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Kale and Sunflower Seed Pesto + Roasted Red Peppers Stars = Happy Holidays Pasta!

December 20, 2011 in Vegetarian Entrees

Holiday food should be easy and festive, don’t you agree? I love creating red and green food that sparkles on a plate and just screams out “Merry Christmas!” when you sit down to eat.

I used frozen cheese ravioli, making this dish just as easy as it is bright and festive! Twenty minutes from grocery bags to table – perfect for the frantic pace of the week before Santa arrives, I say!

Real Italian pesto is crushed, not processed into a paste, but the standard American version is easy to make with a food processor. I love classic basil-and-pine-nut pesto, but decided to get adventurous and try a pesto with another green. Kale is just about the healthiest thing you can put in your mouth. And its deep, dark green is perfect for a holiday sauce.

But. The dish needed some red before it could become a truly Christmas-y pasta dish. Jarred red peppers to the rescue! Just cut them into random star shapes and you’re set for Happy Holiday pasta!

Our Best to You and Yours ~ Have a most Joyous Holiday season!

Donna & Anne

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Amy’s Spectacular Alfredo Sauce Recipe – An Easy Birthday Dinner Tribute to Amy

November 7, 2011 in Vegetarian Entrees

Amy Alfredo Sauce II

Amy Kelly Welsh and her Spectacular Alfredo Sauce

What’s better than cooking a delicious dinner for loved ones? Cooking along side your loved ones!

There are two kinds of people: those who are just present in the room and those who brighten the room they are in. My sweet Amy is in the latter group. You just cannot be in a bad mood when Amy is nearby. She has a smile and a spirit that shines brightly and warms you, welcomes you, comforts you.

Amy has been a joy and pure delight to me every single day of her 27 years – she turns 27 TODAY! If any of you out there are on the fence about whether to have children, please call me and let me talk about my daughter Amy. Plan on talking for about 3 hours because it will take me that long to tell you all the reasons I am so lucky that Amy is my daughter.

I usually make a birthday dinner for each of my kids – letting them pick their menu. But last night, Amy cooked for us for her birthday dinner. She is growing to love to cook, and has a few recipes in her repertoire that are spectacular. Alfredo Sauce is one of them.

Never, not even at fancy expensive Italian restaurants, have I ever tasted an Alfredo sauce as delicious as Amy’s. It is not just thickened cream with some garlic thrown in, but an intensely flavorful and full bodied sauce. (( WARNING: DO NOT MAKE THIS SAUCE IF YOU ARE COUNTING CALORIES. This the ultimate rich, fatty sauce! )) Try this one for a decadent Meatless Monday treat!

The Pecorino Romano and Parmesano Reggiano combination adds intense depth and flavor, and the cream cheese is much more flavorful than just plain cream. I say forget the pasta – just give me a bowl of Amy’s sauce and a spoon!

Read on for Amy’s recipe in her own words ~

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Polenta and Sauteed Greens Spirals Recipe- Pretty, Healthy and Meatless

November 2, 2011 in Vegetarian Entrees

Polenta Spirals 1865x1865

Polenta and Sauteed Greens Spirals

Who would guess that polenta could be a dish pretty enough to impress all your friends and neighbors? Heck, this one is even pretty enough to impress your boss!

Sometimes it’s all about the presentation. Sure, I have made polenta before with flavorful toppings. I even got fancy once and did a chili polenta parfait.

But then I saw a Rolled Omlette and was inspired to “roll” my polenta for a much prettier presentation. I was a little nervous that the soft texture of the polenta would turn into a big mess, but I was wrong. So, so wrong. Let me tell you, this works like a charm!

Try this humble peasant food turned into a foodie delight with a minimum of effort for your next Meatless Monday feast.

Then, sit back and see if you get a raise!

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Savory Corn Crème Brulée Recipe with Crispy Parmesan Topping and My Secret Addiction

September 13, 2011 in Vegetarian Entrees

Corn Creme Brulee 1865x1865

Savory Corn Creme Brulee

Anyone who has eaten with me at a restaurant knows I have a problem. A serious addiction. An addiction so severe that I lose control of myself.

My name is Donna and I am a creme brulee-aholic.

Every single time I read a menu with Creme Brulee listed as a dessert, I lose control. Breakfast, lunch or dinner, I simply must order it. I have eaten my weight in creme brulee over the years.

So that explains why, when I watched a recorded episode of Food Network’s Five Ingredient Fix a few days ago, I literally got up off the couch, grabbed my purse and headed to the grocery store STAT. ASAP. Toute Suite. Post haste.

You see,  Claire Robinson was making a savory creme brulee. Right, you got it: I had no choice.

 If you are a serious CB addict like me, or if you love corn like I do, I’m begging you: RUN, do not walk, to your nearest vegetable stand/grocery store/neighboring field of corn and make this dish. Before fresh corn runs out. For your next meal. Even if it’s breakfast. Or, for sure on an upcoming Meatless Monday.

Oh yeah. It’s that good.

Fresh sweet corn goodness in a creamy crispy-topped creme brulee. (Note: OK, it’s a very loose interpretation of “creme brulee.” It’s more like a fresh corn custard with a crispy top. But. Seriously. No less amazing.)

OK. Must stop writing now. I’m off to my fridge to reheat the leftovers.

– posted by Donna

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Grilled Pepper Ring Pizza on the Grill – An End of Summer Meatless Monday Feast

August 29, 2011 in Entrees, Vegetarian Entrees

Pepper Ring Pizza Square

My life improved about a million percent when I discovered that you could make pizza on the grill (or flatbread, or crostini, or garlic bread, or pretty much any bread that requires toasting).

When it is summer, nothing is better than grilling, I say!

I was thrilled to see a veggie pizza on my Secret Recipe Club blog for this month – Searching for Spice.

Corina from the UK has a lovely recipe for Vegetable Pizza on her blog – she said it is her first-ever homemade pizza! – and with my garden overflowing and my desperate attempt to keep up with it, I knew this is the recipe I had to make for this month’s Secret Recipe Club.

I was intrigued by her method of rolling out the dough by using not flour but OIL. Seemed strange at first, but then I thought that this would add a crispiness to the crust as well as making rolling easier. It worked like a charm, without adding more flour to the dough and making the dough tougher. Thanks, Corina, for this fabulous trick! I never would have guessed this is your first attempt at homemade pizza crust – it is delightful!

I changed up the sauce and just brushed Corina’s delightful crust with olive oil and herbs, sprinkled on some Parmesan and the grilled pepper rings and the result: OMG Deeeee-lish End-of-Summer Pizza on the Grill!

Happy Meatless Monday, Everyone!

– posted by Donna

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The Gestalt of the Tomato: Caprese Parfaits

August 20, 2011 in Appetizers, Gluten Free, Healthy Fare, Vegetarian Entrees

Caprese Parfaits

For years, like many members of  the last few factory-farmed, shrink-wrapped, additived-and-preservatived generations, I thought I detested fresh tomatoes. Mealy and bland, almost always refrigerated, only acceptable in thoroughly stewed or sauced form. My mom used to nostalgically describe picking tomatoes as a child, out of my grandma’s garden in upstate New York, and eating them like apples. I could hardly imagine anything more revolting at the time.

Now, of course, we’ve all become much more sophisticated, in our current local, sustainable, seasonal collective consciousness. We know that what we really loathed were the out-of season supermarket imposters, mass-produced and shipped thousands of miles to your January attempt at a  salad (probably involving iceberg lettuce, which, I notice, is making an odd sort of comeback; perhaps it’s ironic, the produce equivalent of a hipster’s PBR). A truly fresh tomato, procured in its natural habitat and life cycle, that is a completely different experience.

I can think of no better expression of Tomato, its essence, the thing-in-itself, than the caprese salad. Read the rest of this entry →

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Huevos Rancheros Recipe with Zucchini Salsa Verde – a Light Summer Meatless Monday 20 Minute Meal

August 15, 2011 in Vegetarian Entrees

Huevos Rancheros Square

Zucchini Salsa Verde Huevos Rancheros

One of my favorite go-to dishes of all time is huevos rancheros. I have been making huevos rancheros constantly for 30 years! It is a seriously delicious dish with a perfect balance of everything: sweet, salty, creamy, fresh, bright, homey, spicy, comforting, fulfilling.

And the very best thing about it? It can be ready in just a few minutes flat.

I decided to switch up the sauce to try a green sauce (OK, I’ll admit it: my garden is overflowing with zucchinis right now, do you blame me?)

This dish is so simple, there’s really not a “recipe.” So, here goes ~ just throw some zucchinis, jalapeños, tomatillos, onions on the grill until lightly charred. Then, whirl them in your food processor. Add  lime juice, just a little salt and some honey for sweetness and cilantro at the end for freshness. Add in a dash of cayenne pepper sauce if you want a kick.  Such a delightful summer sauce! Then, toast a few corn tortillas in a dry skillet. Ladle on the tortillas your sauce, a cooked egg, some diced chiles and some crumbled queso fresco cheese. Perfection on a plate!

Happy Meatless Monday, everyone!

– posted by Donn

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Zucchini Shirred Eggs Lower Fat Recipe – A Whole New Way to Use Up All That Zucchini for Meatless Monday

August 1, 2011 in Entrees, Healthy Fare, Vegetarian Entrees

Zucchini Shirred Eggs Square

Lower-fat Zucchini Shirred Eggs Baked in Ramekins

Shirred eggs are delicious and creamy on their own, but they are a little on the bland side. Just eggs baked in cream, basically. So, I decided to experiment with adding produce from our garden. I tried Swiss chard, spinach – but honestly, they were nothing to write home about. Then, I thought about slicing zucchini into paper-thin planks and use them like you would a leafy green to cradle the eggs. This was the winner by a landslide!

The roasted zucchini adds a subtle garden freshness to the eggs and dairy, and improves on the one-note flavor of the baked eggs. I also healthified it even more by using lower fat dairy than is usually called for – and a teaspoon of half and half instead of a tablespoon of cream.

In the early ’70s, I remember laughing out loud the first time I heard of a thing called “Zucchini Bread.” WHat?! Zucchini in Bread?! Absurd. Ridiculous. And then I tasted it. I was in shock for days. And  I never looked at zucchini the same way again.

This recipe is one of those recipes. You will look at zukes in a different way.

If you need to get rid of some zucchini, I highly recommend baking it with some eggs. And what the heck, you could even serve it as a Meatless Monday entree!

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Spinach Ricotta Roll – An Easy Elegant Dish from a Secret Recipe Club Challenge

July 18, 2011 in Gluten Free, Healthy Fare, Side Dishes, Vegetarian Entrees

Spinach Roll Square

Spinach Ricotta Roll

Some flavor combinations stand the test of time: garlic and onions; lemons and raspberry; peanut butter and chocolate. One of my favorite combos: spinach and ricotta. I was thrilled to find this easy and elegant way to pair spinach and ricotta in a dish that so pretty you could serve it to Martha Stewart for brunch: a savory take on a sponge cake roll.

We have joined the Secret Recipe Club – a once-a-month blog hop over at Amanda’s Cookin – an event with food bloggers supporting each other by sneakily making each others’ recipes. Don’t you just love the secret part?! And that’s how I came across this recipe.

Our assigned blog to cook from this month is cookingrookie.blogspot.com, a lovely blog from a blogger in Vancouver, Canada. We chose a vegetarian recipe with a stunning presentation: Spinach Ricotta Roll. It is low carb and I made it lower in fat than the original recipe by using low fat cream cheese and ricotta. I also added a few sprinkles of nutmeg into the spinach mixture to add some sassiness!

I used to make a pumpkin cream cheese cake roll, and the look of this dish reminds me of that dessert. So pretty on a platter – perfect for a  Meatless Monday feast!

This recipe was so fun to make! It is basically a savory sponge roll with a ricotta filling. The only thing that was a bit challenging was translating the recipe from grams into ounces, so I have added the ounces below.

Thank you, Cooking Rookie, for a fabulous new recipe ~ I’ll definitely make this again!

– posted by Donna

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Watermelon Feta Gazpacho Recipe – a Twist on the Summer Classic Cold Soup for Fun on the Fourth

July 4, 2011 in Appetizers, Gluten Free, Healthy Fare, Vegetarian Entrees

Watermelon gazpacho square

Watermelon Feta Gazpacho Recipe

Yes, I missed her gazpacho-eating days.

Anne,  my daughter, co-blogger and culinary muse, grew up in Colorado with a mom who made gazpacho (described here recently) and she downed it by the gallon.

I missed those years after she was placed for adoption. Turns out that I, too, was still a kid and had some growing up to do before I was capable of being the mom she deserved.

Since we reunited in 1999, Anne very graciously welcomed me into her life and we began cooking our way along, making up for lost time all the while chopping, stirring, braising. More importantly for purposes of this blog, we are both adventurous in the kitchen and love taking ordinary foods and tweaking them, making a whole new creation we never thought possible. Kind of like us.

So here, as a tribute to you Anne, is a fresh take on gazpacho made with the winning flavor combo of watermelon and feta. If you would have been in my kitchen with me today, I am certain we would have made this exact dish together. Tasting and laughing as we went.

I had leftover watermelon and thought of making a watermelon feta salad, which I have eaten many times in restaurants. But then I thought of Anne’s recent gazpacho post, and decided to throw caution to the wind and whirl a batch of gazpacho in my food processor.

This will surprise you – I mean, how could something that looks like salsa in a bowl taste sweet and summery and refreshing? Well, it just does.

Happy Fourth Everyone!

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