Spaghetti Carbonara

Bacon.

This is why I can never become a vegetarian.

Ingredients

1 pound spaghetti
4 slices bacon, chopped
1 T garlic, minced
3 large eggs
1 c Parmesan, grated, plus extra
Pepper

In a small bowl, whisk eggs, and stir in cheese. Set aside. Cook pasta to al dente. Meanwhile, crisp bacon over medium heat, rendering the fat (3/4 minutes) in a large skillet. Remove bacon and set aside. Add garlic to the bacon drippings and sauté briefly.

When pasta is done, use tongs to move it to the skillet, coating in the bacon drippings and garlic. Pour egg mixture over the hot pasta, stirring to coat evenly. Add bacon and stir. Thin as needed with pasta water. Season liberally with pepper. Serve immediately with extra Parmesan, alongside green peas.

Cheese Quiche

Quiche. It's what's for dinner.

I made mine in a whole wheat crust from scratch, but by all means use a frozen pie crust if you want. No judgement here! The key is that the crust is hot when you pour the filling into it- so watch your timing.

This one is pretty basic, but you can add all kinds of veggies or herbs. Play with your food!

Ingredients

6 eggs

2 c milk

2 c shredded cheese (I used white cheddar)

1/2 t salt

1/2 c chopped parsley

3 dashes hot sauce

1 pre-baked pie shell

Bake crust per directions- reduce oven temp to 325. Whisk together eggs and milk. Add other ingredients. Pour into hot crust. Bake for 20-30 minutes until edges are firm but middle is jiggly. Cool completely, or serve slightly warm. I like mine with a side of greens. 

Chile Rellenos

Chile Rellenos is a delicious vegetarian meal. I recommend using a mild sauce because the peppers are usually pretty spicy on their own! Surprisingly, these were very light, despite the frying.  If you have them, wear plastic gloves when cleaning the peppers. Otherwise, make sure to wash your hands after handling these fiery things!

 Ingredients:

• 2 large poblano peppers
• 1 c. shredded Monterrey Jack cheese
• 2 eggs, separated
• salt to taste
• 1 c. Mexican-style tomato sauce
• oil for frying
• 1/2 c. flour

• Roast the peppers under broiler until black. Depending on your oven, this could take a matter of minutes. Using a pair of trusty tongs, snatch your peppers out of the oven and place immediately into some Tupperware, tightly sealing the lid. Prepare your batter.
• To make the batter, whip egg whites to a stiff peak. Beat yolks, and slowly fold them into the whites. Separately in a small bowl whisk together flour and salt.
• Now, return to your peppers. Carefully peel the skin, then cut a small slit into the slide of the pepper. Using a spoon, gently scrape out the seeds and membrane.
• Stuff the peppers with cheese, but leave enough room to be able to secure the slit closed with a toothpick. Dredge the pepper in flour, shake off the excess, then dip into the egg batter.
  
• In a large skillet, heat about an inch of oil until hot. Carefully place peppers into a pan and cook on each side until golden brown. Drain on paper towels. Serve with your choice of Mexican-style tomato sauce.

Eggplant Parmesan

Can you fall in love with a vegetable?

This past summer, I had the opportunity to travel to China, and I really think I fell in love with eggplant over there. They can do things with eggplant that you wouldn't even dream of.  They could do it deep fried, in rich tangy sauces, and no matter what it was always one of my favorites.

Veggies in general were amazing there. Spicy stir fried beansprouts? What? Those exist? Yes, yes they do, and they are to die for. Oh, and the cabbage, the cabbage!!--they served it at literally every meal, and I could not get enough. There's a special skill to cooking vegetables quickly enough to maintain their crunch, but still being tender. The Chinese have mastered this.

I bought a beautiful standard eggplant on Saturday at the Farmer's Market for just a buck. So, for now I'm going to share with you one of the good eggplant standby's. Eggplant Parmesan is one of those things that is great with pasta, on sandwiches, or by itself.

Eggplant Parmesan
(Adapted from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything)

Ingredients:

• 1  medium-large eggplant
• 1 c. Italian seasoned breadcrumbs
• 1 c. flour, seasoned with salt and pepper
• 1 egg, whisked with 1 T water
• 1 c. shredded Italian blend cheese 
• 1-2 c. marinara
• Olive oil

Peel and slice the eggplant into 1/2 inch slices. Salt liberally and let drain in a colander for up to 2 hours. Rinse slices, and pat dry with paper towels. When you are ready to cook, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat 3 T olive oil in a skillet on medium high heat. Your pan is ready when a pinch of flour sizzles.

Dredge eggplant in flour, egg wash, and then breadcrumbs. Carefully place in skillet and fry on both sides until golden (3-4 min each side). Work in batches, and try not to overcrowd the pan. When all the slices are cooked, get yourself a shallow baking dish. Lightly oil the bottom, coating with a few spoonfuls of marinara.  Arrange your eggplant slices in the dish however you like. Spoon on the rest of the sauce, and sprinkle with cheese. Bake for 20-30 minutes until the cheese is bubbly.

Macaroni & Cheese

If the only mac n' cheese that you know is the kind that comes out of a box, then you don't know mac n' cheese. This comforting dish can be altered to please your own taste-buds by picking a cheese or two (or three!) that you truly adore. If you're going to go through the trouble of making it at home though, go ahead and use some good cheese. I got a block of Sharp Vermont Cheddar for this batch. I also mixed in a handful of kale that I had previously blanched and frozen for some extra nutrition. You could also use spinach or any other green. I served it with a breaded chicken cutlet.


Adapted from Joy.

• 8 oz. pasta, cooked, drained
• 2 cups milk
• 2 tbsp. butter
• 2 tbsp. flour
• 2 1/4 cups shredded cheddar
  
• half onion, chopped
• pinch paprika
• salt, pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup bread crumbs, little butter/oil
  

Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 1.5 quart pan (I used a loaf pan). In a medium sauce pan, melt butter, add flour, and whisk roux together for a couple minutes. Add milk slowly, whisking out all the clumps. Add onion and paprika, then simmer low for 15 minutes until thickened frequently stirring. Remove from heat, and add 2/3 of the cheese. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir in pasta (add greens at this point if you want). Transfer half of the mixture to baking dish and top with half of the remaining cheese. Add rest of the pasta mixture, the rest of the cheese, and top with bread crumbs and a drizzle of olive oil or a few dots of butter. Bake for 30 minutes until the top is golden and bubbly. Let stand for 5 minutes before eating.