Tag Archives: Recipes

The eliminated contestants

During the many months I thought about starting a blog, I took pictures of and took notes on everything I made, thinking I could use them to slam out recipe posts one after the other. My plan was to load up an arsenal so that I could become some kind of blogging/cooking machine. A triumphant warlord of the internet, type of thing. I also reasoned that the more of a backlog I built, the less stressed the future blog could potentially make me. It was a good plan. I smiled benevolently on my carefully planned life trajectory.

Then I encountered a hitch in the plan, and grimaced horribly: the recipes weren’t good enough. They were certainly acceptable for a weeknight dinner, but I had no plans to make any of them again. Except for maybe the peppercorn thingy, but I’m still thinking about that one.

Let’s be honest: the internet is already swamped with cookery information, and I did not want to add any second-rate recipes to the ranks. Who wants a so-so recipe when they have millions of choices at the click of a mouse? The mere thought that I could be the culprit of someone’s mediocre dining experience practically put me into a rabid fit (frothing at the mouth, frothing at the eyes, biting innocent people and whatnot). 

Measures needed to be taken fast, so I did the only thing I could, and I dropped ‘em like a hot potater. “Chalk it up to experience,” I said to myself, “takes one to know one. Don’t take no wooden nickels. Better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.” With these words of wisdom, I knew: it was all going to be OK.

Here is a little collage of the meals that were violently severed from the line-up. Sorry girls–you were beautiful, but not tasty enough. Now wave politely, and say your goodbyes:

 

Onion/Tomato/Egg Fried Rice: “I’d just like to thank everyone for letting me appear briefly on this blog, and if you allow me one more chance to prove myself …”

I don’t think so, Onion/Tomato/Egg Fried Rice, since our relationship was just one big letdown. It’s best if we both move on and pursue our separate dreams.

Goodbye braised lamb . . . goodbye Mexican rice . . . goodbye peanuty beef and basil thingy . . . goodbye strawberry clafoutis . . . I wish you all well, and I bear you no hard feelings . . .

As the recipes file out for their last hurrah, I’d like to announce that tomorrow I will be posting the one old favorite that I adore so much I make it about once a week. It’s a stand in for desperate times when the refrigerator is empty, or when the thought of chopping and frying and braising makes me want to go hibernate for a month. In other words, it’s not actually a real recipe. Hence its continued success in my life. Will you love it? Will you hate it? Weigh in tomorrow with your feedback. I embrace all comments as equal–it’s part of my loving nature. But if you hate it–break it to me gently, OK?

Mush

This dish . . . well, I can’t tell you exactly how it came about, but it’s been evolving during our 5 years of marriage into the glorious thing it is today. It could be called “simple stovetop ratatouille” for those of you who might feel guilty serving something called “mush” to your unsuspecting families. This recipe serves 2 very hungry adults—but it’s easy to multiply the quantities.

Ingredients

(2 servings)

1 TBS butter

1 TBS olive oil

2-3 medium zucchini, chopped into cubes

1 pint of cherry or grape tomatoes, halved

6-10 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 to 3/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

1 TBS olive oil/butter to fry the eggs

4 eggs

Serve with steamed white rice

Optional: blue cheese crumbles

First, put your rice on—I use my trusty rice cooker. Dice your zucchini, garlic, and tomatoes. Don’t fear the garlic—I like this dish as garlicky as I can get it.

Smash that garlic!

I used to use the flat of my knife to crush the garlic cloves, which almost cost me a severed hand once. Then, I read The Pioneer Woman, and she set me straight. Smash the cloves violently with a can! The papery skins come right off:

 

Heat the olive oil and butter together in a skillet. Once the butter has melted, add your zucchini.

Cook on high for 6-7 minutes, until the zucchini pieces are starting to get golden.

Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Add your garlic and halved tomatoes, and lower the heat to medium.

Let it cook away for a while, about 12 minutes, stirring occasionally until it becomes mushy and delicious (but not too liquidy).

Still too liquidy

When you drag the spatula across the pan, it should leave a space instead of immediately filling with liquid.

The "dragging the spatula" test

When the mush is about done, heat some butter or olive oil in another non-stick skillet and add your eggs. We like to do 2 per person, overeasy. If you’re averse to dirtying another pan (as I sometimes am) you can push the veggies to the side of the mush pan, add your butter/oil to the center, and cook your eggs in the center of the mush.

Serve up individual bowls: start with a nice pile of rice, add a layer of veggies, and slap the eggs on top. If you like your food to look pretty, construct a little arrangement like this:

Sans eggs ...

But if you’re like me, that neat little pile will soon become this (don’t be frightened):

.. and with eggs in a mushily delightful pile!

Have a bite, and you'll be enslaved to mush for the rest of your natural days

If you’re a blue cheese addict like I am, some crumbles on top are never amiss.

I swoon over this bowl of delights every time. It’s so good that it’s what I requested my husband to make for my birthday dinner this year. Just don’t skimp on the garlic! If you do, disappointment and despair will pursue you to the end of your days. (not really) (then again, who can fathom the consequences of garlic-skimping?)

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