As you have probably heard, about 400 large meat- and poultry-packing plants throughout the US have tried to remain open or restarted without adequate protections, with over 15 thousand sick as a result and dozens of deaths. The sick include workers, family and friends. There is a culture of working whilst sick that existed before Covid, lack of sick time, punishment for absenteeism, and inadequate medical staff at the facilities, despite a history of illnesses and injuries. In part, of course it’s the fault of the *Rump administration, which has had the USDA and OSHA issue “guidelines,” not mandatory rules. Therefore, some companies are clearly violating the guidelines, as is they are free to choose at this point, resulting in continuing meat-processing plant “hot spots”. More than half the country’s meat-processing plants exist in counties with rates of Covid infection in the top 25%. Which is the chicken or the egg is an open question. So to speak. In addition, big fish- and seafood-processing plants are spreading infections. As far as anyone has been able to determine, customers have not been getting sick. But I believe we need to support these employees and their communities in solidarity.
So I thought that you might want to buy meat from smaller, perhaps local, producers, where you can. There are about 2200 small meat-processing plants, with the smaller ones doing a better job of protecting workers’ health. In part, it’s a simple matter of design; smaller plants are less likely to operate assembly-line style and more likely to have increased space per worker. Otherwise, you might choose vegetarian. I hope the dairy plants are OK, because I can’t live without dairy! I’m not going to look. But vegan is also a good choice.
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So tonight, I present a few more vegetarian recipes. In some cases, I used what I had on hand when I didn’t have ingredients the recipe called for! It pays to be creative when shopping should be limited. Mom and I think all turned out great. Enjoy!
Soup
French Onion Soup a la Elena is one of those things I sort of play by ear using no particular recipe. The important thing, however, is to use several different types of onions! It adds complexity and is the trick to making the best French Onion Soup ever!
So: Chop up one medium-large red onion, one similarly sized white or yellow onion (one of these should be sweet, the other more spicy), and a bunch of green onions (include both white and green parts)! Melt a large pat of butter in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Starting with the spicier onion, add to butter and saute whilst chopping the next red-white-or-yellow onion. Add that to the pot. These take longer to saute than the green onions, which can be added last and cooked just enough to blend:
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(I’ve also added shallots and even a bit of fresh garlic sometimes, so use what you have, but I like these main three the best.)
Now add your stock or broth and bring to a boil. Typically this calls for beef, but last time I used mushroom stock and it worked out fine!
Next add an equal amount of dry red wine (not cooking wine, real wine, but it can be inexpensive; cooking wine has WAY too much salt and impurities, but the nuances of expensive wine will be lost). Bring to a boil, then simmer according to the amount of alcohol you want. Since Mom can’t have much alcohol, I leave the lid off and simmer briskly until the volume is reduced. If you want to preserve your alcohol, cover and simmer until heated through and onions are tender.
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Next, if you don’t have the French onion soup bowls: Use your choice of bread. I used a multigrain and cut the crusts off. Then top with slices of Swiss cheese.
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Place on oven-safe plate under broiler until cheese is lightly brown.
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Then ladle out soup, carefully top with cheese and bread:
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Voila! A meal in itself! Or without topping, a great appetizer!
Entree
For the main course, we had Eggplant Elena (start with eggplant Parmesan but add many more cheeses!):
Sear a whole medium eggplant in a bit of olive oil over medium-high heat, turning frequently. This does great things to the skin! Then slice, return to large saucepan with a new bit of olive oil. Saute over medium heat until lightly browned:
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Meanwhile, grate about 8 ounces each of Parmesan and either Romano or Asiago; and either shred or buy 8-12 oz. shredded Mozzarella cheese:
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Preheat oven to 375 F. Build eggplant in casserole dish: A bit of sauce on the bottom helps keep the eggplant from sticking. Then a layer of eggplant, a layer of tomato sauce, a layer of cheeses, and repeat:
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Bake for 30-45 minutes, or until bubbly and cheeses your preferred shade of brown.
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Let sit about 5 minutes. Serve with Italian or garlic bread if desired (probably not if you have the soup first!).
Dessert
Of course it’s not a full meal without dessert! At this point, we keep it light: Vanilla-Caramel Frozen Yogurt with Mixed Berry Sauce: We like a frozen yogurt, which also has a higher level of protein and so is good for my diabetes. Take a bag of frozen mixed berries (thawed), run them through the blender with just enough fruit juice so they’ll blend, sugar to taste, with a touch of allspice or cinnamon. Blend to a fine sauce, serve over froyo:
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This of course was a while back. Tonight we had Mexican bean soup with strawberry margaritas :-) but I didn’t get photos. :-(
What are you having for dinner?