Chickpea Salad

Well Happy New Year Y'all! It just occurred to me that I haven't hung out over here since November. I've made lots of fattening things since then. I'm also fairly certain that during this time, I've gone through 50 lbs of flour, an equal amount of sugar, and at least 30 lbs of butter. It was a tasty month or so.

I love butter.

But for those who are starting afresh and new in 2011, here's a tasty little salad I adapted from one over at allrecipes.com . It called for canned garbanzo beans, red onion, and just a tablespoon of lemon juice. I only had green onions, dried chickpeas (I soaked overnight), and used the juice of a whole lemon instead.

In any case, it was a pretty tasty & healthy salad. A nice directional shift after climbing my slippery mountain of butter.

Chickpea Salad
adapted from allrecipes.com

1 c dried chickpeas (soaked overnight in 2 c water)
2 green onions, chopped
1 large clove garlic, minced
1 large tomato, chopped
1 c flat leaf Italian parsley, chopped
1-3 Tbs olive oil, or to taste
Juice of 1 medium lemon
kosher salt- to taste
fresh cracked pepper- to taste

After soaking the chickpeas overnight, place in a 2 qt saucepan with soaking water, and add enough additional water to cover about an inch more. Bring to a boil and then let simmer about 45 minutes, but don't allow to get mushy. Drain when done and let cool. Add remaining ingredients, and stir. Let chill before serving. Serves about 4.

Blood Orange and Jicama Salad

I adore the crunch and flavor of jicama. It's sweet, starchy, crunch is a nice change of pace from blah carrots and celery. It has zero fat and cholesterol, and fits in perfect with my commitment to #10in10: Ten Weeks to Healthy in 2010. Thanks to Lori over at Recipe Girl for putting together this challenge, there are now 336 participants from 41 states and 15 countries!



I first made this salad ten years ago, after seeing an episode on foodtv.com featuring Curtis Aikens. I loved it's freshness and simplicity. The crisp, pear-like jicama combined with the sweetness of orange, and the spicy edge of the jalapeno... a winning combination. If you're worried about jalapeno in this salad, don't. For the most part, once the seeds and membranes are removed, it retains the flavor but loses most, if not all, of its heat.



Originally this salad called for everyday oranges- and made that way is absolutely fabulous. However, when I was at my local market the other day, I came across these amazing blood oranges for $.19 cents each. They were so sweet and so pretty, and a gorgeous alternative to the original recipe.


With blood oranges at pennies, and the combined remaining ingredients coming in at just under $3.00, not only was this a very healthy salad, but an inexpensive one as well. Perfect for the #10in10 challenge!

Blood Orange and Jicama Salad
adapted from Curtis Aikens

1 jicama, peeled and julienned
3 blood oranges, supremed
1 small red onion, diced
1 jalapeno pepper, stem and seeds removed, minced (wear gloves!)
1 Tbs honey (I prefer orange blossom honey)
2 Tbs cilantro, chopped- I love cilantro, so I used more
Salt and pepper to taste- I only used a touch of salt

Combine all ingredients and chill. Best served when cold. Serves approximately 4 .

Homemade pasta- nothing better!

Ever since I saw Pastor Ryan's "recipe" for homemade pasta over on The Pioneer Woman's site, I have been looking for any opportunity to make it. Well, opportunity presented itself at a farewell dinner for my oldest daughter, when she felt that a change of scenery was in order, and decided that the windy city of Chicago was in her future- 1700 miles away. As I write this, she is still on the road. Gone less than 24 hours, I truly do miss her already...

{Insert joyful smile here}

I can't believe how easy this pasta is to make! Any other time I have made pasta, it had numerous ingredients, and the end result never seemed to justify the effort. But this only requires 2 ingredients- 1 cup of flour and 2 eggs- and I always have those on hand, don't you? All you do is mix the two together, let the dough rest about 20 minutes (rest is critical to the end result), roll with a floured rolling pin super thin, and then cut with a pizza cutter into your desired shape (or use your pasta roller, however, I love the rustic look of hand cut), and boil for 2-3 minutes. It couldn't be any simpler. Just remember that the thinner the dough, the nicer the end result, and if you have a wood surface to roll your dough out on, that performs much better than a smooth surface.


Originally, I had intended on making a Bolognese sauce that Pastor Ryan had also made to partner with this recipe. But it seems that no one else in my family was feelin' it... they wanted something a bit lighter. So, I sliced up about 3 cloves of garlic, and added them to about a 1/2 c of olive oil, and warmed the oil on low heat for about twenty minutes, so as not to burn and turn bitter. I turned off the heat and set it aside. It smelled amazing...

Then, I remembered that Patsy over at Family, Friends, and Food, had made some amazing roasted tomatoes, and thought how wonderful they'd be with fresh pasta. So I roasted a pint of cherry tomatoes I had on hand...


I grabbed a large handful of fresh basil and sliced into a chiffonade...



And then combined the garlic oil, basil, and roasted tomatoes (with all the roasted juices) in a bowl with some kosher salt and pepper to taste...



Then enjoyed an absolutely delicious dish...



I love finding a recipe here and a recipe there, and combining them to make a simple, yet fabulous dish. This was an easy, yet fun recipe to make... a great one to involve your children in! I absolutely loved the chewiness of the pasta, and the fresh flavors of the garlic, basil, and tomatoes.

You know, making this pasta was so easy, it will definitely be a staple in my kitchen from now on. Seriously- 2 ingredients for the pasta..? Sweet...

Orange, Radish, and Mint Salad

I have been so good about planning my meals ahead, and making sure I have ingredients on hand to make healthy dishes. I have found that if you do a little cookbook reading, and plan your meals ahead of time, you are less likely to eat poorly and/ or cheat, especially when trying to eat to live, rather than live to eat. Yesterday though, was one of those failure to plan days. A family illness has redefined our priorities and brought relatives from far away places. Thankfully, our family member will recover, and hopefully be able to sit at the table with the rest of us before all make the trip back home.

With circumstances like these, the "old me" would have reached for the nearest Costco Chicken Bake, blissfully ignorant to it's nutritional information.

The "new me" however, reads this stuff, and can't believe I considered that to be one out of three of my daily meals. With calorie and fat counts like those, that is not far now from what I allow myself for an entire day!

Thank goodness I have been keeping healthy ingredients and fresh produce on hand. On my table I had placed a huge bowl of clementines, and in my fridge was an enormous bag of radishes. So I googled the two and found this recipe from Ellie Krieger. While the recipe calls for oranges, I substituted the clementines, and found this to be a delicious, satisfying, and refreshing dish. I was also able to use a gift, from my cousin, Steve, in the recipe- a touch of Pasolivo Olive oil. A perfect touch in this recipe. Thanks, Steve!


I'm at a 9.5 lb loss my friends, and feeling really, really, good.


Orange, Radish, and Mint Salad

4 navel oranges
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced into half-moons
8 radishes, cut in half, then thinly sliced into half-moons
1/4 cup torn fresh mint leaves
2 tablespoon olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Cut the top and bottom off each orange. Stand the orange on one end on a cutting board and, following the curve of the fruit, cut away the skin and woolly white pith of the orange. Cut each orange section away from the membrane.

In a medium bowl, toss together the orange sections, onion, radishes, and mint. Drizzle with the oil and season with salt and pepper. This salad will keep in the refrigerator in an airtight container for about a day.

Makes 4 servings
Serving size: 1 cup


Per Serving:
Calories 145; Total fat 7g (Sat fat 1g, Mono fat 5g, Poly fat 0.5g); Protein 2g; Carb 20g; Fiber 3g; Cholesterol 0mg; Sodium155 mg

Welcome 2009! Lasciati andare in cucina!

I think for so many of us, 2009 was a welcome sight. We watched 2008 shoot itself in the foot, we locked the door behind it, threw away the key, and tried to sweep up the porch as if it had never even happened. The perfect crime, I suppose, if only the evidence of its existence would stop trying to come from up under the door like a bad can of tear gas. I am so looking forward to what this year has to bring... it has got to be better. I am determined that it will. My daughters New Years hat tells me it will.

Part of my changes for the New Year are much like everyone else's, to eat healthier. Of course, I've been threatening myself with that for year's. But now, I have too. Cholesterol is knocking at my door... it even had the flipping nerve to let itself in. I bent over, numerous times, trying to get it to kiss my ass... but all it did was laugh and utter "which part, your all ass." You know, high cholesterol is bad enough, but when it starts taunting you... well, lets just say the fight was not a pretty one.

I decided to kick off the New Year with a little spice. My intention was to follow a recipe I had gotten from POM for pomegranate salsa, but I wanted to use what I had on hand. I ended up improvising, and finally came up with a recipe I will call my own, Pomegranate Mango Salsa. I served it over garlic grilled chicken, and called it good. Why..? Because my husband planted a good one on me after he ate it, so I know it was good.

Pomegranate Mango Salsa

2 large Pomegranates, seeded (see here for an easy way)
1 ripe Mango, diced
2-3 teaspoons minced jalapeno pepper
1/3 cup diced red or orange pepper
1/4 c minced red onion
1 Tbs rice wine vinegar
1/4 c Rose's Infusion Pomegranate Twist
Pinch of kosher salt, if desired

Combine all ingredients. Chill for 30 minutes. Serve over grilled chicken or serve with chips. The salsa's heat will intensify the longer it sits. So if you are not a lover of spice, decrease the jalapeno just a tad. If you love spice, I love you... add more.