It's no secret that I love fennel, but I've been absolutely obsessed with the thought of making caramelized fennel ever since I first read about it over on The Tipsy Baker's blog months ago. I requested a copy of Ad Hoc at Home from the library and patiently waited for what seemed like forever to get the recipe. And then I had no idea what to make with it. I mean, I'm not exactly a meat and potatoes kind of girl. I don't do side dishes. And as presented in the book, caramelized fennel was most definitely a side dish. But then I had an idea: pasta. When I'm short on recipe inspiration I always turn to pasta, throwing in a combination of whatever looks good at the grocery store and whatever I have in the fridge. Caramelized fennel seemed like it would be a great jumping-off point for a summery vegetable pasta. And it was.

In addition to the fennel, I used a combination of eggplant, summer squash, red onions, and peas. I tasted the vegetables on their own and they were so delicate and fresh that it seemed like a shame to cove them up with a heavy sauce so I decided not to, and instead dressed the pasta with a little bit of ricotta and a touch of pesto (I had originally planned to use garlic and olive oil). It was perfect! I really liked the creaminess that the ricotta added — when you stir it into the hot pasta it melts and creates a light coating that reminds me a little of mac and cheese. The pesto perked the dish up without taking it over; you could tell it was there, but it certainly isn't a "pesto" dish by any means. Really it's just... good. Good when you first make it. Good the next day. Good hot. Good cold. I don't think I'll ever get tired of this one!

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Click to get the recipe for Orichette with Caramelized Fennel and Summer Vegetables -->

Don't let the lackluster appearance of mujaddara fool you — this Lebanese dish is loaded with delicious, aromatic spices that will send you on a mental vacation. One bite will remind you how amazing some of the simplest street-foods can be.

Mujaddara was on my list of things that I wanted to make even before the USA Lentil & Dry Pea people contacted me about creating some recipes. In fact, it's been on my list ever since the first time I tasted it a few weeks ago. You see, the past few months at work have been a little crazy and I've had to put in some long days — working through dinner on several occasions. Luckily, Shawn is awesome and will often save me of having to order pizza or chinese (not that I don't love those things, but I get sick of them) by bringing me some dinner from the co-ops small, rotating selection of prepared foods. The selection consists mostly of sandwiches, most of which are out of the question since they have mayo on them (ew). So he'll grab whatever the best looking thing that I'd actually eat is. As you've probably guessed by now, one night I was presented with a pita filled with lentils and rice, and a small container of lemon-garlic sauce. I looked at it and wanted to cry. How could this starchy bunch of brown carbs possible taste good? But I was hungry, so I hesitantly took a nibble. And I was blown away. Despite being so starchy, the sandwich was surprisingly light. It was seasoned with cinnamon and coriander — spices that I don't often experience in savory foods. And the lemon-garlic sauce? It was like a magic potion that brightened the flavor of the whole dish, adding a touch of tartness and a pungent wallop from the garlic.

I devoured that sandwich and knew that I wanted to share the experience with Shawn. So it went on my list. And there it sat for a few weeks, until the Lentil Association gave me the perfect excuse to make it. I'm not sure why I waited so long. And I'm glad I made extra - I'm already looking forward to the leftovers.

Before you run away in fear from a post about bread, let me reassure you: this recipe couldn't be simpler.

It doesn't involve yeast.
You don't need to knead it.
If you have a grill, you don't even need to turn on your oven.

After I posted about BBQ Baked Lentils, a few people noted that they had never used lentils except for in salads and soups. To be honest those — and Indian dishes — are where my mind immediately goes when I think about lentils too. But you probably won't see much in that respect as I continue explore the world of lentils over the next two weeks. First, because two weeks worth of soup, salad, and Indian food would be boring — both to read and to eat. Second, because I wanted to look at this as an opportunity to challenge myself. To think outside the box and come up with some really fun and creative recipes. Rest assured, if the recipes aren t delicious you won't see them here.

Since lentils are so often used in Indian and Middle Eastern cuisine, I decided to mix things up and try using them in a southwest style dish. I also wanted to play with texture a little, so these southwest lentil cakes were born! I really loved the way these turned out — they actually reminded me a little of falafel. I was nervous that they might be dense and dry, but I shouldn't have worried. The slightly crispy outside gave way to a light and fluffy center that was full of moisture. The creamy lime dressing played up the Southwest flavor of these patties ad balanced out some of the heat from the jalapenos that I added to them.

The patties and dressing were great on their own - I also think they would make a fantastic wrap-style sandwich — but to make them into a healthy dinner I built a salad around them. Some chopped romaine hearts tossed with fresh corn, diced tomatoes, creamy avocado, and a little extra cilantro topped with the lentil cakes and dressing made a wonderfully light yet filling dinner.

Click to continue reading Southwest Lentil Patties with Creamy Lime Dressing -->

There's a first time for everything: eating rhubarb, making steamed buns, eating cool, creamy potato salad.

Yeah, you read that right. I only recently had my first bite of creamy potato salad. My aversion to mayonnaise (sorry, I know some of you think it's good, but I find it repulsive!) had always prevented me from enjoying this delicious salad. Until now.

I was flipping through a recent issue of Food+Wine when I saw it. It looked like a normal potato salad. But it used hummus. And yogurt. And, most notably, no mayo. It immediately got added to me "to try" list.

So one night we decided to grill up some burgers, and I knew that it was the perfect time to try this salad (and try out my new eco-friednly plates!). I mixed it up. Easy enough. But I have to confess, it looked so much like the potato salads that I've been avoiding all these years that I was a little hesitant to take a bite. Which was ridiculous, since I made the stuff and I knew that there was absolutely no mayonnaise in it.

So I took a small nibble. And it. was. awesome. I mean, we were lucky that there was any left by the time the burgers were done - I couldn't keep out of it! For those of you who hate mayo, this is a great substitute. Those of you that do eat mayo will enjoy it too - Shawn said that it actually tastes very similar. It's cool, creamy, slightly tangy. The hummus flavor isn't nearly as pronounced as you might imagine it would be, And it has a whole lot less fat (about 5 grams of fat in mine, compared to over 20 grams in traditional versions!)

Click to continue reading <a href="http://healthy-delicious.com/2010/05/creamy-potato-salad-hold-the-mayo/">Creamy Potato Salad, Hold the Mayo --></a>

Do you ever see something or hear of something and immediately know that you'll love it? That's how I felt about the delicious looking Chinese steamed buns, or bao, that keep turning up everywhere I look lately. Everywhere, that is, except on menus here in Albany. It seemed as though if I wanted to taste these for myself, I would ether have to travel to NYC or make them myself. Making them seemed like it would be complicated, so I tucked the idea away in my every-expanding file of recipes to try on the weekend. But then I read this post from Carolyn Jung, who had a little truck up her sleeve to make steamed buns on a weeknight a very real possibility.

The trick? Don't bother making your own dough. Instead, turn to a tube of refrigerated biscuits. Easy Peasy. When classic Pillsbury biscuits are steamed instead of baked, the texture undergoes a complete transformation. Instead of turning out buttery and flakey, they become pillowy-soft and slightly chewy. I don't know how authentic the flavor or texture is, but it's exactly how I imagined it would be. And every bit as delicious.

I was having trouble deciding what I wanted to fill my bins with, so I ended up doing two version: one fatty, porky version based on Momofuku's popular buns, and another light version stuffed with tofu that I baked with my favorite generic "Asian" marinade. Bother versions were amazing, but I actually liked the tofu version the most! It was light and fresh in flavor and the combination of textures — the doughy bun, crispy-creamy tofu and crunchy vegetables — was so much more interesting than that of the chewy pork belly.

I've posted tofu very similar to this one before, but I've recently started to fry the whole block very quickly before baking it. This gives the outside of the tofu a crispy coating that tastes really good and also makes the texture of the tofu a lot more appealing.

Continue reading Easy Steamed Buns, Two Ways -->

While I love a good beefy burger as much as the next person, every once in a while I find myself in the mood for something a little different. A little healthier. I love veggie burgers, but the frozen ones remind me too much of fast-food burgers: overly processed, eerily uniform in size, oddly lacking in color, and much, much too small. I like a burger that I can sink my teeth into. I've been toying with the idea of homemade veggie burgers for a while now, but never got around to playing around with recipes. A recent photo featured on The Kitchn has me headed straight for my kitchen though — shredded beets gave the veggie burger a brilliant red, meaty hue that I couldn't resist.

Don't be scared off by the beets though. While they provide a ton of color to the burger, I didn't find that they tasted overly of beets. There's enough other good stuff — brown rice, black beans, spices — to balance out the flavor. While you wouldn't mistake these burgers for ones made from beef, they didn't taste like vegetables either. They just tasted good. Really good. The flavor was amazing, the texture was better than any veggie burger than I've ever had, and they looked beautiful. Given the choice, I think 9 times out of 10 I would actually pick this burger over a more traditional meat one. And that's not even considering the fact that they clock in at 150 calories and boast 7 grams of fiber. Not too shabby!!

A few notes about making these burgers: First off, the mixture will be fairly wet and it takes a little effort to get it to form patties. Don't be afraid to really smoosh it — you don't run the risk of overworking it like you do with beef. Once the patties have been formed, they will be very delicate and won't hold their own on a grill (they'll just fall through the grates). I grilled mine in the mesh wok that I usually use for vegetables. Alternately, you could cook them on the stove in a very hot cast iron pan.

The burgers also don't reheat very well. They dry out. I crumbled a leftover, reheated burger over a salad and it was great, but I don't think it would have been very god as a burger. So if you don't plan to eat these all in one night, I'd recommend refrigerating the extra, uncooked patties and cooking them up to order.

When it came to toppings, I felt like these burgers were calling for a nice, spicy mustard. I also added some banana peppers, which I thought were the perfect touch - I liked the little bit of tang that they gave to it. Shawn had his with barbecue sauce and said it was ok, but I think my combination was way better. I'm not normally a mustard-on-burgers kind of girl, but I couldn't imagine anything being better ion these. So don't be afraid to step out of your comfort zone when it comes to dressing these!

Click to continue reading Ultimate Veggie Burger -->

Lemons, lemons, lemons. This is the third post in a row that involves lemon in some way - it must be Spring! I've been playing around with the idea of a lemon-poppy vinaigrette for a while now, but I could never figure out the right application for it. Finally I decided to pair it with this delicate salad that is super simple yet bursting with flavor. I'm not exaggerating at all when I say that this may be my favorite salad of all time! The tartness of the lemon-poppy vinaigrette, the warm, creamy goat cheese with a slight crunch from the breading, the fresh herbs that set the salad over the top in the flavor department - it all comes together in one big plate full of yum. We had this for dinner last night, and Shawn already asked if we could have it again tonight. So if you're looking for a springtime treat that won't weight you down, I highly suggest making this.

A few weeks ago, Olivia's Organics contacted me and asked if I would be interested in trying out some of their salad mixes. I told them that I actually buy their salads all the time and I love them, but they happily sent along a few coupons for free samples anyway. They also send me some information about the company, that I was happy to receive. I buy their products because they taste great, are always fresh, and are super convenient but I had no idea that they also give a portion of their proceeds to charities that help children (such as the Make a Wish Foundation and The Food Project) or that their packaging is recyclable! They even have a section on their website devoted to fun ways to reuse their salad containers. What more could you ask for? I love when I'm able to feel good about giving my money to a company like that.

Their salad blends are great. I usually just buy the baby lettuce mix or the spinach, but when I planned this salad I knew I wanted to put a different spin on it by using lots of fresh herbs mixed with the greens. I had planned to buy the herbs individually, so can you imagine how surprised I was to find the Herb Salad Mix, which contained a blend of lettuces as well as other goodies like chard, frisse, beet greens, mustard, dill, and parsley? It was exactly what I wanted, and it save me the money and trouble of having to purchase all of those herbs individually. The proportions were great too. It wasn't just a bunch of lettuce taking up space — the herbs were plentiful. [....]

When I was really little, we would go to my grandparents house for Easter. At breakfast, they always had this really good bread called babka. I had forgotten all about it until a few years ago, when something triggered the memory. I went searching for some, but I could only find one bakery that had them and it was way more than I wanted to pay. Ever since, I've looked for them each year at Easter to no avail. This year, I decided I would just make my own already. A quick search of the internet showed me that this was easier said than done - recipes were few and far between, they seemed to have crazy differences (some had tons of sugar and few eggs, others few eggs and tons of sugar), and most recipes seemed like they would feed an army.

  

We don't make fritattas very often, and I really don't have a good excuse for that. They're healthy, super easy to make, and so much more convenient than omelets if you're cooking for a crowd. Since you don't have to worry about folding it, it's easy to pack it chock full of vegetables - I like to think of the egg as a binder for the veggies rather than as the main component of the dish.

You can use whatever vegetables you have around, which makes fritattas a great way to use up leftovers, but I always try to include eggplant when I make them. It doesn't sound like it would go well with eggs, but trust me — it's delicious. For this Mediterranean version, I also added some sun dried tomatoes, a few spoons full of pesto, and a light sprinkle of feta cheese. The resulting dish was phenomenal! The tomatoes and pesto really kicked things up a notch and made this fritatta special.

I forgot to put the spinach I had in it, so I made a little salad with it on the side. Since the fritatta was so savory, it went really well together. If you want to add more bulk to your eggs though, you can wilt the spinach with your vegetables.

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