Roasted Kabocha Squash & Buckwheat Salad with Dried Cranberries & Honey Dijon Dressing
I’ve been staring at this squash for a couple of weeks. It’s been sitting on the kitchen window sill to ripen. My husband picked it up. I’ve never had this kind of squash before. I didn’t know what to do with it. How can I create a recipe when I have no idea what the main ingredient tastes like? I realized I was making this much harder than it … Read More...
Beet Carrot & Sweet Potato Chips with Hummus
I never made homemade chips before and thought it would be a breeze. There were only two things standing in my way: (1) my fear of the mandolin; and (2) a temperamental oven. Regarding the former, years ago my husband wanted to buy an industrial strength mandolin for no apparent reason. We brought it home and during the first use, he cut off the … Read More...
Easy Tropical Fruit Salad with Raspberry Topping
Sometimes, no matter what the season is, ya just gotta get some tropical fruit on the menu! Am I right or am I right?? Without the leaf lettuce, this easy, colorful, beautiful dish can be served up for a breakfast, brunch buffet, kids' lunch box or after dinner dessert. Or add the lettuce and you have a great salad for lunch of … Read More...
Green Curry Over Mung Bean Noodles
On a recent trip to the grocery store, I was perusing the gluten-free options in the pasta aisle and out jumped a new product - mung bean fettuccine noodles! The ingredients were simple enough: mung beans and water. But what really caught my eye was the nutrition label – 25 grams of protein per serving. Wow! And 11 grams of fiber. That’s impressive, … Read More...
Kale Chard & Mushroom Vegetable Bean Soup
It seems like every Thanksgiving I vow that I won’t over-indulge. I’m not going back to fill up my plate a second time. I’m not going to plop that over-sized spoonful of mashed potatoes/gravy/stuffing/cranberry sauce on my plate. I’m not going to _____ (fill in the blank). But I always do and there’s always a price to pay. Somehow between … Read More...
Mixed Greens Salad with Cranberries Walnuts & Lemon Dressing
Any dish I can make in less than 10 minutes gets a big gold star in my book. For Thanksgiving, it was my job to bring the salad and this was a crowd pleaser. I’m pretty sure they thought I spent a lot more time on this than I actually did. That’s okay. I won’t tell them if you won’t! I used a lot of short cuts for this, like pre-washed and bagged … Read More...
Cranapple Banana Muffins & Raspberry Topping
No dairy. No eggs. No salt. No oil. No gluten. No sugar. I know what you’re thinking: No taste. Wrong! I intended it to be a breakfast item. But by the time I was done making it, I simply had to call this a dessert. And I don’t do desserts. Not just because I don’t have much of a sweet tooth anymore, but because I. Can’t. Bake. Luckily … Read More...
Rustic Kale with Beluga Lentils & Carrots
This recipe resulted from a “clean out the fridge and cupboards” session. The kale I intended to feature in another recipe fell to the back of the fridge and was almost forgotten. I had a few carrots at the bottom of the vegetable drawer that were on the verge of going bad. And a few months ago, I picked up a 1.5 pound bag of Beluga Lentils that I had … Read More...
Roasted Red Pepper & Feta Spread
Two ingredients. And a little patience is all you need to make this fabulous appetizer. This is actually my mother-in-law's recipe. I've mentioned before what a good cook she is, and this is one of her staples. I have yet to meet anyone who doesn't like it. In fact, we had guests over recently, one who happens to be a chef, and he couldn't … Read More...
Mushroom 3-Bean Chili
It’s not even Thanksgiving and Chicago’s already in the deep freeze. We’re looking at temperatures in the 20s and 30s for the next couple of weeks. Time to get warm from the inside out! The preparation of this chili is simple – just dice up the mushrooms and onion, throw everything in a pot and let it simmer. I wanted to keep this as clean as … Read More...