{Caramelized!} Caramelized Black Pepper Chicken & Caramelized Broccoli

These two dishes are from Food & Wine's Best Fast Recipes list.  A very helpful list on those days you want to whip up something delicious without slaving away in the kitchen.  Both use the process of caramelization to bring out the flavor of the ingredients...so there's no way it could taste bad! {unless you burn it of course ;) }

Both recipes are simple, but extremely flavorful, and has gotten the thumbs up sign from Cy.  Our good friend M proclaimed that he could get hooked on this dish.  So I hope you guys get a chance to try making the dish!

Apple Frangipane Tartelettes

Fall is almost here...even if it's been almost hundred degree weather out here in Los Angeles.  In either case, I decided to make some apple tartlettes since apples make me think of fall even though they are pretty much available all year around out here. Frangipane is one of my favorite fillings in a tart, and a perfect complement to most fruit, but best of all to the humble apple.  

This recipe, inspired by the Joy of Baking website, does use some sugar, but I tried to keep it very minimal so that Cy can enjoy some too without too much guilt involved.  

{Sweet Roots} Sweet Potato, Carrot & Ginger Soup

One of my favorite people got married this past weekend, and I feel very honored to have been her MOH for her special day.  Everything was beautiful and all of the little details perfect.  Thank you so much to L&J for sharing your ♥ with us.

 Here is a recipe - sweet & easy just like you guys L&J :)

There's been a lot of root vegetables like Sweet potatoes and Carrots in our Produce box lately and I debated over what to make with them.  Root veggie baked chips? Muffins? Tarts? So many options, so little time!  In the end, I decided to go with this Sweet potato, carrot & ginger soup.  Mainly because I knew it would be quick and easy, and of couse nutritious and delicious as well.  A recipe that would fit perfectly into the rotation on those days you don't really want to spend too much time in the kitchen.  The ginger perfectly balances the sweetness of the potatoes and carrots, and the addition of cumin and nutmeg add just enough warmth to make it a perfect comfort dish.

I almost always start my soups with this trifecta of ingredients - olive oil, onions, and garlic/ginger.  Then add whatever main veggie you plan to use, add stock, season, and voila! A healthy meal with hardly any work (Except peeling the sweet potatoes...I do not enjoy having to peel vegetables...)

Arugula & Walnut Pesto with Summer Squash

I've always had a thing for Arugula.  There's something I find really attractive about that very distinctive aromatic flavor, but maybe it's not for everyone because apparently Cy does not find arugula very tasty.  

Which is really unfortunate because like most other dark green leafy vegetables, it's packed with amazing nutrition like Chlorophyll, and is best eaten raw (or a cooking time of within 5min or so).  

Here's the science tidbit- Chlorophyll has a biochemical structure just like red blood cells, except it has a Magnesium center versus an Iron one.  When you cook arugula (or any other green veggie), the Magnesium center is replaced by Hydrogen, turning the bright green color into a dull one (So interesting isn't it!?) The loss of Chlorophyll means you're losing out on all of its possible anti-cancer properties. The wholefoods site actually has a great article source list here.  

As much as Cy does not like arugula however, he really enjoyed the arugula pesto.  So this dish might be a great way to get the benefits of raw arugula, even for the non-arugula lover.  And the fact that it's with a "pasta" that's completely carb-free?  Only an added plus.  It's really perfectly refreshing for a hot summer day like the ones we've been having lately.

I used walnuts in the pesto, but you can always replace them with other types of nuts (pine nuts, almonds, etc).  Whatever works for you!

Freeze any leftover pesto in ice trays and save them for another day ;)

Quinoa Salad with Almonds and Zucchini

Small round zucchinis and yellow bell peppers were more goodies from the produce box I mentioned earlier this week.  I wanted a quick salad I could keep in the fridge for whenever I didn't feel like cooking, and this quinoa salad was the answer.  Fast, easy, versatile, delicious, and healthy - what more could you ask for?!  

AND...I was very excited to serve it off of one of the glass plates I made in the glass fusing class a friend convinced me to try out.  As frustrating as cutting glass can be, I have to admit it's pretty fun to be able to eat off of a plate you've made yourself :)  This shot is from my instagram account.

Summer Tomato Tart

I seem to be on a tart roll lately..maybe because it tends to be be easy to make, pretty to look at, and delicious to eat ;)

This recipe for the tomato tart I saw over at cannelle vanille (whose blog is beautiful by the way), and I immediately knew that I had to make it.  We recently started getting our produce from the folks over at farm fresh to you, and I have to say that it's been amazing.  It's so nice to wake up to a box full of organic produce once every couple of weeks!  It's kind of exciting to open the box, wondering what kind of veggies and fruits we were going to have to try to cook with that week.

Needless to say, we got a wonderful assortment of heirloom tomatoes in our stash so I knew I had to use them for this tart.

The tart  does have a thin layer of arborio rice in it, as well as some rice flour in the dough,.  I love that the tart is gluten-free, but I definitely serve it to Cy on days I know he's going to be playing basketball so I know that he can take the extra carbs.

Since we also had some avocados and beets in our produce box, served it with a little of this on the side ;)

Double Blueberry tart

It's been a little while since I've posted, life get's a little crazy sometimes as most of you know.  BUT, I hope that this recipe for  my absolute favorite blueberry tart will make up for it.  The double dose of both cooked and fresh blueberries provides an amazing contrast in texture and really just a wonderful burst of blueberry flavor - so perfect for summer!

The tart is really very simple - the filling is from one of my favorite baking sites , and is really just blueberries and just a handful of sugar which you can replace with a sugar alternative like stevia if you'd like.  I made a gluten-free tart crust out of almond meal from clean start just to lower the carb content for Cy, but really, you can use ready made pie crust if you're in a time crunch.  

                   

Weeknight Quickie: Rosemary Porkchops and Applesauce

This one is a real quickie, both post-wise and cooking-wise.  It's my go-to recipe for porkchops, the one I keep coming back to for flavor and easiness.  Perfect for a delicious weeknight dinner, even when you have the unexpected guest.  The applesauce really makes the dish in my mind.  Once you've had homemade applesauce you will never go back to any store bought kind.  It's so easy to prepare, there's no added sugar, it's just apples and spices and oh so delicious! 

 

Rosemary Porkchops and Applesauce
From Epicurious

Ingredients

Serves 4-8

{pork chops}
2 cups milk
3 teaspoons salt
8 (1/2-inch-thick) pork chops
3 1/2 cups bread crumbs (I used panko)
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
2 to 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 to 3 tablespoons olive oil

{applesauce}
3 lb mixed apples (any kind is fine depending on how tart you want it)
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1 Turkish or 1/2 California bay leaf
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

Directions:

1.  Marinate pork chops: Stir together milk and 2 teaspoons salt in a shallow 3-quart dish, then add pork chops. Marinate, covered and chilled, turning over once, at least 1 hour.

2.  Make applesauce while chops marinate: Peel, core, and coarsely chop apples, then stir together with remaining applesauce ingredients in a 3-quart heavy saucepan. Bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally, then reduce heat to moderately low and cook, covered, stirring occasionally, until apples are falling apart, 15 to 20 minutes. Discard bay leaf and mash apples with a fork. Keep applesauce warm, covered.

3. Preheat oven to 200°F. Stir together bread crumbs, garlic, rosemary, thyme, and remaining teaspoon salt in a shallow bowl.

4. Lift pork chops from milk 1 at a time, letting excess drip off, and dredge in bread crumbs, lightly patting crumbs to help adhere, then transfer to a tray, arranging in 1 layer.

5.  Heat 2-4 tablespoons oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat, then sauté pork chops in 2 or 3 batches, without crowding, turning over once, until golden brown and just cooked through, 5 to 6 minutes per batch. Transfer as cooked to a platter and keep warm in oven. Serve pork chops with applesauce.

Cherry Frangipane Tartlettes

I love that cherry season is here as it reminds me that summer is almost here, but I don't love the prices at the markets.  As much as I love cherries, I don't buy them as often as I would like to.  I love the color and delicate flavor of Ranier's , but $9.99/lb!? (whole foods) no thank you.  However, I did let myself give in to some sweet red cherries.  They were wonderfully sweet on their own, but I went ahead and made these little tartlettes, inspired by this recipe. The combination of cherry and frangipane is a match made in heaven - add to that the crunch of the outside crust? Perfection. 

The antioxidants responsible for the cherries' bright red color are also responsible for many anti-inflammatory properties and other health benefits, so you won't have to feel quite as guilty snacking on these babies ;)