Potato-Fennel Soup

Today I made Potato-Fennel Soup with browned onions. It made for an excellent lunch and a nice break from the heavy foods of the holidays. It was really easy: brown onions, add fennel and sliced potatoes, simmer with water, serve with a little sour cream on top. It took less than an hour to make and was a lovely lunch.

Roasted Green Beans

Here are some delicious Roasted Green Beans complete with garlic and pine nuts. Pine nuts are divine. I lightly toasted them before adding them to the beans and, oh my goodness, they were tasty!

The green beans are roasted with whole garlic gloves and thinly sliced onion. After roasting, this was tossed with a little balsamic vinegar. Such a lovely side dish for dinner!

Pepper and Onion Shortcake with Polenta

This is a Pepper and Onion Shortcake on a square of Polenta. I wasn't too familiar with polenta prior to Moosewood, and now I can say that I am HUGE fan. It is delicious, and oh-so-incredibly easy to make. Cornmeal, cold water, a little salt, and a whisk! Originally, this recipe calls for a batch of cornbread, but I thought I'd get a little fancy and make it with polenta instead!

The topping for the polenta is slow cooked onion with red pepper, garlic, cumin, cayenne, and black pepper. After removing this combination from heat, I added a skosh of yogurt and sour cream. The flavors balanced well with the cayenne pepper! There's a sprinkling of paprika and dill on top too. Overall, this dish was magnificent! Polenta sticks to your ribs and tastes delicious!