K.I.S.S. Food -- veggies, bread, beefy bites & stew

Keep It Simple, Stupid!

Even though we may have time right now to do all those fancy long drawn-out recipes, we may not have the resources available to make them.  So here are some simple recipes to help you and yours through these trying times.

Simple Vegetables
I went to Publix this morning (Wednesday) for the Senior Early Hour, to try and pick up a couple minor things we need and see how things have changed.  As vegetarian fish eaters, I sure am glad we get the majority of out produce from the SW Florida Produce Co-op!  The Publix veg was pretty sad.

So I came back home, made some Kalamata Olive Bread (see below) and thought about simple vegetable dishes for you.

Roasted
It can hardly get any simpler! peel the veg, if necessary.  Slice/chop things as desired.  They them out on a baking sheet or rack.  Add a spritz of oil.  Dust with spices you like.  Roast at 400-425F for 20-30 minutes.  Here I used Potato, Apple, Sweet Potato, Onion and carrot.  

This tray full fed two hungry vegetarians well.  

Steamed & Sauteed
This is what we had for dinner on Tuesday -- Green Beans and Summer Squash.  

I steamed the green beans with about a quarter of a lemon sliced and squeezed into the steam water.  I also sautéed the thin coins of summer squash with a thin sliced shallot and a peeled, shaved finger of fresh ginger, and spiced them with a shake of each of my go-to spice blends: Cavender's, Everglades, and Italian blend.

Baked & Steamed 
Wednesday I decided to make my "signature" Marmalade Squash, with a side of steamed Broccoli.

I usually nuke the Acorn squash for 5-8 minutes depending on size, after halving and seeding it out.

This is Florida and it's hot and we don't need the oven on for something like this!   We usually think of Acorn squash as savory and put pats of butter in there with salt and pepper.  My version counters the savory of the squash with the slightly tart sweet of marmalade.  In the photo below, I used Blood Orange marmalade.

Fast Olive Bread
Bread is Simple!  Flour, salt, liquid, and yeast or other raising agent.  Bread just doesn't seem simple when you start to read all those steps in most recipes!  This recipe is simpler than most.

The thing here is the addition of chopped Kalamata olives.

2 cups warm Water
1 tsp Sugar
2-1/2 cups each of AP and Whole Wheat Flour, plus more for bench flour
1 tsp salt (you get extra salt from the cured olives)
1 packet of Rapid Rise Yeast
12 oz jar or larger pitted Kalamata Olives, chopped
2-3 Tbsp soft Butter to brush the loaves with

Dissolve together the water, sugar and yeast, and let it set 5 minutes or more to start working.

Add the salt to half of the flour and combine.  Now add the yeasty water and then stir in the rest of the flour.  Start to bring the dough together and add the olives.  Add a bit more water if needed.

Dump the dough on your floured work top, then start kneading.  You may need a bit more flour here.  Knead about 10-15 minutes until you get the proverbial "smooth as a baby's bottom" dough ball that shows light through the stretched dough 'pane'.  That way you know that you've got good gluten development.

Divide the dough in half, and place each piece in a greased loaf pan.  Cover and set in a breeze-free warmish place for 1 hour to let the dough double in size.

Near the end of the rise time, pre-heat the oven to 425F.  Brush the loaf tops with softened butter and bake them for about 20 minutes, to a nice brown crust and an internal temp of 190-220F.  

Rest at least 15 minutes before de-panning the loaves and slicing.

Quick Beefy Bites
While at Publix the other day, I picked up a good deal -- a pound of "cubed for stew" veal, not old beef!   This made me several nice meaty lunches (I still do some meat, Sally eats only veg and seafood).

Pasta Peas & Veal
My first lunch was this simple pasta, peas and veal dish;  a literal handful of pasta plus about a quarter-cup of frozen green peas.  Yummm.

Saifun Beef & Peppers
Next I made this dish with Saifun, a.k.a. Glass Noodles -- classic rice flour noodles you can find in any Asian market and most megamarts.  Added my beef, a couple of mushroom slices, and some strips of red bell pepper to the water boiling to make the noodles.

Carne Street Tacos
Here I sliced the veal cubes even smaller and served them with homemade Salsa Verde and locally made Queso Fresca which I got from a nearby Carniceria and Mercado.

My Salsa Verde recipe is here:
https://foodingaround-kiltedcook.blogspot.com/2020/01/hungarian-casserole-garbanzo-bread.html

Curried Tomato-Lentil Stew
This one's not quite as simple as the rest of this week's fare, but still pretty easy.  It's a Forks Over Knives, recipe, so I've doubled the original amount of curry spice and ginger so you can actually taste them.  Makes 4-5 servings.

1 can (2 cups) diced tomatoes with liquid.  I used real tomatoes, not canned.
1 cup dry Lentils, rinsed
1 cup diced Onion
3 cloves Garlic, sliced
1cup large diced Carrot
1 thumb minced Ginger
2 tsp to 1 Tbsp Curry Powder of your choice...
Salt & Pepper to taste
Cooked Rice to serve

Cook the lentils al dente (I used my rice cooker) and cool a little.  Puree half the cooked lentil and reserve along with the non-pureed lentils.

In a large skillet, sauté the onion, garlic, and ginger.  Stir in the tomatoes, carrot and curry powder and simmer for about 10 minutes to marry the flavors and get the carrots tender.  Add the reserved lentils and 3 cups of water or broth, season with salt and pepper, and continue cooking another 10-15 minutes.  

Serve over cooked rice.