Saffron couscous with chicken and veggies

 

I see the light at the end of the tunnel. Temperatures have been higher in the past few days and it looks like tomorrow we might break 40. What a dream. The thing is, I have all these really cute spring clothes I want to wear, but the weather hasn't really been warm enough for any of them. And that's not the only problem. I had also gained some weight in the past few months, which made my clothes fit horribly, if they fit at all. Now I'm 7 pounds down and things are looking brighter. Another 5-7 pounds and I'll look and feel great, ready for warmer days and lighter clothes.

This is one of my "diet" recipes. One of the things that is helping me lose weight is packing my own lunch, so I don't end up eating huge sandwiches or pizza at some restaurant. Hence the tupperware in the photo. Sorry if it doesn't look great, but I swear it tasted really good!

SAFFRON COUSCOUS

For 1:

1/2 cup couscous

1 packet saffron

1 chicken breast, cut into pieces

 1 cup frozen peas, thawed

1 carrot, minced

1 small onion, minced

Salt and pepper

Evoo

Cook couscous according to directions, adding saffron to the water.

In a small skillet heta up a little olive oil. Add carrot, onion and peas, cook for a minute. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper, then add to skillet and cook with veggies until browned.

Fluff couscous with a fork, add to skillet, mix well and serve.

Asian lettuce wraps

                   

Happy Dragon year everyone!

I thought I'd take a little break from posting travel pictures and post a recipe, just to remind myself 8and all of you) that this still is a cooking blog after all. Travels are cool, but unfortunately I don't travel every day. On the other hand, I do tend to cook on a daily basis, especially in the winter, especially when I'm trying to get back in shape after over two months of food and drink orgies.

Since the world is celbrating the Chinese new year, I thought I'd cook one of my favorite Asian recipes, one that I used to eat at PF Cheng's when I lived in Florida. I know, Cheng's isn't exactly a real Chinese joint, but their lettuce wraps rocked and they are light enough and veggie packed enough to satisfy both my weight loss challenge and my healthy habits- eat more veggies! challenge.

So here it is. Maybe not the most adventurous Chinese recipe, but a good, solid one.

ASIAN LETTUCE WRAPS

1 pound ground chicken

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon dark sesame oil

1 tablespoon hoisin sauce

1 tablespoon siracha

1 tablespoon sweet and sour sauce

To serve:

Lettuce leaves

Bean sprouts

Shredded carrot

Shredded cabbage

Cooked brown rice

Heat a non stick skillet or a wok. Mix soy sauce and next 4 ingredients in a bowl. Add chicken to skillet and stir to crumble. Pour sauce over it and cook for about ten minutes, until chicken is done. If the meat should get dry, add a little more sauce. I added siracha because I love the heat it gives to the dish!

When chicken is done, cover and remove from stove.

Serve with lettuce leaves.



Potato and mushroom cups

I'm soooo tired these days. Last night I had the closing shift at the newspaper and afterwards, I stayed up drinking beer and watching The Mentalist until 3 am. Not smart, I know, but I have such a hard time unwinding, especially after a night like last night, when people seem to drive you crazy on purpose. When the alarm went off this morning at 9, I was tired, but thought I felt pretty good for how little I had slept. It's now 11:24 and I just hit a major wall. I could curl under my desk and go to sleep. Instead I have an interview to transcribe, pages to take care of and the thought that tonight it's Christmas tree/decorations time!

Of course I could sleep during the weekend... not this one though. Friday morning I'm leaving for Zurich, so I guess I won't be sleeping too much. Oh well. Thank God the weeened after that is a four day weekend, so I guess I'll have plenty of time to nap then! 

As for my "detox diet" (read: I have to shed at least 4 pounds because I hate the way my jeans fit me right now) it's going well. I bought a really cool cookbook called "Ammazzacicca" which literally means "fat killer". Gotta love that. There's all kinds of good recipes, all under 500 calories, so I'm enjoying food, yet losing some weight. So far just .5 kilos (1 pound), but hey, I've only started on Monday. Here's a good little recipe for you: simple, yet very satisfying.

POTATO AND MUSHROOM CUPS

1/2 pound potatoes cubed
2 shallots
A few sprigs of rosemary and sage
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1/4 pound mixed fresh mushrooms, sliced
Salt and pepper

Sautèe shallots in olive oil, remove from pan with a slotted spoon and set aside. In the same pan add potatoes and minced herbs, season with salt and pepper, cover and cook for about 7 minutes. Remove lid and cook for another 7 minutes. Add shallots.

Place potato mixture in a muffin pan to give it a cup shape.

Sautèe mushrooms and garlic in the same pan for about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
Serve potato cups with mushrooms on top.

Grilled vegetables mock lasagna

 

One thing I miss about summer the most once fall sets in is eating flavorful fresh vegetables. Fall veggies are fine, but they are definitely not the same, not just because of their color, but also because of their flavor. Let's face it: parsnips are ok, but they are no fresh baby zucchini.

Still, I have promised myself that I wouldn't buy out of season vegetables that come form the other side of the world this year, that I would make more sustainable choices in the months ahead. And, to be honest, summer veggies don't taste that good when you eat them in the fall, they just aren't the same.

Unless you grill them, of course.

See where I'm going here?

I bought a last batch of summer veggies -zucchini, bell peppers, tomatoes, eggplant- grilled them and used them to make this mock lasagna. Again, I call it "mock" because it's not made with lasagna noodles, but with pane carasau, a Sardinian flatbread.

 

This isn't really a recipe. I just grilled the vegetables, chopped them and alternated layers of flat bread, layers of veggies and sprinkled them with shredded mozzarella. Then I baked it at 350°F for ten minutes and... voilà. Dinner is served!

 That's all floks. I won't be around for a few days, I'm going to Prague tomorrow... so have a great weekend everyone, and see you on Monday!

Meatloaf with onion sauce

For the whole month of September I have eaten and drunk as if it where the holiday season, partly because I was trying to enjoy the last few weeks of summer, party because my birthday is on Spetmeber 29th, which means that I feel entitled to party for the whole month.

The result is that now I feel full even before I start eating and that my clothes are a little tight on me, especially my beloved jeans. This, of course, means that I have to lose a couple of pounds and that I have to watch what I eat for a couple of weeks.

What does all this have to do with meatloaf, you might ask? Well, everything, if the meatloaf in question is nutricious yet low fat. And tasty, of course, because I'm a firm believer that if somethig tastes horrible it won't help your diet.

TURKEY MEATLOAF WITH ONION SAUCE

Cooking spray

1 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup minced mushrooms

6 tablespoons dry breadcrumbs  

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon dried oregano

Freshly ground black pepper

1 pound ground turkey breast

1 large egg   

1/4 teaspoon hot pepper sauce (such as Tabasco)

For sauce:

• 3 onions, chopped
• A glass of white wine
• Chicken broth

Preparation

To prepare loaf:
Heat a small skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add onion to pan; sauté 5 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from heat; cool slightly.

Combine onion, breadcrumbs, and next 7 ingredients (through Tabasco) in a large bowl. Stir in 2 tablespoons ketchup.
Shape mixture into a loaf shape. Wrap in parchment paper and refrigerate for an hour.

Heat a large pan over medium high heat, coat with cooking spray. Sautee loaf on all sides, turning carefully. Add onions to pan and wine. Let onions cook for a few minutes. Continue cooking loaf for about 30 minutes, basting with broth if sauce gets dry.

Vegetarian pad thai

I've recently became a tofu eating freak. Don't get me wrong, thre's nothing wrong with eating tofu, or with being a freak for that matter. The wierd thing about my tofu eating habit is that I have loathed tofu for so long, I was actually famous for campaining against "that cardboard-like crap". I would tell to everyone that listened to me that never would I dream of ruining a perfectly good dish by putting tofu in it. And so on.

The problem, if you are wondering what my problem was, is that the only way I had ever had tofu was in miso soup and, let's be honest, when you eat it like that it doen't taste like much. And I find that the broth makes it kind of slimey too, which is not my favorite consistency in the world.

I had to go to a Japanese restaurant in Milano to change my mind. There, because of a mistake, they brought me a noodle dish with tofu instead of chicken. What a revelation. Because it was sauteed in spices and condiments, it was actually yummy. There and then I decided that tofu would become part of my diet. I bought it shortly afterward and tried my first tofu recipe at home, adapting a Cooking Light pad thai recipe. Success!

VEGETARIAN PAD THAI

Sauce:

1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce

2 tablespoons apple vinegar

1 to 2 tablespoons hot sauce

1 tablespoon honey

Noodles:

1 teaspoon vegetable oil

2 cups thinly sliced shiitake mushroom caps (about 5 ounces)

1 cup matchstick cut zucchini 

1 garlic clove, minced

8 ounces extra-firm tofu, drained and cut into 1/2-inch cubes

1 cup light coconut milk  

1 cup (1-inch) sliced green onion tops

1 cup chopped fresh basil

1/3 cup dry-roasted peanuts

8 ounces uncooked wide rice stick noodles (Banh Pho), cooked and drained

5 lime wedges

To prepare sauce, combine first 4 ingredients, stirring with a whisk.

To prepare noodles, heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms, zucchini, and garlic; sauté 2 minutes. Add sauce and tofu; cook 1 minute. Stir in coconut milk; cook 2 minutes. Stir in green onions and next 3 ingredients (lettuce through noodles); cook 1 minute.

Serve with lime wedges.

Oven-fried zucchini chips with basil dipping sauce

The end of summer is near. Yesterday the weather was hot and humid, the kind of day that makes you run to the nearest gelateria for a good ice cream cone or to the bar for an ice cold beer. Today there's a high of 69 and the rain is falling heavy upon Lake Lugano, making it look like the midst of November.

Seriously, it's quite a shock. Yesterday flip flops and a sun dress. Today leggings and boots. As the old people would say, where the hell have the half seasons gone?

Nobody knows.

Still, yesterday I went grocery shopping and, since the weather was still nice out, I bought a bunch of summery ingredients, mostly fresh produce and such. By the time I got home, the clouds where rolling in, the wind had picked up and the lake was white capping. But I had no choice. It was too late to make stew or a roast. So I made this recipe that I found a while ago on Reeni's blog, which is wonderful and you should visit if you have never done so.

I tweaked the recipe a little bit because I didn't have the exact ingredients. It turned out great. As soon as the chips where out of the oven they were all gone. 

OVEN-FRIED ZUCCHINI CHIPS WITH BASIL DIPPING SAUCE

1 cup breadcrumbs
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon onion freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup vegetable broth
2 small zucchini cut in 1/4-inch-thick slices
Cooking spray or vegetable/olive oil

Preheat oven to 425° F. Grease a large oven-proof wire rack set on a baking sheet.

Whisk together bread crumbs, Parmesan, salt and pepper in a medium bowl. Place broth in a separate shallow bowl. Dip zucchini slices in broth then in breadcrumb mixture patting the crumbs on. Place slices on wire rack. Repeat until all are coated.

Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown. Serve immediately with basil dipping sauce if desired.

BASIL DIPPING SAUCE

1/2 cup plain yougurt
A big bunch of fresh basil, chopped
1 scallion, chopped
1/2 clove garlic
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
Kosher salt and ground black pepper

Use a blender or food processor to combine all ingredients except salt and pepper until smooth. Taste and season with salt and pepper as desired.

Thai style fried rice

"Let's make Thai (or French/Chinese/Moroccan/etc.) food this weekend."

You often here me announcing such things on Monday or Tuesday night, as I enjoy a post-work drink at my favorite new bar, the Borromini Art Caffè. I won't lie to you: I announce such things at the beginning of the week because I can't wait for the weekend already. As much as I love my job, I still love cooking and doing nothing all day a little better. Waking up at 10... going dowstairs to have coffee with my friend Samy... taking my sweet time to make it to the pool... what's not to love?

And, of course, having time to cook for 8 or 10 people ROCKS. That is probably my favorite part of the weekend. I cook, they bring the wine/beer. It beats going to the restaurant, both because of the price and the quality of the food.

Every week I come up with a theme, then go with it. My friends are adventorus eaters, thank God, so they never turn down the opportunity to try something new. This past weekend I had my heart set on Thai food, so I made my green curry and also fried rice. As much as I love curry, I have to say that the rice was my favorite part of the meal.

THAI STYLE FRIED RICE

Adapted from Cooking Light

• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon fish sauce
• 1 tablespoon lower-sodium soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
• 1 teaspoon sambal oelek (ground fresh chile paste), divided
• 1/4 teaspoon salt, divided
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 bunch green onions
• 2 tablespoons peanut oil, divided
• 2 1/2 cups cooked and cooled brown rice
• 1/4 cup vertically sliced onions
• 2 cups broccoli florets
• 1 cup julienne-cut bell pepper
• 1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
• Cooking spray
• 2 bacon slices, cooked and crumbled
• 4 lime wedges

Preparation

• Combine first 4 ingredients, 1/2 teaspoon sambal oelek, and 1/8 teaspoon salt in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk. Combine eggs and remaining 1/2 teaspoon sambal oelek in a bowl. Separate green tops from green onions, and diagonally chop; set aside. Cut green onion bottoms into 1-inch pieces; set aside.
• Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add 2 teaspoons oil to pan, swirling pan to coat evenly. Add rice; stir-fry 1 1/2 minutes, stirring constantly. Transfer rice mixture to a large bowl. Heat 2 teaspoons oil in pan. Add onions to pan; stir-fry 30 seconds or until tender. Add brown sugar mixture to pan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 1 minute or until liquid thickens slightly, stirring occasionally. Add to rice mixture.
• Wipe pan clean with a paper towel; return pan to medium-high heat. Add remaining 2 teaspoons oil to pan, swirling to coat. Add broccoli and bell pepper; stir-fry 3 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Add the remaining 1/8 teaspoon salt, green onion bottoms, and garlic; stir-fry 1 minute or until fragrant. Add rice mixture to pan, cook 2 minutes or until thoroughly heated.
• Add egg mixture to pan, swirling to coat pan; cook 30 seconds or just until egg is set. Top with green onion tops; garnish with lime wedges.

"Skinny" eggplant Parmesan

First things first. I have an announcement: I HAVE FINALLY FOUND A JOB!!! And not any job. A kick-ass journalism job here in Switzerland. I couldn't be happier. After 18 months of forced "vacation" I'm back in business.

Back in May a friend asked me if I had seen the ad in the paper looking for journalists. I hadn't. So I bought the paper. Went home. Sent my resume along with a presentation email to a guy. And then of course got pissed because he didn't write me back the next day. I'm crazy like that. Anyways, he didn't write back for 5 weeks. Then, when I had practically forgotten about it, he sent me an e-mail asking me to go for an interview on June 30th. The interview went well. Then they asked me and the other candidates to write an article to see our abilities. And then they didn't say anything until last week, when they wrote me to inform me that they had picked ME!

I won't lie: I started dancing around the kitchen like a complete lunatic. But hey, finding a job in journalism these days it's not easy. It definitely called for a celebration. So I decided to make eggplant Parmesan, because ever since I've been to Greece I'm madly in love with eggplants. Only, I made a light version of it because deep fried eggplants are great, but they make your ass become the size of Brazil. And since it's still bathing suit season I decided to bake them in the oven instead. Also, I didn't have any mozzarella in the fridge, so I used ricotta. They turned out great, so great I wish I had made more!

SKINNY EGGPLANT PARMESAN

3 eggplants, sliced
16 ounces ricotta
2 pounds tomatoes
1/2 onion, sliced
Fresh basil
1 cup grated Parmesan
Extra virgin olive oil

To make tomato sauce: wash tomatoes, cut them into cubes and place them in a dutch oven with the sliced onion, 5 basil leaves and a little olive oil. Cook for about 20 minutes, then process them with an immersion blender, season with salt and cook for another 30 minutes on low heat.

Drizzle sliced eggplants with salt and olive oil, place on a baking sheet and bake for about 20 minutes at 350F.

Lightly grease a baking dish with oil and distribute eggplants on the bottom. Follow with a layer of ricotta, sprinkle with Parmesan, then add a layer of tomato sauce. Repeat layers until you run out of ingredients. Bake for 30 minutes at 350F.

Reeni's curried chickpea and cauliflower couscous

I should do this more often. And by "this" I don't mean eating wholesome, vegetarian dishes. I mean, I should do that more often as well, but what I was referring to is using other blogger's recipes. The problem is I have so many cookbooks and so many magazines I inevitably fall behind in my "recipes to try" schedule. Especially now that the weather is getting nicer and nicer I often opt to eat outdoors al local grottos (restaurants). Still, I wish I could make more new recipes because I feel that every time I find a new recipe that I like —which happens often— I have widened my horizons a little bit, which is always a good thing. 

This particular recipe was found on Reeni's blog, "Cinnamon, Spice & Everything Nice". If you have never checked it out before, I strongly suggest you do so as soon as possible. She's a terrific cook and a terrific photographer, so you'll find both beautiful pictures and awesome recipes there. 

As for my version of the dish, I tweaked it just a little, mostly because I didn't have almonds but I had a pint of cherry tomatoes I wanted to use before they went bad. The result? Delicious. I'm going to make this over and over again in the summer, since I ate the leftovers cold and it was still a great dish!

REENI'S CURRIED CHICKPEA AND CAULIFLOWER COUSCOUS

Adapted from Reeni's recipe

1 small yellow onion, diced

olive oil, for sauteing

sea or kosher salt and fresh black pepper

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoons hot curry powder

1/3 cup golden raisins, chopped

2 cups cauliflower florets, cooked

1 can (14 ounce) chickpeas, drained and rinsed

3 cups fresh spinach leaves

3-4 cups instant couscous (whole-grain)

1/3 cup green onion, diced

2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved

plain yogurt, optional

In a large skillet saute onion in olive oil over medium-low heat until tender. Season well with salt and pepper. Add garlic, saute until fragrant. If pan is dry add more olive oil and mix in curry powder. Cook for 2-3 minutes.

Add raisins, cauliflower, chickpeas and spinach. Cook over low heat stirring often until heated through and spinach is wilted, seasoning well with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile prepare 1 + 1/2 cups dry couscous according to package directions.

Fluff up cooked couscous and mix into the chickpea mixture along with the green onion and cherry tomatoes. Serve as is or with yogurt if desired.

Vietnamese spring rolls

When I was a child most of the ethnic options available in Milano were greasy, depressing looking Chinese restaurants where the food was cheap and the smell of fried food lingered on your clothes long after you had left them. Nevertheless my parents loved Chinese food, so we went every weekend, even though the only thing I liked in the menu was steamed white rice. My sister, on the other hand, loved spring rolls. Even though I was only about three at the time I have this very clear memory of her devouring one fried little roll after the other, usually eating so many that they ended up being her main course instead of her appetizer.

As I grew older I started liking Chinese food just fine, and became a fan of many dishes, especially the spicy Szechuan ones, but I have say... spring rolls never really won me over. Don't get me wrong. I like them alright and I do enjoy the occasional Chinese spring roll, but ever since I've discovered the non-fried kind I have become addicted. They are so fresh and packed with crunchy vegetables you can actually feel that they are good for you while you are eating them. I'm not kidding. I was munching on one last night and felt the vitamins just flowing through me. I made them for a little Asian dinner I put together yesterday and decided to make them 100% vegetarian, but they are also very good with the addition of chopped shrimp. You decide.

VIETNAMESE SPRING ROLLS
For 6 rolls

6 round rice paper rolls
6 leaves of lettuce or spinach
1 zucchini, matchstick cut
1 carrot, matchstick cut
A bunch of bean sprouts
1 spring onion, chopped
2 tablespoons chili garlic sauce (or less if you don't like the heat)

2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon water

Submerge rice paper in warm water until soft, doing one sheet at the time.

Mix all vegetables except for lettuce and season with chili paste thinned down with a little water. Toss well. When rice paper is soft place it on a plate, add lettuce leaf, then spoon three tablespoons of vegetables over it. Roll up. Repeat with remaning ingredients.

To make sauce whisk soy, fish sauce, sugar and water in a bowl.

Five-spice salmon and leeks in parchment

As a child I loathed fish. As a teenager I still loathed it. It took me a 5000 mile move to Florida to get me to like the stuff. Fish in Florida was different. It was delicate and it came with all kinds of fruity sauces.  It tasted of Caribbean vacations and summer nights and drinks at sunset. In other words, it didn't taste like fish at all.

There was one exception though. Salmon. Salmon was the first fish to make it into my plate... or, actually, I should say into my mouth, because there was no actual plate involved. It involved a screaming child, an unprepared set of parents and a smoked salmon sandwich. To this day, every time I see or eat smoked salmon I can't help but thinking about these modern parents I see going everywhere —China, the post office, on a walk— with a bag full of food for their kids. My parents never carried food for me. There was absolutely no eating allowed in the car and, in general, eating in between meals was frowned upon. It will ruin your appetite.

But there was one time where this strategy backfired. Big time. It all happened when I was a toddler a few months short of 2. En route from Milan to the United States my parents and I had a layover in London. And I got hungry. So hungry that I started screaming on top of my lungs. I wanted food. And I wanted it right away. The only option seemed to be a little cart where an old man served smoked salmon over thick, salted butter and brown bread. Not exactly baby food. But, hey, desperate people do desperate things. My dad bought a sandwich and they shoved it in my mouth. I instantly stopped crying. And I ate the whole thing. From that day on, salmon and I were friends. And for about twenty years after that day, salmon was my only friend of the seafood variety.

Later on, I learned to enjoy fresh salmon as well as the smoked kind. I have to thank Tommy for this, because he's the one who made it for me for the first time, baked with a Mexcian style salsa on top. And that was beginning of many other fresh salmon recipes, including this one that my great friend Carolina and I made at her place last week. One last note: if you have never tried wild caught salmon, do so immediately. I cannot stand the farm raised variety and once you'll try the wild kind, you'll never go back either.

FIVE-SPICE SALMON AND LEEKS IN PARCHMENT

(adapted from Cooking Light)
Serves 4

2  teaspoons  whole fennel seeds
8  whole black peppercorns
2  whole cloves
1  whole star anise
1  (1 1/2-inch) cinnamon stick
4  (6-ounce) skinless salmon fillets
1/2  teaspoon  salt
1  leek, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced (about 1 cup)

Preheat oven to 425°.
Combine first 5 ingredients in a small skillet over medium heat; cook for 1 minute or until fragrant. Transfer toasted spices to a spice grinder or coffee grinder; grind until fine.
Cut 4 (12-inch) squares of parchment paper. Place 1 fillet in center of each square. Sprinkle evenly with salt and spice mixture; top fillets evenly with leeks. Fold paper; seal edges with narrow folds. Place packets on a baking sheet. Bake at 425° for 20 minutes or until puffy and lightly browned. Place on plates; cut open. Serve immediately.

Fish Provencal

                                       

I have not fallen off the edge of the Earth like some of you have kindly asked through e-mail and Facebook. I've not been crazy busy either, unless you count stalking a certain semi-famous Italian hip hop artist "being busy". Most people would call it acting like a teenager, I guess, and I don't blame them. That's exactly what I was doing. Because sometimes it's easier and it's definitely more fun than acting all grown up. It also makes you forgot about the rut you are in, if you know what I mean. I had such great expectations for 2011 and so far it hasn't really been that great of a year. Especially when it comes to finances. Being unemployed is killing me and, unfortunately, it greatly reflect on my cooking. I don't mean to sound like a big crybaby, but as I'm typing I'm drinking instant coffee and for lunch I'm going to have a homemade cream of cannellini bean (without the shrimp the recipe calls for), because that's all I can afford right now. 

This fish Provençal is the last "luxurious" recipe I've made a few days ago, before I had to start eating out of my pantry and paring up the most incredible foods (hello canned red kidney beans and ricotta!). It's a very easy, very gratifying dinner to make, although next time I will definitely pan sear the fish before putting it together with the sauce so it gets all nice and browned. Other than that, Cooking LIght has once more nailed a great recipe.

FISH PROVENCAL

From Cooking Light

• 1  tablespoon  olive oil
• 2  garlic cloves, sliced
• 2 1/2  cups  slivered onion
• 1/2  teaspoon  salt, divided
• 2  cups  chopped peeled plum tomato (about 4 tomatoes)
• 1 3/4  cups  thinly sliced fennel bulb (about 1 small bulb)
• 1  cup  dry white wine
• 1/3  cup  chopped fresh basil
• 1/4  cup  chopped pitted kalamata olives
• 1  tablespoon  tomato paste
• 1/8  teaspoon  crushed red pepper
• 2  teaspoons  capers
• 1  bay leaf
• 1/2  cup  water
• 1/8  teaspoon  black pepper
• 6  (6-ounce) halibut or cod fillets

Preheat oven to 450F.

Heat oil in a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat, and add garlic. Cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly; add onion and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add tomato and next 8 ingredients (tomato through bay leaf); cook for 10 minutes. Stir in water. 

Sprinkle 1/4 teaspoon salt and black pepper over fish; place fish on top of onion mixture. Wrap handle of skillet with foil; cover and bake at 450° for 10 minutes or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork. Discard bay leaf.  

Curried cabbage

This is an entry for Reeni's Saturday Side Dishes. You can check it out here: http://www.cinnamonspiceandeverythingnice.com/

• Cabbage is another one of those ingredients, like cauliflower and broccoli, that I have discovered and incorporated in my life embarrassingly late. And when I say "late" I'm not talking about the 7th grade or my teen years. I'm talking about one or two years ago. I know, right? What the hell is wrong with me? What makes this even worse is that, unlike beets, I don't have any childhood trauma that explains my cabbage loathing. Nobody ever forced me to eat the stuff. My mother never cooked it, therefore I cannot even bitch about the house smelling like cabbage. I just assumed that cabbage —raw or cooked didn't matter— was bad. It had to be bad because it kind of looked like salad to me and, in case I haven't mentioned this before, I don't eat salad. None of it. No exceptions. 
• 
  
• And then one day I was at a friend's house and she had made homemade slaw and wanted my opinion. I tried to tell her that I knew nothing about slaw and that my opinion didn't really count on the subject, but she had people coming over for dinner and was a nervous wreck so I gave in. The slaw was fine. And what was even finer was the fact that raw cabbage didn't taste like salad at all. It was quite an epiphany, I tell you. The next time I went to the grocery store I made another amazing discovery: cabbage was dirt cheap. From that day on I've been making it in a zillion different ways, both raw and cooked. This particular recipe I have found on Cooking Light's website, tweaked it a little bit to my liking and bookmarked under my favorites.
• 
  
• CURRIED CABBAGE
• Adapted from Cooking Light
•    
• 1  tablespoon  vegetable oil
• 1/2  cup  minced shallots
• 2  garlic cloves, minced
• 3  tablespoons  whole-grain Dijon mustard
• 2  tablespoons  curry powder
• 1  teaspoon  ground turmeric
• 12  cups  thinly sliced green cabbage (about 3 pounds)
• 1/4  cup  fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
• 1/4  cup  apple cider vinegar
• 1/2  teaspoon  salt
• 1/4  teaspoon  black pepper
• Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add shallots and garlic; sauté 2 minutes. Add mustard, curry, and turmeric; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in cabbage and remaining ingredients; cook 5 minutes or until tender, stirring frequently.

  
  

Barley and bean soup

So I guess that winter is almost over. Or at least it is over here in Southern Switzerland. I was so looking forward to be spending a "real" winter —with snow, fireplaces and the likes— that the longer and colder part of it flew by without me even noticing. Back in October, I can admit this now, I was a little concerned with the approaching season. After ten years in Florida I wasn't 100% convinced I could make it through without missing a beat, the way I used to go through it when I was a kid or a teenager. Well, I guess I was underestimating myself. November, December and January went by a flash and just like that the snow, the Northern winds and the fog quickly became a thing of the past. It is now almost March —can you believe that?— and, regardless of what old, pessimistic village drones say, the worst is over. Every day the sun shines and high temps are in the low 60s. Excuse me if I'm optimistic and I call it early spring... but it just feels that way.

So with that in mind, I've decided to get wintery food out of my system by cooking a few more wintery dishes before the new month starts. Because March, my friends, means spring and spring means asparagus and broccoli and baby spinach and all that good, green, fresh stuff. So while the temperatures still dip into the 30s at night I've made a big, steaming batch of one of my favorite soups: barley and cannellini beans. It's hearty, but it's not 100% wintery if you ask me. Why? Because it's damn good even cold, that's why.

BARLEY AND BEAN SOUP

Adapted from Cooking Light

• 1  cup  dried cannellini beans
• 1  tablespoon  olive oil
• 2  cups  finely chopped red onion
• 1/4  cup  finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1/2  cup  finely chopped celery
• 1/2  cup  finely chopped carrot
• 1/2  cup  chopped fresh basil
• 9  cups  water
• 2  cups  organic vegetable broth (such as Swanson Certified Organic)
• 2  bay leaves
• 1/3  cup  uncooked pearl barley
• 1/2  teaspoon  salt
• 1/2  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2  teaspoon  hot sauce
• 2  tablespoons  grated fresh Parmesan cheese

Sort and wash beans; place in a large saucepan. Cover with water to 2 inches above beans; bring to a boil. Cook 2 minutes; remove from heat. Cover and let stand 1 hour. Drain beans. Wipe pan dry with a paper towel.

Heat oil in pan over medium-high heat. Add onion, parsley, celery, carrot, and basil; cook 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Add beans, 9 cups water, vegetable broth, and bay leaves; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 1 hour and 15 minutes or until beans are tender. Discard bay leaves.

Place 3/4 cup beans and 3/4 cup cooking liquid in a blender; process until smooth. Return pureed bean mixture to pan. Stir in barley, salt, pepper, and hot sauce; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 30 minutes or until barley is done. Ladle soup into individual bowls; sprinkle with cheese.

Not your usual, canned chicken noodle soup

I was going to call this post "Not your mother's chicken noodle soup", but then I figured that most of you probably have mothers that make theirs from scratch, so I had to abandon the idea. Because this is what this post is about: about being sick and longing for good, comforting soup. And it's also about being too sick to go to Amsterdam with your best friend and realizing how much it sucks to be sick and be by your self. If I had a tag called "pity party" I would definitely file this recipe under it, but I like to think that this is the first and last time I'll need it so, I guess I'll classify it under soup and low fat and call it a day. 


Last Monday when I came home from Stockholm, as I was driving home from the airport, I started feeling a little weird, as in not hungry at all although it was 10 p.m. and I hadn't had anything since lunch. I thought it just had to be the tiredness from all that walking in the cold wind, so when I went home I went straight to bed thinking that would make me feel better. Wrong. It wasn't that I was tired. It wasn't the walking or the wind or all those other things. It was a stomach flu that kept me up most of the night. Last time I had one of those I was traveling through California with my parents and I was 11, so I had no recollection of what kind of medicine and remedies one has to use in these cases. After going through the medicine cabinet, though, I realized that even if I had known everything in that stupid drawer had expired around 1999. My mother calls it "being a healthy family". I called it something else at 5 a.m. while sweating cold sweat and feeling too nauseous to stand, but I won't repeat it here because there might be kids reading this. So Tuesday I still felt under the weather. No more nausea, but my stomach still felt weird. And the weirdest thing of all was that I still wasn't hungry. At all. I sipped on herbal tea and nibble on saltines. I spent the whole day on the couch desperately trying to make myself feel better. The next day at 7 a.m. I had to be on a plane to Amsterdam with Francesca, dammit. So I went to bed at 8 p.m., confident that when the alarm would go off at 5 a.m. on Wednesday I would wake up feeling like my normal self again.


It didn't happen. 


What did happen, instead, is that Francesca called me at 5 a.m. to tell me that she was also feeling lousy, describing me the same symptoms I had had Monday night. We knew right away our trip to Amsterdam was not going to happen. I mean, what's the point in going to visit a new, wonderful city when all you want to do is curl up in a ball and die? We decided to stay home and spent the next three days talking to each other over Skype, both laying on the couch too weak to even sit up. We were miserable. So miserable that we were dreaming about having someone show up at our doorstep with some kind of comfort soup. On the third day I was so desperate I was dreaming of Campbell's chicken noodle soup. Which is when I realized that I actually had all the ingredients —except for the celery— to make chicken noodle soup. I saw the light at the end of the tunnel. I dragged myself to the kitchen, drank some herbal tea with lots of sugar in it for energy, and put together the soup. Now I don't know id it was the flu that had simply ran its course or it was my soup, but the next day I woke up feeling great. And as for Amsterdam, I swear I'm going to go in the spring.


CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP
Adapted from Cooking Light

• 48 oz. chicken broth
  1  tablespoon  olive oil
  1/2  cup  chopped onion
  1/2  cup  green peas
  1/2  teaspoon  salt
  1/2  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper
  1  medium carrot, chopped
  6  ounces  fusilli pasta
  2 1/2  cups  shredded skinless, boneless rotisserie chicken breast (I didn’t have any, so I cooked and shredded my own chicken)
  2  tablespoons  chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
  
  
  Warm up broth in a large sauce pan.
  While broth heats, heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add onion, green peas, salt, pepper, and carrot; sauté 3 minutes or until almost tender, stirring frequently. Add to hot broth and stir in pasta; bring to a boil. Cook 7 minutes or until pasta is almost al dente. Stir in chicken; cook 1 minute or until thoroughly heated. Stir in parsley