Ok, you guys. Here we go with my first Weekly Vegetarian Menu of the year, leaving you plenty of time to pick up groceries and plan over the weekend. As many of you might remember, I was part of a group with some friends last year where we jointly provided weekly menu plans for you. I offered up vegetarian spins on meat and fish dishes, but I got a lot of pushback from readers who preferred to see vegetarian dinner ideas. I totally get it - you want dishes that were originally created to be ...
Romanesco Pasta with Apples and Curry Cauliflower Sauce
Happy New Year! Let's get healthy. Have you tried romanesco yet? It's my lastest vegetable to play with. I'd already made up my mind to like it simply because I think it looks so cool. It looks like something whimsical you'd see growing from the ground in the Lord of the Rings series. With a hobbit sitting underneath it. But it's a little known vegetable originating in the 1600's in Italy. I call it "broccoli light", because that's what it tastes like, but it's ...
Spiralized Beet Noodles with Whipped Feta
Some days Many days Almost everyday, I find myself trying to squeeze 72 hours of 'to-do' tasks into a 24-hour day. I rise at a civilized time - which is to say around 7:30am - and scramble into some sweats to walk Rika, to ward off any accidents in the house. I get some work done which may or may not involve cooking, head to yoga, and then a light lunch that may or may not include a cappuccino. Around 3pm mild panic starts to hum through my body. By 4pm, I'm hurtling through my list, ...
Cheese Tortellini with Herbed Ricotta and Fava Beans | #SundaySupper
I'll be honest with you. Fava beans are crazy high maintenance. But that shouldn't put you off. They're eaten by the bushel in Tuscany but remain fairly unknown in other parts of world. Have you tried them yet? If you've had broad beans, one of their many aliases, then you've had some. They look similar to both edamame and lima beans, and are faintly bitter with a unique flavor. So what makes them so high maintenance? Well, first you have to rip them out of bed. They lie inside a furry warm ...
Trofie Pasta with Creamy Poblano Sauce (Espagueti Verde)
Trofie pasta tossed with a creamy poblano sauce made from roasted poblanos, Mexican crema, garlic, cilantro, and queso fresco. One of the ways to be mere minutes from dinner being on the table at 6:30 pm, when you haven't given dinner a single thought until 6:00 pm, is to have sauces all ready to go in the refrigerator. An essential part of a well-planned pantry, an array of sauces you've cooked ahead over the weekend can be tossed with pasta, grains, legumes or vegetables during the week for ...
Creamy Feta and Asparagus Casserole with Orzo
Creamy feta and asparagus casserole with orzo, Swiss chard, and yogurt. About 30 of us are coming together this weekend to celebrate Easter, the coming of Spring, and a few birthdays. There will be music, romantic dancing, a stellar sunset over the Lake, and a pot luck dinner we're all contributing to. The temperatures will be cold, but we'll be all tucked inside a cabin perched high above a very un-Spring-like Lake Tahoe, kept warm by good food, wine, laughter, and friendship. Gatherings like ...
Sopa de Fideo Verde (Green Spaghetti Soup)
You gotta admit, Sopa de Fideo Verde sounds more mysterious than Green Spaghetti Soup. And it tastes wonderful too. I'm doing 2 Secret Recipe posts today, and this one is from the fabulous Leslie at La Cocina de Leslie. For the uninitiated, The Secret Recipe Club is a group of around 130 food bloggers, separated into four smaller blogging groups, each of which post at different times of the month. Every month, we’re each assigned a blog in our group to look through. We try a few recipes and ...
Bang Bang Cauliflower Mac ‘n Cheese
I've seen 'bang bang' dishes in my Pinterest stream for awhile, and when I saw that this week's theme for Food Network was mac 'n cheese, I decided to see what all the fuss was about. First of all 'bang bang' dishes are all about the creamy, sweet & spicy sauce, and following the theory that cheese makes everything better (*reminder: I'm a wimpy vegetarian), I figured mine would morph into a creamy, cheesy, spicy sauce. (For the record I initially tried a creamy, cheesy, sweet & spicy ...
Cauliflower Tetrazzini with Poblano Peppers | #SundaySupper
Vegetarian tetrazzini loaded with cauliflower and poblano peppers, and switches out the more traditional sour cream or heavy cream for yogurt. I hope all of you had memorable holidays, as we wrap it all up with a huge football weekend (go Steelers!!). My stepson and his 3 of his 5 kids came to visit us in Tahoe for several days of fun times. Skiing, sledding, bowling, go-kart racing, Star Wars VII, and playing games were all on the menu, along with celebrating two of my grandson's birthdays. ...
Sun Dried Tomato Pesto (with Pasta)
My second Secret Recipe Club post for the day! As I mentioned in an earlier post today, this month I'm helping the newest blogger in our Secret Recipe Club group and posting a second recipe. This one is a Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto from Amanda at the Dancing Veggies blog. It's super easy to make and so good that everyone should have it in their back pocket (or freezer!). I tossed a couple of tablespoons in some pasta and topped it with Parmesan cheese for a quick, satisfying lunch and had it again ...
Summertime Cooking with Kids!
Cooking with kids in the kitchen reaps many rewards for everyone! My newest post published on Parade this week is about getting your kids into the kitchen with you this summer. The benefits are long reaching, and cooking a meal, a snack, or dessert together fosters a wealth of rich memories for everyone. My article lists some of the benefits and offers up 21 recipes to start with. Some are recipes you can turn the kids loose on, some are group projects for a few kids, and a few need some ...
Mac ‘n Cheese Impossible Pie
Secret Recipe Club: "Impossible" Pie with macaroni and cheese that makes its own crust while it bakes. I was so excited when I got my Secret Recipe Club assignment this month. It's always fun to find new blogs to visit - but when it's a blog you already love, it's a gift. And that's what happened this month. First, for the uninitiated, The Secret Recipe Club is a group of around 130 food bloggers, separated into four smaller blogging groups, each of which post at different times of the month. ...
