Sunday is my day for cooking, specifically Sunday mornings. My inspiration comes during the week as I plan what I will make for supper on Sunday and be our leftovers for the week. Being a morning person means that I have a small window of energy in which to make the meal after I wake up on Sunday. With a plan to have my morning coffee while reading the Sunday Edmonton Journal, getting my workout in before I leave for my 10:00 am run, have a "morning date" with my sexy husband and spend the rest of the Sunday being lazy, it doesn't leave much time for any fancy gourmet meal preparation. One hour is about how much time I allot for the task which has to include all chopping and getting the food ready to be cooked. So what can you get done in 1 hour that will taste good? A lot!
Walnuts are my latest obsession for everything from salads to desserts. Today I made an apple/cranberry/date/peach crisp without any flour or oatmeal. I got all the fruit out of the fridge that looked like it was ready to crawl out on its own, cut, peeled and chopped and threw them in a pot with a little bit of apple juice, chopped dates and frozen cranberries. I sauteed them and then added a big spoonful of fig jam and sprinkled with cinnamon. For the topping I toasted walnuts in a dry frying pan and then added apple juice to make it sizzle, threw in a handful of raisins, craisins and frozen cranberries. As that cooked away I poured a sprinkling of honey over the mixture and put in a teaspoon of cinnamon. Leaving it for a few more minutes on the stove I started with the main dish for supper.
A few weeks ago I had made a spaghetti sauce by roasting the vegetables first and it was delicious. Today seemed like a good day to try it again. Using chopped onions, zucchini, smashed garlic and lots of diced tomatoes, I tossed them in olive oil, salt, pepper and lots of oregano and put it in the roaster. I don't eat spaghetti normally (I try to avoid things with flour) and so I cut up a spaghetti squash, acorn squash and a sweet potato to put in the oven to bake.
I do have to do a bit of work in the afternoons, but mostly the finishing touches to the meal and the final cooking. I scraped the squashes, mashed them together in a bowl, added salt/pepper and butter to the mix and spread into the pan. I will put it back in the oven 1/2 hour before supper for a final baking. I roasted the vegetables for an hour, cut up some chorzio sausage to toss in with the veggies, added some red and white wine (and had a few sips for myself), covered the roaster and put back in the oven at 250 to let it simmer till supper time.
What's left? Make a quick salad with spinach, cut apple, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt/pepper and oregano and voila - supper is served!
Now I can start thinking about next Sunday's meal - Thanksgiving. I have lots of ideas in my head that will take more time to prepare but that's okay, I will have Monday to rest with lots of leftovers for another week.
What are your great recipes? What inspires you in the kitchen? What is your easiest and best recipe? I would love to hear what you are cooking - that is always my best inspiration, ideas from others. Bon appétit!
