lunch box: asparagus, artichoke and feta bow-ties

contents:

asparagus, artichoke and feta bow-ties
cucumber, beet and carrot salad
blueberries

We had a burst of warm weather over the weekend and all the sunshine inspired me to make a spring themed lunch for myself this week. Then of course the temperature dropped back down, the winter coat was back off the hanger and all I wanted for lunch was soup. I probably should have seen that coming. Luckily the pasta heats up well.

In other news, I keep reading about how frozen fruits and vegetables are actually far more nutritious then the produce at your grocery store. Here is one article that was mentioned on a great vegan blog Dawn recommended to me. Depending on what you're making, frozen vegetables can kind of kill a dish (they do have a weird texture and taste thing going on you have to admit), but there are plenty of times where it makes no difference. Usually I feel lazy for buying frozen vegetables, but I guess I've secretly been taking the healthier option. Seems backwards though, doesn't it? I'm definitely going to start buying frozen fruit instead of the blah tasting stuff that needed to immigrate all the way from Bolivia (or whenever it's still summer right now). Actually I liked snacking on the blueberries while they were still frozen, but they gave me a brain freeze,

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1/2 box whole wheat bot-tie pasta
one large bunch asparagus
one small jar of marinated artichoke hearts
1 cup crumbled feta cheese
lemon juice and pepper to taste

Boil pasta, drain and allow to cool

Snap tough bottoms off asparagus and cut the rest into small bite sized pieces. Steam for 5 minutes or until the asparagus turns bright green. Allow to cool.

Chop artichoke hearts. Don't worry about how much oil they bring with them, it will add to the pasta.

(Side tangent... just saying artichoke hearts cracks me up. It makes me feel like a Disney villain or something. Bring me the hearts of twenty artichokes!! Muah ha ha!!)

In a large mixing bowl combine pasta, asparagus, artichoke hearts and feta (to be honest I probably used a little more then 1 cup, but that seems close). Add lemon juice and salt to taste. As I said earlier the artichoke hearts soak up a lot of olive oil which ends up getting into the pasta, but you can always add a splash more if you think the salad tastes too dry. The marinade they come in the jar with is a pretty delicious addition too.

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I forgot to measure my exact veggie proportions for the salad. Sorry about that. I know I used one cucumber, 3 or 4 grated carrots, and as much pickled beets as seemed proportionate. Slice all of them as thin as possible. Add a large handful of chopped dill and a splash of vinegar.

I think I should add that whenever I cook with beets (even though you'd think I would have other associations by now) I always think of this. You can use it for your cooking music.

cardamom olive oil cookies with pistachio

Don't be too impressed, this is another amazing Bittman recipe and surprisingly simple despite how fancy it sounds. Olive oil replaces butter in the usual cookie formula, but the cookies don't taste overly savory. I guess you can thank ample sugar for that one.

I decided to make these last Saturday (yes this is what I was doing on my Saturday night) because I *thought* I had all the ingredients at home. It wasn't until I had cracked open a few and was looking mystified at the size of my measuring spoon, that I discovered cardamom pods contain very little actual spice. Luckily my friend Kevin was there to convince me not to scratch the whole thing-- and so began the neighborhood quest for cardamom. Did you know cardamom is sort of a rare spice? I did not. After 3 bodegas and two groceries stores we were almost ready to give up, but of course the very last bodega we went to had it sitting in the back by the refrigerators. I'm not going to lie, Kevin and I shouted and high fived in the middle of the store like we'd just won some sort of sports game (possibly frightening the dudes behind us picking out beer). It was worth it though, because the cookies taste amazing. Besides did I really think I could get though a baking project without a small disaster? Impossible.

ingredients:

2 cups flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
pinch salt
1tb cardamom
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup olive oil
2 eggs
2 tbs orange zest
2 tbs orange juice
1/2 cup ground pistachios

I had regular pistachios in their shells, so my first step was to crack a bunch and then wash the nuts under water to remove the salt. Set them aside to dry before you crush them. A plastic bag and heavy object works well if you don't feel like using a food processor.

Preheat the oven to 350

In a large mixing bowl combine flour, baking powder, salt, and cardamom

Add olive oil and sugar, blending well

Add eggs and whisk until smooth. Bittman says the batter should be creamy at this point, but that didn't happen for me. Maybe I need stronger arm muscles or something, but the batter was pretty thick and almost doughy until I added the orange juice in the next step. Truthfully I probably added more then 2tb to get the batter to thin out.

Whisk in orange juice and zest. By now the batter should be regular cookie dough consistency (or maybe it was for you before...show off).

Roll into small balls and place on ungreased cookie sheet. Use the wet bottom of a cup to flatten the cookies a little and stick on the crushed pistachios.

Bake for 12-15 minutes or until slightly brown on the bottom

lunch box: palak not paneer

contents:

palak not paneer (tofu instead of cheese)
brown rice
cherry tomatoes
melon


I am going to attempt real palak panner one of these days, but this past Sunday I was not in the mood to try and make cheese for the first time. I looked at a bunch of recipes before settling on a combination version for my lunch. The tofu substitution was recommended on Epicurus and turned out surprisingly well.

ingredients:

1 block tofu
1/2 cup or so of flour
1 16oz bag of frozen spinach
2 garlic cloves chopped
2 small dried red chillies or chili powder to taste
2 tbs ginger powder (or fresh)
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp salt
1 medium onion chopped small
2 tsp garam masala
3/4 cup plain yogurt
vegetable oil

Heat a thin layer of vegetable oil in large frying pan

Cut tofu into 1 inch square chunks. Roll in flour until covered on all sides.

Fry tofu pieces until crispy and golden.

Remove from pan and drain on paper towel

In your food processor or blender, combine cooked spinach, garlic, and chillies. If you're using fresh ginger add it here. Puree until smooth (or close to it). I personally could not bring myself to totally blenderize the spinach to baby food, but it needs to be slightly creamy in order for the recipie to work. There's a compromise texture I think.

Reheat frying pan and add more oil if necessary (you should have a couple tbs worth in the pan).

Fry onions until clear. Add ginger (if powder) and turmeric, stirring well to keep from burning.

Stir in spinach mixture and tofu. Cook for a few minutes before adding garam masala and yogurt.