Skinny Lemongrass Mojitos

Jun22

Summer has officially begun this week – and we’re making mojitos!

I hope your herb garden is ready because instead of the basic mint mojito, these are made with lemongrass and basil as well. Basically, I like to build cocktails the same way I approach salads – the more fresh herbs and citrus, the better.

To make these “skinny,” I skipped the sugar and sweetened these with Truvia Natural Sweetener instead. It has no calories and it’s sweetness comes from the stevia leaf. Personally, I’d rather splurge on a dessert than on a sugary cocktail so I love that these mojitos are on the lighter side! Since stevia is sweeter than regular sugar, a little goes a long way. 1/2 teaspoon of Truvia is equal to 1 teaspoon of sugar.

For awhile, I was intimidated by preparing lemongrass – but it’s so easy! Just peel off the outer leaves, exposing the softer part of the stalk, like this:

The next step isn’t pictured, but you want to take the back of your chef’s knife and bash that inner stalk so that the flavors of the lemongrass release. After that, dice it finely like this:

Muddle the minced lemongrass with the rest of the ingredients into a cocktail shaker – then shake it up and pour!

Grilled Ratatouille Tartines

Jun19

summer / vegan / appetizer

I love ratatouille – eggplant, zucchini, peppers, and tomatoes all mingling together with flavors of fruity olive oil, thyme, oregano, and fresh basil… But it’s summer and what I don’t love is standing over a hot stove. So I came up with this simple GRILLED version of ratatouille that takes all of about 15 minutes to make. It’s not at all authentic, but I love how the char of the grill flavors these vegetables.

For easy summer eating, I assembled these as toasts. They’re a delicious snack with wine – but they’re hearty enough to double as a light dinner.

Once grilled, I chopped up the vegetables into bite-sized pieces and tossed them with sherry vinegar, garlic and herbs de provence (which is basically a mix of dried thyme, oregano, rosemary, marjoram and lavender). I supposed you could mix all of those spices together separately but trust me, it’s just easier to buy the spice mix – you’ll use it again and again if you love these flavors as much as I do.

To get the vegetables to stick to the bread, I put a slather of plain hummus, though you could use a spread of goat cheese if you like. Again, not authentic, but I didn’t want the vegetables to fall all over the place upon first bite.

Serve with chilled rose! Cheers!

Farmers Market Asparagus & Potato Pizza

Jun15

summer / main dish / vegetarian

If you caught Monday’s post, I wrote all about my strategy for coming up with a dinner recipe while shopping on the fly at the farmers market. And, drumroll please… here’s what I made! It’s a big green, veggie potato pizza loaded with chopped asparagus, asparagus ribbons, cheese, flowering thyme, chives, and those pretty chive blossoms that I got at Chicago’s Logan Square Farmers Market. It’s spring on a plate… or rather, spring on dough.

I know I say this all the time, but I LOVE letting local produce lead my meal planning. These fresh impromptu meals just really make me excited to make and play with food. Which is why we love this partnership with Sub-Zero – their Fresh Food Matters Initiative is all about getting into the kitchen to make meals for your family using fresh fruits and vegetables.

So let’s get cooking!

To make these pretty asparagus ribbons, you don’t need a fancy kitchen tool, just a regular vegetable peeler. This peeling technique works best with asparagus that’s on the medium-to-thick side so that you can get nice long peels. After you’re done peeling, chop up the bits that are left and toss those onto the pizza as well.

Layer the pizza with olive oil, garlic, cheese (I suggest gruyere or white cheddar – your favorite vegan cheese would work too), thinly sliced small potatoes and the chopped asparagus bits. Bake it until the potatoes and the dough are both nicely browned.

After the pizza comes out of the oven, layer on the pretty toppings – the asparagus ribbons, and chive blossoms if you have them (if you don’t – just use more chopped chives!)

Heat this up for a few more minutes so that the asparagus lightly wilts. Serve this fancy pizza with a pale rosé. Cheers!

How to Shop the Farmers Market for Dinner

Jun12

real life / healthy tips

The farmers market is my happy place for meal inspiration. When I feel really stuck in a cooking rut, I head to local weekend markets. Collecting fresh seasonal produce always helps me combine flavors in interesting ways (what grows together goes together), BUT it can be a little daunting to think on the fly at the market… especially if your goal is to come out with the ingredients to make that night’s meal. In the past, I’ve written about stocking up on produce and making a cooking plan for the week, but this time I’m going to focus on one task: how to go to the farmers market and gather ingredients for dinner that night.

For this post we’ve partnered with Sub Zero’s Fresh Food Matters initiative to share these ideas for cooking and eating real, fresh, locally-grown food – obviously a topic that I’m passionate about! Shopping local markets is my favorite way to connect with local growers and to support the community around me.

Now about dinner… A few Sunday’s ago, Jack and I headed to the Logan Square Farmers Market in Chicago. Having just moved from Austin to stay in Chicago for the summer, this market is pretty new to me (as is getting used to the midwest climate again) so I had no idea what produce to expect once we got there. During this little trip, I stuck by these guidelines, which work no matter where you are:

1. Have a plan, sort of.

Before you go to the market, have in mind some super basic meal formats that are adaptable to a wide range of produce. Things like pasta, pizza, tacos, frittatas, and big grain salads. Of course, you don’t have to stick to these exactly. Let inspiration hit you. But I find it helps to have a framework in mind so that my mind isn’t all over the place. For example, tons of spring vegetables can be grilled and tossed into a lemony pasta. Tomatoes, peppers, herbs, leeks, etc. can be baked into a big frittata. Lots of vegetables can be chopped and creatively combined atop a pizza. You don’t have to reinvent the meal wheel to feel creative while cooking.

2. Walk the market once before making purchases.

This might sound obvious, but once I start seeing pretty vegetables, I get tempted to start collecting. Resist the temptation! It helps to take one inspirational lap before you start narrowing down a plan. This is also a great chance to talk to the vendors – you can ask where and how their produce was grown or ask them how to cook a particular ingredient that you’re not familiar with. In my case, I asked the guy at Sandbox Organics – “how do I use these gorgeous chive blossoms?” It turns out, you can use them just as you would the chive stems, they have a mellow onion flavor.

3. Build a meal around the 1 or 2 ingredients that look the best and that you were initially drawn to.

On this particular day – those chive blossoms had my heart the second I saw them, so I knew I would get those. At the same stand, the radishes also looked amazing, and later I came across some beautiful asparagus. Once the meal came together in my head, I went back and got them all.

4. Stop for a snack if you need a few minutes to jot down ideas.

If you feel stuck, grab a beverage, snack or lunch at the market (during our trip, we took a falafel break and enjoyed some music) and give yourself a few minutes to collect your thoughts. I like to write down all of the vegetables I was just inspired by before narrowing down to what I actually want to buy.

5. Finalize your plan and choose supporting items.

At this stage, I was thinking about perhaps an asparagus Niçoise salad with fresh eggs and chive blossoms. I remembered some potatoes that looked good that could fill out the meal. Asparagus soup with chive oil also sounded good – I had seen a vendor with some great baguette that would be yummy on the side. I also thought about a big veggie pasta dish (similar to this one), or a strawberry grain salad. Decisions, decisions…

Stay tuned for Thursday’s post to see what I made!

This post is in partnership with Sub Zero. Check out freshfoodmatters.com for some great seasonal guides to buying, storing, and preparing fresh produce and join the online conversation using #FreshFoodMatters!

Dark Chocolate Olive Oil Cake

Jun10

dessert / cookbooks

We sold our house yesterday. In case you haven’t heard, Jack and I are moving(!?), and lately I’ve been feeling a really mixed bag of emotions about it. We left Austin a few weeks ago and are spending the summer temporarily in Chicago (living with my parents – so glamorous!) until we find a new place to call home. We’re excited for a new adventure, but of course, it’s always sad leaving homes and friends (and kitchens! aahh, what am I doing!) behind. Don’t worry, the blog isn’t going anywhere – I have tons of new recipes and other special projects in the works. I’ve been cooking up a storm here in my mom’s kitchen, which is especially helpful because she washes all the dishes in my wake :). Hi, my name is Jeanine and I’m 38 going on 12.

So… umm… it’s cake time! I’m not sure it’s celebration cake or sadness cake, but either way – it’s cake! I’m not always big on desserts, but sometimes I just need some “it’s-all-going-to-be-ok” chocolate cake.

This recipe comes from the new book Simple Fare: Spring/Summer by Karen Mordechai of Sunday Suppers, whom I’ve been a fan of for years. Karen describes this cake as “a balance of sweet and savory.” I have to say – this one is for all of you dark chocolate lovers out there. It’s not overly sweet, but it’s deeply chocolate-y. The olive oil gives it a rich flavor but the cake itself is surprisingly light. She tops it with cardamom whipped cream (the recipe is below), but I used some whipped coconut cream that I had on hand instead.

The book is a gorgeous oversized cookbook that feels like an art book. The book is apyly titled “Spring/Summer” as the recipes are highly seasonal (a Fall/Winter volume is coming later). At first glance, the recipes seem very simple (hence the name of the book!) but dig in and you’ll see that each recipe includes 2 or 3 clever “market variations” where Karen suggests altering just a few ingredients to change the recipe’s flavor profile. The book isn’t vegetarian, but there are a lot of vegetable-based recipes (not so many vegan ones), and overall tons of inspiration. I love the way Karen describes her collection of recipes: “food as it should be: nuanced, bright and gorgeous.”

I can hardly wait to have a coffee table again so I can display this beauty 🙂

Love and Lemons

Healthy, Seasonal, Whole Food Recipes Blog

Skinny Lemongrass Mojitos

Grilled Ratatouille Tartines

Farmers Market Asparagus & Potato Pizza

How to Shop the Farmers Market for Dinner

Dark Chocolate Olive Oil Cake