The Food Nanny
September 29/30 2008
Meal 1: ‘Great Pumpkin’ Burritos, Red Beans and Rice with Mixed Greens
· Warm burritos over the rice in the oven at 375° until warmed through and the burritos take on a golden brown color, about 20minutes.
· Dress Greens as you like and serve.

Meal 2: Black Eyed Pea and Kale Stew, Sweet Potato Flan and Corn Bread Squares
· Simmer the stew in a sauce pan until hot add a little water is necessary.
· Warm the flan in the oven gently at 325 with the corn bread until just warm.

Trivia: Traditional southern cornbread is made with what type of shortening?

Stuffed Chard Leaves and Zucchini Kugel

The Food Nanny
September 23/14 2008
Meal 1: Swiss Chard Stuffed with Lentils, Roasted Red Potatoes, & Balsamic Glazed Onions
· Warm everything together in the oven at 350° until warmed through and sizzling gently, about 20minutes.

Meal 2: Zucchini Kugel, Braised Eggplant with Chic Peas, Mixed Greens
· Brush the Kugel with a little olive oil and heat in the oven at 350° until warm through. About 15 minutes.
· Simmer the eggplant in a sauce pan until hot.
· Dress the greens and serve.

Trivia: What does to braise mean?

Falafil & Shiitake Mushroom Stew

The Food Nanny
September 16/17 2008
Meal 1: Falafil with Tabbouleh and Cucumber-Yogurt Soup
· Heat the falafel in the oven at 350° until warmed through and sizzling gently, about 15 -20minutes. Serve with some warm pita and tahini.
· Serve the soup chilled.
· Serve the tabbouleh at room temp.

Meal 2: Shiitake Mushroom Stew, Poppyseed Crescent Rolls, Apple Crisp
· Simmer the stew in a sauce pan to heat through. Serve atop some buttered egg noodles if you like.
· Warm the crescent rolls in the oven.
· Heat the crisp in the oven at 350° until bubbly.

Trivia: These mushrooms were cultivated on logs by Tomahnous Farm. What logs are best for this process?

Stuffed Red Peppers & Stir Fried Eggplant

The Food Nanny
September 9/10 2008
Meal 1: Fresh Challa and Babaghanouj, Red Peppers Stuffed with Navy Beans and Chevre, Basmati Rice With Figs
· Warm the peppers in the oven at 350° until warmed through and sizzling gently, about 15 -20minutes.
· Warm the Challa briefly in the oven. Serve the baba chilled.
· Serve the rice at room temp or heat it in a sauté pan with a generous amount of olive oil.
Meal 2: Chinese Eggplant with Deep Fried Tofu, Fried Rice, BBQ Sweet Corn
· Warm the corn 350° until hot – about 15 minutes .
· Fry the rice salad in a hot pan with some oil, briefly. Just heat it through but do not over-cook the herbs.
· Set the tofu aside. Add the stir fried veggies to a very hot pan with some oil. Stir to coat with oil. Shake the sauce very vigorously and add it to the hot veggies. The sauce should begin to thicken within 1 minute. Add the tofu, toss to coat, allow to thicken more if necessary, and serve immediately.

Trivia: What makes Chinese eggplant unique ?

Grilled Vegetables & Caballero's Pie

The Food Nanny
September 2,3 2008
Meal 1: Mediterranean Grilled Vegetables, Fresh Pita, Rice or Beef Koftas, Ensalda Caprese
· Warm the vegetables and koftas in the oven at 350° until warmed through and sizzling gently, about 12 minutes.
· Warm the pita briefly in the oven.
· Enjoy the tomatoes and mozzarella chilled. Do add salt before serving. This ingredient was omitted to prevent the toms from leaching too much liquid before serving.

Meal 2: Caballero’s Pie, Blue Moon Mixed Greens, and Melon Gazpacho
· Bake the pie at 350° until the cheese is browned and the interior is hot – about 20 -25 minutes .
· Dress the salad.
· Serve the gazpacho chilled

Trivia: What is a caballero?

Prelude

So, a Caballero's Pie is a FreshMex play on Shepherd's Pie. We made a filling of ranchero sauce, roasted chiles, corn, and squash, and pinto beans topped with masa and cheese. The type of casserole we like!

What, Behind the Rabbit?

Melon Gazpacho is a culinary Holy Grail.
It seems like such a divine idea in your head, but in practice is never quite attainable.

Melon from the Moore's Family Farm, so sweet and beautiful

It likely depends entirely upon the melons. If they are outstanding, and they can be, then the soup will in fact be sublime. This year's melons are very good, and likely improving as the hot, dry weather continues. Tomatoes are also very good this year by the way. It is OK to remember tomato and melon years like beloved vintages, but I digress.

The quandry begins with the accompanying ingredients for the soup. Will it be sweet, with say peaches, yogurt, and other melons, or savory with herbs, olive oil and, chiles ?

I opted for the latter but ended up with something in between. The most interesting part of making it was that the crucial ingredient was: Salt. Yours may need a little more, but be careful. Think of procuitto as you eat it.

The Grilled Flatbread has become a family favorite, below see Asher joining in rolling out the dough (don't worry, it was his own pita that he worked on).

TRIVIA: A chutney is a sugar and vinegar based preserve that typically features a combination of sweet and savory fruit with spices. It is idiomatic with Indian cuisineand was the template for the pear and red chile filling featured in our blintzes.