Salade Nicoise--Simply Satisfying!

I have many hurried evenings due to my insanely busy schedule, so one night I literally had 15 minutes to whip up something "vegetable-y" since I was way below my daily goal for fruits/vegetables. After a quick look in my produce bowl, fridge, and freezer, I knew exactly what I was going to make: a very simple and extremely quick salade nicoise.

The classic Salade Nicoise is a "salade composee" (composed salad) as opposed to the more common "salade mixte" (mixed salad). It typically consists of tender French green beans called haricots verts artfully arranged with boiled red-skinned potatoes, tomato, tuna, nicoise olives, and hard-boiled egg, all dressed with a simple vinaigrette. I had all of the ingredients minus the nicoise olives and potato, but I had suitable substitutes of kalamata olives and sweet potato. I have to say, this was an extremely satisfying dinner that looked beautiful and was incredibly simple to make!

What I Used for Inspiration:

Frozen French green beans (haricots verts)

Wrinkly old sweet potato (yum! haha)

Just-on-the-cusp-of-funky tomato

Salade Nicoise

(2 small servings or 1 large entree)

1 C frozen (or fresh) French green beans, steamed until crisp-tender

1 tomato, funky spots cut off, and sliced in wedges

1 can tuna, drained and mixed with dijon mustard and mayonnaise

1 small sweet potato, steamed, peeled, and cut into thick slices

1 hard boiled egg, sliced

6 kalamata olives

1 T Vinaigrette dressing

Arrange the various vegetables and tuna on the plate as desired, and dress with the vinaigrette. Would make a lovely meal if paired with some nice crusty bread and a glass of wine. Bon appetit!

Superbly splendid scones!

I can't help it. I love a lot of things. I love daffodils, sunshine, kitties, boys...stuff like that. But there are very few things that I absolutely adore. I adore France, I adore food, and I *adore* British movies/tv shows. Lucky me, I recently discovered Downton Abbey on PBS, and what better to pair a fabulous drama with a fabulous friend with which to watch! Well actually...the magic happens when you pair a fabulous British drama with a fabulous friend and a fabulous little "tea time" get-together. So when she and I made a date to watch the first few episodes, it was a given that tea, scones, and tiny little sandwiches would be invited to the party.

My friend was gracious enough to provide the tea and tiny little sandwiches, and it was my task to make the scones. Remembering a pretty epic recipe my good friend from college used to make (quite frequently, I might add), I whipped up a batch and O...M...G... did it bring back wonderful memories!

I'm going to warn you: these are dangerously good, and unlike most scones you have ever had. Neither dry nor overly sweet, these scones are surprisingly moist and tender, and with just a hint of sweetness. While I couldn't find the exact recipe, I modified the one my friend sent to me based on my memory of her making them at college.

So by all means, turn on the oven, put on a pot of tea, fire up Netflix, and enjoy a little taste of Britain :)

Superbly Splendid Scones

(loosely based on the recipe found here)

Ingredients

3 C all purpose flour

2 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 C sugar

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

3/4 C butter, melted

1 cup milk (whole or 2%)

1/2 C raisins

1 T white vinegar

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper (or spray baking sheet with non-stick spray).

In a microwave-safe glass measuring cup (or a small pot on the stove) heat the milk to nearly boiling with the butter and raisins. Let the raisins steep in the milk until it cools to room temperature (it'll plump them up nicely). Add the white vinegar to the mixture to sour the milk--it'll chemically react with the baking soda to make a nice tender, fluffy scone.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl sift together the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. When the milk mixture has cooled, add to the flour mixture and stir gently just to combine. The mixture will be pretty wet, not like most scones. Using a tablespoon, drop the scones onto the baking sheet. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until lightly brown. Serve with clotted cream and jam.

Winter squash soup with cinnamon cream: warms body and soul!

Well, my friends, winter has arrived! In San Francisco that means cold rain, but I'll take that over frigid blustery NY snow any day! On a chilly December day what's better to warm the body and soul than cozying up to a nice creamy (without the cream) bowl of squash soup? (well, maybe a bubbly pot of cheese fondue...but this runs a close second!)

Loaded with beta carotene, winter squash is the low-calorie high-fiber good-for-you base for this soup. The addition of potatoes adds a bit more substance and when pureed lends a nice silky creamy texture, without the addition of any dairy products. I was inspired to make this soup from a recipe I found in one of my French cookbooks I bought last time I was in Paris. While I had to do a little work to translate the quantities and directions (why can't we use the metric system in the US!? it would make life so much easier!), this soup turned out perfectly. Just ask my friends with whom I shared this meal. Miam miam!! (yum yum in French) :)

Bon appetit!

What I Used for Inspiration:

Winter squash

Potatoes

Winter Squash Soup with Cinnamon Cream

(Soupe au potiron et creme a la cannelle)

Serves 4 as a main dish

For the soup:

1 T olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, diced
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
2 lb butternut squash, cut in cubes
2 medium potatoes, cut in cubes
2 C water
1 1/2 C vegetable stock
1 2" piece of orange zest


For the cinnamon cream:

1/2 C heavy cream
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot. Saute the onion and garlic until transparent. Add the spices and toast in the oil until they release their aroma. Add the cubes of squash and potatoes, water, vegetable stock, and orange zest. Liquid should cover the vegetables--if it does not, add some more broth or water. Bring to a boil; lower the fire, cover the pot, and simmer for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, beat the heavy cream and cinnamon with an electric mixer until stiff peaks are formed (or whisk by hand--it doesn't take that much work and is kind of fun!). Set aside.

Puree the soup either in a blender or in the pot itself with a submersible blender (one of my favorite kitchen gadgets!)

You can make the soup ahead of time and store in refrigerator or freezer, but be sure to re-heat thoroughly before serving. Top with a nice dollop of cinnamon cream and enjoy!

Winter squash soup with cinnamon cream

Reduced Guilt Carrot Cupcakes

Let's face it: no one likes a low-fat baked good that tastes like cardboard. So when I set out to make these cupcakes as a thank-you to the people at Good Guide (with whom I interned for a few weeks--you can read more about my experience here) I had to make something delicious yet relatively healthy--gotta impress people, afterall! In an effort to make these cupcakes healthier without sacrificing flavor in the slightest, I employed a few tricks of the trade.

For most cake recipes you can use the following tips with amazingly good results!

--replace some of the white flour with whole wheat flour (ideally ww pastry flour)

--replace half of the oil or melted butter with unsweetened applesauce (will not work if the recipe calls for softened or cold butter)

--cut the sugar by a third (you most likely won't notice a difference at all!)

And for the classic cream cheese frosting:

--low-fat cream cheese (aka neufchatel--damn those French!) tastes just as good as the full-fat version, but with 1/3 less fat and way less calories--a win-win for everyone!

This following recipes are based on those found in The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook

Reduced Guilt Carrot Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting (frosting recipe follows)

1 1/2 C all-purpose flour

1 C whole wheat flour (ww pastry flour is preferred)

1 1/4 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

1/8 tsp ground cloves

1/2 tsp salt

4 large eggs, at room temperature

1 C granulated sugar

1/2 C packed light brown sugar

3/4 C vegetable oil

3/4 C unsweetened applesauce

1 lb carrots, grated

Adjust the oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly coat a 9" x 13" cake pan with non-stick spray (or line cupcake pan with liners). Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices, and salt together in a large bowl and set aside.

Whisk the eggs and sugars together in a large bowl until frothy and the sugar is mostly dissolved, about 1 minute. While whisking, slowly add the oil and applesauce until the mixture is thoroughly combined and emulsified, about 1 minute. Whisk in the flour mixture until no streaks of flour remain. Stir in the carrots.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan (or cupcake liners) and smooth the top. Bake until a wooden skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out with a few crumbs attached, about 35-40 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through baking. Cupcakes will take about 15-18 minutes depending on your oven.

Let the cake cool completely before frosting.

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Low-fat cream cheese is one of those rare dairy products that I think tastes just as good as the full-fat version. So go right ahead and swap out regular cream cheese for the low-fat one, called neufchatel cream cheese. Your love handles will love you for it!!

To make a silky smooth frosting, it is super important to let the cream cheese and butter sit out at room temperature or about an hour. If either ingredients are even slightly cold, they will make a lumpy frosting.

Reduced Guilt Cream Cheese Frosting

8 ounces neufchatel (low fat) cream cheese, softened

4 T unsalted butter, softened

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/4 C powdered sugar

Beat the softened cream cheese, butter, and vanilla until smooth. Add powdered sugar and continue to beat until smooth, scraping down the bowl as needed.

When the cake/cupcakes are thoroughly cooled, frost with cream cheese frosting and enjoy this classic combination!!

These are the special Good Guide-approved "perfect 10" cupcakes I made--so fun and totally delicious!! :)

Thank God for Leftovers

The last post referenced the fantastic monthly family dinners my friends and I have been putting on--such a great time of yummy food, storytelling, and laughing!

The fabby Miss Abbey hosted this last time and prepared a delicious squash risotto--she was concerned because the texture was more dense than she had wanted, but I didn't care--the flavor was fantastic! So delicious, in fact, that I was happy she had made a huge recipe--I got to take home some leftovers :) My other friend Michael brought a incredibly delish Asian-inspired cole slaw that I will most certainly enjoy later this week.

Abbey gave me a big container of the risotto, and my brain started churning. I remember my mom taking left-over rice and mixing in egg, bread crumbs, veggies, and herbs and making some version of rice croquettes (basically fried balls or patties of rice). I stared at the risotto in the container and thought, oh yeah that's gonna be good. After surveying my fridge I ending up throwing in a bunch of things that needed to be used up (in true Frugal Foodie fashion)--and made some delicious Risotto Croquettes.

I was also inspired by a cucumber in my fridge that had been in there for far too long to admit to...and some radishes that I had been meaning to eat for a long time as well. In my run of frugality, I turned those items into a delicious Cucumber Radish Salad with Creamy Yogurt-Dill Dressing.

What I Used For Inspiration:

For the croquettes:

Leftover Risotto

Mushrooms

For the salad:

Cucumber

Radishes

Greek yogurt

Risotto Croquettes

3 C leftover risotto (or equal amount cooked rice)

10 oz mushrooms, finely chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 egg

1 T dried parsley (or 1/4 C fresh minced)

Parmesan cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

Olive oil for frying

In a pan, saute the mushrooms and garlic until soft (throw in some onion if you want, too!). In a bowl mix the risotto, mushroom and garlic with an egg, parm cheese, salt and pepper. The mixture should be firm enough to form into a patty and hold its shape. If it's too loose, add some breadcrumbs.

In a frying pan heat up some olive oil. Divide the rice mixture into small balls and flatten them out into patties. Fry on medium heat until nicely browned on both sides. Serve immediately.

Cucumber Radish Salad with Creamy Yogurt-Dill Dressing

1 English cucumber

6-8 large radishes

1/2 C plain greek yogurt

1 T mayonnaise or sour cream (optional)

2 tsp dried dill

1 clove garlic

1 tsp lemon juice

salt and pepper to taste

With a food processor (using shredding attachment) or box grater, grate cucumber and radishes. Put in strainer and squeeze out as much liquid as you can. Finely mince or grate garlic using a microplane and put into bowl. Mix together with yogurt, mayo (or sour cream), and lemon juice. Add drained cucumber/radish and season with salt and pepper to taste.

This combination actually made for a pretty satisfying meal! The contrast between the warm crispy rice croquette and the cool, creamy cucumber salad was quite delicious. While the radishes don't impart a very strong flavor to the dish, the little specs of red make the salad look beautiful. A little creativity goes a long way in my kitchen! I hope this inspires you to take a second look at and revamp those left-overs instead of (God forbid!) throwing them out.

Vegan Chocolate Deliciousness

My friends and I have come up with a brilliant idea--we are all super busy working professionals or students...or both for the unfortunate of ones of us...yet we've committed to having a family dinner once a month, rotating at whose house the dinner will be prepared. It's a fantastic idea to sample each other's unique twists on the cuisines of the world and of course to catch up and have at least one relaxing evening per month :)

I must be pinned as the dessert lady because every time I'm asked to provide something sweet. This past Saturday's meal was no exception--however I was so busy during the day that I had less than an hour to make something--EEK, right?! Nope, I knew exactly what I was going to prepare--it's quick (5 minutes to make, 25 minutes to bake), easy (uses ingredients most everyone would have in their pantry), and absolutely delicious--so moist and chocolately with the perfect amount of sweetness!

Don't be scared by the name, now :) Try it once and I promise you you'll never make a regular cake (or a box mix..eeeew) again.

Deep Chocolate Vegan Cake

(adapted from Moosewood Restaurant New Classics)

1 1/2 cups unbleached white flour

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 cup cold water or chilled brewed coffee (or chilled espresso diluted with water)

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

2 tablespoons cider vinegar

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Generously oil an 8-inch square or round baking pan and dust with a little sifted cocoa, or line the bottom with parchment paper. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, cocoa, baking soda, salt and sugar. In another bowl, combine the oil, water or coffee, and vanilla. Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until the batter is smooth. Add the vinegar and stir briefly. The baking soda will begin to react with the vinegar right away, leaving pale swirls in the batter. Quickly pour the batter into the baking pan.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Cake is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out dry.

**You can very easily use the batter to make cupcakes. Just reduce the baking time to 12-15 minutes**

The cake is so delicious on its own, but feel free to top with homemade frosting or serve with (homemade) ice cream as we did :)

Chimichurri to the rescue!

Chimichurri sauce, some say, is credited to the Argentinians. Venezuelans may argue it's their brilliance, however Mexicans try to steal the glory and claim it originates from their homeland. Personally I don't care who first thought of combining herbs like cilantro and parsley with lime (or lemon), olive oil, and vinegar. This incredibly zesty condiment is pretty darned GOOD and has made several appearances in my kitchen of late!

Photo credit: laylita.com

I made some of this deliciousness the other week by blending left-over cilantro, parsley, salt, garlic, vinegar, olive oil, and lime juice until smooth--a great way to use up herbs that are looking kinda sad!

Here's the basic recipe I used as a guideline:

Chimichurri Sauce

(makes about 1 1/2 cups)

1/4 cup olive oil

1/2 cup red wine vinegar

3/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped

1/4 cup fresh lemon or lime juice

6 large cloves garlic, chopped

Chimichurri is most commonly served on top of grilled meat or fish. I used some of it to adorn a delicious steak I had cooked for dinner one night, but after about a week in the fridge, there was still a lot of sauce leftover. Of course I couldn't bear the thought of throwing it out, so as I was thinking of what to do, I came up with a brilliant idea--if it goes well on top of meat, why not inside! Voila: Nina's Chimichurri Burger was born! I decided to use lean ground turkey breast, as it's high in protein and very low in fat (99% fat free).

Chimichurri Turkey Burgers

3/4 C chimichurri sauce (save about 2 T and mix into greek yogurt or mayonnaise for a tasty condiment!)

1 20-oz package ground turkey breast (can use chicken or lean beef instead)

To make the burgers, simply mix the chimichurri sauce into the meat and let it rest for at least a few hours (preferably overnight) in the fridge so the flavors can meld. No need to add extra salt, as the flavor of the sauce is perfectly seasoned. Remove from fridge, form into 4-oz patties and cook on a grill or stove. These burgers are incredibly juicy and flavorful, I was pleasantly surprised!

I suggest serving on a nice hearty (multi-grain if available) toasted bun topped with lettuce, a thick slice of sun-ripened heirloom tomato, and some of that chimichurri mayo/greek yogurt!

Now THAT'S a burger!!!