Dinner

Vegetable Stew

Back when I was working two jobs, I'd make this vegetable stew basically every week; I'd put it in the slow cooker Monday night (my night off), and portion it out early Tuesday morning into dinners for the week (lunches were generally sandwiches). It's cheap, it's filling, and it's delicious.

The exact ingredients vary every time, but it always includes a can of tomatoes, eggplant, and a can of chickpeas/ceci/garbanzo beans (depending on where you shop).

This week I went to Fresh Farms International Market, and found these Indian Eggplants (Dudes: $.98/lb.):

And all of these parsnips for 50 cents (I'm allergic to carrots, but not parsnips. Weird.):

And cebolitas (I can't find any information about them anywhere, but they're like if leeks and scallions had a baby. A tasty, tasty baby.):

I also bought what is referred to on the receipt as a Red Anci Pepper. It looks like this. It's more sweet than hot, and is so pretty with all the browns and greens in the dish. Some cilantro from the other night's stir fry also went in, as well as the rest of the bok choy, and a small zucchini.

If I were to write it out like a proper recipe, it might look something like this:

6 indian eggplants (about 3/4 lb), quartered lengthwise

4 small parsnips, quartered lengthwise and cut to 2-inch lengths

4 cebolitas, bulbs quartered lengthwise, stalks cut to 2-inch lengths

1 large red anci pepper, cleaned/cored and diced large

1/2 head bok choy, cut to 1-inch pieces

1 small zucchini, quarted lengthwise and sliced to 1 inch thickness

1/2 cup cilantro (not packed), chopped

1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, including juice

1 can (15.5 oz) chickpeas/ceci/garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed

1-2 tsp cumin

1-2 tb olive oil

1 tsp salt

Mix in crockpot and cook on low overnight. Also works with dutch oven in a slow oven.

Lunch for One

Lunch today is soup, salmon croquette, and biscuit (all leftovers).

Tuesday, I made the soup with stock from the bone from our Christmas ham and the neck from our Thanksgiving turkey, using the method from Simply Recipes (basic gist: pour some water over it, put it on the stove, and leave it alone for several hours). After I strained it in went some white beans I'd been soaking, a can of tomatoes, some more chopped onion, and dried marjoram and oregano. After a couple of hours, when the beans were done, I dropped in some zucchini chunks and frozen green beans (linked, because they're my favorite) and made some boxed-mix biscuits while they were cooking.

I use an egg and some water instead of milk for the biscuits, and I threw in some white whole wheat flour to make them a little more substantial. Mmmm, warm biscuits... (That's what she said...)

I made salmon croquettes last night, using Joy of Cooking's recipe, except (there's always an "except") I pan-fried them in a non-stick frying pan, with just enough olive oil to cover the bottom. I left them on the first side for several minutes, using my patented method for perfect pancakes: walk away and do something else so you don't touch them. The second side only took a minute or two. When each batch was done, they went into the 300 degree oven I was preheating for brownies. Making something else at the same time helps the Don't Touch It process.

The croquettes are good on their own, or with lemon juice or some good balsamic vinegar (we have some fig balsamic from Old Town Oil). The soup is good, but I put some Tapatio hot sauce in it, and that's just tasty.

I better finish eating before the cat eats my lunch.