Pot roast

Less than 20 minutes prep, up to 4 hours cooking time. About 4 servings.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Use a thick-bottomed covered pot, such as a dutch oven, just large enough to hold roast and vegetables. Heat 1 Tbsp of oil on medium high heat (hot enough to sear the meat). Sprinkle and rub salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning all over the meat. Brown roast in pot, all over, several minutes on each side. Don't move the roast while a side is browning, or it won't brown well.

When roast is browned, lift up the meat and add garlic and chopped onion to the bottom of the pan. Let the roast sit on top of the onions. Add 1 cup of red wine. Cover, and put in oven.

Cook for 3 hours, until meat is tender. Add carrots, cook an additional 20 minutes.

See Simply Recipies.

Cauliflower Gratin

Prep time about 15 minutes, cooking time 35 minutes. About 4 servings.

Set an oven rack in the upper half of the oven and preheat to 350°F. Sprinkle the cauliflower with coarse salt and steam for 15 minutes, until soft. Transfer the cauliflower to a medium gratin dish. Season with a subtle dash of nutmeg, and top with half of the cheese.

Have the butter, flour, and milk measured and ready. Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium-high heat. When the butter starts to sizzle, add the flour all at once and stir it into the butter with a wooden spoon (this is called a roux blanc). Cook for 3 minutes without coloring, stirring continually until the mixture turns creamy. Pour in the milk and whisk it into the roux blanc, making sure you don’t leave any clumps on the bottom and sides of the pan. Bring to a simmer and cook for a few minutes, stirring with the wooden spoon or the whisk as the mixture thickens. Set aside to cool for a few minutes.

Season the sauce with salt, pepper, and a whisper of nutmeg. Pour evenly over the cauliflower, top with the remaining cheese, sprinkle with bread crumbs, and slip into the oven to bake for 20 minutes, until heated through and well gratinéed at the top; you can switch to the broiler setting for the 5 final minutes. Let rest for five minutes and serve

See Chocolate and Zucchini.

Tuna and spinnach salad

10-15 minutes prep. Serves 2.

Combine all ingredients.

Balsamic Portobello Mushrooms

Less than 10 minutes prep, about 15 minutes cooking. Servings?

Add olive oil to saute pan. Saute shallots/onions for 2 minutes. Add Garlic and saute for 1 more minute. Add Portobello mushrooms, Balsamic vinegar, thyme and basil. Lower heat and cover pan. Cook for 6-10 minutes until mushrooms have turned a brownish color and become flexible. If the pan gets dry you can add a splash of water, broth, or red wine.

Chicken breast w/ pan sauce, peppers

Time: about 20 minutes. Serves 2.

Put a little olive oil in pan, heat. Add chicken breasts, cook for about eight minutes. Flip chicken breasts, add onions, peppers. Cook for another 6-8 minutes.

Remove chicken, peppers, and some of the onions. Deglaze pan with wine, mixing-in the fond. Add salt, pepper, and butter. Optionally, include a minced clove of garlic. Reduce by about half.

Combine everything. Drizzel some olive oil on peppers.

Vegetable frittata

Prep time 10-15 minutes, cook 20-25 minutes. Serves 2.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Warm olive oil in large skillet on stove. Beat eggs, salt, pepper, cheese, herbs in large mixing bowl. Saute vegetables in skillet for about 7 minutes.

Combine all ingredients into greased cake pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until puffy and golden.

Chicken caesar salad

Meatloaf, vegetable

Lentil soup

Calabacitas w/ zucchini, onions, green chiles, cheese

Italian sausage (turkey) with tomatoe sauce, vegetable

Carrot, parsnip, sweet potato fries

- a head of celery root - two large potatoes - olive oil - salt, pepper - herbes de provence - piment d'espelette (substitute red pepper flakes) (Serves 4.) Preheat the oven to 230°C (450°F). Grease a baking dish lightly. Wash and scrub the vegetables. Peel them and cut them in fries. Put them in the dish, pour a little olive oil, and season generously with the other ingredients. Toss with a wooden spoon, and add more oil and seasonings if it seems like there isn't enough to coat all the fries. Bake for one hour, stirring half-way through and keeping an eye on them, until the fries are golden and a little crisp at the edges.

Poached salmon, vegetable

Zucchini fritters, vegetable

Chicken Curry, vegetable

Fish stew

Cheese quesadillas

Turnip and potato patties, vegetable

Pork chops

Tofu w/ peanut sauce