Sunday, March 02, 2008

M cooks.

I've had some stressful days related to work lately. Nothing that won't resolve itself in the end, but it has affected my time in the kitchen. Last Wednesday was such a day. I received a wonderful text from M. offering to make me dinner. I gleefully accepted.

There are no recipes to share, since M. makes things up as he goes along. But this meal was truly excellent, both in taste and in the fact it was prepared for me. Being cooked for mid-week was truly a delightful treat.

Top left - rainbow chard chopped and cooked in a little olive oil with salt, pepper and lemon juice.

Top right - sliced portabello mushrooms glazed with basalmic vinegar and red wine.
Bottom right - M explored millet for the first time. He toasted the grains dry, and then created a pilaf by cooking them in vegetable broth, parsley, garlic, salt and pepper as well as a sprinkling of parmesan cheese.
Bottom left - Heirloom (Good Mother Stollard) beans that were soaked, and cooked with a little salt.

We (particularly M.) are all about cooking heirloom beans lately. They are uniquely delicious, and have helped us realize that the merits of cooking dried beans from scratch. Cooking dried beans does take planning and forethought, but the results blow canned beans right out of the water. We got our first batch from www.ranchogordo.com, but a quick google search for heirloom beans will bring up a variety of sources from which they can be obtained. Heirloom beans cost a little more, but taste so much better!

3 comments:

Sylvie said...

I have never heard of heirloom beans, but you've got me intrigued. The dinner looks great.

Carrie said...

That millet (and everything else on the plate) looks great. I bought a bag awhile ago but I still haven't done anything with it.

Heather said...

Sylvie - When I first heard about heirloom beans, I wasn't sure they were worth the effort. But now M and I are hooked! Hope you find some soon.

Carrie - I hope you try your millet soon. This was our first experience, and cooked recipe free. But we liked it and will be trying it again soon!