Salad Bar At Home

 I did a little meal planning this week (it's been a while!) with my sister-in-law who is visiting from Iowa. We have actually already made some of our planned meals! A success, no?  One of the meals was a salad bar at home. I love salad bars, and wanted to try it out. We all loved it. (Our 2.5 y/o was already in bed.  Peter was late getting home from work so we ate late with him).

Our salad bar fixings wouldn't all qualify as natural cooking, but since our blog is inclusive, I won't black out the items which seem less "natural." :)

Romaine

Diced beets (just sliced canned, chopped up)

Canned chickpeas (rinsed)

Boiled eggs

Green olives w/pimentos

Red peppers

Cottage cheese

Dill pickles

Cucumbers

Balsamic vinaigrette

We purchased some of this for the salad bar meal, but some of it was just what we had hanging about the kitchen.  And, we each used our own preferred combo of toppings for our meal.

What would you add to the salad bar? 

Introducing...

....my brother!

A couple weeks ago my wonderful brother Jon visited us in Washington Heights, NYC, from Waterbury, VT. He's "Uncle Guy" to the boys (who adore him), Guy to me and other family members, and Jon Conti to the rest of the world.

One of his many fabulous traits is that he cooks, meal plans, etc, and has great ideas on how to streamline lunch prep, and more. He is also a cyclist, skier, and more, and has fun ideas for packing good food to go.

Since I've only posted on the blog once so far, before I try to arm-wrestle him into posting a ton, I better step up. :)

Happy posting, cooking, and eating to all!

Black Bean Soup with Chipotle Chiles - no soak - in the crockpot!

The day Britta invited me to post on this blog (with a few other friends) I started a post on lentils...and then got strep throat, and insomnia, and then moved to NYC, etc. You get the picture!  For some reason my very simple lentil recipe has languished as a "draft."  So, I'm finally back on the wagon, and excited to post!

This is one of my favorite recipes. I found it on Epicurious when I bought a crockpot a year or so ago.  It's wonderful because you don't have to soak the dried beans or prepare them in any way (other than sorting and rinsing) before adding them to the crockpot.  Now, to be up front, if you aren't accustomed to eating beans fairly frequently, this lack of soaking could prove to be a bit, er, of a surprise to your system.  Many people agree that soaking, then draining the soaking water, prior to cooking with dried legumes helps to make the legumes easier to digest. So, it's your call!


Hopefully said introduction doesn't spoil the amazingly appetizing nature of this soup. 

Black Bean Soup with Chipotle Chiles 

Bon Appétit | March 2004

A dollop of yogurt adds a creamy richness and cuts the heat of the chiles. Yield: Makes 6 main-course servings 1 tablespoon olive oil 2 medium-size red onions, chopped 1 medium-size red bell pepper, chopped 1 medium-size green bell pepper, chopped 4 garlic cloves, minced 4 teaspoons ground cumin 1 16-ounce package dried black beans 1 tablespoon chopped canned chipotle chiles* 7 cups hot water 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice 2 teaspoons coarse kosher salt 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper 1 cup plain nonfat yogurt 1/2 cup chopped seeded plum tomatoes 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro Heat olive oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions and both bell peppers and sauté until beginning to brown, about 8 minutes. Add garlic and cumin; stir 1 minute. Transfer mixture to 6-quart slow cooker. Add beans and chipotles, then 7 cups hot water. Cover and cook on high until beans are very tender, about 6 hours. Transfer 2 cups bean mixture to blender; puree until smooth. Return puree to remaining soup in slow cooker. Stir in lime juice, salt, and pepper. Ladle soup into bowls. Spoon dollop of yogurt into each bowl. Sprinkle with tomatoes and cilantro and serve. *Chipotle chiles canned in a spicy tomato sauce, sometimes called adobo, are available at Latin American markets and many supermarkets. Test-kitchen tip: Add richness to slow-cooker soups by using a mixture of half broth and half water instead of only water. Per serving: calories, 314; total fat, 4 g; saturated fat, 1 g; cholesterol, 1 mg; fiber, 18 g Nutritional analysis provided by Bon Appétit

Nikki's notes: 


You can skip the blending if you prefer a chunkier bean soup with a thin broth.
Also, I love the adobo style canned chipotle chiles that I've used for this. But, I rarely use them for anything other than this recipe. So, after I use one or two for this soup I lay them flat in a gallon-sized ziploc bag in the freezer (so they won't all freeze into one lump). Then, each time I cook with them I just pull however many I want out of the bag and chop them (while they are still frozen) on a cutting board. They chop extremely easily, and then I don't have to worry about them getting old-tasting in the fridge.

As you can imagine, this soup lends itself well to many different side dishes and toppings. Corn bread, salad, sour cream or yogurt, cilantro, tomatoes (as noted above), grated cheese, etc. It's also wonderful as is - with no extra add-ins. (And it's vegan that way!)

Buttermilk Lemon Plum Cake

I just bought both of Heidi Swanson's cookbooks: Super Natural Cooking, and Super Natural Every Day. I appreciate that they have a good dessert section. Plums are in season right now and bursting off of tables at farmer's markets near me, so I decided to get some and try this plum cake from Super Natural Every Day. It was well received in the DeMartini home - though consumers said (positively) that it was more like a cobbler than a cake because of the large chunks of fruit in it. If I made it again (which I probably will... within the week) I'd put more fruit in it to up the cobbler factor.

A testament to how quick and easy this is - I made one and decided it wouldn't be enough for everyone, so I made a second one and threw them both in the oven by the time it was hot. (Granted, I had helpers for zesting and slicing.) For the second one I didn't have any lemon zest left, so I just used the juice from the zested lemons. Texture was different but the taste was still great.

Ingredients:
2.5 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup of fine grain raw cane sugar
1 T baking powder
1/2 t sea salt

2 eggs
1.5 cups buttermilk
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
zest of 3 lemons

5-6 plums cut into thin wedges

3 T large grain raw cane sugar or turbinado

Preheat the oven to 400 and grease and flour an 11" cake pan. Mix the 4 dry ingredients in a bowl. In another small bowl, mix the eggs and buttermilk together, then add the butter (make sure it's not too hot) and the lemon zest. Fold the wet mixture into the dry mixture and blend just until it's all blended together. You can either pour all the batter into the cake pan and then add the plums on top, or (my recommendation) pour in half the batter, put in a layer of plumbs, then the rest of the batter and more plums on top. Sprinkle the large grain sugar over the top of the cake. Bake for 25-30 minutes (mine took more like 35) - put in a toothpick or a skewer and make sure it comes out clean.

People will ooh and aaah at the beauty of your cake, then gobble it up.

Summer Pasta

Unfortunately I'm going to continue my streak of posting the most unhealthy recipes (relatively speaking) available on this healthy eating blog. But looking on the bright side this recipe does contain whole foods, veggies, can be prepared in 30mins and was devoured by the two little people in the family who rarely want to deviate from eating hot dogs (I buy the kosher one's so that makes it ok right?) so I figure it deserves a mention.
So without further ado, here's the tasty dinner from Martha's kitchen to yours!

Long Fusilli with Potatoes and Haricots Verts in Lemon Sauce
Active Time 20 MIN.
Total Time 45 MIN. SERVES 8

*1 pound mixed baby fingerling potatoes, such as red, gold and purple, cut into 3/4-inch pieces
*10 ounces haricots verts, trimmed
*2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
*3 garlic cloves, thinly slices
*1 pound long fusilli, cooked until al dente (1 1/2 cups cooking water reserved)
*2 cups finely grated Pecorino Romano Cheese (4 ounces)
*1 lemon, zested into strips and sliced into matchsticks (2 tablespoons), and juiced
*1 cup torn fresh basil
*1/4 teaspoon crushed red-pepper flakes

1. Prepare an ice-water bath. Cook potatoes in a large pot of boiling water until tender, about 15 minutes. Transfer potatoes to a bowl using a slotted spoon; pat dry. Add haricots verts to boiling water. Cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Drain, and transfer to ice-water bath. Drain. (be sure to save some pasta water for the sauce)

2. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook garlic until golden, about 3 minutes. Add potatoes and haricots verts; toss to coat. Add reserved cooking water, the cheese and the lemon zest and juice. Simmer until cheese melts. Toss in pasta, basil, and red-pepper flakes.

Amazingly Quick, Healthy and Yummy (& vegan) Vegetable Coconut Curry

I'm not necessarily trying to be vegan. I don't have any strong moral sentiments regarding using animal products in general. But I do like when I come across good vegan recipes, or, more often, make something and then realize it's actually vegan. So was this case with this little number. I'm happy when I realize something is vegan just because I like realizing we don't need to rely SO MUCH on animal products - just because they're usually the most processed and most removed from their natural form (necessarily), and they're the most expensive part of the meal, and they often contain unhealthy fats. That said, you can maybe pry cheese from my hands once I'm dead, but not before then. And of course, you don't have to make this vegan - it would be yummy with shrimp or chicken. There are lots of possible add-ins - cashews or tofu would also be great.

Anyway, back to the yumminess that is this curry. I have to admit two things: a) it was inspired by something I picked up for dinner at Noodles & Company, and b) I didn't have any curry paste or powder, just a Thai seasoning that came with my Vitamix that's mostly salt and curry seasonings. It was still delicious, but maybe not all that authentic. Go with whatever level of convenience or authenticity works for you. A final note about the noodles I use: I am in LOVE with buckwheat/soba noodles (pictured). It's what's used in a good deal of japanese cooking, and they're super healthy. They're lighter than whole wheat noodles, but have just as much nutritional value. Any Asian market should have them.

Ingredients:

1 T olive oil
1 red bell pepper, cut into small strips
half a red onion, cut into small strips
1.5 cups of broccoli florets
1.5 cups of shredded cabbage

1 can light coconut milk
2 tsp thai seasoning, curry powder, etc. (or however much you want, I do it to taste)
1 tsp minced ginger
1 tsp crushed red pepper (optional)
1 handful chopped mint

buckwheat soba noodles (or rice noodles, if you prefer)

First get the noodles cooking. Heat the oil in a pan and throw in the onions, bell pepper, and broccoli. Make sure the broccoli florets are small enough or they won't cook. Once the onions are beginning to get translucent, throw in the cabbage, coconut milk, seasoning, red pepper, and ginger, and let everything simmer for about 5-10 minutes. Taste it to see if there's enough curry flavor, it may also want a little salt. Drain the noodles, and mix everything together. Add the mint, stir it up, and serve. Serves 3-4.

Hot Pink Breakfast Smoothie

It's not hot, it's hot pink. That's right, ladies, feel the girly-ness as you chug this surprisingly delicious drink. It's best if made in a high-power blender, like a Vitamix or a Blendtec, but it could be good with others (I've never tried).

Hot-Pink Breakfast Smoothie

1 ½ cups coconut juice (or water)

1 large carrot, cleaned and cut in 3 pieces (or 5-6 baby carrots)
½ medium beet, peeled
¼ cup cashews
¼ cup chopped dates

2 tsp. vanilla
12 frozen strawberries

Puree all ingredients except strawberries at a high speed for 90 seconds. Add strawberries and puree on high until smooth.

More smoothie recipes to come....

PS. The vitamix is worth every penny. I can expound on this too.