Everydaystranger

OK, first off for anyone in the UK who hasn’t heard (and how is that possible, I ask?) today is Red Nose Day, which is Comic Relief benefitting the children of Africa. Yesterday I took my kit off and took a photo of me with my Red Nose. I watched a prelude to Red Nose Day/Comic Relief last night – in it they had boy/girl twins. The twins caught malaria. The boy died. Cue me in floods of tears racing upstairs to check on my own little boy. Tonight I’ll be glued to the TV alternating between crying and laughing.
If you live in the UK, dig in and donate.
The babies’ nursery did – today the nursery is having a pajama party and a teddy bear picnic, so the kids were urged to bring a quid, a toy, and come to school in their pajamas (a policy which I love). We painted their noses red to add to the fun.

Secondly, sometimes my babies do actually play well together. Hang in there to hear them screeching with laughter at each other.

And finally, the recipes I have been sent – thank you all so much for the suggestions and ideas. There are many of them that are going to be tried out in this house, and if anyone tries one of them let me know!
Click below the jump to collect them – don’t forget to check thecomments in the post where I asked for recipes, as there are a number of good ideas in there, too.

Advice and a gorgeous recipe from Maria:
We only eat meat once or twice a week, and fish as often.
Potatoes are cheap, and mash is delicious.
Pasta … we eat it at least twice a week and never get tired of it.
Risotto! Vegetable risotto with all the leftover bits of vegetables you have in your fridge. I made carrot-celery-onion risotto today and it was great. Make it with cheddar instead of parmesan cheese, it’s not exactly Italian risotto but very tasty, and so much cheaper.
My new favorite pasta recipe is this:
Cut one big broccoli in small pieces (the peeled stem too) and boil in a lot of salted water until tender.
Take the broccoli out and boil the pasta in the same water.
Heat some olive oil in a pan with two cloves of garlic that you take out once they’re golden.
Add the contents of a 50g tin of anchovies and stir until there are no recognizable fishes left, add the broccoli and some chili powder, keep stirring – you want very small broccoli pieces.
Drain the pasta and put it in the pan, mix with the broccoli-anchovie-goo, serve with black pepper and parmesan.
Hmmmmm!!
My 15 month old loved it (and the pasta shells are easy for him to manage … with his hands), but I don’t know what your kiddies think about fish.
From Mandalei (and parsnips are very popular in this house!)
Before the fabulous albino root known as the parsnip disappears, I thought I would send along a recipe that is easy to make, although it takes a while to bake. If parsnips aren’t your thing, use carrots. Without further ado, here’s Scalloped Potatoes and Parsnips, base recipe from one of the Moosewood cookbooks. Sorry temps are in F and not C.
1 cup thinly sliced onions (about 1 medium)
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1 Tbsp butter
1 1/2 cup evaporated skim milk (a 12 oz can)
1 1/2 Tbsp unbleached white flour
1/8 tsp nutmeg
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
3 cups peeled and thinly sliced potatoes
1 cup peeled and thinly sliced parsnips (or carrots, which is what the original recipe called for but the parsnips ROCKED this thing. Oh, and I used probably more parsnip than this…)
Preheat oven to 400 F.
IN a heavy skillet (nonstick, if you have it, keeps the brown bits stuck to the onion), saute onions and thyme in the butter on low heat for 5-7 minutes until translucent. Of course, I liked mine brownish and crusty, but to each their own. Stir regularly.
In small bowl, whisk together evap’d skim milk, flour, nutmeg salt and pepper.
lightly oil a 1 1/2 to 2 qt baking dish. Combine potatoes, carrots, and sauteed onions in the dish and pour milk mixture evenly over. Cover tightly with foil and bake for 40 mins. Lower heat to 350 F, uncover and bake for about 30 minutes longer until the veg are tender and the top is golden. Serve hot.
(4 servings, 215 cals per serving.)
And for the main dish, I do a version of the spatchcocked chick from Ruhlman’s website, and for the basting sauce I use a whole lime and a whole lot of tarragon. And shallot. We do use the grill for this, when we can, but if it’s too cold (and we live in upstate NY, so it usually is), we sear it on the grill and then finish it off in the oven. We make this once a week and it lasts for a while. If we’re feeling more ambitious, we make stock using Ruhlman’s recipe for Thanksgiving turkey stock, too, since it is incredibly hands-off. Actually, there are some other good ideas in the comments there for other good and cheap meals.
From Tracy, who is due soon!
*Meal: Quiche and Salad (I make a quiche with meat, but you could go
veg if desired.)
*
Quiche (Lorraine-ish)
1 9″ prepared pie crust, unbaked (Either homemade, or bought)
1 c. cubed ham (more if desired)
1/2 c. chopped broccoli
1 1/2 c. shredded Swiss Cheese
1/3 c. minced onion
5 large eggs, beaten
2 c. cream (half n half will work)
1 t. salt
1/4 tsp white sugar
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper (More if you like spice)
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place broccoli in boiling water and boil
for 3 minutes. (This step is optional, I just like mushy broccoli.)
Drain broccoli. In a frying pan on medium heat, fry up the ham and
onions until slightly brown and caramelized. (Again, this is optional,
I like the fried flavor). Spread the broccoli, ham, onions, and cheese
evenly in the pie shell.
In a bowl, combine beaten eggs, cream, salt, sugar, and cayenne pepper,
and whisk until well blended. Pour egg mixture into pie shell. Bake
for 15 minutes in the preheated oven, then reduce heat to 300 degrees
and bake an additional
30 minutes, or until a knife inserted 1″ from the edge of the pie shell
comes out clean. Allow to sit for 10 minutes before cutting into wedges.
Serve with a frilly salad.
(This quiche can be modified in so many ways – add more cheese,
different veg, bacon instead of ham, etc. It’s pretty versatile.)
*Meal: French Onion soup and Crusty Bread (we also frequently have this
with salad)
*
French Onion Soup:
1/2 cup unsalted butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 cups sliced onions
4 (10.5 ounce) cans beef broth (Or beef soup base, if you have it)
2 tablespoons dry white wine (optional)
1 teaspoon dried thyme
salt and pepper to taste
4 slices French bread
4 slices provolone cheese
2 slices Swiss cheese, diced
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Melt butter with olive oil in an 8 quart stock pot on medium heat. Add
onions and continually stir until tender and translucent. Do not brown
the onions. Add broth, white wine, and thyme to stock pot . Season with
salt and pepper to taste. Simmer for at least 30 minutes. Heat the
oven on the broiler setting. Measure the soup out into four bowls, and
place a slice of bread on top of each bowl. On top of the bread, layer
a slice of provolone, 1/2 slice diced swiss, and 1 T of Parmesan
cheese. Place the bowls on a cookie sheet, and broil in the preheated
oven until cheese is melted, brown, and bubbly.
Pair this with a nice crusty french bread or salad.
From Meg, who also recommends this website:
Sweet Potato and Veggie Chili
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 small to medium red onion,chopped
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 1/2 cup vegetable broth
1 10 oz. sweet potato, peeled and cut into 3/4″ cubes
1 14 1/2 oz. can stewed tomatoes with juice, break up tomatoes in a bowl with your fingers
1 15 oz. can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
pinch of cayenne pepper
1 medium zucchini,
diced 2 tablespoons chopped parsley or cilantro
salt and pepper to taste
Directions: This is a very simple and hearty chili. The sweet potato adds a nice sweetness in contrast to the smoky and spicy flavors. You may add more cayenne pepper for a little extra heat! Heat olive oil in heavy medium sauce-pan over medium-high heat.
Add red onion and saut