Spring Risotto

I know it’s summer, so I am a little late in making this healthy spring risotto. It was fantastic though, and really worth all the stirring! I should have kept it on the stove top a few minutes longer, but otherwise I would not change a thing. All of the flavors including the onion, wine, lemon, and garlic blended so well together. This would make a great accompaniment to any meal.

Pork Chops with Rhubarb Chutney

This recipe was fantastic! The pork chops were great on their own, but the chutney really made the dish unique. I had never used fresh rhubarb before, and was surprised at how stringy it was as I chopped the stalks into pieces. But after simmering in the pot, the rhubarb cooked down nicely.

I made a few minor changes to the recipe. For the chutney, I omitted the dried cranberries and cut back the sugar to just 1/4 cup, and I thought it was definitely sweet enough. For the pork chops, I omitted the cumin, and used orange cranberry marmalade in place of the red currant jelly because it is a family favorite.

This will definitely be making another appearance during summer grill season!

Fusilli with Spinach and Beans

This recipe is one of my Mom’s favorites because you can throw it together pretty quickly, and she often has the ingredients on hand. I like it too, and the leftovers are great for lunches. You can use other shapes of pasta, but the sauce really clings well to the fusilli.

8 oz. whole wheat fusilli

1 bag (10 oz.) spinach, washed and torn

5 T olive oil

2 T lemon juice

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 t salt

1/2 t pepper

1/2 t red pepper flakes

1 (15 oz.) can white beans, rinsed and drained

1 jar (7 oz.) roasted red peppers

1 (14 oz.) can diced tomatoes, in juice

Cook pasta according to package directions. Towards the end of the cooking time, add spinach to pasta water and stir until wilted. Drain and set aside.

In a skillet, heat oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Add beans, roasted red peppers, and diced tomatoes. Cook until heated through.

In a deep serving dish, toss pasta, spinach, and bean mixture. Serve with grated Parmesan cheese.

South Indian Vegetable Curry

I would call this recipe ‘interesting’ in that it was fun to try something different, and the dish grew on me over the course of a few days, but I am not in a rush to make it again. I hope that’s fair. It was a very nice blend of vegetables and spices, but the coconut milk became gray, so it wasn’t visually appealing.

I cut back the oil to just 2 tablespoons, and used light coconut milk. I left out the peppers due to my taste preferences, and could not find mustard seeds at the store, so omitted those as well.

Blogs to Read: On a Lobster Placemat

You may remember Rose’s Ultimate Vegetable Casserole from her blog On a Lobster Placemat. That dish became an instant classic for me! Like many other food bloggers (and myself) Rose enjoys oatmeal for breakfast, and she is incredibly creative with her toppings. On a Lobster Placement doesn’t just cover food, but also includes posts about her travels, running, writing, and book making. I recommend you check it out!

Hungry Girl’s Hot Chick BBQ Chop

My sister is a big fan of Hungry Girl’s first cookbook, and made this Hot Chick BBQ Chop salad. The recipe is copyrighted, so you’ll have to check out the book, but featured ingredients include lettuce, tomatoes, red onion, corn and beans, with a quick homemade BBQ sauce for the dressing.

Lemony Beans and Greens

I admit, at first I was going to use bottled lemon juice for this recipe, but I am so glad I picked up a fresh lemon at the produce market. There is no substitute for a squeeze of fresh lemon juice! I was inspired by this recipe from 101 Cookbooks, but I made a few changes. The can of beans I had in my cabinet turned out to be white beans instead of chick peas. And while I like kale, I spotted Chinese broccoli at the produce market, and it is one of my favorites, so I decided to use that instead.

If you’ve never tried Chinese broccoli, it has lovely green leaves, and tender stalks. You will most likely find it at produce markets and Chinese supermarkets.

I used about 2-3 cups of Chinese broccoli, so I reduced the amount of zucchini. The final product was wonderful, and a recipe I know I will make again and again.

Spinach Salad with Scallops and Mango

I’ve posted a few scallop recipes recently including Seared Scallops with Balsamic and Spicy Scallops. The scallops are good here, but the mango steals the show. I was initially inspired by this recipe, and while I am sure that I would like the sugared macadamias, I wanted to keep things light.

The recipe as I prepared it, for 2 salads:

8 oz. scallops, sauteed in 1 t canola oil
4 c. spinach
1/2 c. sliced red onion
3/4 c. diced mango, divided
2 T lime juice
1 t fresh ginger
1 T water

Toss spinach, onion, and 1/2 c. diced mango in a bowl. Top with scallops. Place remaining mango, lime juice, ginger, and water in a food processor and blend until smooth. Pour dressing over salad.

Broccoli Salad

You know that broccoli salad you sometimes spy at salad bars, and summer barbecues? The creamy one with the bacon? Roni at Green Lite Bites has a great recipe for a healthier version of this salad, which still uses real bacon. Next time, I will definitely blanch the broccoli though, it was just a little too crunchy for my tastes, but the flavor was perfect.

Blogs to Read: KERF

KERF stands for Kath Eats Real Food, and she does enjoy wonderful real food! You may remember that I referenced her blog in my post on Overnight Oats. Kath has plenty of formal recipes, but you will also pick up some simple food ideas by reading what she eats every day. I could write so much more, but I highly encourage you to check out her blog right now.