BACK TO BASICS

I can't follow my husband' s eating habits anymore. I can't live on dry foods and salads when I go to work. This is not working anymore. So I gave him an ultimatum: I am going to cook whatever I'm in the mood for, and if he wants to join me, he's welcome, or he has a freezer filled with waffles. It turned out that I should have done that long ago. He enjoyed the salmon the other day, and ate all the traditional classic meals I cooked during the week. So why does he insist on having waffles and corn flakes as the only items in his diet? I figured that maybe he doesn't want me to cook during the periods I'm working. How considerate. But this had a very bad effect on my system, it is working on dry, very dry. And after all, cooking for two or preparing meals for the week is not that a big problem. I realized the reason of his attitude just today, when we were talking about getting the grandchildren to come next weekend for their mom's birthday, and he said, but this means you're going to cook! I insisted that I didn't mind, especially for that occasion, since the girls did absolutely nothing for their mom, at least we should spoil her a little bit.

So today we'll review all the classic items on our weekly menu.

ZITI IN MEAT SAUCE

                                              

All the coming dishes actually don't need a recipe. They are all from the traditional cooking repertoire of any household. These are the go to dishes when you come back from work and whip up something for your family to eat. They all depend on what you have at hand, how many people you are feeding and your preferences. This week I added to these conditions one extra element: which items you have to consume ASAP before spring cleaning and replenishing your pantry. So, I had enough ziti in a jar for both of us, but also sitting on the pasta shelf there was a jar with a handful of penne. Can I add them to the ziti? Of course I can. I am cooking for me and my husband and we definitely are not going to complain about the pasta mix. So while the pasta is cooking in boiling salted water, I brown about 2 lbs of lean ground beef in a non-stick skillet with 3 tbsp onion/garlic mixture I always keep in the freezer, with a sprinkle of salt and pepper of course. When the liquid is absorbed in the pan, I removed almost half of the beef to a container to be used later in another dish. I added about 3 cups sliced mushrooms and cooked them stirring often. Then add 1 can of tomato sauce, rinse it with water and add the water to the pan. Stir, bring to a boil, then reduce heat until the sauce thickens a bit. By now the pasta is done, drain and add it to the pan. Mix and serve with a sprinkle of grated cheese, optional.

CREAMY LIGHT POTATO AND CARROT SOUP

I first had this soup in a Polish restaurant during a lunch break years ago. Yes it was a very long time ago, when I was still naive and ate soup outside. Maybe this was one of the reasons why I changed my mind about soups in restaurants: it was delicious but very heavy. It was probably made with a lot of butter in the basic roux that is supposed to make a soup creamy. And immediately I thought of ways of making it lighter.

I remember posting this recipe before, maybe on the very first postings of this blog. But there is no harm in doing that again today, it's still cold out there, and you may need a good soup without going through many posts until you find something you like. Keeping with my main theme these days, I thought of this particular soup mainly because I had its ingredients at hand, and it was really time to use them all up. I usually buy some items in bulk: I get a 5 lb bag of baby carrots, they are easier to use when I cook, when cut, they come out in cute little rounds, and they are a healthy snack when I need something to nibble on. I also get a bag of 4 hearts of celery, that  use almost everywhere, in salads, in cooked dishes and as a snack. And the potatoes, they also come in a big bag. They last for a long time, but still, you have to use them before they spoil. So cut the vegetables in same size cubes or slices, rinse and drain them, then transfer to a large pot. Cover the veggies with water, or stock, vegetable or chicken, as you like. For the quantities I always go by color, meaning green and red equals white. The potato cubes should be equal to the celery and carrot pieces. You can eyeball that, no need to measure. You can also change the ratio according to your taste: some prefer to have some specks of orange (carrots) while others like to see more of it, it's up to you. Bring to a boil on high, then reduce the heat to medium, keep the pot cover ajar, and cook until the veggies are almost done. Add two heaping tbsp of sour cream while stirring to dissolve and combine. Just before serving, finely chop some dill, about 8 sprigs and add them to the soup. Stir and remove from heat. I like to keep the herb very fresh  in the soup.
Note: if you don't have any sour cream, simply dissolve a tbsp of flour in a cup of milk, even skim. Add them early on to the soup so that the mixture can have enough time to cook. you'll get the same result, no fat added.