from the kitchen: spinach, artichoke, chickpea dip

This winter we've been eating a lot of vegetarian dishes at home. My spinach, artichoke, chickpea dip is super easy and incredibly flavorful, and makes a great snack. What's nice too is that these are items we often just have on hand, so there's no need to make a special run to the grocery.

Ingredients:
1 can artichokes
about 1/2 cup frozen spinach, thawed
about 1/4 cup chickpeas
juice of 1/2 lemon
about 1/4 cup of good olive oil
about 1/2 teaspoon each of turmeric and curry powder
pinches of salt and pepper
cilantro to dress, if desired

I added all of these ingredients to my Cuisinart and blended until it's nice and creamy.

And, then I add a touch of cilantro for some more flavor, and serve with pita chips.

{baked} honeycrisp apples

Happily, honeycrisp apples are back in season. I sliced one up and baked it at 225F for about an hour and a half (turning them once 1/2 way through). Their delicious fragrance filled our home - it was the lovely smell of early fall.  

just fruit - perfectly sweet and crisp!

from the kitchen: {gluten free} blt's

We enjoyed another simple dinner using key ingredients straight from the garden. With juicy sliced tomatoes, arugula and basil in lieu of plain lettuce, and gluten free toast for me, our BLTs were delicious! It's one of the tastiest, most simple dinners. 

from the kitchen: {gluten free} pizza

Tonight we enjoyed some home-made pizza: gluten free crust, fresh mozzarella, olive oil from our recent trip to Italy, and tomatoes and basil direct from our garden. 

I can't think of the last time I bought any vegetables from the grocery since our garden has been producing so much this summer. I hope we get at least another month of fresh, garden produce!

dinner, from the garden

Perhaps it was because of today's heat, but neither my husband nor I were particularly hungry this evening. We decided a light meal would do the trick, and a salad put together with ingredients from the garden was the perfect solution. With lots of arugula, thinly sliced radishes, an assortment of herbs, and the simplest of dressings - olive oil, balsamic, sea salt and black pepper - it was the perfect summer night meal.  

as fresh as can be!

from the kitchen: gluten free pasta with kale

Looking for more gluten free dinner options? Here's an easy pasta with kale dish we tried a few evenings ago - it was quite tasty, and despite the lack of meat, it was very hearty. I started by cooking the kale in olive oil, garlic, and red pepper flakes and once the kale wilted a bit, I added a few dashes of balsamic vinegar. After this cooked down I simply tossed the kale with black bean pasta. This gluten free pasta has 20 grams of protein per serving, and I thought the taste was quite good - much better than some gluten free pastas I've tried before - making it a great substitute for "regular" pasta.

a heavenly scent

Even on a cold day my kitchen's little herb garden smells like summer. It's quite nice to just stand by these herbs and breath deeply, not to mention pinching a few sprigs here and there to use in dinner. With lavender, thyme, mint and Cuban oregano, it's a heavenly scented mix. 

from the garden - veggie pasta

We threw together a veggie pasta a few days ago from odds and ends we had on hand. With eggplants, tomatoes, bell peppers, and patty pan squash from the garden and then mushrooms from the market, I cooked them all on a stove-top grill with olive oil and a splash of balsamic vinegar. We tossed them once they were cooked down with nice grill marks, with quinoa pasta and topped that with a little fresh mozzarella and basil. It was delicious!

all of the veggies ready to cook

ready to eat!

my breakfast of champions - egg quesadilla

Without a doubt, I'm a breakfast person, though I really can't stand anything sweet in the morning, and in full disclosure most sweets anytime of day make me a little sick in my stomach. But I make up for my dislike of sugary sweets (caveats: I do like fruity desserts like sorbet, I love honey and once in awhile will crave very dark chocolate) by adoring savory flavors! Recently, I've been thoroughly enjoying "breakfast quesadillas" made with soft corn tortillas - I find the "Food Life's Sprouted Corn" to be the best - 1 egg, a little shredded cheddar, and some of my homemade salsa. It's been a filling breakfast that sticks with me throughout the morning and because I significantly reduced gluten from my diet for health reasons, the corn tortillas satisfy my taste for something starchy, plus they're just delicious!  

Making these quesadillas really couldn't be easier. Over medium heat, I add the egg in a pan, toss in a few spoonfuls of salsa and stir, then I throw in a pinch of cheese and let that all scramble. Meanwhile in another pan I heat up one tortilla then once the eggs are cooked, I top the tortilla with the eggs add a little bit more cheese and then top that with the other tortilla, letting it all cook so that the bottom tortilla is nicely toasted. Once it's a little firm, I flip it over and let the other side cook. After slicing it up, I dollop more salsa on top and devour my new favorite breakfast! I don't really count calories or think too much about fat - moderation is more my mantra - but I can't imagine that this breakfast is anything but healthy with 1 egg, 2 small corn tortillas, lots of salsa, and just a few pinches of cheese. Healthy and delicious equals my version of a breakfast of champions. Give it a try!

salsa time

We are in the midst of a bumper crop of tomatoes. We've been enjoying homemade salsa all summer, but now there's so many tomatoes that we can't eat and cook with them fast enough so today I made lots and lots of salsas. I played around with the combinations of flavors - a little more spice, a little more lime so each batch will be a little different, but each will be full of bright and bold flavors. It will be great to pull them out in the winter and enjoy some flavors of the summer. There is just nothing like homemade salsa!

tomatoes galore!

what would I do without my Cuisinart Mini-Prep?
might be my favorite kitchen appliance ever!

4 types of salsa -
red, orange, green and then a mix of all

caprese salad with heirloom tomatoes

What better way to enjoy 2 incredible heirloom tomatoes - grown a little less than 20 feet away from our kitchen table - than with a beautiful Caprese Salad? Slicing both a Ponderosa and Thessaloniki tomato and then topping each slice with gorgeous and creamy fresh mozzarella, basil (also from the garden), a pinch of sea salt, and a drizzle of EVOO and balsamic vinegar results in one of life's most simple yet amazingly delicious salads. This is reason enough to grow one's own tomatoes!

the slightly larger slices are the mild Ponderosa
and the slightly smaller are the more
robust Thessaloniki - both are
incredibly juicy

yum!

sprouted

On a recent trip to my favorite garden nursery in town, I looked at the seed section and came across a sprouts, sandwich mix. I decided I'd give growing sprouts a try, and little did I know how easy it is to grow your own sprouts, right on the kitchen countertop. With little more than a seeds, water, a glass bowl/jar, a rubber band and some cheese cloth sprouts emerged from the little seeds. It takes just a few days and the results are peppery, crisp, delicious sprouts. 

the seed package -
note the price
I used maybe 1/5 of the
seeds at a time

doesn't look like much, right?

a day or so into the sprouting process

these sprouts are almost ready -
they just need some sunlight to green up

the finished product!

herbs de kitchen countertop

A love for gardening is in my DNA.  This genetic predisposition, coupled with the very happiest of childhoods spent alongside my mom among her flowers and veggies, makes it's safe to unequivocally say: I adore gardening. To me, there aren't too many things that beat having my hands in the soil and tending to my garden, well except maybe eating some freshly picked treasure, maybe like an heirloom tomato that is so perfectly composed of both flavor and juiciness. Oh, I get excited just thinking about it! I live in a state where I spend 1/2 the year in the garden and 1/2 the year dreaming about my garden. And, obviously, I'm in the middle of the latter right now. 

Growing a few herbs on the kitchen countertop this winter has been one of those "little things" in life that this blog is all about. It's brought a small, healthy dose of garden freshness to my winter kitchen. I don't have many herbs, just three - bay, chives, and thyme. And in the interest of full disclosure, at 1st there were 4, but alas, my rosemary didn't survive long inside. That's okay though. I'll happily take the 75% success rate. When the temperature began to drop, maybe in late October or so, I just dug up these herbs and placed them (most lovingly, I have to admit) into their new homes - ceramic pots. The herbs seem quite content indoors and other than the dearly departed Miss Rosemary, are thriving.

The simplest of joys, to me, is to cut a few sprigs of thyme to throw into a dinner. It's such a small act, but it brings about so much satisfaction. Tell me, isn't this thyme beautiful? And, look at the shadow it casts on the wood cabinet. Have you ever seen such a delicate form? 

thyme & chives

delicate, practically
ethereal thyme

popcorn perfected

This popcorn is nothing less than amazing.  It's my rendition of the popcorn served in lieu of bread at Graham Elliot: http://www.grahamelliot.com/.  Chicago is full of incredible restaurants, and this is one of my favorites - super creative and delicious food without an ounce of pretension.  Every time I've eaten there I was able to experience something completely new.  Graham Elliot's popcorn was so delectable, and I knew pretty much immediately after tasting it the first time that I would have to try my hand at making it at home.  My version turned out to be so close to the real deal - I couldn't be more pleased with the delicious results!

Here's what you'll need:
good popcorn (I like making mine on the stove top)
just a little canola oil to pop the corn with
chopped chives
grated Parmesan cheese
truffle oil
Kosher salt
coarsely ground black pepper

Basically, all you need to do is make your popcorn, add your dry ingredients and then drizzle with the truffle oil.  The end result is the most flavorful popcorn you can imagine.  Give it a try - I promise you won't be disappointed!

the ingredients

amazingly delicious truffle oil

the end product...
this picture doesn't do it justice!

chocolate almond brownies

Brownies are my go-to baking choice mostly because they're so easy.  And for me, when making brownies adding nuts is a must.  I love how they add crunch and just a little bit of different flavor.  I really am partial to almonds and they're the perfect addition to a pretty traditional brownie recipe.  I've tweaked a brownie recipe that I came across a few years ago and I think the result is so very good - these are the moistest brownies ever!  


Ingredients:
2 sticks unsalted butter
8 oz semi-sweet chocolate
2 cups sugar
1tsp good vanilla extract
5 eggs
2/3 cup flour
1/3 cup good cocoa powder & about 1T for dusting pan
pinch of salt
1 cup roughly chopped almonds

Preheat oven to 350F, butter & dust a 13x9 pan.  Over lowish heat melt your butter and chopped chocolate, until smooth.  Stir in your sugar, vanilla & eggs.  In a separate bowl combine your flour, cocoa powder & salt.  Take your dry ingredients and whisk into your wet ingredients until all combined.  Add the almonds & stir.  Pour and spread into your pan, bake for 25-30 minutes.  Wait to cool and enjoy.  I hope you give them a try!

a few of the ingredients

almonds and chocolate - not a bad combo

ready to enjoy
with a little whipped cream

roasted chicken plus 3

One of my favorite dinners to cook, especially in the winter is roasted chicken.  It never ceases to amaze me just how tender, juicy, and flavorful the meat is - so much better than boring chicken breasts!  I bought a 7lb. bird for the two of us, and we thought we'd see just how many dinners we could make from 1 chicken. 

Dinner #1 - Roasted chicken - a lemon half in the cavity for extra juiciness, garlic inside and underneath the skin, and thyme throughout.  So delicious!

juicy chicken full of flavor

Dinner #2 - Grilled panini wrap with chicken breast, cayenne black beans, Wisconsin cheddar and a cucumber yogurt sauce - a really great contrast between hot and cool.

spicy black beans with cool cucumber sauce

Dinner #3 - Rigatoni with chicken, grilled asparagus, Greek olives, and parmesan cheese.  A simple dinner with a nice glass of wine is almost always my favorite.

chicken, asparagus, olives
and rigatoni = a perfect combo!

Dinner #4 - Carrot and ginger soup made with chicken stock.  I used 1 potato and 1 sweet potato to give the soup some thickness, and to my surprise, no cream was needed.  Sprinkled with chives for the perfect topping.

savory and sweet - so nice a cold night

Kind of hard to believe that at the core of each of these meals is one $7 chicken!