Crafting Food: Spicy Pepperonata

It also makes great lunch leftovers

I had a dish something like this for brunch when I visited NYC this past March at a wonderful little place on the upper west side. I wanted to try and recreate it as soon as I got home and after sorting out some quirks, I can't get enough of the stuff—especially since you can eat it in so many ways and it lasts for days! I've used this recipe as a starting off point and combined it with what I remember of the dish I had which was much spicier than the traditional Italian pepperonata that I've read about since.


Spicy Pepperonata

Ingredients

• 1–2 TBLS extra virgin olive oil
• 1–2 TBLS balsamic vinegar
• 2lbs bell peppers in various colors, rough chopped into large bite-size pieces
• 1lb yellow onions, chopped the same size as the peppers
• 1lb tomatoes, chopped to 1/2 inch
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup parsley, finely chopped
• 1 TBLS Sriracha
• 1/4 tsp crushed red chili pepper flakes
• Freshly ground black pepper and sea salt, to taste

Directions 

1. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet on medium heat. Add the onions and let them get soft and just slightly brown by sizzling briefly and then cooking on low heat for 20 minutes. Add the garlic after 15 minutes and stir occasionally to make sure nothing is sticking.
2. Add the peppers and cover the pan. After a couple minutes, open and leave the lid just slightly ajar. Allow the peppers to cook this way for 15–20 minutes and continue to stir occasionally.
3. Remove the lid and add the tomatoes and balsamic vinegar. After the liquid has evaporated, add the parsley and season with sriracha, crushed chili pepper flakes, salt, and pepper.

Spoon it over thick toasted bread and top with a poached egg and a drizzle of sriracha. This recipe makes enough for 4–6 people or will last for a few meals for just 2. You can store it in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to one week.

It makes for a great breakfast, brunch, or lunch as is, or you can combine it with some mixed greens and roasted potatoes to round it out as a meal for supper. The nice thing about the pepperonata itself is that you can serve it warm or cold, have it with any meal of the day, and eat it alone as a side dish, mix it in with pasta or whole grains, add to sandwiches, you name it!

Crafting Food: Skillet Cabbage

 The cabbage starts out purple but will run to pink once the lemon juice is added—beautiful and delicious
but be careful you do not get pink spots on your tablecloth. Not that I know anyone who did that...

It's been a while since I've posted a recipe, mostly because we've been relying on old favorites and leftovers for the past month so that I could concentrate on getting ready for the show (which is just two days away now! holy rocks batman!). I'm always looking for new ways to make vegetables interesting though and this little dish saved my lunch several days running.

Perhaps the best nutritional advice I ever got was that the more color there is on your plate, the better (that is, not in reference to artificial dyes and confectionery delights) since a wide variety of colors indicates that you are getting a wide variety of nutrients with dark leafy greens of purple and green being the most nutrient dense choices. Since it's so easy to end up with a plate of brown fried/starchy/baked carbo goodness, I've found this advice has really come in handy when it comes to meal planning and making healthy but tasty(!) choices.

So when I was about to get some of my usual brussels sprouts at the grocery store recently and realized they were all out, I decided to wing it and get a red cabbage instead since it seemed like it would have a similar body and crunch once shredded. I almost always steam or roast vegetables but prepared it the same way I do the brussels sprouts (using less butter in an effort to make it healthier) and was surprised once again with how delicious a traditionally scorned vegetable can be with this treatment! Not too cabbage-y-y-y at all but savory and with a nice little kick thanks to the lemon and pepper. Since one head of cabbage can be served as a side for two dinners for the both of us or make up the whole of 3-4 lunches for me, it makes a pretty good showing for a 99 cent head of cabbage!

Edit: it's a large serving but I accompany it with only a cup of rice/pasta for a quick weeknight meal. You could quarter the cabbage into smaller portions for two people or use half the head to serve as a side for a more elaborate dinner of 4-6 people. This will also work with regular green cabbage which is even cheaper.


Skillet Cabbage
1 head red cabbage
1/2-1 TBLS unsalted butter
1/2 fresh lemon
course ground kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper

-Divide your cabbage into halves or thirds, depending on how many meals you'll need it for. Shred the designated portion with a large chopping knife or food processor (I prefer the courser bits the knife will give you) and refrigerate the rest. Cabbage, even after being cut, will keep a bit longer than other vegetables so there's no need to worry if you don't want to eat the other portions several nights in a row.

-About halfway through shredding, place your pat of butter in a large skillet over medium heat. If preparing it in halves, use 1 tablespoon of butter. If preparing it in thirds or quarters, use just a 1/2 tablespoon.

-Place shredded cabbage in the pan and quickly toss to coat with butter. Add salt and pepper to taste and turn heat up to high.

-Continue to toss and cook for 1-2 minutes or for desired tenderness. I don't like to go any longer than a couple of minutes because I like to have a lot of crunch and avoid the wilted stewed effect. Remove from heat and in a bowl mix with 1 TBLS fresh lemon juice (about half a lemon). OPTIONAL: sprinkle on slivered almonds as a topping.

BAM! you're done! That was relatively painless right?
Plus, you can't beat cheap + tasty + nutritional so proceed to plate that goodness up and devour.

I'm having the last of mine for lunch today and will then proceed to busy myself in tying up some loose ends for the festival this Saturday (insert much excitement, nerves, and crazy panic here). If you're in the downtown Providence, Rhode Island area I hope to see you there! If not, I'll see you back here on Monday with photographic evidence of how it all went!

a summer evening's goodness

we don't eat a whole lot of meat at our house, let alone have a grill, so i've been hunting around for some new summer recipes that don't completely turn the kitchen into a sauna. i've especially been looking for ones that use whole grains since they're so healthy and hearty too. i came across this recipe for quinoa vegetable salad on allrecipes.com but i made just a few small tweaks including substituting farro for the quinoa, and leaving out the corn and carrots. paired with a tall glass of ice cold tea made from scratch with fresh mint from our balcony garden, it filled us up and was o so very good! i was a bit surprised by the cilantro-mint-balsamic vinegar combination but they really worked well together and it is indeed a recipe worth sharing!

here is the recipe, with my tweaks added in, more or less since i don't tend to follow standard measurements much:

1 teaspoon canola oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/2 red onion, diced
water (app. 3-5 cups)
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 pound farro

1/2 red onion, diced
1 large tomato diced or bunch of grape tomatoes quartered
1 yellow bell pepper, diced
1 cucumber, sliced and quartered

2 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons mint, rough chopped
2 tablespoons cilantro, rough chopped
1 teaspoon natural sea salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper


Directions:

1. soak farro in cold water for approximately 25 minutes and drain.
2. heat the canola oil in a stockpot or dutch oven over medium-high heat. cook and stir the garlic and the first half of the onion in the hot oil until the onion has softened and turned translucent, about 5 minutes. pour in the water, kosher salt, and black pepper and bring to a boil; stir the farro into the mixture, reduce heat to medium (uncovered) and let simmer for 20-25 minutes. Drain any remaining water from the farro with a mesh strainer and transfer to a large mixing bowl. refrigerate until cold.
3. stir the tomato, bell pepper, cucumber, and remaining red onion into the chilled farro. Season with cilantro, mint, sea salt, and black pepper. Drizzle the olive oil and balsamic vinegar over the salad; gently stir until evenly mixed.
   

ENJOY!

Adventures in Vegetarian Cooking

Besides my sewing, knitting, and embroidery, I really do love to garden and cook with fresh beautiful foods. One of the things I've been trying to do a lot more of since this past year is making a few vegetarian meals each week. It's a healthy alternative and it certainly makes preparing dinner a bit easier!

Last night we made frittatas with chopped bell pepper, red onion, and basil. Alongside we had broiled asparagus and vegetarian sausage...a first for me! and you know what? it wasn't all that bad! In fact, it smelled just like the real thing but with just a slightly mealy texture inside...kind of like falafel. I'd definitely eat it again but with a few more spices added of my own perhaps.

The asparagus is so simple and delicious. If you haven't tried it, it's an easy side dish to prepare and here is how:

Wash asparagus and trim ends to desired length. Arrange on cookie sheet side by side.

Drizzle with good olive oil—not too much, app. 1 tsp. I would say
Sprinkle on course sea salt or kosher salt as well as freshly ground black pepper.

Broil on high for 8–10 minutes. Flip the asparagus at the midway point for even cooking (if you don't flip, it's not the end of the world!).

Serve and ENJOY!