Hold on

Summer escaped from us quickly this year.  Those hot days, heavy with humidity and sunshine so strong you can almost hold in your hands, seem like a fleeting memory as we now face grayer skies and cooling temperatures.  I call these my gray kitten days, when the skies are robed in fuzzy silver clouds that almost purr as they pass their way by.  When the weather is like this, there's nothing I want more than to curl up with a good book and hot tea, soft music in the background, and a warm heart next to me.

Well, almost nothing else, and this being a food blog, you've guessed the exception - a nice dinner, but not just any nice dinner.  I had in mind something substantial in nutrients and that incorporates summer's last bounty, light and yet still satisfying in preparation.

I had a small basketful of slender green Italian peppers that I had just picked up at the weekly farmer's market.  I like Italian peppers for their clean flavor.  The red ones are more sweet, while the green ones taste as green as they look. Which is to say, an almost effervescent burst of juiciness, crispness, and clear flavor with a slight hint of heat.  A sunny, yellow-green, almost chartreuse taste.

With smoky chicken sausage, sweet red onions, savory earthy mushrooms, and pungent garlic, I thought I would let the peppers mingle, and contribute its own fresh note to the dish.  Whole wheat pasta 'mac and cheese' would round out the meal, along with leftover quick-sauteed red cabbage.  A tasty way to transition from summer to fall. 

I like to make big pots/pans of vegetable based dishes that will last me a few meals and taste good reheated.  Unless it's dinner for two, these become lunch at work for the next day, part of the next day's dinner, or if there's just a small amount left, a pre-dinner nosh before I start the 'serious' cooking for that night. Recipes for all three follow below; they are all quick to make, with what I think is minimal fuss, and allow for the ingredients to shine together.  There is also room for variation so you can season, add, adjust as you like. It's your canvas, dinner, masterpiece :)

For these kinds of dishes I don't really measure out my ingredients, especially when it comes to seasonings. The amounts are approximations, what I've become accustomed to using for their balance of tastes, and so with these as a guide, you should feel free to nudge and tinker with the amounts as it suits your own taste. 

Almost-fall quick-stew:
-Makes about 2-3 servings.
-Prep time: 5-10 mins to mince garlic, chop onions, slice sausages, slice peppers. Cooking time is about 30 minutes, so 45 minutes total. The main thing is before the simmering, to remember to stir and keep an eye on how your dish is doing to keep it cooking evenly.  Other than that, it's pretty low-maintenance, and you can do other things while it's simmering for the latter half of the recipe!

Ingredients:
-2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
-1 tsp hot red pepper flakes. I use this in a lot of my cooking, because I love the hint of spicy heat the pepper flakes lend to the food.  The amount here may be a bit spicy for those who prefer more mild dishes; I would halve the amount so you would have just a gentle boost to the flavor. 
-half of a medium sized red onion, coarsely chopped (half-inch chunks)
-1 chicken sausage, sliced.  For my veggie dishes, I like to use small-ish amounts of flavorful meats as an accent, but you can add some more if you wish, and it will provide a bit more bulk to keep you full a little longer.
-2 cups of your favorite mushrooms. I used a dried blend from Costco, which rehydrated and swelled beautifully throughout the cooking, and had shiitakes, porcinis, Brazilians, ivory ports, morels, and oyster mushrooms! Ah, Costco, how I love thee :D Of course, fresh mushrooms would be delicious in this dish. Depending on how delicate the mushroom is, I would recommend adding them towards the middle or the last 5-10 minutes of the recipe to prevent them from shrinking/overcooking.  On the other hand, dried mushrooms benefit from longer cooking times to soak up more of the liquids, so I'd keep those at the beginning of the recipe. Whew, that's a lot of talk about mushrooms..
-about 1 tbsp dried basil
-a little less dried oregano

 -1/2 cup your favorite tomato sauce

-6 Italian peppers, washed, trimmed of stem and inner core of seeds, halved lengthwise, sliced 1/2-inch width
-2 cloves garlic, minced
-1/2 cup chicken broth.  I recommend using low-sodium chicken broth whenever you are able. In addition to being healthier for you, it adds a savory touch to your dishes without running the risk of making your food too salty if you are using other products that often come with added sodium (such as the sausage and sauce). You get a nice clean slate where you can experiment with your seasonings and really taste their impact, their subtleties and nuances depending on how much and what you add. Plus, you can always salt and pepper to adjust the taste to your liking towards the end.

What to do:
In a non-stick pan, heat the olive oil and dried red pepper flakes on medium heat, until you can feel the heat by holding your hand a few inches from the oil. As with any hot stove/oven, pan, utensil, or food - careful!

When the oil is heated, add the onion, sausage, mushrooms, and dried herbs, and let cook for about 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking, until the onion has become translucent.

Next, add the tomato sauce and let it heat through for a few minutes, stirring to prevent sticking.

Then add the green peppers, stirring thoroughly to mix and heat through.  Add the garlic, stir and let heat for just a few minutes until fragrant, add the broth, stirring to combine, and when the whole thing comes to a boil, turn the heat to the lowest setting, cover, and let simmer for about 10-15 minutes for the flavors to blend.  If the stew looks a bit watery towards the end, turn the heat up to medium high, and let cook uncovered for a few minutes, stirring and watching carefully, to cook off the excess. 

Serve and enjoy!  This would be nice over pasta or rice, or you can top a toasted slice of hearty bread rubbed with the cut end of a garlic clove with some of the stew for a snack. 


Sauteed red cabbage:
-Makes a lot of servings.  Cabbage is wonderfully healthy and inexpensive, so this is a good, easy dish to bulk up your meals with plenty of fiber and nutrients.
-Prep time: 10 mins to mince garlic and prepare cabbage, 15-20 to cook, about half an hour total.

Ingredients:
-2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
-1 tsp hot red pepper flakes
-4 cloves garlic, minced

-1 head of red cabbage, outer layer leaves removed, trimmed of stem, halved lengthwise and sliced into 1/2 inch strips. Be careful when trimming and slicing, I needed to use a bigger knife (not quite a meat cleaver, but definitely heftier than a paring knife!) to get through the entire cabbage. I felt very hardcore. (ok..I admit the pun was slightly intended, since those cabbages have really, really tough cores to slice through. Ahem, let's move on with the cooking shall we!)
-1/2 cup chicken broth
-1 tbsp Dijon mustard

Salt and pepper to taste.

What to do:
On medium heat in a non-stick pan, heat up your oil and red pepper, and then add your garlic, stirring and heating until the mixture is fragrant.  Add the cabbage and stir thoroughly to coat with the seasonings and oil, cooking for just a few minutes uncovered.  Add the chicken broth, let the mixture come to a boil, then turn the heat to the lowest setting, cover, and simmer for about 5-7 minutes.  Let any excess liquid cook off, the pan uncovered, add the Dijon mustard, stir to mix and heat through, add salt and pepper to taste, and you are finished. 

A tasty variation - chop up an apple, and add it to the pan before you add the chicken broth, stirring to mix with the cabbage and seasonings before you let the whole thing simmer cheerfully away. 

I like this with a squeeze of lemon juice and plenty of freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano on top.  I think it would make a nice partner to a zesty grilled fish, and a meal of raclette if you are so inclined. Along similar lines, for an easy and filling dish, boil a couple of small potatoes (Yukon Golds if you can, or a few nice fingelings), treat yourself to a sample of your favorite sausages/cured meats if you like, load up your plate with cabbage, and call it a quick choucroute. 


Still with me? (It's okay if you need a break!) Thanks for staying with me so far. One more recipe I wanted to share:


Easy-peasy 'mac and cheese' (-y. Yeah, I know...couldn't resist :)
-Makes about 3 portions, or 2 if you want more cheesy pasta goodness!
-Prep time: 5 minutes to grate cheese, 15-20 to cook pasta, 3-5 minutes to allow ingredients to meld - about 30 minutes.

Ingredients:
-1/4 of a box of pasta. I used whole wheat rotini this time.
-1 inch cubes of Parmigiano-Reggiano, and aged white cheddar cheese, grated
-a little less than 1 tbsp good butter. I used Beurre d'Isigny that I found at a local bakery. It's a little expensive, but the taste is incredible, so I store it in the freezer and parcel it out for recipes where its flavor can really shine.
-salt and pepper to taste

What to do:
Well, this one's really easy and just depends on careful use of heat to melt the cheese and butter just enough to coat your pasta.  It's best to keep the pasta al dente, as with any pasta dish, so keep an eye on the cooking time and taste for doneness a minute or so before it's 'time.' Pasta will continue to cook in the hot water even after you shut off the heat; adding cold water to the pot, and quickly draining will prevent overcooking (just don't rinse the pasta under running water once you've put it in the colander. I did this once and a friend who really knew pasta was horrified because apparently I'd 'killed the pasta!')

Once you've got your hot drained pasta, set the pot you used to cook the pasta back on the stove, on the lowest heat setting, and add your butter.  Let it melt and coat the bottom of the pot, then add your pasta, stir to coat, then add all your grated cheese.  Stir gently to fold pasta and cheese together, add salt and pepper to taste, and take it off the heat when the cheese has nearly completely melted into the pasta.  The idea is to get it away from the heat source and let the residual heat finish the job so that the cheese doesn't dry out and get tough or rubbery.  Serve immediately and enjoy :)  I liked it with a dollop of pesto mixed in.  

Whew, all done! Thank you for staying with me through all this. You are all champions :)  I didn't realize how long this blog post would be, and it's definitely a lot to take in. However, I hope you'll have found some inspiration or ideas on delicious and healthy foods that are simple to prepare and accommodate a variety of meal combinations.  Let me know how it turns out!