Green Potato Pizza

First off, make sure you do not use potatoes that are green under the skin. That is actually a dangerous mold. Don't eat that.

You will need:

To preheat oven to 425 (or whatever you cook your pizza at)

pizza dough
pesto
a potato peeled and very thinly sliced (Yukon Gold is best) (one fills a 9 x 13 pan)
olive oil or butter
herbs ("Italian seasoning" is fine)
mozzerella

I think olives or sardines would be pretty good on this, or even sauteed leek or fennel, but you do you!

Make the dough. Let it rise. Etc.

Line a pan with dough. Let it be kinda thick but not pan pan thick.

Cook for 7 minutes at 425.

Take out and put a layer of pesto on (I probably used 3 T on the whole thing).

Tile one layer of potatoes, really thinly on there. I've seen Roman pizza where the potato is like overlapping like a deck of cards but I didn't do it that thick on mine.
Drizzle with veggie oil or olive oil (I actually didn't use that cos it smokes at too low a temperature)...butter might work, but idk.
Salt
Pepper
Herbs to taste

This is why poets don't write cook books. Soooo subjective.

Turn oven to broil and put the pizza pan under the broiler (like 3 inches away)
for 3-5 minutes. Watch it carefully until the potatoes look golden around the edges and bendy.

Take out from under the broiler. Sprinkle on mozzarella. You know. Enough mozzarella.

Put oven back on 425 and cook for 13-15 minutes until golden brown.

Let cool for 7-10 minutes because you don't want to burn your mouth.

Mmm!!!

banana oatmeal cookies, gluten free

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Use non-stick pan or lightly grease baking sheet.

You can multiply this recipe pretty easily--I usually double it and make a dozen cookies with the batter.

Mix together

1 mashed banana
1 C oats + a little more if batter seems too soft
handful of blueberries (optional)
handful of walnuts or whatever you feel like (optional)
1/4 C Bob's Red Mill gluten free cornbread mix (optional)

Let the batter rest for five minutes so the oats absorb the moisture from the bananas.

Drop in 2T heaps and pat down with clean fingers :-)

Bake 12 minutes at 350.

Take out and let stand 2-3 minutes then move to cooling rack.

Mmm! A good snack for at work--really tides you over.

Baguette Bread Pudding/Pain Perdu

My mom was born in France and I always heard her refer to French toast as pain perdu. And she made it for us too. But then I saw that pain perdu is a Louisiana dish made with baguette and custard and a whiskey sauce, I think. Not sure which came first. Anyway, we got baguettes at Panera that neither of us can eat (she can't eat things that are hard and I don't eat gluten stuff).

Here's a recipe that worked out to use the two baguettes and soften them up.

10 inches of a baguette, pulled into little pieces (2.5-3 C bread cubes)
2 eggs
1 cup almond milk
1 cup half and half
1/3 C sugar
3 T honey
1 t cinnamon
2 T butter
half a cup of blueberries or raisins (ugh raisins)

Get a glass loaf pan and heat the oven to 350. When oven is hot, put in glass pan with the two T butter and wait five minutes until the butter is melted.

While the pan is heating in the oven, whisk two eggs together with the milks (as long as it's 2 C milk, I don't think it matters what you use and cream is sooo heavy). Add the sugar and the honey. Whisk well until the sugar is not longer settled at the bottom of the bowl. Add cinnamon.

Put in the bread and let it soak for a minute until it's not all floating around on the top of the custard.

Take pan out of oven and swirl butter around the bottom of the pan, taking care that the butter reaches and covers the corners. Pour bread and egg mixture into hot pan. Stuff the blueberries evenly into the bread mixture (if you're like that...otherwise just throw them in the batter).

Red Lentil Dal

This is one of my favorites to have around the house when it's cold outside.

Into a medium sized saucepan put:

1 cup red lentils
4 cups water
1 t salt
2/3 T minced peeled ginger (optional, I never put this in actually)
1/4 t tumeric
4 cardamom pods
a quarter t cayenne (don't over do it)
2.5 T earth balance or olive oil
1/2 t. cumin

Simmer for 50 minutes stirring occasionally.

Tracy Page Chickpea Spinach Soup

Ingredients : 2T olive oil; 4 cloves garlic, minced; 1 onion, chopped; 2 tsp cumin; 2 tsp coriander; 5 C vegetable stock; 1 1/2 C potatoes; 1 T corn starch; 2/3 C heavy cream; 2 T tahini; 7 oz. spinach; salt; pepper; cayenne; 1 can (15 oz.) chick peas.

Heat oil. Cook garlic and onions 5 minutes until soft. Stir in cumin and coriander. Cook another minute. Pour in stock, add potatoes. Bring to boil. Simmer 10 minutes. Add chick peas. Simmer 5 minutes more (until potatoes and peas are tender.) Blend corn starch, cream, tahini, and other seasonings, then stir them into the soup with the spinach. Bring to boil, stirring. Simmer 2 more minutes. Add more seasoning as desired.

Chef John's Fisherman's Pie

Recipe By: Chef John


"My Fisherman's Pie gives you flaky cod mingled with spinach in a garlic and lemon-scented sauce underneath a
browned crust of creamy, buttery potatoes on top. It really does taste fantastic." 

I don't know who Chef John is.

Ingredients

3 Potatoes Russet
Horizon Milk Organic, Whole

For potato crust:
3 russet potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks 3 tablespoons butter
1 pinch freshly grated nutmeg
salt and ground black pepper to taste
1 pinch cayenne pepper, or to taste
1/2 cup milk

(see directions below)

For the spinach:
2 teaspoons olive oil
12 ounces baby spinach leaves
For the sauce:
3 tablespoons butter
Directions

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour 2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups cold milk, divided
2 teaspoons lemon zest

For the rest:
1 tablespoon butter
salt and ground black pepper to taste
1 pinch cayenne pepper, or to taste
2 pounds boneless cod fillets
1/2 lemon, juiced
1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives for garnish

1. 1  Bring a large saucepan of salted water and to a boil; add russet potatoes to boiling water and cook until very tender, about 20 minutes. Drain well. Mash in 3 tablespoons butter until thoroughly combined. Season with nutmeg, salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper to taste. Mash 1/2 cup milk into potato mixture until smooth.
   
2. 2  Drizzle olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat, add spinach, and season with a big pinch of salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until spinach has wilted, about 1 minute. Transfer to a bowl lined with paper towels to wick away excess moisture.
   
3. 3  Heat 3 tablespoons butter and flour in a saucepan over medium heat; whisk mixture to a smooth paste. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture has a nutty smell and is slightly browned, about 2 minutes. Add chopped garlic; whisk until fragrant, 10 to 20 seconds.
   
4. 4  Whisk 1 cup cold milk into flour mixture; cook until thickened. Whisk in remaining 1 cup milk and lemon zest. Bring white sauce to a gentle simmer, whisking constantly; season with salt. Turn heat to very low and keep sauce warm.
   
5. 5  Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease an 8x12-inch casserole dish with 1 tablespoon butter.
   
6. 6  Season buttered pan with salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper. Lay boneless cod fillets into the pan in a single layer. Season tops of fillets with more salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper. Spread spinach evenly over fish and drizzle with lemon juice. Spoon white sauce over spinach; give casserole dish several taps and shakes to eliminate bubbles.
   
7. 7  Drop mashed potatoes by heaping spoonfuls over the casserole and spread smoothly to cover. Place dish onto a rimmed baking sheet to catch spills.
   
8. 8  Bake in the preheated oven until bubbling, about 40 minutes. Turn on oven's broiler and broil until potato crust has a golden brown top, about 2 minutes. Fish should flake easily. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. Garnish with a sprinkle of chives. 
   

Roasted Italian Sausage and Fennel Salad

I made this a few summers ago and it's really good if you hate salad, or even find it hard to get enthusiastic about. My guess is this serves 2 people.

a container of arugula or spinach or red leaf lettuce, washed and torn into bite sized pieces
1 large head of fennel aka anise
2 potatoes (or one head of cauliflower in one inch florets)
1 avocado
1 ripe large tomato (or two little ones)
half a pound of sweet italian sausage
one lime
cumin
chili powder
oregano
garlic (optional)
olive oil
salt/pepper

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

1. Cut the stems off the head of the fennel bulb, cube the bulb in half inch dice.
2. Peel the potatoes and cube them in one inch dice/break the head of cauliflower into one inch florets.
3. Get a glass pan and toss the fennel and cauliflower with: 2 T or more olive oil, salt and pepper, 2 t cumin, 2 t chili powder, and half a teaspoon oregano (crush it with your fingers over the veggies). Toss. Roast for 20 minutes, then stir, roast another 20 minutes, take out of oven, let cool on the stovetop while you do the rest.
4. In a pan, heat olive oil at medium high/7 until it's a got a little haze on it. Turn on stovetop fan. Saute the sausages in their skins 3-4 minutes a side, then lower heat to medium low and put a cover on it with 1/4 cup water to really steam the pork all the way through. Set aside on a paper towel.
5. In a container you can shake up, put 1/4 olive oil, juice of one whole lime, a clove or two of garlic minced, 1 t cumin, 1 t chili powder, a pinch of oregano, salt and pepper. Shake! Taste and add salt if you need to.
6. Slice up the tomato and avocado.
7. On each plate: make a bed of lettuce, put the tomato and avocado on one side all decorative-like, and then put the potatoes/cauliflower on the other side and put the sausage on top.
8. Pour dressing on with a spoon. It's easy to get too much, so be careful.

Mmmm.