Summer Omelette

Looking for a good summer breakfast?
Try cooking up some fresh zucchini and tomatoes in pesto and scallions, and mixing them into eggs for an omelette. Put grated parmesan and chopped fresh arugula inside.
Delicious!

Asparagus Salad

Somehow when I got fresh arugula from my dad's garden I was inspired to sautee some asparagus in garden-fresh herbs and make a salad. I put garlic, scallions, basil, oregano, salt, and olive oil in a pan with asparagus and let it cook.
I then added some goat cheese, heirloom tomatoes, avocado, raw pecans, fresh ground pepper, and sea salt to the pile of fresh arugula and asparagus (hard to see beneath all the other yummy stuff). I drizzled fancy sweet balsamic vinegar over it all, and it was amazing!

Tortillas

Tofu Stir Fry

The staple of any vegetarian's kitchen, right? Well it seems that I forgot about this for a while, but here's my recent take on it.

I dried out the tofu both by paper towel and in a non-stick pan over medium heat. Then I marinated it.
Marinade/Sauce:
-Low sodium tamari sauce (more flavorful!)
-Ginger garlic paste from an Indian grocery store
-Scallions
-Diced onions
-Red pepper flakes
-White wine
-Orange juice
-Sesame oil
-Water

Then I used the same sauce for the whole thing (fresh peas, carrots, onions, and cashews). All served over brown rice.

Baked shells with zucchini and mushrooms

When I was little my mom would make baked ziti, or quick lasagna, as we'd always call it. It was one of my favorite meals, but when I tried making it as an adult, I realized that my taste buds have matured beyond the rather plain flavors of that dish. I quickly set out to find a more "mature" version of this dish, and here's what I came up with.

Sautee onions, mushrooms, and zucchini (all chopped or sliced really small).
Mix ricotta, parmesan, pesto, a little milk, and salt and pepper in a bowl. Add sauteed veggies when cool. Mix these with the whole wheat pasta. Pour into a baking dish with oil on it. Then cover the top with sliced fresh mozzarella. Bake until golden brown.
Serve with warm tomato sauce on top or on the side. And a salad.

Trout with Couscous

I have recently become a fan of making different types of couscous with veggies and beans, cooked in broth. One day, while looking for something new to cook, I remembered the trout that I used to love eating at my grandparents' house. I set out to cook trout, which I hadn't eaten in years, and had no idea how to cook.

I ended up cooking the trout with citrus juices, garlic, and spices in a pan, and then toasting sliced almonds and spreading them on top. It was delicious!

Coconut Cookies

I bought a fantastic cookbook, called Good to the Grain. It's a whole grain baking book by Kim Boyce, that explains lots of information about baking with different types of flours. I love that it's not just whole wheat, but many other grains, too. Of course this inspired a trip to Whole Foods for different flours, and some other creative adventures (4-grain waffles yesterday...!).

This is the first recipe I tried, coconut cookies. It uses coconut flour, coconut milk, and shredded coconut for the flavor. Interestingly, there is no white flour in the recipe, only coconut and barley flour.

Banana Bread

Banana bread is a staple recipe in any kitchen, right? Well I have a recipe that I particularly like, and I often over-buy bananas so that I have a reason to make it. This time I made it in large muffin cups and in mini loaf pans (about the size of a large muffin).

I got these loaf pans at an outlet in Kittery, ME, and I love the excitement of making tiny little breads!
I missed the opportunity to photograph the muffins in the tin (or afterwards), but I did get a nice shot of them cooling upside down on my cutting board.

Pesto & Ricotta Pizza

It seems to be more and more often that I find myself looking at the basil and tomatoes in the store, and imagining up a tasty pizza creation...!

This time I thought I'd go for something a little bit different. I used a mix of ricotta and pesto as a base-layer instead of sauce (which I never actually use).

Here's the final product:
I was most of the way through assembling the pizza, and I just had to stop and take a picture because it looked so beautiful! This was before the final layer of cheese went on.
And for the pineapple-lover in the house, half was topped with small chunks of fresh pineapple.
Here's a basic summary of the layers for this pizza:
1. whole wheat crust (I used the same one from Trader Joe's that worked so well last time)
2. a tiny little bit of olive oil brushed on (probably could have skipped this)
3. blend of ricotta cheese, pesto, and a little bit of crushed red pepper flakes, salt, and black pepper (mixed in a bowl)
4. a little bit of shredded parmesan cheese
5. fresh basil, oregano, chives -- chopped finely (many thanks to my dad and his gardening skills)
6. diced garlic, ground black pepper
7. caramelized/sauteed onion
8. a variety of little heirloom tomatoes, sliced/diced
9. pineapple (on half)
10. diced fresh mozzarella, chevre goat cheese crumbles