Salmon & Quinoa Cakes

As any health-minded foodie knows, keeping new but healthy food on the dinner table can be a challenge.  I realized that  I was starting to cook the same thing over and over.  It was healthy and it was delicious, but it was always the same.  So time for something new!  And time to start using the veggies that are coming out of my winter garden!  This recipe is actually really simple, and manages to get fish, quinoa, greek yogurt and leafy greens all in to the same meal!

Couscous with Asparagus, Chard and Shrimp

This is what happens when I go grocery shopping with no real shopping list except "I should make something with shrimp this week because it's on sale."  And after having been on vacation for a week in a country that loves fried food, I was in desperate need of greens.

I have no idea what to call this because I just whipped it up and it's so delicious I just had to share it.  It's similar to a previous recipe I posted, but I was amazed at myself for how wonderfully this turned out for me just decided to throw in some asparagus and shrimp.

Rainbow Chard with Couscous

I made the mistake once of not removing the stems of chard before putting it in my soup... let me just say that they are quite bitter.  But if sauteed up with some garlic and lemon juice, they're not so bad.

Quinoa with Kale

At last year's Thanksgiving, when my mom asked if I would make a quinoa dish, I just stared at her blankly.  One, I had no idea what she said.  Two, whatever it was, it didn't sound like it belonged at Thanksgiving.  She explained that it's a grain that's really healthy for you.  My disinterest continued.  Thanksgiving is supposed to be about consuming as many calories as possible, not making sure your digestive track is in order.   But in the last few months, my boyfriend and I decided we needed to start a healthier routine.  I finally decided to try quinoa, whatever it is.  Surprisingly, it's pretty amazingly delicious when done well.  This recipe has become a staple in my kitchen, and I've been making it about once a week.

Caperse Sandwich

This year we grew tomatoes from seed, and it was too hard to "kill" the extra plants that we grew.  But with 10 surviving tomato plants, we were bound to have a few tomatoes more than we could eat... So I've been trying to find creative ways to use multiple tomatoes at once. I found this recipe but it used Texas toast and blue cheese. Not being a fan of either, I made this variation.  One slice would be plenty as a side during brunch.

Penne with Cauliflower

This recipe I actually got from a cooking magazine in Italy.  Translating it from Italian challenged my Italian cooking vocab, but it was a good exercise.  And converting from metric to imperial was just as fun (not).  But thank goodness I figured it all out because it's pretty delicious!  I don't think I've ever heard anyone say the like cauliflower, but you would never know when you have it in this simple pasta dish.

Panzanella

At the same time I was living in Rome, a friend of mine was living in Tuscany.  We didn't know each other at the time, even though we went to the same university, but we now work together.  She shared this recipe with me, which she learned while living in Tuscany.  Tuscany has some of the best farming country in all of Italy.  And because of the all the farms and natural woodlands, a lot of the food is much more earthy and gamey than in other parts of Italy.  These seems like one of those recipes that you whip together when you have leftover bread that's about to go stale and a few too many tomatoes.  But it is a delicious snack or side dish!

A Twist on Paella

If you've never had the opportunity to try paella, you really should find a Spanish restaurant and order it. Famous in the coastal regions of Spain (particularly Barcelona) the seafood and rice dish can easily fill you with a single helping. But, one of the main ingredients in paella is saffron... Between the $20 jar of saffron, paella rice, and the mix of seafood, you can easily spend $60 making paella for a family dinner. This variation uses sage instead of saffron, wild and brown rice instead of paella rice, and meat from land animals instead of seafood.