Hey hey, the baker is back… or the cook-er. Cook? Whatever.
I bought Rachael Ray’s Just in Time cookbook at HomeGoods a couple weeks ago (for like $12- sweet!) and finally got around to trying out one of the recipes. The “just in time” theme comes from the fact that all of the recipes take either 15, 30, or 60 minutes to cook. The prep time is supposed to be close to the same for all of the dishes.
I recently had a really delicious panzanella salad at a local pub, so I was excited to see a recipe for Panzanella Stoup. Let me just put it out there that RR’s made-up words really bother me. It’s a stew. A vegetarian stew, actually, with crushed tomatoes, onions, bell peppers, fresh basil, garlic, and stale crusty bread. I used about half of a large whole wheat baguette. Oh, and balsamic vinegar, which added a nice tang to the broth.
It’s delicious- very tomatoey and FILLING (from the bread, I assume):
The cookbook said that you would know when the stoup *shudder* was ready when a spoon could stand upright in the pot.
So there ya go.
With some extra time to kill after work today, I ambled around the grocery store for a while and found a new (for us) little veggie: Broccolini. I’ve seen this used on Top Chef- I think Anthony Bourdain actually told one contestant that his broccolini was the worst dish ever served on the show- but never tried it. We drizzled it in olive oil and salt and roasted it in the oven on 450 for 10 minutes. After it came out, we added a splash of balsamic vinegar. Final product:
It tasted a LOT like kale chips, oddly enough. Good stuff.
Brian grilled a chicken sausage for himself, but I ended up making a little salad out of what we had in the fridge: spinach, strawberries, goat cheese and balsamic. Meant to sprinkle on some sliced almonds but forgot… didn’t miss it, though!
Here’s my plate. That’s the leftover butternut-squash-polenta-that-won’t-die on the side. We STILL have a lot left in the fridge:
Busy night! I have a big project involving fondant that I’m starting tonight. Expect a post on that tomorrow evening, but here’s a hint: Think RED & BLACK.
Heather – I wish you would come cook for me, everything looks so yummy and healthy. P.S. I got the cutest card today and I thought, “Nobody I know business-wise has good taste like this.”
Hey! Looks like school has started for you! Good luck! So…do u have a recipe for that squash polenta–its looks like creamy grits. If you have posted it, sorry….i can’t seem to find it. Thanks!
And i saw your post on Kath’s Earth Fare salad, and had to tell you that i’ve seen Kale and BBQ tofu (pretty sure it was BBQ) on the Whole Food salad bar…the one off of Lemmon and Lomo Alto. Their salad bar is phenomenol.
Stoup-id= nice pun!
Nevermind about the recipe–i found it…and it was in a REALLY obvious place.
Kat- How sad is it that I read your comment an hour ago and just figured out that you were talking about MY thank you note? I was like, “Huh, I wonder who sent Katherine a cute card?” Maybe I do need to come back to work- my brain is declining. Too many poop jokes.
Ange- Thanks for the WF tip! I’ve been to the salad bar at the one on Forest, but not Lemmon. Please keep me posted on if you like the polenta