Kale Walnut Salad with Peanut Vinaigrette

Kale Walnut Salad with Peanut Vinaigrette - a perfect fall meal or side dish!

Ingredients

3 Bunches fresh kale (cut off white roots and sliced diagonally across width into thin strips)

4 cloves fresh garlic

Fresh ginger (~1 tablespoon cut into small dice)

1/2 cup walnuts (rough chopped and toasted)

3 Tablespoons Organic Unsalted Peanut Butter

2 Tablespoons White Wine Vinegar

Salt and Pepper (to taste)

~1 Tablespoon olive oil

Directions

1. Boil water and place kale in large pot of boiling water for 3-4 minutes. Remove and strain with colander.

2. At the same time toast the walnuts in small saute pan until light golden brown (they become almost almost opaque in color.)

3. In Medium skillet sauté garlic and ginger in olive oil until can smell aroma. Add in kale and saute 4 minutes. Add in walnuts along with salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat and place in serving bowl.

4. In separate bowl add peanut butter and white wine vinegar. Stir until combined through. Add salt to taste and pour over kale.

And there you have it! A perfect fall feast :)

Xox

Spaghetti Squash

DELISH! A FALL MUST-TRY!!!!
Ingredients1 Medium-sized Spaghetti squashAt least 1 cup olive oil 7 Cloves garlic1/2 cup pine nuts2 tbsp unsalted butter 1 tbsp pepper (or 3 tablespoons pink peppercorns)1/2 tsp kosher salt2 tbsp dried oregano 1/2 cup feta cheese5-8 leaves fresh basil (a "bunch")
1. Slice spaghetti squash lengthwise and place halves "spaghetti" side up on ungreased cookie sheet2. Brush with olive oil until halves are completely covered3. Cook for 1 hour at 350F or until insides are completely soft4. Let cool and remove stringy spaghetti-like insides5. Rough chop 7 cloves garlic (or as much as you want, there's a lot of "pasta" so this is not that much) and place in medium sized sautee pan with olive oil, I like to keep my pieces on the larger size just because I am a garlic lover but please feel free to adjust garlic amount/size to your liking!6. In separate small sautee pan add 1/2 cup pine nuts and toast on medium to low heat (until you smell aroma of the nuts - be careful they burn easily!)7. Back to sautee pan with garlic... when garlic begins to give off fragrance add in 4 chopped tomatoes
8. Add in "spaghetti" with 2 tbsp unsalted butter (can substitute for a drizzle of olive oil)9. Add 1 tbsp pepper, (OR for a twist add 2-3 tbsp pink peppercorns if you can find!) 1/2 tsp kosher salt, 2 tbs dried oregano, 1/4c capers, 1/2c feta cheese. Stir on low heatAdd pine nuts. until ingredients are mixed through.
10. Turn off heat and add 5-8 leaves or one bunch (rough chopped) fresh basil - amount depends on preference - save a tiny bit of the chopped basil - can add a little on top when serving as a garnish11. Serve hot and ENJOY!
Xo

The Art of Simplicity - Food and Our Move Away from Natural Taste

So today's post is not a recipe but rather an idea that has been idly churning in my head for a while and finally came to the surface today when my Uncle visited my house with the last of his garden crops: tomatoes, bok choy, jalapeno peppers, beets.

Normally, I would prepare a sauce, perhaps with some lemon juice, salt olive oil, but my uncle stopped me and instead offered that we slice the tomatoes, steam the bok choy, roast the beets and slice the jalapenos. I scoffed at the perceived tastelessness of the meal I was about to consume but what I had neglected to remember was that these crops had been just plucked from the vine this morning, and as such were as fresh as could be, still covered in a fine layer of soil, still warm from the mid-September sun.

What resulted from this preparation was a meal so tasteful, so decadent in its natural sweetness and richness that I had almost felt as if I had never tasted a tomato or beet before. In truth, I came to recognize the error of my ways, the error of understanding local produce and transforming it into... well... what it is: simple, unadorned, divine. So next time you reach for the condiments and sauces, think again, and remember that as long as your produce is fresh, the naked taste alone, if you really make an effort to mindfully eat it with a note towards natural flavors, will be more sweet and more satisfying than anything additions from a bottle could provide.

Xo

Butternut Squash Soup Recipe: Welcome To Fall

Here is a delicious and simple recipe for butternut squash soup that is an absolute go-to when you feel like making something that will warm your belly on a chilly fall afternoon. Festive for halloween in orange and adaptable for your dietary needs, without further ado please enjoy my recipe for butternut squash soup....

Ingredients

1 medium sized shallot (rough chopped)

1 stick butter

5 cloves garlic (peeled and minced)

1 medium sized butternut squash (skinned, seeds removed and cubed)

4-5 cups organic chicken stock

Salt and Pepper to taste

1 tablespoon Greek yogurt (optional-per soup bowl)

1 teaspoon Nutmeg (optional-per soup bowl)

Directions

1. In a large pot sautee the shallot and garlic together with 6 tablespoons butter (if you have dietary restrictions 1-2 tablespoons would suffice, though the extra few give it a creamier texture that I rather prefer, it really isn't too much butter for an entire pot of soup!)

2. When shallots have turned clear and you can spell aroma of garlic, add in butternut squash cubes along with four cups chicken stock (could be up to 5 cups, just enough so that it covers the tops of the butternut squash.)

3. Once mixture is boiling, turn down heat to simmer and allow to simmer for 30 minutes.

4. Let soup cool at least 30 minutes and when it is sufficiently cool place in blender (do this in portions, trust me all of the soup will not fit into the blender unless yours is super size!) With each blending portion, add salt and pepper to taste.

5. Optional: When serving, can add a dollop of greek yogurt along with a sprinkle of nutmeg (a complimentary flavor.)

ENJOY!

As always, feedback is highly encouraged and warmly welcomed.

Xo

AMAZING CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

(this recipe needs no introduction)

CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

Ingredients

3 Cups All-Purpose Unbleached Flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1 1/4 teaspoons salt

3/4 cup LIGHT brown sugar

1 cup Granulated Sugar

2 sticks unsalted butter

3 Large eggs

1 1/2 tablespoons vanilla extract

2 Cups Semi-Sweet (organic!) chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375F

2. Sift the flour, baking soda and salt together and place in medium sized bowl

3. Melt butter until it is very soft (about 1.5 minutes in my microwave)

4. Put softened butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar in large bowl. Mix until it becomes a light brown color and is thoroughly combined (almost fluffy texture, this will take a while so be patient!)

5. Crack open 1 egg and beat lightly. Add 1 tablespoon plus 3/4 tablespoon to sugar-butter mixture. Mix. Add eggs one at a time until combined.

6. Add Vanilla extract and mix until combined. Add flour mixture slowly, a little at a time, until it is combined in large bowl with sugar and butter and forms a dough.

7. Stir in chocolate chips until combined evenly throughout.

8. Butter or line a large cookie sheet with wax paper. Using an ice cream scoop (so that all cookies are the same size) scoop balls of dough onto sheet, leaving about 2 inches around each one to expand in oven (trust me you will need to make this in batches...)

9. Cook 11 minutes or until tops are just starting to turn golden brown.

10. Allow to cool and consume hungrily :)

(This recipe was adapted from a cookie recipe I found on Epicurious.com, a great resource for aspiring home cooks!)

Xo

Cous Cous On the Loose!

Here is my recipe for a delicious albeit surprising cous cous I made today. The flavors are eclectic and definitely not something you would think to put together but trust me, all together they make a beautiful symphony of cous cous goodness :)

Cous Cous On the Loose!

Ingredients

1 Box Regular Cous Cous

2 + 1/2 cups organic chicken stock (I like Pacific brand)

5 organic Medjool Dates

1/2 cup almonds (toasted)

2 Jalapeno Peppers - thinly sliced (unless they're very hot, use as much as will achieve the heat you desire)

1 medium sized shallot (thinly sliced)

2 handfuls fresh parsley

1 lemon (rind + juice)

1 teaspoon Kosher salt

1 teaspoon pepper

1/3 + 2 tablespoons cup extra virgin olive oil

1/2 cup marsala wine

Directions

1. In a medium sized saucepan pour cous cous and 2 cups of chicken stock. Cook 10 minutes or until cous cous is fluffy and soft. Let cool 5 minutes and place in large bowl

2. Simultaneously, in another saucepan place almonds and heat until you can smell the aroma (hence they are now considered "toasted.") Add almonds to cous cous bowl

3. In a third saucepan add slices of jalapeno and slices of shallots and cook until golden brown. Add to cous cous bowl as well.

4. Rough chop almonds, dates (remove pit), parsley and add to bowl

5. Add rind of one lemon plus juice of the lemon to bowl

6. Add salt and pepper

7. Add 1/2 cup chicken stock, 1/2 cup marsala wine and stir until all combined.

8. ENJOY!

As always, feedback is encouraged, hope you decide to try this cous cous at your next meal! It's a perfect side dish for dinner or as a light lunch :)

Xo

Oreo Chocolate Truffles

Hey there... posting a quick, easy and delicious treat that is the perfect cure to a long, bad day or celebration for a great one. Whatever the occasion, you have to try this recipe out, indulge a little... (not no to mention no baking required!)

Oreo Truffles

Ingredients

2 Packages Oreos (I prefer Newman's Own brand from Whole Foods)

1 Package Cream Cheese

1/4 cup cream

12 oz. semi sweet chocolate chips

Directions

1. Take out all the oreos from a package and remove cream from each cookie. Put chocolate halves in a ziplock bag once cream is removed from each one and close bag tight. Crush as hard as possible, imagine cookies are head of last boy/girl to dump you (okay kidding about that part but it is very therapeutic...)

2. Put 1/3 cup aside in a bowl to use on outside of truffles later. Put rest in large bowl.

3. Place cream cheese in bowl, microwave for one minute until softened.

4. Add cream cheese to large bowl of cookies and mix until combined, should form a kind of dough

5. In medium saucepan over medium-high heat put bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips w/ 1/4 cup cream. Stir until chocolate is combined into cream and forms a melty, delicious sauce. Turn off heat.

6. Roll dough into balls and dip into chocolate until coated all around. Then roll in bowl of oreo crumbs until coated all around as well. Set aside on plate for cooling. Repeat for entire batter until you have made truffle balls out of the entire thing.

7. Let cool in refrigerator for 2 hours before consuming several if not the entire thing due to utter deliciosity (it needs a new word its so yummy.)

ENJOY!

xo