Oven "Fried" Zucchini with Lowfat Buttermilk Ranch

Lately I've taken a liking to a local restaurant's newest side dish: breaded fried zucchini. And yes, it's exactly as good as it sounds! But between greedy bites I'm keenly aware of the amount of grease that has soaked into those perfectly healthy veggies and inevitably guilt sets in. Fortunately, this year my garden has been graced with a very prolific zucchini plant so I've had plenty of materials with which to craft a lighter oven "fried" zucchini.

Pasta di Estate

The last days of summer mean many different things. As I write today I can see the very tips of my neighbor's maple just starting to turn a familiar shade of orange. The days have already begun to feel shorter, the evenings are noticeably cooler, and predictably we try to fit as much into our schedules as we can before fall starts. After a long day on the hospital wards, a comforting bowl of fresh pasta is my favorite way to enjoy the little bit of summertime I have left. Pasta di Estate, literally 'summer pasta' in Italian, takes advantage of the fresh tomatoes and herbs currently available at any corner produce stand in a family-friendly dish you can take from stove top to table in 20 minutes.

Spicy Thai Basil Stir Fry with Tofu and Cashews

Who doesn't love a fast dinner that utilizes the best of what you have growing in your garden (or local farmer's market)? That about sums up this dish that I put together  for dinner with the hubs last week. We love stir fry, but I feel there's only so many ways you can mix together citrus, soy sauce, cilantro and veggies before it gets boring. So to spice things up literally and figuratively, I pulled a few ingredients that are at right at their peak in my Minnesota garden to create a fresh take on classic stir fry.

Roasted Vegetable Pizza with Lemon Ricotta Sauce

Sorry for the long hiatus, but the past two months have been about just getting by one day at a time. The good news is I am finally done with boards and have started clinical rotations which means I actually have a little free time on the weekends to get back in the kitchen!  To start, I have a fresh take on a house staple using seasonal ingredients for a delicious summertime dish.

Dark Chocolate Raspberry Faux-Yo

While some people may joke about having a killer sweet tooth, my husband jokes that I have a serial killer sweet tooth - and he's absolutely right. I have always loved to bake, so naturally dessert is my favorite part of any meal. According to the USDA desserts are officially a "sometimes food," but for those of us watching our weight desserts seem absolutely forbidden. With this recipe, that's not entirely true.

Fresh Mushroom Salsa

Oh how I adore fresh salsa, and this is one of my absolute favorites! This is a slightly modified version of my mother in law's mushroom salsa recipe which has become a staple at family parties. Like all fresh salsas this is simple to make, and if you like mushrooms this recipe is definitely worth a try.

Spicy Cilantro Pesto Pizza

It's rare for me to get bored with foods, but for me pizza is one of those things that gets old fast. I also tend to be a minimalist when it comes to pizza, my favorite being a traditional neopolitan-style pie on a thin crust fired in a brick oven. A few months ago I stumbled upon a frozen pizza that used a cilantro pesto in place of traditional red sauce, and it was absolutely delicious! Of course that means my grocery store promptly stopped carrying it. In protest of losing access to a favorite go-to quick dinner option from the freezer section, I decided to rewrite the book on frozen pizza.

Pasta Caprese

Arguably one of the best flavor combinations in the vast culinary universe are the flavors found in insalata caprese. Fresh mozzarella, basil, and tomatoes slices in a light vinaigrette are always a delicious combination which is probably why we see these same ingredients together in everything from salads and sandwiches to pasta and pizza. This recipe is a simple pasta that can be made in just 20 minutes and is delicious served hot or cold making, it a perfect dish for the spring and summer months.

Classic Hummus with Kalamata Tapenade

To be honest, I've never had much of an appreciation for olives. But while on vacation I tried a delicious traditional hummus with olive tapenade and the combination was amazing! The nutty flavor of the chickpeas mellowed the natural bitterness of the olives so I could finally enjoy the subtle fruity flavor of this widely popular ingredient.

Pumpkin Curry

Thanks to a traumatizing experience in third grade involving coconut milk, I have avoided all foods that use it as an ingredient. But recent trips to Thai restaurants have changed my perspective, opening up a whole new world of flavors and combinations perfectly suited for my vegetarian ways. For my first venture into Thai cooking, I started with a vegetarian version of a classic Thai dish, pumpkin curry.

Moroccan Stuffed Squash

I just returned from a much needed mini-vacation from school and studying for boards. After several days of dining at some of the best restaurants in Minneapolis, I'm refreshed, inspired, and back in the kitchen with several new recipes to share in the coming weeks. Hopefully you have found a little time to test out some new recipes too. If they're one of mine, please post your comments - I love to hear from you! For now, here's a recipe that gets top ratings from the hubs.

Baked Onion Rings

A long time ago I remember giving a restaurant server a very hard time for putting onion rings on top of my burger. At the time, I failed to recognize the genius behind taking one of the world's most delicious foods and using it as a topping instead of a side dish. No one needs a lecture on how deliciouly unhealthy deep fried onion rings are for the body, so instead I'll tell you about my quest to perfect the baked onion ring.

Cowboy Burgers

Last summer at a family BBQ when everyone else was enjoying grilled chicken, I had grilled tofu burgers from my grocer's freezer section. I had overcooked them (okay, I epically cooked the snot out of them thereby inventing tofu briquettes). Not exactly appetizing. My aunt fed the leftover patty to her dog who proceeded to spit it out, scratch at it, bury it in the garden, and then peed on it. I promise I am not making that up! After that experience I lost my appreciation for frozen veggie burgers, which is a good thing because fresh homemade veggie burgers are simple, cheap and delicious.

Roasted Squash and Caramelized Onion Lasagna

Earlier this year we had a guest lecturer at the medical school who proposed that  if we strictly adhere to our daily caloric intake every day of the year, we could come to holidays and special occasions and enjoy those special foods without a significant consequence. After giving it some thought this idea makes a lot of sense, because those 100-200 calories extra 360 days of the year adds up quickly when compared to the 1000-2000 extra calories 5 days a year. So here's a recipe perfect for those special occasions, with a few healthy conventions to help ease the guilt a little.

Bechamel Sauce

Generally I'm not one to get overly excited about French cooking, but this sauce is a delicious winner! Despite it's fancy name, bechamel is a simple sauce made by whisking scalded milk into a roux and then seasoned with nutmeg. It's one of the five mother sauces of French cuisine, and is often used as a base for other dishes like mac and cheese, casseroles, and creamy soups. After researching the origins of a true bechamel I learned that this is actually a Mornay sauce because of the Parmesan cheese, but I'll be true to the original spirit of the recipe and call it a bechamel.

Lo Mein with Bok Choy and Tofu

My Chinese takeout order of choice as of late has been veggie lo mein with a side of cream cheese wontons.  But it is exceedingly rare to find a decent veggie lo mein that tastes fresh, isn't covered with oil, and has a good ratio of veggies to noodles. And more often than not, twenty minutes after dinner I will end up with a ripping MSG-induced headache. After years of disappointment, I concluded my love of Chinese takeout was not worth the headache (pun intended) and began researching recipes for my favorite takeout meals.  After years of experimenting, this has become one of my favorite recipes.

Baked Cream Cheese Wontons

I can't order Chinese food and not order a side of cream cheese wontons. They're my favorite part of the entire meal - warm, crisp, sweet, and outrageously addictive. But just one deep-fried wonton has 120 calories and 8 grams of fat making them a very guilty pleasure. The other thing about take out wontons is they're always cold by the time they arrive at your door. To solve all my wonton woes, I learned how to make these at home.

Northern Cornbread

Every once in a while during my childhood my mom would serve Jiffy cornbread with dinner. We all enjoyed the sweet flavor of corn perfectly blended with butter from the Millerville Co-Op Creamery and topped with honey from a neighbor's bees. It was heavenly! Last year I made a batch of chili to bring to a friend's house for a potluck but I was completely out of cornbread mix, so I sent the hubs to the store to pick up a few boxes. He came home with a container of cornmeal. After a brief exchange of very frustrated words I found a recipe online for cornbread and decided to give homemade cornbread from scratch a try. Since that day I haven't bought a single box of Jiffy cornbread mix. So the real credit for this gem in my recipe collection goes to the hubs for making an epically brilliant shopping mistake!

Four Bean Chili

If you think chili needs meat, then you don't know beans! Unlike meats, beans are naturally low in fat, they're saturated and trans fat free, and are a cholesterol-free source of protein. They're an excellent source of fiber and complex carbohydrates giving them a low glycemic index which is perfect for anyone managing their blood sugar. Beans are also loaded with antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals including folate, potassium, iron, copper and magnesium. A purely bean chili makes a protein-packed meal without the added fat and cholesterol that gives a good recipe a bad nutritional reputation.

Baked Falafel

In the words of novelist Roald Dahl, "we all have our moments of brilliance and glory, and this was mine." Definitely one of the tastiest things you can do with chickpeas, falafel is one of my favorite foods of all time. It's a traditional middle-eastern street food made from chickpeas and spices, deep fried and served with tzatziki sauce wrapped in pita bread. I know, right?  But there is a certain amount of guilt that accompanies any dish that has been fried, so I decided to invest some time in perfecting a lighter falafel. I tried mixes, pan-searing, browning the patties in a skillet before finishing them the oven, even a version where I skipped cooked chickpeas and just soaked dry chickpeas in water and baking soda. At the end of the day, the easiest methods turned out the best quality product. Now that's my kind of cooking!

Tzatziki

They say that vegetarian cuisine has it's roots in Greek cooking, and both have been sources of culinary musings in my kitchen for quite some time. The essence of Greek food is simple ingredients including fruits, nuts, grains, legumes, vegetables, olive oil, honey and yogurt - all of my favorite things. The cooking methods are also simple, enhanced by traditional Greek seasonings of garlic, oregano, basil, mint and thyme. What you get is a seemingly endless variety of combinations and flavors to choose from. But what I love most about Greek food is the idea that the social aspect of dining, specifically family, friends, ambiance and conversation, are as essential to a good meal as the food itself.

Whole Wheat Pita Bread

There isn't another bread in the world that is more versatile than pita. It makes a delicious base for pocket sandwiches filled with falafel or salads. You can use it instead of a traditional pizza crust. There isn't a more perfect delivery vehicle for dips like tzatziki, hummus, or even tabouleh salad. You can even slice it, season it, and bake it to make lowfat homemade pita chips. But until you've eaten homemade pita bread, you have no idea how good pita can be!

Pear and Havarti Panini

The only thing you need to know about this dish was said very eloquently by a friend who tried it for the first time last week: "Yummy, yummy, yummy, there's panini in my tummy!" Paninis are the ultimate sandwich delicacy in my book because they're uber-simple to make and crazy delicious. They're fantastic in winter paired with soup or in the summer with a cold salad. And this is the world's most perfect panini.

Honey Wheat Bread

When I was a kid I always made honey wheat bread for the county fair. I remember spending hours in the kitchen on a hot August afternoon trying to craft the perfect loaf in hopes of getting a blue ribbon. Obviously my life is filled with more responsibilities than I had at 12 giving me less free time to bake honey wheat bread from scratch. So while dreaming of how this bread would be the ideal addition to the perfect panini sandwich, I set out to make an easier honey wheat bread.

Blood Orange, Beet, and Fennel Salad

The older I get, the more I love the foods that I refused to even taste as a child. This salad includes several of those flavors - beets, fennel, and onion. Let me explain. I grew up in a tiny little town in rural Minnesota where you were either Lutheran or Catholic, Scandinavian or German, and lived on a farm or in town. At every family gathering we ate pickled beets, which to an 8 year old are decidedly gross. My disgust for pickled beets probably had very little to do with the beets and more to do with the fact that the beets were served alongside potato sausage, pickled herring, creamed peas, and lutefisk. Thank goodness for lefse, otherwise I wouldn't have eaten anything! It wasn't until this past summer when my mother-in-law planted beets in my garden that I first ate beets that weren't pickled, and it turns out they are very delicious and one of my new favorite foods!

Creamy Sweet Potato Burritos

This recipe came about after I came home from the supermarket with a can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce that mistakenly made it into my cart. It sat in my cabinet for a year before I even opened up the can to see what was inside. One night while making my usual black bean burritos, I opened up the can and the Creamy Sweet Potato Burrito was born. It has evolved a lot from my first attempt, including one fateful evening when I managed to use an entire can of pureed peppers to create burrito filling so spicy we couldn't even eat it. Thankfully, this version has been perfected!

Deep Dish Veggie Pizza

Regardless of what nutritionists say, I think pizza makes a spectacularly perfect meal.  But I can appreciate why it has such a bad reputation.  We've changed the way we think of pizza, making crusts thicker, stuffing them with extra cheese, and topping them with fatty cuts of meat.  This recipe is a lighter version of the traditional deep-dish style pizza that still tastes hearty and filling.  I've added more veggies to a little less cheese, used a very flavorful sauce, and piled those toppings onto a deceptively delicious whole wheat crust.

Breakfast Bread Pudding

Everyone knows egg bakes are perfect for serving guests because they're easy to make ahead of time, keep well, and always a crowd pleaser.  But egg bakes aren't just for weekends anymore.  A good egg bake makes a convenient breakfast for busy weekday mornings when you need a solid breakfast on the go.  I like to make this recipe on Sundays and take a slice with me to school the rest of the week, buying me a little extra sleep time every day.  Who wouldn't enjoy getting a little extra sleep?

Wisdom Bread

My recipe for Wisdom Bread came after a long conversation with a trusted classmate in the medical student lounge last spring.  I was feeling very unsure of myself (ok, maybe it was a bit of a pity party) and she shared some wonderful advice that really helped me shift back to my usual attitude of gratitude.  That afternoon I felt very inspired to do some baking, something that was earthy, nurturing, and comforting - something that tasted good for the soul.  The final result was exactly that, a crusty, dense loaf with earthy flavors of whole wheat, yeast and rosemary.  It's the perfect base for a veggie sandwich, paired with a plate of pasta, or even a bowl of homemade soup.  I like to gift this loaf to my preceptors (a physician instructor who gives practical training to medical students on clinical rotations) as a way of thanking them for sharing their time and knowledge with me.  And I never ever forget to bring an extra loaf for their nurse!

Arizona's Black Bean Burgers

Happy Meatless Monday everyone!  For those of you who aren't familiar with the magic that is Meatless Monday, it all started during World War I.  Wait, did you think I was going to tell you about some modern hippie food movement?  During WWI the US Food Administration encouraged families to decrease their food consumption to help support the war effort, coining terms like Meatless Monday and Wheatless Wednesday.  These efforts resumed in WWII when food rationing was used to supply food to war-ravaged Europe.  In 2003, Meatless Monday was revived by combined efforts of former advertising executive Sid Lerner and Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health's Center for a Livable Future.  Their goal was to develop a public health awareness campaign in response to the increasing prevalence of preventable diseases associated with excessive meat consumption.  Since it's beginning, Meatless Monday has become a global phenomenon and I'm challenging you to go meatless on Mondays.  For more information and recipe ideas, visit the Meatless Monday website.

Seasoned Sweet Potato Oven Fries

There is nothing that makes a burger taste better than a side of delicious french fries.  But we all know traditional french fries made with white potatoes deep fried in oil are a nutrition don't.  Giving up bad-for-you-foods doesn't need to include french fries, you just need to shift your thinking and discover oven fries.

Fresh Corn Salsa

There's something almost magical about fresh homemade salsa.  Maybe it's the fresh veggies or perhaps it's knowing that someone cared enough not to simply open a jar, but it's always delicious.  The best thing about homemade salsa is there is no wrong way to make it.

Farmer's Breakfast

I don't think there is anything better on a lazy Sunday morning than a hearty, family-style breakfast, and this recipe fits that order perfectly!  The combination of fresh veggies, melted cheese, and basted eggs are simply unbeatable in nutrition and taste, and it's simple to prepare.  You can easily customize this recipe depending on what veggies you have hand.  In a word, this is simply brunchtastic!

Basted Eggs

I love fried eggs in the morning but I have an aversion to runny yolks, so I generally have to cook the snot out of my egg whites to get a fully cooked yolk.  I hate the resulting stringy, crispy, egg whites that are left and don't get me started on the amount of butter I added to the pan to keep the eggs from sticking.  This morning, I want to tell you about a better way to cook your eggs.

Curried Chickpea Polenta

There is a fantastic restaurant nearby that makes some wicked curried chickpea polenta.  As I've said before, medical school interferes with my restaurant budget, so I decided to try my hand at recreating this dish at home.  I have made traditional polenta before, but chickpea polenta was a new venture. Polenta has both good and bad reputations.  It's very popular among foodies as a flexible vegetarian go-to in place of pasta, as a base for vegetable ragouts, and even in appetizers, but I think using it this way makes it seem much more complicated than it truly is.  At the end of the day making polenta is a great trick to have up your apron sleeve because its simple to make, is very easy to customize depending on the dish and how you intend to serve it, and it always impresses guests.

Minnesota Tomato Soup

Last fall the hubs and I spent one exhausting day in the kitchen and garden, and at the end of it all we had 32 quarts of Minnesota Tomato Mixture in our cellar.  Every time I open a jar it tastes exactly like fresh tomatoes from the garden.  Since I woke up to a fresh coat of snow in the backyard this morning, I decided today would be a perfect day to open up a jar of summer and make some homemade tomato soup.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Muffins

Chocolate chip muffins are one of my favorite breakfast guilty pleasures.  Nutritionally speaking, they're equivalent to a piece of cake without the frosting, which is not the best way to start the day.  So I set out on a mission to create a better chocolate chip muffin that I wouldn't feel so guilty about enjoying on a busy weekday morning.

Duke's Wild Rice Hotdish

Two years ago my Dad died from pancreatic cancer, and the world lost a wonderful person and a pretty fantastic cook.  If my basic cooking strategy is to use fresh ingredients and simple preparation, my Dad's cooking strategy was to always cook things low and slow.  I loved coming home from college on weekends because I could count on trying one of his experimental hotdishes.  No matter how bizarre the ingredients (potato chips, rice, and vegetable soup - really?), they were always delicious and tasted better the next day.  Holidays were also a special occasion because my Dad's formula for entertaining guests was for every three guests you needed two different types of meat.  I'm sure my decision to become vegetarian is in some because I know that no one will ever make a prime rib like Duke could!

This recipe of my Dad's is one of my personal favorites, and it certainly was a crowd pleaser!  Cooked low and slow in one of his beloved crock pots, this dish really sums up all of the flavors of my childhood.  The first time he made it we tasted it together and debated what, if anything, it needed.  His eyes lit up and he said, "I know what it's missing," and he proceeded to add 1/2 lb. of butter to the crock pot.  And he was right!

Reviving Celery

This morning when I went to grab my celery and peanut butter for breakfast my bunch of celery was completely wilted.  So frustrating!  I learned this trick from a friend, and  it's something every home cook should know.

Reviving Celery
Cut the bottom core (3") off the celery bunch and place it into a tall glass.  Add water and stand in the refrigerator overnight.

In the morning you'll have a bunch of celery as crisp as the day you bought it.  Since you have some fresh crisp celery in your fridge, try slicing up a few stalks and enjoy it with some peanut butter for a fast, portable breakfast.  It's a well balanced meal, you can check off one of your veggie servings for the day and it's delicious.  Enjoy!

Homemade Croutons

Anytime I make a side salad with the dinner, the hubs asks if I'm making homemade croutons to go with it.  Making homemade croutons is a skill every cook should have because it's simple, inexpensive, delicious, and never fails to impress.

Spicy Thai Tofu Lettuce Wraps

At my house we love stir fry, but despite the infinite combinations of veggies and sauces even we get a little stir-crazy at the thought of the same old stir fry.  I developed this recipe as a way to reinvent one of my favorite go-to dinners, and it has since made a regular appearance at our table.

Pressing Tofu

When I first became a vegetarian it was really difficult.  My meals always felt like they were lacking something, because my primary sources of proteins were beans, dairy products, and peanut butter.  I refused to eat anything made with tofu because I couldn't stand the texture.  Every time I tried preparing tofu I ended up with a mushy, scrambled-eggy mess.  In one of my cookbooks I ran across instructions for pressing tofu to get rid of the excess water.  I already hated the stuff so this couldn't make it any worse, right?  What I learned is how my favorite restaurants serve crisp, pan-seared, firm tofu in stir fry - you just need to press the water out.

Spiced Sweet Potato Salad

I have a love hate relationship with salads.  I love ordering fancy salads at restaurants, but I hate the disappointment I feel when I realize how simple it would be to make the same dish at home.  I love the idea of making a big fancy salad at home, but I hate that a salad you make at home never tastes as good as a salad you paid for.  But during a study break the other day I found myself picking through my refrigerator trying to piece together enough ingredients for a fast dinner, and I stumbled upon salad-making gold!  Having the right mix of salad greens made all the difference.  Trust me, if you have some fresh dill, you should throw a little of that in there too.  I know, it makes absolutely no sense, but it tastes amazing with the rest of the flavors in this salad.  It's hearty, nutritious, absolutely gorgeous, and it was ready in 20 minutes.

Honey Lime Vinaigrette

I dare you to read the ingredients on your favorite vinaigrette.  Kinda gross, isn't it.  Vinaigrettes are so simple - oil and vinegar, and if you're really trying to impress someone special you can add some fresh herbs.  That's it!  Yet we insist on having a special bottle of salad dressing to suit every taste and flavor combination imaginable.  I am embarrassed to admit how many bottles of salad dressing I currently have in my refrigerator, usually because it sounded great in the store only to be a disappointment at the dinner table.  So I propose a better solution: just make your own.

Baked Southwest Egg Rolls

If you're like me, you can make a meal out of finger foods.  Several popular restaurant chains offer versions of Tex-Mex Egg Rolls, but they're loaded with fat and calories.  A serving of three rolls at one big restaurant chain  costs you 810 calories and 51 grams of fat.  That's almost half a day's caloric intake let alone a starter before the meal.

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

Personally, I like to graze between meals to avoid turning into a crazed hypoglycemic madwoman while I'm trying to cook dinner.  But it can be really difficult to find a healthy, simple snack that is nutritious, tastes great, and is actually satisfying to get me through the hours between lunch and dinner.  From my education, I know that protein and healthy fats are the way to go for maximum satiety, and as a vegetarian I found hummus to be a great option to enhance my snacking experience.  There's just one small problem...store bought hummus is expensive, contains some weird ingredients ending in -ate that I can't pronounce, and in my humble opinion has a weird off-taste that I just don't like.  Looking at the label and ignoring the -ates, hummus is a very simple product made from chickpeas, oil, lemon juice, seasonings and tahini.  How hard can it be to make?

Vegetable Pot Pie

One of my all-time favorite comfort foods is pot pie.  I mean, how can you go wrong with root vegetables covered in a cream and butter sauced baked in a flaky golden brown pie crust?  But since going vegetarian I haven't been able to find a decent vegetarian pot pie anywhere, and don't get me started on the sodium content of the pot pies in the freezer section.  Since I can't in good conscience give you a recipe loaded with saturated fat and cholesterol,  I've created a simple to make, lighter version perfect for Sunday dinner on a wintry day.  Only 350 calories per serving.  Enjoy!

Steaming Vegetables

The entire purpose of using fresh vegetables in any recipe is to preserve the flavor and nutritional content mother nature intended.  As usual, we ruin the health benefits of vegetables during preparation.  Boiling vegetables leeches out nutirents, including vitamin C, folate, and flavonoids.  Frying vegetables is great in theory until you account for the oil you need to add to the pan and the amount of time it can take to fully saute an entire batch of vegetables.  Steaming is a fast, simple, and foolproof way to cook your favorite veggies with minimal fuss and virtually no mess, and it protects their nutrient content.

Welcome to J's Gastronomy

Welcome!

The contents within are loosely guided by the idea that life is complicated, your food shouldn't be.  I must confess, I don't know enough about cooking to justify writing yet ANOTHER cooking blog to share my recipes with the world.  Instead, I want to provide a resource for people who are short on time, money, and know-how, but want to create delicious, simple, and nutritious foods for themselves and their loved ones.