Savory Tartlets… and a bottle of Chardonnay

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cheese, cooking, delicious, dinner, food, foodie, fresh, local, MasterChef, quiche, springtime, tart, wine

Good evening fellow food lovers! Although summer has not yet begun, I already feel its imminent end, and the approaching necessity of joining the working world of adults full time. C’est la vie, je suppose. That, however, is only inspiring me to more fully embrace what spare time I have now, and play in the kitchen!

Last night, I docked my i-pod onto the speakers, opened all of the windows to let the warm, cut-grass breeze flow through the room, and began to excitedly ransack my fridge for ingredients. With a glass of wine and the charming Ukulele melodies of Dent May pepping me up to full-swing culinary cheerfulness, I began chopping, slicing, sauteing, and stirring like it was elimination round in a MasterChef challenge. Okay, let’s be honest, I am always imagining I’m on MasterChef. It makes me feel cool. “Yes Chef”!

Below are the pictured results of my attempts. I believe they were a success, as I intended to save some for lunch today, and failed. I simply love quiche and tarts, as they can be served hot or chilled, and can be whipped up with limitless varieties of ingredients. First is roasted plum tomato, herbed goat cheese, sauteed shallots and garlic, with chopped fresh dill and basil and parmesan. I used puff pastry for the shell. The second is comprised of sliced baby ‘bella mushrooms, asparagus, shallots, garlic, plum tomatoes, and a dollop of chèvre on top! Of course, each of these also contained whole milk, organic eggs, ground salt and pepper.

pre-whisking egg mixture contrasted with the finished tart!

Served with a light mixed green salad dressed in a ‘champagne’ and pear vinaigrette, and “Dark Horse” chardonnay, which is a good quality table wine for the price point! You can buy it at Trader Joe’s.

Thanks for dropping by and having a peek at what’s cooking. I’m heading to Lancaster, PA this Saturday, which has a surprisingly hip food scene for Central Pennsylvania. I will be sure to post some of my findings!

Bonne soirée mes amis!

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Lightening Up!

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cooking, delicious, diets, feminism, food, foodie, fresh, green, health, kombucha, organic, probiotics, springtime, trends, women

Two patterns have distinctly emerged within the realm of health and fitness in my life: 1) I am sporadically enthusiastic about working out and eating clean, but never for longer than two months consecutively, and 2) I really believe in some (embarrassingly?) new age holistic health approaches. While it would be great to announce that I am a yo-yo dieter no more, or that I am no longer tempted by food fads, and have stopped conducting questionable Pinterest experiments, or regularly indulging in emotional eating, I am strangely fond of these fluctuations, which may forever be part of me. At twenty-five I have happily accepted that I will never be runway thin or sleek and tan. Oh so luckily for me, being curvy is à la mode pour le moment, so I will run with that as long as (longer than) it remains thus.

Having been raised by a mother who was a veritable Nostradamus when it came to predicting unusual health trends, I have accrued many years of exposure to the throes of ayurvedism, veganism, herbalism, and the healing powers of fasting, cleansing, and detoxing long before their mainstream emergence on the cultural scene. Unlike my mother, who hikes nearly every day, and eats like it’s always lent, I have regarded each new trend with equal parts skepticism and excitement, (just in case this time it really is a miracle cure-all!). In reality, I, like many of my fellow humans (women especially) am constantly driven to discover some new way to become better, more appealing, more attractive. With a passion for feminism and rejecting myriad societal pressures, I try to focus on implementing and attempting ventures which actually make me feel good. For instance, if I were an influential politician at this moment, other than announcing my intentions to run for President, I would also enthusiastically endorse the healing powers of kombucha!

GT’s Cosmic Cranberry! One of my favorites!

Yes, the funky probiotic drink which is a bi-product of brewing fermented tea with a horrifying alien-like scoby. Recently, the food science world has been exploding with potential health benefits of strains of probiotics, many of which exist in kombucha, and how they contribute to our overall well-being. Additionally, it is incredibly easy and cheap to make at home, which I have tried with some success. I’m just going to toss this out there- I actually think my probiotic intake over the past year has helped dramatically reduce my spring allergies. Ask me about it!

Abandoning my kombucha soap-box, I also have tried scrubbing my teeth with activated charcoal (see picture) as a friend and I both read it could basically soak up every stain your teeth ever even considered having. It didn’t blow me away, but it was fun, and would make a great Halloween accessory.

I would love to hear everyone’s adventures in modern food or health trends. Please share in comments if you have one to pass along!!

I hope everyone is enjoying springtime and enjoying a lovely start to the week!

Little Delights

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avocado, cooking, food, fresh, outdoors, picnic, springtime

There is nothing lovelier than sharing a meal outdoors on a soft sunny day, and luxuriating in the early evening breeze. Lately, I have enthusiastically engaged in this activity as often as possible, and am likely to only increase this occurrence as the weather grows warmer. I have also been insanely busy lately, wrapping up finals, and therefore not posting of late. I am however, finally done, and plan to let the food preparations commence into full swing. Here are a few of my favorite moments from recent endeavors. I hope you enjoy!

First is a simple snack that is so easy yet feels decadent. Top a slice of crusty bread (this one is garlic!) with slices of ripe avocado, lime juice, chopped fresh basil, and some freshly ground salt and pepper. As a disclaimer, I tried this after I saw it on someone’s Instagram, and I can’t remember or find who it was!Either way, kudos, and thank you for the inspiration!

I have prepared several versions of this dish lately, but here is a mango, strawberry, fresh basil, and balsamic salad. Just slice each up as desired, and enjoy after the balsamic has soaked into the fruit for a little while. So worth the half an hour or so wait. Bonne weekend mes amis!

Endless Love…

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avocado, delicious, food, fresh, green, organic, recipes, sriracha, veggies

No..not the romantic drama that I may have rented from Redbox, but the endless love I feel for the luscious, diverse, and nutritious AVOCADO! I realize I am no Columbus of this ambiguous fruit/vegetable (okay, ‘fruit’) marvel, but I do feel like I discover it anew every spring when they appear in tempting green multitudes in the produce section. Isn’t it one of life’s beautiful domestic moments to see a great avocado sale and they are perfectly ripe? Not over the hill squishy with blackening rinds, not a vivid and firm crocodilian hide, which promises enjoyment in a week’s time, but that perfectly pliant, ready to eat, avocado. To celebrate the beauty of this Cadillac of berries, I hope you enjoy this portrait I took of one that quite recently became guacamole:

Don’t more avocados deserve photographic preservation to commemorate their deliciousness? To continue to gush a bit, the diversity of the avocado is amazing! Because they often earn a well-deserved place among lists of best ‘brain foods‘ I have recently enlisted their help to get me through finals and those long-hauls at the library. This week, I whipped up a simple guacamole to take along during a study session, and along with a favorite brand of whole-grain chips, was empowered to ignore the siren call of coffee shop brownies et al. and stay healthily dedicated to my work.

Additionally this week, I made a quinoa/avocado salad that served as a light early dinner. My favorite thing about chilled quinoa dishes, is versatility. You can basically add anything in, and it comes up roses. This one included quinoa, spinach, tomato, shallot, avocado, corn, and cucumber salad with a light lime and olive oil dressing (see below).

I would love to hear everyone’s favorite avocado recipes!! Please share in comments or messages. I can’t wait to try some more!

What a relief!

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cooking, food, fresh, green, veggies

Just a little update to say how amazingly refreshing it is to enjoy a salad when the sun is shining! Incredible, isn’t it, how our bodies just know when it’s the season for fresh green things again? I am grateful that as the onslaught of finals looms for the next couple of weeks, healthy eating can be a quick. easy, and affordable option even when time is limited and the pressure is on. Here is a fantastic and simple salad I made this week and had with a glass of Chardonnay after an early evening bike ride. 

This salad boasts some of my favorite ingredients including baby spinach, mixed greens, sliced shallots, sweet corn kernels, vine ripe tomatoes, pan seared chicken tenderloins, chopped yellow bell pepper, and (courtesy of the olive bar at my local grocery store) a cheese stuffed baby piquillo pepper to top it off. I also tossed it in a light and flavorful sesame-lime Thai dressing from Aldi, which I love. Tossing together filling salads that feel both satisfying and health-conscious is one of my favorite springtime food activities. I would love to hear readers’ favorite salad recipes and ideas in the comments below!!

Along a similar vein, I am trying DietBet, which seems like a cool way to motivate to get fit for summer. My “bet” ends this weekend, so wish me luck, and I’ll be sure to report the results soon! Enjoy the sun everyone!!

-Jenny

Vegetables are the Fair-Weather Friends of the Food World

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cooking, delicious, dinner, food, green, sriracha, veggies

A whole week of sunshine. I am really not sure how I will cope if the weather turns chill again. I hope winter will get the hint and exit stage left when the calendar proclaims it officially spring in a few days time. The best intentions really could not prepare this life long food lover for such a harsh winter. My enthusiasm for the gym, being outdoorsy, and–well, vegetables, took a mighty nosedive over the past couple of months.

This summer I was a fresh-eating, paleo-ish fiend, but as the daylight perpetually darkened, the palatable spectrum of bright living food I had focused on dimmed into the muted beige of baked goods and pasta. Alas! nature has once again set sights on veggies, and there is no better way to ease back into it than making a thoroughly satisfying roasted vegetable medley. You won’t have to sacrifice one bit of satisfaction with this savory dish. Roasting draws out the full flavor profile of each element. The sweet potato is divine with melted goat cheese, and the creamy poached egg borders on decadence with a bite of zippy kale and a garlicky red potato. Seriously, try it.

If you would like to try it at home, here is a basic recipe:
Oven Roasted Veggies with Sauteed Kale and a Poached Egg
-Chop selection of veggies into roasting pieces (I used shallots, brussels sprouts, baby red potatoes, and sliced sweet potato, and minced garlic)
-Brush veggies with olive oil and place into baking pan. Sprinkle with salt and pepper as desired. Roast at 375 F for 25 minutes(leave oven on)
-Meanwhile, sautee de-stemmed/chopped kale, onion, thinly sliced baby bella mushrooms, and crushed garlic in butter. Sprinkle with sazon and cayenne.
-After a few minutes, add a splash of low sodium chicken stock to the pan and cover to soften the kale, and start a pot of water boiling for your egg.
-Once the chicken stock is absorbed (and after aprox 25 minutes of roasting), briefly pull your veggies from the oven, and add the kale mixture to the roasting pan. Here, you can add some goat cheese too. I tossed on some herbed chevre)
-Finish roasting veggies for five minutes or until as tender as desired. In this time, prepare your poached egg via your favorite method.
-Now you are ready to serve it up! Plop that egg on top and try some Sriracha to add a little zip!

(Click on the pictures to examine the full size tastiness)

Please let me know if you try it in the comments section! Enjoy!