Friday Dinner: Soup & 2 sides

My parents were coming for dinner, and as usual I was already running out of time before I'd even started to make dinner. Also, I wanted something healthy and fresh. And I'd bought some random vegetables a few days before that I needed to use up. Oh, and I had some leftover rice from making sushi, and I wanted to use that, too. But my dad is a little picky - he'll eat what ever someone makes for him, but I actually wanted him to like it, too. Mexican is usually popular, so I wanted to combine the rice into something Mexican... I thought maybe I could mix into some soup, so I went to one of my old standbys: Vegetarian Soup Cuisine: 125 Soups and Stews from Around the World. I found a couple soup recipes that used rice, but didn't have the ingredients for either one. Instead, I combined them into a Mexican Corn Soup with Sweet Potatoes and Greens.

Mexican Corn Soup with Sweet Potatoes and Greens

2 sweet potatoes
2-3 leaves collards
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1 cube buillion
3-4 cups water
1 can corn
serve with rice

Soup is always easy, and I try to make it even easier. Basically, chop the vegetables, boil those that take longer first, then add the others. In this case, cook the collards and sweet potatoes for 10-15 minutes (with boullion & nutritional yeast). Then at the very end add the canned corn. To serve, scoop into a bowl and put some rice on top.



Bean & Tomato Salad

1 very large and wrinkled heirloom tomato
1 container pre-mixed bean salad
6 leaves basil
6 sprigs parsley

I felt like we needed some protein, but as I looked through my canned beans nothing really sounded like ti would go with the soup. I thought about adding some white kidney beans, which would have been fin,e but didn't sound great. I also had a can of bean salad, and thought I could serve that with some herbs and tomatoes.

Basically, open the bean salad and out in a large bowl. Chop the herbs finely, and the tomato coarsely. Add to bowl, and mix everything well. Tada!

Brussel Sprouts

1 small bag brussel sprouts
2 small sweet mini bell peppers
white balsamic
butter
olive oil
brown sugar



I had the brussel sprouts, and those are not good when they are not fresh. For that reason, I wanted to use them up. I also bought them at the regular store, so I was already suspicious that they'd be bitter. (If you think you don't like brussel sprouts, try them fresh from the farm... they are a different vegetable). To make sure they weren't bitter, I decided to add butter and brown sugar :)

I also mixed in some white balsamic and olive oil, just to add some more depth. I cut the sprouts in half (so they'd absorb more in their leaves), added the butter, oil, vinegar, and sugar. Baked for 20 minutes in the oven at 350, covered with foil. In hindsight, I would have left the foil off to let them get crispy.



Everyone says: The brussel sprouts are the big winner.
Time: Maybe 45-60 minutes to prepare everything, plus another 20-30 while they cook.

Saturday Lunch: Mom's Huevos Rancheros

So, after a breakfast of tea and banana chips, I felt I needed something homemade and hearty for lunch. My mom ended up making Huevos Rancheros.

Can I count my mom's recipe on my own blog? Is that wrong? These are the kinds of things that keep me up at night, wondering if I have violated some kind of moral law of blogging. I think since I make my Huevos Rancheros really differently, I will include her recipe and then vow to make my own soon, and post that one as well. Plus it was really more of a group effort: my mom and I shopped together, I made guacamole, Marshall chopped something...

Mom's Huevos Rancheros

Oil or butter for cooking
1/2-1 onion
1-2 cloves garlic
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can green chiles (Rotel)
Mexican spices (cumin, garlic, oregano, chile powder, paprika, etc)

eggs (1-2 per person)

First you cook the onion in oil or butter until it is soft. Then you add the canned goods, spices, garlic. Cook that up until it is hot and bubbling. Then bring it a gentle simmer. Add the eggs gently, so they are laying whole on top of the tomato sauce. Cover and cook them for about 5 minutes until the whites are cooked, but the yolks are still soft. This is hard to time; my mom does a great job, but my yolks are always cooked through.

corn tortillas
chopped cilantro
grated cheese (cheddar or similar)

In the mean time, warm some corn tortillas (in the microwave is fine). Once the eggs are cooked, serve on top of the tortilla on a large plate (sauce is runny). Add grated cheese and chopped cilantro on top if you like.

Fast Guacamole

Avocados
Salsa

There are many ways to make guacamole. My fast shortcut to great guacamole is just to take ripe avocados and cut or mash them up (I like mine chunky), and add my favorite salsa to taste. I used 4 small avocados and about 4-6 tablespoons of salsa.

Time: 20-30 minutes total
Serves: Three of us had 2 eggs each
Leftovers: none (not recommended, since egg whites get into tomato sauce, and guacamole turns brown)