Save the Bay

Meet my Bay Tree:

Yes, he's tall, dark and handsome. He's sweet and spicy and his scent drives me wild. He adds depth to every dish he meets. He warms up my winter soups and stews. And, yes, for those of you who are still wondering, I am simply mad about my bay tree. ;)

Bay leaves might well be the most under-appreciated herb in cooking. No one celebrates bay leaves; when mentioned in recipes, it's mostly "Drop in bay leaf", or "Remove bay leaf", never "Celebrate the joy that this bay leaf brought to your stew!", which, in my humble opinion, is at it should be.

Last year, when Joe was born, one of our friends brought us a large container of homemade chicken noodle soup. It was lovely: The clear broth, the huge pieces of chicken breast meat, the chunks of fresh celery and carrots. The noodles were served on the side, so as to not overly thicken the stew before its time. It held so many promises, and was a beauty to behold. I heated it up and took a sip, and my heart sank. Here, our friend had gone to immense trouble to make us a lovely dinner, and no one had told him about the joy a bay leaf could bring to his otherwise perfect soup. NO ONE. The soup was good, but it would have been sent into the upper echelon of divine if only our sweet friend had known about bay leaves, my dearest herb.

As many of you know, there are times when subtlety is not my gift. I immediately went out and purchased a nice, plump bay tree for our friend and handed it over along with the thank you note. I told him, simply, "Your soup was wonderful, but you need to learn the joy that bay leaves will bring to your soups and stews." I wanted to add, "Go forth and plant this is thy yard, and ye shall be rewarded, " but thought that might be overkill. I have not heard back from him, but, I assure you: I will corner him and make sure he is using his bay leaves.

And, I must add that not only do bay leaves breathe a life into your dishes that borders on spiritual, but there are other uses for this deep glossy green leaf. Having now gone through my second round of pantry moths, I can also say that bay leaves will defend your home from assault by these grain-eating goblins. After a good cleaning, scatter a few fresh bay leaves on each shelf and you will deter any pantry moth that has designs on converting your whole wheat flour into a summer cottage. Change the leaves every month and you will also have the added benefit of opening your cupboards to the gentle sweet scent of bay... ahhhhh. I also store bay leaves in with my cookie cutters. The pantry moths discovered that I don't always get all the flour off of the cutters, so they set up shop in my plastic containers where I stored them.

Though I am a fan of bay leaf in everything from light and luscious chicken soups to rich and hearty chilis, the recipe that really turned me on to the bay leaf was a simple beef stew. I will admit that the first time I made it, I still didn't eat beef but was making it for Tim to have some sustenance during his first year of medical school. (I was practicing my Italian Mamma skillz!) I nipped a taste of the broth toward the end of cooking to make sure my seasonings were right and was stricken by the rich flavor the combination of thyme and bay leaf brought to this soup. The balance of the earthy thyme and the spicy-sweet bay made me swoon and I've been smitten ever since.

It's promising to be a cool, rainy Fall weekend. Bring on the bay leaves!

The stew with all but the peas...

Beef Stew

2 T whole wheat flour

1/2 t paprika

1/4 t black pepper

1-1/4 lbs stew beef, trimmed of fat and cut into 1-inch cubes

2 T vegetable oil

2 large onions, chopped

4 cups beef stock

1/2 t dried thyme

1 bay leaf

4 large potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes

4 carrots, sliced

1-1/2 cups frozen peas

2 T chopped fresh parsley

Combine flour, paprika and pepper in bowl. Add beef cubes and toss until coat meat evenly. Heat oil in Dutch oven or soup pot. Add meat and brown on all sides over medium-high heat. Add onions and saute until golden brown. Add stock, thyme and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat. Simmer for 1-1/4 hours, or until meat is tender. Remove bay leaf and add potatoes, carrots, peas and parsley. Simmer stew 10 minutes longer. Makes 4 servings.

Serve with crusy bread and a pot of whipped unsalted butter.

And don't forget: Whoever gets the bay leaf gets to kiss the cook!

A steaming bowl of beef stew on this cold rainy night!

All you need is a handful of red potatoes and two onions

I know we've been busy: A lot of traveling this Summer and then plunging straight into the new school year, but it's no excuse: We've been eating out way too much in the past months. And, worse, I have a fridge FULL of food. So, yesterday, as I was reflecting on waste and whatnot, I went through my fridge and freezer and realized that, with a few additions, I had a week's worth of meals just waiting to emerge from my appliances and pantry. All I had to do was run to the market and pick up a handful of red potatoes and two onions.

With that, I give you THIS WEEK'S MENU:

Monday: Pork and Chicken Stirfry with Assorted Vegetables and Brown Rice

Tuesday: Quesadilla Club and Cheese Quesadillas with Mexican Rice, Refried Beans and Mango Salsa

Wednesday: *My All-time Favorite* Shepherd's Pie, Salad, Brownies

Thursday: Ziti and/or Spinach Ravioli (we are a split household on the subject of pasta), Meatballs, Marinara and Salad.

Friday: Homemade Pizzas with Italian Turkey Sausage and/or Pepperoni and Salad

Saturday: Spanakopita and Grilled Lemon Chicken Skewers

Sunday: Grilled Steaks, Wild Rice Medley, and Sauteed Onions, Zucchini and Yellow Squash

And, yes, friends, ALL of this from what already lives in my fridge and freezer RIGHT NOW, with the addition of less than $8 in groceries. I am embarrassed that I have this much just sitting around, waiting to rot or living in purgatory in my freezer. It reminds me that, as a culture, we do not know what it means to go without food, while even among us, there are so many who do. I will admit, it also makes me suspicious that a squirrel is in my lineage, as if I need to store stuff for Winter to be nutty(er).

Which brings me to this week's recipe: Shepherd's Pie. This is, without a doubt, the best catch-all, clean-out-the-fridge dish. It is warm and satisfying; humble is the word that comes to mind. It freezes well and has been taken to almost every home with a new baby, illness or lost loved one in the past ten years, and a dish I will proudly serve when we have guests on Wednesday evening. Something about this dish says "Welcome"; it's breaking bread without the bread.

All that, and it's the best use of flaccid carrots, wrinkled bell peppers, too-long-frozen peas and corn and leftover mashed potatoes you will ever find.

All of the turkey and vegetables sauteed. *sigh* Beautiful.

Shepherd's Pie

4 – 5 fist-sized red potatoes, peeled and cut into 2- inch chunks

¾ cup milk, or more to desired consistency

½ tablespoon unsalted butter

2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese

salt and pepper, to taste

1 medium onion, diced (about 2 cups)

1 pound package ground turkey*

1 tablespoon dried basil

½ tablespoon dried oregano

½ tablespoon dried thyme

1 cup chopped carrots, about 3- 4 medium carrots

1 cup chopped green bell pepper, about one medium pepper

1 cup frozen corn

1 cup frozen green peas

2½ tablespoons apple cider vinegar (or to taste)

¼ cup wheat germ

1½ cup finely shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided

Paprika

2 -3 steamed baby carrots, for garnish (optional)

sprigs of parsley, for garnish (optional)

Directions: Preheat oven to 350^oF. Spray a 2-quart deep casserole lightly with cooking spray and set aside.

Make your Mashed Potatoes: Peel and quarter potatoes, place in saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil and cook potatoes until tender, about 12 minutes or until potatoes are easily pierced with a fork. Drain potatoes and place in bowl of stand mixer or other mixing bowl for mashing. Cut butter into cubes and drop into potatoes. Start mixer on medium speed and add parmesan cheese. Drizzle in milk until potatoes are uniformly mashed, stiff and fluffy. Reduce speed and add salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

Make your hash while the potatoes are cooking: Dice onion and add to pan over medium-high heat. Cover and cook for 2 -3 minutes or until onion is sweating. Add ground turkey*, cover and cook until thoroughly browned, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally with a spatula to break up turkey. When onions and turkey are browned, reduce heat to medium and stir in basil, oregano and thyme. Stir in carrots, cover and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in chopped green peppers, cover and cook for 6 to 8 minutes, or until carrots and green peppers are tender-crisp. Add peas and corn, cover and cook about 3 minutes until warmed through. Remove pan from heat and stir in cider vinegar and wheat germ. Stir in 1 cup of finely-shredded sharp cheddar cheese. Add salt and pepper to taste and adjust vinegar to taste. Pour turkey mixture into casserole dish and spread evenly. Spread mashed potatoes to completely cover turkey mixture. Sprinkle remaining ½ cup of finely-shredded sharp cheddar cheese over top of potatoes. Sprinkle paprika lightly over top of cheese. Bake uncovered for 20 to 25 minutes, or until turkey mixture is bubbling and potatoes are lightly browned and cheese is melted. Remove from oven and allow to cool for about 5 minutes before devouring madly. If serving a crowd, garnish with steamed whole baby carrots and a little parsley, arranged to look like a little bunch of carrots. However, the lightly-browned potatoes, melted cheese and paprika on top of a lovely casserole dish also makes for a simple yet elegant presentation and no further garnish is necessary.

*Since this dish started out vegetarian, I thought I should add that peeling and cubing (1/2" to 3/4") a good-sized eggplant and substituting it for the turkey will work just fine. In fact, the eggplant takes up all of the flavors so beautifully, I sometimes wonder why I started using turkey at all!

Servings: Makes 8 hearty servings.

Finished, but not baked. Isn't it lovely???