Preparing for the Work Week

I try to cook most meals at least a day before. There are a few reasons for this:
1) It takes away that “housewife” feeling. I hate the pressure of having to get dinner on the table while my boyfriend is busy making fantasy trades.
2) It takes the guess work out of timing. It keeps me from eating a meal while I’m preparing the meal. If I cook when I get home from work I’m usually so hungry I’ll eat a portion of the meal while I’m cooking it. No good.
3) It lets me enjoy cooking. That, for me, is half reason for cooking (the other half is nutrition.) If I didn’t like cooking there are plenty of pre-cooked frozen meals out there for me to eat (hey, at least half the country is already sustaining on them.)
In keeping with preparing meals at least a day before, I made these on Saturday Morning:


White Bean Soup with Mustard Greens

2 teaspoons olive oil
2 carrots diced
½ large onion diced
1 celery stalk diced
2 cloves garlic minced
3 sprigs fresh thyme
2 bay leaves
2 cans white beans (3-4 cups if you’re using dried beans)
3-4 cups vegetable broth
1 head mustard greens
Kosher salt fresh black pepper
Whole grain brown & long grain rice mix. (any brown rice will do)

Dice your carrots, onion, celery and garlic. (I start heating the oil about half way into this.) Add the diced vegetables to the oil. Add some fresh black pepper. Cook until soft.
Rinse your beans and add them to the softened vegetables. Add the leaves from your sprigs of thyme and the 2 bay leaves. Bring this to a boil and then reduce to medium-low heat and let simmer about 20 minutes-1/2 hour.

About this time I started the rice in a separate pot, cooking it in vegetable stock rather than water.

Take this time to chop your mustard greens. I always chop less then I think I’ll need because it’s easy to add more. Hold the head of greens together and cut 1 inch strips across. If you like smaller pieces, do the same and then cut those strips in half or into three pieces.

Remove the bay leaves from your soup. Taste the broth and add salt and pepper if needed. Add the mustard greens. They shouldn’t take more than 2-3 minutes to wilt.

I served this with the rice on the bottom. The original recipe called for ham as flavoring. Instead, I threw a bit of smoked cheddar over the top.





Pasta with Fava Bean Sauce

Thanks to Silence of the Lambs there's only one thing I can think of when it comes to Fava Beans, and I happen to know all of the fresh livers available to me have been damaged by alcohol consumption ;)

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 cloves minced garlic
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh oregano
1-1/2 cups vegetable stock
1/2 Lemon
1 1/2 lb Fava beans in the pod
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Remove the beans from their shells
Heat a large pot of water and cook the beans until they are tender
Heat oil on medium and add minced garlic
Chop some fresh oregano and add to the pan
Add 1 cup of vegetable stock and the cooked Fava beans
Add salt and pepper to taste

Remove from heat and let cool. The puree the mixture in a food processor or blender. Add remaining stock as needed, until smooth.

Remove mixture from the food processor or blender and back into your original pan to heat before serving. Add the juice of 1/2 lemon.

I served this over whole wheat pasta (the one that resembles egg noodles, my favorite)

***Not bad. High in protein and fiber and low in fat and calories. This sauce was filling and satisfying. A little parmesan cheese over the top would have perfected it.