Lazy Oven Dinner

I read food blogs, that's really what got me started on this one - and occasionally i see trends within them. Recently i kept noticing one recipe in particular Smashed Potatoes. If you read this blog, realize that i'm not really a potato lover, but i still have some in my fridge which i've been trying to get rid of. This recipe kinda reminded me of potato skins, which i actually enjoy - so i thought this would be a good time to use them up.

What really made this meal super easy was that i was not only influenced by a blog, but also a tv ad that i kept catching on the run up to March Madness - so ended up buying a frozen seasoned haddock. Sometimes its good to have slightly healthy food in the freezer, since it gives me an excuse not to eat out when i'm feeling lazy!

The fish was okay - not amazing - and the packaging made it really unappealing. I was particularly horrified by the instructions on the plastic reminding you to remove it before baking. Makes you wonder who they thought would be eating this stuff. There were two "fillets" and the second one i saved and ate on salad - it was actually quite tasty.

The smashed potatoes weren't really that good - but i also used older ones, so i think i am going to try them again with fresh potatoes. You simply boiled them until tender, then "smashed" them and topped with olive oil and garlic, then baking them. They should have been a lot better, i'll keep you posted.

Above:

Dinner and a Ontario Pinot Grigio
Balsamic Asparagus
Fish for Idiots
Smashed potoatoes - ready for the oven
Ingredients aka lazy town.

Dad's Herb growing system

My dad is pretty much a maniac when it comes to gardening. My mom, my sister and i always giggle while we watch him wander about the garden inspecting all the plants and mumbling to himself. It just seems like such a dad thing to do.

Since my parents moved up north a few years ago to a place with ten acres my dad has been able to expand his gardening obsession which made the natural progression to growing the plants from scratch. We affectionately refer to my dad's set up as "The Grow Show".

My parents basement is pretty impressive, and that is where dad works his magic. He has an amazing set up, and recently was telling me about the newest things he had discovered for growing herbs - these really simple pads that make it super easy to grow herbs.


As i said my dad has a much more complicated system that i could imagine, and he grows a lot more than herbs. He starts all of his veggies, often organic in the basement, first under the lights, then he moves them to the ping-pong table which gets a lot of light.

My dad's work station
(he was really embarrassed that it was messy)

All of the containers he uses
(don't worry he reuses them all)

The Lighting Rack

Some cilantro he has started

Grown Herbs Basking in the Sun

I am going to try some of the round sachets and see if they work for me as well as my dad. I don't have the lighting system he does, but my front window does face south west, so it gets a great deal of light. My problem is keeping them watered.

Leftover Pasta Frittata

I had actually been meaning to make this recipe forever, but since i don't often keep leftover pasta around i hadn't gotten around to it, but after my Pasta for Joanna i actually had some leftovers. Of course when i went to make the recipe i dindn't have half the stuff, and the tomato paste in my fridge was moldy, so i just made it as i could. I also cut the recipe down sort of arbitrarily.

So instead of telling you how i made it, i will just copy the original recipe i had intended to make, and you can try that. Mine was good, but i think that one would be better!

Spaghetti and Arugula Frittata
3 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped,
1 clove of garlic, crushed
3 plum tomatoes, chopped
1 red chile seeded and chopped
2 tbsp tomato paste
2/3 cup white wine (or water)
2 1/2 cups of cool cooked spaghetti
6 large eggs
2 tbsp Parmesan
handful of arugula
2 tbsp of balsamic

Heat one tbsp of oil, saute the onion for 5 mins until softened. Add the garlic, tomatoes, and chile and cook for 4 minutes, stirring. Add the tomato paste, and wine. Simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat, add the spaghetti, toss gently.

Break the eggs into a large bowl, and beat to mix. Add the spaghetti and sauce - mix gently.

Heat the remaining oil, add the spaghetti and egg mixture, and cook over low heat for 10 to 13 minutes, or until golden brown on the underside and almost set on the top. Meanwhile preheat the broiler.

Sprinkle with Parmesan and slide under the broiler for 30-60 seconds to melt the cheese and set the top. Let cool for five minutes, transfer to a plate. Top with arugula and sprinkle with balsamic.

A tasty and unique fritatta.

Above:

Pasta Fritatta

Ingredients

Mixing the pasta with egg

My version of tomato sauce

Rainy Saturday Baked Tofu

Dinner

Baked Tofu

Marinating the Tofu

My leftovers Bento Box

Steamed Veggies

Working with what i've got

This saturday was so nasty out, rainy, windy and cold, but i guess it was March and there was so snow, so i shouldn't be so unappreciative. I had gone out in the late morning for a brutal run/speed walk, and really didn't want to venture outside unless totally necessary. I spent almost the entire day sitting on the couch watching the NCAA conference play - so really it wasn't a bad day to have crappy weather. It was getting close to six when my stomach reminded me that i hadn't eaten that much. I had been out to Nami and gorged myself on fish for my brother-in-law's bday the night before so it took a little while to get hungry.

I really didn't have all that much to eat at home, but there was no way i was going out, so i thought i would challenge myself to make a meal out of what was in the fridge. The meal was pretty good, and i incorporated things that i've made on this blog, along with a few ingredients. I actually made a pretty tasty meal, and had the leftovers as a sort of bento box.

I also too the opportunity to make some baked tofu, which i'll be able to use all week in lunches and whatever. I used some extra firm tofu, simply cut it into smaller pieces, and made a marinade of honey, soy sauce, sesame oil and hot sauce. I oiled the pan, and baked the tofu at 400 degrees, rotating the tofu so that all the sides got browned. Its a great way of making tofu for a variety of dishes including salads.

Basa Fish for a work lunch

Recently i had eric over for dinner. I didn't bother photographing the meal, since it was just a bunch of things i had already blogged about. To be honest it was nice to have a glass of wine and chat with eric rather than worrying about lighting and f/stops.

Our Menu:

Ginger Scallion Basa Fish

Steamed Dumplings

Cold Spicy Peanut Noodles

I ended up defrosting all of the basa fish i had, since they were sort of frozen together and i was rushing a little. I only did two of the filets for the ginger scallion dish, leaving me one leftover. I didn't want to waste it, and didn't want to make the same thing, so i decided to use it for a workday lunch. I wanted to bread it and bake it served with spinach salad. (i also wanted to use the very last of my big box of spinach)

A few hints on how to bread not just fish, but pretty much anything:

• I prefer panko (japanese breadcrumbs) you can find them at most regular supermarkets


• Season the flour


• Keep one hand for dry ingredients, the other for wet - it makes it easier.


• Dredge the item in seasoned flour first, Then egg wash, Finally breading


• Great things that add to the breadcrumbs that will compliment a dish - mustard, horseradish, wasabi, lemon zest, basil (dried) chilis, parmesan.


• You really need to be prepared to deepfry, and can be difficult to do a lot since the oil cools down quickly- i reccomend pan frying or baking things unless necessary.

Above:

Ingredients
Ready for the oven
The breading stations
Lunch

Easy Thin Crust Pizza

Reading one of those ladies magazines at the gym (yeah all i think about is food while working out). I saw a recipe for pizza done on a flour tortilla. I am not a real pizza fan, only if the crust is really thin am i even remotely interestd - so i though that i would give it a try. It had been in the back of my mind for a few months now, and so looking at the groceries left over in my fridge i thought i would give it a try.

I didn't have any tomato sauce, and i'm not that big a fan anyway, but i thought that i could roast some cherry tomatoes and garlic in balsamic to make a nice base for the pizza. I also always have pesto in the fridge, and i love pesto on pizza so i thought i would add those along with some mushrooms, green onions and a bit of leftover cheddar i had in the back of the cheese drawer.

I put a little olive oil on the tortilla before all the toppings, and cooked it at 400 degrees. It was surprisingly crisp considering all the toppings i had on it, and was quite good. I would totally make this again, maybe with more sophisticated ingredients next time like buffalo mozzarella.

Above:

Pizza
Ready for the oven
The ingredients
Tomatoes to be roasted

Mushrooms on Toast - Saturday Night

The person i cook for the most of, excluding myself is eric, unfortunately he doesn't like mushrooms, and since a lot of my favorites involve them, i don't get the opportunity to cook them as much as i'd like. In particular, one of my family favorites is mushrooms on toast. (see Family Favorites) I only end up eating them with my family, but considering how easy there are, and since i had a bunch of left over mushrooms from my hot pot experiement, i thought i would treat myself with a nice sautrday dinner of one of my favorites.


This is quite an easy recipe, and you can really put a lot of it together before you cook it, and finish off the whole dish in like ten minutes. I usually serve a caesar salad with it, but for one that seemed a little too much work, so i used some of the last of the asparagus and tossed it with olive oil and balsamic, and baked it while i cooked the mushrooms.


I honesty usually use regular cremini or buttom mushroms and it is delicious just like that, but since i had all those exotic mushrooms i used them.



Mushrooms on Toast


2 lbs of mushrooms - use whatever kind you want, the smaller the better, or cut them
2 tbs of olive oil
2 cloves of garil chopped


Combine these together and you can let them sit for a while or cook right away. The original recipe calls for parsley, but i HATE parsley so i omit it.


Heat a little butter in a skillet and when melted add the mushrooms, cook for about 5 mintues until they begin to liquidfy. Add the juice of a lemon, 1 to 2 tbsp of red wine vinegar and a handful of chopped cilantro.


At this point i usually throw the bread into the toaster, usually dark rye of pumpernickle, something that can stand up to some moisture


Cook the mushrooms for another five minutes. Don't cook it until all the liquid has evaporated, part of what makes this good is the sauce! Once ready, place the toast on the plate and top with mushrooms and sauce.



Voila - mushrooms on toast!



Above:



Saturday night dinner

The ingredients (ignore the bok choy - that's another entry)

Adding the lemon juice

Putting the mushrooms on the toast.