Lauren Lately: Veggies with Goat Cheese, Lemon or in Pasta Sauce

Most of my meals are not documentation worthy, however I still enjoy preparing and eating them. "Lauren Lately" is a series that will feature a few go-to items in my dinner rotation on those nights when I want to cook, but don't have the gumption to create a blog-worthy meal.

1) Roasted Veggies with Chili Oil & Goat Cheese  
Ingredients

• Sturdy vegetables, i.e. turnips, beets, carrots, butternut squash, peppers, onions, potatoes and/or parsnips
• Chili Oil
• Goat Cheese
• Salt, Pepper and an Herb (dried or fresh thyme, sage or rosemary)

Directions

• Preheat oven to 375. 
• Peel, clean and chop vegetables into 1-inch cubes. If squash or potato heavy, consider smaller cubes or 3 minutes in the microwave to speed cooking time.
• Toss cubes with salt, pepper, chili oil to coat and a few dashes of herbs. Personally, I'm in a dried thyme phase.
• In a roasting pan or tinfoil boat (much less clean up!), roast the vegetable for 35-45 minutes, tasting for readiness.
• Remove from the oven.  While piping hot, mix in a bowl with a tablespoon or two of goat cheese which will melt into a tangy and perfect coating.

2) Steamed Veggies with Lemon Olive Oil
Ingredients

• Green vegetables, e.g. Pole beans, string beans, broccoli, chard, kale, snap peas and/or brussel sprouts
• Lemon Olive Oil

Directions

• Clean, trim and chop green vegetables into bite sized pieces.
• Lightly steam (3-4 minutes for the soft greens, a minute + for the beans, a bit longer for broccoli or brussels). Steam in a glass dish with water in the microwave, stove top in a steamer basket or in a set like ours. Just avoid steaming in plastic, a no-no according to my dietitian friend, because of possible chemical transfer (phthalates and BPA, eek!).
• Toss the veggies with a few glugs of artisanal lemon flavored olive oil* and serve along side grilled chicken or fish. 
• If you don't have lemon olive oil on hand, combine a few healthy squirts of fresh lemon juice with regular olive oil, (then read the note below and contemplate an order!)

*Nudo Extra Virgin Olive Oil with Lemon has been a secret obsession of mine since reading about it in this newsletter.  Simple salad dressing or on veggies as above it is delish. Its so NOT LOCAL, I almost didn't fess up. However the eco-friendly merits slightly cleared my conscious since: a) Nudo farms organically, b) They market a lovely adopt an olive tree program and c) They employ a policy to ship by sea and land wherever possible. The chili oil in the roasted veg recipe above is also Nudo, and a part of their "Three Tenors" trio (Hello holiday or housewarming gift!)

3) Pasta with A Quick Homemade Sauce
When I first went "public" with this blog, a dear friend jokingly remarked she enjoyed it even though heating up pasta sauce was daunting to her.  I laughed... then started obsessing about quick homemade sauce recipes for her.  Below are my general guidelines.  Is the end result fine-dining? Probably not. Is it an easy and enjoyable homemade supper? You betcha.

Ingredients (must have and totally 100% optional)

• A large white onion
• Herbs of some sort (basil, thyme, oregano)
• 4-6 fresh tomatoes or a a can of whole tomatoes
• Parmesan Cheese
• Salt & Pepper
• Pasta
• 100% totally optional ingredients: Protein (ground chicken, sausage, lamb etc.), Fennel, Carrot, Celery, Garlic, Hot Pepper Flakes or Cayenne

Directions

• Meat base: Over medium heat, break up and begin to brown the ground or chopped protein of your choosing (turkey, chicken, beef, lamb, veal, sausage). About 1/4th a pound per person, though the end result will easily freeze if you have left overs. I love meat combination's here (lamb and veal, chicken and sausage) and just as often stick with straight veggies. 
• Veggie base: Add a few glugs of olive oil to a saute pan and continue.  
• Add one half a chopped onion to the meat or olive oil (or a full onion if serving more than 4 people), and saute over medium heat until glistening.  If you have it on hand, this is where you can add chopped fennel, carrots or celery sauteing it all for 5-7 minutes.
• Add freshly chopped tomatoes (4 for two people, more for additional eaters), or a can of tomatoes to the pan, and lower heat to medium low. 
• Add in the chopped or dried herbs (a pinch of dried oregano, a few full basil leaves...its not scientific), and a few cranks of salt and pepper. 
• Optional: Add 1-2 cloves of chopped garlic, and/or a dash of cayenne or a dash of hot pepper flakes to kick it up notch.
• Cook for 15-20 minutes, mixing every 5 minutes or so to break down the tomatoes.
• Meanwhile, bring pasta to a boil on the neighboring burner. When it's done, add 1/2 cup of starchy water from boiling the pasta to the sauce pan to loosen it up. 
• Pasta + sauce + grated cheese = dinner in about an 35 minutes including chopping.