A Few Deliciously Simple Meals

I generally am not one to take shortcuts in the kitchen - I just enjoy cooking from scratch too much. But some shortcuts are just too good not to use. I had discovered a great shortcut for making ravioli a few years back, but had forgotten about it until recently. The Asian rice paper wrappers you can find at just about any grocery store are great for making ravioli and dumplings. The fillings are limited only by your imagination. We made a deliciously sweet filling of butternut squash. Just roast a butternut squash, mash it, and season to taste with cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, Parmesan cheese, and salt and pepper. Moisten a wrapper with water, place about a tsp of filling in the center, fold and press the edges, and set aside on a lightly floured plate. Gently boil a few ravioli at a time in a large pot of salted water for a few minutes (they float when done) and enjoy immediately with a sauce of your choice. We melted some butter with garlic and fresh rosemary from the garden. Fabulous!

With all the greens, scallions, and mushrooms available at the Farmers' Markets, I plan on making some more Asian flavored dumplings soon.

Although easy to make, the preparation can be a bit time consuming. But you can make enough for several meals and simply freeze the extras. Just place them on a lightly floured sheet pan and freeze until solid. We now have several easy meals ready to go in the freezer. This is definitely going to be one of my new favorite ways to set aside some of our summer garden excess for those rainy winter days.



Here's a great recipe using the lovely spring greens, carrots, and mushrooms now available at the Farmers' Markets. This was super easy and a really light, warming spring meal. Its from one of my new favorite cookbooks....

"Bob's Red Mill Cookbook"

This book is full of really easy, nutritious meals. I highly recommend it.

Mushroom and Barley Soup with Spring Greens

Ingredients:

• 6 cups of stock
• 2 cups of mushroom stock
• 1 large onion, finely diced (or a handful of green onions)
• 2 large carrots, finely diced
• 4 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 lb mushrooms (any combination)
• 2 cups of cooked barley or bulgur
• 2 large bunches of spring greens (bok choy, chard, spinach, or mustard greens), sliced into thin ribbons or bite-size pieces

Directions:

• Bring the stock to a simmer in a large soup pot. Add the onions, carrots, garlic, and bay leaves. Allow to simmer until the carrots start to become tender.
  
• Add the mushrooms and continue to simmer until the vegetables have reached the desired consistency, about 5-15 minutes.
  
• For the last few minutes add the greens, just cooking lightly.
• Spoon the cooked grains into warmed soup bowls and ladle the soup over the top.