Shopping List Loud Toys

Mon: Parsnip Risotto
Tues: Classic Hamburger
Wed: Red Bean Stew
Thu: Spaghetti Carbonara
Fri: Huevos Rancheros
Sat:  Fish in Coconut Stew

PRODUCE
Salad greens
5 onions
1 sm. red onion
2 limes
2 parsley
5 ripe tomatoes (fish)
1 red bell pepper (fish)
1 green bell pepper (fish)
cilantro (fish)
2 parsnips
2 carrots
2 celery ribs
1 medium zucchini
1 medium yellow squash
cilantro

CANNED
1c canned coconut milk
1 tbsp tomato paste

MEAT
1/2 cup diced pancetta or bacon
1 red snapper

OTHER
2 oz Gruyere/Emmenthal cheese
sourdough bread
butter
Dry red beans (or 3 cans red beans)
black beans
2 ancho chilies
1 can crushed tomatoes
canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
monterey jack cheese
12 corn tortillas

Fish in Coconut Stew

Chef: Victoria Blashford-Snell, Brigitte Hafner

Cookbook: The Illustrated Kitchen Bible

Publisher: DK

Information

• Course: main course
• Total time: under 1 hour
• Skill level: Moderate
• Cost: Inexpensive
• Yield: makes 4 servings
  

Notes

This is a popular Brazilian stew, rich with creamy coconut milk. An authentic ingredient is palm oil (dendê), which lends a distinctive flavor and color, but you can use more olive oil instead

Ingredients

• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion, thinly sliced
• 3 ripe tomatoes, skinned, seeded, and chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
• 1 green bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
• 1 cup canned coconut milk
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1¾ lb (800g) firm white fish, such as cod and snapper, cut into large chunks or strips
• 3 tbsp palm oil (optional)
• 1 tbsp chopped cilantro
• 1 ripe tomato, skinned, seeded, and chopped
• 1 small red onion, finely chopped
• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 1 tbsp fresh lime juice
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 tbsp chopped parsley
• 1 tsp hot pepper sauce

Directions

Prepare ahead

Prepare, cool, and refrigerate the stew up through step 1 up to 1 day ahead. When ready to serve, heat and add the fish. The salsa can be made up to 1 day ahead, but stir in the chopped parsley at the last minute.

1. Heat the olive oil in a deep frying pan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes, until tender but not browned. Add the tomatoes and the peppers. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes, until the vegetables have softened and released their juices. Stir in the coconut milk and tomato paste and return to a boil. Season with salt and pepper.

2. Meanwhile, make the salsa. Mix all the ingredients together and spoon into a serving bowl. Set aside to allow the flavors to blend.

3. Add the fish to the coconut milk mixture and cook, stirring occasionally, for 7 minutes, until the fish is opaque throughout. Do not overcook. Stir in the palm oil, if using.

4. Transfer the stew to a heated serving dish and sprinkle with the cilantro. Serve hot, with the salsa passed on the side.

Variation

Farofa de Dendê

To make this traditional side dish, heat 2 tbsp dendê oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Add 1 chopped onion and cook 5 minutes until tender. Add ½ cup manioc flour and 15 soaked drained, and finely chopped dried shrimp. Cook, stirring, until the flour is toasted, about 5 minutes.

Shopping List Poofie

Mon: Balsamic Salad with Steak
Tue: Spaghetti Alla Chitarra
Wed: Parsnip Risotto
Thu: Pizza Rustica
Fri: Eat out

DAIRY
2oz Provolone
4oz Mozzarella
Parmesan
1/2 cup heavy creme

MISC
1lb spaghetti
6 cups Chicken broth
Butter
Ricotta Cheese (more than 8oz)
2 cups arborio rice

MEAT
8oz bacon, julienned
2 5oz sirloins
8oz mild sausage
4oz prosciutto

PRODUCE
Brussel Sprouts
salad greens
grape tomatoes
1 red pepper
2 bosc pears
flat leaf parsley
parsnips
thyme
1 small sweet onion

12 cups rolled oats
3 cup wheat germ/oat bran
1 cup untoasted sesame or sunflower seeds
1.5 cup slivered or sliced raw almonds
1 cup honey/maple syrup
6 tablespoons safflower oil
3 cups raisins/currants/fruit

Pizza Rustica

Pizza Rustica

Chef: Nigella Lawson

Cookbook: Domestic Goddess

Publisher: Hyperion Books

Information

• Course: main course
• Total time: under 4 hours
• Skill level: Challenging
• Cost: Moderate
• Yield: Makes 8–10 good-sized slices.

Notes

Pizza rustica is not a pizza in the way that we've come to understand it, though anyone who's spent time in Italy might well have come across it. The word pizza simply means pie, and this term denotes a deep, pastry-encased creation, stuffed with relatively unfancy ingredients. For a non-Italian, however, these ingredients are at the upper end of the economic scale, and hardly rustica at all, though any Italian deli should be able to supply you with the wherewithal easily enough, and increasingly the supermarkets stock what you'll need too. The wonderful Anna del Conte gave me this recipe—from her magnum opus, The Gastronomy of Italy. Using a springform pan rather than pie dish makes the building-up of the pie easy, and the finished, unmolded creation looks a miracle of proud, golden accomplishment.

Ingredients

• 1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
• ½ cup cold unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch cubes
• 2 egg yolks
• 2 tablespoons ice water
• 1 heaping teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 ounces luganega or other mild pure pork sausage, skinned
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• generous 8 ounces ricotta
• 2 ounces smoked provolone, diced
• 4 ounces Italian mozzarella, crumbled
• ¼ cup freshly grated parmesan
• ½ clove garlic, chopped
• 2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 2 pinches chili powder or crushed dried red chilies
• 4 ounces prosciutto, cut into small pieces
• 4 ounces mortadella, cut into small pieces
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• black pepper
• 1 heaping tablespoon dried bread crumbs
• 1 egg yolk
• 2 tablespoons milk
• pinch of salt

Directions

Put the flour and butter in a dish, and put this dish in the freezer for 10 minutes. Stir together the yolks, water, and salt in a cup, and put this cup in the refrigerator. Then, when time's up, tip the flour and butter into the bowl of the food processor, add the sugar and pulse to combine: you want a soft crumbly mass, somewhere between sand and porridge oats. Bind with the egg yolks, water, and salt, and when it looks like it's on the verge of coming together (you have to stop slightly short of this actually happening), tip the pastry out and press it together with your hands. Don't worry, though, if the pastry is a little too damp: I find one of the miracles of this pre-freezing pastry technique is that it makes it more foolproof on every level. It always seems to roll out well.

Divide into two discs, one somewhat larger than the other, and put both into the refrigerator to rest wrapped in plastic wrap.

Preheat the oven to 400°F, put in a baking sheet, and get on with the filling. Fry the sausage in the oil for about 5 minutes, breaking it up with a wooden spoon as it cooks, then transfer it to a bowl and let it cool. At which time, add all the other ingredients except the bread crumbs and mix thoroughly.

Roll out the larger disc of pastry between plastic wrap so it's large enough to cover the bottom and sides of the pan, leaving a few inches' overhang. Sprinkle the bottom of the now pastry-lined pan with bread crumbs, and then fill with the hammy, eggy mixture waiting in its bowl. Roll out the smaller disc between plastic wrap to make the lid, place it on top of the filled pie, turn over the edges of the overhang to form a border and press down with the tines of a fork.

Just before baking, glaze the pie by brushing over the milky, salty egg, stab it here and there with the prongs of a fork to make steam holes, and place it on the baking sheet in the preheated oven. Give it 10 minutes at this temperature, then turn it down to 350°F and bake for a further 45 minutes.

Leave the pie to cool for at least 10 minutes before serving it, but it's at its best after about 25. It's still wonderful at room temperature, though, and I long for leftovers too, eaten standing by the fridge's open door the next day.

Classic Crunchy Granola

Chef: Nava Atlas

Cookbook: The Vegetarian Family Cookbook

Publisher: Broadway

Information

• Course: main course, snack
• Total time: under 2 hours
• Skill level: Easy
• Cost: Moderate
• Yield: about 6 cups

Notes

To my mind, store-bought granola is a pale imitation of the homemade version. This and the following granola recipes take minutes to mix, bake just a short time, and taste fresher than those bought in bulk or in boxes. If you'd like, add ¼ cup of ground flaxseed to give an added healthful boost to this or any of the granola recipes that follow.

Ingredients

• 4 cups rolled oats (or oatmeal for a finer consistency)
• 1 cup wheat germ or oat bran (or ½ cup of each)
• ¼ cup untoasted sesame or sunflower seeds
• ½ cup slivered or sliced raw almonds
• 1/3 cup honey or maple syrup
• 2 tablespoons safflower oil
• 1 cup raisins, currants, or other chopped dried fruit of your choice

Directions

1 Preheat the oven to 275° F. Lightly oil one or two baking sheets.

2 Combine oats, wheat germ, sesame seeds, and almonds in a large mixing bowl.

3 Combine the honey with the oil in a small container. Drizzle into the oat mixture, stirring constantly; mix thoroughly until evenly coated.

4 Spread on the baking sheets. Bake, stirring every 10 minutes or so, for 20 to 30 minutes, or until golden.

5 Allow the granola to cool on the baking sheets, then stir in the raisins. When completely cool, transfer to jars and store at room temperature. Keeps 1 to 2 months in a cool, dry place.

© 2004 Nava Atlas

Shopping List Crumbs

Tu: Quick and Hearty Minestrone Soup
We: Quinoa Salad
Th: Renaissance winter Greens tart
Fr: Curry Chicken Salad

PRODUCE
Bunch of Kale (Tart)
1 large bunch of spinach (10oz w/stems)
celery
2 bunches scallions
basil
1 small onion
1 carrot
4 cups escarole or kale
2 cups cabbage
1 medium zucchini
1 medium red onion
lemons
parsley
asparagus

MILK/CHEESE
Milk
Cottage cheeseQuick and Hearty Minestrone Soup

SPICES
1 bay leaf

MEAT
2 large chicken breasts

MISC
3 tbsp dried curants
1 sheet puff pastry
1 cup pecans
mayonnaise
cider vinegar
jasmine rice
1/2 cup cranberries
Wraps
Yogurt
1 can chopped tomatoes
1 cup pasta (ditalini, penne, rigatoni)
white wine
tuna