eggs on sunday

So here’s the thing.

As many of you probably do, I have a loooooong list of recipes on my “to cook” list. Some of these come from my food magazine subscriptions (BA, Gourmet, CI), some of them come from the time I spend browsing around epicurious.com, many of them come from food bloggers whom I regularly read (I simultaneously feel overwhelming love and just “overwhelmed” at my Google Reader list, many days.) And don’t even get me started on my cookbooks: this past year I finally tried to get my act together and put post-it flags on the recipes I wanted to try. I had grand plans to go through all of my 100+ cookbooks and do this. Months later, how many have I gotten through? Maybe six. Sigh. And flagging the recipes doesn’t mean I have any structured plan to actually cook them; oh, no. I’ve made baby, baby steps of progress through a handful, but I have a long way to go.

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I LOVE purple carrots!

When I saw them in the grocery store last week, I almost yelped out loud with glee — they’re one of my very favorite vegetables. They don’t taste particularly different from the regular orange carrots, but they are a creation of pure and utter beauty in my mind:

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There’s something about this time of year. The excitement (for me at least) of the first snowfall and the “newness” of the cold, festive winter weather has worn off — but we’re not anywhere near a definite start to spring. Here in upstate New York, we might not start getting consistently warmer, spring-like weather until mid-May…so to me, February through April is kind of like winter limbo. Here’s where I run into the problem: I start to anticipate all the spring-like things to come in February and March, a few months earlier than I know full-on spring will settle in. (Could it have to do with all those packets of vegetable and flower seeds that finally arrived this week?)

Don’t get me wrong, I love my warm winter soups, roasted root vegetables (roasted anything, actually), and smells of warm things baking in the kitchen. But right about this time of year I start to think about emerging from “nesting” mode and yearn for something with a decidedly fresher, crisper, “spring-ier” taste. Bonus points if the food is a “spring-like” color — in other words, green, green, green.

So this probably explains why we have been gobbling up this lime cabbage slaw by the bowlful lately, multiple times a week! It’s dead easy to put together, and is just the remedy for these mid-winter blues. I had been thinking about making something like this when I happened to see a similar recipe in the latest issue of Bon Appetit — though theirs uses red cabbage and slightly different proportions. We’ve eaten this on its own as a side dish, as a salad with some slices of avocado (yes, more green!) and piled into tortillas with fajita-style chicken and queso fresco. It’s best if you can let it sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes to allow the flavors to meld and the cabbage to soak up a little of the acid, so if you’re serving this with something else, make it first and let it sit while you prepare the rest of your meal.

Take a citrusy, crunchy bite and maybe you, too, can start imagining all the good things to come this spring!

Crunchy Lime Cabbage Slaw

Ingredients

1/2 head green cabbage, core removed and sliced very thinly (about 4 cups)
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
zest of 1 lime (about 1 tsp)
juice of 1 lime (about 2 tbsp)
1/4 cup chopped cilantro

coarse salt and pepper, to taste

Directions

Place the thinly sliced cabbage in a large bowl.

In a smaller bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lime zest, and lime juice. Pour over the cabbage and toss to combine. Add the chopped cilantro and toss until it’s distributed throughout. Season with coarse salt and pepper (you really do need to season it with salt) — start with about 1/4 tsp salt and work your way up from there if it needs it, according to your taste.

Let the cabbage sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes, to allow the flavors to meld.

Serves about 4.

Adapted from a recipe in Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone by Deborah Madison. This is a great way to use the fragile beet greens that are so nutritious!

Ingredients

1 bunch small beets (appx. 1 inch diameter) (you can also use larger beets, see cooking times below)
greens from the bunch of beets above, stems removed
1 tbsp butter
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Cut the beets from their greens, leaving about an inch of stem. Steam them (skins on), covered, about 30 minutes for small beets and about 45-60 minutes for large beets (they should be tender when pricked with a fork.) When beets are done steaming, remove them from the steamer and let cool slightly. After they’ve cooled enough so you can handle them, use your fingers to slip the skins and stems off (when they’re cooked, the skins should slip off quite easily.) If you’re using small beets, add them whole to a saucepan; if you’re using large beets, cut them into wedges and add them to a saucepan. Add 1/2 tbsp butter and over low heat, shake the pan so the butter melts over the beets. Now add 1 tsp balsamic vinegar, and continue cooking until the vinegar evaporates (it should leave a nice glaze on the beets.)

Meanwhile, wash and spin dry the beet greens (remove the stems first.) Add to the steamer, and steam 5 minutes until wilted. Remove from the steamer and toss with 1/2 tbsp butter, and salt and pepper to taste.

To serve, arrange the beet greens in a “nest” on a serving plate. Nestle the vinegared beets in the center of the greens, and serve.

Serves 4.

I like to make this with multiple colors of potatoes if I can use them; otherwise, red potatoes are best.

Ingredients

2 lb small potatoes (small red new potatoes work well)
2-3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp fresh rosemary
6 garlic cloves, peeled
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Preheat the oven to 425. Depending on the size of the potatoes, either halve them (for small red new potatoes) or cut them into wedges (for larger potatoes). Place them in a bowl with the olive oil, fresh rosemary, whole garlic cloves, kosher salt and pepper. Toss to combine and coat, and turn out onto a baking sheet.

Roast for about 30-40 minutes, stirring after about 20 minutes. When they’re done, you can toss with another bit of fresh rosemary for some fresh green color, if you wish.

Serves 4.

The earthy flavors of sweet potatoes, mushrooms, shallots and marjoram are great together — particularly nice in autumn or winter. Adapted from Bon Appetit, October 2003.

Ingredients

1/4 cup low-salt chicken broth or vegetable broth
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 pounds red-skinned sweet potatoes (yams), peeled, cut into 1-inch chunks
10 large shallots, peeled, halved through root end
4 bay leaves
2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon chopped fresh marjoram
8 ounces large fresh shiitake mushrooms, stemmed, caps quartered

3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. In a small bowl, whisk together the chicken/vegetable broth, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar. In a large bowl, mix together the sweet potatoes, shallots, bay leaves, and 1 tbsp marjoram. Pour half of the broth mixture over the vegetables and toss them to mix; sprinkle to taste with coarse salt and pepper. Toss the mushrooms, 1 tbsp marjoram, and the remaining broth mixture in a medium bowl and sprinkle to taste with coarse salt and pepper.

Spread the sweet potato mixture on a baking sheet. Roast until potatoes begin to soften, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes. Mix in the mushrooms and return to the oven; roast until potatoes and mushrooms are tender, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes longer. Transfer to bowl. Mix in parsley and 1 teaspoon marjoram.

This recipe, adapted from Moosewood Restaurant’s Simple Suppers, uses all the traditional ingredients of ratatouille, but roasts them all on the same pan. It makes for a super easy side dish, or use serve it as a main vegetarian course with some grated Parmaiggiano-Reggiano on top and a salad on the side.

Ingredients

1 zucchini
1 summer squash
3 tomatoes
1 eggplant, peeled if you wish
1 red pepper
1 yellow pepper
3 onions
6 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup packed fresh basil leaves

Directions

Preheat the oven to 450.

Cut the vegetables (zucchini through onions) into 1-inch chunks. Place them in a big bowl, add the garlic, salt and pepper, and toss to coat. Spread on a baking sheet (or two, if it doesn’t all fit onto one) and place in the oven. Stir the veggies after 15 minutes, and then cook another 25 or so minutes, until tender and browned around the edges.

Transfer the veggies to a serving bowl, add the freshly chopped basil, and mix to combine. Adjust the seasonings with more salt and pepper, if you wish. Serve warm or at room temperature with some grated cheese on top.

Makes 6 side dish servings, or 4 main course servings.

Pancetta and brussel sprouts are a match made in heaven!

Ingredients

1 lb Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved (quartered if large)
2 oz pancetta, minced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup water

Directions

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Toss together Brussels sprouts, pancetta, garlic, oil, and salt and pepper to taste in an 11- by 7-inch baking pan and spread in 1 layer.

Roast in upper third of oven, stirring once halfway through roasting, until sprouts are brown on edges and tender, about 25 minutes total. Stir in water, scraping up brown bits. Serve warm.

Makes 4 servings.

A beautiful and tasty side dish to make when cherry tomatoes, basil and green beans are in season.

Ingredients

2 lbs small new potatoes, halved
4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 lb slender green beans, trimmed
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1/3 cup chopped fresh basil

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Toss potatoes and 2 tbsp oil on a large rimmed baking sheet, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast until tender, stirring occasionally, about 50 minutes. Maintain oven temperature.

Meanwhile, cook green beans in a large saucepan of boiling salted water until crisp-tender, about 3 minutes. Drain beans, pat dry.

Place beans, tomatoes, and garlic in a large bowl. Add 2 tbsp oil, sprinkle w/salt and pepper and toss. Add to potatoes on sheet. Roast until tomatoes begin to break down, about 8 minutes. Sprinkle with basil and serve.

Serves 6.

These are easy enough to be whipped up right before dinner…I cut mine on the large side, for a total of 4.

Ingredients (makes four 2-inch biscuits; can be doubled)

1 cup flour
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
3 tbsp butter, cut into small pieces
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/3 cup + 1 tbsp milk (if doubling, use 3/4 cup milk)

Directions

Preheat oven to 450.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Drop in butter, and cut the butter into the flour mixture until it the butter chunks are the size of peas and the rest resembles coarse meal. With a fork, stir in the grated cheese and parsley.

All at once, add the milk and stir with a fork until it’s just moistened. With your hands, gather the dough and knead against the side of the bowl 5-10 times.

Turn dough out onto a floured surface and shape into a 4×4 inch square, about 1 inch thick. Cut square into quarters to make 4 biscuits.

Place biscuits on a baking sheet and bake until tops are browned, 10-12 minutes. Serve warm.