These are my older 2010 blog posts. They are archived to help you to find newer posts more quickly. The recipes are still delicious and useful so I hope you still try them out.
Inspired by Martha Stewart Living (August 2011) and too much lasagna pasta in my pantry, I merged a couple of recipes from the Simple Summer Pasta article (p. 132) to create the perfect pasta salad for a hot summer’s evening.
Ingredients
Lasagna pasta (8 oz)
Parmesan (grated, 4-6 tbsp)
Lemon (1, zested and juiced)
Arugula (1 box, baby leaves if available)
Mint or basil (1 cup of leaves roughly snipped)
Olive oil
Corn (2 cobs, microwaved for 8 minutes in their husks)
Pepper (to taste)
Salt (to taste)
Boil the lasagna (or any other pasta you prefer*) as directed on the package. Let it cool then place it in a large serving bowl and add some olive oil to keep it from sticking together. While my lasagna was still wet, I used my pizza cutter to slice each piece into about 12 pieces.
Place both corn on the cobs (in their husks) in the microwave and cook on high for 8 minutes. Once they are cool enough to touch, slice the kernels off the corn in pretty chunks.
Sprinkle the lemon zest and squeeze the juice over the pasta. Toss in the parmesan, pepper and salt, then let the ingredients mingle until just before you are ready to serve.
When you are ready to eat, gently fold the corn, arugula and chopped mint (or basil) into the pasta and serve.
Serves 4-6 (or 3 plus delicious leftovers for 2 the next day).
*I used Dreamfields Healthy Carb Living lasagna. It has a heavier consistency than regular pasta but it has a much lower glycemic index and higher fiber content.
Goat cheese, corn and watermelon salad with basil-balsamic dressing
My husband thought I was crazy as I prepared this salad but after one bite, he was quick to proclaim it one of my best. It’s a wonderful mix of my favorite summer fruit and vegetables so I knew it would be tasty.
Break the muddy leaves and stem off the ear of corn and microwave the whole thing on high for 5 minutes.
Cut the avocado into halves and carefully slice the flesh right in the skin – there’s no need to try a peel it as you can scoop it out with a spoon.
Trim the rind from a 2-inch slab of watermelon and chop into bite-sized cubes. You can chop more or less to taste. (I cut up more and nibble the extra pieces to distract myself from the cheese.)
The corn should be ready by now so remove the leaves and silks (using oven gloves as it’s very hot) and use a sharp knife to slice the kernels off in strips.
Now it’s time to assemble. Place the lettuce on two dinner plates and split the avocado, watermelon and goat cheese crumbles between them. Use scissors to snip the mint leaves into thin slices over the top. Drizzle the basil-balsamic dressing over the whole mixture and grind on some black pepper to taste.
Serves 2. You could buy a pre-roasted chicken to add some protein or serve more people.
Lemongrass and cilantro-crusted cod with spaghetti squash
I had cod fillets in my freezer but didn’t feel like making the South Beach recipe I had intended to make when I bought them. I wanted something simple and spicy so ventured onto the Gourmet Garden website for some inspiration.
Heat oven to 400˚F. Coat ovenproof dish with spray oil and put the cod pieces in it. Mix all remaining ingredients together and mush mixture onto both pieces of cod. Spray a little more oil then place in the oven for 15-18 minutes.
Once cod is cooking, heat pan with some spray oil and once the pan is hot, add the pre-cooked spaghetti squash. Mix cilantro, basil and chicken stock and add to squash. Add herb mixture and olive oil and simmer until the liquid has disappeared.
I decided to slow-cook some lamb shanks for Easter lunch. I combined a friend’s roast leg of lamb recipe with one from British chef Jamie Oliver.
Ingredients
Lamb shanks (4)
Onions (4)
Carrots (3 medium)
Celery (3 stalks)
Garlic (1 bulb)
Rosemary
Thyme
Bay leaves (4 small/medium)
Red wine (1 bottle)
Dijon mustard (1/3 cup)
Black pepper
Start browning the lamb shanks in a large Dutch oven/ovenproof pan then chop the onions, carrots and celery into similarly sized pieces. Most of the vegetables dissolve during the cooking process so you don’t need to be very precise.
Break the garlic bulb into cloves. Flatten and peel each one. I wear rubber gloves when I do this because the garlic oil can linger for quite a while.
Take the browned shanks out of the pan and start sautéing the vegetables in the same pan. When the vegetables have begun to soften, add the garlic, 3 tbsp of rosemary, bay leaves and 8-10 sprigs of thyme. Bury the lamb shanks into the vegetables as the onion begins to caramelize.
Preheat the oven to 400˚F degrees.
Whisk the Dijon mustard into a cup of the wine, pour the mixture over the lamb and vegetables, and then add the rest of the bottle. Grind some pepper over the top and gently mix everything together before placing the covered pan into the oven.
Reduce the oven to 300˚F degrees and cook for 3-4 hours until the meat melts off the bones. Remove the bones, bare sprigs and bay leaves. Stir the dish and mash the garlic cloves as you find them. Add salt and pepper to taste. The dish is not pretty at this point but it's delicious!
Serves 6 to 8 if you add a couple of sides. We served green beans and oven-roasted potatoes.
Chicken braised with artichoke, fennel and parsnip
Sometimes I worry about running out of an item in my pantry and end up with too much of it. At the moment, I have an overabundance of canned artichoke. This recipe looked like a tasty way to use some.
Ingredients
Chicken (1-1.5 lbs, boneless thigh meat)
Fennel (1 bulb)
Artichoke hearts (1 can, water-packed)
Red onion (1 large)
Parsnip (1 large)
Herbes de Provence (1 tbsp)
Chicken stock (1 box)
Red-wine vinegar (2 tbsp)
Olive oil (1 tbsp)
Lemongrass puree(1 tbsp)
Cut fennel bulb and red onion into wedges, and the parsnip into cubes. Sauté the chopped vegetables and drained artichoke quarters in a large oven-proof pan/Dutch oven. Grind in some black pepper and sprinkle in some herbes de Provence. Once the vegetables are softened and browned in places, place them aside in a bowl.
Preheat the oven to 325F degrees. Add some oil to the pan, crisp the chicken thighs on one side, flip them, then pour the vegetables back in the pan. Let the chicken brown for about 5 minutes and sprinkle over some more herbes de Provence. Pour in chicken stock until it covers the chicken and vegetable mixture. Place the pan in the oven for 1-1.5 hours.
Take the pan out of the oven and use a slotted spoon to transfer the chicken and vegetables into a bowl. Heat the remaining liquid on the stovetop until it thickens. Stir in the vinegar and lemongrass then add the chicken and vegetables back in. Garnish with fennel fronds.
I love any excuse to add lemon to my recipes so when I saw this recipe in Martha Stewart Living’s March 2011 edition, I had to try it. My vegetarian friends will like my adaptation because I removed the meat without losing any flavor!
Ingredients
Bay leaf
Carrot (small/medium)
Celery (1 stalk)
Shallot (or small onion)
3 cups milk + 6 tbsp (1%)
Cornstarch (3 tbsp)
Parmesan (grated, 1 cup)
Morningstar sausage-style recipe crumbles (16 oz. This is 1 1/3 bags. )
Swiss chard (1 bunch)
Lemon (1)
4 no-boil lasagna noodles
Black pepper
Salt (optional)
Roughly chop the carrot, celery and shallot. Pour the milk into a pan, add the vegetables and bay leaf, then heat the mixture gently on the lowest heat possible.
Slice the lemon into thin slices, place into a pan, cover with a few inches of water and heat. Once the water boils, reduce the heat and simmer the lemons for 9 minutes. Remove the cooked slices from the water and dry them on a paper towel or two.
Heat a third pan with some cooking spray, add 16 oz of frozen Morningstar sausage-style recipe crumbles, and brown. Once the “sausage” is cooked through, remove it from the pan and put aside.
Wash and chop the chard while the sausage browning and (to save time cleaning up) use the same pan to sauté the chard. Place the lid on the pan to begin with so the chard steams a little. Be sure to keep it moving and cook until most of the moisture has been cooked off.
With the sausage and chard now cooked, it’s time to tackle the white sauce.
Remove the vegetables from the milk with a slotted spoon, raise the heat to low-medium, and grind in some black pepper. Mix the cornstarch and 6 tbsp of cold milk in a measuring cup and once they are fully combined, add 2-3 tbsp of the heated milk from the pan. Drizzle the cornstarch/milk mixture into the heated milk and stir continually until it starts to thicken. Pour in ¾ cup of parmesan, continue to stir until everything is combined, then turn off the heat. Stir in the chard and add some more pepper to taste. I find parmesan quite salty but add some salt if you think it needs it.
Preheat the oven to 350F degrees. It’s finally time to assemble the ingredients in a 8-inch square Pyrex or ceramic dish.
Cover the bottom of the dish with a thin layer of sauce then add 2 noodles, half the sausage, a few of the less-attractive lemon slices, and half the remaining sauce. Repeat (noodles, sausage, sauce) and decorate with the rest of the lemon slices. Cover with parchment paper-lined aluminum foil and bake for 35 minutes.
Sprinkle the remaining parmesan over the top and broil until bubbly and brown.
Nigella Lawson made a version of this beef casserole on the Today Show in December and I was inspired to try it on some friends last weekend. It is best prepared a day ahead so it’s ideal for when you have guests coming — and actually want to spend time with them.
Ingredients
Onions (5)
Bacon (1 pack) – I used turkey bacon but any bacon or pancetta would work
Beef (boneless shank, 4.5 pounds cut into 2-inch chunks)
Allspice (ground, 3 tsp)
Thyme (ground, 3 tsp)
Cornbread (4-in x 4-in chunk)
Chicken broth (low-sodium, 2-3 cups)
Mustard (5 tsp, grainy recommended but I only had Dijon)
Sugar (dark brown, 4 tbps)
Dark ale (1 pint bottle, chocolate, Belgian or English)
Bay leaves (5)
Salt (2-3 tsp, smoked or regular)
Black pepper
Snip up the bacon and sauté it in a large pan/Dutch oven with some olive oil. Roughly chop the onions, add to the crisped bacon and gently cook until they’re translucent and slightly browned. While the onion is cooking (10-15 mins), mix the broth, mustard and sugar together in a jug.
Preheat the oven to 300F degrees.
Stir the allspice and thyme into the cooked onions then add the cubes of beef. I saved time by asking the butcher at the supermarket to cut the beef into chunks for me.
With the onion and beef well mixed, crumble in the hunk of cornbread then pour in the broth mixture. Stir everything together then add the beer and bay leaves then stir again. Grind in some black pepper, bring to a boil before putting on the lid and placing the very-heavy pan in the oven for 3 hours. Add salt to taste and cool the casserole completely before refrigerating overnight. The original recipe recommended moving the dish to a non-metallic container before storing.
Serves 10 with leftovers for freezing.
Next day
Place the casserole back into your large pan/Dutch oven and reheat at 300F degrees for about 1 hour. Once heated, add more pepper and salt to taste before serving. My guests brought buttered pasta, spinach salad and ciabatta bread to accompany the main dish. Everything looked and tasted wonderful together!
With all of the culinary indulgences that I enjoyed over the holidays, I need to start replacing rich meals with healthier ones again. This Tex-Mex-inspired meal is great if you are in the mood for something gooey and cheesy. I found the original recipe in Sunset magazine but have adapted it to my family’s tastes.
Ingredients (serves 4)
Mushrooms (12-16 oz)
Bell peppers (2-3, any color but I prefer red)
Sweet corn (8 oz can)
Cumin (I tsp, ground)
Coriander (1 tsp, ground)
Cayenne or black pepper (1/4-1/2 tsp to taste, ground)
Black beans (15 oz can)
Cilantro (1 cup of loosely packed leaves)
Tortillas (medium size, 3)
Green salsa (16 oz jar)
Low-fat Sharp cheddar cheese (8oz bag, shredded)
Slice mushrooms and start sautéing them. Cut the bell peppers into bite-size pieces while the mushrooms release their liquid and start to brown. Add the peppers to the mushrooms, sauté until they are soft, then toss in the drained can of sweet corn. Mix in the ground cumin, coriander and cayenne/black pepper, then take the mixture off the heat and divide it into thirds in the pan.
Puree the black beans and coriander leaves into a smooth paste and roughly divide it into quarters in the mixer. You can set one quarter of it aside if you’d like to keep the ratio of beans lower.
Now it’s time to assemble the ingredients.
Smooth a third of the black bean puree onto each of the tortillas. Spray a Pyrex bowl with cooking oil. Place one of the tortillas into the bowl and top with one third of the vegetable mixture. Next spoon over one third of the green salsa and finally, sprinkle on one third of the cheese. Repeat this process three times but keep aside extra cheese for the top so you have a delicious crust of cheese to cut through at the end.
Place the completed dish in a 375F degree oven for 40 minutes. Let the dish cool for 10-15 minutes before cutting into portions. Serves 4 generously.
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