VEGGIPALOOZA

Last night was a clean out the fridge type meal. I have had scraps of vegetables leftover from various clients, not enough to make their own side dish. So, I combined all the orphan veg into one happy side dish, well, two really. The first was a combo of julienned carrots, asparagus, zucchini, and of course, kale. The second was a combination of spinach, collard greens and kale that I pureed with a little cheese. The two accompanied two different main courses, one for my husband and one for me.

Normally, I am not in the habit of making separate meals, but I really wanted seafood and he is not a huge fan. Both dinners were exactly the same, with the exception of the protein. I am at the end of a two week cleanse and have been trying to incorporate way more vegetables into my meals. This was pretty quick and easy and most importantly, delicious.

BRAISED CHICKEN

½ cup all purpose flour plus additional for dredging

2 teaspoons salt

2 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon olive oil

4 chicken thighs*

4 chicken drumsticks*

4 ounces fresh chanterelle mushrooms

2 medium carrots, peeled, thinly sliced

2 large shallots, thinly sliced

2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme, divided

1 garlic clove, minced

1/4 cup dry white wine

1/2 cup low-salt chicken broth

1/4 cup crème fraîche

Melt butter with oil in heavy large deep skillet over medium heat. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Dredge chicken in flour, shaking off excess. Cook chicken until golden brown, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer chicken to plate. Add mushrooms, carrots, and shallots to skillet. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Sauté until vegetables begin to soften, about 4 minutes. Add 1 tablespoon thyme and garlic; sauté 1 minute. Add wine; bring to boil. Add broth; bring to boil.

Return chicken to skillet, reduce heat to medium low, cover, and simmer 20 minutes. Turn chicken, cover, and simmer until cooked through, about 15 minutes longer. Transfer chicken and vegetables to platter. Whisk crème fraîche into sauce in skillet; bring to boil. Season with salt and pepper. Pour sauce over chicken, sprinkle with remaining 1 tablespoon thyme, and serve.

*Legs and thigs are better suited to this recipe than breasts which have can be a little dry.

LENTIL STEW

Now that I have a lot of free time on my hands, I have been cooking up a storm-you will soon see. Yesterday, I made a batch of lentil stew. This was something my mom always gave me as a kid, it is my comfort food. My version uses beluga lentils, the "caviar of lentils" they are called, presumably because they look like caviar, but you can use any lentil here. One thing to note, is that if you use the red or golden lentils, they will not retain their shape, but rather soften and become mushy. I guess "mushy" isn't the best word, but I think you get the idea of what their end result is. My husband, the self proclaimed "salad dodger" and "bean banisher" likes it.

Of course, I added a bunch of vegetables to the stew to boost up the nutrients. You can play around with the basic recipe and add whatever you have on hand. I added some red pepper flakes and chipotle chile puree to give it a kick.

Lentil Stew
2 carrots, finely diced (keep in mind the size of the lentils as you chop-you don't want teeny lentils and giant carrot hunks)
1 large celery rib, diced (see above)
1 medium onion, diced (I didn't have an onion so I used a couple of shallots)
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 cup beluga lentils
4 cups water or stock
1 bunch dandelion greens, chopped
1 12 ounce can of tomatoes (I like the diced fire roasted for this dish)
a couple of swigs of extra virgin olive oil (will not say or write EVOO)
Salt & Pepper

Place a large sauce pan over medium heat. After a minute, add the oil, then add the mirepoix (carrots, celery, onions) and sweat until soft but do not color the veg. If they start to color, turn down the heat. After about 5 minutes or so (depending on the size of your cut veg), add the chopped garlic, making sure it doesn't burn. Add the lentils and stir to coat with the oil and then add in your stock. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer. Cook until lentils are soft, then add tomatoes and dandelion greens. Season with salt and pepper.

THAI VEGETABLE CURRY

Another simple recipe. I almost feel guilty for this one because I cheated a little. See, I do not ever use any prepared ingredients and here I am using Thai curry paste. Recently, I have rediscovered Thai curry paste and fallen in love.

Tonight's dinner was a vegetarian curry based on what I had in the fridge and pantry. I always have coconut milk in the pantry which is the key to this dish. You could substitute nearly any vegetable, add chicken, shrimp or tofu. I had rice noodles in the pantry but you can just as easily serve this over brown or jasmine rice.

Thai Vegetable Curry
serves 2-4

1 tablespoon grated ginger
1 can coconut milk (not low fat)
1 heaping tablespoon Thai curry paste or more to taste
1 cup chicken or vegetable stock
3 cups mixed vegetables- I used broccoli, cauliflower, carrots and edamame
1 tablespoon fish sauce
cilantro, chopped
limes, zested

In a large sauce pan, combine the coconut milk, stock, ginger and curry paste and mix well. Add the vegetable mixture and simmer until the vegetables are cooked. Before serving, stir in fish sauce, lime zest and cilantro.

That's it! Easiest recipe ever.