Thai Quinoa and Tofu Bowl

I've been in a lunch rut lately.

Until this week, I had nearly the same thing for lunch. Every day. Since August. And many dinners too.

One grain + one bean + whatever veggies were in my fridge.

Quinoa and chickpeas with peas and corn.

Buckwheat with mung beans, lima beans and avocado.

By no means am I complaining. The meals were cheap and healthy. They didn't require refrigeration, and they tasted good at room temperature. Best of all, they kept me full until dinnertime.

Despite the ease of preparation, I just couldn't bring myself to eat the same thing again this week.

This dish helped. It's got the same basic breakdown of ingredients as my typical lunch, but it's got something a little more.

Coconut (and a little peanut butter, which never hurts).

It's fabulous. It's loaded with protein from the quinoa, almonds and tofu. The scallions, carrots and lightly blanched peas give it just the right amount of crunch. Every bite explodes with a combination of flavors.

Although it took quite a bit more work than my typical lunch, it was certainly worth it, and this dish will be entering my regular lunch rotation.

Roasted Acorn Squash Stuffed with Farro, Apples, Chestnuts and Nutmeg

I'll admit it.

I enjoy watching reality cooking TV. Maybe a little bit too much. There's something totally entertaining about watching people cook, though Michael Pollan's new book "Cooked" is making me think more about the time we spend watching others cook compared to the time we spend actually cooking. More on that to come.

That said, recently I've felt like a contestant on Chopped.

McCormick is sponsoring a series of Go 4 Gourmet contests. They sent out boxes of ingredients around different themes, and they challenged us to create a recipe featuring those four ingredients.

Who could resist?

This week's challenge was called Artisanal Autumn, and bloggers were called to combine apples, grains, nuts and nutmeg to make one stunning dish.

Here's my contribution: roasted acorn squash stuffed with farro, apples, chestnuts and nutmeg. The apples are lightly sauteed with butter and just a hint of nutmeg.  The farro is cooked risotto style, so it's a bit creamy and helps hold everything together.

It's perfectly complex, with just the right balance of sweet and savory, soft and crunchy within every bite.

What dish would you create with those four ingredients? 

Wheat Berries with Kale, Chickpea and Chard Pesto

Some people see vegan as a limiting diet, overflowing with sacrifices. They pepper me with questions about everything I'm missing out on.

Not that I've limited myself too much. I'm still using all those goodies in my baking, though I've cut down on the quantities quite dramatically, even testing out some vegan desserts here and there.

I just see things a bit differently. It doesn't feel like a sacrifice to me.

Here's how the conversation tends to go:

You're eating vegan? Really? What about butter?

I don't miss butter, really.

But what do you put on your popcorn?

Nutritional yeast, a generous amount, with a dash of olive oil. Delicious. 

Then what about toast?

I've been loving ripe avocado. And drizzled olive oil with za'atar. 

Eggs?

Tofu. Maybe with some nutritional yeast thrown in to give it that traditional flavor. Or tempeh. 

Huh. I could handle giving up eggs, I guess. Maybe even butter. But I could never, NEVER give up cheese. I just love it too much. How do you do it?

I just leave it out. I plan recipes without it. It's amazing how many beautiful recipes there are without cheese. Plus, BONUS, you can taste all the other ingredients so much more clearly. 

And there's this fantastic new pesto I just discovered. It's cheese free.

Really, Katie? Really?

Yes. It's loaded with chickpeas. It's so healthy. It's so tasty. It's perfect. 

Hmm.... I'm curious. Tell me more!

It's one of the best pestos I've had, and it's certainly the healthiest. I loaded it onto wheat berries and filled the bowl with green peas. It's hearty. Each bite is loaded with flavor. You should try it. Really. 

Barley Risotto with Ramps, Peas and Cannellini Beans

Life is about enjoying all the little moments.

Like the gorgeous table overflowing with ramps in the Union Square Farmers' Market this weekend. I'm still kicking myself for not taking a picture.

Despite the fact that it was early afternoon, all the ramps were still crisp and fresh. Dirt clung to their green roots, evidence of how recently they'd left the ground.

Their rich, wild onion smell lingered around the table.

The ramps were so fresh, I could hardly wait to get started cooking. I whipped up a healthy, barley risotto that incorporated the ramps, green peas and cannellini beans. The greens from the ramps and the peas add a splash of color to the dish.

I'm a huge fan of barley risottos, both for cost ($1.19 for a big bag of barley at my local grocery store as compared to the price of arborio rice) and the health benefits.

Oh, and I forgot to mention, this dish has a secret ingredient.

Prosecco.

Totally unnecessary. Wine is a perfectly fine substitute.

But on the incredibly rare occasion where you find yourself with an extra cup of prosecco, pull this recipe out. Put on your cutest apron. Pour it in. Watch it bubble up.

Then pour a glass for yourself.

It's a totally satisfying splurge only you'll know about. But you'll taste it there, just the faintest hint of it showing its face in the background of each bite.

You'll be filling your meal with all kinds of delightful little moments.

How To Enjoy Hosting A Dinner Party

Ever hosted a dinner party and realized, at the end of the night as you crawled into bed exhausted, that you didn't really get to enjoy it at all?

 Sure, there's a lot of enjoyment to be gained from watching others devour food you made. That's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about the fact that you spent all evening in the kitchen, while your guests socialized in the living room. I'm talking about not being able to hold a conversation of any significance because you keep getting distracted by that pot that's boiling over or the bread that's almost too toasted in the oven.

Thankfully, I'm not that girl anymore. I've learned a lot these past few years about how to host AND enjoy a dinner party.

You can do it too. I promise.

1. Start planning in advance. At least a week in advance, I choose the recipes I'll make. I read through them, mapping out how much of each ingredient I need to buy. Then, I schedule out what I'll do each day leading up to the dinner. I try to do less time-sensitive jobs, like picking out what bowls I'll use for what dish, in advance.

 

2. Choose make-ahead appetizers. Think roasted nuts, marinated olives or a cheese plate. Look for dishes that can be prepared in advance and easily uncovered just before your guests arrive. It's so nice to have snacks out when guests show up, and having them prepped in advance ensures you're ready.

3. Prep, prep, prep. Once you've mapped out how much of each vegetable you need, prepare it in advance. Before my last dinner party, I peeled and trimmed five heads of garlic. I chopped six onions and thinly sliced two others. I roasted four peppers and chopped two more. I saved time the day of because so much prep work had already been done.

 

4. Be realistic. Don't make every dish a show stopper. This is one of the areas where I struggle the most. I made homemade bread for my last dinner party, and I felt like I had to tell people so they knew and could appreciate it. Everyone would have been just as happy with store-bought bread, and I could have saved myself a few hours of work. Pour your energy into one or two main dishes your guests will really savor.

5. Don't worry about what you can't control. Did a bowl of crackers crash to the ground and shatter? Someone spill tomato soup all over the rug your mom made? It happens, and there's nothing you can do about it but reassure your guests that it's ok, and get started cleaning it up. Stressing out about the situation will just make you and your guests feel bad, lessening everyone's enjoyment of the meal.

6. Sit down and eat. Even if the dinner is casual, take the time. Drink refills can wait for a few minutes. People will survive for five minutes without more salad. You worked hard, and you deserve the time to savor the meal. Clean your plate, and then get up.

Following (almost) all of this advice lead to one of my most enjoyable dinner parties yet (more recipes and photos to come).

What's your best advice on enjoying the dinner parties you host?

Roasted Cauliflower and Lima Bean Stew

This is the little black dress of soups. You can eat it every day for a week, and, just by switching up your toppings, feel as though you are eating something different.

Monday. Caramelized onions.

Tuesday. Chopped raw apple.

Wednesday. Smoked salmon.

Thursday. Olive oil and paprika.

Friday. Mini garlic croutons made out of homemade bread.

Saturday. Oven-roasted tomatoes.

Sunday. On its own. Delicious.

I'm linking up with Healthy Vegan Fridays. Visit to see a ton of delicious, healthy vegan dishes!

Lentils with Kale, Sweet Potatoes and Carrots

Blogging comes with its own interesting set of pressures. Checking in consistently, responding to comments and questions, writing relevant, witty (I hope!) posts, and regularly visiting the blogs I love to stay updated with everyone's posts. It's an exciting field, constantly evolving and always engaging.

With food blogging, there's also the added pressure to constantly be posting something new. That means I have to constantly be cooking or baking something new. I can't just pull old favorite recipes off the shelf and remake them each week.

I'm feeling that pressure right now. All I want to do is cook something with chocolate and peanut butter, but I can only think of making these. They really are perfect. I've made them three times, and I've loved them every single time.

I want to make them again tonight, but it means I won't have anything new to share with all of you. I've been searching for new recipes for a bit too long, and I might decide that tonight I just don't care. These cookies are worth the no new blog post sacrifice.

Luckily, it's been easier with my savory cooking lately. Since I decided to try to go dairy-free at home, almost everything I've made has been new.

This lentil dish is divine. It's loaded with tender kale, sweet potatoes and carrots that still have a bit of crunch left. The lentils provide a perfect base and add a great creaminess. Moroccan seasoning wakes the dish up, and it provides a taste I rarely see in my dishes.

p.s. If you have any favorite chocolate peanut butter recipes, please share them here! I'm desperately in need.

Farro Pasta with Winter Vegetables

We were prepared for Nemo to hit. It seemed like all of Brooklyn was. At 3 p.m. on Friday, lines stretched into the aisles at the grocery store, and liquor sales were up 500 percent from a typical Friday. Our electronics were charged, we dug out the flashlights we had purchased for Sandy a few months earlier, and we pulled out our favorite board games.

Most importantly, we had Nutella. Nutella on crackers. Nutella with pretzels. Nutella with pecans.

And best of all, chocolate chip pancakes drizzled with Nutella and dulche de leche for breakfast. With mimosas and big cups of coffee.

Oh yes, you read that right. 

They were superb. The perfect breakfast for that we're in the middle of a blizzard so all normal breakfast rules get tossed right out the window kind of morning. 

I enjoyed every bite. 

Then I went outside. By 11 a.m., the sidewalks and streets near me were already cleared. 

By the time I got home, the reality of all that Nutella hit me. 

So I planned a much healthier meal for later in the day, loaded with roasted and sauteed winter vegetable that provide a perfect balance of sweetness and crunch. 

The farro pasta contributes a delightful, nutty flavor that takes pasta to a whole new level, and it's definitely worth hunting for. 

Simple Kale Salad with Avocado and Chickpeas

Lists of food trends have been showing up everywhere. Of course, not all publications are in agreement. Bon Appetit sees a movement away from brownies to blondies and bread getting so dressed up it gets its own course on menus. The Sterling-Rice Group predicts we'll see more pickling and curing. Mercury News predicts we'll see more vegetables taking center stage, with dishes like cauliflower steaks. Cooking Light predicts sexy vegetables will prevail, a movement away from kale toward lighter, newer greens such as komatsuna.

Threats about the end of the kale trend showed up too often for my liking, with inquires about what the new quinoa, kale and cupcakes would be.

Luckily for me, the Huffington Post is holding onto kale, just encouraging me to use it in lighter preparations.

And this preparation would certainly count as lighter. This kale salad couldn't be simpler. It's lightly dressed with a bit of olive oil and lime juice. Red chili flakes give it a suggestion of heat. The addition of avocado, red onion and chickpeas ensure you get something interesting in each bite.

Make it more of a dinner salad by boosting the protein with more chickpeas, sauteed tempeh or oven-roasted tofu.

Take a big bite, smile, and think about all the new food trends we have to explore this year!

Sweet Potatoes Stuffed with Tomato-Coconut Braised Collard Greens with Chickpeas

I gave up meat nearly ten years ago, telling myself I'd give it up for a few weeks but pretty sure I'd come back to it. I'd grown up enjoying medium-rare steaks, crispy bacon and hamburgers. I can't remember what the last bite of meat I had was, but I remember the day, months later, when I sat in the school cafeteria and realized I hadn't craved meat in months.

That's not to say that I never craved a piece of bacon. I certainly have. But overwhelmingly I haven't missed meat in my life.

I'm delighted, three weeks in, to be feeling that way about omitting dairy in my savory cooking. Maybe it's because it's still new and novel. I'm loving experimenting with new recipes and discovering the myriad of ways I can use coconut milk. Maybe it's because I'm still allowing myself some leeway and ordering food with dairy if the mood strikes when I'm out. Or maybe it's because I've felt healthier for the past three weeks than I have in a long time.

Regardless, I'm excited for this year's dairy-free cooking challenge. Particularly if it means discovering dishes like this one.

I roasted sweet potatoes until they were just tender inside. I stuffed them with a tasty mixture of onions, chickpeas and collard greens, braised with coconut milk and diced tomatoes until tender.

The filling came together easily while the sweet potatoes roasted. I stuffed the sweet potatoes generously with the collard green mixture, which meant I got a little bit of everything delicious in each bite.

I ate one immediately, and then I pre-stuffed the remaining sweet potatoes and packaged them away for lunches for the week. They reheat beautifully, and they've provided me with weekday lunches filled with color.

Smoked Salmon Potato Cakes

Last week, they released the menu for President Obama's inaugural lunch. The menu has been described as artisanal, sustainable and local. There will be Maine lobster atop a light clam chowder, bison tenderloin with a wild huckleberry sauce, sauteed cabbage, red potato cakes with horseradish, tiny golden beets and a butternut squash puree. For dessert, there will be individual Hudson Valley apple pies topped with sour cream ice cream, a maple syrup sauce, and a bit of honeycomb. Together, these dishes complete a menu designed to celebrate "Faith in the America's Future."

Foods are sourced from small farms that support responsible growing practices. Recipes for the dinner are well crafted and incredibly specific, down to how many pieces of lobster to place in the bowl and precisely where they should be placed.

Unfortunately, I wasn't one of the 225 lucky guests to receive an invitation to the luncheon, but I'm preparing to celebrate alongside the President and the First Family regardless.

That's where these potato cakes come in. There a bit different than the ones President Obama will be enjoying, but I think they're just delightful. They use your standard white potatoes (I find red potatoes can be a bit watery for potato cakes). I'm substituting smoked salmon for horseradish (my preference, and a perfect sustainable treat for me).

They're surprisingly light and flavorful.

Make yourself a potato cake, take a big bite, and smile, thinking ahead to the next four years.

Winter Wheat Berry Salad

This is the kind of dish that will make your meat-loving relatives go back for seconds. It's filled with chewy, hearty wheat berries that somehow feel light when topped with a subtle citrus dressing. Notes of orange and lemon weave through the dish. The addition of spinach, pine nuts and feta cheese give you something interesting to look forward to in every bite.

It's a variation on a Heidi Swanson recipe. I used the same flavor base, but I made it a bit healthier (Yes, I know. It's hard to believe you could actually make a Heidi Swanson recipe healthier  but indeed I tried) by halving the olive oil and increasing the amount of spinach.

This dish would be delicious as a vegetarian main course or a hearty side salad. The citrus makes it a delightful winter dish, and it's make-ahead quality makes it perfect for entertaining.

Zucchini "Meatballs" with a Tomato Ragu over Creamy Polenta

I think it's safe to say I am obsessed with Joanne's blog Eats Well With Others. Her main dishes are hearty and healthy. She cooks with whole grains and seasonal fruits and vegetables. Many of her recipes are vegan (always a bonus). Best of all, her recipes are the kind that are healthy enough to eat for dinner one day and then for several lunches and dinners after that.

Joanne certainly eats well, and whenever I look at her pictures I wish I was eating with her.

The barley risotto with roasted brussels sprouts that she posted is just what I want on a winter/spring/summer/fall evening. These poached eggs with chickpeas and swiss chard would coax me out of bed any day. She's got this fig and ricotta pizza that's been calling my name for weeks.

And she's even got a collection of layer cakes that will make your mouth water.

Needless to say, I couldn't have been happier when Joanne posted this recipe for zucchini "meatballs" with a curry tomato sauce over a creamy polenta base. I pinned it a few weeks ago (a bit of a new obsession), and every time I visit my Pinterest page, it calls out to me.

Joanne's original recipe was 100 percent vegan, but I went the vegetarian route and added butter and Parmesan cheese to my polenta. I also omitted some spices that I just don't have, and I made some substitutions for things I wasn't quite willing to splurge on (like chickpea flour).

I ended up with a hearty, healthy vegetarian dinner. And I ate well with others--my cousin and his wife joined me for dinner.

I'm linking up with Bookmarked Recipes, a monthly foodie challenge held on Tinned Tomatoes. Visit to see all the recipes bloggers bookmarked a while back and revisited this month!

Quinoa and Fresh Vegetable Salad

Last night I dreamed I was on a reality cooking show.

Gordon Ramsay was my judge. It wasn't pretty. I don't remember the details, but I think I pushed them out of my mind pretty quickly when I woke up.

I know there was some sort of a challenge, and it involved cooking meat. And I knew I was supposed to taste everything, but I just couldn't bring myself to, even though I knew it meant failure.

Gordon was not impressed. He didn't seem to see a place for vegetarians in his cooking show. Initially I assumed I was making up his disdain for vegetarians, but a quick google search revealed otherwise. Google "Gordon Ramsay and Vegetarians" and the first headings that come up read like they're from the tabloids.

Macca slams 'stupid' TV chef Gordon Ramsay for anti-vegetarian rant

Why is Gordon Ramsay so vile to vegetarians?

Ramsay's pizza joke outrages vegetarians

Gordon Ramsay's anti-vegetarian pranks

 Within that parade of articles, I was encouraged to see one titled Gordon Ramsay Finally Empathizes with Vegetarians.

And I've got to say, it's about time.

I've been a vegetarian since freshman year of college, and I've played around with being a pescetarian since then. It just so happened that I gave up meat for a trial period, and a few months later I realized I hadn't missed it at all. It might have helped that I was eating three meals a day in my college cafeteria, which also served food in all the New Jersey prisons.

Most recently, I've been playing around with cutting out dairy in my savory cooking.

Here's one incredibly easy recipe I've stumbled across. I love quinoa in everything, and the addition of fresh vegetables from the farmers' market kept me coming back for more. My salad was loaded with corn, zucchini, tomatoes and black beans.

A sneak peek into my new kitchen!

I'm not sure what I would make for Gordon Ramsay if he came over for dinner or if I ever find myself on his reality show again, but I've found plenty of recipes to make for myself. 

McCormick Gourmet Dinner Party Chain Feast

Some people dream about winning their ideal beach getaway, being transported to white sand beaches and spending hours relaxing while enjoying drinks with tiny umbrellas.

I dream about throwing fabulous dinner parties, spending countless hours planning a cohesive menu, shopping for the freshest ingredients and sitting down with friends at the end of a long day of cooking to enjoy the feast.

 

After seeing the fantastic dinner party Joanne put together for her family, I decided to enter McCormick's Gourmet Dinner Party Chain Contest for my own opportunity to host the dinner party of my dreams. I sat down at the computer, crafted my 50 words or less describing my ideal theme (a farmers' market feast), and hit enter.

Two weeks later, I got an email from McCormick informing me I had been selected as a winner (Remember, I'm a pretty lucky person)!
 

Thanks to McCormick I had the resources I needed to bring my dream dinner party to life. The boxes started coming in. A spice rack featuring 16 of McCormick's Gourmet Collection Spices. A handy tote bag (perfect for farmers' market excursions), stuffed with spoons, a mortar and pestle, cookbooks and more. An American Express card to buy groceries. A $100 gift card to buy wine (wine!) from Lot 18. And then a half case of wine in the mail about a week later.

It felt like Christmas in June.

I started planning immediately, within minutes of getting the email from McCormick informing me of my win. I'm not sure if they anticipated the weeks of enjoyment I would get out of pouring over blogs, visiting the farmers' markets to see what was fresh and local and even creating my own Pinterest board with some of my favorite ideas.

I wanted the food to be fresh and seasonal, to create a menu based on what was available that day in the New York City farmers' markets.  Nearly every ingredient we served up was sourced locally, from the coarse cornmeal in the polenta rounds to the scallops and goat cheese. And I wanted each course to feature a different McCormick Gourmet Collection spice, so I could really showcase the range of flavors the spices offer.

Remember those really great friends I ate dinner with last weekend? While I'm the "let's all serve ourselves straight out of the pan" type, they've got a sophistication to them that I admire. They helped me curate the perfect, cohesive menu that stretched me out of my comfort zone.

Those same friends came with me to shop at the farmers' market that morning so we could source as many ingredients locally as possible. Then they came over to my apartment, on a 90 degree day, where the oven was turned up to 500 degrees, to help capture my cooking on camera. And they agreed to host the meal, so our guests wouldn't be subjected to the stiffing heat and lack of ventilation in my kitchen.

I know, I'm lucky.

Our dinner lasted for hours, nine of us around one big table, sharing food and wine, laughter and stories.

We made it through three flights of pinot noirs, paired with the different courses.

 We played cards for hours.

We strengthened friendships. 

And we ate very, very well. Here's a peek at our tasting menu, with recipes to come (I didn't want to overwhelm this post with too many of them).

McCormick's Tasting Menu
Starters:
Chickpea Spread on Homemade Sesame Seed Crackers with Radish and Parsley: featuring McCormick Gourmet Collection Smoked Paprika and McCormick Gourmet Collection Toasted Sesame Seeds
Polenta Bruschetta with Shrimp, Cherry Tomatoes and Spinach Pesto: featuring McCormick Gourmet Collection Crushed Rosemary
Rhubarb Cocktail: featuring McCormick Gourmet Collection Saigon Cinnamon 

Amuse-Bouche:
Summer Salad with Cucumber, Cherry Tomato, Snap Peas and Lemon Basil: featuring McCormick Gourmet Collection Tuscan Seasoning Blend

Salad
Warm Golden Beet Salad with Beet Greens, Goat Cheese, Almonds and Arugula: featuring McCormick Gourmet Collection Ancho Chile Pepper

Entree
Pan-Seared Sea Scallops with a Sweet Corn Puree and Chopped Tomatoes and Basil: featuring McCormick Gourmet Collection Chipotle Chile Pepper
Homemade Ciabatta Bread with Herbed Butter: featuring McCormick Gourmet Collection Thyme Leaves

Dessert
Rhubarb Pudding Cakes with Homemade Strawberry Sour Cream Ice Cream: featuring McCormick Gourmet Collection Saigon Cinnamon

Here's to many more dinner parties! Cheers!

Photos courtesy of Megan Milnes and Jeff Taylor.