Wet Wednesday

It rained off and on throughout the day, today. So, when I got home, I still had my Wednesday night chores of filling the bird feeder, the squirrel feeder and the suet cage, but I got to do them in the rain.

Lu showed up around 6:00 PM. She's staying one extra night because she couldn't get through to Sue and confirm her plans. So, she went to take a shower and I started a simple dinner.

I cut up maybe four or five cups total of bite-sized broccoli and cauliflower florets and set them aside. I grated about two cups of Parmigiano-Reggiano (remember, this recipe may call for just plain grated parmesan from a can, but I am out of it!) and put that in a shallow, wide bowl. I put about 1/4 inch of oil in a large, cast iron frying pan and set that on medium high heat. Next to the pan on the stove, I set up my usual draining station: a rack on paper towels in a cookie sheet.

Then I whisked two eggs together in a big pan. When the oil was ready, I dumped the florets into the egg and tossed them around to evenly coat. I took a floret, coated it with the grated cheese and put it in the oil. I let them fry about three minutes a side, until they formed a nice golden crust (you only turn them when they easily release from the bottom of the pan). I worked in small batches to give each piece plenty of room and when each batch were done, I set them on the draining rack and lightly salted them.

When I had them all done and cooling, I opened a bag of baby spinach and put it in a big bowl. Then I made a quick vinaigrette of lemon zest, the juice of one lemon, 1/4 cup of olive oil, salt and pepper, whisked together. I drizzled it over the spinach then tossed to coat. I filled two plates with the spinach salad, topped each with some broccoli and cauliflower and we dug in.

Not bad, not bad at all. I thought the vinaigrette was a bit tart (well, lemon? Duh!) but it was nicely offset by the fried veggies. Lu's verdict? Well, I had one big bowl and she had two, so I think she liked it.

After cleanup, we sat in the living room and talked until we both started to yawn (I think I was first, but I didn't sleep well Wednesday night). Nothing was on TV, so it was off to books and beds.