excellent to be participating finally in the what we had for dinner break down. i’m really looking forward to expanding a little beyond just the food but for now, what we had for dinner last night!!

the raw ingredients:

i was in charge of making the salad: CSA spinach, trader joe’s “spring mix”, tomato, the last of a green pepper, cucumber, and a little bit of onion. i made a salad dressing for it too; i tried to take a couple photos of the dressing before putting it on the salad but they didn’t come out well. they just looked like a cesspool of flotsam. the ingredients were some chili powder, balsamic vinegar, flax-seed oil and olive oil. about one tablespoon in all (maybe a little more).

adria was in charge of the potato medley. we actually started the potatoes in our iron skillet but it wasn’t big enough for all the potatoes (sweet and “normal”) and carrots. at least they got a few min on the iron skillet before we transfered though. (i’m paranoid of having low hemoglobin count so i prefer to cook as much as possible in the iron skillet. hahaha, we’re all a little weird, ain’t we?)

adria peeled, cut and sautéed everything together, adding paprika, cumin, chili powder, garlic, salt and pepper as the seasoning.

here’s the final result:

i enjoyed it but my only concern is that we were a bit short on the legumes; CSA this week was kinda weak but that’s the way it rolls.

We got a huge bunch of bok choy from CSA this week, so last night we decided to make some stirfry with the thai black pepper sauce we got from Trader Joe’s. I have to say I don’t think I would buy it again…too spicy and not thick enough. Next time I’ll just go back to the homemade sauce.

Simmered bok choy and carrots in sesame oil, thai black pepper sauce, soy sauce, garlic, and gingerCooked some brown basmati rice

After the veggies were done, we transferred them to a bowl and sprinkled on some cashews. We then transferred the rice into the pan with remaining oil and fried it up a bit.

Delicious!

Pasta with tomato sauce is a staple of our dinner repertoire, but each time we make it, it’s a little different.

Last night’s version included mushrooms and broccoli sauteed in wine with tomato pesto sauce and garlic.

Here are the basic building blocks of a delicious and nutritious pasta dinner:

whole wheat pasta
tomato sauce
garlic
basil
wine
olive oil
vegetables (broccoli, mushrooms, peas, spinach, green beans are our favorites)
optional: beans

Sautee the ingredients with olive oil, garlic and wine. Then add the tomato sauce and simmer.

Red wine complimented the dinner nicely.

Last night we didn’t feel like cooking much, so we made a cold plate of hummus, guacamole, whole wheat crackers, pesto, sliced tomatoes and home made tabouli.

Tabouli is a cold Mediterranean salad, usually made of bulgur wheat, parsley, cucumber, tomato lemon juice, and garlic. We made ours with quinoa instead of bulghur, and you can use basically any grain you want.

Here is a lose recipe for homemade tabouli:

cooked, cooled whole grain
lemon juice, and/or vinegar
olive oil
finely chopped green onion, tomato, cucumber, parsley (or some combination of those)
garlic
salt and pepper

For extra pizzaz:
mint, sesame seeds

Ok, so we didn’t just have leeks for dinner by themselves, but I did spend an hour making caramelized leeks with the two leeks we got from CSA. Leeks are big, tough, onion-like vegetables often found in winter CSA boxes. Most people know about potato leek soup, but beyond that are baffled by what to do with their leeks. We decided to caramelize them. Soft, sweet, and leeky, caramelized leeks can be put in the fridge for quick use in any kind of soup, sandwhich, or stirfry.

1. cut leeks into little pieces
2. sautee on low in oil or butter, a little sugar, and a little water so they don’t stick (add as needed)
3. They’re done when they’re small and soft, after about an hour

brown rice

spinach

carrot

guacamole

cucumber