Garlic and White Bean Soup with Orzo

This is an easy, Italian-style pantry soup. The recipe below is the simplest - yet still delicious - version. See the variations for ideas to dress it up. Use home-cooked beans if possible--their flavor and texture will make a real difference here. I like to cook up dried beans in large batches and freeze them in amounts that I will want for a single dish. This is excellent served with a rustic bread for dipping.

1-2 Tbsp olive oil
1/3 cup minced garlic
3-4 cups cooked white beans
4-5 cups chicken or vegetable stock, more if desired
3/4 cup dry orzo
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat the olive oil in a soup pot. Add the garlic and saute over medium heat for about 2 minutes. Add the beans and stock and bring to a boil. Add the orzo and cook until tender, about 8-10 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve hot. Serves about 4.

Variations: Add additional seasoning (especially welcome if the beans are canned or were cooked without seasoning) such as bay leaves, rosemary, or sage. Add chopped cooked bacon or ham. Or add additional vegetables such as carrots.

Pasta with Fennel Bacon Tomato Sauce

This simple recipe was the answer to both the need for a quick dinner and the rest of the bacon that I cooked up when I made the roasted fingerlings earlier this week. The tomato sauce and the fennel were both in our freezer from last summer/fall.

1 lb dry pasta
Water
Salt
olive oil
3 cups tomato sauce
2 cups chopped fennel (frozen is fine)
4 strips cooked bacon, chopped
Grated Parmesan or shredded cheddar for topping (optional)

Cook the pasta in a large pot of salted boiling water with a splash of oil. When ready, drain and return to the pot or a large serving bowl and toss with a little more oil.

While the pasta cooks, combine the tomato sauce, fennel, and bacon in a medium saucepan and simmer until warmed through (including any frozen fennel).

Toss the pasta with the sauce. Serve hot, topped with cheese at the table if desired.

Serves 4-6.

Lamb Chops with Garlic and Sage

Mmm, lamb chops. Always in season in the freezer. So easy to prepare, but such a treat every time.

6 or so cloves garlic, peeled
1 1/2 tsp dried sage
1/2 tsp salt
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 Tbsp olive oil
4 large or 8 small lamb chops, at room temperature

Mince the garlic or mash it in a mortar and pestle if you have one. Add the sage, salt, pepper, and olive oil and stir to form a paste. Spread this all over the lamb chops, rubbing it in well. Let them sit for as long as you have time for (if more than an hour or so, refrigerate, bringing them back up to room temperature before cooking). Even 20 or 30 minutes is beneficial.

Preheat the broiler, then broil the chops for about 4 minutes on each side for medium rare (add another minute or so if you prefer them medium).

Serves 3-4.

Mid-Winter Fried Rice

Fried rice makes for a quick dinner and can be a great way to use leftovers or whatever vegetables you have in your fridge. Really the formula is simple: onion, garlic, and minced ginger plus several cups of vegetables, 1-2 cups protein, 3-4 cups cooked rice, and soy sauce. Fresh and frozen vegetables work equally well. The ingredients listed below are what I used in tonight's dinner, but you could substitute whatever you have on hand, either fresh or in the freezer. Mostly I just like to go for variety among the vegetables, and plenty of color. You can use whatever protein you like - tofu, tempeh, chicken, etc; leftovers can work well here.

1 Tbsp sesame oil (or canola oil)
1 large onion, chopped
4-5 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp minced ginger root
1 cup diced celeriac
2 cups diced carrots
1 1/2 cups diced red pepper
1-2 cups protein of choice (cooked if meat)
3-4 cups cooked rice (brown or white)
Soy sauce

Heat the sesame oil in a wok or very large skillet. Add the onion. If using tempeh, add it at this time as well. Stir fry over high heat for 2-3 minutes. Add the garlic, ginger, celeriac, and carrots (or whatever other longer-cooking ingredients you are using). Stir fry another 3-5 minutes, until veggies are almost tender. Add the pepper (and/or any other more tender ingredients). Add tofu or cooked meat at this time as well. Stir fry until peppers are just tender, about 2-3 minutes. Add the rice and mix well, then stir in soy sauce to taste.

Serve hot.

Serves 4-6.

Roasted Fingerlings with Bacon and Dried Pear

Sweet and salty, soft and crunchy...it has probably become apparent by now that these are contrasts I enjoy in my food! And this, I have to say, is delicious. Of course, it's pretty hard to go wrong with roasted fingerling potatoes.

2 lbs fingerlings, in 1-inch chunks
1 medium shallot, roughly minced
3 Tbsp finely chopped dried pear
Salt and pepper to taste
Olive oil
4 strips cooked bacon, finely chopped

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Toss the fingerlings, shallot, pear, salt and pepper, and olive oil in a roasting pan (9x13 works well). Cover with foil and roast for 20 minutes. Remove foil and roast another 10 minutes, until potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork. Add bacon. Taste and adjust salt and pepper if needed.

Serves 4-6.

Pumpkin Spice Pancakes

I was going to call these Fall Harvest Pancakes, which they more or less are, but it seemed a little odd given that it's February... Anyway, they make lovely use of pumpkin (or winter squash), apples, and maple syrup. Other local ingredients: eggs, milk, wheat - not bad. Yum!

1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground ginger
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup pureed pumpkin (or winter squash)
1/4 cup brown sugar (skip if using very sweet squash)
1/2 cup milk
Applesauce for topping, warmed
Maple syrup for topping

Combine the flour, baking powder, baking sold, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger in a large bowl.

In a smaller bowl, combine the eggs, pumpkin, brown sugar, and milk. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix well. The batter will be relatively thick, with a fluffy texture.

Cook the pancakes in oil or butter in a skillet over low-medium heat, 3-4 minutes per side. Keep cooked pancakes warm in a low oven or on plate covered with a towel.

Top with applesauce and maple syrup at the table.

Serves 3-4.

Pizza with Corn, Red Pepper, and Feta

Summer ingredients on a winter pizza - this is why I love my freezer. Local feta is available from Chase Hill Farm, sold at Green Fields Market (I got some at Winter Fare). The tapenade is entirely optional, but tasty. Not remotely local, of course, but hey - it's a condiment.

1 14-inch pizza crust
olive oil
1/2 cup tomato sauce
2/3 cup diced red pepper
2/3 cup corn kernels (thaw first)
2-3 oz. crumbled feta
2 Tbsp green olive tapenade (optional)
3-4 oz. mozzarella, shredded or in small chunks

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Paint the crust lightly with olive oil.

Spread the tomato sauce over the pizza crust. Sprinkle with red pepper and corn, then with feta. Dot with small bits of tapenade, if using. Top with mozzarella.

Bake for 15 minutes, until crust is done and cheese is just beginning to brown.

Serves 3-4.