Vegan Creamy Sausage Pasta

Credit to Anne for finding this one!

Recipe
8 oz pasta

6 oz spinach

14 oz vegan sausage - sliced or crumbled

2 garlic cloves

1/2 vegan cream cheese

1/4 c pesto (see below)

1 tbsp nutritional yeast

1/4 c veggie broth

1/4 vegan parmesan cheese

• Start cooking the pasta. 
• In the meantime, start cooking the sausage in a little oil over medium high. When it's close to done, add the sausage and wilt. Set aside.
• Add a little more oil to the pan and sizzle the garlic. Add the cream cheese and veggie broth, and stir until melted. Then add the pesto and nutritional yeast.
• Combine everything and serve!

Pesto

2 c basil leaves

3 tbsp pine nuts (or walnuts)

3 cloves garlic

2 tbsp lemon juice

3-4 tbsp nutritional yeast

1/4 tsp salt

2-3 tbsp olive oil

3-6+ tbsp water

Blend the dry ingredients into a paste, then add the olive oil a little at a time, then the water to get to the right consistency.

Notes

I was a little skeptical, since this favorite recipe of mine is pretty simple, good, and easy to veganize, while this takes extra steps for pesto and stuff. But I was happy to be proved wrong! The extra effort is well worth it whether for a casual night in or serious carb loading before a 25 (or 50) K...

White Bean Pasta

Gave this one a try from Budget Bytes via social media...

Recipe

• 8 oz pasta (a long type like spaghetti or linguine)
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp butter
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 pint grape / cherry tomatoes
• 1/2 tsp dried basil
• salt & pepper
• 1 15 oz can cannellini beans, drained & rinsed
• 4 oz baby spinach
• parmesan

Start your pasta. Heat the olive oil & butter in a skillet, on the medium-lower heat side. Add the garlic, then tomatoes, salt & pepper, and basil. Saute until the tomatoes pop - fun! Then add the spinach and wilt it a bit, then add the beans. Heat through and get a nice thick sauce going. Then toss in the pasta! 

Saag Paneer

Saag Paneer

*Adapted from https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/aarti-sequeira/saag-paneer-spinach-with-indian-cheese-recipe-1927603

INGREDIENTS:

1 tsp turmeric

1/2 tsp cayenne

Kosher Salt

3 tbsp plus 1 1/2 tbsp oil *we used canola

12 oz paneer cut into cubes *recipe called for 1 inch cubes, but we made the cubes dice-sized so there would be "more." Highly recommend that.

(Paneer=Indian cheese, either store bought of made from recipe below)

16 oz package fresh spinach (can use frozen, see below)

1 medium white onion, finely chopped

About 1 tbsp minced ginger (about 1 1-inch-thumb ginger if fresh) *we have a jar of minced ginger and love the convenience of that

4 cloves garlice, minced *Come on. Do at least 6. Don't be an idiot.

1 large green serrano chile, finely chopped, seeds removed to cut spice *We did VERY LITTLE chile, maybe less than 1/4 of it. Up to you.

1/2 tsp garam masala

2 tsp ground coriander *we didn't have this and weren't sad about it

1 tsp ground cumin

OPTIONAL:

(1/2 cup plain yogurt, stirred until smooth) *we did NOT do this

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the turmeric, cayenne, 1 tsp salt, and 3 tbsp oil. Gently drop in the cubes of paneer and gently toss (if you made your own paneer, take care not to break the cubes). Let the cubes marinate as you do the next step.

2. Take your spinach and mash it up in a food processor, get it pretty smooth/into very small bits. If you don't have a food processor, just get to chopping! Very fine, please. If you are using frozen spinach, thaw it in the microwave 5 minutes on high, then puree in a food processor until smooth.

3. Heat a large nonstick pan/skillet over medium heat, add paneer, let sit for a couple minutes, then toss. Point being to get some nice brown color on as many sides the paneer as you can. When you have achieved a good coloring all around, take the paneer out and set aside on a plate.

4. Add 1 1/2 tbsp oil to the pan. Add onions, ginger, garlic, chile. SUPER IMPORTANT: saute this mix until it is evenly toffee-colored. DO NOT SKIP THIS OR SKIMP ON THIS! It is the FOUNDATION of the dish! Be patient, should take around 15 minutes. And if you see it getting dry, add water or chicken/veggie stock as you go.

5. Add the garam masala, coriander, and cumin. Sprinkle a little water to keep the spices from burning. Cook, stirring often, until the raw scent of the spices cook out, and it smells more "melodious," about 3-5 minutes. 

6. Add the spinach, stir well. Add a little salt and 1/2 cup of water or stock, stir, cook about another 5 minutes with the lid off.

7. Add the paneer and mix. ADD BUTTER FOR A LITTLE ADDED CREAMINESS. Cover and cook for a few minutes until everything is warmed through. *We didn't cover it and warm everything back up because we were too hungry and it smelled too good. It didn't make a difference to us. But if you wanna be thorough, go for it.

7. OPTIONAL: Turn the heat off and add the yogurt, a little at a time to keep it from curdling. Once the yogurt is well mixed, add the paneer. Turn the heat back on, cover and cook until everything is warmed through, about 5 minutes

8. Serve over rice! Maybe with some homemade naan...maybe we a mango lassi with rum...follow your bliss!

NOTES:

The spices in this dish are so lively and the paneer, which soaks up all that spiced oil, is just delicious. We found that we did not miss the creaminess that the yogurt would bring--the spinach is just so bright and lush. We did throw in some butter when we were mixing everything together, I would recommend that. Why not! 

Basically, this is a super easy dish that tastes complex. SO good.

You may want to make a double batch...we had no leftovers.

If you want to MAKE YOUR OWN PANEER:

INGREDIENTS:

cheesecloth

8 cups whole milk

1/4 c freshly squeezed lemon juice

DIRECTIONS:

-Line a large colander with a large double layer of cheesecloth and set it in your sink

-In a large wide pot, bring the milk to a gentle boil over medium hear, stirring frequently to avoid burning the bottom. Be patient!

-Add the lemon juice and turn the heat down to low. Stirring gently, you should almost immediately see the curds (white milk solids) and whey (greenish liquid) separate. Don't fret, this is perfect!

-Remove the pot from the heat and carefully pour the contents into the colander. Gently rinse with cool water to get rid of the lemon flavor.

-Grab the ends of the cheesecloth and twist the ball of cheese to squeeze out the excess whey. Tie the cheesecloth to your kitchen faucet and allow it to drain for 5 minutes.

-Twisting the ball to compact the cheese into a block, place it on a plate with the twisted part of the cheesecloth on the side (to ensure the cheese is smooth) and set another plate on top. Weigh the 2nd plate down with cans of beans or a heavy pot. Move to the fridge and let sit about 20 minutes.

NOTE FROM DAN:

We did a vegan version of this with tofu instead of paneer and coconut milk instead of yogurt (and some sambal for more heat!). Combo with this recipe:

https://www.connoisseurusveg.com/vegan-saag-paneer/

Quinoa & Spinach Patties

In my phase of looking for good vegetarian (not yet vegan...) recipes - ones that are filling, delicious (obv.), and as a bonus good for leftovers - found this one!

Recipe

1 c quinoa, cooked
4 eggs, whisked
1/3 c parmesan cheese, grated
3 scallions, sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 c spinach, chopped & steamed (frozen OK)
1 c breadcrumbs

Basically, once you've done the above to each ingredient, mix them all in a bowl.  Let sit to absorb some moisture, and make patties.  Heat some oil in a skillet and cook in batches, 8-10 minutes per side until golden and a little crisp.

Roedspaette og Spinat

...Or, more intelligibly/less authentically, Danish flounder and spinach casserole!  Courtesy of gramma's Scandinavian cookbook.  (Although, Google Translate confirms that they mistakenly swapped the labels with "roedspaette med loegsovs," flounder with onion sauce.)

Recipe

1 lb flounder fillets
1 9 oz package frozen creamed spinach
3 oz mushrooms, sliced
2 tbsp flour
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 c bread crumbs
butter
salt & pepper

Dust the fillets with flour and sprinkle with salt & pepper.  Dip in the beaten egg and dredge through the flour; brown on both sides in a couple tbsps of butter.  Meanwhile cook the spinach as per directions.  Make it the first layer in a casserole dish, followed by the fish, then the shrooms on top.  Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes.

Notes

Authentic Danish cuisine meets the modern 1950's kitchen!  Really, this could be a super easy dish, using nothing but fish sticks, frozen creamed spinach, and canned mushrooms...  Thought about going that route, but King Soopers is apparently too classy for frozen creamed spinach.  Found a simple enough preparation here, bought some fresh sole in place (plaice, heh) of flounder.  Took a bit more effort and cooking utensils, but turned out very tasty!

Two pics: I like the fresh out of the oven one, but you can't see the delicious creamy (and oniony/garlicky) spinach!

Quinoa & Broccoli Casserole

I survived another Meatless Monday thanks to this cheesy concoction...

Recipe

3/4 c quinoa
2 green onions
1 c vegetable stock
1 tbsp pesto
1/2 tsp cornstarch
1 c spinach
8 oz mozzarella cheese, cubed
1/4 c Parmesan cheese, grated
8 oz broccoli florets
salt & pepper

Preheat oven to 400.  Whisk together your stock, pesto, cornstarch, and some salt, and bring to a boil.  Combine the quinoa, green onion, liquids, spinach, and most of the cheese in a baking dish and pop in the oven for about 30 minutes.  Toward the end, steam (or microwave) your broccoli, then mix it into the casserole and sprinkle the last of the cheese on top.  Cook another 5 minutes, and pop under the broiler for a couple if you want to brown it up.

Notes

As with most recipes, I went in expecting to halve everything, but as I was measuring out the quinoa that looked like an awful lot so I about quartered it instead.  You don't have to balance things too closely - I added lots of spinach and definitely went heavy on the cheese.  The cheese did kind of take things over - deliciously melty, especially in comparison to the crisper grains - but you can dial it down to make it healthier or whatever.  Very tasty but not quite as filling as I hoped... so pretty good for your typical vegetarian dish...

Ground Beef with Eggs & Stuff

This recipe probably came out of a conversation with heavy use of the word "bro."

Recipe

1 lb ground beef
1 onion, chopped
3-4 cloves garlic, chopped
10 oz. spinach
2-4 eggs
salt & pepper, sriracha

Start to brown the beef over medium heat.  Once it gives up some moisture and fat, add the onion and garlic.  Meanwhile, whisk up the eggs.  Once the beef is cooked through, add in the spinach, then the eggs, and cook through.  Season with salt, pepper, and sriracha, and eat.

Notes

I was kind of expecting this to be a kind of gross protein delivery system, but it was actually pretty good!  It still probably couldn't pass off as "deconstructed meatloaf" or anything fancy, though...  As far as my own spin on the recipe, I halved most of the key ingredients but just used one egg, which semed enough for me.  I also used fresh(ish) spinach instead of frozen as the recipe recommends.  If you do the same, put in a lot!  It should look almost like a salad at first, but it wilts down nicely...  Seasoning is key too.  Actually even looked pretty good:

Spinach Bacon Cheddar Biscuits

Bacon.  Spinach.  Cheddar cheese.  Bacon.  Onions.  Bacon.  All solid ingredients.  Oh, and bacon.  What happens when you bake them all into one biscuity mass?  I'm glad you asked!  Original recipe here.

Recipe

1/4 lb bacon, chopped
1/2 lb spinach, chopped
1 1/2 c cheddar cheese, shredded
3/4 c bread crumbs
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 a small onion, minced
seasonings: pepper, mustard, jalapeno, hot sauce, etc.

Sizzle up your bacon.  Combine everything in a big bowl and mix up.  Cluster into patties and put on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper.  Cook at 375 degrees for 25-30 minutes.

Notes

I'll be honest.  I scaled the amounts mathematically when copying the recipe above, but when I actually cooked this, I eyeballed everything - about half a bag of spinach, the end of a block of cheese, generous sprinkles of bread crumbs, a tiny onion, squeeze of mustard, etc.  My patties came out a bit crumbly, but I definitely had no cause to complain.  Really really good.  I ate it as a meal; it might be a bit hearty for a side, and probably too much for a starter if you plan on eating much else on the night.  Anyway, good stuff, worth tinkering with (soberer) for structural integrity if not taste reasons.

December 2014 addendum: So, did some tinkering around Thanksgiving this year.  These notes encompass some experimentation with ingredients, balance, etc...

• I shied away from frozen spinach at first, but it seems to be the best for not having everything fall apart.  Just make sure you drain it well so the spinach-y taste isn't overpowering.
• Moar bacons and onions and cheeses!
• The consensus was that it's better to err on the side of cooking longer, leaning toward crispness.

Pan-Seared Tilapia with Fishy Spinach

New apartment, new grocery stores, new appliances... well, the ingredients of this one are some of my old stand-by's - was hoping to do one of my simple favorites - but stupid Avanti "Elite" oven won't work so we need a new method of preparation.  Using this as a general guide, I decided to see if I couldn't make a few tilapia fillets that had been sitting in my freezer/fridge for (more than) a couple days edible.

Recipe

The Necessities
tilapia fillets
~3 tbsp butter
spinach
salt & pepper

My Supplements
garlic, chopped
jalapeno, chopped
1 anchovy
lemon (wish I had it)

So to start, you melt your butter and add the garlic, jalapeno, lemon, and/or whatever herbs and spices you want infused in everything yet to come.  Sprinkle your fish with salt and pepper and put it in the pan.  Let it sit for about 2 minutes and change either side.  Take it out, (add in and break up your anchovy,) and put in some generous handfuls of spinach.  Stir it around until it's all a bit wilty and the initial seasoning elements are all mixed in.  Scoop the spinach onto your plate and serve the fish over it.  Like so:

Oh man.  This was another improvised stovetop dish where I might not ever go back to the oven.  Maybe (definitely) it was a bit on the salty side, but a lighter touch sprinkling the fillets would do fine there.  Fast and easy too!

Swordfish with Sherry-Cream Sorrel

In honor of our nation's 237th birthday (OK, coincidentally), I was leafing through the colonial Philadelphia cookbook and snapping hopefully-legible pictures of the recipe for later use.  First up was swordfish.

The Recipe

swordfish steaks
bay leaves
1/2 c sherry
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup shredded sorrel (or spinach)
butter, salt & pepper

Fish goes in baking dish(es) with a couple bay leaves (for the whole lot) and spots of butter on top.  Cook at 375 for about 10-15 minutes (until a cooked egg white-like film appears on top).  Remove from heat, get rid of bay leaves and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, boil the sherry, then add the cream and simmer for about 5 minutes until it thickens.  Stir in the sorrel and bring to a boil, then serve over the swordfish.

The Outcome

I liked this one because swordfish is a more highly-regarded piece of seafood, but the recipe itself is very simple.  You could just prepare the fish on its own (my one note is, as is endemic to cookbooks, it seemed to underestimate the cooking time).  Indeed, I was skeptical about the sherry-cream spinach element, but it actually came out as a kind of nice, tangy green element to the meal.  I didn't give it enough time to really thicken, but just tried to scoop out the leaves (of spinach, the suggested alternative).  Here's how it came out with a serving of sweet potato fries on the side:

Chicken Milanese

After overlooking the 3-hour cook time for Goop-style brisket, I made her Chicken Milanese my fallback plan for the night:

Recipe

chicken breasts/cutlets
bread crumbs
milk
olive oil

Fold the chicken between parchment paper (leaving plenty of space around...) and pound the crap out of it.  Gwyneth prescribes a pseudo-scientific 1/6" thickness, but I think the key takeaway is to make it as thin as you can before your neighbors complain.  Dip the chicken in milk, dredge through bread crumbs, and pan-fry in about 1/4 cup oil.  If it's thin enough, it should just be a couple minutes per side.

On the Side

Gwyneth lists a couple options to pair some produce with your chicken.  I started with her roasted cherry tomatoes and arugula, but substituted based on what I had on hand (which also happens to be some of my favorites).  I ended up tossing the tomatoes along with chopped sweet potatoes and carrots with some olive oil and spices.  Roasted it at 400 degrees for about 45 minutes - until the tomatoes split and the sweet potato was soft - then stirred in a few handfuls of spinach.

Here's the finished product:

Cider-Glazed Salmon

Salmon is one of the best ways to fill your seafood quota for a week.  This recipe isn't my favorite, or the easiest, but it's a good change-up if you're looking for a sweeter preparation.

Recipe

4 skinless salmon filets
1/2 c apple cider
1 1/4 tbsp honey
lemons, halved
12 oz baby spinach
1 1/2 tbsp white wine
olive oil, salt, pepper

1. Boil the honey and cider in a skillet and reduce by half.  Put the salmon in a baking dish, pour the cider glaze over, and let sit 10 minutes.
2. Heat a tsp of olive oil in an oven-safe skillet, and put in the salmon, sprinkle with salt & pepper, brush on half the glaze, and cook a few minutes.  You want it a bit caramelized...  Turn and glaze with the rest of the sauce, add the lemon halves, and put it in the oven at 350 degrees.  Cook it there 6-8 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, melt a tbsp or two of butter in a skillet (potentially the same one as the first step).  Start to wilt the spinach and sprinkle with salt & pepper, then add the white wine.  Cook until tender.
4. Serve the spinach with the salmon on top and lemon as garnish.

Notes

The recipe uses a few too many dishes and pans for my liking, although three for a full meal (including veggies) isn't too unreasonable.  I found it sweet but lacking a little bit of, I dunno, variety of some kind.  So worthwhile to try, but not the best I've made or had.

Westerosi Honey-Clove Lamb - Updated

The North remembers.  It was not so long ago that Ned Stark ruled in Winterfell, free of those meddlesome southern lords and their Iron Throne.  Such feasts we had!  Who knows when we'll next know the taste of mutton in this long winter?

The imagination of George RR Martin as interpreted by The Inn at the Crossroads blog is not always on point...  No complaints at all about this one, though.  It's such a simple recipe - almost no prep of the ingredients - but such rich flavor between the lamb and sauce.  That said, it does almost seem like something's missing.  After a couple tries, I think sauteed mushrooms and onions do the trick.

The Recipe

lamb chops or steaks
mushrooms, chopped
1 onion, copped
1 cup cider
2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp cinnamon
4 tbsp honey
butter/olive oil, salt, pepper

Preheat oven to 400.  Sprinkle your lamb with salt and pepper, and sear (over pretty high heat) in a dry skillet.  Then move to a buttered/oiled baking dish and cook for about 10-15 minutes.  Meanwhile, sautee the mushroom and onion in the skillet until softening, then put everything else in and simmer.  You want it to reduce down pretty well into a nice gravy.  Combine, give thanks to the Old Gods and eat.

Notes

And that's it!  A few points.  What are cloves?  I don't know but they are delicious.  The original recipe calls for mead.  I have no idea where to get that and was at a loss, until it came to me right there in Morton Williams - cider.  Even if it doesn't work out, you have five and a half ciders to comfort yourself with.  And if (when) it goes amazingly well, you still have those ciders!  The only suitable cuts of lamb they had were shoulder steaks, a bit tough but not expensive, and they still have that great lamb scent, and then taste.  Once the lamb's in the oven and the sauce on the stove, you have some good time to work on sides.

Here's the finished product as per Inn at the Crossroads with a tasty fancy-boy sauteed spinach.  As you can see, ideally the sauce would be thicker and sit on top of the lamb (instead of sloppily pool in the plate), but it tasted great.

And here's a subsequent iteration with the full gravy.  Much less wet, especially over mashed potatoes:

Baked Tilapia

It's not the fanciest fish, but it's super easy and quick to make, and you can spice it up with whatever you feel like or have on hand.

The basics, courtesy of this handy video (which I don't think I've ever watched past 0:57 - why mess with success?):

Preheat oven to 400 degrees, lightly oil a baking dish, add a bed of spinach, lay the tilapia (defrosted) on top, season however you like, cook 10-15 minutes.  Some ideas I've tried:

• Italian: garlic, rosemary, salt & pepper; optional cherry tomatoes, red pepper, Parmesan cheese or pepperoni
• Southwestern: diced jalapenos, a sprinkle of cumin, salt & pepper (below left)
• Asian: soy sauce, grated ginger, sesame seeds, pepper (below right)
• Country(?): mustard, thyme, salt & pepper