Yam, Zucchini, and Chickpea Salad

I'm definitely a bag-luncher. While I enjoy the occasional salad-bar salad or panini, I find that bringing my lunch to work is often healthier and more cost-efficient than the alternative. Especially since I work in Georgetown, where lunch joints are pretty high-end, and (as you all surely know) I'm not the biggest fan of Subway, bag lunches are my speed.

As someone who routinely brings my lunch to work, and I'm always on the lookout for recipes that are simple to make, easy to nuke or tasty at room temperature, and pack in servings of carbs, vegetables, and protein. Needless to say, there are plenty of these recipes floating around the blogosphere, which has given me ample opportunity to experiment.

I was poking around on 101 cookbooks, which is a truly fabulous source for healthful and vegetarian recipes, and I found this chickpea and zucchini stir-fry recipe that looked great: lemon was the main seasoning ingredient, and the flavors looked clean and fresh. I'd been chomping on the recipe for a few days, mentally adding a few more elements and dressing up the whole thing a bit more complexly. Yams for sweetness and substance, scallions and parsley for color, "green" flavor and bite, and tahini and garlic to add to the lemon for a thicker, protein-filled dressing. I also figured I'd slow-roast the vegetables in order to caramelize them.

The resulting salad was everything I look for in a pack-your-own lunch dish: it had plenty of carbs and protein, pronounced caramel undertones from the browned vegetables, and a tangy, nutty bite. Honestly, I could take this for lunch several days in a row and not get bored (much like the cauliflower I took last week). In fact, I took it last Friday and yesterday, and I'll be taking it again, you can bet on it.

Yam, Zucchini, and Chickpea Salad inspired by 101 Cookbooks

For the salad:

2 yams or sweet potatoes, diced into 1-inch pieces 1 zucchini, diced into 1-inch pieces 1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained 2 garlic cloves 3 sprigs parsley, leaves finely chopped 2 scallions, thinly sliced on bias olive oil

For the dressing:

1 tablespoon tahini zest and juice of 1 lemon salt and pepper 1 tablespoon olive oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line rimmed baking sheet with parchment or silicone.

Spread diced sweet potatoes in a single layer on prepared baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Roast 35-40 minutes, then add zucchini and roast an additional 10-15 minutes, until both vegetables are softened inside and caramelized in spots. If vegetables haven't caramelized at that point, pop them under the broiler for 3 minutes, and they'll brown plenty.

In a small frying pan over medium heat, saute chickpeas and whole garlic cloves in 1 tablespoon of olive oil (just enough to moisten) for about 3 minutes, until the chickpeas dry out a bit and are warmed through. Remove garlic cloves, chop finely, and reserve for dressing.

In a medium bowl, mix chickpeas with yams and zucchini. Add parsley and scallions, and toss to combine.

In a small bowl, combine tahini, lemon juice and zest, olive oil, and half of chopped garlic. Add water by the teaspoon until the dressing is smooth and runny. Taste, and add additional chopped garlic if necessary. Add salt and pepper to taste. Pour over vegetables, toss to coat, and serve warm or room temperature.

Best Cauliflower EVER

Before you get annoyed that the title of this post is dramatic without being descriptive, consider the following: this recipe has 6 ingredients, including salt. It takes 25 minutes start to finish and is easily the most delicious cauliflower dish I I've ever had ever ever. Ever. Better to tell the world how wonderful it is than to try to name what can only be described as good, yes?

Now then, let me tell you about cauliflower with capers and sherry vinegar. That's all that's in this -- save for a drizzle or two of olive oil and a sprinkle of salt -- but it's good, lip-smackingly good. No surprise that it comes from the king of simple, Mark Bittman, and his wonderful bible "How to Cook Everything Vegetarian." Having cooked from it and read many chapters straight through, I think I can safely say that it's the best $23.10 you can spend in the cookbook section. Check it out here.

No recipe, really -- here's how it works. Slice a whole head of cauliflower into florets, and put them in a reasonably wide (8x8 or 9x13 are both fine) shallow baking pan. Drizzle with a couple tablespoons of olive oil, toss to coat, and roast in a 400-degree oven for about 25 minutes, tossing a couple times during roasting, until a fork pierces the florets easily and they are deep brown in spots. Remove from the oven, and sprinkle with 1/2 a tsp. of salt, 1 clove of chopped garlic, 2 tablespoons of sherry or red wine vinegar, and 2-3 tablespoons of capers. (I just discovered the ones preserved in salt: you need to rinse them thoroughly, but they have such a wonderfully strong caper-y flavor that's not overwhelmed as the traditional vinegar-preserved capers often are.) Put them back in the oven for 3 more minutes, toss, and serve warm or at room temperature. It truly doesn't get easier than that, now does it?

Butternut Squash Cannelloni

First, let me just say that if you're not in Washington right now, I'd be surprised. This city has officially been infiltrated: hundreds of thousands of tourists have descended upon the nation's capital to witness this historic event, and boy does it feel crowded around here! The weekend was relatively quiet -- I say relatively because Adams Morgan simply isn't a quiet place, ever ever ever -- but today the hordes arrived. Friends and I walked down to the Mall after lunch, and and apparently so did the rest of the country's citizens! Boy was it crowded.

D was talking to her Bubbie the other day about inauguration festivities, and what was Bubbie's one question? (Remember, this is in her adorable Czech accent) "All those people standing outside for the inauguration, where are they going to go to the bathroom?" Well, let me assure you, the sheer number of port-o-potties was massive. There's plenty of room to pee.

Now, for today's recipe:

Martha's recipes have become an ever-increasing portion of my cooking repertoire. When Epicurious fails to inspire me and I'm too lazy to start leafing through cookbooks, marthastewart.com inevitably has a good suggestion, and usually, her recipes are accompanied by some mouth-watering photos. Granted, some of her recipes are way, way more fuss than they're worth, and not all recipes actually turn out tasty, but I've been having mostly good luck.

Because I often get accused of only posting my successes and never my failures, I've decided to post this recipe even though it was kind of a flop. These cannelloni were about a 3 out of 10 on the good luck scale: cannelloni themselves were tasty, if a bit bland; squash filling was smooth and pretty, and the chive wrapping was particularly elegant (and elicited some oohs and ahhs). The sauce was another story, though -- it was altogether bizarre. I was really excited about it, but seriously, the color alone was enough to turn me off. Gray food is just not appetizing.

I've provided the original recipe here (with my adaptations in parentheses), but I recommend doctoring it up even more. I don't think the recipe is unsalvageable: an enterprising cook can certainly fiddle with the proportions, add some extra elements, and make it tasty. But as is, it's pretty unspecial. One way to make these squash bundles tastier would be to serve them with hazelnut or almond brown butter and some grated pecorino or parmesan. If cream sauce is your thing, it'd be good with these, I suppose. Like I said, the sunchoke vinaigrette is weird -- but I actually salvaged it by adding some honey and some of the cooking water from the squash, which I (very fortunately) stowed in the fridge.

One last note: I used egg pasta sheets, but the eggroll wrappers Martha recommends would also work.

Butternut Squash Cannelloni with Sunchoke Vinaigrette adapted from Martha Stewart

Serves 4 as a main course, 8 as an appetizer Vegetable oil, for baking sheet 1 butternut squash (about 1 1/4 pounds), halved lengthwise and seeded Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper 4 ounces ricotta cheese 1 1/2 ounces creme fraiche 1 small bunch chives (preferably garlic chives) 8 spring-roll wrappers or egg pasta sheets 1 egg, lightly beaten (for egg wash) 1/4 cup canola oil Jerusalem Artichoke Vinaigrette Shelled edamame, cooked, for garnish (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly oil a small baking sheet. Place squash on small baking sheet, and season with salt and pepper. Bake until tender when pierced with the tip of a knife, about 45 minutes. Remove from oven, and let cool. Scoop out flesh, discarding skin. Transfer flesh to a damp cheesecloth-lined sieve set over a bowl. Refrigerate overnight. Place ricotta cheese in a second damp cheesecloth-lined sieve set over a bowl. Refrigerate overnight. Transfer squash to a large bowl. Pour squash liquid into a small saucepan, and place over medium-high heat. Cook until reduced and slightly thickened, 5 to 10 minutes. Add to squash. Season with salt and pepper. In a small bowl, stir to combine drained ricotta and crème fraîche. Stir into the squash mixture. Prepare an ice bath; set aside. Bring a small pot of water to a boil. Add chives, and blanch for 15 seconds. Transfer to ice bath to cool. Drain well; set aside. Working with one wrapper at a time and keeping the others covered with plastic wrap; lay wrapper on work surface with a long side facing you. Spread scant 1/4 cup of the squash mixture along one long edge leaving a 3/4-inch border on either side. Roll up like a jelly roll to enclose filling, brushing edge with egg wash to seal. Tie each end closed with a chive. Repeat with remaining wrappers and filling. Heat oil in a large skillet. Add cannelloni, and cook until heated through and evenly browned, about 1 1/2 minutes per side. (I didn't do this: I just heated the cannelloni in a low oven in a big pyrex pan.) Serve with Jerusalem artichoke vinaigrette, and garnish with shelled edamame, if desired.

Jerusalem Artichoke Vinaigrette Makes about 1 1/2 cups 5 Jerusalem artichokes, washed and very thinly sliced 3 sprigs fresh tarragon, picked of leaves, stems reserved 1/3 cup sherry-wine vinegar Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper 2 small shallots, minced 2/3 cup grapeseed oil (optional) Directions

In a small saucepan, combine Jerusalem artichokes, tarragon stems, and half of the vinegar. Add enough water to cover by about 1/2 inch. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce to a simmer, and cook until tender, about 25 minutes. Drain, and place in a blender. Add just enough of the cooking liquid to purée until very smooth. Add reserved tarragon leaves, remaining vinegar, and shallots. Pulse to combine. Add either grapeseed oil or a little of the cooking liquid depending on the desired consistency.

Polenta with Tomatoes, Shallots, and Goat Cheese

Forget Rachael Ray, with her hoarse voice and her annoying little mannerisms. I'll show you a 30 minute meal -- better yet, a 15-minute meal -- that'll have you at the table before you can say "EVOO". It's called polenta, and it's really flippin' easy. You can actually make it more quickly than I can write this post. And while I've included the recipe for polenta with tomatoes, shallots, and goat cheese, you can easily make it with something else. As always, I've listed several variations.

Polenta is basically poor man's food: it's simple, it's cheap, it's sustaining, and it's dead-easy to make. All you need is cornmeal, salt, and water -- ohh, and a fair amount of muscle for all the stirring you'll be doing.

The method is simple: heat the water til warm, add polenta. Stir til your hand wants to fall off, then a little more. For soft polenta, you'll be stirring about 7ish minutes, maybe 8. It's done when it's just past al dente and well-emulsified. For a firmer polenta, you're done when the polenta pulls away from the sides of the pot, about 10 minutes.

Here are some flavor variations:

- Pears, Gorgonzola, a squeeze of honey and some pecans or walnuts - Feta cheese, basil, and tomatoes - Red peppers and pesto - Cheddar cheese (I like white) and apple slices quick-sauteed in a tab of butter - salt and pepper (polenta is awesome on its own) - Mushrooms, parsley, and parmesan (my all-time favorite)

Before I give you today's recipe, I need to give a (long overdue!) shoutout to one of my favorite new bloggers on the scene. Not a food blogger -- thought her posts will totally make your mouth water -- my dear friend Sarah has recently moved back east from the great city of Seattle with some serious talent under her arm and more than a few tricks up her sleeve. She's got a fantastic blog devoted to spoken word poetry, and she will KNOCK YOUR SOCKS OFF with her poems, for serious. I dare you to check out this blog, and you'll see exactly what I'm talking about. Even the title is so frickin' great: Remember When I Had a Blog. Do yourself a favor: add Remember When to your list of reads and prepare to be blown away!

Also, a just-added shoutout to awesome friend-of-friend Ashley, who's recently started a super cool business called Green Eyed Monster. She sells canvas tote bags that are friendly both to your shoulder and to the environment, and they have awesome logos -- you MUST check them out!

Now, the recipe you've been waiting for:

Polenta with Tomatoes, Shallots, and Goat Cheese

2 cups water 1 cup milk 1 cup yellow polenta (cornmeal) 2 shallots, chopped 2 Tbsp. olive oil 1 cup grape tomatoes, halved 1/4 cup of goat cheese, crumbled into bits 2 tablespoons unsalted butter 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmiggiano-Reggiano cheese

In a small sauce pan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add shallots, and saute until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add tomatoes, and cook until they look a bit bloated and have begun to soften. Add herbs, if desired -- basil, thyme, parsley, or marjoram would all be lovely. Saute two minutes more, then remove from heat.

Meanwhile, in a medium pot, heat salt, milk and water until hot but not boiling. Add polenta in a steady stream, stirring vigorously to avoid lumps. When all the polenta is added, bring heat up to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and continue stirring constantly for about 7 minutes, until creamy looking. Turn off heat, add butter, and stir to incorporate. Stir in tomato-shallot mixture and goat cheese; stir gently to combine. Serve with freshly-grated Parmiggiano-Reggiano cheese.