oven heat to 350 degrees. Roast for another 50-60 minutes or until cooked through (a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the breast will register 160 degrees), basting once or twice with pan juices. Let rest for 15 minutes before carving.

Makes 4-6 servings

Three Ingredient Sweet Potato Casserole

Need a last minute Thanksgiving or Thanksgivvukah dish? Try this sweet potato recipe. It has three ingredients (plus salt if you wish). Its other virtue is that it is barely sweetened, because I think sweet potatoes are so naturally sugary they don’t need much more.

You can make this ahead and reheat it. Even put marshmallows on top (a few minutes before serving, and after the casserole is already hot).

I use Sarabeth’s Orange-Apricot Marmalade. But you can use either plain orange marmalade or apricot jam (or mix the two).

Three Ingredient Sweet Potato Casserole

• 4 medium sweet potatoes

• 3 tablespoons orange-apricot marmalade

• 2 tablespoons Earth Balance Buttery Spread, margarine or butter

• salt to taste

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Scrub the sweet potatoes, prick them with the tip of a sharp knife and roast them for about one hour or until tender. When cool enough to handle, scoop the flesh into a bowl (discard the skin or eat separately). Add the marmalade and Earth Balance and mash until smooth. Season to taste with salt.

Makes 4-6 servings 

Baked Cranberries

On Thanksgiving when I was a kid the cranberry sauce choices were either the jellied kind that trembled or the lumpy kind that clumped together on the plate. In either case, from the can. The lumpy stuff was way too sophisticated for me. The shivery kind went down easier.

Then my mother discovered fresh cranberries. We never looked back. Especially because the recipe is so easy you could do it in less than 5 minutes prep time. And even though it is lumpy, the fruit has a faintly resilient texture and your tongue can actually tell it’s berries you’re eating. It doesn’t cook into an indistinguishable mass. It’s good and beautiful too.

Baked Cranberries

• 12 ounces fresh cranberries (3 cups)

• 1-1/2 cups sugar

• 3 tablespoons Grand Marnier or other orange flavored brandy

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Wash and drain the berries and place them in a single layer in a baking dish. Add the sugar and toss to coat all the berries. Cover the dish tightly with a lid or aluminum foil. Bake for 45-50 minutes. Remove the cover and stir thoroughly. Let the berries cool. Stir in the brandy. Chill thoroughly.

Makes 6-8 servings