No Mayo Please

April 5th, 2010

Sometimes it necessary to step away and really investigate what you are eating. And although, no one likes to do it willingly, you really do get a sense of what you shouldn’t be putting into your system. Well, on a recent binge of bacon (hey, I had to eat it before it went bad), my body decided to reject me and shut the door in my face. In other words, I felt fat. It’s no wonder I can’t fit into my regular clothes without 1) struggling and 2) praying that I won’t pass out from the lack of circulation to my extremities. So instead of dousing side dishes with fatty, creamy sauces and dressings, I have been substituting everything (as you have seen from my last few posts) with light olive oil based ‘drizzles’. Here’s one of my recent additions to that family. It takes roasted potatoes (to really enhance the flavor of the salad, in general) and a couple of other ingredients to create a mayo-free salad you can take to a nice warm weather BBQ outing.

Recipe : Roasted Potato and Red Pepper Salad

Serves: 2 as a side

Three medium potatoes, peeled and cubed

2 large cloves of garlic, unpeeled

1 to 2 large roasted red peppers, diced

1 large scallion, finely chopped

1/2 tablespoon spicy brown mustard

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

4 tablespoons, fruity extra virgin olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste and season

  • Place potatoes and garlic on a baking sheet. Drizzle olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
  • Roast in a 400 degree oven until golden brown and tender. About 20 – 25 minutes. Toss potatoes around at the halfway mark.
  • In the meantime, place red peppers and scallion in a large serving bowl.
  • Once potatoes are done, place in the bowl with peppers and scallion.
  • Toss to combine.
  • Peel roasted garlic and place in a small bowl. Mash with a bit of salt.
  • Add mustard, vinegar and olive oil with some salt and pepper to create a vinaigrette.
  • Add as much or as little of the vinaigrette as you like to the potatoes. (I usually make more dressing than necessary).
  • Toss to combine.
  • Eat warm, room temperature, or cold!

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A Colorful Nod to Spring

March 22nd, 2010

It is finally here!! After bitchin’ for the last three months about the misery that is winter, spring has arrived with full force and lovely 70 degree weather. I am not only relieved, but I feel myself calming a bit. The sun was much needed after what seemed like non-stop winter storms here in the East coast. I am just overly excited and can’t wait for all the yummy fruits and vegetables that we get to eat in the warmer months. So to celebrate, here’s a recipe that takes little effort and will remind you of what’s to come once we reach the peak of Spring.

Recipe: Corn and Avocado Salad

Serves 2 as a side or 1 if you really want it to

1/2 bag frozen corn

1/2 small red onion, diced

1 small ripe avocado, diced

Juice of 1 lime

Olive oil to drizzle

Salt and pepper to taste

  • In a large skillet, saute red onion in a bit of olive oil until translucent. Season with salt and pepper.
  • Add frozen corn. Saute until a bit golden brown.
  • In a bowl, add avocado, corn, and red onion.
  • Add lime juice and drizzle with olive oil.
  • Toss and add salt and pepper to taste.
  • See….easy, peasy!

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A Little Mental Break Does One Good

March 15th, 2010

I know, I know. It’s been a month since I last posted. And God knows I hate disappointing the three people that read my blog. But you know how life is when all you do is work non-stop. You feel you will either fall asleep at your desk (because really you do deserve a nap in the middle of the day) or drown yourself in your bathtub (and not by accident due to the lack of said naps). Yes, it has been crazy at my day job…the job I must have in order to do what I actually love to do, which is this – cooking and baking and spending my time re-learning how to do both. Oh and of course writing about it. I was so exhausted during a 12 day work week that during my annual review (which occurred during this long string of work days) I broke, mentally that is and started crying like a little girl. It was not pretty. I was stressed, unhappy, and most obviously to my boss, being underpaid. I did get a raise but in other sad news, I am still being underpaid. Working is no fun. If I could I would just drown myself in the bathtub. (I jest, really. I think.) Shoulda. Coulda. Woulda. Oh well.

So I promised that I would begin with a bunch of easy recipes. And being a singleton myself, I am always looking for new ones to add to my repertoire. That being said I bring you a cucumber shrimp salad that takes only twenty minutes to make, give or take a few minutes. Kudos to those who have a fridge and cupboard chock full of handy ingredients because this recipe just became that much easier. Cheers for fast recipes. Without them, I would  just collapse after work and starve. And that is just an ugly way to go.

Recipe: Cucumber Shrimp Salad

Serves 2

6 small frozen shrimp, defrosted

1/2 medium cucumber or whatever

1/2 can of black beans

1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced

Juice and zest of 1 lime

Olive oil to drizzle

Salt and pepper to taste

  • In a small saucepan, add shrimp and water to cover.
  • Bring to boil. Turn off heat. Cover. Let steep as you prepare rest of ingredients.
  • Peel, halve, and de-seed cucumber. Slice in 1/2” half-moons.
  • Add cucumber, onions, black beans to a serving bowl.
  • Add lime juice. Toss to coat.
  • De-shell and if necessary de-vein shrimp (you can buy frozen shrimp de-veined already).
  • Chop into small pieces and add to bowl. Toss to coat.
  • Drizzle with oil olive. Add salt and pepper to taste.
  • Add lime zest. Toss again.
  • Enjoy.

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You want some salad with that dressing?

November 30th, 2009

Mixed Green Salad

I am not really a salad person. If anything I feel a bit of a phony whenever I eat one, only because, afterward, I tend to binge. The thinking behind it being that there is more room in my stomach to be filled with other delicious items, like a 5 lb. bag of sugar or crispy bacon with a side of pancakes. Nonetheless, I decided that I needed to serve my guests salad because, despite my lack of mixed green desire, actual human beings like eating salad, so much so they actually consume big, gigantic bowls of them as whole meals. These people obviously possess a will power I do not have or believe that they are superior than the rest of us.

Apple Honey Dressing

Recipe: ‘I am Better than You’ Mixed Green Salad

Take some spring mix salad and top with toasted pine nuts, dried cherries, feta cheese, and an apple thinly sliced into matchsticks. Dress with my apple honey vinaigrette.

Recipe: Apple Honey Vinaigrette

Makes about 1 cup

One small Empire Apple (or any variety you desire), peeled and chopped

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1 1/2 tablespoons honey

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

Sugar to taste, if needed

  • Blend ingredients in blender or food processor until smooth. Taste for sweetness. Adjust with a bit of sugar if needed.

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Apple Maple Dressing?

November 10th, 2009

I went to Panera a couple of weeks ago and ordered one of their salads. The salad itself was a mess. Wilted lettuce, tomatoes that were a second thought, too much red onion, and pecans. I hate pecans. But the dressing was delicious. Tangy with a touch of sweetness from apple juice. Well, in my pursuit of all things apples during this fall season, I attempted to recreate it and hope to use it for my Early Thanksgiving dinner.

Apple and Maple DressingApple and Maple Dressing 2

The first thing I wanted to do was incorporate the medium grade maple syrup my sister bought in Stowe, Vermont. It is such high quality that you can actually taste the tree in the syrup. At first I used apple cider vinegar as the acid, but decided that it was a bad choice. It wasn’t tangy enough for my taste. I also left the peel on the apple when I roasted it, which created a beautiful rosy hue, as you can tell from the Polaroids (or at least kind of can tell. It actually looks brownish. Helpful hint: instant cameras are not the tool to use for food photography. Note to self: stick to digital). The paler version has no apple peel. It is not as pretty to look at, but equally as good. After a couple of tries, I decided on this:

Post it

I am going to continue to tweak the recipe before the dinner. I am thinking of using some of the leftover juice during the roasting process in order to thin the dressing out. I am also considering not roasting the apple at all and instead I might use it in its natural form. Maybe it will be sweeter that way and there will be no need to use the extra sugar. Also, lemon juice might be good instead of vinegar. Wow…I am really thinking about this too much. Maybe I can just buy some off Panera.

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Celebrate! The end of summer?

August 10th, 2009

Cherry Tomato

August is a very odd month for me. It signals both the end of summer and beginning of fall. The days get shorter, people get moodier, and an anxiety returns in the pit of my stomach. I am an autumn baby, but strangely enough it does not bring up warm, happy emotions. Other seasons have a defining entity to them. Winter is death. Spring is renewal. Summer is vitality. Fall is neither one or the other. It is, in short, just depressing. I think it must have something to do with the start of the school semester, which causes my mixed feelings. The very thought of having to go to a place I hate with people I loathe makes me physically ill. And although I have not been in school for a few years, I still get that stomach churning reaction the moment Staples starts running their back-to-school commercials. Weird, I know. I am a full fledged adult, despite the fact I feel as though I am still seventeen. School is over! I should just forget the past and move on. Autumn is really a beautiful season. The warm colors, the crisp air, apple picking….oh god…here…comes…that…cramp…again.

Tomato Salad 3

I am putting up the white flag. I can’t win this war. Seasons will come and go. I will get older. Life will move on in spite of my pleading to slow down so I may catch up and be a real adult. So here’s to summer and to, gulp…..fall. Forget that one will end as quickly as it started and the other feels like the end of everything. Let’s just live in moment, shall we?

Tomato Salad 2

So inspired by the lovely cherry tomatoes both my sister and mother grow in their small outdoor spaces, I decided to create this dish. It’s also my mini-celebration of everything good about summer. Sweet and tart all in one bite, a cherry tomato is the epitome of good summer eating. Serve this dish with grilled chicken or fish. Or if you really want to celebrate the season in an unadulterated fashion, eat it straight out of the bowl. Just make sure you are not crying, huddled in the corner of the couch, stuffing your face with an excessively large spoon. Save it for the fall when it really counts.

Tomato Salad

Recipe:
White Bean & Cherry Tomato Salad

Halve a couple of handfuls of cherry tomatoes. Add a can of drained white beans. Drizzle some balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Add salt and pepper to taste. Refrigerate for 15 – 20 minutes. Add a few fresh leaves of basil and enjoy!

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