Rollover Recipes: Provencal Sauce to Greek Casserole

This has been a week of food experimentation. Sure, I have my month of meals, but every so once in a while I find spare energy and it funnels itself into cooking creativity. I become a veritable vegetable-sculpting Picasso.

The Unknown Contributor started the ball rolling (Now, is that potential or kinetic energy? Kinetic, I think, once the ball started. Potential, when her recipe for White Chili was just sitting there all innocent and everything, saying, “Come on, give me a whirl.”)

Anyhow, I made the white chili using TVP instead of turkey. Total hit with the family. This gave me inspiration to throw together a new Provencal sauce the following day, that I served over whole wheat angel hair pasta. Here’s the sauce, and it was so rich I was licking the stirring spoon (don’t tell, okay?)

Day 1: Provencal Red Sauce

Sauté until lightly browned, in oven-proof pot…

• medium red onion, chopped


Add and sauté briefly…

• 2 garlic, minced
• ½ tsp oregano
• 1 TB capers
• 1 TB dark brown sugar
• a few pours red wine
• ½ jar of green olives with pimientos, sliced into rounds
• 2 links sausage substitute


Add and heat through…

• 1 jar Muir Glen Cabernet sauce
• 1 28 oz. can Muir Glen tomato puree

Put pot in oven, uncovered, and roast sauce at 350 degrees for half an hour.

Serve with whole wheat pasta, salad, and green vegetable.


Day Two: Greek Potato and Greens Casserole

Slice 8 small to medium golden potatoes, unpeeled, and arrange half of them on bottom of baking dish, with about ¼ inch of water in bottom.

Add a layer of greens (spinach, chard, or other) that have been chopped and wilted with…

• medium onion, chopped and sautéed in olive oil until golden
• 2 garlic, minced
• 1 leek, cleaned inside layers, and cut into rounds (can substitute green onion but leek is more Greek)
• salt and pepper

Add a layer of yesterday’s Provencal sauce

Arrange remaining potatoes and top with more sauce. Give a few good pours olive oil, shake on some salt and pepper. Cover with foil and bake at 400 degrees for 45 minutes to an hour (until tender).

Serve with whole wheat bread. Garnish with sour cream. Recipe for 4.

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Based on my family’s response to all three of these recipes, I’m going to have to add a fifth week to the month of meals (which leads us to a math problem after we already encountered a physics problem here… who knew cooking required not only the artistry of Picasso but also the mind of Einstein?)

Greek Casserole photo, by L.L. Barkat.

Wordy Wednesday: Festive Gifts and Meal

Each year, my children refashion old boxes and papers, painting them, adding sparkle, so we can use them to wrap or fill. Two of the boxes here came from old pizza boxes. Another from a shirt box.

How to do it? Origami books often have patterns to follow, and that's what we did. The end result is not just a sweet bread or a book all wrapped up, but a piece of art lovingly crafted.

When Christmas Eve finally arrives, the foot of the tree will be graced with their artful creations. Then, it's on to a festive meal. This year, we'll do a shepherd's meal (loosely). Lentils, olives, feta cheese and bread.

Later, we'll celebrate Jesus by dipping challah bread in honey (based on a Jewish Sukkot practice, which is usually done in a tent of sorts. Jesus, of course, came and "pitched his tent among us" according to the original language of John's gospel, so we'll eat our challah under a canopy my eldest daughter is going to rig up in the foyer.)

If you prefer something richer than shepherd's fare, there's always the roasted vegetable dish below. In any case, I wish you a very merry Christmas, filled with love, creativity, and the joy of Jesus who invites you into his tent for the riches of his grace.




Greek Roasted Vegetables and Chickpeas

Add all to a large rectangular casserole dish and cover with aluminum foil. Roast at 400 degrees for about 2 hours or until very tender. Remove foil, lower heat to 350 and roast for another 15 minutes or until nicely browned...

• assorted vegetables chopped chunky, such as turnip, carrot, potato, celery, red onion
• 1 can or 1 1/2 cups dry and pre-cooked chickpeas
• 1 TB balsamic vinegar
• 1 TB worcestershire sauce
• 4 large garlic, minced
• 1/2 jar Muir Glen Sauce
• 1 TB Muir Glen tomato paste
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp. allspice
• 1/2 tsp. ground clove
• 1/4 cup red wine
• a few pours olive oil
• 2 cups water (add more as needed throughout, for desired sauce consistency)

Finish...

Add salt and pepper to taste and a few pours of olive oil. Mix in a handful or two of raisins.

Serve over any kind of flat noodle, with salad or other green vegetable. The rich spices are an excellent complement to the mild flavor of chickpeas.

About chickpeas...About 15 grams protein in 1 cup. High in potassium, calcium and vitamin A. Among other legumes, this golden, nut-shaped legume stands tallest in iron. Some research has shown cholesterol reduction with increase in chickpea consumption.

Handmade Gift Boxes and Wrapping Paper by Sara and Sonia. All photos, by L.L. Barkat.

Myth & Meal

On vacation, I go to the Leu Garden in Orlando. My family and I pass by the starfruit tree. It is heavy with golden, liquid sweetness. Smashed fruits lie beneath the tree. The children ask, "Pick one! Please?!"

No signs forbid it.

So I pick.

A cry and laughter burst, "You picked the fruit! You are Eve!"

Later, I meet Christianne for dinner (a blessed privilege). I tell her my forbidden fruit story. And how my family and I decided that if we were the owners of the Leu, we'd put the fruit in baskets with signs that say, "Take. Eat. Enjoy."

"Good idea," says Christianne. "No one's going to eat it anyway."

"Yes," I say, biting into my Greek salad. Then a thought comes, "I bet Eve thought that in the garden— 'look at all that Tree-of-Knowledge fruit just falling to the ground. If I don't eat it, who will? What a waste!'"

Bite.

Today, as I write this, I'm reminded of the Greek Pandora myth. We humans open some boxes, eat some fruit, pillage some of creation's resources thinking, "If not us, then who?" Open. Take. Eat. And we become Eve of Eden, all over again.


On a different note, here's a delicious Greek meal. Nothing forbidden. Deliciously healthy. Make. Serve. Eat. Enjoy...




Potatoes & Olives



Add and saute briefly in large pot:

- small pour olive oil
- 5 red potatoes, unpeeled, washed and chopped into 1-inch chunks
- 2 garlic, minced
- 1/2 tsp. dried oregano

Add and boil for about 20 minutes or 'til potatoes are tender:

- 1 28-oz. can Muir Glen organic pureed tomatoes
- 1/2 to 1 cup pitted kalamata olives
- water to cover all

Finish:

Salt and pepper to taste, plus a few pours of olive oil. Serve with orzo, lentil salad, and something green.

About Potatoes: Full of fiber that lowers cholesterol, as well as potassium, potatoes are a heart-healthy food choice. (French fries don't count, but I knew you'd ask.)


Lentil & Feta Salad



Boil 'til tender, 20-35 minutes, depending on age of lentils:
- 1 to 1 1/2 cups lentils

Drain lentils, add & mix with:

- 1 cup or so roasted red peppers
- olive oil, generous amount
- 4 or more TB red wine vinegar
- large handfull dill, chopped fine
- 2 scallions, thinly sliced
- salt & pepper to taste

Garnish:

- olive oil
- feta cheese

About Lentils: These legumes were one of the first crops ever cultivated. At about 18 grams of protein per cup (compared to 15 in a 3 oz. beef patty), lentils hold their own in the health department. They also have an excellent balance of fat and carbohydrates. High in calcium, magnesium, vitamin A, and potassium, they're a great choice for both kids and adults!

Photos by L.L. Barkat. Original recipes, modified here, were taken from The Greek Vegetarian