What We Ate: a seasonal reminder of dinner at our house.

Hi there - it's been a couple... The quarantine (excuse me, #saferathome orders) sort of took over our lives in March as we began to deal with the very real threat of COVID -19, a novel coronavirus. But we haven't stopped cooking, in fact, if anything we're probably cooking more than ever so I'll try to get back into the blogging habit too. First up - Frittata This is an excellent (you guessed it) clean out the fridge meal. You can put darn near anything into a frittata and it will be delicious. I usually make two because our family has, ahem, differing tastes. So the first one has potato, onion, mushroom, yellow pepper, cauliflower, kale and then salt, pepper and red pepper flakes.  (cooked in that order - longest cooking time to shortest - lots of olive oil for those potatoes so they don't stick). Do NOT skimp on the salt. It look like this before the egg  Then I added a generous pat of butter (a tablespoon or more) into the middle to coat the bottom...

of the homemade variety. We love Chipotle (and I know, lots of people hate it) but for quick-could-be-healthy fast food option, it really is great. A few years ago I decided that on the nights when we didn't need quick, I could probably do a reasonably good version of burrito bowls for a fraction of the price. And let me tell you, I am killing it! These pictures are awful because I didn't even bother with the fancy lights but the bowls were fan. tas. tic. I started by making black beans in the instant pot. I came late to the instant pot cult but I am a full fledged member now and I can convert you too. Here's how I cook beans. Throw some beans in the pot. Enough to generously cover the bottom. Cover with water. Add a teaspoon of salt (you know you're not measuring that), a couple of small bay leaves, some chopped yellow onion (1/4 cup-ish). Set on high pressure (normal) for 20 minutes. Let release naturally for 10 minutes. (Store extra in a mason jar with th...

This meal is a go to in every season. It works especially well when: ~one has limp greens in the fridge that aren't yet ready for the compost ~there is an odd assortment of veggies that would not otherwise work well together ~time is limited and you still want to have some sort of meal It only requires pasta, butter, capers and veg. If you happen to have lemon or leftover chicken or a tomato on hand, all the better. Wilt and season (kale, spinach, chard, and/or bok choy) and/or sauté and season (broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, green beans... whatever). Make more than you think you'll ever eat. Might look like this I'll often do this in two frying pans but there isn't any reason to - you can do it in batches. One of the lovely things about this mean is that it can be served hot, cold, or room temp. It can be refrigerated for later or warmed up in the oven. While the greens are doing their thing, cook a pound of pasta in well salted water. (I cam...