Great for cooking for one or two.  Adapted from a recipe from Julie Powell, and a half-remembered recipe I read long ago from Mark Bittman. Leaving the cloves on adds more flavor, plus it’s just easier, and it’s going to be strained anyway.

This makes 2-3 portions of broth, so if you’re cooking for only one, cook the egg or shrimp in just one portion and save the rest for another night.

half a head of garlic, broken into cloves but not peeled
1 T olive oil
1/4 t smoked paprika
1/4 t thyme
3 fresh sage leaves, or 1/4 t dried sage
1/2 t salt, or to taste
1/2 t fresh ground pepper

6 or 8 shrimp per person, peeled (optional)
1 egg per person (optional)
fresh parmesan cheese (optional)
crusty bread (optional)

In a 1 1/2 quart saucepan, combine garlic cloves and next 6 ingredients (through pepper). Add 1 quart of water. Bring to a boil, and then reduce to a simmer. Simmer, covered, about 30 minutes. Strain the broth into a heatproof bowl, squishing as much of the “meat” of the garlic through as possible.

Place as many portions of broth as you’re going to serve in as small a saucepan as will hold it (so it’s as deep as possible). Bring back to a low simmer. Add the shrimp, or slip in an egg. With shrimp, cook until they’re pink. With an egg, cook until it’s really barely set, as it’ll continue to cook after you take it off the heat, and it’s easy to overcook the yolk.

To serve, top with grated parmesan cheese, with crusty bread on the side, and maybe a simple salad.

Easy to scale up or down for any number of people, from one to a crowd.  The recipe below is for 2 medium size portions, or a pretty large one with a bit leftover.  Spaghetti is traditional, but I like egg noodles.  Adapted from Marcella Hazan.

3 slices of bacon, cut in 1″ pieces
about 4 oz (1/3 of a package) egg noodles, or other pasta
1 egg
1 T creme fraiche (optional, or substitute sour cream or plain yogurt)
2 T parmesan cheese, plus more for garnish
fresh ground black pepper
2 T chopped parsley, or other fresh herb

Brown bacon in a small pan, until crispy. Reserve drippings. Meanwhile, cook egg noodles per directions. While pasta cooks, beat together the egg, creme fraiche, and parmesan cheese. When pasta is done, reserve a little bit of the pasta water and drain. Return the pasta to the pot, and toss with the egg mixture. (Since the pasta and pan are hot, the egg gets most of the way, but probably not completely, cooked, making a rich and delicious sauce.) If it seems too dry, add in a bit of the reserved pasta water. Toss in the bacon, herbs, and some of the drippings. (I only used about half the drippings, but my bacon was pretty fatty.) Garnish with more herbs and parmesan cheese.

I know this hardly counts as a recipe. But, I just really love the combination sweet and savory from the cinnamon and paprika seasoning, so I’m sharing it anyway.

1 package Trader Joe’s sweet potato fries (these aren’t just frozen sweet potatoes, since they are already coated in some kind of oil or something, and maybe pre-fried)
1/2 t cinnamon, or to taste
1/2 t smoked paprika, or to taste
1/2 t salt, or to taste
1 T olive oil

Preheat oven to 400 F. Toss (still frozen) fries with cinnamon, paprika, salt, and olive oil. Bake until crispy and browned, about 8-10 minutes. I like to eat them with barbecue sauce.

As I mentioned last week, we’ve been grilling as much as possible and enjoying eating on our patio.  Burgers are always a great thing to grill, but sometimes you gotta spice it up a little from plain old ground beef (not that that isn’t wonderful, too, from time to time).  These burgers were inspired by some that my friend Sadie made for a cookout for the Fourth of July, and I immediately had to go back home and recreate them.  They are chock full of bell peppers and onions, as well as a bunch of herbs and spices.  The only peril is they don’t hold together real well.  I might add some breadcrumbs or something next time.  But it’s a tasty combination – almost like a light, summery version of meatloaf, and endlessly adaptable to whatever veggies, herbs, and spices you have on hand.  I somebody forgot to put buns on the grocery list, so we ate them on a bed of watercress since I happened to have some (also good if you’re trying to go the low-carb route).  Either way, a cheap, easy, and quick dinner, perfect for eating under the summer sunset.

Doctored-Up Burgers

1 lb ground beef
3 strips bacon
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/4 of a green pepper, diced
1/4 of a yellow pepper, diced
small onion, diced
1/4 c cilantro, diced
1 t salt (or to taste)
1/4 t ground cumin
1/4 t ground coriander
1/4 t ground mustard
black pepper to taste
dash cayenne pepper

6 slices of cheese (cheddar, American, colby-jack, etc.)
leafy lettuce such as watercress, arugula, mesclun greens, etc., or buns

Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl and form into burgers (I made 6). Try not to handle it too much or squeeze it all together too tightly, as that can make them tough. Grill over medium high fire, covered, a few minutes to a side until desired doneness. When almost done, top with cheese so it can melt a bit.  Serve over greens or on a bun, with the usual accompaniments.  Sit outside and enjoy!

I originally found this in an old Cooking Light magazine, and it’s become one of our go-to, easy meals, perfect for spring or summer.  It’s super fast and simple, but it’s delicious and elegant enough for company.  We most recently served it for an early birthday celebration for my mom.  You can easily substitute out the cilantro for whatever is in season or on hand, and I’m just thinking lime zest instead of lemon would be a tasty substitution as well; you could also use any mild fish instead of the tilapia.  It went great with the fresh peas we found at the farmer’s market.  Delicious, fresh, simple, and with tilapia, usually pretty inexpensive, too!

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