peppers, cabbage, and plantains

Reggie and I love to cook. We cook "real" dinners (ie- not frozen, from a box or can) most meals of the week. But lately we've been stuck in a rut. Boring meals chosen based on vegetable percentage and speed of production. Lots of lasagna, fish tacos, blah blah blah. In keeping with our new year's- lets call it a plan- we decided to hit the cookbooks again to find some new old favorites (as Reg puts it). I tend to get busy with school (shocking) and want to just come home and re-heat as much as possible, so we always try to cook something that will last a few meals- or at least lunch the next day. There are few things I love more than when we cook together, open a bottle of wine, and dinner lasts 3 hours, as it did this week. No TV, no phone, no distractions.

This week we tried 3 new recipes. For any of you who love to cook but can't do it alone- may I recommend the Food & Wine cookbooks. These books are amazing. Color photos (ooooohhh!), wine pairings, easy directions- makes ya feel like you have some talent in the kitchen, even when clearly, you don't.

Here's what we tried:

1- stuffed yellow and green peppers. These were excellent and filling enough to be a meal. They were stuffed with chard, quinoa (supposed to be rice, but we wanted the protein), onion, tomatoes, currants and tons of spices, then baked in vegetable broth. A bit too spicy for me (anything above boiled potatoes is too spicy for me!) but Reg loved it and we can fix this for next time.

2- napa cabbage salad with sesame tofu. In college, I had a friend who lived in the east side of midtown manhattan, around the corner from California Pizza Kitchen. We used to frequent "CPK" and I always ordered an oriental chicken salad much like this one, so I wanted to see if I could make it on my own. I later broke up with said friend in an email- only a step above a post-it, I realize. So if this salad became a success, well, all was not for nothing, right? I've also never successfully cooked tofu- so this was exciting for me (I need to get out more, I know). The cabbage salad was very simple- chopped cabbage, scallions, shallots, cilantro, with a dressing of oil, soy sauce, sugar, with toasted almonds on top. I fried the tofu and covered it in a honey, sesame oil, soy-sauce mixture and topped with sesame seeds. Other than the oil smoking up the entire house (why? too hot? I still smell like sesame oil- not necessarily a bad thing), it went well. Reg had to have 3 helpings before he considered himself sufficiently satiated, but I still think reviews were high.




3- mashed plantains and lamb sausage. This was the island dish of the week (there is usually one!) The plantains are made with rum, naturally. The lamb sausage we bought pre-made from whole foods. Hey, I can't do everything!

Of course, our efforts will be made completely null tonight when we go to the Pittsburgh casino with my mother, and partake in the buffet. Not a fan of buffets for obvious reasons. Definitely a fan of blue collar casinos where you can only play slots- YES! If any of you reading (if anyone reads!) were lucky enough to attended the Great Atlantic City Vacation of Summer 2003 (special lady, anyone?) you will understand where this joy comes from. blue hair, free watery drinks, and penny slots= HEAVEN! watch out if you ever hit the Levittown casino with Irene- she's a killer!

Next week we will be attempting mashed winter squash with indian spices and some sort of poultry, tilapia with mango-cucumber relish (the island-themed dish for the premier of the FINAL SEASON of LOST! again, yes, I need to get out more, I got it), and shrimp with corn & goat-cheese grits (a taste of high-brow & low-brow). We are going to do an "adventure" at the local farmer's market on Saturday. By adventure I mean get up before 6am, throw on winter gear (cause it will be less than 20 degrees) race to the market, buy some meat and veggies, meet some farmers, then race back home and get back into bed to start the day over again in a few hours!
I'll let you know how it goes! And if you don't care- Im sorry, and feel free to take a reading break :-). This blog will help hold me to these culinary goals. For my cooking-phobic friends (Tingley- I read your blog, do not despair- YOU CAN DO MORE THAN BAKED CHICKEN WITH PEAS!!) let's inspire eachother!

happy eating
a&r