This is a super quick and easy weeknight meal that works any time of year. Orange zest and juice tie the kebabs and pasta together and the sweet and tangy sauce for the chicken is delicious. Couscous cooks ridiculously fast, but you could use quinoa instead if you have more time to cook. You could also add whatever vegetables you like to it to change it up. (more…)
In my ever-continuing quest to find healthier foods, I stumbled across this recipe. Cupcakes, that are diet-friendly, in my favorite tropical flavor combo, made with only 5 ingredients! Yeah – these are awesome.
For the cake part, you only need 2 ingredients (only 2!) – cake mix and canned crushed pineapple. That’s it! The pineapple takes the place of the eggs and oil making these super low-fat. (more…)
I LOVE roasted beets – sweet and rich and beautiful, like healthy edible jewels! One of my favorite ways to serve them is in a salad with watercress and fresh mozzarella. But I have made that so many times that I wanted to try something a little different. This version uses goat cheese, a slightly more complex dressing, and a different method of roasting.
Usually I just wrap the beets in foil and roast them. This method involves first placing the beets on a bed of salt and herbs. It imparts just a little bit more flavor to the beets. (more…)
I recently had a lunch date with my friend Melissa of Smells Like Brownies. As a long time vegetarian, I wanted her help to learn ways of using quinoa other than just as a substitute for rice. She suggested that we make this Quinoa salad, chock-full of roasted veggies with a balsamic dressing. I couldn’t wait to try it! Roasted sweet potatoes and red onion, hearty kale, sweet and tangy apples – all the beautiful flavors of Fall. (more…)
Now that Hurricane Sandy has passed us without incident, I can catch up on posting! Thanks to everyone for praying and thinking about us out here on the East Coast.
I have been trying to expand my repertoire of fish dishes beyond just salmon and discovered a really easy way to cook halibut. Wrapping it in parchment paper with with various other ingredients and baking it leaves it moist, flaky, and flavorful. Plus the presentation is really cool!
One combination that I really liked was lemon, cherry tomatoes, artichokes, olive oil, and basil. I made this right at the end of summer with super sweet cherry tomatoes – look at those colors! (more…)
I recently returned to Rice University, my alma mater, to celebrate their centennial – 100 years since the founding! There were all kinds of events – a football game (which we won!), parties, galas, picnics, speeches, lectures, you name it!
And our first President – Edgar Odell Lovett – finally got his own statue! About time! William Marsh Rice (Willy) may have provided the money for the institution, but Lovett provided the vision for what it should be.
For something really incredible, click HERE to see a video of the Spectacle – an amazing work of art combining architecture, history, and technology into something the likes of which I have never seen before. Seriously – watch it. For real.
Ok – moving on. Most of my food was provided for me at the events, but I did have the chance to eat out one night and was fortunate enough to go to Kata Robata – a sushi restaurant and Japanese grill. Headed up by Manabu Horiuchi (aka Chef Hori), my favorite sushi chef from college, the concept is Japanese tapas and the food is AWESOME. The service is pretty incredible, too. Our server, Thai, was very knowledgeable and comfortable making suggestions. The pacing was good and we always felt like we were being taken care of. I tried to order a good balance between sushi and tapas to get a really good idea of the place. (more…)
I always see these beautiful steak pinwheels at the grocery store and was wondering if I could make them myself. It turns out that it isn’t that easy – but stuffed with boursin cheese, spinach, and artichokes these sure are tasty! I paired them with a pasta using up the last of a big batch of homemade ricotta, spinach, and golden raisins. (more…)
Continuing with the theme of fresh, homemade ricotta – I made these decadent and sophisticated figs roasted in a cinnamon honey butter and spooned over thick and creamy ricotta.
Whisk honey and cinnamon into melted butter and pour over cut figs (I used Black Mission). Roast at high heat until soft and coated in syrup.
Spoon over a fresh ricotta. The honey butter is sweet enough that you don’t have to add any sugar to the cheese, and some of the ricotta gets melty under the hot figs while the rest stays cold for a nice contrast. So good, so so good. Go make this. Now. (more…)
When I made ricotta to use for the squash galette, I made a lot of it. I had a whole series of ricotta recipes lined up to try out, and these muffins were one of them. Using up that last batch of summer berries, these muffins are creamy and dense and delicious. (more…)
Here’s a fun and easy salmon dish for when you are pressed for time – Crispy Salmon with Creamy Basil Pasta.
Brush salmon with coconut oil, season with salt and pepper, and broil for 5 min per side on a rack. Serve on top of whole wheat spaghetti with a creamy basil sauce.
For a lighter side (I paired it with my Panko Salmon), make “noodles” out of zucchini in a yogurt sauce.
To make the zucchini noodles, use a julienne peeler or mandoline to make thin strips. Toss with salt and allow the water to drain out.
Then toss with a creamy lemon-chive dressing made with Greek yogurt. (more…)