Vegetables Archives – Page 6 of 10

How Are You Using All Those Extra Potatoes?

Vegan potato leek soup is a great way to use up your extra potatoes.

What do you do with all those potatoes you bought? Make vegan potato leek soup, of course! It can be served hot or cold and freezes well. Zero waste cooking starts here.

Sometimes I can find frozen, chopped leeks and that’s a real time saver. But fresh leeks are wonderful and can sit in your fridge for a while too. It’s often recommended to use only the white part of the leek because it’s the most tender, but I like to use as much of it as possible.

Handling Leeks

I learned from watching Jacques Pepin on PBS that after removing the toughest outer layer, you can cut diagonally the green part and progressively use more of the leek as you cut the layers deeper toward the center. Unfortunately, I neglected to take a picture to explain what I mean, so you can watch the legend himself demonstrate the technique here. Whatever you trim away can be put into a freezer bag for stock later. Zero waste cooking starts here.

Once you have cut away the toughest, outermost stem ends, slice the leeks into halves or quarters lengthwise and then cut them into smaller slices. Put them into a tub full of water and swish them around so that the dirt sinks to the bottom. Pull them out with your hands and repeat this process a couple times to make sure they are clean and free of grit.

Toss your cubed potatoes into a pot with some oil to get them started cooking. Then add the leeks and whatever herbs you like. Rosemary is great. I often use Herbs de Provence. Add some liquid, which could be chicken stock or vegetable stock. Let it simmer until the vegetables are tender.

I like a rustic texture, so I sometimes use a potato masher to mash some of the potatoes near the end of cooking. You could leave them in chunks or puree the whole thing. You could add some cream. It’s really up to you. If you wanted to serve it cold, I would recommend pureeing it. And a dollop of sour cream would also be welcome.

If you don’t use all the leeks you have cleaned and sliced, put them into the freezer for future use. You will thank yourself later for the work that you have already done. Work smarter, not harder.

For an idea on using up your leftover mashed potatoes, please read No Waste Begets Big Taste.

How to Serve Nearly Turnkey Turkey

Simplify your turkey dinner and serve healthy sides like roasted acorn squash.

As we all continue to re-examine what matters most, we may find ourselves simplifying in many areas of life. Take a traditional turkey dinner, for example. Do you really need a whole bird or might a breast be sufficient? How many side dishes do you need? Every family is different. In mine, mashed potatoes and gravy are non-negotiable. Dressing is desirable. Although Michael prefers peas with this dinner, I forgot to buy some last time I shopped and found that he was just as happy with spinach. Roasted acorn squash rounded out this delicious, simple meal.

turkey breast with mashed potatoes and gravy, dressing, sautéed spinach and roasted acorn squash on a white plate

What About the Gravy?

The obvious issue with simply roasting a breast is that you have to make do without giblets and pan drippings to make gravy. So, we must improvise! In the freezer, I found that I had some chicken giblets and vegetable ends that could be boiled to start working on some gravy. After that had cooked down, I pureed the giblets and strained out the other solids. Then I combined the liquid and giblet puree with some stock from a carton and a bit of stew from Coq au Vin that I had made previously and put in the freezer. Voila! Adding that made just about the best gravy I have had in quite a while! Hooray for my treasure chest of freezer flavor gems and an effortless turkey dinner. Planning ahead makes for zero waste cooking.

Thickening Without Lumpiness

In a small cup, I put about a tablespoon of flour (or whatever amount is appropriate to the amount of gravy you’re making) and then whisk into it a small amount of the stock that is to become gravy. I ladle in just enough stock to make a paste at first and then a little more progressively while whisking to make a smooth slurry. Then add that to the pot of gravy. No lumps. Simply silky.

Dressing

What about dressing? Well, you might be able to squeeze a little under the skin of the breast, but not much, so put it in a casserole dish to bake. My mother-in-law puts pork sausage in hers and I think it’s delicious.

So first I toast some cubed French bread in the oven. Meanwhile I sauté chopped onions, celery and crumbled sausage in some butter in a skillet. Season with salt, sage, French thyme and Herbs de Provence. Once the bread is toasted, mix it together with the other ingredients and some chicken or turkey stock to moisten and pop it in the oven in a casserole dish during the last 30 minutes or so of roasting the turkey.

Roasted Acorn Squash

I decided to roast an acorn squash while I had everything else in the oven. It looks beautiful stuffed and served in halves, but we like it seasoned in bite sized pieces. So after peeling and chopping it, I seasoned it with:

salt
red pepper flakes
turmeric
coriander
ginger
cinnamon
cardamom
cloves

Tossed with oil and roasted on a sheet pan.

We enjoyed this turkey dinner and it didn’t require all day or many days to prepare, which is the beauty of simple meals. The biggest question is whether to serve red or white wine with it. Which do you prefer?

In case you wanted to know how to make the Coq au Vin that contributed to this excellent gravy, please read Don’t Whine, Cook Chicken With Wine next.

Esteemed Greens and Endearing Ears Are Here

Combine fresh, frozen and pantry items for simple meals like this pasta with greens anytime.

There is something so comforting about pasta. If I want to make it lower carb, I just ramp up the ratio of vegetables to pasta. With this orecchiette, little ear shaped pasta, it’s very easy to put more pasta into someone else’s bowl who wants it. More greens in mine. Who doesn’t love the versatility of pasta with greens?

I once had in an Italian restaurant: lamb sausage with rapini and orecchiette with brodo, which means broth. Although I love rapini, I have difficulty finding it even when it’s in season. So kale or another bitter green make a more frequent appearance in my house because everyone sells kale and if it’s fresh enough when purchased, it will stay fresh in my refrigerator for a couple weeks.

If you can’t find orecchiette, try another pasta shape such as small shells or elbow macaroni. What’s in your pantry that will lend itself to a simple meal?

I love sausage of all kinds too, but I don’t buy it very often. Other ground meats are more versatile and I usually have some in the freezer, so here’s what I do instead: use ground turkey or any other ground meat that I have on hand and season it up with spices you would find in sausage. In other words, I can usually make this dish with ingredients on hand from the pantry, freezer and refrigerator.

Ingredients for This Pasta With Greens:

ground turkey or lamb
minced garlic
salt
crushed fennel seeds
dried basil
oregano
thyme
paprika
red pepper flakes
lamb or chicken broth/stock
rapini or kale or other bitter greens
orecchiette or other short pasta

Brown the meat, add garlic and spices. Then I add some kind of broth. Here I used a little chicken broth and some lamb stock that I had in the freezer. Add the kale and let it simmer until it’s done to your liking. Cooking without a recipe is so fun and easy.

If you’re making pasta or any number of things that require boiling water, please put the pot of water on to boil before you begin the other prep work. You don’t want to be waiting around for water to boil when everything else is ready. Once your pasta is al dente, scoop it out with a spider and add to the pot or skillet that you have used to cook your meat and vegetables. Sprinkle with parmesan and enjoy!

A spider that you actually want to find lurking around your kitchen

The spider is helpful because it allows you to keep your salty, starchy pasta water in case you want to add a little to whatever pasta dish you are creating. I also find it quicker to wash than a colander. Win win!

Looking forward to finding some rapini this season. If you can get it, you might blanch it before adding to this dish in order to remove some of the bitterness. Depends on your palate, which is what cooking without a recipe is all about.

What’s your go-to dish that you can make with ingredients usually on hand? Here’s another simple meal with almost sausage and pasta.

My Simple and Comforting Shepherd’s Pie

A great way to reinvent leftovers, shepherd’s pie is comforting and easy to make.

Ready for a comforting dinner for a cool evening? Michael likes to order Shepherd’s Pie along with a black and tan (Guinness Stout layered on top of Bass Ale) at a local British pub. You can make your own shepherd’s pie using leftover roast or other meat by adding vegetables, gravy and mashed potatoes. Bake it in a casserole dish and enjoy this simple meal tonight. It’s easy.

If you’re like me and try to dirty as few dishes as possible, you can start everything in an oven-proof skillet and bake it in said skillet. What could be better than a one pot dish using leftovers? It’s easy to decide what to cook for dinner tonight!

shepherd's pie on a white plate with greens. skillet in the background full of shepherd's pie

I had some pan juices left from a previous lamb roast and stock I had made using the bones, so that was the jumping off point for this dish. You can use beef stock or whatever style of gravy you have or can easily make. Don’t worry about what’s traditional. Just use what you think will taste good. My lamb stock had some tomatoes in it, which wouldn’t normally appear in a shepherd’s pie, but it created the base for a delicious gravy and that’s all that matters to me. That’s the foundation of zero waste cooking.

Preparation

First, boil your potatoes until fork tender. Drain, season and mash the way you usually would once they’re done. I use butter and plain yogurt. If you have leftover mashed potatoes, here’s a great way to reinvent them.

Then, I browned some ground beef in a skillet, added some minced garlic and some dried herbs: rosemary, French thyme and oregano. If your stock/gravy needed some more flavor, I would start with onions. In this case, my pre-existing pan juices/stock already had plenty of onion, so I skipped that.

Add whatever vegetables you like. I chopped up some carrots and tossed in some frozen peas. After pondering adding corn or mushrooms, I decided my skillet was already full enough especially after adding the stock.

I wanted to thicken up the stock, so I ladled a bit into a small cup and whisked in a dash of flour to combine. Added it back to the skillet. If you’re starting with gravy that’s already thick enough, that step would be unnecessary.

Finally, I plopped ice cream sized scoops of mashed potatoes on top of the surface and smoothed it out a bit with a spatula. Baked in the oven until everything had cooked down to the right consistency and the top was golden. How long was that? Probably about 50 minutes at 350. You know, I just keep an eye on things and timing will depend on the size and depth of your baking dish and how much and how thin your liquid was when you began. I call it intuitive cooking without a recipe.

Basic Ingredients:

ground beef or lamb
gravy base (i.e. lamb stock and pan juices)
mashed potatoes
peas
carrots
garlic
dried herbs( i.e. rosemary, French thyme and oregano)

What do you think of this simple shepherd’s pie? Ready for more comfort food and cooking without a recipe? Learn to Lighten Up Old School Comfort Food with my take on Beef Stroganoff.

How Do You Make Your Slab of Ribs?

Smart grocery shopping and cooking basics lead to a memorable, simple meal.

I don’t often make ribs. Michael loves them, but we usually order them from a takeout restaurant. So when I saw a slab of pork ribs on sale at the supermarket, I decided to buy some and try my hand. That’s smart grocery shopping.

I couldn’t remember the last time I made ribs, so I called a couple of friends who had served them in the past to find out their method. They said, “Barbecue.” Since I don’t have a barbecue, I searched the internet for an oven method. Ah, then I remembered. Low and slow in the oven makes the tenderest ribs that I like best. Why? I don’t particularly care for messy things that I have to pick up with my hands only for it to get stuck in my teeth. I think it’s much more civilized when you can cut the meat off the bone and it melts in your mouth.

So that’s what we have here. Michael doesn’t mind messy food, so he instinctively brought extra napkins to the table for this meal. But I am happy to say that they weren’t needed. Try it. You’ll like it.

Ribs with baked cheesy orecchiette and vegetables on a white china plate alongside coleslaw in a white cup

Yes, Michael is the real ribs lover in our household. Once he saw me preparing them, he started talking about the sides we usually order from our favorite place. So, to make him happy I made some coleslaw and a slimmed down version of mac and cheese. I had wanted to use some corn, green beans and carrots, so I mixed them together with some cooked orecchiette and a cheesy white sauce and popped that into the oven. I think this is about the easiest way to sneak some extra veggies on your kids…or husband. Who doesn’t like pasta and cheese? Anyone can learn how to eat more vegetables even if they think they don’t like them.

Preparing the Ribs

So, here’s how I handled the ribs: First I removed the excess fat and the membrane from the underside. Then I seasoned both sides with salt and garlic powder. Wrapped the ribs in foil and put them on a cookie sheet. Baked at 275 for 2 1/2 hours and then opened the foil to check on them. They were tender, so I opened the foil, poured some barbecue sauce on them and baked at 350 for another 30 minutes. I put both the ribs and the cheesy veggie pasta under the broiler for a couple minutes to get a little color on them.

I must say that I really enjoyed these and I didn’t even put barbecue sauce on mine. Michael is a saucy guy, but I didn’t find it necessary.

The only thing missing above were some barbecued beans and greens…so with the little bit of ribs left over, we had that the next night. I took some pinto beans out of the freezer that I had previously cooked. After defrosting in the refrigerator, I added some barbecue sauce to them. Voila! Another simple and tasty dinner without any fuss. For details on those delicious pinto beans, please read Pinto Beans Mean Big Win For Me. Smart grocery shopping starts with fresh ingredients and stocking a pantry well.

Pork ribs with braised kale, pinto beans and biscuit on a white plate

Reasons to Get Pumped Over Pumpkin Season

It’s easier than you think to soften this tough guy. Meet the kabocha.

You know how I love to keep a hard squash or two around. Why? Along with root vegetables and cabbage, they will happily wait in your refrigerator until your other more perishable produce has been consumed. So, what can you do with a pumpkin such as this kabocha? It can provide you with many simple meals as you develop your skills of intuitive cooking without recipes.

In this case, I decided to slice it and bake on a cookie sheet with some grapeseed oil at 350 for about 40 minutes until tender. Flipped over halfway through cooking time. Yes, you can even eat the skin! You can certainly eat it just like that. Seasoned with soy sauce is how my mother used to serve it frequently at dinner.

Roasted kabocha slices on a cookie sheet

How About With Pasta?

I decided to add some of this to some penne pasta for its first appearance. From my treasure chest of freezer gems, I retrieved about an inch of bacon that I chopped and browned in a skillet. Then added some diced onion and cooked until golden. Tossed in some leftover chicken breast along with some stock and white wine, seasoned with garlic powder, sage, French thyme and nutmeg. After the sauce reduced a bit, I cut some of the squash into chunks and added to the skillet. Then I decided the sauce should have a little more substance, so I peeled some more of the squash, smashed it with a potato masher and whisked into the sauce. Tasted, added salt and mixed in the cooked penne. Topped with grated parmesan.

Penne with chicken and kabocha sauce on a white plate

Do I have any squash haters out there? Try this one out on your kids and tell me if you have any leftovers.

What do you do with leftover kabocha slices? I put some into some ramen with tofu and carrots the next day. I really enjoyed the unexpected texture of it in the soup. I’m thinking of frying some tempura style next…What else would you do with it?

Ramen in a black bowl topped with tofu, kabocha slices, wakame and green onions

For another idea on using kabocha squash in a protein filled vegetarian stew, please read Squash Your Prejudice next.

Rockfish, spinach, lentils and rice with kabocha slices on a white plate — Rockfish with spinach, lentils and rice with kabocha slices

Hit It Out of the Park With This Side

Pair a healthy homemade salad dressing with your ballpark sides.

I don’t mind a quality hot dog once in a while: 2 dogs on one bun for me. Topped with mustard, onions and sauerkraut is divine. However, I have trouble calling it a meal unless I serve a vegetable or salad on the side. I just can’t help myself. So, what’s a natural side for hot dogs? Potato salad, of course. But not just any potato salad. Make this healthy homemade salad dressing for it.

Hot dogs topped with mustard and onions alongside parsley potato salad on a white plate — While the rest of the plate goes all-American, a side of Middle Eastern potato salad satisfies my diverse palate

I discovered this boldly flavorful potato salad as a teenager and it changed my view of potatoes forever. No bland spuds here. If you think of parsley as only a garnish, think again my friends!

Ingredients:

boiled potatoes
crushed garlic
salt
lemon juice
olive oil
parsley
green onions

Middle Eastern potato salad with lots of parsley in a white bowl

Cut the scrubbed potatoes of your choice into bite sized pieces. You could peel them if you prefer, but I had some beautiful organic gold potatoes here and didn’t find that necessary. Boil until fork tender, about 15 minutes. Drain and toss with this healthy, homemade salad dressing while still warm so the flavors meld.

Marble mortar and pestle on a black granite block

Again, I use my mortar and pestle for this because I like the resulting texture the best, but you could use a food processor.

Putting salt into the mortar with the garlic helps break it down when you crush it with the pestle. Whisking in equal parts of lemon juice and olive oil works for me. Lots of chopped parsley make this salad sing. I usually put green onions in here, but I didn’t have any and with enough garlic, I didn’t miss them terribly. If you have some, they add another dimension of texture and flavor. I could eat the whole bowl of these potatoes myself, but I guess I will share some with Michael…

By the way, this is even better the next day if you have any left over. Serve it either cold or at room temperature. What’s your favorite side dish with hot dogs?

How about a quick game time snack? Try this one.

The Secret’s In the Sauce

Making vegetables taste good just got easier.

The first time I really enjoyed an eggplant dish was when I had something like this in Japan. Japanese eggplant is a long, skinny variety with less seeds than its more rotund cousin. Served with ground pork, carrots and a sweet/sour soy sauce, it’s delicious. Here’s one way to learn how to eat more vegetables even when you think you don’t like them.

Ground beef with Chinese eggplant, carrots and sauce served over rice with kale and mushrooms on a white plate — Ground beef with Chinese eggplant, carrots and sauce served over rice with kale and mushrooms

At my local supermarket, Chinese eggplant is easier to find than the Japanese variety. It has a similar shape, but a lighter color. So, cut into finger sized pieces, that’s what I used here. I had a little ground beef in the freezer, so that’s what I used instead of pork.

In Japan, meat is not the main event. For the most part, it’s a little something added to a vegetable dish. Ground pork is what’s most readily available and 1/3 of a pound would be plenty for a dish serving more than 4 people. So whatever beef I used here was more than enough. Ground turkey would impart a milder flavor. Use whatever you have or make a vegetarian version if you prefer.

Making the Sauce

The sauce that I originally sampled and used to use comes from a box. I try to use as few prepackaged ingredients as possible these days, so here’s what I experimented with before adding the vegetables and meat to the skillet:

sesame oil (keep that in the refrigerator)
minced garlic
minced ginger (from my treasure chest of freezer flavor gems)
rice vinegar
mirin (sweet cooking sake)
Go-chu-jang (Korean style hot/sweet sauce)
soy sauce
a tiny bit of miso paste mixed with chicken stock

It’s been a long time since I had the boxed sauce, so I don’t recall its exact flavor. I think it was labeled as a Chinese sauce in fact. In any case, I tasted and adjusted seasonings until I thought I had achieved a pleasing balance before adding the raw vegetables and meat that I had already cooked. Adding a touch of liquid as needed and a pinch of sugar near the end finished this simple meal. As I recall, green bell pepper was in this original dish, but I didn’t think about it while preparing this and it was fine without. Variety and experimentation are essential to finding out how easy it is to eat more vegetables when you previously hadn’t liked them.

I like serving stir fried vegetables like this over rice. I often have some leftover rice to use on such an occasion because I make double what we will use for one meal so that I can whip together something fast with it over the following days. It simplifies my life. Pictured above, my brown rice had been mixed with mushrooms and kale and all these flavors married well.

Are some of these ingredients unfamiliar to you? They are items that I always keep on hand among other pantry items. Certainly you could make the sauce with fewer ingredients, but I encourage you to experiment with a variety of ethnic products if you can locate them. Especially with the abundance of online retailers, it shouldn’t be too difficult. Have you discovered miso paste yet? Look in the refrigerated section near the kimchee and won ton wrappers. Changing things up a bit may be just what you need in order to learn how to eat more vegetables when you don’t like them.

No Nonsense Spaghetti Squash Toss

Want to know how to eat more vegetables when you don’t like them?

I am not going to lie to you. Spaghetti squash does not replace real spaghetti. I grew up eating it that way because I was gluten free for most of my childhood. I’m talking about before it was fashionable and there weren’t a lot of alternatives at the market. So, although I eat wheat these days, I do usually try to boost my ratio of vegetables to pasta whenever possible. Here’s one way to learn how to eat more vegetables when you don’t like them. Once this squash has been cooked, all you have to do is scrape out the flesh using the tines of a fork. The squash naturally comes out in thin strips like spaghetti. Thus its cute name…

Spaghetti squash with basil pesto, linguine, chicken and red bell pepper on a white plate — Spaghetti squash with basil pesto, linguine, chicken and red bell pepper

I had some fresh basil, so I decided to make pesto with:

garlic
salt
basil
walnuts
olive oil
parmesan cheese

No food processor? No problem. Please read Nuts About Pesto for advice. Are you vegan? Leave out the cheese. I have made lots of pesto without it.

Looking for a little color to add to this dish, I found part of a red bell pepper to chop up and add to the pesto.

Cooking Squash

I baked a whole spaghetti squash for about an hour and a half until it was tender when pierced with a fork. Whole? Yes, why not? You can cut it in half and roast it cut side down in a baking dish with a little water. It cooks faster that way. But I just wanted it to be ready once I was finished with a video conference. So putting it into the oven whole worked just fine.

I had just a little bit of linguine left in a package. Not enough for a whole serving, so it made sense to mix it with the spaghetti squash after boiling. Slowly incorporating more vegetables in your diet is so easy.

I had some cooked chicken in the freezer, so after defrosting that, I tossed it into the boiling water with the pasta during the last couple minutes of cooking. Once they were done, I pulled them out with tongs and mixed with the pesto and red pepper in a bowl. Adding a little of the pasta water helps to complete the sauce.

Cooking doesn’t have to be complicated. Simple meals are the best.

A slice of pizza with spaghetti squash and pasta on a white plate — Leftovers were even better served cold the next day with leftover homemade pizza.

What else can you do with left over squash? You can find all kinds of ways to use it, so don’t be afraid to buy a big one. I like to bulk up soup with it. It’s an easy way to eat more vegetables even if you don’t like them.

Miso soup with spaghetti squash, tofu, wakame and bok choy in a black bowl — Miso soup with spaghetti squash, tofu, wakame and bok choy

Want to know more about making miso soup? Read Miso Adaptable next.

Fine Dining in Under 30 Minutes With Fish

Looking for ideas on how to prepare fish simply?

Who likes halibut? My husband always thought of it as a dry fish and therefore not particularly appetizing. Why? Because it had been served to him overcooked in the past. Halibut, like many other wild fish, is delectable when prepared correctly…dismal once overcooked. That’s the secret of how to prepare fish.

Baked halibut with chipotle sauce served with roasted asparagus and scalloped potatoes on a white plate — Baked halibut with roasted asparagus and scalloped potatoes

I think fish is just about the easiest thing ever because it doesn’t take long to cook and it’s so versatile. I decided to bake it because I had some leftover scalloped potatoes to reheat in a covered casserole. Then I decided I would put some asparagus in to roast on a cookie sheet tossed with some olive oil, garlic powder, thyme and salt. I love simple meals, don’t you?

Timing

At 350, the potatoes took about 20 minutes to reheat. Asparagus took about 15 minutes to get tender and get a touch of color. The halibut took about 12. Just keep an eye on things to see when they’re done. I really dislike overcooked asparagus and overcooked fish. I know the halibut is done once it is opaque and the layers of flesh just begin to separate.

The Final Touch

While everything was in the oven, I was free to look around for something fun to dress up the fish. I started sautéing some onions in a skillet with olive oil and then I tossed in some tri-colored bell peppers and half a cube of chipotle from my treasure chest of freezer flavor gems. I had a little chicken stock available, so I poured a touch of that in too. Let everything simmer until dinner was ready. Simple and delicious. You would never call this fish dry or boring! Don’t overcook and whip up a little sauce to accompany it. That’s how you can prepare fish everyone will love.

Baked scalloped potatoes and broccoli stems in a glass casserole dish — Scalloped potatoes

Learn how to make the scalloped potatoes by reading this previous post where I also served them with fish. Why? Because the leanness of the fish suggests to me that I can serve a rich side dish with it. I might prefer a leaner accompaniment to something heavier like a beef steak. What do you think?