I'm so excited and I just can't hide it!

I'm about to lose control and I think I like it! I'm so excited! Sing it with me, all you Pointer-Sister-big-hair-wearing foodies! :) I'm posting my very own creation this week here on Madame Munchies, but I am also pinning my recipe to Pinterest - Red Quinoa and Roasted Vegetable Salad. What I love about this salad is how versatile it is! If you don't care for certain vegetables or are related to picky eaters, you can easily chuck it out for something you love or that appeals to your family's preferences. Even if you adore the vegetables I suggest, the farmer's markets will inspire you to change it up with vegetables at their peak.

Quinoa (pronounced KEEN-WAH) is increasing in popularity among foodies and health nuts. Not only is it recognized as a grain that is a high in protein, but I recently found out it's a complete protein too. This ancient grain (the Incas ate it!) is related to spinach and swiss chard. Enough facts, go out and buy some quinoa!


Red Quinoa & Roasted Vegetable Salad (serves 6-8 as a side dish)

1 c. quinoa, uncooked 
2 c. water 
2 zucchini, chopped
1 small eggplant, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1 c. small tomatoes, halved
1 yellow, red or orange bell pepper, chopped
2 c. arugula, washed and dried


Herb and Shallot Vinaigrette

1 shallot, finely chopped 
1 lemon, juiced 
White wine vinegar, splash 
2 tablespoons fresh herbs, chopped (I used thyme and oregano)
Salt and Pepper
Scant ¼ c. of good quality extra virgin olive oil


Making the Quinoa: 
Besides, being a powerhouse grain, quinoa is an easy grain to cook successfully. Mark Bittman’s, How to Cook Everything, includes a user-friendly recipe for cooking quinoa. In a small saucepan, add 1 c. quinoa and 2 c. water. Do yourself a favor, add a good pinch of sea salt to the mix and bring to a boil. Once it reaches a boil, turn down the heat to a low simmer and cover the pot slightly. It should take about 15 minutes for the water to absorb and then the quinoa is ready.

Roasting the Vegetables: 
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Spread your zucchini, onions, eggplant, bell peppers and tomatoes onto sheet pans in a single layer. Drizzle olive oil over the vegetables and toss together with your hands. Sprinkle sea salt and freshly ground black pepper over the vegetables. Roasting time may depend on what vegetables you choose for this salad, but mine took about 30 minutes or so.


Making the Dressing: 
In a small bowl, add the shallots. Sprinkle sea salt and freshly ground black pepper over the shallots, add the lemon juice and a splash of white wine vinegar. I allow the shallots to swim in the lemon juice for a while to mellow out. Then add the herbs and the olive oil. Whisk together, taste for seasoning and adjust to your liking.

When you are ready to serve the salad, choose a pretty big bowl, add the quinoa, cooked vegetables and arugula. Drizzle the dressing over the salad, toss together and serve.

Tomato Soup.

I've been making a lot of soups lately. Not only are they good lunch choices, but it's a one pot meal that can't be beat. I can't remember the last time I made tomato soup, but I think it was when I was still living in the midwest. It's also been a while since I've made a grilled cheese sandwich and what goes better with grilled cheese, then the perfect bowl of homemade tomato soup?!?!?

Without time to peruse all of my cookbooks, I opted for a "google" search and ended up selecting Michael Chiarello's tomato soup featured on the Food Network site. A few red flags upfront, this recipe calls for 3/4 c. evoo and 2 tbs. butter. That's alot of evoo and alot of butter, even for my taste buds, let alone arteries. Given that the recipe calls for only 1 14-oz can of diced tomatoes, I highly recommend cutting the amount of olive oil by at least 50% (if not a little more) and if you're going to use cream, I'd leave out the butter. It's decadent enough with one or the other. But it's your call and your arteries.

Now tomatoes are not in season this time of year, it's a great recipe for using canned tomatoes (just make sure you get a brand that is organic or at least super high quality like San Marzanos, it really does make all the difference). What's different about this recipe is that M.C. instructs you to roast the canned tomatoes (after draining and reserving the liquid), which intensifies the sweet, subtle nature of these apple-red jewels. In under 40 minutes, four servings of homemade creamy tomato soup are ready and all you need is that grilled cheese sandwich, of course. I made mine on sourdough with asiago, fontina and mozzarella.

Smashing, Dahling, Simply Smashing....

Have you listened to Spilled Milk podcasts yet? If you haven't, you're in for a real treat and if you have, then you already have experienced the charm and wit behind Molly Wizenberg and Matthew Amster-Burton's wildly fun and devout foodie podcasts. I've been catching up on past episodes while cleaning my house and when it came time for the Crispy Potato episode, I was in tater-heaven.

Featured above, is the Smashed Roasted Potatoes (adapted from a recipe featured in a 2007 issue of Fine Cooking). I just happened to have purchased a bag of teeny tiny baby potatoes on my last Trader Joe's run, so it was an easy excuse to give this recipe a try. It requires very little effort really, and the majority of the time takes place on top of your stove or inside your oven. Trust me, this recipe will make your heart sing and your tongue dance. I mean, what is more comforting, then potato in all of its form (all of its glory)?!?! I tossed these bad boys with some of that lemon basil pesto I made over the weekend too and turned out to be a smashing hit (pun intended). What's great about a recipe like this is that when you entertain and pull these out of the oven, your friends will ooh and aahh over them and you my friends will know exactly the amount of effort these root vegetable gems took!

If you don't have any pesto on hand, maybe a plentiful drizzle of chimichurri or a toss with some flavored evoo and rosemary or oregano). The world really is your potato (or oyster, whatever suits your fancy).

flowers for you (and roasted zucchini soup)

This morning I woke up early (even though it's a Saturday). The Barr Street Market is on Saturdays and I needed to pick up some fruits and veggies for the next week or so. So I bought these "mini" bouquets at the farmer's markets for a mere $2. What a bargain for some loveliness in my apartment, something I've decided to do as often as I am able to, I just adore flowers. They bring a smile to my face. And I thought they might bring one to yours. So enjoy the beauty. In addition to going to the farmer's market, I was given some rather large zucchini earlier in the week and set aside some time to make a roasted zucchini soup from scratch. A few weeks ago, I had lunch at the Dash-In Cafe and they served a roasted squash soup. It was delish and the more I thought about it the more I wanted to make my own. So thanks to a co-worker's neighbor I was supplied with some garden fresh zucchini. I kid you not each was at least a foot in length. I seeded the zucchini and roasted them on a sheet pan drizzled with olive oil, salt and pepper. While the zucchini roasted away I diced up 5 or 6 garlic cloves, two white onions and a carrot,and caramelized them in olive oil and butter. The ultimate combination for caramelization. The fruitiness of the olive oil and the creaminess of the butter add a delicate and very aromatic flavor to the vegetables. Once the zucchini was done roasting, I added the chunks to the caramelized veggies and added plenty of chicken stock, just enough to cover the vegetables. I brought the soup to a decent simmer before pureeing the mixture in the food processor. And voila, roasted zucchini soup. It's so tasty, and very satisfying. A nice accompaniment to any salad or chunks of warm country bread. Plenty left for lunch or dinner tomorrow.

** Note I provided a picture of the soup before and after pureeing. Oh la la.