Heeeeee hee hee hee hee.
See anything interesting? Let’s zoom in:
Carrot Pants! Hee!!!
Ahem.
The goods:
-1 rutabaga
-1 bunch beets, with lovely greens (purples!)
-2 red onions
-2 apples
-Salad greens
-Sweet potato fingerlings
-Carrots, including Carrot Pants.
I still had the kale from the week before, plus the lovely, lovely purple greens from the beets, so I decided to thaw some italian sausage and figure something out.
I cut up a couple cloves of garlic and a red onion:
Took two sausages out of the casings and cooked them most of the way, then cooked the garlic and onions (in olive oil), slowly, until the onions were soft and a little sweet. All photos from this phase were both blurry AND badly lit, so I’ll spare you.
I added the kale in first, since the beet greens were pretty tender. I let those wilt down a bit, added the beet greens, let *those* wilt, poured in a little chicken stock (at this point, I scraped all the lovely browned bits up, using the chicken stock to deglaze the pan even though it was still full of things), added salt and pepper, and covered the pan.
While that finished getting tender, I sliced up a tube of Trader Joe’s organic cooked polenta–a $1.99 miracle item that you should add to your pantry today–and started crisping it up in a nonstick pan w/ a little oil. It takes longer to get crispy that you’d think; allow 10 minutes. I had to hold the greens and sausage for a little while.
When the polenta was done I added the sausage back into the greens and let it heat back up, checked for seasoning, then spooned it over a couple polenta slices, making sure to get a bit of the very savory and delicious broth.
Very fast and very, very delicious. And pretty. And I would like more now.
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In house news, that same week I received a cross-country delivery: My grandfather’s wing chair! It’s not in perfect shape but I love it in our living room.
And if anyone needs a piece or two of furniture shipped cross-country at a reasonable price by an exceptionally friendly, helpful and responsible mover, shoot me a line–I was super-happy with the guy I found!
First – HELLO! Can your living room be any more lovely? No, it can’t! You amaze me …
Carrot Pants had me laughing so hard I scared Sadie and Dexter! That kind of carrot siamese twin is known as a ‘bifurcated carrot’, but I will only call it ‘Carrot Pants’ whenever I see it…
That meal looks sooooo goooood! Another one to try!
Delicious looking recipe. I’ll have to give it a try. And thanks for the TJ’s Cooked Polenta tip. Our first Trader Joe’s just opened here in Richmond and I haven’t made it past the wine aisle to explore.
BTW, a couple of posts back you mentioned an unpretty dish… not at all! But that’s what I stock parsley (dried and fresh) for… a quick snip or shake and a little green goes a long way.
Your living room is beautiful.
Love the carrot pants! Glad you’re back!
I love your blog, it makes me so hungry when I read!
This meal looks so yummy. I had a question about the sausage. I just recently realized I love sausage, but I have no idea what kind is good, or where to acquire it. Do you have a favorite brand?
Thanks!
Germi- Aw, thank you!! And I have heard “bifurcated,” but that’s so literal–“two-forked”–carrot pants is way better.
Mr. EEL- I am very bad about garnishes. Thanks for the reminder!
Hi Nola!
Amanda- Oh, sausage. Cheap, delicious, versatile… As you can tell by how often I use it, I love it. We are hooked on the sweet italian sausage from the grocery store we used to go to in Hanover, and we stock a cooler every time we go up there and then freeze it. It’s nothing special in terms of a fancy brand or anything, we just like the flavoring that purveyor uses. Try italian sausage from all the grocery stores and butchers in your area–start with the best butcher you can find, who will still probably only charge a few dollars a pound for sausage. Pre-packaged supermarket brands like Hormel should be your very last choice. We like sweet italian because we’re not fans of the spicy, but hot italian or a mixture could be subbed in to any of these recipes if you like some heat. Thanks for reading!
omg i am in love with you!!!! you have amazing style I want to move in!!! and you cook!!! wow!!!
big hug!
Eddie
http://www.eddieross.com