So here we go – 3 new favorites from the past few weeks

Healthified zucchini bread from The Sweets Life

I made 2 loaves of this bread last weekend and have been enjoying a slice (or 2) each morning with some Greek yogurt and a cup of coffee. I can’t imagine a better breakfast to wake up to! This bread/cake is slightly sweet, moist and full of cinnamon flavor. And who doesn’t love hidden veggies for breakfast?

In the perfect world, I’d start my morning with the above zucchini bread and have these grilled pork chops with peppers and capers from Mario Batali’s Italian Grill cookbooksince these were the best pork chops I’ve ever made!!

The secret is brining the pork chops overnight (actually since salt is a preservative, I left them in the brine for a few days since I was too busy to cook – extra bonus points for ease!). You know how salt makes you retain water and bloated? Well brining does the same for meat. The water retention makes them super juicy!

These peppers with capers were fantastic as well – smoky and briny. Yum! And no, these aren’t onions – they’re purple peppers from the farmers market. Cool, right? I have not made one thing out of that cookbook that I wasn’t completely head over heals for. LOVE.

How about something packed with veggies for dinner? When I saw Ranjani blog about this grain salad with corn and poblano peppers, I knew those wheat berries all the way in the back of my pantry had to come out of hiding.

I will take advantage of the last days of summer, fresh corn, heirloom tomatoes, local hot peppers and all!

I went light on the olive oil, used goat cheese instead of queso fresco (when is goat cheese not the way to go? amiright??), added chickpeas for extra protein… and apparently forgot the toasted pumpkin seeds. Oops. (I didn’t miss them though)

I loved the chew from the wheat berries, the sweetness of the corn, spice from the 2 kinds of chili peppers and the wonderful garlic infused olive oil dressing the grains. It’s fantastic room temperature but even better warmed (the goat cheese gets all melty and seductive. Do it!)

Oh and as proof that I’m committed to reinstating some old favorites – here is an oldie but goodie. My favorite chocolate chip cookies. Everyone needs a go-to choc chip cookie recipe. Could this one be yours?

Get a little closer…

Hungry yet?

That’s a whole lot of favorites. What are your favorite recipes? Do share. And yes, I want details!!

PS – A new post on a summery Russian dessert is up on Russian Bites. Check it out!

So, here is what you missed…

• I joined Pinterest and have been pinning like it’s going out of style. I’m obsessed… and in love. It’s good kind of obsessed.
• We finished our guest bathroom. Today actually. It looks incredible. I promise to post pics once all the accessories are purchased and the whole thing looks complete (my mom literally forbid me from posting the current pictures because our towels “need to be retired.” I laughed out loud reading that email).
• It’s Adam’s birthday today. He now joins me in being on this earth for 29 years. You’re no longer younger than me, Adam. Sorry! Please wish him a happy birthday in the comments. I think he’ll like that!
• We went to Maine for 4 days. It was glorious. I cooked lots of deliciousness. Maybe you’d like to recreate them? You should!

The weekend started by me attempting to make s’mores (with homemade marshmallows, but of course! I’m becoming a marshmallow making machine… in case you were wondering. lol). I was so dissapointed when I realized that my little culinary torchdid not come with butane fuel. Father-in-law to the rescue!

Yessss

No bake s’more bars

Lunch on Saturday turned out exceptionally well with grilled maple chili salmon

served with black bean and corn salad which my mother-in-law made. Good team work

She made a few modifications… 2 ears of corn, 1 bell pepper, 1 cup of snow peas, some crushed red pepper flakes. It was unbelievably refreshing and a little spicy. Super addictive too (I didn’t mind that)! The salmon turned out smokey, sweet and spicy – this really was the perfect summer lunch. Both recipes are going on my favorite recipes list for sure!

This potato green bean salad was another winner. I loved the mustardy dressing. The potatoes and the green beans were from the farmers market and the peas came straight from the garden in Maine. It doesn’t get much fresher than this!

… and you know life wasn’t so tough when watermelon margaritas (from farmers market watermelon too!) seemed like the most natural thing in the world. What, you didn’t have one in the middle of Monday?

… yeah, tough life for sure.

What have you been up to?

This corn was picked that morning!! Look at these juicy kernels!!

Dinner is served!

We ate out on the patio. I love summer nights!!!

On the menu (see links to recipes):

• Grilled Pacific ocean perch (it’s nice and firm and grilled up beautifully just in a few minutes)
• Fresh pesto from the Sweet Basil cookbook(aka the best pesto in the world!!)
• Arugula and zucchini carpaccio salad
• Grilled corn with bacon butter and cotija cheese

This salad was spectacular! I loved the spicy arugula paired with the lemon drizzled zucchini disks and shaved Asiago! Going on my favorite recipes list

We had a hard time making the bacon bits stick to the corn (I think I didn’t use enough butter to that much bacon and didn’t cut it up finely enough) and then the cheese didn’t really want to stay on the corn because it wasn’t wet enough… but we made it work. One delicious smoky, cheesy, corn-y (lol) bite at a time. [Edited to add: Jessica let me know that if you chop the bacon into teeny tiny pieces, it works great... so go ahead, make it! ]

Fresh, tangy, cheesy, buttery… so many textures and flavors. This was the perfect summer feast!

My kitchen is full of dirty dishes, which is a sure sign I’m finally back to what I love

My dad’s side of the family is Jewish and although I lived in Israel ages 12-15 (middle school) I have to be honest that I don’t know enough about all the traditions in detail. For example – Passover to me (and this is the extent to which we followed it) is a week long holiday during which you’re not allowed to eat leavened bread. I’m ashamed to admit that that’s kind of all I seem to remember from my torah studies in Israel.

So when Cara reached out to all the local Jewish food bloggers with an idea of a dinner party honoring the tradition of Passover with a twist, I was excited to learn more and of course participate in the eating  

A few non-Jewish blogger friends joined us as well. Aside from Cara and me, Shannon, Jen, Megan, Amanda, Renee and Melissa ended up sharing a fantastic Seder plate inspired dinner at Cara’s home!

[Our Seder plate]

This may get slightly geeky… bare with me Some Passover basics:

The holiday honors the the story of the Exodus, in which Israelies were freed from slavery in Egypt. It is said that they left in such a hurry that they could not wait for bread to rise. In commemoration, for the duration of Passover no leavened bread is eaten. That’s why matzo, which is unleavened, is the primary symbol of the holiday. (Thanks Wikipedia )

On Passover eve, a Passover Seder (ritual feast) takes place, which begins with retelling of the Exodus story and eating (or merely placing) certain symbolic foods on the Seder plate. A traditional dinner follows, which actually does not have anything to do with the Sedar plate. That’s where Cara decided to combine the 2… a modern twist on the tradition. Why not?

We each decided to prepare a dish inspired by a symbolic ingredient on the Seder Plate. The “rules” stated that each dish should be following Passover guidelines (no flour and anything leavened, no wheat, barley, oats, spelt, or rye) and general kosher guidelines (no meat + dairy together, no shellfish, no pork) but otherwise it didn’t need to be traditionally Jewish. Pretty fun, no?

[Prepping for the meal ahead]

So much good food to be had!!

Here is what we came up with…

Melissa made the horseradish cauliflower latkes inspired by the chazeret (bitter herb), which symbolizes the bitterness of slavery the Jews endured in Egypt

These were a really fun twist on the potato latkes. Still crispy on the outside, soft on the inside… and a bit lighter/less starchy.

Renee made the charoset, which is a sweet, brown mixture representing the mortar used by the Jewish slaves to build the storehouses of Egypt.

Jen used the traditional ingredients of charoset (nuts, apples, cinnamon) to make the crunchy apple slaw with cabbage, broccoli slaw, apples, almonds and scallions. Unfortunately I couldn’t have any due to the scallions but it looked super fresh and crunchy. I’m ready for summer!!

I made a massaged kale salad with roasted beets, goat cheese, walnuts and prunes, inspired by the karpas (green vegetable other than bitter herb) which is usually dipped in salted water which represents the tears of Jewish slaves.

[I “massaged” the kale with some lemon juice, basil EVOO and some sea salt, then added the mix-ins. Everyone seemed to really love it. I sure did ]

Amanda also made some horseradish and matzo crusted asparagus, which combined a few of the Seder plate elements (chazeret, karpas). Such a fun roasted veggie!

No Seder plate is complete without z’roa, which is typically lamb or goat shankbone, symbolizing the Passover sacrifice through lamb that was offered in the Temple in Jerusalem, then roasted and eaten as part of the meal on Seder night (fun fact that I just learned – vegetarians substitute beets for meat…looks like I got it covered in my karpas inspired dish!). Cara tackled this job with her spiced lamb and pickled eggplant filled matzo crepes.

I am not typically a fan of lamb and was just going to have a bite not to be rude, but I absolutely LOVED this dish. It was definitely the highlight of the meal for me (partly because it was such a surprise). Cara braised the meat for hours, making the meat super tender while allowing it to soak up all the spices. It had a really great sweet and sour balance. If lamb always tasted like this, I’d be all about it

Last element of the Seder plate beitzah, which is hard boiled egg symbolizing mourning (over the destruction of the Temple and our inability to offer any kind of sacrifices in honor of the Passover holiday). Megan got this covered with her deviled eggs!

Let’s not forget the matzo!

Bloggers in action

Cara is an amazing hostess. Look at these pretty napkins that were on each plate (all different and so bright!).

… and of course there was Manischewitz wine which I’ve never had before. Yup, it tasted like grape juice. This stuff could definitely be trouble

Everything was so so delicious. Food bloggers definitely know how to cook! When it was time for dessert, Shannon’s wasabi white chocolate truffles with crystalized ginger were the perfect chazeret inspired dish!

[The wasabi was mellowed out by the sweetness of the smooth wine chocolate – the ginger actually added some bite. These little truffle babies were amazing!]

Cara also surprised us with a little bonus dessert – chocolate dipped almond butter merengues. Still kosher for passover!

Such a fun concept to honor the Passover tradition in a new way. I loved learning more about my culture and hanging out with old and new blog friends.

Hug sameah and happy Passover to my Jewish friends (and family)!!!

Do you usually celebrate holidays in traditional ways?

I’m noticing very clear differences in the way I’ve been thinking about food in fact. Take this salad for example. It didn’t really start as such.

I was craving hummus and bacon and eggs. I thought a hummus, bacon and egg sandwich sounded fantastic (it was – I had it a few days ago… with some tomatoes and asparagus pesto. Incredible!)… but then I dug a little deeper. Is a sandwich really what I wanted? I wanted those flavors but also something lighter. A salad! That’s what I wanted.

And then the idea of a poached egg over lots of veggies, a big dollop of hummus and one piece of crumbled Applegate Farms bacon was born (side note: I’m obsessed with Applegate Farms stuff!!). I’ve never even made poached eggs but a runny yolk all over my greens, as a dressing, just sounded perfect. And light. Yes, exactly what I wanted.

So I googled how to poach an egg and this was the result:

It was fantastic. And some may say healthier than a sandwich but that’s not why I chose to make that switch. I was craving freshness and this was it.

It’s honestly crazy to realize these little changes about myself. Some days I want pizza and I make it. Sometimes I crave sushi and I buy a roll. And sometimes it’s grilled veggies or a salad. And they are all ok with me.

I am bombarded with advise on what’s “right" and “wrong” to eat but I’m zoning all of it out. I haven’t felt this in-tune with my body and in peace with my food choices (healthy or indulgent) in a long time (maybe ever?). The decision to quit dieting and choose diet free living has never felt more right.

I thought you may want to know that. And also that eggs + hummus (and bacon!) are a match made in heaven

Feel free to comment with whatever

like tapas at Bar Lola with friends Kyle and Tiffany on Friday, followed by another Munchkin sesh.

Pilates + zumba with a reader Danielle on Saturday morning, followed by a hair appt, shopping, then an impromptu dinner with Josh and Melissa.

Sunday was the craziest. I woke up at 7 am (on a Sunday!!! Almost a crime ) to run 7.5 miles (yaaaaaaaaaaaay), then quickly roasted beets, showered and was off to a blogger get-together at Cara’s. More details coming very soon. It was really fun and I even met new (to me) local bloggers. Love when that happens!

ALSO, the weather has been gorgeous here in Boston so salads and I are friends again. Here are a few pics of the salads I’ve had over the past 2 days. More on that in posts to come.

How was your weekend? Have your cravings been changing with the nicer weather?

Oh and totally random (but very important!) – Have you ever been to Vegas? If so, would you recommend any restaurants? I’m looking for both casual and more upscale places… I want to be well prepared for our trip next month!!

My latest post is for vinegret which is a pretty healthy yet hearty salad. I bet you’d like it!!

[The whole recipe was 18 points plus… I ate half for 9 which is an awesome deal!]

Oh and my weigh-in is later today… this is the first week ever that I actually followed the program to the T and stayed within my points allowance (no $20 penalty… wheee). Hope the scale is my friend!

So let’s see, what have you missed…

Eggplant “meatball” subs (it tasted like eggplant parm in a baguette!)

Dover sole picatta (I used this recipe, originally found through Meals & Moves, but of course subbed fish for chicken).

I actually made the chicken version first and it was so amazing (quick and incredibly flavorful and healthy!) that I wanted to try it with other proteins. Fantastic recipe! It’s definitely going to make the best of 2010 list! Saucy…

Btw, here is the chicken version

Also, after over a year, I finally made the brussels sprouts recipe everyone raved about after the 2009 Foodbuzz festival. I know I’m late to the party but it was worth it! No leftovers here…

Thank you, Shannon, for all the weirdo ingredients! I used pancetta instead of guanciale.

There was one baking disaster – protein banana muffins, aka banana flavored rubber in muffin form [I won't link to the recipe I modified... and clearly screwed up.]

There were definitely baking successes. Oooh yeah. In cupcake form. Namely oreo cupcake and margarita cupcake form. Yes, you read that right and you should really find an excuse to make them right away. Especially the margarita ones. Tiffany, you are a genius for setting up a cupcake party!

I also met one of my baking idols – Joanne Chang, the owner of Flour bakery. But you probably already know this if you like me on Facebook (you do, don’t you?).

I spy someone on the right

I already bought all the ingredients for the granola bars. Can’t believe I get to make them myself!!

Ok, looks like there were even more sweets. Chocolate sausage:

… and FRIED food? Say what? Hey it was for the blog! Chicken Kiev:

… and I did have salad with it!

In fact, based on what’s on my camera, there were a few salads…

Mixed greens, grapes, grape tomatoes, goat cheese, pecans and rotisserie chicken (my new favorite thing… I get 1/2 a chicken at Whole Foods for just $5 and it lasts a few days!!)

Mixed greens, strawberries, tofu, pecans and goat cheese

And here is that chicken again in a chicken salad with dried cherries, walnuts and greek yogurt

Aside from the food, there were a few workouts. But not nearly as many as I wish there were. I’ll talk more about my lifting program in a separate post. Gotta give you something to come back to.

How have you been? Did you miss me?

I missed you, although not blogging didn’t really free up my schedule as much as I thought it would. Watching tv is extremely time consuming.

If you have a food blog, do you think you’d eat differently if you took a break for 2 weeks?

It was wonderful. I finished 3 books and a magazine and cooked some simple, healthy meals for Adam and me (we also had dinner at Primo‘s bar one night – it was great!). I’ve said it before, but it’s worth repeating - often when I’m on vacation, really happy and relaxed, I actually eat a lot more intuitively. Stress or anxiety aren’t playing a role in when or what I eat. I eat because I’m hungry or because I’m really enjoying the process of a meal out (or in) with my husband. This weekend was no different.

Adam was making fun of me because I brought so much food with us. We had a giant cooler + 4 grocery bags. I planned every meal + a few baking projects. The stuff adds up when you don’t know what’s available (I brought sugar and flour, for example, something my mother-in-law already had in her pantry but I wasn’t taking risks). We ate well, that’s for sure. And I finally was inspired to take some beautiful pictures of my every-day food

This was breakfast for the past 3 days – maple oat scone + coffee

This is the mix I used for the scones (I bought it on my first trip to Vermont). There is considerable amount of real butter in these and it’s worth every calorie!! Adam rarely eats stuff like that and he was all over these babies as well (and asked that I make them again – I wonder if there is a recipe for them somewhere out there… ).

A typical snack looked something like this: TJ’s organic nonfat greek yogurt, 1/2 pear, Three Sisters Sweet Wheat cereal + raisins

PS – I received the Three Sisters cereal for free from the company. These are 100% natural, sustainable kids cereals… I believe Sweet Wheat is competing with frosted mini wheats (are those whole grain? Kellog’s website was obnoxious so I couldn’t deal with it). It’s slightly sweet and crunchy. I liked it – Adam LOVED it. I guess he grew up with something like that. I also tried Three Sisters Cinnamon Sweets which was the bomb (yes, I just said “the bomb”). I’m not normally a “sweet cereal” kinda girl but man on man. The cinnamon sugar was to-die for. I just ate the cereal as a snack, as is, without milk or yogurt and it was gone way too fast (Adam helped considerably in that dept, it wasn’t just me). So yeah, no picture of the Cinnamon Sweets but you may see it on H&S anyway because I really loved it and may just buy it from Whole Foods at a future date. Ok… moving on to a few other snacks that I received for free to try.

Back to Nature sunflower basil crackers and Cabot serious snacking 50% reduced fat original and 75% reduced fat habanero cheddar

I’m a big fan of both companies and was really excited to try both products. Back to Nature makes some amazing natural classic cookies and their crackers were great too although I didn’t really taste much of the basil. They just tasted like regular butter crackers to me. Delicious? Yes. Unique? Not really. They did go great with these Cabot cheddar snacks. Oh man, those were great. I love how portable and low calorie (yet protein rich) they are. The habanero cheese packs some serious heat. Adam was all about the cheese this weekend

Another delicious snack was part-skim ricotta with a drizzle of lemon juice, raisins and cacao nibs. Pretty savory with a little sweet kick from the raisins. I <3 ricotta (also, doesn’t it look like ice cream? hehe)!

Some other meals looked like this:

When Pigs Fly red pepper hummus bread with hummus, cucumber, turkey, havarti cheese and pickles

Mexican salad: baby arugula, fresh corn, black beans, grape tomatoes, grilled chicken and avocado, dressed in 1T Whole Foods balsamic vinaigrette (I may have to take a picture of the bottle some time for you. This dressing is the best!)

Grass fed burger with WW jalapeno pepper wedge (just like Laughing Cow), tomato, pickles and avocado on FFL sesame burger bun – with carrot sticks

Spaghetti squash with mushrooms, spinach, tomatoes, garlic, tofu and parmesan cheese

Thank you, Lara, for the microwave instructions for cooking spaghetti squash. Brilliant!

[This meal was SO filling. I finally ate maybe 6 hours later because my mouth was bored and wanted chocolate ]

Speaking of chocolate… my parents in law are back from Italy and so these gems nixed any baking plans I had for the weekend. Who needs to bake when you can just pop a chocolate/hazelnut candy (or 2 – actually I ate them 2 at a time every time) in 2 seconds flat.

Chocolate + hazelnut is my favorite combo of all time. LOVE.

The most exciting discovery of the weekend was these little tomatoes – yes, these are TOMATOES. Does anyone know what this variety is called? Because I’m in love. Seriously, I couldn’t get enough (for Boston readers, I got them at the Copley farmers market on Friday).

Not only are these guys adorable, but they are amazingly sweet and kind of taste like fruit. I got a very strong taste of mango but with the freshness and pop of a grape tomato.

These were a popular snack this weekend. Mmmm, I need to stock up next Friday!

So yeah, this weekend rocked. I feel refreshed from all the relaxing but also super motivated for the week to come (I read some incredibly inspiring books – like The Happiness Project – have you heard of it?)

How was your weekend? What would your ideal weekend getaway be like?

Also, I know I’m such a nag but I really REALLY appreciate your support so far on Project Food Blog. I need your vote for my pelmeni post so I could move on to round 5. Please vote HERE. Thank you!!

Sounds luxurious enough?

I planned the meal the night before and hit up 4 grocery stores the morning of (it was supposed to be just 2, but they didn’t have pork tenderloin at Whole Foods and I ended up driving around to 2 other stores until finally changing the menu to pork chops – you have to be flexible sometimes. I should have made this decision right away but sometimes you get married to the menu and it’s hard to let go. It actually ended up being better at the end. )

The loot:

The night before I also made a detailed list of everything that needs to be done, including specific times for certain steps (like “churn ice cream at 4:30″, “bake bread at 7″). This schedule was essential to smooth prep work since there were so many components to every item! Scenes from the day:

Don’t forget to stop for lunch! I was going at 100 miles/hour; my stomach growled around 3 and I realized I haven’t eaten since breakfast. You need fuel, even if you’re having a little too much fun in the kitchen.

Finally the guests arrived a little after 8. I had fresh bread ready (kept warm in the oven until they got there). The recipe for the hummus bread comes from my newly acquired King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking cookbook. I made the hummus myself, substituting white beans for chickpeas, and served the rest of the dip alongside the bread. This was my first attempt at making bread and I found the dough difficult to work with and very sticky. It turned out well though. The guests had no idea about my struggles earlier in the day.

I also decided to be a little more fancy (you may say “luxurious” lol) by making some roasted garlic and thyme butter (recipe here). I think flavored butter is always a little more special and it’s definitely a very easy way to impress your guests.

Since I was responsible for making all the dishes, timing was key. I knew the amuse bouche and the entrees will take a bit of time (I needed them fresh out of the oven!) so I plated the salad when the guests arrived but didn’t serve it right away. About 15 minutes into dinner, everyone got their own pre-portioned salad.

My inspiration for the salad was the one we had at Zuzu just days prior. I actually had Anne Burrelle’s raw artichoke salad recipe saved for months and thought it would be a great base for the salad. Unfortunately, baby artichokes and me just don’t get along (they didn’t shave properly – I was getting tiny flakes that just looked messy) so I gave up on them pretty early on. The shaved artichokes were pretty much a garnish in the salad at the end (each person maybe got 1 artichoke’s worth – if that). The salad was very well balanced, though – peppery arugula, sharp cheese, nutty pine nuts and a rich finish of truffle oil. I was pretty happy to see everyone clearing their plates (including veggie haters). [She pats herself on the back ]

While Adam was being a good host, I had to get back to business. I prepped the amuse bouche prior to everyone’s arrival but the little cups still needed to bake. The pork chops were also stuffed and wrapped but needed to bake.

The side dishes were made while everyone else was chatting up. I was all business (and yes, the kitchen was quite the mess at this point).

Hey, look what just came out of the oven!

Puff pastry cups with creamy mushrooms, thyme and peas. The stuffing recipe was based on this one (I subbed ham for peas). I made my own “cups” by slicing a sheet of puff pastry dough into 9 squares, rolling it out and stuffing it into the muffin pan. So rich and buttery. A nice segway from salad to the main course if I do say so myself.

In 15 minutes or so, everything else came together (and the chocolate cakes were ready to go in the oven). I served the stuffed pork chops to each guest individually (the recipe is exactly like this one but I used pork chops instead of pork tenderloin, baking the chops covered with wet parchment paper for 15 minutes and then uncovered for 10). The sides were served family-style.

Haricots verts with wild mushrooms and hazelnuts (recipe from The best of Cooking Light 9, special edition)

… and roasted cauliflower (recipe here)

A little more wine, please. Thank you.

Check out the pork cross-section. Mmm, goat cheese and pecans. Yum!

I especially loved the wild mushrooms soaked in the delicious red wine vinegar and EVOO dressing. Liz and I were picking them out of the large dish towards the end of the night. Hey, we’re still at home and we’re all friends (no need to be too fancy)!

No meal is complete without a fantastic dessert. This one definitely fit the bill!

The cake was based on this recipe (I baked them in my popover pan) and was just seriously mind-blowing. It tasted rich and decadent – the way a chocolate dessert should be. The butter pecan ice cream with candied bacon had the perfect cooling effect (ice cream base was a Ben & Jerry’s recipe, candied bacon recipe came from here). I decided to do the bacon twist to make this dessert just a little different. It added a nice sweet-salty component to the ice cream and was delicious although I think Ben & Jerry’s butter pecan ice cream is perfect on its own (so I actually wouldn’t mess with it next time).

What a meal! Happy bellies always makes for happy guests!

This was definitely the most involved, most luxurious meal I’ve ever made. My feet were burning by the end of the night (I was literally going non-stop for 12 hours!) but I wouldn’t change a thing. Being in the kitchen makes me happy and once in a while it’s fun to take it up a notch and make it fancy (yet still mostly healthy!).

What does a luxury dinner mean to you?