Scrambled Eggs with Peppers and Onions

This is one of my favorite breakfasts. I have been making this for years, and I just love it. Scrambled eggs without veggies are good, but they are just not nearly as good as ones with random veggies.

So, this one has both red and green peppers and onions, and you just throw in the eggs once the veggies are soft, and scramble the eggs for a couple more minutes.

Here's what you'll need:
about 1/4 c. chopped onion
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
1 tbsp. butter
6 eggs
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper

• Heat butter in skillet
• Add onion and pepper and cook about 5 minutes until vegetables are soft
• Add beaten eggs, salt & pepper, and cook until eggs are set

Vegetarian Zucchini Lasagna Rolls

I've had this recipe marked since the beginning of the season. Now that my zucchini plants are in full swing, producing much more than I can eat, I'm using every recipe I can find that will use it up!

This recipe was quite different from the lasagna rolls I've seen before, mostly in the way it's cooked. But it turned out really well. My husband ate a huge plate of it and didn't complain a bit about the zucchini stuffing for the rolls.

For this, I used:
1/2 lb lasagna noodles
3 tbsp. olive oil

2 small/med onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 c. grated zucchini
2 c. cottage cheese or ricotta
1 tsp. basil
1 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. salt
3 c. tomato sauce (see recipe here)
1/2 c. parmesan

Cook lasagna noodles.

 Put olive oil in a skillet, add onions and garlic and cook until onions are translucent and soft

Set aside and mix zucchini, cottage cheese, basil, oregano, salt

Add onions to mixture and stir until well blended
On a clean surface, lay out the noodles
Put about 1/4 c. cottage cheese mixture on each noodle,spreading it along the length of the noodle.

Roll it up and set it upright in an 8x8 or larger baking dish
Repeat until all the noodles and filling is used.
Spoon the sauce around the rolls but not on top.

Bake 30-40 minutes in 375 oven. I had to bake for 40 minutes before they were really hot and the noodles began to brown and get a bit crispy on the top edges.

Top with parmesan.

These turned out really well. Since the filling had onions and garlic, it balanced out the lack of such things in the sauce. While I wouldn't like the plain sauce on spaghetti, it worked perfectly here. These were really good and filling. A great vegetarian meal on a cold evening.

Little Joe's, Sauteed Zucchini, and Tomato Slices, oh my!

According to Fannie, this recipe is popular in San Francisco. I've never heard of it, but it sounded alright, and I had most of what I needed to make it, which is reason enough for me to choose a recipe.

Chop kale & onion while oil heats.

 For this, I used:

3 tbsp coconut oil for cooking
1 onion
1 bunch kale leaves (FF says 1 lb. spinach, but I have neither spinach nor a cooking scale, so I just used the handful of kale I had from the garden. I adjusted cooking times accordingly.
1 lb ground beef
3 eggs (or 4, depending on how many people are eating)
1/4 c. parmesan cheese
salt
tobasco

Cook for about 10 minutes, or until onions are translucent, stirring often.

Add ground beef and cook until pink is gone. Beat the eggs, add a splash of Tobasco, and pour over mixture. Cook til eggs are solid, stirring occasionally.

Top with parmesan, salt & pepper, and lots of splashes of Tobasco (if you like that kind of thing).

This wasn't the best recipe I've made, but it was alright. I paired it with sauteed zucchini (yesterday's post) and added some sliced tomatoes from the garden for a complete paleo meal. It was tasty enough, just not very exciting (until I started splashing Tobasco all over it). My son even ate a huge helping without complaining. I gave him a huge scoop, since he won't eat zucchini, and figured he'd give me a lot of trouble. But all he said was that it didn't taste like sausage and eggs, and then, to my surprise, he ate his entire helping, kale included. Apparently, he really likes kale now. Also, he thought the Tobasco bottle looked so cool that he wanted to try it, and shockingly, he splashed drops all over his and ate it all up. This is a kid who thinks the gingersnap 'oreos' I bought him were hot. So go figure. But hey, if he's not complaining, I'm not complaining!

For my son's sake, I'd call this a roaring success, even though personally, I found it a little plain without a heavy dose of Tobasco to liven it up.

Creole Tomatoes

I made this quick side dish to go with the revoltillos I posted yesterday. It was alright, but of the many tomato recipes I've tried, this one was pretty forgettable. It wasn't bad, it just wasn't anything special. Which I guess is okay for a side dish. It gave us some extra veggies and no one complained about it. If you're drowning in tomatoes, like I am, go ahead and make this. It's just not the best tomato recipe out there (so far during this challenge, that goes to the salsa).

Here's what I used:
2 tbsp. butter
1 onion
1 green bell pepper
6 medium tomatoes
dash of cayenne
1 tsp. thyme (or more if you have fresh)
salt to taste
2 tbsp. fresh parsley, for garnish

Here's what I did:

• heat butter in medium cast iron skillet
• chop onion and add to skillet
• chop pepper and add
• cook 5-10 minutes on low heat, stirring frequently
• while onions cook, core and quarter tomatoes
• when onions are translucent, add tomatoes, cayenne, thyme & salt
• cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally
• garnish with parsley 

Like I said, this wasn't the star of the show, but it did a good job filling its role. Couldn't compete with the strongly-flavored revoltillos. This needs to be served with something bland like baked chicken.

Revoltillos

I was looking through Fannie Farmer for a stove-top recipe that uses ground beef when I ran across this one. It looked really weird, but I thought I'd try it.  I made it for a dinner with my sisters, and when I told people what I was making (I pronounced it in what I imagined was the Spanish way, ray-VOL-tee-ose), my sister said, "You're making something called 'revolting o's'?" I couldn't defend it too staunchly, since frankly, the recipe did sound a little gross (Olives and raisins? Who came up with that combo?). So I let it slide when everyone called it Revoltio's all week, pronounced like Spaghetti-O's.

Since it had raisins, and sounded vaguely curryish, I used ground lamb instead of ground beef for it. I'm guessing this is a Spanish food, seeing as it has olives and bay leaves in it, but I really have no idea. I do know that it was surprisingly delicious.

Unfortunately, the pictures aren't too lovely, as I forgot my HTC phone, and my iPhone camera is worthless. So if it looks especially ugly, don't let that deter you. It's actually quite good.

Here's what I used:
1 c. brown rice
2.5 c. water
1/4 c. olive oil
3 medium onions
3 green bell peppers
3 cloves garlic
1 lb. ground lamb (Fannie calls for 2, and if I had it, or made it again, I'd use 2)
5 bay leaves
3/4 c. ripe olives
3/4 c. raisins

Directions:

• rinse rice, then add it to a sauce pan with the water, simmer on very low heat for about 40 minutes or until the water is absorbed and the rice is tender. If the water is all absorbed and the rice is still chewier than you like, add more water and cook longer.
• while rice is cooking, heat oil in large cast iron skillet with lid
• chop onions and add to skillet
• chop peppers and add to skillet
• cook about 5 minutes, or until onions are translucent, stirring often
• mince garlic, add to pan and cook about 1 minute, stirring constantly to keep it from sticking
• add ground meat and cook until browned 
• add bay leaves, olives and raisins
• cover pan and cook on low heat 15-20 minutes, stirring once or twice. If it begins to stick reduce heat or remove from heat if it's been at least 15 minutes.

I served this with creole tomatoes, which don't really go with it so well, but I have sooo many tomatoes that I wanted to make a side dish with them. Shockingly, despite the weird name and ingredients, everyone enjoyed the revoltillos. My sisters (even the picky one) said it was good, my mom, husband and brother in law all ate it, and even my son finished his plate, though he thought the meat tasted funny since he's used to ground beef. I served these with creole tomatoes, which everyone also ate without complaint, though I don't think it was a very good match for this dish.

Overall, I'd definitely call it a success.

Minestrone

Since my family is Italian, I can be pretty picky about Italian food. I have made minestrone a few times, trying to perfect it so it's just like my mom's. I finally got it perfect last summer, but I thought I'd give Fannie's version a shot anyway. It wasn't as good as my mom's, but I was pleasantly surprised that it was pretty good, since some of her recipes have come up way short. After all, no one can cook like our moms. That's the whole reason I picked this cookbook when I decided to undertake this whole learning-to-cook adventure.

Onward to my adaptation of Fannie's minestrone.

1 c. dried white beans (I used Great Northern)
4 quarts water
tsp salt

Onions in the pot with herbs.

1/4 c. olive oil
1/4 c. butter
tbsp dried parsley flakes (or handful fresh)
2 onions
1 tsp. thyme (fresh if possible)
4 tomatoes
2 carrots
8 small kale leaves
2 c chopped cabbage
2 c sliced zucchini
2 tsp dried basil (or fresh if you have it!)
1/2 c. parmesan cheese, plus extra for garnish

Optional: potatoes, green beans, pasta, corn, green peppers, celery stalks and leaves, substitute beef broth for 2-4 c. of water

After addition of pureed beans.

• Soak the beans about 8 hrs (longer is fine) in 1 quart water. You can soak them overnight, or, if you know you're making this for dinner, put them in the water first thing in the morning, and they'll be soaked by the time you're ready to make dinner. 
• Drain water from beans once soaked, add 2 quarts of water and cook in a pot with a lid for about 1-1.5 hrs or until soft.
• When beans are done, add olive oil and butter to a large pot (do not overheat--oil should not smoke)
• Chop onions and add them to pot along with parsley and thyme
• Stir onions frequently for about 2 minutes
• Between stirring, pour beans and their liquid into a blender or food processor and process until smooth. Add to the pot.
• Chop carrots and add to pot
• Chop kale and add to pot. If you don't have kale, you can use any kind of greens. Fannie calls for Swiss chard. You could use spinach, etc, just make sure you adjust cooking times. Spinach or Swiss chard should go in after all the vegetables, since they take very little time to cook. I used kale, adding it here because it takes a while to cook.
• Chop tomatoes and add to pot
• Cover and simmer 15 minutes
• Add zucchini, cabbage and 1 quart water (or beef broth). I just used water. I had blanched my cabbage earlier this summer, so I used that. It cooled the pan down a lot, since it was still frozen, so I waited until the soup began to simmer again before starting the timer.
• Cook for 20 more minutes
• Add basil and 1/2 c. parmesan, stir and adjust seasonings. I added some oregano at this point, along with the basil, and some more salt. 
• Garnish with  more parmesan.

This looks all complicated from the long set of directions, but it's really not. It's time consuming to chop all those veggies, but it's not stressful if you don't worry about adding everything at once. I tried to add each thing in order, then go on with chopping the next thing and adding it as I went. It turned out pretty well, though I realized when it was almost done that I didn't have any parmesan. It was much better as leftovers when I added parmesan. But when I made it, I just garnished with regular grated cheese. It wasn't as good without parmesan.

Simmering in the pot.

Still, it was really good despite the fact that unlike my mom's, it doesn't have potatoes, noodles, garbanzos, or green beans. Since I don't have any of those things, it worked out well. It's the flavor that really makes it minestrone, and this one has it, at least more so than any restaurant minestrone I've had. So I'd say it's a success. I'd make it again for sure, especially if I didn't have a recipe for minestrone already. And I think next time I make it like my mom's, I'm going to change up the beans and do them as Fannie does. I really liked the thickness they added to the broth.

Okra, Tomato and Corn Saute

This is a really tasty vegetable side dish. It would go great with just about any meat dish, but I'd probably pair it with pork or beef and cornbread, or something similar.

This was another recipe I cut in half, approximately, just because I didn't want to end up with a whole bunch of veggies in containers in the fridge. Fannie says the whole serves six, so this was just right for 3.

You will need (to
serve 3):
1 tbsp. butter
1 small onion
1 small green pepper
1/2 lb okra
1 medium tomato
1/2 c. corn kernels
pinch of fresh oregano (dried if you don't have fresh)
salt & pepper to taste

Melt butter in cast iron skillet. Add onions and peppers, finely chopped. Cook 3-4 minutes, stirring often.

Add okra, cut in 1/2 inch pieces, and cook for 2 minutes, stirring often.

Add tomato, chopped, along with corn and oregano. Cover and cook 10 mins over low heat.

 Add salt and pepper to taste and enjoy. This was so good. All the flavors blended really well, and you can alter the amounts of any of the veggies according to what you have.