Lauren Lately: Roasted Summer Vegetable Pasta

"Lauren Lately" is a series featuring the latest quick meals in my rotation when I cook but don't necessarily create a blog-worthy meal. 

  

This is my new midweek staple. It's barely a recipe and so easily uses up all those summer squash in your crisper.  Make it the next time you are long on squash or tonight for a easy mid-week meal. And the little hand grabbing at the vegetables is pretty cute too. Yes, I am biased, but who doesn't love a blurry chubby wrist?

Roasted Summer Vegetable Pasta 

100 Days of Real Food 

Ingredients  

• 3 - 4 cups of one-inch cubed summer vegetables such as zucchini, peppers, eggplant, carrots and/or tomatoes
• 1/2 cup of white wine
• 1 cup tomato sauce
• 1/2 - 3/4 cup of shredded mozzarella
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme, basil or oregeno
• Olive Oil
• Salt & Pepper  
• 1/2 pound of pasta
• Chili oil (optional) 

Directions 

• Lightly coat all the diced vegetables in oil, salt, pepper and dried herbs.  Toss with the white wine, and roast in a deep dish or pan at 425 for 35 minutes, stirring once.
• Meanwhile, cook 1/2 lb of pasta according to instructions, drain and set aside. 
• Tear up the chunk of mozzarella into bite size pieces.  
• Remove the veggies from oven, toss in the cooked pasta, 1 cup of sauce, the shredded cheese and if you wish a 1 - 2 tablespoons of chili oil, toss to mix.
• Bake for 5-10 minutes until the cheese melts. 
• If desired, top with more chili oil, then enjoy!

Lauren Lately: Fritattas & Chicken

"Lauren Lately" is a series featuring the latest quick meals in my rotation when I cook but don't necessarily create a blog-worthy meal. 

1. CSA Veggie Frittata:  We receive a dozen divine fresh eggs each week and love frittatas.  Last night's mix… sauté diced garlic scapes and zucchini in olive oil until browned. Top with 2 cups of chopped kale and 1.5 cups of stock. Cook until the stock is almost gone, remove from the pan and drain. While any CSA veggies will do, the trick is to add flavor with chicken or veggie stock. 
 
For a three person frittata, whisk 6 egg yolks with ½ teaspoon of salt in one bowl, and vigorously whisk 8 egg whites with 2 tablespoons of stock for 2-3 minutes in another. Combine, melt a pad of butter in the same sauté pan and pour in eggs. Cook over medium heat until the eggs just start to set. Spread the cooked veggies out evenly and top with a few disks of mozzarella cheese. Pop the whole pan in the oven and broil on high until cooked through.   

2. Quick & Easy Dijon Grilled Chicken:  As part of my mission to spend less time in the kitchen mid week, a friend shared this delicious recipe.  I double it and pre-make 4 dinners worth, freezing individually so I can pop them frozen on the grill in Montauk or in a glass dish at home. Combine 1/3 cup chopped fresh tarragon, 1/4 cup Dijon mustard, 1/4 cup dry white wine, 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1 tablespoon honey.  Toss in four chicken breasts. If using right away, let marinate at least an hour at room temperature. Grill or cook for 25 - 35 minutes @ 400 degrees. 

3. Steamed Veggie’s For Lunch:  Line your steamer basket with bite size garlic scapes. Continue to layer the basket working from hard to soft, meaning radishes or turnips first, then boy choy and finally kale or other soft greens. Steam over hot water for 3-4 minutes, toss with a squirt of lemon juice or sesame oil and a chopped hard boiled egg.

Lauren Lately: Super local... stew

Lately, I've been working hard on my most local endeavor to date. Anywhere from 6-8 hours a day, I'm at it and the distance from production to consumption is less than an inch....  You see, we were blessed with the arrival of our first son, and I am deep in the trenches of breast feeding. 

For the past week since his precious arrival, we've been happily enjoying food drop-offs from my mother-in-law (Homemade lasagna, chicken and rice, etc.) and frequent take-out as we navigate this exciting time for our new family. 

It actually feels like an accomplishment making breakfast shakes every morning (Blend: 1 Banana, 1 Orange, 1 tbs ground flax seed, 1 cup yogurt, ice and almond milk), and last night, on day 7, I cooked my first meal.  

It was therapeutic to get back in the kitchen and steal a little time chopping and stewing while my hubby played with our son.  My monthly winter CSA arrived with a bundle of root vegetables, and as you may know from this post, I love freezing, and I was able to take advantage of some of summers bounty of green peppers, jalapeños and zucchini.  

Winter Root Vegetable Stew

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup chopped green pepper
• 1/8 cup chopped jalapeño
• 4 cleaned and bite size chopped carrots
• 6 cleaned and bite size chopped turnips
• 3 cleaned and bite size chopped fingerling potatoes
• 1/2 an onion finely chopped
• 1 can rinsed chick peas
• 1 large can peeled and chopped tomatoes
• 1 lb lean ground turkey
• 1 cup red wine
• 3 cloves chopped garlic
• Herbs of your choice: I used a 3 tablespoon mixture of oregano, cayenne, rosemary and thyme

Directions

• Brown the turkey, breaking it up as you cook over medium heat
• Add the garlic and onion, cook until fragrant
• Add all the vegetables, except the tomatoes, mixing well to distribute
• Pour in the red wine, let simmer for 5 minutes
• Mix in the chopped tomatoes, and fill the can 1/3 up with water.  Swish around to get all the good bits, and pour into the stew
• Add the herbs, and mix well
• Cook, over low-medium heat for 45 mins - 2 hours (lower heat for longer times).  Add more water or stock as needed
• Enjoy with crusty bread

Lauren Lately: Anything but the Kitchen Sink Soup

With winters tentacles firmly rooted, I've been craving and making lots of "cozy" soup dinners.  Warm, thrown together without precision, better served with a hunk of bread... that's Lauren Lately!

Anything but the Kitchen Sink Soup
Ingredients

• 2+ types of veggies, chopped into bite size pieces (Yesterday I used 2 carrots, 2 celery stalks, and 1 cup of frozen CSA Swiss Chard. Small potatoes and turnips work well too)
• 1/2 an onion, chopped
• Protein of choice and/or a can of beans
• Olive Oil
• Stock
• Herbs
• Optional: Parmesan cheese

Directions 

• Saute your onion, and any hardy vegetables in olive oil over medium heat for 4 minutes
• If you are using it, add in the protein (2 crumbled sausages, 1 cup ground turkey, a handful of chicken pieces...) and stirring often continue cooking until warmed or cooked through
• Cover the mixture with stock until everything is just submerged, then add another inch of stock on top
• Add in any beans (kidney, garbanzo, black bean) or leafy vegetables (kale, swiss chard, radish leaves) and a couple sprinkles of herbs (dried or fresh rosemary, thyme, basil)
• Cook over medium low heat for about 20 minutes, checking frequently until your sturdiest vegetable is cooked through
• Optional: add in 1/2 cup of grated Parmesan cheese to thicken the broth
• Enjoy with bread or crackers 

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.