What We Eat: summertime vegetable recipes

By gwen -
This crazy summer is not leaving me much time to cook or try new recipes, and J. and I have been conducting a little experiment to see how long we can go without grocery shopping (which is not actually as bad as it sounds and is resulting in some very creative meals). But an old coworker and friend (Shannon, it's Kristen!) is writing a food blog called "What We Eat" for a Binghamton paper, and it's really fantastic, so I thought I'd post two of her summery vegetarian recipes here. I haven't tried them yet, but I intend to as soon as I understand something about orphan works and copyright law.

This is one of her regular lunches:

Couscous with Chickpeas, Tomatoes, and Edamame

- serves 5 -
Adapted from Cooking Light.

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup fresh or frozen shelled edamame (soybeans)
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 1/4 cups water, divided
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1 (16-ounce) can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained and rinsed
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup uncooked couscous
1 cup coarsely chopped green onions (about a bunch)
1 cup crumbled feta cheese

Procedure

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add edamame, red pepper, and garlic; cook 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Stir in 1/2 cup water, basil, chickpeas, and tomatoes; simmer 15 minutes. Add 1 3/4 cups water and salt; bring to a boil. Gradually stir in couscous. Remove from heat; cover and let stand 5 minutes. Stir in onions and feta; toss well.


And this is apparently a spinach recipe that Michelle Obama makes (made?) for the girls:

Cris Comerford's No-Cream Creamed Spinach

Ingredients:
2 pounds baby spinach, washed and cleaned
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 shallots, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Method:
1. Blanch half a pound of spinach in salted, boiling water. Immediately, “shock” the blanched spinach in a bowl of iced water. Drain and squeeze out the excess water. Puree in a blender. Set aside.

2. In a large skillet, sweat the shallots and garlic until translucent. Add the rest of the spinach leaves. Toss and sauté until wilted. Fold in the spinach puree. Season with salt and pepper.

Comments

Alissa said…
ooh, these both sound right up my alley. Definitely going to try both of these. I love making big bowls of stuff on weekends that I can eat for lunch throughout the week. That first recipe sounds like a variation of other salads I make where I start with a grain and add whatever veggies I have, and some kind of dressing. I don't usually use couscous, though, so I can't wait to try this one. Thanks!
12:37 PM
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