Boxcar Kitchen

a big dinner from small onions

Wednesday, February 25 2009

A trio to celebrate ours

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Well, it certainly has been awhile. I swear, I really I have been cooking - and eating for that matter. But free time has been spare and I've had quite a few fish to fry. Between work and getting ready for the addition of the "Bean", I just didn't have the energy to produce anything that I thought worth sharing. But now that Bean is here and his internship in "learning to sleep through the night or the better part of it" is nearing its end, I've got a little more time and energy. Still, everything I make is really simple. Basically, if I can't whip it up during nap time or it takes more than 20 minutes to get it from the fridge to the plate, I'm not going to bother.

Fennel, in all its forms, has been a diet staple since bringing Bean home. I was betting on its calming properties to help sooth the little man's colic. The colic was short lived but not the vegetable! Fennel was always one of those things that I love and enjoyed but never prepared. Now, most of the time I just chop it up, throw it in a pot with a big hunk of butter, let it get all brown and caramelized, and then cook it down his a little bit of water until it was melt in your mouth tender. Its warm and comforting and a nice change of pace from all the winter root vegetables we've been eating. Delicious - caramel and anise - almost like dessert for dinner.

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Thursday, June 14 2007

This spinach never gets old

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Lately, I've been getting a little overwhelmed by all the food that seems to be invading my kitchen. I envy those people who can bake and cook to their hearts content and then load everything off on their families. I always seem to be left with enough food feed 10 armies when there is only just the two of us. And since I'm not the one leaving the house every morning to go to work and I feel very guilty throwing things away, I tend to be the one making the real sacrifices by polishing off whatever seems to be left over from the previous day’s baking adventure. I've tried to cut serves 6 to 8 down to serves 2 but it is honestly a major pain in the butt. I started doing a lot more individual portions which helps but in the end it just saves me the effort of cutting another slice. I try to give things away as often as possible but I somehow still always find myself faced with the same problem.

My new resolution is totally radical. I'm going to try to (gulp) make healthy food and maybe (dare I even attempt to say it) make fewer yes, FEWER baked goods. As a result, I've been going crazy with salads lately. They are perfect for dinner especially when you considering that we don’t usually sit down to eat until 9pm.

I have been non-stop craving this particular spinach salad for the last three months or so. It is a staple on my mental weekly menu list. Somehow the mix of baby spinach, grilled vegetables and cheese never gets old and always hits the spot. Sometimes, when I have it on hand and need something more than just veggies, I add warm orzo. This last time, I changed things up and added some bulgur which seems to be quite the trend these days.

Now I'm off to attempt two single serving rhubarb clafoutis with as few eggs and as little cream as possible. We'll see how that goes... Oops, that's a baked good isn't it?

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