Saturday Dinner: Frittata for Two

Red Russian kale-sweet pepper frittata.

Frittatas are less exotic than they sound - they're sort of like baked omelet/quiche hybrids. They don't require many ingredients, and can be filled with cheese and/or vegetables. (Most veggies should be sauteed or blanched before being added.)

For this frittata, we blanched the kale for a couple minutes and sauteed the peppers until soft. Then we mixed the veggies with six beaten eggs. Next, on the stove we heated a little oil in a skillet that can be put into the oven. Then we poured in the egg-vegetable mixture. We let it cook undisturbed on the stove for about ten minutes on medium-low heat. Finally, we transferred the entire skillet to an oven preheated to 350F. A frittata should bake for 10-20 minutes, until the top is no longer runny.

Saturday lunch: Salad days

Tasty salad of sucrine lettuce, baby swiss chard, Kirby cucumbers, green heirloom tomato, chopped walnuts, sliced Bosc pear, and chevre. (Pictured in front of a little bit of fall bounty.)

We dressed this salad with a drizzle each of olive oil and champagne vinaigrette, and served it with some multigrain bread and a glass of apple cider.

Farmer's Market Haul, 10/10/09

We must both be craving leafy things, because we went a little crazy on the greens this week...

VEGGIES:
sucrine lettuce
tatsoi
baby rainbow chard
Red Russian kale
Treviso radicchio
heirloom tomatoes
butternut squash
squash blossoms
wild mustard greens

FRUIT:
Lakemont green seedless grapes

OTHER:
chevre (soft goat's-milk cheese) from Lynnhaven Farm
milk from Milk Thistle Farm
eggs from Flying Pig Farm
multigrain bread from Our Daily Bread
decorative squashes
multicolored "Indian corn" (We needed some fall decorations!)

Friday cat blogging

Congratulations to last week's three caption contest winners, Carl, Laura and Kaya! You have all won........yet another picture of Oscar!!

Thursday: Birthday dinner

Very simple late-night birthday dinner: roasted acorn squash with melted cheese, served with broccoli and quinoa.

We know, we know...not too exciting, but law school respects no birthday, and Giselle wanted an easy dinner after her court visit, client interview, and evening class. More exciting birthday activities will follow.

Farmer's Market Supplement, 10/8/09

This week's supplement: milk and yogurt from Ronnybrook Farm, eggs, broccoli, and apple cider.

Wednesday: Mid-week masala

Veggie masala with coconut milk and lemongrass, served over basmati rice.

We adapted this recipe from an okra masala in a very crunchy Asian vegan cookbook - okra may be done for the year, since we couldn't find it at the market this week, but we had plenty of broccoli Romanesco left over. We added potato to the recipe, as well, since we had some fingerlings lying around. Back by popular demand, special guest chef Laura (not pictured) assisted with prep.

This is only our second time cooking with lemongrass. It smelled amazingly potent and fresh:



The main flavors in this recipe are the large amount of fresh ginger and lemongrass sauteed at the start, and the can of coconut milk added at the very end, which creates a thick, creamy sauce. We also adapted it a bit by adding some spices we thought would mesh well - a small amount of fenugreek and mustard seed, and a bit of turmeric and cayenne.

Observant readers might note that peas are NOT in fact in season - we confess, we used frozen peas, and in fact we almost always do when peas factor into our cooking. Fresh peas are delightful, but their season is very short, and let's be honest, they're kind of a pain to shell. Frozen peas are one of the few veggies whose quality is quite acceptable. In fact, peas flash-frozen at the right point of ripeness can be just as good as fresh peas that are a bit past their prime.