Mediterranean Vegetable, White Bean and Feta Penne

 There may be no scarier word to us Carnivores than Meatless.  No meat?  Surely I will starve!

And while I don't think I'll ever be a Vegetarian, lately two or three meatless meals a week have been suiting us just fine.  I think a break from meat every now and then is good for the body, not to mention the wallet.  The trick is to find recipes that are hearty and flavorful enough, that meat is not even missed.  And as long as I just don't mention the fact that it is meatless to my husband, I can usually get away with it.  Shhhhh.

I really enjoyed this dish.  Initially I wasn't sure about the pasta/bean combo, but it really works.  The pasta is filling, while the beans add hearty flavor and creaminess.  A sprinkling of tangy feta on top and you have a plate of comforting goodness.

I noticed the day after that the flavors of the dressing had greatly subdued.  A few tablespoons of Italian Dressing and this also turned out to be a delicious cold lunch.

Mediterranean Vegetable, White Bean and Feta Penne
The Best of Clean Eating 2

Ingredients

6 oz whole-grain penne pasta
1 cup cooked white beans of your choice
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced, divided
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp sea salt
1 Tbsp plus 1 tsp extra extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 medium zucchini, cut into eighths lengthwise, then cut into 2-inch pieces
1 medium green bell pepper, cut into thin strips, then cut into 2-inch pieces
1/2 tsp dried rosemary
1 cup crumbled reduced fat feta cheese

Directions

1.  Cook penne according to package directions, adding beans during the last minute of cooking.

2.  Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine tomatoes, 2 cloves garlic, vinegar, basil, pepper flakes, and salt; set aside.

3.  Heat 1 tsp oil in a large nonstick skillet on medium-high, tilting skillet to coat bottom lightly.  Add zucchini and bell pepper and cook for 4 minutes, or until edges begin to brown, stirring frequently.  Add remaining 2 cloves garlic and cook for 15 seconds, stirring constantly.  Remove from heat, stir in tomato mixture and drizzle with remaining 1 Tbsp oil.  Cover to keep warm.

4.  Drain penne-bean mixture, place in a serving bowl, sprinkle evenly with rosemary and all but 1/4 cup feta.  Spoon zucchini mixture over top and finish with remaining feta.

Per 1 1/2 cup Serving:  353 cal, 12g fat, 44g carbs, 11g fiber, 6g sugar, 18g protein.

A Sheep in Wolf's Clothing.

People sneak up on us. They surprise us. Sometimes beautifully and positively, and sometimes not so much.

Often when I meet men, they seem to make an effort to appear very sweet, sensitive, and attentive. Generally they turn out to be more self involved and disingenuous than at first blush. Not always, of course. And this could be an LA affectation. “Deep down I’m really shallow,” or some such thing.

But recently I met an even more interesting beast. The kind who paints himself a warrior. An animal. He claims not to care about what other people think or want.  He is predatory and self-aggrandizing. But guess what? Directly beneath this veneer is hand-blown glass. An eggshell composition. He wants desperately to be understood in spite of himself. This person wants to be swaddled by someone.

Am I that person? Do I even want to be? I highly doubt it, at least not in this instance, and that is not why I broach the subject here.

I keep thinking about Aesop’s fable:

The wolf put on the fleece and went off in search of a flock of sheep. It spied a flock of sheep just as the sun was setting and approached the flock. Just as it was about to pounce on a lamb, a shepherd came by looking for a sheep to slaughter for supper. Thinking the disguised wolf was a sheep, the shepherd quickly grabbed and killed the wolf.

So it would appear we are all disrobed in one form or another. The mask always comes off at the end of Scooby Doo. Even though the shepherd had no idea that he killed a wolf, the wolf was essentially outed and our odd sense of equilibrium, or justice, prevailed in the end.

So why do we all wear our costumes? And we do, you know. It almost seems that we literally present our anti-self, our inner opposite, when we first meet some people. Perhaps it’s like having curly hair but wanting straight hair and vice versa. Perhaps we want to be perceived as tough and resilient if we are truly sensitive and soft, and perhaps we want to be perceived as delicate and emotional if we are inherently more desensitized and crusty.

And much like the wolf and the shepherd in Aesop’s fable, without really trying, we all see and are all seen. Eventually. But we also must always continue to play our roles, wear our costumes. And not necessarily for anyone else. Not really because of how we want to be perceived, but for ourselves – how we perceive ourselves.

Kind of like orzo. Most people think it’s rice. It might think it’s rice. It acts like rice. But orzo is undeniably pasta. Put that in your pipe and smoke it.

Watch out for false prophets? Maybe, but mostly I think it’s important to know that everyone might be a prophet and very little is actually false.

Orzo Salad with Tomatoes, Feta, Spinach and Mint

Serves 8 to 10

Ingredients

12 ounces orzo
2 tablespoons plus 1/4 cup olive oil
¼ cup walnut oil
1 1/2 cups crumbled seasoned feta cheese
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1 /2 cup chopped red onion
¼ cup chopped fresh mint
1 handful fresh spinach, lightly steamed
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Salt & pepper to taste

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water, with the 2 tablespoons of oil, to a boil. Add orzo and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain and rinse with cold water. Transfer to a large bowl and stir in oil, vinegar, lemon, garlic, spinach, feta, onion, tomatoes, mint, salt & pepper.  Refrigerate and serve cold.

What's this? A seahorse-seashell party?

I spent the day by the ocean on Sunday. I live closer to an ocean now than I ever have in the past, yet I probably see it less than ever before. It’s probably because I’d rather not spend that much time in the car, in traffic. Or, perhaps because I know I have no interest in getting into the ocean. Or maybe because I have so few whole days free to meander. 

But every time I get out there there’s nowhere else I’d rather be.

The salty, fresh smell in the air, the sandy breeze, the seagulls chirping and swirling around above, the laid back vibe, the cocktails… 

I don’t need to get over my irrational fear of jellyfish and get in the ocean, yet. I can appreciate it just fine from a wonky, old bar at the end of a pier with a mai tai in my hand and the sun melting into the ocean on the horizon. Watching the swells.

When I was finishing up high school and about to head off to college my dad, knowing I was interested in cooking, taught me a few basic recipes that were fairly simple, cheap and “guaranteed to wow anyone”. He taught me how to make a fabulous blanched green bean dish with only good salt, great olive oil and a squeeze of lemon (which I still make all the time, and have passed onto Heather who does the same). He taught me how to make the most decadent twice-baked potatoes with a super crispety outside and smoothest, richest insides, using 27,653 pounds of butter. He taught me building blocks, like how to make a roux for soup bases or a delicious cheese sauce to be poured over steamed broccoli. I learned to emulate his burgundy mushroom sauce served over a perfect medium-rare steak. 

And he taught me the recipe for a meal that can be made in the time that it takes for water to boil and pasta to cook. The dish’s broad strokes involve scallops and/or shrimp, white wine, garlic, a shallot and feta cheese. It’s inexpensive, fast, and everyone I have prepared it for has been tremendously impressed. And it is so easy.

My dad always told me “the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach”. I suppose he did have a lot of (ahem) successful dates as a result of his own prowess in the kitchen. He also gave me a cookbook once in which he inscribed, “Feed someone a meal and they have a full stomach. Give someone a cookbook and they have a full stomach for life.” Ain’t he cute?

So off to college I went. And after my first year of losing 15 pounds as a result of the cafeteria’s food, my friends and I formed a food co-op. I would have been so excited to win my boyfriend’s heart through his stomach and cook all the wonderful meals I had learned, but the dude was a vegan. And so was his best friend, also in our food co-op. And his girlfriend. I believe there were about 2 or 3 vegetarians in there as well.

I honestly don’t recall any fun dishes I made during the entire 3 years of our food co-op. But I still always one-upped Frampy, who often brought a loaf of bread and pre-sliced pretend cheese (no dairy) for us to make our own sandwiches on his night to feed our gang.

Well, anyways that was ages (and ages) ago, and I have cooked for boyfriends and friends and, really, anyone who will eat my food. I don’t often teach people how to cook or even let anyone help me in the kitchen, for that matter. I like the food to magically appear before them, ready to be devoured. This dish, however, I do like to explain to my guests. The reason for this is that it is so astoundingly simple. And while I don’t often have dinners prepared for me (except in restaurants), I think everyone, especially people who claim to be unable to “boil water”, should be able to successfully execute this little gem. 

When I awoke yesterday morning my thoughts went immediately to my afternoon by the beach. I lamented not staying after the sunset to eat something beachy, yanked from the ocean. I think I was nervous that I was so unfamiliar with any of the restaurants there and didn’t want such a beautiful evening to be capped off with bad food.

So yesterday, as I filtered through the recipe box in my mind, searching for what I wished I had eaten for dinner after my day by the sea, it struck me: Dad’s Scallops & Shrimp over Linguine with Baked Feta!

So, I invited a friend over to try my dish last night. And I shared with him this recipe and technique. Perhaps he will be able to flex and make it for a date and wow her. He is, in fact, one of those people who never cooks (at least, not that I have seen) but does claim to make a mean enchilada…

Lighthouses rule.

Scallops & Shrimp over Linguine with Baked Feta

½ lb sea scallops

½ lb large shrimp, peeled and cleaned

½ cup chicken or vegetable stock

½ cup of dry white wine

3 tbsp olive oil

2 cloves coarsely chopped garlic

1 shallot, thinly sliced

1 Meyer lemon

1 tbsp chopped cilantro

1 tbsp chopped Italian parsley

8 oz linguine

salt and pepper to taste

¾ cup crumbled feta

In skillet, sauté shallots and garlic in oil over medium heat. Add stock, wine, lemon juice, parsley, and cilantro. Bring to boil, add scallops first, then shrimp a couple of minutes later. Sauté until pink: about 3-5 minutes. Be careful not to overcook. Salt & pepper to taste.

Pour seafood sauce over linguine in a casserole dish. Crumble feta over the dish and place in oven on broil for about 5 minutes or until feta is just browned.

Craving Ellie in My Belly: Her Pizza Adapted

Joining the group Craving Ellie in my Belly was my way of killing two birds with one stone. Now I am signed on with two cooking clubs, and they both include eating healthy. Sweet! I'm really excited about cooking Ellie Kreiger recipes. She's always been a favorite of mine on Food Network and I've been happy with a lot of her recipes.

The reason I'm adapting this recipe is because, as of yet, the only food in this world that I just can't get myself to like, is goat cheese. Granted, I've never had it baked in a pizza, but I just couldn't bring myself to spend the money on it with the risk that I wasn't going to like it. So, I used feta instead, it's a cheese made out of sheep's milk, so kind of similar right? And since I was already adapting, I figured I'd use spinach which I already had in the fridge instead of arugula. The result? Fantastic! I plan to have it for lunch again very soon. It's quick, easy and PACKED with flavor, which is good. I read somewhere that if you eat foods that are very flavorful, you'll feel satisfied quicker and eat less. Give this pizza a try, you'll love it!

Feta, Caramelized Onion and Spinach Pizza
Adapted from Ellie Krieger
For One

Ingredients

1 tortilla, (I love the Carb Balance, they are one point each!)
1/4 cup thinly sliced red onion
1 clove garlic minced
1/2 spinach
2 tablespoons feta
salt and pepper

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Put the oil and onions in a medium skillet and cook over very low heat, stirring occasionally, until onions are soft and caramelized, about 15 minutes. Turn the heat up to medium and add the spinach. Cook until the spinach is wilted, about 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper.

Place the tortillas on a baking sheet and top each with some of the spinach/onion mixture. Crumble some feta on top of each, and bake for 10 minutes. Allow to cool for a few minutes and cut each pizza into 4 triangles.