Lemon Basil Orzo

This recipe is an Iz Original. I was just playing around in the kitchen one night and decided to wing it!

Ingredients:

1 cup orzo (uncooked)

1/2 onion, diced to about the size of the orzo

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 can navy beans

1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes, diced (packed in oil or rehydrated in water if you buy the dried ones)

1/4 cup diced artichokes

2 tbsp fresh basil, chopped

1.5-2 tbsp finely-grated lemon zest

1/4 cup + 2 tbsp olive oil

1/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Cook the orzo as directed on the package.
2. In 1 tbsp olive oil, cook onions and garlic until onions are soft and transparent
3. Stir in the artichokes, sun-dried tomatoes, and beans. Cook for 5 minutes.
4. Remove from heat.
5. Stir in remaining olive oil, lemon zest, basil, and parmesan cheese.
6. Add orzo and toss to combine evenly.
7. Season with salt and pepper.

This recipe turned out really well. The lemon + basil combination was fantastic, and I might even add more lemon next time. I would also suggest using freshly cracked pepper - it was a nice complement to the lemon and basil flavours. Also, I would recommend chopping the vegetables as close to the size of the orzo as you can. It's nice to have that consistency in size. One thing I might try next time is adding some spicy heat - like a pinch of dried chili flakes.

Either way, this recipe was great and fresh-tasting. I will definitely make it again!

Pasta with Artichokes and Asparagus.

This is a recipe that a recent houseguest made for my roommate and I as a thank you. It was SO delicious and I have made it once since. It is a little pricey to buy all the ingredients, but it is such a treat.

Ingredients:

• ½ lb pasta (fettuccini or linguini)
• ½ cup olive oil, divided
• 1 yellow onion, julienned
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• ¼ lb asparagus, cut into small spears
• ¼ cup sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained and diced
• ½ cup walnuts, chopped
• 1 6.5 ounce jar of marinated artichokes, drained and quartered
• 2 tbsp fresh oregano, chopped
• 2 tbsp pitted Kalamata olives, chopped
• 2 ounces grated Parmesan cheese
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Cook pasta according to directions.

2. Heat 2 tbsp olive oil over low-to-medium heat.

3. Add onions and stir frequently, until caramelized (about 15-20 minutes).

4. Add remaining olive oil, garlic, asparagus, sun-dried tomatoes, and walnuts.

5. Cook until asparagus is tender (about 5 minutes).

6. Remove pan from heat and stir in artichokes, oregano, and olives.

7. Toss veggies with pasta, adding salt and pepper to taste.

8. Serve topped with Parmesan cheese.

Stuffed Tomatoes

I'm a little behind on my blog postings, but I've been cooking up a storm ever since I finished my Masters paper. (Yay me!)... Anyway, here is the first of many blog postings for today/this week.

I had hit up a local farmers' market and bought a whole bunch of local produce, including way too many tomatoes. So, I needed a way to use them up fast. I thought of stuffed tomatoes, which my mom used to make all the time. I googled a few recipes and didn't find one I was happy with, so I winged it and came up with this one.

Ingredients:

4 large tomatoes

1 onion, sliced into half-rings

2 cloves garlic, finely minced

1/2 can black beans

1 cup bread crumbs

1 tsbp fresh basil, chopped

1 tbsp fresh thyme, chopped

olive oil

salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees C.
2. Saute the onions and garlic in 1 tbsp olive oil on low-to-medium heat until very soft.
3. Meanwhile, cut top 1 inch off of tomatoes and scoop out the insides. Dice the tops and set aside.
4. Grease 4 oven-proof ramekins with some olive oil. Place tomatoes open-side up in the ramekins.
5. Add black beans to onions and garlic with some salt and pepper. Heat for about 5 minutes.
6. Stir in basil, thyme, and 2/3 cup bread crumbs. Add a bit of olive oil and stir until combined. (The breadcrumbs should bind the ingredients together a bit).
7. Fill each tomato with the stuffing and sprinkle with breadcrumbs.
8. Season with salt and pepper.
9. Bake for about 20 minutes or until tomatoes are heated through and breadcrumbs are browned and crispy.

This recipe turned out really well. Though I ate a few of these on their own, they'd make a great side dish to some grilled chicken or even chicken parm.

Thai Coconut Red Curry and Rice Noodles

It's been a while since my last post. I haven't stopped cooking, I just haven't had time to write. I'm working on completing my Masters in Linguistics and have a 40-60 page research paper due (kinda like my thesis) in a few weeks. Needless to say, writing even more than I have to is not always on my agenda. However, I have just submitted a second draft of the entire paper for editing... So I'm almost done and am feeling like writing a good blog post!

So I had tried to make this Thai soup on the weekend that called for 1/4 cup of coconut milk. The recipe was a fail, but thankfully I had all the leftover coconut milk to use up! I had planned on using a recipe that called for a can of diced tomatoes... Alas when I opened the can I realized it was seasoned with Italian spices... No go for a coconut Thai curry noodle dish! So I decided to just wing it and make my own recipe... And it worked PERFECTLY.

Ingredients

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp minced ginger

1 tbsp Thai red curry paste

1 tbsp fish sauce

3/4 cup coconut milk

1 1/2 tbsp peanut butter (smooth or chunky!)

2 tbsp brown sugar

chili sauce, to taste

1/2 cup snow peas, sliced on an angle

1/2 cup each, red and orange pepper

1/4 package rice noodles (or enough to serve 2 people)

Directions

1. Place rice noodles in a large bowl. Cover with boiling water and let sit.
2. Saute garlic and ginger in a pan with some vegetable oil until soft.
3. Stir in curry paste until fragrant (30 seconds or so - don't burn it!)
4. Add in fish sauce, coconut milk, peanut butter, and sugar. Stir well.
5. Bring to a boil. In the meantime, rinse and drain the noodles. They should a little harder than al dente.
6. Once sauce has come to a boil, add snow peas and peppers.
7. Reduce heat and simmer.
8. Once sauce has reduced until almost the desired texture, stir in the rice noodles.
9. Heat on low until sauce is at desired thickness and noodles are cooked to preference.

Seriously... This recipe was amazing. I wouldn't change a thing - except maybe I would make more next time! This made about 2 servings.

Mashed Cauliflower with Caramelized Onions, Black Beans, and Sauteed Spinach

Yesterday, I went to the grocery store and found that cauliflower was on sale. As much as I love it raw or steamed, I was hoping to do something fancy with this cauliflower. I had seen a few cooking shows where they mashed it, like you would do with potatoes, so I thought I'd try that out... I also had some leftover black beans and wanted to work that into the meal as well. So I steamed and mashed the cauliflower, caramelized some onions, and added the beans and spinach. DELICIOUS!

Ingredients:

• 1 head of cauliflower
• 3-4 tbsp sour cream
• garlic salt to taste
• black pepper to taste
• 1/2 onion, sliced
• 1/2 cup black beans
• 2 cups fresh baby spinach
• a little bit of chicken broth

Directions:

1. Cut the cauliflower into florets and place in a large pot, with enough water to cover the florets by about an inch or so.
2. Boil for 20-25 minutes, until the cauliflower is fork tender.
3. Meanwhile, heat a bit of veggie oil in a frying pan on medium-high.
4. Add onions and lower heat to medium. Cook slowly, added chicken broth as necessary to keep the onions moist.
5. While the onions are cooking, drain cauliflower.
6. Add sour cream, garlic salt, and black pepper.
7. Mash with a potato mashed or an immersion blender, depending on the texture you'd like.
8. Add the black beans and spinach to the frying pan, and cook until spinach is wilted and bright green.
9. Spoon mashed cauliflower onto plate and top with onions, beans, and spinach.

ENJOY!

Brown Lentils and Vegetables

I've always tried to cook with lentils, and somehow I always manage to mess it up! Nonetheless, I continue to try to cook them. This time, instead of purchasing canned lentils I decided to go with dried ones. It seemed to work out! I found this simple recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1 C of brown lentils
• 1 C carrots, diced
• 1 C red onions, diced
• 2 large cloves of garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1/2 C celery stalks, diced (I used bell peppers, since I didn't have celery on hand!)
• 1/4 C fresh parsley, chopped
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper

Directions:

1. In a medium saucepan, put lentils, carrots, onions, garlic, thyme, and bay leaf. Add just enough water to cover.
2. Bring to a quick boil, and then reduce heat and cover until lentils are tender but not mushy.
3. Drain well and then put the mixture in a medium bowl.
4. Add peppers (or celery... or both!), lemon juice, olive oil, and season with salt, pepper, and parsley.

Notes:

As I mentioned, I didn't have any celery on hand so I used finely diced bell peppers instead. I also didn't have any parsely, so I added a few dashes of other spices - cayenne pepper, cumin, and turmeric - to give it some flavour.

All around, this recipe was a success! Lentil win!

White Chicken Chili

This recipe is care of Dr. Skarakis-Doyle, my Masters supervisor. I recently purchased a cast iron casserole and was desperate to cook something in it, so Dr S-D sent this recipe to me. It was so easy to make and it's delicious!

Ingredients:

1.5 cup low-sodium chicken stock

1 cup diced onion

2 cloves of garlic, diced

2 tbsp all-purpose flour

2 tsp chili powder

1 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp salt

1/8 tsp fresh ground black pepper

1/2 tsp hot sauce (Tabasco or whatever you prefer)

1lb boneless, skinless chicken breast, cubed

2 cans of white beans (navy or kidney), drained and rinsed

1 can whole kernel corn, drained (I used about a cup of frozen corn)

1 can of chopped green chilis (found in the Mexican food section of your grocery store)

Toppings:

6 tbsp shredded cheddar cheese

6 tbsp reduced-fat sour cream

2 tbsp chopped cilantro

Directions:

1. Put all of the ingredients (aside from the toppings) into a pot.
2. Simmer covered on medium-high for one hour, stirring regularly.
3. Reduce heat and simmer for three hours.
4. Pour into bowls and top each bowl with a tbsp of sour cream, a tbsp of of shredded cheese, and a sprinkling of chopped cilantro.

The recipe was delicious! A word of caution - if you're using a cast iron pot, stir the chili frequently so as not to burn the bottom of the chili. Also, the chili turned out not to be too spicy, so I added a bit more hot sauce when I served it. Drizzle it over the sour cream for a nice presentation!