Quinoa and Squash Gratin

How bummed out are you about this whole New York Times paywall thing? Personally, I read a lot more than 20 articles on the Times website a month, especially in their Dining & Wine section. Every recipe I've tried from them has been pretty stellar. Fortunately, it seems that if you click on a link to an article from social media or a search engine, it doesn't count toward your 20-articles-per-month allotment -- so all you really have to do is follow @nytimesdining on Twitter, since they post the link to every article and recipe. But that takes all the fun out of browsing! Browsing is what first led me to this awesome quinoa and squash gratin recipe from last fall. It's fairly simple to put together, is a real crowd pleaser, and holds up very well as lunch leftovers the next day. Grabbing the recipe was definitely worth using up one of my 20 articles.

Quinoa and Squash Gratin
From the New York Times

• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• Salt to taste
• 2 to 3 garlic cloves (to taste), minced
• 1 1/2 pounds summer squash, diced (I used 2 zucchini and 1 yellow squash)
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
• Freshly ground pepper to taste
• 3 large eggs
• 1 cup cooked quinoa
• 1/2 cup grated Gruyère cheese (2 ounces)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Oil a two-quart baking dish or gratin. Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large, heavy skillet, and add the onion. Cook, stirring, until tender, about five minutes. Add a generous pinch of salt and the garlic. Cook, stirring, until fragrant, 30 seconds to a minute. Add the summer squash, thyme and rosemary. Cook, stirring often, until the squash is tender but not mushy, about 10 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and remove from the heat.

Beat the eggs in a large bowl, and stir in the squash mixture, the cooked quinoa and the cheese. Mix well and season, then scrape into the baking dish. Place in the oven, and bake 35 minutes or until it’s set and the top is lightly browned. Serve hot, warm or room temperature.

Bread Soup with Spring Vegetables

Do you ever wind up with leftover, stale bread that you don't quite know what to do with? Maybe you don't have time to make French toast in the morning, or you're not really a breadcrumb/crouton kind of person, or bread pudding just sounds too heavy. One great option is to throw leftover chunks of bread into a soup. The Italians are famous for doing this in ribollita, a simple, traditional peasant dish. I did something similar last night, a recipe from this month's Everyday Food magazine (you gotta love Martha, right?) - it's a nice light springtime version, brothy and full of veggies.

If you're saving some of the soup for the next day, add the bread individually to the bowls at serving time instead of to the pot all at once when you first make the soup, as the recipe directs. That way the bread won't get soggy.

Bread Soup with Spring Vegetables
From Everyday Food

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 small yellow onion, diced
• 1 large celery stalk, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 2 medium zucchinis, half lengthwise and sliced crosswise
• 1-2 sprigs thyme
• 4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
• 1 cup fresh or frozen peas
• A few slices of day-old crusty bread, torn into bite-size pieces
• Roughly chopped fresh parsley, for serving

In a large Dutch oven or heavy pot, heat oil over medium. Add onion, celery, and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is translucent, 4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add zucchini and thyme and cook until thyme is fragrant, 1 minute. Increase heat to medium-high, add broth and 1 cup water, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Add peas and cook until vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes. Remove thyme stems, stir in bread, and season to taste with salt and pepper. To serve, top with parsley.

Orange and Thyme Scented Chili

Joe's been called out of town for work for the second week in a row. Last week it was rather sudden, but this week I had advance notice, so I was able to plan my meals accordingly. Predictably, I reverted to my law school living-solo strategy of cooking a large pot of something for myself and then eating it for every meal until I can't stand it anymore. This is not a strategy to which I would ever subject another person, but I find that it works quite well for my lazy self.

So last night I made a big pot of this amazing orange and thyme scented vegetarian chili. I was a little worried it would be too sweet from the orange juice, but the flavor is totally subtle and it's not sweet at all. In fact, it's balanced really nicely by the spiciness of the chili powder. Overall it comes together beautifully, makes the kitchen smell incredible, and is one of those recipes that I just know I'll be making again.

It tastes better than it looks...

Orange and Thyme Scented Chili
Paraphrased from One Dish Vegetarian Meals

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 red or green bell pepper, diced
• 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced (optional)
• 3 tablespoons chili powder
• 1 tablespoon fresh minced thyme
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 tablespoon light brown sugar
• 1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes
• 2 14-ounce cans black beans, rinsed and drained
• One 10- to 14-oz package of frozen veggie burgers or sausages, thawed and crumbled
• 1 cup mild or medium salsa
• 2 teaspoons orange zest
• 1/2 cup orange juice, freshly squeezed

Heat the olive oil in a large heavy pot over medium heat. Add the onion and pepper and jalapeno (if using), cover, and cook, stirring occasionally, about 7-10 minutes or until softened. Stir in the chili powder, thyme, paprika, and brown sugar. Add the tomatoes, black beans, veggie burgers or sausages, and salsa. Cover and cook on low heat for 20 minutes. Add the orange zest, orange juice, and enough water to get it to approximately the consistency that you want. Cover again and cook for another 10 minutes, then serve.

Variations: You could try tempeh instead of the veggie burgers/sausages, or for all the carnivores out there, this would be equally delicious with ground turkey or ground beef substituted.