Winter Squash Soup

This recipe came about entirely because of one afternoon spent studying in a Panera Bread in Minneapolis and my subsequent obsession with their Autumn Squash soup. If you didn't get a chance to try it, it's insanely delicious and seriously addictive. Since all good seasonal items eventually are discontinued, I played with my own recipe for Butternut Squash Soup until I was satisfied that I had created a close copycat version of the original. I'm happy to say it received a very enthusiastic approval from my family when I served it over the holidays, and I know your families will love it too.

No Bake Energy Bites

Having healthy snacks available on hectic days is a must for me. I'm constantly running between the hospital and clinic, so my snacks need to be portable without requiring refrigeration. And even though I firmly believe fruit is the original prepackaged convenience food (seriously, an orange is very portable and even comes in it's own wrapper), it isn't always convenient to carry fruit in the pocket of your white coat. However, these little nuggets of deliciousness fit my lifestyle perfectly.

Veggie Marrakesh

This recipe was actually my husband's discovery and together we have been working on perfecting it ever since. It's hard to explain what marrakesh is, I've seen it likened to curries and tagines, but I think it's more consistent with what I consider a stew. Using spices traditional to Moroccan cuisine including cumin, turmeric and cinnamon, this dish certainly packs a lot of flavor and is perfect for those cool fall and early winter evenings when vegetables are plentiful at the market but you find yourself craving something warm and hearty.

Perfect Brown Rice Every Time

This is going to be one of those practical posts where we get back to the basics of cooking. When I was first learning how to cook, I cooked my rice in the microwave because it was the way my mom always did it, and predictably my rice boiled over into a starchy puddle of goop. Other people swore by their rice cookers as the secret to creating perfect rice, but truthfully no one really needs yet another unitasker appliance taking up precious real estate in their cupboards. In an interesting turn of events, my husband taught me the secret to cooking perfectly tender, fluffy brown rice every single time.  

Black Bean Tacos with Fresh Mango Salsa

Cooking for picky eaters is really tough. I think we all know someone who is very set in their taste preferences and completely unwilling to even taste something new.  My family seems to have more than it's fair share of picky eaters, and conversations at the dinner table include echoes of the same theme:  I don't eat that.  When you are a home cook trying to be health-conscious and increase the amount of vegetables and fruits in your family's diet while sticking to a budget, what can you do?  I say, get creative and get sneaky.

Fresh Mango Salsa

Salsa is a food with a ton of secret advantages. It tastes indulgent when it's actually low fat, low calorie, and high in fiber and other nutrients. It's cheap, especially when you take advantage of seasonal ingredients. It's surprisingly versatile - you can use any combination of vegetables, fruits, and spices you like to create the perfect blend of freshness, acidity, salt and spice. And even though it is shockingly easy to make, it never fails to impress families and guests. One of the most impressive and simple salsas that every home cook should have in their repertoire is fresh mango salsa.

Avocado Pear and Gorgonzola Salad

I know I've said this before, and I'm sure I will say it again about a different recipe, but this salad is absolutely amazing and I don't think I'm overstating my point. My go-to bag lunch is a salad, because it's easy to pull the ingredients together in my lunch bag, quickly chop toppings just before serving, and it helps me get in my veggie servings early in the day. And I could eat this salad every single day.

Red Quinoa Tabouleh

Whether you spell it tabouleh, tabbouleh, tabouli, or tabbouli, to me this simple dish is synonymous with summer. A tangy mix of fresh herbs, tomato, onion, and grains, tabouleh is rumored to have it's origins in an ancient culinary rivalry between Caesar and Cleopatra. (Hey, I really can't make this stuff up!)  My first experience with tabouleh was at a wonderful Lebanese restaurant in northeast Minneapolis and it is a staple on the menu of many Greek restaurants, although most sources consider it a traditional Arab dish. Traditional tabouleh is made with a grain such as bulgur or in American versions couscous, but for a healthier spin I wanted to use one of my new favorite ingredients, quinoa.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.