Carrot Salad

I am always looking for easy, light lunch ideas. Here's what I'm packing lately. Use a food processor to make the shredding a breeze.

Ingredients:

1 lb carrots, shredded

1 c parsley, chopped

1 c raisins

1 T red wine vinegar

1 T honey

1/2 c olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

In a large bowl, whisk honey, vinegar, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Taste and adjust seasonings. Add other ingredients and fold together. This stores well in the fridge for a few days (in fact, it only gets tastier). 

Best Vegetable Stock

 As a graduate student, I try to get the most out of my groceries. Sometimes, it feels like I'm making something out of nothing. Today, I want to tell you how I make the most flavorful vegetable stock possible. I use this stock in my soups, but you could also cook rice or any other grain in stock for added flavor. 

For a couple years now, I've saved my raw vegetable scraps for making stock by sticking them in a large freezer bag. You can add pretty much anything, although I'd stay away from spicy peppers. I usually end up with tons of celery tops, onion peels, and stems from chard and kale. When the bag is full, I know it's time to make stock. My roommates probably think I'm totally weird. But hey, this makes some great soup for pennies!

I learned from Mark Bittman that you should roast your vegetables for a richer, darker stock. And, as usual, he is spot on.

Vegetable Stock
(Adapted from Bittman's How to Cook Everything)

Ingredients:

• 1 large freezer bag full of assorted raw vegetable scraps (approx. 1 lb)
• 8 c. water
• 2 T. olive oil
• salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spread your frozen vegetables on a large baking sheet (there's no need to thaw). Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast for 30-45 minutes, until vegetables are brown but not burnt, turning once or twice throughout cooking time. Remove from oven, and use tongs to transfer your roasted veggie goodness to a large pot. Cover with water. Bring to a boil, and reduce to simmer. Cover and cook for about 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Strain, and use within a couple days or freeze for later.  This makes about 2 quarts of stock.

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.

Spinach Mushroom Lasagna

I bought a 16 oz. container of cottage cheese and was waiting to buy some fresh fruit to enjoy it with but then I came up with this instead. I warn you that my measurements are not exact, but that is part of the fun of cooking.

• 2 containers of frozen spinach
  
• 1 pint fresh mushrooms
  
• Your favorite tomato sauce (or make your own!)
• 16 oz container cottage cheese (or ricotta)
  
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup grated Romano cheese (any hard Italian cheese works)
• 1/2 cup grated Mozzarella
• 16 oz box lasagna sheets (I used about 3/4 of the box)

First, get your water boiling for your pasta as this takes the longest! Also, preheat your oven to 350 degrees. In the microwave, defrost your spinach and then wring it out in a clean dishcloth to get rid of all the extra water (Be careful it is very hot!). In a medium-high pan, brown your mushrooms in butter or olive oil, seasoning as you please. Meanwhile, in a bowl mix together your cottage cheese, eggs, and half of the Romano and Mozzarella cheeses (a handful of chopped parsley would be nice). Season with pepper.

Spray a large baking dish with oil, and carefully line the bottom with the pasta sheets. Spread 1 cup of the cottage cheese mixture onto the pasta. Top with more pasta, then spread half of your mushroom and spinach onto that. Top with 1 cup of your tomato sauce. Repeat until you have 3 layers of the cottage cheese mixture, with 2 layers of spinach-mushroom tomato sauce in between. When you get to the top, spread the last of your tomato sauce on top of the pasta, and sprinkle the rest of the mozzarella and romano cheeses on top.

Bake in the oven for 30 to 45 minutes until hot and bubbly, and the cheese is golden brown- like this-

Creamy Spaghetti Squash "Pasta" with Shrimp, Peppers, and Onions

My mom and I devoured this! We just happened to have peppers and onions, but almost any veggie would work here. Mushrooms would be nice as well. We also had some leftover shrimp and threw those on top to round out the meal.

For 2 entrees:

• 1 spaghetti squash
  
• 1 cup frozen peppers, onions
• 8 large cleaned shrimp, cooked
  
• 3/4 cup milk
• 2 tbsp cream cheese
• 2 tbsp parmesan
• salt and pepper to taste
• butter and flour, tbsp each for roux

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut your squash in half, remove the seeds and brush the inside with oil. Season liberally with salt and pepper. Roast on a sheet pan for 1 hour. Cool slightly before stringing flesh with a fork into "pasta." Meanwhile, in a large skillet saute peppers and onions in a bit of oil or butter until translucent and soft. Move veggies to one side of skillet and melt butter in one side. Sprinkle flour over the butter and stir until light brown. Whisk roux and pour milk in slowly. Stir in cream cheese until melted. Mix everything together with veggies and squash. Add parmesan and salt and pepper to taste. You can also add dried seasonings or fresh herbs if you want! Top with shrimp! We served ours as is with a fresh bagette.

Who says college students eat poorly?

A dinner I made for myself and my roommate one night last semester, consisting of mashed potatoes, tilapia, and broccoli. The fish and vegetables are pretty self-explanatory.

For the potatoes, you need butter or margarine, sour cream, milk, and salt and pepper. Roasted garlic would be a splendid addition if you have it, but granulated is fine in a pinch, and usually, college students are in pinch.

The amount of potatoes you need depends on how many people you are feeding. One large potato per person is probably plenty. I used red potatoes, but whatever you have is fine. Peel them or don't, but be sure to scrub the skin if you are going to eat it. I hate peeling so I left the skins on. Cube them, and boil until easily penetrated with a fork. Drain, and mash. Add everything else to taste-- My advice is to add a tiny bit of everything slowly, and taste after each addition to get the proportions you like. It really is that simple. And trust me, these are way better than that powdery flakey crap that comes in a box.

Cheddar Potato skins

These are really easy.

For 1 dozen skins:

• 6 medium red potatoes (You could just any potato, these are just what I had on hand)
• 4 tbsp butter, softened
  
• 2 tbsp sour cream (plus extra for serving)
• 1/2 c. shredded cheddar cheese
• 2 tbsp bacon bits (optional)
• salt, pepper, to taste

Preheat your oven to 400*F. After washing, poke holes into the potatoes with a fork, and microwave until a sharp knife can easily penetrate. Cut them in half and carefully scoop out the inside into a bowl. Mash together with butter, sour cream, half the cheddar, bacon, and season with salt and pepper according to your tastes. Spoon mixture back into the skins and top with the remaining cheddar. Bake on a cookie sheet until the cheese is melted and bubbling. 8-10 minutes. Serve with sour cream.

Potato Salad

This isn't your Grandma's potato salad. I use red potatoes with the skins on- first, because it is delicious and filled with fiber- and second, who has time for all that peeling?

You'll need:

• 4 lbs. red potatoes
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 3 eggs, hard boiled, chopped
• 3/4 c. mayo
• 2 tbsp. spicy brown mustard
• 1/4 c. sweet relish
• salt and pepper to taste
• paprika (optional)

Starting with cold, salted water, bring potatoes to boil and cook until a knife can easily go through the largest potato. Drain and cool in refrigerator completely.

When potatoes are cool, cube into bite size pieces. In a large bowl, combine mayo, mustard, relish, salt, and pepper. Add potato, celery, and eggs, and mix. Depending on you and your family's tastes, you might want to add more mayo, mustard, or pickle. Sprinkle the top with paprika and enjoy!