Browsing Tag

veggies

Breakfast/Brunch, Sandwiches/Paninis, Savory Snacks

Make-ahead Spinach Mushroom and Cheese Breakfast Sandwiches

I love breakfast sandwiches. I don’t, however, love cooking every morning, so I started making batches of this style of breakfast sandwiches — baked eggs with “mix ins” on English muffins, ready to wrap and chill or freeze. They are very versatile: don’t like spinach and mushrooms, you can use chopped red bell peppers, ham, bacon bits, or even kimchi or asparagus. Swap out the cheese for swiss or gouda or raclette. Once made, can be kept in the fridge for up to 4 days or frozen up to 3 weeks.

27. January 2024

Breakfast/Brunch, Dinner, Lunch

Shakshuka for One

I love Shakshuka. It’s a veggie heavy (onions, peppers, tomatoes), spicy, Middle Easter / North African dish that works well from breakfast to dinner. I’ve also made version with meat and seafood (shrimp/prawns) or spinach and/or zuccchini. You always poach eggs in the stew and add feta after it is out of the oven. Most of the recipes that I have found are “to feed a crowd” though, with 6 to 8 eggs, so I decided to make a version just for one, or possibly two people. Serve with crusty bread or pita.

25. January 2024

Appetizers/Starters, Breakfast/Brunch, Dinner, Lunch, Savory Snacks, Sides

Mini-Rösti
(German/Swiss-style Potato Pancakes)

There are lots of names for these…. (mini) Rösti, Kartoffelpuffer, Reiberdatschi, Latkes, Placki, Potato Pancakes, Hashbrown patties. These are so many many variations and personalizations. While many of them have onions, I use finely sliced red onions (just a little) and I use a very uncommon ingredient: carrots. I like the color and a little bit of sweetness and because they have similar characteristics when it comes to cooking, it works well for me. If you don’t like the carrot idea, leave them out but add 2 more potatoes.

I haven’t done this in a while, but back in the day, Ben and I would use these rösti as the base for Smoked Salmon Eggs Benedict, so today I made both smoked salmon and avocado eggs benny with mini-rösti patties. Delicious.

21. January 2024

Dinner, Lunch, Pasta

ATK’s “Cheater” Gnocchi with a Mushroom Medley Cream Sauce

So of all the “pastas”, “dumplings” and “easily bought so why make them yourself” items, gnocchi is my least favorite to make myself. I mean, why bother making gnocchi when you can just buy them? They are generally a lot of work — roast the potatoes, let them cool, but make sure that they don’t gummy so make sure to release the steam just at the right minute. Then make the dough, but depending on the potatoes, add more less of this or that. So, America’s Test Kitchen came up with a recipe to make gnocchi, but using potato flakes — still potatoes, right? So, that is how I made these earlier today. Was much easier than the traditional method. The recipe is more about showing off the gambit of potato things than the actual gnocchi in mushroom sauce.

20. January 2024

Dinner

Hachis Parmentier (French Cottage Pie)

Next up in the potato week extravaganza: Hachis Parmentier! What the heck is Hachis Parmentier? Well, it’s cottage pie with a French accent. Seriously, I looked at 10 cottage pie recipes and 10 Hachis Parmentier recipes and I can’t find a lick of difference. Cottage Pies (and it’s cousins Shepard’s Pie (with lamb) and Shepherdess’ Pie (vegetarian)) are a filling on the bottom and then covered with mashed potatoes. This particular one also has a healthy dose of cheese — Gruyer in this case (maybe the Cottage Pie Version would have cheddar instead). Either way, delicious, easy to make (and can be done in stages over a few days, if needed) and perfect comfort food for a cold January weekend.