Tag Archives: summer recipe

Aug3
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Do you have some favorite foods that you can eat over and over again every day and never get tired?

I bet you know what I’m talking about.

Well, one for me is chocolate, never missed a day to have some in one form or another :)

I do have some healthy obsessions too though, kale is definitely one of them. Crunchy and full of flavor and vibrant colors, plus a superfood of all the vitamins you can imagine. I can eat kale every day and still want more. Actually a couple of weeks ago, I had a kale salad every day for 9 days, then took a little break, and now I’m back on a “kale express” again.

I’ve tried many different salad combinations along with kale, and all worked great, you simply can’t go wrong with anything you choose to top these greens with. I felt like I was a kid playing with Lego, building my salad, then savoring every single bite and imagining all the tasty things I can still add to it tomorrow.

Next time you want a salad, just skip lettuce and baby spinach, try kale instead.

Oh, and definitely play with your food! Be a kid again!

What’s Cooking This Week

The texture of kale is firmer (and a bit rougher) than some other greens, but think of all the iron, fiber and powerful antioxidants you also introduce into your body. Since it’s not that delicate, it’s perfect to bring as your weekday lunch, it won’t get soggy and will stay fresh on sandwiches and in wraps. Any possible ingredients will taste great with kale, this is the salad that came out of my “Lego building” experiments. I think it’s very versatile, could be served as a complete lunch, dinner side dish or even at breakfast along with some eggs and hash browns.

Fruit And Kale Salad

1 cup of kale

1/2 orange

1/2 cup of grapes

1 “round” of fresh pineapple

6 pearl red onions

1 Tbspoon of orange juice

1 Tbspoon of pineapple juice

2 Tbspoons of balsamic vinegar

sea salt to taste

bacon bits  or 1 hard-boiled egg (skip for a vegan version)

Chop the kale into bite-size pieces, slice the onions and cut the fruits.

Mix everything together, use fresh pineapple juice and juice from the leftover orange. Top with bacon bits. Would go well with chopped hard-boiled egg too.

Enjoy your “summer on a plate”!

Jul30
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 Summer in the city is full of outdoor concerts, street fairs and of course my favorite Lincoln Center Festival.

For a month of July various theater, dance and music production companies come from all over the world to showcase their work and delight  summer New York crowds with local and world-known masterpieces.

This year I was drawn to the Sydney Theater Company adaptation of Anton Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya. Yes, it did help that it was a Russian play, not that often you can catch one even in eclectic New York (unless a Russian theater is visiting). And you can’t get more classic theater than Chekhov. It did also help that Cate Blanchett was in the play, I think she is a marvelous actress. So, the choice was made, the tickets were purchased, and the day has come.

This year I was joined by my friend Anna, a fellow bookworm and a quite sophisticated New Yorker (with a Russian spirit :) ) And what do you get when you combine two bookworms? Yep, lots of dissecting, some criticism and a whole ton of two heads in the clouds (or books in this case).

The evening could’ve started with a “wrong place, wrong time” fiasco as apparently the play was 30 minutes earlier and 10 blocks South from the actual Lincoln Center, luckily one bookworm caught it just on time to re-adjust the schedule :)  But in case you’re wondering, we still managed to turn the wrong block. How two New Yorkers could get lost in the city where literary every block has been walked through at least 100 times before is a mystery to me! I blame it on the heat, and heads in the clouds (and Russian books I guess). We dropped on our seats not with a second to spare before the play started.

Uncle Vanya, along with Seagull and Cherry Orchid, completes a trio of the most famous Chekhov’s plays, and probably even the most recognizable Russian theater productions period. Sydney Theater’s adaptation was directed by Cate Blanchett’s husband Andrew Upton and has been playing in Australia with much success since 2010. I don’t know how well the play was received in the Russian Australian community, but a few Russians among the New York audience (at least the ones I overheard) had the same mixed emotions as we both did.

Technically the play was done correctly, however, it failed to connect the audience (and actors themselves) to the “Russian Spirit”, that emotional place so masterfully depicted in writings of Chekhov and Dostoevsky, full of contradictory on-the-brink-of-death drama and a mix of dark humor and vulnerability. It just wasn’t there. It is always difficult to correctly portrait a character of a different ethnicity, and it is probably not the actors’ fault this time around, the director (as per the playbill description) paid a lot of attention to translation, but he somehow forgot that tapping into true emotional state of each character is of the utmost value too.

I was also very irked to see how little research into the era and the culture itself has been done before the production. The play depicted Russian life at the turn of the 20th century, the music that accompanied it was from the 1920s-30s, some of the props ranged from early 20th century well into 1950s, and the costumes were a wild mix of correct attire and 1920s-40s dresses. That definitely added to the confusion and mixed feelings left after this outing.

All in all, we did have a good time, the evening was still good, and my companion was still wonderful :) . But let’s just say we saw a “Chekhovian variations” play rather than a play written by Anton Chekhov.

What’s Cooking This Week

Speaking of summer, cherry orchids and authentic Russian Spirit. I found this recipe in the book of Old Russia offerings my family brought with us 20 years ago when we left our native country for good. It reminds me of summer months spent at a countryside and that “sugar and spice” spark so familiar to all Russian people.

Old Russian Summer Compote

1 apple

3 peaches

1 cup of cherries

1/2 cup of brown or raw sugar

2 Tbspoons of lemon juice

lemon peel from 1/2 lemon, cut

1 cup of dessert white wine

4 cups of water

mint leaves for garnish

Combine wine and water in a pot and gradually bring it to a boil. Cut the apple and peaches into bite size pieces and mix in with cherries and lemon peel.

Add fruits, sugar and lemon juice into the boiling liquid and cook until they become soft but not over-boiled.

Cover and let it stand for 15-20 minutes so the flavors would mix in. Chill in the fridge for a couple of hours and serve with some fresh mint leaves.

What you do with the rest of that wine, by the way, is entirely up to you :)

Enjoy!

Jul27

Guest Post: Cooling off with Buttermilk

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 For many of us this has been not just a hot summer, but a sweltering one. My brother and his family live in the Phoenix area and while they call during February and talk about their 70 degree days and taking a walk in the park, I normally get to do the same during the summer months. While we have not been as hot as they have (109 the day I am writing this intro), we have not been cool enough to really brag.

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If you're hot and suddenly lazy (like me), check out my latest guest post for The Ranting Chef with a "cool" recipe.
Jul10
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When asked about her “signature” song, Adele described it as a “kiss-off” to her unfaithful boyfriend. Adele wrote this in three hours the day after she broke up with him. Arriving upset at the studio the day after they split, she wanted to write a lovelorn ballad. Producer Paul Epworth persuaded her to write a more feisty song. “We Could Have Had It All” might’ve been a more typical title for this song, however, Adele wanted to show her strength and to make a bit of a statement that she was never a weak person, not when being  in a relationship in which she was blindsided, not when leaving it yet still undefeated.

“Rolling In The Deep” is a catchy song phrase, however, there’s a cultural history behind it too. Adele described it to Rolling Stone as an “adaptation of a kind of slang, slur phrase in the UK called ‘roll deep,’ which means to have someone, always have someone who has your back, and you’re never on your own, if you’re ever in trouble you’ve always got someone who’s going to come and help you fight it or whatever like that. And that’s how I felt in the relationship that the record’s about, especially ‘Rolling in the Deep.’ That’s how I felt, you know, I thought that’s what I was always going to have, and um, it ended up not being the case.”

I think we can all related to this in one way or another, no?! And even if you were so lucky that nobody ever broke your heart, I can almost guarantee that there were some people in your life whom you trusted and who later disappointed you and betrayed your trust. Hopefully you “kissed-off” those people goodbye (if not always being able to physically distance yourself but at least minimizing the chances they affect you emotionally). And I do sincerely hope you have your buddies, your “gang” with whom to “roll deep”, who will never disappoint, who will always catch you, even if you’re rolling on a floor from tears and grief.

To my “gang”! You know who you are! Let’s roll!

What’s Cooking This Week

I can’t even count all the meanings and connections this recipe has to the song and  the”roll deep” concept. Well, first, you need to do a lot of stirring and rolling to produce the expected result. And second, third, fourth, … it’s chocolate! It never disappoints, it’s always loyal, could be your best friend, your Valium, and a great lover if you desire so :) It’s something that helps you get over any kind of heartbreak or life predicament. And it’s something you share with your “gang” to appreciate all their “rolling deep” efforts. And it’s nice to share simply because you love them!

Chocolate Covered Granola Clusters

12 oz granola (I used Udi’s gluten free)

3 oz melted unsalted butter, coconut oil  or oil spread (which I used)

8 oz melted dark chocolate

a pinch of sea salt

Empty granola in a bowl and break up any clusters it may have. Pour over melted butter/oil spread or coconut oil and mix well.

Add melted chocolate and a pinch of sea salt, mix everything untill all is well-incorporated.

Line a baking sheet with a parchment paper and drop spoonfuls of mixture onto the tray.

Chill them in the fridge, for about an hour or untill chocolate is harden. Remove from the sheet and store  them in a fridge in a container.

Who needs expensive chocolate candy when you have these?!

Enjoy! And share with your “gang”!

Jul2
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Some weeks are just busier than others. This is one of them for me. In addition to regular hospital hours and my private patients, I had a birthday party to attend and cupcakes to make (those were all  the fun and none of the work :) ) and some outings to attend to as well. Plus I was working last weekend, this weekend and will be working on July 4th.

This Peddler is busy, busy, busy this week…

Yet I’m not complaining. I love working weekends in the hospital, there’s a certain flow and a quiet hum that you usually don’t hear on a regular day when the floors are buzzing with all the staff going about their work duties, doctors being paged, patients being wheeled in and out, phones ringing and you trying to cram all your regular responsibilities plus a necessary hand-holding, tears wiping, emotional venting, and occasional laughs.

The weekends are dedicated purely for new admissions and assessments so you actually have some time to sit down and talk with an overly chatty patient, or look through family pictures of a proud grandpa whose grandkids just visited, or console an  anxious young guy whose heart surgery is scheduled for next week that he is indeed in good hands. And even though you wish you’d be home with your family enjoying the lazy weekend hours or being out in the city, it’s hard to deny the fact that maybe you were needed here at just the exact moment when you happened to walk in that patient’s room and with a simple “hello” change his day.

Those are the moments you’d wish to stretch throughout your whole professional career.

 

What’s Cooking This Week

 

Busy time dictates quick and simple meals, but it doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice taste and health benefits. The most nutritious foods are usually the very basic and require minimal cooking and preparation. When pressed for time, I always go for “one pot” meals combining lean protein, veggies and some carbs. Stir fry or pasta dishes would be my first choice to whip up something quick yet nutritious, so it wasn’t a surprise that this dish came quickly to mind when deciding what to cook for busy work week dinner. I decided to skip the usual pasta though as summertime called for something lighter, but I don’t like to “label” certain foods as seasonal only, therefore, I didn’t think that butternut squash would be grossly inappropriate as a summer dish. Plus, it is always so cold in hospitals. I think engineering department forgets that most hospital inhabitants are actually alive :)

 

Quick Summer Ragu

 

 1 1/2 cups butternut, cut into smaller pieces

5-6 links of turkey sausage, cut

1 large tomato, diced

6 red pearl onions, cut in half lengthwise

6-7 fresh basil leaves, cut or torn

Italian seasoning, garlic powder, salt/pepper to taste

olive oil for cooking

 

 

Pour some oil in a large frying pan and saute pearl onions for a couple of minutes, then add cut butternut and saute a couple more minutes.

 

Add turkey sausage and cook it all together till almost done.

 

 

Add diced tomato and all the seasoning, cook till everything is done.

Garnish with fresh basil. You can eat the ragu over pasta or rice. Or you can skip it altogether and have it on top of arugula salad.

 

 

 

Enjoy!

 

 

 

Jun25
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“Did you ever fly a kite in bed?

Did you ever walk with ten cats on your head?”

      Dr. Seuss, One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish

 

Do some things sound ridiculous no matter how you look at them and try to process on a logical level?! Unless, of course, they come straight from the children’s book.

And what if certain people get lost in Seussville and start claiming that what they see is in fact real and not just plausible but surely feasible and quite productive?!

Do you then call upon Dr. Seuss himself and ask to provide medical interventions as his loyal subjects definitely need some anti-pSeuss-cotics and a GPS to find way home?! Or do you yourself take the “high road” and leave them swimming with all the Red and Blue Fishes in a murky mud of their own delusional creation?! Otherwise, you’d be accused, like Horton the Elephant, of seeing and hearing things. And knowing well that most, if not all, of the Whos in Whoville will not have a voice loud enough to make themselves noticeable. Then poor Horton risks to spend a whole life being tortured by the Wickersham brothers.

 

And if in fact you learn to fly the kite in bed (aiming it straight at the Wickersham brothers). And if you manage, on certain occasions, to keep all ten cats on your head without them constantly running away. The task at hand then also becomes keeping your head high (no matter how many cats are sitting on it). And knowing that when Yertles the Turles try to reach over the moon standing on other little turtles, their construction, which is flimsy to begin with, will tumble down from one tiny burp. And while the little turtles will dust themself off and continue on their path, the Yertles will roll all the way down the hill and into the mud and will see their own dirty faces reflected in the water.

 

” So be sure when you step,

Step with care and great tact.

And remember that life’s Great Balancing Act.

And will you succeed? Yes! You will, indeed!

(98 and 3/4 percent guaranteed)

Kid, you’ll move mountains!”

    Dr. Seuss, Oh, The Places You’ll Go!

 

 What’s Cooking This Week

“Something fishy” does not necessarily mean bad things. Some white, red and blue little fishes are quite tasty and packed with healthy fats and nutrients. And when the days are hot, you look for no-cook protein options that are quick yet satisfying. I love all fishes, no matter what color, but once in a while I like to substitute a traditional white fish (aka tuna) for some color and a bit of healthy fat and use red or pink salmon in a salad.

Sesame Salmon Salad

15 oz or 2 cans of pink/red salmon (bones removed)

1/2 of large Granny Smith apple

2-3 Tbspoons of chopped fresh chives

2 tspoons of sesame seeds

1/2 tspoon of dried celery seeds

1 Tbspoon of fresh lemon juice

2 Tbspoon of sesame oil

salt, pepper to taste

Empty the salmon cans into a bowl, break the fish with a fork removing big bones if you see any.

Peel and core the apple, rub the half you’ll be using with fresh lemon or sprinkle with lemon juice (to prevent it from turning brown). Grate it with a large grater.

Combine salmon, apple, chopped chives and celery seeds, add lemon juice and season with salt and pepper.

Add sesame seeds and sesame oil, mix it all well. Chill before serving.

It makes a great snack or a healthy lunch alongside some salad.

Enjoy!

One Fish, Two Fish…

Jun22
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Do you ever get stuck at Procrastination Station?

Waiting for the train that just never comes?

I seem to get stuck there on a regular basis.

I’m the “pro” in “Procrastination”!

But not very proud of it, though fully admitting all my faults. My “play” tends to come before “work” on many occasions. And, yes, I’m “working on it”.

As far as the actual job/work is concerned, it is something you just have to do, your professional ethic and responsibilities are on a line here. Plus my job is from a “caring” field, sometimes I just can’t not to care (I wish I’d implement the not-caring rule in my personal life though, but once you get stuck on a certain character trait, it’s hard to get out of it).

So I guess I get stuck at two stations, Procrastination and Caring Too Much.

Both are a “work in progress” trying to re-route traffic in more constructive manner.

Sometimes you get overwhelmed by all the things that are on a list to do and need to kind of step back, review and re-group so you can actually tackle at least some of them.

But often you just feel lazy and un-motivated and would rather lay on a couch surrounded by your toys.

Somebody find me a motivation to fold and put the laundry away the minute it needs to be done and not hours later or the day after. Maybe if I didn’t have closets stuffed with other clothes, I’d actually start missing the ones in the laundry basket. So I guess there has to be a substantial impending “punishment” in order to motivate you to do the work. The negative reinforcement wins in this case.

And by-the-way, I’m supposed to be taking boxes down to recycling bins, as I’m typing this. It’s a good thing this blog is all “play” in my opinion :)

 

What’s Cooking This Week

Cooking is rarely just a chore, unless I don’t feel well or have to quickly throw together any ingredients to eat and run somewhere, or I’m just in a complete and utter snooze and laziness fest. Cooking is something I enjoy, it relaxes and puts me in a half-meditative state as a process of creation :) Surely not all dishes that I make are complicated or even come out right. Baking, for example, is one of my challenges, I’ve never been an accomplished baker, and with added gluten intolerance, it’s just even more complex. Gluten free baking is all about the right mix of flours and starches plus the exact proportions to the “t”. Yet in a way, I’m now forced into tackling the challenge, and it’s been fun experimenting (and flopping miserably sometimes :) )

And some dishes are just great tasting and soul-warming, no matter gluten free or not, as they remind you of your childhood and quickly gather everyone by the table with their wonderful aroma and stories you can tell while sharing the food.

Scallion Zucchini Latkes

1 medium zucchini

4-5 small potatoes

1 egg

3-5 Tbspoons of flour or Bisquick (I used gluten free version)

2 Tbspoons of mayo

2-3 scallions spears

1 tspoon of garlic powder

1 tspoon of dried chopped chives

seasoning salt or salt and pepper to taste

olive oil or spray for frying

Grate zucchini and potatoes with a large grater.

Beat the egg and add it to the mixture. Chop the scallions, add it in and also mix in chives, garlic powder, salt/pepper and mayo (you may substitute it with sour cream, but then add more spices).

Start adding flour or Bisquick little by little and mixing in well, you will generally need about 3-5 Tbspoons depending how much liquid the mixture has.

Heat up some olive oil in a frying pan and drop spoonfuls of mixture to cook. Fry on both sides till golden brown.

 Serve while still hot. Latkes are very versatile and could be a great breakfast or a side dish for either lunch or dinner. I like them with honey mustard sauce or ketchup.

Here they serve as a nice side dish along grilled chicken patties.

Enjoy!

Jun18
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New York has been on a great weather stretch (except occasional much-needed rain), not too hot, nice cool breeze, right at the summer’s door when the days turn into hot and hazy mess. We’ve all been enjoying just being outdoors, soaking in the sun and saying goodbye to the last spring days.

This weekend was all about lazy afternoons, chats with friends and inevitable walks down the “memory lanes”, and that’s exactly why I cherish these kind of weekends. Some good food and a nice conversation are the best fertilizers that feed my soul. Yes, this is Food and Thought Peddler’s paradise in all its glory :)

An old childhood friend came over (I’m just so lucky to have her in my life and live nearby!), we’ve known each other for 35 years, since grade school, it’s scary to even say that! And even though we didn’t see each other much throughout the school year as kids, every summer we met at the same suburban resort and spent a whole month by the river, running through  meadows, roaming the woods and just building a friendship and creating childhood memories strong enough to still have a taste of those summer berries and a smell of water lilies in our hair.

The first childhood loves, the first disappointments and doubts were experienced and re-lived there, during those lazy summer days and fun-filled nights under the stars and among your circle of friends. Those are the best memories you can have from your childhood!

So down we went a very long “memory lane”, “bookmarking” the events that we want to re-visit over and over again and also hoping that our children will have their own experiences to remember and knowing that, as parents, we helped them create those lasting memories. And making a wish to remember this very day too, many years into the future, a late spring afternoon spent over wine, food and a chat with your good friend!

And on to create even more sweet memories!

What’s Cooking This Week

From some childhood memories and on to some made just last month, I was inspired to make a healthy zucchini salad I tried during my trip to Boston. It was light, refreshing and not time-consuming. Not a complicated recipe to begin with, it was more about the combination of the veggies flavor and a dressing. Here is my variation of this great summer dish.

Citrusy Zucchini – Carrot Salad

1 medium carrot

1 medium zucchini

1 Tbspoon olive oil

5 Tbspoons of orange juice

1 tspoon  fresh orange zest

1 tspoon fresh lemon juice

1/2 tspoon fresh lemon zest

1 tspoon chopped dried mint leaves

1/8 cup of toasted almonds, chopped or slivered

salt, pepper to taste

Grate both carrot and zucchini length-wise using a Julienne peeler creating thin strips.

                                           Mix together all the ingredients for the dressing.

Add chopped mint, salt, pepper (you may adjust any amount of dressing ingredients according to your taste).

Pour dressing over the veggies and let it all stand for a couple of minutes so all the flavors merge. Garnish with toasted almonds. This salad goes with just about anything. Here we are enjoying it with pepper-stuffed grilled chicken patties.

Thus was a glorious Saturday spent sitting on my balcony chatting, eating and drinking.  For dessert, we had almond mocha and more of the quick chocolate scones from this post Hunting For A Moderation.  But not before we killed that bottle of wine :)

Enjoy it too!