BRAISED LEEKS + MUSCOVADO LENTILS

We visited a couple restaurants in Los Angeles on Sunday to celebrate my birthday. I rarely have particular plans of what I'd like to do to celebrate, but I know specifically where and what I'd like to eat. May will be a month full of events. There will be a number of birthdays, mothers day, wedding season for Hugh, a new niece coming any day now and all sorts of things in between. Cooking, amidst all the going out to eat and desserts these days bring, seems less intriguing but it's also the place I get recharged. I like being alone in the kitchen, no music, watching ingredients come together and trying something new. Some of that inspiration comes from visiting fun restaurants, so birthday months always leave me full of ideas.

Both Gjelina and Tasting Kitchen are places we've visited before, but I love the ambiance at both. Most restaurant menus these days seem to give you a pretty extensive list of what is in each dish, boasting the name of the farm that it's produce is from or which variety of this, that or the other the food item is. I care about those details when I'm picking out food to cook at home, but while browsing the Tasting Kitchen's menu, so minimal and vague, I realized how that simplicity spoke a confidence in their dishes - that they didn't need to romanticize them to the guests. In typical LA fashion you can't change or substitute anything, so what is the point in knowing every ingredient anyway? So we got two appetizers: braised leeks + burrata and broccolini + lentils... so unassuming. Both great, but my favorite part were the lentils that had a caramelized sweetness to them and bits of crunchy breadcrumbs. Sweet lentils! A new preparation to me, but Hugh would barely share with me so I was determined to recreate a portion I could savor all to myself. Leeks are naturally sweet, and the braising gives them a silkiness that melts along side the lentils. Such a simple preparation for such a glorious texture. Below is a recipe that mimicks a combination of those appetizers. It would make an excellent light lunch, a side dish for a number of proteins, or a tasty bed for poached or fried eggs.

BRAISED LEEKS + MUSCOVADO LENTILS // Serves 2

Inspired by the Tasting Kitchen, Venice Beach with some tips on leek braising from Vegetarian Times

If you're skeptical of the sweetness, start with less muscovado and work up to a point you like it. A light brown sugar will work as well. If cooking these for more people, I would guess you could double or triple the amount of leeks and bake them in a 9x13 pan covered with foil. However, you will likely need less liquid than a direct multiplication. Eyeball it, you want the liquid just more than halfway up the side of the leeks. If you give this a try, let me know how it turns out.

3 large leeks, dark green parts removed

1 Tbsp. unsalted butter

2 tsp. extra virgin olive oil

1 cup low sodium vegetable broth

2 tsp. agave or honey

pinch of salt + pepper

// lentils//

2/3 cup black or green lentils, rinsed

1/2 T. unsalted butter

1 tsp. olive oil

1 Tbsp. muscovado sugar (or light brown sugar)

2 tsp. rice vinegar

1/4 cup fresh toasted breadcrumbs (great tips here)

3 Tbsp. finely chopped parsley

Trim the dark green parts from the top of the leeks, and just enough off the bottom to leave the ends it tact (this holds them together). Halve them lengthwise and remove any dirt.

Heat the butter over medium heat in a large saute pan. Add the leeks, cut side down and cook about 3 minutes until browned. Drizzle the tsp. of olive oil on top, flip them over and cook another two minutes. Add the broth, agave and a generous sprinkle of salt and pepper. Turn the heat to a gentle simmer, partially cover and cook for about 25 minutes until they are buttery soft.

While the leeks are cooking, start your lentils. Put the lentils, about 1 1/4 cups water and a pinch of salt in a pot and bring to a gentle boil. Cook until the lentils are cooked through, adding a bit more water if needed, and cook off any excess water in the end. If the leeks are done by this point, just take them off the heat and leave them covered, they're fine.

Heat the butter and olive oil over medium heat in a frying pan. Add the lentils, sprinkle in the muscovado, rice vinegar, pinch of salt and pepper and saute to coat evenly. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed. Plate the leeks with the lentils on top and garnish with breadcrumbs and parsley. Enjoy warm.

VEGETABLE EGGS BENEDICT

She really is a character all of her own. My mom doesn't really fit a stereotype, so I'm at a loss of trying to put her in a box for you. She was the mom who took us running through golf course sprinklers, and drove the getaway car for my boy crazy girlfriends when we'd go toliet papering in high school. She dressed my sister and I up in her old clothes, and sent us out to make mud pies when the backyard was a mess after the rain. I mean pies actually made from mud- she's never been much for cooking, but she makes up for that in how fun she is. I may not have recipes for 'mom's biscuits', but I have vivid memories of my mom starting the dance party with paper plates as props at my first boy/girl party. I mean, anyone can find a biscuit recipe, but only my mom can party with plates. I was her cautious child, and she always tried to loosen me up... she still does, actually. There is that cliche that says 'you don't understand the depth of a mother's love, until you have children of your own'. I'm sure this is true, but my mom has made her love crystal clear to us. It is deep, really deep, and I know this from her actions. You can say 'i love you' a trillion times, but it's my late night teary phone calls, the articles she sends me in the mail, or helping me plant my herb garden that speak louder than words.

And just because someone doesn't like to cook, doesn't mean they don't like to eat, and my mom loves things with sauce. Food is just her vehicle for more sauce. This is a great mothers day brunch idea. I was inspired by a sauce recipe I found in the Golden Door Cooks at Home Cookbook. It blends up so quickly and tastes lighter than the typical hollandaise you find on an eggs benedict. As soon as you crack the yolk, it marries the bell pepper sauce and serves as the perfect dipping agent for the rest of the stack. If you are not one for poached eggs, you could substitute a fried egg or even a heap of scrambled eggs as an alternative. Experiment with whatever vegetables you have, as I imagine any sauteed green could be used instead of spinach or some caramelized onions or leeks would be wonderful too. For the record: A. This is my new favorite breakfast and B. I love you, Mom.

VEGETABLE EGGS BENEDICT // Makes 4

The sauce recipe is written using jarred roasted peppers. The yellow ones make a sauce that most resembles hollandaise. When bell peppers are sweet and in season near you, I am sure the flavor would be exceptional if you roasted them yourself. Though jarred will save you time regardless of the season. If you don't care for goat cheese, you could use cream cheese instead.

2 Whole Grain English Muffins

4 Large Eggs

5 Cups Fresh Spinach Leaves

1 Tbsp. Olive Oil

Zest of One Lemon

12 Spears of Asparagus

1 tsp. Garlic Salt

Fresh Ground Pepper

Fresh Parsley for Garnish

// BELL PEPPER SAUCE //

1 1/4 Cup Roasted Bell Pepper Pieces, drained

3-4 oz. Chevre/Goat Cheese (richness to taste)

1/4 Cup Milk

1 Tbsp. Lemon Juice

1 Tbsp. Dijon Mustard

Splash of Hot Sauce

Salt/Pepper

Oven to 500'

1. Start with the sauce. Warm the milk in the microwave for about 30 seconds. In a blender or food processor, combine the warm milk, goat cheese, mustard, lemon juice and the drained roasted bell peppers. Blend until smooth. Cover and set aside.

2. Warm the olive oil in the pan, add the fresh spinach and lemon zest and saute until just wilted. Turn off the heat and let it sit, it will stay warm enough while you finish everything else.

3. Toss the asparagus with a bit of olive oil, garlic salt and some fresh ground pepper. Put in the upper third of the oven for 8 minutes (this all depends on the thickness of your asparagus, alter your timing to get tender but not soggy spears).

4. Bring one quart water + 1 Tbsp. vinegar to a boil, then down to a simmer. This is your egg poaching liquid, there are good directions on how to poach eggs here. If you are doing them one at a time, you can keep them in a bowl with some of the warm poaching liquid until ready to use.

5. Toast the english muffins and get ready to go. Toasted muff+spoonful of sauce+sauteed spinach+asparagus spears, halved+poached egg+another spoonful or sauce+maybe a lovely fruit salad on the side=perfection.

SCALLOPS ON CREAMY LEEKS

The funny thing about this recipe is that I don't even care much for scallops, or any shellfish for that matter. However, I felt we were due for another simple meal option. I had the sweetest comment back when I posted the Walnut Crusted Salmon and Edamame Mash from a reader named Mel (are you still out there Mel? Because I've been thinking of you.) who said that recipe was her go-to dinner for entertaining. So Mel, hopefully this is another idea for you, if of course, you are one for scallops. It is fairly quick, simple and tastes much more impressive than the effort it requires. I'm pretty certain that is an instant selling point right there.

My suggestion would be to have all the ingredients for the scallop portion, cut and ready to go, because once you start searing the scallops, everything moves quickly. If you aren't a scallop person either, the leeks are worth your time. We're on the tail end of their season around here, and the two giant ones I found were just fabulous. Leeks are one of those impressive vegetables where less fuss, is more. They reduce down to pillowy, subtle onion strings of caramelized wonderfulness. I generously shared the scallops we made, but the extra leeks got tucked away in secret tupperware for yours truly.

SCALLOPS ON CREAMY LEEKS // Serves 2 to 3 people

It's hard to be exact with this, as the size of scallops you buy will vary the cooking time and amount of butter and wine you will need. For an entree, I suggest using larger scallops. If you can find a fish monger who sells fresh scallops, not frozen/thawed ones, the texture will be best.

3 Cups Cleaned, Chopped Leeks (2 Large Leeks, halved, sliced)

1 Tbsp. Butter

1/4 Cup Milk

Salt/Pepper

1/2 Lb. Fresh Scallops

1/4 Cup Whole Wheat Flour (I Imagine that rice flour would work as a gluten free alternative)

1 Tbsp. Unsalted Butter

1 tsp. Dijon Mustard

1/2 Cup White Wine

1/3 Cup Chopped Shallots

3-4 Tbsp. Finely Chopped Parsley

Zest and Juice of 1 Lemon

1. In a large saute pan, heat the first 1 tbsp. butter until melted, add the leeks and salt, and stir around to coat. Add a tbsp. of water if the pan is looking really dry. Leave the heat on medium and continue to stir every few minutes to avoid any burning, for about 15 minutes. Prepare your scallop ingredients in the meantime.

2. Add the milk and pepper to the leeks, turn the heat to medium/low and continue to cook while you take care of your scallop business. As long as the heat is on low, you can't really overcook them here.

3. Pat the scallops dry with a paper towel and season with salt and pepper. Gently toss them around in the flour.

4. In another pan, let them brown on one side (about 2 minutes), gently flip to the other side and place them in a buttery part of the pan if possible (sear another 2 minutes). Add the shallot, dijon, wine and parsley and give the pan a few shakes to move things around and allow the temperature to come back up to a simmer (again, probably 2 minutes). Remove the scallops to a plate, use the spoon to scrape up the bits on the bottom of the pan and stir the sauce. Pour the sauce on top of the scallops. Squeeze the lemon juice on top.

5. To plate, put a big spoonful of the leeks and then the scallops on top with some of the shallot sauce goodness. Garnish with the lemon zest, fresh ground pepper and fresh parsley.