Three Basic Recipes for Everyone

You've heard me rave about Mark Bittman before. I make no bones about the fact that I love him, his food philosophy, and his very simple "anyone can do it and everyone should" approach to cooking.

Well here's another example of why. He recently wrote an article about how few people in the U.S. actually cook, or even know how, and how that is a national problem that needs fixing. If we want healthier Americans, lower healthcare costs, healthier food systems, and a healthier planet overall, we're going to need to teach each other to cook.

He acknowledges the truth that most of us, these days, are not being taught how to cook or even about food by our parents. That idea of passing down recipes and cooking lessons from generation to generation has mostly gone the way of the Dodo bird. Maybe some of us are lucky to get one or two recipes from our parents, but that's about it. It's not like we grow up knowing how to instinctively put together a menu or shop for the right ingredients or throw an impromptu dinner together at the last minute.

So Mark is making an attempt to right that wrong, but giving us three very basic recipes that we all ought to know how to make -- WITHOUT a cookbook. And I agree with him: that once you have a few recipes (be they these or others) that you can confidently cook consistently on your own, you're well on your way to being a home cook. You can extrapolate and make your own recipes and dishes by riffing off what you already know. You will no longer need to order takeout or make a run for the nearest fast-food "restaurant."

As he puts it:

Make these three things and you’re a cook. And with luck and perseverance, these foods will crowd out things like (to single out one egregious example from hundreds of its competitors) KFC’s Chicken Pot Pie, which costs about $5 (so much for the myth of cheap fast food; a terrific meal for four can be put together for $10); contains nearly 700 calories, more than half of which come from fat; and has well over 50 ingredients — most of which cannot be purchased by normal consumers anywhere — including things like “chicken pot pie flavor” and MSG.

By becoming a cook, you can leave processed foods behind, creating more healthful, less expensive and better-tasting food that requires less energy, water and land per calorie and reduces our carbon footprint. Not a bad result for us — or the planet.

So without further ado, here are Bittman's Three:

1. Simple Stir-Fry (and really, the variations on this are truly ENDLESS)

2. Lentils and Rice (or very easily beans and rice; my Black Beans & Rice is ridiculously simple)

3. Chopped Salad (check out Robin's School Garden Salad for the most divine dressing ever)

How To Cook a [Bleeping] Steak

Heh. Thought this was hilarious and actually quite a good recipe for the simple act of cooking a delicious steak.

Check it out (though be forewarned that its language is definitely rated R).

My First Post / Cashew Chicken

My first post over at The Jew & The Carrot, that is!

I just posted my recipe for Cashew Chicken, which I have to say is really delicious and easy to make. When I start to crave Chinese food (which is often), I grab my trusty iron skillet and some eco-kosher chicken and whip out this recipe.

I am so thrilled to be blogging over at The Carrot -- it's a really wonderful blog and I'm so honored to be a part of it. I had to screw up my courage and get over my intimidation that everyone else blogging over there was "more Jewish" than I am and had "more eco-kosher" food cred than I do. So I just posted my recipe and now I'm a long way over that intimidation. Someone even left a comment! :-)

Dena's Cashew Chicken & Snow Peas

I am lucky enough to live in Eugene, Oregon. I’ve got it pretty good here – great weather, great outdoors, great Jewish community, great abundance of local organic food. But Chinese food? Not so much here in Eugene.

As a Bay Area transplant, I crave Chinese food. I often feel like I literally NEED it. After months searching for something that would quench my Chinese food tastebuds – and realizing that to keep my version of kosher (which is eco-kosher: less about what is and what is not treyf and more about eating only meat that is ideally organic and pasture-raised – and if not, is absolutely free-range, never given hormones or antibiotics, and was humanely slaughtered) – I came to the conclusion that I’d have to make it myself. For both taste and my personal kashrut reasons. Which is some kind of a life lesson right there, I’m sure.

I stumbled upon a recipe for Cashew Chicken from the inimitable Martha Stewart and decided to give it a whirl – and my own flair. And to tell the truth, it is delicious and happily graces our Friday night Shabbat table pretty often.

Read more...

A Quick Garlic Spear Pasta Recipe

Here's a yummy pasta dish I cooked up last night, recipe requested by Katie* in a comment on my last post, who got garlic spears in her CSA and is wondering what the heck to do with them. (See? This is a full-service blog: you ask for it, we serve it right on up.)

A quick note about garlic spears/scapes: you really can use them as you would asparagus. They have a different flavor, of course, but they do well in any dish where you would use asparagus. Cook them for a little longer than you would asparagus, however: these guys take a little longer to get tender.

Hubby feeling up the garlic spears

Garlic Spear (or Garlic Scape) Pasta with Prosciutto, Shallots, Pine Nuts, and Goat Cheese

• 1 or 2 heads garlic spears, bottom inch or so trimmed, then chopped into ~ 1-inch or so long pieces, leaving the buds at the top intact. (But if the buds have looooong green parts coming off their tops, I chop that too.)
• 1 shallot, finely diced
• As much minced garlic as you and your family can handle (for us, that's a lot)
• 3 thin slices prosciutto (you could easily omit this for a delicious vegetarian meal)
• 1/3 cup pine nuts, lightly toasted in your toaster oven or in your pan -- just until they start to get fragrant
• 1/2 cup to 1 cup good quality dry white wine
• EVOO (extra-virgin olive oil)
• Goat cheese if you'd like it a bit creamy; omit if you don't want a creamy-type pasta
• 1 lb pasta of your choice (we always use organic whole wheat)

While your pasta is cooking, heat your EVOO in your pan on medium-high heat until it starts to shimmer -- add your shallots and let them get fragrant. Then add your prosciutto and let it cook up til it's nearly crispy. Then add your garlic and let it get fragrant and nice and yellow-ish.

Add your white wine -- you'll get a moment of divine smells from the wine hitting the hot pan. Then toss in your garlic spears, give it a stir, and let it cook a bit. If you need a bit more wine to keep the pan just a little wet, go ahead and add it.

Let it simmer for about 5 minutes, then toss with your drained pasta, as much goat cheese as you like (I use about 1/2 cup for 1 lb of pasta), pine nuts, and top with a little grated parmesan and salt and pepper.

YUM!

* Katie Kent, is that you?

Sesame-Soy Soba Noodles

I promised a delicious summer evening dinner, and boy do I have one: Sesame-Soy Soba Noodles.

Full of flavor, really easy to make, and not too hot to eat on those summer nights when it's so warm and lovely, you're still in tank tops, skirts, and flip-flops at 9:30pm as you take the dog out for a night-time constitutional.

I got the original inspiration from a quick little recipe for Sesame-Soy Broccoli from Martha Stewart's Everyday Food magazine (one of my all-time fave magazines, as you know). Add some noodles, tofu, and scallions, and you've got a delicious complete meal.

Dena's Sesame-Soy Soba Noodles

• 1 head of broccoli, chopped into florets and stalks chopped into bite-size pieces
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 package soba noodles
• 1/3 cup+ sesame seeds (use more if you like; hubby LOVES toasted seeds so I am very generous with these)
  
• 1 bunch scallion
• Raw firm tofu, baked and marinated tofu, or store-bought pre-marinated and baked tofu to save time
• 1/3 cup+ Toasted Sesame Oil
• 1/2 cup Soy Sauce
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp (or more or less, depending on how spicy you like things) Sriracha Sauce

First, get the broccoli going: turn your oven to 400 and start chopping your broccoli. Spread chopped broccoli on large baking sheet with sides (my fave is my industrial-grade Chicago Jelly Roll pan), drizzle with olive oil, and toss so it's all mixed. Pop it in the oven and roast for 20 minutes.

Set water to boil and cook soba noodles according to package instructions. Don't overcook -- when you drain them, run them under cold water so they stop cooking. Let them sit to drain water.

Spread sesame seeds on baking sheet for oven or toaster oven sheet. Pop them in the oven or toaster oven for about 5-10 minutes, depending on how hot it is. You want them to brown and toast, but not burn -- when they start popping, remove them! They will be fragrant and so delicious-smelling.

Chop your scallions thinly at an angle -- you want a lot, so use the whole bunch, even though it seems like too much. They balance out the other flavors really nicely.

Slice your tofu into bite-size pieces.

Toss all of the above together in a large bowl, mixing well. Add the toasted sesame oil, soy sauce, lemon juice, and sriracha sauce, and mix again to coat everything. Give it a taste and if it needs a little more of the oil or soy sauce, go for it.

Serve in big bowls with forks, chopsticks, or whatever works for you. Enjoy! Happy Tummy, Happy Summer.

Company Dinner

Once in a while I will come up with a recipe from scratch, without any help, on my own. Sometimes those recipes turn out okay, sometimes not-so-much, and sometimes they are really great.

A few weeks ago, the muse of delicious food was clearly sitting on my shoulder. This recipe is easy, quick, and makes a weeknight supper seem special. You could easily serve this when company comes over and impress everyone.

(Does anyone else remember that term from childhood books? I seem to remember reading some book that MUST have been written in the 50's about a girl named Betsy* who got married and when she and her husband moved in together after their honeymoon, he invited his boss over, and Betsy was so glad that her mother had taught her to "make one good chicken dish for company - that will become your company dinner." WTF, right? Somehow that stuck with me. Scary.)

Anyway....this could be your company dinner. It's definitely going into my repertoire.



Dena's Company Dinner (aka Dijon-Caper Chicken Cutlets)

- Chicken cutlets (as many cutlets as people you're serving -- ie, 2 cutlets for 2 people.) (A note about cutlets: you can easily make your own, or ask your butcher to cut them for you: just take a boneless, skinless chicken breast that has been in the freezer for ~15 minutes and slice it in half, horizontally and length-wise. Ie, hold your knife parallel to the cutting board and run it through the breast to make two much thinner breasts.)
- 1 cup (or so) good quality dry white wine, like Sauvignon Blanc
- 2 tbsp (or so - can you tell I eyeball this recipe?) dijon mustard
- 2 tbsp-ish lemon juice
- capers to taste (lately I've been using caper berries, which are delicious!)
- 2 tbsp-ish olive oil

Salt and pepper the chicken cutlets on one side.

Heat the olive oil in a not-nonstick pan over medium-high heat. Let it get good and hot and shimmery. Then add the cutlets to the pan, salt-&-pepper side down. Once they're in the pan, don't move them! You want them to get a nice little saute crust. Meanwhile, salt and pepper the side facing up.

Let them cook for about 3 minutes per side, depending on how thin they are and how hot your stove gets. Check on them when they're done with the second side by cutting a small slit to make sure they're cooked through.

Cook them in batches if you need to -- you don't want to crowd the pan!

When they're cooked through, remove them from the pan but don't turn the heat off! Add the wine and begin scraping up the fond (aka the yummy brown bits at the bottom) with a spatula as you deglaze the pan.

Let the wine reduce a bit, then add the lemon juice and mustard. Stir and whisk together; let simmer for a minute or so. Add capers, then turn off heat.

Pour sauce over cutlets and enjoy a gourmet meal. Delish.

I like to serve these with Winston's Roasted Cauliflower or sauteed kale and some roasted baby potatoes.



And oh yeah! This is National Delurking Week! Please come out of the quiet readership and leave a comment! :-)


* OMG I found the Betsy book. Best part of the review: "But as Betsy discovers, marriage isn't all candlelight, kisses, and roses. There's cooking, ironing, and budgeting as well--not to mention forging her career as a writer! For Betsy, the writing part comes naturally, but cooking is another matter. It's even harder than algebra--and much messier." Good god. Where did I find this to read?

Baked Ziti

This is one of those recipes that is so in my bones, I don't even remember where I originally got it from. All I know is that this is a recipe for ooey gooey warm deliciousness in a pan.

Definitely one to have around for the winter. And whenever you're watching a Godfather or Sopranos marathon. Am I the only one who craves homemade Italian food when I watch those? I see Carmela take a pan of ziti out of her fridge for the priest who's stopped by and I am like instantly drooling.

Anyway...I digress. Back to the recipe. It's like an easier lasagna, really. And the truth is that the last time I used actual ziti as the pasta in the recipe was nearly 8 years ago -- any short, tube-like pasta will do: penne, rigatoni, fusilli, whatever's easy and on hand. We actually like it best with Trader Joe's organic whole wheat fusilli, but that's just us.


Dena's Baked Ziti

1 lb. short, tubular pasta (like ziti or penne)
1 lb. ground beef (leave this out or substitute with fake meat for vegetarian version)
16 oz. mozzarella, grated
3-4 oz. parmesan, grated
4 (or more, if you're like me) garlic cloves, chopped
1 onion, finely diced
1 28 oz. can diced tomatoes
2 tbsp olive oil
dash of oregano

Preheat your oven to 450F.

Heat olive oil in skillet over medium heat. When it's shimmery and hot, add the onion and garlic and toss and let it get nice and warmed through, about 2 minutes or so.

While the onion and garlic are cooking, set the pasta to cook in boiling, salted water in a large pot.

Once the onion and garlic is very fragrant and the onion is starting to get translucent, add a bit of oregano, and after about a minute, add the ground beef and smush it with the back of a wooden spoon to break it up into small pieces. Let it brown all over.

Once it's browned, add the crushed tomatoes and stir to get everything mixed together. Let it come to a boil, then stir and bring down to a simmer. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Drain your pasta and put it back in the large pot in which it was boiled. Add the tomato-beef sauce and mix well. See -- this is why you have to make sure you use a big pot!

Add 1/4 of the mozzarella cheese to the pot and mix well so the cheese is everywhere, all melty and gooey and nice. Toss the remaining mozzarella with the parmesan so it's all mixed together well.

Transfer mixture to a 9x13 baking dish and spread it out evenly. Top with the mozzarella-parmesan cheese mixture and make sure it is evenly distributed across the top.

Pop it in the oven for about 5 minutes. Then turn the broiler on high and let it sit under the broiler for as long as it takes for the cheese to get bubbly and browned in places, but not burnt! Broilers can be tricky and finicky -- I find each one has its own temperament (so to speak), so you gotta watch it closely.

When it is browned the way you like it, remove, serve, and enjoyyyyyyyyyy. Press play on the Sopranos DVD.

Mark Bittman's Kasha Varnishkes

The New York Times' Mark Bittman is making kasha varnishkes today. It looks DELISH. I am so in the mood for comfort food -- pasta is definitely it.

And I'm expanding my Jewish food repertoire!

P.S. Love his blog, Bitten. Check it out.

Spa Dinner

As I mentioned in my menu plan for this week, we had a "Spa Dinner" last night. Which really has nothing to do with a spa or a spa diet other than I for some reason associate curried chicken salad with spa fare. That with artichokes and you're practically wrapped in a towel in the steam room.

As promised, here is my recipe for the super easy and really delicious Curried Chicken Salad. This is a great spring dinner and makes excellent lunch leftovers. I got the inspiration from Epicurious and then made it my own from there. Feel free to do the same!

Dena's Curried Chicken Salad

2 boneless, skinless organic chicken breasts
1/2 cup light mayonnaise
1/2 cup plain organic yogurt
4-5 teaspoons good quality curry powder, depending on how you like it
Juice from 1 lime
1 teaspoon honey
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 medium organic red onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
Half a large, firm, crisp organic apple (like a Fuji or a Granny Smith), chopped
1/2 cup salted roasted organic cashews, roughly chopped

Bring enough water to cover both chicken breasts to boil in a saucepan. Add chicken and simmer, uncovered, 6 minutes. Remove pan from heat and cover, then let stand until chicken is cooked through, about 15 minutes. Transfer chicken to plate and let cool, about 10 minutes. Chop into 1/2-inch pieces.

While chicken is cooling, whisk together mayo, yogurt, curry, lime juice, honey, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Add chicken, onion, apple, and cashews and stir gently to combine.

I like to add raisins in on occasion, or use fresh organic grapes instead of apple, depending on the season and my mood.

As for the gorgeous and delicious artichokes, a brilliant step-by-step tutorial on how to make them (it's easy) is here on one of my fave food blogs, Citymama. I serve it with a simple garlic aioli -- combine mayo with finely minced garlic, add some lemon juice, and voila: you're instantly fancy.

To roast asparagus: preheat oven to 350F. Cut off ends, about 2-3 inches from bottom depending on their tenderness. On a rimmed baking sheet, toss asparagus with extra virgin olive oil, plenty of salt and pepper, and chopped garlic. Pop in the oven for 10-15 minutes.

Enjoy your version of Spa Dinner!

Dinner Tonight and other musings

Tonight we're having Sesame-Soy Chicken and Kale. Hubby's getting some quinoa on the side.

I am not, because....looooong story, but the short version is that I have been put on an Absolutely No Refined Sugar or Carbs diet for one month. (Including no lactose -- only yogurt and hard cheeses for me for this month!) After which I'll be able to add in some sugars (like other forms of dairy) and some carbs (like my beloved quinoa). But I won't really ever be able to eat refined sugars or white flours like I wish I could.

Why? Because of a medical condition, which is very similar to being pre-diabetic. And sugars, in all their forms (including lactose), are hormone disruptors. So: no sugars. Though happily, I can have honey and agave, since they do not cause blood sugar to spike like other sugars do. Thank goodness.

When they say "sugar addiction," they're not kidding. That addiction is real! Of course all that I currently crave is bread and cookies. And cake. Ah well.

Dena's Sesame-Soy Chicken Breasts

Chicken Breasts
1/4 cup Soy Sauce or Tamari
1/8 cup Sesame Oil
1/4 to 1/2 cup Sesame Seeds, toasted (toast on pan in oven or toaster oven til they are fragrant but not too long or they will burn!)

Pre-heat oven to 400F. Mix soy sauce and sesame oil in baking pan; marinate chicken in soy sauce mixture for 5-20 minutes (whatever you have time for), turning every so often. Sprinkle chicken breasts liberally with toasted sesame seeds.

Roast for 30-35 minutes, remove, and enjoy.

Mushrooms, Delicious Mushrooms

 

Mushrooms are, to me, often the height of decadence and deliciousness. Sometimes eating mushrooms just makes you feel like that's what eating is all about. During the 10 years I was a vegetarian, mushrooms were my favored steak substitute. A grilled portobello mushroom often tastes as steaky as steak! Mushrooms' flavor is often cited as the definition of umami. I would agree: indescribable and the essence of savoriness.

So when hubby and I received our order of mixed dried wild mushrooms from Local Harvest (thanks to a great holiday gift certificate from my parents), I was so excited. And I knew exactly what I'd make first: my mushroom pasta. It's simple. Delicious. Rich and luxurious. And it's SO EASY!

Dena's Mushroom Pasta

3/4 lb crimini mushrooms
1/2 lb shiitake mushrooms
1/2 - 1 oz dried wild mushrooms (I used morel, chanterelle, lobster, etc)
As much garlic as you like (for us, that's about 6 cloves)
Pinch and a half of chili pepper flakes
Squeeze of lemon juice
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp transfat-free fake butter
Pasta of your choice (I used whole wheat rotelle, but spaghetti is lovely in this dish, too)

Soak the dried mushrooms in very warm water for half an hour; drain (save the water/stock for later! It adds flavor to any dish), squeeze out water, and roughly chop.

Cook pasta.

Remove the stems and roughly chop the fresh mushrooms. Roughly chop garlic.

Pour 2 tbsp of olive oil into skillet set to medium-high. When the oil shimmers, add the fresh mushrooms and turn up the heat a bit. Stir them and keep stirring every 2 minutes or so to saute them over the high heat, letting them brown a bit and then keeping it moving so they don't burn, for about 5-7 minutes, or until the mushrooms have cooked down and turned a nice brown color.

Add reconstituted dried mushrooms and continue to stir for about 2 minutes. Add garlic and chili pepper flakes; toss and cook for about 2 minutes more.

Turn off heat and add drained pasta to skillet and combine with mushrooms. Add fake butter, remaining tbsp of olive oil, and squeeze of lemon juice and toss to combine.

Season with salt and pepper, top with grated parmesan, and ENJOY your umami experience.

New Year's Beef Chili

I made this yesterday for our New Year's Day supper and it was DELICIOUS. In fact, I meant to take pictures, but was so excited to eat it that I forgot. Hubby loved it -- and he does not normally fall head over heels for chili. Especially if it containts pinto beans.

I got the recipe from this month's issue of Everyday Food, which is their "light" issue. So this beef chili is a lighter version of the standard. But I tell you: it does not taste light. It tastes hearty and wonderful. I added a couple of small twists to the recipe which don't add calories, but do add to the flavor.

And it was also surprisingly easy to make!

Dena's New Year's Beef Chili

1 tbsp vegetable oil (like safflower or sunflower)
1 or 2 organic medium onions, chopped (depending on how much onion you like)
4 or more organic garlic cloves, chopped (again, depending on how much garlic you like; I used 6)
1 medium organic red bell pepper (or green, if you prefer), chopped into small bits
2 tbsp organic tomato paste
2 tbsp chili powder
2 tbsp fair trade unsweetened cocoa powder
1 pound grass-fed ground sirloin or chuck
1 28 oz can organic diced tomatoes and their juice (or 2 14.5 oz cans if that's what ya got)
1 14.5 oz can organic pinto beans, rinsed and drained
1 25 oz can organic black beans, rinsed and drained (or 2 14.5 oz cans...)
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
Tabasco sauce to taste
Salt & pepper to taste

Optional toppings: sliced scallions, light sour cream, light shredded cheese, tortilla chips, and/or avocado

In a large pot or dutch oven (my beloved Le Creuset dutch oven came through for me yet again), heat the oil over medium-high heat. When it shimmers, add the garlic and onion. After about a minute, add the bell pepper. Add salt and pepper and let it all cook through and get yummy. Once the onion is translucent and it smells really delicious, add the tomato paste, chili powder, and cocoa powder and stir well so it all combines for about 2-3 minutes and gets really fragrant.

Add the ground beef and break it up with the back of your spoon into small pieces, stir, and let it brown. When there is no more pink, add the beans and tomatoes and their juice and stir.

Let it simmer on low heat, covered, for about 10-15 minutes so the flavors can meld. When you're about 3 minutes from turning off the heat, add the vinegar and as much Tabasco as you like/can stand. Taste it and add any salt and pepper if needed.

Keep in mind: the longer it sits and/or simmers, the more the flavors will develop. I let mine simmer for about 15 minutes and then let it sit with the flame off for about 20 more.

Serve and top with your garnish of choice and enjoy!

Makes GREAT leftovers. I can't wait to eat my lunch today.

Brining Makes It Better

It's been a while since I posted a recipe, and while this brining recipe would have been very handy to have posted before Thanksgiving, Chanukkah, and Christmas, better late than never, no? And at least it's in time for New Year's!

My husband's wonderful boss' interest and curiosity has been piqued enough (by my husband's extolling the many virtues of brining) to give brining a whirl this year. Hubby's boss is thinking of brining a duck, which I think will be lovely. Brining really does make everything (well, almost everything) better!

And who better to give us the full ins and outs on brining than the masters at Cooks Illustrated? Download a pdf for the full info on brining, or follow the simple brine formula below to make your own mouth-wateringly flavorful and juicy bird.



I know my delicious heirloom breed Thanksgiving turkey would not have been anywhere near as tender without having brined it the night before cooking.

A Basic Brine for Richard

- 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp Morton's Kosher Salt OR 1/4 table salt (if you must use the Cargill-produced Diamond Crystal kosher salt, then you'd want 1/2 cup of it)
- 1/2 cup sugar
- Any aromatics or herbs you'd like to add to marinade (ie, garlic, rosemary, etc.)
- 1 quart of water

(You want to use 1 quart of brine per pound of meat.)

Combine in a container large enough to hold the brine AND your bird, or use a brining bag/ziploc bag. Stir to dissolve salt and sugar. Make sure your bird is fully submerged and covered by brine if it's not in a brining bag. Leave it to soak up the brine and do its thing for an hour per pound -- though not less than 30 minutes!

(When I did my Thanksgiving turkey, I didn't have a container large enough so I left the turkey in breast-side down for most of the night and then flipped him when there was a quarter of the time remaining.)

Want to know why and how the heck brining works?
America's Test Kitchen/Cooks Illustrated explains it this way:

We find that soaking turkeys (as well as chicken and even pork chops) in a saltwater solution before cooking best protects delicate white meat. Whether we are roasting a turkey or grilling chicken parts, we have consistently found that brining keeps the meat juicier. Brining also gives delicate (and sometimes mushy) poultry a meatier, firmer consistency and seasons the meat down to the bone. (We also find that brining adds moisture to pork and shrimp and improves their texture and flavor when grilled.)

How does brining work? Brining promotes a change in the structure of the proteins in the muscle. The salt causes protein strands to become denatured, or unwound. This is the same process that occurs when proteins are exposed to heat, acid, or alcohol. When protein strands unwind, they get tangled up with one another, forming a matrix that traps water. Salt is commonly used to give processed meats a better texture. For example, hot dogs made without salt would be limp.

In most cases, we add sugar to the brine. Sugar has little if any effect on the texture of the meat, but it does add flavor and promotes better browning of the skin.

My Classic Go-To Meal: Mustard Greens & Rice

One of my standby, go-to, quick & easy meals is brown rice with sauteed greens of some sort. It's tasty, easy, very nutritional, it fills you up, and makes great leftovers.

My husband has a penchant for mustard greens, so I often use these when making this dish. Kale works deliciously too. Any dark, leafy green of your choice would work -- spinach, chard, collards, dandelion greens, and the like.

Dena's Mustard Greens & Rice

3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 bunch mustard greens, rougly chopped and rinsed
As much garlic as you like, chopped (we like a lot!)
1 medium onion, roughly chopped
Brown rice for as many people you're feeding -- for 2 people and leftovers, I use 4 cups (you could also totally substitute quinoa!)
Salt & pepper to taste

(Optional items: garbanzo beans or black beans or protein of your choice)

In a medium skillet over medium-high heat, add 2 tbsp olive oil. When it's shimmery, add garlic and onion and let them get fragrant and the onion slightly translucent. I actually like to wait until the garlic is just this side of toasty.

Then add your washed greens and toss to coat and get them wilty. If you're using mustard greens, which are a particularly hardy green, cover and let it steam to soften the greens. If you're using something more tender, like spinach or chard, you likely won't even need to do that.

When your greens are a rich dark green color and as wilted as you like them (usually pretty darn wilted), add brown rice and remaining tbsp olive oil and toss to combine. Add any optional items. Then salt and pepper to taste and serve and enjoy!

A variation: at the last minute, when you've added the last tbsp of olive oil, also add a tbsp of your favorite vinegar or lemon juice. Adds a nice acidic counterpoint if you're in the mood for a different flavor.

Mediterranean Melts

God these are good. Every time my husband sees them on the menu plan for the week, he looks forward to their day. They're easy to make, too.

Mediterranean Melts

3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
4 thick slices whole grain crusty bread
1 lb frozen artichoke hearts
5-6 cloves garlic, sliced
2 ripe tomatoes, chopped
olive tapenade
gruyere or fontina cheese (or something similarly creamy and nutty)

Toast bread slices. Meanwhile, defrost artichoke hearts and chop tomatoes and garlic.

Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in large skillet over medium-high heat and when it shimmers, add garlic. After about 1 minute, add defrosted artichoke hearts. Mix them to coat with olive oil and garlic, and then leave them to get golden. Stir to get them cooking on their other sides, too, but don't let the garlic get too toasty. When the artichoke hearts are sufficiently golden but the garlic's not toasted yet, remove and set aside.

Add remaining tbsp olive oil to skillet and add tomatoes. Let them simmer a bit so they become sauce-like and absorb the garlic flavors from the artichoke hearts.

Meanwhile, spread olive tapenade on each slice of bread. Then top with artichoke-garlic mixture, tomatoes, and a slice of cheese.

Put under broiler for as long as it takes to melt cheese, depending on your oven. Keep an eye on them -- you don't want them to burn!

Then take a bite of gooey heaven. Delicious.

Pasta with Broccoli Rabe & Italian Sausage

On Tuesday night, as planned, we had a delicious dish that I like to make when broccoli rabe is in season. I feel like I've seen variations on this dish a lot - in cookbooks and online. This is my take on this dish.

I love broccoli rabe's strong flavor that, to me, enhances a dish. I know a lot of people say that you have to blanch it to reduce its bitterness, but I find simply cooking it as I do below makes it taste just fine.

And as for the Italian sausage part of this dish, as I've mentioned before, I am a fan of faux meat. And often real meat squicks me out when I have to cook with it. So, my discovery of Tofurky's vegetarian Italian sausages was thrilling -- they are YUMMY! My husband, who is not so much a fan of the fake meat, even likes them. In fact, he really likes them. This is a high recommendation, believe you me. You should be able to find them in the refrigerated tofu section of your store. But if you enjoy the real thing, that would of course work very well! Just be sure to remove the casing and sautee until browned.

Dena's Pasta with Broccoli Rabe & Italian Sausage

1 pound pasta (as you know, I always use whole wheat)
1 medium onion, chopped
4-5 cloves garlic, chopped
2 Tofurky Italian sausages, sliced
1 bunch broccoli rabe, roughly chopped and washed
1/2 cup low-sodium, low-fat chicken stock
2 tbsp + 1/2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp hot pepper flakes
Salt and pepper to taste
Parmesan, grated, to taste

Cook pasta in salted water. Meanwhile, heat 1/2 tsp olive oil in skillet over medium-high heat; when it shimmers, add sausage and let it brown on each side. Remove from skillet and set aside.

Add 2 tsbp olive oil to skillet and add garlic and onion. When it's fragrant, add broccoli rabe and chicken stock, letting it simmer until broccoli rabe is wilted and tender, about 3-4 minutes.

Add hot pepper flakes, sausage, and pasta to skillet. Toss to coat pasta, salt and pepper to taste. Serve with grated parmesan on top. Autumnal and yummy!

Dena's Black Beans & Rice

I gotta admit, I make a mean black beans and rice. I do. It's a recipe I've developed slowly but surely over the years, and my husband adores it.

We had it for dinner last night and it was de-lish as usual. It's a great cool weather recipe and it is SO EASY to make! Easy clean-up too, which is nice.

We eat brown rice whenever a recipe calls for rice, but feel free to use white rice if you prefer.

Dena's Black Beans & Rice

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
4-5 cloves garlic, chopped
1 medium onion, diced or chopped
1 green bell pepper, diced or chopped
1 red bell pepper, diced or chopped
3 14.5 oz cans organic black beans (I sometimes use 2 25 oz cans instead)
2 tbsp cumin
2 tbsp oregano
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 bay leaf
Tabasco to taste
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
5 cups cooked brown rice
Jack, provolone, or mild cheddar cheese to top
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat the olive oil over medium-high heat til it shimmers in a large pot or dutch oven. Add garlic and onion til the garlic is almost toasty and the onion is translucent, then add bell peppers and let it all cook together til the peppers are softened, about 2-3 minutes, depending on your stove.

Add 1 tbsp cumin, 1 tbsp oregano, paprika, and Italian seasoning and let the spices bloom, about 1-2 minutes. Add black beans and bay leaf and bring it to a boil, then reduce heat to let it simmer and add remaining cumin, oregano, and Tabasco.

At this point, it's done, so you can serve it whenever you like, but make sure to add vinegar and salt and pepper about 1 minute before you take it off the heat.

I mix the rice into the pot, but you can also serve it over rice instead, making sure to top with cheese. And I always add extra Tabasco to mine, cuz that's just the kind of girl I am. Yum...enjoy!

Monday Night's Steak Dinner

As planned, Monday night the hubby and I had a delicious steak dinner. I used our dear friend Shawn's recipe, and added sides of garlic sauteed spinach and roasted sweet potatoes.

It was freaking delicious. And so easy! This one's going on the repeat playlist for sure.

When I went to the butcher for steak, I wanted a very tender, flavorful cut but didn't want to spend a fortune. While the cuts of filet mignon were calling to me from the display case, their $26.99 per pound price tag kept me away. I love a good filet, and I cook them up for birthday and holiday meals, but for a regular ol' Monday night...not so much. So I was looking for the next best thing. My eyes landed on something called baseball steak, which looked gorgeous and had a price tag of $12.99 per pound. Definitely do-able, but what the heck is baseball steak?

So I asked and my butcher told me that it's part of the whole sirloin cut. The top 4 cuts of beef are, in descending order: filet mignon (often known as tenderloin), rib eye, new york, and sirloin. And that once the sirloin is deconstructed (his word, not mine! made me laugh), it ends up in 3 pieces -- the baseball steak, sirloin, and sirloin tip, with the baseball steak as the choicest of those 3. So...in other words, the baseball steak is the choicest of the worst of the best. Very clear, no?

Anyway, I went for it and both my husband and I (and the dog, who got a few scraps) were extremely pleased with this new little discovery. Baseball steak is a new favorite. (If you google it, you'll find varying accounts of how it got its name -- some say it puffs up when it's cooked, making it round like a baseball, others say it's a cheap cut that you eat after playing baseball.... I don't care. I just call it delicious.)

To prepare the steak, I salted 60 minutes ahead of time and followed the Steak a la Shawn recipe to the letter, and let the steaks rest for 10 minutes after cooking. The pre-salting really helped it develop a nice crust and stay tender, I think.

For the spinach, so easy: chop 4-5 cloves of garlic, add them to a couple tbsp of extra virgin olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat, let it get fragrant, and then add washed spinach. Toss and keep an eye on it and when it's cooked but still green, serve.

Roasted sweet potatoes, also very easy: Slice 2 sweet potatoes (I used the Japanese variety because I love their unique flavor) into thin-ish rounds. Toss with extra virgin olive oil and salt and pepper and spread in one layer on baking sheet. (I always line with aluminum foil for easy clean up.) Pop into pre-heated 425 degree oven and bake for 25-30 minutes, depending on how well done you like them. Hubby likes them very well done.

Steak a la Shawn

My husband's best friend Shawn, who is also a dear friend to me, has submitted a delicious and VERY quick and easy steak recipe. I am drooling already....

Shawn's Cabernet Filet Mignon

Serves 4

2 tbsp freshly cracked black pepper
1 tsp crushed dried rosemary
4 filets of beef/beef tenderloins, 1" thick (4–6 ounces each), properly salted 60 minutes ahead of time, of course!
2 tbsp transfat-free margarine or butter
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1⁄2 cup Cabernet or dry red wine

Combine the pepper and the rosemary in a large bowl. Coat both sides of the steak with the mixture.

Heat the margarine or butter and oil in a skillet (NOT a non-stick) until hot. Add the steaks and cook over medium to medium-high heat for 5–7 minutes (flipping ONCE halfway so as to develop that delicious crust) for medium-rare; a minute or so shorter if you like your filet rare, a minute or so longer if you like your filet more well done.

Remove the steaks from the skillet and cover to keep them warm, letting them rest so the juices re-distribute. Add the wine to the skillet and deglaze the skillet, bringing to a boil over high heat, scraping particles from the bottom of the skillet. Boil for about 1 minute or until the liquid is reduced by half. Spoon the sauce over the steaks, serve, and enjoy.

Megan's Portabello Broccoli Quiche with Tempeh

We have another recipe from Megan. Yay! This one takes about 45 minutes, but is one she makes often, as it is always a crowd (or partner) pleaser. We have Whole Foods to thank for this one. (Who knew they had recipes?)

By the way, I am personally very excited about this recipe because I heart tempeh. Seriously, I think if given a choice between tempeh and any other protein, I would choose tempeh. I know, I'm weird. If you've never cooked or eaten tempeh before, fear not. Think of it as you would tofu. It just has (in my opinion) a much better flavor, texture, and consistency and feels more substantial. (Plus I like it because it is uses the whole soybean, as opposed to tofu which does not, making tempeh a whole food with all of the accompanying health benefits.)

Megan's Portabello Broccoli Quiche with Tempeh

Serves 6

4 ounces tempeh, cut into bite-size squares
2 tablespoons shiitake mushroom sauce, or teriyaki sauce
2 teaspoons canola oil
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
1 1/2 cups Portabello mushrooms, chopped
1 cup broccoli flowers, coarsely chopped
1/2 teaspoon basil
1 tablespoon organic extra virgin olive oil
pinch of salt
fresh ground black pepper, to taste
4 eggs
1/2 cup yogurt or soy yogurt
1/2 cup plain soymilk
salt, to taste, if desired
1 unbaked 9-inch pie shell
1/2 cup grated white cheese, such as provolone, Swiss, or soy cheese
3 thinly sliced red pepper rings

Marinate the tempeh in mushroom or teriyaki sauce for 1/2 hour. Sauté in oil until browned. Set aside. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Sauté the onion, mushrooms, and broccoli in olive oil for 7 minutes with salt and pepper. Add this to the tempeh. In a separate bowl, whip together the eggs with the yogurt and soymilk. Add the tempeh veggie mixture, seasoning with salt, if desired. Pour into pie shell. Top with grated cheese. Lay the red pepper rings over the top and bake for 45 minutes. Allow this to cool for about 10 minutes before slicing.