Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie

I made this smoothie with frozen bananas after googling "what to do with frozen bananas?". It works out really nicely because the cold bananas make the smoothie thick and icy without having to use ice cubes. To freeze the bananas, I cut them up into about 1/2" pieces and then put them in a tupperware in the freezer. It came out really well - YUM!

Sweet Chili Lime Tofu with Collards and Rice

This flavorful tofu dish was a nice update to my regular tofu-vegetable-rice stir fry. The combination of the sugary glaze with a lot of lime juice and bitterness from the collard greens was really delicious.

The technique of "dry frying" the tofu (pressing out all the water and letting it sizzle away on a frying pan) makes the tofu much firmer. I think I will do this with tofu from now on.

Eggs Benedict Caprese (Lightened Up)

I had eggs benedict caprese when I was in Denver last summer with my cousins and it was SO delicious so it's been in my mind as something I'd like to try ever since. I was reminded when I saw this eggs benedict caprese recipe on pinterest, but then I realized how not very healthy eggs benedict (and hollondaise sauce) is.

I woke up this morning and already had the ingredients on hand for this recipe since I made pizza margherita last night, so I decided to see if I could make a lightened up version of eggs benedict caprese. The resulting dish was so delicious! The hollondaise sauce is thinner than the usual, but the flavor was great so it didn't seem to matter.

For tips on how to perfectly poach an egg click here.

Cuban Black Beans and Rice

This simple black bean and rice recipe comes together in the time it takes to cook the rice (20 minutes). Tastes even better the next day. Add cilantro and chopped radishes for extra flavor and garnish or keep it simple for a quick fix dinner.

Zucchini and Corn Tacos

Vegetarian tacos with spring vegetables were great for welcoming the warm weather last night. The chopping takes a little bit of time, but you could use frozen corn if in a hurry. Start with the corn, onion, and garlic ready to go and then you can chop the rest while those are cooking.

Pizza Patate

In my short stint as a baker at Sullivan St. Bakery, I couldn't get enough of this potato pizza. I've been craving it long enough that I finally (somewhat resentfully) caved in and bought Jim Lahey's cookbook. Let's face it, he can cook. I wasn't able to get it as crispy as he does on the top, most likely because I couldn't wait the hours of soaking time to eat it, but I'd suggest following his instructions for soaking the potatoes and try to remove as much water as you can from them in order to get crispy potato topping.

Spaghetti with Garlicky Greens

This quick and healthy weeknight supper has few ingredients but is surprisingly tasty. The confetti cut strips of swiss chard and kale blend in well with the spaghetti to make it easy to get a good bite. Cut and wash the greens while the pasta is cooking and this dish will come together in about 20 minutes. Omit the cheese and add some extra salt for a vegan version.

Pizza with Ricotta, Fennel, and Arugula

This is a nice white pizza for a weekday meal since it comes together quickly, and PJ can eat it because it has no red sauce. I've always avoided making home-made pizza because I have trouble with pizza dough, so this time I used store-bought and it was so much easier. If you have the knack for it, feel free to make your own dough!

Claude Monet's Vegetable Soup (with matzo balls)

My grandma Judy brings this vegetable soup to Passover each year as a vegetarian option for the soup course. She says it is Monet's own recipe, taken from the cooking journals he kept at Giverny. I'm imagining that Monet was inspired to grow his own vegetables in the beautiful gardens at Giverny for this classical but inventive soup.

The soup bursts with an addictive sort of salty-sweet flavor that pairs so nicely with a matzo ball (which, of course, was added to this recipe post-Monet). I think the shredded sweet potato really does the trick.

To shred the vegetables, use a box grater or the shredding blade on a food processor.

Lemony Lentil Soup

Here is a recipe for a staple lentil soup that is clean and simple, courtesy of my friend Eleonore.  This and the Split Pea Soup posted recently are her two regular soup choices and both are great recipes.  Both are simple, inexpensive, light, vegan, easy on the stomach, and freeze well.  In this recipe, the fresh lemon juice brings out the flavor of the lentils really nicely and makes it so not very much salt is required to get great flavor. 

Christmas Cookies

This is a great sugar cookie recipe for Christmas cookies or other sugar cookies.  Pictured here are assorted Christmas cookies, Easter cookies, and cookies used as wedding favors.  They are all the same recipe, which is really simple, but it does require an investment of some equipment.  You will need:

A rolling pin

A silpat mat to roll the dough on

Cookie cutters

A piping set (tips, bags, and couplers)

Royal icing mix (or make your own)

Gel coloring 

All of these things can be purchased at a cake supply store, some art supply stores, or online at amazon.com (click on the links above).

Split Pea Soup

This is a friend's split pea soup recipe.  She eats very, very healthily but says that this is a recipe that even "regular people" like.  She encouraged me to taste it, and now it is one of my favorite soups.  I admit it doesn't sound or look as good as it tastes, but it really is an excellent soup.  It is healthy, tasty, easy to make, inexpensive, and it freezes well.

I've always made this soup with green split peas, but our grocery store was out of them so I made it with yellow split peas this time.  It tastes exactly the same, but it does change the look.  Feel free to use either kind.

Rigatoni with Butternut Squash

This rigatoni has everything that I love about pasta with cheese sauce.  The thick and creamy sauce fills the pasta and bursts out when you bite into it.  It is inexpensive, comforting, and is ready quickly.  But unlike macaroni and cheese, it can be made completely dairy free and since the sauce is made mostly from pureed squash instead of cheese, it is a much more balanced, healthy meal.  I topped mine with some parmesan cheese and used 2% milk to thin the sauce, but the cheese is not needed and any kind of milk would work (soy, almond, lactaid, rice, etc.)  The sweet and salty in this dish is so comforting, and the fresh chopped basil adds some great dimension to the flavor.  PJ didn't believe me that there was no cheese in it!  Add some grilled chicken to this dish for an even heartier meal.

Ratatouille Tart

A slice of this ratatouille tart accompanied by some simply dressed greens makes a great brunch.  The combination of tomatoes, cheese, and crust are delicious (think pizza) and are sure to please a crowd.  When I made this i had extra filling which was delicious in an omelet the next day. 

Pasta with Cauliflower and Spinach

Here's a quick and easy pasta dish that you probably could have thought of yourself, but you didn't.  That's my favorite kind of weeknight dinner recipe - something that you can practically perfect on the first try and that you know you'll like, but that you didn't have to think of on your own.  It's inexpensive and only takes 30 minutes or so to prepare.

This recipe is adapted from Mark Bittman's The Minimalist Cooks Dinner.  It's a small book full of quick and simple recipes that you probably could have improvised on your own.  I'm a Bittman fan so I was excited when I found this book on the Give-Away Table in our lobby!  Apparently you can also buy it for five dollars on amazon.com.

Simple Sides - Vegetables

I made the following list of instructions for simple vegetable sides for my husband because he's been cooking a little lately.  I absolutely love eating home-made food that I didn't cook myself so I wanted to make it easy for him to do it often!

The list is of my staple vegetable side dishes that I use if I'm making a simple chicken, fish, or all veggie meal.  Most of them just require great produce, some olive oil and salt, and and a little practice to know exactly when the vegetables are cooked just right.  They are all very quick and easy to make.  In my opinion, there's no reason to potchky with things that are already so good on their own.

Pear Ginger Muffins

I had a good amount of crystallized ginger left over from the apricot-ginger mini scones I made last month, so I decided to try this recipe.  I like the options it gives for varying a lot of the ingredients: fresh or canned pears, whole wheat pastry flour or all purpose flour, canola oil or butter (or both), and varying the amount of sugar.

I used fresh pears, whole wheat pastry flour, organic canola oil, and just 1/3 cup sugar so they are on the healthier side and not too sweet.  They are just right for breakfast or a snack with tea.

Pumpkin Date Bread

Pumpkin date bread leaves pumpkin chocolate chip bread in the dust.  When dates are at their best they are super sweet and mushy like candy, but it's not always easy to find great dates even though they are available year round.  Look for medjool dates with pits.  They should be soft and plump, with very thin skins that are not overly shriveled or wrinkly.  If you find good ones, buy extra to have around for snacking!  Dates will keep in the pantry for a couple of months or in the refrigerator for up to a year.

This bread can be made in mini loaves and wrapped up for the perfect end-of-the-year gift for teachers, or include them in hospitality bags for a spring wedding.  Loaves can be made well in advance and frozen.

Spring Pasta with Artichokes, Mushrooms, and Peas

Although this pasta is great with fresh spring produce, it can easily be made year round using jarred artichokes and frozen peas.  I was inspired to make it because I wanted to try the fresh English peas that have been appearing in our market lately.  They are available in pea pods or already shelled.  It was nice to eat fresh peas and they were pretty tender and flavorful, but peas lose their freshness so quickly that frozen peas are also a good way to go.

If you chop and saute the vegetables while the water is coming to a boil for the pasta, everything should come together in just about the time it takes to cook pasta!

Pecan-Oat Whole Wheat Muffins

A small, healthy muffin is the perfect snack for a busy day.  I like to make them in large batches once or twice a month to store individually wrapped in the freezer.  Then they can be defrosted in ten seconds in the microwave for a quick breakfast or a snack with tea, or take one out in the morning and it will be defrosted in time for a snack with lunch or a quick bite in the afternoon.

These pecan-oat whole wheat muffins are great because they are not too sweet so you can really enjoy the flavors of the roasted oats and pecans.  Give yourself about 20-30 minutes to prepare the batter and then 15 minutes for baking.  In 45 minutes or less you'll have an inexpensive and healthy snack to last for the whole month!