Back on the Recipe Train - Finding a Meal in Your Fridge
We’ve all been there… door swung open, cool air quickly escaping, staring into the depths of the fridge, hoping that something magical and tasty will appear before our very eyes. Our brains do some quick computations, itemizing all the raw materials and shifting ingredients around until we can come up with a formula that sounds yummy.
Sometimes (certainly not always!), these are moments of magic, when often disparate ingredients come together to make a truly delicious meal, made all the more tasty as it seemingly was made of nothing (”there’s nothing to eat in the house!”). While there have been many a colossal failure (eaten anyway because I hate wasting), they are usually quickly forgotten. Probably a self-protective response to shield us from the horrors of our own bad cooking!
CSA season is over, so I’m left to fend for myself when stocking my fridge… but it’s also winter, which means that I don’t! It’s cold out dammit, and I don’t like walking to the grocery store in the winter and am even less inclined to head to the farmers market (sorry guys!). All of this forces me to be a little more creative and flexible with my ingredients, which sometimes leads to some yummy discoveries.
With a hankering for Mark Bittmans Coconut Oat Pilaf, but nary a steel cut oat to be found, I once turned to quinoa, my trusty powerhouse grain, as a stand in and was delightfully pleased! Just as much flavor as the original recipe, but with a lighter feel. And with quinoa providing far more protein than oats ever could, this was a breakfast that kept me full well into the afternoon.
Another time found me foraging in my freezer where I found a small tub of homemade seitan that was just begging to be used. Paired with canned whole tomatoes, dried herbs, and onions & garlic, I had an insanely delicious stew that I served over quinoa (Oh delicious grain, I love thee). BAM! Something out of nothing!
Despite being a fairly organized and meticulous grocery shopper, I do still fall prey to the siren call of random vegetables that look so fresh and tasty it would be criminal to turn away. Brussels sprouts are like this for me. I can hardly pass by them in the store without grabbing a bagful, knowing full well I may not having anything to eat with them. I don’t care! I’ll figure it out when I get home and stare into my fridge and then into my pantry, and then back again, trying to piece together something cohesive. It was just such a Brussels sprout purchase that led me to the following recipe. Its hardly complicated, or genius in any way, but it is so beautiful that I just had to share.
Those lonely Brussels sprouts found pan partners with some purple CSA potatoes that I had hung onto for too long (desperately trying to get through them all! How many potatoes can one person eat for crying out loud!), and a “siren-call” vegetable from 2 weeks before, a small but shapely butternut squash.
Simply roasted, these vegetables were probably one of the best things I’d eaten in a long time, and I’ve since made this dish about half a dozen times. I don’t always have purple potatoes, but who cares! This combination was born out of no other options… so don’t let a missing ingredient bring you down. While it is particularly stunning with purple potatoes, you could always serve it atop purple rice! (actually… next time I make this, I’m totally going to do that!).
Recipe: Winter Rainbow Roasted Vegetables with Quinoa
Ingredients:
3 cups Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved
1 small butternut squash, peeled and cubed
3 cups purple potatoes, quartered or cubed, depending on size
olive oil
coarse salt
pepper
2 cups of water or vegetable stock
1 cup quinoa, rinsed
salt
Preparation:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Chop all vegetables and place on a baking sheet or large cast iron pan in a single layer. (cast iron is ideal)
2. Drizzle with a generous amount of olive oil, sprinkle with salt & freshly ground pepper and toss to evenly coat.
3. Roast for 30-40 minutes until tender and crisp.
4. While the vegetables are roasting, bring the water or stock to a boil in a small pot with a lid. Add the rinsed quinoa and a pinch of salt. Cover and cook for 15 minutes or until all water is absorbed. Fluff with a fork before serving.
Serve the roasted vegetables over a large bed of quinoa.
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