The juxtaposition of savory protein and fresh greens elevates sandwiches to other worldly status in my opinion. The decadent Bahn Mi is case in point. I translated this concept for dinner two ways:
Pulled pork topped with cucumbers, tomatoes, fresh basil, spinach, salt and pepper
Ground turkey (seasoned with garlic, salt, pepper) with cheddar and cucumbers
The fun thing about working in an office is going out to lunch, especially when you work in a thriving foodie corner like San Francisco’s Mission district (see evidence). But working from home presents some lazy lunch temptations. Thinking about my upcoming beach vacation, I decided to trade grilled cheese for veggies…
1. Take a tortilla, spread goat cheese on it, add your veggies of choice and roll it up. I used mushrooms, avocado, tomatoes, spinach and greens. Optional: Cut into 1-inch slices so you can enjoy the pinwheels of colorful veggies and textures.
2. Good news: you can still be lazy about lunch, and eat healthy. This Butternut Squash Ravioli with Walnuts frozen meal from Safeway is low calorie and packed with colorful veggies. The sauce is really good too! If you’re like me and prefer not to microwave plastic, then you can remove the frozen block, put it on a plate and cover it with a bowl. Just decrease the microwave time slightly.
This morning I embraced resolutions to eat healthy, make more meals at home, and embrace imperfection. Inspired by a baked eggs recipe from Saveur, I made some tweaks; adding mushrooms and onions, swapping cream for almond milk, and leaving out the bacon. Despite some timing adjustments with the eggs, the result was a delicious brunch that’s deceptively healthy.
First, saute sliced mushrooms and chopped onions with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Add spinach at the end and remove from heat. Grease two oven-safe bowls or small gratin dishes with butter.
Next, divide mushroom mixture between two bowls. Make 2 wells in each bowl, and carefully crack 1 egg into each well. Add 4 tomato wedges and 2 spoonfuls of almond milk to each bowl. Sprinkle with parmesan, nutmeg, salt and pepper.
Bake uncovered at 425 degrees or higher if your stoneware can handle it. Remove once the egg whites are opaque, and topping is golden brown.
Note: It took me much longer than the 5 minutes (under a broiler) that the recipe suggested, to cook the eggs through. In fact, I discovered there was still clear liquid on the bottom layer, so I put them back in until I felt safer about the finished result. In total, I probably cooked them for 20 minutes or so, but it will ultimately depend on your risk tolerance, oven and cookware.
Delicious when served and scooped with sourdough toast!
Ingredient list:
Confession: this recipe does not actually contain paprika. But When Harry Met Sally is one of my favorite movies of all time, and I did technically get the idea from a turkey paprikash recipe in the September issue of Everyday Food.
Here’s my pork (faux) paprikash recipe:
Cut pork tenderloin into 2-inch pieces of equal thickness. Saute in 2 tbsp butter, until cooked through. Season with salt and pepper while cooking. Move to a plate and cover with foil, but leave juices in pan.
Saute onions in juices, and add tomatoes and the remaining butter. Cook on medium for a couple of minutes, then add chicken broth. Bring back to a simmer. Stir in yogurt, then add pork back in and sprinkle a bit more salt if you like.
I let the whole thing simmer for an extra 10-15 minutes on low, while my rice cooker went to work. Traditional recipes use egg noodles, but the rice really soaks up the juices. The pork was nice and tender too.
Verdict? David liked it, and it was a perfect segue into fall stews.
Here’s another healthy take on the traditional hamburger sour cream casserole, this time using yogurt and goat cheese in place of sour cream and cream cheese. I also swapped in ground turkey, like last time. Can you tell my kitchen lighting and iPhone camera pixels have improved?!
“Hamburger” Casserole with Goat Cheese
Brown 1+ pound of ground turkey in skillet with 1 minced garlic clove. Add two cans of tomato sauce or crushed tomatoes, and simmer for 20 minutes or so. Meanwhile, boil a bag’s worth of egg noodles and drain. Next, stir together one bunch worth of sliced green onions with a 5 oz. cube of goat cheese and 1+ cup of yogurt, or enough to create a sauce. Layer all three (meat, noodles, sauce) in a casserole dish, and bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes. Stir halfway through baking so the noodles don’t get too try.
Bonus: leftovers for a couple of nights, depending on how hungry you are!
A $5 salad might not seem like a steal, but unlike it’s wimpier counterparts, this bowl full of wild rocket arugula, Cypress Grove goat cheese, sliced almonds and fresh peaches will actually fill you up. (There’s nothing worse than saving a buck and being hungry afterwards.)
If you’re not able to make it to Bair Island Tap & Eatery in San Carlos, you could easily make your own hearty version at home. In general, I’ve discovered goat cheese really coats dishes (and your stomach) well. And you can’t go wrong with nuts, dark leafy greens and tree fruit in any combination.
Us modern girls like to have our cake and eat it too. Why not squeeze in a workout while making dinner?
Lately I’ve been putting this theory to the test, courtesy of our makeshift home gym.Here’s how to make ramen inspired by Everyday Food‘s Asian-Style Chicken Soup, while doing four sets of three exercises.
It may sound crazy, but if you’re a multi-tasker like me, you’ll eat it up (pun intended). And if all that juggling makes it hard for you to remember to defrost the chicken ahead of time, no worries – this version uses straight-from-the-freezer tenders.
1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Put 5 frozen chicken tenders in pan; cover with foil. Fill large pot with water.
Do a set
3. Put chicken in oven and set timer for 20 min. Turn stove on high; put pot of water on.
Do 2 sets
4. Put Chinese-style ramen noodles in the boiling water for 3 minutes; stir to separate.
Do a set
5. Check on chicken; set timer for 15 more minutes, if needed. Remove noodles from stove; drain and leave in colander.
Do 2 sets
6. Put drained noodles in bowl with 1 tbsp of oil to avoid sticking.
Do 2 sets
7. Remove chicken from oven to cool. To make the soup base, combine 10 cups of chicken broth, 3 tbsp fish sauce, 4 tbsp soy sauce, and a dash of ground ginger in the same large pot you used for noodles; bring to boil.
Do 2 sets
8. Shred chicken with forks
Do 2 sets
9. Add noodles, chicken, and any veggies you like (I used spinach and radish slices) to the broth. Bring back to boil. Simmer for a couple of minutes. Season as needed.
Enjoy your ramen with a side of endorphins.
Chopped endive and fuji apple, with Caesar dressing = bitter + sweet.
I’ve been wanting to try a flank steak recipe for some time, so tonight I modified Everyday Food’s Asian Steak Salad with Napa Cabbage.
I used radicchio in place of napa cabbage, and half an orange instead of two limes. I also used the same stoneware casserole dish to marinade and cook the steak. Since the radicchio is more bitter than cabbage, I cut it with a diced fuji apple. Lastly, I diced up the other half of the orange for extra sweetness.
Results: delicious!
My low-lactose spinach dip may not have scored big on Super Bowl Sunday, but it made a delicious pasta sauce on Monday night!
For the dip, I followed this recipe as a guide, swapping almonds for cashews, using fresh garlic in place of powder, and goat cheese instead of cream cheese.
For the pasta, I added leftover turkey meat from burritos (previously seasoned with cumin and chili powder, plus chicken broth) to cooked pasta, and stirred in two spoonfuls of the spinach dip. Delicious!
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