cooksimple.com

Puttanesca is my number one, quick weeknight meal. Why? Usually I have all the ingredients in the pantry, it only takes 30 minutes, and it is delicious. Add a salad and bread to make it a complete meal. Or don’t and stuff yourself with pasta! You’ll notice that when I took the pictures I deviated from the recipe somewhat… I forgot to chop my olives and then added the tomatoes before the rest of the ingredients because my garlic was about to turn brown. Luckily, this recipe is very forgiving.

Ingredients

• 1 can (28 oz) peeled Italian plum tomatoes
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon dried red chili flakes
• 3 Tablespoons olive oil
• 2-3 anchovy filets, minced
• 1/2 cup oil-cured black olives, pitted and coarsely chopped
• 2 Tablespoons capers
• 1 lb pasta

Directions

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and red pepper flakes and stir just until the garlic is pale blonde, about 30 seconds. Stir in olives and anchovies. Cook for about 30 sec, then stir in tomatoes, crushing them between your fingers as you add them. Simmer uncovered, until the sauce is thickened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the capers and season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Serves 4

These muffins are full of veggies and great with soup. The cornmeal adds a nice yellow color and a subtle crunch. Another great recipe adapted from The City Gardener’s Cookbook!

Ingredients

• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup yellow cornmeal
• 1 Tablespoon sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/4 cup oil
• 2 Tablespoons butter, melted
• 1/2 cup seeded and finely diced tomato
• 1/2 cup grated zucchini
• 1/2 cup grated carrot
• 1/4 cup minced onion

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 °F.

In a large bowl mix together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, sugar and salt. In a second bowl mix together the egg, milk, butter and oil. Stir this into the dry ingredients just until mixed. Add the tomatoes, zucchini, carrot and onion and fold in until veggies are dispersed throughout the batter. Fill greased muffin tins 3/4 full with batter.

Bake muffins 20 to 25 minutes, until golden brown.

Yield: 12 muffins

These pecans are so incredibly tasty I had a hard time keeping my paws off of them to snap a picture. Consider these extremely dangerous as they are very easy to make and quite addictive! The sweet, salty and spicy notes are in good balance and match up with each other nicely.

Ingredients

• 2 Tablespoons honey
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground chipotle
• 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 cups pecan halves
• 2 Tablespoons sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon salt

Directions

Heat honey, chipotle and cinnamon in the microwave until honey is a thinner consistency. Add pecans and mix until all are coated by the honey/spice mixture. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven on oiled foil for 10-15 minutes, until nuts are fragrant.

Remove nuts from oven and let cook for 1 min. Meanwhile, mix sugar and salt in a large bowl. Once nuts have cooled, add to the bowl and toss to coat. Spread on wax paper and let nuts dry completely.

I adapted this recipe from the British cooking magazine, Olive. It was slated as a low-GI meal.. I just love lentils and really enjoyed how this dish turned out.

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup french lentils
• 1 lemon, 1/2 juiced & 1/2 wedges
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 2 skinless salmon fillets
• garam masala
• 1 bunch mint, roughly chopped
• 1/2 cup plain yogurt
• 1 bunch flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped

Directions

Boil the lentils for 15 minutes until just tender. Drain, then toss with the lemon juice, garlic and some seasoning while still warm.

Meanwhile heat the grill or skillet to high. Sprinkle both sides of salmon with garam masala. Grill for 5 minutes until the top is golden and the salmon is just cooked through.

Mix half the mint with the yogurt and season. Toss the lentils with the rest of the mint and the parsley. Break the salmon into chunks and toss with the lentils. Serve with the mint yogurt and lemon wedges.

Serves: 2

Another recipe adapted from the City Gardener’s Cookbook. These quesadillas were great - spicy with good chile/cumin flavor. I ended up serving two for dinner along with a green salad and it was a filling dinner. A nice, light, fruity white wine goes wonderfully with the meal. This filling would also be excellent in tamales.

Ingredients

• 2 cups coarsely chopped kale, make sure it is not in long ribbons else you will pull pieces of kale out of the quesadilla when eating it
• 1/2 cup red onions, cut into 1/4-inch dice
• olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
• 2 fingerhot, serrano or jalapeño peppers, minced
• 7 cherry tomatoes, halved
• 2 Tablespoons cilantro, minced
• 4 flour tortillas
• 1/3 (8 oz) block cheddar cheese

Directions

Steam the kale until tender then set aside.

While kale is steaming heat 1 teaspoon oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add onions and sauté until translucent, 3-5 minutes. Add garlic, peppers, cumin and chili powder and sauté 1 minute more. Add tomatoes and kale and sauté another 3-5 minutes until you can squish the tomatoes easily with the back of a spoon. Put mixture in a bowl, add cilantro and mix.

Assemble the quesadillas. For each quesadilla, cover the lower half of each tortilla with 1/4 of the kale mixture. Lay thin slices of cheese over the kale mixture. Fold in half and set aside on a plate.

Wipe out the skillet and add 2 teaspoons oil. Heat the tortillas one at a time for 2-3 minutes on each side, or until browned. Add more oil, as needed.

Yield: 4 quesadillas