EASIEST BABY SPINACH (Saute´ and Salad)

I was really craving spinach.  Maybe my body was telling me I needed the iron.  So easy now with the triple washed product in bags. Just needs a quick rinse to refresh.  One used to have to soak spinach, as the leaves were, indeed dirty.  

I buy Trader Joe’s 6 oz bag of organic baby spinach, but there are many markets that now carry bags of baby spinach.

    SAUTEED BABY SPINACH

                                  

This is an under 5 minute  deal.  I use 2 cups.  Rinse.  Don’t have to dry.  Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in an 8-inch skillet. Add the spinach. Stir until wilted, about 1-2 minutes.  Add salt and a spritz of lemon juice for a refreshing tart tang.  Serve as soon as possible.

 BABY SPINACH SALAD

                                 I plated this carefully, always remembering Julia Child’s admonition.  “If it’s plated, you know someone’s fingers have been in it.”

                                  2 cups baby spinach

                                  thinly sliced sweet onion

                                  2 strips bacon

                                  4 ounces cooked cocktail shrimp

                                     I buy the 4-ounce frozen from Kroger’s/Ralphs

                                  salad dressing

1.      Quickly rinse and dry the spinach in paper towels. 

2.      Fry the bacon until crisp, about 10 minutes. Slice the onion.

3.      Layer the spinach, onion, crumble on the bacon and top with the shrimp.

4.      Make your favorite vinaigrette—For this particular salad, I use 1 tablespoon sesame oil, 1 tablespoon olive oil, 2 tablespoons vinegar (balsamic or wine), ¼ teaspoon salt, ¼  teaspoon garlic powder,   

1/8 teaspoon dry mustard.

  

Carolg note:  I serve the dressing separately, so the spinach doesn’t wilt, but you may also put it in a salad bowl, and toss.

Photos by Carol Guilford

  

            

                           

                           

                          

                           

EASIEST FRIED POTATOES

     I like this recipe because it can be cooked in one skillet—my 8-inch Cuisinart. Organic fingerlings are good.  Pictured here are organic petite gold potatoes.

     

 Here’s what the onlyorganic.org site says about potatoes.

    
 The potato is a great food – calorie-dense and rich in nutrients like vitamin B6, vitamin C, potassium and manganese.  It is America’s largest vegetable crop:  the average American consumes    29 pounds of French fries a year and 142 pounds of potatoes overall.
   
 Alas, the conventional potato tests positive for 35 different pesticides—more pesticides by weight than any other vegetable--Some of these pesticides remain even after peeling and washing.

      

 2 cups potatoes, about 1 pound                        

 3 tablespoons olive oil

 salt

1.      If the potatoes are organic, you don’t have to peel them; just scrub lightly with a small brush. Cut in half, lengthwise.

2.      Put the potatoes in the skillet with 1 cup water.  Cover the skillet and gently boil for 15 minutes. I check on them once or twice to make sure they aren’t boiling too fast.

3.      Drain the water.  Potatoes should be cut-side down. Drizzle over the olive oil. Use medium-low to medium heat to fry. Keep a watch, stirring twice or thrice for 5-8 minutes or until they are brown and crisp.

4.      Season with salt and serve with catsup or in the English manner, malt vinegar.

Photos by Carol Guilford

Carolgnote: If the potatoes get cold, you may nuke them for a few seconds—although a tad of crispness might be lost.  

EASIEST CHEESECAKE

Yummy, the recipe can be doubled.  Actually, this recipe is halved, so I know it can be doubled.  I use an 8 X 8, 3-quart Pyrex dish.  To double, use a 8 x 10.

If you want topping, any fruit will work, and canned cherry pie filling makes it outrageous.

I wrote in The Easiest Cookbook (I barely remember the event) “I gave this recipe to my friend, writer Carl Gottlieb (co-author of the screenplay, Jaws) who fed a dozen people on a yacht race from Los Angeles to Mazátlan, Mexico. Carl logged the Cheesecake triumphant, baked and eaten in the middle of tossing, turbulent waters”.

2      

  

 8-ounce packages or 1 16-ounce package cream cheese.

1 pint sour cream

       If you shop at Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods, there will be no bovine growth hormone

   in the product

2 large eggs

¾ cup sugar

    As always I use organic cane sugar

¾ cup milk

2 teaspoons unsifted flour

1. Soften the cream cheese at room temperature.

2. In a large bowl, mix the cheese with the sour cream, eggs, sugar, milk and flour. The mixture should be smooth and light.  I use a potato masher.

3. Pour mixture into the baking pan, and bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 1 hour.  Cool for 2 or 3 hours, then chill in the refrigerator.  The cake rises during cooking, then flattens down as it cools.

EASIEST PESTO SAUCE

Done by blender or food processor.  I knew how much I liked this sauce when I realized I had included it in three of my five cookbooks.  In Carol Guilford’s Main Course Cookbook, I wrote:  “For centuries, Genoese cooks pounded the basil leaves in mortars, slowly incorporating droplets of oil into the herb, but...”  In The Easiest Cookbook, I wrote: “Basil is an herb grown since ancient times; it was cultivated in the gardens of Babylon.

This latest is from The Gourmet’s Recession Cookbook . Yeah, I wish I could change the title, but the recipes are dynamite and I hope you’ll buy it... Only 99 cents.  Come on, gang. 

I wrote: “Fresh basil is the basis of this  sumptuous sauce.  I like it on fusilli (corkscrews/spirals—some say the shape is really a helix) because the sauce sticks to the noodles. 

On sliced tomatoes with a splurge of real buffalo mozzarella, a dollop of pesto is a fresh twist for Salade Caprese, usually drizzled with with olive oil with a few basil leaves, on top. 

Divine on cold poached salmon. To poach/steam the salmon I like to use a collapsible steamer basket in a 4 quart saucepan. With about 2 inches of water below the basket add the salmon and cover the pot. The late great James Beard’s rule --any 1 inch piece of fish no matter how you cook it will be done in 10 minutes.

 Agreeably pungent on a baked potato.

 One cup pesto is enough for 1 pound pasta.  Will keep in the fridge for 10 days.  For new cooks, you are right--the sauce is not cooked or heated!

2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed down

½ cup olive oil

2 large cloves garlic, coarsely chopped

½ cup pine nuts (pignoli)

1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 teaspoon salt.

1.  Wash the basil leaves with cold water.  Pat dry with paper towels.  Discard the stems. 

  2.  Put all the ingredients into a blender or food processor.  Whirl or pulse until well mixed.  Pesto should have the consistency of mayonnaise.  Add a tad more olive oil if it is too thick.  Stir before using, as the sauce darkens with exposure to the air. 

Photos by Carol Guilford

EASIEST CHINESE BEEF WITH PEAS

Photo by Carol Guilford

Tempting ground beef dishes are found in the cuisine of all countries.

Take a look at the Easiest Barbecue Beef recipe. Switch a few ingredients and the dish hops from the United States to China.

10-inch skillet and lid

2 tablespoons sesame oil

1 pound ground beef

1 cup chopped sweet onion

¼ cup soy sauce

   I use organic San-J tamari sauce

¼ cup dry sherry

1 teaspoon peeled chopped fresh ginger

1 cup frozen organic peas

1.      Heat the oil over medium heat until oil is hot. Sauté the chopped onion for 4-5 minutes, stirring frequently

2.      Add the ground beef.  Don’t throw in the entire pound; instead pull off small chunks and add them to the pan. Use low heat and stir with a wooden spoon to get the red out of the meat. Recipes usually say, “brown the meat” but what one wants to do is get the red out. Add the soy sauce, ginger and sherry. Stir. Cover the skillet and simmer 15 minutes.

3.      Stir in the peas, just before serving time. re-cover skillet and simmer 10-15 minutes, or until peas are tender but crisp and beef is steaming hot. 

4 servings. I note in The Diet Book  the dish has 9 grams of carbohydrate and 53 calories per portion.

My recommended diet dinner was cucumber salad and baked custard  for dessert.