Rustic Measures Roasted Tomato and Truffle Pasta

It's very early fall and the tomatoes are still magnificent in Jersey.  This simple pasta is very satisfying and easy to make.

Ingredients:

• 4 cups of cherry tomatoes - red, yellow, or orange


• 1/4 cup good olive oil


• 1/4 cup of finely chopped fresh basil


• 1 bag of good quality pasta.  I used Rigatoni.  Penne would work well also.


• 2 Tablespoons of finely diced shallot


• 1 Tablespoon of butter


• 1 cup of grated parmesan cheese


• Drizzle of white truffle oil

Preparation:   Heat your oven to 400 degrees.   Cut tomatoes in half and put in a bowl.  Coat tomatoes in 2 tablespoons of olive oil and give them a stir, making sure all are coated.  Spread the tomatoes onto a baking pan (with sides) and season liberally with kosher salt.  Roast tomoatos in the oven for 20 minutes.  After 10 minutes, mix them around to make sure they don't get too brown.  While your tomatoes are roasting, boil water for the pasta.  While that's happening, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a pan and then sautee diced shallots on a low/medium flame for about 5-7 minutes.  Turn heat off.   Cook pasta according to the instructions BUT check a few minutes before they should be done and make it al dente.  Do not overcook pasta - mushy pasta is gross.  Ok, onward.  When the tomatoes are done, add them to your pan with the shallots in there.  Turn heat back onto low and melt 1 T of butter in the tomato sauce.  Add a little more olive oil to loosen it up.  When the pasta is ready, drain the pasta reserving about 3 T of the cooking liquid.  Add the cooking liquid to the tomato sauce and then add the pasta, stirring everything together into one happy mixture.  Once everything is combined, add the parmesan cheese and drizzle the truffle oil on and voila!  Heaven.

Late Summer Gazpacho

So, I broke down and bought a VitaMix and frankly, I'm so pissed at myself for waiting so long to get one! Holy crap this thing is amazing. The time savings alone is worth its weight in gold and what about all the stuff you can make with it!? OK, let's start with late summer gazpacho. I was looking for something to eat with powerful flavors and all fresh veggies. This adaptation of the Joy of Cooking gazpacho did the trick.

Ingredients:

6 ripe roma tomatoes

1 green pepper

1 clove garlic

2 T chives

2 T basil

2 T parsley

1 T taragon

3/4 cup olive oil

1/2 cup red or white wine vinegar

4 T fresh lemon juice

1 sweet onion, cut in quarters

1 medium sized cucumber

pinch salt & paprika

Preparation:

With a VitaMix, you don't need to chop very much. Just cut the tomatoes, pepper, and onion in halves or quarters and toss them in. Same for the herbs - grab a bunch and throw in blender with garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, salt, paprika, and vinegar. Blend until you like the consistency. If you don't have a VitaMix, then you can either use a food processor or if you are a total beyatch in the kitchen, you need to finely dice all of the herbs and veggies until you are ready to take a gun to your head.

Grilled Corn on the Cob

When sweet summer corn, good olive oil, and sea salt have a menage a trois on a grill, magic happens. Try it, I promise you will leave the table satisfied.

Ingredients:

Corn on the cob - stalks off

Sea or kosher salt

Olive oil

Preparation:

Brush olive oil all over the corn. Sprinkle liberally with salt. Heat up your grill to medium heat. Grill corn right on the grates. I like a fair bit of char on my corn so I cook it for longer but it's really up to you. The whole affair took me about 7 minutes. Can be made ahead for a party and served room temperature.

Quinoa with Balsamic Chicken, Pine Nuts, Currants, and Basil

I was seeking comfort food today but needed something that was summer figure friendly. After all, you can't exactly come off the beach and down a bowl of mashed potatoes. Well I guess you could. It's a free country. But if you want to fit back into your bathing suit tomorrow, I suggest quinoa as a better choice for a carb fix. You can literally mix anything you want into quinoa and it tastes good. I was feeling uber lazy and didn't want to go to the market, so I made this creation with stuff I had on hand.

Ingredients:

1 cup of quinoa - prepare according to the box

1/2 cup currants

1/2 cup toasted pine nuts

1/4 cup of fresh basil, julienned

1 cup balsamic vinegar

2 cloves of garlic minced

4 skinless chicken breasts (hormone-free, antibiotic-free, & organic....I mean, duh.)

Preparation:

2-3 hours ahead, marinate chicken in 1 cup of balsamic, 1 cup of water, and 1 of the minced garlic cloves. Make quinoa. When done, transfer to a bowl and mix in currants and toasted pine nuts. Grill marinated chicken - doesn't matter how to you do it. You can even bake it if it's easier. After baking or grilling, let the chicken rest for 10 minutes to seal in the juicy juices. Girlfriend, there is nothing worse than dry chicken and cutting into it as soon as it's done is the fastest way to dryville there is. Believe me, I've been there. OK, once the chicken has rested cut it up into bite sized chunks. Add to the quinoa mixture. Make a quick dressing of 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar, 1/4 cup olive oil, and 1 clove of minced garlic. Pour dressing over quinoa. Add fresh basil. Stir and eat. It's a highly satisfying, one bowl wonder.

Summerstyle Grilled Veggie Platter

So, it turns out when you go back to work, daily blogging and food journaling becomes, um, shall we say near impossible. When I look back on last summer when I was footloose and fancy free, I remember fondly the days spent cooking and snapping pix of my latest creation. Usually while drunk as evidenced by the oft questionable photos. Anyway, I'm back in the rat race and therefore have no time for hours in the kitchen - so it's back to basics, rustic style.

Any moron with a grill can grill veggies. Period. All you need is three things.

1. Veggies

2. Olive Oil

3. Salt

Slice up your veggies in pieces big enough so they don't fall through the grates. I used asparagus, zucchini, eggplant, and peppers. Coat liberally with olive oil. Kosher salt all around. Heat grill to medium heat and chuck on the veggies. Don't go away - the asparagus will grill very quickly. The zucchini will too. Eggplanties and peppers will take longer. I like to allow the veggies to get nice and charred but do as you like. Artfully arrange on a platter and serve. Can be made ahead and served room temperature.

Spinach, Quinoa, Roasted Tomatoes, and Feta Salad

Shout out to my friend Jodi who opened my eyes to Qunioa in a salad. Quinoa is a fantastically healthy whole grain that adds depth and tooth to any salad.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups cherry tomatoes - tossed with olive oil and salt and roasted for 20 minutes at 450 degrees.


• 4 cups of baby spinach leaves


• 1/4 cup feta cheese


• 1 cup of cooked quinoa

Dressing:

• 1 T balsamic vinegar


• 1 teaspoon dijon mustard


• 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic (or 1 clove)


• 4 T olive oil

Preparation:

Follow directions on quinoa package and make it. Should only take about 20 mins. While quinoa is cooking, arrange spinach leaves, roasted tomatoes, and feta on a plate. Spoon on cooked quinoa (as much as you want). Drizzle with dressing.

Creamy and Low-Fat Chicken and Corn Chowder

Me loves me some creamy soups. Love em. Especially on a cold night. Nothing is more satisfying than a steaming bowl of chunky chowder with a big hunk of crusty bread to mop it up with. Problem is, chowder goes right to my ass. I might as well just paint the chowder right on my backside and leave it there. Turns out that chowder does not have to be all that bad for you. Here is a quick recipe that is so easy, low fat, and very satisfying.

Ingredients:

• 1 already cooked rotisery chicken from the market


• 1 bag of frozen corn (not creamed just plain sweet corn)


• 2 12 oz cans evaporated fat free milk


• olive oil


• 1 large celery stalk, diced small


• 1 large carrot, diced small


• 1 yellow onion, diced small


• 2 cloves of garlic, minced


• 2 sprigs of fresh thyme


• Chopped fresh chives (for garnish)


• salt and pepper

Preparation:

In a stockpot, heat olive oil and saute onion, celery, and carrot until tender, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and saute for another minute. Meanwhile, take the breast meat off the chicken and dice up into small cubes. Do not use the skin, just the white meat. Back to the pot...when your veggies are done sauteing, dump in bag of corn, the evaporated milk, and the sprigs of thyme. Stir. Bring the soup to a mild boil and when the bubbles start to form, give it another stir, put the lid on, and gently simmer for about 20 minutes. Stir occasionally. After the 15th minute of cooking, add the diced chicken. Season with lots of kosher salt and some cracked pepper. Cook for the last 5 minutes. Bowl up and garnish with chopped chives. Enjoy with crusty bread and a big glass of wine - any will do.

Mmmmmmmeatballs

A wicked good first...not including a picture with the recipe. Here's why....meatballs are not attractive. They're just not. They are blobs of brown meat with sauce on them. While wholly unattractive, they are super yummy to eat. Especially on a cold Sunday night with friends. This recipe feeds a crowd of 8 with the meatballs being the main event.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground pork


• 1 lb ground veal


• 1 lb ground beef


• 1 cup grated parmesan


• 1/2 cup parsley, minced


• 1/2 large white onion, finely minced


• 1 tablespoon of garlic paste


• 2 eggs


• 1 1/2 cups whole wheat bread crumbs


• 2/3 cup skim milk


• 2 tablespoons kosher salt


• 4 cups of your favorite marinara sauce. I use Il Mulino or Raos

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, crack both eggs. Add the garlic paste and with a whisk, mix both until the garlic paste is incorporated into the eggs. Add the milk and the bread crumbs and let the bread crumbs soak for a few minutes. Meanwhile, mince your onions and parsley. Add both to the bread crumb mixture. Add Parmesan cheese, salt, and finally the meat. With your hands, mix everything until it all comes together. Make sure the meat is really mixed well with the other ingredients BUT don't overmix. It's a fine line between a moist and a tough ball. Roll the balls into whatever size you like. Mine are larger than a golf ball but not as big as a whiffleball. Probably like 2 inches wide. Pour the sauce into a dutch oven or large cast pot and start layering the balls in. You will have 2 layers of balls probably. It's ok if the sauce doesn't cover all of the meatballs. Place the lid on the pot and cook in the oven for 75 minutes.

Fig, Gorgonzola, Carmelized Onion Tart

Totally ripped this recipe off from my favorite weekly read, the New York Times Dining In section. Wednesdays are my fave days b/c of this section. Lerv it. I tweaked the recipe slightly and used ready made frozen pastry dough. But yah, basically I ripped the whole thing off. But yum....so easy and great for a party.

Ingredients:

• 2 large white onions halved lengthwise and thinly sliced


• 1 sprig rosemary finely minced


• Pinch sugar


• 1 teaspoon sherry vinegar


• 1/4 cup milk


• 1 egg


• 4 sheets of ready made puff pastry


• 1 pint fresh figs ( 3/4 pound), stemmed and slided lengthwise


• 1 1/2 ounces Stinky Cheese (Stilton, gorgonzola, or roquefort) crumbled


• 2 tablespoons pine nuts


• good-quality honey for drizzling, optional. section. It's my bible. Lerv it. I tweaked it a bit but mostly I just ripped it right off. This could not have been easier with the help of ready made frozen pastry dough.

Preparation:

1. In a large skillet over low heat, melt butter with oil. Add onions, rosemary and sugar. Cook, tossing occasionally, until onions are limp and golden brown, 30 to 40 minutes. Stir in the vinegar, scraping any browned bits from bottom of pan.

2. In a small bowl, whisk together the milk and egg until smooth. Stir in the onions. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line an 11 by 17-inch baking sheet with parchment paper. On a lightly floured surface, line up sheets of pasty dough so they cover the whole pan. Press the edges of the dough together so it looks like one big sheet.

3. Use a fork to spread onion mixture evenly over pastry (let excess egg mixture drip back into bowl), leaving a 1-inch border. Arrange figs in even rows on onion mixture. Scatter cheese and pine nuts over figs. Use a pastry brush to dab edges of tart with egg mixture. Gently fold over edges of tart to form a lip and brush with more egg mixture.

4. Bake until pastry is puffed and golden, 25 to 30 minutes. Serve drizzled with honey, if desired, warm or at room temperature.

Yield: 8 servings.

Daily Recipe: Whole Wheat Fish n' Chips

I heart fish n'chips. Crunchy, oily fish doused with lemon and tartar sauce makes me feel so tingly all over. The thing is, when you go to a typical Cape Cod restaurant for fish n' chips, it's some "mystery" fish battered to death and then fried in lard of some sort. Not really that healthy and it leaves you feeling like crud. It turns out, making at-home FnChips is super easy, y'all. Here's how you do it:

Ingredients:

• Any white flaky fish you like. (I used flounder cut crosswise into 1 inch strips. A thicker fish might work even better but my kids liked the thin kind)


• whole wheat bread crumbs


• whole wheat flower


• canola oil


• 2 eggs, beaten


• salt

Preparation:

Set up an assembly line just like you were making a veal parm or fried cutlet of any kind:

• Dish 1. Your fish cut into 1 inch strips


• Dish 2. 1 cup of whole wheat flower


• Dish 3. 2 beaten eggs


• Dish 4. 1 cup of whole wheat bread crumbs

OK, first take your fishy strips and coat both sides with the whole wheat flour. Then dredge in the beaten egg. Finally, coat with the whole wheat bread crumbs. Refrigerate the breaded fish for at least 30 minutes to get everything to bind which I think helped keep it all together when I went to fry it up. Now, take a frying pan and add about 1/4 inch of canola oil. Get the oil nice n' hot. Add your fishy sticks making sure not to crowd the pan. As Julia Child once said, "A crowded pan is a cold pan, girlfriend." You know your oil is hot enough when your fish starts to fry up nicely at first impact. Fry the fish for 1 minute per side. Transfer to a paper towel to drain off excess oil. Sprinkle immediately with salt. Serve with your favorite tartar sauce and a side of french fries. I must admit, I did not make the fries. Mr. Orieda took care of that for me. Don't judge....at least the fish was homemade!

Daily Recipe: Mitch's Wings

My husband makes good wings. They are at once crispy and spicy on the outside and juicy on the inside. A bit of a production but who am I to judge. If you are into making wings, here is a great techniquie. It involves steaming the wings first and then grilling them. The result is worth the labor. As you will read, this is not my recipe but a series of baseball metaphores and jibberish. If you can make sense of this and like wings, then godspeed my child. In any case, they are worth it on game day.

Mitch's Buffalo Wings

Ingredients:

• chicken wings


• buffalo sauce - can be bought in any store


• blue cheese dressing


• salt/pepper

Pregame:

spread wings. really. on cutting board. find your largest knife. push it through ligament connecting wing and wingette. discard wingette. don't forget to practice safe poultry. by safe I mean sanitary. assemble wingettes and drummettes piled about yay high in abu ghraib style pyramid on a steamer tray in a steamer pot (like the one you steam veggies in). Steam in pot for 10 minutes. Refrigerate the wings on a tray between paper towels for one hour. If you want to season them do so while refrigerating. you forgot to practice safe poultry, didn't you.

Gametime:

grill on low flame until skin is crispy on each side. if your grill is wieldy you may be able to brush a light coat of olive oil on there to enhance crispiness. if your grill is unwieldy the wings may catch fire, which would suck ass.

Postgame:

Throw grilled wings in a bowl with buffalo sauce and toss them around until they are shiny and red, like Jason Giambi's jumbotron photo circa 2004. Serve with bleu chee dressing and celery. Why? Celery is nature's answer to rolaids.

Daily Recipe: Euro Haddock

Why Euro Haddock you ask? Because the Euros seem to know just how to do fish. That is, select the freshest, most local fish, and do basically nothing to it. Let the fish stand on its own merit. Living in Cape Cod allows me to luxuriate in Euro fish all summer long. Just down the street is a fish market called The Clam Man and he gets the freshest fish, right off the boat. Today, I was bargain hunting and decided on some haddock. Haddock is a medium bodied, white flakyfish best done in an oven or on a skillet. You can do this recipe with many types of fish - sole, flounder, bass....really any of the flaky white fishes. Pair it with a dry, very cold white wine and you are in fishy heaven.

Euro Haddock

 

Ingredients:

• Any white flaky fish you like, skin off, fillets only


• whole wheat flour


• good olive oil


• parsley, finely minced


• fresh lemon juice


• kosher salt

Preparation:

Dredge fish fillets on both sides with whole wheat flour. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet on high heat. When the oil is good and hot, add the fish fillets. Don't crowd your pan and don't walk away, girlfriend. Fry on one side for about 2 minutes max, then flip. You only need to cook each side for about 2 minutes. Don't overcook! Transfer the fillets to a platter, drizzle with good olive oil, squeeze lemon over it, sprinkle parsley and kosher salt on top. So simple. So Euro.

 

Daily Recipe: Bacon Wrapped Jalapeno Thingys

Get ready to have a mind-blowing jalapenobacongasm, people. This one will knock your socks off. First off, I have to give full credit for this recipe to a fabulous blogger called The Pioneer Woman. I think she invented these. Regardless, this recipe calls for three ingredients, are simple to make, and pack a flavor wallop that will bring you to your knees. Best of all, these can be prepared ahead of time and cooked just before your party. TPW (The Pioneer Woman) says they can even be frozen raw and then cooked later. I found it very helpful to look at TPW's website for a play by play on how to easily prepare these. I suggest you do the same. I heart you, TPW. Will you be my goomah?

Bacon Wrapped Jalapeno Thingys

Ingredients:

• Bacon


• Jalapeno Peppers


• Chive Cream Cheese (or plain is fine but why not chive it up)

Preparation:

Slice the jalapeno peppers down the middle, lengthwise. With a small spoon,  remove all of the white membrane and seeds. This is where all of the heat is.  If you like it HOT, then save some of the white stuff but I like mine mild, so I removed  it all. Once that is done, schmere a liberal amount of cream cheese in the center of the pepper half. Finally, cut up your bacon so each slice is cut in thirds. Take a piece of bacon and wrap it around the pepper. Secure with a tooth pick. I made a little assembly line and first did all of the  deseeding, then did all of the cream cheese, then wrapped the bacon. It was mindless and oddly therapeutic. Yet I digress.....Now, you can either toss them in the fridge if you are  serving them the same day or you can put them in a ziploc bag and freeze them. When you are ready to cook them, preheat oven to 375 degrees. Arrange the peppers on a wire try on a sheet pan or roasting pan. It's important that they be on a rack so the  bacon grease can drip off. Bake for 25-28 minutes depending on how crisp you like your bacon.

I like mine crispy, dude. Now, eat, savor.....jalapenobacongasm.

Daily Recipe: Southwestern Seared Tuna Salad

Feel like upping your mercury level today? Tap into your inner Jeremy Piven and indulge in a healthful dinner option with our Southwestern Seared Tuna Salad. It's easy to prepare and a filling option for those who are trying to watch their carbs at the dinner table.

Dear Carbs, You sit on my hips and make me look fat in my bikini. Therefore, I hate you. F-U Carbs!! Love, WickedGoodFood

Southwestern Seared Tuna Salad - serves two for dinner

Ingredients:

• 1 lb of fresh tuna steak


• Chef Paul Prudhomme's Poultry Magic Seasoning - at every market in the spice section.


• 1/2 cup garbanzo beans


• 1 cup canned corn


• 1/2 red pepper, diced


• 1/2 yellow pepper diced


• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half


• 1 avocado, diced


• 1/2 cup red onion, diced


• your favorite lettuce. I use romaine or baby greens

Dressing:

• 1/4 cup fresh lime juice


• 1 tablespoon mayo. I use Kraft Olive Oil mayo (1/2 the fat as regular mayo)


• 1 tablespoon sour cream


• 1/4 cup olive oil


• 3 tablespoons chopped cilantro


• 1 teaspoon finely minced jalapeno


• 1 clove garlic, finely minced


• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder


• 1/2 teaspoon cumin

Preparation:

First, do the dressing. In an airtight tupperware bowl, mix in all of the ingredients, close the lid, and shakey, shakey, shakey until everything is mixed well. Taste and add salt and pepper if you like. Now, get the salad ready. Dump your washed greens into a salad bowl. Top with diced peppers, corn, beans, tomatoes, onion, and avocado. Finally, it's time to sear the tuna. Season the tuna steaks on both sides with the Poultry Magic seasoning. Heat a skillet on high heat with a little bit of olive oil in the pan. When the pan is hot, add the tuna steaks. Sear on one side for 2 minutes and then flip. Sear the other side for 2 minutes. This should yield a tuna that is cooked medium. If you like it more well done, cook for longer. You can't really screw it up. When your tuna is done to your liking, transfer it to a cutting board. Slice the tuna in strips and present artfully on top of your salad. Drizzle with the dressing and yeee haw....Southwestern Salad!

Fathers Day Hit: Grilled Pizza

OK, I'm starting to sense a theme here. Relatively healthy-eating girl goes completely off the wagon on the weekends and falls deep into the "gluttonous fat-ass" abyss. I'd like to share with my two readers the recipe for gluttony, which can be had with a little prep work and a grill. You can put any toppings you like on the pizza. Here is the one that was the biggest hit on Father's Day.

Grilled Whole Wheat Pizza with Caramelized Onions, Sausage, Roasted Tomatoes, and Fontina Cheese

Ingredients:

• 1 cup cherry tomatoes


• 1 large vidalia or sweet onion


• 1 tablespoon brown sugar


• 1 tablespoon butter


• 2 fresh sausage links, casing removed


• 1 blob of pizza dough. I get Whole Foods whole wheat ready made dough in the freezer section. Works perfectly. You can also get dough at your local pizzeria. Or you can make it.


• 1 cup of grated fontina cheese


• 1 cup of fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced thin (not the shredded crap)

Preparation:

Up to a day in advance, prep your toppings. I did mine the day before and it made the pizza making process more fun and super easy. So, the day before, preheat your oven to 450 degrees. Toss the cherry tomatoes in some olive oil, salt, and pepper, and roast them on a sheet pan for 15 minutes. Transfer to a glass bowl or tupperware, cover, and refrigerate. Now, cut the vidalia onion in thin rings and toss them with olive oil. Spread on a sheet pan and sprinkle with brown sugar and some kosher salt. Take the butter and break off little pieces and sprinkle on top of the onions. Roast in the 450 degree oven for about 25 minutes or until the onions become a little charred. You can roast the onions and the tomatoes at the same time. Transfer the onions to a glass bowl or tupperware, cover, and refrigerate. Now for the sausage. Remove the sausage from the casings, crumble them up into little pieces, and saute in a skillet over high heat until the sausage is browned. When done, transfer to a glass bowl or tupperware, cover, and refrigerate. Ok, so now your prep work is done. Go have a glass of wine and dream about the pizza you are going to have tomorrow.

Now, for the fun part. Preheat your oven to 450 degrees again. Get your dough and roll it out onto a wooden pizza paddle. I find that using a floured rolling pin helps. Also, I hand-stretch the dough to get it into the shape I want. Know that the shape will not be perfect, it will be more of a circular rectangle. It's fine, nobody cares. Brush olive oil onto both sides of the dough and then put some flour on the pizza paddle. Your oiled dough should now be on the floured pizza paddle. Now, heat your grill to high. Using the pizza paddle, transfer the dough onto the hot grill, right onto the grates. Listen, this takes a bit of practice and having 2 people helps. I made five pizzas yesterday and three looked, shall we say, a little special. Two looked gorgeous. All tasted amazing so who cares? Ok, back to the grilling. Shut the grill and let the dough cook for about 1 minute. Don't walk away, the shit will burn!! Take a peek under the dough and if there are grate marks and it's starting to blacken, then flip. Leave the lid open for cooking the other side. Cook for about 2 minutes. Take your dough off the grill, transfer it to a baking sheet, and top it with the grated fontina cheese, sliced mozzarella cheese, sausage, onions, and tomatoes. Finish it in the oven by cooking for 10 minutes or until all the cheese has melted. This was my method. Some people, after flipping the pizza dough the first time, will put their toppings on and let them melt while still on the grill. I found that I had more control over the final product if I concentrated on grilling the dough first and then dealing with building in the toppings later using the oven. Anyway, 7 adults polished off 5 huge pizzas last night. Happy freakin' Father's Day!

Daily Recipe: Wicked Healthy Veggie Chili

OK, so it's been raining here for about a month and I've been making all sorts of soups to help mentally deal with the weather. The thing about nasty weather is that I tend to nest which is code for eat. So, to counterbalance the 3 Reeces Peanut Butter Cups I had after lunch yesterday, I decided to make something healthy for dinner. This chili is super easy to prepare and you can add any veggies that make you happy. I use Muir Glen fire roasted tomatoes because the guy with the weird name who wrote Eat This, Not That told me that they were the healthiest on the market and since I believe everything I read, I bought them. They are tasty.

Wicked Healthy Veggie Chili - Serves 6

Ingredients:

• 1 28 oz. can Muir Glen fire roasted crushed tomatoes


• 2 14 oz. cans Muir Glen fire roasted diced tomatoes


• 1 14 oz can of garbanzo beans


• 1 can of corn


• 1 zucchini, diced


• 1 big white onion, diced


• 1 red pepper, diced (large pieces)


• 1 yellow pepper, diced (large pieces)


• 1/2 jalapeno pepper, seeds removed and finely minced (more if you like it spicy)


• 3 tablespoons chili powder (or more to taste)


• 3 tablespoons cumin (or more to taste)


• 1 tablespoon kosher salt (or more to taste)


• 1 tablespoon garlic powder


• black pepper


• Garnishes: shredded jack cheese, cilantro, diced green onions, sour cream

Preparation:

In a large pot, heat a little olive oil over high heat. Add the onions and saute until they are translucent. Add in the peppers and saute until they begin to soften, about 3 minutes. Add in the garbanzo beans, corn, and all of the tomatoes and give it a nice stir. Finally, start to season. Add in all the cumin, chili powder, salt, pepper, garlic powder. Taste the seasonings. You might want it spicier. If so, add in more of what you like. Some folks add in hot sauce or more jalapenos. Go nuts. Once you have the seasoning where you like it, plop the lid on the pot, turn it down to simmer, and let it cook for 3o minutes. Finally, put some in a bowl and garnish it. I like to dump on liberal amounts of sour cream, cheese, cilantro, and green onions. Frankly, the garnish makes this dish sort of unhealthy but whatever, it tastes good. If you are a total neurotic, do low-fat sour cream and cheese. But remember, if you get hit by a bus tomorrow and you didn't eat the full-fat dairy, you might be sorry. I'm just sayin....

Oprah's Favorite BBQ Chicken

OK, Oprah has never tasted this chicken. Nor does she know anything about it. I saw the back of Gayle's head once though. Does that count? Anyway, barbequing chicken is not as easy as it looks. It's taken a few tries to get this recipe down and now that it's well, down, I'm passing it along. If you've got a bit of time to spare and a killer BBQ sauce, you too can make juicy, crispy chicken.

Oprah's Favorite BBQ Chicken

Ingredients:

• Chicken parts on the bone. As many as you want. Any part you desire. Go crazy.


• Apple Juice


• Your favorite BBQ spice rub - I use Dinosaur BBQ rub


• Your favorite BBQ sauce - I use either Hickory House, Sweet Baby Ray's, or KC Masterpiece

Preparation:

Dip the chicken into the apple juice and place into a pyrex dish. Sprinkle your rub onto the chicken, covering both sides. Now, it's awesome if you can let the chicken sit in the fridge overnight and let the rub really permeate the meat. If not, no biggie. Just let the rub sit on the chicken for as long as you can. Even 1 hour is good. Set your grill on low, to about 200-225 degrees. We put ours on low and keep the lid open. Place the chicken skin side down on the grill, leave the lid open, and go do your nails or take a nap. The chicken should be left alone, untouched for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Flip the chicken being careful not to leave the skin on the grill. I use a spatula for this. Let the chicken cook another 15 minutes on the other side. Now for the fun bit. Slather your BBQ sauce all over the chicken, both sides. Then crank up the grill to medium and shut the lid. Cook on both sides for about 10 minutes each, until the skin gets all blackened and saucy. Flip once so that the sauce can carmelize on both sides. Feel free to baste with more sauce to build on the flavor. I am a firm believer in 0ver-saucing when it comes to BBQ chicken. Pare this chicken with some cole slaw, corn bread*, and a bottle of beer and you are stoked.

*BTW I tried the Williams-Sonoma jalapeno cheddar cornbread mix and it's awesome. While a total rip at $12, it was really moist, spicy, and cheesy and fed a crowd. I can't find it online but they have it in the stores. How 1996.

Daily Recipe: Cape Cod Chicken Salad

 

Jews love salads - egg salad, chicken salad, tuna salad, whitefish salad, salmon salad, Israeli salad. I could go on and on about salads like Bubba Gump yammers on about shrimp. Anyway, since I come from a long, not-so-distinguished line of Cape Cod Jews, I thought I'd post a recipe for Cape Cod Chicken Salad. By using shortcuts like a store bought rotisserie chicken, this salad is fast to prepare and loved by Jews and Gentiles the world over. Shalom!

Cape Cod Chicken Salad - serves 4

Ingredients:

• 1 store bought (or home made) rotisserie chicken


• 1/2 cup scallions, diced


• 1/4 cup celery, diced


• 1/3 cup dried cranberries


• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts


• 1 tablespoon mayonnaise


• 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar


• 1 teaspoon of honey


• 1 teaspoon of salt

Preparation:

Take your little chicky and remove the skin. Take off all of the good looking white meat and cut it into chunks. Proceed to eat the drumstick as a little mid-cooking snack. Now, back to the salad....dice up your scallions and celery and toss it into the bowl with the chicken. Add the cranberries and walnuts. In a separate little bowl, mix together the mayo, vinegar, honey, and salt. Add the dressing to the chicken mixture and stir until everything is incorporated. Now if this salad doesn't bring world peace, I don't know what will frankly.

Daily Recipe: "Raw" Fettuccini with Pesto

Ok folks. I was officially a gluttonous fat-ass this weekend. I drank enough margaritas and ate enough red meat to sink myself into a tubby oblivion. Mondays always offer us a fresh start and as such, I am doing a veggie cleanse today. No, I am not doing a beet colonic. I'm simply eating veggies today. This recipe is an adaptation from a "raw" cooking class I took. "Raw" cooking only uses vegan ingredients (nothing that moos or can look at you). The food is never heated beyond 118 degrees so that none of the vital nutrients are lost. Blah, blah. As I sat in class mentally rolling my eyes, I was turned on to a few things. One of which was zucchini "pasta" which is actually just cute little strips of zucchini acting as pasta. It's refreshing, crisp, and satisfying. Now, let's not kid ourselves...it's not real pasta. But if you are craving a fresh sauce and something healthy to put it on, this will do the trick. A few notes: 1) This is not true vegan food because I am using real Parmesan in my sauce. 2) I skipped the garlic this time because I am allergic to my husband after he eats it. Ok, so let your freak flag fly and cook some raw food today!

"Raw" Fettuccine with Basil Pesto Sauce - serves 6

Ingredients:

• 4 whole raw zucchini, peeled


• 3 cloves garlic


• 4 cups fresh basil leaves, packed


• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese


• 1/2 cup good olive oil


• 1/2 cup pine nuts

Preparation:

In a food processor, combine the basil, garlic, and pine nuts - pulse a few times. Slowly add the olive oil in a steady stream while the food processor is on. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Then add in the Parmesan cheese and pulse again until blended. Add salt and pepper to taste. Now, for the zucchini. Cut off the ends of the zucchini and peel them. With the vegetable peeler, peel the zucchini lengthwise so you have long, thin, fat strips that should resemble fettuccine. Peel lenghwise until you see seeds and then turn it over and peel the other sides. Stop peeling when you see seeds. When you have a nice bowl of zucchini strips, dress it with the pesto and voila - fettuccine with pesto! Super healthy and delish.

Daily Recipe: Balsamic Roasted Cherry Tomatoes

Nothing says summer like a bad sunburn and sand in your crotch. I mean, nothing says summer like a perfectly ripe and juicy tomato. Yah, that's the ticket! I made these little babies to accompany a perfectly grilled New York strip steak. The tomatoes were so juicy and had a little tang on the tongue from the balsamic. They took all of 30 seconds to prepare.

Balsamic Roasted Cherry Tomatoes

 

Ingredients:

• Vine cherry tomatoes - as many as you want


• Olive Oil


• Balsamic Vinegar


• Fresh Basil - julienned


• Salt & Pepper

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place pre-washed tomatoes on a sheet pan and drizzle with lots of good olive oil. Then, drizzle with some balsamic vinegar. Finish with a generous sprinkle of kosher salt and pepper. Roast the tomatoes for 17-20 minutes until they start to blacken just a little bit. You might need to broil them for the last minute if you like them charred, which I do. Transfer to a bowl and sprinkle with a little more kosher salt and the julienned basil. Welcome to Tomato Heaven.