Potato Gnocchi and Roasted Root Vegetables

This recipe was from my Valentine's Day Menu, but is easy and fast and could be done nearly any weeknight (where you don't get home toooo late or aren't toooo tired). It would also be a nice weekend meal since it actually takes longer to make the red sauce than it would to make the gnocchi.

Sage Potato Gnocchi

Serves 4

3 small/medium russet potatoes
1 cups white whole wheat flour

Egg Replacer (equivalent of one egg)

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. ground black pepper

2 to 3 Tbs. vegetable oil, optional

1/2 tsp. Dried sage, or to taste

Peel and dice potatoes. Put in a glass dish with water to cover or nearly cover. Bake in the microwave approximately 7 - 10 minutes, or until soft. Cool approximately 10 minutes.

Drain and mash potatoes until no lumps remain. Add in flour, egg replacer, salt, and pepper. Mix thoroughly. Add water, a tablespoon at a time, if needed, to help the dough stay together better.

Divide dough into two equal balls.

Using a floured work surface, roll 1/2 of one dough ball into one long strand, approximately 3/4" thick. Slice the strand into approximately 1" pieces and place aside. Continue with remaining dough until all has been used.

In a large pot of boiling water, drop about 1/2 the gnocchi into the pot and cook until they rise to the surface, 2 - 3 minutes. Transfer to a bowl or plate and cook remaining gnocchi.

Heat oil in a large cast iron skillet or other skillet. Once oil is hot, add in sage and cook for 1 minute. Drop in gnocchi (just enough so skillet is full, but not overcrowded).  Cook gnocchi until it has browned, approximately 3 - 4 minutes, and then turn pieces over and cook the other side for a few minutes more.

Put gnocchi on serving plate with some marinara sauce either on the side or on only some of the gnocchi. It's good on it's own, but it's fun to dip, too!

I served this with roasted beets and butternut squash topped with a chiffonade of basil and a sprinkling of toasted pine nuts.

More later!! :)

Good Cooking - Pasta & Soup

Our CSA "basket" last week was filled with leeks (those are STILL in season??) and bok choy (!) and zucchini. We also got a big thing of Swiss chard and some herbs, MORE limes and some persimmons as well as a few other things. You should see the eggplant that we got - huge and beautiful. I used the eggplant to make this Thai basil saute recipe that I got from vegetariantimes.com, but it wasn't a hit :( I thought it was good, but apparently, no one else liked it much. Since we had so much left over, I froze the leftovers and am thinking about Thai-influenced sub sandwiches (with carrot and cabbage slaw, green onions, peanut sauce, and peanuts) for a night when I don't have time to cook.
Sunday night, I used the Vegetarian Meat & Potatoes cookbook to make gnocchi and a new basic marinara spaghetti sauce - the sauce was a hit and everyone liked the gnocchi - Miss M and I both had them for lunch the next day because the 1/2 recipe still made sooooooo many. Next time I make them, I think I will try the sweet potato version (didn't have sweet potatoes this time around) and make extras to freeze.
Last night, I made the Clean Out the Fridge Soup from vegetariantimes.com. It came out surprisingly good - I was impressed. And...I got to use up most of the zucchini, all of the Swiss chard and a good portion of green onions. I actually had so many vegetables going into the pot that I forgot to add celery (which I only bought to make soup) and some carrots!! But, it was good anyways.

And...about Miss M :)
We went to see cousin C. over the weekend. The girls played soooo good together - I loved it. They were both excited to see each other and had a lot of fun playing all day. When we were getting in the car to leave our house on Saturday morning, Miss M asked me if we were going to grandma susu's house. I told her that we were and she asked me - not cousin cayenna's house?. I told her that once we picked up grandma that we would be going out to see cousin C. She told me (in her halting, measured way - it's like she thinks it, says part of it, thinks some more and then tries to get it all out) that cousin C. was her cousin and her friend.
so - so - so - so beautiful!

More later! :)