Zucchini Quesadillas p. 368

Not fancy but fast and tasty, that’s the story here.  This literally took less than 15 minutes start to finish.  You slice and sauté the zucchini, then add a little garlic and cumin.  Then you add that to the cheeses and sauté the quesadilla.  I used cheddar instead of Monterey Jack because cheddar is my friend.  

So, really simple, but the zucchini tasted great in the dish and the spices add something so that it’s not just cheesiness.  I will make this again as a quick lunch or dinner, and not just because I have ingredients left! 

It’s Spring Break so maybe I’ll find the time to make another recipe this week.  Or maybe grand-nephew #2 will be born... 

Stir-Fried Tofu and Bok Choy (p.58-59)

I had Tofu and Baby Bok Choy out a restaurant last week and decided that I wanted to try it at home.

Above is the restaurant's version.

I cooked the rice (sushi rice) using our Zojirushi rice cooker.
I bought baby bok choy instead of 1 big head.

I let the tofu sit for longer than 20 minutes - but that certainly didn't hurt anything

 

As suggested, I made the sauce and combined the scallions, garlic and ginger before I started cooking

I cooked everything in a 12-inch skillet - but not nonstick - at it was still okay

 I liked it a lot and will make it again (I served it over the rice - which is a bit hard to see)

Shakshuka! p. 390

Raise your hand if you’ve made or eaten shakshuka before!  Me neither.  But it sounded like fun.   It is apparently Tunisian.  I made a half recipe - the full recipe has 8 eggs. You sauté onions and yellow peppers, then add diced tomatoes and jarred peppers.  It’s flavored with garlic, cumin, and turmeric.  

So you cook the sauce for a bit, then purée about half of it in the blender.  After returning the sauce to the pan, you make wells and crack eggs into them, then cover and simmer until the whites are cooked.  It said 5-10 minutes, and it was definitely more like 10.  Then you sprinkle with cilantro and a bit of feta cheese.

I served it over a toasted English muffin.  Kind of like a messy eggs Benedict.

It was yummy.  Lots of flavor in the sauce, and the egg was cooked just right for me (i.e. just barely runny). I’m excited for the leftovers and will likely make this again.  Couple of action shots below.

Eggplant Involtini (page 35)

Made this on Sunday during the snowstorm - the authors think of this as a summer dish, but I think that it is a great winter dish.

The idea is to bake the eggplant and then fill it with cheese (no eggs) and just finish it in the broiler.  You brush the eggplant with oil - I used olive oil.

The tomato sauce is from a 28-oz can of plum tomatoes.  I broke them up using my hands.

The filling....I used part-skin ricotta

I was worried that my cast iron fry pan would be too small (it's only a 10"), but it worked well.

Here is the finished dish:

M suggested that it would go well with pasta... I tried that last night - cooking some spaghetti.  It worked well.

Sheperd's Pie p. 235

I realize I'm posting this in March but actually made it first in February and then again yesterday (Mar 2.) Yes, I made it twice. Since I had leftover ingredients, I made it for a new mother in our neighborhood. BTW - 6 week old Violet is adorable.

I followed the recipe - almost to the letter because I cannot conceive of Sheperd's Pie without green beans. It was a staple of my weekly menus for many years!

All ready to go!

In progress -

Served the entree with green salad with blueberries and rice vinegar dressing. Everything was yummy!

I forgot to say that I made my own vegetable broth; threw ends of carrots & celery, half an onion, mushroom stems into a pot. Browned them a little then added water, garlic, peppercorns, thyme stem & parsley stems. Boiled then simmered as I chopped and cooked the veggies.

Oh, and I used some of the leftover mashed sweet potatoes from my previous venture.

This recipe was easy and delicious. I will definitely make it again (but always with green beans.)