Cool Finds

Trader Joe's had this cool brussel sprout stalk on special for $2.99. It yielded around 50 brussel sprouts, and it was AMAZING. 

This is roped garlic that a very wonderful person gave me after going to a garlic festival. It makes me think of my nonna, which is an added bonus to the fact that the garlic should last until April this way. 

Grilled Squash

The Ingredients

1 butternut squash

1 garlic clove

several sprigs of parsley

extra virgin olive oil

salt

red pepper flakes

In Napoli we eat a ton of squash and pumpkin. I wanted to taste something familiar that my mom made for me over the summer that was oh-so-tasty. So, I chopped up some acorn squash and went to town!

First, chop the squash into small chunks. In a grill pan, add enough olive oil to coat the bottom. Let the squash cook for 5 minutes on each side- enough to make some beautiful grill marks. Season with some salt and pepper. Then, dice some garlic and add it to the mixture. It will add some great flavor. Top it with some parsley and enjoy! So delicious! 

NOTE: You can actually preserve the squash "sott'olio" or "under oil" in a jar with these ingredients, so this version is quick, easy, and delicious! 

Vegan Cream of Celery Soup

The Ingredients

1 large celery stalk

1/2 white onion

1 cup of raw, unsalted cashews

2 tbsp yeast flakes

1 tbsp coconut oil

salt

pepper

kale chips (optional)

First, make some delicious cashew cream. I fill a bowl of cashews (1 cup) with water and let that sit overnight. The cashews get soft enough that they become a delicious cream when blended for a few minutes. Make sure the water is added to make the mixture as creamy as it can be. Set the cashew cream aside. Dice the onion and throw into a pan with some coconut oil. Let cook for a few minutes until almost caramelized. Set aside.

Throw the cashew cream into the blender. Cut the celery into small chunks and throw into the cashew cream. Then, add the onion and blend. Add the yeast flakes. Yeast flakes are a recent discovery of mine and I am so glad I found about this nutritious, cheesy (but not so cheesy) addition to many vegan dishes. Blend until the mixture is smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste and heat up in a saucepan. Kale chips add a tasty, nutritious crunch! Enjoy!

sans kale chips 

I actually stirred the kale chips in because they were so tasty in there! 

Corn and Okra Maque Choux

The Ingredients

1/2 white onion

1 tomato

16 oz. bag cut frozen okra

1 can of corn

1 red pepper 

2 chicken sausages

1 tbsp olive oil

paprika

cayenne pepper

saffron

salt

pepper

I had purchased some frozen okra on a whim because it was on sale at one of my favorite supermarkets. Then, I realized that I had very little ideas of what to do with it. I looked up some "southern" recipes because I knew okra was frequently used in that type of cuisine. That's when I encountered maque choux and was very intrigued by it. The recipe below is my take on a recipe I saw online- sans butter, and with a healthier sausage alternative. 

Thaw the okra and set aside. Dice the red pepper and also set aside into a bowl. Dice the white onion and put into a pan with enough olive oil to coat the bottom. Throw in the tomato and red pepper and let cook for a few minutes until the tomato is juicy and onions caramelized. The pepper should also look like it has softened up. Chop the sausages into 6-8 pieces and add into the mix. I used a roasted garlic, all-natural chicken sausage. Add the corn and okra. Season with salt, pepper, and spices to taste. BAM! (In the words of Emeril Lagasse)

Enjoy! 

Corn Cakes

The Ingredients

1 can corn

1 cup flour

1/2 cup panko bread crumbs

1/2 cup water

1/4 cup diced red onion

2 tbsp olive oil

adobo

Add all ingredients into a food processor. The consistency should be like pancake batter. Lightly coat a pan and cook for a few minutes on each side, until golden-brown. Enjoy!

Sun-dried Tomato Hummus

The Ingredients

1 can garbanzo beans

8 sun-dried tomatoes

1/2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

2 cloves of garlic

2.5 tbsp tahini

Use a food processor to mix all ingredients. You do not need to use salt because of the sun-dried tomatoes. Add red pepper flakes to taste. Enjoy! 

Power Green Juice

The Ingredients

1 kiwi

1 lime

1 cucumber

2 celery stalks

small ginger root

Juice and enjoy! The vitamin C in this will really give you some great energy. 

Organic ingredients, but kiwi is on the low end of pesticides, so it is also OK to get non-organic. 

Green giant. 

Smoked Salmon Pasta

The Ingredients

1/2 package whole wheat fusilli pasta

1/2 small pack of wild smoked salmon

1 tbsp capers

1 lemon (zest and juice)

1/4 cup yellow onion

2 roma tomatoes

1 tbsp olive oil (just enough to coat the bottom of a pot)

pepper

In one pot, boil some generously salted water and cook pasta. Once cooked, set aside. You can use the same pot for the "sauce" preparation. 

First, coat the bottom with some olive oil. Then, chop your onions and add them to the oil. They should sizzle. Let them get translucent. Then, add capers and diced tomatoes. Note that you do NOT need to salt this dish, as the capers and smoked salmon already do that for you. Add lemon juice from 1 lemon, and use zest of that same lemon to add some more flavor. Add pepper to taste. Then, add the pasta. Chop the smoked salmon into small pieces and add to the mixture. You do not need to cook it- just add it into the pot. The last thing you want is for it's texture to change. 

Enjoy! 

Lemon Vanilla Meringues

The Ingredients

3 egg whites

1/2 c sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

zest of 1 lemon

lemon juice (1 lemon)

Note: if you don't want to waste your egg yolks, set them aside. You can use them for delicious hollandaise sauce for eggs benedict. 

Combine all ingredients into a bowl. If you want to get fancy, you can fold the other ingredients into the egg whites. Use a standing mixer to mix ingredients until the egg whites have stiff peaks. They should still stick to the mixer like this:

Bake for 3 hours at 200 degrees. Enjoy! 

Ready to be baked

Baking time

They should be baked for about 3 hours at 200 degrees. The trick is to cook them "low and slow." I read that often the oven door can be propped open with a wooden spoon (which I did). Next time, I may try this with my dehydrator! The texture on these is amazing, and the vanilla and lemon really work well together. 

Light, sugary nom noms

Not the prettiest, but they are amazing! 

Italian-style drumsticks w/ pepper parmesan dressing

Italian-style drumsticks

6 drumsticks

1 lemon

2 tbsp butter

2 cloves of garlic

2 tbsp port (yes, port)

salt

10 peppercorns

thyme

rosemary

sage

Italian breadcrumbs

I had a craving for wings one day, but then decided I was going to do something a little different. Maybe I just had a craving for chicken (?). There are a few steps to the process, but it isn't very hard to follow. Anyway, here is my recipe...

First, place the drumsticks into a container. I covered them completely with water and added 2 whole cloves of garlic, port, salt, peppercorns, thyme, rosemary, and sage. I would have added red wine vinegar was well, but the port not only adds some sweetness, and it adds that acidity as well. I let the drumsticks sit for around 4 hours to really soak up the brine and flavor the drumsticks. 

Remove the drumsticks and discard the water. Place the chicken into a baking pan/casserole dish and top with more sage, rosemary, thyme, lemon juice, and dredge in Italian breadcrumbs. The lemon juice helps a lot with letting the breadcrumbs adhere to the chicken. Then, top with some butter and pepper. Note: you will not need salt since the brine is salty and it penetrates the chicken quite nicely. Bake for 30 minutes at 375 degrees. Enjoy! 

Chillin' in the brine

The beautiful top layer of herbs and spices

Ready for breadcrumbing

Ready for baking

Perfectly golden brown and ready to eat

Close-up time. Super juicy! Baked lemon also tastes delicious! 

Pepper Parmesan Dressing

1/4 c Greek yogurt

1 tbsp mayonnaise

truffle salt

2 tbsp grated parmesan cheese

1 tsp black pepper

I served this with my chick and some delicious, organic veggies 

Ro-ta-to

The Ingredients

1 potato

salt

pepper

butter

I was inspired by a twist potato I ate in Italy 1.5 years ago and recently saw it come up on my newsfeed. That's when I said that I HAD to make this delicious baked potato. It's a great "twist" on an all-time favorite! The trick is in the cutting- make sure you cut the potato just enough to expose the deliciousness inside but without cutting all the way through. You want it to be intact so that as it cooks it opens up more, ready for you to eat it! Add salt, pepper, and butter to taste and voilà:

I served it on the side of some broiled salmon with garlic-lemon yogurt sauce, and sautéed haricots verts with some parmesan. Delicious! 

Cod Cooked in Parchment Paper

I was inspired by this recipe by the AMAZING Ina Garten but put my own spin on it: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/herb-roasted-fish-recipe/index.html

The Ingredients

2 filets of codfish

1 lemon 

8 large green olives

2 tsp capers

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

kosher salt

pepper

First cut your parchment paper and lay your filets down separately. Top them off with juice from the lemon and slice the lemon thinly. You will use this for garnish and some extra flavor when baking. Throw the olives into the parchment alongside the filet, as well as some capers. Add a few capers and top with olive oil, salt, and pepper to taste. Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes. Enjoy!

Pre-parchment

Baking time!

Ready to devour

Gluten-Free, Flourless Coconut Macaroons

The Ingredients

2 cups almond meal

2 cups almond milk

1 egg

1/2 cup coconut butter

1/4 cup apple sauce

1/2 cup sugar

2 tbsp ground flax

Pre-baking

Ready to eat! 

Chickpea and Potato Soup

The Ingredients

1 can garbanzo beans, strained

4 potatoes, peeled

3 pieces of bacon

1/3 large white onion

2 roma tomatoes

olive oil (to coat the bottom of a pan)

2 ice trays of veggie stock

4 c water

salt

pepper

rosemary

thyme

I grew up eating a lot of chick peas, either with pasta or in a soup. The recipe below is the same one I have eaten many times thanks to my mother. The only change is that I added thyme. 

First, strain a can of garbanzo beans and set aside. Clean and peel 4 potatoes. Cube them into small pieces so 3 can easily fit onto a teaspoon/are just slightly larger than chickpeas. This is a sure-fire way to guarantee you get a few with each bite! Set aside the cubed potato pieces. Dice 2 roma tomatoes so they are similar in size to the other ingredients. Set aside. Dice 1/3 of a large white onion. This should yield about 1/4 cup. 

Lightly coat a pan with olive oil. When heated, throw on the onions so you hear that delicious sizzle. They should become translucent within a few minutes. As they are cooking, cut 3 pieces of bacon into small pieces a little smaller than chickpeas. When the onions have cooked down, add the bacon to the pan and cook for a few more minutes. Set aside. It should look like this:

Add two ice trays of veggie stock. I use my own, which I freeze and take out when needed. Then, throw in the bacon and onion mixture, potatoes, and tomatoes. Add 3 cups of water, some salt and pepper to taste, and a dash of rosemary and thyme. Both these herbs are extremely flavorful, but can be bitter if too much is used. Since the garbanzo beans are already cooked, they can be added to the crockpot once the potatoes are al dente. Keep on high heat for 2-3 hours.   

The smokiness of the bacon adds some great flavor, and the potatoes thicken up the mixture. So hearty and delicious on a snow day :).



Serious nom noms.

Cranberry Yogurt Muffins

The Ingredients

1/4 cup ground flax

1 c flour

1 c almond meal

1/2 c sugar

1 c cranberries

1/2 c Greek yogurt

1 tsp baking powder

Combine all ingredients into a bowl and mix well. It should be a nice, thick batter. The Greek yogurt and almond meal make these super moist. Butter a muffin tin and pour the mixture halfway up the indentation. Bake for 12-15 minutes at 350 degrees, or until golden brown. They are quite delicious and  surprisingly filling with the extra protein from the Greek yogurt. Yum!

11 small muffins, or 10 smaller ones

Delicious! 

Savory Mustard and Scallion Scones

The Ingredients

1 c all-purpose flour

1 c white whole wheat flour

2 scallions, chopped

1 c Greek yogurt

4 tbsp cold butter

flax seed sprinkles

1 tsp salt

2 tsp dijon mustard

2 tbsp whole grain dijon mustard

1 tbsp baking powder

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Mix all dry ingredients into a bowl and set aside. In a separate bowl, add greek yogurt, mustards, and butter. Make sure the butter is cold! Throw the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix well. The butter should be in small pieces that are somewhat consistent in size. This should now look like a dough that is cohesive. The Greek yogurt is an excellent binder of ingredients and helps get a moister texture. Also, this would be delicious with cheddar cheese, but I decided to just stick with the butter and not add too much more fat in there. 

Butter a baking sheet or parchment paper. Bake for 20 minutes at 425 degrees, until brown. Enjoy!

The dough

Cut and ready to bake

Golden brown deliciousness

Close-up 

Chicken Noodle Soup

The Ingredients

2 carrots

1 celery heart

1/2 white onion

1 lb chicken thighs

full ice tray of veggie stock cubes

salt

pepper

1/2 container egg noodles or pappardelle pasta

First, peel and dice two carrots. Set them aside. (I used multicolored organic ones from Trader Joe's to add some more color to the meal). Then, chop the celery heart into pieces that are similar in size to the carrots. Set this aside as well. Dice the onion and also set this aside. In a crockpot, add an entire ice tray of veggie stock cubes. Throw in the diced carrot, celery, and onion. Take one pound of chicken thighs and throw them into the mixture. Then, add enough water to cover all the ingredients. Your crockpot should be on high heat. Cover the mixture. When the chicken is thoroughly cooked, take it out of the crockpot. (This should take 20 minutes if it is on high heat). The chicken was added to the mixture for an additional chicken broth taste, but it should be cubed up so that it is similar in size to the rest of the ingredients. The last thing you want is big chicken pieces and little to no veggies or vice versa! Throw the chicken cubes back in and add salt and pepper to taste. Then, add egg noodles and cook on high heat for another 10 minutes. Enjoy this hearty soup on a cold day!

Chopped mirepoix

Hearty and delicious.

Salad with Pomegranate & Dijon dressing

The Salad Ingredients

1 package baby spinach, kale, and chard mix (I used Trader Joe's organic mix)

arnils from one pomegranate

1/2 cup sliced almonds

The Dressing Ingredients

1 tbsp honey

juice of 1lemon

2 tbsp Dijon mustard

1 tbsp mayo

paprika

Here is this beauty:

Lemon Vanilla Chia Pudding

The Ingredients

1/2 cup chia seeds

2 1/2 cups almond milk (unsweetened)

1 tbsp honey

zest of half a lemon

lemon juice (from half a lemon)

1 tsp vanilla extract

Combine all ingredients and leave in the fridge for at least 4 hours. The finished product will be of a tapioca pudding-like consistency. Enjoy!

NOM NOM

Here it is topped with some pomegranate seeds 

Mashed Peas

The Ingredients

1 tbsp olive oil

1/4 diced white onion

1/2 bag frozen peas

salt

coriander

cumin

red pepper chili flakes

I adore the mashed peas from Nando's Peri Peri and decided to make them myself. Here's my recipe:

First, thaw out the frozen peas by boiling them for a few minutes. Drain them and set them aside. Then, coat the bottom of a pot with olive oil. Dice 1/4 of a white onion and throw it into the oil. Let it caramelize and become translucent. Add salt and spices to taste. Use a masher to break the peas up. Delicious!



Pre-mashing



Post-mashing