Category Archives: Seasonal

Summer Salad

Posted on June 23, 2011 | Leave a comment

In honor of the start of Summer I made a salad to celebrate. I wanted something crunchy, sweet, colorful and most of all healthy. That is how this salad came to be.

Summer Salad Ingredients
3-4 Cups Frisee
2 ears of Corn
6 large strawberries
1/2 cup blueberries
1 cup chopped cherry tomatoes
2 tablespoons plain sunflower seeds

Dressing
1 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon honey
Salt and pepper to taste

This is a great salad for dinner option, and also travels well as each component can be stored separately and then combined on site.

Frisee – I know this isn’t the salad green that most people gravitate towards but, this branchy leaf has the right amount of bite to stay strong with the fruits and vegetables that would typically overwhelm spinach or arugula. If you can’t get down with the frisee, I think a crisp romaine could also do the trick.

Corn – For this salad fresh is best and so if you have to use a can, I would skip it entirely. This is a great way to use leftover corn from a dinner earlier in the week. My favorite technique is to wash the ear and dry it and place it on a tin foil square with a small pat of butter, salt and pepper and then twist close the foil. Bake for 30 minutes at 400 degrees or throw it on the grill. For this salad, take a strong knife and shear the corn from the cob.

Strawberries – Wash, halve, quarter. Feel free to taste along the way. When in season strawberries are a favorite sweet snack.

Blueberries – Wash, dry, snack and set aside for salad.

Tomatoes – Wash, halve, sprinkle with a touch of Kosher salt and set aside.

Sunflower seeds – These added an awesome nutty, sunny warmth to the salad if you can imagine such a thing. When toasted (in a muffin tin) these erased the need for cheese or crouton toppings.

For the dressing, in a small bowl mix all ingredients and taste. I like my dressings a bit more acidic so I may use more vinegar than the next gal, so feel free to taste and modify. The goal is to keep it light and simple so that the dressing doesn’t overpower the salad.

When you’re ready to serve layer the toppings over the frisee and drizzle with the dressing. The bowl with be filled with bold, bright, natural and healthy colors.

When you’re done eating your body will be full from bold, bright, healthy foods!

 

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Posted in dinner, Easy Recipe, healthy, Her Kitchen, Seasonal, summer

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Spring Vegetable Pasta

Posted on May 19, 2011 | Leave a comment

Sometimes dinner at my house is a game of what do I have in the fridge, and how much longer will it really last?  Things with major staying power get to stick around for Wednesday/Thursday night’s dinner.

This meal came out of that game.  I had fresh spring peas, two green zucchini, a chunk of parmigiana that was all, “Carly, eat me, a little bite… I’m so good,”  and some fresh basil.  All of that would be perfectly delectable with pre-made arugula and ricotta filled ravioli.

Spring Vegetable Pasta Ingredients

  • A splash of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • One large onion, chopped into thin rings
  • 2 cloves of garlic
  • 2 zucchini, shredded into ribbons
  • 1/2 cup of fresh (or frozen) spring peas
  • Splash of vegetable broth (about 1/4 – 1/2 cup depending on your sauce preferences)
  • Salt and Pepper to taste
  • a sprinkle of red pepper flakes (pepperoncino)
  • a sprinkle (or a handful) of parmigiana cheese
  • your favorite pasta

First prepare the zucchini, this is the most time consuming element so you might as well get it out of the way early.  Chop the head and “butt” of the zucchini off and with a fruit peeler peel down the length of the zucchini revealing thin strips the width of the vegetable.  Set aside.

In a large sauce pan add a swirl of the olive oil and then add the onions.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper here, and over medium/low heat let the onion soften and sweat.

(At this point put water in a separate pot to boil and follow instructions.)

Add the garlic and when that spicy, fragrant aroma fills the air – is that not the best smell? – add the zucchini.  At this point you can give the onions and zucchini a good stir, pour in the vegetable stock and cover.

When the zucchini ribbons are softer but not soggy add the peas and again give this some good stirs so that the flavors are all fully incorporated.

When plating this healthy and quick to make dinner give the vegetables one more quick drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of red pepper and cheese.

Enjoy!

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Posted in dinner, Easy Recipe, healthy, Her Kitchen, Seasonal, Spring

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Berry Good Breakfast Muffins

Posted on April 7, 2011 | 1 comment

True story, inspired by “If You Give a Moose a Muffin”, if you’re coming to my house, I am going to make sure that there is coffee.  And if there is coffee you’ll probably want something to eat. And if you’re going to eat something it might as well be a muffin.  And if people are going to be eating muffins, I am going to be baking them.

That is the story behind these Berry Good Breakfast Muffins, we had people coming over at 7am (*I know!  That is crazy early!) and I thought 7am visits deserve muffins.  But, these muffins shouldn’t be cloyingly sweet, or filled with butter and chocolate.  They should be a healthy breakfast is a small paper cup.
Berry Good Breakfast Muffins Ingredients
adapted from Joy the Baker’s Raspberry and Jam Muffins
1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/4 cups dry oatmeal
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 cup unsweetened apple sauce
1/2 cup nonfat Greek Yogurt
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg

2 tablespoons raspberry jam (I use no sugar added)
1 cup chopped blackberries

In a large bowl add all of the dry ingredients, flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon and with fork blend together.
In a separate bowl add all of the wet ingredients, egg, yogurt, apple sauce and sugar.  With that same trusty fork blend these ingredients.  There is something to be said about a recipe that doesn’t require, or isn’t made any easier by using an electric blender.
When the wet ingredients are blended all the pieces will be fully incorporated and smooth.  Slowly add the wet to the dry and incorporate together and whisk together so everything is one big batter.

I used blackberries because that is what I had on hand.  I chopped them up so that the juice would flow throughout each bit and because blackberries are bigger and have a stronger flavor than blueberries (another delicious option).  Really any fruit works here.

With each scoop of jam I broke it apart into smaller chunks within the batter and very gently folded it in without turning the batter a pretty shade of pinkish purple. 

Set these little breakfast bites into a 375 degree oven for 16 minutes.  The batter makes 18 muffins, so you might want to invite people over at 7am to share these with and enjoy!

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Posted in Baking, Breakfast/Brunch, Comfort Food, Dessert, healthy, Her Kitchen, Seasonal, Spring

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Crab Cake Appetizers

Posted on March 29, 2011 | Leave a comment

“Crab cakes and football, that’s what Maryland does!” – Wedding Crashers

To live near Maryland is to know (and love) crabs: steamed, dipped in butter, made into cakes.  When I was home for the weekend I made a crab cake appetizers for my parents and grandparents.  It was so fun to cook for people who have cooked for me my whole life, and to make something that doesn’t show up too often in South Florida.  Florida is all about stone crabs, not Maryland crabs.

Crab Cake Appetizer, makes 14
2 containers of 8oz crab meat (I used lump and claw)
1 egg, gently beaten
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1/8 cup of Panko breadcrumbs
1/2 lemon juiced
1/2 teaspoon Old Bay (this is not exact*)
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 shakes of Worcestershire sauce
3 cracks of fresh black pepper
sprinkle of salt
Sauce
2 tablespoons of mayonaisse
1/2 teaspoon Old Bay
1/4 lemon juice
chopped chives

In a medium sized bowl empty the crab and with a gentle hand and wooden spoon mix the different kinds of meat together.  You can use all the same kind of meat, but generally one is considerably more expensive than the other, and they have a different flavor, so I combine for more depth.

In the empty crab cup, beat the egg and then add it to the crab.  Add the mustard, and a couple of squirts of the Worcestershire sauce, the lemon juice and the Panko.  

You’re probably noticing that the measurements for these ingredients are not overly specific, that’s because we’re cooking and not baking, and because flavor and spice is personal.  Mark loves Old Bay so I tend to go stronger with that, and I don’t care for salt so I tend to go lighter.  If you want spicy crab cakes, add more red pepper – it’s that simple!

Again with the wooden spoon, very gently incorporate all of the ingredients, being careful to not pulverize the crab.  A great crab cake is full of big, pump pieces of meat.  I usually take a sniff of the crab mixture to see if it seems balanced, and then maybe add more spices if necessary.

Now, form small balls of the crab mixture is the well of the palm of your hand.  These just need to be gently formed, not packing them too tightly.  Place all of the uncooked cakes on a plate and cover with plastic to refrigerate for about 30 minutes.  Refrigeration lets the crab cakes firm up before they are cooked.


In a large pan over low/medium heat add a touch of butter and get to cooking.  Each side takes 3-4 minutes.

When the crab cakes are out of the pan, give them a few moments to cool and mix up the sauce (mayonnaise, lemon juice and Old Bay) and chop up some chives.  For an extra kick you can add a dash of Tabasco to the sauce.

Place all of the crab cakes on a platter and give some (or all) a small dollop of sauce and a sprinkle of chives, serve with fresh lemon, oh and Enjoy!

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Posted in Appetizer, Easy Recipe, healthy, Her Kitchen, Seasonal, summer

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Potato Crust Mushroom and Swiss Quiche

Posted on March 8, 2011 | Leave a comment

Sometimes it is a Monday night and you realize you have like 12 mushrooms in your refrigerator and two random russet potatoes – both of which were purchased at some point with another recipe in mind.  But now you don’t care about those recipes.

So what to do?  Potato Crust Mushroom and Swiss Quiche probably does the trick.  I am a quiche fan – it is easy, filling, and completely customizable.

Potato Crust Mushroom and Swiss Quiche Ingredients
5 eggs
2 egg whites
3/4 cup skim milk
2 large russet potatoes
1 onion
10 – 12 mushrooms
10 stalks skinny asparagus 
6 slices Swiss cheese, or shredded Swiss
1 tbsp of grated parmigiana cheese
Olive oil
Salt and Pepper to Taste

 I know there are quiche enthusiasts who will say a good quiche has to be with a proper pie crust, and usually that is true.  However, in the pursuit of healthy living and delicious eating, this is a fast and quite good alternative.

Slice the potatoes crosswise into 1/4″ coins. In a colander drizzle a bit of extra virgin olive oil and season with salt and pepper -this is a tip, place the colander over the pan you’ll be baking in to catch the oil. Then neatly layer the potatoes in a to cover the base of the pie pan. I sprinkle a tablespoon of grated parmigiana cheese on to the potatoes and then set in the oven for 25 minutes at 375 degrees.


While the crust is baking chop the onion, mushrooms and asparagus.  In a large nonstick pan saute the onions and when they are softened add the mushrooms and then when the mushrooms are just a moment from being down add the asparagus.

Cooled vegetables with the Swiss cheese on top
While the vegetables and crust cools – this is very important – prepare the egg mixture.  I used 2 egg whites and 5 whole eggs and I think you could adjust that to your liking. Whisk egg, milk and salt and pepper and then add the cooled vegetables and cheese.


Bake in the 375 degree oven for 30 minutes – at this time the egg should have a slight bounce but be firm and an inserted knife should come out clean.  This is beautiful served with a fresh salad or on it’s own because it is filled with delicious and nutritious vegetables – and yes, in our house it is breakfast, lunch or dinner!


Enjoy! 

P.S. Mark and Carly secret: During a bridal shower game I had to guess what Mark’s favorite food was that I made.  Not lasagna, or crab cakes, or cookies, quiche. 

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Posted in Baking, Breakfast/Brunch, dinner, healthy, Her Kitchen, Holiday Food, Jewish Holidays, Passover, Rosh Hashanah/Yom Kippur, Seasonal, Spring

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Apple Oatmeal Kugel

Posted on February 22, 2011 | 1 comment

Over the long and sometimes warm and sometimes very cold weekend I spent a lot of time behind my stove.  I really like to cook over the weekends and sometimes you (I) cook too much.  I also really don’t like to throw things away that taste great, and well, eating the leftovers to get rid of it all doesn’t really do anyone any good.

So, as necessity is the mother of all inventions, a new recipe was born.  It’s not exactly seasonal (apples really makes me think of the fall) but it is definitely comforting.
Apple Oatmeal Kugel*
Ingredients
2 cups cooked oatmeal
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 – 2 apples chopped
1/4 cup raisins
1 egg
1 tbsp of brown sugar
1/2 tbsp almond butter (negotiable*)
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp turbinado sugar (optional)
Juice from a 1/4 lemon
1/8 cup of slivered almonds

Step 1: Breakfast.  If you’re like me, when you woke up you thought about making something fun with low cholesterol oatmeal, but you have to have breakfast first.  So, you made an abundant amount of oatmeal. By the way cooking oatmeal is always a 2 (water) to 1 (oatmeal) ratio.  In this case I wanted a less watery version, so I went 3 cups of water, 2 cups of oatmeal, Mark and I both had a small bowl of oatmeal with toppings and about 2 cups of cooked oatmeal remained.  Don’t throw out the leftover cooked oatmeal!

Step 2: Oatmeal Toppings.  While the water is boiling and the oatmeal is cooking, chop up your favorite kind of apple (mine is Honey Crisp – they are out of this world good).  Add the apples and raisins to a pan on medium heat with a smidge of butter (like a 1/4 of 1/4 tbsp).  Let the apples and raisins begin to soften and add 1/2 tsp of cinnamon and continue to stir so that the fruit is completely covered.  For your breakfast take 1/8 cup of apples and raisins and reserve the rest for later.
Step 2: Dry Ingredients: After you finish your breakfast return to the pot where the oatmeal has now cooled.  Add the whole wheat flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda.  Combine all of these ingredients.  If the oatmeal is overly sticky – mine was – slowly add 1/8 cup of water at a time until it has a smoother consistency.

Step 3: Wet ingredients.  I included 1/2 tablespoon of almond butter in the oatmeal.  It added a warmer hint of color, but didn’t change the flavor – this is totally up to you to include.  For a nutty flavor I’d recommend at least a tablespoon.  Add the egg and the brown sugar and continue to incorporate.

Step 4: Back to the apples.  The apples and raisin have cooled and should a soft golden color.  Bring the pan back to a medium-low heat and add the vanilla and lemon juice.  Cook the apples until the juice is absorbed.
Step 5: Bring it all together.  Combine the apples and raisins into the oatmeal and then spread the entire mix into a 9×9 baking dish.  If so desired, and I am sure it is desired, sprinkle on additional cinnamon, turbinado (raw) sugar, and some almonds.  Bake for 45-50 minutes at 350 degrees.  
Here is the warning: your kitchen will have the warm, sweet smell of cinnamon, vanilla and apples.  You’ll know how relatively healthy this little snack is and will have a hard time just eating one bite, but that’s okay, because really (not just relatively) this is a pretty healthy way to go.

*So, I am calling this a kugel, because the flavor and consistency most closely reminds me of my Nannys’ (grandmas‘ – they both make it) noodle pudding.  There are no noodles, so noodle pudding is the wrong name, and kugel kind of sounds funny, but it’s pretty much what it is.  The other thing it is, is sweet, but not too sweet, healthy, but not boring, simple but not bland and probably something that will pop up on a holiday table of mine in seasons to come.

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Posted in Baking, Breakfast/Brunch, Comfort Food, Dessert, fall, healthy, Her Kitchen, Jewish Holidays, Rosh Hashanah/Yom Kippur, Seasonal

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Pre-Game Snacks

Posted on February 4, 2011 | Leave a comment

I really do love football, but this weekend’s “big game” is not really luring me in.  I am not into the teams, and I’m not into the location being a snowy Dallas…

In any case, I am into making food for the “big game”.  Did you know that only NFL and the network broadcasting the game are allowed to use the term Super Bowl in a marketing context… little known fact!

If I was having a party for the Big Game I would serve up some of these healthy favorites!
Candied Pecans!
Stuffed Mushrooms!
Sweet Potato Chips and Spicy Arugula Pesto
For more inspiration and to honor the teams playing, The Greenbay Packers and The Pittsburgh Steelers, how about these recipes:

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Posted in Appetizer, entertaining, Her Kitchen, Seasonal, Snacks, Winter

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Roasted Cauliflower and Lentil Salad

Posted on February 3, 2011 | Leave a comment

Between all of the baking I really try to make our dinners filled with an abundance of seasonal vegetables and big bold flavors.  Last week it was all about cauliflower.  Roasted, delicious cauliflower.  This very easy recipe was a snap for a weeknight dinner entree, side or weekend lunch.  It was divine – which is saying a lot for a veggie.


Roasted Cauliflower and Lentil Salad
Ingredients
One Head of Cauliflower
1/2 Vidalia Onion
1 cup of cooked lentils
1/4 cup raisins
2 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 tbsp White Wine Vinegar
1 teaspoon Curry Powder
1/2 teaspoon Paprika
Salt and Pepper to taste
Oven at 400 degrees
Instead of cutting the cauliflower into little trees, cut the head into slices across the sphere. 
In a small glass whisk the oil and vinegar and add the curry and paprika, salt and pepper.  The “dressing” now has a burnt orange color and fragrant scent.

I dipped the head of each cauliflower slice into the dressing and laid them all out on a covered cookie sheet.  With the remaining dressing, reserve about 1 tablespoon and drizzle the excess over the cauliflower.  Bake in over for 35 minutes.
With 10 minutes left on the cauliflower timer slice the onion and throw all of the onion slices into the remaining dressing.  In a non-stick pan over medium heat, cook the dressed onions until they are nearly translucent.  Add the pre-cooked lentils (I always use pre-steamed lentils from Trader Joe’s/Whole Foods/Wegman’s) and the raisins and allow the flavors to integrate completely.
When the cauliflower has fully cooked the dressed spots will be sweetly caramelized and the heads will be browned (and extra delicious)!

Add the cauliflower to the pan with the onion, lentils and raisins and let all of those flavors dance together and serve.  That is a delicious bowl of winter.

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Posted in Comfort Food, dinner, Easy Recipe, healthy, Her Kitchen, Seasonal, Winter

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Roasted Butternut Squash Risotto

Posted on January 27, 2011 | Leave a comment

Risotto is a favorite dish in our house.  It is fairly easy to make, inexpensive to make a lot of and is a great alternative to pasta for a gluten free diet, and a vegetarian main course.

So risotto is one of those things where you can experiment a little bit with ingredients, as long as you follow the rules with timing.

Roasted Butternut Squash Risotto
Ingredients
1 Butternut Squash, chopped in 1-2″ pieces
1 tbsp olive oil
Salt, Pepper, Paprika to taste

1 onion, chopped finely
3 carrots, chopped finely
3 stalks of celery, chopped finely
4 cups of Vegetable/Chicken Broth
1 1/2 cup of arborio rice
2 tbsp of butter
1/4 cup of white wine
1/2 cup grated Parmigiana
Salt and Pepper to taste

Peel and cut the butternut squash and put all chopped pieces in a colander and drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle of salt, pepper and paprika.  On a covered cookie sheet lay out the pieces of squash and bake in the oven for 35 minutes at 375 degrees.

Once the squash is in the oven, move onto the risotto.  In a separate sauce pan bring the vegetable/chicken stock to a boil.  
In a large sauce pan add 1/2 tbsp of butter to the pan and then add the finely chopped onion, carrots, and celery. Add salt and pepper to taste – just a pinch, because you’ll continue to layer the flavors.

When the vegetables are softened add the rice to the pan on medium/low heat and let it saute until the pieces are translucent.  When the rice is translucent add the first ladle of stock.
Let the rice simmer in the broth, stirring frequently, until it is completely absorbed.  When the broth is absorbed add another ladle and continue the process of adding, stirring, absorbing until all of the stock is used up.   You’ll notice that as the broth is being absorbed the rice with release it’s natural starchiness and become creamy. 

After the last ladle, but before the broth is completely absorbed make a well in the rice and add a cup of the now roasted squash.  Using a potato masher (or a spoon), mash up the cup of squash and combine it with the risotto.  The mashed squash adds beautiful color and rich flavor.
Then add the rest of the squash, the remaining butter (in pieces) and the parmigiana cheese and gently stir all of the ingredients. 

This is a perfect winter weeknight dinner, enjoy the comfort of good food!

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Posted in Comfort Food, dinner, healthy, Her Kitchen, Seasonal, Winter

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Pear Cranberry Muffins

Posted on January 25, 2011 | 1 comment

This weekend I finally got back to baking.  After the holidays I didn’t have a lot of baking interest, which is not to say I wasn’t still consuming baked goods by the handful, I was.  In any case, I wanted to foray back into the flour, sugar, butter and eggs with a healthy and seasonal pick.

Pear Cranberry Muffins 
Ingredients
1/4 + 1/8 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon of salt
2 tbsp unsalted butter
2 tbsp nonfat Greek yogurt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup fresh squeezed orange juice
zest of one orange
1 cup chopped Bosc Pear
1/4 cup chopped fresh cranberries
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
Set oven to 350 degrees, bake for 25  minutes
This looks like maybe a lot of ingredients, but it is really pretty simple, and very easy, and beyond delicious.  Yes, I received comments like “this is the best muffins you’ve ever made!”.  So, what are you waiting for?

In a small saucepan melt the 2 tbsp of butter, and set aside to cool.  In a small bowl whisk the egg and then add the Greek yogurt and continue to whisk.  At this stage is may start to resemble cottage cheese, do not worry.  Slowly add the cooled, but melted butter and the sugar and continue to whisk.  
Now the egg mixture is a beautiful creamy golden color.  At this time add the fresh squeeze orange juice, the zest and the vanilla, give this a good whisk and set aside.

In a separate bowl mix the flours, baking powder, baking soda and spices.  Set this aside and move onto the chopping of the pears, cranberries and walnuts.
Create a well in the flour bowl and pour in the egg mixture and mix enough to fully incorporate the dry and wet ingredients.   With a spoon mix in the the chopped pears, cranberries and walnuts.
With a large spoon scoop the batter into muffin cups and bake for 25 minutes at 350 degrees.


These muffins are a delight, full of moisture, seasonal fruits and low in calories.  Secret: These beat those packages 100 calories vita-muffins in flavor, and health!

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Posted in Baking, Breakfast/Brunch, Dessert, healthy, Her Kitchen, Seasonal, Winter

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