I’m here! Actually here. Cooking, enjoying summer, but not blogging. ‘Til tonight. A few folks have requested this recipe . . . so here we go. Got zucchini? This is a GREAT way to use it up, deliciously. It’s high-protein, low-carb and gluten-free. Eat up!

© 2013, Sarah. All rights reserved.

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Summertime is a great time for pesto – you can make up a big batch, use it lots of different ways, even freeze it for a treat come wintertime. I can’t tell you the joy we got pulling out a container of garlic scape pesto in the dead of winter, tossing it with some pasta, and reminiscing about summer.

Today’s pesto is an exotic departure from your traditional basil, walnut & Parmesan blend. The Thai basil lends a slight anise flavor, the toasted pecans add depth and richness. Whip up a big batch of this versatile, vegan concoction and keep it around for dipping, drizzling and dressing. It’ll keep in your fridge for about a week – and bonus! The lime juice helps it keep its bright green color.

Thai Basil Pesto (Adapted from Healthful Pursuit)

Place nuts in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until broken down, about 30 seconds. Add basil, lime zest and juice, fish sauce and garlic. Pulse to mix, until basil leaves have been incorporated with the nuts. With the processor running, add the olive oil through the feed tube and process until combined and until pesto has reached desired consistency. Add salt and pepper to taste, mixing and tasting after each addition.

Yields about 1.5 cups.

What’re you gonna do with it?

• Great on pasta. Why not try zucchini “pasta”? I used a vegetable peeler to peel long strips of zucchini, heated them up quickly in a frying pan, and tossed them with the pesto. Delicious, a great way to use your zucchini, and a healthful, low-calorie alternative to pasta.
• Slice a tomato, spread the pesto on top, and hit it with the broiler
• Sandwich spread
• Try it over fish or chicken – we ate it over simple baked cod and it was delicious
• Veggie dip
• In a vinaigrette
• Pizza sauce
• Spread on crackers
• Freeze for later – either in small containers or in an ice cube tray.
• More good ideas here!

What’re your favorite ways to use pesto? Have a favorite pesto ingredient combo? Share in the comments!

© 2012 – 2013, Sarah. All rights reserved.

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Beans and greens, beans and greens – does it ever get old for you? It doesn’t for me, but I tend to gravitate toward the same seasonings and flavors, and unless I have a recipe that looks good, I tend to use white beans. That’s my comfort-zone – more of an Italian-take on the situation. A little EVOO, a little low-sodium chicken broth, some chopped kale (or whatever there is), maybe some pre-cooked chicken sausage, some red pepper, a lot of garlic. But we have a lot of greens from the CSA and I need to mix it up.

Enter this recipe. It’s not really exotic, it’s just different from my usual. I rarely use paprika, and although I do use a lot of cumin, I would never think of it for a beans and greens dish – dunno why, just a blind-spot for me. This features chickpeas, which I love – they have a nuttier, richer flavor than many other legumes. The other cool thing about this recipe is it’ll use up whatever greens you have around, in style. For example, the original recipe called for kale, which would be delicious, as would chard, but I had escarole from the CSA that was just gorgeous. It’s not escarole soup weather, so I used it in this. It was mellow but assertive enough here. It blended right in with the cumin and paprika and didn’t overpower the dish. DI even gobbled this up (and it was a good foil to that Kobe beef hotdog he had the night before).

The prep here might go a little long for a weeknight (about 45 minutes), but a lot of this is largely unattended. Why not save it for a Sunday and start your week off on a healthful note? The leftovers are delish, too.

Chickpeas & Greens (adapted from Cooking Light)

Cook bacon in a Dutch oven over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan using a slotted spoon. Add carrot and onion to drippings in pan, and cook until onion is translucent and carrot is softened, stirring occasionally. Add garlic, and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add paprika, 1/4 teaspoon salt, cumin, and red pepper; cook for 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Stir in broth and beans; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add greens to the bean mixture. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes or until greens are tender, stirring occasionally. Taste and add more salt and pepper to your liking. Ladle about 1 1/4 cups bean mixture into each of 4 bowls, and top each serving with 2 tablespoons yogurt. Sprinkle with bacon and serve.

Serves 4.

© 2012 – 2013, Sarah. All rights reserved.

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I’ve posted before that I have a lot of kitchen stuff. Like so much that I have a giant Ikea armoire in the basement to house pie plates (I think I have 6), special pans (bundt, train cake pans, you get the idea), multiple waffle irons (yes, multiple), cookie cutters, etc. etc. etc. So I’m loathe to buy a single-use tool – there are usually other ways to accomplish the same task (I’m looking at you, mango pitter!). But then there are some essential single-use tools – the egg slicer comes to mind. And now, the TofuXpress.

I’d never heard of this thing, ’til one day a Semi-Sweet reader emailed me that her husband & daughter had gotten her one at Sur La Table. Intrigued, I checked out the site – a tool that squeezes the heck out of your tofu? Was small-ish? American-made? Dishwasher safe? Sign. Me. Up. I emailed the good folks at TofuXpress to see if they’d be willing to send me one to review, and guess what? They said yes!

Now yes, you can press your own tofu – here’s what I used to do:

Lots of paper towls (cringe-worthy from an environmental perspective), the cookie sheets, lots of plates . . . it works, but it also only goes so far. Unless you take time to change the towels, they get saturated quickly and your tofu will still have a significant amount of moisture in it. This doesn’t matter for some preparations, but say you want to get it crispy? Or really saturated with marinade? Or just want it to be firmer and more flavorful? The TofuXpress is your new go-to girl.

 You just put in your block of tofu, snap in the top (there is a heavy-duty spring in there, that’s what does the pressing) and let it go. The instructions say to put it in the fridge and let it press for an hour, or overnight, but I find the results to be awesome (and far superior to my old method) in as few as 15 minutes.  When you’re ready to remove the tofu, you just tip the unit upside down over a sink, remove the accumulated water, and free the tofu. So simple.

The TofuXpress also comes with a lid that conveniently attaches to the base for storage – use this for marinating. You need to press the tofu first, then remove the liquid, insert the tofu with the marinade into the base, and cover with the top – place in the fridge for the desired time, and voila! You can even press the marinated tofu to achieve a denser texture that’s more meat-like.

I haven’t tried this yet, but the instructions say that you can also use the TofuXpress to press other vegetables, like eggplant, or defrosted frozen spinach, for example. Check out all the details, including a video demo, at the TofuXpress site. If you eat tofu on a regular basis, this is $39.95 well spent. Two thumbs up!

What’s your favorite kitchen gadget? Something innovative like the TofuXpress? What would you like to see me review here for you?

{Disclaimer: I was sent the TofuXpress free-of-charge to review, but TofuXpress did NOT solicit my review – I contacted them. All the opinions in this review are my own.}

© 2012, Sarah. All rights reserved.

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Again with the cabbage. I love the stuff! And napa cabbage is very mild tasting . . . so for those of you who shy away from those big, tough-looking heads of green or purple cabbage, try napa. It’s the kinder, gentler, softer cabbage (see also, savoy). But it’s still very low in calories and high in nutrients – in fact, it has the highest concentration of folate of all the cabbages. A lot of bang for the buck with this one, my friends!

This is a quick and easy slaw to throw together on a hot night. Pair it up with some pre-baked tofu (I like the Teriyaki flavored one from Trader Joe’s) and fill your belly while keeping your kitchen cool. Or, do your own baked tofu – slice a block of organic firm tofu into four slabs, press it, and then throw it in a 9×13 pan with a little sesame oil and a little soy sauce. Gently turn the tofu to coat and throw it in a 375° oven for 30-45 minutes, turning half-way through. It won’t be as dense as the pre-baked TJ’s stuff, but it’ll have a nice soft texture and great flavor. Now, on to the slaw!

Napa Cabbage Slaw (adapted from Food & Wine)

In a dry skillet, toast the almonds for 5 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool.

 In a bowl, mix the oil, vinegar, soy sauce and sugar. Add the cabbage, scallions and cilantro and toss. Add the almonds and season with pepper. Toss again and serve.

Serves 2 as a dinner salad, with the tofu, otherwise, can serve 4 as a side salad.

© 2012 – 2013, Sarah. All rights reserved.

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What the heck is kohlrabi, you ask? Well, I didn’t know, either, ’til I first received it in my CSA share a few years ago. When I took the alien orbs out of the box, I had to go back to the email our farmers send us each week to see what the heck it was! That, for me, is the fun of the CSA. It’s like Christmas every week with all the fresh, organic veggies, and every season there is at least one new-to-me veggie in the mix.

Kohlrabi’s good for you, my friends. It’s in the brassica family – the same one as broccoli, cabbage, kale and other super-nutritious veg. Loaded with fiber, antioxidants, and even, yes, protein, you should be lovin’ up on these, my friends. Any wellness warrior will tell you – calorie for calorie, brassicas are the bomb for your body. What does it taste like? I’d say kohlrabi’s sorta like broccoli stalks – mild, not as brash as cabbage at all. Certainly not as bold as Brussels sprouts or other brassicas. Could be a good entree into this family for the faint-of-heart.

This recipe’s a bit time-consuming – I’ll lay it out there. There is some grating and cooking involved prior to the baking. It’s true. But I argue it’s worth it – you spend about a half-hour on the prep to get it in the oven, but then you can walk away, clean your kitchen, herd your children – whatever – ’til it’s done. And then you’re faced with a warm and wonderfully-different veggie-based dish that’ll get you and yours outa your dinner-time doldrums. Even the “Not So Healthy Hubby” (as he refers to himself) liked this!

Kohlrabi Gratin with Feta & Dill (adapted from The New York Times)

Preheat the oven to 375° F.

Peel the kohlrabi, making sure to remove the fibrous layer right under the skin, and grate using a food processor fitted with the grater attachment.

Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium heat and add the onion. Cook, stirring often, until it is translucent, about 5 minutes. Add a generous pinch of salt, stir together, and stir in the garlic. Cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds, and stir in the kohlrabi. Cook, stirring often, until the mixture is very tender and beginning to color, about 10 minutes. If there is a lot of liquid in the pan from the kohlrabi, turn up the heat and cook, stirring, until it boils off. Add salt and pepper to taste. Remove from the heat, stir in the dill, and set aside.

Spray a 9-inch pie plate with cooking spray. Beat the eggs in a large bowl, and beat in the crumbled feta. Stir in the kohlrabi mixture and combine well. Fill the pie plate with the kohlrabi mixture.

Bake for about 40 minutes, until the top of the gratin is golden brown. Serve hot, warm or at room temperature.

Yields 6 to 8 side-dish servings, or 4 main-course servings. This would be good with a starch on the side – I ate this straight up, but D. had some of L’s tortellini. Also great would be rice pilaf . . . with butter . . . but I digress!

© 2012 – 2013, Sarah. All rights reserved.

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It’s summer. It can get HOT. You might be cranky. You definitely don’t want to turn on your oven, or even stand over your stovetop. But you want fresh food that’s good for you, right? Here’s a recipe that solves all the problems. It’s vegetarian, but has a lot of protein for those hung up on that stuff (I admit, I am). You could even veganize it if you wanted to (take out the cheese – the horror!). This is a 30 minute deal that’ll leave you cool, calm, collected & satisfied.

Feta, Lentil & Cilantro Salad

Cook the lentils according to package directions until tender, but still a bit firm to the bite, about 20 minutes.

Drain the lentils, place them in a large bowl, and dress with the olive oil, lemon juice and the garlic. Add the remaining ingredients, stir and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Serves 2 generously as a main dish, 4 as a side dish. Can easily be doubled.

© 2012 – 2013, Sarah. All rights reserved.

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My CSA has been churning out bok choy this season, and it is delicious. This past week, we also received a big bunch of tatsoi, another Asian green.  To me, these were meant to be used together, so I dreamed up this little number. I know I have a lot of recipes with peanut sauce, but I’m just such a sucker for Asian preps with peanut sauce. A little sweet, a little spicy and a little creamy (I made this with real peanut butter, not PB2, and man, it tasted indulgent). I kept the fat here low by not using any oil except for what’s in the peanut butter – used broth for stir-”frying” the greens. This is a bit of chopping, but not much – all in, about 30 minutes to the table!

Soba Noodles with Asian Greens & Peanut Sauce

For the dressing:

Cook soba noodles according to package directions. Drain, rinse with cool water, drain again and set aside.

Pour approximately 1/4 c. of the broth into a large frying pan or wok. Heat over medium-high heat. Add the tatsoi stems, bok choy stems, scallion whites, garlic and ginger and stir-fry until tender, about 4 minutes. Add more broth if the pan begins to get dry.

Meanwhile, make the dressing by whisking together all the dressing ingredients. Set aside.

Add the bok choy and tatsoi leaves, along with the scallion greens to the pan with the stems and toss to wilt – again, add more broth if the pan gets dry.

Combine the greens mixture with the noodles and toss with the dressing. Taste for seasoning and adjust to your taste.

Serves 4.

¿What can these veggies do for you?

Let’s start with bok choy, a cruciferous veggie (like broccoli and cabbage). This nutritional darling provides large amounts of vitamins A, C, and K as well as folate and calcium. A recent study detected 28 different polyphenols – antioxidant phytochemicals – in bok choy. The most prevelent was kaempferol, a molecule shown to have anti-cancer properties. Like all cruciferous vegetables, more cancer-preventive compounds are produced when bok choy is chopped before cooking.

Bok choy is uniquely beneficial for its calcium availability – bok choy is lower in oxalate, a substance that binds up calcium and prevents it from being absorbed, than most other leafy greens. 54% of the calcium in bok choy can be absorbed by the human body – compare this to 5% in spinach, a high oxalate vegetable, and 32% in milk. You can actually absorb calcium better from bok choy than from dairy products. With the bad news on calcium supplements and heart issues, it’s important to try to get your daily calcium requirements from food, not supplements, if you can. Bok choy can help!

What about this tatsoi? I have to admit, this is a new-to-me veggie and I really liked it. Tatsoi, AKA spinach mustard, spoon mustard, or rosette bok choy, is another proud member of the brassica family. It has dark green spoon-shaped leaves which form a thick rosette. It has a soft creamy texture, a sweet aroma and a mild mustard flavor. Tatsoi is often compared to spinach because of its similar appearance, and because it shrinks significantly when cooked. The taste, however, is entirely different. Tatsoi’s flavors are sweet and earthy, and it has a more cabbage-like texture which I like for stir-frying. Spinach gets too slimy for my taste. Like other crucifers, it contains phytochemicals that can act as powerful antioxidants, detoxify carcinogenic substances, induce cancer cell death, and block the formation of new blood vessels necessary for the proliferation and metastasis of malignant tumors.

WHAT is not to love about these two? Try ‘em!

© 2012, Sarah. All rights reserved.

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The other day, I did a group presentation on “superfoods.” You know, nutrient-dense, health-promoting foods? And when we came to a pause, I asked the crowd, “What is your biggest barrier to eating healthy?” “Time” was the overwhelming answer.

The women there talked about not being organized with their meal planning and grocery shopping, their kids not buying into new foods being prepared, about trying to avoid mutiny at 6 p.m. on a Wednesday, etc. And I told them, as I tell anyone who’ll listen, that it’s a misconception that cooking with real, healthful foods must be a time-consuming process. I’m not talking about making your own condiments – I’m talking about throwing together a few healthy ingredients to make a complete meal in a matter of thirty minutes or fewer. I can’t guarantee your kids’ll like the recipes. I can’t guarantee you will, either – but unless you try (and isn’t this what you’re always telling your kids, if you have them?), you’ll never know.

And I assure you: It. Can. Be. Done. We have the technology, my friends . . . and in the case of this recipe, it’s dried whole wheat pasta, pre-cooked lentils and pre-washed baby spinach. This is an amazing meal that tastes fresh, is good  for you, and all you have to chop are a few leeks. My 8-year-old did that part – I KNOW you can do it. Have some faith in yourself!

Now did my 8-year-old eat this? No. I won’t lie, and I didn’t to that group, either. L. picks and chooses what she eats from a range of healthful options, but she almost never eats the meal exactly as I make it for me and D. When I made this, she ate, as usual, a component of the meal – the pasta – and she had it with jarred spaghetti sauce and ricotta cheese slopped on top . Apple and sliced strawberries on the side.

Pasta with Lentils, Spinach & Leeks (adapted from the Power Foods cookbook)

Cook the pasta according to package directions until al dente. Reserve 1/2 c. cooking liquid.

Heat the olive oil in a large saute pan over medium-low heat. Add the leeks and thyme and cooking, stirring occasionally, until the leeks are soft but not browned; about 5 minutes. Add the cooked lentils and garlic and a sprinkle of salt and a few grinds of pepper and cook for another minute.

Add the spinach and about 1/4 c. of the reserved pasta cooking liquid to the pan. Toss the spinach to wilt, about 2 minutes. Add more water if needed. Add the pasta to the pan, toss to combine. Serve immediately, sprinkled with Parmesan cheese if desired.

Serves 2, but easily double for 4.

So how ’bout you? What’s your biggest barrier to eating more healthfully? Did you know that I can help? Email me and learn how I can take you through meal planning and marketing, step-by-step, to help you create a system that’ll work great for your family (kids or no kids) and your lifestyle. I’ll even escort you to the supermarket and help you navigate the maze . . . and/or go through your cupboards and fridge and help you weed out the junk, make room for delicious time-savers and health-promoters and leave you with a customized shopping list so you can do it all on your own. Want to start cooking with some new-fangled ingredients and not sure how? I can show you that, too, and even pull together recipes that’ll meet your taste preferences and dietary restrictions. All with the down-to-earth, no-nonsense attitude you’ve come to love from Semi-Sweet!

© 2012, Sarah. All rights reserved.

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Ahhh, leafy greens. SO good for you, full of vitamins and calcium and all sorts of health-producing, cancer-busting stuff. But some of them? Sorta scary. Big and tough looking, and reputed to be . . . bitter. Blech, right? Not if you play ‘em right, my friends.

Case in point: These collards. You get a heck of a lot of collards here and they’re tender and tasty and they add to this dish a certain, well, earthiness that goes so well with the whole wheat pasta. Collards are a nutritional powerhouse – they may have more cholesterol-lowering benefit than any other vegetable in their family, and they’re also known for having exceptional antioxidant properties.

This recipe garnered another surprised two thumbs up from D., who is leery of me putting greens in everything (he is mortified by my every-a.m. giant green smoothie). Use it to satisfy your hankering for pasta with red sauce, and rest assured that you’re getting your fix in a most healthful way.

Pasta With Collards and Tomatoes

1/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese (or a vegan alternative, if you like)

Put a medium-sized pot of lightly salted water on to boil for cooking pasta.

Put the collards in a covered, microwave-safe bowl (I love my glass Pyrex bowls for things like this). Microwave for one minute and check to see if they’re just tender. If they are, drain them, rinse them with cold water, drain again, and set aside. If not, microwave in 30-second increments until tender, then drain, rinse, repeat. You don’t want to over-cook these – that’s when they emit that odor you might associate with cruciferous veg. You’re going to cook them for a few more minutes at the end of the recipe, so go light here.

Cook the bacon on a microwave-safe plate, between two paper towels, for about 45 seconds or until crisp. Remove, let crisp, and then chop finely.

Spray a large skillet with oil and heat over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring often, until softened, 3 to 5 minutes. Add garlic and crushed red pepper; cook, stirring, for 30 to 60 seconds. Add the bacon, tomatoes and water; bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, until thickened, about 10 minutes.

As the sauce thickens, cook the pasta until just tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Reserve 1/4 cup of the cooking water and drain the pasta.

Add the pasta, collards and a little of the reserved pasta-cooking water to the tomato sauce. Heat, stirring, until the pasta has absorbed some of the flavors, about 1 minute, adding more reserved pasta water to thin the sauce if needed. Season with salt and pepper. Spoon into pasta bowls, sprinkle with cheese and serve.

Serves 2, but this can be easily doubled to serve 4.

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© 2012, Sarah. All rights reserved.

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