Lentils de puy, or French green lentils, make a killer muhjadarrah

1. My new job is intellectually challenging and requires long hours
2. I’m a little wrapped up in just living in my new city
3. And not least of all, I’ve been sick with some chronic stomach problems

That last item, truthfully, prevents me from writing up what I’m doing in the kitchen. For the past three weeks I’ve had to cut out all processed sugar and wheat from my diet. This past week I also nixed meat and dairy, and I have another week to go as a vegan while I finish up a two week cleanse. I honestly I haven’t felt much like sharing with you the kale salads I’m throwing together every day for lunch, though I can’t complain about the food. I can eat nuts, avocado and coconut to my stomach’s content, which I would never allow myself to do before because of all the fat. But when you aren’t eating cheese and butter every day, screw it, there is plenty of room in the diet and the wallet for plant fats. I’ve given myself carte blanche on almond butter, and I don’t care how expensive it is.

For those of you that know me well, you know that I live to cook. I read cookbooks like novels and spend several hours a week just planning and shopping for my food. My boyfriend calls the kitchen my “laboratory”. I could let myself get mopey and depressed about the food I can’t make right now, which does happen for a few minutes here and there. I’d rather view this as a chance to explore culinary corners long darkened by my lack of interest, time or money.

For example, I know there is a wonderful world of online specialty food shops which I’ve ignored because it’s so easy to get the variety of food I’m comfortable with in Chicago, and because they tend to be pricey. But faced with a limited diet I feared boredom. So I’m exploring these shops for new-to-me varieties of legumes and grains. I’ve developed a bean fetish. Two of my favorite sites are Purcell Mountain Farms and Rancho Gordo. My first order from Purcell Mountain Farms included Black Beluga lentils, Kala Jeera rice and Corona beans. I got the Coronas specifically for 101 Cookbooks’ Pan Fried Corona Beans and Kale recipe, and let me say that this dish is heavenly. It’s worth finding the Corona beans to make this, I really can’t recommend it enough. The Kala Jeera rice went into one of my new favorite comfort foods, Muhjadarrah (hat tip to Hala for the recipe). Rice, lentils, olive oil, onions, salt. That’s it, and it’s magic.

Sweet brown rice with cinnamon and coconut milk. Hello, breakfast.

It's not coffee, but it IS delicious

I don’t know how much longer I will have to stick to this diet, but I think I’m going to continue it for a while longer even if my doctor says I can go back to my regular diet. Just writing this post made me a little excited about all of the new things I’m learning. Maybe I will start putting up recipes for kale salad, because it’s actually quite delicious

I’m busy, I’m packing, blah, blah, blah. You get it by now. In spite of everything going on in my life, I must take time to feed myself nourishing meals. Fast food won’t cut it for me. Maybe I’m high maintenance or a bit snobby. I’m OK with that, because I get to eat lovely dishes like this hearty concoction of winter veggies.

Last week at the market I came across no fewer than 5 types of sweet potato and I knew I had to do something with them. These beauties are high in vitamins A, B6, C and dietary fiber. Most sweet potato dishes I’m familiar with amp up the sweetness with brown sugar. I wanted to take a different approach, so I searched for a savory dish and found this recipe on Real Simple. That site ought to start paying me for advertising because I reference it here so often. It really is my go-to place for recipes when I’m keen on one ingredient.

Combining the sweet potatoes with kale and quinoa make this dish a nutrition boon that includes good doses of iron and calcium. The wine adds a complexity to an otherwise simple dish, but if you don’t have any on hand you could substitute broth. I’d recommend skipping the broth and buying a nice bottle of wine that you can finish off with dinner

Sweet Potato, Kale and Quinoa

Serves 4
Total time: 30 minutes
Cost per serving: ~$3.50

1 cup quinoa
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 small sweet potatoes, about a pound
8 ounces sliced cremini or “baby bella” mushrooms
2 cloves garlic
1 bunch kale
3/4 cup dry white wine (or veggie broth)
kosher salt and black pepper

Prep: Peel the sweet potatoes and cut into bite-sized chunks. Remove the stems from the kale by folding in half lengthwise and running a knife down the side of the stem. Tear the kale into 2 inch pieces and rinse in a strainer. Peel and chop the garlic.

1. In a small saucepan, bring the quinoa and 2 cups of water to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 12 to 15 minutes until most of the water is absorbed.
2. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large pot. Don’t use a skillet here because you will never get all of the kale in there. Add the sweet potatoes and mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes or until the mushrooms soften.
3. Add the garlic and toss with the veggies, then add the kale, wine or broth and salt and pepper to taste. Toss the kale often and cook until it starts to wilt and soften, about 10 minutes.
4. Serve the quinoa in bowls topped with the veggies.

I can’t believe how much vitamin A and C is in this dish, and check out the iron, protein and fiber content. What this label doesn’t show is the nice dose of the B vitamins and vitamin K you get, too. This one is going to stay in my repertoire for when I’m feeling the winter doldrums in Chicago.

I got fancy with the garnish

Real Simple is a great place to troll for recipes. The name says what it does, the recipes are simple and usually healthy. I like that they put the nutrition information at the bottom, too.

No-Cook Couscous and Heirloom Tomato Salad

Serves 4 as a main dish
Total time: 20 minutes
Cost per serving $3-4
1/2 cup whole wheat couscous
1/2 cup bulgur
1 medium lemon
2 large Heirloom (or beefsteak) tomatoes
2-3 green onions
1/4 cup fresh mint
1/4 cup (2 ounces) roasted almonds, roughly chopped
1 – 15.5-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/4 cup grated or shredded parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

1. Microwave 1 1/2 cups water until almost boiling, about 2 minutes. Place the couscous and bulgur in a large bowl, pour the hot water over the top, cover, and let sit for 10 minutes. The bulgur should be tender, and there is no need to drain. Fluff the mixture with a fork.
2. While the grains are soaking, grate the zest from the lemon and set aside. Chop the tomatoes into large chunks, slice the green onions, and chop the mint and almonds.
3. Dump everything into the grains. Slice the lemon in half and squeeze the juice into the bowl. Stir to combine.

Oh, did I mention it’s also a one bowl recipe? See how easy I make things for you?

I call this Hippie Salad because it contains two grains that hippies love: bulgur and quinoa. How am I privy to the culinary preferences of hippies? I used to be one, a friggin’ vegetarian even, and that’s when I learned how to cook both grains.

See? It's not so scary, is it?

If you aren’t a hippie it would do you good to give bulgur and quinoa a shot. Bulgur is more nutrient-dense than rice and contains wicked amounts of fiber. Quinoa is high in protein, which is why my former veggie self ate it. In fact, it’s one of the only grains that qualifies as a complete protein because it contains all the essential amino acids. That won’t stop me from adding chicken to this dish, though. If anything the chicken takes us down from “This stuff is totally foreign to me” to “Hey, I can recognize some of those ingredients!” Vegetarians can skip the chicken, cuz like I said the grains will provide plenty of protein.

You can buy both bulgur and quinoa in the bulk aisle of Whole Foods or in the health food section of most larger grocery stores.

Hippie Salad with Chicken

(adapted from this recipe)
Serves 2-3 as a main dish
Total time: 30 minutes
Cost per serving $4-5

I'm trying to be more artsy with my food photos

1. Heat the oil over med-high heat in a skillet. Add the chicken to the pan and cook 6-8 minutes per side, until the chicken is cooked through.
2. While the chicken cooks, combine the quinoa and water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat to a simmer. Cook uncovered about 20 minutes. The quinoa germ, which looks like a curly-Q, will start to separate from the grain when its done. Drain the quinoa in a sieve then dump in a big bowl.
3. While quinoa is doing it’s thing on the stove, nuke or heat about 3 cups of water to close to boiling. Place the bulgur in a separate bowl and cover with the heated water. Cover and let the bulgur soak for about 15 minutes, until it’s tender and chewy. Drain this too and mix in with the quinoa.
4. Remove the chicken from the pan and let it rest a few minutes while you prepare the dressing.
5. For the dressing, combine the olive oil, lemon juice, cilantro or mint and pepper in a small bowl. Chop the cooled chicken into bite sized chunks. Stir that into the grains, then add the dressing, olives, radishes, and feta. Serve immediately.

Broccoli Omelet and Spicy Hash Browns

Serves 2
Total time: 30 minutes
Cost per person about $4

1-2 poblano peppers, depending on your heat tolerance
2 tsp olive oil
2 medium yellow or Yukon Gold potatoes (don’t use baking potatoes because they don’t stand up well to cooking in the pan)
salt
No-stick cooking spray
4 eggs
1 cup chopped fresh or frozen broccoli
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
pico de gallo
cherries or whatever fruit you like

1. Heat the oven to 450 degrees. Place the poblano(s) in a baking dish and put in the oven. We are going to roast these suckers to bring out their flavor.
2. Heat the olive oil over medium high heat in a non-stick pan. Rinse off the potatoes and dry with a dish towel. Julienne the potatoes into matchsticks. The best way to do this is to use the shredder blade on a mandolin, like the one pictured. It makes short work of matchsticking potatoes. All you do it slide the potato up and down the blade, et voila, matchsticks. The other way to do this would be to use the large holes on a grater or you could chop them by hand. However I think everyone should own a mandolin because it makes short work of all kinds of slicing chores. You can find them in most houseware stores like Bed, Bath and Beyond. Place the potatoes in a bowl and sprinkle with salt, then stir them around to mix. Add them to the pan and let cook for 5 minutes without stirring.
3. Take the poblanos out of the oven, flip them over, and put them back in. The side touching the baking dish should be a little blistered and charred.
4. Heat a smaller pan over medium heat and spray with no-stick spray. Break the eggs into a bowl and scramble with a fork. Dump in the broccoli and feta and mix to combine. You can make two personal omelets or make one big one and cut it in half. I go for the one big one because I’m lazy. Pour the egg mixture into the pan and cover with a lid. This is a little trick one of my friends taught me. If you cover the omelet with a lid the top will cook without having to flip the omelet. I always make a pig’s ear of my omelets when I flip them so I like this method. The trick is making sure the egg isn’t too thick, or you will burn the bottom before the top cooks through. You could also just flip it or make scrambled eggs and to hell with all this flipping business.
5. By now the potatoes on the bottom of the pan should be browning. Flip them over and stir them around a bit to get more browning, hence the name hash BROWNS. Let those cook for a few more minutes. Keep an eye on the omelet. You will be able to tell when the top is solid or when you can flip it without it slopping around everywhere.
6. Take the poblano out of the oven. The skin should be charred and blistered. Put the poblano in a plastic bag for a few minutes. This will steam and loosen the skin. After a few minutes you should be able to pull off most of the skin. Chop the poblano into small pieces.
7. Remove the potatoes from the heat and stir in the chopped poblano. If the omelet is done cooking, remove that from the heat as well. Plate the potatoes and top with some pico de gallo (of course). Serve with the omelet and some cherries.

Like I said, if you don’t feel like dealing with omelet making just scramble the eggs. I’ve done it before and it works great with the broccoli and feta. I bet next time I visit my boyfriend he will get me to make these hash browns for him. He loves him some hot peppers.

Frou Frou Franks and Beans

The beans will serve 3-4, and you can make as many hot dogs as mouths that want ‘em
Total time: 10 minutes
Cost per serving: $3-4

1 can white beans (cannellini they are sometimes called)
1 can chunky tomato soup
1 cup frozen spinach
1-2 tsp balsamic vinegar

low-fat, all-natural hot dogs
whole wheat hot dog buns
roasted corn and poblano salsa from Whole Foods, or pico de gallo
Lemonaise (I love this stuff. You can get it at Whole Foods or just use regular mayo or even mustard.)

1. Drain and rinse the beans under running water and put in a pot. Add the tomato soup and the spinach and heat over med-high heat.
2. Heat a skillet over medium heat and spray with a little no-stick spray. Cut the hot dogs lengthwise down the center, but not all the way through. Flatten them out and place cut side down on the skillet. Heat for a few minutes.
3. While the dogs are cooking, open the buns and scoop out some of the bread on one side, like the picture shows. It will look like a boat. Fill the boat with salsa or pico de gallo. By removing some of the bread you can cram more salsa into the sandwich. Scrap a thin layer of lemonaise on the other side.
   
4. Flip the dogs over and let heat through on the other side. Turn the heat off the beans and add the balsamic vinegar. I like mine tangy so I go for 2 tsp, but you can add one first and see if you want more.
5. Put the dogs in the buns and serve with the beans and a peach for desert.

How’s that for fancy franks and beans? That salsa really makes the dog. It’s spicy and cumin scented and just delicious. If you don’t want to use the salsa or pico that’s cool, my feelings won’t be hurt. You just won’t know what you’re missing

Yes, It IS That Easy Tomato Sauce

Look at the steam rising off of this!

4 ripe tomatoes
1 Tbsp olive oil
3 cloves (or more!) garlic
1 med. onion
2 cups whole wheat rotini or other chunky pasta

salad dressing of your choice
Bagged salad greens
hydroponic sprouts (my new favorite thing)
grape tomatoes

1. Set a pot of water deep enough to cover the tomatoes to boil. Score the bottom end (not the stem end) of the tomatoes with an ‘X’. You don’t have to cut deep, just enough to break the tomato skin. Once the water is boiling, put the tomatoes in for no longer than 60 seconds. Fish the tomatoes out with a spoon and let cool for a minute. Now this is important, turn off the burner but keep the water on the stove. You’ll use it in a sec for the pasta.
2. Heat the olive oil in a pan on medium heat. Peel and press (or chop) the garlic. You should be able to slip the skins off now the tomatoes are cool. Toss the skins in the rubbish bin, unless you feel like snacking on them (which I totally did). Cut each tomato in half and dig out the seeds (with your fingers) into the sink. This part is fun ‘cuz you get to get messy.
3. Scoot the garlic into the heated oil, stir for a few seconds, then place the tomatoes cut side down into the pan. Bring the heat up a few notches and let simmer for a sec. Now turn the heat back on the tomato water. Add more hot tap water if you need to so that you have enough to boil the pasta. Since it’s still pretty hot it should only take a second to boil.
4. Chop up half the onion in the mean time. My boyfriend likes HUGE chunks in his sauce, but you chop to the size you like. I suggest going no bigger than bite sized since we won’t be simmering as long as he does.
5. Drop the pasta into the boiling water and cook according to the package. Smush the tomatoes with the back of spoon, hacking them up into large chunks. Let them simmer a bit longer. If the sauce is getting a little dry just add some of the boiling pasta water to it. About a 1/4 cup at at time should do ya.
6. Toss all the ingredients for the salad together. I just love those hydroponic sprouts they sell at whole foods. They are so peppery and pack a big nutrition wallop.
7. Check on the tomato sauce, which by now should look as saucy as Tara Thornton on True Blood. Smush up the tomatoes again and add the chopped onions. Let simmer for a few more minutes, until the onions look translucent. Again, if you need to add water just get some from the boiling pasta water.
8. Check the pasta for done-ness, and drain. Put into a bowl and scrape the tomato sauce on top, tossing to coat. It won’t look like there is a whole lot of sauce because it’s not all thick with preservatives and food additives like that jarred crap. Trust, it’s coating the pasta. Serve along side the salad.

If you are really pressed for time just skip the part where you boil and peel the tomatoes and remove the seeds. My boyfriend doesn’t do it because he’s not as fussy as me, and his sauce comes out fine. You can also add all kinds of crap to this sauce, like olives or chicken or even herbs if you want to get all fancy. I like it simple, but go nuts if that’s your thing.

I started jumping rope and using resistance bands the past two weeks in preparation for all the traveling I’m doing this summer. Check out my gear:

I know this will fit in your suitcase

That’s a light resistance band, a jump rope with a built-in counter, and medium resistance band. All three weigh less than a pound total and I can fit them easily into the front pocket of my carry-on roller bag. I’ve been working on a routine where I start off jumping rope for a minute, then I do three sets of resistance training, another round of jumping rope, another 3 sets of resistance exercises and so on. I repeat the intervals until I’ve gotten to each major muscle group (legs, biceps/triceps, back, chest, shoulders). I finish off with 150 crunches in five different flavors (30 reps of each). This routine takes me about 40 minutes to complete.

With so many distractions in Chicago, it will be difficult to stay on my routine. I’m gonna try my best and let you know how I fare. Wish me luck!

This is a weekend meal for me, mostly because it takes about 30 minutes to prepare. The salmon burgers a little on the expensive side, but they are one of my favorite convenience foods at Whole Foods. Plus, salmon is just so darn good for you. I realized when planning for this dinner that I was gonna dirty up quite a few pots, so I made one pot do double boil duty. Check out the deets below.

Double Boil Pasta Madness!!

Total time: 30 minutes
Cost per serving: about $8 (those salmon burgers aren’t cheap, but they are delicious!)

1/2 cup green lentils
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 medium sized white onion
2 large garlic cloves
1 14 oz can diced tomatoes
1 cup frozen spinach
2 cups whole wheat pasta (I like to mix shapes like shells and rotini, but if you want to be all boring then just go for one type)
cooking spray
4 salmon burgers from Whole Foods, any flavor
a few handfuls of fresh spinach
a few spoonfuls of pico de gallo
salad dressing of choice

1. Fill a large pot with waaaaaay more water than you think you need to boil the lentils. Put the lentils in the pot and bring to a righteous boil. Low the heat and let the pot simmer. Now pay attention here, we’re gonna do some math, HOORAY! Lentils need about 25 minutes to get cooked through. Some people like ‘em way mushier, but I prefer then to hold their shape so 25 minutes is max for me. Look at the pasta package and see how long it will take to cook it al dente. Subtract that from 25 and that is how long you will let the lentils boil before you add the pasta. Por ejemplo:

   25 minutes for lentils – 13 minutes for pasta = 12 minutes the lentils boil before you add the pasta to the water

   Make sense? This way you only use one pot for both.

2. While the lentils are boil pre-pasta, heat the olive oil over medium heat in a medium sized SAUCE PAN. Not a skillet or a fry pan, but a sauce pan that can hold a few cups of liquid. Chop the onion and mince the garlic and add it to the oil. Stir for a few minutes until the onion gets a little translucent and the garlic is fragrant. Dump the entire contents of the canned tomatoes into the pot. Don’t drain them, you want the juice. Let that heat to a simmer, then add the frozen spinach and stir until the spinach is, uh, not frozen. Set the sauce on low heat on the back burner and cover.
3. By now you can probably dump the pasta into the simmering lentils and crank up the heat again just until it boils, then lower back to a simmer. Keep an eye on the time, because there is no sin less forgivable than overcooked pasta.
4. While the pasta cooks, heat a pan over medium heat and spray the pan with cooking spray. Add the salmon burgers to the skillet and cook about 6-7 minutes on each side. Meanwhile, make the spinach salad by tossing the spinach, pico de gallo and dressing in a bowl. This is DOUBLE SPINACH MADNESS, too!
5. When the pasta is done cooking drain the entire pot in a strainer and return the pasta/lentils to the big pot. Add the sauce to the pasta/lentils and stir to combine. Serve along side the salmon burgers and the salad.

When I make something a little more complicated like this, I try to think ahead to how I can reuse pots and pans, like for the pasta and lentils and then again for the sauce. I don’t have a dishwasher so this saves me time when I clean up, too.