04 September 2010

Say No to Drugs, Say Yes to Tacos

Sometimes recipes are inspired by other dishes you’ve eaten or recipes read. Other times recipes are inspired by a craving for certain flavors or types of cuisine. Still others come about based upon ingredients that are handy. This is one such recipe. Oddly enough, I decided to make these wonderful tacos not out of a craving for Mexican food or a desire to replicate a fajita recipe. Nope. This recipe exists because I had a half a head of cabbage that I was trying to figure out what to do with.

Dear cabbage,
Thanks for the memories,
xoxo, Me.
Read More »

, ,
31 August 2010

Weeknight? Make It Light

Need a quick mid-week meal? Look no further than  your pantry. We all have stand bys (like pasta and store bought sauce or canned soup) that work well for us when we’re in a pinch, feeling uninspired, or feel super stressed out. I’m the last of those three right now as I’ve got big things happening at work currently. But these items don’t always hit the spot taste-wise, especially when compared to a homemade meal. So, after a 10+ hour day, I threw open the cupboards and prayed I’d find something easy that didn’t taste (or make me feel) like crap.

Hooray for orzo! The seemingly bastard child of rice and pasta (I totally made that up), orzo was the perfect grain for what I needed–fast, tasty, works well with others. The vegetables in my crisper drawer did the rest of the work. A few short minutes I was kicking back, stuffing my face, and slamming down a glass of wine…
Read More »

, , ,
20 August 2010

R x R Makes A Sweet Treat

I have a confession to make: I’ve never eaten rhubarb. I don’t know how much of a confession that truly is as rhubarb seems to only make an appearance in pies. Now I’m a big fan of pie, so don’t think that my reluctance to rhubarb has anything to do with pie. I’ve never seen it at the store and we didn’t eat it growing up so I guess I just missed out on the great rhubarb craze. Until now…
Read More »

, , ,
16 August 2010

Goodbye Gut: Third Place Takes the Cake

What any good contest needs is a little competition, and I found that to be especially true of the Goodbye Gut contest. We got more submissions than expected (a good thing) and it took longer than anticipated to cook through all those recipes (also fine by me!). Today’s recipe will be the last featured recipe from those contest submissions. It comes from our friend Racheletto, who we told you about back in January when she was doing a project called G.U.L.P which involved eating a very restricted diet and donating her grocery money to charity!

She writes, “I love spinach and I have to admit that I don’t really care for pork bacon (call it un-American if you must).” Her recipe, which “I’ve adapted it from a recipe I found here,” she tells, calls for turkey bacon, but I used the real deal in mine (upping the fat content a little, but still keeping the recipe within healthy limits).
Read More »

, , , ,
12 August 2010

Goodbye Gut Contest: The Runner Up!




Our runner up submission in the Goodbye Gut Contest was from Erin F. who got extra points for including bacon in her recipe. This one is great for summer as beets are in season and easy to find. I know people who have been trying to give the ones in their garden away…so if you are gifted some beets, here’s an easy thing to make with them.

Another highlight of this recipe is how little hands-on time there is. So if it’s hot-hot-hot in your house, this guy uses only a bit of power from the stove so as not to heat things up too much in there.

Erin F. writes, “Goat cheese is another optional addition.” Maybe in her mind, but in mine it’s necessary.
Read More »

, , , , ,
09 August 2010

Goodbye Gut Contest: Our Winning Recipe!


Once upon a time, way back in June, we told you all about our Goodbye Gut Contest. Thanks to those of you who entered! It was a difficult process that took a bit longer than expected to cook our way through all your recipes–but a problem I’ll gladly take!

Entries were scored on the following requirements, beyond taste of course:

  • Total calorie count per serving
  • Ease of preparation
  • Accessibility of ingredients and tools to prepare the recipe

Entries were also given extra points if the recipe included bacon or a bacon-inspired product. This winning recipe didn’t need those extra points–it was delicious, easy to make, and much more low-cal that you would expect from such a rich tasting recipe.

Our winner is Chandra M. and her Pesto & Goat Cheese Stuffed Chicken Breasts! Congratulations Chandra M., your prize is on its way!

The recipe is below–try it, you’ll love it, I guarantee it!
Read More »

, , , , , | 2 Comments
06 August 2010

Summer Slaw


In making this slaw, I used the Catholic method of cooking–more commonly known as the “Pour & Pray.”

Pause for the terrible joke to sink in… and… moving on!

Seriously though, I’m terrible at measuring things like this so the amounts of the liquids listed below are my best guess of what amounts of each dressing item was mixed together. Generally speaking I really do just pour stuff together and then pray it tastes good. My suggestion for you: Start with a little and add little bits of each of the items used to make the dressing. That way you’ll end up with a combination that you like, befitting your tastes (more or less vinegar-y or soy-tastic).

Today’s recipe is perfect to take to summer barbecues or potlucks. I made a big batch of this and then forced it upon my coworkers. It’s not exactly vegetarian due to the soy sauce and the worcestershire, but you can make it vegetarian (or even vegan) by using fish-free substitutes. Okay, okay, this Asian thing is getting out of hand, I realize! But, uh, it’s oh so tasty so how can I stop myself? It was made even more delicious by the fact that all my veggies came out of the garden of the house I was housesitting at!
Read More »

, , , , | 1 Comment
30 July 2010

Don’t Cook? Make Pesto


Oh man, did I have a lot of herbs. And fresh herbs are so delicious and add such depth to any dish, but they can be hard to use up before they wilt and spoil. If you’re growing an herb garden at home, kudos to you! That’s the best way to enjoy fresh herbs year-round without over committing. But most of my veggies (and herbs too) come straight from the farm and when you’re dealing with farmers you kind of get what comes. And I got a lot. A lot of parsley; even more cilantro.

But after making salsa I still had way more cilantro than I knew what to do with. And I didn’t want the parsley to feel like it was getting overused since I kept adding it to almost every meal(herbs have feelings to, you know), so I decided to put each to good use by making pesto out of them.

Pesto, God love it, is just about the easiest thing to make. Ever. Some folks might like the little pre-mixed dried packet, but I’m convinced they just don’t know what they’re missing. If you have fresh herbs and olive oil, in 5 minutes you can have pesto.
Read More »

, , | 1 Comment
28 July 2010

Un-wrap This Appetizer

All right, I’ve already discussed my obsession with Asian cuisine, but seriously…I think it may actually be a problem. Am I in a rut? A delicious Thai-Chinese-Japanese-Indian inspired rut? It may just be that I have a theme (but I also really love tacos, so that just throws the whole theory out of whack).

These wraps are similar to what you get as an appetizer in restaurants. If you love lettuce wraps there you’ll be happy to know just how easy they are to make at home! (And cheaper than $8.95, I would guess). They make a great appetizer if you’re having friends over for dinner, though on this particular evening the BF and I ate them as our entire meal!
Read More »

, ,
17 July 2010

Too Hot To Cook


First, it’s 100 degrees outside, and second I just got back from vacation in California where I ate a lot of vegan food. Both of those factors combined in my decision to make this noodle-y salad for lunch. It’s fast, simple, and easy and you won’t slave over a hot stove for too long!

Soba noodles are made from buckwheat and come in these nifty little pre-portioned bundles. A staple of Japanese diet, soba is great in soup, covered in sauce, or served cold in a salad as we’ve done here. I roasted these veggies in the oven and seared the tofu on the stove-top but if you have a grill I’d recommend that as the way to go for maximum flavor. (As an added bonus, the heat you create from the grill will be outside where it’s already hot and not inside the house).
Read More »

, ,