When He Fends for Himself: When He Makes Dinner

The wife has been very hard at work on a paper for her graduate school class and needed some help preparing dinner Sunday night. I vacated the house during the day to give her some peace and quiet to concentrate. I went to a sports bar, watched all the early NFL games, and got to see in real time my fantasy football year go down the tubes. On the way home I was asked to stop at the grocery to get some staples for the week and to find something for dinner.

The grocery store was a process of elimination. I stopped early to grab the salad ingredients because I knew I'd be chastised if I didn't come home with some vegetable to go with dinner. After that I scouted out the main course. Knowing that anything too easy (like snack dinner) or too complicated (for me, tacos) were out of the question, I checked out the meat case and looked at the beef, chicken, and lamb. We've been trying to cut down on our beef intake because it seems like a good thing to do, and the chicken and lamb didn't really excite me. Also, I thought if I went with a meat course, I'd have to get another vegetable to go on the side. So all I was left with was pasta.

I went to the fresh pasta case and looked at the selections. At this particular store, we've purchased the trofie and the various raviolis before so I went with the pumpkin tortellini. As I came home I announced what I purchased and said I thought we could mix it with one Pestos with Panache we had on hand. It turns out, pumpkin chipotle was in stock and sounded like a perfect match.

I went into the kitchen and expertly started to boil water. Once that got going, I cut some cucumbers, washed the lettuce, and opened the bag of baby carrots. Also, the pesto was taken out of the freezer and proportional amount was nuked in the microwave for 15 seconds for it to thaw out. Once the salad was ready, the water was at a boil and I put in the tortellini. As it cooked, I cleared off and set the table. The tortellini was finished and I drained the water, added the pesto, and mixed it in.

As I served the food, I could tell that the wife was impressed. It really was a gourmet dinner that I produced. The spice of the chipolte pesto really added a nice kick to the sort of sweet tortellini. The salad was classy and the water to drink was from MWRA! What more could you want? I guess I could have got a dessert too, but I'll have to save that for next time.

Preparation recap from the wife:
1 1b. fresh pumpkin tortellini
2 tablespoons pumpkin chipotle pesto
Splash of pasta water

Microwave frozen pesto for 15 seconds on power level 7 (just to soften, not too cook)
Ask the hubby why he is trying to boil water with the heat on medium and the pot uncovered. Adjust, and then return to your paper writing because you are not supposed to be making dinner tonight.
Eat the delicious meal and give the cook a 5 star review!

Will Drive for Food - A Saturday Adventure

Last month at the Food Truck Festival the hubby and I were chatting with Michelle of Fun and Fearless in Beantown. She asked us about our weekend and about how far we drove in to enjoy the barbecue brisket at the market.  My immediate reply was, "On Sundays we usually drive for food".  I laughed at how it sounded, but it's really true.  Many of our weekend adventures involve heading to a farmers market, a festival, or an interesting restaurant. We don't eat out during the week (well, maybe we sneak a lunch or two out) and weekends are when we let someone else do some of the cooking.

This weekend I was on my own for my adventure. I knew my starting destination and headed out with no particular agenda or return time. I love to wander, one thing leads to another, and it becomes an adventure!

I fueled up for my adventure with a slice of homemade whole wheat bread topped with homemade fig spread (recipe at the end). With an iced coffee from Red Barn Coffee Roasters in hand I hit the road and in about 30 minutes I arrived at the Harvard, MA Farmers Market.  I'd heard great things about the market and they have an informative and interesting website. There were a lot of new-to-me vendors and I spent some time chatting with all of them and picking up some great things.  I also spent a lot of time taking photos during the day. I'll highlight some of my favorites throughout the post. I hope you check out the slide show included in the post for all of my photos.

A bright yellow booth caught my attention and I stopped by to see what they were selling. I met the lovely Joanna and tasted her delicious biscotti. We started chatting and it turns out that Joanna just started her baking business and this was her second weekend at the market. After careers in marketing and kitchen design, she decided to take her well-tested biscotti recipe to the commercial kitchen and bring it to the public. She has more than 10 flavors. I picked out the orange walnut (with a full pound of walnuts in the 6 oz. of biscotti!). I look forward to trying out  more flavors! Hopefully she'll bring her treats to one of the winter markets in the area. She doesn't have a website yet, but she is in the process of setting it up.

Another fantastic surprise was Bagel Alley. There are bagel places out here in MetroWest, but none that satisfy my craving for chewy, dense, bagels. I picked up a half-dozen of my favorite flavors and asked if I could take a few pictures of the bagels. They seemed a little shocked that anyone would want to photograph their bagels, but they obliged. Here is my ode to my favorite stinky bagel, the everything bagel:

I also picked up a delicious whole wheat plum cherry scone from The Biscuit (from Somerville, MA). I munched on that while I gathered some other goodies like pea tendrils, a whole chicken (no giblets), parsley, spinach fettuccine, and parsnips.  Another new-to-me product was lupine beans. I had never heard of them before - turns out they blend into a flavorful and healthy hummus. After sampling a few flavors, I took home a cilantro flavored hummus. You can read about the lupine beans here.

I packed up my purchases and decided to wander through Harvard toward my absolute favorite fall stop - Bolton Spring Farm. Every fall since I first came to Boston for college, I've made a trip to Bolton Spring Farm. Three things I always buy there: hot apple dumplings, hot apple cider, and a Yankee Candle (apple, pumpkin, or cinnamon scented). They have apple picking too, but it's up a hill, so I usually pick up a pre-picked bag. This trip I got a half peck of Paula Reds, a cider donut, and a 'Be Thankful' candle.

Since I was on Route 117 with no agenda, I headed east toward Verrill Farm. At this point I really didn't need any more veggies or fruits, or so I thought...On my way to Verrill Farm I made a quick detour to Applefield Farm. They were at the farmers market and I decided to stop and see their real farm. I added three hot peppers and a cute green eggplant to my loot and got back on the road.

At Verrill Farm I added fresh figs, a beeswax candle, and an orange to my collection. I know the orange doesn't scream "Hey, it's fall", but my favorite apple cake calls for orange juice. Sometimes you just have to go with it.  When I got home, I laid out my purchases to see how crazy I went. Not too bad! I really love the magnet that I got at the market.

It was a fabulous day! Beautiful weather, friendly farmers and vendors, and of course delicious food. I cooked up a quick dinner from my finds, and ended up making it three more times over the weekend (it was that fresh and good!).

I had a great time taking photos - instead of a post with all of them, I hope you have a minute to watch the slide show below to see what food fun awaits you here in the suburbs.  Recipes from the posts follow the pictures.

Fig Cinnamon Jam

Recipe adapted from a recipe posted by Bob Dunn on Local in Season

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup water

1/2 pound fresh figs, stems removed and quartered 

1 1.5 inch strip of lemon zest

Juice from 1/4 of a lemon

1 tablespoon ground Vietnamese Cinnamon

Add water and sugar to a small saucepan, heat over medium heat and cook until you have a simple syrup (just a few minutes)

Add the quartered figs, lemon zest, lemon juice, and cinnamon to the simple syrup and mix

Simmer over low heat for about an hour, stirring occasionally

Let the mixture cool and then store in an airtight container in the refrigerator

Farmers Market Late Summer Pasta

Serves 1 (multiply by the number of hungry people you have to feed)

1/4  lb. Fior D'Italia Spinach Fettuccine, cooked to al dente

1/4 cup Wards Berry Farm red & yellow cherry tomatoes, halved

1/2 garlic clove, finely chopped

1 Applefield Farm green eggplant, diced

1 handful of pea tendrils/pea greens, coarsely chopped

Olive oil

Salt and Pepper

Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat

Add chopped garlic and cook until just fragrant

Add in halved tomatoes and diced eggplant, cook for about 5-8 minutes until softened but not mushy

Turn off heat and add pea tendrils and greens

Toss ingredients

Top a large bowl of pasta with the veggies and an extra drizzle of olive oil

Enjoy!

Yell at yourself for only making one serving

Make again for lunch and dinner the next day and add Parmesan cheese to the top

Where do your food adventures take you? What do you like to do when you have no agenda?

Two Meals - Turkey Burgers with Tomato & Spinach and Ravioli with fresh sauce

This week I stopped at the store mid-week after work to pick up some ingredients for dinner. We'd already had beef for a few dinners, so I was looking for another source of protein for dinner. I asked the hubby for suggestions, and he mentioned chicken Florentine (we had some spinach in the fridge). For some reason, I just wasn't interested in chicken for dinner. Looking at the meat case, I saw that ground turkey breast was on sale. Turkey burgers are not a regular item on our menu, but I decided to give them another try.

Knowing we had spinach in the fridge, I thought about making a Mediterranean style burger with the spinach, tomato and feta. I picked up the ingredients along with some foccacia style buns and marinated olives then headed home to get cooking.

Sticking with the Mediterranean theme, I made a quick cucumber salad with some leftover mint (from the fresh rolls), minced red onion, and a little olive oil and vinegar.

I like at least three components with dinner, so I needed one more dish on the side. I found some red lentils in my pantry while digging around and put those on the stove while making the burgers. I completely overcooked the lentils and they came out extra mushy. I mixed in some balsamic vinegar and the hubby really like them. Next time I'll try this recipe and watch the pot a little better!

For the burgers, I put a little of the topping in the burger and then topped them with the same ingredients. Turkey burgers are quick cookers - so don't forget to watch the pan while you cook. Read down past the recipe to see what I did with the leftover spinach and tomatoes.

Mediterranean Turkey Burgers
Makes 2 Burgers

Printable Recipe

1/2 pound ground turkey breast (white meat turkey)
1 teaspoon Greek seasoning (I have a blend - salt, garlic, oregano, thyme, onion)
1 tablespoon crumbled Feta cheese
1/4 cup spinach and tomato (see recipe below)

Heat a little oil in a medium non-stick skillet over medium heat
Mix all ingredients together in a small bowl
Divide into two patties
Cook the patties for about 2-3 minutes per side, until cooked through

Spinach and Tomatoes
Inspired by a post on Playing House
1 small plastic container of cherry tomatoes
3-4 handfuls of fresh spinach, chopped
Salt
Olive Oil

Heat a small amount of olive oil in a small-medium skillet over medium heat
Add spinach and a little salt to the pan and cook until just wilted, set aside
Add the tomatoes and a little salt to the pan and cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes (until they squish when you press on them)
Remove from the heat and set aside
Serve as a topping or side dish to the burgers.

Serve the burger on your favorite roll with the sides!

Summary for burgers and spinach/tomatoes
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: Spinach/tomato: 15 minutes; Burgers: 10 minutes
Skillets, knives, cutting board, bowl, utensils

Meal 2: Ravioli with Fresh Spinach, Tomato, Basil Sauce

We had plenty of spinach and tomato left over after dinner. I turned it into a quick fresh sauce for some ravioli. We picked up the grilled asparagus and artichoke ravioli at our local winter farmer's market. I bought some local basil at our warehouse club store (they do carry local products!). I threw it all in the food processor, brought to a quick boil, then simmer.

Added to the ravioli and we had a fresh tasty meal! Remember - you can always turn your leftovers into something tasty (well, most of the time).

Summary:
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 5-10 minutes
Food processor, sauce pan, pasta pot, serving utensils

When He Fends for Himself - Baked Ziti

Welcome back to "When He Fends For Himself," where a young man is put to the test.

The calendar says September and with the changing of the season comes the beginning of the school year. Doris is headed back to school for a graduate degree and will be at class twice a week during the evening! That means the hero of this column will be scrounging for dinner multiple times a week.

With that in mind, I went into my dinner preparation trying to think of something that will last for 2 dinners. What I ended up going with was a variation of my special baked ziti. The ingredients for "Loner Ziti" include:

1 package of ziti or penne (with lines is essential)
1 jar of tomato sauce
1/2 bag of mozzarella cheese
1/2 can of pitted black olives
1 package of baby bella mushrooms
Water from the tap

I started things off by boiling the water. It's good to get the meal prep off on the right foot, and I felt with my water boiling expertise I could do no wrong with this approach. As the water was boiling, I sliced the baby bella mushrooms and placed them in the saute pan. I also drizzled some olive oil over the mushrooms because I've seen Doris do this in the past.

Once the water came to boil, I dumped the entire box of penne into the pot and let it cook. Amazingly, the penne and the mushrooms completed around the same time, which would have been good planning if there was any type of planning being done.

I strained the penne and put it back into the pot it was cooked in. I then added the entire jar of tomato sauce, the 1/2 can of pitted olives, and the mushrooms. I mixed them all around and place the contents in a 8 inch square casserole dish. I topped it off with the shredded mozzarella.

I then placed it in the oven at 350 degrees for 10 minutes so that the cheese could melt and the sauce could warm up. As the picture shows, everything came out looking very good and it actually tasted OK too!

I cut out a quarter and dug in. When Doris came home from her evening activities, she had a quarter herself. Later this week, when I'm alone again, I'll have some of the leftovers for my second self-sufficient dinner of the week. There might even be enough left to bring to work for a lunch!

I can confidently say the dinner was a success based on the execution, taste, cost, and reuse of the dish. For the first twice weekly bachelor dinner, I have found a go to meal that will be repeated again and again. Additionally, if I get tired of this particular recipe, I could always add ground meat, or peppers, or onions, to mix it up a bit.

The challenge for next time is to come up with something just as tasty and resourceful. This baked ziti will be tough to top. But, as always, I am up for the challenge of fending for myself, and I am up for the challenge of topping this ziti!!

Until we meet again....

One Sauce - Two Dishes

In one of my many trips to Whole Foods to enjoy free samples, I came across a brand of barbecue sauce that is a now staple in our house (Angus Sauces). They are a Massachusetts company and their founder was at the store sampling. I picked up one bottle of their traditional sauce and have buying ever since! This trip I picked up a bottle of the Tumbleweed Thai cooking sauce and figured I could find a way to use it for whatever I was making.

We had come home from our weekend trip and had plans to make dinner for a few guests (and about 3 hours to get ready). Instead of coming up with a fancy, complicated menu, I decided to stick with something easy and quick. The menu was chicken breasts marinated in the Tumbleweed Thai sauce served with veggie couscous. Served with a little extra sauce on top, this was a great summer meal. With no AC in the kitchen I am always looking for summer menus that require very little oven or stove time.

This is a couscous dish that I make a lot in the summer. I dice up all the leftover veggies in the fridge, saute them until they are just softened, and then toss them with the warm couscous. You can serve it warm or cool - it's a great make-ahead dish. This version included zucchini and purple and orange bell pepper.

The next night we were still tired from our busy weekend away and didn't feel like cooking. We eat out very rarely on weeknights, so I scanned the pantry and put on my thinking cap. Since I had I only used about half the bottle of sauce on the chicken I decided to incorporate that in dinner. We also had plenty of pasta, some frozen edamame, and some ground turkey breast. I decided to throw it all together for a quick version of a noodle dish that I made last month. The meal required no chopping, just cooking and assembling. It was great and reheated well for lunch the next day. You could easily use leftover chicken or tofu in place of the ground turkey breast. Here's the photo and recipe:

Quick Tumbleweed Thai Noodles
Note: I made about 3-4 servings adjust your quantities as necessary

1/2 package of spaghetti
1/2 pound ground turkey breast
1/2 cup (appx.) frozen edamame (already shelled)
Handful of peanuts
1/2 bottle of Thai Tumbleweed cooking sauce

Spread the peanuts in a single layer on a foil covered toaster pan
Toast for 2-3 minutes, making sure not to burn them
Set aside until later

Boil water for the pasta
Add pasta and edamame to the water and return to a boil
Cook until desired texture (approximately 10 minutes) and drain

While the pasta and edamame are cooking, brown the turkey in a non-stick skillet over medium heat
Drain any excess fat if necessary

In a large bowl, combine the noodles, turkey and edamame
Pour the sauce over the top and toss well
Top each serving with the toasted peanuts

Summary:
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes
Skillet, pasta pot, serving plates and utensils

Don't Feel like Cooking Tonight...Here's What we Made!

Some nights you just don't feel like cooking. The usual solution would be to go out to eat, but we find that if we can't decide what we want to eat at home then we can't decide on where to go out. So working with the ingredients in the house we came up with a dressed up summer pasta dish.

We didn't have any sauces on hand, so I had to put on my thinking cap and come up with something creative. We still had some garlic scapes and an abundance of basil leaves from our plant - perfect for an interesting pesto. I pulled a few veggies out of the fridge sauteed them and added them in. A summer pasta primavera!

Garlic Scape Pesto
3 garlic scapes
Handful of basil leaves
About 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
Salt and Pepper

Chop garlic scapes into 1/4 inch pieces
Add garlic scapes and basil to the food processor
Stream in olive oil as the food processor is running
Scoop into a bowl and season with salt and pepper

Pasta Primavera a la Good Cook Doris
1/2 box penne pasta, prepared according to the directions on the box

1/4 cup chopped broccoli florets
1/4 cup chopped peppers (red, yellow and orange)
1/4 cup fresh green beans, cut into 1/4 inch pieces
1 tablespoon Olive Oil

Prepare the veggies while the pasta is cooking
Heat oil in a medium skillet over medium heat
Add veggies and cook for about 5 minutes, until just soft

Toss pasta, veggies, and pesto in a large bowl
Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and enjoy!

Summary:
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 10-15 minutes
Food processor, cutting board and knife, pasta pot, medium skillet, pasta spoon, spatula, serving dishes and utensils

This recipe serves 2 people (large servings)

Fresh from the Garden - Pesto with Roasted Garlic

Our new basil plant is growing like crazy! Catching up a post from last week, this is a delicious pesto with roasted garlic. I tossed in some sauteed chicken breast and whole-wheat rotini for a healthy meal.

For the basil, I kept the ingredients simple. Fresh basil leaves, roasted garlic, olive oil, toasted pine nuts, salt and pepper. Put all except oil in the blender/food processor. Blend, slowly adding the oil so it emulsifies (gets completely blended). Here's a tip on quick roasted garlic. For those of you in Boston - it comes out just like what you get at Vinny T's!

Quick Roasted Garlic
2-3 cloves of garlic, not peeled
Olive oil
Salt

Heat oven to 400 degrees
Put a piece of foil on a baking sheet
Put garlic cloves on the baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt
Cook for about 20 minutes, turning the cloves about halfway through

Peel and either enjoy with bread or add to your favorite recipe

"When He Fends For Himself"

This post is the first edition of what will be a regular feature on this blog titled, "When He Fends For Himself". More often than not, at least one night a week the main cook has evening plans which puts me on my own for dinner. Because I knew I wanted to blog about how I managed without her, the meal I choose for this week is a classic, a staple, and my favorite go to meal.

Macaroni and Cheese. In recent years I've switched from Kraft to Annie's. It was a great move on my part. Annie's is all organic (so I think it's good for me) and instead of yellow goop, the cheese is a nice white cheddar. Also, instead of traditional macaroni, it is in shell form. It is very tasty and I highly recommend it.

For this meal, we had run out of the microwavable three-minute version, so I went the old-fashioned route and boiled some water. What I like to do when I boil water is turn on the burner to about half-way (this drives my wife nuts) so that the water can really ease its way into the boil. While I'm waiting for it to boil, I usually check my email, surf the net, watch TV, or just try to stay awake because the stove is on.

Once it's reached a boil, I pour in the shells, stir it once, and walk back to whatever it was I was doing as I was waiting for the water to boil. At some random time (8-12 minutes later, most likely), I return and strain the water. I then add a nice hunk of margarine. I like to add the margarine first so that it can begin the melting process. I then add some milk (half 'n' half makes it taste extra good) so that there is sufficient moisture available before mixing in the cheese.

Once the cheese is mixed in, I'll dump the whole contents of the pot into an extra large bowl (see picture) and dig in. About a minute later all the shells have been eaten and I am completely satisfied.

Really, the best part about eating macaroni and cheese alone is that I can eat the whole box. If the wife is around, she will say things like "Don't you know there is more than one serving in that box?" So, I'm guilt free until she gets home. Don't get me wrong, I've got to be the luckiest husband on earth because not only am I married to a beautiful, funny, and smart woman, but she also loves to cook. But there are nights when I'm on my own, and when I am, I'll let you know how I managed...

Sun-dried Tomato Pesto...from scratch!

Inspired by the new basil plant that I bought over the weekend and some leftover sun-dried tomatoes from the couscous salad last week, tonight's dinner was penne pasta with homemade sun-dried tomato pesto. Instead of searching for a recipe to try - I made this one up! It was delicious and would be great on a baguette as an appetizer or on a sandwich with mozzarella. Yum!


I'm not sure if I've mentioned this, but bread is my favorite food (followed closely by cheese). So what better to go with pasta than more carbs! I made biscuits (Jiffy mix) but for a special twist I added about 1 teaspoon of lemon zest to the batter. I can't believe I haven't tried this before. The lemon gave it a nice fresh, bright taste and tied in with the lemon in the pesto.

Sun-dried Tomato Pesto

8-10 leaves of fresh basil
7-8 sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil
About 1 tbsp. lemon zest
2 cloves of garlic
About 1/4 cup of olive oil

Add basil, sun-dried tomatoes, lemon zest and garlic to a food processor
Put the lid on and begin to pulse
As you are pulsing slowly pour in the olive oil through the hole in the lid
Continue pulsing until you get a consistent texture

I mixed in some grated Parmesan cheese after pulsing it in the food processor

Quick note: traditional pesto calls for toasted pine nuts. I didn't have any on hand so I just skipped them. I was planning to add in walnuts for another flavor, but I totally forgot too add them in.

Cook pasta according to instructions on the package
Drain and return to the warm pot
Add pesto and toss until well combined
Garnish with fresh basil leaves and serve!

Summary:
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Food processor, pasta pot, colander, serving dishes and utensils.

Trofie with Vodka Sauce and Garlic Bread

Tonight's dinner was a repeat (bison burgers), so I am going to feature our weekend meals instead! Friday night we stopped at the store to get something quick and easy for dinner. The Boston University hockey game was on TV - so we needed something that could be eaten on the couch.

We picked up some fresh pasta and sauce from the grocery store and a mini-baguette to make garlic bread. The pasta took about 10 minutes to prepare, I threw in some frozen peas in the pot to cook at the same time. The sauce just needed a quick warm-up before getting tossed with the pasta.

The pasta was called Trofie - it was about 2 inches long and is thin, twisted pasta. The sauce was a vodka sauce - tomato, basil, parmesan, and a touch of cream.

I love garlic bread - ask anyone in my family and they will agree. Here is a quick and delicious way to make it at home.

Quick and Delicious Garlic Bread
1 fresh mini baguette
Appx. 2 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
2-3 tablespoons of butter
2-3 cloves of fresh garlic (depending on how garlicky you want the bread)
1 tbsp. basil (dried or fresh)

Turn your oven to broil
Cut baguette in half (like you are going to make a sandwich)
Place baguette, opened up, in the oven for about 5 minutes (until warm)

Heat a small non-stick skillet over medium heat
Add oil, butter, and garlic
Saute for about 5 minutes, until garlic is soft - but not brown
Stir in basil
Pour garlic butter into a small bowl

Take bread out of oven
Brush garlic butter generously on both sides of the bread

Pour a glass of wine, put the pasta in a bowl, and enjoy!

Summary:
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 10-15 minutes
Pasta pot, skillet, spoons, brush, serving dishes and utensils