Not Julia Child's Ratatouille

I had been meaning to make Smitten Kitchen's Ratatouille's Ratatouille for a while and I finally did this past weekend. Of course, mine looks nothing like SK's in terms of both actual appearance and photography, but it was pretty and tasty and lasted about 24 hours before being completely gobbled up. The thing is, this dish has the appearance of being multi-layered when in fact it is only a single layer of thinly sliced zucchini, yellow squash, eggplant, and red pepper on top of a modest portion of tomato sauce. So unless you double the portion in making this recipe, it will be finished rather quickly (provided that you like it!) Good news is that it's healthy and vegan if you don't top it with goat cheese; otherwise, it is vegetarian. As is, this ratatouille makes for a great side dish, but it can be a complete meal if served with a whole grain, such as quinoa or brown rice, and a dollop of goat cheese. I paired it with Chavrie's Basil and Roasted Garlic Goat's Milk Cheese, and it was divine.

this spread has no preservatives!

Saturday Morning (Afternoon) Breakfast

Original Puffins cereal (delicious, all-natural, low-cal, and decent amount of fiber) with cut-up banana, fresh blueberries, soy milk, and sprinkled with flaxseeds.

Smoky Spanish Tomato Soup

Ever since my trip to Spain, I have been into all things Spanish. This includes wanting to make gazpacho, which I tried for the first time in a little cafe in Barcelona. The only thing in my way of whipping up this cold, tomatoey concoction was my lack of a food processor. I finally procured one of these bad boys during the holidays, and was on my way to finally making some gazpacho.

Today I had all of the proper ingredients in my possession to make rustic gazpacho. But then I started to question my decision to settle on this dish. After all, it is January, and this soup is traditionally consumed in Andalusia during the hot summer months. On the other hand, I thought, I really do like this soup and it is quite healthy, too: who cares about the weather or what so-called tradition dictates? Plus, I have some nice sherry vinegar -- a key ingredient for authentic gazpacho -- in my cupboard that's just waiting to be used.

Well, in the end, gazpacho did not win. For now, I have put off preparing it until my part of the Earth warms up a bit. But it took another recipe to really confirm my decision. When I saw the now defunct Gourmet Magazine's recipe for Smoky Spanish Tomato Soup via epicurious, I had a near religious epiphany that left me with no doubts: this was my soup! It's Spanish, it's tomato-based, and it's served hot! What more could I ask for?

Like Creamy Cauliflower Soup with Greens, this tomato soup has a smooth texture and creamy taste with containing any dairy. Bread crumbs (I used small bits of ciabatta bread) blended with the tomato mix in the food processor give the soup a heartiness, making it suitable as a modest meal on its own. I also topped the soup with pulled pieces of the bread for presentation and because who doesn't like dipping chunky, crusty bread in soup? The recipe calls for sweet pimenton (Spanish for smoked paprika) but I only had smoked hot paprika and substituted with it.

The result? An incredible smoky flavor that adds so much body to the soup.

Smoky Spanish Tomato Soup adapted from Gourmet


Ingredients:


4 1/2 lbs of tomatoes
1 medium onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1/4 cup of extra-virgin olive oil
roughly 1 teaspoon of sweet (or smoked hot) pimenton
3 large garlic gloves, peeled
1 teaspoon of cumin seeds
approximately 1/2 cup of coarse bread crumbs (I eye-balled this and it turned out fine) plus more for garnish
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper


Preparation:


1. Cut an X on the bottom of each tomato. Then blanch the tomatoes.  Peels and seed tomatoes, then coarsely chop them.


2. Cook onion and bell peppers in oil with 1/2 teaspoon salt in a wide 5-quart heavy pot over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 15 minutes. Stir in tomatoes, pimentón, and 1/2 teaspoon salt and cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until tomatoes are tender and falling apart, about 20 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, crush garlic to a paste with cumin using a mortar and pestle (or crush cumin with side of a heavy knife, mince and mash garlic, and stir together). Stir garlic-cumin paste and bread crumbs into tomato mixture. Purée soup in batches in a blender or food processor until smooth and return to cleaned pot. Thin to desired consistency with water and season with the sea salt and black pepper. Top bowls with ripped pieces of bread/bread crumbs and serve!

Refrigerator Dill Pickles

I am a big pickle fan.  I don't care much for half-sours, but I love sour, garlic pickles and dill pickles.  This recipe, which I found here but is credited to Bobby Flay, is so simple that there is no excuse not to give it a try if you are a pickle person. The recipe calls for either 1/4 or 1/3 of a cup of sugar, and I used 1/4. Even with that amount, the pickles were a bit on the sweet side, but still delicious. Next time: extreme sour/garlic pickles or sriracha pickles! Anyway, these pickles can be stored in the fridge for up to two weeks.

Refrigerator Dill Pickles

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups of distilled white vinegar

1/4 to 1/3 cup of granulated sugar

4 teaspoons of kosher salt

1 teaspoon of mustard seeds

1 teaspoon of coriander seeds

3/4 teaspoon of dill seeds

2 cups of hot water

2 lbs of kirby cucumbers (or any cux labeled as "pickling cucumber")

3/4 cup of coarsely chopped dill

3 cloves of garlic, coarsely chopped

Preparation:

1. Combine vinegar, sugar, salt, mustard seeds, coriander seeds, and dill seeds in a heatproof bowl. Add the hot water and stir until sugar dissolves and liquid is clear. Cool to room temperature.

2. Place cucumbers, garlic, and dill in a large bowl. Toss to combine. Pour brine over all and turn to coat cucumbers. Cover them with a plate to weigh them down and keep them covered in brine. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight, stirring once or twice. Transfer to an airtight container and store for up to two weeks. Yield: 1 quart.

Creamy Banana Kale Smoothie

This attractive green drink is as delicious as it is nutritious. With super-veggie kale and creamy sweet-tooth-satisfying banana, this smoothie, the recipe for which comes from Whole Living magazine's website, is great as a pre-workout energizer or a mid-afternoon snack.

Creamy Banana Kale Smoothie
Servings: 2

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups of curly green kale, loosely packed & stems removed
1 1/2 banana, frozen
1 1/2 cup of water
1/2 cup of ice

Preparation:

Combine ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Add water to thin the consistency if desired.

Thai Curry Soup with Rice Noodles

Product Review: Two Kinds of Trader Joe's Peanut Butter

I am a huge peanut butter lover.  It's delicious smeared on crackers, between whole-wheat slices of bread, as a noodle sauce, or with sliced apple. My preferred way to eat peanut butter, however, is all by itself. This can get me into some trouble as you can imagine, if I don't control myself!

If you're looking for a peanut butter that has no added sugar or salt and is ridiculously thick and creamy, try Trader Joe's Organic Peanut Butter.  Oh yes, it is also organic!

TJ's latest version of organic peanut butter is not as good as its former incarnation that included Valencia peanuts, but it still tastes pretty great. But if you want that one-of-a-kind Valencia taste and you don't mind added salt, then I recommend Trader Joe's Valencia Peanut Butter with Roasted Flaxseeds (Crunchy & Salted). I normally prefer smooth P.B., but the peanut pieces and flaxseeds in this spread give it a super crunchy texture that's to die for. Also, I like to believe that the inclusion of flaxseeds makes up for the salt content in terms of healthiness. 

flaxseeds ftw!

What's your favorite brand/kind of peanut butter?