Are You In or Out? Side Challenge Results plus two Bonus Recipes

So the verdict is in - I will be holding on to Food to Live By and parting with the Moosewood Low-Fat cookbook (would anyone like it?). After cooking 6 recipes from Moosewood, I just wasn't excited about cooking any of them again. Nor was I chomping at the bit to cook any additional recipes.

Food to Live By is another story. After I decided to postpone the shrimp cakes with lemon-caper aioli, I perused the book only to find a number of other recipes that I was eager to begin. In fact, I just finished putting away leftovers from two of them.

Farm Stand Meatballs

• olive oil for greasing the foil
• 3 large eggs
• 1/2 c. whole milk
• 1 T minced garlic
• 1 T dried oregano
• 2 T chopped fresh basil or 2 t dried
• 1 t dried thyme
• 2 t salt
• 1 t freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 t dried red pepper flakes
• 1 1/2 c. freshly grated Parmesan or Asiago cheese
• 1 c. unseasoned dry bread crumbs
• 1 lb lean ground pork
• 1 lb lean ground beef

Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 400. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil or parchment paper for easier clean up. Lightly oil the foil or paper liner. Set the baking sheet aside.

Place eggs, milk, garlic, oregano, basil, thyme, salt, black pepper and red pepper flakes in a large bowl and whisk to combine. Add the cheese and bread crumbs and stir to mix.

Using your hands, break the meat into small chunks and add them to the bowl. Blend with your hands until just combined, working the mixture as little as possible.

Gently form the meat mixture into 2-inch meatballs and arrange them on the prepared baking sheet so they do not touch each other. 

Bake until 160 degrees, 25 to 30.

Farm Stand Marinara

• 2 cloves garlic, peeled
• 1 small carrot, coarsely chopped
• 1 small yellow onion, coarsely chopped
• 3 T olive oil
• 1/3 c. dry red wine
• 2 cans (28 oz. each) crushed tomatoes, with their juice
• 1/4 c. chopped fresh basil, or 2 t dried
• 1 T fresh oregano or 2 t dried
• 1 T fresh thyme leaves or 1 t dried
• 1 t coarse salt
• 1/2 t freshly ground black pepper or 1/2 t dried red pepper flakes
• 1-2 t sugar (optional - I opted out)

Place garlic and carrot in a food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Add the onion and continue to pulse until mixed scraping the side of the bowl with a rubber spatula occasionally (I did this by hand instead).

Heat oil in a large heavy pot over medium-low heat. Add vegetable mixture and cook, stirring frequently, until soft, but not browned, about 11 minutes. Add the wine and stir well, loosening any bits stuck to the bottom of the pot. Briong to a simmer and cook until reduced slightly, about 3 minutes.

Add tomatoes and their juices to the pot. Add basil, oregano and thyme and let simmer gently until the flavors are concentrated, 35-45 minutes. Add salt and pepper. Taste for sweetness and, if the sauce takes too acidic, add sugar.

We ate this over angel hair noodles, but they also suggest making meatball sandwiches, which also sounded quite yummy.