Variations on 'Pasta with Butter and Fresh Basil Sauce', Lydia's Italy, p. 118
Skillet-cooked Broccoli, Lydia's Italy, p. 277
Benjamin: We combined the Butter and Basil sauce recipe with another that included cannellini beans. The result was a pasta with more body and an almost sweet flavor, though the beans rather than the basil were the most noticeable flavor element along with the butter.
Sunday:
Butternut Squash and Blue Cheese pizza
Salad
Monday: Carrie at FERN conference in New Orleans
Ricotta Omelet with crisp bread crumbs and sage, Suppers, p. 124
Benjamin: I thought this was wonderful -- just wheat germ and cannellini soaked overnight, then cooked slowly in stock with a bit of celery, tomato and onion, with basil to finish. The wheat germ provided some body to the broth and complimented the other ingredients very nicely.
Sunday:
Raw and Cooked Salad, Lidia's Italy, p. 297
Cheese and a crusty bread
Benjamin: The salad was excellent but perhaps not quite substantive enough to stand as an entree by itself -- I'd like to make it again and pair it with something more than bread and cheese...a gratin perhaps?
Chickpea Curry with Whole Spices, A Year in a Vegetarian Kitchen, p. 68
Spiced Creamed Spinach, Krishna's, p. 258
Naan
Benjamin: These made a nice alternative to our frozen Indian entrees, since they are simple enough to produce on a week night -- not quite as fast as the microwave, but tastier (and probably healthier too). The spinach turned out with much more liquid than when we'd made it before, but still tasted excellent.
Thursday:
Savory Corn Griddle Cakes, A Year in a Vegetarian Kitchen, p. 207
Lighter Refried Beans, A Year in a Vegetarian Kitchen, p. 434
Salad
Friday: Carrie at Guthrie with Ann C.
Omelette
Hashbrowns
Benjamin: I had a hankering for brunch food, so I whipped up an omelette from a few odds and ends we had on hand. For the potato side dish I had originally thought about rösti, but discovered that the more authentic recipes suggested boiling the potatoes a day in advance, so I settled for the more prosaic hashbrowns instead. Our new non-stick pan worked wonderfully for these, though the center was still slightly under done.
Deep Dish Spinach Pizza from the Italian Pie Shoppe
Carrie: Mmm, always good!
Sunday:
Welsh Rarebit
Carrie: With a bit of chill in the air, Ben suggested we pull out one of our Fall favorites - made with a fine Belgian-style beer from Ommegang. The cheese was a bit clumpy, but Ben quickly solved the problem with a whir from the hand blender. Yum!
Monday:
Corn, Tomato, and Lima Bean Stew, A Year in a Vegetarian Kitchen*, p. 292
Corn Bread
Carrie: Nice idea, but for me, this wasn't 'main dish' material. I loved the edamame we substituted for the lima beans, but the flavors were a bit off (maybe the basil?).
Tuesday:
Rebaked Potatoes, Enchanted, p. 227
Green Beans with Toasted Walnuts and Tarragon, Vegetables Every Day*, p. 172
Carrie: Another Fall favorite - awesome! And I really liked the green beans recipe. The walnuts gave it a rich but mellow flavor.
Wednesday:
Indian!
Thursday:
Black Bean Chilaquiles, A Year in a Vegetarian Kitchen, p. 288
Mexican Citrus Salad, A Year in..., p. 33
Carrie: Oh, this was so good! I complained a bit in the beginning since there was more prep than I thought: baking the corn tortillas; and the the avocado, sour cream, and cheese toppings that I forgot about while prepping the salad. But the dish was really quite easy and fabulously good. Basically, it's like a taco salad stovetop casserole. And the citrus salad was a great accompaniment: orange and grapefruit slices with lime juice and chili powder - yum!
Friday:
Bulghur Salad with Chickpeas, Roasted Peppers & Spiced Cumin Dressing, A Year in..., p.268
Tomato Salad
Veggie burgers
Carrie: Couldn't find the right type of bulghur (the 'fine' kind), so we scrapped the salad for a good stand-in. I love the black bean veggie burgers, so I wasn't all that disappointed. And our garden tomatoes were tasty, too.
*A Year in a Vegetarian Kitchen and Vegetables Every Day are cookbooks by Jack Bishop that we recently checked out of the library. See more information under Cookbooks We've Explored.
