A salad you won’t forget.  It has all the ingredients that will make your heart and body smile because you were good to them in a way only you have the power to control.

A simple dressing.  I always say the difference between good and oh my sweet baby Jesus what is this, is of course, a sauce or dressing!

I’m on a roll developing recipes I can eat and still stay on track with my fitness pal.  I’m in love with fresh flavors and fresh food but even more in love with any recipe that can come together in minutes.  This can be served with rice but I personally feel the beans offer enough carbs and fiber to keep this girl happy.  It’s light and airy and it makes me feel good that I can eat something this taste worthy and still stay on track with eating clean.  I’ve included this in my light and tight series for any of you who are looking for fresh, simple and delicious recipes that will keep your body tight!

Ramekin Cherry Cobbler

When you have a recipe that’s so easy a first grader could do it but it tastes like your great great grandmother from Sicily invented it you treasure it, keep it, frame it and pass it to your most closest friends and family.  Yes, I said frame it.  If it’s that good you don’t want years of wear and tear to mess with the integrity and essence of the words written on a piece of paper.  Ask me how I know this.  Yea, you’ve been there.  You know the tattered torn out recipes written on a piece of paper that are in need of a spruce up–a makeover in the worst way that you drag out each year at Thanksgiving.  You vow you’ll recopy it but somehow the busy in your life takes precedence and you file it away for the next year only to find it even more haggard than before.  I’d say the solution to all of this is to commit the instructions to memory but if you’re like me the mind isn’t what it used to be.   Unless, you come across a recipe like this one that goes a little something like this:  a cup, a cup, and a cup.  Who could forget that?  Not me!  And since my great, great grandmother isn’t from Sicily and this recipe only tastes like it came from someone great times two, I still say frame it though you won’t soon forget how great this one is.

It’s a versatile recipe and I have used it many times on this web-site.  It’s easy and so delicious.  If you feel like cherries, blackberries, blueberries or even peaches you can substitute any one of these and it will work nicely.  I’m merely showing you how you can change it up a bit by placing them in individual ramekins to make it a little special.  One scoop of vanilla bean ice cream on top will make this a perfect little quick dessert.
Smelling this cobbler baking in the oven lured me to taste it before it even cooled.  You’d think the million times I’ve burned myself with this impatient kind of thinking I’d learn my lesson.  But no!  The buttery golden crispy edges seemed to say, “Better get your’s, you know how this goes!”  It’s hard to believe something so simple can taste this good.

hour blubbering something relevant to detoxifying, cutting carbs or just not eating for a
few days to recover from the mindless indulging that commenced on 2009 turkey day.
With my good intentions and declarations of self denial set to commence promptly in the
a.m. Monday morning, I will be the first to admit my dismay and shock when I did not
keep my promises.  The rain, the cold, or the fact that a discarded food magazine lying
next to my bed are all acceptable reasons why I faltered. (Pictures of food get me every
time.)  But may I say my failure is your gain.  This dish is my most indulgent creation to
date and yet, given the quality of the last two veggie-health focused dishes I have
made–both of which I give a resounding, “eh”–this will be one meal worthy of your
attention.  It’s so luscious it borders sinful.  So, pull up a chair and be prepared to take a
brief intermission mid-way through as it is that thick, rich and silky-smooth.  If you must
a few lunges and a couple of yoga stretches should suffice in your  consuming
endeavor for this most fat laden decadent home-cooked meal.
It took some effort to formulate this recipe.  After tasting many different renditions at
restaurants all over the east coast, I formulated what I think is a fabulous simple Alfredo
sauce.  Normally, this would be prepared with fettuccine pasta.  However, with the
absence of time, we will be using angel hair pasta.

Coming soon, I’m gonna take a walk and then I’ll finish this.  It was my dinner.  It’s so pretty.

Teetering on the very ledge of my comfort zone, I dream of far away places I want to go and impossible adventures I want to conquer all of which get filed away quietly on a list that exists no where in particular but indiscreetly tucked away in my mind for the day that I’ll finally check them off one by one in completion.  It seems as though I’m living a maybe life–maybe I’ll go to Costa Rica or maybe I’ll do the Tough Mudder marathon run in the fall or I know, maybe I’ll go to Europe.  And yet I sit not so patiently on the edge of adventure and and wonder when my “maybes” will turn into “by all means” I’m going there and here’s when I’m doing it.  As of late that anxious “maybe life” is lending its bad self a free pass and making itself at home even into the more decidedly corners of my being like my food projects.  Never have I ever been indecisive as to what I’ll fix.  I mean, get real I have hundreds of recipes to choose from all of which are quick fixes that are tried and true just waiting to be.  Even still daily I find myself saying maybe I’ll have salmon or maybe I’ll do some steamy pasta. I know let’s skip savory food altogether maybe I could do cupcakes.  Lustfully cooking, eating and freely writing about it is always at the forefront of my mind until, that–is when “maybe” came in and spread it’s confusing, indecisive, on the fence kind of garble all over my perfect happy hopeful world that was very much happy making and adding to the lists of things one day I’ll do.  So, in the spirit of turning my someday into today, my “maybe” into “by all means”, I have combined two of my favorite quick fix stand alone ingredients:  quinoa and rotisserie chicken.  Of course I embellished the two with some fresh ingredients and I can say I’ve been living a “by all means” kind of life this week since this week alone I’ve enjoyed this dish three times.  Even though this is just a small intricate stop on my lists of things I’ll accomplish in my lifetime, it was certainly worth testing the waters of living out the extraordinary life I’ve always pictured myself living.  And so I say by all means try this recipe.  It will be one that you will not soon forget.  It’s healthy, simple and a different addition to your repertoire of dishes that you’ll no doubt pass on to your loved ones.

I think I am an expert on how to lose yourself in 10 minutes and of course it involves food but not just any food it’s pasta.   Add a citrus butter sauce and I know I’m going to be down for the count in a matter of minutes.

I mean seriously is there a more perfect food than pasta?   A staple that can sit on the shelf, it lies in wait patiently accepting of any type of sauce, ready in minutes and fully satisfies like no other food.  Easy on the wallet as well, pasta can be paired with virtually any vegetable, meat, gooey sauce both sweet and savory.  And let me tell you it’s not at all fussy about its place on the dinner plate, and even though it is the main attraction in my mind it is simply happy taking the less important position of being a supporting player that cooks up in minutes turning an otherwise lonely dish into a hearty meal fit for any starving boy.

Beurre Blanc is a French butter sauce that is literally translated as “white butter”.   Traditionally it is a hot emulsified sauce made with a reduction of vinegar or white wine.  This beautiful light and airy rich beurre blanc is made with orange juice and is perfect to add to any fish, scallop, pasta or even sweet concoctions that are bland in nature and needs a little pick me up.

It’s simple to make and takes minutes to prepare.  Take a walk on the French side with this little piece of heaven.  If you top this dish with a shower of grated parmesan cheese you’ll enjoy a wonderful contrast of salty and slightly sweet along with your pasta.

And since I’m into confessing at this very moment, for good measure I’ll also admit to the moments when I’m not even enjoying the food and for reasons I’m not completely certain of I’ll continue to eat as if I’m conducting a forensic search for even the slightest evidence in the form of a morsel resembling something obviously too tempting to stop the madness of eating for the sake of eating since hunger left the building hours prior.   For those of you who share similar DNA I blogged a question yesterday.  “If it were possible would any of you be willing to give up a few IQ points in exchange for the ability to eat whatever you want without gaining a pound?”  Of course, my first question was, “How dumb do I gotta be?”  (obvious 2 point drop just in the phrasing)  Then I unofficially answered that with, “Wait, just how much is my IQ  helping me anyway?” And finally, my simple resolution, “Ignorance could truly be bliss in this case.”  What I learned is scientific studies are great and all but the “proof is in the pudding” or soup in this case.  Silly, I know.  But I couldn’t resist.  I had just posted the mouth watering picture of this silky rustic french onion soup I made when a resounding “YES” and even a few expletive “Yes’s” were posted in response to that question.  Of course there were the few overachiever “do gooders” whom I would like to be like someday who said no.  But the general consensus by a landslide was, “Where do I sign up.”  Back to what I learned:  A.  I am not alone in my thoughts.  B. “Comfort food” has a dual benefit that satisfies nourishment and the need to feel good.  C. Feeling good is a need.  D.  Most people find intelligence secondary to comfort.  Yeah, this was my study so I can glean from it what I propose to be valuable.  It was certainly a joy to share with people all over the world even if it was for entertainment purposes only.

This classic French Onion soup was more than comforting as the wind rustled and howled outside my window.  With great concentration, I lapped up the last bit of juicy cheesy goodness.  I couldn’t help but believe I gained a few IQ points after consuming it for my hunger was certainly causing my mind to focus on anything that will quiet the pangs of famishment.   Content at the table of satisfaction, I’ll hang on to the IQ points for now and remember moderation is key to experiencing any good thing.

We love to top this with a fresh salsa equipped with a healthy mix of cilantro and chili peppers to add even more heat.  You could eliminate the cheese and sour cream to make it a little more heart healthy but then you could go with my resolve and think about moderation instead of elimination.

This a perfect meal for the “chili” nights with or without the pasta.  It’s one of my favorite comfort foods in the winter.  I love this recipe.  It’s very understated.  It isn’t pretentious by any stretch of the imagination.  I can tomatoes every August just for the winter chili.  Simple, and so comforting.

This is an excellent very health conscious and easy dish.  The Talapia is tender and you can’t get more convenient than pulling it right out of the freezer and place it in the pan.  They’re gloriously thin so cook time is quick.  And wow, the taste is tender and gives you that feeling you get when you know you’re doing your body right.  You could certainly pour a light dressing on this as well.  The rich antioxidants in the red cabbage are yours for the taking.

If there’s one thing I’m always on the prowl for besides anything hot, spicy and healthy, it’s any food pre-packaged that’s just as authentic in it’s original state that will get me there as quickly as possible.  I salivate at the thought of bottled freshness with little or no regard to the price of such.  Afterall, I waste my money on other less important things in life and I find there is nothing more valued than my health.  Peeled garlic cloves in a mason jar could excite me as much as diamonds.  And more and more this food junkie is being lured in with the fresh shortcuts that only add to my junkie habits.  In my mind, there are few combinations as satisfying as garlic, fresh herbs and onions sauteed with this or that.

In fact, I don’t know anyone at the cafe that doesn’t stick their head in the door when I begin frying up the vegetables we use for our vegetarian panini.  If ever there were any truth to hypnosis and its ability to persuade I believe this technique could  convince.  And since I can’t find ingredients such as lemon grass my “duh” moment lies within this new discovery.  I found this at my local grocery store.  Squeeze bottle lemon grass in the produce section.  And the beauty is I don’t have to prepare it nor do I have to worry about wasting it.  I use what I need and store the rest for the next meal I want to add some flavor flair.

With options like this, you’ll never hear me complain when I can’t find ingredients–well today anyway.