3 Ingredient Fix

I guess I understand the concept behind that show "5 Ingredient Fix" on the Food Network. I just think it's misguided. Every time I watch it I think, man a 6th ingredient might make it taste a lot better.

And most times I find that I cook with minimal ingredients anyways, mostly out of necessity. Last summer while taking part in the One Local Summer Challenge, I realized that eating locally also forces you to cook minimally. You are dependent on what is available, but you are also able to center meals around a few ingredients because they taste so darn good. Eating this way is good for your wallet too. Every time I go to the farmer's market I come in under budget, no coupons or sales necessary. Try that at your local supermarket, especially if you buy organic.

Even with the availability of local produce, some nights it just seems harder than others to come up with a dinner plan without resorting to the convenience of takeout or a local restaurant. It has to be fast, cheap, healthy and satisfying. Then try throwing vegetarian, local and organic into the mix. Every time I pull off a dinner that meets all of the above requirements I amaze even myself. I can't imagine how those of you with crazy stressful jobs let alone families deal with it. I won't pretend to offer advice on that one. (Although I do have to say that I would imagine this meal is kid friendly.)

Ingredients

Fingerling or yukon gold potatoes (These are always available at my market but use what you have)
Fresh broccoli
Cheese (Any kind that melts)
Olive oil

Clean and slice the potatoes into thin rounds. Layer into the bottom of a shallow baking dish.

Break off a few broccoli florets. Cut them into fairly small chunks and layer on top of the potatoes.

Drizzle lightly with olive oil and season liberally wth salt and pepper. Add a few splashes of water which will ensure more even cooking. You can add a few red pepper flakes here if you like heat. Or consider using a pepperjack cheese.

Pop in a 350 degree oven uncovered, and check after about 30 minutes. Perfect time to see what's on tv and grab a cold beer.

You might have to give it a little stir if the pieces on top get too browned, but keep in mind that a little bit of brown on the broccoli is a good thing. If you've never had it roasted before it's glorious. Beats the heck out of mushy steamed broccoli any day. (As a side note, I've recently discovered that broccoli cooked on a grill plan is delicious as well.)

Grate, or thinly slice if you're as lazy as I am, your cheese. When your potatoes are tender, which like I said should take a half hour or so, remove and layer some cheese on top. Pop back in. If you're as impatient as I am, crank your oven, or toaster oven in my case, up a few degrees. You might be seeing a pattern in my cooking style here.

When the cheese is sufficiently melted, grab a fork.

I won't tell anyone if you don't even bother with a plate.

Butternut Squash Risotto

I know what you are thinking. Ok that's not entirely true. But you might be thinking "Butternut Squash? In June? From someone who advocates eating seasonally?"

You'll have to forgive my slight transgression when you hear why. It's been a struggle for me to wrap my head around the fact that I will be gone in a few days. My small studio apartment is my sanctuary and my kitchen is usually stocked with all manner of ingredients. Lately, I've had to keep reminding myself not to keep buying food. I can't buy a can of this or a jar of that knowing that I'll discover it in my pantry a few months later and use it to create something really special. I can't keep stocking up on cans of beans just because they are on sale.

Emptying out my freezer has been an amusing process. In it you'll find an odd assortment of leftover bits and pieces. Everything from tofu to a ham hock. They should make an episode of "Chopped" with what's in there. So anyways, one of my finds was a container of leftover ravioli filling that I made months ago.

So out of the freezer it came, as I racked my brain and my cupboards looking for a suitable partner. None of my regular starches seemed like a good match especially on a warm night, until I spied a forgotten box of risotto. And the stars aligned in the form of an open bottle of white wine. Open bottles of wine don't last very long around my house so it was a sign.

Ingredients

About a cup and a half of cooked butternut squash (assuming you are feeding 2 people with leftovers)

Handful blue cheese, to taste

Handful dried cranberries, to taste

Arborio rice (see package for measurements and servings sizes)

Healthy splash of white wine

1 small or medium onion, diced

A few cloves of minced garlic

Butter and olive oil

Optional vegetable stock

Optional fresh lemon

In a large sauce pan, heat the butter and olive oil over medium heat. Add the diced onion and season liberally with salt and pepper. Satuee until the onion starts to get some color, but don't let it get too brown.

At this point you can prepare a sauce pan with some stock and heat over medium low heat. A full disclaimer that I used water and it turned out just fine. I used pretty strongly flavored ingredients in this one, but when I'm making something plainer I do use stock. Regardless, heat some liquid in a saucepan next to your risotto. It should simmer but not boil.

Add the garlic and uncooked rice and stir so that the rice starts to absorb some of the butter and oil. Stir constantly while it toasts slightly. After a few minutes and when you see the rice starting to get a little toasty, add the white wine. You want a good amount (I added about 2 cups) because this will add a lot of flavor. You could add some lemon juice right now also.

Stir the risotto until it absorbs all of the liquid. The usual risotto technique is to watch constantly, add a little warm liquid at a time, and wait until it absorbs all of it before adding some more. I turn the heat down to low, add about a cup of liquid at a time, stir well, put the lid on, and watch some tv. During the commercial break I'll check it again. I've never had any complaints about my risotto. There are so many commercials nowadays that you end up checking it pretty often this way.

When it had a good deal of liquid added to it but wasn't quite done, I dumped in my sqaush, blue cheese and cranberry mix and stirred well to incorporate. You might want to reseason at this point with salt and pepper.

Watch the magic happen... and enjoy.

PS: When I went back and read the ravioli recipe I had made a note about saving the filling to make risotto. The idea must have been tucked away in the back of my mind for a while. I wonder what else is lurking back there?

You might not be so proud...

Or maybe some of you will be???

I recently posted about a Phillies game where I showed tremendous restraint. I somehow managed to avoid the temptations of hot dogs and cheesesteaks that are abundant at Citizen's Bank Park.

PETA ranks Citizen's Bank Park as the best ball park for vegetarian eats. Given that I only go once or twice a year, I tend to use games as an excuse to splurge. I feel like it's my right as an American to enjoy a hot dog at a ball game. And while I've heard great things about veggie dogs and veggie cheesesteaks there, they're not exactly handing them out at every concession stand.

It was sheer luck that I ended up getting that black bean burger at the last game because we ended up sitting right by the one stand that sells them. I choked it down (it was about as bad as you'd expect it to be) hoping to gain some good karma for a little while.

Any good karma that I earned was promptly spent at Friday night's game against the Padres. Maybe I'm just getting sad about leaving Philly, but I haven't wanted to waste my last few weeks here on terrible veggie burgers. My time is precious.

What better way to enjoy all that is Philly than with a sandwich worthy of an episode of Diners, Drive ins and Dives. I present to you the Schmitter.

Cheesesteak, fried onions, fried bologna, tomato, and special sauce.

And yes, it was worth it.

Ode to a Cucumber

You know what I think is just as cool
As an afternoon spent by the pool?
I’ll give you a hint, it’s long and green.
And at the farmer’s market it can be seen.

But only when the weather is nice and hot.
During the winter months, you’ll find it not.
So all winter long I wait and wait.
With nothing but potatoes to fill my plate.
I eagerly await the arrival of spring.
And of all the green things that it will bring.
Asparagus and strawberries are a hopeful sign.
Of a bountiful summer that soon will be mine.
At last the day is finally here!
When I first bite into a cold crunchy spear.
I sprinkle with salt, or just eat it plain.
Until a ripe summer tomato I can obtain.

Then panzanella always does the trick.
A dish I can prepare really quick.
And into tzatziki for a delicious dip.
Or maybe I'll make a summer sip?
It makes a great cocktail or so I’m told.
Gazpacho too, served nice and cold.
When August comes they’re everywhere.
From friends’ backyards to my CSA share.
At times it seems it’s more than I need.
Then I think about all the hungry mouths to feed.
But if I can’t use it, it’s not the end.
I’ve always wanted to try pickling our vegetable friend.
And a cold slice placed over the eyes
Is said to really revitalize.
So the next time you’re trying to beat the heat.
I know just what you need for a refreshing treat.

Wilma's Tasty Tortilla Chips

I hate waste. Which is tough when you love food as much as I do. I couldn't resist buying real tortillas recently for the Lost finale party. By real I mean not the kind from the grocery store but the made by hand variety from the mexican grocer at Reading Terminal.

Definitely worth it for the taste alone, but when they are dirt cheap you really can't go wrong.

Until you realize that you have about 30 leftover. And you are one little person who can only eat so many tacos.

If you are anything like me you are inspired to whip up a batch of homemade tortilla chips for your next office meeting and trust that somebody will bring some sort of dip if you ask nicely. See Betty's salsa below.

Ingredients

Fresh flour or corn tortillas

Vegetable oil

Salt

A cast iron dutch oven works perfectly for frying. Luckily, I have my trusty Lodge that I pull out for just such occasions. Heat some oil over medium high heat. You don't need a ton because tortilla chips are thin.

While the oil is heating, slice your tortillas into chip size wedges and line a plate with paper towels.

Test the oil by dropping a small piece of tortilla or bread in. When it sizzles immediately it's ready, but if it browns immediately it's too hot.

Drop them in a few at a time. You don't want any overlap.

Watch carefully and flip when you see brown around the edges. When they are lightly golden brown remove with a spider or even tongs will do. Be careful not to splash yourself, but shake gently to remove as much excess oil as possible.

Place on the paper towel lined plate and sprinkle lightly with salt. I'm sure you can play around with some spices here. Cumin, chili powder and lime come to mind, but maybe some cinnamon sugar??

Store in an airtight container until ready to eat.

For such a simple food, I was surprised at how taken aback people were that I actually made them. I guess it is relatively labor intensive for something that you can buy pretty inexpensively at the store, but it will impress the next time you entertain. And you won't have to tell anyone that it cost you next to nothing.

Betty's Desktop Salsa

Maybe you will be smart enough to prepare this ahead of time. I'm not sure most offices offices besides ours come equipped with knives sharp enough to cut a whole pineapple. Sometimes in my office, it's best not to ask questions.

And you should get a whole pineapple for this, none of that expensive pre-cut kind. Make sure it's ripe by smelling it. If you don't smell pineapple it's not ready.

The recipe is taken from Whole Foods.

Makes about 2 cups
The tropical flavors of pineapple and lime combine with red onion, cilantro and serrano pepper for a salsa that's great with grilled pork, skirt steak, shrimp or tofu. It's also delicious with tortilla chips or spooned over tacos. For the best flavor, make at least 30 minutes ahead of time to allow the flavors to mingle.

Ingredients
2 cups diced fresh pineapple
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
1 serrano pepper, stemmed, seeded and finely chopped
Juice and zest of 1 lime
1/8 teaspoon sea salt

Method
Toss all ingredients together in a large bowl. Serve immediately or cover and chill until ready to use.

To really impress your co-workers, serve with the top.

Things I Will Miss

I will miss being able to share culinary adventures with my office mates. I will never forget last summer bringing in our haul from the CSA every other week and spreading it out on an office table. While cookies and candy are a regular occurence, we got quite a few stares with our giant heads of cabbage, bright red beets, and kabocha squashes. Nobody seemed to mind it though when we shared our giant watermelon one week. Note to all office managers: nothing will boost office morale like a giant ice cold watermelon in the middle of July.

And so it wasn't completely out of place that Betty and I found ourselves slicing into a whole pineapple, dicing onions and chili peppers, and tearing up cilantro at her desk last week. Ok, it was very out of place. Our office doesn't even have a break room. Also, we had to use a mystery plate we found as a cutting board and a scary knife that's been in our office since the dawn of time. I don't want to know how it got here.

When I decided to organize a potluck for a meeting, chips and dip might come to mind. Well you can imagine I wasn't gonna show up with a bag of tostito's and some french onion dip.

Instead I brought homemade tortilla chips and if you hadn't guessed from above Betty made fresh pineapple salsa. Oh and I almost forgot about my fresh brewed sweet tea with mint. I think I could have a new career as a caterer and considering how many catered events my office alone has it might not be a bad idea. Recipes to follow.