Mashed Potatoes with sauteed onions and greens

This is a great comfort food sort of a dish. It's easy to prepare and came in at under half an hour prep time, which is nice. I purposely left out "turnips" in the title because I thought I didn't like turnips, but it turns out that they blend very nicely into this dish and they were quite tasty. Deborah Madison says that this can also be a summer dish, especially when farmers markets have sweet little turnips with their greens. The dish uses the turnip greens, but I made it with chard since the turnips I bought didn't have the greens attached. She recommended broccoli rabe in place of the turnip greens, but I couldn't find those either. I think most any greens will do.

Here's how to get started

Peel 4 russet potatoes (about 2 pounds) and cut them into chunks. Peel 3/4 pound turnips (8 to 10 small ones or a few larger ones.) Put them in a pot, cover with cold water, add 2 t. salt and 1 thyme sprig. Bring to a boil and cook uncovered for 20 - 25 minutes.

While those are cooking, slice 2 onions and saute them in 1 T. butter plus 2 t. olive oil (or whatever combination you like.) Cook over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until golden and tender - about 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

While that is cooking, wash and trim the greens. Cook in boiling salted water until tender, about 8 minutes. Drain and add the greens to the pan with the onions.

When the potatoes and turnips are done, scoop them out of the pot into a bowl. Mix in 3 ounces of goat cheese and some butter to taste (I used 2 T.). Add salt and pepper to taste.

To serve, mound the mashed veggies on a platter, and smother it with the onions and greens.

Cost to Prepare

2 pounds potatoes - $1.00

3/4 pound turnips - $2.00

3 oz. goat cheese - $4.50

2 onions - $1.50

turnip greens - free if you buy them attached to the turnips OR

chard or other greens - $2.50

salt, pepper, butter, oil, 1 thyme sprig - negligible

TOTAL for 4 people - $11.50

I actually didn't use all the goat cheese, so that made the dish less expensive.

Brown rice and mushroom "burgers"

One night while the kids were here visiting, we decided to have burgers for dinner. They made their own meat version, and I made these vegetarian patties for George and me. They are so much better than any veggie burger I've bought at the store. This recipe could also be formed into a loaf and sliced into sandwich shaped slices and frozen for future burger nights. This recipe is also used as the filling material for "Cabbage Parcels with Sweet-and-sour Sauce". I made that a couple nights later and was actually disappointed that I didn't have any more of the filling material left to just cook up and eat when I felt hungry. It's really yummy.

I made the recipe while up at Lake Tahoe, and I didn't have a food processor, so I just chopped it up after it was cooked. It didn't stick together in burgers very well. I'd like to try it again and see how much difference the food processor makes.

Ok, Let's Get Started

• You'll need to start out with 1 cup cooked brown rice. It's great to use leftover rice, but if you need to cook the rice, get it going first. Brown rice usually takes about 45 minutes to cook.
• Grate 1/2 cup cheddar cheese. Have 1/2 cup bread crumbs and 1 egg standing by for later.
• Chop an onion into fairly small dice. Have 1 t. dried sage leaves and 2 pinches of thyme standing by. (I used fresh sage and fresh thyme.)
• Heat 1 T. olive oil in a medium skillet. Add the onion and crumble the herbs on top. Cook over high heat stirring frequently, about 4 minutes.
• While that is cooking, chop 1/2 pound of mushrooms, 1/2 cup of cashews, and 1/2 cup of pecans.
• Add the mushrooms and nuts and cook, stirring frequently. The mushrooms will release their juices and then they will reabsorb back into the dish.
• Stir in 1 teaspoon tamari (or soy sauce if you don't have tamari). Season with 1/2 t. salt and pepper to taste.
• Transfer this mixture to a food processor. Add 1 cup cooked rice, 1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese, 1 egg, and 1/2 cup bread crumbs.
• Pulse this mixture in the food processor until it resembles ground meat.
• Fry a dab in some olive oil to check the seasonings and correct them if needed.
• Fry up your veggie burgers by scooping 1/2 cup measures into a heated skillet coated with oil. Press down on the mixture with a spatula so that the patties are about 1/2 inch thick. Fry over medium heat until brown, 4 to 5 minutes, then turn and cook the second side.
• Serve with buns and burger fixings.

Things I'd Do Differently Next Time

I'd use a food processor to get the texture right. Even though I just chopped it all up really fine with a knife, it didn't alter the taste, and they were delicious. I'd make a whole batch of this and freeze the leftovers in pre-formed patties for later use. I might also try cooking the whole batch in a loaf pan, slicing it and freezing it to have individual patties that could be used for quick weeknight "burgers".

Cost to Prepare

1/2 cup brown rice (to make one cup cooked) - $.25

1 large onion - $.50

1 t. dried sage, 2 pinches dried thyme - negligible

1/2 pound mushrooms - $2.50 (for cremini in bulk)

1/2 cup cashews - $2.00

1/2 cup pecans - $1.50

tamari, salt, pepper - negligible

1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese - $1.00

1 egg - $.50 (less if you buy conventional eggs)

1/2 cup bread crumbs - $.25

TOTAL - $8.50

This made enough for 2 burgers, plus filling for the Sweet and Sour Cabbage Parcels which I made later. If you used this just for veggie burgers it would make about 6 or 7 of them.

Onion and Rosemary Tart

I served this dish at a potluck where it received rave reviews. I think its success is due in part to the use of sweet onions. This dish is quite easy, except for the hassle of making the pastry. I skipped a few steps and it turned out great. I'll tell you how I did it, and how it was supposed to be done.

I'm not exactly clear what makes something a tart rather than a quiche, but I think it may be the use of a tart pan which is shallow and has scalloped edges, such as the one shown in the picture. My tart pan has a removable bottom, so you can remove the sides of the pan and serve the tart with just the crust showing, which is much prettier than including the pan in your presentation.

To make a tart shell according to the recipe you have to make the dough, let it chill in the refrigerator for 15-30 minutes, roll it out and put it in the tart pan, freeze it for half an hour or more, pre-bake it, take it out of the oven and fill it with your filling, and then bake. If you started early in the day or made your shell ahead of time, that would be fine. I didn't have time for all that so I let it chill for about 5 minutes, didn't bother freezing it, and pre-baked it while preparing the filling. It turned out great and saved some time. You could also use a store-bought pie crust and save a lot of time, but increase your cost for the dish. The homemade crust uses half all-purpose flour, and half whole-wheat pastry flour, which makes it better for you than a store-bought crust. Even if you use store-bought, I think you would still need to pre-bake it so that it doesn't get soggy when you add the wet ingredients.

It may sound a little strange to make a quiche-like filling out of just onions and rosemary, but it is absolutely delicious and very simple.

To get started

• Prepare the tart shell: In a food processor, combine 1/2 cup all purpose flour, 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour, and 3/4 t. salt. Pulse just to combine. Add 5 T. cold butter, cut into small pieces. Pulse until the mixture resembles course meal. Add 3 T. sour cream. Pulse again. Add 1 T. ice water and pulse again. The mixture should be moist and crumbly. Turn the mixture out onto a board, gather it into a ball, then flatten it into a disk. Refrigerate for 15 minutes.

• While the dough is chilling, melt 2 teaspoons butter in a dutch oven or large skillet over medium heat. Quarter 4 small or 3 medium onions, and then slice them thinly crosswise. Add the onions to the butter, add a pinch of salt, stir and cover. Cook the onions until soft and pale golden, about half an hour, stirring occasionally.

• Mince 2 teaspoons fresh rosemary and set aside.
• Preheat the oven to 425º

• Flour a work surface. Roll out the dough into a 10 inch circle. Drape it over your rolling pin and settle it into the tart pan. (No need to grease the pan.) Using your fingers, shape the dough on the sides of the pan and try to make it uniformly about 1/4 inch thick. Remove any excess dough. Bake at 425 for about 20 minutes. When you take the pre-baked shell out of the oven, lower the heat to 350º.
• When the onions are soft, add the rosemary and several grinds of fresh pepper. Taste the onions, and add salt as needed. I also raised the heat a little and cooked the onions for an extra 5 or 10 minutes to cook off some of the liquid.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together 2 eggs and 1 cup fromage blanc. (This is a non-fat french cheese. It was ridiculously expensive at my store, so I used creme fraiche instead which was absolutely delicious.) Add a little salt and pepper.
• Pour the onions into the egg-cheese mixture. Combine and put in the prepared tart shell.
• Bake at 350º for 30 minutes.

I had some leftover onion filling mixture, so I put it in buttered ramekins and baked it along with the tart.

Cost to prepare tart shell

1/2 cup all purpose flour - $.40

1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour - $.50

5 T. butter - .40

3 T. sour cream - $.20

TOTAL - $1.50 (maybe less)

Cost to prepare filling

3 medium sweet onions - $1.50

fresh rosemary - free from your garden (steal some from a neighbor if you don't have any)

2 eggs - $.50

1 cup fromage blanc or creme fraiche - $4.00 (more for fromage blanc)

salt and pepper - negligible

TOTAL - $6.00

Total cost for dish - $6.85, Serves 6

A light, crisp Sauvignon Blanc would go nicely with this dish.

Chard and Onion Torta

This is an extremely tasty dish and not too difficult to make. It does have to bake for 30 minutes, but the prep time is about half an hour and then you can relax. The saffron in this dish really adds a lot of flavor. This is a great way to use the chard that is in season right now.

Start by preheating the oven to 350 and buttering a baking dish. Cut the crusts off 2 slices of bread and put the bread in a food processor to make bread crumbs. Press the crumbs into the buttered dish to make a crust for the torta. Set aside any extra crumbs.

Heat 2 T. butter in a skillet and add 1 large, thinly sliced onion. Crumble 2 pinches of saffrom threads over the onion. Cook until onion is very soft, about 15 minutes. Add a little water or wine to the pan to keep it from crisping, if needed.

Add 1/4 cup slivered basil leaves, 1 teaspoon thyme leaves (or 2 pinches dried thyme), and 2 big bunches of chard leaves that have been separated from the stems and cut into 1 inch pieces. Cook until the chard has wilted and is tender, about 7 minutes. While that's cooking, smash 2 garlic cloves in a mortar with a pinch of salt to make a paste. Add the garlic and some salt and pepper to taste to the onions and greens. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and stir in any extra bread crumbs. Add 1 cup grated gruyere cheese, 1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan, 3 lightly beaten eggs, and 1 cup milk or light cream. Stir until just combined.

Pour the filling into the prepared dish, grate a little extra parmesan over the top, and bake until golden, about 30 minutes. Poke a knife in the top to make sure the eggs are set. Let rest a couple minutes before serving.

Approximate cost to prepare:

2 slices bread - $.60

1 large onion - $.40

1/4 cup slivered basil - $.50 (?)

2 bunches chard - $5.00

2 garlic cloves - $.40

1 cup gruyere - $2.00

1/4 cup parmesan - $.25

3 eggs - $1.50

1 cup milk - $.50

saffron - ??

mint, garlic, salt, oil - negligible

TOTAL - $11.00 for 4-6 people

Good potluck dish.

Lentils and Shells with Cilantro-Scented Onions and Spinach

This was a really unexpected and unusual direction to take lentils and pasta. It runs a little more along the mexican flavor spectrum than the italian, featuring lime, cumin, cilantro, and mint. It's easy and delicious. You don't need anything else with it except a nice spicy wine and maybe some bread. I used the french green lentils with this and it really had a lovely color and visual appeal. Plain brown lentils would be a little too drab.

Here's what you do:

Rinse 1 cup green lentils, and simmer them in 6 cups water, along with 1 bay leaf, 1 celery rib, and 2 thyme sprigs. (You'll want to remove the aromatics later, so you can tie them together if you want.) Let them cook until very soft but not mushy, about 35 minutes.

While they're cooking, start water boiling for the pasta. Wash and trim 1 bunch spinach. Slice 2 large onions. Chop 1 cup cilantro and 3 T. mint. Heat 2 T. olive oil or butter (or a mixture). Add the onions and cook until golden, about 20 minutes. Stir in cilantro, mint, 1/2 t. ground cumin (or more). Turn off heat and squeeze the limes over the onions. Season well with salt and pepper.

When the pasta water boils, add salt and 1/2 pound small pasta shells or other short type pasta. Cook until al dente. When finished, scoop them out of the water and put them directly into the lentils. (Remove the aromatics first.) Add the spinach to the boiling pasta water and cook until wilted. Scoop it out and add it to the lentils and shells.

Toss the lentils, shells, and spinach with half the onions and a little extra olive oil. Taste for salt and season with pepper. Spoon the remaining onions over the top. Garnish with a drizzle of olive oil and a little extra cilantro.

Things I'd do differently next time: Deborah's recipe called for spinach crowns, which are the rosy base of the plant including a few inches of the stems. They're usually thrown out, but she says they're delicious and very pretty. I left them out because I couldn't find any. In fact, I couldn't even find heads of spinach and I used baby spinach instead. Any kind of spinach is fine, I think. You could even use other kinds of tender braising greens if you wanted. I have lots coming in from the farm right now, so I might try it with other greens.

Approximate cost to prepare:

1 cup french green lentils - $1.00

1 bunch spinach - $1.25

2 large onions - $.50

1 cup cilantro - $.50

1 lime - $.25

1/2 pound pasta shells - $1.00

mint, cumin, olive oil, aromatics - negligible

TOTAL for 4 people - $4.00

A nice spicy but fruity red wine would go great with this. Try a Santa Barbara Syrah.

Potato Skillet Pie

This potato skillet pie is kind of a cross between mashed potatoes and a frittata. It's fast and easy to prepare, though it needs 45 minutes in the oven and 10 minutes to cool before serving. It's much prettier than I expected it would be for such a simple dish. This would be great to take to a potluck.

It is also yummy. We ate less than half of it in the first sitting and we enjoyed the leftovers for the next few days. It was even good for breakfast. It's a great dish to make on a winter evening (or a cold, rainy spring evening) when all you can find in your pantry is some potatoes, some eggs, some onions, and some butter. You could even do without the onions.

There are several variations suggested, and I chose to top mine with caramelized onions. You could also saute some artichokes and cook them in with the potato mixture. You could add any kind of cheese you like, or chop up some green garlic, simmer in a little water, and then add to the potato mixture before baking.

Begin by preheating the oven to 375. Put an oven-proof skillet (such as cast iron) in the oven with 1 tablespoon of butter until melted. Slosh it around the pan, then scatter 1/2 c. grated parmesan cheese over it to make a crust for the potatoes. (Bread crumbs would work instead of the parmesan.) Peel and cut 2 pounds of yukon gold potatoes into chunks. Put them in a big pan, cover with cold water, add a teaspoon of salt, and bring to a boil. Simmer until potatoes are soft - about 20 minutes.

While they're cooking, finely chop a couple cloves of garlic with 1/2 t. salt until a paste forms. Drain the potatoes, return them to the pot, add the garlic paste and 3 T. butter and mash the potatoes. Taste for salt and pepper, making sure the potatoes are highly seasoned. Stir in 4 eggs (lightly beaten), and 3 T. chopped sage. (I used dried sage, so I cut it back to 2 teaspoons or so.) When nicely mixed, transfer the whole mass to the skillet, smooth the top, and bake until golden - about 45 minutes. The edges should be dry and pulling away from the pan. Remove from oven and let stand 10 minutes or so. Run a knife around the edge of the pan and unmold onto a plate.

While it is cooking, you can chop 3-4 onions and fry them in some butter. Ten minutes should be enough time, but if you keep cooking them over low heat, they'll just get more and more sweet. I added a little sage to mine. Season with salt and pepper and spoon over the potato pie. I garnished with chopped parsley, which was a fresh and festive addition.

Things I'd do differently next time: I'd like to experiment with this one some more. I like the idea of the green garlic, if I can find it at the farmers market.

Onion Frittata glazed with Sherry Vinegar

This frittata smells divine and tastes wonderful. It took me about 45 minute to make it, but that's mostly because the onions need to cook for half an hour. This is a lovely looking dish, so it would be nice for company or to take to a potluck. The leftovers were fantastic for breakfast, with a little hot sauce.

Slice 2 pounds of onions (about 3 large or 4 medium onions) about 1/4 inch thick. Saute them in olive oil for 30 minutes or so, until golden. While that is cooking, beat 6 eggs with 2 T. water. Chop 2 T. parsley, plus extra for garnish. Fix whatever else you will have with the meal - maybe a salad or some greens.

Preheat the broiler. When the onions are ready, add 1 T. sherry vinegar, some salt and a pinch of ground cloves to them. Pour the onions and the parsley into the eggs. Heat 1 1/2 T. butter in a skillet. Transfer the egg and onion mixture to the pan. Cover and cook over low heat for 8-10 minutes until the eggs are set. Put the pan in the oven under the broiler for a few minutes until the eggs are browned on top. Slide the frittata onto a plate. Add another 1 1/2 T. of butter to the pan. When it is sizzling, add 1 T. sherry vinegar. Mix together well, and the pour the glaze over the frittata. Garnish with chopped parsley. Mmmmm, yummy.

What I'd do differently next time: Cook the onions for a full 30 minutes. I cheated them a little and they were a little too crunchy. Use only 2 pans and one bowl. Somehow I ended up with 3 dirty pans and 3 dirty bowls. Not very efficient.

Approximate cost to prepare:
6 eggs - $2.50
2 pounds onions - $2.00
parsley - $.20
3 T. butter - $.25
oil, vinegar, salt, pepper, cloves - negligible
TOTAL $4.95 for 4 people! What a great deal and so delicious!