Cauli-Corn Chowder

I LOVE creamy chowders, but I have to admit that the calorie count sometimes takes me over the edge. I cannot tell you how amazed I was to try out this recipe on a recent trip to Wegmans. Rather than a cream and butter base, it uses PUREED CAULIFLOWER. It was absolutely worth the cost to have it pureed for me. I know this means that those of you not near a Wegmans will need to figure out the pureeing part, but MAN is this soup amazing.

https://www.wegmans.com/meals-cooking/recipes/soups-stocks/cauli-corn-chowder.html

Balsamic Roasted Beet Salad

We harvested our beets this weekend.

After years of unsuccessful vegetable gardening, caused mostly by rogue deer and squirrels, we have an abundance of our summer favorites ready to harvest almost every morning. There are still adjustments and improvements to be made next year, but I've been mostly pleased with the results so far.

The beets came all at once.

After a very busy week, filled with classes and summer camps, we realized we had neglected the garden a bit, and we spent Saturday morning weeding and harvesting to find that all of the beets were popping over the top of the soil and ready for harvest.

That meant I needed to find a new recipe to try out, one that could use them all up and be enjoyed by all. As usual, Ina Garten did not disappoint. This was a very easy salad to put together, and it served as the side dish to light, oven-roasted lamb and mint meatballs.

https://barefootcontessa.com/recipes/balsamic-roasted-beet-salad

Homemade Granola Bars

My son C's best friend in the whole world lives next door. He and N are inseparable. This week, I've found myself in a major childcare/pickup conundrum due to a camp I promised to teach months ago before I knew my husband would no longer be working from home. 

Enter my neighbors, who took C for six hours yesterday and are taking him again today to go swimming. C and I wanted to bring along something sweet for the kids to enjoy, so I decided to go with another Barefoot Contessa recipe that the kids and I have wanted to try. 

These granola bars are perfect. The mix has just the right amount of sweetness and "sauce" to coat the ingredients and the kids gobbled them up!

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/homemade-granola-bars-recipe-1948524 

Peach and Blueberry Crumble

My daughter A has become enamored with the Barefoot Contessa this summer, so we checked a few of her books out of the library and have been experimenting with them for weeks. This was the first recipe that she made entirely on her own. The only variation we made was that we made the dish in one large baking pan rather than individual ramekins. 

This was a serious hit. We'll make it again very soon, for sure.

https://barefootcontessa.com/recipes/peach-blueberry-crumbles

Refrigerator Pickles

Last year, I got the greatest book at my local foods market. It covered a myriad of canning and preserving recipes, something I had gotten far more comfortable with last year. When I found myself with more cucumbers than I could handle, I decided to tackle pickles and relish.

And it was a disaster.

Fast forward to this year. My friend D finally convinced me that, especially considering how many pickles my kids eat in a week, to try her refrigerator pickle recipe. It takes more time to cut the cucumbers than it does to actually make the pickles, and they are DELICIOUS - crisp and fresh as a good pickle should be. The best part of this recipe is that if you find yourself with only one large cucumber sitting around, you can easily make a batch of pickles without much time commitment at all.

For one quart of pickles, you need:

1 qt. glass jar
4 kirby cucumbers, quartered lengthwise
3/4 c. white wine vinegar
1/4 c. small sweet onion, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, smashed
2 tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. dill seed
1 tsp. black peppercorns
1 bay leaf
2 tsp. kosher salt

Place the cucumbers in the jar. In a bowl, combine all of the ingredients with 3/4 c. hot tap water. Stir until the sugar dissolved. Pour the vinegar mixture into the jar with the cucumbers, seal the jar, and refrigerate for one day. Pickles will last for a little over a week.

Lemon Curd and Blackberry Lemon Custard: One Base, Two Great Products

A few weeks ago, one of the bakeries at the farmers' market had an abundance of meringues, and he offered them at no cost with any purchase. I picked up a fresh loaf of cinnamon raisin bread, took advantage of the complementary meringues, and headed home.

However, I now had to figure out what to do with these meringues.

I decided I would try my hand at a berry tart with a meringue base rather than a pastry crust. For that, I would need lemon curd, a product I love but had never made before. True to her "back to basics" claim, this recipe (see link below) by Ina Garten was easy to complete and the lemon curd was delicious.

Have leftover curd? This ice cream recipe (see link below) from Family Circle is a cinch and absolutely delicious.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/lemon-curd-recipe-1941910

http://www.familycircle.com/recipe/blackberry-lemon-custard-ice-cream/

Peach Melba Muffins

I love the bounty we receive in this area during the summer months. Fruits and vegetables are everywhere, but often it can become so overwhelming, especially those delicate items that have a very short shelf life.

In this regard, raspberries are the worst. I love raspberries, and I look forward to when their harvest begins, but if I can get 72 hours out of a pint of freshly picked raspberries, it's a red letter day. This morning, I woke up to find my pint from the farmers' market with little more than a couple of hours left, so I knew I needed to use them up. I decided to pair them with some ripe peaches I got over the weekend, and behold - this recipe was born.

I decided to fiddle around with an old banana bread recipe in the hopes that the muffins would be super moist. However, it's important to remember that if you do decided to use a stand mixer instead of a hand mixer for the wet ingredients, remove the bowl from the base and mix the dry ingredients and fruit by hand. This will prevent the batter from getting tough.

You need:

1 stick unsalted butter
3/4 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 c. sour cream
1 3/4 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup fresh raspberries
1 small peach, peeled and cubed to the size of the raspberries

Preheat the oven to 350. Line your muffin tin with liners. Usually, I don't like to do this, because the paper waste bothers me, but the fruit is super sticky. Makes clean up and storage easier.

In the bowl of your mixer, beat together the butter and sugar. Add the eggs, one at a time. Add the vanilla and sour cream and beat until well combined. BY HAND, incorporate the dry ingredients until JUST combined. Add the fruit and mix carefully by hand.

Scoop evenly into muffin tins. Bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Creamy Ricotta Spaghettini with Arugula

Today was a day of small blessings. Though it pains me that it comes at the expense of much wind and tree damage in the small town where I work, I was able to spend the day getting quality exercise, having coffee with two friends at two of my favorite local cafes, and the opportunity to try out a new recipe with the kids because I was home to get them off the bus, help them finish their homework and chores, and dive into my folder of recipes to try.

This was an absurdly easy dinner and makes the perfect weeknight meal. If your family is adverse or allergic to nuts, you can most certainly leave out the pistachios, but you may want to season to taste with a little more salt to make up for what's provided with the nuts, had you included them. It took no time to make, was creamy with very little added fat, and we all had second helpings.

You need:

1 lb. spaghettini or any thin spaghetti
2 tbsp. olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
1 c. roasted, salted, and shelled pistachios, chopped
1 10oz. tub fresh ricotta cheese
3/4 c. parmesan cheese
5 oz. arugula

In a large pot, cook pasta according to directions. Reserve two cups of pasta water before draining. Return pasta to pot. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add pistachios and garlic and cook for two minutes or until lightly toasted. Stir in ricotta cheese, 1/4 tsp. salt, and 1 cup pasta water until smooth. Transfer the sauce to the pot of pasta. Stir in parmesan, remaining pasta water, and arugula. Toss until smooth and pasta is coated and creamy. Top with black pepper.

Oatmeal Double Chocolate Cookies

I was first drawn to this recipe because it used whole wheat flours and very little sugar. I also knew I could modify it to use what I already had at home and to make it a little easier in the preparation. The final product was divine. These cookies are dense, chocolately and yet not overly sweet. They are rich in the middle, almost like biting into chocolate fudge. I think my improvements were worth the effort.

You need:

1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. coconut sugar
1 egg, room temperature
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 c. whole wheat flour
1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
1 c. old fashioned oats
6 oz. dark chocolate chips

In the bowl of a mixer, cream butter and sugars. Add eggs and vanilla. Mix in flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder. Fold in oats and chocolate chips. Drop by tablespoons on parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake 11 1/2 minutes at 350.

Crispy Polenta with Sauce

I love to prepare adventurous meals, but during the school year, our weekdays are often filled with meetings, sporting events, and other calendar fillers. While we enjoy these activities, it often makes it difficult to find weekday meals that are quick and serve this year's intention. This recipe, adapted from a clean-eating cookbook, allowed me to make the polenta over the weekend and simply fry it up and heat up some sauce from the pantry. The kids could not get enough of it, and it soon became a favorite weekday request. If you wish for meat for a heartier meal, use a bolognese sauce.

You need:

1 c. instant polenta
1 tbsp. fresh rosemary, chopped
1/8 tsp. chili flakes
1 garlic clove, pressed
1/2 c. Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper
olive oil
your favorite pasta sauce

Cook the polenta according to the package instructions. Stir in the rosemary, chili flakes, garlic, and cheese. Season to taste with salt and pepper and put into an 8x8 pan lightly greased with olive oil. Let cool and refrigerate at least an hour (I did this overnight). When ready to serve, invert on a cutting board and cut into squares. Sear in a non-stick or grill pan until crispy. Serve with sauce and a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese.

Black Bean Soup

There are a number of changes I've made as intentions for 2017. One is to eat more, which to some may seem the best of intentions, but for me, eating less has had detrimental effects on both my metabolism and overall health. I'm a poor morning eater, often finding myself at 11:00 having had little more than a cup of coffee, and I spend the remainder of the day making up for those calories lost, feeling bloated and full in an uncomfortable and less than satisfying way.

This year, one of my intentions is to eat larger in the AM and smaller by the time dinner comes, affording our bellies a chance to fill and digest in a healthier way. Our dinners, as a result, have been planned carefully, smaller, yet more filling and lighter at the same time, a dynamic difficult yet not impossible to achieve.

The first I tried accomplished this perfectly - a black bean soup made in a double batch to allow for plenty of leftovers for lunch during the week. While I've made a few changes to the original recipe, the idea is the same - clean, rich, and packed with nutrients. And it takes less than 30 minutes to prepare.

You need (for a single batch, serves 4):

olive oil
salt
1 lg. sweet onion, sliced thin
3 cloves of garlic, sliced thin
1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped and divided
1 tsp. cumin
1/4 tsp. chili powder
1/4 tsp. chipotle chili powder
1 cans black beans
1 qt. chicken broth

Heat a few swirls of olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onions and a pinch of salt and saute for five minutes. Add the garlic, half of the chopped cilantro, and spices and cook for an additional five minutes. Add the black beans and broth. Bring to a gentle boil and then lower the heat and simmer for twenty minutes. Using an immersion blender or small batches in the blender, puree soup until smooth. Serve with a sprinkling of the remaining cilantro, and, if desired, chopped avocado, plain greek yogurt, cheddar cheese, fresh limes, and tortilla chips.