Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: granola, lemon zest, muffins, new york times, olive oil, pesto, recipe
Ahh! What a wonderful weekend. I was in Philly for a family tailgate at the Phillies game, which included some hot dogs, lots of beer, and lots more rain. There were about 30 of us total and it was funny to look at the three rows in front of me at the game and realize that I knew everyone sitting in them, haha. We had such a great time!
Once we got back in the late afternoon, we had an early dinner of the black bean enchilada bake and corn salad that I made on Friday. The corn salad was possibly even better after soaking up flavors for a few days in the fridge.
After dinner, I settled in to make a few things for the week. On my list of things to do: pesto, granola, and muffins. The common thread, I decided, between the three would be olive oil. Pesto was easy – I used basil (obviously), parmesan cheese, pine nuts, garlic, ad olive oil. I toss them in the Magic Bullet and play it by ear adding more olive oil as needed. I’ll post a pic when I mix it with some pasta. I love pesto and can’t wait to eat it all week!
Next up was the olive oil granola from the New York Times that I’ve been dying to try. I made many substitutions, only using the recipe as a loose outline. For example, I used almonds and sunflower seeds instead of pistachios and pumpkin seeds. Also, I omit the coconut chips, and I switched the cardamom for ginger and omit the dried fruit. It’s been out of the oven only about 45 minutes and husbo and I have already noshed so much our bellies ache – it is so easy and really really really tasty.
Caution: It may look innocent enough, but it’s dangerously addictive.
Next up? Olive oil muffins. I really just googled “olive oil” muffins and used the recipe that called for 2 eggs (that’s all I had!). So I found this one. Once again, I hijacked the recipe and made many substitutions. I ran out of white flour, so I wound up using only a little more than 1c and using cornmeal for the rest. Besides, I kind of like the texture of cormeal. Also, I added loads of lemon zest – there’s something delicious about olive oil and lemon zest. They baked up perfectly, and I doused them with a bit of confectioner’s sugar.
They are really yummy and the lemon added a really nice vibrance to the muffins. They will be great for breakfast in the morning.
I’m gearing up for the week. I’ll be heading into school tomorrow to set up my classroom and attempt to mentally prepare myself for another school year! I’m not ready for the summer to end yet!
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: csa, dinner, flatbread, fresh veggies, mark bittman, recipe
After coming home last Thursday with our CSA veggie bounty, I tried to use as much as possible for a truly farm-fresh dinner. We had a fresh salad with some balsamic and olive oil. I also made a ragout with summer squash, zucchini, tomatoes, and chickpeas. Rounding out the meal was a homemade flatbread (from Bittman, natch) and some parmesan cheese.
I used the mandoline to slice up the zucchini and squash and tossed it in a pan that already have some garlic and onion sauteeing in olive oil. The veggies cooked down for a few minutes, then I added tomatoes, salt and pepper. Once everything really looked and smelled delish (maybe five minutes), I turned it down to simmer and added the chickpeas.
But oh, the piece de resistance was the flatbread. And because it was a Bittman it was very very simple.
MMM… I love you, flatbread. Here’s Bittman’s recipe. I used 1/2c whole wheat flour and 1/2c regular ole white flour. Also, my little pan was smaller than the one called for so my flatbread was a little less flat, I suppose. Sooo delicious. Please try it – very soon. I have since done many variations including a cornmeal, sugar, and cinnamon for a sweet bread. YUM.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Cooking Light, csa, cucumbers, desserts, granita, recipe, summer
I got 4 cucumbers from my CSA last week. I wanted to try something new and easy. I was thinking of a cold cucumber soup, but I didn’t have any dairy products – which pretty much all the recipes I found called for. So I looked to Cooking Light and found this interesting recipe for granita (and only 2 ingredients)!
A granita is a frozen dessert. Sort of like a slushie, I guess. While ice cream, and sometimes sorbet, contain dairy, a granita is just ice. The Cooking Light recipe is quite simple. First roughly chop the cucumbers. I had to de-seed mine first (see first picture). Next, toss them in a blender or food processor with a little honey to taste. Finally, pour the mixture into cheesecloth and let sit in a bowl in the fridge overnight. Note: I didn’t have cheesecloth. Instead, I put a silicone steamer insert in a bowl, put a paper towel on top, then poured the cucumber on. You can get pretty creative here.
Anyhow, once that has sat overnight, pour the mixture into a container and toss it in the freezer. You can periodically scrape it with a fork so that it does turn into some sort of ice block.
Well, maybe something went horribly wrong… but I wasn’t getting that summery delish dish I was hoping for. I think since I forgot to scrape the mixture every hour or so, it froze a bit too much for that granita consistency that makes it so good. I think I also would have added more sweetener.
I haven’t given up on trying the granita, though. Any tips?
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: black beans, cooking, health, Magic Bullet, nutrition, quick meals, recipe, soup
When I’m in a pinch, or just looking to unload some leftovers, this is the meal I go to. It’s fast, easy, versatile, and delicious (not to mention very good for you). It’s an easy three-step process. It may take a whopping 5 minutes to make. Seriously.
There you have it. My black bean soup. All you need are black beans, salsa, and chicken broth in its most basic form. Add all three (no need to use more than 1/3 or so of the salsa with a whole can of beans) to a blender, food processor, or Magic Bullet (my tool of choice). Mix it up. You can eyeball it to see if you’d like it more creamy or more soupy (for more soupy just add more chicken broth). Then heat and eat. It is super tasty in this barebones form. Note: This would also work w/ veggie broth for any vegetarians out there.
On Tuesday I made this for lunch and added chopped onions and leftover shredded chicken on top. Sometimes I add milk to it, a cheddar cheese cube, or a clove of garlic before I toss it in the Bullet.
I’ve even used other bean combos… like a more Italian-style soup using white beans, garlic, onions, rosemary, and chicken broth. This version is great with some crusty bread. No matter how it’s prepared, it’s always fast tasty, and nutritious.
Are there any delicious easy combos that you’ve come up with in a pinch?
Filed under: People/Person, Produce | Tags: cucumber, health, mark bittman, no-cook meals, nutrition, recipe, vegan, vegetarian
I got a few cucumbers from last week’s CSA pick-up. I turned to How to cook Everything Vegetarian (Mark Bittman) for some suggestions. I settled on this one because I thought it seemed fresh and summery, and (more importantly) I already had all of the ingredients.
Cucumber Salad with Soy and Ginger (vegan)
from How to Cook Everything Vegetarian by Mark Bittman
- 1-1.5 cucumbers (about 3)
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1-inch piece of ginger, minced or grated
- 1 tsp sugar
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
The instructions are pretty basic. Chop up the cucumbers (you may need to seed/salt them). Mix everything together and serve.
I made this dish on Friday, and let it hang out in the fridge. I sent it to work with husby on Monday. He reported back on Monday night that it had become quite pickled over those few days (I should have expected this). Despite that, he likes pickled things and thought it was very tasty. I, however, do not like pickled thing so I would eat this immediately.
I may make this dish again, but I think I’ll try other Bittman recipes with cucumbers first. I’ll also remember to take a picture next time!
Filed under: Produce | Tags: diet, easy, health, nutrition, recipe, summer, summer squash, zucchini
After a wonderful July 4th weekend (finally a few beautiful days here in NYC!), I came home very tired and in need of something easy and healthy after a weekend of picnic food.
I rounded up a bunch of leftovers for this one. Earlier this week I had sauteed some summer squash and zucchini in garlic and olive oil. I also found some whole wheat pizza dough from Whole Foods (really cheap and versatile – good to have on hand). I rolled out the whole wheat dough on cornmeal so it wouldn’t stick. I greased a casserole dish and placed the dough in the bottom. I layered the zucchini/summer squash on top, then chopped up some red peppers (I had one floating in the fridge). To round out the meal, I beat 4 eggs in a bowl and poured them on top and added sea salt and freshly-ground pepper.
I baked the dish at 350 for about 20 minutes, then added some shredded parmesan cheese and put it back in for ten more minutes. With a nice salad and some vino, this turned out to be great meal. Even better, the leftovers were delicious cold for lunch.
Filed under: Product | Tags: diet, hazelnuts, no sugar, nut butter, nutella, recipe
In my effort to incorporate more nuts and nut butters into my diet, I decided to branch out from my usual almond butter/peanut butter rotation. I had some hazelnuts on-hand, and when I think of hazelnuts, I think of the wondrous Nutella. Nutella is this super-delish spread of hazelnuts and chocolate (and sugar and milk, of course). It’s one of those things that I can’t keep in the house. I’d eat it with a spoon.
Anyhow, feeling a little adventurous, I thought I’d try to make my own natural sugar-free version of Nutella. Here goes:
- First, I toasted the hazelnuts. (To toast nuts, just put them in a dry heated saute pan. I kept my on low-medium heat. Shake ‘em around a little and they are done in less than 5 minutes — you can usually smell it.)
- Next, I put the toasted hazelnuts in a dish towel and rubbed it together. This was to remove most of the papery shells.
- I tossed them into my Magic Bullet (a regular food processor probably would have worked better), and poured a little canola oil in. I just eye-balled the amount.
- Give it a spin.
- I noticed it was really chunky – not buttery. I added a little more oil and gave it another spin.
- Keep doing this until you get the desired consistency. Note: mine never got to be “buttery.” It’s still sorta spread-able, definitely soft, and delicious
- I then added a little honey to sweeten and 1tbsp pure cocoa powder. Combine with spoon.
It came out really delicious. I am just storing mine in an old jar in the cabinet. I don’t see any need to refrigerate since it may harden.
As I experiment with more nut butters, etc. I’ll try to post some pics/vid. This one was spur-of-the-moment.
Again, Nutella-lovers, you’re welcome!
