Day 105: Black Beans, Spinach, Tomatoes & Onions over Polenta

This was a dinner from the cupboard. We had a roll of packaged polenta on hand, as well as some canned black beans and canned tomatoes. We almost always have onions on hand and usually fresh baby spinach - so I made all that into a quick supper.

Sauteed the onions with some garlic in a little oil (isn't that how every supper recipe begins?).Added the tomatoes and spinach - cooked down the spinach, then added the black beans and a little chili powder.

I sliced the polenta and browned it in a littl olive oil. Then placed it on a platter and topped it with some grated cheddar cheese (about 1 cup) - you could also use pepper jack, or muenster.

Then topped the polenta and cheese with the bean and vegetable mixture

We had this with a salad of Romaine, red onions, red grapes, and pecans.

Day 104: Ziti, Broccolli, Chick Peas & Feta

Quick supper

1/2 lb Ziti cooked as per package directions.

2 stalks broccoli, cut into florets, steamed 3 minutes

1 can chic peas, rinsed and drained

1 cup crumbled feta cheese

6-8 sun dried tomato halves, sliced thinly

A handful of Calamata olives, quartered

Mix everything together with the hot pasta and some pasta water over low heat until heated through.

Day 103: Pasta with Cauliflower, White Beans & Ricotta

I started with this recipe.

http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2011/03/pasta-with-roasted-cauliflower-chickpeas-ricotta-recipe.html?source=thekitchn

I had never roasted chic peas before, but it worked out fine. Roasted the chic peas with the cauliflower and some olive oil (I cut the oil to 2 tblsp ) at 450 about 25 minutes - stirring several times - until the cauliflower was browned. Baked the bread cubes on a separate baking sheet for 5 minutes at the same temperature. I cooked the shells in boiling water and when they were done, mixed them with the roasted cauliflower and chic peas, some pasta water, and about 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley (fresh parsley gives such a wonderful flavor). I set out the croutons, grated Parmesan cheese and ricotta and let everyone top their own pasta. This was wonderful - I will certainly make this dish again.

Day 102: Soft Tacos with Black Beans and Spinach

Fresh vegetables on hand were spinach and zucchini. so I sliced an onion, diced a clove of garlic and started that in some olive oil, then added the zucchini, when they were getting soft and beginning to brown added the spinach and cooked until it was wilted, then threw in a can of rinsed and drained black beans. a dash of cumin and a dash of coriander, some salt & pepper and let that cook until everything was heated through.

I warmed some flour tortillas in the microwave, grated some cheddar cheese and set out some salsa.

Everyone made their own soft tacos.

Day 101:Leftovers and such

S. was out to a birthday dinner for a friend. L. had my leftover rollatini from Uncle Sal's. I had a Morningstar Farms Veggie burger with a slice of cheddar cheese and some romaine lettuce on a lovely herb filled roll I brought home from Uncle Sal's.

Day 100: Dinner out

Whew, a long and tiring day. I started the morning off opening the pharmacy at the hospital at 7:30 am, unexpectedly, filling in for a sick colleague. I left there at 9:45 and headed off to play my Tomato song and My Father's Garden at a Unitarian Universalist Fellowship service on the topic of ethical eating. At eleven, I headed over to a rehearsal for a forty-five minute program of Hebrew and Yiddish songs I am doing with two friends on March 7, then home for a quick lunch and on to a second rehearsal for the coffee house on March 5th. By the time I got home from there, I was pretty wiped out. We headed off to Enzo's - but Enzo's was closed for their grandpa's 77th birthday, so we continued on to Uncle Sal's where I had eggplant rollatini and L. had pasta with salmon and asparagus.

Day 97: Dinner at Work

L. came in to have dinner with me, as usual. We had a catered luncheon in the department and there were leftovers for dinner! Pasta with zucchini, broccoli, & red peppers, eggplant Parmesan, and a lovely salad with fresh mozzarella, roasted peppers and pignoli, from Mama's in Hackettstown.