Day 27: White Bean & Tomato Soup with Rosemary, and Whole Wheat Bread

I have to admit the last half of this 50 day challenge does not thrill me.  I seemed to have left myself a lot of soup to make.  Now, I like soup, but we'll be averaging soup two to three times a week until the challenge is complete -- yikes!

Tonight it was White Bean & Tomato Soup with Rosemary from Healthy Cooking for Two, and wheat bread from The Greens Cook Book.  The soup, quite frankly, was a disappointment.  The recipe called for 3 cups of water, and this little voice inside my head said "No, don't use water -- the soup will taste watery!  Use vegetable stock instead!" but did I listen?  No, and the soup was watery, and bland.  Well, in my opinion anyway -- Paul and Kevin really liked the soup.  I actually ended up leaving the soup on simmer for 45 minutes.  The potatoes weren't quite done after 30.  I have another version of this soup in The Greens Cook Book that I'll be making.  It'll be interesting to see how it compares to this version.

The bread  was good.  Nice, firm bread that tasted so good dunked into the soup although I preferred the potato bread I made here.  The wheat bread is definitely more of a sandwich loaf.  It will make great sandwiches tomorrow.  I think I'll make tuna salad, hmm...

White Bean & Tomato Soup with Rosemary

Healthy Cooking for Two (or just you)

Yield:  Serves 4

2 tsp olive or canola oil

1/2 cup chopped onions

1/4 cup diced celery

2 cloves garlic, crushed

16 ounces canned tomatoes (with juice)

3 cups water

16 ounces canned Great Northern beans rinsed and drained

1 cup diced potatoes (3/4" cubes)

1/2 tsp dried rosemary, crumbled

salt and pepper to taste

     Add the oil to a heavy 3 quart saucepan and place over medium heat.  Add the onions and celery; cook for 5 minutes, or until tender but not brown. 

     Stir in the garlic and cook the mixture for 1 minutes.  Then add the tomatoes (with juice), water, beans, potatoes and rosemary.  Bring the soup to a simmer.  Cover and cook for 30 minutes.  Add the salt and pepper.  Serve hot.

Whole Wheat Bread

The Greens Cook Book

Yield:  Two loaves

1 packages active dry yeast (4 1/2 to 5 tsp)

3 cups warm water

2 tbsp honey

1 cup unbleached white flour

6 to 7 cups whole wheat flour

3 tbsp safflower oil

1 tbsp salt

1 egg plus 1 tbsp milk or water, beaten, for egg wash

     Dissolve the yeast in the water in a large bowl; then stir in the honey, white flour, and 2 cups of the whole wheat flour.  Beat vigorously with a spoon to form a thick, smooth batter; then cover and set aside to rise in a warm place for 40 minutes.
     Stir in the oil and the salt.  Then fold in about 3 1/2 cups whole wheat flour, 1/2 cup at a time, turning the bowl a quarter turn between folds to approximate the action of kneading.  When the dough is too thick to add any more flour, turn it out onto a floured work surface, and knead it for 5 to 8 minutes, adding only enough flour to make a smooth, elastic dough.
     Place the dough in an oiled bowl, and turn it over so that the top is coated with oil.  Cover and let rise until doubled in size, about 45 to 50 minutes.  Punch the dough down, and let it rise again, about 35 to 40 minutes.
     Shape the dough into two loaves and let them rise in oiled pans until they have doubled in size, about 25 to 30 minutes.  Preheat the oven to 350.  Brush the tops with the egg wash.  Bake for about 1 hour, or until nicely browned on top, sides, and bottom.  Remove the loaves from the oven and turn them out onto a rack to cool. 

Day 17: Honest Meat Loaf and Mashed Potatoes

I love meatloaf!  My mom would layer ketchup on the top, and put little surprises inside like whole hard boiled eggs and it looked so pretty on your plate.  I mean come on people!  That's some good eating!  Sometimes mom would experiment, and put a pocket of sauteed onions and mushrooms in the middle of the meatloaf.  That was a bit of a let down since I was a kid, and my love of onions had not yet blossomed.  Oh, and the mushrooms -- now I loved fresh  mushrooms then, and I love them now.  My mom used canned mushrooms which I definitely didn't like.  Of course this was the 70s after all, I mean didn't they use canned everything?  My mom considers me to be a bit of a snob when it comes to canned goods since I won't use canned peas, corn, beans, mushrooms...you get the pictures.  I would think she would change her mind since I use canned tomatoes, beets, and artichokes but sadly, no, it has not.  But I digress.

I love meatloaf, and meatloaf  and mashed potatoes, well, is there a more perfect combination?  I sort of used the mashed potato recipe listed with the roast chicken recipe found here, but I just couldn't bring myself to put 6 tablespoons of butter and 1/4 cup of olive oil in my mashed potatoes.  I used 3 tablespoons of butter, and believe me that was more than enough for us!

I've made meatloaf in the past without much success, probably because I was too stubborn to use a recipe.  I mean who needs a recipe?  A pound of hamburger, an egg, some bread crumbs, salt, pepper, garlic and onion powder, and it's meatloaf, right?  Well, not in my case -- my meatloaf was always dry, crumbly, and rather tasteless.

I loved the recipe for Honest Meat Loaf in Healthy Cooking for Two.  Delicious and moist, it was so good!  Now if only it called for a hard boiled egg in the middle it would have ranked right up there with my mom's.

Honest Meat Loaf
Healthy Cooking for Two (or just you)
Yield:  4 servings

1 pound extra-lean ground beef
1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs
1 egg
1 tsp dried basil or oregano
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 cup ketchup
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 small onion, coarsely chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
4 sprigs fresh parsley

Preheat the oven to 350

     In a medium mixing bowl, combine the beef, bread crumbs, egg white (or whole egg), basil or oregano, salt and pepper.
     In a blender, combine the ketchup, lemon juice, onions, garlic and parsley; process until the onions and parsley are coarsely pureed.  Add the  mixture to the ingredients in the mixing bowl.  Knead the mixture lightly by hand until blended.
     Form and pat into a loaf shape in a shallow baking pan.  Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, or until the loaf is browned on top and cooked throughout.  Let rest for 10 minutes before slicing.

Tomorrow night:  Pizzoccheri and Cucumber, Feta with Red Onion and Mint Salad.

Day 6: Tamale Pie topped with Spoon Bread

When I was a kid beef was expensive, and chicken was not.  Seems like we had chicken three or four days a week, and so it was a real treat when my mom cooked anything with beef.  Tamale Pie was one of my favorites.  My mom would decorate the top of the cornbread with sliced olives -- so pretty it was almost a shame to spoon it out!  I was excited when I saw a recipe for Tamale Pie in Healthy Cooking for Two.  While it's not my mom's recipe I enjoyed it very much.  It will definitely have a place on my comfort food list.

I've typed the recipe as written in the book, so the instructions are to bake it as a casserole.  I baked mine in four single serving ramekins since I have a tendency to eat too much (eating when I'm no longer hungry just because the food tastes so good).  I've been working on my portion control by cooking casseroles in single serving ramekins.  It's been working great!

Okay, and now for the changes!  12 ounces of ground beef?  No way!  I went all out and cooked a whole pound! (and also added a little salt and pepper when cooking the hamburger.)  I used a 14 oz. can of diced tomatoes instead of chopping whole canned tomatoes and measuring out a cup.  I minced the garlic instead of just smashing it, and I added the optional (sharp) cheddar cheese, and served the tamale Pie with a green salad.  Delicious!

I have some leftovers to use up, so tomorrow it's bacon, pepper, and onion frittata with broccoli with roasted peppers, capers, and olives -- yum!

Tamale Pie topped with Spoon Bread
Healthy Cooking for Two (or just you)
Yield:  Serves 4

12 ounces ground beef
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1/4 cup green peppers, chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 cup chopped canned tomatoes (with juice)
2 tsp chili powder
5 tbsp cornmeal
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg
1/4 cup cheddar cheese, shredded (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350

     In a heavy 10" nonstick skillet over medium heat, brown the beef, breaking it apart with a spoon, until no trace of pink remains.  Transfer the meat to a paper towel-lined strainer over a bowl to drain off the fat.
     To the skillet add the onions and peppers.  Cook for 3 minutes, or until the vegetables begin to brown.  Add the beef, garlic, tomatoes (with juice), corn, chili powder and 1 tbsp of the cornmeal.  Bring the mixture to a simmer.
     Transfer the mixture to a 1 1/2 quart oven proof casserole.  Set aside.
     Place the salt and remaining cornmeal in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thickened.
     In a small bowl, beat the egg.  Gradually beat in the hot cornmeal, then the cheddar.  Pour over the beef mixture and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the topping is slightly puffed and brown.