I’ve been on a new recipe kick lately which has led to some fabulous dinners (like Moroccan-spiced beef with 
couscous- see right) as well as some major dinner disasters. A few days ago I spent the better part of an afternoon assembling a Potato, Ham and Spinach gratin from Cooking Light. It sounded so tasty and the picture looked gorgeous, all nicely browned and crisp on top. It. Was. Horrible. The recipe said to let it bake for a total of an hour and 30 minutes. Well, at that point the potatoes were still starchy, hard and just plain yuck. I let it go for about another 30 minutes and they still weren’t great, but it was after 7 and we were hungry so my husband and I ate. My husband insisted it wasn’t bad but I did notice he doused it with his Don Julio hot sauce. I was so disappointed that I ate a bit and then just filled up on chocolate cake instead (always a good solution to a cooking disaster).
Not wanting to throw out all my hard work, I put the gratin leftovers into the fridge. The next evening there the gratin was, still staring at me. I knew I couldn’t face that casserole for another meal. If it wasn’t good fresh, it would be horrible heated in the microwave. Instead of just tossing it as I was tempted to do, I instead set forth to disassemble the entire thing and see what I could do.
The gratin was made in layers so was fairly easy to take apart. First I heated some olive oil in a large skillet. Then I began to pick the first layer of potatoes off and dropped them in the hot oil. I broke them into smaller pieces with a spatula and let them fry while I got down to the next layer, the spinach (and kale I had added) and ham. These I put into a separate smaller pan over medium heat where I let them just warm up a bit. The recipe had called for a milk and flour mixture to be poured over the casserole before baking, so the greens and ham were nice and creamy. The bottom layer was more potatoes which I added in with the ones already frying, and I let the potatoes sautee for about 20 minutes.
Once the greens and ham were well-heated I poured three lightly beaten eggs over the top and scrambled everything together. I served the final product of sauteed potatoes with rosemary plus greens, ham and eggs along with sides of organic applesauce and glasses of pinot noir wine. My husband and I both agreed the recycled dinner was a fabulous comfort-food meal. Almost as good as chocolate cake.
and he thought I’d like to know. I’m a Costco member but not a big shopper there, not on matters of principle but because I get so overwhelmed by the size of the place! If you’re in the market for sustainable flowers, love Costco and don’t want to break the bank, then go for these eco-friendly, people-friendly beauties.
B) on Wednesday Feb. 18th from 5-8pm. It’s Girl’s Night Out and this fabulous eco-friendly, fair trade shop is hosting a 
the developing world make their income from small businesses. Over the last few decades micro-lending has vastly changed the business landscape for microentrpreneurs by providing them an alternative to loansharks. Sometimes all it takes is a small loan of $20, $100 or $500 to help a small business owner take their business to the next level, boosting their family out of poverty.
The problem is this legislation went so far it has already caused some small, at-home crafters to shut down and some European toy makers (the kind that make amazing natural wooden and textile toys) to pull out of the US market altogether. The requirements for testing are so stringent that large mega-corporations like Mattel can afford the equipment involved while smaller shops and manufacturers can not.
Beth
