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{ Not another granola blog }Archive for April, 2007
Farfalle (Bow Tie) Pasta and Peas
Hooray for bow tie pasta! I decided to combine several recipes that had ingredients that interested me.
Farfalle (Bow Tie) Pasta and Peas
Serves: 2
4 oz (2 servings) Farfalle pasta
1/2 tablespoon of olive oil
1 small shallot, finely chopped
1 -2 tablespoons soy milk
1/2 package (5 oz) of frozen peas (thawed)
1/2 tablespoon of lemon juice
1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese, plus more as a topping (optional)
1. Cook pasta according to pasta instructions (usually 8-10 minutes).
2. While the pasta is cooking, warm olive oil in a skillet, adding the chopped shallots. After 4 minutes add the soy milk and peas. Simmer 3 minutes on medium heat. Add lemon juice.
3. Combine pasta and sauce, add Parmesan cheese (optional). Salt if needed.
Diet – Carb heavy pasta.
Vegan – Use vegan pasta noodles, skip the Parmesan cheese.
Ingredient List: farfalle pasta, olive oil, shallots, soymilk, frozen peas, lemon juice, Parmesan cheese (optional), salt.
Cook book: Adapted from ideas in Everyday Food: Great Food Fast by Martha Stewart Living Magazine
Spicy Black-Bean Cakes
Prep Time: 20 min. Well, it took me an hour! It was worth it though. Wow, these are really good. They make great leftovers too. The sweet potato gives it a really interesting taste, and I love the lime sour cream dip. I’d never thought to put jalapeno chiles and lime juice in sour cream.
Diet – These patties are pretty healthy because they’re broiled in the oven, instead of fried.
Vegan – Leave out the egg. Substitute dairy sour cream for tofu sour cream.
Ingredient List: black beans, olive oil, scallions (green onions), garlic cloves, jalapeno chiles, cumin, salt, sweet potato, egg, breadcrumbs, sour cream, lime juice.
Cook book: Everyday Food: Great Food Fast by Martha Stewart Living Magazine
Poppy Seed Pear Salad with Roasted Almonds
This is a refreshing spring salad that is easy to make and has a fun “do it yourself” feel. Set out bowls of diced pear, chopped roasted almonds and lettuce. Mix individually in bowls and drizzle with poppy seed dressing.
Diet – Dressing is high in fat, but no saturated or transfats. To reduce fat content, use a half-serving or make your own with low-fat yogurt and poppy seeds or olive oil, lemon juice and poppy seeds.
Vegan – Yes!
Ingredient List: Bartlett or Bosc pear, lettuce (your choice), roasted chopped almonds, Brianna’s Poppy Seed Dressing.
Pear Custard Pie
This is a really easy, crustless recipe. Making pie crusts is one of my biggest cooking dislikes, so I love this recipe! The leftovers are great for breakfast because it’s low in sugar and really quick to reheat.
Diet – This recipe is already pretty healthy!
Vegan – Leave out the eggs, add another pear or two and make it more of a crisp with an oats/brown sugar topping.
Ingredient List: Bartlett pears, butter, sugar, flour, vanilla, eggs (I use cage free), milk (I used vanilla soy milk), salt, powdered sugar.
Cook book: Everyday Food: Great Food Fast by Martha Stewart Living Magazine
Asparagus Gruyère Tart
I’d been eyeing this recipe since I got my new cookbook, but they were out of frozen puff pastry at Safeway. I finally found some this week, so I decided to make it. This is definitely not a low fat, healthy recipe! The main offender is the frozen puff pastry, but it’s what makes this recipe simple. Gruyère is a super expensive Swiss cheese. I didn’t feel like spending $15 for a small brick of Gruyère cheese, so I substituted it for sliced aged Swiss (found in the cheese aisle with sliced deli cheeses) that was only $2.50. Since the cheese will be melted anyway, this actually made it quicker since you just have to lay the slices out over the pastry. I love asparagus, and after my last asparagus disaster, I was really happy to have found a good recipe this time.
Diet – Consider this a splurge or pass on the whole recipe! 
Vegan – I’m not sure how great vegan cheese would melt with this recipe, but it’s worth a try, because the asparagus is so good. Instead of using puff pastry, make a vegan pastry pie crust recipe.
Ingredient List: asparagus, frozen puff pastry, Gruyère cheese (substitute with sliced aged Swiss), olive oil, salt.
Cook book: Everyday Food: Great Food Fast by Martha Stewart Living Magazine
Black Bean Tacos with Radish & Avocado Salsa
I usually make black bean burritos or tacos at least several times a month. It’s one of my staple recipes, so finding a new twist on this recipe was really cool. Here’s my original recipe:
Black Bean Burritos (or Tacos)
Serves: 2
1 garlic clove, minced
olive oil
1/2 cup water
1 can of black beans, drained
1 tablespoon cuminServe with: avocado (best mixed with cilantro & lime) and whatever else sounds good to you: olives, sour cream, tomatoe. I usually just stick with the avocado mix.
1. Heat olive oil in a cast-iron skillet on med-heat. Add minced garlic (this is easiest with a garlic press). The garlic should take about 2 minutes. It burns quickly, so keep an eye on it.
2. Pour in water and immediately add the drained black beans and cumin. Let it simmer for 3-5 minutes, until most of the water has evaporated and the beans are soft, but not completely mushy.
3. Warm tortillas (6 inch corn tortillas for tacos, or larger flour tortillas for burritos) and prepare toppings.
4. For avocado / guacamole: Chop 1 avocado, mix in 1/8 cup of chopped cilantro, several teaspoons of fresh lime juice, salt to taste.
Now the Everyday Food recipe was for Beef Tacos with Radish and Avocado Salsa. So I adapted it by just using the Radish and Avocado Salsa recipe with my black bean tacos recipe. Thinly sliced radishes are a really interesting twist to this recipe, and they look amazing with the avocado.
Diet – Use corn tortillas instead of flour. Don’t skip on the avocado, this is the GOOD fat that you need.
Vegan – No changes needed.
Ingredient List: black beans, olive oil, garlic, cumin, corn tortillas, avocado, lime, salt, cilantro, red radishes, jalapeño chili (optional).
Cook book: Everyday Food: Great Food Fast by Martha Stewart Living Magazine for the radishes idea, & my own recipe for the black bean tacos.
Hot and Sour Soup
It’s been a while since I’ve made a soup that requires this many ingredients! Hot and Sour Soup is usually served at Chinese restaurants as an appetisers, a little definitely goes a long way for me. This soup is best with a bread to dip in or another main dish like noodles. To make it vegetarian I just used chik-style seasoning (found in bulk in the health food section or with seasonings & spices) mixed with water, instead of chicken broth. I also substituted the soy sauce with Bragg Liquid Aminos, and used portobello mushrooms instead of shiitake mushrooms.
Diet – No changes necessary, this soup is already pretty healthy, so it’s ”diet” friendly.
Vegan – Leave out the egg.
Ingredient List: chik-style seasoning with water, soy sauce (substitute with Bragg Liquid Aminos), red pepper flakes, shiitake mushrooms (crimini or portabello work too), rice vinegar, cornstarch, egg, tofu, fresh ginger, scallions (green onions), toasted sesame oil.
Cook book: Everyday Food: Great Food Fast by Martha Stewart Living Magazine
Tomato & Kalamata Olive Pasta
This is another of my staple, quick recipes. I usually use a vine-ripened tomato because they’re sweeter. The cheapest (and fastest) way to get kalamata olives is in the deli section of stores like Safeway. They usually have them pre-pitted at the olive bar, so you can just fill a container with the exact amount you need and pay per pound.
Tomato & Kalamata Olive Pasta
Serves: 2
2 servings of any kind of pasta (spaghetti, penne etc.)
1-2 garlic cloves, minced
olive oil
1 tomato, chopped
1/2 cup of kalamata olives, pitted, roughly sliced
1/2 teaspoon oregano1. Cook pasta according to specific pasta directions (usually about 10 minutes). Drain, set aside.
2. Heat olive oil (you can just use the same pan you cooked the pasta in) on med-heat. Add minced garlic (this is easiest with a garlic press). The garlic should take about 1 minute. It burns quickly, so keep an eye on it.
2. Add the chopped tomato, kalamata olives, and oregano to the pan. Mix for 2-3 minutes.
3. Immediately add the pasta back in and toss to combine everything.
Diet –This is a really healthy way to eat pasta, so seriously, don’t worry so much about the carbs and just try to eat a balanced diet. And again, olives are the good kind of fat.
Vegan – Just make sure the pasta you use is vegan.
Ingredient List: pasta (I usually use penne or spaghetti), olive oil, garlic, vine-ripe tomato, kalamata olives, oregano.
Cook book: Yours truly.
Carrot Cupcakes: Take 2
I tried the carrot cupcakes recipe again. This time I used half the sugar. I really, really like these!
Cook book: Everyday Food: Great Food Fast by Martha Stewart Living Magazine
Cantaloupe and Bocconcini Salad with Mint
This recipe looked oddly intriguing. I just skipped the ham / prosciutto and voilà it’s now vegetarian. I had never seen bocconcini before. Apparently, it’s an Italian soft cheese, but can be substituted for fresh mozzarella balls – found in the specialty cheese section in plastic containers filled with water and the cheese balls. Just make sure the container isn’t frozen. Overall, this was a great spring recipe that relies heavily on a really excellent melon – so make sure it’s a good one!
Diet – Leave out half of the mozzarella balls.
Vegan – I’m not sure that this recipe would taste very good with regular vegan cheese because of the texture. You could try Tofutti Mozzarella Soy cut into squares.
Ingredient List: canteloupe, bocconcini (substitute with mozzerella cheese balls or Tofutti Mozzerella Soy), lemon juice, salt, mint leaves.
Cook book: Everyday Food: Great Food Fast by Martha Stewart Living Magazine
