Farmer’s Market Sandwich (Again)

I’m kind of obsessed with this sandwich.  I made it for dinner Tuesday night, and then had it again for lunch Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.

It’s good, ya’ll.  Even if you’re not a big fan of squash, you might like it this way.  Besides, what else are you going to do with all the extra squash your neighbor keeps giving you?

I made a video how-to of this last year, which I’ll post at the end.  But if you prefer the drool-worthy picture step-by-step, here you go.

You’ll need: squash or zucchini, olive oil or balsamic vinaigrette, pesto, basil and real mozzarella (the kind that comes in a ball). 

1. Preheat oven to 350. 

2. Cut your squash (and/or zucchini) into rounds that about as thick as a quarter. 

(PS, that’s my cute sister in my kitchen!)

3. Lay the squash coins out flat on a cooking sheet.

4. Drizzle with olive oil or… even better the balsamic vinegar recipe I gave you in my previous post!  Sprinkle with Mrs. Dash’s, or Italian Seasoning or good ol’ salt n pepper.

5. Roast the coins in the oven at 350 for 20 minutes.  Check them half way through, and flip ‘em over.

6. Meanwhile, spread about 2 tsp of pesto on a slice of bread.

7. Lay two thin slices of mozzrella (abt 1 oz) on the bread.  Sprinkle a little pepper on, and microwave for 10 seconds just to get it a little melty.  This is about where you should be dying from the delicious aroma of pesto + melted cheese. 

8. Cover the mozz with basil.  I really don’t believe in too much basil, but use your own discretion. 

9. Once the squash is cooked, add it as the “meat” of your sandwich.

10. Devour.  Repeat for the next four days in a row.

Okay, if that wasn’t good enough for you, you can watch me make it here.  This is a lower-calorie version with a few swaps, but the steps are still the same. 

Farmer’s Market Bounty

I was just thinking to myself the other day that I wished we still operated in a world where “bartering” was common and people paid for services with fresh eggs and zucchini and green beans, cos I had a hankering for some farm fresh food and no space in my day to get to the Farmer’s Market!

Be careful what you wish for, right?  A day after thinking this thought, I was given a bag of green beans, a bag of zucchini and squash, THREE bags of basil (pesto), a whole heap of cucumbers and some heirloom tomatoes.  It was time to get cooking!

Roasting is so absurdly easy it shouldn’t even be called a technique, but I think it is truly the most delicious way to prep a vegetable.  Really…. better than a Bloomin’ Onion.  Roasting brings out the natural sugars in vegetables and makes their flavors sweeter, more potent and diminishes the bitter flavor that turns many people off from veggies.

Almost any veggie can be roasted.  My favorites are zucchini and squash, green beans, asparagus and root vegetables (onions, potatoes, beets.)

Prep work:

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.  A nice toasty oven is the key to roasting.
2. Chop veggies into even sized pieces.  I like either “one bite” or “two bite” pieces.  (You know, a piece you can eat in either one bite or two bites.)

3. Put your veggies in a ziploc bag and add 1 T of olive oil.  You may have to adjust that depending on how many veggie pieces you have, but I find that’s enough to cover a whole cookie sheet of veggies.  Shake shake shake to coat all the pieces.
4. Lay out in a single layer on a cookie sheet.  If you’re not into messes, you could cover your cookie sheet with tinfoil and you’ll have the easiest clean up EVER.

5. Sprinkle with a little bit of rock salt, and pepper if you’d like.
6. Roast for 10 minutes.  Take out and move around (stir, flip, shuffle… just wiggle them around a little bit.)  10 more minutes, shuffle.  10 more minutes.
***Pay attention after the 2nd 10 minutes (20 minutes cook time.)  Some veggies will be done at this time.  You can taste or poke to be sure.
7. EAT!  )That’s my favorite step, of course.)

Alternative Options:
#1) Dress with balsamic vinaigrette for a little more flavor (works especially great on squash and zucchini.)
Shannon’s Homemade Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing (makes a big batch)
2/3 cup olive oil
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
1 T dijon mustard
1 T sugar

In case you’re wondering, Shannon was the owner of the coffee/sandwich shop I worked in all through high school.  We kept this dressing on hand and put on just about every salad and sandwich we made.  I still keep a batch of it on hand at all times.

#2) Toss afterward with a homemade vinaigrette.  Here’s one of my favorites to toss on green beans.
3 T olive oil
2 T white wine vinegar
2 t sugar
1 t dijon mustard
Any chopped herbs you might have (parsley, basil, dill) or a pinch of dried basil
Put in a glass jar with a lid and shake to emulsify, pour over hot green beans and serve!

Now, heat up that oven and get you some veggies!

Pesto!

For Valentine’s Day, my husband gave me a plant.  It’s called a polka dot plant.  And it’s sitting on a pot behind my kitchen sink.  The fact that it’s actually alive, a whole five months after I have acquired it is a miracle in and of itself.  I’m not exactly known for my green thumb.

One of these days though, I’d like actually have a garden.  I’d like to experience putting seeds in the earth and getting my hands dirty and seeing the fruits (and veggies) of my labor sprout out months later.  In the meantime, though, I’ll have to be content with polka dot … and my friends sharing the excess production from their labors.

Last week we had a potluck party to celebrate a friend’s birthday and another friend leaving for Italy.  Our friends showed up with dinner dishes in hand, and a bonus – basil!  Three of my girlfriends – Jamie, Anne and Akanksha – all came with a Ziploc baggie full of basil.  I knew exactly what I had to do with all this fragrant delicious green stuff… make pesto!

This recipe comes from my Aunt Jennifer.  It’s incredibly simple, but so flavorful.  I make it in my food processor, but for years – during college and grad school – I would actually make it in a blender.  (Meaning if you don’t have a food processor, don’t despair… you can still make this!)

Here’s the recipe:
2 cup packed basil leaves
½ cup parmesan cheese
1/3 cup toasted pinenuts
2 cloves garlic
¼ cup olive oil
2 Tbsp red wine
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp salt

Throw in a blender or food processors.  Whirl.  Eat.

Uses for pesto:
-          My Aunt Jennifer always cooks tortellini and chicken and tosses it in pesto.
-          I toss on roasted beets + potatoes for a little flavor.
-          Make a Caprese salad (sliced tomatoes, mozzarella and basil) and drizzle a little pesto over.
-          Slice a French baguette into thin slices, drizzle a little bit of pesto on each piece and add chopped tomatoes on top.  Broil for instant bruschetta!

Pesto IS very calorically dense (cheese, olive oil, nuts….) – so remember, a little bit goes a long way.  But it’s a great way to use fresh basil from your garden, as well as heart healthy olive oil and nuts, and antioxidant-rich garlic.

Other variations include swapping the pine nuts for walnuts, and swapping basil for other fragrant herbs like parsley or sage.  (See my parsley pesto here.)

The OMG Salad

I saw a picture of this salad on my friend Jenn’s Twitter stream the other day and thought “OMG.  I have to make that.”  Usually when I bookmark recipes, it’s a few weeks (months… years…) sometimes before I remember to get back to them.  Not this one.  I saw the picture Monday and made the salad Tuesday.  And ate again for lunch on Wednesday.  It is that good.  I like to give credit where it’s due, and from what I can tell, this is where the recipe originated.

I have since renamed it the OMG salad, because that was what I said immediately upon tasting it.  I know it’s just a salad but well… did I mention there was chocolate involved?  Ok, just go ahead and take a peek.  The recipe follows below, straight from Mindy’s blog.

Vinaigrette

• 1 can (15oz) of Mandarin oranges (drained while saving 1/3 cup juice)
• 1/3 cup Champagne Vinegar
• 1/3 cup white chocolate chips
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 4 tablespoons olive oil

Salad

• Spring Greens
• 2 ½ cups strawberries- sliced
• ½ cup mandarin oranges
• ½ pint blueberries &/or blackberries
• ¼ red onion sliced thin
• ½ cup blue or goat or feta cheese (optional)
• ½ cup slivered almonds or pecans toasted on the stove**

Mise en Place.

How To:

1. Drain oranges and keep 1/3 cup of juice.
2. In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine Mandarin orange juice, vinegar, salt and sugar. Heat until sugar is dissolved.
3. Remove from heat and add white chocolate pieces stirring frequently…once melted whisk in olive oil.
4. Pour over salad.

**Don’t skip this step.  Roasting the almonds brings out a really unique flavor to them, and this can be your protein on the salad. 

Please note: The dressing will harden/separate as it cools. Don’t be afraid of this. Just remember to sit it out in the sun or pop it in the microwave for a few seconds and whisk/shake before serving.  I found this made enough dressing for me to have 4 salads, at 200 calories a serving.  Granted that’s high for a dressing, but there’s chocolate in it… so you sorta saw that coming right?  But this salad was so filling, it’s all I had for my meal (add another 200 for salad/fruit/2 T nuts/2T cheese) and it was enough.

Ok, stop reading this and go make your salad now.

Summer Pasta Salad

One of my favorite things about cooking in the summertime is that a meals that are simple and light are what naturally appeals to me, anyways.  This is a dish I threw together to basically use up some ingredients in my pantry and fridge and it ended up being SO yummy. 

What you’ll need: whole wheat pasta, asparagus, shrimp, garlic a crumbly cheese like feta or goat, white wine and olive oil.  You could probably sub in chicken for the shrimp if you don’t like seafood or can’t eat it.  Optional: green onion.

Cook the pasta per directions, using 2 oz per person.  (If you don’t have a small scale you can keep on the counter, I highly recommend getting one like this!  You can buy a fancier one if you want to, but you don’t need to.)  Make sure it’s whole wheat pasta – the sugar rush you get from white pasta just isn’t worth it.  I made enough for four servings in the instructions/photos below.

While the pasta is boiling, cook the asparagus in a little bit of olive oil and minced garlic – you want them to still be crunchy, so aim for al dente.  Once they’re almost done (5 minutes?), add the shrimp and any other extras – I added green onions just because I had them on hand.

Once the shrimp turns pink, it’s time to get sauce-y.  Scoop the shrimp + asparagus mixture out of the pan, and set aside.  Turn the heat down to a low simmer and add 1/2 cup of a dry white wine to the pan, scraping the pan as you go.  Let this simmer for just a few minutes to thicken.

Remember, always cook with a wine that you’d drink!  No pouring the cheapo bad stuff in – you’ll taste the difference.  (If you’re planning on having a wine with dinner, even better if you cook with that wine – perfect compliment.)  **If you don’t want to cook with wine, you should read another blog… you could try chicken stock or a little bit of apple juice spiked with lemon juice to cut the sweetness.  Although, I have honestly no idea what that will taste like… let me know if you try it!

I used Chateau St. Jean Fume Blanc from my Sonoma County trip… a favorite!

Once the sauce has simmered, toss together with cooked veggies + shrimp, then sprinkle on cheese.

This meal pretty much begs to be eaten outside a pretty spring (or summer) evening.  And that is exactly what I did!  Also, you can eat this hot or cold.  I actually liked it better the next day when I had it for lunch and ate it cold.  The sauce settles in a little more, and it’s yummy and refreshing!

****

Oh you want the stats, eh?  Well, here they are to the best of my knowledge.  I’ve tried to reconstruct how much I used of each item, and entered that into the calorie counter here. 
For four servings: 400 calories per serving, 11g fat, 5g fiber, 455mg sodium, 23g protein.
8 oz whole wheat pasta
8 oz shrimp
1 T olive oil
1/2 bunch asparagus (or as much as you’d like)
1 minced garlic clove
1/2 cup white wine
4 oz feta

Technorati Tags: cooking, healthy cooking, dinner, shrimp

Just One Thing

A few years ago, we were hosting an old friend and her new boyfriend for dinner.  Her boyfriend was asking me about my line of work, and asked me if I had to give just one recommendation or one tip to someone who wanted to make a drastic lifestyle change what would it be.  Wow.  I racked my brain to try and think of what one and only tip I would recommend to someone.  I know I didn’t come up with an impressive answer then, but today, with a few more years and having worked with a few hundred more people, I think I know what the answer is.  Are you ready?

Cook.

Yup!  That’s my one word answer: cook.  Obviously, there list of lifestyle changes people could make to improve their health or achieve wellness goals is a long one (and I already have issues with brevity, as you may have noticed from many posts), and of course there are many ways to cook that are, well, less than healthy.  But I can tell you with certainty, that every meal you eat away from your home impacts your health. 

And no, I’m not just talking about fast food.  Yes, you get major kudos if you haven’t driven through a drive-thru in decades.  But don’t fool yourself into thinking that just because a menu offers a “Guiltless Gourmet” or has a white tablecloth that it’s a good for you choice.  (It may be a better for you choice, but not necessarily a good for you choice.  An important distinction.)

Before you start thinking I’m here to ruin all your fun, I’ll be the first to confess I love a good meal out.  I love it when someone else does the dishes and the cooking, and I love the socializing with friends and family over a delicious meal.  But I try to recognize that even the grilled chicken salad at my favorite local restaurant is going to be a more indulgent choice than most anything I’d make at home. 

For starters, portion sizes are way too big.  That’s easily contended with: split your entree in half, and bring the rest home.

But the trickier part is all the extras that are served up with our meals, most notably sodium.  Even some of the “guiltless” choices on a menu will have a day and half’s worth of sodium, and some restaurant salads contain more calories than a burger and fries.  Having calorie information on menus (by 2014) is going to go a long way in helping us make better restaurant choices, but until then, sometimes it’s a complete guessing game!

This brings me back to cooking.  If you value your health, you need to know what goes into the preparation of your meal and with the exception of very few resaurants, there’s no way to be sure of that except to cook at home.

Cooking doesn’t have to be complicated or time-consuming.  To keep it both simple and quick, keep your meal simple.  I love to cook and use new recipes, but on busy nights I use this formula: one protein, two veggies, one starch.  Planning what we’ll have at the beginning of the week ensures I have ingredients on hand, and using short cuts like frozen vegetables and qiuck cooking rice puts dinner on the table quickly.

I started this particular section of my blog because I really wanted to demonsrate that healthy eating didn’t have to be boring, nor did it have to be difficult.  I’m fortunate that I enjoy cooking, but really what drove me to learn how to do it was simply wanting to be healthier.  When I come across a recipe with a cooking technique I don’t know, I go search youtube videos to find someone to show me how to do it.  I’ve learned everything from roasting a chicken to searing tuna from youtube. 

I also understand that if you live by yourself, it often feels like more of a hassle to cook and clean up for one than it’s worth.  I understand that – my husband works a lot of night shifts as a emergency medicine intern and I can tell you exactly what I feel like having for dinner when he’s not home:

Cereal!  The dinner of champions.  And hey, sometimes I do.  You know what?  I’ve even had popcorn for dinner before. 

But I notice that when I don’t have a “real meal” I’m more inclined to graze thoughout the rest of the night.  And besides, I finally realized if I value my husband enough to cook him a healthy meal (most) nights, then I should probably extend the same courtesy to myself.

So I thought I’d demonstrate a little experiment here.  How much time and how much effort does it take to make a home-cooked meal for one?

Cooking Start Time: 5:57 PM.  Meal plan: brussel sprouts w/ 1 piece of bacon, cooked carrots, grilled tilapia + grilled pineapple.

Time completed: 6:07 PM.  Ten minutes!  Let’s Eat!

Ok, I know that brussel sprouts won’t be the first thing many of you are inclined to cook…   Not bad for ten minutes worth of work. 
(If you’re counting, that entire meal is 400 calories, 375 mg sodium, 12g fat, 25g protein.)

And, just for “extra-credit” I thought I’d check how long it took me to clean up (since honestly that is MY number #1 reason to want to go out to eat!)  I set my timer for ten minutes…

And it only took seven!  (Dishes in dishwasher, wash pans, wipe off counter tops + clean stove, put away ingredients.)

Start small, and make gradual changes.  If you’re currently eating every meal out, aim for cooking just one or two nights at home.  If you’re eating every every meal out, start with breakfast or lunch – much easier than dinner, especially if you make ahead.  Lifestyle change sounds daunting, but it’s really all about small gradual changes.  Take small steps towards regular at home meals and your health will reap the benefits.

Cooking With Wine: Steak and Couscous Salad

What could possibly be better than going on a tour of wine country with four of your best friends?  How about if those four friends also have to be phenomenal cooks?

I just got back from a trip to Sonoma with my college girlfriends, and while vineyards were certainly the high point of our trip, one of my other favorite parts of the trip was gathering with my friends in a beautiful kitchen every night and taking turns cooking and sharing our joy of food with each other.

Wine Country Kitchen, Best Friend Cooks.

We were there for 3 nights, so we shared cooking duties – each of taking on appetizers, side dishes, main entrees, and of course, dessert.  Many of the meals were as healthy as they were delicious, so I thought I’d share them here.

Our first night there, Jess was in charge of the main entree.  Her meal was a variation of a recipe she’d come across in Real Simple, and it was exactly that – but very delicious too!  She grilled both London broil and chicken (catering to our various preferences) and cooked couscous on the stove.

Grill Master Jessie

She also caramelized onions, tossed with peanuts.  The onions/pine nuts were tossed with spinach, and an olive oil / balsamic mix and then the steak and couscous were placed on top.

Simple, but delicious, and we all loved it.  (Paired with the Friends Red from Preston Vineyards.)

A few notes about couscous if you’ve never tried it… it’s definitely a love/hate kind of food.  It’s fluffy, and a little bit like orzo or rice.  It’s a whole grain, which means it’s a great source of fiber, b vitamins, niacin and selenium.  It’s about calorically equivalent to rice.

(Picture does not represent the following… my portions were a little larger today!  But here are some stats: 3 oz steak, ¼ cup cooked couscous, 1 cup spinach with a 1T:1T oil/vinegar mix = 345 cals, 33g protein, 17g fat (3.5 sat), 10 g carbs.  Lots of yum.)

Quiero Fajitas.

Fajitas!  Fajitas fajitas fajitas.  How have I been going on and on about my food for so long and not talked about fajitas yet?  This is an every few weeks standard in our house because: 1) it’s easy. 2) it’s fast. 3) it’s healthy.  Win, win, win.  Also, living in North Carolina, you really can’t escape falling in love with Mexican food.  When you make Mexican at home though, you don’t have to do battle with the chips basket!

You can do any combination of protein and veggies that you want, and it’s basically just a matter of chopping and heating.  I’ll give you the run down of what I made the other night, but honestly, you could open your fridge and make these tonight with what you have on hand.

(I’ll show you the sauce I made too, but you can just use olive oil, some chili powder and garlic to flavor it.)

Okay, enough talk.  Let’s HEAT!

Here’s the cast and crew.  Some protein (chicken in this case), and veggies (peppers) and tortilla shells.

For the sauce: limes (or lime juice), Worcestershire Sauce and Tabasco *Chipotle* sauce.  This a combo my friend Kate suggested a long time ago, and I’ve used it ever since to give my fajitas a smoky taste.

For those of you who like precision in the kitchen: the juice from 2 limes (~1/4 cup), 1/4 cup of Worcestershire sauce and 1 Tbsp of the Chipotle sauce, depending on how much heat you want.

Chop veggies up into 2-bite pieces.  I usually use peppers and onions.

Kitchen hint!  To make clean up easier, I put a plastic grocery bag inside a bowl.  Throw all your cuttings in there, and when you’re done, just scoop up the bag and throw it out.  This will save you from having LOTS of clean up when you’re all done.  (Obviously you could compost it, too… I’m not there yet, but maybe YOU are!)

Onwards!

Put your cut-up veggies off to the side, and get your protein out.  You will cook this first, but cutting it second prevents you from having to get a second cutting board out.  (Another kitchen tip, free from me to you!)

Cut the chicken (for whatever protein you are using) into 2-bite pieces as well.  Do ya’ll know what I mean by 2-bite pieces?  Hopefully that’s self-explanatory, but you know, a piece you could eat in… 2 bites!  (This makes it easier to eat AND cook.)

Add some olive oil to a medium-heat pan.  For fajitas for 2, I use 2 Tbsp of olive oil.

Add the chicken to the pan, and cook it to almost finished.

Add the vegetables, and cook to the texture you want.  (I like ‘em crispy.)

By the way, you probably want a bigger pan than what I used here.

Add the sauce that you mixed up earlier.

While the sauce simmers with the fajita mixings, put tortillas on a plate with paper towels and a little sprinkle of water.  Microwave for 30 seconds.

Scoop the fajita mixings into a bowl.  Serve with sour cream, salsa or whatever you want!

And then… it’s time to EAT!  “Vamos a comer!”

(Directions for homemade tortilla chips to be forthcoming!)

Chai Tea… And Then Some

Ever since my first job as a barista at a canal side coffee shop, I’ve been kind of obsessed with chai tea lattes.  I made them with various mixes and eventually graduated to buying bags of chai tea and just mixing it with hot milk.  Last year a friend of mine brought me back real Chai from India and I was smitten.  It was a whole new flavor experience…. Kind of like going from Boone’s Farm to a Cakebread Chardonnay.  (Sorry, any Boone’s fans out there…)

A few months ago, I posted a blog about my chai tea recipe and I was pretty psyched when I got a follow up comment from Ricardo from Yogic Chai.  He offered to send me some tea samples, and I said sure, cos who doesn’t love free things right?  I wouldn’t say I was skeptical, but I wasn’t expecting much more beyond my already delicious chai.

Ya’ll.  There are different kinds of chai tea.  Did you know this?  I did not know this!

I took my first sip of coconut chai tea and thought …wow.  No bitter after taste.  Silky smooth.  I didn’t even need to add honey… (Which was good, because apparently my Southern to the bone hubby had used it up on biscuits the night before. )

The next one I tried was coconut chai.  COCONUT.  I’d be stretching a little bit to say that I felt like putting a tiny umbrella in my cup and kickin’ back on a beach… but it was pretty darn delicious and lovely.  (It ended up being my fave, in fact.)

BUT ANYWAYS… the rest were all delicious too.  I even got to the point where I was just having the tea sans latte part.  I know that’s going to sound crazy to you veteran tea drinkers out there, but i really have never just liked straight up tea.  But, I’m a convert.  It can be done.

So now that I’m done gushing, go ahead and check out his site.  If you break each order down by the cup, you’ll be amazed at how affordable it is.  (Especially when I think about what I pay to go through a certain drive-through once a week and get my tea of the week latte.)

(And for the record and doing right by the FTC, Yogic Chai did not pay me any moola to promote their products.  Just tea.  And since it was delicious, I am passing the rec on to you.  Go, go get it.)

Self-Portrait of Tea Time

Save 15% on your order at Yogic Chai using the code “meghan” if you shop by Wednesday, March 31st!

Don’t Get Crabby! Make These Cakes!

Ever since living in Baltimore, I have become enamored with crab cakes.  However, most of the time when you order them in a restaurant they tend to be more filler – mayo and bread – than actual delicious, good for you crab meat.

But, I’ve got good news for you: you can make them at home, they’re quite easy and they can be healthy and delicious.

(And by the way, if you can’t eat shellfish, you can buy imitation crab which is usually another white fish, like Alaskan Pollock.)

Assemble the ingredients: 1 pound lump crabmeat, 4 egg whites, 1 piece whole wheat bread, Old Bay Seasoning, olive oil.

Mash up the crab meat with a fork, breaking the pieces up.  The smaller they are, the easier your cakes will hold together – although I personally love crab cakes with bigger pieces!  So this is up to you.

Add the 4 egg whites.

Pulse 1 piece of whole wheat bread in a food processor or blender and add crumbs.  *You can also skip that step and use 1/2 cup of bread crumbs or panko.

Add in Old Bay seasoning.  This is a must! Ok, if you don’t have this on hand, you can add salt, pepper, a pinch of paprika, mustard and celery seed.  But really… if you’re going to make crab cakes, you should have Old Bay seasoning.

Shape into patties.  The smaller they are, the easy they will be to flip in your skillet.  Using a pound of crab meat should make about 6-8 patties.

Add 1 Tbsp of olive oil to a hot pan, and add the crab cakes.  Cook on each side until golden brown.

I love to serve these on a bed of green lettuce.  They are the perfect complement to greens!

You can also serve them the old-fashioned way with tartar sauce, but try mixing in some greek yogurt to your mayo to cut down on the mayo.  Once you add in the pickle relish and a squeeze of lemon juice, you won’t pick up on the yogurt at all.

Then, sit back and enjoy!  I like to pretend I’m sitting at the Inner Harbor in Baltimore, about to get ready to go see the O’s play at Camden Yards!

Dad & Meg, Camden Yards, 2005

(Stats: I use 2 Tbsp of olive oil total, a Tbsp for each batch of 4.  That’s included in the stats.  Each patty is 100 calories, 4 g fat,  10 g carb, 6.5 g protein.)