Asparagus Socca Pizza

Just this Saturday I walked across a stage with my hands on my B.S. in Dietetics. It has been a long...very long...four years but I know it was all very well worth it. I got to spend an incredible weekend with my two brothers, Brad, and my parents. The time we had together was, without a doubt, the highlight of my year.

Citrus & Soy Mushrooms & Snap Peas

When you consume as many pounds (dare I say tons?) of vegetables as we do, you have to get creative. Steamed broccoli is transformed into pesto, asparagus is wrapped in parchment paper, squash get stuffed, and green beans are sautéed with many types of spices. A vegetable is rarely eaten twice in the same way around here, but these have been made an appearance at least three times in the last month. They are just that good!

Broccoli Pesto

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

New Year's resolutions are usually lost on me in about a week. If it wasn't worth changing during the past year there is no way the beginning of a new one will bring about any difference. Yes, I'm talking to you stretching after every run, going to bed earlier, and giving up diet soda! But, when my Mom gave me a gratitude journal on January 1st I knew this was going to be less of a resolution and more of a life altering habit. 

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus & Giveaway Winners!

I have a bad habit. One that I like to call "watching educational television". I absolutely love the programs on HGTV, TLC, and of course just about anything on the Food Network. I watch these shows all day on the weekends whilst cleaning, cooking, and eating. The only way I can justify my weekly 4 hour International House Hunters marathon is to say I am doing future vacation research, and those 5 daily episodes of What Not to Wear? Well, I will be entering the corporate world soon and I would hate to not know how long the crotch of my pants should be or if ruffles on my shirt are okay. See...educational!

Broccoli and Cheese Frittata

The ease with which you can mix only a few ingredients with eggs and bake it into a light and fluffy delicious frittata has been one of the greatest discoveries in my college cooking journey. It's affordable, hearty, and quite nutritious. I am a firm believer that all foods are versatile but you can really put anything into a dish like this, add a crust and you have a quiche, or fold it in half and you've made an omelet! Eggs get me excited, what can I say...

Parchment Paper Asparagus & a Giveaway!!!

Happy week after Thanksgiving! I decided to take a few days off blogging to enjoy family and the "break" I have from school. I hope you have all done the same and relished the beginning to this wonderful holiday season. I want to start it off right with what else but a great recipe and a giveaway!

Raspberry Baked Oatmeal & Giveaway Winners

A couple of weekends ago I woke up to rain drenched streets, shivering leaves, and a gray sunless sky. It was the kind of day that was made for baking. It also happened to be a Sunday, a day on which I almost always find myself pulling out my measuring cups. I'm not sure why, I suppose Sundays are just for baking. 

Zucchini & Goat Cheese Socca Pizza

As the summer garden's produced more zucchini than any person can consume I have received and harvested a lot of this versatile veggie. When you've eaten whole zucchini bread loaves in only a few days, made more stir fries than you imagined possible, and grilled slices for weeks on end, you've got to start mixing things up to keep yourself sane. The nutty garbanzo bean flour that forms the crust and creamy goat cheese topping sheds a whole new delicious light on this prolific plant.

Grilled Corn: Mexican & Jamaican Style

 

This post seems silly with the weather we've been having lately (low 50s and rain) but I know most people still have the warmth of the summer months hanging on longer than we did! With that said I hope everyone is still enjoying the fantastic bounty of corn that hot weather brings. We've been eating it like it's going out of style over here, probably because its seemingly short-lived season ends in October. Through the many ways I've prepared it I found that grilling it and dusting it with spice mixes perfectly compliments the corn's natural sweetness.

Arugula & Goat Cheese Salad

Summer as a kid was a magical time. Those three months slipped away much too quickly but were always filled with plenty of running through sprinklers, laying around in the sun, drinking water straight from the hose, helping my Dad pick snap peas and raspberries from our garden, and most importantly sleeping in until noon. Since entering the world of college I have spent almost every summer taking classes. Sadly this summer is no different. There has been no sleeping in, no running through sprinklers (maybe on accident a few times), and only a little bit of gardening. I miss being a kid, but I am also happy I am kind of "grown-up" now because I get to make and enjoy dishes like these that I would have never touched as a kid. Can you imagine an eight year old asking for goat cheese on top of a big plate of veggies? I think not.

Soy & Sesame Marinated Cucumbers & Giveaway Winner!

 I thought for years sesame seeds were tasteless, purely decorative, and just one more thing I had to worry about getting stuck in my teeth. That is until I tried toasted sesame seeds and then I ventured into the realms of sesame seed oil, black sesame seeds, and tahini. It was then that I knew they were not the worthless ingredient I once passed them off as. Cool crunchy cucumbers infused with tangy vinegar and salty soy sauce showcase the unique sesame flavor perfectly in this summery salad.

Brussels Sprouts with Goat Cheese

Keeping life simple...that's what is most important to me right now. I just finished an incredibly difficult semester and am about to begin my summer classes, which will undoubtedly be hard. I'm not going to complain because I am excited to get a certain Anatomy and Physiology class over with, but it means I won't have a lot of free time on my hands (again). Recipes that take almost no time at all, but are delicious nonetheless, are ranking pretty high on my list of favorites and this is definitely one of them. Creamy goat cheese is a perfect addition to crisp caramelized Brussels sprouts. The two combine to create a dish that is great for an appetizer or a side.

Portabella Mushroom Pesto Pizzas

Wow, I haven't posted (or been on my blog for that matter) in a really long time! I missed out on a lot in the blog world but hopefully I will get to catch up soon, I know for a fact I've missed some really great posts. Since I have been so busy I haven't had a lot of time to make anything too complicated. However, I did get a chance to rekindle my love for pesto when I made these quick and easy mushroom pizzas. These are almost too simple to call a recipe but they are too delicious not to share.

Roasted Asparagus

Sometimes I wonder what the people at our apartment complex think about Brad and me. When they see us carrying multiple armloads of groceries upstairs do they think I have some sort of insatiable food addiction? Do they ever catch a glimpse of us through our open windows, bent over a plate full of food, camera in hand, holding a reflector at odd angles to catch the light? Most importantly do our neighbors ever walk through the hall, smell what I'm cooking, and wish they were inside our apartment? I hope so!

Vegetable Samosas with Mint Chutney

I was trying to fall asleep but all I could do was think of recipes, I think there may be a few of you out there who can relate? I wanted to make "curried potato and pea stuffed things" so I wrote that down and fell asleep. Around 2 am I woke up and remembered they were called samosas. The next day I immediately found this recipe in Cooking Light's Way to Cook Vegetarian cookbook so, instead of searching for days on end, I just went with it. I am so glad I didn't waste my time because it was exactly what I wanted. 

Curried Lentils (Dal)

I was hovering over 5 different cookbooks, excitedly flipping pages, trying to decide which interpretation of this Indian dish I wanted to make when I landed on Mark Bittman's version in How to Cook Everything Vegetarian. It was so simple...exactly what I needed considering this was the first time I have cooked lentils on my own and the first time I had ever spiced an Indian dish with something other than curry powder. If I didn't know it before, I definitely know it now: I am completely head over heels in love with Indian food. 

Herbed Baked Eggs

Dear Ina Garten,
I haven't always loved you, in fact, your show used to put me to sleep. Recently though, you have completely entranced me with your relaxed style, inspired meals, and gorgeous garden. I envy a lot about your life. I would love nothing more than to eat a meal I thought up while reminiscing about my most recent trip to France in my garden full of herbs and flowers. Alas, that is not my life but I can pretend right? 

Honey & Thyme Glazed Acorn Squash

A very similar dish was the star of my Thanksgiving so I decided to deconstruct it and make it a bit simpler for a more everyday approach. The combination of caramelized honey, savory thyme, toasted walnuts, and sweet acorn squash is a blend of flavors that is difficult to describe. It's wonderful. An extremely easy yet fantastically elegant meal.

Pesto, Peas, and Potatoes

 Pesto is not just for pasta anymore my friends. Sweet peas, crunchy potatoes with creamy centers, and smooth salty pesto combine to create a dish that is not easily forgotten. The best part may be that cutting potatoes is the most work that has to be done to create this intriguing dish.