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I absolutely stuffed myself this past weekend with delicious Thanksgiving food…the cheeses,  onion green beans, stuffing, cranberry, pies…and the list could go on and on.  So last night, I wanted to make something healthy that had different set of flavors than Thanksgiving food. Here’s a recipe for homemade vegetarian Pad Thai that’s actually much easier than you might think. I served it with a wilted spinach salad and it was delicious…enjoy!

Serves 3-4

Ingredients:

The Sauce:

¼ cup tomato paste

1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar

¼ cup tamari soy sauce

3 tablespoons lime juice

½ teaspoon Asian sesame oil

1 garlic clove, minced

¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

The rest:

8 ounces dried rice stick noodles (1/8 inch wide)

3 tablespoons canola oil

1 pound extra-firm tofu, sliced ½ inch thick, patted very dry and cu t into ½ inch cubes

2 large eggs, well beaten

1/3 cup chopped roasted peanuts

1 cup bean sprouts

2 scallions, cut into 2-inch lengths and shredded lengthwise

Directions:

1. Mix all the sauce ingredients  together in a small bowl and set aside
2. Bring a large stockpot of water to a boil. Drop in the rice stick noodles and toss very well with tongs to make sure they don’t stick together. Cook 2-3 minutes, or until al dente. Make sure the noodles are still slightly firm because they will soften further when stir-fried. Drain thoroughly in a colander and rinse under cold running water. Drain again.
3. Heat 1 ½ tablespoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. When the oil is very hot, add the tofu. Stir-fry until golden all over. Place the tofu on a platter.
4. Add a half-tablespoon oil to the pan. Pour in the eggs and quickly cook like a pancake. Remove to a plate and cut into bite-size pieces.
5. Pour the remaining tablespoon of oil in the skillet. Add the noodles, tofu, eggs, peanuts and bean sprouts, and mix with tongs. Pour on the sauce and toss to coat well. Cook until hot throughout, about 3 minutes. Sprinkle on the scallions, toss, and serve.

My friend Rebecca is an amazing cook. She made this soup last week with ingredients from the farmers market and it was delicious…like some of the best soup I’ve ever had. A wonderfully simple vegetarian soup recipe for the fall. 

Ingredients (yields about 4 appetizer servings or 2 main dish servings):

• 1 med size butternut squash
• 4 cups of organic vegetable or chicken stock
• 1 small red onion
• 5-10 Sage leaves

Directions:

Cut the squash in half length wise, scoop the seeds out, place face down on a lightly oiled cookie sheet, bake on 350 until soft all the way through.
Sautee the finely chopped onions until brown, about 5 minutes. In a large pan, add the onion, vegetable or chicken stock along with  5-10 whole sage leaves. Bring to a simmer.
After the squash is cooled, peel the skin off and puree in the food processor.
 
Remove the sage leaves from the stock. Add the squash puree, stir together, bring to a simmer. Serve warm.

I’ve got a recipe that’s been passed down in my family for years. It’s so passed down, that the recipe (which is extremely simple, by the way), is embedded in my memory, as well as the memories of my family members. It’s sort of like an heirloom, but in the form of food (obviously not the type of heirloom I could sell on eBay!) Every time I see an Italian restaurant that serves escarole, I know it’s a legit one.

I’ve blogged about clean, ‘whole-food’ eating, and this recipe is the epitome of that style. Serve alone or over whole wheat pasta – both will be delicious. 

Ingredients:

• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 head of escarole, chopped*
• 1 can organic cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 tbsp. Extra-virgin olive oil
• Parmesan cheese (sprinkled or grated)
• 2 cups water

* note that escarole looks a lot like lettuce – so make sure to ask the produce person to point you in the right direction. If you’re at a Farmer’s Market, you can probably find organic or pesticide-free escarole. Also, make sure to wash escarole really well, otherwise you run the risk of it being sandy…yuck!

Recipe yields 2 dinner servings or 4 appetizer servings.

In large saucepan, sauté garlic in oil until it is slightly browned (not burned!) on medium-high heat. Add cannellini beans, continuing to sauté until their soft, about 5-7 minutes (feel free to add another teaspoon of oil if the saucepan is dry). Add chopped escarole and 2 cups of water, lower heat to medium-low and cover (you might want to add a little more water, this is dependent upon the size of your saucepan). Let escarole steam down until it is fully cooked, stirring occasionally. This will take about 15 – 20 minutes. You’ll know when it’s fully cooked because it will be completely saturated and steamed down.

Serve alone or over pasta with parmesan cheese. Enjoy knowing you’re doing something healthy for your body.

I went to Seattle this past weekend, and had an absolute blast. Pike Place Market really stood out to me: it’s such a cool little community of artists, local business owners, farmers and fishermen. The selection of local products was so expansive – it reminded me of multiple LA  Farmer’s Markets rolled into a gigantic one.

What I was even more impressed with about Seattle is that local restaurant owners – from reasonably priced regular restaurants to fancy expensive places,  take pride in using products from the Pike Place Market. The foodie community in Seattle really supports their market, which I think is incredibly cool.

So I started thinking more about local produce and all of the benefits that go along with it:  the positive environmental effects, supporting local businesses, fresher, better tasting food, and the list could go on and on.

I bought this book at Left Bank Books (a unique, ‘lefty’ bookstore in Seattle that I discovered on Lonely Planet) called Cook Food: a manualfesto for easy, healthy, local eating. This will give you all of the basics of local eating in an easy, digestible format – along with some great recipes. It’s not about doing a complete overhaul, but integrating local food into your life gradually.

I’ll keep you posted on my progress of ‘going local.’

I was at the Farmer’s Market over the weekend, my favorite place to be on a Sunday. I usually go there without anything specific in mind – I’ll see something, and I’ll be inspired to cook with it.  Eggplants are in-season now, so I thought I’d create something healthier than the dish I grew up with, eggplant parmesan. Here’s a recipe for a healthy, but delicious eggplant dish, a perfect dinner if you’re having friends over. The ingredients are unexpected but go surprisingly well together. I made this the other night and my friends loved it.

Feta Stuffed Eggplant Rolls with salsa verde

Serves 6 as a first course, 3 as a main course

Ingredients:

• a 1-pound firm eggplant
• olive oil for brushing eggplant
• 3 ounces feta, crumbled (about 1/2 cup)
• 1/3 cup whole-milk ricotta
• 1/4 cup fresh mint leaves, washed well, spun dry, and chopped fine
• 3 red bell peppers, roasted, or two 7-ounce jars, drained, and patted dry
• 1 bunch arugula or small bunch spinach, coarse stems discarded and leaves washed well and spun dry
• Salsa verde, jarred

Preheat broiler.

Cut eggplant lengthwise into 1/4-inch-thick slices and arrange 6 center slices on an oiled baking sheet in one layer, reserving remaining eggplant for another use. Brush eggplant with oil and season with salt.

Broil eggplant about 3 inches from heat until golden, about 5 minutes. Carefully turn eggplant with a metal spatula and broil until golden, about 4 minutes more. Transfer eggplant to a platter large enough to hold slices in one layer and cool. (Eggplant may be prepared up to this point 3 hours ahead and kept, covered loosely, at room temperature.)

In a small bowl with a fork mash together feta, ricotta, mint, and salt and pepper to taste. Cut peppers lengthwise into pieces about same width as eggplant slices.

Assemble rolls:
Top eggplant slices with pepper pieces, arranging them in one layer. Put 1 tablespoon cheese mixture near narrow end of each slice and into it gently press 4 or 5 arugula or spinach leaves so that they stick out on both sides. Beginning with cheese end, roll up each slice to enclose cheese mixture and leaves. (Rolls may be made 2 hours ahead and kept, covered loosely, at room temperature.)

Serve rolls drizzled with salsa verde.

I made this last night — it was great! I forgot how good chili is. Recipe yields 6 servings and ingredients were all very reasonable to buy. I try to buy most (if not all) of the main ingredients organic. Btw, 1 serving has only 180 calories and 4.9 grams of fat (serving size 1 1/3 cups chili and 1 tablespoon sour cream) – great if you’re trying to cut calories.

• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 cup onion, chopped
• 1 green pepper, chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 3/4 cup water
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 can organic vegetable broth
• 1 can no-salt-added diced tomatos, undrained
• 1 tablespoon yellow cornmeal
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 6 tablespoons reduced-fat sour cream

*note: for all canned ingredients, I look for low to no sodium varieties

Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion, bell pepper and garlic to pan; saute 3 minutes. Stir in 3/4 cp water and next 9 ingredients (through diced tomatoes); bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 8 minutes. Stir in cornmeal; cook 2 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in cilantro. Serve with sour cream.