A few weeks ago, I boldly told the friends in my pod that I would cook a nice dinner for them. Immediately after the words left my mouth, I found myself perplexed. Never had I cooked anything other than pasta… Why did I propose I cook? More importantly, what would I make?
Naturally, I called my mom for some insight. She stayed on the phone with me as I roamed through Whole Foods, and we concocted a plan: greek salad, cauliflower pizza, and zucchini chips. After merely two spills and one smoke alarm, I successfully produced all three dishes. Impressed, my three friends noted, “I didn’t know you cooked!” “I don’t,” I replied, “well, I guess now I do.” Here’s how you can too…
Greek Salad
Start with a large bowl of mixed lettuce. (Whole Foods offers a lovely pre-washed “spring mix”). Slice some cherry tomatoes in half and cut up a whole small cucumber. Throw in roughly a cup and a half of feta cheese. Finally, chop up some cold falafel– Whole Foods sells a refrigerated box of about 6 small pieces which should be more than enough. Drizzle on the balsamic vinaigrette of your choice– I used Whole Foods’ low sodium fig balsamic dressing. Toss it all up, and you’re ready to go. (If you’re interested in getting fancy, feel free to add some quinoa, or maybe even some grilled chicken!)
Cauliflower Pizza
If you’re interested in making the whole crust yourself, ask somebody else for directions– maybe my mom! I, however, purchased the frozen cauliflower crust at Whole Foods. Spray a cooking tray with some olive oil (they actually make sprayable olive oil, which I would 10/10 recommend). Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and pop in the crust for about 8-10 minutes. Once your crust is ready, spread a relatively thin layer of Rao’s marinara sauce over it. Next, if you’re a pesto-lover like me, drizzle on some pesto. (My brand of choice is Gotham Greens pesto, sold at Whole Foods). Once you’ve situated the sauce, sprinkle on some parmesan cheese– an unhealthy amount if you’re like me. Cut up your pizza into your desired number of slices, and enjoy!
Zucchini Chips
While seemingly the most difficult of the three dishes, these zucchini chips are actually the simplest to make. Cut up a ripe zucchini into thin slices– as thin as you can manage without chopping off a finger. Lay them out on an olive-oil sprayed pan, and spray another layer on top of the slices. Drop a few pinches of grated (the pieces look like mini spaghetti noodles– not the chalky powdery kind) parmesan cheese on top of each piece. Place the sheet in the oven and cook for roughly twenty minutes, or until the cheese has turned mostly brown. Let them cool off for a little while, and then enjoy!
Finally, let’s talk cooking order. The zucchini chips take the longest, so get them in the oven first. Next, tackle the cauliflower pizza. While those two dishes cook, make your greek salad. As for eating order, the zucchini chips serve as a nice snack-like appetizer. After you crush those, enjoy the salad and place the pizza in the middle of the table so that everyone can take a piece as you banter the night away. I hope you enjoy this meal with your pod as much as I did.