edible ventures

New Blog!

2011-04-09T12:55:00.000-07:00

As promised, I have finally created a new food blog. It has a more specific concept and I think you guys will love it. You can check it out at Glutton for Nourishment. Please have a look, and I welcome your feedback.

Goal Achieved (for now)

2010-06-12T08:30:00.000-07:00

When I first started this blog, I was trying to learn to be more comfortable in the kitchen. I already loved to cook, but I wasn't so good at improvising. I had a collection of cookbooks that was constantly growing, and a fear of straying too far from those recipes. I was a novice.

I wouldn't say that I am now a gourmet chef, but thanks in large part to this blog, I am certainly comfortable in the kitchen. I have taught myself new techniques and shortcuts. I have broadened my horizons. I've done things I always wanted to do, like made home-made pastry and roasted a whole chicken. I've kept my meals and desserts interesting and shared them with you. You might have noticed that as this blog progressed, the recipes became more my own and less from other people's pages.

My journey to become a great cook is not over, and will never be, but I certainly have reached a milestone. And I have to say that I think I have outgrown this blog a bit, at least for now. While I used to love taking pictures of my creations and posting about them here, "showing off" a bit, admittedly, even if it wasn't always something to show off about, now it is somewhat of a hindrance. Not to mention that I want to be able to cook favorite things I've made before, and this blog makes me feel like I always have to try something new.

I love to cook, I love to eat, and I love to write, but the blog itself is starting to feel like it is actually holding me back a bit now. This is a great surprise to me, as it is the blog that helped me to grow so much over the past year and a half.

I will still be on twitter (@edibleventures) posting about my adventures in the kitchen, and I do plan to start a new blog with a different concept before long (stay tuned, I will be sure to post the link here when the time comes). But for now, this blog is going into hibernation. Thank you to those of you who supported me along the way. If you ever want a recipe idea or a tip I am here to help, feel free to e-mail me (laurathelop at hotmail dot com). I will keep this blog up for quite some time so that the recipes are still available. And I will still read *your* blog, those of you who have them.

Happy eating, cooking, and blogging! I still hope to have you all over for dinner some day.

Spicy Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

2010-06-07T18:39:00.000-07:00

There were a few beautiful red bell peppers in my refrigerator, and we were about to go away for the weekend. I had already had them for several days, and the idea that they might be spoiled by the time we got back from our trip was just too depressing. I had the genius idea of roasting them, figuring it would buy me a few more days.

Now that we're home, I decided to use the roasted red peppers to make a pasta sauce. But you need not stop at pasta with this one, my friends. This sauce is spicy and sassy. Saucy, if you will. It would do wonderful things on top of meat, chicken, fish, or yes, pasta. It could jazz up a platter of grilled vegetables. It could jazz up your life, in fact.

The diced fire roasted tomatoes I used already had spicy chilies in them, but if you have regular fire roasted tomatoes without chilies, you might want to add red pepper flakes or cayenne, or some other source of heat. This sauce is velvety smooth, and the heat helps to give it an edge that it craves. And you will crave it too, I promise.

Home made roasted red peppers are a beautiful thing, but of course you can use the jarred ones, too. Just drain and rinse them first.

Spicy Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

makes about 4 cups

INGREDIENTS:

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

3 garlic cloves, chopped

3 roasted red bell peppers, chopped

one 14.5 ounce can of diced fire roasted tomatoes with chilies

a pinch of dried oregano

salt

2 teaspoons good quality balsamic vinegar

DIRECTIONS:

1. Heat the oil in a large high-sided skillet over medium heat. When it's hot, add the garlic and cook, stirring, for about one minute, until fragrant and starting to turn golden.

2. Add the bell peppers and the diced tomatoes with their juices. Stir to combine, then season with oregano and salt. Bring to a bubble, then stir in the balsamic. Reduce to a bare simmer.

3. Let the sauce simmer for a few minutes so the flavors can marry and the sauce heats through, and thickens just slightly. Turn off the heat and let sit for a minute.

4. Transfer the sauce (carefully) to a food processor or blender and puree until smooth. Serve hot over pasta, meat, or veggies.

Enjoy!

Zucchini and Cilantro Soup with Chile and Mint

2010-06-02T19:22:00.000-07:00

Looking for a soup that is transcendentally delicious? Yep, this is it. Here we have another example of how well zucchini pairs with fresh herbs, only now we have it in soup form. You could serve this soup chilled on a hot day, or hot on a chilly day. It's easy-going like that.

I have to say that when you taste this soup, it's not obvious what it is exactly. It tastes like a delicious vegetarian tortilla soup. You know there are herbs, you know there is spiciness, and you know there is a generally Mexican flavor. But zucchini? You might not have guessed. This is a great way to use up zucchinis when you're sick of zucchini, or if you are trying to fool your picky children or husband into eating zucchini. Or, you can feed it to zucchini-lovers and see if they recognize their favorite squash. It's up to you.

This soup is rich and refreshing at the same time. It's pretty amazing. It's pretty great. You should try it.

Zucchini and Cilantro Soup with Chile and Mint

adapted from Deborah Madison's Local Flavors

serves 4

INGREDIENTS:

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 serrano or jalapeno chile, seeded and chopped

2 medium-sized zucchini, quartered lengthwise and chopped

1 small bunch of cilantro, stems and leaves divided, chopped

1/2 medium onion, thinly sliced

2 tablespoons chopped parsley

1 tablespoon chopped mint

2 corn tortillas

salt to taste

3 cups chicken or vegetable broth

juice of 1 lemon

DIRECTIONS:

1. Heat one tablespoon of the oil in a medium soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the chile, zucchini, cilantro stems, onion, parsley, and mint. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is softened and zucchini is starting to get tender, about 10 minutes.

2. Tear up one of the tortillas into pieces and add it to the pot. Add a healthy pinch of salt and stir. Add the broth and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cover the pot. Cook for about 15 minutes, or until zucchini is very tender. Remove from heat.

3. Stir in the cilantro leaves (save a bit for garnish if you like). Let the soup cool slightly, then puree in a blender, food processor, or with an immersion blender, until smooth. Season to taste with salt and lemon juice.

4. In a small skillet, heat the remaining tablespoon of oil over medium-high. Cut the remaining tortilla into strips and add to the hot oil. Cook until crisp, then set on paper towels to drain. Serve the soup garnished with a small mound of tortilla strips and reserved cilantro.

Enjoy!

Blueberry Bran Muffins

2010-05-30T15:43:00.000-07:00

I love blueberry muffins, in case you couldn't tell. These are yet another variation, with plump fresh blueberries and a more rustic muffin base. Thanks to the use of wheat germ or wheat bran (your choice), these are muffins you can feel pretty good about eating. They're high in fiber and low in fat. They also happen to taste great.

You can find fantastic blueberries right now, so it's a great time to give this recipe a try. The muffins are sweetened with maple syrup, so they have that extra edge that is hard to identify. They'll make an excellent breakfast before all your barbecue-ing on memorial day. Muffins make an excellent breakfast any time, in my opinion!

*Note: the original recipe said it makes 12 muffins, but I got 16. So have a second muffin tin around just in case.

Blueberry Bran Muffins

adapted from Mad Hungry

makes 12-16* muffins

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour

1 tablespoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

2 large eggs

4 tablespoons pure maple syrup

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup canola oil

1 1/2 cups skim milk

1 cup fresh blueberries

1/2 cup wheat bran or wheat germ

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 400. Grease a standard 12-cup muffin tin or line with paper or reusable liners.

2. In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt. In a medium bowl, beat the eggs, maple, sugar, oil, and milk together. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir until just mixed together. Stir in blueberries and wheat bran or germ.

3. Spoon the batter into the muffin cups, filling them about 3/4 of the way (more if you want your muffins to spill over the top). You may need to use a second muffin tin for the extra batter. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from the pan.

Enjoy!

Spiced Chicken Salad

2010-05-27T20:30:00.000-07:00

Sometimes those random ingredients in your refrigerator can come to a fortuitously delicious conclusion. I knew I wanted to make chicken for dinner, but I wasn't sure exactly what I wanted to do with it. We had arugula, a couple of stray potatoes, lots of carrots and half a cucumber. We had herbs, and the usual spices, oils, and vinegars. We also had a chunk of feta.

Voila! All of these items came together to form a filling and delicious salad. The chicken breast is marinated for a mere 10-15 minutes in yogurt and spices, then cooked in a cast-iron skillet and placed atop a salad of mixed veggies and boiled potatoes. It's simple and filled with flavor.

This is a basic formula that could work with any number of variations. Cook a piece of marinated chicken breast and you can put it on top of just about anything, and then call it spiced chicken salad. This particular combination works wonders, but if you have some mixed baby greens and tomatoes, you could use those instead of the arugula and potatoes. You could ditch the feta and opt for fresh mozzarella, cubes of sharp cheddar, or no cheese at all if you like.

Once again, I invite you to take my recipe and do whatever you like with it. That's what playing in the kitchen is all about.

And speaking of which, I am thinking about changing some things up on this blog. Is there anything you'd like to see more of? Anything new you'd like to see besides recipes? I promise to consider any serious suggestions. Thanks!

Spiced Chicken Salad

serves 2

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup plain lowfat yogurt

pinch of ground cinnamon

bigger pinch of ground cumin

salt to taste

2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley, divided

2 skinless boneless chicken breast cutlets

2 medium red-skinned potatoes, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

2 cups baby arugula

1/2 hothouse cucumber, cut lengthwise and thinly sliced

1 large carrot, peeled and thinly sliced

cooking spray

1 teaspoon white balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1/2 cup diced feta cheese

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a shallow dish, combine yogurt, cinnamon, cumin, a pinch of salt, and about half the parsley. Place the chicken cutlets in the dish and turn to coat well with the yogurt mixture. Let marinate for 10-15 minutes.

2. While the chicken marinates, place the potatoes in a saucepan and cover with cool water by about 1 inch. Place on the stove over high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat slightly and cook until potatoes are fork-tender, about 10 minutes. Drain and set aside to cool.

3. While the potatoes are cooking and the chicken is marinating, put the arugula, cucumber, and carrots in a large salad bowl with the remaining parsley.

4. Heat a cast-iron skillet, sprayed well with cooking spray, over medium-high heat. When it's hot, shake the excess marinade off the chicken and add it to the skillet. Cook for about 4 minutes on each side, or until browned and cooked through.

5. Drizzle the vinegar and oil over the salad and toss. Add feta and toss again. Divide the salad among two plates and add the potatoes around the perimeter. Place a cooked chicken cutlet on each salad and serve.

Enjoy!

Penne with Zucchini and Mint

2010-05-25T20:19:00.000-07:00

This pasta is perfect for a weeknight. We had some special impromptu dinner guests tonight, and it was easy to quickly pull this together while visiting at the same time. Pasta with vegetables are a no-brainer, but pasta with zucchini and mint is a particularly special combination. This duo is not only healthy, but it is refreshing and unusual enough to make even simple pasta with garlic and olive oil interesting. The citrus works wonders, too.

Great zucchini is popping up at the farmers markets now, so make this now! It's easy, delicious, and healthy. The norm in my kitchen, or so I like to think.

Penne with Zucchini and Mint

adapted from Ellie Krieger's So Easy

serves 4

INGREDIENTS:

12 oz. whole wheat penne pasta

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

4 large cloves garlic, thinly sliced

2 medium zucchini, halved lengthwise and sliced into 1/4 inch half-moons

juice and zest of one medium-sized lemon

salt and pepper to taste

1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

1/4 cup chopped fresh mint leaves

DIRECTIONS:

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook penne according until al dente. Drain.

2. While the pasta water is coming to a boil, put the olive oil and sliced garlic into a deep skillet over medium-low heat. Stir frequently, and cook until garlic is lightly golden, about 6-8 minutes. Be careful not to burn the garlic. Add zucchini, stir, and then put a tight lid on the skillet. Let cook for 6-8 minutes, or until zucchini is just tender.

3. Add lemon juice, zest, salt and pepper to the zucchini. Add the cooked pasta to the pot and stir everything to combine. Stir in parmesan and mint leaves just before serving.

Enjoy!

Strawberry Challah French Toast

2010-05-22T09:22:00.000-07:00

Some dishes need no introduction. Strawberry challah French toast - I think it speaks for itself. Think fluffy, slightly sweet and cinnamony French toast kissed with super-ripe, juicy strawberries. Now you can stop drooling and make it for your breakfast.

Challah is by far the best bread for any French toast, in my opinion, but of course you can use whatever you have on hand and see how it goes. Cut the slices of bread nice and thick, about half an inch, so that it can soak up the egg mixture without getting soggy too fast.

French toast is good. Strawberry challah French toast is better. Welcome to the weekend!

Strawberry Challah French Toast

makes 2 slices

INGREDIENTS:

5-6 medium sized strawberries, hulled and sliced

1 teaspoon sugar

1 large egg

1/2 cup nonfat milk

1/4 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 teaspoon ground cinammon

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

2 thick slices Challah or similar bread

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a medium bowl, sprinkle the sugar over the sliced strawberries and toss gently. Let sit while you prepare the rest of the recipe.

2. In another bowl, whisk together the egg, milk, vanilla, and cinnamon to combine well.

3. Place the butter in a medium skillet over medium heat and let it melt.

4. Dip the slices of bread in the egg mixture to coat both sides and the edges, and transfer to the skillet after the butter has melted. Don't be tempted to raise the heat from medium. Let cook for about 3 minutes on the first side, then flip to cook the other side. If it resists when you try to lift it with a spatula, wait another minute or so before flipping. Then you can flip back and forth every minute or so until both sides are golden-brown and the bread no longer looks soggy.

5. Serve the French toast topped with the strawberries.

Enjoy!

Snap Pea and Carrot Salad with Ginger-Cucumber Dressing

2010-05-20T16:15:00.000-07:00

The other night with our burgers, we ate this incredibly refreshing salad. You might think all salads are refreshing, but this one really takes it to another level. Not only are the veggies in the salad crisp and rejuvenating, but the dressing itself will wake up your taste buds in the best kind of way.

Sugar snap peas and carrots are magical vegetables, in my opinion. They are sweet and crunchy and juicy. They also happen to smell and taste delicious. Toss them with some lettuce and a cucumber-ginger dressing, and you have a bordering on transcendental salad. This is seriously good salad, folks. Seriously.

Cucumber and ginger go together so well - one is mild and the other is hot, but together they are a powerful duo. This is the kind of salad I imagine you'd be served at a fancy spa in the desert somewhere. Or you could just make it at home, like I did. I'm thinking the latter is a lot less expensive.

Snap Pea and Carrot Salad with Ginger-Cucumber Dressing

adapted from Simple Fresh Southern

serves 3

INGREDIENTS:

1 large handful sugar snap peas, stems trimmed, thinly sliced

2 medium carrots, peeled and coarsely shredded on a box grater

1 small head romaine, sliced into 1/4 inch thick ribbons

salt to taste

1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger

1/2 English hothouse cucumber, peeled, seeded, cut into chunks

1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 tablespoon white balsamic vinegar

DIRECTIONS:

1. Toss snap peas, carrots, and lettuce with a pinch of salt in a large bowl to combine. Set aside.

2. Put the ginger, cucumber, oil, and vinegar in a food processor with another pinch of salt. Process until the dressing is smooth and thoroughly combined.

3. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss until evenly coated. Season to taste with salt, and serve.

Enjoy!

Grass-Fed Beef Burgers

2010-05-18T19:54:00.000-07:00

It has been a really long time since I made a hamburger. Turkey and chicken burgers, sure, but not beef. I limit my beef consumption to once a month, and a contributing reason for that is the difficulty in finding grass-fed beef (which is healthier and more environmentally friendly) in grocery stores. Well I have good news, people. It is becoming more common. I happened upon a 1-pound package of organic, grass-fed ground beef at Trader Joe's this weekend! Miracle of miracles.

The beauty of grass-fed beef, among other things, is that it has a unique flavor of its own that doesn't require a lot of doctoring. This burger recipe seemed like the best way to use it, since it is so uncomplicated. A simple combo of Dijon mustard and Worcestershire sauce, some salt and pepper, and voila. Sure you can top it with ketchup, mustard, whatever you like after you're done. Some good quality aged white cheddar is a nice addition (as pictured above). But the burger itself has a fantastic depth of flavor that is hard to compete with.

Now that I've found grass-fed ground beef I'm not going to start eating it every week, but it definitely makes me feel good about my monthly beef consumption. Eco-conscious meat eaters (no that is not a paradox), rejoice.

Grass-Fed Beef Burgers

serves 2

INGREDIENTS:

1 pound organic, grass-fed lean ground sirloin or chuck (85:25)

1 1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

cooking spray

2 thin slices of aged white cheddar (or other cheese)

2 whole wheat hamburger buns, toasted if desired

DIRECTIONS:

1. Heat a grill pan over high heat. While it preheats, use a fork to gently combine the ground beef, mustard, Worcestershire, and salt and pepper (to taste) in a bowl until well combined. Divide into two patties no thicker than an inch each, and create a slight indentation in the middle of each patty so they don't puff up too much in the middle.

2. Spray the preheated grill pan with cooking spray and add the patties to the pan. Sear for about one minute on each side, then reduce heat to medium-high and cook for about 5-8 minutes per side, to desired doneness.

3. When burgers are just about done, place a slice of cheese on each patty and tent with foil. Turn off the heat and let sit for a couple of minutes. Place the patties onto the buns and serve.

Enjoy!

Spicy Corn Chowder

2010-05-17T19:50:00.000-07:00

Holy lord is this soup spicy. Granted, I made the bold choice of leaving the seeds in our serrano peppers. I think we each drank two glasses of water along with our soup (great dieting strategy - you get full faster! Okay I'm only kidding, but it's sort of true).

I love the flavors of this soup - only I drowned them out a bit with spice. I'd recommend you de-seed your serrano chiles and then put them in the soup. The result is a sweet yet spicy corn chowder with delicious salty bacon on top. It's a little creamy and a little crazy. It's lovely.

This post might seem out of the blue, but believe it or not, sweet corn is popping up already in the farmers market! I got some in my CSA bag last week, much to my shock. So it seemed perfect to make full use of the corn as this soup does - cob and all! You are literally milking the corn for everything it's worth. It's a labor of love, but the corn rewards you. It really does.

Spicy Corn Chowder

adapted from Williams-Sonoma's Essentials of Healthful Cooking

serves 3

INGREDIENTS:

2 ears corn, husks removed

1/2 cup half and half

1 small yellow onion, cut into a large dice

1 medium-sized red skinned potato, cut into a large dice

2 serrano peppers, seeds and ribs removed, and diced

2 scallions, green parts only, thinly sliced

salt to taste

2 slices uncured, nitrate-free bacon

DIRECTIONS:

1. Cut the corn kernels from the cob over a large bowl to catch them. (It's easiest if you invert a small bowl inside the large bowl and rest the cob on the small bowl as you slice off the kernels - the large bowl will catch them.)

2. Use the blunt side of the knife to scrape the cobs afterwards to get all the "milk" out. Place the corn, cobs, and milk in a medium Dutch oven or soup pot. Add 3 cups of water and turn on the heat to high. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a gentle boil and cook for about 10 minutes.

3. Pour the mixture into a sieve over a large bowl, so the bowl catches the broth and the corn gets caught in the sieve. Discard the cobs (try to squeeze the juices out if you can, but don't burn your hand). Set aside half the corn. Pour half the corn broth back into the empty Dutch oven.

4. Place the other half of the broth and corn into a food processor or blender, and add the half and half. Puree until smooth and creamy. Set aside.

5. Add the onion, potato, and serrano peppers to the broth in the Dutch oven and turn the heat to high. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook until the potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes. Pour the creamy corn broth mixture into the pot, add the green onions, and season the soup to taste with salt.

6. While the soup cooks, cook the bacon in a skillet over medium heat, flipping often, until crispy. Ladle the soup into bowls and top with crumbled bacon. (Leave off the bacon if you want this to be vegetarian).

Enjoy!

Chocolate Chip Banana Snack Cake

2010-05-15T15:53:00.000-07:00

This is one of those great in-between treats that isn't quite desserty enough to rule it out for breakfast. It's a bit more cakey than banana bread, but not as sweet as your typical cake. You can have a slice with a cup of coffee and feel good that you're starting your day right.

There is no refined sugar or flour in this cake. There is, however, chocolate. And banana. And honey. It's like a big healthy muffin in the form of a cake.

As you might be able to tell, I'm having a hard time classifying this cake. Hence the term "snack cake." I think snack cake is a nebulous category of food, not quite pigeonholing itself in the realm of dessert, breakfast, or after-school snack, so that it can work for any of these three. The bottom line is, you'll like it. Your kids will like it. And the world will be a better place if you make it.

(Okay, I made that last one up.)

Chocolate Chip Banana Snack Cake

makes one 8 x 8 cake

INGREDIENTS:

cooking spray

2 cups white whole wheat flour

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 tablespoon baking powder

2 ripe bananas, mashed (about 1 cup)

1/2 cup nonfat milk

1/4 cup honey

1 egg
3 tablespoons canola oil

3/4 cup semisweet or dark chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 400. Lightly spray an 8 x 8 cake pan with cooking spray.

2. Mix the flour, salt, and baking powder in a large bowl.

3. In a separate bowl, mix the banana, milk, honey, egg, and oil together.

4. Create a well in the middle of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet. Stir with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula until just combined. The mixture should be thick but wet - if it's too dry, add a splash more milk.

5. Stir in chocolate chips and then transfer batter to the prepared pan. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until browned on top and a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool 5 minutes, then serve warm.

Enjoy!

Cauliflower Gratin

2010-05-12T18:37:00.000-07:00

There aren't many vegetables that I don't like, but there are those I tend not to choose (to put it nicely). Cauliflower is one of those vegetables. Still, I belong to a CSA, and the dutiful thing is to use all the produce I can, even the items I'm not so crazy about. When I saw a recipe for Cauliflower Gratin, I thought perhaps I'd found that dish that would win me over. (I've tried before, but it didn't quite do the job). After all, it's cheesy and crunchy and creamy - what's not to love?

Well, it is really tasty, I have to say....for cauliflower. If you like cauliflower already, you are going to *love* this. If you don't, well, it will make cauliflower a bit more tolerable. (I'm really selling this, aren't I?)

The crunchy bread crumbs, the melted cheese, and the creamy finish serve as a tasty backdrop to the still-slightly-crunchy cauliflower, the way the major cast members of a gratin are prone to do. Serve it along with some of your favorite things, and it becomes a nice well-rounded dish. We had ours with grilled chicken and roasted brussels sprouts. Yum.

Cauliflower Gratin

adapted from Food Network Magazine

serves 4 as a side dish

INGREDIENTS:

1 small head cauliflower, cut into florets

1/2 cup half & half

1/2 teaspoon dry mustard

pinch of salt

1/2 cup shredded cheese (gruyere or mozzarella works)

1/3 cup whole wheat bread crumbs

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350. Place the cauliflower florets in a shallow baking dish or casserole.

2. Whisk together the half & half, mustard, and salt in a small bowl. Pour over the cauliflower. Top with shredded cheese and bread crumbs.

3. Bake for 45 minutes, or until the cauliflower is easily pierced with a fork but still has a bit of crunch, and the topping is brown and crunchy. Serve hot.

Enjoy!

Potato, Spinach and Bread Soup

2010-05-11T20:11:00.000-07:00

Soup doesn't need to be fancy or complicated to be completely delicious. This recipe is for an extremely humble soup; the kind of thing you'd imagine would have been considered "peasant" fare in a less enlightened time.

Well, peasant fare or not, it's incredibly tasty, easy to prepare, and comforting as any good soup should be. There are shockingly few ingredients - most of them are already in the name. This is definitely a meal in a bowl - you don't even need bread for dunking, as it is already in the soup!

The flavor profile is simple and familiar, but these elements all together are not entirely obvious. Give it a try and see.

Potato, Spinach and Bread Soup

adapted from Jack Bishop's Complete Italian Vegetarian Cookbook

serves 4

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/2 pounds baby Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into bite-size pieces

4 1/2 cups vegetable stock

4 cups packed spinach leaves, washed, dried, and coarsely chopped

salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

2 cups cubed (1/2 inch) day-old whole grain baguette

extra virgin olive oil for serving

DIRECTIONS:

1. Place the potatoes and vegetable stock in a medium soup pot or Dutch oven. Turn the heat to high and bring to a rapid boil. Cook for 15 minutes, uncovered.

2. Reduce heat slightly (but keep a bubble going) and add the spinach, pressing it down into the liquid gently. Salt and pepper to taste, then place a lid on the pot and cook for 10 minutes, or until potatoes are falling apart and spinach is tender.

3. Turn off the heat and stir in the bread cubes. Cover the pot and let sit for 5 minutes, allowing the bread to soak up some broth. The soup will be quite thick.

4. Ladle the soup into bowls and drizzle lightly with extra virgin olive oil.

Enjoy!

Mocha Cake with Mocha Nutella Frosting

2010-05-09T20:31:00.000-07:00

For mother's day, I wanted to make a dessert that felt mother-ish. Particularly, one that my mother would like. We also were going to have a group of 18 people, so it had to be something that could stretch for a large group. First, I thought to do a sheet cake. Second, I thought chocolate. Third, coffee. Voila - Ellie Krieger's mocha cake!

I changed the frosting to a different one I found on Tasty Kitchen because the original recipe called for a cream cheese frosting, and my mother is not a fan. Instead, I made a Mocha Nutella frosting that was out of this world. The combination of the moist mocha cake and the sweet nutty frosting was absolutely fantastic.

This one is a crowd pleaser, for sure. It's tasty, it's pretty, and it's different than your typical chocolate cake. Make it for your next family gathering!

Mocha Cake with Mocha Nutella Frosting

adapted from The Food You Crave and Tasty Kitchen

makes one 9 x 13 cake

INGREDIENTS:

for the cake:

Cooking spray

1 1/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

2 tablespoons canola oil

2 large eggs

2 large egg whites

1 1/2 cups plain lowfat yogurt

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 tablespoon instant coffee, dissolved in 1 tablespoon hot water

2 ounces good quality dark chocolate (60-70% cocoa)

for the frosting:

1 tablespoon nonfat milk, plus more for texture

1 teaspoon instant coffee

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

2 tablespoons Nutella (chocolate hazelnut spread)

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

pinch of salt

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS:

1. Spray a 9 x 13 baking pan with cooking spray. Preheat oven to 350.

2. Whisk together flour, cocoa powder, salt, baking soda, and baking powder in a medium bowl. Set aside.

3. Whisk together melted butter, canola oil, eggs, and egg whites until well combined. Fold in the yogurt, vanilla, granulataed sugar, and dissolved instant coffee. Mel the chocolate in a small microwave-safe bowl in the microve for 90 seconds on high (careful not to burn it!) and stir it into the batter.

4. Gradually add dry ingredients to the wet, and stir until just incorporated - do not overbeat. Pour into prepared pan. Bake until cake has risen nicely and a toothpick comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool completely on a rack.

5. Make the frosting: dissolve the instant coffee in a tablespoon of milk and set aside. Beat the butter, Nutella, powdered sugar, salt, and vanilla in a bowl with a handheld electric mixer on high. Add the dissolved coffee and milk and beat well. Add additional milk as needed to achieve a smooth frosting consistency. Frost the cake when it has cooled completely.

6. As a nice added touch, grate a little chocolate on the top for decoration. Cut into squares and serve.

Enjoy!

Shaved Asparagus with Parmigiano-Reggiano

2010-05-05T19:23:00.000-07:00

Did you know you can eat asparagus raw? I don't know if that necessarily means you'll want to grab a stalk and start gnawing on it, but when you shave it thinly with a vegetable peeler and toss it with a simple lemon vinaigrette, it's pretty divine. Add parmigiano to the mix, and a bit of sea salt, and you're in business.

This recipe comes from Mario Batali's latest book, and it is a great example of the beauty of simplicity. When you have excellent produce, you shouldn't mess with it too much. If you can find a way to eat it raw, all the better.

Mario includes this in the antipasti section of Molto Gusto, but I think it works great as a salad or a side dish, too. Try it out and see what you think. I'll bet you've never had anything quite like it.

Shaved Asparagus with Parmigiano-Reggiano

adapted from Mario Batali's Multo Gusto

serves 2-3

INGREDIENTS:

1 bunch medium asparagus, tough ends snapped off

1/4 cup coarsely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

juice of 1/2 lemon

1 tablespoon warm water

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

coarse sea salt and coarsely ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS:

1. Using a vegetable peeler, shave the asparagus into long diagonal shavings. It doesn't have to be perfect, it just has to be thin.

2. Put the cheese in a large bowl and whisk in the lemon juice and warm water. Whisking constantly, drizzle in the oil slowly to create a loose emulsion. Add the asparagus and toss everything together. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Enjoy!

Shepherds Pie

2010-05-03T19:44:00.000-07:00

With mother's day around the corner, I am extra inspired to make dishes that remind me of my mother's cooking. This is the epitome - shepherds pie made lighter, healthier, and more delicious than you've ever had before. Most people think of shepherds pie as beef stew topped with mashed potatoes, or something along those lines. Well it's about to get much more interesting.

This recipe is an adaptation of my mother's. She always makes it with turkey instead of beef, and adds loads of flavor from a couple of secret ingredients (which, of course, will not be secret for long). The base is almost like a bolognese with an extra hit of seasoning that you don't quite expect. The topping is glorious mashed potatoes with the skins left on, and the finishing touch is just a delicate sprinkling of cheese to add that something special.

The primary secret ingredient in this shepherds pie is somewhat controversial. It's Marmite. If you're not familiar with Marmite, it is a much-loved and yet much-hated ingredient for the children of British families. I happen to fall in the love camp, but if you fall into the less-enlightened (in my opinion) hate camp, or you simply don't want to try it, you can use a bit of Worcestershire sauce, or just increase the tomato paste. Marmite is a vegetarian yeast-based spread, but it lends a beefiness to this shepherds pie that would definitely be missed if you skip it. You can also use Vegemite, which is the Australian equivalent.

Shepherds pie, in my family anyway, is the ultimate comfort food. And it only seems to get better the next day, so definitely make enough to have leftovers.

Shepherds Pie

serves 4-6

INGREDIENTS:

1 lb. baby Yukon gold potatoes, scrubbed and halved

salt

2/3 cup skim milk

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1/2 medium onion, diced

1 celery stalk, diced

1 carrot, peeled and diced

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

pinch of red pepper flakes

1 lb. ground white meat turkey

2 teaspoons tomato paste

2 teaspoons Marmite or Vegemite

1 14.5-oz can diced tomatoes, mostly drained

2 tablespoons grated mozzarella or white cheddar

DIRECTIONS:

1. Place the potatoes in a pot and fill with cold water to about one inch above the potatoes. Salt it. Bring to a boil and cook, uncovered, for 10-15 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender and easily pierced with a fork. Drain, return to the pot, and add the milk and butter. Mash the potatoes until smooth. Salt to taste.

2. While the potatoes are cooking, heat the oil in a Dutch oven or large pot over medium-high. Add the onion, celery, carrot, and garlic, and cook, stirring often, until vegetables are starting to soften, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and red pepper flakes.

3. Add the turkey to the pot and break it up with a wooden spoon as it cooks. Cook, stirring often, until the turkey is no longer pink, about 3 minutes. Add the tomato paste and Marmite and stir to distribute fairly evenly. Add the diced tomatoes and a little bit of their juices and stir everything together. Let cook about 5 more minutes to evaporate some of the moisture.

4. Preheat the oven to 375. Transfer the turkey mixture to a 8 x 8 baking dish and top with the mashed potatoes. Smooth them out to create an even layer. Sprinkle with the cheese and bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are starting to get crusty and golden on top. Serve hot.

Enjoy!

Raspberry Scones

2010-05-02T16:14:00.000-07:00

Berry season is well underway. When I saw that this month's issue of Everyday Food had a whole feature on raspberries, I had to get in on the action.

These scones are easy. These scones are flaky and buttery. These scones are studded with fresh raspberries. I think that should get you up out of your seat and high-tailing it to the nearest market for fresh berries.

As with any scone, these make an excellent breakfast pastry, or a nice accompaniment to an afternoon cup of tea. Or you could just have them for dessert. Or lunch. Or a midnight snack. No one has to know.

And a note: any time you see buttermilk in a recipe and don't feel like buying it, you can substitute the same amount of milk, and add a squirt of lemon juice or a teaspoon of vinegar, let it sit for about five minutes, and then use it.

Raspberry Scones

adapted from Everyday Food

makes 16

INGREDIENTS:

2 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour, plus more for work surface

1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces

3/4 cup buttermilk

1 large egg yolk

6 oz. fresh raspberries, washed and gently dried

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 400. Line a baking sheet with parchment.

2. In a food processor, pulse the flour, 1/4 cup sugar, baking powder, and salt to combine. Add butter and pulse until pea-size pieces form.

3. In a small bowl, whisk together buttermilk and egg yolk. Slowly stream in through the feed tube of the food processor and pulse until the dough just comes together. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface.

4. Form the dough into a cohesive piece and flatten into a 1 inch thick square. Sprinkle the raspberries over the top. Knead gently, just a few times, to get the raspberries into the dough. Warning: it will be squishy and messy, and that is okay.

5. Cut the dough into relatively even pieces - you should easily get 16 fairly small scones. Place on the prepared baking sheet 2 inches apart and bake for 15-18 minutes, rotating the baking sheet halfway through, until golden brown. Let cool a few minutes.

Enjoy!

Lemon Tarragon Pasta

2010-04-30T17:45:00.000-07:00

Sometimes you need something genuinely quick and easy to pull together for dinner. For instance, when you've just returned from a way-too-long business trip to Dallas, Texas, and you are starving, but have next to nothing left in the fridge because your husband lived off cereal and take-out during your absence.

Yes, the reason I haven't posted all week is for the above-stated reasons. And I got home ready to eat just about anything, but not just anything. I still wanted something wholesome and tasty, something that would say, "Yes, you are home, and you get to eat home-cooked meals again." So I whipped together the perpetual comfort food: pasta.

This is based on a pasta dish my mother used to make a lot when I was in high school. It's simple, flavorful, and definitely hits the spot when you need something quick and filling. You can make it a side dish alongside chicken and/or veggies, or fish, or you can just make a salad to go with it. I sauteed some chicken sausage and mushrooms to have with it, and my belly is very happy now. No more Tex-Mex for me. (Not that there's anything wrong with that).

You probably already have all the ingredients for this - if you don't have tarragon, you can easily substitute basil (even dried basil if you're really desperate).

Lemon Tarragon Pasta

serves 2

INGREDIENTS:

salt

4 ounces whole grain spaghetti or angel hair

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, plus 1 teaspoon

2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed

1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon

1 teaspoon lemon zest

juice of 1/2 lemon

DIRECTIONS:

1. Bring a pot of water to a boil and salt it. Add the pasta and cook until just al dente, probably about 5-7 minutes depending on the thickness of your pasta.

2. At the same time that you add the pasta to the water, heat one tablespoon of oil in a small skillet over medium heat. As soon as it's hot, reduce heat to low and add the garlic. Cook, stirring, for less than one minute, until fragrant. Be careful not to burn it. Add the tarragon and lemon zest, and season lightly with salt. Cook, stirring, for another minute. Add lemon juice and stir.

3. Before draining the pasta, reserve 1/4 cup of the cooking liquid. Drain pasta and return to the pot. Add the lemon and tarragon mixture and the reserved cooking liquid, and stir well. Stir in remaining oil and salt to taste. Serve.

Enjoy!

Roast Turkey Breast with Kale, Sweet Potatoes, and Beets

2010-04-23T20:09:00.000-07:00

It smells so good in our house right now - like Thanksgiving! And it was a lot easier to achieve than a Thanksgiving dinner, believe you me.

The other day I picked up a turkey breast half from the grocery store, prepared to create a delicious and hearty meal. I finally got around to making it tonight. I took the veggies I had leftover from last week's CSA (the ones that would roast well, anyway), and tossed them with some oil and salt in the roasting pan. I prepared the turkey breast with some improvised seasoning and put it on top on a rack. I roasted it. The end.

Well, almost the end. Add in a simple pan gravy and a very happy tummy. This is an easy way to evoke the flavors of everyone's favorite annual meal any time of year. The kale, beets, and sweet potatoes roast beautifully in the turkey drippings and take on an incredible depth of flavor they never knew they had in them.

This could be a special occasion meal, or even a simple Friday night with the family meal. You make the choice.

A note: get the turkey breast out of the fridge at least half an hour (but no longer than two hours) before you are going to cook it.

Roast Turkey Breast with Kale, Sweet Potatoes, and Beets

serves 3-4

INGREDIENTS:

1 bunch of kale, tough stems and ribs removed, coarsely chopped

2 large beets, trimmed, peeled, and quartered

1 large sweet potato, cut into 1/2-inch rounds

4 cloves of garlic, peeled and smashed

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

salt

1 skin-on, bone-in turkey breast half, about 2.5 pounds

1 teaspoon poultry seasoning

zest of one lemon

1/2 cup chicken or vegetable broth

1 tablespoon flour

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat the oven to 450. Take a small roasting pan with a rack, remove the rack, and place the kale, beets, sweet potato, and garlic in the pan. Toss with 1 1/2 tablespoons of olive oil and a pinch of salt. Push the veggies to the perimeter of the pan to make room for the rack, and place the rack back in the pan.

2. Rinse and pat dry the turkey breast. Season both sides fairly generously with salt, tucking some under the skin with your fingers. Place the turkey breast on the roasting rack over the vegetables and drizzle it with the remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons of olive oil. Rub the oil over the breast with your hands, and tuck some under the skin. Season the turkey with the poultry seasoning and lemon zest, tucking some under the skin.

3. Place the roasting rack in the oven and cook for 20 minutes. Reduce heat to 400, then cook for another 20-30 minutes, or until a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the breast reads 165. Remove from the oven, and transfer the rack with the turkey on it to a cutting board to rest for about 10 minutes.

4. Transfer the vegetables to a casserole or serving dish while the turkey breast rests. Place the roasting pan with the turkey drippings on the stove over medium heat. Add the broth, and whisk the flour in, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Cook for about 5 minutes, until a nice brown gravy forms.

5. Carve the turkey breast and serve sliced and drizzled with gravy, with the veggies alongside.

Enjoy!

Broccoli Polenta

2010-04-22T20:01:00.000-07:00

It's pretty clear, if you browse this site, that I love polenta. I don't often make it the two-step way; that is, cooking it, cooling it, then cooking it again. This method of making polenta results in a more solid base that can be topped with any number of things and possibly even treated as a finger food. It's kind of fun, really.

This variation not only involves the two-step cooking process, but it mixes good old broccoli into the polenta itself, making it hearty and chunky and more like a meal than an appetizer. I chose to drizzle marinara sauce over the top, but you could eat it plain, with meat, or with other veggies on top. It's basic and good.

Broccoli Polenta

adapted from Veganomicon

serves 2-3

INGREDIENTS:

1 3/4 cups vegetable broth

pinch of salt

1/2 cup polenta (the grain, not the pre-prepared stuff)

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 cups very finely diced broccoli, florets and stems

DIRECTIONS:

1. Bring the broth and salt to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add the polenta in a slow, steady stream, whisking as you add it. Add the broccoli and olive oil, stir well, and reduce heat to low. Cover and let simmer for 15 minutes, stirring often.

2. Turn off the heat and let sit for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. By the end it should be very thick. Transfer the polenta to a small greased baking dish or casserole, and refrigerate for one hour.

3. Preheat the broiler (preferably in your toaster oven, if you have one). Grease a baking sheet with olive oil. Cut the set polenta into squares and transfer to the baking sheet. Cook under the broiler for 7-10 minutes, or until golden-brown. Serve.

Enjoy!

Sweet Potato Biscuits

2010-04-20T16:26:00.000-07:00

Mmm, yum.

Okay I guess I should say more than just that. Sweet potatoes are a delightful blend of sweet and savory, starch and veggie, angelic and naughty. Mash them up and bake them into a biscuit, and suddenly you open up all kinds of possibilities. Have them with a little butter and jam, or some honey, and you've got a sweet treat. Have them with some prosciutto or ham, and you have a savory snack.

These came out fairly small, more like a soft little cookie than a biscuit, so if you want a heartier biscuit that you can do a bit more with, you might want to double the size (thereby cutting the number of biscuits in half - yes, I can do basic math!)

As with most baked goods, if not all, these biscuits are best straight out of the oven. But you can eat them cool, too. They're versatile like that.

Sweet Potato Biscuits

adapted from Screen Doors and Sweet Tea

makes 12-16, depending on size

INGREDIENTS:

2 medium sized sweet potatoes

2/3 cup milk (I used skim)

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted

1 1/4 cups white whole wheat flour

3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

2 tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat toaster oven (or oven) to 375. Place the sweet potatoes on a baking sheet and bake for 40 minutes, or until easily pierced with a knife. Let cool, then peel and coarsely chop. Mash the sweet potatoes. You will have a little over a cup of mashed sweet potato.

2. After the sweet potatoes are cooled and mashed, preheat the oven to 450. Line a baking sheet with parchment or a silpat liner.

3. In a medium bowl, mix sweet potato, milk, and butter. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt. Add dry ingredients to wet and stir gently to combine to a soft dough.

4. Drop heaping tablespoons of the dough onto the prepared baking sheet (or make them bigger if you like). You don't need to space them out too much because they won't really spread. Bake 12-15 minutes, or until golden.

Enjoy!

Honey-Lime Salmon Salad

2010-04-19T19:06:00.000-07:00

This is seriously one of the most delicious things I think I have ever made. And it was one of those impromptu, what's-in-the-fridge-and-how-can-I-make-it-yummy meals. I'm glad I paid attention to what I was doing, so you can benefit from my top secret lab experiments, i.e. improvisation in the kitchen.

When I know in advance that my husband is going to be elsewhere for dinner, I often take the excuse to cook fish. I so rarely get to make it, that it becomes a special occasion of sorts in my kitchen. Invariably, I turn to wild Alaskan salmon, my favorite seafood of all. Tonight I dug up a bunch of vegetables from my CSA that needed using, and made a lettuce-free salad to serve as a bed for the star of the show.

This is simple and incredibly quick to pull together. It's remarkably healthy. The salad "dressing" doesn't need any oil because of the fat from the avocado and the salmon, which balances everything out. This is company-worthy, but easy enough to make on a weeknight.

The cats were sniffing the air in appreciation as I cooked this. I think that's pretty high praise.

Honey-Lime Salmon Salad

serves 2

INGREDIENTS:

2 medium-large carrots, peeled and grated

3 baby zucchini, grated

2 kirby or persian cucumbers, diced

1 large avocado, diced

1 scallion, thinly sliced

1 lime, cut in half

12 oz. wild Alaskan salmon fillet (or two 6-oz. salmon fillets)

salt

2 tablespoons honey

cooking spray

DIRECTIONS:

1. Combine the grated carrots, zucchini, cucumber, avocado, and scallion in a bowl. Drizzle the juice of 1/2 the lime over them and toss to combine. Set aside.

2. Season the salmon on both sides with a pinch of salt and the honey. Drizzle with the juice of the other 1/2 lime. (Note, you might want to season one side of the salmon, and then season the other side after you put the seasoned side down in the skillet, so you don't get honey everywhere).

3. Heat a medium-large nonstick skillet, sprayed lightly with cooking spray. When it's hot, add the salmon and cook, about 2-3 minutes per side (less if you just want to sear it).

4. Season the veggies with salt just before serving. Serve each 6 oz. fillet (or cut the 12 oz. fillet in half) on a bed of the vegetables.

Enjoy!

Pasta with Turkey Meatballs in Spicy Tomato Sauce

2010-04-16T19:43:00.000-07:00

This recipe marks my 300th post! Who knew? Anyone who wondered if I'd keep it up this long, well, there's your answer. And what better way to celebrate than with a plate filled with comfort food?

We're not looking at any ordinary spaghetti and meatballs here, folks. These are moist, flavorful turkey meatballs doused with super spicy, rich tomato sauce. And better yet, they're healthy, too! We were all out of spaghetti in our house, so I used whole wheat elbows instead. Feel free to use whatever whole wheat pasta you like.

Also, the sauce is spicy, folks. I boldly assumed that Ellie's recipe wasn't going to be spicy enough for me, so I amped up the spice. This led to a dish that had me reaching for my water glass after every other bite. Don't get me wrong, it was fabulous, but it was a bit hotter than intended. So take my word for it, don't increase the chipotle pepper quantity unless you want to be sweating while you eat your pasta.

The meatballs are definitely the best turkey meatballs I've ever made. The carrot and onion provide a sweetness and texture that is really tasty. I highly recommend them!

This recipe makes a lot, so you will have leftovers for days. If you're prefer not to have meatballs for days, then cut the recipe in half. Also, I know it's a longer recipe ingredient-wise than I normally make, but just read it through and you'll see it's pretty easy.

Pasta with Turkey Meatballs in Spicy Tomato Sauce

adapted from Ellie Krieger's The Food You Crave

serves 6

INGREDIENTS:

for the sauce:

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped (about 1 1/2 cups)

3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed

2 tablespoons tomato paste

one 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes

1 teaspoon finely minced canned chipotle in adobo sauce (or more to taste)

2 teaspoons dried oregano

1 teaspoon dried rosemary (or a sprig of fresh)

salt to taste

for the meatballs:

cooking spray

1 pound lean ground turkey meat

1 slice whole wheat bread, pulsed into crumbs in a food processor

1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan

1/2 cup finely grated carrot

1/4 cup finely chopped onion (about 1/2 small onion)

2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed

1 tablespoons minced fresh flat-leaf parsley

1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme

1 large egg

pinch of salt and freshly ground pepper

for the pasta:

one 14.5 ounce box whole wheat pasta of your choice

parmesan and parsley for garnish

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a large pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent. Add the garlic and cook for one minute. Add the tomato paste, crushed tomatoes, chipotle, oregano, and rosemary, and stir everything together. Bring to a low boil, then reduce heat to low and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 15 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, make the meatballs. Preheat the broiler. Spray the broiler pan or other baking pan with cooking spray. Combine all the meatball ingredients in a large bowl and mix well (preferably with your hands). Form approximately 1 1/2 to 2 inch balls and place them on the broiler pan. You will have somewhere between 12 and 20 meatballs, depending on the size. Put in the broiler for about 10 minutes, until browned and mostly cooked.

3. While the meatballs are under the broiler, start a pot of water to boil for the pasta.

4. Put the meatballs in the pot of sauce and cover to let them finish cooking and the sauce thicken a bit, about 10 minutes. Cook the pasta while this is happening. Drain the pasta and toss it with the sauce and meatballs.

5. Serve the pasta and meatballs garnished with a little parmesan and parsley.

Enjoy!

Steamed Baby Artichokes

2010-04-15T18:51:00.000-07:00

I love artichokes. They have such an indescribably magical flavor - a combination of earthiness, sweetness, and springiness. The big globe artichokes can sometimes seem like an awful lot of effort for not a lot of food, and that is when it's a great idea to pick up a bunch of baby artichokes.

The baby artichoke is almost entirely edible. There are a few tough outer leaves that need to be stripped away, but otherwise they are ready to get in your belly. There is no choke to avoid, so you can treat it basically as one big artichoke heart. And the heart is what it's all about, after all.

This dish would be great as an appetizer, or as part of a tapas ensemble. It also works as a side dish. You could cut up the artichokes smaller and put them in a pasta dish, if you like. But I think they are best alone, drizzled with the simple chive vinaigrette, and savored.

For prep purposes, just trim the stem and pull off the toughest outer leaves. Then your baby artichokes are ready for their steam bath.

Steamed Baby Artichokes

serves 2-3 as a side dish or small plate

INGREDIENTS:

8 or 9 baby artichokes, trimmed

kosher salt

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

juice of 1/2 small lemon

1 teaspoon finely chopped chives

DIRECTIONS:

1. Bring a couple of inches of water to a boil in a pot. Place a steamer insert into the pot (the bottom of the insert should not be touching water) and place the artichokes in the insert. Sprinkle lightly with salt. Cover and steam for 15-20 minutes, or until the artichokes are tender. You should easily be able to insert a fork into the artichokes and pull it out again. Remove from heat.

2. Cut the baby artichokes in half and lay them on a platter, cut side up. In a small bowl, whisk together the oil, lemon, chives, and a pinch of salt. Drizzle the vinaigrette over the baby artichokes. Serve.

Enjoy!

Buttered Fresh Peas & Green Beans

2010-04-13T19:29:00.000-07:00

Can we just take a moment to step back and appreciate the fact that spring is well underway? When you go to the farmers market (at least on this side of the country), you see a whole lot of green. It is a beautiful thing.

Last weekend I picked up a magnificent batch of skinny green beans and fresh English peas. I was super excited about the peas. You see, I grew up hating peas. I mean really, really hating them. And I still don't really like frozen peas unless they are tucked into a paella or pureed to some unrecognizable form. But fresh English peas are a whole other ball game - crisp and plump and wonderful.

When you have produce this good, it's a shame to mess with it too much. So I simply blanched the veggies just enough to take the raw edge off them, then immediately drained them and tossed them with butter, parsley, and salt. The end. Fin. Let's eat.

The result is this magnificent side dish that would be superb alongside some fresh fish, or even just tossed with some butter lettuce and served as a salad. I ate a plate of it all by itself, and it was a beautiful thing.

Buttered Fresh Peas & Green Beans

serves 3 as a side dish

INGREDIENTS:

salt

1/2 lb. fresh green beans, trimmed and then cut into 2 inch lengths

1/2 lb. fresh English peas (shells removed)

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley or mint

DIRECTIONS:

1. Bring a medium pot of water to a boil and salt it. Add the green beans and blanch for about one minute. Add the peas and blanch for an additional 30 seconds. Drain immediately.

2. Return the blanched veggies to the pot and toss with the butter, parsley or mint, and a healthy pinch of salt. Serve.

Easy peasy! Enjoy.

Red Bell Pepper Soup

2010-04-12T20:21:00.000-07:00

My husband and I are both coming down with nasty colds right now, so soup was the obvious choice for dinner tonight. This soup is packed with Vitamin C, which will hopefully help us kick this illness to the curb. It also happens to taste fantastic.

Bell peppers are remarkably underrated. They come in most of the colors of the rainbow, and they house an incredible depth of flavor. Red bell peppers in particular are sweet and slightly sharp at the same time. There's a lot more to them than their beautiful color.

This soup really showcases the glory of the red bell pepper. Thanks to a little bit of rice, it has a nice creamy starchiness when it's pureed. It's incredibly comforting and somehow refreshing at the same time. It's exciting to find such a great red pepper soup that doesn't involve roasted red peppers, but the bell pepper in its unadulterated form.

Red Bell Pepper Soup

adapted from Alice Waters' The Art of Simple food

serves 3-4

INGREDIENTS:

2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil

1/2 large onion, thinly sliced

1 large red bell pepper, halved, seeded and thinly sliced

salt

1 clove garlic, peeled and chopped

leaves from 4 sprigs of thyme

2 cups low sodium veggie or chicken broth

1 cup water

2 tablespoons short grain brown rice

1 teaspoon red wine vinegar

pinch red pepper flakes

DIRECTIONS:

1. Heat the oil in a heavy soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion and bell pepper and season with salt. Cook, stirring frequently, until the veggies are softened but not browned, about 5 minutes.

2. Add the garlic and thyme and cook for an additional 4 minutes, stirring often.

3. Add the broth, water, rice, and vinegar. Raise the heat to bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and partially cover the pot. Let simmer for 25-30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the rice is tender.

4. Puree the soup with an immersion blender or in batches in a blender or food processor, until completely smooth. Season to taste with salt and red pepper flakes. Serve hot.

Enjoy!

Tangelo Broccoli Beef

2010-04-11T19:46:00.000-07:00

The season for tangelos is drawing to a close, but the ones that are still available are extremely juicy. It seemed criminal not to attempt to use that excessive juice in a savory meal. I just had to try it.

If you're not familiar with tangelos, they are the tart cousin of the orange - in fact, they are a cross between tangerines and pommelos. They can be fairly sharp, almost unpleasantly so, in my opinion. But they are so incredibly juicy that they definitely beat their citrus cousins in that category.

Instead of a more traditional Broccoli Beef recipe, I thought I would combine that concept with a citrus sauce featuring our friend the tangelo. The result is a slightly sweet, beautifully juicy (how many times can I use that word in one blog post?) and subtly unusual meal. I threw in otherwise common ingredients for an Asian dish, to let the tangelo truly stand out. The result was a quick and easy stir fry that is anything but pedestrian.

Use any cut of beef you like - I tend to go for leaner cuts, but anything would work here.

Tangelo Broccoli Beef

serves 3

INGREDIENTS:

1 tablespoon canola oil

florets of 1 head of broccoli, cut into uniform pieces

3/4 lb. to 1 lb. top sirloin, visible fat removed, cut into 1/4" strips

pinch of salt

juice of 1 large tangelo (about 1/3 cup of juice)

2 teaspoons Sriracha or other hot chile sauce

1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

1 teaspoon low sodium soy sauce

1 teaspoon cornstarch

2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger

1 scallion, thinly slice

toasted sesame seeds for garnish

DIRECTIONS:

1. Heat the oil in a wok or large skillet over high heat. Add the broccoli and cook, stirring constantly and shaking the pan on occasion, for about 1 minute, until broccoli is bright green. Add steak and season with salt. Continue cooking, stirring constantly, until most of the pink is gone from the beef.

2. Whisk the tangelo juice, hot sauce, sesame oil, soy sauce, cornstarch, and ginger together in a small bowl until well combined. Pour over the beef and broccoli and reduce heat to medium. Stir in the scallions. Continue to stir and cook until the beef and broccoli are coated in a tangelo glaze.

3. Serve with toasted sesame seeds if you like. This is great over brown rice, but soba noodles would work nicely too.

Enjoy!

Veggie Hash and Eggs

2010-04-09T19:21:00.000-07:00

There is something incredibly satisfying about eggs for meals other than breakfast. This meal can, of course, be breakfast, but it is so easy to whip up that it's an excellent candidate for a quick after-work supper. You take whatever veggies happen to be in your fridge, chop them up, saute them in olive oil, and fry up a couple of eggs to put on top. Voila.

I had some leftover cooked beets from the other night's salad, so I used those, as well as some spinach and zucchini. I threw in some feta too, but this meal certainly didn't need cheese to complete it. It's healthy, easy, and different enough that you can forget it is basically the easiest meal on earth. Use whatever veggies you like.

It also would be excellent hangover food, if you happen to have had a bit too much to drink the night before. Just sayin'.

Veggie Hash and Eggs

serves 1

INGREDIENTS:

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1 cooked and peeled medium-sized beet, chopped into bite-size pieces

2 baby zucchini, chopped into bite-size pieces

2 cups loosely packed spinach leaves, coarsely chopped

salt to taste

1/4 cup cubed feta cheese

2 tablespoons chopped chives

2 large eggs

DIRECTIONS:

1. Heat the oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add the beet, zucchini, and spinach and saute until the spinach is wilted and the zucchini is getting tender.

2. Push the veggies to the side of the pan and crack the two eggs into the vacant space. Fry them up - cook until starting to set, then flip with a spatula and cook on the other side, about 1 minute per side. Toss the chives and feta with the veggies just before removing from the pan.

3. Put the veggies in a bowl and top with the eggs.

Enjoy!

Crunchy Garlic Chicken

2010-04-08T13:03:00.000-07:00

I crack jokes about it now, but when I was a kid, I actually liked Shake 'N Bake. Now I wouldn't touch it with a ten foot pole, as I'm sure it is loaded with hydrogenated oils and whatnot. Along came Jamie Oliver to teach me that you can make a home-made version that tastes absolutely fantastic!

Jamie's new TV show and book are all over the place right now, and his message is something I also feel passionate about. He is all about teaching people the value of real, whole foods that are not processed and messed about with. On top of that, he is teaching people that eating real food is actually easy and inexpensive, contrary to popular belief. This recipe is a great example. I made a few changes to make it healthier, but even Jamie's slightly naughtier version is still much better than pre-prepared chicken strips you might buy in the freezer section, or boxed bread crumb coatings that are loaded with junk.

This is a simple and incredibly flavorful recipe that will make your kids or picky husbands or wives very happy. I made a simple potato-asparagus salad (simply boiled the potatoes, added the asparagus for the last minute of cooking, drained it all and tossed it with a simple vinaigrette) to go alongside and it was a wonderful meal.

Crunchy Garlic Chicken

adapted from Jamie's Food Revolution

serves 2

INGREDIENTS:

1 clove garlic, peeled

zest of 1 small lemon

6 plain whole wheat crackers

1 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

leaves from 5 sprigs of fresh thyme

salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons flour

1 large egg, beaten

2 skinless chicken breast cutlets, pounded to 1/4 inch thickness

DIRECTIONS:

1. Combine the garlic, lemon zest, crackers, olive oil, thyme, and salt and pepper to taste in a food processor. Process until very fine. Transfer to a bowl.

2. Preheat oven or toaster oven to 450. Sprinkle flour onto a small plate. Dredge the chicken cutlets in the flour to coat completely, then dip them into the beaten egg to coat completely. Finally dredge them in the cracker mixture until thoroughly coated (you may have to help out a bit with your hands).

3. Place the chicken cutlets on a baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes, flipping over about halfway through. If the crumb mixture starts burning reduce heat slightly. Serve hot.

Enjoy!

Roasted Beet Salad with Maple-Glazed Walnuts

2010-04-05T19:26:00.000-07:00

I often get beets in my CSA bag, and I'll admit, I'm not always thrilled about it. This salad has that magical something, though, that makes the beets much more appealing. And that magical something comes in the form of home made maple-glazed walnuts. Yum.

These nuts have a gorgeous sticky coating that tastes of rich maple syrup, with just a hint of salt to balance out the sweetness. They compliment the naturally sweet beets very well. The final component is a flavorful dressing studded with chives and freshly grated ginger. Delicious.

This would make an elegant first course without any greens, or a great side salad with them. If you're not a walnut fan, try it with pecans or hazelnuts.

Roasted Beet Salad with Maple-Glazed Walnuts

adapted from Stonewall Kitchen Harvest

serves 3-4 as a first course

INGREDIENTS:

2 medium yellow and/or red beets

1 teaspoon plus 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1/2 teaspoon butter

1/2 cup walnut halves

1 tablespoon real maple syrup

salt to taste

1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger

2 teaspoons minced fresh chives

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat toaster oven (or oven) to 400. Wrap the beets in a piece of foil and roast in the center of the oven for 45-55 minutes, or until knife-tender. Set aside to cool for a few minutes while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.

2. Heat 1 teaspoon oil and the butter in a small skillet over medium heat. When it's melted, add the walnut halves and cook, stirring, for two minutes. Add the maple syrup and salt to taste, and continue cooking and stirring for 3-4 minutes, until the walnuts are glazed. Remove from heat.

3. Whisk together the ginger, chives, vinegar, and remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil in a small bowl.

4. Peel the cooled beets with a paring knife. Cut into thin slices. Serve garnished with the walnuts and drizzled with the chive dressing.

Enjoy!

Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

2010-04-04T10:29:00.000-07:00

Gorgeousness, thy name is carrot cake.

Today is Easter (in case you didn't know), and while my family is not religious in the slightest, we will take any excuse to get together and eat a lot of food any time. Easter is no exception. My contribution to the meal today is this fun and delicious (and reminiscent of bunny images, therefore holiday appropriate, in my opinion) carrot cake. I found a yummy sounding recipe on the Pioneer Woman's recipe sharing site, Tasty Kitchen, and tweaked it to be slightly more nutritious.

Next time I will tweak it even further, I think, cutting the oil in half and substituting applesauce for the remainder. Still, you'd never know this was a whole wheat cake with (relatively) low fat frosting! It has the delicious spices you expect from a carrot cake, the moisture and extra sweetness thanks to the carrots, and a load of personality.

I chose to make this cake as an 8" square layer cake just for something a bit different, but you can also make it a round one, or bake it in a 13 x 9 rectangular baker. And a note: I found that the cake sagged a bit in the middle, which is something I'll work on correcting in the future - it was easily fixed with extra frosting in the middle!

Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

adapted from ginabe's Tasty Kitchen recipe

INGREDIENTS:

cooking spray

2 cups sugar

1 1/4 cup vegetable oil

4 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups white whole wheat flour (or whole wheat pastry flour)

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

2 cups grated carrot (about four carrots)

8 ounces 1/3 less fat cream cheese (neufchatel), room temp

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temp

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups powdered sugar

handful chopped pecans

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350. Lightly spray two round or square cake pans, or a 13 x 9 pan with cooking spray.

2. In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment (or by hand in a large bowl) combine sugar, oil, eggs, and vanilla.

3. In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and baking powder. Add dry ingredients to wet and mix until just combined. Stir in the carrot.

4. Pour the batter into the baking pan(s). The pans should only be about half full (the cake will rise significantly). Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean. Cool in the pan for about half an hour, then turn out onto a cooling rack and cool completely.

5. Make the frosting: beat together the cream cheese, butter, vanilla, and powdered sugar. Frost the cake (if doing two layers, there will be enough for the middle and the top). Sprinkle with pecans.

Enjoy!

Lemony Spinach Pesto

2010-04-03T18:58:00.000-07:00

This is another variation on pesto that is simple and tasty. It's jam-packed with refreshing lemon flavor and will happily grace whatever meat, pasta, sandwich, or other edible material you choose to put it on. I would recommend something a bit more interesting than plain pasta, though, as it can get a bit monotonous (but I feel that way about most pestos, so don't take it the wrong way!)

A big fresh bunch of spinach and a lemon join forces to make this fun and zippy sauce. Grill up some chicken and slather it on, it would be great!

Lemony Spinach Pesto

adapted from Giada's Everyday Italian

makes 2 cups

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups (tightly packed) spinach leaves (about 2 ounces)

1/4 cup toasted pine nuts

zest from one lemon

juice from 1/2 lemon (about 2 tablespoons total)

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil (or a bit less)

1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

1. Puree the spinach, pine nuts, zest, and lemon juice together in a food processor. With the food processor on, stream in the olive oil just until the mixture takes on a pesto-like texture, smooth and creamy but still somewhat textured.

2. Transfer the pesto to a bowl and stir in the parmesan, and salt and pepper to taste. Use however you like, it will keep in the refrigerator for a day or two.

Enjoy!

White Turkey Chili

2010-03-31T19:43:00.000-07:00

I've raved about the glories of chili before, both white and red. It's easy to make, it's delicious, and it has endless possibilities. Here is a particularly healthy version that is packed with creamy cannellini beans and chewy hominy, as well as a nice kick of spice.

This version of chili is a little bit different and fun, featuring new flavors that I haven't worked with before. It's great for a cool evening, and you can round it out with some warm corn tortillas for dunking.

I garnished mine with avocado because I just can't resist any excuse to use avocado. Use whatever garnishes you like.

White Turkey Chili

adapted from Ellie Krieger's So Easy

serves 4-6

INGREDIENTS:

1 tablespoon canola oil

1 medium onion, diced

2 stalks celery, diced

1 pasilla pepper, seeded, ribs removed, finely diced

1 clove garlic, minced or pressed

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon ground coriander

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 pound ground white-meat turkey

2 15.5-ounce cans white beans, drained and rinsed

3 1/2 cups low sodium chicken broth

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1 15.5-ounce can hominy, drained and rinsed

1 teaspoon salt (more or less to taste)

cilantro and lime juice for serving

DIRECTIONS:

1. Heat oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion, celery, and pasilla pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until the veggies are softened, about 8 minutes. Add garlic, cumin, coriander, and cayenne, and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about one minute.

2. Add the ground turkey and cook, breaking up the meat with a spoon, until meat is no longer pink, about 2 minutes. Add white beans, broth, and oregano. Cook, partially covered and stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes.

3. Add hominy and salt, and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, uncovered, for about 8-10 more minutes. Ladle into individual bowls and top with cilantro and a squeeze of lime juice, plus any other garnishes you like!

Enjoy!

Honey Wheat Pizza Dough

2010-03-29T19:18:00.000-07:00

This is a shockingly easy recipe for fresh pizza dough. I never knew it could be this simple! You barely have to wait for it to rise at all. The result is a thin crust, but it's tasty and has a fantastic texture. And best of all, it's completely whole wheat. I am going to be turning to this recipe again and again.

The recipe below makes enough dough for one large pizza, or two small. I opted to make two - one more exotic for myself (sun dried tomato chicken sausage, artichoke hearts) and one less so for the husband (just cheese). You can put on whatever you like, but be warned that the thin crust won't hold up really heavy toppings very well, so you'll need to eat with a knife and fork.

I found the basis for this recipe at allrecipes. My life will never be the same.

Honey Wheat Pizza Dough

makes one large pizza

INGREDIENTS:

1/4 ounce dry yeast (in a packet)

1 cup warm water

2 cups white whole wheat flour

1/4 cup wheat germ

1 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 tablespoons honey

cooking spray

DIRECTIONS:

1. Combine the yeast and warm water in a small bowl and let sit for about 10 minutes, until creamy.

2. Stir the flour, wheat germ, and salt together in a large bowl. Make a well in the center, and pour the honey and the yeast mixture into the well. Mix everything together well. You can start with a spoon or spatula, but you'll probably have to use your hands to get everything properly incorporated into a ball.

3. Preheat the oven to 400. Set the dough aside to let it rise for a few minutes while the oven warms up, about 10 minutes or so. Roll out the dough on a floured board, or divide into multiple pieces and then roll out.

4. Spray a baking sheet lightly with cooking spray and place the pizza dough on it. Poke a few holes in the dough using a fork or knife. Bake for 5 minutes. Remove from oven and top with desired toppings. Return to the oven and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes, until crisp at the edges. Serve.

Enjoy!

Creamy Asparagus Soup with Grilled Asparagus

2010-03-26T19:54:00.000-07:00

The name of this recipe is a bit of a puzzle, if you ask me. There is buttermilk in this soup, but it doesn't make it creamy so much as give it a silky texture and a bit of a tang that you can't quite place. The asparagus tips that provide the garnish are, I suppose, technically skillet-grilled, but really seem to be more fried to me, to the point that they are delectably crispy and deeply flavorful.

But whatever you call it, this is a delicious and fresh soup that showcases the bounty of early spring. Asparagus is everywhere you look right now, and it's time to put it to work. This soup is easy, quick, and has only a handful of ingredients. I wasn't a fan of asparagus until the past couple of years, but I find that recipes like this one are exactly what asparagus is born for - to stand out as the star of the show, rather than to adorn a plate as a mere side.

Try it out and see if you agree!

Creamy Asparagus Soup with Grilled Asparagus

adapted from the Lee Bros. Simple Fresh Southern

serves 2

INGREDIENTS:

1 bunch of asparagus, woody ends discarded

2 1/2 cups vegetable broth

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 medium onion, chopped

1 teaspoon canola oil

1/4 cup buttermilk

fresh ground pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

1. Cut the asparagus spears into 3/4 inch pieces. Reserve about half of the tips and set aside.

2. Bring the broth to a simmer in a medium pot and season with about 1/4 teaspoon salt. Add the asparagus pieces (except the reserved tips) and onion and simmer for 10 to 12 minutes, or until tender.

3. While the soup simmers, heat the oil in a small skillet until smoking. Add reserved asparagus tips and remaining salt, and fry (or pan-grill), refraining from stirring them more than every minute or so, until browned in places, about 3-4 minutes. Set on a paper towel to absorb excess oil.

4. Puree the soup in a blender, food processor, or using an immersion blender. Return to the pot and stir in the buttermilk. Bring to a simmer and season with pepper. Serve garnished with the pan-grilled asparagus tips.

Enjoy!

Marinated Chicken and Grape Skewers (CEIMB)

2010-03-24T20:46:00.000-07:00

This week's Craving Ellie in my Belly recipe comes from her newer cookbook, So Easy.   It's a very original grilled dish, combining sweet-tart green grapes with a beautifully marinated chicken. I can't say this is something I would have thought to try on my own, but I'm glad someone did.

The chicken is marinated in a combination of citrus, garlic, and far eastern spices, giving it an exotic flavor that pairs nicely with the surprising tang of the green grapes.   The book recommends serving it with a simple warm lentil and spinach salad, made up of sauteed onions and spinach with cooked lentils, parsley, mint, basil, and lemon juice.   The salad complements the skewers nicely, but of course I think most side dishes would.

I found that making both the lentil dish and the chicken skewers was a bit of work for a weekday, but it didn't take that long. And it was definitely worth the trouble. The skewers alone were quite easy to do, so if you want to pick a simpler side dish to make your life a bit easier, that might be a good idea.

Food on skewers is inherently fun to eat, so you could probably convince children and adults alike to give this a try. It's different, delicious, and healthy.

Marinated Chicken and Grape Skewers
adapted from Ellie Krieger's So Easy
serves 2

INGREDIENTS:

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon lemon zest
1 clove garlic, minced or pressed
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
pinch of salt
1/2 pound skinless boneless chicken breast, cut into 3/4-inch cubes
4 10-inch skewers
12 or so seedless green grapes
cooking spray
1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint leaves

DIRECTIONS:

1. Whisk the olive oil, lemon juice, lemon zest, garlic, cumin, coriander, and salt in a bowl. Toss the chicken pieces in the marinade and let marinate for at least 20 minutes, or up to 4 hours.    If using wooden skewers, soak them in water during this time.

2. Preheat a grill pan over medium-high. Thread the chicken pieces onto the skewers, alternating with grapes. Spray the grill pan with cooking spray, then lay the skewers onto the grill pan. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes per side, or until chicken is cooked through.

3. Serve the skewers topped with the scattered mint leaves, two skewers per person.

Enjoy!

Braised Collard Greens

2010-03-23T18:19:00.000-07:00

Collard greens are traditionally made with some kind of pork product, but they really don't need bacon to be tasty. I know, it's shocking. But this is a completely vegetarian collard green dish that could be served as a side, or as a main course over a bed of grains. It's spicy and incredibly flavorful, with a great balance of textures.

I haven't eaten a lot of collard greens in my life, and this is the first time I've cooked them. I have to say I'm pretty impressed with them. When they are raw, they are huge, robust leaves that truly overshadow their more delicate counterparts, kale and chard. When cooked, they shrink down but don't really wilt - they get tender but still hold their shape. They have a spice all their own that is emphasized here by a tangy and spicy combination of ingredients.

This is a great way to get collard greens on your plate. They're in season now, so make this and serve it to your vegetarian or kosher-keeping friends!

Braised Collard Greens

adapted from Mad Hungry

serves 2-3

INGREDIENTS:

1 bunch collard greens, trimmed and washed (and still wet)

2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil

1/2 medium onion, finely chopped

1/2 red bell pepper, diced

pinch of red pepper flakes

2 teaspoons red wine vinegar

coarse salt

DIRECTIONS:

1. Remove the tough stems from the greens and chop them into relatively uniform pieces, roughly bite-sized.

2. Heat a large saute pan over medium-high. Swirl in the oil and add onion, bell pepper, and red pepper flakes. Saute, stirring constantly, until the veggies are softened, about 5 minutes.

3. Add the greens a handful or two at a time, stirring into the onion mixture as you add. They will collapse and shrink in the heat.

4. When all the greens are in the pan and the heat is sizzling, pour in the vinegar. Stir to evaporate. Cover and let the greens cook over low heat until just tender, adding a little water if necessary to keep them from burning, about 8 minutes. Season with salt and serve.

Enjoy!

Greek Salad with Seasoned Flatbread

2010-03-22T19:38:00.000-07:00

Here is a quick and simple supper to whip up when you get home from work. Greek salad is kind of a no-brainer - a simple vinaigrette drizzled over a salad of romaine, tomatoes, cucumbers, olives, and feta. (Good quality feta is key). You can jazz it up a little, however, with this delicious crispy flatbread on the side. It's like a giant, flattened crouton. It just made your salad a whole lot more exciting.

You can add all kinds of things that are traditional in Greek salads, such as red onion (I'm not a raw onion girl myself) or chopped pepperoncinis (totally would have included them if I had any), or chickpeas, or diced roasted red peppers. Just keep it simple - the more you add to this salad, the less character it will have. Counter-intuitive, I know - but trust me. The bottom line is you have a great contrast of textures, with just the right amount of saltiness. It's refreshing, crisp, and satisfying.

Greek Salad with Seasoned Flatbread

adapted from Everyday Food's Great Food Fast

serves 3

INGREDIENTS

the flatbread

1 large piece whole wheat lavash

1/2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon red wine vinegar

1/4 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

salt and pepper

the salad

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

salt and pepper

1 small head of romaine, chopped into bite-sized pieces

1 medium vine-ripened tomato, diced

2 persian cucumbers, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced

1/4 cup kalamata olives, pitted

4 ounces feta cheese, cut into cubes

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat toaster oven (or oven) to 400. Line a baking sheet with parchment. Lay the lavash on it. In a small bowl, whisk together the oil, vinegar, and lemon zest. Brush evenly over the lavash, sprinkle with oregano, salt and pepper to taste, and bake for 5 to 10 minutes, or until crisp and golden brown. Break into large pieces.

2. In the same bowl you whisked the dressing for the lavash, whisk the dressing for the salad - add the oil and vinegar, and season with salt and pepper. In a large bowl combine lettuce, tomato, cucumber, olives, and feta. Drizzle the dressing over the salad and toss everything together.

3. Serve salad with flatbread.

Enjoy!

Blueberry-Almond Muffins

2010-03-21T16:41:00.000-07:00

Blueberries are at full steam ahead here right now, so it's time to take advantage. I suppose if you really want to fully appreciate a blueberry in all its natural splendor, you should eat it raw. But when I have blueberries I can't help but want to bake. Today I decided to try this delicious muffin recipe, incorporating both almond and blueberry flavors in one portable little package. Yum!

I am a fan of just about anything almond-flavored, and this muffin did not disappoint. The sweet-tart juice of the blueberries combines beautifully with the luxurious almond extract, punctuated with the occasional crunch of a slivered almond in the mix. It's so delicious! And it's low in fat and sugar, too, and packed with whole grains. I definitely won't feel guilty eating this for breakfast tomorrow!

Blueberry-Almond Muffins

adapted from Eating Well in Season

makes 12 muffins

INGREDIENTS:

2 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs

1 cup nonfat buttermilk

2/3 cup brown sugar

2 tablespoons butter, melted

2 tablespoons canola oil

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

2 cups fresh blueberries (other berries would work too)

1/2 cup chopped toasted sliced almonds

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 400. Coat a 12-cup muffin pan with cooking spray, or use silicon or paper liners.

2. Whisk flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl

3. Whisk eggs, buttermilk, brown sugar, butter, oil, vanilla, and almond extract in another large bowl until well combined.

4. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients, pour in the wet ingredients and stir until just combined. Add berries and almonds. Stir just to combine; do not overmix. Divide the batter among the muffin cups (an ice cream scoop works well).

5. Bake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean, 22 to 25 minutes. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool.

Enjoy!

Thai Coconut Chicken Soup

2010-03-18T19:57:00.000-07:00

This is a simple and quick soup to pull together. You just need a couple of interesting ingredients in your pantry (namely Thai curry paste and coconut milk), and you can whip this up in no time! It also just happens to be yet another great way to use up some leftover roast chicken.

I made home-made stock in my slow cooker and used a good amount of it for this soup. You can, of course, use the stock in a box - it's what I use for most of my soups, and it does just fine! The result, whether you use home made or store-bought stock, is a slightly spicy, exotically flavorful broth with some tasty chicken and veggies floating throughout. And I discovered to my great delight that it is extra delicious the next day! So definitely make more than you can eat in one sitting, as the leftovers are even better.

It's light, it's healthy, it's good.

Thai Coconut Chicken Soup

serves 4

INGREDIENTS:

2 teaspoons canola oil

2 tablespoons Thai green curry paste

3 cups chicken stock

one 14 oz. can of lite coconut milk (unsweetened)

juice of 2 limes

2 tablespoons crushed lemongrass

2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger

pinch red pepper flakes

2 scallions, thinly sliced

1 green bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced

2 cups cubed/chopped cooked chicken

salt to taste

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a soup pot over medium heat, heat the oil. When it's hot, add the curry paste. Stir and cook until fragrant. Add the chicken stock, coconut milk, lime juice, lemongrass, ginger, and red pepper flakes. Bring to a gentle boil, then reduce to a simmer. Let simmer for about 5 minutes.

2. Stir in the scallions, bell pepper, and chicken and continue to simmer for 5 more minutes, or until chicken is heated through. Salt to taste and serve.

Enjoy!

Whole Wheat Irish Soda Bread

2010-03-16T20:31:00.000-07:00

It's St. Patrick's day tomorrow, and virtually every food blogger out there has posted a recipe for Irish soda bread this week. I decided to join the herd and make my own. The twist is that I've never eaten Irish soda bread before in my life.

I come from an English family. My ancestors have a bit of Welsh on my dad's side, and a lot of eastern European on my mother's side. But to the best of my knowledge, there is nary a drop of Irish blood in my family tree. I have married into an Irish (many generations back) family, and thought I ought to live up to my new-ish name and get into the spirit of St. Patrick's day. Beyond the traditional way of doing so, which is to drink oneself into a stupor.

So today I tried my hand at baking soda bread. It is named for its scientific component - the aspect that makes it rise, which is baking soda. I don't bake a lot of yeast breads because of a completely irrational fear of working with yeast (which I do overcome from time to time), so this bread was right up my alley. And this recipe for it was perfect - about as easy as it gets. It did split a bit in the oven, but I rather like the pac-man shape it took on as a result. It's crusty on the outside, fairly tender yet dense on the inside. To top it all off, it's delicious! It's just begging for a smear of butter and apricot jam, or a slice of sharp cheese.

This is easiest in a food processor, but you can mix by hand if you need to.

Whole Wheat Irish Soda Bread

adapted from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything Vegetarian

makes 1 round loaf

INGREDIENTS:

4 cups white whole wheat flour

2 teaspoons salt

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1 1/2 cup plain nonfat or lowfat yogurt (more if necessary)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 375. Line a baking sheet with a silpat liner, otherwise grease lightly with a neutral oil or baking spray.

2. Combine flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder in a food processor (fitted with the dough blade, if you have one, but the regular blade is okay). Process to combine. Add the yogurt and process for about 30 seconds, until the dough starts to clump together. If it is not moist enough, add more yogurt. You want the dough to be mostly cohesive and soft, but not too sticky.

3. Turn out the dough onto the prepared baking sheet and use your hands to form a round loaf. Slash the top with a knife (if you don't do this deeply enough, you'll get a split like I did, but that's okay!). Bake for 40 minutes, or until the loaf is golden brown and sounds hollow when you thump the bottom. Let cool before cutting into slices or wedges.

Enjoy, and happy St. Patrick's day!

Easy Chicken Enchiladas

2010-03-15T19:23:00.000-07:00

Fun idea for using up leftover roast chicken #1: chicken enchiladas! We love enchiladas. Seriously. Love. It seemed only natural to take some of the leftovers from yesterday's perfect roast chicken and turn them into a delicious platter of saucy, cheesy tortillas filled with goodness.

I will admit, without (too much) shame, that this is barely a homemade recipe. Enchilada sauce from a jar? Come on! Well, if you have the time and the will to make your own, please do. It's easy enough. But today I came home from work wanting enchiladas, and wanting them fast. I had a jar of Trader Joe's enchilada sauce in the cupboard. It was meant to be.

I experimented with a healthier preparation technique gleaned from the fabulous Simply Recipes blog - rather than frying each tortilla in oil, you stretch a small amount of oil among many tortillas just to soften and warm them.

These came out delicious. Make sure you use a good enchilada sauce, because it will make a difference - buy one you trust, or go ahead and make your own. You can, of course, make any kind of enchiladas following this method - double the cheese to make cheese enchiladas, or substitute a different type of meat or vegetable for the chicken.

Easy Chicken Enchiladas

serves 3-4

INGREDIENTS:

8 ounces of red enchilada sauce, divided

1 1/2 cups shredded leftover roast chicken, white and/or brown meat

1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar, divided

2 teaspoons canola oil (more if necessary)

10 white corn tortillas

1/4 cup shredded mozzarella

2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350. In a bowl, combine 1/4 cup of the enchilada sauce with the chicken and half the cheddar cheese. Stir to combine. Set aside.

2. In a medium skillet over medium-high heat, warm up 1 teaspoon of canola oil. When it's hot, add the first tortilla. Move it around to spread the oil, then flip with tongs after about 5 seconds. Immediately stack another tortilla on top of the oily side of the first. This will absorb some of the oil into the second tortilla. Flip over both tortillas after about 5 seconds. Repeat this process, gradually adding each tortilla to the oily side of the previous tortilla. Add additional oil to the pan as oil is absorbed. When all the tortillas are warmed, transfer them to a plate.

3. Put a 1/4 cup of enchilada sauce in the bottom of a small baking dish and spread. Build the enchiladas one at a time - take a tortilla and spoon about 2 tablespoons of the chicken mixture in a line across the middle. Roll the tortilla around the chicken mixture and place seam-side down in the baking sheet, on top of the sauce. Repeat with all 10 tortillas, tucking them in to fill up the baking dish.

4. Pour remaining enchilada sauce over the rolled tortillas in the baking dish, trying to distribute it evenly. Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup cheddar and 1/4 cup mozzarella. Bake for 15 minutes, or until sauce is starting to bubble. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve.

Enjoy!

Perfect Roast Chicken

2010-03-14T13:30:00.000-07:00

There is really no excuse for the fact that it took me this long to try roasting a whole chicken. I know it's not hard, and I know people who cook far less often than I do who have roasted many a chicken in their lives. I blame the fact that my husband and I are both white meat people, so a whole chicken never seemed like the smartest idea. But it has always been on my to-do list, a goal I wanted to achieve, simple though it may be.

So finally, I did it. And I will be doing it again. And again. And again. I warned my husband (if you can "warn" someone something that is such good news) that this is going to become a tradition. He seemed okay with that.

But first, a word from our ethics committee (i.e. me). I consider myself to run a pretty sustainable kitchen. That is, I don't cook that much meat, and when I do, I try to make it as environmentally friendly as possible. So if I was going to roast a whole chicken (and I was), I needed to make sure it was from a good source. Hence a special trip to Whole Foods, where I do not ordinarily shop, to go to their butcher counter and buy a rather pricey (but worth every penny) organic, free-range "Rosie" chicken from Petaluma, California. If you have access to organic, free-range chickens that are truly humanely raised, I implore you to get one for this recipe rather than a factory farm raised bird. Yes it costs more, but when you divide the cost by the number of meals you're going to get out of the chicken, it is actually really cheap.

But of course, you can do whatever you want. I just recommend you try this recipe, tweaked from Martha Stewart's oh-so-educational book, Martha Stewart's Cooking School. I thought it would be a good starting point for my first attempt at roasting a whole bird. And was it ever. I added halved fingerling potatoes and quartered fresh carrots to the roasting pan, and they got golden and crispy and fantastic in the chicken drippings. Best. Veggies. Ever.

The result of this recipe was a fantastic, succulent bird, and quite possibly the best chicken I've ever tasted. Definitely the best that's ever come out of my kitchen. You will be seeing a couple of fun leftover chicken recipes in the week.

Perfect Roast Chicken

adapted from Martha Stewart's Cooking School

serves 4 (or 2 with leftovers to be used for other meals)

INGREDIENTS:

1 fresh (organic, free-range) whole chicken, about 4 pounds

coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

1 lemon, cut into 1/4-inch rounds

5 sprigs fresh thyme

2 garlic cloves, crushed

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 cup dry white wine or chicken stock

DIRECTIONS:

1. Prepare the chicken. Remove the bag of giblets and discard (or save for another use). Let chicken come to room temperature for at least an hour, up to two hours. Rinse the chicken inside and out, and pat dry with paper towels. Get the cavity as dry as you can. Trim excess fat from the cavity.

2. Preheat oven to 450. Season the chicken cavity with salt and pepper, then stuff with lemon, thyme, and garlic. Rub the skin with the 2 tablespoons of butter. Tuck some under the skin on the breast if you feel like it (it will add amazing moisture and flavor). Season all over with salt and pepper.

3. Put the chicken in a large ovenproof skillet or a small roasting pan with a rack. Roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh (avoiding bone) registers 160-165, about 55-60 minutes. Remove chicken to a platter or carving board. Let rest for 10 minutes.

4. While the chicken rests, make a pan sauce in the roasting pan. Spoon and discard fat from juices in pan (or separate in a gravy separator). Pour accumulated chicken juices from the cavity into the pan. Place pan over medium-high heat. Pour in wine or stock to deglaze the pan, stirring and scraping up browned bits with a wooden spoon. Cook until reduced by about half. Pour the sauce through a fine sieve into a liquid measuring cup.

5. Carve the chicken and serve with the pan sauce.

Enjoy!

Avgolemono Soup (CEIMB)

2010-03-11T19:31:00.000-08:00

When I was in law school, we often went to a Greek restaurant called Taverna Tony for lunch. It was right down the street, and it had (free!) excellent bread and taramasalata dip. There was one menu item that we always had to get. It was the lemony, creamy soup known as avgolemono - or chicken lemon soup. It was my favorite soup of all time, and I still get the hankering now and again to drive up the coast to Malibu for a bowl. No other Greek restaurant makes it quite as well as Taverna Tony, and believe me, I've looked.

It just so happens that this week's Craving Ellie in my Belly recipe is for avgolemono soup (or "Lemon Chicken Soup with Orzo," as Ellie calls it). I was so excited that this was the pick of the week! I have to say that it is remarkably like the version I grew to know and love in law school, only with thyme instead of parsley. I think next time I make this recipe (and there *will* be a next time), I will use parsley and see just how close to Tony's recipe this one is.

This is a magical, lemony soup that tastes creamy and decadent, but the source of its creaminess is tempered eggs, rather than cream, flour, or any other typical soup ingredient. It's a rather unassuming variation on chicken noodle soup, but it is so incredibly good, you can't even believe it until you try it yourself.

Avgolemono Soup

adapted from Ellie Krieger's The Food You Crave

serves 3

INGREDIENTS:

2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil

1 skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into small chunks

pinch of salt, plus more to taste

1/2 medium onion, diced

1 stalk celery, diced

1 medium carrot, diced

leaves from 3 sprigs of thyme

3 cups low sodium chicken broth

1/2 cup orzo

1 large egg

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

freshly ground black pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

1. Heat 1 teaspoon of oil in a soup pot over medium-high heat. Season chicken with the salt, add to the pot, and cook, stirring often, until just cooked through, about 4 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a dish and set aside.

2. Add remaining teaspoon of oil to the pot. Add onion, celery, carrot and thyme and cook, stirring, over medium-high heat until the veggies are tender, about 5 minutes. Add 2 1/2 cups of the broth and bring to a boil. Add orzo and let simmer until tender, about 6 minutes. Turn heat down to low to keep the soup hot but not boiling.

3. Warm the remaining 1/2 cup broth in a small saucepan until hot, but not boiling. In a medium bowl, beat the egg. Gradually whisk the lemon juice into the egg. Then gradually add the hot broth to the egg-lemon mixture, whisking all the while. (You are tempering the egg, as opposed to cooking it).

4. Add the egg-broth mixture to the soup, stirring well until the soup is thickened. Do not let the soup come to a boil. If any bits of scrambled egg form, fish them out, but this shouldn't happen if you have the heat all the way down. Add cooked chicken to the soup, season with salt and pepper to taste, and serve.

Enjoy!

Pasta with Lentils and Kale

2010-03-10T19:57:00.000-08:00

You can add just about anything to pasta and call it dinner. Case in point: lentils, kale, and caramelized onions. Not the most obvious combination in the world, but it definitely works! This is a heaping bowl of pasta you can feel good about eating - it's packed with antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, fiber, and protein. And, surprise of all surprises, it tastes great!

The key here is to be patient with the onions. Onions take a long time to caramelize properly. I'll admit it, I got a little impatient and didn't brown them as much as I should have, so they still had a bit of a bite to them. But if you cook them low and slow, and let them get brown and sweet, this dish will be utterly transcendental.

If you're not sure whether you're a lentil fan, this is a great way to try them out, as they have a supporting role here. Give it a go.

Pasta with Lentils and Kale

adapted from Gourmet Today

serves 3

INGREDIENTS:

1/4 cup small green or brown lentils

1 cup water

salt

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (divided)

1/2 large onion, chopped

leaves from 2 sprigs of thyme

1 bunch of kale, stems and tough ribs removed

freshly ground black pepper

1/2 pound whole wheat corkscrew or elbow pasta

DIRECTIONS:

1. Combine lentils, water, and pinch of salt in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer and cook, uncovered, until tender but not falling apart, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat.

2. Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons oil in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat until hot but not smoking. Add onions and thyme with a pinch of salt, and cook, stirring, for about 1 minute. Reduce heat to low and cover. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes, or until onions are golden and tender. Remove cover and cook for another 10 minutes, or until onions are golden brown.

3. When you have uncovered the onions, bring a medium pot of water to a boil and salt it. Add the kale and cook just for 2-3 minutes, until slightly wilted. Scoop the kale out of the pot but leave the boiling water on the stove. Place the kale in a colander and squeeze out excess water. Chop it up and add to the lentils.

4. Cook pasta in the kale cooking water until al dente. Reserve 1/4 cup of pasta cooking water before draining. Add kale, lentils (and their cooking liquid), and pasta with reserved cooking water to the onions. Stir everything together and heat through. Serve.

Enjoy!

Grilled Steak & Greens with Tomato Vinaigrette

2010-03-09T19:40:00.000-08:00

This is a fun and delicious meal for a weeknight. It's like a preview of summer dining. I know it's not officially tomato season yet, but I got these amazing greenhouse-grown tomatoes in my CSA bag and decided to take full advantage. You can, of course, bookmark this one for when tomatoes are properly in season!

Thanks to a grill pan, you can grill any time of year. And there's no need to stop with just the meat - veggies can go on the grill too. Even lettuce! This is a fun twist on a steak salad - it's served warm (though of course the leftovers would be great cold, too) and topped with a delicious cross between vinaigrette and pico de gallo. It's different, it's yummy, it's what's for dinner tonight. And it's a great use of my once-a-month beef.

Grilled Steak & Greens with Tomato Vinaigrette

adapted from Eating Well in Season

serves 2

INGREDIENTS:

2 medium vine-ripened tomatoes, diced

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, divided

1 tablespoon grated parmesan cheese

1/2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

salt and freshly ground pepper

1 small clove garlic, minced or pressed

1 small head of escarole or romaine, outermost leaves removed

1/2 to 3/4 pound sirloin steak, trimmed; about 1 inch thick

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat grill pan over medium-high heat.

2. Combine tomatoes, 1/2 tablespoon oil, parmesan, balsamic, parsley, and a pinch of salt and pepper in a small bowl. Stir to combine; set aside.

3. Combine remaining 1/2 tablespoon oil with the garlic in a small bowl. Cut the lettuce in half length-wise (keeping the root intact) and brush the cut side with the oil-garlic mixture. Place on the grill pan and cook, turning occasionally, until char marks form and the inner leaves are softened, about 3-4 minutes. Set aside to cool; then chop into bite-sized pieces.

4. Oil the pan lightly if necessary. Season the steak lightly with salt and pepper and place on the grill pan. Cook, turning once, until desired doneness; about 10 minutes total for medium. Remove from pan and let rest a few minutes before slicing.

5. Serve the sliced steak over chopped lettuce, and top with the tomato vinaigrette.

Enjoy!

Blueberry Orange Coffee Cake

2010-03-08T18:23:00.000-08:00

The words "coffee cake" are generally all I need to hear before I'll grab a fork. I'm sorry I didn't take a picture of the inside of the cake so you could see the luscious blueberry filling - but take my word for it, it's there and it's delicious. This is a tender and moist cake that works just as well for breakfast as it would for dessert. And while I can't claim that it's healthy, it's certainly less sinful than your average coffee cake.

This coffee cake has the cinnamon crumbly topping that makes a coffee cake what it is. It has a thick ribbon of fresh ready-to-burst blueberries, walnuts and orange zest traveling through its middle. It's delicious straight out of the oven. What more can you ask for?

Blueberry Orange Coffee Cake

adapted from Stonewall Kitchen Harvest

serves 4-6

INGREDIENTS:

the filling:

1 cup fresh blueberries

1/4 cup coarsely chopped walnuts

1 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon grated orange zest

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

the topping:

1/4 cup coarsely chopped walnuts

2 tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

the cake:

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

3/4 cup sugar

1 large egg

1/2 cup plain lowfat yogurt

2 teaspoons grated orange zest

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350. Spray a 9-inch cake pan with cooking spray and flour it lightly. Set aside.

2. Make the filling: mix blueberries, walnuts, sugar, orange zest, and cinnamon in a small bowl, and set aside.

3. Make the topping: mix walnuts, sugar, and cinnamon in another small bowl and set aside.

4. Make the cake: Sift together flour, baking powder, and baking soda in a medium bowl and set aside. In a stand mixer or a bowl with an electric hand mixer, cream the butter and sugar until pale yellow, fluffy and soft, about 5 minutes, at medium speed. Add egg and beat well.

5. Reduce speed to low and add half the flour mixture. Mix until combined, then add half the yogurt and all the orange zest and beat well. Add remaining flour and then remaining yogurt, using spatula to scrape down the sides and make sure the batter is smooth and fully incorporated.

6. Pour half the batter into the cake pan and smooth it out with a spoon or spatula to make an even layer. Sprinkle with all the blueberry filling. Top with remaining cake batter, using spatula or spoon to smooth slightly. Don't worry if the batter is thick and difficult to spread; it's supposed to be that way! Sprinkle with walnut topping.

7. Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Remove cake and let cool 30 minutes before cutting. Serve.

Enjoy!

Asparagus Breakfast Casserole

2010-03-07T13:04:00.000-08:00

The best way I can think to describe this dish is as a savory French toast. It has a deep, buttery and delicious flavor that highlights the freshness of just-in-season asparagus spears and creamy havarti cheese. I served this for brunch this morning along with a lovely coffee cake (to be posted another day) and it was definitely a success.

You can substitute any combination of cheese and vegetable here - the recipe that inspired me featured broccoli and cheddar, which is of course a classic combination. I wanted to go with something spring-y, since we're just starting to get gorgeous spring produce at the farmers market. Enter crisp and beautiful thin asparagus spears. I thought havarti would suit asparagus a bit better than cheddar would, but gruyere would also be excellent for a nuttier flavor. The point is there's a world of variety here. This comes together very easily and it tastes fantastic.

Asparagus Breakfast Casserole

adapted from The Splendid Table's How to Eat Supper

serves 4

INGREDIENTS:

4 slices whole wheat bread, cut into bite-size cubes

3 large eggs

1/4 cup skim milk

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

1 cup grated havarti cheese

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons sugar

1 small bunch thin asparagus spears, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 and butter an 8 x 8 baking dish. Cover the bottom of the dish generously with the bread cubes.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, butter, cheese, salt and sugar. Mix until combined. Stir in the asparagus, and pour the mixture over the bread.

3. Cover with foil and bake for 25 minutes. Remove the foil and bake another 10 minutes until golden brown on top. Serve hot.

Enjoy!

Sweet and Spicy Chicken and Couscous

2010-03-05T19:40:00.000-08:00

It's time for a special Friday night dinner. This recipe will pretty much knock your socks off. It seems complicated, but it really isn't. Every bite is like a big pat on the back congratulating you for trying something new. It's spicy, tangy, sweet, and savory all at once. Somehow this array of flavors comes together in harmony, like a hybrid between Indian and Moroccan cuisine that is simply delicious.

I first made this recipe a few years ago for Valentine's day with my husband. I am kind of shocked I've shelved it this long, as it was amazing. I particularly love the herb yogurt sauce that gets drizzled over the top. I can definitely foresee using it for other purposes, like a crudite dip, sandwich spread, or salad dressing. Yum.

If you're looking for something different to wake up your palate, this is it. I know the ingredient list seems long, but you probably already have most of them in your kitchen.

Sweet and Spicy Chicken and Couscous

adapted from Rachael Ray's Book of 10

serves 2-3

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/4 cups low sodium chicken stock

1/4 cup mango chutney

salt and black pepper

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into bite-size pieces

1/2 large onion, thinly sliced

1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded, and thinly sliced

2 garlic cloves, minced or pressed

2 tablespoons fresh grated ginger

zest and juice of 1/2 small lemon

3/4 cup plain (or whole wheat) couscous

1/4 cup plain lowfat yogurt

handful fresh mint leaves

handful fresh cilantro leaves

1 scallion, coarsely chopped

juice of 1 small lime

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a small pot over medium-low heat, combine 1 cup of the chicken broth with the mango chutney. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a bubble, then reduce heat to low. Let sit while you prepare the rest of the recipe.

2. In a large skillet with high sides, or a Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium-high heat. When hot, add the coriander, cumin, and red pepper flakes. Cook and stir to toast the spices for just a few seconds. Add the chicken pieces and toss to coat in the spices. Spread out in an even layer and season lightly with salt and pepper. Cook until just browned on each side.

3. Add onion, pepper, garlic, and 1 1/2 tablespoons of the grated ginger. Cook about 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Add remaining 1/4 cup of chicken stock and continue to cook until most of the liquid has evaporated, about 2 minutes.

4. Scoot the chicken and veggies to the edges of the pot to make a well in the center. Pour in the chicken broth / chutney mixture and bring to a bubble. Add lemon zest and juice, then add the couscous to the well in the middle. Press it down gently with a spatula or spoon to get it into the liquid, but try to keep it in the well. Cover the pan tightly with a lid and remove from heat.

5. While the couscous cooks, combine yogurt, mint, cilantro, scallion, lime juice, and remaining ginger with a splash of water in a blender or food processor. Process until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.

6. After couscous has been sitting for five minutes, remove lid and fluff the couscous with a fork. Just about all of the liquid should have been absorbed. Stir couscous with the chicken and veggies. Serve with a drizzle of the yogurt sauce.

Enjoy!

Peppercorn Pork with Wine Sauce (CEIMB)

2010-03-03T19:31:00.000-08:00

Tonight was the first time I ever made pork tenderloin. I'm not sure what took me so long. It's a lean, tender (obviously) cut of pork that is a great way to escape the blahs of repeated exposure to chicken breast. It is packed with flavor of its own, but the recipe for this week's Craving Ellie in my Belly lends extra flavor from dijon mustard, pepper, and wine. Absolutely delicious and elegant.

In Ellie's original recipe, you take a pork tenderloin and split it down the middle, not cutting all the way through, to make a wider, flatter piece of pork. Since the tenderloin I bought was fairly small, I decided to cook it whole and cut it into slices after cooking and resting. This means, of course, that it takes a bit longer to cook. Below is my version, but if you want the quicker cooking version, check out the link above.

I also reduced the pepper a little bit, since we're not huge black pepper people. Feel free to increase it if you're a fan of cracked black pepper.

We had ours with parsley potatoes. It was a simple, yet far from ordinary meal. I will definitely be making this one again!

Peppercorn Pork with Wine Sauce (CEIMB)

adapted from The Food You Crave

serves 4

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/4 pounds pork tenderloin, trimmed of visible fat and silver skin

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

salt to taste

2 teaspoons olive oil

1/2 cup low sodium chicken broth

1/2 cup dry white wine

DIRECTIONS:

1. Rub the pork loin with the mustard on both sides. Sprinkle with pepper and a pinch of salt, and gently press in the spices so they adhere to the pork.

2. Heat the oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium heat. When it's hot, add the pork tenderloin. Cook for about 5 minutes on each side (all four of them) to brown, then loosely cover the skillet with foil to trap in the steam. Cook for another 5 minutes, or until an instant read thermometer stuck into the thickest part of the meat reads 155. Remove from pan and tent the meat with the foil.

3. Add broth and wine to the pan and stir, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the skillet. Cook until reduced by about half, 8-10 minutes.

4. Slice the pork after it has rested (the time it takes to cook the sauce should be enough) into 1/4 inch slices. Serve drizzled with the sauce.

Enjoy!

Note: Be careful not to overcook the pork - it should still have a slight pink blush when you cut into it.

Spicy Vegetarian Tortilla Soup

2010-03-02T19:36:00.000-08:00

I love tortilla soup. I've posted before about how much I love it. Part of what makes it so amazing is how different it is every time I have it. For instance, this version is way spicier than I've ever had before, but it is probably also the tastiest.

This is a rich, tomato-y, deeply spicy soup that will make your nose run, but in a good way. If you don't want it too spicy, feel free to reduce the chiles to one instead of two, but where is the fun in that? You can also mix up the toppings if you like, but I highly recommend the avocado as it cuts the spice nicely.

The traditional topping for tortilla soup, of course, is tortilla chips - but I didn't realize I was out of corn tortillas until I started cooking. Oops. To be honest, I really didn't miss them!

Spicy Vegetarian Tortilla Soup

adapted from Eating Well magazine

serves 4

INGREDIENTS:

2 dried pasilla, ancho, or New Mexico chiles

1 15-oz. can fire roasted diced tomatoes

1 tablespoon canola oil

1/2 large onion, sliced 1/4 inch thick

1 large clove garlic, peeled

2 cups low sodium vegetable broth

2 cups chopped spinach or chard

handful chopped fresh cilantro

salt to taste

juice of 1/2 lime (or more if you like)

1 ripe large avocado, cut into 1/4-inch cubes

1/4 cup shredded Monterey jack (or similar) cheese

1 cup roughly broken tortilla chips (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

1. First, toast the chiles. You can either cook them over an open flame using tongs until fragrant and starting to char, or you can cook them in a dry skillet over medium heat, pressing down on them and flipping them over every few seconds. Set aside to cool.

2. When chiles are cool enough to handle, remove stems and seeds. Put in a blender with the tomatoes and their juices, and puree until smooth. Set aside.

3. Heat the oil in a medium Dutch oven or soup pot until hot, then add onion and garlic. Saute until golden, about 5 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to scoop out the onion and garlic, and add to the blender. Puree with the chile mixture until smooth.

4. Return pot to medium heat and pour in the puree. Bring to a bubble and cook, stirring often, until thickened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the broth. Bring to a boil, reduce to a bare simmer, and cook for 20-30 minutes.

5. Stir in spinach and cilantro (reserve some for garnish) and cook until wilted, about 1 minute. Season to taste with salt and lime juice. Ladle into soup bowls and serve garnished with avocado, cheese, and chips if using, as well as remaining cilantro.

Enjoy!

PW Macaroni & Cheese

2010-03-01T19:46:00.000-08:00

This is my absolute favorite recipe for macaroni and cheese. It seems like a fairly traditional recipe for mac & cheese, but there are a few sneaky secret ingredients (dry mustard, seasoned salt, and an egg, in fact) that make it absolutely spectacular. It comes from everyone's favorite blogger, the Pioneer Woman (if you haven't heard of her, you seriously have some catching up to do - she's amazing). And it is, in a word, amazing.

This is a cheesy, creamy, fantastic dish of deliciousness. You might want to whip up a little salad to go alongside to alleviate the guilt a bit. I've tried to make it a little healthier by using whole wheat pasta and skim milk - have to do my part for mankind, and all that.

Use whatever cheeses you like - I've made it with all sharp cheddar before, and it was fantastic. This time I made it with a combination of medium cheddar and mozzarella, which was also great.

PW Macaroni & Cheese

adapted from The Pioneer Woman Cooks

serves 4

INGREDIENTS:

cooking spray

salt

2 cups dry whole wheat elbow pasta

1 egg, beaten

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 tablespoons all-purpose (preferably whole wheat) flour

1 1/4 cups skim milk

1 teaspoon dry mustard

2 cups grated cheese (cheddar is pretty much a must)

1/4 teaspoon seasoned salt

1/2 teaspoon ground pepper

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 and coat a medium-sized baking dish with cooking spray.

2. Bring a pot of water to a boil and salt it. Cook the pasta until just barely al dente - it should be a bit too tough to eat - and drain; return to the pot.

3. While water is coming to a boil, melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add flour and whisk constantly for about 5 minutes to cook out the floury taste. Be careful not to burn. Add milk and mustard, and whisk until smooth. Cook for another 5 minutes or until very thick, whisking almost constantly. Reduce heat to low.

4. Temper the egg - beat it first in a small bowl, then add about 1/4 cup of the sauce from step three, whisking constantly to avoid cooking the egg. Add the mixture to the rest of the sauce and whisk until smooth.

5. Stir in all but 1/2 cup of the cheese(s) to the sauce until melted. Add seasoned salt and pepper - increase to taste as you see fit.

6. Pour the sauce into the pot with the drained macaroni and stir to combine. Top with reserved cheese. Pour into the prepared baking dish and bake for 20 minutes, or until bubbly and golden on top. Serve.

Enjoy!

Open Face Chicken Parmesan Sandwich

2010-02-26T19:42:00.000-08:00

I try not to post too many recipes of the semi-homemade variety, but this one is just too good to keep to myself. It's so ridiculously easy, half the work is already done before you even start. Just buy yourself some good quality items so it doesn't taste like you didn't make it.

Chicken parmesan is a delicious yet decadent proposition, so I had to try Ellie's healthy version and see what it was like. To be honest, I don't know that the die-hard chicken parm fans (like my husband) will be fooled, but it covers the biggest criteria in my opinion - the cheese and the marinara sauce. The spinach is a nice touch to round out the meal. Bottom line is, it will work in a pinch, and it's tasty.

Open Face Chicken Parmesan Sandwich

adapted from Ellie Krieger's So Easy

serves 2

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 whole grain Italian loaf or baguette

1 cup jarred marinara sauce

2 cooked chicken cutlets (I poached mine - grilled would be great)

2 cups baby spinach leaves

1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat broiler and place foil on the broiler tray.

2. Slice the bread in half lengthwise to make two pieces. Scoop out the bread to remove the soft inner portion and save for another use (like breadcrumbs). Place the bread scooped side up on the broiler tray.

3. Spoon 1/4 cup of sauce into each piece of bread. Lay a piece of chicken on top and cover with 1 cup of spinach leaves. Pour another 1/4 cup of sauce over the spinach, then sprinkle each sandwich with 1/4 cup mozzarella and 1 tablespoon parmesan.

4. Broil until spinach is wilted and cheese is bubbly and browned, 4 to 5 minutes. Serve hot.

Enjoy!

Cabbage and Lime Salad with Roasted Peanuts

2010-02-25T17:00:00.000-08:00

This is a refreshingly different sort of salad, just bursting with zesty lime flavor. It's another great example of ordinary ingredients turned extraordinary. Just grab a couple of cabbages, some limes, and a bunch of spinach at the farmer's market, and you're most of the way there. The crunch of peanuts serves as a delicious bonus.

This salad comes together easily, but you do have to be somewhat premeditated because of the two hours of resting time. I actually wilted the cabbage in salt the night before, since by the time it had rested for two hours I would have been criminally hungry. The wilted cabbage keeps, covered in the refrigerator, for up to a couple of days, so you can get that part out of the way in advance.

You can happily enjoy this as a main course salad with some bread, or use it as a slaw with tasty BBQ. You might be tempted to add cilantro (I don't know about you, but lime and cilantro are naturally associated in my brain), but I'd recommend tasting it first. As much as I love cilantro, I think it would turn this into a completely different dish, and not necessarily in a good way.

Cabbage and Lime Salad with Roasted Peanuts

adapted from The Lee Bros. Simple Fresh Southern

serves 6

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 small red cabbage, trimmed, cored, and shredded

1/2 small green cabbage, trimmed, cored, and shredded

1 tablespoons kosher salt, plus more to taste

1 bunch of fresh spinach leaves, cut into 1/2-inch ribbons

1 lime, segmented

juice of two limes

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 cup canola oil (peanut oil if you have it)

1/4 cup roasted salted peanuts, coarsely chopped

freshly ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a large bowl, toss the cabbages with the salt. Transfer to a colander, place over the bowl, and let sit for two hours to drain. After two hours have passed, discard the salty water in the bowl (after admiring the pretty color), rinse and dry the bowl, and return the cabbage to it.

2. Add spinach and lime segments to the bowl. In a medium bowl, whisk lime juice, mustard and cumin together. Stream in the canola oil, whisking constantly, to emulsify the dressing. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss together. Toss in the peanuts and serve.

Enjoy!

Moroccan Green Bean Tagine

2010-02-23T18:51:00.000-08:00

Tonight our culinary journey takes us to Morocco! This is a spicy (as in spice-y, not as in hot) and rich vegetable dish that will absolutely stun you with the way it manages to be complex and simple at the same time. You'll need to raid the spice cupboard for this one, so be prepared!

I know this looks a lot like a green bean dish I made a few weeks ago, but it's actually quite different. It's all about the spices - allspice, chile powder, garam masala, basil, and paprika all together? Who's have thought they could combine so naturally. They mingle and get lost in one another to the point where I think you'd be hard pressed to identify the individual spices if you didn't make it yourself. The flavor is finished off with a tangy red wine vinegar glaze.

This would be gorgeous over cous cous or even rice, but I chose to go the traditional Moroccan route and scoop it up with flat bread (I used pita because it was what I had on hand) - no bed of grains needed!

Moroccan Green Bean Tagine

adapted from The Splendid Table's How to Eat Supper

serves 3

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 pound green beans, trimmed

1 medium onion, coarsely chopped

salt and pepper to taste

1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

1/4 teaspoon chile powder

1 teaspoon garam masala

1 teaspoon dried basil

1 tablespoon sweet paprika

3 tablespoons red wine vinegar

3 tablespoons dry red or white wine

one 15-oz. can fire roasted diced tomatoes

water as needed

DIRECTIONS:

1. Heat oil over medium-high in a large, straight-sided saute pan. Add green beans and onions, and season with salt and pepper. Saute for about 10 minutes, until vegetables are browning. Stir in garlic and all the spices (allspice through paprika); cook until fragrant, no more than one minute.

2. Pour in the vinegar and wine, and boil, scraping the bottom of the pan to get up any browned bits. When the liquid is completely gone, stir in tomatoes and their juices. The green beans should be just barely covered in liquid - you will need to add some water to accomplish this. Bring to a bare simmer and cover; cook, removing lid to stir occasionally, for 10 minutes or until beans are tender.

3. Remove the cover and raise heat to a rapid boil. Cook off excess liquid, stirring often to protect the beans from burning. Cook until the sauce is thick and rich. Season as necessary and serve.

Enjoy!

Pizza Rolls

2010-02-21T18:24:00.000-08:00

This is more of a concept than a recipe, inspired by something that Giada made on her show a while ago. You take some store-bought pizza dough, put some toppings on it, roll it up and bake it, and voila! Pizza rolls. It's remarkably simple, yet completely tasty and crowd-pleasing.

Today I made two - one with just marinara and cheese to please every palate, and the other was slightly more interesting, so that is the one I'm featuring here today. You can, of course, put anything you like in it. So long as you don't go for any toppings that are super chunky, you'll be able to roll it up into a pinwheel. Just slice it up, put it out on a tray, and watch your guests gobble it up.

Pizza Rolls

serves 4-6

INGREDIENTS:

1 lb. store-bought pizza dough (preferably whole wheat)

flour for your work surface

2 oz. fresh mozzarella, sliced into 1/4 inch slices

one 15 oz. can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped

2 tablespoons chopped sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

salt and pepper

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 425. Line a baking sheet with parchment or silpat liner.

2. Lightly dust your work surface with flour and roll out the pizza dough to about 12 inches around. Distribute the mozzarella slices fairly evenly around the pizza, followed by artichoke hearts and sun-dried tomatoes.

3. Carefully roll up the pizza into a cylinder, tucking in the edges to seal. It will look like a giant burrito. Brush with olive oil and season the top lightly with salt and pepper.

4. Place on baking sheet, seam-side down, and bake for 25 minutes, or until the top is golden brown. Cheese might leak out, and that is perfectly okay. Let cool a few minutes, then cut into 1-inch slices with a serrated knife. Serve.

Enjoy!

Havarti Chicken

2010-02-19T18:37:00.000-08:00

This is a simple yet interesting chicken dinner that can easily be thrown together on a weeknight. It's elegant, it's different, it's good. A crunchy bread crumb crust combined with an ooey melty cheese center? What's not to like? Top it all off with some creamy avocado slices and you have a meal fit for company.

Be cautious about your cooking time - this is basically an extra thick piece of chicken after you roll it up, so you want to make sure it is completely cooked through, but not overcooked.

Havarti Chicken

adapted from The Best Casserole Cookbook Ever

serves 2

INGREDIENTS:

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for the dish

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, pounded thin

1/4 teaspoon seasoned salt

1/4 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh parsley

2 quarter inch thick slices Havarti cheese

1/2 cup whole wheat bread crumbs

salt and pepper to taste

1/4 cup dry white wine

avocado slices for garnish

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 375. Drizzle a little bit of olive oil in a baking dish and spread it around.

2. After pounding chicken breasts to even thickness, sprinkle with seasoned salt.

3. Combine the olive oil with oregano and parsley. Drizzle about 1/2 tablespoon of the mixture over each chicken breast. Top each with a strip of cheese at one end. Roll up the chicken breast, starting at the end that has the cheese, adn tucking in the edges so the rolls are the same length.

4. In a shallow bowl, combine bread crumbs with salt and pepper to taste. Drizzle the chicken breast roll-ups with remaining oil/herb mixture, then dunk in the bread crumbs to coat all over. Place in the baking dish, seam side down. Drizzle with wine. Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through.

5. Serve topped with avocado slices.

Enjoy!

Dark Chocolate Mousse (CEiMB)

2010-02-18T07:50:00.000-08:00

This week was an extra special Craving Ellie in My Belly week for me, since it was my turn to pick the recipe! What an honor. Since we started the week with Valentine's Day, it seemed fitting to choose something chocolate. (Oh who am I kidding, I would probably have chosen something chocolate anyway).

This is Ellie's take on chocolate mousse. It's a very smooth, almost pudding-ish mousse. But it is completely delicious. I know many are skeptical of desserts containing tofu, but have no fear, if you use good quality chocolate and you top it with a little home-made whipped cream, you seriously cannot taste the tofu in this dessert.

I tend to tweak the recipes a bit, but this week I stayed true to the recipe, since I felt it was my duty as the hostess. The only change I made was to use whiskey instead of brandy, since it was what I had on hand. Some ideas I saw online were to use orange liqueur or mint extract, which I think would be delicious too, but would make this mousse taste less purely chocolatey.

Chocolate mousse is pretty much a crowd-pleaser, and this version is no exception. Whether you make it for your special someone or for a group of guests, you will not be disappointed.

Thanks, CEiMBers, for cooking along with me this week!

Dark Chocolate Mousse

from Ellie Krieger's The Food You Crave

serves 6

INGREDIENTS:

1 (12.3 ounce) package silken tofu, drained

3 ounces high quality bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/4 cup water

1 tablespoon brandy (or whiskey)

1/2 cup plus 1/2 teaspoon confectioner's sugar

1/4 cup heavy cream

chocolate shavings for topping

DIRECTIONS:

1. Puree the silken tofu in a food processor until completely smooth.

2. In a heat-proof bowl over a pot of barely simmering water (or in a double-boiler), combine the bittersweet chocolate, cocoa powder, water, and brandy. Stir frequently until melted and smooth. Remove from heat. Stir in 1/2 cup of confectioner's sugar, a little at a time, until smooth.

3. Add the chocolate mixture to the tofu in the food processor and puree until well-combined and smooth. You may have to stop it a few times to scrape down the sides.

4. Pour the mousse into individual serving dishes, cover tightly, and refrigerator for at least one hour, up to three days, to set properly.

5. When you're going to serve, beat the 1/4 cup heavy cream with an electric mixer until just starting to form soft peaks. Add the remaining 1/2 teaspoon sugar, continue to beat until it is the texture of whipped cream. Top the servings of mousse with a dollop of whipped cream and chocolate shavings (use a vegetable peeler on your chocolate bar to create shavings). Serve.

Enjoy!

Mango Dal

2010-02-17T19:48:00.000-08:00

Lentils don't appear to be a particularly interesting food group, but India has given them a whole new life in the form of dal. Dal takes something ordinary and makes it virtually unrecognizable. There is a huge variety of types of dal, and I don't pretend to know even a fraction of them. But I will say that today I tried a type I'd never had before, and I made it in my own kitchen.

Dal, meet mango. I understand from some rudimentary internet research that it is actually a very traditional dish, but my passion for Indian food had yet to take me here. Put my favorite fruit into a lentil dish? I'm there.

This is a spicy, warm dish that you simply have to try. Every bite is packed with unexpected flavor. Ginger and mango naturally go together - they are soul mates. Add in traditional Indian spices like cumin and coriander, and you're well on your way. The fresh bite of cilantro finishes the whole thing off. Lentils are ordinary no longer!

Note: Don't wait for all the liquid to be absorbed - this is meant to be a slightly soupy dal.

Mango Dal

adapted from Eating Well magazine

serves 2-3

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup yellow or green lentils (I used green)

2 cups water

1/2 teaspoon salt, divided

1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric

1/2 tablespoon canola oil

1/2 medium onion, chopped

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed

2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground coriander

pinch cayenne pepper

1 mango, peeled and diced

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

DIRECTIONS:

1. Rinse lentils in a colander and drain. Combine with 2 cups of water, 1/4 teaspoon salt and turmeric in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil. Reduce to simmer, cover partially and cook, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, heat the canola oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add onion and cumin and cook, stirring frequently, until browned, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, ginger, coriander, and cayenne, and cook for an additional minute.

3. Add the onion mixture and the diced mango to the pot of lentils and stir to combine. Bring back to a simmer and cook for an additional 10 to 15 minutes, until lentils are very tender and starting to fall apart. Stir in cilantro and serve.

Enjoy!

Drunken Tuscan Pasta

2010-02-16T19:32:00.000-08:00

The first time I saw this recipe, I couldn't wait to try it. Then I proceeded to wait a couple of years to make it. The fact is, this recipe is controversial, and I couldn't bring myself to give it a try until now. How can a pasta dish be controversial, you ask? Well, it involves dumping an entire bottle of wine into a pot, bringing to a boil, and cooking pasta in it.

Wine fanatics, fear not. The wine doesn't die a pointless death. It infuses the pasta with an incredibly deep, robust flavor (and color) unlike any pasta you've ever had before. You might cry a little when you drain the pasta, and watch the boiled wine go down the drain. But it will be in the name of a delicious dinner.

This dish truly is delicious and note-worthy. And if it breaks your heart to use a bottle of wine this way, well, perhaps it isn't the dish for you. But I'm sure two buck chuck would work perfectly fine, so no need to break out the family heirloom from your cellar here.

The rest of the flavors are gorgeous as well. Woodsy rosemary and mushrooms; earthy swiss chard with a whisper of nutmeg; garlic and red pepper flakes. Everything about this meal sings. Definitely break this one out for a special occasion. Ask your guests to bring the wine - then you won't feel so bad about the bottle that just sacrificed itself for this incredible meal.

Drunken Tuscan Pasta

adapted from Rachael Ray's Book of 10

serves 2-3

INGREDIENTS:

1 bottle red wine (I used Cabernet)

1/2 pound whole wheat spaghetti, angel hair, or linguine

1 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 cups sliced baby bella (crimini) mushrooms

1 sprig fresh rosemary, leaves finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, chopped

pinch red pepper flakes

1 bunch of Swiss chard, stems removed, coarsely chopped

salt and pepper to taste

pinch of nutmeg

DIRECTIONS:

1. Pour the entire bottle of wine into a medium-sized pot, and top up with water until it's the amount of liquid you would normally use to make pasta. Bring to a boil. Add pasta and cook to al dente. Reserve about a cup of the cooking liquid before draining the pasta.

2. Meanwhile, heat one tablespoon of the EVOO in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the mushrooms and rosemary and cook until mushrooms are deeply golden, about 5 to 6 minutes. Push the mushrooms to the side of the pan and add remaining EVOO to the center of the skillet. Add garlic and red pepper flakes and cook for a minute or so, then toss with the mushrooms.

3. Add the Swiss chard to the skillet and season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg. When they have wilted down, add the reserved pasta cooking liquid to the skillet and cook for a minute or so to reduce. Toss the pasta with the rest of the ingredients and serve.

Enjoy!

Potato Cilantro Wontons

2010-02-13T13:34:00.000-08:00

Imagine a cross between a pierogi and a wonton, and that's pretty much what these are. They are hearty and delicious, yet come in a small enough package that you could serve them as appetizers if you so choose. We had ours as a main course, along with a spicy salad.

The wontons get crispy around the edges, but stay tender in the middle. The potato filling is piping hot and filled with delicious flavor. These are probably unlike anything you've had before, and yet the flavor is familiar and delightful. These also make me realize I definitely need to experiment with wonton wrappers more - they are so easy to use, and make something as mundane as a potato very exciting!

If you want to live on the edge, put a little Sriracha on the side for dunking. Yum.

Potato Cilantro Wontons

adapted from Cooking Light magazine

makes 16

INGREDIENTS:

1 medium-large baking potato, peeled and chopped

2 scallions, finely chopped

2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

16 wonton wrappers

cooking spray

DIRECTIONS:

1. Cook potato in boiling water for 8-10 minutes, or until tender. Drain. Mash the potato and stir in the scallions, cilantro, oil, paprika, salt and pepper.

2. Preheat oven to 375 and lightly spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray.

3. One by one, spoon about 1 tablespoon of potato filling into the center of each wonton wrapper. Moisten the edges of the wonton wrapper with water, and fold it into a triangle shape (one corner across to another). Press the edges to seal into a triangle.

4. Place the wontons on the prepared cookie sheet and lightly spray the tops with cooking spray. Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until crispy around the edges and golden on top.

Enjoy!

Baked Shells with Winter Squash

2010-02-10T22:26:00.000-08:00

Today I am continuing my growing trend of making casseroles. This one serves a purpose, however, as my mother hurt her foot and is recovering at the moment. Time to swoop in with my one and only superpower: the casserole!

This recipe is yet another variation on the theme featured here and here; namely the pasta with winter squash theme. Yet it brings another flavor to the table. This time instead of a creamy, fall-inspired dish, it's more of a comforting winter dish. It features the woodsy flavor of rosemary, and a gorgeous crumbly topping. It uses frozen squash puree, which is usually made up of butternut or similar squash, instead of canned pumpkin.

The only thing here that requires much patience is the caramelization of the onions, which does take some time. Everything else about it is insanely easy. If you like to make life difficult for yourself, you can break down a whole squash, cook it, and puree it yourself, but I find that the frozen winter squash puree in the supermarket is surprisingly high quality.

This meal is easy, hearty, and delicious. There's not much to complain about there.

Baked Shells with Winter Squash

adapted from Everyday Food: Great Food Fast

serves 5-6

INGREDIENTS:

cooking spray

1 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 large onion, halved and thinly sliced

coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary leaves

1 pound medium whole wheat pasta shells

1 package (12 to 14 oz.) frozen winter squash puree, thawed

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

1 1/2 cups of 1/4-inch bread cubes from wheat baguette

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 400. (You might actually want to wait to turn on the oven until a little later to save energy, but I wanted to give you the heads' up of the temperature). Spray a 9 x 13 or similar casserole dish with cooking spray.

2. Heat 1 1/2 tablespoons of oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add the onion slices, season with salt and pepper, and cover. Let cook until the onion softens and releases its moisture, about 15 minutes. Remove cover. Raise heat to medium and cook the onions, stirring often, until browned and caramelized, about 20 minutes. Stir in 1 teaspoon of rosemary.

3. Bring a pot of water to a boil, salt it, and cook the pasta until just barely al dente, about 2 minutes short of the time on the box instructions. Reserve about 1/2 cup of the cooking water, then drain.

4. Add the pureed squash and the pasta cooking water to the onions and stir. Bring to a simmer, then toss the pasta and about 1/4 cup of the parmesan with the squash mixture.

5. In a small bowl, combine the bread cubes with remaining teaspoon of rosemary, remaining 1/4 cup of parmesan, and remaining 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil. Season with salt and pepper, and toss.

6. Pour the pasta and sauce into the prepared casserole dish. Top with the crumb topping. Bake in the 400 degree oven for 10 to 15 minutes, until golden brown.

Enjoy!

Vegetable Soup with Thai Flavors

2010-02-09T19:08:00.000-08:00

My first exposure to Thai food was many years ago, and the dish was tom yum gai, an explosively flavorful soup. I fell in love immediately. Fast forward to today, when I made this incredibly easy soup that is not quite tom yum gai, and not quite Thai, to be frank. But its flavor is definitely in the ballpark. It has a serious punch of lime, lemongrass, cilantro, and onion, with a spicy kick to round it out. It is, in a word, yummy.

This soup also happens to be extremely healthy, completely vegetarian, and cheap to put together. It's another one to add to the ever growing "remind me to make this next time I have a cold" list. But there's no need to wait to get sick.

And a cheater's note: you can buy crushed lemongrass in a tube in the produce section. If you opt to go that route instead of buying fresh, use about two inches.

Vegetable Soup with Thai Flavors

adapted from Bon Appetit

serves 4

INGREDIENTS:

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1 medium onion, thinly sliced

2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

pinch of salt

4 cups low sodium vegetable broth

1 four-inch piece lemongrass, smashed with back of knife

1 tablespoon Sriracha sauce (Asian chili sauce)

1 five-oz. package baby spinach

1 cup 1/2-inch cubes extra firm tofu

juice of 2 limes

2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

DIRECTIONS:

1. Heat oil in a heavy soup pot over medium-low heat. Add onion and garlic, and season with a pinch of salt. Saute until tender, stirring often, about 15 minutes.

2. Add broth, lemongrass, and Sriracha. Increase heat; cover and bring to a boil. Turn off the heat and let stand for about 15 minutes. Uncover, remove the lemongrass and discard.

3. Add spinach, tofu, lime juice, and cilantro to broth. Place over medium heat and cook until spinach wilts, and tofu is heated through, stirring occasionally. Serve.

Enjoy!

Triple Chocolate Cookies

2010-02-06T15:56:00.000-08:00

Chocolate lovers, look no further for your fix.

It's chilly today, and I wanted to bake something delicious yet not overly gluttonous. I turned to the queen of delicious-yet-not-overly-gluttonous, Ellie Krieger, and found her recipe for triple chocolate cookies. The search was abruptly over.

Ellie's recipe calls for cocoa powder, dark chocolate, and milk chocolate, but I upped the ante even further and subbed in semi-sweet chocolate for the milk chocolate. These are some damn chocolatey cookies, just screaming out for a glass of cold milk. I am a happy bunny.

There is not a lot of butter or sugar in this recipe - it's all about the chocolate. And when you bake the way I do, with all whole wheat flour, you can actually feel pretty good about eating these. Just make them small, or else you might overwhelm anyone else that eats them with the intense chocolatey goodness.

Triple Chocolate Cookies

adapted from Ellie Krieger's The Food You Crave

makes 24-32, depending on the size

INGREDIENTS:

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup canola oil

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1/4 cup unsweetened natural cocoa powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 ounces good-quality dark chocolate (60-70% cocoa), coarsely chopped

2 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. In the bowl of a standing mixer (or in a large bowl with an electric beater), beat the butter and sugar together until well combined. Add oil and egg and beat until creamy. Mix in the vanilla.

3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, and salt. Add the dry mixture to the wet mixture and mix well. Stir in both chocolates and mix well. Using a cookie scoop or a tablespoon, scoop batter onto ungreased cookie sheets. Ellie says you'll get 24 cookies, but I got 32.

4. Bake until cookies are just set, 10-12 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool.

Enjoy!

Curried Chicken Salad (CEIMB)

2010-02-04T18:56:00.000-08:00

This week's Craving Ellie in My Belly pick was this fantastic chicken salad. I like chicken salad sandwiches on occasion, but I really am not a mayo fan. So when I saw that this version had barely any mayo, I decided to cut it out altogether and see how it came out. And it was delicious! To top it off, there's a gorgeous hint of curry spice, fresh juicy grapes, and crunchy toasted almonds to provide a wealth of flavor.

The salad is meant to be served over lettuce with pita chips, but I opted to serve it with fresh whole wheat pitas and make little sandwiches out of it. I can't even express how delicious it was. Yum.

So here it is, the seemingly mythical healthy, mayo-free, curried chicken salad. It's the figure friendly counterpart to that menu item that seems to be popping up in restaurants everywhere. What a great pick!

A note: I left out the cilantro merely because I didn't have it, but I think it would be an excellent addition, so I've included it below.

Curried Chicken Salad (CEIMB)

adapted from Ellie Krieger's So Easy

serves 2

INGREDIENTS:

2 tablespoons sliced almonds

1/4 cup lowfat plain yogurt

1/2 teaspoon curry powder

1 1/4 cups cubed cooked (and cooled) chicken breast

1/2 cup halved grapes (I used green, Ellie uses red)

handful finely chopped cilantro

salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

3 cups lightly packed mixed salad greens

2 whole wheat pitas, warmed and cut in half

DIRECTIONS:

1. Toast almonds in a small skillet over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until fragrant and beginning to turn golden-brown, 2 to 3 minutes.

2. In a large bowl, stir together the yogurt and curry powder. Fold in the chicken, grapes, almonds, and cilantro and season with salt and pepper. This salad will keep in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

3. Serve over a bed of lettuce along with pita bread; or pack the pita halves with lettuce and chicken salad.

Enjoy!

Home Made Gnocchi

2010-02-03T19:01:00.000-08:00

We loooove gnocchi in our house. I have found a couple of reliable brands that are incredibly tasty, but I've always meant to try my hand at making them from scratch. I made sweet potato dumplings once before, which were basically gnocchi made with sweet potatoes. Here is a more traditional potato gnocchi, with hardly any ingredients and not too much skill required.

Once you've made these, you can lay them out on a sheet of wax paper and put them in the freezer (make sure they're not touching one another) until frozen, then put them in a freezer bag to cook later. (Don't thaw them before cooking.) Or you can cook them all right away. I'd recommend lightly sauteeing them after you boil them so they crisp up a bit around the edges - I paired mine with a home made marinara straight after boiling them, and they got a bit mushy.

If you really want them to shine, dress them simply with a little home made pesto after sauteeing, and voila.

Home Made Gnocchi

adapted from How to Cook Everything Vegetarian

serves 4

INGREDIENTS:

1 large russet potato (about 1 pound)

salt and freshly ground black pepper

about 3/4 cup whole wheat flour (all-purpose is okay too)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Peel the potato and cut it into evenly sized chunks. Place in a pot and cover with cold water. Salt it. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat slighly. Cook for 10-15 minutes, or until potato is very tender. Drain.

2. Use a potato ricer, or a masher, to finely mash the potato, eliminating any lumps. Stir in a pinch of salt and pepper. Add about half the flour and stir. Your goal is to create a dough that is easy to handle. Add a little more flour if necessary to achieve a dough-like consistency. Try not to overdo it on the flour. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface a knead a few times to bring it together.

3. Break off pieces of the dough and roll each one out into a long, thin rope, about 1 inch in diameter. Use a sharp knife to cut the ropes into 1-inch pieces. Place them on wax paper, not touching, while you continue to work. Create a gentle indentation with your thumb on each gnoccho, or press against the back of a fork to create lines.

4. When you're ready to cook them, bring a pot of water to a boil and salt it. Place the gnocchi, a few at a time, into the boiling water and gently stir. When they rise to the surface, let them cook a few more seconds and then remove with a slotted spoon. Sautee them or sauce them as you like, but do so soon, because they don't keep long after being boiled.

Enjoy!

Roasted Beets and Brussels Sprouts with Balsamic

2010-02-02T19:12:00.000-08:00

This dish is an homage to two items in the produce aisle that are severely underrated. There was a time when I didn't like them either, but now I could happily eat a bowl of this for my dinner. It also works great as a side dish or a salad. You can serve it hot, cold, or anywhere in between.

Roasted beets and Brussels sprouts go together naturally. They just work. Add to that a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar, along with a sprinkle of parsley, and you have yourself a gourmet dish. It's that easy.

I roasted my beets so they were still slightly crunchy, but if you want them really tender to contrast with the crunch of the Brussels, roast them a bit longer. Either way, the combination of sweet and savory in this dish is a beautiful thing.

Roasted Beets and Brussels Sprouts with Balsamic

adapted from The Complete Italian Vegetarian Cookbook

serves 2-3 as a side dish

INGREDIENTS:

1 large beet (greens removed), scrubbed

12 (more or less) medium-sized Brussels sprouts, halved

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided

salt and pepper

1 teaspoon good quality balsamic vinegar

handful chopped parsley

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 400. Trim any long dangling roots from the beet. Wrap the beet in foil and place on a baking sheet in the oven. Roast for an hour to an hour and a half, depending on desired tenderness.

2. While the beet is roasting, toss the halved Brussels sprouts with 1 tablespoon of oil, and a pinch each of salt and pepper. When the beet has about 30 minutes left to go, add the Brussels sprouts to the baking sheet and place in the oven. Roast for the duration of the beet's roasting time, tossing them about halfway through.

3. Let the beet cool, unwrapped, for a few minutes before removing the peel. (It should be really easy to remove, just don't burn yourself!). Slice the beet into 1/4 inch slices. Place in a bowl or on a serving platter and scatter the Brussels sprouts over the slices. Drizzle with remaining oil and balsamic vinegar, season with salt, and sprinkle with parsley. Toss everything to combine. Serve hot, cold, or room temperature.

Enjoy!

Red Chili

2010-01-31T13:48:00.000-08:00

Chili is a glorious universe. There are so many variations, and I don't begin to claim that I know what the "best" variation is, if such a thing exists. I've made white chili before, which was delicious and not too heavy. Today, I opted for red chili. And while some of the ingredients are similar or even identical, it is a completely different meal.

This is a hearty, soul-warming meal. It's meaty, it's spicy, it has a deep rustic flavor that only gets better the longer it sits. Normally I reduce a recipe to make enough for two or three people, but for chili, I went all out and made a big pot. I know that the leftovers will be even better than the freshly made batch.

I understand that for some people chili is a personal thing - they have to have it a certain way, with certain adornments absolutely required. I, however, like the idea of chili as a free-for-all. It can be a little different every time you make it. I took some aspects of our friend Mike's chili recipe and added it to the chili recipe in Mad Hungry, a fabulous new cookbook. The result is magnificent.

Use whatever garnishes you like - I opted for grated cheddar, scallions and avocado. They rounded out the meal beautifully.

Dried red chilies can be found in the produce section of your supermarket. Get the medium-large ones - the specific variety doesn't really matter.

Red Chili

adapted from Mad Hungry

serves 6

INGREDIENTS:

5 dried red chilies (ancho, Hatch, or Anaheim)

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 large yellow onion, chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced or pressed

1 1/4 pounds hot Italian turkey sausage, casings removed

coarse salt

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1 bay leaf

two 14.5 oz. cans no salt added diced tomatoes, with juice

12 ounce bottle of beer (ale works nicely)

one 15 oz. can pinto beans, drained and rinsed

garnishes of your choosing

DIRECTIONS:

1. Break the stems off the dried chilies and remove the seeds. Place the chilies in a bowl and cover with boiling water. Let sit for five minutes to soften. Place the chilies in a food processor with about 1/4 cup of the soaking liquid and process to a paste. Set aside.

2. Heat oil in a large (5 qt. works) Dutch oven or soup pot, or a very large skillet, over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic and saute until translucent, about 3 minutes. Season with a pinch of salt. Add the sausage, breaking up with a wooden spoon. Brown the meat, stirring occasionally, for about ten minutes, until cooked. If there is a lot of grease in the pan, spoon some of it out, but make sure you leave some for flavor.

3. Stir in cumin and cook for 30 seconds. Add the chili paste you made in step one, red pepper flakes, oregano, bay leaf, and another pinch of salt.

4. Add tomatoes and beer and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat slightly and simmer for 30 minutes, uncovered, stirring occasionally. Add beans and cook for an additional 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season to taste, and serve.

Enjoy!

Walnut Chicken Paillards with Arugula Sweet Potato Salad

2010-01-28T19:07:00.000-08:00

The one question I get from my fellow attorneys more than any other when they hear about my blog is, "How do you have time?" It makes me laugh every time, because the fact is that I would make time even if I didn't have it, since cooking brings me more joy than most things. However, the trick is that the recipes I make really aren't that time-consuming. Those of you who actually have tried some of them can attest to this. I'm not making slow-roasted pork shoulder or hand-made ravioli every night.

Take this meal for instance. I realize this doesn't look or sound like a weeknight meal. But I pulled it together really quickly, and without too much effort. The walnut sauce on the chicken has only three ingredients, but tastes absolutely fantastic - nutty and delicious. The arugula sweet potato salad is as tasty as it is beautiful. The entire meal is rich and elegant, yet filled with healthy elements.

So go ahead, shock and awe your guests when you make this for them. They'll marvel at how much time you must have spent in the kitchen.

Walnut Chicken Paillards with Arugula Sweet Potato Salad

adapted from Martha Stewart's Dinner at Home

serves 2

INGREDIENTS:

for the salad

1 sweet potato, cut into 1-inch-thick rounds (unpeeled)

1 leek, white and pale green parts only, halved length wise, cut into 2-inch pieces

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

salt and freshly ground pepper

1/2 teaspoon dijon mustard

1/2 tablespoon sherry vinegar

2 cups loosely packed baby arugula

for the chicken

1 1/2 tablespoons canola oil

2 chicken cutlets, pounded to 1/4 inch thickness

handful of walnut pieces

1/4 cup low sodium chicken stock

1 tablespoon sherry vinegar

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 400. Combine sweet potatoes and leeks on a rimmed baking sheet, and toss with 1 tablespoon oil, a pinch of salt and pepper. Roast for about 20 minutes, tossing halfway through, until sweet potatoes are fork tender and leeks are golden brown. Cool for 10 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, whisk together mustard and vinegar, then slowly whisk in remaining tablespoons of oil. Season with salt and pepper and toss the arugula with the dressing. After cooling the roasted veggies, toss them with the rest of the salad.

3. While the veggies are roasting you can start on the chicken. Heat the canola oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Pat chicken dry with paper towels and season both sides with salt and pepper. Cook for about 3 to 4 minutes per side until browned and cooked through. Remove to a plate and keep warm.

4. Reduce heat to medium-low and add walnuts to the pan. Toast, stirring constantly, until fragrant and golden, about 3 minutes. Raise heat to medium and add the chicken stock and vinegar to the pan. Cook, swirling the pan occasionally, until reduced by about half.

5. Place the salad on plates, top with the chicken, and drizzle the sauce on top of that.

Enjoy!

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

2010-01-27T19:24:00.000-08:00

The Barefoot Contessa knows soup. She knows that the secret to a delicious and remarkably flavorful soup is to roast the vegetables first. She's done it before, and now she's done it again.

I like butternut squash soup. It can get a little monotonous by the time you're about halfway through the bowl, but the flavors are nice and it generally keeps me interested. Roasted butternut squash soup, however, is a whole other ballgame. The squash is roasted along with apples and onions, and everything gets browned and gorgeous before being pureed and then adorned with some curry flavors. I think you're probably sold by now.

This soup is delicious. You should try it. Right now.

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

adapted from Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics

serves 2

INGREDIENTS:

1 small butternut squash (1 to 1 1/4 pounds), peeled and seeded

1 small yellow onion

1 small gala apple, peeled and cored

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 1/2 cups low sodium chicken stock

1/4 teaspoon curry powder

handful of flaked coconut, lightly toasted

handful of sliced almonds, lightly toasted

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 425.

2. Cut the squash, onion, and apple into 1 inch pieces. Spread on a rimmed baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil, a pinch of salt and pepper. Toss together to coat. Roast for 30 minutes, tossing occasionally, until very tender and browned.

3. Meanwhile, heat chicken stock to a simmer. When the vegetables are done, put them in a food processor or blender with about 1/4 cup of the stock, as well as the curry powder, a pinch of salt and pepper, and pulse until mostly pureed, but still chunky. Add the rest of the chicken stock and pulse a couple of times. The texture should be that of a thick soup.

4. Serve the soup topped with the toasted coconut and almonds.

Enjoy!

Cold Sesame Noodles

2010-01-26T19:36:00.000-08:00

Sesame noodles are apparently pretty common Chinese takeout fare, but I have to say, I've never actually ordered them myself. They're tasty and easy, and this recipe is no exception to that rule. I made a spicy celery salad on the side, and the flavors complemented each other quite well.

The tahini is really the most noticeable flavor in this dish, so if you're not a fan of tahini, you should probably skip this. You can always use peanut butter instead. I also think this dish would be great (albeit completely different) if you eliminate the tahini and increase the sesame oil a little bit. There are all kinds of variations on this theme that you can try out.

I used soba noodles, but the original recipe called for Chinese egg noodles. Just about any long thin pasta will work.

Cold Sesame Noodles

adapted from Mad Hungry by Lucinda Scala Quinn

serves 2

INGREDIENTS:

1/3 pound soba noodles

1/2 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

2 tablespoons sesame paste (tahini)

1/4 cup water, plus more if needed

1/2 tablespoon rice vinegar

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1/4 teaspoon Sriracha sauce (or other hot sauce)

1 scallion, thinly sliced

1/2 tablespoon minced fresh ginger

DIRECTIONS:

1. Cook the noodles according to package directions, until just tender. Drain and toss in a bowl with the sesame oil. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

2. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, thin the sesame paste by stirring enough water to achieve the consistency of heavy cream. Whisk in the vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, and Sriracha. Stir in about 3/4 of the scallion and the ginger.

3. Just before serving, toss the chilled noodles with the sauce. Garnish with remaining scallion.

Enjoy!

Tender Greens and Vegetables with Blood Orange Vinaigrette

2010-01-24T16:51:00.000-08:00

I have a soft spot for blood oranges. They seem like the passionate, long-lost cousin of the regular orange. They have a depth of flavor that is quite distinctive from their more common relative, and their color is stunningly beautiful. What's not to love?

Well they're in season right now, so it seemed the perfect time to buy a bag full from my farmer's market and make use of them. First up - this lovely salad, which is elegant and delicious. I chose to use watercress for the greens, but use whatever tender greens you like. I love the slightly peppery bite and yet tender leaf of fresh watercress, and it went very well with the delicious dressing in this salad.

This recipe is another example of the sheer pointlessness of bottled salad dressing. It's so easy to make your own, and it tastes so much better. Give this one a try and see if you agree. Traditionally the ratio of oil to acid is a bit higher, but in this case I chose to go with more acid and less oil. The blood orange juice is so gorgeous, you don't want to overshadow it with oil.

Tender Greens and Vegetables with Blood Orange Vinaigrette

adapted from The Complete Italian Vegetarian Cookbook

serves 3

INGREDIENTS:

3 ounces green beans, trimmed and halved

4 cups mixed tender greens, washed and dried

1/2 bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced

1/2 teaspoon grated zest and 2 tablespoons juice from 1 blood orange

1/2 tablespoon white balsamic vinegar

salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

DIRECTIONS:

1. Blanch the green beans briefly in salted boiling water, about 3 minutes. Drain and shock in an icy water bath. Drain again and dry.

2. Put the beans, greens, and bell pepper in a large bowl.

3. In a small bowl, whisk together the zest, orange juice, vinegar, salt and pepper to taste. Stream in the oil slowly, whisking all the while. Drizzle the dressing over the salad and toss to coat. Serve immediately.

Enjoy!

Polenta with Garlicky Greens

2010-01-22T20:05:00.000-08:00

If you showed this picture to the me of about ten years ago, before I could cook and before I appreciated both polenta and leafy greens, I would have shaken my head and said no thank you. Now I see it and I almost drool. This meal combines two of my favorite things, and I'm sharing it with you. Don't you feel special?

My sister got me Jack Bishop's Complete Italian Vegetarian Cookbook for my birthday, and this is my inaugural recipe from it. It's simple and delicious, just the way I like my food. Jack's method of cooking polenta is slightly different from any way I've tried it before, and I'll admit I was suspicious of cooking it just in water (as opposed to broth and cream), but I have to say, this is the best polenta I've ever made. I highly recommend that you try his method.

The greens are a combination of chard and spinach, quickly braised with a garlic and onion combo. Everything comes together with a remarkably comforting balance of texture and flavor. This is excellent food for a rainy winter night.

Polenta with Garlicky Greens

adapted from the Complete Italian Vegetarian Cookbook

serves 2

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups water

1/2 cup medium-grind cornmeal

salt

1 bunch Swiss chard, tough stems and ribs removed

2 cups fresh baby spinach

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1/2 medium onion, thinly sliced

2 garlic cloves, minced or pressed

freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

DIRECTIONS:

1. Start the polenta first, as it will take about 40 minutes. Bring the water to a boil in a small saucepan over high heat. Add a pinch of salt. Reduce heat slightly and stream in the cornmeal slowly, whisking constantly. Continue to whisk vigorously for about 30 seconds. Reduce heat to a bare simmer and put the lid on. Let cook for about 40 minutes, or until polenta is creamy and smooth, whisking every 10 minutes.

2. While the polenta cooks, tear up the chard into chunks. Make sure chard and spinach are thoroughly washed and drained, but don't dry it - you want some moisture still on the leaves.

3. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and saute until softened and nearly translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook for about 30 seconds. Reduce heat to medium and add the greens. Stir carefully to coat them with the oil. Season with salt and pepper, and put a lid on the pan. Cook for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until greens are tender and wilted. Remove lid and cook for an additional 2 minutes to let some of the liquid evaporate.

4. When polenta is done cooking, stir in the butter. Divide between two bowls and serve the greens over the top.

Enjoy!

Pan-Seared Chicken with Orange & Grapefruit Sauce

2010-01-21T20:07:00.000-08:00

Most people think of winter as a time of year when fresh produce is severely lacking. We mustn't forget, children, the wonderful world of citrus. Citrus is at its peak in the winter, and there is such a fantastic variety of options. This recipe features two of the more common citrus fruits, available at any and every farmers market this time of year - orange and grapefruit.

This is a refreshing, elegant meal with a bevy of beautiful flavors. It might help drag you out of the winter weather funk. We're even dealing with that here in Los Angeles. We need something bright and beautiful for dinner to make it all okay.

So grab an orange and a grapefruit and whip up this meal. We had ours with steamed broccolini, but anything green will do nicely to round out the plate.

Pan-Seared Chicken with Orange & Grapefruit Sauce

adapted from Eating Well in Season

serves 2

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 small ruby red grapefruit

1 small navel orange

2 tablespoons flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1/2 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, trimmed

2 teaspoons canola oil, divided

1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced

2 tablespoons dry white wine

1 tablespoon orange marmalade

1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint or parsley

DIRECTIONS:

1. Segment the grapefruit and orange over a bowl, using a sharp knife to remove the skin and pith, then cutting out each segment carefully, leaving membrane behind. Let the bowl catch all the juices. Squeeze out the membrane to get all the juice into the bowl. Strain the fruit segments to separate them from the juice. Reserve both and set aside.

2. Combine flour, salt and pepper in a shallow dish. Lightly dredge the chicken in the flour mixture.

3. Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a medium nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook until golden-brown and cooked through, about 3 to 4 minutes per side. Remove chicken to a plate and cover to keep warm.

4. Add remaining teaspoon of oil to the pan. Reduce heat slightly and add the onion. Cook, stirring, until softened and slightly browned, about 3 minutes. Add reserved fruit juices and wine and bring to a boil. Boil until reduced by half, about 3 minutes.

5. Reduce heat to low and add marmalade, reserved fruit segments, mint/parsley and pepper to taste. Return chicken to pan and reheat gently. Serve the chicken topped with the fruit, onion, and juice.

Enjoy!

Cacio e Pepe with Spinach and White Beans

2010-01-20T19:14:00.000-08:00

Cacio e pepe is a very simple, traditional Italian pasta dish. The main ingredients (apart from the pasta) are cheese and black pepper. But it's not completely smothered in those key ingredients - there is a delicate balance involved. The traditional cheese of choice is pecorino romano, but I used parmesan and it came out pretty amazing.

We all know you shouldn't make an entire meal out of pasta, butter, and cheese, though, right? So along comes a simple and delicious side dish of wilted spinach and white beans. This is simple home cooking at its best. It's so easy and only takes about 15 minutes to make, but you feel remarkably satisfied afterward. The definitive weeknight recipe.

Cacio e Pepe with Spinach and White Beans

adapted from Rachael Ray's Book of 10

serves 2

INGREDIENTS:

1/3 pound whole wheat linguine

1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces

1 teaspoon plus 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1/2 teaspoon coarse black pepper, plus more to taste

salt to taste

1/2 cup finely grated parmesan cheese

3 cups tightly packed fresh baby spinach

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1 1/2 cups cannellini beans, rinsed and drained

pinch freshly grated nutmeg

DIRECTIONS:

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook the pasta until al dente. Save about 1/4 cup of the starchy cooking liquid before draining the pasta. Drain.

2. While pasta is cooking, heat the butter, one teaspoon of oil, and black pepper in a large skillet over low heat. Let it hang out while the pasta is cooking. When pasta is done, add the starchy cooking liquid to the butter mixture, followed by the cooked pasta. Toss it all together with tongs. Stir in the cheese until melted, and season to taste with salt and pepper.

3. While steps one and two are underway, heat the remaining tablespoon of oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook for about 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add beans and spinach, and stir gently until the spinach wilts and beans are cooked through. Season with nutmeg and salt.

4. Serve the pasta with the spinach and white beans on the side.

Enjoy!

Almond Flour Classic Drop Biscuits

2010-01-18T17:02:00.001-08:00

These biscuits are fantastic. I realize almond flour is not in everyone's refrigerator, but it is worth seeking out just so you can try these. They are just the right proportion of salty and sweet - they are crunchy on top but incredibly tender inside. They are, in short, the perfect biscuit. Only they are much better for you than the average biscuit.

Yes, this recipe involves a couple of ingredients that are not exactly everyday. But I find it fun to experiment with healthier variations on the norm - not for using all the time, but for occasions like this, when you just feel like a warm, flaky, drop-dead delicious biscuit. If you don't want to invest in agave nectar, you can use honey or maple syrup, though of course they have less neutral flavors than agave does. The almond flour is worth the price of admission, though. It's a superfood, like I'm sure you keep hearing, so this is yet another yummy way to get almonds in your diet.

These biscuits are sitting on the fence between sweet and savory, so you could use them as part of a dessert (strawberry shortcake, perhaps) or alongside a warm and hearty dinner (maybe some rotisserie chicken and veggies - mmm, now I'm hungry.)

Almond Flour Classic Drop Biscuits

from The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook

makes 9

INGREDIENTS:

2 1/2 cups blanched almond flour

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 cup grapeseed oil (I used canola)

1/4 cup agave nectar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon lemon juice

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350. Line a cookie sheet with parchment or a silpat liner.

2. Mix almond flour, salt, and baking soda in a large bowl. In a medium bowl, whisk together oil, agave, eggs, and lemon. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry until well combined.

3. Drop biscuits on prepared baking sheet in scant 1/4 cups, 2 inches apart. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the middle of one. Let cool a few minutes - serve warm.

Enjoy!

Vegetable-Lentil Soup

2010-01-18T12:53:00.000-08:00

We're having some crazy rainy weather here in southern California right now, so it seems like the right time for a big pot of heart- and tummy-warming soup. This one definitely fits the bill, and it is absolutely loaded with vitamins and nutrients, so hopefully it will fend off any colds that might try to follow the weather.

I've been trying to get behind lentils for a while now. I didn't grow up with them, and my only real exposure to them has been through dal, which I like, but don't really eat on a regular basis. I had a very traumatizing experience with lentil soup once before, so it took me a while to get back to trying it. I'm glad I finally did, as this recipe comes together easily and features a rainbow of vegetables and flavors along with those little legumes.

Vegetable-Lentil Soup

adapted from Williams-Sonoma's Eat Well

serves 4

INGREDIENTS:

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1 small yellow onion, diced

1 clove garlic, minced or pressed

1 small carrot, peeled and diced

1/2 red bell pepper, cored and diced

3 cups low sodium chicken broth

one 14.5 ounce can no salt added diced tomatoes

1 cup brown lentils, rinsed and drained

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

salt and freshly ground pepper

2 generous cups baby spinach, coarsely chopped

1 tablespoon dry sherry

DIRECTIONS:

1. Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook, stirring frequently, until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic, carrot and bell pepper, and cook for about 3 more minutes.

2. Stir in broth, tomatoes, lentils, paprika and cumin, along with a pinch each of salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer, cover, and cook for about 15 minutes, or until lentils are tender.

3. Stir in spinach and cook, uncovered, just until spinach wilts, about 2 minutes. Stir in sherry. Serve hot.

Enjoy!

Green Beans Marinara

2010-01-16T20:42:00.000-08:00

Green bean season has begun early in this part of the world apparently, because I found beautiful green beans at the farmers market this morning. I made this different sort of side dish with them, as we had an Italian themed potluck this afternoon. A simple marinara sauce combined with fresh green beans - it's pretty hard to mess up, folks. And it's yummy.

This would go well with a simple Italian chicken or pasta dish, or even just some crusty bread.

Green Beans Marinara

adapted from Food Network Magazine

serves 6 as a side dish

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/4 pounds green beans, trimmed

extra virgin olive oil

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

2 garlic cloves, crushed with the flat side of a knife

one 28 ounce can no salt added diced tomatoes

salt

DIRECTIONS:

1. Bring a medium sized pot of water to a boil. Cook green beans until just tender, about 5 minutes. Drain.

2. Meanwhile, coat the bottom of a large skillet with a thin film of olive oil. Add red pepper flakes and garlic cloves and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for about 2 minutes. Drain some of the juices off the canned tomatoes, but not all, and add the tomatoes to the skillet. Simmer for about 10 minutes.

3. Add the drained green beans to the tomato sauce and simmer, covered, for 10 minutes. Salt to taste. Remove the garlic cloves before serving.

Enjoy!

Spinach, Caramelized Onion and Goat Cheese Pizza (CEIMB)

2010-01-14T19:48:00.000-08:00

Today's pick for Craving Ellie in my Belly is this delicious and easy tortilla-based pizza. The original recipe called for arugula, but I chose to use spinach, though either would be fantastic. These are flavors that just naturally go together well, so it's pretty hard to go wrong.

This is like a more gourmet version of the kind of things I used to make when I was single and in law school, and often had to just grab whatever ingredients I had and throw together something a bit odd. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't. This recipe most definitely works. The perfect combination of creamy and crunchy, sweet and salty, angelic and naughty - once again, Ellie has it in the bag.

Tomorrow I promise to make something that is not an Ellie Krieger recipe....truly.

Spinach, Caramelized Onion and Goat Cheese Pizza

adapted from Ellie Krieger's The Food You Crave

serves 2

INGREDIENTS:

2 teaspoons olive oil

1/2 medium red onion, thinly sliced

3 cups baby spinach, caorsely chopped

salt and pepper to taste

two 6-inch diameter whole-wheat tortillas

1 ounce fresh goat cheese

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 400.

2. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring frequently, until onions are golden-brown and softened, about 10 minutes. Add spinach and cook, stirring, until just wilted, about 1 more minute. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

3. Lay the tortillas on a baking sheet and spread the spinach mixture over them. Crumble goat cheese over the top. Bake for 10 minutes, or until tortillas are crispy and browned around the edges, and cheese is getting melty. Cool a few minutes before cutting into wedges. Serve.

Enjoy!

Chicken Paillard with Watercress & Tomato Salad

2010-01-13T21:53:00.000-08:00

This meal is extra special, not just because it is delicious and incredibly easy. It's extra special because it was made by the lady herself, my culinary heroine, my favorite celebrity chef, the woman I admire and aspire to eat like and cook like - the one and only Ellie Krieger.

For my birthday, my sister got us tickets to go see Ellie Krieger do a culinary demonstration and book signing at a local cooking school in the LA area. Right before our eyes, Ellie made breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert. And we got to sample all of it. She was so utterly charming and likeable, funny and charismatic - the superlatives know no bounds, folks. It's so nice to admire someone on television and in books, and then to meet her in person and realize she's just as awesome as you imagined she would be.

And her food was delicious too. Here I am featuring the lunch recipe she made, though of course it would do just fine for dinner. It's fresh and tasty, and remarkably easy to pull together. It also looks elegant and beautiful, much like Ms. Krieger herself.

So here is the recipe for you to make yourself. Now I will go bask in the afterglow of having met one of my favorite people.

Chicken Paillard with Watercress & Tomato Salad

from Ellie Krieger's So Easy

serves 4

That's Ellie making me lunch. Okay, so it wasn't just me.

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/4 pounds thin cut skinless boneless chicken breasts

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 clove garlic, minced

3/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 large bunch watercress, tough stems removed, coarsely chopped

2 medium tomatoes, chopped

8 slices whole-grain baguette

DIRECTIONS:

1. Combine chicken, 1 tablespoon of olive oil, the garlic, and 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper in a bowl and toss to coat. Preheat a grill or nonstick grill pan over medium-high heat. Grill chicken until grill marks form and meat is just cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Remove and drizzle with 1 tablespoon of lemon juice.

2. In a large bowl, toss watercress and tomatoes, with their seeds, with remaining olive oil and lemon juice, and remaining salt and pepper. Distribute chicken among 4 serving plates and top each with 1 1/2 cups of salad and 1 to 2 tablespoons of accumulated liquid from the salad. Serve with baguette slices.

Enjoy!

Almond-Turmeric Potatoes

2010-01-12T20:50:00.000-08:00

I will never look at a potato the same way again. This is hands down the most delicious potato side-dish I've ever had, and it's really quite easy. If you own a mandoline slicer, break it out for this dish, otherwise you'll really be testing your knife skills. Otherwise, though, it pretty much brings itself together.

The potatoes are super-thin and melt in your mouth, the onions are sweet and caramelized to a blissful point, and the almonds provide a nice texture contrast. The turmeric tints everything a beautiful golden hue. The flavors are subtle and exotic at the same time. It's magnificent.

These potatoes go well with anything from steak to seafood, so remember to try this one out the next time you need a supporting cast on your plate. I, for one, am planning on eating turmeric potatoes for lunch tomorrow.

Almond-Turmeric Potatoes

adapted from The Splendid Table's How to Eat Supper

serves 3 as a side dish

INGREDIENTS:

good quality extra virgin olive oil

1/2 large yellow onion, thinly sliced

1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric

salt and freshly ground black pepper

3/4 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, unpeeled, sliced as thin as possible

a splash of low sodium chicken or veggie broth (about a tablespoon or so)

handful of sliced almonds, toasted

DIRECTIONS:

1. Generously film olive oil over the bottom of a medium saucepan with a tight-fitting lid. Set the pan over medium-high heat. Layer in the onion, turmeric, and some salt and pepper. Top with the potatoes, and season with more salt and pepper. Cook, without stirring, for about 6 minutes or so, until onion starts to soften and brown. Don't stir, but peek under the potatoes to look for color.

2. Add the broth and cover the pot. Reduce heat to low. Don't stir, but shake the pan occasionally. Check to make sure there is still some liquid on the bottom of the pan periodically. If needed, add some more broth.

3. Cook for 15 minutes, or until there is a syrupy brown glaze on the bottom of the pan, the onion is coloring, and the potatoes are tender. Remove the pan off the heat and let it stand, covered, for 5 minutes.

4. Taste for seasoning - add more salt if needed. Just before serving, sprinkle with the toasted nuts. Scoop down from the bottom to get all the glaze and onion when serving up the potatoes.

Enjoy!