Food In Many Forms

When the farm share starts in June, one of the first things we always get is lots of greens - salad greens, spinach, cabbage, kale, rainbow chard. Some of the more exotic ones are a hard sell in my house - I was enjoying rainbow chard in omelets, and sauteed in olive oil, but I couldn't inspire any enthusiasm for it. The end of the season also brings lots of greens, so I had an opportunity to try again. This recipe, inspired by Martha Stewart and the New York Times, makes Swiss chard a bit more palatable, without the elaborate assembly that lasagna normally requires. INGREDIENTS 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 1 medium red onion, coarsely chopped 1 pound Swiss chard 5-6 cloves garlic, crushed 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes 1 can whole-peeled tomatoes with juices (do not drain) 8 no-boil lasagna noodles 1-2 cups of fresh whole milk ricotta cheese Salt and pepper to taste DIRECTIONS Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Wash the chard and separate the leaves from the stems. Chop the onio...

Back in 2015, I adapted a curry chicken salad recipe to my own specifications. I left myself a note for the next time that, "it would be interesting to substitute some of the sour cream or mayonnaise for Greek yogurt." So yesterday, I tried out the recipe with Greek yogurt, and twice as many almonds. Still hits the spot! Ingredients 1 1/4 pounds Chicken, cooked and diced 4 whole ribs of organic celery, chopped 1/2 cup sliced almonds 3 Tbsp mayonnaise 3 Tbsp 2% fage greek yogurt 1/3 cup Nut Pods coconut almond milk creamer 1 Tbsp curry powder Salt & pepper, to taste Directions Mix together mayonnaise, Greek yogurt, almond milk creamer, curry powder, salt and pepper until well combined. Combine chicken, celery, and almonds in a large bowl, Pour curry dressing over the top. Fold together with a rubber spatula. Make sure it's all combined, then add more of whatever it needs. Chill for several hours. Serve on lettuce, or with juicy grapes on the s...

I had a mental shift recently. The whole adulting thing is hitting me pretty hard, and although nutrition will always be a concern to me, cost has become a much larger factor in my decision-making a the grocery store. That means shopping at cheaper stores, using coupons, and eating in a whole lot more.  It also means I'm less likely to choose recipes with fancy ingredients I don't have, and more likely to just use what I've got in the pantry. This may be why I have been blogging a lot less - because my meals are so run of the mill and don't always seem worth sharing. But I have an ever-growing pile of recipes that I have carefully annotated.When that pile gets too large, I find myself wanting preserve all that work so I can continue to make my cooking better. Ironically, my grocery bill is 1/3 to 1/2 of what it used to be since I started being more budget conscious, but my restaurant spending is right in line with the typical millenial. According to on...

Monday night, after the gym, I was inspired to pick up some sliced almonds and nonfat Greek yogurt, and make myself a fruit parfait for dinner. It took about 10 minutes to assemble, and it made for a healthy, satisfying dinner. A few Google searches later, I found this recipe for a Chicken, Pesto, Celery, Walnut, and Spinach Wrap . It's just as easy to assemble, and made for plenty of leftovers! Ingredients: 6 Fiber One garden vegetable wraps 1 1/2 pounds rotisserie chicken  4 stalks celery, diced 2 Tbsp pesto 3 cups spinach, fresh 3/4 cup walnuts, chopped Directions: 1) Pull the meat off the rotisserie chicken, remove the skin, and divide it into smaller pieces.  2) Mix the pesto, walnuts, and celery in with the chicken. 3) Sprinkle 1/2 cup spinach on a vegetable wrap and cover with approximately 3 oz chicken 4) Roll it up like a burrito and enjoy! Adapted from:  http://www.fitnessmagazine.com/recipes/quick-recipes/dinner/qui...

The last of the Tortilla Pizzas are baking in my oven, and they look spectacular! I think scallions and tomatoes are the perfect toppings for these little gems, and they toasted up very nicely. I am even considering eating one for breakfast tomorrow morning so I don't have to wait til dinnertime to enjoy them!  Of course, I always end up tweaking the recipe a little bit when I'm making it, mostly if I'm missing ingredients. This time, I left out the chopped onion that was meant to be mixed into the refried beans. Since I only used about half of the refried beans in the can, I'm glad I skipped that step.  Also, since the recipe makes so many servings, I'm testing the stability of the pizzas in the freezer and in the fridge. I'm always looking for new delicious leftover foods! Honey What's Cooking? Mexican Tortilla Pizza Number of Servings: 4  Serving Size: 1 pizza Ingredients Non-stick cooking spray 8 small yellow corn tortillas 1/2 can ref...

I am starting to notice a trend . All the recipes I try that turn out really well are recipes from manufacturers. All the recipes that are so-so are from random people. My dark cherry muffins , spinach & cheese crescents ,   yellow curry chicken , and chocolate scotcheroos were all recipes from the manufacturer of the products I was using. My unfortunate spaghetti squash and my average-tasting lemon cookies, on the other hand, were someone's home-grown recipes. Not to say that all home recipes on the internet are bad, but they just haven't been tested for consistency the way professional recipes are. Also, I'm sure the processed foods (like crescent rolls) are going to taste good no matter what I do with them, but that's another story....  This is an example of yet another manufacturer's recipe that is awesome, awesome, awesome . I NEVER enjoy leftovers, and I thought this quiche recipe tasted even better after I reheated it two days later.  INGREDIENTS 8...

I am the worst when it comes to using leftovers before they go bad. Not because I don't know how, but because I think I have a mental block against food that tastes worse the day after I cook it. Sooo... logically this means I have to make leftovers taste BETTER than they did in order for them to be appealing to me. These green beans were just humble microwavable steamed beans. But after a few days in the fridge, they magically became green bean salad with feta, pecans, garlic-infused olive oil and balsamic vinegar . There was a recipe, but I really just threw stuff on top until I was happy with it. A great lunch to bring to work! I also did I redo of my favorite eggplant dish - Eggplant Caponata - and it was even better today when I had it cold for lunch with some organic blue corn tortilla chips! You have to admit, I'm finally getting the hang of this whole leftovers thing!