Month: August 2011

Whole Wheat Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Boston University has a fantastic food and education program called Sargent Choice.  One of the signature items offered are these Whole Grain Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies.  I haven’t been to campus much this summer, so I decided to try the recipe myself.

The cookies are easy to make, and call for mini chocolate chips to ensure there’s plenty of chocolate in each cookie.  And they don’t taste like “healthy cookies”, they taste exactly as cookies should.  My version was a little dry, but that’s probably because I used natural peanut butter.  (Yes, I made the same exact mistake before with these peanut butter oatmeal cookies.)  I’ll use regular peanut butter next time, which will probably be soon since this batch seemed to fly off the plate!

 

Grilled Balsamic Eggplant

While I was at the Brookline Farmer’s Market, I also picked up 2 enormous eggplants for just $1 each.  Now that’s a deal!  Last year I made Grilled Pesto Eggplant, but this time I wanted to let the eggplant marinate before bringing it to the BBQ to grill.  Later that night, the eggplant slices went on the grill with many other delicious items including chicken, sausages, and steak.

 

The eggplant got nicely charred on the outside and soft on the inside, and picked up the balsamic flavor.  But something was missing.  Cheese!  The next day, I created another sandwich using two pieces of eggplant and a slice of provolone cheese on a whole wheat bun.  With very little effort, you can have a great vegetarian double cheeseburger.

 

Grilled Balsamic Eggplant

1 large eggplant, peeled and cut into 1″ slices
1/4 c. olive oil
1/4 c. balsamic vinegar
1 t minced garlic
Salt & Pepper

Mix oil, vinegar, and garlic in a shallow dish.  Season with salt and pepper.  Place eggplant slices in the dish one at at time, making sure to dip both sides in the marinade.  Cover the dish and place in the refrigerator for 4-6 hours.

Cook on a grill until the eggplant slices are fork tender.

 

Tangy Potato Salad

I bookmarked this Red, White, and Blue Potato Salad from RecipeGirl a while ago, thinking it would be perfect for the 4th of July.  Of course that didn’t happen, but when I was invited over to a BBQ Friday night, I decided to make the recipe with local red potatoes from the Brookline Farmer’s Market.  I made a few other tweaks, using a heavier hand with the mustard and a lighter hand with the salt.

Since I needed to rename the recipe anyway, I thought I would reference the flavor – this potato salad is tangy!  With the mustard, red wine vinegar, and black pepper, there’s a lot of zing.  I enjoyed it though, and a few guests really liked it as an alternative to mayonnaise-based potato salad.  But no matter what kind of potato salad you make, I guarantee it will taste better if you’re relaxing in the backyard with a tiki torch.

 

 

 

Tangy Potato Salad

5 large red potatoes, scrubbed and cut in 1 1/2″ chunks
1/4 c. chopped red onion
2 T chopped parsley
2 T chopped chives
1/4 c. red wine vinegar
2 T olive oil
1 T mustard
1/2 t black pepper
1/2 t salt

Place cut potatoes in a large pot of cold water.  Bring to a boil, and simmer for 10-15 minutes.  Rinse with cold water and allow to cool slightly.

Mix cooked potatoes with onion and herbs.  In a small bowl, whisk vinegar, oil, mustard, pepper, and salt.  Pour dressing over potatoes and toss well.

 – Recipes adapted from Recipe Girl

Fresh Herbs and Yellow Squash

The other day, a friend brought me fresh rosemary, thyme, and oregano from her garden.  Everyone needs this kind of friend.  Just like fresh vegetables taste best, so do fresh herbs.

You can get fussy and try to match certain herbs to certain foods, but I threw caution to the wind and used all three at once.  I know, crazy, right?  I had some yellow squash on hand, rice in the pantry, and feta in the refrigerator.  This dish was quick, easy, and contained vegetables, whole grains, healthy fats, and dairy all in one bowl. 

Fresh Herb and Yellow Squash Bake

2 yellow squash, cut into 2″ chunks
1 heaping T fresh herbs
Olive oil
1 bag instant brown rice, cooked according to directions (makes about 2 cups)
1/2 c. feta cheese

Place squash on baking sheet, and sprinkle herbs.  Drizzle olive oil on squash, and turn to coat.  Roast at 400F for 25-30 minutes.  Remove from oven and mix in a large bowl with cooked rice and feta cheese.  Season with salt and pepper as needed.

Charred Corn Tacos with Zucchini Radish Slaw

The main dish of our Mexican feast were these corn tacos, based on a recipe from Smitten Kitchen.  You start by making a slaw with zucchini, radish, and lime.  (A total of six limes were used in the preparation of this meal, and none of those were in an alcoholic beverage!) 

 

2 ears of corn are grilled, to produce nicely charred kernels.  The kernels of the remaining ears are sauteed with chopped onion.  This mixture of corn was so good, you could have just eaten it right out of the bowl.

 

I warmed the tortillas by placing them between damp paper towels and cooking for 20 seconds in the microwave.  So if you don’t eat all the corn first and actually assemble a taco, here’s what you get.  It was very messy to eat – you had to either hold the taco and keep eating until it was gone, or drop it in your plate and attack it with a fork. 

But regardless of how you ate them, the tacos were delicious.

Do you feel like something is missing?  Oh yes, in the hustle and bustle of dinnertime, I completely forgot to take out the queso fresco.  I can only assume that crumbled cheese would make these tacos that much better.  Next time…..

Chicken Taquitos

A few weeks ago, I went on a quick trip to Mohegan Sun.  I am not really a big gambler, but love to people-watch.  The hotel room was gorgeous, and the air conditioned environment was very enjoyable in the middle of a heat wave.  But my favorite part of the trip was our meal at SolToro, a Mexican restaurant at the casino.  We ordered a bunch of appetizers to share, including the Chicken Taquitos which were amazing.  I immediately declared that I had to try to recreate these myself.

This Baked Chicken Taquito recipe served as my primary guide, although I altered the tortilla preparation as suggested in the comments.  This is a great party recipe, because you can do most of the work in advance and just fill and bake the tray of taquitos right before serving.  They are perfect for dipping in salsa, guacamole, or sour cream (or all three!)  These taquitos don’t have the same fried taste as the ones at the restaurant, but they do have a fantastic flavor.  If you’d like them a little spicier, I would add some cayenne pepper to the filling.  I almost did that myself, but was too nervous since I was cooking for a group.  And rest assured, a vegetarian version of these taquitos is already swirling around in my head…..

 

Chicken Taquitos

1 T canola oil
1 c. chopped onion
2 t minced garlic
1 t cumin
1 t paprika
2 c. shredded cooked chicken
1/2 c. chopped cilantro
15 corn tortillas
1 1/2 c. shredded sharp Cheddar cheese

Heat oil in a large skillet.  Add onion, and cook for 10-15 minutes or until lightly browned.  Add garlic, and cook for 2 minutes.  Add cumin and paprika and stir to coat.  Stir in chicken and cilantro, and remove from heat.

Place 5 tortillas between two damp paper towels, and microwave on medium power for 30 seconds.  Fill each tortilla with about 2 T chicken mixture, and 1 1/2 T shredded cheese.  Roll up, and place seam side down on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray.  Repeat with remaining tortillas.

Lightly coat filled tortillas with cooking spray, and bake at 425F for 15-20 minutes, or until lightly browned.

-Adapted from Whole Foods Market

Salsa and Guacamole

Last year for my Mom’s birthday, we had an elegant dinner of bruschetta, eggplant gremolata, penne with vodka sauce, veal scaloppine, and mocha ice cream cake.  It was certainly a meal to remember, and we enjoyed the earlier courses while our littlest family member was awake, and then had the later courses after his bedtime.

This year, we had a much more low key Mexican-themed meal, but it was just as much fun.  And this time, the littlest person got to stay up right to the end, to sing a well practiced “Happy Birthday”.  Of course, every Mexican fiesta needs to start with some homemade salsa and guacamole.

For the salsa, I turned to this Salsa Fresca recipe from Smitten Kitchen.  It’s a simple recipe with the usual ingredients: tomatoes, onions, garlic, jalapeno, cilantro, and lime.  The salsa was fine, but not spectacular as we’ve come to expect from Deb.  To be fair, I am not a salsa eater so need to rely on the opinions of others.  Still, I think it was nice to eat salsa that didn’t come from a glass jar.

For the guacamole, I turned to Jenna from Eat, Live, Run and what she calls the only guacamole recipe you’ll ever need.  It’s another easy recipe, calling for avocados, onion, lime juice, jalapeno, and salt.  I may not enjoy salsa, but guacamole is something I’ve grown to love.  Some people thought the lime flavor was almost too strong, but I really liked it, and the jalapeno gave the guacamole just the right amount of kick. 

 

You may think that homemade salsa and guacamole are no big deal, and to you I say, just wait for the next recipe, chicken taquitos!

Chinese Eggplant and Goat Cheese Pasta

OK, I didn’t actually buy this eggplant at the Brookline Farmer’s Market, I got it later at a local produce market.  Although I love traditional eggplant dishes like Eggplant Parmesan, these Chinese eggplants are perfectly sized for a quick weeknight meal for one, with no peeling required.

I don’t often have goat cheese on hand, so it was a special treat in this meal.  The goat cheese made a rich and creamy sauce for the pasta, but it may not reheat very well, so this is a dish to enjoy in the moment. 

 

Chinese Eggplant and Goat Cheese Pasta

1 t olive oil
1 Chinese eggplant, cut into 2″ chunks
3/4 c. dry medium whole wheat pasta shells
1 oz. goat cheese
2 t balsamic vinegar
Generous pinch dried basil
Salt and Pepper

Heat oil in a frying pan over medium heat.  Add eggplant pieces and saute for 15 minutes, or until softened.  In the meantime, cook pasta according to package directions and drain.

Mix goat cheese, balsamic vinegar, and basil.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Add cheese mixture to hot pasta and toss until coated.  Add cooked eggplant and toss again.

Beets with a Blueberry Balsamic Reduction

When one of the vendors at the Brookline Farmer’s Market said that he had pulled the beets just that morning, he definitely had my attention.  Normally, I  roast beets, although last year I grilled beets as well.  This time I decided to try boiling them.  After simmering in water for about 40 minutes, the skins slipped right off.

Since I had a little time on my (beet stained) hands, I wanted to do somthing a little more interesting.  I found this recipe for a Blueberry Balsamic Reduction.  I happened to have blueberries on hand, and the recipe is as easy as putting a few ingredients in a pot and letting them simmer for a while.  I didn’t even use a blender since the cooked sauce was already fairly smooth.  I placed the sliced beets on a bed of fresh lettuce, and topped them with the sauce as well as chopped walnuts and fresh Paremsan.

This made an excellent salad, although the sauce was perhaps a bit too sweet on top of the beets which were sweet as well.  The original recipe suggested that the sauce could be paired with goat cheese.  Since the next meal to roll around was Happy Hour, I spread some goat cheese on a baguette, with a dollop of  Blueberry Balsamic sauce.  Oooh, now that was really good.  (And not just because it was served with wine.)

If the farmer hadn’t talked about his freshly harvested beets, I never would have bought them, and then discovered this sauce.  The best cooking inspiration always comes from talking about food!