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  • Arugula Salad

    Credits

    Recipe adapted from Foodie Crush.

    Ingredients

    Makes 1 serving

    amountingredient
    5golive oil, extra virgin
    15gbalsamic vinegar
    small pinchsalt
    couple cranksblack pepper, fresh cracked
    50garugula
    10gParmagiana Reggiano, shaved

    Process

    1. in a medium bowl, add oil, vinegar, and seasonings, use your salad fork to give it a quick whisk
    2. add arugula and use your hands to toss and coat the greens evenly; you can give them a bit of a massage to help soften, but nothing too rough
    3. use a vegetable peeler to shave parm on top
    4. serve immediately; this salad won’t be great if it’s sitting out for hours

    Nutrition

    whole recipe (1 serving): 139 calories

    Notes

    This recipe is suuuuper basic, resulting in an acidic, lightly dressed salad. Adjust all amounts to your preferences.

    I prefer my salad dressings to be tart and not overly oily, but the standard vinaigrette ratio is usually 2 parts oil to 1 parts acid. Do whatever you like better. I also prefer very lightly dressed salads. If you like more dressing, increasing those ingredients or use fewer greens.

    The greens can be whatever you have on hand: spring mix, spinach, dandelion greens, celery tops, carrot greens, etc. Use what you have.

    The Acid

    Feel free to swap out any acidic component for the balsamic. Fresh lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, champagne vinegar, etc. Here I used a good quality Balsamic, which is a bit sweet naturally. If you’re using a low quality Balsamic (which definitely has it’s place), start with about half and build up from there.

    Add-ins

    • chicken breast
    • fresh mozzarella
    • goat cheese
    • tomatoes
    • thin sliced red onions
    • toasted nuts
    • apples
    • pears
    • strawberries
    • chopped dates
    • couscous
    • quinoa
    Arugula Salad
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  • Caprese Cheese Dip

    Ingredients

    All amounts are to-taste, so use as much (or as little) as you like.

    amountingredient
    —cheese
    —tomatoes, cherry
    —balsamic vinegar
    —basil, fresh
    ~1 Tolive oil

    Process

    1. spread cheese out in low bowl or shallow plate
    2. in a dry pan on high heat, add olive oil and toss in tomatoes, toss to coat and spread oil around evenly
      • the high heat will cause a little bit of smoke; nothing to worry about, but consider opening a window or running a fan
    3. once the tomatoes have charred and some or most have popped, pour them directly over the cheese plate; the heat will melt and soften the cheese
    4. drizzle balsamic vinegar on top
    5. snip fresh basil directly over the plate with scissors (easiest way to do it)

    Notes

    • can add other toppings such as parmesan cheese, additional herbs, red pepper flakes, etc.
    • serve with toasted bread

    cheese recommendations

    Any fresh cheese will probably work for this recipe, such as:

    • boursin
    • burrata
    • cottage cheese
    • fresh mozzarella
    • ricotta

    I would not recommend cream cheese here (untested).

    Caprese Cheese Dip
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  • Alfredo Sauce

    Ingredients

    amountingredient
    2 Tbutter
    1 clove or ¼ tspgarlic or garlic powder
    1 cupheavy cream
    1 cupParmigiano-Reggiano, blended or shredded
    to tastesalt
    to tasteblack pepper
    to tastered pepper flakes*
    1 handfularugula or spinach, chopped*
    5sundried tomatoes, chopped*
    1lemon juice, fresh*
    *optional

    Process

    1. in a saucepot on the stove, gently melt butter and add garlic; cook until fragrant, a minute or two
    2. add heavy cream and parm
    3. add salt, black pepper, red pepper flakes; simmer gently as sauce thickens
    4. add greens and sundried tomatoes
    5. when sauce thickens to desired consistency, turn off heat, add lemon juice and stir

    If adding to pasta, set pasta to boil before starting the sauce and add it to the saucepot along with a little bit of pasta water once done. Stir to coat thoroughly and serve.

    Notes

    • if the sauce is too thick, thin with milk or water (whatever you have on hand)
    • can also use milk or half and half if you don’t have cream, but may have to cook down longer to thicken

    optional add-ins

    Add whatever you have on hand, like:

    • parsley (fresh or dried)
    • white pepper
    • arugula
    • spinach
    • kale, finely chopped
    • sundried tomatoes
    Alfredo Sauce
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  • Strawberry Caprese Salad

    Credits

    Recipe adapted from Heartbeet Kitchen.

    Ingredients

    Makes 3 generous servings

    This recipe was completely eyeballed, so all amounts are estimates; adjust to your tastes and preferences. If unsure, start with a little and add more if needed. Don’t be scared, it’s not that serious.

    amountingredient
    1 cupstrawberries, fresh, sliced
    ~15mozzarella balls, fresh, small
    2-3 Tbasil pesto
    to tastesalt
    to tasteblack pepper, fresh cracked
    drizzleolive oil
    to tastelemon juice, fresh
    1 bagspring mix
    handfularugula
    2 Tbalsamic vinaigrette

    Process

    1. Add all ingredients up through lemon juice into a bowl and mix thoroughly
    2. In a separate bowl, mix the spring mix, arugula, and dress lightly with balsamic vinaigrette
    3. To plate, fill individual salad bowls with salad greens and top with the strawberry caprese mix

    Notes

    • toasted walnuts (or any other nut you prefer) would go great here
    • can pair with chicken breast as well for a protein boost
    • You can use any fresh mozzarella you want, I just had the little balls on hand, so that’s what I used; I tore them in half and squished them a bit
    Strawberry Caprese Salad
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  • Banana Peanut Butter Oat Bars

    Credits

    Recipe adapted from Sammi Brondo.

    Ingredients

    Makes 9 square bars

    amountingredient
    3bananas, very ripe
    ¼ cuppeanut butter
    1 tspvanilla paste
    1¼ cupoats
    ¼ tspsalt
    ½ tspbaking powder
    ½ cupchocolate chips

    Process

    preheat oven 350º F
    1. grease a loaf pan (with butter, spray oil, or regular oil) or trim parchment paper to fit
    2. mash bananas, add peanut butter, vanilla; mix
    3. add oats, salt, baking powder; mix
    4. fold in chocolate chips
    5. pour mixture into prepared pan
    bake ~30 minutes
    1. let cool, then cut into bars

    Notes

    • I used natural peanut butter, but you can use whatever you have on hand
    • quick cooking or rolled oats work best
    • could try swirling through some jelly/jam (untested)
    Banana Peanut Butter Oat Bars
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  • Simple Raita

    For when you don’t have the ingredients or can’t be bothered to make shahi raita.

    Ingredients

    amountingredient
    —yogurt
    —black pepper
    —cumin seeds
    —salt

    Process

    Crush the cumin between your palms and mix it (along with the rest of the spices) into the yogurt. Thin with milk to desired consistency.

    Notes

    All amounts are to taste; it’s not that serious.

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  • Creamy Garlic Dip

    Credits

    Recipe adapted from Don’t Go Bacon My Heart.

    Ingredients

    amountingredient
    120gmayo
    120gsour cream
    1 Twhite wine vinegar
    1 tspparsley, dried
    1 tsporegano, dried
    1 tspgarlic, minced
    pinchsugar
    pinchsalt

    Process

    • mix all ingredients together in a bowl
    • cover and chill for at least 1 hour before serving

    Notes

    The covering and chilling is actual pretty vital to this recipe, although it’s tempting to skip the step. If you eat it right away, the flavors will feel off and disjointed, maybe too sweet or too tart. But once it’s had a chance to meld together in the fridge, everything becomes much more cohesive.

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  • Eggs, Steamed

    Ingredients

    amountingredient
    ½ cupwater
    up to 24eggs
    large bowlice water

    process

    1. pour water in pressure cooker, drop in trivet, add eggs
    pressure: high
    time: 3 minutes
    release: quick

    soft steamed

    1. take eggs out immediately and immerse in ice water bath
    2. crack, roll, and peel; if you have extremely fresh eggs that are a little stubborn, you can return to the ice bath after peeling some of the bottom so that the water enters between the shell and the egg, making it easier to separate them

    Soft steamed eggs have a fully set, but tender white and runny yolk. Be gentle when peeling as the yolk is runny so there isn’t much structure to the egg. Don’t roll aggressively.

    Enjoy these eggs all on their own as a decadent snack or in place of poached eggs on top of fancy toasts. They’re much less fiddly than poached eggs, and also use the entire egg without discarding any of the whites. You can also add them to hearty grain bowls or roasted vegetable salads.

    Jammy

    1. leave eggs inside the pot with the lid on for 5-6 minutes
    2. remove from pot, dunk into ice bath, crack, peel

    Jammy eggs have a fully set white and set yolks, which are still creamy and soft, with a brighter orange color in the centers where they’re not quite as set. These have more structure than soft steamed and don’t have to be handled as carefully.

    Enjoy these on their own or in salads and sandwiches.

    Fully Cooked

    1. leave eggs inside pot with the lid on for 10 minutes, then dunk into the ice bath and peel

    Fully cooked eggs have a fully set white and yolks, with no green ring around the yolk! The green ring is indicative of overcooking and also creates a sulfurous taste/smell. The yolk will be an even yellow color throughout, with no orange.

    These are the standard, fully cooked eggs used in various recipes like egg salad, cobb salad, or deviled eggs. Use them in those, eat them alone with some salt and pepper, or drop them into a soupy salan like this simple aloo salan, chana shorba, or koftay. The yolk breaks down and melts into the soup, creating a creamy gravy.

    Notes

    • If you don’t have ice, just use the coldest water that comes out of your tap; you may need to change out the water several times, or just keep your bowl under cold running water to help delay the residual cooking process.
    • The easiest way to peel them is to crack the bottom, flat part where the little air pocket sits, then gently roll to crack the entire shell.

    I’ve set up this recipe so that everyone in my family who likes their eggs at different done-ness can still enjoy it just how they like without any extra fuss. So I’ll have my runny yolks by taking them out first, then leave the rest chilling in the pot for the listed times according to what my other family members prefer.

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  • Quick Moroccan Chicken

    Credits

    Recipe adapted from G-Free Foodie.

    Ingredients

    amountingredient
    1½ lbchicken breast*
    4dried figs, halved and destemmed
    4 oztomato sauce // marinara sauce
    ¼ cuponions, chopped
    1 tspgarlic, minced
    2 Tapple juice
    1 Tolive oil
    1bay leaf
    ½ tspthyme, dried
    ¼ tspsalt
    ¼ tspblack pepper
    to tasteharissa paste // hot sauce (optional)
    *frozen is fine!

    Process

    1. place all ingredients in Instant Pot
    pressure: low
    time: 10 minutes
    release: 10-15 minutes natural release

    Notes

    • I used frozen, thin chicken breast directly, without thawing first
    • It made a fair amount of soupy sauce, which I used to make couscous
      • to do this, replace ½ the water used for the couscous with the sauce / liquid from this recipe
    • pictured below: recipe paired with couscous, hummus, and pickled onions.
    Quick Moroccan Chicken
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  • Fresh Pickled Onions & Jalapeños

    ingredients

    amountingredient
    ½onion, red
    1jalapeño
    ⅛ – ¼ tspsalt
    ½lemon, juice of

    Process

    1. slice the onion very thinly, lengthwise (from pole to pole)
    2. slice jalapeño very thinly into coins
    3. add salt to taste—not enough to make it salty, just enough to play up the other flavors
    4. add lemon juice and massage into the vegetables so that all the onions break up from their nested sections and the lemon juice nicely coats everything
    5. rest ~10 minutes until the vegetables lose some of their raw bite

    Notes

    • can use white onions, but the flavor is better with red, as they tend to be sweeter and better for consuming raw
    • I cut my vegetables very thinly; you could make thicker slices if that’s what you prefer and those may hold up better to storing (untested)
    • other acids can be used as well, such as vinegars, or lime juice; I find the lemon juice adds the best burst of bright citrus flavor and tang

    These pickles are best made and enjoyed fresh, but can be stored covered in an airtight container in the fridge for several days. They will lose some of their snap as the acids continue to work on the vegetables, but will still be tasty.

    Fresh Pickled Onions & Jalapeños
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