Mashed Potato Time

In spite of my dislike of meat, I don't really think of myself as a food snob.  I like Wonder Bread and processed cheese, my favorite ice cream flavors are plain ol' vanilla and chocolate,  and my morning beverage of choice is black instant coffee.  (It's so hyper-caffeinated and awful you can't help but wake up and pull yourself together in a way you really can't if you're drinking something you might find pleasant.)

However, there is one area in which I am a purist: I do not like instant mashed potatoes.  Not at all.  It must be the Boston Irish in me*, but I never thought that real mashed potatoes were bland -- they have a subtle, but unique, taste and texture that makes for a nice substitute for rice in vegetable dishes.  One of my special joys in life is eating a plate cold, fresh salad on top of hot mashed potatoes.  Something about the marriage of salad dressing, tomato, hot creamy potatoes, and lettuce just makes for a very satisfying summer lunch.

Here is an admittedly slightly sexed-up recipe for mashed potatoes, based on my feelings that creamer potatoes require less butter and milk and therefore are slightly more "vegetarian" and also a bit healthier for you, and also that cutting russets after a hard day of work is a huge pain in the bum that can be circumvented by simply mashing whole creamer potatoes into a wonderful, golden pulp:

8 medium sized creamer potatoes
1/2 cup milk
2 tablespoons of butter
pepper to taste

Clean your potatoes.  Boil in pot until soft.  Drain the water.  Add the butter, milk and pepper.  Mash as hard as you can for about three minutes.  Stir to blend in remaining milk, butter, and bits of dried potato.

As an added bonus: here is a veggies-in-'gravy' dish inspired by my mom's recipe for Chicken Marengo, it goes great with mashed potatoes.

2 medium fresh tomatoes, chopped
4 cups of diced broccoli and cauliflower
2 cloves garlic
1 can of butter beans, drained
olive oil
sesame oil (to taste)

Coat the bottom of a large frying pan with olive oil.  Sauté the diced garlic until brown.  Add the cups of diced broccoli and cauliflower and let them cook down until they're wilted but not brown.  Add the butter beans, sesame oil, and tomatoes.  The beans and tomatoes will break down to form a reddish-brown gravy that goes great with red creamer potatoes.

Serves 2

*Technically, I'm originally from Lawrence, not Boston, but we're still talking Eastern Massachusetts so allow me some poetic license.  It's pretty much the same culture. Although in Southie I would be considered a yuppie. 

Pepper and Tomato Soup

Also known as "I lost it at the Farmer's Market today" soup.  Inspired by the tomato based soup recipes in Anna Thompson's Love Soup, as well as a really cool salsafied version of gazpacho I tried at the Cactus Club in Boston a few years back.  It took about thirty minutes to make, and most of that was dicing veggies, so it's an easy soup to satisfy cravings for.

1 yellow or orange bell pepper, diced into medium chunks (green peppers are too sharp tasting, red are too sweet) 

6 large tomatoes, also diced into medium chunks 

1 can red or black beans 

1 small onion, diced to fry

2 cups water

1 tbs lemon juice 

1 1/2 cup olive oil

pepper, garlic powder, ginger, and cilantro to taste

Fry the peppers and onions in olive oil until they soften and brown.  Add the water and lemon juice and let boil while dicing up the tomatoes.  Add the tomatoes, pepper, garlic powder, beans, and cilantro.  Boil for about five more minutes, keep an eye on the tomatoes to be sure they're not beginning to look too much like stewed tomatoes.  

Best with some Italian crusty bread, although pita bread is also a pretty good companion for the soup.  

Simple Spaghetti Sauce from Scratch

I "invented" this because no matter how many jars of the stuff I buy, I always seem to run out of spaghetti sauce at the worst times, and peppers and tomatoes are usually a staple in my kitchen. 


I made it this week for my grandmother, in an attempt to convince her that marinara sauces don't have to consist of only pureed tomatoes and a little garlic powder.  It went over well, and I'm about to miss my self imposed posting deadline, so I figured I'd put it up.  


2 bell peppers, one red and one green, diced
4 chopped tomatoes, or one can of stewed tomatoes
5 tbs olive oil
1 clove garlic
black pepper and basil flakes or pesto to taste

Heat up five tablespoons of olive oil in one large skillet.  Sauté the garlic, bell peppers, black pepper, and basil flakes / pesto until the peppers begin to soften.  Add the tomatoes and let simmer for at least twenty minutes.  Goes well with just about any kind of pasta.

Spring Picnic Sandwiches

My blogging activities have been temporarily pushed aside by a social life, however the fast pace and lack of time to cook during said social life got me to thinking.  I've been cooking, and posting, a lot of heavy, wintery type food lately.  I want it to be spring.  You know what people do in the spring?  They go on picnics and eat sandwiches.

Here are three of my favorite sandwiches.  Mayo free, so you won't get poisoned from your picnic.

The TBM

"TBM" stands for "tomato, basil, mozzarella", and is basically exactly what it sounds like: a slightly exotic vegetarian answer to the BLT.  

2 thick carved slices of mozzarella

several leaves of carefully washed basil, or a spoonful of pesto used as spread

1/2 tomato

wheat bread

Assembly should be self evident.  Grills superbly. 

Havarti and Tomato on a French Roll

The beauty of this baby is the texture: somehow the Havarti combines with the French roll to create a blissful, smooth compliment to the tomatoes. Possibly my favorite sandwich in the world. 

1 crusty French roll

2-4 tomatoes, cut into thin slices

1/4th pound sliced Havarti cheese

Cut the French Roll open and stuff it with cheese and tomatoes until it looks like it's going to explode.  

Serve with iced tea, and pickles, if you like them.  

Another variation on this theme is Brie and Tomato, which is also good.  Brie is quite buttery in taste, so if you're not a fan of butter you should stick with Havarti or cheddar.  

Mushroom Cap Burger

1 portobello mushroom, cleaned and skinned

1 tsp olive oil

1-2 garlic cloves

hamburger buns

Various Fixin's:  brown mustard, soy sauce, black bean paste, chili paste, cheddar cheese, pesto sauce

Fry the mushroom in a skillet until brown and wilted.  Make sure you repeatedly press down on the mushroom with the flat of the spatula so that all the water in the mushroom is forced out.  

Serve on hamburger bun with your choice of fixin's.*  Potato chips are good with this dish.  

Can be served either hot or cold.  

*Does anyone else think of Niles Crane when they hear the word "fixin's"? Hee.