Holy Trinity Cookies

I'm sorry, but there is just no contest. The greatest trio of flavors in the history of sweet foods is peanut butter, chocolate, and banana. You might disagree. You would be wrong. It's just a fact.

They're great together in their pure forms - a banana dipped in chocolate syrup and peanut butter. They're also great together in a cookie. That's where we come in with today's recipe.

This cookie is not too intense. The problem with that is you won't feel too hesitant to eat multiple. That's why we make them really big, so you might be able to walk away after just one!

So go ahead, if you don't already have ripe bananas laying around, buy a few more than you can actually eat the next time you go to the grocery store. It will give you an excuse to make this delicious, sweet, cakey cookie and share it with your friends. Or just keep it to yourself. I won't judge.

Holy Trinity Cookies
adapted from the Fat Free Vegan Kitchen (blog.fatfreevegan.com)
makes about 15-20 cookies

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup smooth natural peanut butter
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup mashed ripe banana (about 2 large bananas)
1 cup white whole wheat flour
1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 375, and line two cookie sheets with silpat liners or parchment paper.

2. Cream together peanut butter and the two sugars; stir in banana and mix until smooth and creamy.

3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flours, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Add the flour mixture to peanut butter a little at a time until completely incorporated. Stir in chocolate chips until well-blended, but do not over-mix.

4. Drop by ice cream scoops (or smaller utensil if you want smaller cookies) on prepared cookie sheets. They don't spread out while they bake so you don't need to space them too much. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until just turning golden brown. Remove and cool for a few minutes before eating.

Pour yourself a glass of milk and enjoy!

Roasted Winter Squash Salad

If you like winter squash, you will love this recipe. It tastes like a trip to New England, with its warm apple cider vinaigrette, a touch of cranberry here and there, and real maple syrup glazing the squash.

We, however, are not huge squash fans. You might wonder why I chose to make this when we're not crazy about squash. It's all about stepping outside of the comfort zone, folks. And I can honestly say the flavors in this salad are delicious, and it makes an elegant dish. The sheer amount of squash was a bit much for us, but that's us. Therefore I do still recommend it for the squash-lovers out there.

The recipe calls for butternut squash, but I decided to go with acorn squash since I'd been wanting to try it out. They are virtually interchangeable, so go with whatever sounds good to you. I'll warn you, though, that peeling an acorn squash is a remarkably challenging task.

Roasted Winter Squash Salad
adapted from the Barefoot Contessa's "Back to Basics"
serves 3-4

INGREDIENTS:








1 (1 1/2 pound) winter squash, peeled and 3/4 inch diced
2 tablespoons plus 1/4 cup EVOO
1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
handful dried cranberries
3/4 cup unfiltered apple cider
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
one small shallot, minced
2 teaspoons dijon mustard
3-4 ounces baby arugula, washed and spun dry
1/4 cup walnut halves, toasted
1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place squash pieces on a sheet pan. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons EVOO, the maple syrup, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and toss to coat evenly. Roast for 15 minutes, turning once. Sprinkle the dried cranberries over the squash and then return to the oven, roasting for another 4-5 minutes, or until squash is tender.

2. While squash is roasting, combine apple cider, vinegar, and shallots in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook for 6 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until cider is reduced to about 1/4 cup. Remove from heat and whisk in mustard, 1/4 cup EVOO, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.

3. Place arugula in a salad bowl and add the squash mixture, walnuts, and parmesan. Spoon just enough vinaigrette over the salad to moisten, and toss well. Serve.

So squash-lovers, rejoice! Here is a delicately sweet, yet robust salad. Enjoy!

Four Cheese Macaroni with Thyme-Parmesan Crust

Whoa, Nellie, do we love mac and cheese in our household. Luckily we're both partial to the homemade variety, and Kraft hasn't seen its day in our kitchen for a very long time.

Macaroni and cheese has become the quintessential American dish, and it comes in many forms. This recipe is good old-fashioned mac and cheese with a few twists. I wanted to try Stonewall Kitchen's recipe, but it was a bit cheese-heavy so I tweaked it here and there to make it slightly less evil. You'll notice we each had a carrot alongside our meal, just to ease the guilt somewhat. But the idea here is that the portions are not huge. They're just right. We both finished our plates and we definitely felt satisfied.

The four cheeses are flexible. You could swap out one of them for something more stinky if you like. I think it would be great. I would recommend that you keep the fresh mozzarella, though, as it's what makes this recipe particularly unique.

Four Cheese Macaroni with Thyme-Parmesan Crust
adapted from "Stonewall Kitchen Favorites"
serves 2

INGREDIENTS:

1/3 pound short whole-wheat pasta, such as macaroni or ziti
1 teaspoon unsalted butter
2 teaspoons EVOO
1 tablespoon whole wheat flour
1 cup skim or lowfat milk, warmed
1/2 cup grated sharp cheddar
4 oz. fresh mozzarella; half grated and half thinly sliced
1/4 cup grated gruyere
salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons freshly grated parmesan
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme leaves
1/4 cup fresh plain whole-wheat bread crumbs

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 400. Cook the pasta: bring a medium pot of water to a boil and salt it. Cook the pasta until barely al dente, about 6 minutes. Drain and return to the pot. Set aside.

2. Make the sauce: while the pasta is cooking, melt the butter in a small saucepan with 1 teaspoon EVOO over low heat. When it has melted and is starting to sizzle, add the flour and whisk until combined. Cook, stirring constantly, for about 30 seconds to 1 minute. Whisk in half of the warm milk in a slow, steady stream. Whisk until smooth and the sauce begins to thicken, about 2 minutes. Add remaining milk, whisk again until smooth, and increase heat to medium high, stirring frequently, until it comes to a boil. Remove from heat.

3. Make it cheesy: Add all the cheeses except parmesan to the sauce, whisking constantly to prevent cheese from becoming lumpy. When it is completely smooth, add salt and pepper to taste and 1 teaspoon of thyme.

4. Combine everyone together: Pour the sauce over the pasta in the pot and stir to combine. Spoon a quarter of the pasta into each of two ramekins or oven-safe single-serve dishes. Place slices of mozzarella on top of each pile of pasta. Put the rest of the pasta on top of the mozzarella.

5. The topping: Mix the parmesan, remaining thyme, and bread crumbs together in a small bowl. Sprinkle evenly over the two servings of mac. Drizzle with remaining teaspoon EVOO. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until cheese is bubbly and crust is golden brown. Serve hot.

Believe it or not, this goes really well with a glass of good sauvignon blanc. Why not make your kid-friendly meal a bit more sophisticated? That's all I'm saying.

Enjoy!

Chicken Curry with Gentle Spices

Tonight I made curry from scratch for the very first time. Sure, I've made it with store bought sauces or pastes before. But tonight I made the curry paste myself, the sauce myself, and voila - curry. The recipe came from the Splendid Table, and it was aptly named. The spices are indeed gentle. Subtle; understated; coy, if you will.

To be honest, I think I prefer my curry with a bit more kick. But this dish reminded me of the Anglicized version of curry I grew up with. Curry is quite different in England than in the US. And I can't speak for what it's like in India or any other Asian country, as I've never traveled to that part of the world. But different is not necessarily a bad thing. This is a comforting version of curry. It won't make you sweat, it will just make you feel well-fed and well taken care of.

Chicken Curry with Gentle Spices
adapted from the Splendid Table's "How to Eat Supper"
serves 3

INGREDIENTS:

Curry paste:
1/2 large onion, cut in half
3 large garlic cloves
2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
generous pinch of freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 medium-large ripe tomato
1 jalapeno, stemmed and seeded
1/4 cup water

Chicken
vegetable oil
1 cup plain low-fat yogurt
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
2 tablespoons water
salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a food processor, puree one of the onion halves with the remaining curry paste ingredients. Set aside.

2. Thinly slice the remaining onion half. Film the bottom of a straight-sized saute pan with vegetable oil, and heat it over medium-high heat. Add the slices onion, and saute until it begins to color. Add the curry paste, reduce heat to medium, and saute for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon or spatula, until the oil separates from the curry paste.

3. Stir 1/3 cup of the yogurt into the curry sauce and simmer, stirring and scraping up the curry paste from the bottom of the pan, until yogurt thickens and reduces significantly, about 8 to 10 minutes.

4. Stir in the chicken, remaining yogurt and water. Bring to a slow simmer. Cook, uncovered, for 6-8 minutes, until chicken is cooked through.

5. Remove chicken pieces with a slotted spoon and set aside in a serving dish. Raise heat until sauce is boiling. Boil it down until it is so thickened that oil begins to separate again, about 4-5 minutes. Taste for seasoning, adding salt and pepper if needed. Serve the chicken topped with the curry sauce.

We had ours over a bed of brown rice. I think this is the perfect solution when you might be craving Indian or Thai food but you're not in the mood for a lot of spice. You can always spice it up more intensely with a second jalapeno, or an even hotter pepper. But then you'd have to change the name, and where's the fun in that?

Enjoy!

Blueberry Crumble

Another great thing about shopping at the farmers market is that you find yourself looking for interesting ways to use your produce. You don't dare let it sit and fester, as you are absolutely dying to use it. At least that's what I've found.

I bought two pints of beautiful blueberries this past weekend, and knew I wanted to use them in some delicious and healthy dessert. That's right, a healthy dessert. I wasn't going to make muffins or coffee cake, although believe me, it was tempting as I browsed through my recipes. Luckily I found this recipe for Blueberry Crumble that I clipped from an issue of Eating Well magazine (great magazine, by the way) several years ago. It spoke to me.

There are only a few ingredients in this recipe, and none of them are animal-based, so feel free to serve it to your vegan friends. Also feel free to substitute any other fruit (but if it's bigger than a blueberry, I'd recommend chopping it into bite-sized pieces). I actually made extra crumble topping for later, and I'm mentally making plans for it already.

Blueberry Crumble
adapted from Eating Well magazine
serves 4-6

INGREDIENTS:

For Filling:
2 1/2 cups fresh blueberries (or other fruit)
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon whole-wheat flour
1 tablespoon fresh orange juice

For Topping:
3/4 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1/2 cup pecans, almonds, or walnuts (or a combination), chopped
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons whole-wheat flour
scant 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons canola oil

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 400.

2. In a medium bowl, toss fruit with sugar, flour and orange juice. Pour into an 8 x 8 glass baking dish and distribute evenly.

3. In another bowl, combine oats, nuts, brown sugar, flour and cinnamon and stir until well blended. Drizzle oil over the dry ingredients and stir until evenly moistened.

4. Top the fruit mixture with the dry topping, distributing evenly. Bake until the top is browned and filling is bubbling, about 20 minutes. Let stand at least 10 minutes before serving.

This dessert is just dying to be served a la mode...but I suppose that might spoil the healthiness. I can vouch for it as being fantastically delicious on its own. Either way, enjoy!

Roasted Veggie Salad with Baked Cheese

In an effort to eat more sustainably, I've been shopping at the farmers market on a more regular basis. In fact, the bulk of my produce comes from the Mar Vista farmers market. I know a lot of people (my former self included) think farmers markets are too expensive and will end up costing them more than shopping at the supermarket. And depending on the supermarket they are referring to, they might be right. But the quality of the produce you get is so much higher, and its impact on the planet is so much lower. Not to mention you're supporting local farmers, and you actually get to interact with the people who grow your food. In my opinion, it's definitely worth it.

All of the produce featured in this meal came from my local farmers market. Spring has hit early this year, friends, and there is a wealth of amazing produce available right now. I owe my mother an apology, as she said she had bought wonderful asparagus recently and I pointed out that it's not in season yet. Well, lo and behold, our local farmers had gorgeous asparagus on Sunday, and I bought some. (Sorry, Mum.) I guess Puxatawney Phil didn't see his shadow...or whatever the one is that means spring is going to start.

This salad is simple, and showcases the natural flavor of the vegetables that develops when they are roasted. All the more reason to buy excellent quality produce at your local farmers market.

For the cheese, I used Gruyere. The original recipe called for goat cheese, which would be lovely as well. Just make sure you use a boldly flavored cheese to jazz up the salad a bit.

Roasted Veggie Salad with Baked Cheese
adapted from Everyday with Rachael Ray
serves 2

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 small head of cauliflower, florets cut into bite sized pieces
1 bunch slender asparagus, trimmed
2 large carrots, peeled
2 tablespoons EVOO
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup almonds, finely ground
about 4 ounces (give or take) of flavorful cheese, cut into reasonably sized chunks or rounds
1 orange, peel and pith discarded, sliced into 1/4-inch rounds
1 tablespoon quality balsamic vinegar

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat toaster oven (or oven) to 450. Place cauliflower, carrots, and asparagus on a foil-lined baking sheet. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon EVOO and season with salt and pepper. Toss to coat fairly evenly. Roast for 10 minutes, until asparagus is cooked and all veggies are starting to brown. Remove from oven and set aside to cool.

2. Place ground almonds in a shallow bowl. Pour 1 tablespoon EVOO onto a plate. Coat each piece of cheese with EVOO (reserving whatever oil is left) and then the ground almonds, covering the cheese completely. Bake on a foil-lined baking sheet in the still-hot oven for 3-4 minutes. If cheese starts to melt, remove it as soon as it is warmed.

3. Divide roasted vegetables and orange rounds between two plates. Drizzle each plate with the reserved oil and 1/2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar. Top with the baked cheese pieces.

This is an elegant dish that even veggie skeptics should enjoy. And it is surprisingly filling.

Enjoy!

Easy Marinara Sauce

I've posted a marinara recipe before, but this is one I can highly recommend as an incredibly easy, quick, and delicious go-to. If you're going to make pasta, lasagna, pizza, anything that requires (or prefers) a hearty tomato sauce, this is the sauce to throw together.

I've also included a serving suggestion - meatball subs! That's what we used this sauce for. (Well, part of it, anyway). We used spicy chicken asiago meatballs that we got at Costco and put them on beautiful demi baguettes that I picked up at the farmers market, topped with some grated mozzarella. They were delicious! And here's a peek:









This recipe comes from the almost-always-reliable Ellie Krieger - I tweaked it a bit to give it a tad more umph. So add this one to the file, or you can memorize it. And use it the next time you want to make something delicious and easy that is still at least semi-homemade.

Easy Marinara Sauce
adapted from Ellie Krieger's "The Food You Crave"
makes about 2 cups of sauce

INGREDIENTS:

2 teaspoons EVOO
1 small onion (or 1/2 large onion), finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes (preferably organic)
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh oregano (or 1 teaspoon dried)
1 bay leaf
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

1. Heat EVOO over medium heat in a medium saucepan. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook 1 more minute.

2. Add crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, oregano, bay leaf, and red pepper flakes. Cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until thickened (about 20 minutes). Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Use as you see fit! Store leftovers for a few days in a tightly sealed container in the fridge.