Arugula Pesto Pasta

I don’t have much to say about this recipe except that we eat it constantly, it’s super easy to make, and I thought for sure I’d posted it here already, but a quick search revealed otherwise.

Other fun things my search revealed: the top search term for people finding this website is “chicks”. And the top post is naturally … “Chicks” So now I know a foolproof way to drive people to your site – ambiguous titles that are sexually suggestive in nature. Score.

Things are looking on the up and up here in the land of dreams. The weather has finally turned, my first Fleet Week aka Blue Angel spectacular is next weekend, and I’ve checked out a lot of fun new places recently. I realized I’m just about hitting the year mark of living here (craaay-zy) which is right when a place starts to feel more like home and less like an extended vacation. I’m shooting for both.

Ingredients
1 box whole wheat linguine
4 huge handfuls arugula
6 tbs. pesto (alternatively you can make your own)
2 tbs. large capers, drained
15 cherry tomatoes, halved
Shaved romano cheese (optional)

Instructions
Could. Not. Be. Easier.

Cook pasta according to package instructions. Drain, then pour into a large bowl. Mix pesto with pasta to taste. We use an awesome local brand (which unfortunately has cheese) but you can make your own if you’re crafty like that.

Next, mix in arugula, capers and tomatoes. Top with cheese if desired.

Growing up, we always had a side salad with our pasta. This is like pasta and a salad all in one!

Macrobiotic Fried Noodles

Ever since reading The Kind Diet, I’ve been getting more interested in macrobiotics. This recipe is born of an hour of google searching macrobiotic blogs and recipes and finally settling on a hodgepodge of everything that appealed to me. Because that’s what I do in my free time – google search macrobiotic.

The most curious thing about the macrobiotic diet is that everyone claims they lose weight on it (notables include Gwyneth Paltrow and Ms. Silverstone) yet the main staple is grains, pretty much the opposite viewpoint of South Beach lovers everywhere. I get that they’re whole grains, but when you’re eating a plate full of fried noodles, it just doesn’t seem like diet food, does it? That’s the BEST part.

If you haven’t cooked your own Udon noodles before, they look exactly like dried pasta you’re used to, but you find them in the Asian aisle of your grocery store. Udon noodles are either partly or completely made from rice flour, which gives them a sweeter, nuttier taste.

Servings: 4

Ingredients:
1 package dried Udon noodles
1 onion, sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
10 cremini mushrooms, sliced
1 large head bok choy, cut into bite sized pieces
1 carrot, peeled, cut into very thin slices
sesame oil
soy sauce

Instructions:
Cook noodles according to package instructions until just al dente (7-8 minutes). Drain thoroughly. Meanwhile, heat about 1 tbs. sesame oil in a large wok. Add garlic and cook for a minute. Add onion slices and cook until almost translucent, about 4 minutes. If needed, add a little water to keep from sticking. Season with black pepper while cooking.

Add mushrooms and carrots and a dash of soy sauce and sesame oil each. Cook until mushrooms are just tender, about 4 more minutes. Add drained pasta on top of the vegetable mixture along with another 1-2 tbs. soy sauce. Do NOT mix. Top with chopped bok choy and cover the wok. Cook covered for 2-3 minutes until bok choy is still crisp, but not bitter.

To finish, mix together and season to taste with more soy sauce and pepper, if needed.

**Edited to add: The first time I made this, I had some fresh scallions on hand, so I tossed them in at the same time as the noodles/bok choy. Definitely adds extra flavor and a summery touch!

Ode to My Girls (Beach Time Shrimp)

I’m really lucky.

Every year I get to go to Florida with all of my best girl friends from college for a weekend of tanning, crazy dancing, and general gluttany.

I know how special this is and how few people get to see their close friends with this kind of regularity. It’s especially valuable time to me since I haven’t lived in the same city as any of them in the over four years since college (mental math, yes I’m getting old).

The literal cherry on top is that all of these girls appreciate great food right along with me and we get the run of a huge kitchen + patio grill to come up with “family” dinners every night. And doesn’t food taste the best after a day in the sun and water, when you’ve washed the sand out of your hair, and you’re all cleaned up, sipping a cocktail in a sundress as the sun goes down? Hint of lime chips certainly do.

This recipe is a favorite summertime staple from our hosts. The recipe uses frozen bags of shrimp so it’s easy to have it ready quickly for a big group (another plus because our group is BIG and hungry). It also cooks in the oven (quickly) so you can save your grill for appetizers (kielbasa) or slabs of fish (I told you our group gets hungry). Finally, I’ve recreated this dish at home and G really liked it so you have proof that this tastes just as good when you’re not at the beach with your girl friends. Well, maybe almost as good.

Ashley Family Garlic Pepper Shrimp

There are no finished pictures because, well, they didn’t last that long. These are peel and eat shrimp so you serve them with the shells still on and with plenty of white, carby bread to soak up the drool-worthy juices.

Ingredients:

Bag of frozen shrimp with the shells/tails still on (defrosted)
Butter
Garlic (canned)
Worcester sauce
Lots of cracked black pepper

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Lay your shrimp out on the baking sheet in one layer. Sprinkle the canned garlic generously over the shrimp.

(Note: I know I said never to use canned garlic. Without exception. But unless you’re willing to chop up all of this garlic yourself, I think vacays call for a little relaxation from the rules, don’t you?)

Distribute thick pats of butter over the shrimp as shown in the above picture. Pour worcester sauce generously over the shrimp (this plus the butter and shrimp juices will make the sauce you want to sop up later). Generously coat the shrimp in cracked black pepper.

So far I’ve used the word “generously” three times in these directions. This is purposeful. Be generous. Especially with the pepper.

Bake until shrimp is pink and opaque (about 7-10 minutes).

Serve with side salad, red wine, and best friends.

Back from Hiatus aka Springtime Pasta Primavera

It’s been awhile since I’ve posted. How long? I forgot my password to WordPress long. True story. I had to try it three times; good thing WordPress doesn’t lock you out.

Somehow, I have no problem remembering how to log into CBS Sportsline to check my doomed bracket. How doomed? Better than the girl in my office who went to Gonzaga, better than the President’s, but still Lousiville and Kansas in the final four doomed. Wow, that Louisville pick was harder to admit than I expected.

But, as I’m an eternal optimist, let’s look on the bright side!

Kenzie, from A Healthy Purpose, (and also from my hometown), gave me the Creative Writer award! Thank you, Kenzie! You reminded me why I spend time away from my kindle, HBO, the gym, happy hour, and my boyfriend (in no particular order) to blog. Because it’s creative. And fun spending time with you all. (Awards at the end. I’d love to say “After the jump” but let’s face it, my blog structure isn’t quite up to that yet.)

Also on the bright side, I have a springtime favorite of a recipe to share with you. I’ve made this same recipe with dozens of variations so apologies if the instructions are less than exact. It looks intimidating when you see all the ingredients, but really, it’s very simple on the seasoning (garlic + lemon) and can be made with anything that looks good at your farmer’s market this spring. Just don’t leave out the arugula and the cherry tomatoes – they make it.

Springtime Pasta Primavera

Serves 2 very hungry people

Ingredients:

1/2 box whole wheat linguine
Dried oregano
Olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
3-4 cloves garlic
White wine (optional)
Veggie broth (can use Chicken for a sweeter flavor)
1 large juicy lemon
2 small broccoli crowns, cut into bite sized florets
1/4 red pepper, julienned
1/4 green pepper, julienned
1/4 onion, sliced into strips
2 small zucchini
1 generous handful arugula
About 20 small cherry or grape tomatoes

Instructions:
Set a pot of water to boil for the pasta.

Heat about 1 tbs. olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Drop in the garlic cloves and cook until golden and starting to brown. Pour in white wine until there is about an inch liquid in the pan. If not using, use veggie broth. Add a good amount of dried oregano and let simmer on low-medium heat so the alcohol can burn off. As it reduces, add the veggie broth to keep the sauce at about 1-2 inches deep, continue simmering until ingredients are ready.

Meanwhile, arrange all your sliced veggies on a baking tray, excluding the zucchini (they cook faster). Bake at 350 degrees until broccoli are starting to become tender but still slightly crisp and raw (about 7-10 minutes). Your sauce should just be coming together at this point.

Drop your pasta in the boiling water. Cook according to package instructions. Strain, reserving 1/4 cup starchy cooking liquid.

While pasta is cooking, add the zucchini to your baking sheet and broil on high until the broccoli are nicely crisped and all veggies are tender (about 5-7 minutes).

While veggies are crisping, squeeze half a lemon into your sauce, and add another tbs of olive oil. Throw the cherry tomatoes into the sauce so they’ll warm up and be nice and juicy when you bite into them.

When pasta is done, mix pasta, reserved liquid, and arugula right in your saucepan. Use tongs to coat pasta evenly. Your arugula will start to wilt. Remove saucepan from heat. Add veggies and mix using tongs. Squeeze the other lemon half over the pasta; season with salt and pepper.

Phew, I forgot all the moving parts to that dish! But it comes together very quickly – the longest time is spent chopping and you can do that ahead of time.

For the Creative Writer award, you have to name seven things about yourself, six untrue. Assuming I have any readers other than my mom left after my hiatus, I invite you to guess which one is true.

1. I was on my high school junior varsity basketball team.
2. I had my first beer when I was 15.
3. I’ve always wanted to visit Asia.
4. I hated tofu as a child.
5. I had an enviable attendance record in college.
6. My favorite meal I’ve ever had was ham and cheese on a roll.
7. My college freshman year roommate was goth.

Thanks for reading such a lengthy post. It feels great to be back.

Risotto Soup

I’m calling this Risotto Soup because I can’t tell if it’s risotto or soup; I just know it’s delicious.

The original recipe from Veganomicon is for wild rice and mushroom soup. Lots of stirring and simmering, minus too much broth and adding more fixins’ made for more of a risotto consistency. We kept the mushroom-y flavor of the original and added some more complex flavor with leeks and kale.

Mushroom and Kale Risotto Soup

Adapted from Veganomicon’s Porcini-Wild Rice Soup

Ingredients:
1/2 oz. dried porcini mushrooms
2 tbs. olive oil
1/2 medium onion (chopped)
1/2 large leek, chopped (white part only)
2 cups cremini mushrooms, sliced thinly
1 1/2 cups short grain brown rice
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 large box Pacific Organic vegetable stock
1 large carrot, peeled and diced
4 sticks celery, diced
5 stalks fresh dinosaur curly kale
parsley (for garnish)
Fresh thyme
Generous salt
Cracked black pepper

Instructions:
Place the porcinis in a bowl. Measure 2 cups of boiling water and pour over the porcinis. Cover with a plate and set aside.

Heat olive oil on medium-high heat. Add onions and leeks and saute for about 3 minutes. Stir in the spices and cook for two more minutes.

Throw in the celery and carrots and cook until onion and leeks are turning translucent (about 10 minutes). Add the mushrooms and saute for about 3 minutes. In the meantime, remove the porcinis from the broth. Slice them thinly and and add to the stockpot along with the porcini broth. Let the mixture cook for a few more minutes.

Add the rice and about 3/4 of the box of stock. Cover and bring to a boil. Once boiling, lower the heat to low and simmer for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Break up the kale into bite-sized pieces and add it to the pot. Continue to simmer for the next 25 minutes, adding the rest of the broth as the rice soaks it up and stirring every five minutes or so. Garnish with fresh parsley. You could also grate some pecorino on top to make it even more like risotto.

Tiger Bok Choy

I just finished reading The Kind Diet, and ever since I’ve been craving bok choy. Like, can not stop thinking about eating bok choy.

Which is so weird because I’ve never even made bok choy or eaten it outside of the random pieces thrown into my Chinese take-out. Also, it’s not like Alicia Silverstone is especially extolling the virtues of bok choy. But her book is pretty heavy on the Asian influences, which must be where this all started.

This past weekend marked the annual San Francisco Chinese New Year parade, apparently the biggest celebration outside of China. Unfortunately, it conflicted with an even bigger event – watching Syracuse beat Nova to take on the number one ranking for the first time since 1990. But at least I made boy choy, so I like to think I celebrated in my own way.

This is simple food. A fresh vegetable, chopped garlic, olive oil, finished with salt and pepper. I wanted to taste the basic flavor of a just-cooked tender head of bok choy. Somehow, it was mind blowing.

No recipe needed for this, friends. Just go at it Mark Bittman-style. Sautee garlic in olive oil, throw in the bok choy, cracked pepper and salt to taste. Cook until just tender. Welcome to the Year of the Tiger.

Roasted Veggie Couscous

I’ve been a bad blogger lately. Not enough commenting on other people’s excellent recipes, and not enough sharing of my own recipes! I’ve got some rainy day posts stored away that I promise I’ll get to soon, and some intended updates to the site pages. Since becoming employed, I’ve noticed it’s not as easy to spend all your free hours on something you don’t get paid for … hah.

The big, brown, wrinkly lumps in the picture are whole olives with the pit still in. Just throw them on top of the casserole before you put it in the oven, and pop them in your mouth afterwards for a salty burst of taste that will literally melt on your tongue.

This recipe is a knock-off of shrimpies casserole. It’s basically shrimpies casserole, updated and veganized. G was craving shrimp and I was craving a great veggie couscous mix I’ve been enjoying at Chez Carla for lunch so we made another half and half compromise.

Ingredients:
Extra-virgin olive oil
Veggie broth (optional)
5 shakes hot red-pepper flakes
4 shakes ground cinnamon
2 shakes ground allspice
2 garlic cloves, diced
1/2 medium onion, diced
1 medium zucchinis, chopped into rounds, then quartered
1 very large carrot, cut into rounds, then halved
3-4 small stalks celery, diced
1 16-ounce can diced tomatoes in juice
1/2 cup dry couscous

Instructions:
Heat the oil in a saucepan over low-medium heat. Add the garlic and cook just until it’s starting to get color, then add the onions and carrots. Cook for another 3 minutes, then add the spices. Continue cooking until carrots begin to soften and onions are starting to turn more translucent (another 3-4 more minutes). Add the zucchini and celery and cook for three minutes more.

(Tip: If you find you need to continually add more oil while cooking your veggies, brown for a minute in oil, then just add small amounts of veggie broth instead of oil throughout the cooking process. Saves on fat and calories, and you shouldn’t notice a difference. This is especially effective for people whose non-stick pans may not be up to par.)

Gorgeous. Next, pour in your canned tomatoes with the juices and mix it all up. At this time, go ahead and preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Let the mixture simmer on the stove for 15-20 minutes as it thickens, stirring occasionally as you remember. I will cover the pan if it looks like it’s getting too dry. You want the juices for soaking into the couscous after. Pour into a glass baking dish.

Bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes until veggies are nice and soft. Right before serving, boil 1/2 cup water. When the water is boiling, take off heat, stir in your couscous, cover, and let sit for 5 minutes. Fluff the couscous with a fork before mixing with your veggies. Feast! But don’t eat it all – it tastes even better the next day.

Country Club Crab Cakes

Back in Maryland, crab cakes are serious business. They can’t be too mealy, too full of filler, too saucy, too spicy, etc. There’s a mystical combination of all the factors that can come together to make a deliciously crispy, lemony, chock full of crab, crab cake.

Once a week, my parent’s country club does “half price crab cakes” and the place is packed. They make the best crab cakes we’ve ever had. One time, my mom thought to ask for the secret recipe, and surprisingly, the chef whips out a napkin and writes it down for her. She followed the recipe at home and they turned out perfect – exactly like the club makes them.

Most important ingredient.

Because California’s crab season is the opposite of Maryland’s (winter instead of summer) Valentine’s weekend was a great time to try out this Maryland recipe with California dungeness crab. Instead of going with the pound of canned crab, we grabbed 1/2 pound of fresh lump dungeness crab meat and halved this recipe. The result was traditional Maryland crab cake taste with California fresh dungeness flavor.

Makes: Approximately 6 crab cakes

Ingredients:
1/2 Cup PANKO Japanese Bread Crumbs
1 lb Jumbo Lump Crab Meat

For sauce (Note, this will make more sauce than you need. Follow instructions for how much to use.):
1 cup mayo (we used veganaise)
1 egg
2 oz dijon mustard
1 T Worcestershire sauce (we used Annie’s vegan)
1 1/2 T Old Bay Seasoning
1 tsp. chopped fresh garlic
1 oz fresh lemon juice
1 oz fresh lime juice
1 tsp chopped fresh parsley
1 tsp cracked black pepper

For garnish:
Cocktail sauce
Arugula (washed thoroughly)
Lemon
Cracked pepper, salt

Instructions:
Mix all sauce ingredients well. You will use 6 oz of the sauce per 1 lb of crabmeat. If you’re wondering how much an oz. looks like, a shot glass is 2 oz.

GENTLY fold the sauce and 1/2 C of breadcrumbs into the crab meat; do not break up the lumps.

Let mixture sit for 10 min for breadcrumbs to absorb. Meanwhile, butter a baking sheet. Shape the mixture into crab cakes with your hands and place on the baking sheet. At this point, you can chill in the fridge until you’re ready to eat.

Preheat oven to 425. Bake for 20 min or until golden brown and slightly crisped on top.

To serve, place your crab cake on a bed of arugula seasoned with lemon juice and cracked salt and pepper. Top with cocktail sauce. Open a bottle of fantastic wine (champagne would make a good choice too).

Toast to a happy Valentine’s Day and Chinese New Year!

Mom’s Chicken Noodle Soup

But wait! Chicken noodle soup isn’t vegan!! What kind of trick is she playing?

Fear not, dear reader. This recipe comes to us from the real #1 woman in G’s life, his mother. And I did have the pleasure of enjoying it, but during December when this whole vegan experiment was just a twinkle in my eye.

Wow. That looks delicious. G’s father has a new camera and the pictures just came out so clear. I assure you, it tastes as good as it looks. Why does chicken noodle soup taste so much better when a mom makes it?

Ingredients:
Boneless chicken thighs, cooked and cut into chunks
1 bunch of carrots, cut into rounds
1 bunch of celery sticks, cut into small slices
3 onions, diced
Sliced cremini mushrooms (optional)
Chicken broth (1 large, 1 small Swanson broth)
1 package wide egg noodles
Salt and Pepper to taste

Instructions:
In big soup-making pot: combine cooked chicken, vegetables and broth. Cook on medium heat approximately 10 minutes veggies get a little tender. Bring to boil and add the egg noodles. Cook approximately 8 minutes, or until the noodles are done. Don’t overcook or the veggies and noodles will be mushy. Nobody likes mushy soup.

This soup recipe is vague because you can add lots of veggies or not so many; lots of noodles or not so many. You can add other veggies if you like, but we always like it kind of plain and very chicken-y.

The Red Cross has already raised 5 million dollars from regular people texting “HAITI” to “90999.” The $10 donation will automatically show up on your next cell phone bill and the cell carrier keeps nothing – everything goes directly to the Red Cross to help Haiti now. I wish they could add the donation to my Comcast bill because I like the idea of keeping $10 from Comcast even better but that’s neither here nor there. Please give if you can.

Vegan Dinner Eats Take Three

Continuing the theme of poaching other people’s vegan recipes, last night I made Gena‘s Red Quinoa and Root Vegetable Pilaf. If that doesn’t sound like health food, I don’t know what does. Isn’t it so colorful?

I have to give G major props to being totally open to trying everything I’ve cooked this month. I actually saved this one until last thinking he could just eat leftovers if he didn’t like it, but we were both pleasantly surprised at the flavor. This recipe actually tasted to me like a sweet potato soaked in butter and sugar, and it uses neither of those. The red quinoa (besides being gorgeous) adds a nice nutty flavor to the veggies. I cooked the sweet potatoes until they were nice and mushy and left out the turnips.

Served alongside ED&BV‘s Lemon-Broiled Green Beans. These were G’s favorite. We gobbled them up so fast, I almost forgot to snap a photo. Nice and tangy – I suspect I might like quinoa made with lemony sauce as well …

Early bday wishes go out to our friend R, who we’ll be seeing tomorrow night at the new favorite San Fran hotspot, District. Cross your fingers I remember my camera so we can finally get a review going this time. It’s almost the weekend!