Lunch and a Book Week 1

With grocery prices rising by the hour (or so it seems) I wanted to start sharing some of my lunch meal prep practices. Having lunch made for the week saves me time and money, and keeps me from eating chips or poptarts instead of a meal. Sometimes this will look like recipes from one of my many cookbooks and sometimes this will look like a bunch of stuff I threw together.

This week was definitely a throw together week. I love salads for lunch, so I make those a lot. They keep well for the week in a closed container, but I don’t add cheese, dressing, or croutons until the last minute.

This week’s salad was mixed greens, leftover roasted asparagus, chopped apple, about a cup of leftover pasta shells, goat cheese, vinaigrette from Aldi, and some of the microgreens I grow in my kitchen. I got a package of seeds from the dollar store and they are growing well!

The bonus to having my lunch already made is I get to spend my whole break reading and walking instead of scrounging for food!

Cookbook Review: The Zero Waste Cookbook by Giovanna Torrico

Fried spaghetti

I have really been trying to pay attention to the food waste in this house lately, so I was thrilled that my library had a Zero Waste cookbook.

Zero Waste must be a hard thing to write about when it comes to food because who knows what kinds of bits and bobs people will have in their house. Because of that there weren’t a ton of recipes I tried from this book, but I did get some good ideas after flipping through it.

The one recipe I did make was fried spaghetti for my daughter and I. It was basically leftover spaghetti and some shredded cheese fried in some olive oil. This made for a yummy Saturday morning breakfast for my daughter and I. It’s one I’ll make again when I have leftover spaghetti and feel like throwing my concerns about cholesterol to the wind.

SALT, FAT, ACID, HEAT: Ceasar Salad

My first cooking experiment from Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat was Caesar salad. One of my cooking rules is to not spend hours in the kitchen, but there’s also something decadent about leaving work on time during a busy week and making your own mayonnaise.

That’s how the recipe started- with homemade mayonnaise. It was just an egg yolk and olive oil, but it took a while. The recipe called for wrapping a bowl in a towel and whipping 3/4 of oil a drop at a time. I have my limits. I used an immersion blender. I was rewarded by a yellow liquid that looked nothing like mayonnaise. My bad, but I had used so much olive oil I wasn’t about to give up.

For the dressing the recipe called for whole anchovies mushed up, but I relied on my trusty anchovy paste. Other than that I made the recipe as written still using my immersion blender. The salad itself was simple- just some romaine with croutons. SFAH had a crouton recipe, but I was trying to clear out my kitchen and just used some leftover burger buns, more olive oil, and a garlic herb mix.

I didn’t have high hopes, but this was delicious! There was leftover dressing and it is being jealously guarded as a chicken marinate for later. I will be making this all summer!

Note: Links to amazon.com are affiliate links. Thanks for your support!

Eat Your Vegetables! The Essential New York Times Cookbook

Yette’s Garden Platter from The Essential New York Times Cookbook

Amanda Hesser said that the first half of the 20th century was a black hole for vegetables in the New York Times food section. I can see that she struggled because there wasn’t a lot in this chapter. HOWEVER! I “discovered” Yette’s Garden Platter, a casserole of various vegetables on a potato base, and I will definitely be cooking this ALL SUMMER LONG. It was so simple and good. This is definitly one worth looking up. I cooked most with sausage to make it a main meal, and cooked about 1/3 as written for my vegetarian. Next time I’ll add chickpeas for her to give it some protein. There was not a single speck of food left in either dish after dinner that night.

NOTE: I used cherry tomatoes instead of the whole peeled tomatoes. You know I look for shortcuts wherever I can. I am not peeling tomatoes.

I also made the tomatoes vinaigrette from 1963, and they were nothing special. Just tomatoes in dressing. I did appreciate that the recipe used some of my capers though. I have a lot of capers for some reason.

Note: This recipe is part of a long look at Amanda Hesser’s 2010 The Essential New York Times Cookbook. See all posts here. Links to amazon.com are affiliate links. Thanks for your support!

Mint Juleps Are Not For Me

I thought I knew better than everyone else who told me not to plant mint in my yard because it would spread. Guess what? The mint spread. Oh well, there are worse problems to have, particularly when you like to cook.

I tried to solve my mint “problem” by making mint juleps from The Essential New York Times Cookbook, but truthfully all the mint in the world isn’t going to hide the taste of bourbon. Sorry Amanda Hesser and the state of Kentucky.

On to the next recipe!

Note: This recipe is part of a long look at Amanda Hesser’s 2010 The Essential New York Times Cookbook. See all posts here. Links to amazon.com are affiliate links. Thanks for your support!

Acknowledgements and Introduction - The Essential New York Times Cookbook

I’ve read a few books by Amanda Hesser and I’ve always enjoyed her style. So, I loved this section about the process of creating a collection of recipes that spanned 150 years. In it she dishes about her husband’s irrational hate of biscotti (he despises its unfriendly crunch) and what it was like to test thousands of recipes while pregnant with twins.

My favorite part was the amazing timeline. It was interspersed throughout the section and it contained mind blowing tidbits about food history in the US. (I am so happy I live in a time when I can get Florida strawberries.)

Today I learned: meats cook 2 times as fast as they did 100 years ago because the way we raise them now makes them more tender. Sorry vegetarians for grossing you out; I found that fascinating.

This is going to be fun!

Food and Lit: Greece

Last month I fell in love with beef stew. Beef Stifado is going on my regular cooking list for the rest of my life. Honestly, it’s been a long winter, but if it stays just a little longer the silver lining would be another chance to make this delicious stew. It was so tender and flavorful. I might need to make some more tonight. Delicious. I love #FoodAndLit

I read Nights of Rain and Stars by Maeve Binchy. This was a good book, but probably not the best window into Greek culture. Sometimes it the lit that wows you and sometimes it’s the food. You never know.

Next month we eat and read from Cuba!

Note: Links to amazon.com are affiliate links. Thanks for your support.

COOKBOOK REVIEW: Williams-Sonoma Essentials of Slow Cooking

Still working on my 2020 cookbook project. This slow cooker book by Williams-Sonoma is gorgeous, but the recipes are involved and not really what I cook day to day. I was flipping through the other day though and found an amazing looking recipe for Beef and Mushroom Stroganoff. I decided to give it a try!

It wasn’t as exactly pretty as the picture but it was absolutely delicious as an early winter Sunday dinner. The beef was so tender, and I really liked the sauce. My kids liked it too!

None of this is anything I would make on a weeknight when I need a fast dinner, but I would probably try another recipe on a weekend when I have time to putter.

[REVIEW] The Pioneer Woman Cooks - A Year of Holidays

I’m slowly trying to catch up with my 2020 goal to cook from 20 new-to-me cookbooks. Last week’s choice was The Pioneer Woman Cooks A Year of Holidays. I love the idea of this book, but in the end the step by step instructions with a picture of each step drove me nuts. For some reason when recipes are laid out like that I just can’t follow.

I was inspired to break out my smoothie maker, and I’m looking forward to frying eggs in a tortilla. I just won’t be baking the delicious looking carrot cake because there’s no way I’d be able to follow the recipe.

Note: Links to amazon.com are affiliate links. Thanks for your support.

REVIEW: The Complete Italian Cookbook by Manuela Anelli Mazzocco

The Complete Italian Cookbook by Manuela Anelli Mazzocco hit all of my quarantine food longing buttons just right. This is a great book for browsing, with enough every day recipes that you probably have ingredients for even during Covid-19 lock downs.

The soup section in particular kept me dreaming of big bows of deliciousness served with bread. I can’t wait to cook my way through the chapter. I also appreciated the dessert and drinks chapter. I always feel cheated when I get a cookbook and the author says they didn’t include a dessert chapter because they feel just as satisfied with a piece of fruit after dinner. That is definitely not me.

I made the Hunter’s Chicken Stew with just a few adjustments to make it a pantry meal. It was so good! Even my picky eater ate two plates. I’ll be returning to this feel good cookbook often.

Note: The publisher sent me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

COOKBOOK REVIEW: The Essential Air Fryer Cookbook for Beginners by Laurie Fleming

Cinnamon rolls from the air fryer are perfect for Sunday mornings

My husband was worried that when my kids gifted me an air fryer for Christmas I would take it the wrong way. My kids had seen a very persuasive infomercial though, and talked him into it. The kids were right. I love that thing. I use it at least once a week, mostly to roast vegetables.

When I got the chance to review an air fryer cookbook I jumped at it. I was ready to graduate from roasted broccoli.

The book was great. I was amazed at all of the things I can make in my air fryer. I made hard boiled eggs and cinnamon rolls right away, and they kind of saved the weekend. My only complaint is that many of the recipes called for specialty pans and ramekins.

My conclusion: it’s okay to gift your mom an air fryer, but you should buy her this book too.

Note: A copy of this book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

COOKBOOK REVIEW: The Peached Tortilla by Eric Silverstein

I was surprised by how much I liked this cookbook. Going in I thought it would be full of pretty looking but impossible to cook at home restaurant food. There were some involved recipes, but there were a lot of attainable ones too.

I also loved reading Silverstein’s story. Growing up as an American in Asia, then moving back to America having never actually lived there was an interesting way to develop a palate. I also appreciated his realizations that his career as a lawyer was killing his soul, and was glad he shared his first few years of floundering as a food truck operator. We can all use a reminder that hip restaurants and gorgeous cookbooks don’t just get awarded because you’re a nice person.

One night after work last week I whipped up some Chinese BBQ sauce and the Bacon Jam Brussels Sprouts to go with a ham dinner. Both were delicious. Next I’d love to try my hand at making some of the street tacos and cocktails from this book.

Messy weeknight kitchen

Visiting Austin has been on my travel bucket list for a few years now, and when I go visiting The Peached Tortilla is high on my list of things to do.

March 2017 Quick Lit

Late winter means lighting candles.

Each month I link with Modern Mrs. Darcy's Quick Lit as a way to talk about the books I liked, but didn't review.

I read so many amazing books last month, which is possibly why I'm in a reading slump right now. I'm not sweating it, because these books need room to breath and percolate in my brain. If you're looking for something absorbing to read you can't go wrong with anything here.

Kindred by Octavia Butler - This is a story of Dana, a African-American woman who is sent back in time very time her distant, slave owning, white relative needed his foolish life saved. It's science-fiction mixed with historical fiction. Dana's trials had me on the edge of my seat. Before I picked it up, I was put off by the 1970's setting in this book, but really it read like it was written yesterday. Plus the main character was a time traveler, so she wasn't in the 70's much anyway.

Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly - It's funny that in the 90's when I was studying physics the story I was told is that not many women had done it before. Turns out NASA had hired many, many women physicists and mathematicians in the past, but they just didn't want us to know. Even if you don't have a physics degree read this book. It's very inspiring. If you liked Hidden Figures check out Rise of the Rocket Girls too.

Cherries in Winter by Suzan Colon - This was a quick read about a woman who got laid off around 2008, and the connection it gave her to her relatives that had to struggle before her. It was a sweet story, and it had recipes. Perfect for a winter's day.

Falling Angels by Tracy Chevalier - Two friends from slightly different sides of the track hang out in the cemetery with their friend a grave digger. It's not nearly as weird as it sounds. In fact, it's great. I read this one in less than a day because I was so absorbed in it.

The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri - I put off reading this forever. Why? Jhumpa Lahiri is so great. This book is all about forgiveness told in only the way Lahiri can tell it. You feel like you're there.

Note: Links to amazon.com are affiliate links. Thanks for your support.