Guiltless Leek and Potato Soup (in only 4 ingredients!)

Posted by amanda in budget, butter, easy, healthy, leek, potato, recipe, soup, vegetarian

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Leek season is upon us! It's a fleeting time of year - a brief period of time when it makes any kind of budgetary sense to buy leeks. Onions and I have a troubled relationship made complicated by my uncooperative digestive system. Leeks however, have never done me wrong. What's more, leeks, like other onions, are great for lowering cholesterol, which is all well and good as long as you don't slather them in cream and butter, which are the leeks most common pot-fellows. So, with that in mind, here is a super easy recipe for leek and potato soup sans cream (but with butter). I think this would be worth a shot with margarine, or even without butter at all, but I can't say I've tried it. Let me know how it works out if you do!

You'll need:

• Soup pot
• hand blender (other blenders are fine, just messier)

• 3 large leeks, cleaned and sliced
• 5 cups vegetable stock
• 2-3 tbsp butter (depending on how much leek you get...they tend to vary a lot in size)
• two russet potatoes, peeled and diced
• 1 bay leaf (optional)

 Let's do it!:

•  To prepare your leeks:
•  wash all visible dirt off the outsides to keep your cutting board clean
• Chop off the dark green leaves, leaving light green ones (they're perfectly fine in a soup)
• Slice off the root and about 1/2-1 inch of the bottom white section, leaving as much as possible.
• cut in half the long way. It doesn't have to be perfect- remember you're going to puree these anyways
• Wash out all the dirt you can (I like to give them a good scrub using a vegetable brush) from the outside and inside of the leaves
• Slice width-wise to get nice, manageable half-rounds of leek. 

• Melt butter in your soup pot.
• Add the leeks, and stir to coat.
• Cook down for anywhere from 5-10 minutes, stirring frequently, until your leeks look translucent. I set my burner to medium heat and it worked well.
• Add potatoes, stir.
• Add bay leaf, if you're using one.
• Cook for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until potatoes begin to soften.
• Add stock.
• Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for another ten minutes or so.
• Let cool.
• Remove bay leaf .
• Once cooled, blend with the hand blender.

Serve hot, with freshly cracked black pepper if you like.

Yogurt-Dill Salmon

Posted by CK in budget, dill, easy, healthy, parsley, recipe, salmon, vegetarian, yogurt

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Wowzers has it been a long time since we posted anything! We would like to apologize for this long delay. Amanda and I have both been very busy in the last few months and finally got around to cooking again! We both got great new kitchen appliances that we are just dying to try out! :)

As we are supposed to be eating fish twice a week, I try to make a conscious effort to include it in my diet. I usually end up eating a can of sardines (I know, probably not the best...) or salmon to bake. Salmon is probably my favourite fish and it's great for my cholesterol!

In light of this, I decided to thaw my salmon in the fridge yesterday while I was at work. I knew I only had about a half hour to prepare supper since I had an evening appointment and salmon recipes are usually quite quick to make.

Thanks to the wonderful Martha Stewart, I was able to adapt her simple, delicious and quick roasted salmon recipe with ingredients in my pantry.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup 2% natural yogurt
• 2 tbsp dijon mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon dry parsley
• 1 teaspoon dry dill
• Salmon filet

Prepare:

1. Pre-heat your oven to 450 degrees F
2. Mix the yogurt, mustard, parsley and dill in a bowl
3. Place your salmon filet, skin down, on a lined cookie sheet
4. Spread your yogurt mixture on top of your salmon
5. Bake for approximately 20 minutes, or until the salmon is cooked (it will be flaky)

That's it! I served it with boiled potatoes which take approximately the same time. Perfect and healthy dinner! :)

Enjoy!

-CK

Mixed Beans Salad

Posted by CK in beans, easy, finger food, healthy, recipe, salad, vegetarian

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While attending a BBQ back home a few weeks ago, my aunt prepared a bean salad/dip that she served with multigrain tostitos. You can imagine my surprise when I found myself eating quite a large amount of it! i.e. amazing deliciousness.

In an attempt to create something similar, I came up with the following:

Ingredients (5-7 servings):

• 1 cup Garbanzo beans (Primo brand)
• 1 cup White kidney beans (Irresistibles brand)
• 1 cup canned corn, drained
• 2 cups diced tomatoes
• 1/2 diced white onion
• 3/4 diced sweet red pepper
• 1 cup chopped parsley
• 2 large minced garlic cloves
• 1.5 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• optional: red kidney beans - note that the more beans you add, the more carbs you add. 
• Mutligrain tostitos scoops

Very simply mix everything together! Add 6 crushed tostitos to each serving. I wouldn't advise adding the tostitos to the main mix as they might get soggy from the vinegrette.

This salad is perfect for a potluck, BBQ or even as an appetizer when you have guests coming over! Serve them in the scoops and you've got yourself some healthy finger food! :)

Nutritional Information (1 portion - if parted in 7):

Salad + Tostitos

Calories: 270.42

Carbs: 40.33 g

Protein: 11.03 g

Fat: 7.55 g

Cholesterol: 0 mg 

Enjoy!

- CK

Sparkling Summer Salad: Or, How I learned to stop slicing and love the mandolin,

Posted by amanda in apple, budget, celery, cilantro, cucumber, healthy, lemon, quick, recipe, salad, summer, vegan, vegetable, vegetarian

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I get a terrible feeling when I come to the end of a recipe I have all the ingredients for (ish) only to read the final instruction: crockpot-ing, immersion blending, dutch oven-ing...or any number of other final touches for which I don't have the right kitchen tool (yet!). So, having recently acquired a very handy mandolin from the previous owners of my new house (when someone leaves something in a cupboard still in the box, that's a housewarming gift right?), I've spent the better part of the afternoon julienning everything slice-able in my fridge (which is more than you'd think! Skinny cheese sticks anyone? Strawberry stick-men? Long long banana slices? No?).

The very tasty outcome of this little experiment is a pretty awesome summer salad: it's crunchy, tart, filling, and refreshing, and above all, easy (especially if you have a mandolin or any other kind of slicing tool).

You're gonna want:
A large bowl
A little bowl
A mandolin (you lucky duck)

In your big bowl toss together:

3 stalks of celery, sliced thick
half a cucumber, julienned
2 large carrots, peeled and julienned
2 granny smith (or other tart) apples, julienned [to do this, cut the apple into 4 sides, then attempt to slice - I kept the peels on)
l large handful of fresh cilantro, roughly chopped

In your small bowl mix:
1/2 cup lemon juice
1-2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp apple cider vinegar (optional)
1 tbsp sugar (also optional - i wanted my dressing a little sweeter than lemony)
large grain salt to taste (I used a citrus chili salt mix and it was perfect)
cracked black pepper to taste

Drizzle the dressing over your salad mix and stir around until well distributed. Cover and keep in the fridge for an hour to let the flavours combine if you have the time, or serve fresh immediately!

Easy Half-Pop Shrimp

Posted by amanda in appetizer, easy, healthy, recipe, shrimp

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Sometimes I'm in the mood for something special, but I don't have a lot of time, ingredients, or energy. Usually this is because I've left dinner too late, and am so hungry I don't feel like cooking. On nights like these, I tend to throw together things in my cupboard and hope for the best. Tonight? Success!

These shrimp take all of 15-20 minutes (but, only 5 of which that you will spend actually doing anything) and are super tasty and flexible. I ate mine off the baking sheet, but they could definitely be dressed up, drizzled, or served on something green. They'd be nice and punchy on a salad, or would make a nice crunchy-chewy topping to a simple pasta.

You'll need:

Panko crumbs

Shrimp, tails removed (this is most of your 5 minutes). I did 30 medium sized.

1/2 - 1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp whole wheat flower

A few good cracks of black pepper

1-2 tsp minced garlic

(chili flakes or other seasonings optional)

DO:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Put shrimp in a bowl big enough to do some moderate mixing in.

Drizzle with olive oil. Stir in garlic and distribute as evenly as possible.

Sprinkle mix with flour and stir

Crack your pepper over the mix. If you want chili flakes or other seasonings for extra kick, go for it now.

Toss in enough Panko crumbs to more or less coat your shrimp to your liking (this works best if you use less rather than more - enough for a little crunch here and there).

Shake out onto a cookie or baking sheet.

Bake for 10-15 minutes, checking periodically to make sure they're the way you want. They should smell delicious.

Eat and enjoy!!

 luv,

A

100 calorie Sweet Potato and Zuke Latkes

Posted by amanda in breakfast, budget, easy, healthy, recipe, sweet potato, vegetable, vegetarian, zucchini

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3 100-cal latkes with astro biobest plain yogurt!

I love love love latkes and regularly order them when I'm out for brunch, but I know they're not the healthiest way to eat a potato. Some experimenting with different grate-ables led me to this combo, which significantly improves the nutrition factor, and minimizes the caloric intake. Plus, this is a great way to use zucchini (I'm always wondering what the heck to do when I'm not making it into a risotto or my mom's curry-zucchini soup (coming soon!).

You'll need:

1 medium zucchini (funny ends sliced off)
1 big sweet potato (peeled)
1/4 cup onion (chopped as finely as possible, unless you really love onion and want longer strings in your latkes)
1 large egg, lightly beaten
3 tbsp canola oil
salt and pepper to taste

optional: plain yogurt (instead of sour cream) or your favorite applesauce (if you're that kind of latke person...I've never understood the applesauce thing)

Do: (do these things in order - you want to prepare the batter RIGHT before cooking to keep things from getting soggy, and while cooking, pour off any excess liquid for the same reason)

Slice your zuke lengthwise and remove its seeds.
Grate your potato and zucchini (coarsely) either in a food processor (preferred) or by hand on a grater.
In a big bowl, mix your egg, onion, salt and pepper: stir in your grated veggies.
Heat half the oil in a large skillet (med-hi, but more med than high).
You're going to do this the same way you do pancakes: add a heaping tablespoon of the mixed ingredients to the skillet, flattening down a touch with your spoon (don't overdo this - let the latke be once it's frying).
When the edges start to lightly brown, flip the lakte, and cook the other side for about a minute or two - depending on your oven, the first side can take from 2-4 minutes (mine is slow).
Remove and rest on paper towels to absorb excess liquid.
Repeat until your batter is used up (if you need, use the remaining 1.5 tbsp of oil to refresh your skillet).

Should make about 24 latkes. If you want to reheat them later, bake them at 375 on a cookie sheet for about 5 minutes.

Serve hot and enjoy guilt-free.

Springy Grapefruit Salad

Posted by amanda in cheese, easy, grapefruit, healthy, lemon, salad, spinach

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free your fruit!!...into your belly

Spring is in the air (she said, as it snowed aggressively outside her window)! Or it was this past Family Day weekend anyhoo. A little wishful thinking never hurt, right?

Spring means salad season, and there's nothing I like better than a tasty combo of fruits and veggies, and of course, cheese. Cheese is pretty key.

If you're getting tired of our first spinach/parm salad (but how could you!) - here's a variation on a theme with a little more zing. Also, recent studies have indicated that eating citrus fruits lowers a woman's risk of blood-clot related stroke, so get peeling!

Here's an easy, healthy, tasty salad for 4:

You're going to need:

8oz (250g) of baby salad. Wash it.
Half a cup of Parmesan flakes (shredded or flaked, not ground or whatever...if you have a block of it, use a veggie peeler for speed's sake. You can also buy it flaked, as per the petals in the earlier recipe).
1 grapefruit (I prefer red) peeled and segmented.

Toss (more like mix) these ingredients with you hands in a large bowl for ideal distribution onto 4 plates or into bowls.

Dressing: In a small bowl mix....

Juice of half a lemon (or roughly 1.5-2 tbsp)
2-3 tbsp olive oil
chopped chives to taste (you're going to sprinkle this over the salad, so a large tbsp or two would do, unless you really want to up the chivey-ness)
fresh ground pepper

For a little protein consider toasting some slivered almonds and tossing them in there. Raisins might also be yummy. Flax seeds if you're feeling ambitious, though they would probably be best mixed into your dressing, or else they'll sink to the bottom.

Dress your salad and enjoy!!

Roasted HeartBeets Valentines' Day Appetizer

Posted by amanda in appetizer, beet, budget, cheese, chevre, easy, healthy, mint, recipe, roast, valentines day, vegetable, vegetarian

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Special occasion dinners are divine, but they can also put a lot of pressure on people who are used to eating out of tupperware to make a multi-course meal on real dinnerware (i.e. me). I'm always on the lookout for fun appetizers that make me look like a better cook than I am, and this year I've happened upon a winning combination. The combination of foods isn't a terribly original one (beets and chevre have a long standing and delicious history), but this is a cute visual twist on a safe taste combination that will dress up a dinner in a heartbeat ;) Though this dish is commonly served as a salad, I think it makes an elegant appetizer. It would pair nicely with the lobster dinner we're recommending, and would also be dressed up prettily by a glass of champagne! A nice bonus: beets are great for, you guessed it, your heart.


You'll want to prep your parts about 1.5 hours before serving: the beets need to cool once roasted, and you want to assemble no more than 30 minutes before you serve, so things don't try out or unravel too dramatically). I actually roasted and cooled my beets a whole day before prepping my dish - slicing mint and spreading chevre takes only a minute, and you only need to spend as long arranging your plates as you actually want to - assembly takes about 5 minutes let's say)






Appetizer for 2


Ingredients:

• 2-3 medium sized beets, peeled
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• Sea Salt
• 2 sprigs of fresh mint (depending on your servings and your mint...basically you want about 2.5-3 mint leaves per plate)
• a small pat of chevre (I know that's an incredibly vague measurement designation, so check out the final picture..basically you want to put down a little pillow of chevre to "plant" your heart-shaped beets in, so it's pretty much up to you.)

"Heart-beets" before roasting

Don't:
-Wear white. These hearts bleed.


Do:


-Preheat your oven to 375 (make sure your rack is on the middle rung)


-Notice that your peeled beets are already somewhat heart shaped. Slice the beets top to bottom (preserving this natural shape in the slices) in pieces about 1/4 inch thick.


-Using the preexistent shape, make small cuts to shape your beet slices into hearts


-In a bowl, toss the beets in the olive oil until coated


-Sprinkle the coated beets with a few dashes of sea salt


-Lay them out on a Pyrex (glass type?) baking dish or pan. Try to make enough room so that each beet has a surface on the bottom of the pan


-Roast for 35-40 minutes, checking every 10 minutes or so. Skinnier slices will roast faster, so feel free to take them out early (my littler hearts took more like 15 minutes), thicker ones could take as long as 40 minutes. Stir the beets every 10 minutes. When they're done they'll look glazed, but not crispy.


-When they're done, chill the beets covered in the fridge, for an hour.


Before serving:


-Using a knife, lay down a pat or "pillow" of chevre on a little plate; try to mold the pat into an angle, so the hearts will be supported "up" by the chevre, as in the first picture in this post.


-Using your knife, dig little wedges into the cheese, to place the heart in. The beets will dye the chevre pink where they touch it, so you can get creative with that if you want.

Stirred and delicious final product

-Slice your mint into strips, removing the stems. If you want to make little rosebuds of mint, roll a leaf (or stack of leaves) into a tube and slice across the tube. Pinch the little rolls (little minty cinnamon bun shapes) and plant them in the chevre around the hearts, or strew them like confetti if you prefer. It'll be pretty anyways :)


-Love all serve all!

Whole Wheat Homemade Bread

Posted by CK in bread, easy, healthy, recipe, vegetarian, whole wheat

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*DISCLAIMER: This is a perfect recipe for a nice breakfast in bed on Valentine's Day morning! <3*

For quite some time now, C and I have been wanting to make our own bread but were honestly a little too scared to try it out. I knew how time-consuming bread could be and quite frankly didn't want to spend time waiting for dough to rise, or put in the effort to knead the dough. When A suggested that we spend our Sundays cooking though, I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to try it out since I would be spending my day in the kitchen anyways. So I found a very simple recipe, and followed the instructions (with a few changes) to make 3 loaves:

Ingredients:

• 3 cups lukewarm water
• 1 1/2 (1.5 packs) tablespoons active dry yeast
• 1 1/2 tablespoons salt
• 6 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

Preparation:

1. In a very large bowl, put together your flour, yeast, and salt.
2. Pour in your water and stir until combined, just a few minutes.
3. Cover your bowl with plastic wrap and a dry towel for 2-5 hours. (We left it for approximately 5 hours - pretty much all day while we were cooking up our other meals)
4. Divide your dough into 3 loaves. Cover each loaf with flour and form it into a ball. (If you don't want to make all your loaves at once, wrap 2 of them with plastic wrap and freeze)
5. Lay the remaining loaf onto a baking sheet or onto a pizza stone sprinkled with cornmeal. Let this dough rest for about 30 or so minutes.
6. With a sharp knife, slash the top of the loaf into 3 lines or a criss-cross pattern. This helps let out some steam in the dough. If you don’t slash your bread, the bread will most likely make it’s own tear somewhere during cooking.
7. Preheat your oven to 450 degrees and add a small pan filled with 1 cup of water on a lower rack for a water bath. Bake for 30-35 minutes - until it becomes golden. The water bath is super important, it avoids your bread sticking to your baking sheet!

This might look like a long process, but it's really just the waiting that takes a while. Our bread turned out quite dense and full of wheat flavour, but C and I really enjoyed the result nonetheless! If you want your bread to expand a little bit and so be a little fluffier (and less dense in taste), subsitute 2 cups (or up to half) of the whole wheat flour with all purpose flour.

Don't forget your 2 loaves in the freezer! Once you want to use them, thaw them overnight on the counter in a bowl covered with a dry towel, bake in the morning and wake up to a fresh and healthy breakfast! :)

Enjoy!

- CK

Cold Quinoa Salad

Posted by amanda in budget, celery, cucumber, dressing, easy, healthy, quinoa, recipe, salad, tomato, vegetable, vegetarian, yellow pepper

1 comments

The finished product~

After all that holiday cheer (turkey pies, bacon based salads, and wines of all kinds), it might be time to get back to basics...like vegetables, and primary colors. This cold quinoa salad has both of those things, and is really easy to make. Though he might just be trying to placate me, M said he liked this one too. I adapted this recipe from a recipe on a box of Casbah quinoa...it didn't look like it would have enough crunch or flavor as it was originally intended, so I adjusted some quantities and ingredients to make up for that:

Fluff your quinoa to give it texture and to
make it grainy

First, cook up your quinoa (225g, or 1.5 cups):
To do this, bring 3 cups of vegetable broth to a boil.
Then add your quinoa to the broth; stir, and reduce the heat to low. Allow this to cook for between 15-20 minutes: you want the water to be completely absorbed by the quinoa.
When cooked, fluff the quinoa with a fork.
Let the quinoa cool while you prepare the rest of the salad ingredients.






In a large bowl combine:

Half a cucumber (I prefer skin intact) - thickly sliced and quartered
3-4 stalks of celery  - sliced
1 quart grape tomatoes - halved
1 yellow pepper - roughly chopped
(half a red onion would probably delicious chopped into this, though I didn't do so myself)
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley (you could up this even, especially if you love parsley, and go to 1/2 cup)









In a small bowl, whisk together:

Apple Cider Dressing

1/4 cup virgin olive oil
4 tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
1.5 clove garlic, minced
2 tsp red pepper flakes
3 or 4 good cracks of black pepper



Once the quinoa has cooled, combine it with the vegetables. Drizzle the dressing over the mixture and let sit in the fridge for a few hours to let the flavours settle.

A nice touch would be to add 2 handfuls of fresh baby spinach to the mix before serving.

Delicious Quinoa and Sweet Potato Soup

Posted by CK in broccoli, easy, healthy, quinoa, recipe, sweet potato, vegetable, vegetarian

2 comments

Today we're welcoming my friend Sandra to our blog! Being an avid cook (and a great one at that), she's kindly agreed to share with us this AMAZING quinoa and sweet potato recipe!

**NOTE: The picture is one I took when I made the recipe last week - with broccoli addition (read on)**

I grew up in a traditional Lebanese household watching my mother cook. Almost every day after school I’d watch her wash, chop, season and stir meal after meal. She cooked a lot of Lebanese dishes from memory and seasoned our food based on taste. But she was curious and adventurous when it came to food, so it wasn’t uncommon for her to clip recipes out of magazines, newspapers or get recipes from friends that ended up on our kitchen table to eat.

I did not start to cook until I moved out of my parent’s home, which compared to most, was late in life. So it took a while for me to come into my own as a cook and realize I’d inherited my mom’s curiosity about food.
Teaching myself how to cook helped shape the way I approach making meals. I believe that if you can read you can cook; recipes are guides – don’t be afraid to experiment; I appreciate recipes that have a few basic ingredients that are easy to find and pack a lot of flavour; use spice instead of salt but if salt is a must, use it sparingly and try sea salt.

More recently, in an attempt to avoid gluten and not rely too heavily on rice- and corn-based products, I turned to quinoa as a side-dish substitute. Coincidently, my sister gave me a cookbook dedicated to quinoa-based dishes titled, Quinoa 365 by Patricia Green and Carolyn Hemming.

that's cheese on the bread, didn't
feel like grating it :P

I knew this super-grain was versatile but the cookbook really opened my eyes to the range of its possibilities. Quinoa will easily take on the flavour of a marinade or sauce, add texture or flavour depending on how it is used.

The recipe that I’m sharing is a soup that uses quinoa, sweet potato and coconut milk as its main ingredients. I’ve served this dish to friends and family with a broad range of eating habits and it has been a hit with all of them. It is simple to make and delicious, especially the day after it’s made and the flavours have a chance to fully blend.

I encourage readers to add their own twist once you feel you’ve mastered the original recipe. Maybe add roasted carrots, broccoli or cauliflower if you’re looking for more veggies. Bacon or a smoky sausage might add an interesting flavour and some extra protein.

Happy cooking!

Ingredients:

• 2 large sweet potatoes
• 2 Tbsp (30ml) water
• 1/2 cup each (125 ml) diced onion and quinoa
• 3 cups (750 ml) vegetable stock
• 1 cup (250 ml) coconut milk
• 1/4 tsp each (1 ml) cayenne pepper and chili powder
• 1/4 cup (60 ml) plain yogurt (optional as topping)

1. Wash, peel and cut the sweet potatoes into 2-3 inch pieces. Boil 5-6 minutes just until soft not mushy.
2. Place water and onion in a large saucepan over medium heat and cook until the onion softens, about 7 minutes.
3. Stir in the quinoa and vegetable stock and bring mixture to boil. Reduce heat to medium and cook for another 15 minutes, until the quinoa is cooked.
4. Add sweet potatoes to the saucepan. Puree the mixture either by hand blender or wait until cool and puree in 2 batches using a blender or food processor.
5. Return to low heat and stir in the coconut milk. Reheat slowly on low, adding the cayenne and chili powder.
6. Serve with yogurt (optional).

Thanks Sandra for the wonderful recipe! I actually added broccoli to mine and it was a success! :) Note that if you'd like to freeze this recipe, feel free to do so (it's just as good!!). Once you want to eat it, defrost it in the microwave (adding a dash of water) and then simmer it in a large pot until the soup is back to it's normal consistency.

Enjoy!

- CK

Olive Oil tips from Metro Ontario

Posted by amanda in healthy, olive oil, tips

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 Via the good people at Metro Ontario this morning!

Olive oil is a healthier alternative to butter and hydrogenated oils because it’s high in monounsaturated fatty acids and other nutrients? Keep these tips in mind to get the most out of your olive oil:

1. Choose a "virgin" or "extra virgin" olive oil, not "refined"
2. Store in a dark, room-temperature cupboard, or in the refrigerator to preserve nutrients
3. Try to use within six months or at most a year of opening the bottle, as it can degrade over time
4. Olive oil loses much of its flavor when used in high-temperature cooking.

At home, M and I tend to use olive oil in just about everything, because we have limited cupboard space and it's usually what I pick up at the store (coincidentally, at our local Metro). Keep in mind though, that olive oil does have a distinct flavor, and so if you're going to use it in non-savory foods (i.e. breakfast pancakes, chez nous), try to pick up a variation that indicates it has a light flavor rather than an full-flavored olive oil. Olive oil is vunderbar, but it tends to clash with maple syrup ;)

Versatile Baked Tofu

Posted by CK in healthy, recipe, tofu, vegetarian

0 comments

It's always difficult for a non-vegetarian to find good tofu recipes. In my attempt to try and find something that both vegetarians and carnivores will like, here is a delicious recipe I stumbled upon on a vegetarian blog. Since I didn't have everything the author called for, I've omitted some ingredients Tasted great, was quite easy to make and can be eaten with a variety of sides! In addition to a pack of extra firm tofu, you'll need the following ingredients for the marinade:

• 1 Tbsp of balsamic vinegar
• 1 Tbsp of olive oil
• 1 Tbsp of soy sauce
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1 Tbsp minced fresh garlic
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp coriander
• fresh ground black pepper

Marinating and Baking the tofu:

1. Put all the marinade ingredients in a bowl and mix well
2. Press the block of tofu between an old dishtowel or paper towels to remove any excess water
3. Slice the tofu in 1/2 inch slices, and lay side-by-side in a flat baking pan
4. Spread the marinade over and under the tofu slices
5. Cover and marinate 30 minutes or more in the fridge, turning once or twice if possible
6. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees
7. Bake 30 minutes
8. Turn over halfway through the baking
9. Less baking time, if it looks very done halfway through
10. Broil for a few minutes on each side to give the baked tofu a crusty finish

Had it with a side of brown rice and green beans. Delicious and healthy! :) I'm planning on making sandwiches with the left overs for lunch tomorrow. With some Dijon mustard, mushroom and spinach. Already can't wait to try it out!

Enjoy!

-CK 

Cottage Component 1: Picnic-Perfect Summer Salad

Posted by amanda in budget, celery, cucumber, dill, dressing, easy, feta, healthy, onion, pasta, pasta salad, pepper, quick, recipe, salad, spinach, tomato, vegetarian, yellow pepper

0 comments

It's summer tiiiimmmme and the cooking is eeeeaasy here at Stute-kitchen :) Team Stute has returned from a fantastic weekend away at a cottage with good friends, gorgeous weather, and GREAT food. Combining our forces we came up with a delicious cottage-time lunch: pasta salad and barbecued skewers. Fresh ingredients and a new spin on these old classics takes traditional summer food to a new level of goodness.

You're gonna need:

• Roughly 2 generous cups of uncooked shell (conchiglie) pasta
• One yellow pepper, seeded and cut into slim chunks (or however you like your pepper in a salad), if you go really chunky, use 2 peppers
• Half a cucumber, sliced into half circles
• 2-3 stalks of celery, diced roughly
• 1 pint (usually a container) of cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
• 1/4 of a sweet onion (though any kind would likely do, this salad gets more onion-y the longer it exists, so choose wisely), finely chopped
• 3 tbsp fresh dill, chopped
• 3-5 generous handfuls of baby spinach (mixed greens will do in a pinch, but they don't keep as long once the dressing is mixed in).

Dressing: Whisk together...

1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup lemon juice
2 heaping  tbsps Red Wine Vinegar
1 clove of garlic, minced
Ground Black Pepper to taste

Topper:

Roughly 1.5 cups of light feta cheese -though really, add as much or a little as you like - , rinsed, dried, and crumbled (my new technique is to rinse the block from the brine, and then squeeze the liquid out in my fist, over the sink - this dries and crumbles simultaneously, then you can just brush your hands off in the salad)

To assemble:

1. Cook the pasta (roughly 8-10 minutes to get it al dente), rinse in cold water, and set aside.

2. Combine all your veggies, except the spinach, in a large bowl, using your hands to mix gently, being
sure to distribute the dill.

3. Add pasta to veggies, again, stirring with hands.

4. Add spinach by handful, assessing how much or how little you will want personally. Mix with hands (this avoids breaking the pasta shells)

5. Pour dressing over pasta and veggies (if you don't like getting oily, use a utensil here, but I swear, hands is the way to go)

6. Chill.
7. Crumble feta into salad before serving. Mix.

This makes roughly 10 servings, depending on the appetites in the room. Be sure to wait 20 minutes or so before hitting the lake!!!
-A

Lasagna Recipe from a Bride-to-Be

Posted by CK in healthy, lasagna, pasta, recipe, turkey

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One of my lady friends is getting married in a few months and her cooking is sure to please her husband-to-be! I've always wanted to try a lasagna but always hated the prospect of a very long preparation process. Lucky for me, her recipe makes cooking lasagna fun, healthy and faster than anticipated! :) Without further ado, please go to the store and get yourself:

- 3 1/2 tbsp of olive oil

- 2 packs of ground turkey

- 1/2 white of spanish onion (diced)

- 2-3 garlic cloves
- 1 large can of diced tomatoes
- 1 large can of crushed tomatoes
- 1 tbsp of Italian spices (unless your diced tomatoes already have Italian spices in them)
- 3-4 fresh basil leaves
- 1 small pack of sliced mushroom
- 2-3 handfulls of spinach

- 9 pieces of whole grain lasagna

- 1 full container of cottage cheese
- mozarella and parmesan cheese
- pepper to taste


1. Heat about 11/2 tbsp olive oil in a large frying pan and cook the packs of ground turkey, adding a little bit of pepper to taste


2. At the same time heat 2 tbsp olive oil to a large sauce pan and add 1/2 white of spanish onion (diced) and 2 or 3 finely chopped garlic cloves.

3. Once onions are brown, add 1 large can of diced tomatoes and 1 large can of crushed tomatoes (if you have the original diced tomatoes, add the Italian spices).

4. Add the fresh basil leafs, sliced.

5. Bring sauce to a boil and add turkey.
6. Separately, cook the small pack of sliced mushroom and the spinach on low heat in a medium sized covered frying pan. You can coat the pan with a small amount of olive oil to avoid sticking, but these veggies produce a lot of water when heated. Remove cover after 5 minutes. Cook until desired consistency.

7. Boil 9 pieces of whole grain lasagne (cooking an extra piece is not a bad idea)
8. Layer 3 pieces of lasagna over a thin coat of sauce. Over the paste, place a think layer of the meat sauce. Place 3 more pieces of lasagna over the sauce and top with the cottage cheese. Top the cottage cheese with the mushrooms and spinach. Place 3 last pieces of pasta and top with mozzarella and fresh grated parmesan.

9. Heat oven at 350 degrees and bake uncovered for 20 minutes or until cheese is golden and extra sauce evaporated.

Enjoy! It's absolutely fantastic!
 
- CK

Summer-Friendly Light Veggie Dip and an easy fresh lunch

Posted by amanda in budget, cottage cheese, dill, dip, easy, healthy, quick, recipe, vegetarian, yogurt

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With local temperatures closing in on 40 after the humidex, the only appliance I want to use in my kitchen is the food processor. Likewise, this deep heat has me opting for effortless and cooling snacks like veggies and dip. Unfortunately, most store bought dips are full of lots of strange chemical compounds which, though delicious, probably shouldn't hang out in our bellies in too-large quantities. Luckily however, making your own veggie dip is easy, faster than going to the store, and ultimately probably even cheaper than the 4$ you'll shell out on something containing words you can't pronounce.

This dip is best if given time to sit in the fridge overnight. It's great on potatoes, (AND, I hear, steak) and probably on lots of other things. Right now I'm eating a bowl of baby spinach with a dollop of it: maybe it's the heat, but it's pretty delicious on just about everything.

In a food processor combine:
equal parts low-fat cottage cheese and plain yogurt (fat content of your choice - I'm on a full-fat low-sugar yogurt kick and am loving it)
as much washed and chopped fresh dill as you like (for a total of 1.5 cups of cc and yogurt, I used 3 tbsp)
a few dashes of onion powder or garlic powder or both, or none, to taste
crack some pepper in there and whip it up until combined!

Chill overnight.


Another great use for this dip is in a super quick satisfying cold veggie snack:

mix one generous dollop of dip into about half a cup of veggie ground round (meatless ground beef)
pour mixture on bed of fresh baby spinach, combine
EAT!

How to turn "no food" into a comfort food dinner

Posted by amanda in beans, easy, healthy, quick, recipe, spinach, vegetarian, yogurt

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Well the end of the semester is upon me. That boatload of essays and tests, not to mention the planning of our upcoming trip to Amsterdam in May, has really taken a cut from my buying-food-dressing-it-up-and-eating-it-time. Not to mention that the playoffs started last night, and for reasons I still don't understand, this means I will be glued to the set for a few hours most nights, already shirking my other responsibilities, not to mention my belly.

So, out of a despair-inertia-hunger cocktail, last night, I put the three things in my kitchen together to make a surprisingly not embarrassing dinner, an iron and protein packed staple that may have made its way into my heart for good.

For two meal-sized servings, in all of 5-6 minutes, you will need;

• 1 can chili-style beans (Heinz) - however, it is my firm belief that kidney beans with a little seasoning of your choice would cut it too, or even white beans fried in garlic, though that would more closely resemble an earlier post.
• a few generous handfuls (4-5) of fresh spinach, prefereably baby, cleaned 
• A dollop of cold, plain yogurt. My favorite is Astro's balkan style.
• optional garlic for frying (may be more relevant if you don't have the seasoned beans already)
• Enough olive oil to go once around your pan.
• Above mentioned frying pan/skillet

Go for it:

• Heat the olive oil in your skillet, at medium heat.
• Toss in your beans (rinsed and seasones, unless you are using the chili style beans); heat until almost sizzling. Try not to mush them too much.
• Lay a thick layer of fresh spinach over the hot beans.
• Allow the spinach to wilt enough to turn it over, into the bean mix so it's under some hot beans.
• Repeat with a new layer of spinach, twice, or until all your spinach is used up.
• Remove from the heat. I like to leave my last batch of spinach more still a bit fresh, to vary the texture.
• Split your total into 2 servings. If you are saving one for another day, let it cool before sticking it in the refrigerator, though I do recommend putting it in tupperware speedily so the beans don't get stuck to your pan. That serving can be microwaved later, or tossed back into a skillet to heat. Serve what you are eating in a bowl.
• Drop a large dollop of plain yogurt into the middle of your beans; salt the yogurt slightly if you like.

No need to let cool, because the yogurt will do this for you.

And voila! Iron, protein, probiotics, calcium, and innumerable other health necessities, in a really hearty couch-worthy dinner (just make sure you don't spill any!)

4 Simple Ingredients + 4 Easy Steps = Fantastic Healthy Salad!

Posted by CK in healthy, potato, recipe, spinach, vegetarian

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Did you ever wonder if Popeye only ate his spinach straight from the can, or did Olive sometimes cook for him? Well, if she did put on an apron and had a short 20 minutes to spare, I'm sure that this recipe would've been a winner!

I had never thought of mixing potatos and spinach together, until I came across this potato and spinach salad  recipe (the link is odd as you can't link to this particular recipe, you actually have to look for it). It is absolutely fantastic! Great to fill you up for lunch/supper but also great if you're invited to a potluck and you've got a case of I-don't-have-time-to-make-something-but-I-have-to-bring-something. You can bring the ingredients over and take 20 minutes to make it! :)

To make a salad that serves 3 somewhat good portions, GET:

• 3 large Russet potatoes
• 1/4 cup of spinach (defrosted)
• 2 teaspoons mayo
• 1 squirt of mustard

1. If you have time, boil your potatoes until soft. I cleaned them first then microwaved them for about 15 minutes because I didn't have time to boil them.
2. Defrost your spinach in the microwave
3. While your spinach is defrosting, cut your potatoes into cubes (or whatever shape you like them in), I like to leave the skin on, but do whatever your heart desires.
4. Mix your potatoes, spinach, mayo and mustard.
5. THAT'S IT!

It turned out succulent and a little sweet too! It's quite fantastic! :)

Enjoy!

-CK

A Sweet Crunchy Creamy Broccoli Salad

Posted by amanda in easy, healthy, quick, recipe, salad, side, vegetarian

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Speaking of the brassica family (weren't we?), broccoli is another hearty green you may have run out of ways to love. Never fear. My mom makes an excellent variation of this salad that involves sliced grapes and a more homemade dressing, so I'll post that as soon as I can get her on the horn, but for the time being, this is a reduced and speedier version of her salad.

You'll need

• 1 large head of brocolli, florets snapped or sliced off into small pieces and and with sections of the stalk sliced into disks
• 1/4 red onion, chopped up very small
• small handful sliced almonds (i like the ones that are chunky rather than flat)
• 1/3 cup dried cranberries (ideally not artificially flavored) - for a superfood variation, try dried goji berries!

poppyseed dressing of your choosing (recipe to come, thanks to mom)

Put all dry ingredients in a bowl, broccoli at the bottom. Pour on about 2tbsp dressing to start with, and stir it all with a wooden spoon. Add dressing to combined ingredients until your desired creaminess versus chunkiness is achieved. Serve cold. Makes 4 servings give or take. Refrigerate.





photos courtesy of thepetitfour.com and vegetarian-nutrition

Guilt Free Rutabaga Fries

Posted by amanda in easy, healthy, recipe, roast, rutabaga, vegan, vegetable, vegetarian

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Love French Fries but hate the thought of all the starch, carbs, various bad fats and total lack of nutritional benefit that go along with them? Get ready for rutabaga. Move over potato - this vegetable is part of the brassica family, which means it rubs shoulders with brocolli, brussel sprouts, cauliflower, and other nutritional heavyweights. Plus, rutabagas have just under half the calories of an equal amount of potato, less than a third of the carbs, and pack a whole lot of nutritional punch.

Rutabagas are full of Vitamin C (keep that scurvy at bay), potassium (hello lower blood pressure and lowered stroke risk), and have also been linked to the reduction of easy bruising (who knew!) and cataract formation.

Here's how to make rutabaga a part of your life without resorting to mashing it or realizing you're eating an almost turnip:

The first cut is the deepest: How to peel a rutabaga

Ok so to be fair..I wasn't sure either. First of all, this is what they look like pre-preparation:

I know what you're thinking: "that is not a food". But it is! And a damned good one. To get into it:

1. Rinse any dirt or wax off the outside of your 'baga.

2. Using a sharp but not too large knife (paring is good, but make sure it feels right), slice a disc of peel off the top and bottom of the vegetable.

3. Using a [in my case, butcher's] knife, cut your rutabaga in half, using the flats you created in step 2 to help this out.

4. Peel the vegetable using your paring knife, removing any tough parts (though these are fine to eat, they just taste different).

To be in 'baga french fry heaven: (preheat your over to 450)

1. Cut your halves into either slim wedges or thick french fries (they'll shrink in the oven)

2. Boil them in a pot for 3-4 minutes (at a full boil)

3. In a large bowl, toss them with canola oil (1 tbsp, but just barely) and as much salt as you like.

4. Grind a generous amount of fresh pepper over the sliced rutabaga.

5. Lay slices on a baking sheet avoiding overlap - I needed to use two different cookie sheets at one time.

6. After about 15-20 minutes (depending on your over), flip your fries. Don't be alarmed if they're getting black in spots, they're likely not burning inside at all.

7. After another 10 minutes, taste test, and take 'em out when they're cooked to your liking.

This should make between 4-6 servings of side fries, depending on the size of your original rutabaga.

Serve hot, with ketchup, vinegar, salt, or any variation thereof, and thank yourself for doing your body a favor.