We've been busy, or it feels like it, but when I try to catalog what we've been doing I am at a loss. This past weekend Emily dressed up like Pippi Longstocking to hand out candy with the library float in the parade. It was a fun costume to do; the kids were supposed to choose literary characters to dress up as. Pippi seemed easy enough to me, second choice would have been Heidi (OK, they're favourites of mine, but I had to put the costume together!)
In any case the weekend slipped away, and I never made time to write and document Emily's cooking. It was more important to spend a few hours visiting with my son, and to spend Sunday at my mom's. So you, lucky reader, get two recipes today.
One afternoon last week Emily texted me a picture at work with the caption "Supper tonight?" I couldn't make out the recipe at all, and had chicken thawed out, so I told her I'd look at it when I got home and consider it for the following day.
The recipe was for ratatouille, but not with eggplant. I have to admit I've never tried eggplant, much less cooked it, so I would have tried to dissuade her - it is hard to teach what you do not know. As it turned out the recipe called for yellow zucchini, and sounded very nice.
We eliminated the green pepper, replacing it with roasted red peppers in the can of diced tomatoes. I also had her halve the recipe. Not only did we not need a 9x13, 16 serving pan of ratatouille, but it was good math practice.
Emily sliced the zucchini and chopped the onion, putting the dish together with no help from me, although I should have helped her make sure all the mixture found its way into the baking dish.
She grilled a couple of steaks and made a simple salad to round out the meal. The canned tomatoes we chose had spicy red peppers, so the ratatouille had a nice bite to it. There are so many varieties of seasoned tomatoes this dish could easily be customized.
Ratatouille Stuffing Bake
1 tablespoon olive oil 1 can (28 oz/796 ml) diced tomatoes, undrained
2 yellow zucchini, sliced 1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh basil
2 green peppers, chopped 2 packages stuffing mix
1 small onion, chopped 1 cup shredded cheese (Italian blend)
3 cloves garlic, minced
Preheat the oven to 350F.
Heat the oil in a large skillet. Add the zucchini, onions & peppers, cook 6 minutes, until tender crisp. Stir in garlic, cook 1 minute. Add tomatoes & basil, heat through, stirring occasionally.
Stir in stuffing mix, spoon into a greased 9x13" baking dish, top with cheese & cover. Bake 3 minutes, until heated through, uncovering for last 5 minutes.
*Substitute yellow peppers for the green & green zucchini for yellow.
On Sunday, when we got back from my mom's Emily brought me a recipe for hotdogs topped with beans & barbecue sauce. They looked like a fun summer treat, but I had to ask her if she would actually eat them, given that she doesn't like beans. She perused the recipe again and started looking for something else. This morning, with the weather report promising another cool day with rain I suggested potato leek soup. I've made this recipe often, it's fast and easy, and really good. I dug it out and the choice was made.
I stopped for leeks on the way home, and once the rest of the groceries were stored away showed her how to trim leeks and cut them most of the way to the root & clean out all the sand. She sliced them and an onion, setting them over low heat to sweat while she peeled and diced potatoes. She added the potatoes to the onions and leeks along with chicken stock and thyme (I never have chervil or bay leaves) and brought the mixture to a boil. Once the potatoes were done Emily got to use my hand blender, a toy she loves to play with. The soup was rich and creamy, and a sprinkling of grated cheese just made it better.
Potage Parmentier (Potato Leek Soup)
2 tablespoons butter 6 cups warm chicken stock
2 sliced leeks, white part only 1/2 teaspoon each thyme & chervil
1 Spanish onion, sliced 2 bay leaves
1 1/2 pounds (4 large) potatoes, 2 teaspoons fresh chopped parsley
peeled & diced salt & pepper to taste
Melt butter in a large saucepan. Add the leeks & onion & cover. Cook for 15 minutes over low heat; stir occasionally.
Add the potatoes, stock & herbs, Season with salt & pepper. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium & simmer the soup for 40 minutes, uncovered, stir occasionally.
Correct the seasonings and puree the soup. If it is too thick stir in a little more chicken stock.
Before serving stir in 2 tablespoons cream & fresh parsley.
