Salmon with mustard dill sauce

I love salmon. It's healthy, easy to make, cooks up fast, and you can prepare it a million different ways (at least). Pair up a piece of salmon with some steamed vegetables to make the perfect mid-week meal.

Mustard Dill Sauce
(adapted from a chow life)

1/2 cup course-ground mustard
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup olive oil
4 teaspoons sugar
1/2 cup chopped, fresh dill

Mix all ingredients and allow flavors to mingle at least an hour. In the meantime, I broiled the salmon after seasoning with salt and pepper.

**This sauce was very tasty, but next time, I'll add some lemon zest and replace the heavy cream with yogurt to make it a bit lighter. Also, this makes a lot of sauce - if you are making a one pound piece of salmon, you can reduce this by at least half.

Mark Bittman saved my cabbage

I made this dish a while ago, but it was so tasty and easy, I must tell you about it. At the time, I had half a head of both red and green cabbage leftover from making cole slaw. I don't like to waste food and try my best not to let things rot in the back of the refrigerator. Usually I can think of a dish or find a recipe suited to the leftovers I have on hand. But these cabbages were tormenting me. No creative ideas sprang to mind, and all the recipes I found involved buying even more ingredients, which I did not want to do. Just as I was about to throw in the towel and make another batch of cole slaw, Mark Bittman spoke to me. Yup, Mr. Knows-How-to-Cook-Everything-Simply-Bittman saved the day. There he was, on PBS "taking on" an American chef, making spaghetti with cabbage. Brilliant! This was all I needed to use up my own cabbage.

I sauteed some chopped onions and garlic, then added the shredded cabbage, both red and green (I think Bittman added anchovies and used only one kind of cabbage in his version, I don't exactly remember). I cooked the cabbage down, seasoned with salt, pepper, and a pinch of hot pepper flakes. Meanwhile, I cooked up some spaghetti, very al dente. I added the cooked pasta to the cabbage and threw in some starchy pasta water to coat the spaghetti, then cooked until the pasta was ready. I served it with some freshly ground black pepper and grated parmesan cheese.

Have lots of pulled pork? Make burritos!

I described the pulled pork I made in my previous post, however, I didn't tell you that I made a lot. A LOT. After we enjoyed our pulled pork sandwiches, I froze half of the meat and was still overwhelmed with the leftovers. The next 2 nights I enjoyed these burritos, which were exceptionally good. The meat was even more flavorful on the second day, so I piled it into to a tortilla with rice, black beans, homemade salsa, chunks of avocado, and some plain yogurt (in place of sour cream). The burritos were super fast, super easy, and delicious! Lesson learned: a 9-pound pork shoulder is way too much meat for two people.

Tofu, mushroom and swiss chard over wild rice

Hmm..... random weekday night, I'm hungry, it's late - what should I eat? Wild rice? Okay, I'll cook that with some veggie broth for added flavor. Fry up tofu, set it aside. In the same pan, saute chopped onions and garlic. Add some shiitakes, cook 'em up. Season with salt, pepper, and a pinch of red pepper flakes. Add the tofu back to the pan. Add swiss chard, cook until just wilted. Season again. Throw the veggies over the rice. Want some more protein? Add some poached eggs. Tasty, easy, and (if you don't stop to take a bunch of pictures) pretty quick too.

Sesame green beans

Quick, tasty meals are most convenient during the holiday season. In between working, holiday parties, baking treats, planning elaborate holiday meals and shopping for gifts, you need to eat dinner. This preparation of green beans is fast, easy, and packed with flavor. I eat these green beans often. They go great with simply grilled or broiled beef, chicken or fish. I served this batch with a fresh piece of tuna, lightly seared. Yum!

Sesame green beans
(Sorry, there are no exact measurements for this dish. I make the sauce to taste; it's better that way!)

~3-5 tablespoons soy sauce
~2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
~1 tablespoon sesame oil
~2 tablespoons honey
green beans (picked and rinsed - dry them as best you can)
sesame seeds (to taste)
olive oil

Whisk together the first 4 ingredients in a bowl; taste and adjust as necessary. Set bowl aside. Heat olive oil in a frying pan over medium high heat. When hot, add the green beans, and cook for few minutes until the beans just start to cook and are bright green. Add a splash of water to the pan (not too much - a few tablespoons is enough) and cover to steam the beans for a few minutes. Don't overcook. When the green beans are almost done, remove the cover and cook off any remaining water. Add the sauce - cook down a bit. Sprinkle liberally with sesame seeds & serve immediately.

I'm obsessed with chickpeas

Are you? You should be.

Chickpeas (easily one of my top 5 all-time favorite foods) are the best kind of tasty business - yummy and healthy. They are flavorful and filling, with a robust, nutty flavor. Chickpeas are extremely versatile and can be eaten by themselves or added to pastas, sauces, soups, salads, or any other dish you can dream up. They can also be ground into flour to make bread and other baked goods or roasted and seasoned for a tasty snack.

Chickpeas are quite nutritious and pack a lot of nutrients. They are full of protein, fiber, and complex carbohydrates. They low in fat, and the fat they do contain is the heart-healthy, unsaturated kind.

As a kid, chickpeas were my favorite treat. Coming from an Italian-American family, they were called "cecis" in my house. I didn't even know they were called chickpeas or garbanzos until way too late in life. I loved to eat them right out of the can with just a splash of Italian salad dressing. I still do this all the time (I've gotten slightly more sophisticated and make my own dressing now). I add chickpeas to as many dishes as I can and many of my meals are centered around them. "Chickpea Salad," which is composed of chick peas and any chopped veggies I have on hand topped with a splash of olive oil & some salt and pepper, is a staple in my house. Chickpea salad is a great lunch (easy to pack and take to work), light dinner, or side dish.

What is your favorite way to eat chickpeas?

My favorite brand of chickpeas are Goya, which I buy both canned & dried. Cooking dried beans takes a bit of time, but is well worth the effort. You can use the cooking water as a flavorful addition to broth, or other recipes. But when pressed for time, canned chick peas are easy, convenient and still delicious. Just be sure to rinse the canned beans before you use them.

Fun facts about chickpeas:

• The chickpea (Cicer arietinum) belongs to the Fabaceae family.
• The name chickpea can be traced back to its Latin name, cicer, from which the name Cicero (the famous Roman statesman, scholar and philosopher) was taken.
• A chickpea may also be known as a garbanzo bean, Indian pea, ceci bean, bengal gram, chana, kadale kaalu, sanaga pappu, shimbra, or Kadala.
• The chickpea is actually a seed, and its outer layer, or seed coat, accounts for about 15% of its weight.
• The small little hole at the bottom of the chickpea is called the hilium, where it was once attached to its pod. Chickpeas (and other legumes) absorb water through the hilium, both while they grow in the ground and cook on your stove.
• Chickpeas are one of the earliest cultivated vegetables; 7,500-year-old remains have been found in the Middle East.
• The ancient Roman cookbook, Apicius, gives several recipes for chickpeas.
• Chickpeas can be roasted and brewed as a substitute for coffee beans and were grown for this purpose in some areas of Germany during the World War I.
• India is the largest producer of chickpeas, followed by Pakistan and Turkey.
• There are two types of chickpeas: Desi and Kabuli. The Desi variety is smaller, darker and has a rougher coat than the widely-used and recognized Kabuli.

Veggie and chick pea soup is perfect for a mid-week meal; it is easy, quick, nutritious, and delicious. The recipe below details the ingredients I used last night; but this soup is all about improvisation. I served the soup with cheesy toast (french bread slices broiled with goat cheese and thyme and drizzle of olive oil).

I have made many varieties of this soup using whatever ingredients and herbs I have on hand. I encourage you to do the same.

Veggie and Chick Pea Soup
2-3 carrots, peeled and chopped

2 onions, chopped

4 garlic cloves, minced

4 stalks celery, chopped

1 head broccoli, chopped

3 sprigs thyme

1 bag of spinach washed, picked and chopped

2 cans chick peas, rinsed

6-10 cups stock or water*

1/4 pound orzo

Salt & pepper to taste

Grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

Heat a few tablespoons of olive oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pot or dutch oven. Saute the carrots, onions, garlic, celery, broccoli and thyme until the veggies are soft. Add the spinach, season with salt and pepper. Cover to wilt the spinach a bit. Add the chickpeas and stock. Bring to a simmer. Taste and season with salt and pepper again if needed. Simmer for 20-30 minutes. Remove the thyme. Bring the soup up to a boil, and add the orzo. Cook until al dente. Serve hot topped with grated parmesan cheese (or drizzle with some tasty olive oil).

*Note: I used chicken stock I had made & stored in the freezer a few weeks ago. You could use any broth you like - veggie, chicken, or beef. Many store-bought varieties are tasty & good in a pinch. If you don't have broth you could use water - just be sure to taste & season accordingly.

Pan-seared scallops

Scallops are interesting shellfish - they are the only bivalve that swims. Scallops don't attach to rocks or bury themselves like other mollusks; instead they lie free on the ocean floor. They escape predators by using two central muscles to close their shells together, force water out one end and propel themselves through the water. The largest of those muscles, the adductor, serves as the main protein storage component for the scallop. Proteins (or amino acids, particularly glycine) are broken down into glucose, giving the scallop its signature sweet taste. The scallops we purchase and eat are really just the large, central adductor muscle of the scallop. The smaller, tough little muscle that is sometimes attached to scallops is the muscle that holds the shells together. This little muscle should be removed before cooking.

We typically eat 2 different species of scallop. "Sea scallops" (species Pecten) are larger and harvested from deep, cold ocean water year-round. "Bay scallops" (species Argopecten) are smaller and are dredged or gathered by hand closer to shore during a defined season.

Most scallops, following harvest and shucking, are treated with a polyphosphate solution for better preservation. These "wet packed" scallops lose some flavor and contain a lot of liquid. Be sure to drain the scallops thoroughly on paper towels before cooking. Alternatively, you can purchase "dry packed" scallops which have not been treated with any solutions. They can be more difficult to find and are more expensive, but are worth the effort.

Scallops are popular across the world, but particularly in New England, where they are often served fried or broiled with butter and breadcrumbs. However, I love the sweet taste and chewy texture of scallops so much that I prefer a simpler preparation. Pan-searing is a quick and easy method that allows the true taste of the scallop to shine.

I rounded off dish with couscous and spinach sauteed with garlic. After searing the scallops, I added a bit of butter and white wine to make a pan sauce that I drizzled over the dish.

Quick Sunday Night Tastiness

I decided to start this thing off with a very easy dinner - hardly cooking really, just tasty business. It was a late Sunday night in my new home and there was not much time for preparation. There was a crazy thunderstorm outside. I decided to swing by Trader Joe's (so happy to be living close to one now!) and see what I could throw together. I saw some fresh ravioli and was sold. To start, I toasted sage & garlic in melted butter.

I tossed the boiled ravioli with the butter, garlic and sage, topped it with some parmesan cheese and fresh cracked black pepper and voila! Tasty business dinner in no time.