Eat Like a Rabbit

I was reading up on the qualities of spinach in The Full Plate Diet, when I learned that the term "a la Florentine" came from Catherine de Medici's love for spinach. This may not mean much to most people, but it hit a cool note with me as my brother- and sister-in-law met at an old Medici Villa, that has been turned into a college, where they both worked.

And that inspired me to use the leftover quinoa and braised spinach to make an Italian version. Sadly, I was in a hurry as we only had an hour before an appointment at some friends' house, and I forgot the tomatoes. Plus, I would have loved to add pine nuts, but we're out. Paul saw nothing much connecting the dish to Italian dining except for the parmesan cheese topping. That was a mistake on my part. However, I stand by my original idea and claim with the additions it would have been a better presentation. Either way, I thought it tasted just yummy.

Below is the recipe as I would have made it with more time and more supplies.

Quinoa a la Florentine

• 2 cups cooked quinoa
• 1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
• 1 large garlic clove, minced
• 1/2 cup onion, sliced
• 1 pound fresh spinach, rinsed
• 1/8 cup Parmesan Cheese, finely shredded
• 1/3 cup pine nuts, chopped and toasted
• 2 Campari Tomatoes, quartered

Sautee onions until soft in 1 teaspoon olive oil then add garlic to cook briefly. (Don't let the garlic brown.) Add the broth and allow to heat up. Add spinach and cook until just wilted. Serve spinach over quinoa topped with pine nuts and parmesan. Garnish on four sides with tomatoes.

Last week, a reporter from iReport at CNN wrote with a "Weekend Assignment" story request for a video of a signature dish. Eggplant Bruschetta is one of my classic dishes, and today Paul and I visited the same stall at the Maitland Farmer's Market where we picked up our first eggplant. You can check out the video of making Baked Eggplant Bruschetta and learn the recipe at ireport.com.

Three of the magazines I subscribe to: Parenting The Early Years, Parents, and Bon Appetit, had falafel recipes in their March 2010 issues. (Sorry, only Bon Appetit seems to have their recipe on line.) Is this some special month or just falafel screams "SPRING!"? Either way, the stories brought back great memories of our research of "The Best Falafel in the World" when we were a couple weeks away from a trip to Paris last year. The difference being, we are in Sunny Florida and no where near the Stravinsky Fountain. I knew I just had to give one of the recipes a shot.

After a little comparison, I chose the Parents recipe, and was quite happy with it. Just for kicks, I may try the others. . .or I may track down someone who has a secret ingredient that will make it out of this world.

At least one of us is back from New York City, and I had a blast. (Paul comes home late tomorrow.) I can't wait to share all the photos and reviews of some really good food. Although, I'm sorry to say sometimes we only had two meals in the day because we were so busy being tourists.

When I got back, I got really nervous cause my fridge was completely empty. I had to make a trip to Publix for some basics like fruit, cereal, and milk to survive tomorrow. My plan for the remainder of the week is to eat what we have in the pantry and freezer because I still want to clean out and restock after the first of the year. Two meal ideas: Wild Rice, Brussel Sprouts (Me) or Peas (Paul), and Butternut Squash; and Pasta in a Garlic-Almond sauce (similar to Gourmet Mag, only the almonds in the pantry are already cooked. I don't foresee it being a problem and will be creative necessary.

We only ate one spaghetti squash this year. Somehow, it didn't seem like a top priority with all the butternut squash around. Not to mention, cooking squash can be more time-consuming and my feet don't enjoy long stretches of use.

I got the idea for this recipe from a friend of my parents last year. What I appreciated was how simple it was to cook, plus with the simple seasoning, the leftovers had a variety of uses. In our case, we made spaghetti squash primavera. Basically, that's seasoned vegetables and sauce served over the squash instead of pasta. It makes a great gluten-free vegetable dish with lots of nutrients.

Cooking a Spaghetti Squash

Stab a few holes in the squash and microwave for 60 seconds to soften skin. Cut squash in half from stem to base. Seed the squash. Place face-down in a microwave-safe dish, add 1 inch of water, and cover with a dish towel. Microwave for about 8 minutes, depending on the size of the squash and the power of the microwave.

Let the squash cool upon removal from the microwave because it will burn your hands. Turn the squash over and scrape the inside out with a fork and scoop into an oven-safe bowl. The "strings" resemble spaghetti--hence the name.

In the bowl with the squash, sprinkle 2 cloves minced garlic, 1 tsp. sea salt (or more to taste), 2 Tab. unsalted butter (or margarine of choice), and 1 Tab. dried parsley. I only needed to "bake" my squash in the oven just after I turned it off from the 400 degrees it was heated at to cook muffins. You can cook the squash at about 350 until the garlic is cooked and the edges of the squash brown, which is great for color.

For the primavera, I cooked fresh and frozen veggies (like julienned carrots, sliced onions, broccoli florets, and bell pepper sticks) in oil and added the leftover spaghetti squash to cook through.

Click on the photograph to go to Paul's Flickr page for a closer-up view of the monkeys. There's nothing like sitting in a boat having a picnic lunch and watching the monkeys watch you and wonder how they can get across the river to partake, too. We had quite a show. One of the best times was when a piroux came by with a dog and three adults. The dog watched us 'til he saw the monkeys. He got in really big trouble for barking and scaring them. Thanks, Connie and Jack for a great day!

This was a positively amazing salad that really is simple to make, and just as important to serve. Paul's Aunt Marsha is the angel behind this heavenly healthy creation. The greatest accent is that each vegetable is roasted separately but served together, which is good for picky eaters and highlights the great colors of the individual vegetables. Each vegetable is cooked the same way and are combined at the end. Brilliantly, this salad fabulous served hot, warm, or even at room temp, which means it can be made ahead. This was important as the dinner Marsha served was a large buffet for about 15 people. With that much work, a vegetable that can be room temp balances between a cold salad and a hot entree--and that doesn't hog the oven--is perfect. Roasted fresh beets yield a purple dressing that again keeps this dish as natural and simple as possible.

I hope my memory of the recipe is the way Marsha does it by her memory!

Roasted Vegetable Salad

From watching Marsha Bloom

• Select equal portions of fresh sweet potatoes, brussel sprouts, and beets.
• Cut the brussel sprouts in half, peel the potatoes and cut into bite-sized pieces, cut beets as well.
• Place top rack in oven just above center and the second rack a notch or two below for space to get a second pan in and preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Grease jelly roll pans with a light coat of spray. (Marsha had only two pans, and cooked the brussel sprouts first. Again, this is the beauty of a vegetable for a large group that doesn't have to be served hot.)
• Spread each vegetable individually and evenly over pan.
• Sprinkle olive oil semi-generously (although excess will not hurt) over the vegetable.
• Sprinkle fresh ground black pepper and salt evenly over vegetables.
• Top with three cloves each pan of chopped fresh garlic.
• Chop fresh rosemary (about 3 long sprigs per pan) and sprinkle around pan.
• Place pans in oven until bottom of vegetables are golden brown. The time varies depending on the veggie.
• Serve divided, but in the same bowl.

Right next to Trader Joe's is a Great Harvest Bread Company that Leann introduced us to.This little shop has such a variety of bread that it has to follow a schedule to produce the different loaves on different days. When I walked in, they offered us a taste of three or four options. One looked more like a pan of brownies than bread. Having a sweet tooth, I would have been very happy to go for the brownie, but in effort to experience the new and to give a true opinion of the selection, I decided to try a slice of garlic cheddar. The slice was soft and white with complete, but not strong, flavor of cheddar and garlic bits. I was very impressed with my taste test. Leann bought a loaf of cinnamon bread, which has the same idea of a good quality bread recipe bits of flavoring stirred in at regular intervals. Leann and I had the same idea that the loaf of bread is done as soon as you open it. So, you just can't open it. You just have to sit and watch it on the counter while it's calling your name.

Gourmet's April 2009 Magazine had this fabulous recipe, and they've even made it available online. When I first read it, I was intrigued by the recipe and curious to know how it would work. I'm always looking for ways to get extra heart-healthy nuts in our diet. Making this recipe for dinner actually turned out to be a very economical move on my part. Paul's aunts gave us raw almonds from Trader Joe's at Christmas. We also got Trader Joe's pasta as an Easter present. Garrett Nudd left the garlic a few weeks back when he was making concoctions in our kitchen. So, much of the ingredients for this recipe were free to us.

I found the recipe for Johnny Garlic's rosemary mashed potatoes on Food N

Roissy is basically where Charles de Gaulle Airport is in Paris, France. We got done saying good-bye to the group late and there were only three restaurants open in the city (not including the hotel dining rooms.) The only option was an Asian restaurant; so, we walked into the largest restaurant we had seen during our trip around Paris and northern France. But, even by the time we left there were only four tables filled.

Today, National Public Radio's Weekend Edition Sunday announced the winner of its garlic recipe contest. Two of the three finalists were fish recipes. The final recipe was for a hot sauce. Although the chefs and journalist reviewing the sauce ate it with chicken, the actual sauce is vegetarian! The chicken was not part of the sauce. In fact, the hostess on the radio this morning ate the sauce with a chip. Congratulations to William Maxwell of Vandalia, Missouri, for submitting the winning concoction!

For the actual recipe and to see a video review of the three finalists, visit this link on NPR. The video review even had recommendations for vegetarians. For example, potatoes absorb a lot of flavor. Always remember to compensate for that.

I had a zucchini that was looking bad and some tomatoes the might not have much of a future; so, I put my thinking-cap on and came up with a pasta dish because most of the time we feel like you can't go wrong with zucchini and pasta. I pulled out a box of my "Buy One, Get One free Pasta" from Publix and started boiling some water. Meanwhile, I sauteed onion in 1/2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, adding the zucchini pretty quickly, and topping with garlic. When those three ingredients were cooked to my liking, I added diced fresh tomatoes, which I love using because it makes its own sauce.

We are always happy to open our home to friends. Mike performed our wedding ceremony, and Paul has known Ashley most of their lives.

I sat up in bed sometime in the middle of the night and realized yesterday had not gone smoothly enough for me to be near a computer other than at work. So, bright and early this morning, I am making up for my lack of desire to get out of a nice warm bed on one of the coldest nights of the year in Florida and share my thoughts.

In honor of the Chinese New Year, I served Chinese food for dinner last night. I really like Chinese food. I love the sauces and particularly am a fan of egg rolls even though I try to stay away from fried foods. I like making Chinese food with rice, but when I have an excess of spaghetti or egg noodles, this is a great way to use them without having pasta in marinara or alfredo sauce for a week.

Recipe to Make Stir Fry

• 2 large toes garlic, coarsly chopped
• 1/2 large onion, thinly sliced
• 1 medium Carrot, julienned
• 1 cup frozen broccoli
• 2 oz. De Boles (organic) spaghetti style pasta (only because that is what was opened)
• 1/4-1/2 cup sugar snap peas
• 1/8 (or less) teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 6 Tablespoons Pad Thai Sauce from Moosewood Cooks at Home
• Olive oil to cover bottom of a skillet

Boil pasta according to pasta directions. I do not salt the pasta because there is so much salt in the soy sauce. Meanwhile, cover a large skillet with oil. Turn the skillet on medium and add the onions. Microwave broccoli and sugar snap peas 1:30 minutes to defrost. Add carrots and garlic to the onions when they are softened. Add broccoli and peas until warm. Drain pasta and add it to the vegetables. Pour the Moosewood recipe mixture (lime, ketchup, and soy sauce) over the vegetables and pasta. Stir in sauce and two pinches fresh crushed red pepper. Serve hot.

When so many fresh ingredients are at your fingertips (especially during the winter time) it makes so much since to create a fantastic sandwich that mixes them all together. I enjoyed this so much because it was a fast creation and the flavors were fantastic.

Paul declared this creation great. He especially liked the crust. I really enjoy the flatbread as well. I just happened upon some Naan hand-stretched flatbread at Costco. I love making sandwiches out of it or serving it instead of French bread alongside pasta. I think it looks and tastes fabulous.

Paul said this was the best risotto he ever had. He actually isn't much of a fan of risotto, but quite enjoyed this. I think this is my second favorite risotto ever; my favorite being in a quaint spot in Italy many years ago. You just can't beat the surroundings! But for home products, this is the best and most successful. And I have experimented a few times, which goes to prove not everyone becomes a cook overnight.

The recipes I checked out had many different seasonings to add. I passed on those. Aside from the long cook time, this is very easy.

Paul bought me a new cook book that recommended some strudel recipes as show-stoppers. I didn't have the ingredients, but I used what I had on hand and was so excited with the results. I had a few extra pastry sheets and choose to make the Vegeburger Bites, which I have written about before. The purpose for using all the pastry sheets was to clean out the freezer. They are expensive; so I try to buy them from the Pepperidge Farm Thrift Store. I love using them because they taste like I've slaved all day!

I was so proud when I created this recipe. Because our wedding was mostly pink, I had wanted a "pink" pasta sauce. I wish now I had made this creation, then. This sauce was absolutely perfect. I think this recipe is a more elegant alternative to spaghetti sauce, but is healthier than straight fettucini sauce. Also, the mixture makes it great with vegetables. Paul told me to remember how I made it. I hope I always do.

The tubular pasta is a favorite of Paul's called Rigatoni. Because it's larger and hollow, you eat less than you think you do because there is so much air.

This post's guest photographer is Garrett Nudd, an excellent and talented photographer, but an even better friend.

I came across some mini-kabob sticks while in Sarasota for our anniversary. Ever since, I was very excited to make some and did a good bit of research before I finally put the meal together. I served the kabob with steamed brown rice and the Pad Thai sauce from "Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home."

This meal was much easier than I expected, and except for the delay of threading the sticks with my designer-husband, a fast creation as well. I did find a note somewhere in my research to soak the sticks in water before use to prevent splitting. This was my first step of the meal.

This meal was absolutely fun to make. I assure you, a solid vegetable meal like this can be cheap and fabulous. The asparagus and sweet potatoes came from Aldi, a rather unusual but wise grocery store, which is known for very reasonable prices on off-brand foods. A good number have recently opened up in Orlando. My experiences there in America and out of the country have been pleasant.

When asked what he wanted for lunch Garrett (Nudd of Garret Nudd Photography) said something about cheeseless pizza. I told him I try to have pizza once a week because it is healthy, often well balanced, and can be fast when we are on the run. He asked how long it had been since we had pizza. I estimated two weeks. He gave me a big smile.

I'm quite proud of this recipe. I chopped up baking potatoes, diced up a small onion, minced or chopped a few cloves of garlic and cooked the potatoes on medium with just enough olive oil to keep the potatoes from sticking to the skillet. About 7 seven minutes before the potatoes were done, I harvested three large sprigs of rosemary from our herb garden and chopped the leaves into the skillet.

The following post is in reference to that little bowl filled with green at the top left hand corner.

A few situations happening in just a week's time started me thinking about this post. It started when I read one of the many magazines in our office (unfortunately I do not remember which one) that said basil was hard to acquire for a pesto sauce and recommended some alternatives.

Tomatoes are definitely a can't-live-without-it kind of a food. I almost always have at least one tomato in my home even when they are exceptionally expensive and out of season. This recipe was found at foodnetwork.tv where I do get a few recipes and also some very good ideas.

Notice this sauce is a bit chunky. There are some creamy spots and some chunky spots. My mother says a bit of flour would help with that.

I was so excited when the idea to make this came to me. When I was growing up in Louisiana, I visited a restaurant that made superb calzones. My last trip home was devastating because the restaurant had changed its menu and the calzones were not the same as they had been. So, I decided to make up the recipe at home and was so proud of the results. It was the exact taste I was looking for.

This is the same Garlic Soup recipe from Moosewood Restaurant's Simple Suppers cookbook. Only, this time I served it over soft wheat bread and cheddar cheese. You can see from the images the recipe is to ladle broth over bread and cheese. The concept makes sense. Tons of people dip their grilled cheeses in soup. This soup just makes the meal less messy.