Ingredient: salt

Parmesan Broth with White Beans and Kale

You don’t throw away those end rinds of Parmesan cheese, do you? Please don’t. Ever. Take them and place them in a freezer baggie and freeze them for future use. Or, next time you are at a grocery store that has a nice cheese section, look around, sometimes stores will sell the rinds. Buy them. Every single one that you can find and stash them in the freezer like you are a squirrel hoarding acorns for the winter. These little flavor bombs are perfect to add to soups, stews, a pot of beans, and, of course, making Parmesan broth.

Making a pot of Parmesan broth is ridiculously simple. Plus, the smell of Parmesan broth cooking on your stove top will infuse your kitchen with the most delectable smell. The broth can be ready in under an hour. Then, you can decide whether add a few more ingredients and have dinner on the table or if you want to use the broth later, place it in the fridge or freezer for future use.

To make the broth you will put water, an onion, cloves of garlic, and the Parmesan rinds into a pot or Dutch oven. You don’t even have to peel the onions and garlic! Simmer for 45 minutes. Then, strain the soggy solids out which will have given up every ounce of flavor, and there you will have Parmesan broth. Now comes the fun part. What ingredients will you add to transform this broth into a scrumptious bowl of soup?

The world is your oyster here! Feel free to add whatever soup ingredients that you like. I decided to add a can of white beans, some leftover cooked quinoa, and kale. The addition of these ingredients transforms the Parmesan broth into an incredibly satisfying and hearty meal.

This recipe was inspired by the incredible Julia Turshen cookbook ‘Small Victories’. I would encourage you to track down a copy. Julia is a cookbook author, food writer, and hosted the first two seasons of Radio Cherry Bombe which featured interviews with amazing women in the world of food.

In the recipe from Small Victories, Julia added peas and some small pasta to her Parmesan broth. One of the features of the cookbook that I really enjoy in that she offers variations for all her recipes. I find that those suggestions inspire my creativity and also encourage me to look around my fridge, freezer, and pantry to use ingredients that I already have on hand rather than running to the store. One of her variations recommended beans and greens which I almost always have on hand. Plus, I had some leftover quinoa in the fridge so I threw that into the pot too. The result was an perfectly warming meal on a frigidly cold night.

Chipotle Rosemary Roasted Nuts

Give me a savory snack any day of the week over a sweet one. I seemingly lack the sweet tooth that so many people talk about which fuels their cravings. For me, just put a plate of cheese and crackers, chips and salsa, or a bowl of these flavorful Chipotle Rosemary-roasted Nuts by my side.

Inspired by a recipe from Ina Garten these nuts are delicious to eat and easy with common ingredients which can be found at the grocery store. This spicy, sweet nut mixture is a perfect for so many occasions. I love to make up cellophane bags to give to neighbors, coworkers, and friends. I also love to have a bowl of these out when friends stop by for a cocktail or glass of wine. You can also be a game day hero by putting out a bowl of these nuts to snack on when the big game rolls around.

Another reason that I love to make these nuts to keep in my pantry is that I prefer my snacks to be as close to whole food as possible. No bags of snack ‘food’ with a laundry list of unpronounceable chemicals for this girl! Nuts are naturally full of protein. They are also great if you like snacks that aren’t carb-loaded. But, keep in mind that they are also high in fat so enjoy in moderation.

I like to make this recipe with a mixture of my favorite nuts. I always include cashews, almonds, and pistachios. This time I also included pecans and peanuts because I had them on hand. You will want 7 cups of nuts in total for this recipe. Including peanuts into the mix can lower the cost of this recipe as they are typically less expensive than most other nuts.

You will also want to buy raw nuts. You will do the roasting and salting in your kitchen so you do not want to buy nuts that are already roasted and salted. A final tip is to make sure you have a metal spatula to stir the nuts while they roast and when then are out of the oven cooling. A plastic spatula will not do the job. I used the spatula from my BBQ.

The Best Beet and Potato Latkes

I turn into a total mush during the holiday season. I don’t know why. My typically even keel demeanor goes straight out the window during December. I find myself on an emotional roller coaster sobbing during commercials in the glow of the Christmas tree lights. I imagine it has something to do with all the memories of holidays past and the desire to make the holiday season as special as possible. It’s a lot to process.

But, thinking about, preparing, and sharing holidays meals is what keeps me grounded. Food magazines arrive in my mailbox full of beautifully photographed and delicious-sounding foods. I nearly jumped out of my chair with excitement when I saw the article on latkes in the December 2016 issue of Cooking Light. The magazine article features recipes for:

I want to try them all! But, I decided to start with the beet latkes. The recipe below was adapted from Cooking Light version.

Potato latkes have been associated with the celebration of Hanukah since the mid-1800s. If, like me, you love learning about the cultural meanings of food, you can check out this Atlantic article on the history of latkes. People of Jewish faith eat fried foods during Hanukah to celebrate the Miracle of the Oil where one day’s allotment of oil burned for eight days.

In addition to their cultural significance, latkes are just plain delicious. If you have never eaten them I encourage you to give them a try. I love latkes. I am absolutely full of affection for them. At their core, latkes are typically shredded potato and onion, flour, eggs, and seasoning that are fried in a skillet in a thin layer of oil. The potato pancakes turn out golden brown and crispy and are often served with sour cream and apple sauce.

To make beet latkes, you simply replace some of the potato with beets and their beet greens which give the latkes their spectacular coloring. So, when you are buying the beets make sure to buy beets with the greens still attached. The color contrast of the red beets and vibrant greens make this a perfect holiday meal. I am thinking that I need to plan a latke party.

Golden Beet, White Bean, and Orange Salad

I went through the first twenty-five years of my life thinking that I didn’t like beets. My only point of reference was the pickled beets that I encountered sliced up on salad bars. Those pickled beets just didn’t do it for me and never made their way to my plate.

Believe me when I tell you that back in the day, I knew a lot about salad bars. When I was in high school I worked at Burger King and back then BKs had salad bars where diners could make their own salads. I was the queen of that salad bar. I took pride in making sure that the salad bar looked fantastic when I was working. I would painstakingly arrange the kale (which was decorative in those days) around the containers of salad fixings. I would also make sure that the salad bar items were fresh and full and oh so tempting. I took it as a personal affront when people ordered hamburgers instead of a salad! But, I digress; let’s get back to this salad.

I can’t remember the exact moment when I first tried a roasted beet but it was well after my BK days. I just know that at some point I became a roasted beet fanatic. That discovery then led to me realize that I also love steamed beets, especially small beets. Their texture and flavor are well-suited to steaming. In the notes section below you will find cooking directions for steaming, roasting, and microwaving beets. Yes, microwaving. Who knew? I tried the method listed below and it works well. But, I included all three methods because I wanted you to have a few options so you can pick your favorite cooking method.

Beets bring an earthy flavor and wonderful texture to salads. In this salad, I chose to use golden beets for a few reasons. Firstly, I prefer working with golden beets because my kitchen and I don’t end up looking like a crime scene which sometimes happens when working with red beets. Also, don’t the yellow beets look gorgeous with the orange segments and pieces of green pistachios? I can’t help it; I like my food to be colorful and coordinated.

Once your beets are cooked, this salad comes together in a snap. You could cook your beets ahead of time if you need to get dinner on the table quickly during the week or if you want to serve this salad as part of your menu for a dinner party.

The combination of the beets and beans gives this salad some heft making it a light and satisfying meal on its own. But, it can also be paired nicely with fish, chicken, or pork.

If you are a beet lover should also check out my recipe for beet gazpacho.

Roasted Cauliflower with Tahini Sauce and Pomegranate Seeds

Steamed cauliflower stinks. Growing up I couldn’t stand the smell that would permeate beyond the kitchen when my Mom would steam cauliflower. So, for years I didn’t think that I liked cauliflower because it would never make it past my lips based on the smell alone.

Then, one day I discovered roasted cauliflower and my entire world view of cauliflower completely changed. Suddenly, I couldn’t get enough of the stuff. I often have cauliflower in my grocery cart during the winter months especially when the availability of fresh locally-grown produce is sparse.

Have you tried roasting cauliflower? I want to urge you to give it go if you’ve only had it steamed and didn’t care for it. You might find that roasting cauliflower changes your mind. I love cauliflower roasted simply with olive oil, salt, and pepper. But, sometimes you want a dish that has a little more pizzazz.

I think this roasted cauliflower with tahini sauce and pomegranate seeds could be a star of your holiday table. Or, it would brighten up a dreary winter meal. The pomegranate seeds make the dish sparkle!

The cauliflower is seasoned with an array of warming spices including sumac. Sumac is commonly used in Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cooking. If you aren’t familiar with sumac, it is well worth adding this lemony-flavored spice to your pantry. Sumac can be found as Middle Eastern markets or ordered online. Buying new spices is one of the reasons I love shopping at ethnic markets.

Tahini is crushed sesame seed paste and a crucial ingredient in hummus, baba ghanoush (roasted eggplant dip), and halva (a sweet confection which was a childhood favorite of mine). Tahini is available in most supermarkets in the ethnic food aisle. You will want to give the paste a stir before using because much like natural peanut butter, tahini can separate when sitting on the shelf.

Winter Squash & Havarti Puffs

A neighbor once told me that she had never met anyone who pleasure read cookbooks before she met me. She made that comment years before blogs and the internet were a thing. I wonder what she would think if she knew how much time I spent perusing food blogs these days. There are a ton of really, really good ones. I mean they not only have delicious-looking recipes but also breath-taking photographs.

This recipe is inspired by the Kabocha and Havarti Pocket recipe on the I Will Not Eat Oysters blog. I was practically drooling when I saw the photos she posted. Plus, who doesn’t love roasted squash at this time of year? It’s so seasonal, baby!

I have been actively seeking out recipes using winter squash because my friend Laraine had a bumper crop of winter squash this year and generously shared her harvest with me. I used a buttercup squash for this recipe but you could substitute butternut, red kuri, or kabocha squash too. The process will be the same regardless of which squash you chose. You will want to use a really sharp knife to cut through the hard skin of the winter squash. I quartered the squash and scraped out the seeds and strings. If you use butternut squash you will only need to cut it in half lengthwise instead of quarters.

Another modification that I made to the recipe was to add a bit of heat to the roasted squash filling. I added chipotle chili powder, cayenne pepper, and a little drizzle of maple syrup. I thought the sweetness of the squash and creaminess of the Havarti could stand up to the additional spices. I am happy to report that the result was delicious! In keeping with the fall flavors I also used apple cider vinegar instead of the champagne vinegar called for in the original recipe.

These tasty little treats are super versatile too. You can make small puffs which are perfectly-sized appetizers which can be eaten in two bites. Or, you can make larger puffs and serve them as an entree. I would pair the larger puffs with a salad and crisp Sauvignon Blanc.

Zucchini Pie

My grandmother and Great Aunt Mary used to make zucchini pie every summer. Zucchini pie is not quite a quiche but not really a frittata either. The recipe that they used called for Bisquick baking mix and ½ cup of oil.

It smelled great while it was baking and was also a great way to use up garden zucchini. It packs well for picnics, potlucks, or brown bag lunches. Served with crusty bread and a salad it can be a light supper.

This recipe is mash up of the zucchini pie I remember from growing up but lightened up with inspiration from the Crust-less Summer Zucchini Pie recipe from the Skinnyaste blog. I prefer the zucchini sliced rather than shredded and use only Parmesan rather than a combination of mozzarella and Parmesan. Although, I am sure the combination of both cheeses would be delicious too.