thoughtful consumption

This week we’ve had several fun lunches. I mixed up leftover arugula with combinations of herbs: basil, par-cel, and dill. I was afraid to call it salad, but it worked whatever it was. Here are two variations:

Tomatoes and goat cheese

The first lunch was arugula, dill, and parsley topped with tomatoes, red onions, carrots, goat cheese, and strawberry vinaigrette. We also had some cilantro-Leiden cheese.

Here’s the non-tomato version.

Tuna, black rice, and more

This one’s arugula and basil plus a whole bunch of toppings: tuna in oil, leftover black rice, red onions, cherry tomatoes, Asiago cheese, craisins, and toasted walnuts. For the dressing I used strawberry jam and vinegar and let that mix with the oil from the tuna. Then I chilled the plates for about 15 minutes before serving.

It was really good. The cold black rice was especially delicious in the mix.

I used to be scared of arugula by itself but not anymore. It’s a great way to extend the salad season. And cold lunches are a great way to survive the summer. (Not that this one’s been that hot.)

We had another lunch where we finished up some tasty cabbage.

Lunch buddies

Note all the cherry tomatoes, Leiden cheese, tortillas, and apples. We still have some cherry tomatoes left. They’re easy to eat as snacks, but if they start to look like they’re going bad, I’ll cook ‘em up with some olive oil and herbs.

I was skeptical of the cilantro-Leiden cheese, but it’s really tasty. Even my cilantro-phobic husband likes it. The cheese goes well with the tortillas. These are the best tortillas: whole grain with flax seeds and they taste better than flour tortillas. They’re from Kroger, so not a local food, but a nice thing to have around.

The apples have been wonderful to have around, too. We split at least one a day. Now, I’m getting down to the apples in the bag that aren’t so pretty. So I’ll save a couple more for eating and prepare the rest for apple pancakes. I’m going to core, peel, and chunk the apples and then cook them down a little with some cinnamon. Then I’ll put them in the fridge and mix them in the pancake batter the next time we get the urge for pancakes.

Tomato sauce

With all the tomatoes and the basil, I had to make some spaghetti sauce. I cut up the tomatoes and cooked them down in some olive oil and garlic. I added chopped basil and par-cel towards the end.

At the last minute, I panicked and added a little can of tomato paste. I was worried there wouldn’t be enough sauce. The sauce came out okay, but I wish I hadn’t added the paste. I should have just stretched it with more pasta water or red wine.

A wacky idea bound to end in a messy, smoky kitchen

I’ve cut up the peaches, and they’re waiting in the fridge hopefully to become fried peach pies. Last weekend, I was supposed to chaperone a student group to the Fox by way of the Varsity. The trip was cancelled, and that was good because I didn’t have to drive into Atlanta. However, I had been dreaming of fried peach pies.

So I dug around to see how one might go about making a fried peach pie. You need some pie crust. (I’m going to use Kitchen Kung Fu’s suggestion here.) Then you roll out the pie crust and cut it into pieces and put the peaches in them and seal them. Then you fry them. Sounds simple enough, right?