For most of humankind, Sundays are a day of resting and recharging before the chaotic week ahead. To me, Sundays are like standing at the edge of a diving board, where we, full of trepidation, wait to leap into the great blue beyond. Will our Monday be a horrible bellyflop or will we execute the perfect jackknife?
Erm. I just didn't get that carried away with my swimming pool metaphor, did I?
Anyway, yes. Back to Sunday. The concept of rest is different for everyone. To some, rest means sleeping in, watching TV, and engaging in completely mindless activities. To others, Sundays are a day of family focus and worshipping of the Lord. And yet to even more, Sundays are a day of housework and chores and errands.
To me, Sundays are for playing. In the kitchen! To work on three or four recipes over the course of a Sunday is recharging to me. To pretend I'm Julia Child, Auguste Escoffier or some other culinary non-FoodNetwork personality!
Today, first thing this morning, I pretended I was Alice Waters as I put together a frittata (discussed in her book The Art of Simple Food). Frittatas are great to make at the end of the week, when you've got random scraps of leftover ingredients left in the fridge. For me, I had two soft-looking tomatoes, a half-bag of wilted power greens, an onion, and a container of feta cheese. And this is what happened when I sauteed the vegetables in my cast-iron skillet before pouring in six eggs I'd whisked with a little oil and salt.
After letting the egg mixture cook about 5ish minutes on the stovetop (to set up), I chucked the whole pan in the oven at 350 degrees for about eight minutes. Had I used more eggs, the frittata slices would be thicker, but hey, when it's a Sunday and you haven't done groceries, you use what you got!
If you keep cooking it on the stovetop, you'll get some kind of omelet configuration...which is not bad at all, but if you want to slice it like this, you've got to throw it in the oven.
After that satisfying breakfast, I tackled gluten-free peanut butter blossoms, seen here:
I just found out, like, this morning, that PB blossoms are one of my husband's favorite cookies. Huh. So, after searching around in Pinterest, I came across a recipe for gluten-free courtesy Melanie at Nutritious Eats. Peanut butter, eggs, brown sugar, vanilla, and chocolate kisses. I mean, could they be any easier?
Not really. A half-hour later, I was taking them out of the oven to cool. Another fifteen minutes later, everybody in my house was crowding around them like vultures. The verdict? A definite must-keep. Taste-wise, there's not much difference between this one and a flour version. However, the cakey, fluffy texture is lost in this version (no flour, you know), replaced by a more dense mouthfeel.
We didn't mind the sacrifice...although I know some will.
Then, after that, I tackled a Lemon Vinaigrette, recipe found here. I didn't have shallot, so I used minced garlic. The taste is light and lemony, but I'll get the full effect later when I dress my arugula salad later with it.
And later on today, I'll do a quinoa pilaf for lunch before cranking out an Irish soda bread for a Downton Abbey season finale party I'm attending tonight.
I heart Sundays! I heart my kitchen! I heart my family for trying all my crazy concoctions! And I heart you readers for being here!
Erm. I just didn't get that carried away with my swimming pool metaphor, did I?
Anyway, yes. Back to Sunday. The concept of rest is different for everyone. To some, rest means sleeping in, watching TV, and engaging in completely mindless activities. To others, Sundays are a day of family focus and worshipping of the Lord. And yet to even more, Sundays are a day of housework and chores and errands.
To me, Sundays are for playing. In the kitchen! To work on three or four recipes over the course of a Sunday is recharging to me. To pretend I'm Julia Child, Auguste Escoffier or some other culinary non-FoodNetwork personality!
Today, first thing this morning, I pretended I was Alice Waters as I put together a frittata (discussed in her book The Art of Simple Food). Frittatas are great to make at the end of the week, when you've got random scraps of leftover ingredients left in the fridge. For me, I had two soft-looking tomatoes, a half-bag of wilted power greens, an onion, and a container of feta cheese. And this is what happened when I sauteed the vegetables in my cast-iron skillet before pouring in six eggs I'd whisked with a little oil and salt.
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| Gotta frittata? |
After letting the egg mixture cook about 5ish minutes on the stovetop (to set up), I chucked the whole pan in the oven at 350 degrees for about eight minutes. Had I used more eggs, the frittata slices would be thicker, but hey, when it's a Sunday and you haven't done groceries, you use what you got!
If you keep cooking it on the stovetop, you'll get some kind of omelet configuration...which is not bad at all, but if you want to slice it like this, you've got to throw it in the oven.
After that satisfying breakfast, I tackled gluten-free peanut butter blossoms, seen here:
I just found out, like, this morning, that PB blossoms are one of my husband's favorite cookies. Huh. So, after searching around in Pinterest, I came across a recipe for gluten-free courtesy Melanie at Nutritious Eats. Peanut butter, eggs, brown sugar, vanilla, and chocolate kisses. I mean, could they be any easier?
Not really. A half-hour later, I was taking them out of the oven to cool. Another fifteen minutes later, everybody in my house was crowding around them like vultures. The verdict? A definite must-keep. Taste-wise, there's not much difference between this one and a flour version. However, the cakey, fluffy texture is lost in this version (no flour, you know), replaced by a more dense mouthfeel.
We didn't mind the sacrifice...although I know some will.
Then, after that, I tackled a Lemon Vinaigrette, recipe found here. I didn't have shallot, so I used minced garlic. The taste is light and lemony, but I'll get the full effect later when I dress my arugula salad later with it.
And later on today, I'll do a quinoa pilaf for lunch before cranking out an Irish soda bread for a Downton Abbey season finale party I'm attending tonight.
I heart Sundays! I heart my kitchen! I heart my family for trying all my crazy concoctions! And I heart you readers for being here!
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