Beananza-get it?

We had beans two ways for dinner tonight. (Insert bean joke here)
We made a salad with local beans, parsley, and radishes, topped with olives and capers. We served it on lettuce and ate it with warm tortillas. It turned out great. I am waiting for global warming to bring some olives up to Oregon. Bean #2 was a jar of spicy dill pickled green beans that we made last summer according to my grandmother's recipe. They are amazingly crunchy after many months in a jar. Last year we spent a lot of time and energy and ended up with a whole 4 jars. This year I want to can a huge batch.



Last night we used the "Chinese Broccoli", which seems to be a lot like broccoli rabe, in a pasta with chili flakes, garlic, and random leftover cheeses. At the end, you squeeze a little lemon on top. Credit for the recipe goes to Debbie again. Orecchiette pasta is shaped like little ears and is cute and tasty. I think pasta dishes are great for broccoli rabe because their bitterness gets balanced out. Having a bunch of it alone can taste too strong.

Tomorrow: Panini

April showers bring cauliflowers

I saw the pretty cauliflowers at the market on Saturday and wanted to try making something with one. My first idea was a recipe called cauliflower cheese. Turns out it's just cauliflower and cheese, not exactly a well-rounded meal. Luckily Debbie (Deborah Madison, cookbook author) had a great recipe for pasta salad with cauliflower, sundried tomatoes, and a shallot-mustard vinaigrette. We decided to add in some leftover watercress and spinach and blue cheese crumbles. It was great as dinner and in cold lunch. The pasta was whole wheat, but with all that yummy stuff on it, I couldn't even tell.





Tonight we used our cheese, leek, and potatoes from the market, as well as these great brown eggs that someone sells at work to make a stellar fritatta. Our fritatta secret is this silicone quiche pan that you bake in the oven. We used to do fritattas in a frying pan, but none of our pans were broiler-safe and they would cook unevenly. Nothing worse than sitting down to a meal when you are still swearing about it. Now, all is happy in Fritatta Land.

While preparing dinner tonight, we found our forgotten broccoli rabe. Time has not been kind to it. Oops. Watch this space for what we end up doing with the stuff.