Today's food experiments

So, as I get a weekly delivery of organic veggies, I tend to do a lot of cooking on the weekend. I always seem to have lots of potatoes, onions, and spinach, and then I get random vegetables that I may or may not be familiar with. Here's today's experiments in healthy (well, relatively healthy) organic eating:

Trader Joe's offers polenta in a 6" casing. It makes it handy to slice, cook, and make into something.

Polenta with spinach

- Heat olive oil with shredded scallions in a frying pan.
- Slice polenta into 1/2" slabs
- Heat both sides til crispy
- Remove and plate polenta
- Shred some spinach and cilantro; toss til wilted in frying pan; spoon onto polenta slabs.
- Add some olive oil, pepper and sliced onions to pan; sautee for 1-2 minutes; toss over spinach.
- Spoon a dab of sour cream, yogurt or cottage cheese on top.
- Dress with a sprinkling of sweet paprika or diced red peppers.

Peeling not necessary unless there's some icky bits on the potatoes. Scrub the skins well before cooking, through. You also don't need to pre-boil if you don't want to; I simply prefer to do so for more tender potatoes and I like the consistency better than only roasting.

Parmesan Potatoes

- Chop potatoes into 4-8 pieces depending on the size of the potato
- Boil with a pinch of salt and some spices for about 15 minutes - I use Spice House's Lake Shore Drive blend
- Drain water
- Toss with some olive oil and butter; put in roasting pan
- Dust with blend of spices - I like to use powdered ginger, sweet Hungarian paprika, and Ratatouille seasoning
- Shake liberally with powdered Parmesan cheese
- Bake in oven at 350 for about 15 minutes; cheese will have begun to brown.
- Serves well with a Caesar-style dressing, but quite tasty on its own as well!