Swiss chard is so beautiful. I love the colors. (I excuse the bruising, I had the chard in my frig for a bit)

Kale is the new black. Kale is the new sexy. Kale is everywhere!

Kale has never looked so good. I remember kale used to be the garnish around salad bars. It was always underrated and now it has made a reemergence and we see it in cooking, snacks and smoothies. So I got inspired to made kale chips because I just came back from a barre class and I wanted a healthy snack. Something that was healthy, salty and crunchy. Being that I had kale and swiss chard in my frig, what better to make than kale and swiss chard chips. So there you have it, zesty lemon kale chips and spicy swiss chard chips.

There are a lot of recipes that entail tossing the leaves with olive oil and the salt before baking. I have found that it was too salty for my taste. I prefer baking the leaves first and then sprinkling with salt after.

Zesty Kale Chips

• 1 pound Tuscan kale (1 to 2 bunches), thick stems removed and leaves sliced crosswise into 2-inch pieces
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
• lemon juice
• sea salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Toss kale with oil, and spread in a single layer on each of 2 rimmed baking sheets. Bake the kale and rotating sheets halfway through, until crisp, about 10-15 minutes. Sprinkle with lemon zest, salt and a squeeze of lemon juice. Let cool on sheets.

Spicy Swiss Chard Chips

• 1 pound swiss chard (1 to 2 bunches), thick stems removed and leaves sliced crosswise into 2-inch ribbons
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• garlic powder
• cayenne pepper
• paprika
• sea salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Toss chard with oil, garlic powder, cayenne, and paprika and spread in a single layer on each of 2 rimmed baking sheets. Bake the chard and rotating sheets halfway through, until crisp, about 10-15 minutes. Sprinkle with salt and let cool on sheets.

Enjoy!

It’s the middle of summer and I’m making a very comforting winter-like meal. Sometimes I just need a break from the salads and lean meals and dive into a bowl of creamy, savory comfort food. Polenta goes so well with almost any protein and vegetable. It’s a perfect blank canvas for anything you want to put in it. I just so happened to have mushrooms and cauliflower in my pantry. So just be creative with whatever you have in stock. I eventually put a poached egg on top after I took this picture just because I wanted more creamy yolky goodness.

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups of vegetable broth
• 1/2 cup of milk
• 1 cup of corn grits (fine cornmeal or quick cooking-polenta)
• 2 tablespoon of butter, divided
• 1/2 cup of grated parmesan cheese (any cheese you like, pecorino romano, goat, asiago, manchego, cheddar…)
• salt and pepper
• 3 tbsp of olive oil, divided
• 1 lb of mushrooms (whichever you like)
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• thyme leaves from 3 sprigs
• 1 teaspoon of lemon zest (optional if you have a lemon)
• cauliflower florets from 1/2 head of cauliflower

Bring vegetable broth and milk to a boil in a heavy saucepan. Slowly incorporate the grits in a slow stream and lower the heat to just about simmering. Constantly stir until liquid is absorbed and the polenta is thick and soft, 15 mins. Remove from heat and stir in butter, cheese and season with salt and pepper.

While the polenta is cooking, heat a large skillet with olive oil and butter. Add the mushrooms and cook over moderately high heat, without stirring, until browned on the bottom, about 3 mins. Continue to cook until the mushrooms are browned and tender, about 6 mins. Add the garlic and cook about 1 min. Stir in thyme, lemon zest and season with salt and pepper. Set aside in a bowl.

Wipe the skillet down with a paper towel, and return to heat. Add 1 tbsp of olive oil and saute the cauliflower, 3 mins. Add the garlic and cook about 1 min. Pour 1/4 cup of vegetable broth into pan and continue to cook the cauliflower until they’re al dente. Season with salt and pepper.

Plate the creamy polenta with mushrooms and cauliflower. Sprinkle with more cheese if desired. I topped this dish with a poached egg (drools!).

Not my prettiest picture.

I used spam (lite!) because I didn’t have canadian bacon on stock. If you haven’t notice I only make things that I have readily at hand. I’m not always a great planner when I cook and I’m usually very hungry so I don’t have patience for grocery shopping. That’s why I always encourage creativity and similar substitutions for ingredients. Anyways, this post is just a refresher for poached eggs since I posted a similar recipe a long time ago and hollandaise sauce.

Poached Eggs

What you need: fresh eggs, pot of water, white vinegar

• Heat a pot of water, half way filled, to the point where its just about to simmer.
• Crack the egg into a small container (ramekin, teacup, expresso cup) for easy pouring.
• Put a splash of vinegar into the hot water.
• Using a whisk, create a whirlpool with the water.
• Gently drop the egg in the direction of the moving water.
• Don’t be alarm, the egg white will gradually wrap itself around the egg.
• Let it cook depending on how runny you want your yolk (I leave it in for a few minutes). Remove with a slotted spoon, taking the edge of the spoon to scrap and cut the stands of egg whites that have not adhere to the egg.
• I usually carefully run the spoon and egg under a gentle stream of cold water to stop the cooking process (too lazy to make a bowl of ice water).
• Place on paper towel to drain excess water.

Easy Hollandaise

(I use the double boiler method sometimes, but using a blender is great/easy)

What you need: 2 large egg yolks, 1 tbsp of warm water, 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice, 3/4 tsp salt, 1 stick of unsalted butter (melted), blender.

• In a blender, combine egg yolks, water, lemon juice, and salt; blend until frothy.
• With blender running, pour in melted butter in a very thin stream, blending until sauce is thick and emulsified.

Happy Birthday Paula!!! This post is dedicated to you:

I’ve certainly been taking advantage of this fine summer weather by grilling very often, preparing summer vegetables and eating light so that I don’t look like a lardo at the pool/beach. I made this dish yesterday for my vegan neighbor. She came over with an empty stomach and I wanted to whip up something quick. Since is was pouring rain, we confined ourselves to the apartment. Luckily I had a medley of summer vegetables: eggplant, yellow squash and zucchini. I used the grill pan on the stove top, but you can certainly use an outdoor grill.

Ingredients

• 1 japanese eggplant, cut into 1/2 inch slices
• 2 yellow squashes, sliced lengthwise into 1/2-inch-thick rectangles
• 2 zucchinis, sliced lengthwise into 1/2-inch-thick rectangles
• olive oil for brushing
• salt and pepper
• handful of parsley, roughly chopped

Dressing

• 1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tbsp of soy sauce
• 1 tbsp of balsamic vinegar
• 1 garlic clove, finely minced

Heat grill or grill pan on medium-high heat. Brush the vegetables with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grill vegetables, few minutes on each side. The trick to getting nice grill marks is to not move the vegetables once they are placed on the hot grill. Arrange on a platter/plate.

Make the dressing by whisking all of the dressing ingredients. Drizzle over vegetables and garnish with parsley.

I love being known for food and cooking around my friends and coworkers. I am the go-to for recommendations for good eats for family and friends (which necessarily isn’t a perk). What I love most is that I receive a lot of great food gifts, goodies and kitchen accessories. Most recently, my coworkers have been giving me herbs from their garden. Works out perfectly for me since I live in a box with indirect sunlight and the only plant that has survived is a cute little cactus plant. I’ll take anything I can get. My coworker got me a bag full of mint, one of my favorite herbs! I wanted to make something fresh AND refreshing. Vietnamese salad came to mind and since I had leftover grilled chicken breasts and vegetables, I had the perfect combination for a hearty summer Vietnamese salad. I used mint soley, but you can add whichever herbs you want: coriander, thai basil, etc.

Ingredients

• 1-2 cups shredded chicken
• 1 english cucumber, thinly sliced (however you like)
• 1/2 yellow onion, thinly sliced (red onion works great too)
• 1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup fresh mint leaves, roughly chopped
• peanuts, roughly chopped

Dressing

• 2 tbsp fish sauce
• 2 tbsp fresh lime juice
• 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 1 inch ginger, finely grated (garlic works great if you don’t have ginger)
• 1 fresh bird’s eye chili, deseeded and finely minced (optional, if you like spicy, sriracha or dried red pepper flakes works great if you don’t have fresh chilis)

Combine all the ingredients for the salad besides the peanuts. To make the dressing, combine all of the ingredients with a few tbsp of water to dilute the concentrated dressing, to taste; stir until the sugar is dissolved. Drizzle over the salad and garnish with peanuts.

This dish is a great vegetarian/vegan dish, just exclude the protein

Um, yes… I have no valid excuses for not updating besides being lazy. I mean, a girl needs a vacation every now and then, right? (so what if it was a really long vacation, I needed it)

So, I made this dish for my boyfriend and I one weeknight for dinner and now I cannot stop thinking about it. My boyfriend raved about this dish and he doesn’t raved about much (besides soup dumplings). So for me, that was a huge indicator that I made something special.

This is a take on a very traditional italian dish. I basically substituted risotto rice with quinoa. Replacing the arborio rice with quinoa was genius idea because quinoa has so many more health benefits and protein.

**I used the same large wide saucepan for each step. I don’t like (I mean I LOATHE) washing dishes. I just wiped it with a wet paper towel when I started in the risotto step.

Ingredients

• 3 tbsp of olive oil, divided
• 2 tbsp of butter, divided
• 4 garlic gloves, minced
• 1 cup of mushrooms, sliced (use whichever you like, I used baby bellas bc that’s all my local supermarket carried)
• salt & pepper
• 1/2 yellow onion, diced
• 1 cup uncooked quinoa
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 4-cups of fat-free chicken broth or vegetable broth
• 1/2 lb of sea scallops
• 1/4 cup of parmesan cheese, grated
• handful of parsley leaves, roughly chopped

In a pot, bring the broth to a gently simmer while cooking the risotto. This will maintain the cooking temperature of the risotto as you make it and also speed up the process.

Heat 1 tbsp olive oil and butter in a large wide saucepan on medium heat. Add 2 tbsp of garlic and then mushrooms; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Saute until soften and brown, about 5 minutes. Set aside in a bowl.

Using the same pan on high heat, add 1 tbsp olive oil and remainder of butter. (Remember to have on HIGH heat to ensure a great sear on the scallops). Sprinkle salt and pepper to the sea scallops, add to the pan and pan sear, 2 minutes each side. Set aside.

In a saucepan, add remaining olive oil on medium heat. Add onions and garlic; stir for a few minutes until translucent (be careful not to burn the garlic). Add quinoa for 1-2 minutes, until fragrant and toasted. Pour wine and stir until liquid has been absorbed.

Pour the heated broth to the quinoa, one small ladle at a time. Stir constantly until the liquid has been absorbed, then ladle in more broth. Continue adding broth and and stirring until quinoa is cooked (no longer crunchy), about 25-30 minutes. Sprinkle in salt and pepper to taste, parmesan cheese and and mushrooms, gently stir. Top with succulent scallops and garnish with chopped parsley!

As the weather is getting warmer and the sun is setting later, I have been making sangria more often as a way to unwind after work. Sangria is also a fun get together kind of drink. Its easy to drink and even non-red wine drinkers enjoy it. While drinking sangria is fun, having them as popsicles is even more fun. Especially on a hot summer day. I didn’t do anything special, I just used the leftover sangria and poured them into popsicle molds.

Red Sangria

• 1 bottle of fruity red wine
• 1/2 cup fresh orange juice
• 2 tablespoons of lime juice
• 1 shot of Brandy (I didn’t use any bc I didn’t have any at hand, so optional if you have)
• 2 tablespoons of sugar
• strawberry slices
• orange slices
• lime slices
• mint leaves (optional for a zesty kick)

To make sangria drink: Combine wine, orange juice, lime juice, brandy and sugar; stir until sugar is dissolved. Add strawberry slices, orange slices and lime slices; stir the mixture and refrigerate for at least an hour. If you plan on drinking the sangria, add 1 cup of lemon-lime soda, stir with some ice and serve.

To make the sangria popsicles: Follow directions for sangria drink, but exclude 1 cup of lemon-lime soda. Pour sangria mixture into the molds, add fruit into the molds and freeze for at least 4 hours.

I love egg salad sandwiches. One of my simple yet favorite things to eat from time to time. Not sure how popular egg salad is since someone recently told me that it was old people food. Nonetheless, I adore them and I love this recipe because avocado makes everything better too (plus bacon)! I rarely eat white bread, but I really like white bread for egg salad. You can forgo the bread and make lettuce egg salad sandwiches!

Yields: 2 servings

• 4 hard boiled eggs, removed yolk from the whites and dice the whites
• 1 avocado, halved and dice the 1 half
• 2 tablespoons of light mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon of dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon of lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon of parsley, minced
• salt and pepper
• sliced bread (or lettuce if you’re on low carb diet)
• lettuce
• 4 turkey bacon slices, cooked

In a bowl, mash 2 whole egg yolks and half of the avocado together. Then incorporate the diced egg whites, mayonnaise, mustard, lemon juice, parsley and salt and pepper and fold everything together.

Place 2 slices of bread on a work surface. Evenly divide egg salad among bread slices. Add lettuce greens, bacon and avocado slices, if desired. Top with remaining 2 slices of bread and serve.

Quinoa with Grilled Asparagus, red peppers and brussel sprouts.

So I’ve been hearing from some friends that I have been slacking on this site. I’m sorry, I’m running out of excuses besides I have little free time AND I literally watched all of Game of Thrones from beginning to present within a span of a couple days. I couldn’t stop, its so suspensful and intriguing. Here is what I made for dinner today. This is a great simple, summer meal, perfect for dinner and then lunch the next day. You will feel satisfied, but not bloated! And since everyone is a on a quinoa craze, I figured I make a new quinoa post. If my avacado was ripe, I would have added avacado too. Enjoy!

I grilled my vegetables because I love grilling and I like charred and smokey flavor, but you could easily roast your chicken and vegetables as well.

• 1 cup quinoa
• 2 cups low sodium chicken broth
• 2 chicken breast
• 1 bunch of asparagus, thick ends cut off
• 1 red bell pepper, cut into chunks for grilling
• handful of brussel sprouts cut in half
• olive oil
• salt and pepper
• garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon of dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon of parsley, roughly chopped
• shaved parmesan cheese or feta (optional)

Combine quinoa and chicken broth in a small pot and bring to a boil. Once boiling, turn down to a simmer, cover the pot and continue cooking for 10-15 mins. Fluff quinoa with fork.

On a baking sheet, toss all the vegetables in olive oil and salt and pepper. I placed the brussel sprouts in a grill basket. Do the same for the chicken breasts. Grill all the vegetables few minutes on each side, or until charred marks formed. Grill chicken breasts 4 mins each side.

Make a vinaigrette of 3-4 tablespoons of olive oil, 2 tablespoon of lemon juice, 1 tablespoon of dijon mustard, salt and pepper and 2 teaspoons of garlic powder. Whisk all ingredients until well incorporated.

Cut asparagus on a bias into 1 inch pieces. Dice the bell peppers and chicken breasts. Combine vegetables, chicken and parsley with the quinoa and dress with the vinaigrette. Add parmesan or feta cheese if desired.