I don’t know why it took me so long to get this one up on the blog…it’s the recipe our chef friend who catered our wedding came up with when we asked for a kale salad. Needless to say, it was well-loved by our wedding guests (as was everything he created for us that day!).

The easiest way to do it is to grate a bunch of parmesan, make a big batch of candied almonds and dressing, then keep them on hand so you always have the fixings. The only unusual ingredient is the Togarashi, which I had to search out at our local specialty spice shop.     

Toss together:

1 bunch Lacinato/Dinosaur Kale, washed, deribbed and thinly sliced
¼ Parmesan, finely grated
1 Honeycrisp (or similar) Apple, thinly sliced
¼ cup Apple-Togarashi Vinaigrette
¼ cup Candied Almonds, roughly chopped

Apple-Togarashi Vinaigrette
½ cup Apple Cider Vinegar
2 tbsp Honey
1-1/2 cups Olive oil
1 tbsp Thyme, chopped
1 tsp Togarashi
Salt & Pepper to taste

Combine in a mason jar and shake, or mix with an immersion blender.

Candied Almonds
1-1/4 cup Water
1-1/4 cup Sugar
1 lb Almonds, raw
2 tbsp Sugar
1 tbsp Salt
2 tsp Togarashi

Preheat oven to 350° F.

In a large pot, create a simple syrup by combining the sugar and water and bringing it to a boil; simmer until the sugar is dissolved, about 3 minutes. Add almonds and bring back to a boil. Reduce to simmer for 10 minutes.

Drain completely in a colander, allowing to drip dry for 5 minutes. In a large bowl, toss with sugar, salt and togarashi. Bake on a cookie sheet for 8-10 minutes, and cool on a drying rack.     

I have this tried-and-true (and loaded with nutrition) Butternut Squash version of enchiladas, but let’s be honest—there are a lot of steps that make it rather time consuming. So when I found this recipe from Real Simple the other day, I decided to add it to my repertoire. It’s filled with just a few diverse ingredients that make it really bright and delicious!

I tweaked just a bit to make it even simpler—grab presliced mushrooms and grated cheese—and to incorporate the green chili flavor I love.  

3 tbsp Olive Oil
1 large Onion, chopped
1 Poblano Pepper, seeded and chopped
8 oz White or Cremini Mushrooms, sliced
1 tsp Ground Cumin
15.5-oz can Black Beans, rinsed
8 oz Cheddar, grated (about 2 cups)
Salt & Pepper, to taste
14 oz can/jar Green Chili Enchilada Sauce (about 1 1/2 cups)
10+ Corn Tortillas
Fresh Cilantro and Greek Yogurt, for serving

Heat oven to 400° F. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and poblano. Cook, tossing often, until the onion is browned, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the mushrooms and cumin. Cook, tossing frequently, until the mushrooms are browned and tender, 4 to 6 minutes. Remove from heat. Add the beans, 4 oz of the cheese and salt and pepper.

Spread 1/2 cup of the enchilada sauce in the bottom of a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Roll up the filling in the tortillas, dividing evenly and place seam-side down in the dish.

Top with the remaining enchilada sauce and the remaining 4 oz of cheese. Bake, uncovered, until the sauce is bubbling and the cheese is melted, 14 to 16 minutes. Serve topped with the cilantro and Greek yogurt.

Lately I’ve been making a batch of this by throwing it in a mason jar, putting on the lid and shaking. It’s perfect to have on hand for just about any salad! The secret is in picking a good quality ripe lemon. 

Here’s my favorite salad to top with this: baby spinach, good feta, grape tomatoes, walnuts, a few artichoke hearts and a sprinkling of dill and sesame seeds. So good!

Juice of one lemon
1 tbsp Dijon Mustard
4 tbsp good quality EV Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper to taste 

A few years ago I got to go to Ojo Caliente Hot Springs Resort outside of Taos, NM…my husband was skiing and I was looking for something a little more relaxing. I booked myself a massage, soaked in the springs and treated myself to lunch at their fantastic little restaurant. It was there that I had the most amazing Tortilla Soup of my life.

Since then I’ve been searching for something comparable, and now that rumors of fall are twinkling in the air, soup seems just about the only thing I want to eat these days. Luckily, I happened upon this recipe from Blue Apron and made it for the first time tonight. It was sheer bliss. A warm, tangy, salty soup with all of my favorite flavors. I even had to tweak the recipe a bit since I didn’t have everything perfectly right, and it still tasted amazing. Here’s what I came up with.   

•            6 Corn Tortillas (6-Inch, Taco-Sized)
•            1 tbsp Olive Oil

•            1 Onion, diced
•            2 Cloves Garlic, minced
•            1 Jalapeno, seeds and membranes removed
•            1 Anaheim Pepper, seeds and membranes removed
•            1 tbsp Olive Oil

•            1 14.5 oz can Diced Tomatoes
•            1 Teaspoon Ground Cumin
•            4 cups Vegetable Broth (I used 2 veggie bouillon cubes and 4 cups of water)
•            1 14.5 oz can Black Beans, rinsed and drained

•            1 Avocado, diced
•            2 Ounces Queso Fresco, crumbled or cubed
•            1 Bunch Cilantro, separated from stems
•            1 Lime, cut into wedges

Preheat oven to 475*. Stack the tortillas and cut them into ½ inch by 2 inch strips. Add 1 tbsp olive oil to cookie sheet, and toss strips to coat. When oven is hot, bake for 6-8 minutes, until lightly brown and crispy.

Dice onion, garlic, jalapeno and anaheim peppers. Add to soup pot with 1 tbsp olive oil and heat on medium. Sauté for 4-5 minutes, until veggies are soft. Add cumin and combine. Add tomatoes and vegetable broth and increase heat until it comes to a boil. Simmer for 3 minutes, then add black beans. Season with salt and pepper. Reduce heat to medium again and let sit for 10-12 minutes, until soup starts to thicken.

Divvy diced avocado, tortilla strips and queso fresco among 4 bowls. Ladle soup into the bowls and top with a handful of cilantro and serve with lime.  

Ok, not really bacon, just bacon salt! It's totally vegetarian and it adds a smoky, salty flavor to a lot of things. I'm not advocating that everything should taste like bacon, but in this recipe it really adds a great kick.

Even without the peppers, the goat cheese mixture could be a great dip for crackers, veggies or even added to a veggie sandwich. Delish!

2 Bell peppers, any color
½ cup Goat Cheese
½ cup Greek Yogurt
Zest of 1 lemon
Juice of ½ a lemon
1 tbsp Bacon Salt (or to taste)

Prep the peppers by cutting off the top and fashioning the remaining part into little "boats."

Combine all other ingredients in small bowl and mash with fork until well combined.

Place peppers on medium hot grill, skin side up, for three minutes. Turn over, fill with goat cheese mixture, and cook for three more minutes.

In light of all the brussels sprouts in my life lately (and my new obsession with combining them lemon and butter), I found a way to pull them into a simple, tangy pasta that's quick to throw together on a weeknight.  Any type of pasta will do (I'm imagining whole wheat or a gluten-free version would be just fine). Just make sure you eat it all this first night, as I found the reheated version doesn't quite cut it. 

1/2 lb short cut Pasta
2 cups Brussels Sprouts, trimmed and quartered
1 cup Pistachios, shelled and chopped
4 tbsp Butter
3/4 cup Greek Yogurt
Juice and zest of 1 lemon
1/2 cup Parmesan, shredded
Salt and pepper, as needed

Cook pasta according to package directions, salting water before boiling.

Meanwhile, heat butter in large pan on medium-high heat, allowing it to get to just browning point. Add brussels sprouts, sauteing until soft, about 6 minutes. Add pistachios, lemon juice and zest and saute for another minute or two.

Drain pasta, reserving 1/4 cup pasta water. Add pasta, water and yogurt to brussels sprouts pan, mixing thoroughly until combined. Add salt and pepper as needed. Spoon into serving bowls, topping with parmesan. Serve immediately.

Serves 2-3.

It’s winter…time to roast veggies! And Brussels sprouts are the perfect roastable veg. I found this recipe on finecooking.com and it spoke to me because a) I am a sucker for browned butter* and b) have been zesting lemons like crazy lately. The combination brightens the Brussels like nobody’s business.

Costco carries a big bag of Brussels sprouts that are perfect for this application.

 
1-1/2 lb. Brussels Sprouts, trimmed and quartered
3 tbsp Olive Oil
Salt and black pepper
4 tbsp Butter
1 tbsp Shallot, minced 
1-1/2 tbsp Lemon Juice, freshly squeezed lemon juice  
1-1/2 tsp Fresh Thyme, chopped
1 tsp Lemon Zest, finely grated   
1/4 tsp Dijon Mustard

Preheat the oven to 425°F. Line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment or tin foil.

In a medium bowl, toss the sprouts with the olive oil and season generously with salt and pepper. Spread the sprouts out evenly on the two baking sheets. Roast until the sprouts are tender but not mushy, 20 to 22 minutes, stirring once or twice during roasting.   

About 10 minutes out, combine the butter and shallot in a small, heavy saucepan. Cook, stirring often, over medium heat until the butter is melted and the shallots are soft, about 2 minutes. Raise the heat to medium high and continue cooking, swirling the pan, until the milk solids in the butter turn golden brown and the butter smells very nutty (take care that none of the shallots burn), about 2 minutes.

Whisk in the lemon juice, thyme, lemon zest, mustard, and salt and pepper to taste. Keep warm until ready to dress the sprouts.

Slide the sprouts into a medium bowl, add the vinaigrette, and toss to coat. Season to taste with salt, pepper, or extra lemon juice if desired, and serve immediately.

*My Dutch grandmother used to make a dish when I was young called Holland Beefsteak. It involved cooking steak in brown butter…I could have taken or left the steak at that point, but the aroma of the browning butter still makes me happy. No wonder I am happy to cook my veggies in it!  

As I said, I’ve been roasting a lot of veggies lately. This one is great if you have a big bag of broccoli on hand (also a great buy from Costco). I brought this to a New Year’s Eve party the other night to accompany our hosts’ Italian feast…these are a great way to add some greens onto just about any main meal. 

1 head of broccoli, or about 1 lb
2 tbsp Olive Oil
3 tbsp Parmesan, grated
Juice of 1 Lemon, freshly squeezed
Zest of 1 Lemon, finely grated

Preheat oven to 400°. Spread broccoli on rimmed baking pan and toss with olive oil. Roast for 20 minutes or until broccoli is tender but not mushy, stirring once halfway through.

Put broccoli in large serving bowl and add parmesan, lemon juice and lemon zest and mix well. Serve immediately.

So I have some friends at work—MC and LB—who are workout buddies and cooking buddies. The catch is that MC is on the Paleo diet, and LB is a long-term vegetarian. Amazingly, these two things seem to mesh pretty well when they’re cooking! (MC even has a Paleo blog, where she posted a non-veg version of this recipe.) This is their take on all the different tom kha variations they found out there.  

My first experience with this soup was at my favorite Thai restaurant in Chicago. There it was pure white, and stocked only with cilantro, tofu, green onion and mushrooms. Simple, but the perfect combination of flavors, and it quickly became one of my takeout go-tos.

Here, MC and LB futzed until they found their own version of tom kha, chock full of healthy veggies and spice.    

4 cups Vegetable Broth
1 stalk Lemongrass, about 5 inches
3 cloves Garlic 
1-1/2 inches Ginger, peeled (1-½ tablespoons minced)
2 Thai Chili Peppers  
1/3 cup Red and/or Yellow Peppers
1 Carrot, thinly sliced
2/3 cup Butternut Squash, cooked and diced
½ cup Button, White or Straw Mushrooms, cut into quarters
14 oz can Coconut Milk 
Juice of one Lime
Soy Sauce, to taste (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste

To prep, peel lemongrass until you see pale yellow. (If you already bought it peeled, you will skip this step.) Chop off 1/3 of stalk and set aside.

Bring vegetable broth to simmer over medium heat. Add 1/3 of stalk to pot and simmer for 5 minutes.

Mince the remaining 2/3 of lemongrass stalk, garlic, ginger and Thai peppers and add to pot. Simmer for 5 more minutes.

Add yellow peppers, carrots, squash and mushrooms. Simmer for 20 minutes.

Add coconut milk and lime juice.  (If you’re using soy sauce, splash that in now too.)

Serve and enjoy!

In addition to the Tuscan Stuffed Mushrooms I made for our Italian summer progressive dinner the other night, I also did these light crostini that were a big hit. I was worried that the edamame would make it too sweet, but the arugula provides a nice foil, as does the fresh lemon.

The original recipe calls for fava beans, but since they’re scarce when not in season, the edamame substitution makes this a super easy dish. I even swapped the Parmigiano-Reggiano the original recipe called for with the Pecorino Romano I was already using for the mushrooms.

1 cup shelled, frozen Edamame, thawed
1/4 cup plus 1 tbsp Olive Oil, divided
1-1/2 cups Baby Arugula (1-1/2 ounces), divided
3 tbsp grated Pecorino Romano
1/4 tsp Lemon Zest
1/2 tsp fresh Lemon Juice
1 Baguette
16 Mint or Basil Leaves, for garnish

Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle.

Pulse edamame in a food processor until very coarsely chopped, then transfer half of mixture to a large bowl. Add 1/4 cup oil, 1/2 cup arugula, cheese, lemon zest and juice, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper to edamame in processor and purée until smooth.

Add to bowl of coarse edamame, then coarsely chop remaining cup arugula and gently fold into mixture.

Cut diagonal slices (1/3 inch thick) from baguette and place on a sheet pan. Brush or drizzle with remaining tablespoon oil. Bake until pale golden and crisp, 8 to 10 minutes.

Spoon mixture onto baguette toasts, then drizzle with oil and top with mint or basil.