Day 359: Most Nutritious Dish Ever?

Recently, I read that kale is the most nutritious vegetable out there so I've been determined to try to prepare it.  Those stiff, tough leaves have always intimidated me at the farmer's market, but this weekend I decided to give it a go.

I found a recipe for kale and beans on Epicurious and followed it with the following exceptions, per some reviews from people who had prepared it before:  1/2 cup of chicken stock instead of a full cup, 5 cloves of garlic instead of 3, and 2 tsp of sherry vinegar instead of 1.  If you're looking for a hearty vegetarian meal, simply replace the chicken stock with veggie broth and you're sure to enjoy this dish.

I served the kale and beans over some lemony steamed quinoa - another super food that seems to have become a buzz ingredient lately.  Quinoa is a whole grain that packed a protein punch.  I've tried making quinoa lots of different ways and this is my favorite, as it's always light and fluffy.

Boil water in medium sized pot.

Rinse quinoa under cold water and place in boiling water for 10 minutes.

Drain quinoa in a metal strainer.

Bring a couple of inches of water to a boil in the pot and place the strainer over the top.

Cover strainer with a dish towel and then the pot lid.

Steam quinoa for 10 minutes.

Remove pot from the heat and remove the lid, leaving the towel in place.

Let quinoa sit for 5 minutes and then flush with a fork.

You can use quinoa as you would rice or couscous, plating saucy foods over the top.  Or, you can toss it with olive oil and the juice and zest of a lemon for a light, zesty side dish.  This is what I did tonight, scooping the kale and bean mixture over the top.  I found the freshness provided by the lemon really lifted up the overall dish.  The way I look at it, kale + quinoa = possibly the most nutritious dish ever!

The (animal) protein that I choose to serve tonight was lamb chops.  I seasoned the rack with S&P and browned it in a pan with hot olive oil.  I then transferred the rack to a baking sheet, coated it with a mixture of minced garlic, finely chopped rosemary, and olive oil, and baked it in the oven at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes.  Admittedly, I overdid it a bit.  It was still flavorful and juicy, but lamb should be served medium-rare and mine was medium-well.  This is a result of my desperate fear of poisoning my husband - I figure better overdone than underdone.

All in all - a very successful meal.  The kale was a hit, so I plan to purchase it again in the near future.  Any favorite kale preparations?  Please leave a comment with the details.

Day 342: Pretty Pile of Pasta

This beautiful bowl of pasta was a snap to put together and so tasty!  It all started with a package of fresh egg pasta, which only had to boil for 2 minutes!

Rather than sauce, I loaded this pasta with the full flavors of fresh ingredients like heirloom cherry tomatoes, toasted pine nuts, chopped basil, and lots of grated parmesan cheese.

I tossed a pound of cherry tomatoes with about 2T olive oil, 3 cloves minced garlic, and S&P and laid it all out in a single layer in a glass baking dish.  This roasted at 350 degrees for about 30 hour - until the tomatoes began to burst.

Another 4 cloves of minced garlic was sauteed with 3T olive oil and a few shakes of red pepper flakes over low heat for about 5 minutes, until the garlic was softened and mellowed out.

In a separate pan, 3T of pine nuts were carefully toasted over low heat.

When everything was ready, I cooked up the pasta (2 minutes!), drained it, and returned it to the pot.  I then added the tomatoes, garlic/olive oil, and nuts to the pot with it, along with about 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese.  Taste and add S&P as you feel is necessary.  

Serve, sprinkle a good dose of freshly chopped basil over the top, and enjoy!

Day 310: Asparagus & Peas Part 1

It's asparagus season and I just can't get enough of it this year!  I grill it, I roast it, I throw it into pasta.  There are a million great ways to eat asparagus.  Tonight I made it into soup!

Ingredients:

2 pounds fresh asparagus, ends removed and stems cut into 2-inch pieces

1 shallot bulb, cut into large pieces

6 spring of fresh thyme

Small box or bag of frozen peas, defrosted

2 14-ounce cans of chicken broth (or vegetable broth to make a vegetarian version)

High quality olive oil

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Toss asparagus, shallot, and thyme with 1T olive oil and a generous dose of S&P.  Lay veggies out in a single layer on a non-stick baking sheet (coated with non-stick spray) and roast for 15 minutes.  

Allow the veggies to cool for a couple of minutes and then place the asparagus and shallot pieces in a food processor (do not include the thyme).  Add defrosted peas and puree everything together.  Stop occasionally and scrape down the side of the bowl with a spatula.  

Once you have a consistent puree, transfer vegetable mixture to a medium sized pot.  Add broth and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.  

Run soup through a very fine strainer, pressing gently to separate the liquid from the solid.  Return the liquid to a pot and simmer for a few minutes.  Ladle soup into bowls and drizzle some high quality olive oil over the top.

I paired a bowl of soup with a spicy tuna roll (store bought) and a glass (or two) of sauvignon blanc.  What a great, fresh and refreshing meal!

I refrigerated the soup solids and plan to use them later this week, either as a ravioli stuffing or mixed with some pasta.  It could also be used as a brushetta topping or if mixed with some sour cream, as a dip for fresh veggies.  These fresh flavors are just too good to throw away, so I'll find something tasty to do with them!

Day 270: Don't Read a Book by Its Cover

If you look at my last several blog entries, it seems like I'm on a health kick or that I've gone all pescatarian on you.  Fish for dinner four nights in a row!!  

But if you knew what else went into my pie hole these past few days, you would be horrified!!  Mac & cheese!  BBQ!  Salami!  

It should have come as no surprise tonight when I could barely muster up an appetite, even after a visit to the gym.  Never one to skip a meal, I decided to saute a bunch of veggies from my fridge:  a bunch of asparagus, a handful of snowpeas, and half a red bell pepper.  For flavor, I added a few cloves of minced garlic, 1/4 of an onion, a couple of shakes of red pepper flakes, and S&P.  After the veggies were cooked (I like mine rather al dente), I added about a tablespoon of minced fresh parsley, a few sprinkled of toasted sesame seeds, and a couple of sprinkles of balsamic vinegar.

Veggie mania will need to continue throughout the rest of this week to help me out of this "I'm such a whale syndrome".  If you have a favorite healthy veggie recipe, please share it!

Day 258: Seriously. What's Going on With Me?

A vegetarian dinner for the third night in a row?  What the hell is going on with me??

I went to the gym after work and took a crazy "ultra conditioning" class that totally kicked my butt.  Afterwards, all I wanted was a fresh, crisp salad.  I bought a pre-made one at the grocery store, along with some white bean salad that I adore.  Huge white beans are mixed with olive oil, chopped bell peppers, and herbs.  Yum.

Of course, I paired this healthy meal with a nice big glass of red wine.  A girl's gotta live somehow!

Day 256: Can't Get Enough...Soy??

Tonight's dinner, wok sauteed vegetables and tofu with brown rice, may be one of my oddest choices yet, for two reasons.

1 - I am not vegetarian and although I don't DISlike it, I am not particularly fond of tofu.

2 - I've just concluded a work project that was all about soy.  I should be sick of this stuff!!

But, for some reason, I saw this dish on the Buddha's Belly menu and just had to have it.  Unfortunately, although the veggies were fresh, delicious, and perfectly cooked, overall the dish lacked flavor.  A dollop of hot sauce and a couple of dashes of soy sauce and that problem was resolved.

The highlight of this meal was that it took place in LA with two of my very good girlfriends.  It's always nice when you can combine a business trip with some girly bonding.

Day 214: Pesky Cilantro - It's Back!!

We are still at Tiskita Jungle Lodge, so here we are at 6:30 having dinner with the other guests. Last night's entry explains the mealtime drill at the lodge.

Our meal was a surprising one tonight, as I hadn't expected to have lasagne while in Costa Rica. Like last night, our dinner started with a bowl of soup - this one was tomato based. Fresh tomatoes had been used, crushed and mixed with other finely minced veggies and lots of cilantro (see last night's entry for my feelings about that ingredient!).

Then, we had a salad of chopped tomatoes, celery, carrots, hearts of palm, and - wait for it - cilantro!!! I madly love hearts of palm and so gobbled up the salad despite that pesky herb. The lasagna was vegetarian, with large chunks of broccoli and other tasty fresh veggies and a pretty strong but delicious cheese melted on top. This was the first dish served at Tiskita that did not include cilantro, so I warmly welcomed and devoured every bite!

Day 205: Sunday Night Splurge

If you're here for lowfat, healthy recipes then don't bother with this entry!!  This one is loaded with cheese and butter and therefore, is scrumptious!!

This recipe for artichoke ravioli is one of my favorites from Epicurious.com.  You can click on that first link for the details because I followed them exactly, with only these exceptions:

1 - Rather than frozen artichokes, I used canned and was careful to squeeze out as much of the liquid as possible.

2 - Instead of making my own pasta, I used wonton wrappers.  This saves A LOT of time.

This was the second time I made this recipe and I realized that this could be done as a lasagna or as stuffed shells and it would be a lot less work.  I'll try that next time.  I had a fair amount of the artichoke mixture left and plan to use it as a stuffing for chicken breast later this week.

And no splurge is complete without dessert!  For that, I picked up some tiny fruit tarts and amaretti cookies from Emporio Rulli, our neighborhood purveyor of delicious Italian baked goods and caffeinated goodness.

Hey, diets start on Monday, right?

Day 202: Give Cheese a Chance

Tonight I had a serious craving for carbs.

Rather than pasta, I boiled up some whole grain udon noodles.  I like the Eden brand, which you can find at many supermarkets these days.  These wheat and brown rice noodles are a lot lighter than most whole wheat or whole grain Italian pasta both in texture and in flavor and are packed with protein (8 grams per serving!).  They also seem to be kinder on the old digestive system than a lot of those whole grain pastas tend to be.

The first thing I did was toss a pint of sweet orange pear tomatoes with olive oil (just enough to coat), dried oregano, and S&P.  I poured this mixture into a glass baking dish and roasted it at 400 degrees until the tomatoes burst (10-15 minutes).  If pear tomatoes aren't readily available, you can replace them with some nice vine ripened red tomatoes.  Just cut them in half and roast them cut side up.

While the tomatoes were roasting, I boiled my pasta and drained it when it was just al dente.

I also heated up 1/4 cup of olive oil and 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes on low heat.  Once warm, I added five cloves of finely chopped garlic and cooked the mixture for a few minutes.  The garlic should soften up and mellow out but NOT brown.

While this was happening, I grated about 2 oz of parmesan cheese.

The final step is to combine everything in your pasta pot:  cooked noodles, roasted tomatoes and any juice that cooked out, the olive oil and garlic mixture, and the cheese.  Mix everything together gently and cook until it's at the desired temperature.  Sprinkle some more cheese over the top before serving.

You know I always need my greens, so I just steamed a bunch of broccoli to have on the side.

This was a yum meal and really satisfied my carb craving without making me feel like I had gone off the deep end nutrition-wise.  Also, if you're a meat eater, you won't miss it a bit in this vegetarian meal.  And if you do, just add more cheese.  There are no problems that more cheese cannot solve!

Day 199: Ignore This Entry

Dinner today was...not good.  Well, the side dish was delicious but since it involved a seasoning packet, I don't feel that I can really take credit for that.  

Arora Creations makes delicious Indian spice blends that you can find at Whole Foods and other supermarkets.  My favorite is the Punjabi Chhole, which is added to chickpeas, fresh tomatoes, ginger, and onion for a full flavored, spicy dish that could easily be enjoyed as a main course rather than as a side.  Especially if what you prepared for your main dish tastes like crap.

I went against all of my better judgement and experience tonight and purchased fish on a holiday Monday.  This was a bad idea because it was definitely not at its freshest since the store likely had not had a delivery on Sunday or Monday.  I wouldn't go so far as to say that the fish was bad - it definitely wasn't - but the texture was just off and it tasted fishier than fresh halibut normally does.

Obviously, this was all very disappointing, but hey - not all 365 days can be winners.  Better luck tomorrow!

Day 195: What the...?

I had grand plans for cooking up some fish tonight, but when I got to the store, the butcher area had closed early.  I was so surprised and with no back-up plan, I left empty handed wondering, "What the...?"

By the time I got home I had gathered my thoughts and decided to cook one dish and order in the rest.  Over the weekend, I had purchased a bag of snowpeas at Trader Joe's.  I sauteed them with some other simple ingredients I had in the fridge and the outcome was yummy:

Ingredients:

1 lb snowpeas

1 T olive oil

1 heaping T of minced ginger

3 cloves of garlic, minced

2 T white wine

Juice of 1/2 a lemon

1 scallion, thinly sliced

Add oil to a large non-stick skillet and heat up on medium-low heat.  Once hot, add ginger and garlic and saute, stirring frequently for a couple of minutes.

Add snowpeas and wine and mix everything up.  Turn heat to medium-high and cook for about 10 minutes, mixing from time to time to ensure all peas get cooked and none of them burn.  

Once the liquid has evaporated and the peas are cooked to your liking, add lemon juice and stir.  Turn the heat off, add the scallion, toss, and serve.

I supplemented my snowpeas with a take-out order of prawns and mango from the awesome and amazing Country Sky around the corner.  

Turns out, it wasn't such a bad thing that the butcher called it a day early today.  Why cook when someone can cook for you?

Day 116: Surprise! It's Vegetarian!

I normally do not feel satisfied if my dinner doesn't include some kind of animal protein.  Thus, the surprise that I made something totally vegetarian tonight - and it was hearty, filling, and delicious!

This dish was inspired by The Balboa Cafe, one of my favorite neighborhood restaurants.  The Bal has a pasta special each day.  Every day is different, but they often include roasted tomatoes.

This weekend I picked up a pint of "micro tomatoes" at Whole Foods.  I sampled one in the store and just couldn't resist the sweet juicy pop between my teeth.  The dish I made tonight featured those yummy tomatoes.

I pre-heated the oven to 375 and set a pot of water on the stove to boil.

Then, I laid the tomatoes out in a single layer in rectangular glass baking dish.  I drizzled them with a healthy dose of olive oil, sprinkled salt, ground pepper, and dried oregano over the top, and then tossed it together to make sure every tomato had been touched with the oil and seasonings.  Then I returned them to an even single layer and slipped the dish into the oven.  They baked until they started to burst - about 15 minutes for these little guys - but it will depend on how large the tomatoes are.

While the tomatoes are roasting and the pasta is cooking, I sauteed 4 cloves of finely minced garlic in olive oil over low heat.  If you like spicy food like I do, try this tip - while the oil is heating up, shake some red pepper flakes into the oil and allow their heat and flavor to infuse the oil.

Drain the pasta, reserving 3-4 tablespoons of the water it cooked in.  Return the pasta and the reserved water to the pot and gently mix in the tomatoes (and all of the juices/oil from the baking dish) and sauteed garlic.

Before serving, grate some parmesan and finely slice up some fresh basil leaves and sprinkle both over the top.  Delish!!!

It may sound involved, but this dish took less than 30 minutes from start to eating.  Add in the fact that it included yummy fresh produce and healthy whole wheat pasta and you have a dinner that you can be really proud of.  Enjoy!

Day 103: Almost as Good as Being There

Okay - to be honest, it’s almost almost as good as being there. The food is authentic and as fresh and delicious as any you would find in Athens or Santorini. But without the bright white buildings, the black sand beaches, and the stray dogs and cats, I supposed I can’t say that it is really almost like being there. But I digress...

Tonight’s dinner took place at Mezes, our phenomenal neighborhood Greek outpost. We started with the assorted vegetarian appetizer plate pictured above. Beginning with the pita triangles on the left and going clockwise: melitzanosalata (eggplant dip, sort of like babaganoush), beets & beet greens, dolmathes (grape leaves stuffed with rice), gigantes (baked white beans in tomato), spanakopita (spinach & feta in crispy phyllo dough), feta cheese, zucchini cakes, tzatziki (yogurt cucumber dip).

After that, we shared the Horiatiki (greek salad), which is such a simple thing but it never ceases to amaze me how ridiculously delicious it is: tomatoes, cucumbers, green peppers, purple onions, feta cheese, dried oregano, oil, and vinegar. It’s magical.

We also shared an order of lamb sausage - seasoned heavily with oregano with fresh lemon juice squeezed over the top - this dish is pure yum.

Finally, we shared dessert. Mezes’ galaktoboureko can bring tears to your eyes it’s so good. Phyllo dough is baked with custard inside and is served on a dish with sweet honey sauce. I’m doing a terrible job of describing it. You just have to try it for yourself next time you see it on a Greek restaurant’s menu.

I love Greek food and have been fortunate enough to have been to Greece twice. I think it’s probably going to be awhile before my third visit, so thank goodness for Mezes!