This is another “More-with-Less” recipe as I’m informally making my way through the cookbook – don’t get any ideas of a “Julie & Julia” kind of thing going on. It’s just nice to have a book of healthy and inexpensive recipes to try, especially with the variety of countries and flavors represented. “Torta pascualina” is translated in the book as “Argentine spinach pie.” I happen to know some people making their way to Argentina tomorrow, so the timing ended up being special.

Torta Pascualina 

Have ready
– 1 pie shell and crust for top, unbaked
Cook, drain, and chop finely
– 1 1/2 c. frozen or 2 qt. fresh spinach
Saute until tender
– 2 T. oil
– 1 onion, chopped
Combine
– spinach
– sauteed onion
– 1/4 t. nutmeg
– 1 t. oregano
– 1/2 t. salt
– 2 beaten eggs
– 1 c. grated Swiss cheese
Pour into pie shell. Arrange top crust and seal. Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes. Serve hot in wedges.

This is so easy! I tried a new product – frozen chopped spinach that comes one of those steam-in-the-bag things. I’ve always used the frozen spinach bricks which are difficult to thaw, and then you have to wring out all the water to avoid your recipe getting soggy. I just threw the bag in the microwave for four minutes, and it was perfect. Just the right amount for the recipe and no wringing out excess green water. And it was only 20 cents more than the green brick, totally worth it. I also took the shortcut of refrigerated pie crust.

This got good reviews from Brett. Hannah threw it on the floor, but she also threw her banana on the floor – it was just one of those nights. The crust was flaky, and the filling was soft and cheesy. We enjoyed it with a Malbec – an Argentine wine – of course!

Yesterday at the Farmers’ Market, we picked up cucumber, eggplant, zucchini, mushrooms, yellow squash and a huge bunch of basil. I have a small pot of basil growing in the backyard, but it looks very sad so I was happy to see a gorgeous bunch for only $2. Pesto time!

Tonight I roasted the eggplant, tossed it with some leftover tomatoes from the recipe yesterday, threw it on some whole wheat spaghetti and topped it with the fresh pesto. Eating local is easy and tasty!

Anyone’s mouth watering at the thought of “soybean loaf”? Mine certainly wasn’t.

I recently got “More-with-Less” – a well-known Mennonite cookbook that emphasizes nutritional balance, “whole” foods and making meal choices that reflect a concern for global poverty and sustainability. The foreword of my 25th anniversary edition states:

North Americans are encouraged to consume. We’ve seen an explosion of new artificial fats and sweeteners and products made with them, yet we suffer from obesity. The nutritional supplement industry encourages us to take vitamin, mineral, and herbal supplements to be healthy and happy. We no longer see food as good, providing nutrients and needed fuel. It is either a splurge or a scourge. (This cookbook) can help recapture the joy of preparing and eating adequate and appropriate food.

My mom used “More-with-Less” often as we were growing up, so I have eaten many recipes from it. But now with my own copy, I’ve decided to try some new ones. I was intrigued by the many soybean recipes included in the book. Growing up in Kansas, I have seen countless soybean fields but have not seen a lot of recipes featuring soybeans. A particular recipe that grabbed my attention was the following:

Soybean Loaf 

Preheat oven to 350.
Combine in large bowl:
2 1/2 c. soybeans, cooked and mashed
1/2 c. cottage cheese
1/2 c. fresh or cooked tomatoes, drained and chopped
2 eggs
2 T. oil
1 1/2 t. salt
1/2 c. bread crumbs
Mix well. Form into loaf and place on greased baking pan.
Pour sauce (a homemade tomato sauce) on top.
Bake 1 hour.

This was undoubtably the weirdest thing I have ever cooked. The ingredients were not expensive or hard to find, and making it was not difficult. I was afraid of it being bland, so I added some garlic powder, fresh ground pepper and dried italian herbs. I also sprinkled some grated parmesan cheese on top. It smelled really good while baking. But really – soybeans, cottage cheese and tomatoes? We had the back-up plan of running to Chick-fil-A if things got bad.

I made mashed potatoes, figuring that was the traditional side dish for meatloaf, and I wanted to have some illusion of normality for this meal.

A nice slice of soybean loaf with mashed potatoes

We were surprised – in a positive way. I really only made this recipe because it sounded so strange, but it ended up being a not-so-bad meal. The texture was similar to meatloaf, and it was surprisingly flavorful (probably due to my recipe rogue additions). Brett’s take: “It’s different.” But he did clean his plate. Hannah had already gone to bed when we ate, so we’ll have to get her review tomorrow.

Would I make this again? No. But I’m glad I tried it. Being open-minded about new recipes may not always result in deliciousness, but the experience was worth it. Expect many more “More-with-Less” recipes to be featured in the future.

I’ve been looking for new things to do with eggs. They are nutritious and cheap (though I do spring for the brown cage-free variety), and when menu-planning I like to throw in main dishes where meat is not necessarily the dominant protein.

For tonight’s recipe, I looked to my freezer – hmmm, a few hashbrowns left in a bag, some bacon – only needed to get a pie crust. Deliciousness followed. Brett declared that I would win a quiche-baking contest with this, which was very sweet. As a side dish I did Creamy Baked Green Beans. Yes, if you click on the link the recipe is actually for asparagus, but I do the same thing with green beans (1/3 the price of asparagus) and it is quite tasty. And we had some green beans from the farmers’ market. Add some white wine, and there’s an easy dinner with French flair.

Quiche Diane (an original)

1 refrigerated pie crust
3 slices bacon
2 cups frozen hash brown potatoes
4 eggs
1/2 cup whole milk
2 tsp. dijon mustard
fresh ground pepper
1/2 cup shredded swiss cheese

Preheat oven to 375. Lay pie crust into dish, crimp edges and poke holes with fork. Use a crust shield if available. Bake for 10 minutes.

Cut bacon into 1/2 inch pieces and brown. Remove to paper-towel covered dish. Cook frozen hash browns in remaining bacon grease.

In a separate bowl, mix eggs, milk, dijon and pepper thoroughly.

When pie crust is done, spread potatoes evenly on the bottom. Then pour egg mixture over it. Sprinkle cooked bacon on top and finish with shredded cheese. Cook for 30 minutes or until egg is completely set and top is nicely browned.

After years of watching the Food Network, I began to develop an awe of risotto. It was presented as a difficult dish, something that surely only professional chefs could pull off. After all, how else could they charge so much for it in restaurants?  It must have expensive ingredients, and I knew it had many steps. Certainly not something I, a home cook, could pull off.

My confidence was boosted when my culinarily fearless brother Michael made risotto during our annual sibling weekend this year. Not long after that, I produced my first risotto and was moderately impressed myself with the results. Maybe this risotto stuff wasn’t as hard as I had thought. However, the preparation is not toddler-friendly. The process takes my full attention for almost half an hour with constant stirring, so I can only make it on the weekends when Brett can keep an eye on Hannah while I cook.

Tonight on the menu – crimini mushroom risotto. There are lots of risotto recipes out there, and any of them contain the basic steps of the process. This evening, I first sauteed some sliced crimini mushrooms. These are baby portobello mushrooms, and we really enjoy their texture and flavor. I bought them from the bulk mushrooms and saved almost $1 over the pre-packaged ones. After I toasted the rice (with some garlic), I added a half cup of dry white wine before starting the chicken stock additions. Then it was the normal basic process; at the end I added the mushrooms back in along with about half  a cup of parmesan and some chopped parsley.

So I started with two objections to trying risotto at home:  difficulty of process and cost of ingredients. In reality, the process is not as much difficult as it is time-consuming, though that is really not bad. You just need some good instructions and some patience. When it comes to cost of ingredients, risotto is as expensive as you want it to be. The basic ingredients are arborio rice and chicken stock, everything else can be added based on creativity and budget. My mushroom risotto tonight was actually less expensive than the delicious olive bread from the farmers’ market that you see pictured.

Filling and tasty, and makes us feel elegant. What did you have for dinner tonight?