Category Archives: healthy cooking

Posted on July 2, 2007 by Anne| Leave a comment

We Interrupt Our Mexico Reports for This Amazing Tomato Tart!!

I have more photos from Mexico but had to get this post in before the July 4th holiday. I’m sure many of you are planning some sort of bbq or picnic, and this tart is the perfect vegetarian main dish or side dish to whatever meat/fish you may be making. It’ll be a hit with carnivores and veggies alike.

As frequent readers of this blog already know, I’m quite a fan of Heidi’s fantastic blog, 101 Cookbooks, from which I got this recipe. The crust is a simple combination of whole wheat flour, white flour, parmesan and butter and the topping is tomatoes, basil and olive oil. It doesn’t get much fresher than that! You can read about how draining the tomatoes a bit and putting them in the tart at the last minute keeps the crust nice and crispy.

Some grilled veggies to go with the tart….

A bit of grilled swordfish as well……..

The sharp tang of the parmesan and the sweetness of the tomatoes (I got some gorgeous heirlooms at the Farmer’s Market) is a perfect combination. Some purple basil makes for a nice contrast of colors as well. If you’re going on a picnic you can always pack the crust and tomatoes separately, then assemble at the last minute. It’d also be a great accompaniment to some bbq’d chicken or grilled fish.

Hope you all have a happy July 4th!

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Posted in bread baking, grilling, healthy cooking, tomato tart

Posted on April 23, 2007 by Anne| 3 Comments

Product Review: Trader Joe’s Organic Sprouted Wheat Pappardelle

Who doesn’t love a big bowl of pasta? I could sit down to one any day of the week- particularly if the pasta are the wide, flat pappardelle which is my absolute favorite. Most restaurants serve these noodles with some sort of Bolognese or ragu, and I’m a sucker for it wherever I go. If pappardelle is on a menu, that’s what I’m ordering.

While I was perusing the aisles at Trader Joe’s, I noticed a new product in the dry pasta section. Trader Joe’s Organic Sprouted Wheat Pappardelle almost called out to me to buy it. I have to admit, I was a bit skeptical since a lot of the whole grain pastas out there are dense, heavy and too grainy. However, the light weight of the package and the relative thinness of the dry noodles hooked me.

I had purchased some gorgeous oyster mushrooms and red spring onions at the Farmer’s Market a few days prior, so I wanted to put them to good use. After sautéing them in a bit of butter and olive oil, I added some green garlic and thyme and them tossed it all with the boiled pappardelle. A ladle of pasta water, some fresh Italian parsley, a good pile of grated Parmiggiano Reggiano and a drizzle of truffle oil finished the dish.

The verdict? The slight nuttiness of the pappardelle went perfectly with the earthy mushrooms and bright onions, and nothing perks up a dish like real Parmiggiano Reggiano. It was so easy, healthy and delicious that I think I’ll be making this again very soon. I think this pasta is a great “star” of a dish- it would probably be best if tossed with some grated cheese and veggies like asparagus or cubes of butternut squash rather than coated with a rich tomato or cream sauce. J really loved the texture and flavor of this too.

If you’re looking for a a healthy pasta, this is a great option. I highly recommend it!

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Posted in healthy cooking, pasta dishes, whole grains

Posted on April 16, 2007 by Anne| 4 Comments

Simple Never Tasted So Good…….

I realize it’s been a couple of years since the whole roasted cauliflower craze has spread. I mean, it’s not exactly on the same level as say, the American Idol or Toyota Prius boom, but in food circles, it was pretty big news. Most people had thought of the colorless vegetable as boring, bland and out of favor (again, only in food circles;). Then one day, somewhere there came news that the plain little cauliflower transformed into something magical when roasted in the oven. Alas, a new side dish was born.

Lay out the raw cauliflower in one layer on a baking sheet……

As a long time fan of roasted cauliflower, I can’t tell you enough how fantastically easy, healthy and delicious this dish is. It’s also very versatile- you can add whatever spices you like, toss it together with some wheat pasta, buttered bread crumbs, garlic oil and parmesan for a fantastic vegetarian main course or serve it alongside any meat or seafood. I make a big batch almost every week- the results far exceed the minimal effort so I just can’t help myself. If I’m low on time (as I was this past weekend) I just buy two bags of cauliflower florets from Trader Joe’s instead of a whole head. After slicing them into “1/2 pieces, I simply toss them with a bit of olive oil, sea salt, pepper and whatever else I’m feeling at the moment. Yesterday I cut one red onion into large chunks and mixed it in with the cauliflower, sprinkled the whole thing with Madras curry powder and coriander seed, and baked at 450 degrees for 20 minutes. The hands-on part of this takes less than 10 minutes total, and you end up with a load of this caramelized, nutty and buttery dish that could hardly be any better for you.

After baking at 450 degrees for 20 minutes….

If you haven’t tried this preparation, I highly recommend it. One of my favorite dinners last week was a big bowl of this topped with finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, accompanied by a crisp, Oyster Bay sauvignon blanc. Delicious!

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Posted in cauliflower, healthy cooking, Vegetarian

Posted on March 16, 2007 by Anne| 6 Comments

Refrigerator Supper

What, you say? No, I didn’t eat my refrigerator for dinner. I’m talking about those days when you get home from work, you’re cooking for one, and therefore you don’t feel much like cooking. Thoughts of grabbing a burrito race through your head. “Oh! The corner place has pizza by the slice!” But then you see all of the stuff you purchased last weekend at the grocery store, and you know you should just use what you have. Now what? Hmmmm, I see corn tortillas but no salsa. There are a few stray veggies you have to eat before they go bad, a carton of eggs, Trader Joe’s Eggplant Hummus (a constant presence)……..”Mmmm, a sandwich would be great” but alas, no lunchmeat! Not even a can of TUNA in the pantry (yes, even Tuna Toast runs out of tuna)!

You start hearing echoes of your mom’s voice….”Don’t stand there with the refrigerator open!!!” and you know you have to make a decision. Upon inspection of the freezer, I find a bag of Trader Joe’s Grilled Chicken Strips. “Ok, that could be the meat in my sandwich.” Right next to them lie a few honey-wheat hamburger buns that J must have bought and tossed in the freezer. A peek into my pantry resulted in a can of cannellini beans, and I actually started to feel inspired. I can do this, I think to myself as my cat Cory is just hoping there’s a can of cat food in there somewhere.

After a few minutes, I had dinner- a chicken and hummus sandwich on a whole wheat bun, a side of Kashi crackers w/ hummus (hey, I like hummus ok?) and a salad of greens, roasted beets, cannellini beans and shaved parmesan. Before you wonder where I had time to roast beets, I’ll let you in on one of the best newish products at Trader Joe’s- baby steamed beets. Vacuum packed, perfectly round, sweet and tender beets found in the fresh veggie aisle. They’re awesome, and turn your everyday salad into something special. If you haven’t tried them, I insist you do. They were formerly “Melissa’s” brand, but TJ’s often buys the product and makes it their own, as in this case and with the steamed lentils, another fantastic product.

I sat down with my sandwich/salad meal, turned on channel 13 to watch repeats of That 70′s Show and enjoyed. Definitely better than takeout!

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Posted in Dinner for one, healthy cooking

Posted on February 20, 2007 by Anne| 2 Comments

Simple dinner: Soba

After what seems like weeks of non-stop eating out, I feel I need to put the brakes on restaurants for a minute (we’ll see how long that lasts!) and eat from the earth. Ok, who am I kidding- I don’t have a hippie bone in my body but I do know that I should probably try eating lighter in the next couple of weeks. Saturday’s bout of warm weather had me freaking out about not being ready for the long summer days that are probably just around the corner. Although my arms love hiding in the warm billowy comfort of my Max Studio poncho, they know they’ll have to face the world soon enough and eating six course meals isn’t the best way to contribute to the cause.

Luckily for my taste buds, I keep having a strong urge to eat hot soba noodle soup. I’ve had it twice in the last week, and I could seriously go for some for lunch today. I’m not sure what’s brought on this craving for buckwheat noodles swimming around with cabbage, green onions, bean sprouts and egg in hot bonito stock, but it probably does have something to do with all of the rich food I’ve been eating lately. The Japanese taste buds on my tongue have declared war on butter! Hai-ya!

In additon to being healthy and delicious, soba noodle soup comes together in about 6 minutes. I love TONS of cabbage, onions and green onions in mine but you can add whatever veggie you choose. Just heat up some tsuyu mixed with water, add your veggies in order of cooking time, toss in some soba noodles and then mix in an egg at the very end. Personally, I attack the entire bowl with a good dose of shichimi which adds a nice kick and extra flavor.

It’s the best kind of “fast food” there is, and also a great way to use up any leftover veggies in your fridge.

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Posted in healthy cooking, Japanese food

Posted on December 29, 2006 by Anne| 5 Comments

Chige-nabe Dinner


Continuing on our lighter-fare kick, we had chige-nabe (or kimchi nabe) for dinner the other night. Believe it or not, we’ve had this Japanese electric nabe set for FIVE years…..we got it for our wedding….and have never used it. Yes, I bow my head in shame. It was shoved way back into a kitchen cabinet, left to sit there for so long, all alone. Every time I’d open that cabinet, I’d feel so guilty about not using it, and would often think about making nabe but never got around to it. Thank goodness we finally put it to use. I can safely say that we will be having nabe more often!

The star of the chige-nabe show…..

There are many different kinds of nabe, but I chose chige-nabe because I love kimchi and it’s been pretty darn cold outside. Nothing makes you sweat better than a hot pot of spicy broth. J had never had nabe but is also a fan of spicy food. For the broth, I combined water, dashi-konbu, tobanjan (I had purchased this chili pasted at the airport in South Korea during a layover there last month), kochujan (chili/soy paste), minced garlic, minced ginger, a bit of katsuo dashi (bonito stock), red miso paste and lots of chopped kimchi. This was all put into the electric nabe and heated.

The vegetables I chose for the chige-nabe were hakusai (Chinese cabbage), tamanegi (white onions), chrysanthemum leaves and bean sprouts. I also bought a nice, firm chunk of yakidoufu (grilled tofu) to add to the veggie platter.

Veggies……..

For the meat side, I chose thinly sliced pork and some lovely hunks of black cod.

Pork- the other white meat.

After setting up shop on our table, we simply put what we wanted to eat into the pot, waited the few minutes it took to cook, then started pulling out the slightly fatty strips of pork, melt-in-your-mouth cod, wilted cabbage and tender onions into our own bowls. J loves any interactive eating, so this was definitely perfect for him. I love that it’s all very healthy, but between cooking the food, fishing it out, putting more food into the nabe and sipping the spicy broth, it’s extremely satisfying. It’s also a great way to get a ton of veggies into your meal (and your tummy).

Steaming, spicy nabe…..

The leftover stock is rich from all of the ingredients that were once in the pot, so you put leftover rice or udon noodles into the stock, drizzle a bit of egg and enjoy the second part of the meal. Unfortunately we were too stuffed from polishing off all of the meat and veggies, so I saved the broth so that we can have some zousui (soupy rice) later on this week. It’s one of my all-time favorite comfort foods!

Would you like a bite??

I’m hoping to post at least once more before the New Year….what food-related events do you all have for the New Year’s Eve or Day? Would love to hear your stories!

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Posted in healthy cooking, Japanese food