mung bean tomato soup with kale

This is another recipe from Anna Thomas's Love Soup - a great cookbook. I had some mung beans in the pantry left over from making this amazing salad. Also, I found out that this little Indian spice shop in Providence sells the dried beans in bulk, so I was thinking about what else I could use them in when I came across this recipe in the "summer soups" section of Thomas's cookbook. She cooks them down so that they partially disintegrate, thickening the soup.

orzo salad with spinach, mushrooms, tomatoes and pine nuts

This salad transports well and is good for lunches and/or picnics.  It's also full of veggies and has lots of options for variation. Make the orzo according to package directions (about 1 cup dry). While it's cooking, sautee the mushrooms and toast the pine nuts. Either add onions/shallots in raw, or cook them with the mushrooms. Cut tomatoes in half. Roughly chop the spinach, add some lemon zest and mix everything together.

ingredients: whole wheat orzo pasta / shallots or red onion / mushrooms / spinach / pine nuts / cherry tomatoes / lemon zest and a squeeze of lemon juice
vinaigrette: dijon, olive oil, apple cider vinegar, honey, salt and pepper
other options:  feta cheese / chopped olives / fresh basil / fresh tarragon

lentil and roasted parsnip salad with fresh spinach

I threw this salad together while getting ready in the morning, and then had it for lunch - an outdoor lunchtime picnic with Jessica on campus. :) Perfect for the (finally!!) spring-summer weather. It does take maybe 45 minutes because of the parsnip-roasting and the lentils, but it's a lot of hands-off cook time, so you can do other stuff. This might not look like much from the pictures, but it was a really delicious combination. The parsnips get really sweet when you roast them and they pair really well with the other ingredients. The lentils make it more filling, and the fresh greens make you feel like a responsible adult. :)

ingredients:
a bunch of parsnips
125g puy lentils

1 bay leaf
1/2 onion
a large bunch of spinach

honey-mustard dressing:
4 T olive oil
1 T lemon juice (or vinegar)
2 tsp honey
1 tsp dijon
1 garlic clove, crushed
salt and pepper

1. Heat oven to 350. Peel and chop parsnips into rough chunks about the same size. Toss with olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast in 350 oven for about 40 minutes, stirring once.

2. Put lentils in a pot with lots of water. Let come to a rolling boil for 1 minute, then drain water and add just enough water to cover the pot. Add bay leaf and 1/2 onion and let simmer about 20-30 minutes. Don't let the lentils get mushy - you want them to retain some bite. (this is also why you need to use French or puy lentils and not the grayish-green ones). Remove bay leaf and onion when draining lentils.

3. Mix the dressing. Roughly chop the spinach. Mix everything together and serve warm. I packed the lunch by layering lentils (slightly cooled), parsnips, and then salad on top so it didn't get mushy. Then I mixed it together with the dressing when ready to eat.

spring pea pasta with pancetta, spinach and shallots

This was dinner from my regular St. Olaf friends gathering. It's finals, the end of the semester, so we wanted a quicker, easier recipe. This one is delicious, and comes together quickly. Nicole brought an awesome salad and a grapefruit cake with candied violets on top. So pretty stellar for an "easy" mid-week meal, although a bit rich and indulgent. :)  It's easily made vegetarian by omitting the pancetta.

ingedients: shell pasta, peas (we had to use frozen rather than fresh because of this cold cold spring), spinach, pancetta, shallots, lemon, parmesan, half/half, mint or parsley. 

Boil the salted pasta water, add pasta (about 1/2 lb for 3 servings). When the pasta is done, strain and set aside.

While pasta is cooking, chop shallots, pancetta. Cook pancetta till near-crispy in a separate pan, then add the shallot to soften.

Zest 1/2 lemon and 1 c parmesan.  Roughly chop spinach leaves and mint or parsley for garnish.


Melt some butter in the (emptied) pasta pot, then add 1 cup half/half (or cream). Let it simmer and reduce a bit. Add peas to let them cook. Then add shells back in, plus zest, parmesan, salt and pepper. Mix together, add pancetta and shallots back in, with spinach, just to get it wilted. Top with mint and an extra shaving of cheese. 

crepes with spinach, caramelized shallot, and gruyere

 So I have a bit of a cold, which is annoying and kept me home today, but hasn't spoiled my appetite. Just makes me want comfort food. As in: pancakes, every day. Came home and made oven pancake for dinner, the next day made crepes for lunch. With spinach! That counts as a wholesome meal, right? Didn't even put syrup on it...Gruyere is just as good - or better.

I wanted to try out something from this book, Ratio: The Simple Codes Behind the Craft of Everyday Cooking, by Michael Ruhlman. (Yes, another great library find.) Ruhlman's philosophy: "When you know a ratio, it's not like knowing a single recipe, it's instantly knowing a thousand." He gives you all these cooking/baking ratios, so you don't need your measuring cups, with the thought that weight is more accurate than volume. Plus, as I've already said, measuring with the scale is so much easier. So, for example, crepe batter: 1 part liquid : 1 part egg : 1/2 part flour

So I put the bowl on the scale. Zero it. Add egg. 61 grams. Add 61 grams of milk. Then add 30 grams of flour. Mix. Done. Super awesome. If you're making sweet crepes, you can add sugar and vanilla in addition to the base; if you're doing savory you can sub stock for milk...you can vary the recipe in many ways. I used sprouted flour, as well. You can use buckwheat, you can add herbs to the batter... And crepes are the best vessel for anything. Best of all nutella, but there are many savory options, too.

Get inspired by the menu from Good Girls go to Paris (Detroit). 
They have lots of savory crepe ideas, including: chevre, fig jam / ham, swiss / feta, olives, spinach... and some more complicated ones: chicken, brie, sun-dried tomatoes, basil, herbes de provence. Yum.

warm chicken salad with whole grains, hazelnut, broccoli and spinach

Sometimes you just feel like you haven't been getting your vegetables lately... and you want some salad, but it's winter and you don't want cold salad...a warm salad is a good way to get your veggie fix. This recipe has whole grains and warm chicken. It's a little simple, but I liked the combination of ingredients and it felt very satisfying.

Update 3/5: when re-heating the leftovers I added a generous teaspoon of good dijon and it gave the dish another star. Dijon always reminds me of my lovely former roommate Chloe, who would add it to everything, but especially chicken and vegetables. :) I adjusted the recipe for some dijon in the vinaigrette, but also feel free to add liberally to the dish itself.