Ribollita

I have to get something off my back before I dive into this post, I didn't pour a glass of wine until I was smelling the deliciousness of garlic cooking in olive oil.  Now that I have that out of the way, I can also proudly admit that this recipe is another favorite from Runner's World (see Red Velvet cupcakes...I think they are on here).  As with most recipes, I used the actual recipe as a guideline and altered where I saw fit and it seemed to work for me.  Of course, you can't go wrong when trying a recipe from a Chef!

Had to add this...Chef Matt Connors, a nine-time marathoner with a 3:05 PR, prepares a hearty prerace Tuscan soup. By Matt Connors Image by Yunhee Kim From the December 2008 issue of Runner's World.

Ribollita

Italians make ribollita, which means "reboiled," from leftovers and cook the soup twice before eating. Make it with whatever light-colored beans you have on hand.

2 cups cannellini (or any white bean), drained and rinsed
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
1 large Yukon gold potato, diced
2 celery ribs, chopped
1 bunch kale, chopped roughly
1 cup canned tomatoes, chopped
2 cups chicken stock
3 slices day-old, crusty white country bread
Grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (optional)


Mash one-cup cannellini beans in a bowl with the back of a fork until smooth. Set aside.

Gently cook garlic, rosemary, onions, celery, carrot, and kale in the olive oil for about 20 minutes in a heavy-bottomed soup pot, stirring occasionally. Add both mashed and whole cannellini beans, chicken stock, potato, and tomatoes.

Simmer gently for at least one hour. Add bread and simmer until it's completely dissolved into the soup. Taste.

Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.

Serve (preferably the next day), drizzled with olive oil and Parmesan. Makes four generous servings.

And here is what I did...
- Instead of cannellini beans, I used Northern, they are white.  I also used both cans in their entirety because it seemed wasteful not to. Unless you picture yourself using them on a salad or in another form, be bold and use both cans.
- Instead of fresh rosemary, I bought it in a jar, but that is just because the grocery store was out of fresh
- Can someone please define "large potato?" I used two normal sized looking potatoes
- 2 celery  = 3 in my book because what am I going to do with all this celery? In my honest opinion, no one actually eats celery because they like it, they eat it because they are pretending they are eating real food.  In soup, celery is 100% ok...it is also amazing with PB, which is probably how I will have to eat it so as not to waste it.
- Back on track...1 bunch kale is a lot of kale, but know that, like spinach, it shrinks [insert joke here].
- I used vegetable stock instead of chicken and still loved this recipe.
- What is with the bread? I felt weird about that, so I dismissed that step.
- Finally, if you feel so inclined to beef up this soup, pun intended, I added cooked, ground turkey and liked the added heavy.  It also helped the soup go a little further.
- One more thing, I had a green pepper that was looking too creepy to add to a salad, but I saved it to chop and add to the soup and it worked.  Look in your fridge and throw in those weird looking veggies instead of tossing them.  This can certainly be used as a bottomless pot stew.

Enjoy..and happy running!

Smashed White Bean and Avocado Club

Let's get one thing straight, "Smashed White Bean" in my book is store bought hummus.  I also don't have a food processor, so there was no way I was about to smash beans with a fork.  Also, I do know that hummus is generally made with chick peas, which seemed like a fair enough substitute.  So here goes, let's make a sandwich.

Ingredients

• 2 15-ounce cans white beans, rinsed and drained
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 12 slices multi grain bread
• 1 small red onion, thinly sliced
• 1 cucumber, preferably hothouse (seedless), thinly sliced (peeled, if desired)
• 1 4- to 5-ounce container sprouts (such as alfalfa, radish, broccoli, or a combination)
• 2 avocados, pitted and thinly sliced

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, combine the beans, oil, salt, and pepper. Roughly mash the mixture with the back of a fork.
2. Place 8 of the bread slices on a work surface. Divide the mashed beans among them. Top with the onion, cucumber, sprouts, and avocado.
3. Stack the open-faced sandwiches on top of one another, avocado-side up, to make 4 double-decker sandwiches. Top with the remaining 4 slices of bread.
4. Slice each sandwich in half, if desired, and serve.

Like I said, I bought hummus, but if you want to smash beans, have at it.  I also used a gluten free wrap instead of bread, but again, cleanse.  I didn't use onion because I don't like them raw.

Another variation that was even more delicious, was a little home brew.  I smashed a whole avocado, shaved half a cucumber into it, added salt and pepper, a dash of white pepper for a little kick and probably a teaspoon of dill - I just shook a for a bit until the amount seemed good. Toast gluten free bread, which is as dry as it sounds, spread a small amount of the avocado mixture, just enough to hold down a piece of romaine (I suppose you could use iceberg, butter or any other lettuce), then top with half the avocado mixture - this is enough for two open faced sandwiches and it was super yummy. 

Many thanks to Real Simple again for this concoction.

Linguine with asparagus and pine nuts

Ingredients

• 12 ounces linguine (3/4 box)
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup pine nuts
• 4 cloves garlic, sliced
• 2 pounds asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
• kosher salt and black pepper
• 1 cup shaved Parmesan (about 3 ounces)

Directions

1. Cook the pasta according to the package directions; drain the pasta and return it to the pot.
2. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the pine nuts and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until golden, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the asparagus and cook, tossing occasionally, until just tender, 2 to 3 minutes.
3. Add the asparagus mixture to the pasta along with 1 teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper and toss to combine. Sprinkle with the Parmesan before serving.

And here are my notes...I used gluten free pasta because of the cleanse, but will make this again using whole wheat pasta.  I also made this twice, the first with asparagus, the second with green beans, but I think I would use whatever is on sale, like broccoli, spinach, etc.  I also didn't top with shaved Parmesan because of the cleanse, but again, would use it when I make it again off the cleanse. Oh, I almost forgot, this is a Real Simple recipe, April 2010. I really love Real Simple.

The Cleanse

I can't believe it has been since June, that is horrible, but back on track, in more ways than one.  I started 2012 with a bang to my system - no caffeine, no alcohol (as if these two weren't bad enough), no animal products and no gluten.  I feel like there were other things, but I also view cheese as a food group.  This is the Quantum Wellness 21-Day Cleanse.  I am shocked to say this, but I am really enjoying the cleanse, a lot.  After the first couple days without my morning coffee, my body figured out that it wasn't getting coffee and stopped the headaches.  I have learned how to eat better to feel better and can see some of the practices sticking, but not coffee, maybe less, but my morning coffee while getting ready in the morning is a simple pleasure...plus, I am kind of sick of feeling tired, but that may also be a protein shortage.  I have been eating different foods, eating really healthy, working out, losing weight and trying new recipes.  Below are a few that I have enjoyed, including alterations to fit them into the cleanse.  Here are a few of my favorites...

Strawberry Summer Cake

I made this cake at night and took it to work in the morning and it was delicious for breakfast...and since it has fruit, it does count as a healthy breakfast.  The picture posted on Smitten Kitchen immediately had my stomach wanting the whole thing.  Blah, I don't know what else to say except look at the link on Smitten Kitchen, the pics are amazing, the blog itself is amazing, make the cake. DONE.



6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus extra for pie plate
1 1/2 cups (188 grams) all-purpose flour (can swap 3/4 cup or 94 grams all-purpose flour with 3/4 cup or 75 grams of barley flour, see Note)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1 cup (200 grams) plus 2 tablespoons (25 grams) granulated sugar
1 large egg
1/2 cup (118 ml) milk
1 teaspoon (5 ml) vanilla extract
1 pound (450 grams) strawberries, hulled and halved

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter a 10-inch pie pan or 9-inch deep-dish pie pan (what I used). I did not test this with a standard 9-inch pie plate but looking at the margin of space leftover in my deep-dish pan after baking the cake, I suspect you’d be safe. This cake would also work in a 9- or 10-inch springform or cake pan. The 10-inch would make a thinner cake than pictured.

Whisk flour or flours, baking powder and salt together in a small bowl. In a larger bowl, beat butter and 1 cup sugar until pale and fluffy with an electric mixer, about 3 minutes. Mix in egg, milk and vanilla until just combined. Add dry mixture gradually, mixing until just smooth.

Pour into prepared pie plate. Arrange strawberries, cut side down, on top of batter, as closely as possible in a single layer (though I had to overlap a few to get them all in). Sprinkle remaining 2 tablespoons sugar over berries.

Bake cake for 10 minutes then reduce oven temperature to 325°F and bake cake until golden brown and a tester comes out free of wet batter, about 50 minutes to 60 minutes. (Gooey strawberries on the tester are a given.) Let cool in pan on a rack. Cut into wedges. Serve with lightly whipped cream.

Tired of tradtional Lasagna?

That isn't really a fair question, because who tires of lasagna? Pasta, sauce, cheese, meat, these are a few of my favorite things.  With this recipe, when you think lasagna, you have to ask, "Tradional, spinach or BROCCOLI?"  I love broccoli - fiber (duh), it is really green which means it has a lot of nutrients and the great part about this recipe is that it recommends using frozen broccoli florets.  There is one thing I dislike about broccoli - when you bye fresh broccoli, and take the time to slice and dice, the tiny bits of broccoli get everywhere.  Buy frozen - it is just as nutrient packed and healthy as fresh.  RealSimple is true to keeping life simply amazing - enjoy the recipe and check out my comments (noted with ***and then my priceless comment) of where I made small adjustments.

Broccoli and Three-Cheese Lasagna

 

Serves 4| Hands-On Time: 15m | Total Time: 1hr 10m

***I would like to meet these 4 sumo wrestlers because this fed me dinner for 8 nights (paired with a side salad and see other adjustments)

Ingredients

• 1 15-ounce container ricotta (about 1 3/4 cups) ***I risked using the fat free, aka skim, ricotta and it turned out great
• 1 pound frozen broccoli florets—thawed, patted dry, and chopped***DO NOT put these on a cloth dish towel because your towel will stink
• 2 1/4 cups grated mozzarella (9 ounces)***this is kind of an annoying amount because the grated cheese you buy comes in 8oz bags, so I bought one bag and saved a little bit to sprinkle on top - no damage done
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan (2 ounces)
• kosher salt and black pepper
• 1 16-ounce jar marinara sauce***I will always recommend Prego Traditional, maybe because that is what I was raised on, but I just think it is the best
• 1/2 cup heavy cream ***I considered skipping this, but decided to follow the recipe and added whipping cream and I really do think it made a difference
• 8 no-boil lasagna noodles***I admittedly didn't know no-boil existed and bought regular noodles and boiled them, but 8 wasn't enough, will do 12 next time
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for the foil
• 4 cups mixed greens***optional, this is for the salad
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice***salad

Directions

1. Heat oven to 400º F. In a large bowl, combine the ricotta, broccoli, 2 cups of the mozzarella, ¼ cup of the Parmesan,½  teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper. In a small bowl, combine the marinara sauce and cream.
2. Spoon a thin layer of the sauce into the bottom of an 8-inch square baking dish. Top with 2 noodles, a quarter of the remaining sauce, and a third of the broccoli mixture; repeat twice. Top with the remaining 2 noodles and sauce. Sprinkle with the remaining ¼ cup of mozzarella and ¼ cup of Parmesan. ***I needed more noodles because I used a 9x13 inch pan
3. Cover tightly with an oiled piece of foil and bake until the noodles are tender, 35 to 40 minutes. Uncover and bake until the top is golden brown, 10 to 15 minutes. ***not sure what this oiling the foil business is and I didn't oil my foil because removing a piece of foil covered in hot oil sounded like a bad idea
4. Toss the greens with the olive oil, lemon juice, and ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper. Serve with the lasagna. ***toss that salad friends!

I made one addition to this recipe - notice there isn't any meat?! I added italian sausage flavored turkey burger and...IT.WAS.AMAZING!  I recommend adding meat, it just seems right.

Red Velvet Cupcakes...from Runners World?

Yup, that is right. This recipe was published in Runner's World and it was absolutely delicious (I don't enjoy red velvet cupcakes, but the response was great)!  I guess you can actually forgo the red food coloring because the fusion of buttermilk, cocoa and vinegar creates a red tinge. I used the red food coloring, but am curious to try it without.  A couple warnings - red food coloring seemed to get everywhere and it can stain, don't even think about using regular flour in place of cake flour and yes, vinegar is supposed to be an ingredient.  Finally, add graham crackers to your grocery list because there was a lot of extra cream cheese frosting.  Enjoy!


Cupcakes1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 1/2 cups cake flour
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup buttermilk
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons red food coloring
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon vinegar


Cream-Cheese Frosting

8 ounces cream cheese (one bar)
1/2 pound unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups confectioner's sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Heart-shaped cupcake toppers or colored sugar


Preheat oven to 325° F. Line two 12-cup muffin tins with wrappers.

Mix dry ingredients together. Mix wet ingredients together. Pour wet mixture into dry and mix until combined. Fill tins two-thirds full with batter. Bake 15 to 20 minutes. Cool completely.

For frosting, mix butter and cream cheese until smooth. Slowly mix in confectioner's sugar. Add vanilla extract. Frost cupcakes using a piping bag fitted with a star-shaped tip. Or frost with a small spatula. Sprinkle with colored sugar or cupcake toppers. Makes 24.