Here is a look back at a Sicilian recipe I posted a few years ago that is one of my all-time favorite pasta dishes.  While it might seem too hot right now for a heavy cream sauce, I crave pistachio pasta all year long.  It’s so simple and quick, the sauce will be finished by the time your pasta is cooked.  Pair it with a crisp salad and I think it’s a great way to end a long summer day.

Farfalle with Pistachio Cream Sauce Recipe

I love grilled beef.  I especially love grilled flank steak.  Today I’m introducing you to one of my favorite food bloggers, Terry from Blue Kitchen, and his recipe for Spice-Rubbed Flank Steak.  The meat is slow-marinated in a mixture of coriander, cumin, cinnamon, fresh ginger, and garlic before it meets the grill.  Yes, it smells and tastes just as fantastic as it sounds.

I’ve definitely been making an effort to eat less meat.  When I do indulge, I try to buy grass-fed beef and free-range organic chicken.  Now that I can buy both beef and chicken at the Farmer’s Market here in Fresno, the meat I buy is often local, too.  It doesn’t always happen.  The flank steak pictured above came from Costco.  I tried to buy it at the Farmer’s Market, but neither purveyor had flank steak that day and I needed that particular cut of beef (usually I’m much more flexible).  So yes, I slip, but I’m trying.  I’m at the point now where I want to pay more for beef and chicken if the animals have been raised right.  I also feel good about paying more for local organic produce (although you’ll find that if you buy produce in season at a Farmer’s Market, the prices are surprisingly low).  I want my money to support the people who get it.

Speaking of people who get it, Terry Boyd knows his way around a kitchen.  But even better, he has the gift to inspire others to cook.  Blue Kitchen is one of those places on the internet where I always feel welcome.  I can drop by, hang out with Terry and his wife Marion for a while, listen to some jazz, and leave feeling both relaxed and inspired.  The menus aren’t complicated, the ingredients aren’t complex.  It’s just good food and good conversation.

This Spice-Rubbed Flank Steak is a perfect example of what the recipes are like at Blue Kitchen – simple ingredients, complex flavor, and instructions that even an inexperienced cook can follow.  Since Costco sells their flank steak in a two-pack, I’ve made this twice the past month for two different groups of people.  It was met with rave reviews all around.

The marinade for the steak is a spice rub.  Fresh garlic and ginger are mixed with ground spices and a bit of oil to make a paste.  I toasted and ground whole cumin and coriander seeds for the rub instead of using pre-ground spices.  It only takes a few minutes longer but I think it makes a big difference in flavor.

I mixed the ingredients with my fingers since I knew I’d be getting my hands dirty rubbing the steak anyway.  Plus, I love mixing things with my hands!

I rubbed the spice paste all over both sides of the flank steak making sure every inch of it was covered.  The steak was then placed it in a plastic bag and left to marinate in the refrigerator for about 8 hours.

I grilled my steak over medium heat for about 5 minutes on each side and ended up with a perfectly pink medium steak.  Terry gives grilling times for a medium-rare steak in the recipe.  Flank steak is really best grilled to a medium-rare to medium doneness, but even well-done flank steak will be somewhat tender if it’s sliced thinly against the grain.

We ate the flank steak stuffed into pita with lettuce, tomatoes and garlic sauce.  Rice pilaf made the perfect side dish the first time I made this and a wheat berry salad was a great accompaniment the second time.

I really hope you enjoy this flank steak and Blue Kitchen as much as I do!

Spice-Rubbed Flank Steak at Blue Kitchen
Follow Blue Kitchen on Twitter

Previous Food Blog Fridays:

• Lemon Buttermilk Popsicles from Whipped
• Apricot Almond Tart from Tartelette
• Blueberry Orange Cornmeal Pancakes from Satisfied
• Luscious Lemon Bars from Alpineberry

This is a quick lunch I threw together from what I could find in my fridge and pantry today.  I wanted something to go with the leftover grilled steak and chicken I brought home from a family barbecue the other night and this delicious brown rice salad really fit the bill.

The salad works well as either a side dish or a light vegetarian main course for lunch.  Top with thinly sliced grilled chicken, steak, or tempeh and you have a hearty and delicious summer meal.  Feel free to play with ingredient amounts to suit your own taste.  I think it would be great topped with some sliced avocado and roasted pepitas.

Brown Rice Salad with Cumin and Lime Vinaigrette

1 small clove garlic, peeled and smashed
generous pinch of kosher salt
zest and juice of one lime (about 2 tablespoons of juice)
1 teaspoon ground cumin*
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 cups cooked brown rice, cooled
1 cup canned garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
3 T. chopped green chiles (I used canned)
1/2 cup halved grape tomatoes
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Put garlic clove and salt in a small bowl and mash them together with a fork to form a paste.  Add lime juice, zest, and cumin.  Whisk lime juice mixture together then slowly whisk in the olive oil.  Taste, adjust salt as needed; set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine brown rice, garbanzo beans, chopped green chiles, tomatoes, and cilantro.  Add dressing and toss gently to combine.  Can be served immediately.  If made ahead and refrigerated, allow to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before serving.

Recipe notes: *Cumin is much more flavorful if you start with whole seeds, toast them, then grind them yourself.  I toasted one teaspoon of whole cumin seeds in a dry skillet just until fragrant then ground them into a powder using a clean coffee grinder.  If I would have had some on hand, I would have tossed a handful of roasted pepitas into the salad.

Related Recipes:

• How to Cook Perfect Brown Rice
• Cilantro Caesar Salad with Carne Asada
• Herbed Tuna Salad with Feta and Pine Nuts
• Orange Cranberry Salad with Walnuts and Blue Cheese
• Rice Pilaf with Raisins and Pine Nuts
• Whole Wheat Green Orzo Salad

Around the Web:

• Wild Rice Salad from Simply Recipes
• Broccoli Rice Salad with Sesame-Ginger Dressing from Fatfree Vegan Kitchen
• Fresh Asparagus Rice Salad from Eating Out Loud
• Brown Rice Salad with Turkey, Red Cabbage and Pecans from Kalyn’s Kitchen
• Chicken and Wild Rice Salad from Culinary in the Country

When I first read about Phoo-D’s Edamame Soup with Wasabi Cream, I knew I had to make it.  For one thing, I’ve had a bag of shelled edamame hanging out in my freezer for quite a while, but what really caught my attention was the combination of flavors she incorporated into her soup. You just can’t go wrong with garlic, ginger, and toasted sesame oil – not to mention the horseradish cream on top.  Perfect.

I had planned on following the recipe.  Really, that was my intention.  It wasn’t until I noticed that my bag of frozen edamame was of insufficient size that I knew I would have to improvise.  My first change was to use frozen peas to shore up my meager soybean supply.  Once I started thinking about peas, I remembered the fresh dill and mint in my refrigerator that, though still clinging to life, really needed to be used up sooner than later.  When I started thinking about dill and mint, of course I wanted to incorporate some lemon.  All of a sudden, the soup had changed quite a bit!

While I’ll definitely give the original soup recipe a try next time, I was absolutely thrilled with this version.  This thick and velvety soup feels so indulgent, you’ll have a hard time believing that it’s healthy.  The herb and lemon sour cream garnish worked perfectly with the simple flavors of the soup – it’s not optional.

When it comes to blending this soup, you can’t mess around.  Soybeans are tough.  I first tried puréeing the soup with an immersion blender, but the consistency wasn’t creamy enough.  Just as Phoo-D suggests, I recommend puréeing the soup in an actual blender.

Edamame and Pea Soup with Herbed Lemon Cream

1 onion, diced
1 shallot, diced
1 celery stalk, diced
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 cups shelled edamame (I used frozen)
1 cup green peans (frozen, not canned)
4 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1 teaspoon sugar
salt to taste

Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat.  Add onion, shallot, and celery and cook until softened and just starting to take on a bit of color, about 10 minutes.  Stir in edamame and peas (they can still be frozen at this point) then add chicken or vegetable stock.  Turn heat up and bring mixture to a boil.  Reduce heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes.  Meanwhile, make the lemon cream (recipe below).

After soup has simmered for 20 minutes, remove from heat and allow to cool for a few minutes.  Puree the soup – in batches if necessary – in a blender or food processor until completely smooth.  Return to the pot and reheat, if necessary.  Serve soup with a spoonful of herbed lemon cream on top.

Yield: 6 servings

Herbed Lemon Cream

1/2 cup sour cream or crème fraiche
1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint
zest and juice from 1/2 a lemon

Whisk together all ingredients; refrigerate for 30 minutes before serving.

Related Recipes:

• Creamy Fennel and Leek Soup
• Butternut Squash and Chickpea Stew
• Chilled Ginger Cantaloupe Soup
• Roasted Autumn Vegetable Chowder
• Chickpea Soup with Ginger and Coriander
• Potato Leek Soup

Around the Web:

• Edamame Soup with Wasabi Cream from Phoo-D
• Edamame Soup from 101 Cookbooks
• Edamame Avocado Soup from Tofu for Two
• Edamame and Pea Soup from Kitchen Goddess
• Very Very Green Green-Pea Soup from Kitchen Parade
• Green Pea Soup from The Budding Cook

Who says comforting food has to be unhealthy?  This hearty stew is both nutritious and satisfying, and the bright, warm Moroccan flavors will be a welcome surprise to taste buds exhausted by holiday overindulgence.

It’s time for another virtual lunch date with my pals on twitter, and today we’re eating hearty stews.  As I mulled over some stew ideas, my first thought was to create something with beef and butternut squash.  I knew I had a squash on the counter and some tri-tip in fridge and the combination sounded like a great one for stew.  But when my coffee-addled brain realized that I had already cut the tri-tip into steaks and thrown them in some marinade, I decided I’d better rethink my plan.  It was then I realized that I didn’t have a butternut squash sitting on the counter either.

Yes, I think I am going crazy.

Since I liked the idea of a stew featuring butternut squash, I picked one up at the store yesterday.  I decided against buying more beef, figuring it would be more fun (and inexpensive) to create a stew using ingredients I had on hand.  After surveying the contents of my pantry, I grabbed a can of chickpeas, some canned tomatoes and a half-empty bag of Israeli couscous I found stuffed way in the back.  My hearty stew was coming together nicely.

I ran across a few butternut squash and chickpea recipes online and they all seemed to incorporate Moroccan flavors. Since I had half a jar of preserved lemons in my fridge, I decided to follow suit.  Some of the recipes included raisins, but I chose to go with dried tart cherries.  While cherries might seem like an unusual ingredient for a stew, Moroccan tagines often include dried fruit and I love the combination of lemon and cherries.

The stew turned out to be a great lunch and there’s a good chance I’ll be eating more for dinner.  The bright flavors of preserved lemon and tart cherries contrast nicely with the warm cumin and cinnamon and I absolutely love the added texture of the Israeli couscous.  I found it hard to stop eating, but the soup is healthy enough that I didn’t feel guilty after a second bowl.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

Butternut Squash and Chickpea Stew with Israeli Couscous

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
2-inch piece of cinnamon stick
4 canned whole tomatoes
1/2 preserved lemon, pulp removed, rinsed, and minced*
1 ounce dried tart cherries (raisins or other dried fruit may be substituted)
1/2 pound butternut squash, peeled and cut into 3/4 inch cubes (about 2 cups)
1 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup Israeli couscous
4 cups chicken or vegetable stock**
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/4-1/2 teaspoon salt (to taste)
chopped cilantro for garnish

Heat olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat.  Add onions and cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes, or until softened and starting to turn golden.  Add garlic, cumin, coriander, and the piece of cinnamon stick and cook, stirring, for one minute.  Add the tomatoes, crushing by hand as you add them, or crush with a wooden spoon in the pan.  Add all remaining ingredients except for the salt.  Turn up heat and bring soup to a simmer.  Turn heat to low and let simmer, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes.  Add salt to taste.  Remove cinnamon stick before serving.  Garnish with chopped cilantro if desired.

Recipe Notes: *Zest and juice of one lemon may be substituted for the preserved lemon.  **I used chicken broth for my stew, but vegetable stock may be substituted to make it vegetarian.  For even more flavor, substitute whole spices for pre-ground:  toast whole cumin and coriander seeds in a dry pan until fragrant, let cool, then grind in a spice grinder, coffee grinder, or mortar and pestle.  All spices may be adjusted to suit your own taste.

Yield: approximately 6 servings

Nutrition Info per serving (1/6 of recipe):  229 calories; 4 grams fat; 42 grams total carbohydrate; 6 grams fiber; 6 grams sugars; 6 grams protein.  Nutrition information is approximate – analyzed through NutritionData.com

Previous Virtual Lunch Dates:

• The Original BLT Lunch
• Chilled Soup Lunch

Other Hearty Stews from the ‘Let’s Lunch’ Crew:

• Mom’s Vegetable Beef Stew from Cowgirl Chef
• Pichelsteiner from ShowFood Chef
• Hearty Lentil Stew with Smoked Sausage from The Cosmic Cowgirl
• Thai Green Curry from Bon Vivant
• Chicken Adobo from A Tiger in the Kitchen

Related Recipes:

• My Mom’s Potato Leek Soup
• Veggie Chili Beans and Rice
• Creamy Roasted Cauliflower and Artichoke Soup
• Creamy Fennel and Leek Soup
• Carrot Potato and Cheese Soup
• Roasted Vegetable Chowder

Like many of you out there I have made a serious commitment to eat better and get in shape in 2010.  However, there’s always room for a little indulgence, so I have decided to share this amazing bacon and caramelized onion quiche we ate on New Year’s morning.  Healthy?  Perhaps not.  But there will be times this year when a little splurging is both necessary and deserved.  So hop on your treadmills, bikes, and elliptical machines, drink lots of water, eat lots of vegetables, fruits, and whole grains—but please, I’m begging you, don’t forget to eat a slice of quiche every once in a while.

Bacon Quiche

9 or 10-inch pie crust, refrigerated
6 slices thick-cut bacon
2 tablespoons of reserved bacon drippings
1 medium onion, chopped
1 large (or 2 small) shallot(s), chopped
1/2 cup sour cream
4 large eggs
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
3 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, grated
1 ounce Parmigiano Reggiano, grated
1/4 teaspoon salt
fresh ground black pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

2. Line a pie plate or quiche dish with pie pastry, then trim and flute as desired.  Prick pastry all over with a fork, then carefully line it with foil, gently pressing foil to bottom and side of pastry.  Make sure edges are covered to prevent over-browning. Bake 10 minutes at 425 degrees. Carefully remove foil and bake 2 to 4 minutes longer or until pastry just begins to brown and has set.  If crust bubbles, gently push bubbles down with back of spoon.

3. Turn oven down to 325 degrees.

4. Meanwhile, cook bacon until crisp.  Pour out all but two tablespoons of drippings, then add chopped onion and shallot to the pan.  Cook over medium-low heat until very soft and starting to caramelize.  Chop or crumble bacon into small pieces, then add bacon and onions to bottom of pie crust.  Top with grated cheeses.  Whisk together eggs, sour cream and heavy cream, salt and a bit of fresh ground black pepper.  Carefully pour the egg mixture into the crust.  Depending on the size of your pie or quiche plate, you may have a bit of leftover liquid.

5. Carefully transfer the quiche to the middle rack of preheated 325 degree oven.  Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until knife inserted in center of quiche comes out clean.

Related Recipes:

• Southwest Style Egg Muffins
• Spiked Egg Nog French Toast
• Basic French Toast
• Egg in a Nest
• Cheddar, Chive and Sour Cream Omelette

Around the Web:

• Kale and Smoked Bacon Quiche from Taste Buddies
• Caramelized Onion Quiche from Simply Recipes
• Quiche Lorraine from Smitten Kitchen
• Crustless Quiche with Sun-dried Tomatoes from Modern Beet
• Spinach and Feta Quiche from A Veggie Venture

Remember I told you I had butterflied a chicken and was planning on grilling it under a brick?  Well now I’ll show you how I did it.

As I mentioned the other day, Pollo al Mattone, or Chicken Under a Brick is a Tuscan style of grilling chicken.  The chicken cooks quickly since it is flattened under the weight of the brick and you end up with crispy delicious skin and juicy, perfectly cooked meat.  What more could one want from a chicken?

My first step was to marinate the chicken with olive oil and herbs.  You can use any combination of herbs you like, I just used a simple mixture of garlic and rosemary.  First I stripped the leaves from 5 or 6 sprigs of rosemary (about 1/3 cup loosely packed) and peeled six cloves of garlic.

I could have finely chopped everything by hand, but the lazy person inside of me decided a mini food processor was the way to go!

A few seconds later, I ended up with finely chopped rosemary and garlic!  If you don’t have a mini food processor, just chop everything up by hand and/or pound it with a mortar and pestle.

Next, I stirred in about 1/2 cup of extra virgin olive oil.

Now for the chicken!  If you’ve never butterflied a chicken, watch this video.  See how easy it is?  After cutting the chicken, I rinsed it and patted it dry with paper towels.

I also folded the wings under the bird so that the tips won’t burn on the grill.

Here is the inside of my beautifully butterflied bird. Doesn’t it make you want to rub oil all over it?

I thought so!  I poured about half of the marinade over the inside of the chicken.

Then rubbed it all over, making sure to coat every single part of the bird.

Next I flipped it over and rubbed the remaining marinade all over the outside of the chicken.  After the entire chicken is well-coated with the rosemary-garlic oil, you can cover the whole pan with plastic wrap or slip the chicken into a large plastic bag and place it in the refrigerator.  Try to let it sit for at least a few hours.

When you’re ready to grill the chicken, take it out of the fridge and rub some lemon juice all over it.  Right before it goes on the grill, sprinkle both sides liberally with kosher salt and freshly ground pepper.

Prepare your grill (gas or charcoal) for direct medium-low heat.  Allow as much marinade as possible to drip off the chicken before placing it on the grill.  Put the chicken on the grill skin side down and watch for flare-ups.  You may need to move the chicken around a bit until the flare-ups die down.  Once the flare-ups stop, put two foil-covered bricks directly on top of the chicken and allow to cook undisturbed for 15 minutes.

This is what my chicken looked like after 15 minutes:

Remove the bricks from the chicken and carefully lift it up to check the skin.  The skin should be well-browned and crispy.  If so, it’s time to flip the bird!

Mine was a little more than well-browned when I flipped it over!  Ooooops!  But we’ll just pretend that it’s perfectly browned like the last one I grilled (and of course didn’t photograph).

When you flip it over, you don’t need to put the bricks back on the chicken.  Just let it finish cooking until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees…it will probably only take about 10 minutes.  As you can see, I flipped the wings back up on top to keep them from burning.  Not sure if it’s necessary, but it was easy enough to do.

When it’s finished, let it rest for ten minutes before carving.  Then divide it up and enjoy!

You can use any marinade or rub you want with this chicken.  You could even brine it first if you want.  And if you don’t have time to marinate it at all, that’s fine, too.  Just rub it with oil and herbs right before you grill it.  Have fun!

Around the Web:

• Pollo al Mattone at Divina Cucina
• Chicken Under a Brick at Restaurant Widow
• Moroccan Spiced Chicken Under a Brick at TasteFood

Oatmeal.  It’s not the most glamorous subject, is it?

I grew up eating oatmeal for breakfast on a fairly regular basis.  My Dad would often make it for us on cold, winter mornings before school.  Sometimes it would be plain and I would eat it with butter and a bit of brown sugar.  That wasn’t so bad.  Some mornings, he would add chopped dried apricots, my favorite way to eat oatmeal.  But more often than not, he would cook it with raisins.  Plump, rehydrated raisins.  Yuck!  While I now look back on those mornings with a certain fondness, I certainly wasn’t in love with oatmeal at the time!

I preferred things like my Mom’s french toast with butter and powdered sugar or my Dad’s soft-boiled eggs served over buttered toast.  And as far as hot cereals went, I loved the smooth and creamy bowls of ‘mush’ that I would eat at my Nana’s house (which I later found out was just boiled cornmeal).  Lumpy oatmeal with rehydrated, squishy raisins just wasn’t my idea of a wonderful breakfast in those days.

But tastes change and now I enjoy eating oatmeal for breakfast.  Even with raisins.  And no, I’m not talking about the little packets of overly-sweetened, artificially-flavored instant oatmeal.  I like the texture of old-fashioned rolled oats and, even more, steel cut oats.  When I have children, they’ll be eating oatmeal for breakfast, just like I did, squishy raisins and all!  By the way, do you know that it only takes five minutes to cook rolled oats?  Five minutes!  With all the varieties of ‘instant’ and ‘quick-cooking’ oatmeal available, you’d think that cooking the regular kind must take forever!  Wrong.

So now let me tell you a little more about my latest oatmeal love:  steel cut oats!  I like to think of steel cut oatmeal as ‘oatmeal for adults.’  Why?  Because it has a wonderful, chewy texture that I think is more appealing to me now than it would have been when I was a kid.  Steel cut oatmeal does take longer to cook, usually about 25 minutes.  But the great thing about steel cut oatmeal is that it can be made in advance because it reheats so well!

I like to make a large batch of it once a week, then divide it between individual plastic containers.  In the mornings I can pull out my little container of oatmeal, pour a little milk on it, and pop it in the microwave.  It’s my own version of instant oatmeal!  The steel cut oatmeal retains it’s chewy texture and you’d never guess it wasn’t fresh off the stove.  Have you ever tried reheating oatmeal made from rolled oats?  It turns into a gummy, gluey mess!

You see, I never have an appetite in the morning so I really have to force myself to eat breakfast.  Yes, I know that I just got through telling you that old-fashioned oatmeal only takes five minutes to cook. But when I don’t feel like eating anyway, I generally won’t put any effort into breakfast at all.  This is where my pre-cooked steel cut oats come in.  If all I have to do is take the container out of the fridge and pop it in the microwave, I’m much more likely to eat breakfast.  It’s even easier than pouring a bowl of cold cereal.  It’s true that I don’t ever want to eat breakfast in the morning, but my day sure goes a lot smoother when I do!

I first tried steel cut oats several years ago.  At the time, the only brand I knew was McCann’s Steel Cut Irish Oatmeal.  It comes in a pretty metal can, is imported from Ireland, and is rather expensive!  I’ll admit that the reason I first bought it was because I wanted that beautiful black, white and gold can (to this day, I still use the can to store spare change). But it turned out that I really enjoyed the oatmeal inside the can, too!  Due to the price, steel cut oatmeal was a luxury rather than a regular part of my diet for a few years.  But when we moved to San Diego, I had access to several stores that sell steel cut oats in bulk, for a much better price.  And now, thankfully, steel cut oats are gaining in popularity and are therefore much easier to find in regular grocery stores.

With it’s recent surge in popularity, you might think that steel cut oats are a new superfood or are somehow much healthier than other types of oatmeal.  The truth is that old-fashioned rolled oats and steel cut oats basically have the same nutritional value.  They are both made from whole grain oat groats, they are just processed differently.  And yes, they are both extremely good for you (but you knew that already)!

When rolled oats are made, the oat groats are steamed and rolled flat under heavy metal rollers.  This process results in the familiar-looking flat, flaky oats.  Quick-cooking and instant oatmeal are processed even further and in some cases, some of the bran may be removed.  If you want to make sure you’re getting all the good stuff, buy old-fashioned rolled oats, remember they cook up in only five minutes!

So if rolled oats are actually rolled, can you guess what happens when steel cut oats are made?  That’s right, the oat groats are cut into small pieces rather than rolled.  Common sense argues that since these steel cut oats are processed even less than the rolled oats, they are probably a tiny bit healthier for us.  But both types of oats retain the bran and germ, and both types are still considered to be whole grain.  I prefer steel cut oats for the texture, but if they happen to retain a bit more nutrition due to the minimal processing, then that’s even better!

Steel cut oats may also be called Irish oats, Scotch oats or pinhead oats.  Keep an eye out for them in the cereal section of your supermarket or the bulk bins of your local health food store.  If you decide to buy it in bulk, here are some general cooking guidelines:

Steel Cut Oatmeal

For one serving:  1 1/2 cups water  and 1/4 cup oats
For four servings or more: Use 1 cup of water per 1/4 cup oats for each serving  (i.e. 4 cups water/1 cup oats for four servings)

Bring water to boil in a medium saucepan (or large saucepan if making several servings at once).  Stir in oats and immediately reduce heat to low.  Watch carefully, because the water might foam up and boil over!  (If using an electric stove, and the water foams up before the burner cools down enough, briefly lift the pan off the heat and the foam will subside).  Simmer uncovered over low heat, stirring occasionally, for 25-30 minutes or until oats are of desired texture.

Notes: If making ahead with plans to reheat, I cook the oats for only 20-25 minutes. I like to add a tiny pinch of salt when I add the oats to the water, but this is entirely optional.  If you want to add dried fruit while the oatmeal is cooking, add a bit of extra water.  I like to cook 8 servings at a time:  I let the oatmeal cool slightly then divide into 8 small plastic containers, which can be refrigerated for up to one week.  To reheat, add a splash of milk or water, then microwave until heated through.  Stir and serve plain or with desired toppings.  I’m sure the oatmeal can also be frozen and reheated, but I haven’t tried that myself!

So what do you like to eat on your oatmeal?  My standard used to be a bit of milk, butter, and brown sugar.  But now I like to eat it with fresh berries or dried fruit and a small handful of chopped nuts.  Sometimes I cook the dried fruit with the oatmeal, sometimes I throw it in as I’m reheating it, or sometimes I just add it at the very end.  My favorite dried fruits are apricots, cherries, or cranberries. But this morning, I ate my oatmeal with nothing but a handful of plump, squishy raisins!

Whether you prefer steel cut or rolled oats, a bowl of warm oatmeal is a delicious, healthy and easy way to start the day.  Give it a try, your body will thank you!

You can learn more about the health benefits of eating oats at The World’s Healthiest Foods.

Around the Web:

• Steel Cut Oatmeal at Slashfood
• Steel Cut Oats at The Slow Cook
• Apple Spice and Cherry Pie Oats at Fatfree Vegan Kitchen
• Steel Cut Oatmeal with Caramelized Apples at Baking Bites

Before living in Sicily, I wouldn’t have been able to tell you what a fennel bulb looks like, much less known what to do with it.  I knew of fennel seed, but had been turned off by it’s strong licorice flavor after encountering too many links of over-fennelized Italian sausage over the years.  Luckily, four years of eating delicious, well-seasoned salsicce cured me of my fear of fennel seed.  But not only that, I was finally introduced to what has now become one of my favorite vegetables: fresh fennel.

Unlike the stronger-flavored fennel seed, the fennel bulb has just a hint of licorice.  In it’s raw form, it’s mild, crunchy, and just slightly sweet. And like other vegetables, the sweetness can be intensified through roasting.  Fennel has become much more common in American kitchens over the last several years, but if you’ve been hesitant about giving it a try, I heartily suggest you try some soon!  Fennel is in season and at it’s best from autumn through early spring, but you should still be able to find it now.

If you’ve never purchased or eaten fresh fennel, it might be a little intimidating.  Looking at it for the first time, I had no idea which part was supposed to be consumed.  Are you supposed to eat it raw?  If not, how do you cook it?  Well, that’s the great thing about fennel.  The whole thing is edible, from the white bulb to the feathery green fronds.  The bulb is delicious raw, especially in salads, but can also be sauteed, roasted, and even braised.  The green stalks can be chopped and added to stocks, soups and stews.  And the delicate fronds can be chopped and sprinkled over finished dishes, much like you would use any fresh herb.

While my favorite way to eat fennel is raw and thinly sliced in a salad, I recently decided to try using it in a soup.  One of my favorite soups in the world is my mom’s Potato Leek Soup, but with the onset of spring I’ve really been craving something lighter.  I knew I wanted to try a combination of fennel and leeks, but instead of adding potatoes as a thickener, I decided to make use of the head of cauliflower I found hiding in the bottom of my vegetable drawer.

It turned out to be a brilliant decision!  The cauliflower gave the soup some body, but didn’t overpower the delicate flavors of the fennel and leeks.  And since the soup is finished with whole milk rather than heavy cream, the soup has creamy flavor and texture, but still feels light.  It is a simple, delicious, and healthy soup that I think will appeal to kids and adults alike.

Creamy Fennel and Leek Soup

1 onion, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
2 medium fennel bulbs (stalks removed), chopped
3 medium leeks (white parts only), sliced
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
1 medium head cauliflower, chopped
1 quart chicken or vegetable stock (or broth)
1-2 cups water
2 cups whole milk
kosher salt, to taste
1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper, or to taste

1. In a large saucepan, melt butter in olive oil over medium-low heat.  Add onions, celery, leeks, and fennel and cook, stirring occasionally for 10-15 minutes, or until vegetables are softened and just starting to take on a bit of color.

2. Add the chopped cauliflower, the quart of stock, and enough water so that the vegetables are just barely covered with liquid (I added about a cup of water).  Turn up the heat, and bring the soup up to a simmer.  Cover, turn heat to low and let simmer for 30 minutes.

3. Remove pot from heat, and puree soup in the pot with an immersion blender. Alternately, you could puree the soup in batches in a blender or food processor (make sure to let it cool first!) and then return the soup to the pot.

4. Add the milk, and season to taste with salt and white pepper.  Return to low heat and cook until the soup is warmed through, but don’t let it boil.  Serve immediately.

Yield: 8 servings

Recipe notes: You can reserve and chop the fennel fronds and use them to garnish the bowls of soup.  This is a very light soup as is, but you can make it even lighter by using milk with a lower fat percentage.  I personally feel that the soup will taste best using whole milk, but feel free to make it according to your own preference.  Alternately, if you want a creamier soup, you can substitute part or all of the milk with half and half or even heavy cream.  I used chicken stock in my soup, but it can easily be made vegetarian by substituting vegetable stock.

Related Recipes:

• Carrot Potato Cheese Soup with Corn
• Chickpea Soup with Ginger and Coriander
• Creamy Spinach Soup
• Roasted Cauliflower and Artichoke Soup
• Potato Leek Soup

Around the Web:

• Carrot-Fennel Soup at Orangette
• Fennel Leek Soup at Kitchenography
• Fennel Soup at Cook Almost Anything
• Fennel Pear and Olive Salad at The Perfect Pantry
• Shaved Fennel Salad at Simply Recipes

I admit that I’m not much of a football fan, but all this talk about the Superbowl has been making me crave chili! Since I almost always have ingredients on hand to throw together a quick pot of chili beans, it was very easy to satisfy my craving last night.

Although I prefer to to use as many fresh ingredients in my cooking as possible, I always have a variety of canned beans and canned tomatoes on hand. Pair those two ingredients with some ground beef (or just skip the meat altogether), chopped fresh veggies, and some good quality chili powder and you’ve got an easy, healthy, hearty and inexpensive meal that just about everyone loves!

For this batch of chili I used kidney beans, black beans, and pinto beans because I think it’s fun to mix things up a bit. But you can really use any kind of beans you like or whatever you find knocking around your own pantry.

You can think of this chili recipe as a guideline and then put your own twist on it.  You can use more meat, less meat, no meat or you can swap the beef for some ground turkey!  If you want to leave the meat out, why not add an extra can of beans?  You could also add more onions and pepper and maybe even throw in some chopped carrots for some more color.  It’s entirely up to you!

So since this batch of chili will be finished before Superbowl Sunday, it looks like I’ll have to come up with some other things to make for game day.  I don’t even know who’s playing, but I always use the Superbowl as an excuse to make (and eat) lots of unhealthy snack food!  What are the rest of you planning on making?

Beef and Three Bean Chili

2  tablespoons olive oil
one large yellow onion, chopped
one green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
two cloves of garlic, minced
one large jalapeno, minced (seeds and all)
one pound of ground beef (I used 85% lean)
3 tablespoons chili powder*
2 teaspoons chipotle chili powder**
2 teaspoons cumin
1 cup of your favorite beer (I used a pale ale)
one 14.5 oz. can of fire-roasted diced tomatoes***
one 14.5 oz. can of fire-roasted crushed tomatoes****
one can of water (just fill an empty tomato can with water)
one small can of tomato paste
one can of pinto beans, drained and rinsed
one can of black beans, drained and rinsed
one can of kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1-2 cups of frozen corn (optional)
2 teaspoons kosher salt, or to taste

1. In a large saucepan or dutch oven over medium heat, cook onion and pepper in olive oil until softened, about five minutes. Add garlic and jalapeno and cook, stirring, for another minute, then add ground beef. Cook, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon, just until meat is no longer pink. Drain the fat from the pan then return to heat.

2. Add the two chili powders and cumin, and cook the spices and the meat together, stirring, for half a minute or so. Add the beer, stir, and allow to cook while you open all the cans and drain and rinse the beans.  Add all the tomatoes, one can of water (just fill an empty tomato can with water), tomato paste, and beans; stir well.  Bring mixture up to a slow boil then turn the heat down to low and simmer, partially covered, for about an hour.

3. As the chili simmers, stir it occasionally, and taste to see if you need/want more chili powder or cumin (don’t add salt until it’s done cooking).  Once chili has reached the thickness you like, stir in the frozen corn and cook for a few more minutes, then add salt to taste.  Eat immediately or wait for it to cool then refrigerate overnight.  The chili tastes even better the next day!  It can also be frozen.

Yield: 6 to 8 servings

Notes: *Feel free to use more or less chili powder depending on your preference. I probably used more than 3 T, but some people prefer a lot less! **optional, or can substitute one tablespoon chopped chipotle chile in adobo. ***they don’t have to be fire-roasted, that’s just what I had on hand. ****You could substitute one large (28oz) can of crushed tomatoes for the two smaller cans of diced/crushed tomatoes.  This chili did not seem spicy to me at all, but if you are making it for kids (or really wimpy adults), you can make these changes: remove all the seeds from the jalapeno before chopping (or leave it out altogether), leave out the chipotle chili powder, reduce regular chili powder to 2 tablespoons.

Around the Web:

• Chipotle Chili from Cooking with Amy
• Butternut Chili from Karina’s Kitchen
• Black Bean and Beef Chili from Kalyn’s Kitchen
• Black Bean and Quinoa Chili from Closet Cooking
• Chili con Carne from Simply Recipes

Related Recipes:

• Veggie Chili Beans and Rice
• Black Bean Dip with Whole Wheat Pita Chips
• Semi-Homemade Refried Beans