Veggie


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Small Counter Dwelling Appliance Comes to Rescue

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80 and I spent an unfortunate—yet joyous and drunk—less than 24 hours in New York City this past weekend. Unfortunate because of the lack of time in the city and joyous because of our friends’ wedding. Usually whenever we get the chance to visit we extend the stay in this city to the north but with 80’s last exam on Monday night before he graduates on Sunday, we had to get in and out so he could concentrate on macro economics. (And if anyone has any graduation gift ideas – let me know!)

Because we left early Saturday from DC and didn’t get to check out the inaugural opening for the year’s Mt. P far mar and then we got back too late to hit up any of the Sunday markets I was left with a fridge full of last weeks’ purchases for Sunday’s dinner. 80 invited a classmate over for a study session so I was charged with figuring out dinner. Of course it revolved around eggs.

So my new favorite way to incorporate lots of veggies and other ingredients into eggs is to first cook all of the other ingredients, then pour whisked egg over top and throw it under the broiler.

I recently resolved Passover’s matzoh dilemma when I incorporated the stale cracker into an omelet with swiss cheese, garlic and greens. The problem though is the quickness in which an egg cooks and an egg overcooks.

My parents’ kitchen is perfect. Stainless steel perfection. Except for one thing: the broiler.

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in Breakfast / Cheese / Eggs / Recipe / Veggie 2 comments
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Pasta Recipe: Keepin’ it Cool

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Nothing’s better than a steaming bowl of pasta, right?  Not when it’s 86° outside. That, my friends, was my predicament last week when we were enjoying some unseasonably warm weather here in the Northeast and I got an e-mail from Mrs. TVFF suggesting we have pasta for dinner.  Not one to ever turn down the opportunity for a carb-heavy meal, I resolved to avoid the ususal pasta dishes — which certainly didn’t sound appetizing as I perspired my way around the city — and go for something that wasn’t quite pasta salad either.  We’d meet in the middle with a hot pasta dressed with a room-temperature sauce.

First, the props:  I’m pretty sure this originated as some sort of bruschetta topping or chunky dip from Jamie Oliver.  His input forms the basis of this “sauce,” which is the olives, the cherry/grape tomato and the olive oil.  The rest of the recipe is a bit more free-form.

Warm Pasta with Crushed Grape Tomatoes and Olives

– One pound of short pasta – penne, rigatoni and farfalle are perfect for this.

– One cup, olives without pits

– One pint, grape or cherry tomatoes

– Six tbsp. oil

– Whatever the hell your heart desires (see below)

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in Recipe / Veggie 1 comments
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Hey Hey Hey, It’s Skinny Albert

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Editor’s Note: We’ve gotten somewhat political on ES before, mostly making fun of Sarah Palin and prohibition candidates, but actually we’re big dorks. In fact, after school I would rush home so I could tape–and watch live–Clinton’s impeachment hearings. I read Cokie Roberts’ book for pleasure and wanted to be George Stephanopoulos when I grew up. Anyway, it’s about time we used the blog for something other than talking about bacon. Well, just this once.

Our friend Josh works for Northwest Harvest and was recently in DC to lobby for childhood nutrition funds. Here’s his rant. Pay attention.

It’s time to put down the spatula and pick up the phone.

We need to tell our Senators and Congressmembers to invest in the future health of our population, our economy and our national security by strengthening the Child Nutrition Act to the tune of an additional $10 billion over ten years. Strengthening these programs will ensure our kids are receiving the proper nutrition where they live, work and play, AND go a long way to fighting childhood obesity.

The Child Nutrition Act is a large piece of legislation that comes up every five years or so and funds critical nutrition programs for our low-income infants and children, including WIC, national school lunch and breakfasts, afterschool snacks and summer feeding programs, and feeding programs in child care and adult care settings. Senator Lincoln has introduced the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 to begin the reauthorization process in the Senate, but the bill falls short of the full $10 billion necessary.

Study after study show that hungry kids simply cannot learn in the classroom. Chronic hunger has profound impacts on kids’ ability to focus, retain and thrive in our schools. Providing our children with proper nutrition for the school day is critical to the future success of our country.

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in Politics / Trends / Veggie 2 comments
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Just Two More Meals

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With only two more meals left for Passover 2010, there’s the urge to never eat matzoh again, yet still use it all before its time is up. Matzoh as a cracker isn’t terrible, as I slathered on smoked whitefish salad and pushed raw onion and raw broccoli into the creamy mixture, simply topped with freshly ground black pepper. Matzoh is also tolerable as a base for melted cheese and salsa, as my sister discovered.

But I think matzoh is best when you can barely taste it at all. So, for you, the lonely observant Jews, for when every one else has longed reincorporated pizza and pasta into their diets, you have fought through the carb cravings and lasted until this eighth and final day. Here is a way to hide your matzoh.

Matzoh and Swiss Omelet

A few weeks ago at the farmers’ market I bought these long, slender greens that basically looked like grass. At the ends there was some barely leafy parts, but it mostly just looked like grass. And I totally can’t remember the name.

Nonetheless, I sliced it to about the size of my pinkie nail (currently painted in Essie’s Mint Candy Apple) and quickly softened it in a pan with butter. I then added in broken up matzoh bits, letting the matzoh also soften.

In a bowl I beat two eggs and threw in raw garlic. I poured the egg mixture over the greens and matzoh and tried to swipe around the sides to let the uncooked eggs start to cook. I seasoned the eggs with salt and pepper and then flipped the egg mixture over once the bottom started to firm up. I lowered the heat then tore up two slices of swiss and placed a lid over the pan. After about 2 minutes, the cheese still hadn’t melted and the eggs were starting to brown on the bottom.

I decided to flip it again, letting the cheese directly hit the pan. I was nervous that the cheese would burn, or stick. or the whole thing would get messed up. But I guess the cheese and butter had enough fat that the cheese slid around in the pan and was able to melt, but then also easily move to the plate.

Enjoy, especially not tasting the matzoh, which really only gives the open faced omelet some body and texture, but not that gross matzoh stale taste.

And now you can start thinking (if you haven’t already) how you’re going to break Passover.

in Breakfast / Cheese / Eggs / Holiday / Recipe / Veggie 3 comments
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Feed Us Back: Comments of the Week

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– Waste not, want not!  Britannia might not like a sub-par tomato, but Sam has a great solution for those unattractive end slices:

I know where I work, with the ends of the tomato we just chop/dice them and put them in a shallow container, and use them for omeletts that have tomato in it.

– Could it be that Annie Hall is the key to great movie kitchens?  Tia certainly thinks so:

Did you notice how many of those amazing movie kitchens star Diane Keaton? It just seemed odd.

– ML managed to implant the Filet-O-Fish song in all of our heads, but it was a Tyler that was the icing on the cake (Central Jersey REPRESENT!):

THIS guy…

(Photo: Jon Juan)

in Celebs / Veggie 0 comments
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I Mention Rachael Ray in this Post

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The Jewish calendar is lunar and therefore Passover can land anywhere between the end of March to the end of April. My birthday is at the end of March, my mom’s birthday is at the beginning of April and my sister’s birthday is at the end of April so it’s a always a hold your breath moment to find out who’s birthday will take place during this dreaded no-bread, no-cake, no-ice cream, no-soft pretzel eight day stretch.

This year it’s so early that this spring themed holiday can’t feature the season’s produce. We usually serve asparagus, but this year we still had to rely on winter’s hold overs. I’m a bit tired of winter squash, as is the rest of the Northeast, I’m sure.

With Passover, though, I wanted to think of something slightly new. Maybe not in flavor, but in form.

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in Cheese / Holiday / Recipe / Veggie 2 comments
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