Lemon-Pepper Kale

When I started law school, I thought it would be a bit like undergrad.  Sure, everyone told me how different it would be from all of my other school experiences, but I just sort of humored them with a, "Yeah.  Sure.  Of course it will be" and went on my merry way.  Well, four days in and I can honestly say it is nothing like undergrad.  I think I've spent more hours in the library this week than my entire four years of college combined.  Just this week I've read around 100 pages of cases and legal analysis.  Luckily I like it, otherwise I'd be looking for a bridge to jump off of.

Needless to say, with my new studying habits (complete with bonus stiff neck and sore eyes -- what a bargain!) I don't have a lot of time to cook.  Which is sort of problematic when you run a food blog.  With that said, I'm going to apologize in advance if (more like when) the posts here slow down a bit.  

Alright, with that out of the way (whew!) we can move on to more exciting things like kale.  If my brother were reading this, he'd go, "Liz, kale is not exciting."

Well, dear brother, you are WRONG.  

I had a phase last year where I went through kale like no one's business.  I ate it raw.  I sauteed it.  I always said I would make chips but never actually got around to it.  Regardless, I was sort of in love with kale.  And then I moved back home and we didn't have grocery stores that carried it.  The horror!  After having about a day where I was just inconsolable (not really, but I did miss it) I promptly forgot about kale and continued on with my summer.

Well, I found this picture on my iPhoto and have decided that I need kale in my life again.  And if that can't happen, then I need to get it in yours.  Here the kale is sauteed and garnished with a healthy dash of pepper and squeeze of lemon.  I like kale paired with acidic flavors, and the lemon does just that.  This is great as side dish or can even be used as a main if you tossed some tofu or beans with it.

Lemon-Pepper Kale

Ingredients:

1 large handful of kale

1 tbsp olive oil

1/4 cup water

1/2 lemon

1 tsp pepper

Directions:

Heat a saute pan over medium heat.  Add the oil and saute kale just until bright green, about 1 minute.  Pour in the water and let simmer until the stalks are tender, about 10-15 minutes.  Add the lemon and pepper, and toss to coat.

Garlic Roasted Red Skin Potatoes

I rarely make potatoes.  After making this last night and having my mind properly blown, my only coherent thought besides, "I want moreeee!!!" was "I need to make potatoes more!".

Could there be a more perfect and delightful food?  I don't care that there are like 100 calories in each tiny red potato.  Or that I am incapable of eating less than, like, eighteen of them.  DON'T EVEN CARE.  These are soft on the inside with a crispy herbed outside layer.  I think an added squirt of lemon juice would be all sorts of jazzy. 

I made these with herb crusted pork chops (recipe to come!) and they rocked my socks off.  Well, I actually wasn't wearing socks, but I'm sure if I were they would have been rocked off.  These potatoes were part of a dinner I made of a friend and my Dawson's Creek night where we sat on my floor and watched all the best Joey/Pacey episodes and mocked Dawson.  There really is no other way to watch that show.

While they do have to cook for quite a while (just under an hour) it's mostly hands-off cooking time which I think places these in the easy-weeknight-meals segment.  It makes a ton, too, so you'll have leftovers!

Garlic Roasted Red Skin Potatoes

Ingredients:

12-14 red skin potatoes, quartered

1 tbsp dried herbs (I used basil, oregano and parsley)

6-8 garlic cloves, minced

salt/pepper

1/4 cup olive oil

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Wash and pat dry the potatoes.  Quarter the potatoes and spread them out on a baking sheet in one single layer.  In a bowl, mix together the herbs, garlic, salt/pepper and olive oil.  Pour over the potatoes and toss to coat.

Roast the potatoes for 50-60 minutes, tossing occasionally.

Romaine with Apples, Walnuts and Craisins

I went to the doctor's earlier this week for some tests, and was put in one of those God-forsaken hospital gowns.  They're always made of cotton in the tv shows, which is totally misleading for those of us who haven't been to the doctor's office in ions.  Maybe my hospital is just cheap, but the gowns were made of this gauzy paper that ripped if you made the slightest movement.  I tried to tie mine closed at the front (as to not flash my doctor repeatedly) and then ended up ripping the gown right in the chest area.  I pulled the other side of the gown over to avoid any nip slips, which of course left me in danger of ripping the other side.

I've never been a large protestor.  I don't sign petitions or campaign on street corners beside the Greenpeace people that no one wants to talk to.  I think it's mostly because I haven't found my cause.  Until this week.  Cotton hospital gowns.  I'm for 'em.

Alright, now that I probably sent some of you running with my TMI ramblings, I'll get to the food-blog-part of this post.  I was in charge of dinner earlier this week and I knew that I wanted a salad alongside the meal.  Growing up, we were not a salad-eating-family.  We would have one about once in a blue moon, but it was not something common.  And when we did have it, you can bet it was iceberg lettuce with cheddar cheese shreds and Western dressing.

If you don't know what Western dressing is, then you clearly are missing out on one of the most delicious and nutritionally devoid dressings known to mankind.  It's similar to French dressing but with more sweetness.  It forever will be associated with summer, grilling and water balloon fights for me.

Since getting my own apartment, I have become a regular salad eater.  I make up my own dressings and   throw basically anything in my fridge into the mix.  Definitely not the salads of my childhood.  This one that I made for my family used up some apples and romaine we had chilling in the fridge.  We served it on the side, but it could be eaten on its own for a meal, too.  Just add a piece of bread and fruit, and you've got yourself a meal!

Romaine with Apples, Walnuts and Craisins

Ingredients:


For Salad:


1 head of romaine lettuce, chopped
1 apple, cored and chopped
1/3 cup craisins
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1/3 cup goat cheese


For Dressing:


Dijon mustard
Balsamic Vinegar
Olive Oil


Directions:


For the dressing, mix together the mustard and balsamic vinegar.  While whisking with either a fork or small whisk, pour in the olive oil.  Mix until emulsified.  


For salad, mix together all of the ingredients.  Pour in the dressing and toss to coat.

Three Bean Salad

I've been sick the past two days with a stomach bug, and I have never been more grateful for leftovers.  Usually I end up sick when I have absolutely nothing in my refrigerator.  This time, I had all of my leftovers from my party.  In one word, my fridge is stocked.

I made this three bean salad for my end-of-the-semester party.  The theme was "American Picnic" - yes, I have themes for my parties, feel free to mock - so I made some mini burgers, chicken salad and this bean salad.  Sadly, it was demoted to a two bean salad for the party due to my broken can opener.  I did consider going at it with a knife for a moment, but decided I liked my fingers more than kidney beans.

I have been eating this salad for just about every meal possible.  It is the BEST mixed with some chicken salad, lettuce and love.  I thought it might be too adventuresome for my touchy stomach, but so far I've heard no complaints.

Three Bean Salad

Ingredients:


Chickpeas
Green beans
Kidney Beans
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup olive oil
salt/pepper


Directions:


Choose your own ratio for the beans.  I personally like it chickpea heavy, but that's just me.  If you're using fresh beans, soak them overnight and boil for 45 minutes - 1 hour.  If your beans are canned, rinse and set aside.  Boil the green beans until crisp tender, 4-5 minutes.  Put in a strainer and douse with cold water immediately to set the bright green color. 


Mix together the apple cider vinegar and sugar, until the sugar is dissolved.  Slowly pour in the olive oil, whisking continuously until the dressing has emulsified.  Pour over the beans and let marinate for at least an hour.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Coconut Brown Rice with Brussels Sprouts

I have a slight problem.

Lately, I have been putting coconut in everything. Oatmeal? Sure, why not! Yogurt? Can only make it better! Minestrone?

Okay, I didn't put it in my minestrone, but I think you catch my drift. I'm going through a phase. A very coconut-ey phase.

I found a can of lite coconut milk in the back of my cabinet last week and used it for a pretty amazing pumpkin-coconut-smoothie. It didn't use all of the coconut milk, though, and I wanted to use the leftovers for something other than additional smoothies or overnight oats. I wanted to stretch my savory-food-muscles but realized that my ideas for coconut milk recipes were pretty limited. Luckily, I have these fantastic things called food blogs.

Have you heard of them?

I found a recipe for coconut brown rice on SkinnyTaste and it was like coconut-flavored-fate. The coconut milk lends a wonderful creaminess to the rice and it pairs beautifully with the brussels sprouts. Feel free to give the brussels sprouts a little saute, if you're so inclined. I considered doing it myself but decided I preferred minimal effort. Serve this alongside a big salad for a tasty meal!

Coconut Brown Rice with Brussels Sprouts

1 cup brown rice

1 cup water

1 cup lite coconut milk

2 cups brussels sprouts

1 tbsp shredded coconut

1 tbsp slivered almonds

Directions:

Combine the brown rice, water and coconut milk in a medium sauce pan. Bring to a boil and then simmer until the liquid is absorbed, about 40 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare your brussels sprouts. Cut off the tough stem and peel off the outer leaves. Bring water to a boil in a separate sauce pan and cook the brussels sprouts until a knife slides in and out easily, about 8-10 minutes. Remove and slice in half.

Combine the brown rice and brussels sprouts in a bowl. Set aside.

Heat a saute pan over medium heat and add the coconut and slivered almonds. Toast the coconut and almonds until they are lightly browned. Sprinkle over the brown rice and brussels sprouts. And eat!

Tuscan Zucchini with Onions

I am a champion talker. Some people brag about being able to type 100 words a minute. I can speak 100 while relaying a bunch of really useless information.

I have a knack for it, the pointless story. I love telling them. Whether my friends love listening to them is still up for grabs but I like to think they at least admire my stamina.

Despite my chatty nature, though, I am awful at small talk. Like, I am really awful. I'm listen-in-and-wince awful. I never know what to say and when the awkward silence settles I panic and say the first thing that comes to my mind.

It is usually embarrassing. Nonsensical. And just prolongs the awkward silence, thus making me say more embarrassing and nonsensical things. Vicious, awkward circle. I'm a bit better if I'm anywhere near food because all I do is stuff my mouth and nod now and then. Problem solved!

Tuscan Zucchini with Onions

2 zucchini

1 onion

1 tsp parsley

1 tsp basil

1 tsp salt

1 tbsp olive oil

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Chop the zucchini and onion and spread on the baking sheet. Drizzle with oil and sprinkle on the different seasonings. Toss. Roast the vegetables for 15 minutes, until the veggies are tender.

Baked Pita Chips

Yesterday my butt was kicked by this woman.

I did one of the Last Chance Workouts from my On Demand. Holy cannoli, was it hard. With weights and spurts of cardio, it was definitely one of the harder workouts that I've done. When it was finished, I was an absolute mess.

Huffing and puffing.

Soaked shirt.

Skank bangs.

Thank God I was home alone, otherwise my parents would have taken one look at my sorry self and wondered how in the world I would ever find myself a husband. Someone's going to have to add a few more goats to the dowry.

They can throw in these pita chips, too.

Baked Pita Chips

2 whole wheat tortillas

cooking spray (or olive oil with mister)

sea salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375.

Slice the tortilla into small triangles (slice it in half, the halves in half again, and so on). Place on a baking dish and spray with oil. Add sea salt. Bake for 5-7 minutes, or until crisp.

Roasted Pepper Salad

I consider myself a bad Italian, because up until this week I had never roasted a pepper. In fact, before this week I didn't even like roasted peppers. They seemed all sorts of slimy and slippery. I saw no reason to tackle that when I was perfectly content eating them raw.

Clearly, I was an idiot. Roasted peppers are fantastic. They are like a prayer. They are the wind beneath my wings. I want to sing corny love songs about them all day because they are just that good.

My first pepper roasting experience was with Giada. No surprise there, huh? This salad is sweet from the peppers, tangy from the kalamata olives, and perfectly finished with a bit of basil.

It's good stuff, folks.

Roasted Pepper Salad

Ingredients:

4 bell peppers (any color)

1/4 cup olive oil

1/2 cup basil, chopped

1/3 cup kalamata olives, sliced

salt/pepper

Directions:

Cover a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Place the peppers on the baking sheet and broil in the oven for roughly 20 minutes, until the skin is brown and blistered. Turn over occasionally to get all sides broiled.

These are from before the broiling, obviously

Remove the peppers from the oven and seal them in a plastic bag. Let them come to room temperature, then peel and seed them. Slice them into strips.

In a bowl, combine the pepper strips, kalamata olives, basil, olive oil, and salt/pepper. Enjoy at room temperature.

Sauteed Brussels Sprouts with Lemon

Brussels sprouts get a bad rap. All those jokes about kids not wanting to eat them. Adults turning their noses up at them.

Poor brussels sprouts, clearly misunderstood. When prepared correctly, brussels sprouts have the potential to be superb. Delicious. Food-gasmic.

These brussels sprouts I am showing you are very special. They start with a quick bath in some boiling water and then are sliced in half. Next, they cavort with some heated oil and then a dash of lemon.

Make this recipe and you will never misunderstand the brussel sprout again.

Sauteed Brussels Sprouts with Lemon

1/2 pound Brussels Sprouts

1 tbsp olive oil

fresh lemon juice

salt/pepper

Bring a pot of water to a boil and then add the brussels sprouts. Boil until they are tender, roughly 8-10 minutes. Transfer with a slotted spoon to a separate plate and let cool. Meanwhile, heat up the olive oil in a non-stick skillet. As that heats, carefully slice all brussels sprouts in half. Add them to the heated oil, making one layer. You will have to do this in several batches. Saute until a nice brown crust forms and then flip over for the other side. Remove to a plate and add the salt/pepper, and a squirt of lemon juice.

Fried Polenta

Polenta is one of those foods I always buy and then forget to use. It gets pushed to the back of my pantry, only to resurface months later when there are only two days left until it expires.

Sometimes, I make a polenta casserole. Other times, polenta pancakes. This time, it was go big or go home.

It was time to fry.

I don't fry food very often but I found this recipe in a Giada cookbook (of course) and couldn't think of a better way to use my polenta. It is pretty simple, but makes a mess. I got oil everywhere.

Luckily, it wasn't anything my sponge and I couldn't handle!

Fried Polenta

Ingredients:

1 tube of prepared polenta

1/2 cup olive oil

parmesan cheese

Directions:

Pour the oil into a cast iron skillet and put on medium heat.

With a vegetable peeler, peel the outer layer of the polenta. Next, cut in half and then chop into rectangle sticks.

Add the polenta to the pan. Beware of splatter! Cook each side for 3 minutes. Again, when turning beware of splatter. I got a few war injuries will making this...

Remove to a plate covered wit paper towels. If you are like me and lack basic necessities like p. towels, a coffee filter works just fine ;) Finish it off with a sprinkle of parmesan! For dipping sauces, you could really do anything. I did barbecue sauce (my fridge is a bit lacking right now) but marinara sauce would probably be the best.

For all you social media peeps out there, follow Tip Top Shape on Facebook and Twitter!!

Butternut Squash Risotto

I believe I posted this last year, but it's worth revisiting.

Risotto.

Is there any more perfect comfort food? It's warm and chewy. Hearty and heart-warming. I know that when I am having a stressful week, I don't want pasta. I don't want bread. I want risotto.

I want the starchiness. I want the creaminess. And I want the thoughtless calm of plopping on my stool before the stove and just stirring.

And stirring.

Risotto. It's good stuff.

Butternut Squash Risotto

Ingredients:

1 small butternut squash

1 small-medium onion, finely chopped

1 1/2 cup arborio rice

1/2 cup parmesan

1/2 cup dry white wine

4 cups vegetable or chicken stock

1 tsp vanilla extract

3 tbsp butter

Directions:

In a medium saucepan, heat the stock and vanilla extract. Once it has boiled, reduce to a simmer and add the butternut squash. Cook until the squash is tender, roughly 5 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.

While the squash cooks, chop your onion.

Heat 2 tbsp of butter in a medium saucepan. Add the chopped onion and cook until softened, roughly 3 minutes. Add the rice and coat with butter and onion. Next, add the wine and stir until it has absorbed. Begin to add the stock in 1/2 cup increments, stirring constantly. Add more stock as the rice absorbs it. Continue until the rice is tender, but still firm to bite. The risotto should be creamy, roughly 20 minutes.

Please excuse my messy stovetop

Stir in the butternut squash, parmesan cheese, and final tablespoon of butter. Enjoy!

Cranberry Sauce

There are many good things to say about dorm life:

Community

Dining Halls

Elevator boys

Not even elevator boys, though, can redeem my dorm from the pesky nuisance that is the room below me. This room has a girl who happens to plays the violin. At all hours of the day and night. For the past two nights I have been woken up at midnight by off-tune scales.

I will feed my irritation with a holiday classic.

Cranberry Sauce

1 lb fresh cranberries

1/4 cup sugar

1/3 cup water

Combine all the ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and let cook for 5-7 minutes until the cranberries begin to pop.

Take off heat and let cool. The finished cranberry sauce should still be a bit chunky. I generally eat it cold, but that just may be a weird eating habit of mine.

Simple Summer Bruschetta

My uncle sent us a plastic baggie full of produce. Inside were two large cucumbers and an array of grape tomatoes that were so darn cute that I almost didn't want to eat them. I have never been one to pass up good food, though, so I threw a bunch of it together into an easy bruschetta.

Simple Summer Bruschetta:

Grape Tomatoes

Cucumber

Basil

Olive Oil

Balsamic Vinegar

Salt/Pepper

Combine all the ingredients. Take any left over basil and steep in some water. It makes a refreshing drink!

Mediterranean Farro Salad

Tonight I have something a bit different for you all. Instead of a recap of my eats (something a bit difficult because I keep forgetting my camera like an eighty year old) I am giving you one of my favorite healthy recipes.

Mediterranean Farro Salad is something I make fairly often during the school year. It is perfect for pretty much any season and is a cinch to make! For those of you who are not familiar with farro, it is very similar to couscous. I would say it has a slightly chewier texture. It is sold in most Italian specialty shops but if you can't find it feel free to sub in couscous.

I first heard of farro from this person:

Yeah, Giada and I go way back. Okay, I wish that we did, lol. Anyway, she had a recipe using farro in one of her cookbooks and I took it and reworked it a bit. Here is my take on her farro salad!

Mediterranean Farro Salad

Ingredients:

Farro (3/4 cup)

Grape Tomatoes (1/2 cup)

Cucumber (1)

Olive Oil

Parmesan Cheese

Salt/Pepper

Directions:

Combine the farro and 2 cups of water in a highsided saucepan and bring to a boil. Cook for 10-15 minutes or until the water is absorbed and the farro is tender. Make sure to check around 10 minutes otherwise you might end up with some crusty farro.

While the farro cooks, halve the tomatoes and slice the cucumber. Once the farro is cooked, combine the farro with the vegetables and take a knife to put small chunks of parmesan onto the farro. Drizzle with olive oil and add salt/pepper to taste. This makes roughly 4 servings.

Mangia!