Ricotta Torta with Beet Greens and Spinach

Made the Torta from a modified Weight Watcher's Recipe

Ingredients:

1/4 cup plain bread crumbs

2 tsp olive oil

2 small red onions, chopped

1 bunch of beet greens, chopped

1 small bunch spinach, chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 16 oz container part-skim ricotta cheese (I buy Sorrento because it has no additives or thickeners)

1 egg, lightly beaten

salt & freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees F

Spray a 9" springform pan with olive oil cooking spray and sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of breadcrumbs

heat the oil in a large skillet, cook onions, stirring about 5 min until softened

stir in greens and garlic and cook until greens are wilted

while greens are cooking, combine ricotta, egg, salt pepper, and remaining breadcrumbs in a bowl, stir in the onion/greens mixture, then spoon into the prepared pan

bake until puffed and golden - about 45 minutes

It will puff up, then sink as it cools.

Served this with a Corn Salad from an Ina Garten recipe

 http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/fresh-corn-salad-recipe/index.html

 I used purple and green basil.

Day 27: Potato, Zuchinni, & Feta Latkes

It is the fifth night of Hanukkah and I have not fried anything in oil yet. I made something I will call Latkes with a Greek Twist - or Twisted Greek Latkes.

2 potatoes
1 onion
2 small/medium zucchinis
2 eggs
2 tablespoons flour
salt & pepper, oregano, basil
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
olive oil

Grate the vegetables together - always put onions and potatoes together in the food processor chute to keep the potatoes from turning that ugly grey/brown color. Squeeze out the excess liquid.  Beat the eggs, then mix them into the vegetables with the flour and seasonings, then add the cheese and mix that in. Heat a heavy pan, coat with thin layer of oil, drop tablespoons of batter - keep the latkes small so they cook through. Cook until brown on both sides. Keep warm in the oven until you eat them. These are a little soft - as opposed to crunchy - because of the zucchini and the feta - but very good.

To go with the Twisted Greek Latkes:
Chick Pea Salad (1 can chick peas, 1 cup halved cherry tomatoes, 1 cup chopped celery, 1/2 c chopped flat leaf parsley, S&P, 2 tsp EV Olive oil, some balsamic vinegar)
Braised Red Cabbage with apples and onions from the freezer (prepared and frozen in August)
Apple and Cranberry Chutney from Thanksgiving

Day 24: Pasta with Cauliflower, Kale & Onions

It was the second Night of Hanukkah and I was scheduled to work from 2:30 until 10 pm. My husband usually stops by the hospital on his way home from work (and the gym) and has dinner with me. Now, Hanukkah is a minor festival - but it is a holiday, and we we ate out on the first night,so I wanted to have something a little more special than cafeteria food. There are still lots of veggies left from the last CSA share of the season, luckily they are winter vegetables and they keep well. I decided to use a head of cauliflower, a bunch of kale and some onions - that looked kind of like this










The list that came with the CSA share says they are pearl onions, but they look like spring onions or bulb onions to me. In any case, I halved a bunch of them (quartered a couple that were larger) and put them in a pan with some EV olive oil to cook for a few minutes while I washed the cauliflower and broke it into florets. I added the cauliflower to the pan and let that cook while I re-washed a bunch of Kale and chopped that up. After the cauliflower began to soften a bit, I added the Kale. I re-hydrated a handful of sun-dried tomatoes and sliced them up, and quartered a handful of Kalamata olives. I added those to the pan, along with a little dried basil and oregano and some salt and pepper. I let this cook while I boiled a pot of water and cooked some orichette pasta (just short of al dente). I transferred the pasta to the pan with the vegetables using a slotted spoon. I added about a cup of the pasta cooking water and simmered everything together until the pasta was done. Then, I added about a cup of crumbled Feta cheese and  about 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese and tossed. I packed two portions of that pasta up and took it to work. I re-heated it when we were ready for dinner and it was pretty fabulous.

Day 20: Lentils and Rice

I had to work from 2:30 to 10 pm and the hospital cafeteria is not open on Sunday night. I left the family to their own devices (there were still Thanksgiving leftovers in the refrigerator) and made myself a quick supper to take with me from leftovers that didn't make it onto the Thanksgiving table. I had some extra lentils and rice from the stuffing I prepared for the Portobello Mushrooms on Friday and some chopped tomatoes from the Autumn Vegetable Soup preparations ( I chopped what the recipe called for, but it seemed like too many tomatoes for the perfect balance of that lovely soup - I have been making it for years  and I know how I like it, so I left some out). I mixed some lentils with some rice and the chopped tomatoes in a glass bowl. I added some chopped arugula from the CSA share and some dried basil, and oregano, salt and pepper. I grated some Parmesan cheese and packed that separately. When it was time for dinner, I heated the lentil mixture in the microwave and mixed in the cheese. That is my idea of a perfect dinner.