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Penne with Heirloom Cherry Tomatoes and Broccoli

May 21, 2012 By Leave a Comment

There are few things more beautiful than garden fresh, organic vegetables. Especially tomatoes.  They’re ripe with the promise of wonderful flavor and I thought about just eating them as a snack, but in the end I decided to coax the most flavor out of them that I possibly could.  Here’s what I did:

  • 2 lbs. heirloom tomatoes (or any tomatoes that are fresh and beautiful) halved or chopped if they’re larger
  • 2 red, ripe tomatoes, chopped
  • 2 heads broccoli, florets only
  • 5 cloves garlic chopped
  • 1 cup vegetable broth
  • a pinch of red pepper flake
  • salt
  • cracked black pepper
  • 2 boxes of whole wheat pasta
  • 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
  • olive oil

Preheat the oven to 350. In a medium pan (I love my dutch oven for this) heat about a tablespoon of olive oil – when it’s hot, add the chicken breasts.  Cook about 5-6 minutes on each side, or until the chicken is browned.

penne broccoli heirloom tomatoes 5 Penne with Heirloom Cherry Tomatoes and Broccoli

Transfer to a lined baking sheet and bake for 20-30 minutes, depending on thickness, till  they’re cooked through.  After letting them sit to redistribute their juices, slice them into bite size pieces and set aside.

Here are the gorgeous tomatoes:

penne broccoli heirloom tomatoes 4 Penne with Heirloom Cherry Tomatoes and Broccoli

Put the dutch oven back on medium heat and add another tablespoon of olive oil.  When it ribbons add the garlic and red pepper flake.  As soon as you can smell the garlic, add the tomatoes and a big pinch of salt and allow them to slowly cook until they start to break down.

penne broccoli heirloom tomatoes 3 Penne with Heirloom Cherry Tomatoes and Broccoli

When the liquids have really been released, add the broccoli, cover and let the tomato sauce steam the broccoli. (so much tastier than steaming in water, don’t you think?)

penne broccoli heirloom tomatoes 2 Penne with Heirloom Cherry Tomatoes and Broccoli

Meanwhile, put up a pot of well salted water for your pasta and cook according to package directions.  We used whole wheat pasta because we’re trying to cut the processed carbs, but I really, really love pasta and miss it. I decided this little indulgence wasn’t going to kill anyone.

Drain the pasta into a colindar, and transfer the tomato sauce to the empty pasta pot.  At this point, I decided to add a cup of vegetable broth to make sure that there was enough liquid to cover the pasta. When the broth has heated, add the chicken and pasta to the sauce and gently toss.

Full Disclosure: I clearly wasn’t gentle enough, because a lot of my penne broke. I do find that the whole wheat pasta breaks more easily.

Plate and serve. We add salt and pepper at the table, because while I like mine heavily seasoned, my son doesn’t and my husband likes a lot more pepper than I do. So… do whatever works for you.

penne broccoli heirloom tomatoes 1 Penne with Heirloom Cherry Tomatoes and Broccoli

Super easy dinner recipe that your whole family will love! Serves 8.  Four people for dinner and the same four get lunch the next day. Enjoy!



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Sometimes We Just Need a Little Help

May 18, 2012 By 2 Comments

Hi there! I’m so glad you’re sticking around while I obviously go through something here.  I’ve been so busy with end of school year stuff, business, expanding my skill set with some online, self directed learning and I’ve been feeling a bit overwhelmed. Yesterday was my day to go pick up our co-op produce and I knew I had to go food shopping as well.  The idea of making dinner after all of that was just too much to bear, so I wondered how I might have a fresh, delicious dinner without breaking the bank or going off the processed food deep end.  Here’s what I came up with:

I stopped by our favorite fish place (Simply Seafood in Dunnellon) to see what they might have to help.  I was looking for their tuna salad, but they were out of it.  I decided to get some shrimp and crab salad and some salmon cakes that Deb makes fresh on site. I thought I’d make a garden salad to go with it, but then while I was at Publix, I decided that cole slaw was more what I was looking for.  I grabbed a bag of the angel hair, shredded cabbage (I think Dole makes it) and then I got inspired… When I got home, this is what we did.

Tartar Sauce: in a bowl, combine:

  • a couple of big scoops of mayo
  • a couple of spoonfuls of sweet relish
  • about a half teaspoon horseradish
  • couple of shakes of hot sauce (I used Crystal)

Stir well, cover and refrigerate

Cole Slaw: in a large measuring cup combine:

  • Couple of big scoops of mayo
  • about half a cup of white balsamic vinegar
  • couple of big pinches of celery seed
  • 4 packets of Splenda or Truvia (or whatever sweetener you like)
  • couple of grinds of black pepper

Whisk together and then pour over the cabbage.  With tongs, gently toss until all the cabbage has dressing.  Cover and refrigerate.

When you’re ready to eat, heat a saute pan on med/high heat.  Add a Tablespoons each of olive oil and butter.  Add the salmon patties and cook about 4 minutes on each side, or until you have a nice, brown crust.

Plate and eat. Literally 15 minutes prep and cook and you’re sitting down to a fresh, easy, delicious meal!  The kids couldn’t believe these weren’t crab cakes.  They were so good. The cole slaw was nice and sweet, but not over dressed and the horseradish in the tartar was inspired, if I do say so myself.  I think next time I’ll add a little more to it.  Squeeze fresh lemon over the whole plate and it’s even better.

salmon patties Sometimes We Just Need a Little Help

 I wasn’t going to share this, but when it all came together so well, I thought that there had to be other people who just can’t bear the thought of making one more dinner sometimes, and I wanted to those people to know that they’re not alone and there are lots of ways to get dinner on the table.



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Vegetable Lentil Soup

May 16, 2012 By Leave a Comment

For the past couple of months I’ve been making soup about once a week.  It’s a nice, healthy way to eat for 24 hours.  I mostly keep it vegetarian and we just eat it all day and night, every time we get hungry, there it is on the stove and I don’t worry about refrigeration, because there’s nothing that can go bad. I want to make a point here today though, just how easy soup making is. I really measured nothing… All amounts were what I had left in my fridge and pantry.

  • Olive Oil (a nice big glub)
  • Salt (a couple of pinches)
  • 1 package dried lentils
  • 2 large yellow onions, plus half a red onion I had left over, chopped
  • 8 carrots chopped (if they’re organic I don’t even peel them)
  • 12 stalks of celery, trimmed and chopped
  • 3 bell peppers (red, yellow and orange) seeded and chopped
  • 2 cubanelle peppers, seeded and chopped
  • 3 chipotle in adobe, chopped (again it was what was left, use less or more according to taste)
  • 4 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
  • 75 oz. organic vegetable broth – (Use what you have, I had two containers and a third opened in the fridge, I poured them all in)
  • 2 boxes Pomi strained tomatoes

Let’s talk a bit about lentils.  I sometimes use beans in my soups and sometimes I don’t.  I find them a bit of a pain to soak overnight, I don’t usually plan my soups that far in advance.  I had never tried lentils before a couple of months ago – No, I have no idea how I’ve gotten this far without eating lentils, it just happened.  A friend was talking about them on Facebook and I was inspired to try them.  They have changed my life.  I love these tasty, little things.  You don’t have to soak them, they’re ready in 20 minutes and they’re easy.  Really, really easy… Use them if you like, leave them out if you don’t.

Prepare the lentils according to package directions, drain and set aside.

lentil soup 6 Vegetable Lentil Soup

Dry the pan, heat to med/high heat, add a big glub of oil and then the onions, carrots and celery.  Add a big pinch of salt and toss and cook till they’re all soft and glossy.

lentil soup 5 Vegetable Lentil Soup

Add the peppers, another pinch of salt and cook till they’re softened.  Then add the chipotles, and toss and cook until the chipotles are almost dissolved.

lentil soup 4 Vegetable Lentil Soup

Add the garlic, cook until you can really smell the garlic and then add the broth.

lentil soup 3 Vegetable Lentil Soup

Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer and let cook for about 20 minutes.  Add the tomatoes and stir well, add the lentils, cover and allow to simmer on low until you’re ready to eat.

lentil soup 2 Vegetable Lentil Soup

So easy, so good.  Spicy, satisfying, lots of vegetables, broth, tomatoes.  You will love this and you won’t miss the carbs or the meat at all.  I promise.

lentil soup 1 Vegetable Lentil Soup



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Filed Under: All, Easy Dinner, Healthy, Lowcarb, Recipes, Vegetarian Tagged With: , , ,

Eggplant, Steak and Pea Stir Fry

May 3, 2012 By 1 Comment

I got some beautiful “ichiban” eggplant this week – but as usual, I ordered so much of it that I didn’t know what to do.  Also, I ordered what I thought were snow peas and then realized they were peas – the tough outer shell gave it away. I know they look like they might be sugar snaps, but the shell was way too tough to consider eating. So, we shelled them.

beefstirfry 7 Eggplant, Steak and Pea Stir Fry

I had some local, fresh, grass fed skirt steak and I thought a stir fry would be interesting.  It was.

  • 3 tablespoons Tamari (soy sauce)
  • 3 tablespoons Rice Vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon Hoisin Sauce
  • 1 tablespoon Sesame Oil
  • 1 tablespoon Fish Oil
  • 1 tablespoon Honey (I would have used three)
  • 2 packets Splenda (I had no idea we were out of honey, so I substituted – taste the sauce and sweeten to your liking)
  • 1 big pinch red pepper flake
  • 2 lbs. Japanese Eggplant washed, trimmed cut into half moons
  • 1 lg. onion chopped
  • 2 large cloves garlic chopped
  • about an inch of fresh ginger peeled and chopped
  • 1.5 lbs. skirt steak sliced into pieces appropriate for stir fry
  • 1 lb. peas shelled
  • oil with a high smoke point.  Safflower, peanut, whatever.  All I had was vegetable, so that’s what I used.
  • a handful of cilantro chopped

The first rule of stir fry is definitely mise en place. It’s a French term, but nowhere is it more necessary than in stir fry.  All it means is “everything in it’s place”, and really it’s so important to prep all your ingredients before starting the wok. This way you know what goes where and when. Things start moving pretty fast in stir fry land.  Well, except for the eggplant, they take forever.

Combine the ingredients from the Tamari to red pepper flake in a mixing bowl or measuring cup and whisk till combined, set aside.

Preheat the wok, add some oil and when it starts to smoke, add the eggplant.  You definitely don’t want it over crowded, so have a large glass bowl ready for the cooked ingredients.  I had to do the eggplant in two batches. You definitely want it well cooked, I like it browned all over with the dark purple skin nice and shiny.

beefstirfry 5 Eggplant, Steak and Pea Stir Fry

Transfer to your glass bowl, add a little more oil if necessary and add the meat. This cooks way faster than the eggplant.  Cook until it’s cooked through, but just barely.

beefstirfry 6 Eggplant, Steak and Pea Stir Fry

Transfer to the bowl with the eggplant. Add another drop of oil and the onions, add some salt here too – just ’cause I always salt onions to help them sweat.  Not too much as we’ve got a lot of sodium going in here later.

beefstirfry 4 Eggplant, Steak and Pea Stir Fry

cook until browned – add the garlic and ginger and when it smells amazing pour the sauce in,

beefstirfry 3 Eggplant, Steak and Pea Stir Fry

quickly stir and add all the other cooked ingredients back in.  Add the peas and let them warm through, tossing all the while.

beefstirfry 2 Eggplant, Steak and Pea Stir Fry

Remove from heat, add the cilantro and stir again before plating.

beefstirfry 1 Eggplant, Steak and Pea Stir Fry

So easy!  Lots of steps, but every one of them doable and this is a real crowd pleaser.  The steak was out of this world, the peas were firm sort of al dente and everything just melded together so beautifully.  Definitely a keeper.  Serves 4.



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Chilean Sea Bass with Lemon Butter, Capers and Parsley

April 16, 2012 By 8 Comments

I know I’ve said it before, but I can not believe how much fish we’re cooking!  It was really one of my most important goals for 2012 and I’m so proud at how far, not just I, but my whole family has come on this particular journey.  This dinner was ready so quickly you can’t believe it.

  • 4 Chilean Sea Bass Fillets
  • salt and pepper
  • oil
  • 3 Tablespoons butter
  • 3 Tablespoons capers, drained and even rinsed if yours are really briny
  • the juice of two small lemons (mine were super tiny, if you have big, juicy lemons, just use one)
  • a handful of fresh, chopped, flat leaf parsley

Take your fish out, put it on a plate and pat dry.  Salt and pepper one side.

chilean sea bass 3 Chilean Sea Bass with Lemon Butter, Capers and Parsley

Look how pretty.  You want the fish nice and firm and with no detectable odor.

Heat a grill pan to med/high heat – oil the pan well.  When it’s almost smoking, lay the fish seasoned side down on the pan and season the other side.

chilean sea bass 2 Chilean Sea Bass with Lemon Butter, Capers and Parsley

Meanwhile, heat up a saute pan and melt the butter. Add the lemon juice and allow to cook away while you tend to the fish.  The fish only needs a couple of minutes on each side.  I just flip it when I think it’s ready and then after a couple of minutes check for flakey opaque texture all the way through. If it’s not quite there, I flip it again.

At this point things were moving so fast, that I never got a picture of the pan, but once the lemon juice is cooking off a bit, add the capers.  Let them warm through and then remove the pan from the heat and add the chopped parsley. Stir and let stand until the fish is ready to plate. Once it’s done. Put a filet on each plate and spoon some sauce over the top.  We served it with a plain tossed salad dressed with extra virgin olive oil and white wine vinegar.

chilean sea bass 1 Chilean Sea Bass with Lemon Butter, Capers and Parsley

Elegant, delicious and ridiculously easy!



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