Shrimp and vegetables in Thai red curry

Approx. 420 Calories per serving. Recipe makes 1 serving.

I'm not very good and knowing when shrimp are cooked (but not over cooked), so I like to buy the already cooked shrimp and add them at the very end and heat until they are just warmed all the way through. I also like to remove the tail before cooking, so I don't have to deal with it when I'm eating. I planned to eat this without rice, so I evaporated off most of the liquid so that the curry coated the other ingredients. If you plan to serve on rice, leave more water in the sauce.

Ingredients

1. 2 oz shrimp (precooked)
2. 1 cup broccoli
3. 2 1/2 cups snap peas
4. 1/3 cup red bell pepper
5. 1/4 cup coconut milk
6. 1 Tbs Thai red curry paste
7. 1/2 cup water

Directions

1. Chop bell pepper and cut broccoli into small pieces.
2. Add water, coconut milk, and curry paste to a skillet and bring to a boil.
3. Add snap peas and cook until almost tender (approx. 2-3 minutes).
4. Add broccoli and red bell pepper.
5. Cook until all vegetables are tender (but not mushy).
6. Add shrimp (if using raw shrimp, add at the same time as the broccoli).
7. Cook until shrimp are warm and sauces is to the desired thickness.
8. Serve alone or with rice.

Butternut squash with Swiss chard and leeks

Approx. 125 Calories per serving. Recipe makes 2 servings.

I had half a squash left over, so I decided to make a simple saute with leeks and Swiss chard. I ate this as my main dish (entire meal) so I ate both servings, but the recipe would make two generous side dish servings.

I liked the addition of leeks instead of onions, which provided a mellow flavor. I was in the mood for something spicy, so I added a lot of red pepper flakes too.

I tossed the squash cubes in the microwave (approx. 4 minutes) while I washed and chopped the chard and leeks. This cut down on the cooking time, so nothing burnt while the squash was getting soft.


Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups butternut squash
• 2 cups Swiss chard
• 1 small leek (approx. 1/2 cup)
• 1/2 cup vegetable stock
• 1 tsp olive oil
• crushed red pepper flakes, to taste.
  

Directions

1. Peel and cut squash into 1/2" cubes.
2. Wash and chop leeks and chard. While doing this, cook squash in the microwave.
3. Add oil and red pepper flakes to a skillet.
4. Heat and then add leeks.
5. Saute to carmelize leeks.
6. Add vegetable stock and squash; mix well.
7. Add chard and cook until chard wilts and is tender.

Curried butternut squash and apples

Approx. 175 Calories per serving. Recipe makes 2 servings.

I was feeling chilled tonight and wanted a warm, savory, comfort type of food. While standing with the fridge door open and staring blankly into it (maybe that's why I was chilled??) I decided that squash and apples would taste good together. The cinnamon in the garam masala combined nicely with the squash and the tartness of the apples.

This recipe was enough for 2 main dish servings. If you plan to serve it as a side dish, it would probably make 3-4 servings. I'm looking forward to taking the leftover serving to work for lunch tomorrow - even if I will get scowled at for filling the kitchen with the aroma of curry!

Ingredients

• 2 cups butternut squash
• 1 cup Granny Smith apples
• 1 cup onion
• 1 clove garlic.
• 1 Tbs curry powder
• 1 Tbs garam masala
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1/2 cup water

Directions

1. Peel the squash and the apples and then dice into 1/2 inch cubes.
2. Chop the onion and mince the garlic.
3. Add oil, garlic, curry powder, and garam masala to a skillet.
4. Heat and mix well, until spices release their scent.
5. Add onions and saute until they are coated with curry and start to soften.
6. Add water and squash.
7. Reduce heat and simmer approx. 5 minutes until squash is almost tender.
8. Add apples and simmer (approx. 3 more minutes) until apples and squash are tender and most of the liquid has evaporated.

Broccoli with lemon and garlic

Approx. 55 Calories per serving. Recipe makes 2 servings.

I wanted a nice simple side dish tonight, and I was too lazy to get out the steamer for the broccoli, so I decided to do a shallow water boil instead. The broccoli with the lemon and garlic was pretty good, but it would have been even better if I had added a little bit (approx. 1 Tbs) of butter to it.

Ingredients

• 1 small bunch broccoli (approx. 3 cups)
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1/2 lemon
• water

Directions

1. Grate garlic and the zest of lemon peel.
2. Cut broccoli into small florets, including approx. 3" lengths of stem.
3. Add enough water to cover the bottom of a skillet.
4. Bring to boil and add broccoli, grated garlic, and half of the lemon zest.
5. Once broccoli is tender and water is evaporated off, squeeze in fresh lemon juice and toss.
6. Serve and garnish with remaining lemon zest.
   

Rolo Turtle Candies

Approx. 45 Calories per candy

My mom always makes these simple candies around Christmas time. I spoke with her the other day and she said she was mailing cookies to me, and that a few of these would be included. I've been craving them ever since. Since I was too impatient to wait for them to be delivered, I decided to make some of my own.

These are usually made in an oven at a fairly low temperature and cooked for only a couple of minutes. Since I don't use my oven, I've adapted the directions for the microwave, which is how I made them.

Ingredients (for each candy)

• 1 mini pretzel (I used the waffle style)
• 1 Rolo candy (chocolate with caramel inside - you could substitute Hershey's kiss with caramel)
• 1 pecan half

Directions

1. Place pretzels on a microwave-safe plate.
2. Place a Rolo candy (unwrapped) on each pretzel.
3. Heat for approx. 30 seconds or until the Rolo gets soft (but not runny).
4. Place a pecan half on top and press down so the chocolate covers the pretzel.
5. Let the chocolate cool and harden before serving.
   

Swiss brazeli cookies

Approx. 70 Calories per cookie. Recipe makes approx. 45 cookies.

I was in a festive holiday mood tonight and decided to make some cookies. Since I'm afraid of my oven, that would normally be quite the challenge. Luckily, I had my handy dandy brazeli iron (also spelled bratzeli, bratzli, bretzel, brezel, etc.), so I didn't need an oven.
The recipe that mom gave me had too many ingredients and required that the dough sit overnight. I figured that I would no longer be in the mood to make cookies tomorrow, so I better strike while the iron was hot! I followed the recipe that came right on the iron, but estimated the conversions from metric to US customary measurements. I also decided to add a little bit of vanilla extract and cinnamon.





Ingredients

• 8 Tbs butter
• 1 1/4 cup sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 pinch salt
• 2 1/4 cup flour
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions

1. Soften butter and slowly beat in egg and sugar.
2. Slowly beat in flour.
3. Add cinnamon and vanilla extract and mix well.
4. Let mixture sit for 2 hours.
5. Ladle batter/dough (approx. size of a ping pong ball) onto center of the hot iron.
6. Close the iron and press tight for approx. 1 minute, or until cookie is cooked and golden.
7. Remove cookie from iron.
8. Trim edges and cut into 4 sections.
9. Continue cooking 4 cookies at a time until batter is gone.

Tortellini with rapini leaves and tomatoes

Approx. 425 Calories per serving. Recipe makes 2 servings.

I had a partial package of cheese tortellini in the freezer and the rapini leaves from yesterday that I wanted to use. This recipe was a great way to combine the two. You could use pretty much any type of greens for this (kale, Swiss chard, spinach, etc.) if you don't have rapini leaves.

Ingredients

• 2 cups cheese tortellini (I used Buitoni brand)
• 3 cups rapini leaves, chopped
• 2 medium tomatoes (approx. 2 cups chopped)
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 tsp olive oil
• red pepper flakes, to taste
• water

Directions

1. Add pasta to a pot of boiling water. Boil until tender.
2. While pasta is boiling, chop tomatoes and rapini leaves.
3. Add oil, minced garlic, red pepper flakes, and greens to a skillet.
4. Cook until the greens start to get soft.
5. Add tomatoes and cook until they are soft.
6. Add cooked and drained pasta.
7. Toss until mixed and serve.

Rapini with onion and tomatoes

Approx. 200 Calories per serving. Recipe makes 1 serving.

I had the big bunch of rapini that I wanted to use it while it was still fresh. I really didn't feel like eating the leaves, so as I washed it, I removed the leaves and saved them for a different recipe. I chopped the stems into one inch sections and cooked the buds. This was just a nice simple saute of onions, garlic, red pepper, and the rapini. I didn't want the tomatoes to get too soft so I just tossed them in at the end and heated them through. This provided a very filling single serving as a main course. It could also be split into two servings if eating it as a side dish with a piece of meat.

Ingredients

• 1 bunch rapini, stems and buds only (approx. 8 oz)
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes
• 1/2 cup onion
• 1/4 cup vegetable stock
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 tsp olive oil
• red pepper flakes, to taste

Directions

1. Remove leaves from rapini (save for a different recipe).
2. Cut stems into 1 inch sections (toss any woody sections of the stem).
3. Slice onion and cut cherry tomatoes in half.
4. Add oil, red pepper, and grated garlic to a frying pan.
5. Heat until garlic releases scent and then add onions and rapini stems.
6. Cook until stems are tender, then add vegetable stock and rapini buds.
7. Cook until buds are tender and then add cherry tomatoes.
8. Cook until tomatoes are warm all the way through.
9. Remove from heat and serve.

Lingcod in Orange Vera Cruz Sauce

Approx. 225 Calories per serving. Recipe makes 2 servings.

I'm not a fan of thawing and refreezing meat, and I didn't want the fish to sit in the fridge for too long, so I decided that I would cook up the rest of the cod tonight. I thought a Vera Cruz type of sauce would be good, but I really didn't want to take the time to look up a recipe, so I just made one up based on the ingredients I remembered (onion, capers, green olives, tomatoes). I thought I would add a bit of a twist and throw in some Clementine oranges too. It turned out pretty good. I liked the sweet taste of the orange combined with the briny taste of the capers and olives.

I had started trying to cut the Clementines into segments so that I didn't get the membrane, but they were so small and I was making a mess. I gave up on that process and just peeled the remaining orange and broke apart the segments. I don't think it impacted the taste at all. It would probably be easier if I had been using a regular sized orange, instead of the Clementines.

Ingredients

• 8 oz. lingcod
• 2 Clementine oranges
• 1 medium tomato (approx. 1 cup)
• 12 small Manzanilla olives
• 1 shallot (approx. 1/4 cup)
• 1 Tbs capers (including liquid)
• 2 Tbs rice vinegar
• 2 cups water
• black pepper to taste

Directions

1. Slice shallot and dice tomato.
2. Zest orange and then peel/segment.
3. Add water to a non-stick skillet and bring to boil.
4. Add fish, tomatoes, shallots, olives, orange segments, and half the orange zest.
5. Simmer until fish is cooked about half way up (approx. 4 minutes) and then flip.
6. Cover fish with sauce and continue to simmer another 3-4 minutes.
7. If the sauce starts to dry out, add more water (small amount at a time).
8. When the fish is done and flakes, remove from the pan and put on the serving plate.
9. Add the vinegar, capers, black pepper, and remaining orange zest to the sauce in the pan.
10. Mix well and then pour remaining sauce over the fish and serve.

Steamed lingcod with bok choy

Approx. 170 Calories per serving. Recipe makes 2 servings.

I bought a one pound package of Alaskan lingcod from the Elfish Company and needed to figure out how to cook it. I decided that I would make a garlic ginger sauce and steam it with bok choy. I used half the package, planning on leftovers, but while it was steaming I remembered that I didn't like to reheat leftover fish, so I just decided to eat both servings :-) (really had to twist my arm on that one!!!)

Ingredients

• 8 oz Alaskan lingcod
• 1 large bunch bok choy (approx. 4 cups)
• 2 large green onions (the bulb was slightly smaller than a ping pong ball)
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 Tbs ginger
• 2 Tbs soy sauce (low sodium)
• 3 Tbs rice vinegar
• water

Directions

1. Wash bok choy.
2. Cut green onions into 1" pieces and slice the bulb.
3. Grate the ginger and the garlic.
4. In a small bowl, mix the ginger, garlic, soy sauce, and rice vinegar.
5. Line the bottom of the steamer basket with bok choy leaves (I filled a second steamer basket with the remaining leaves).
6. Place the fish on the bok choy, skin side down.
7. Spoon the garlic ginger sauce on top of the fish.
8. Cover with green onion stems.
9. Add green onion bulbs around edges of the steamer basket.

   This is what it looked like before I steamed it.

   
10. Add 2" of water to a large pot and bring to boil.
11. Place steamer baskets on top of the pot. (I put the fish basket on top, so juices could drip down into the basket that just contained the bok choy.)
12. Steam for approx. 8 minutes, or until fish flakes.

This is what it looked like cooking. The top basket contains the main meal and the bottom basket contains additional bok choy.

Thai Red Curry Eggplant

Approx. 225 Calories per serving. Recipe makes 2 servings.

I was craving something really spicy, so I decided to make eggplant in a Thai red curry sauce. I didn't plan to eat it with rice, so I evaporated off most of the water to make a thick sauce that really coated the vegetables. If you eat it with rice, just leave more water in the sauce.

This recipe only requires 1/4 cup of coconut milk (and a can holds 6X that much), so what do you do with the rest?


I freeze it. I frequently use 1/4 cup increments, so I just pour the coconut milk directly into measuring cups and stick them in the freezer. Once the milk is frozen, I pop it out of the measuring cup, wrap each frozen piece in plastic wrap, and then stick all of them in a plastic bag. I can just pull one out of the freezer each time I need it and drop it directly into the pan (without thawing). The thawed texture is a little off if you are using it in a cold recipe, but it doesn't seem to matter if you are cooking with it.

Ingredients

• 4 cups baby eggplant (approx. 1/2 lb)
• 3 cups snap peas (in pods)
• 1 red chili pepper
• 1/2 cup yellow onion
• 1/4 cup coconut milk
• 1 Tbs Thai red curry paste (or to taste)
• 2 cups water

Directions

1. Chop onion and slice chili pepper.
2. Cut each baby eggplant in half.
3. Add 2 cups water to a skillet and bring to boil.
4. Mix in curry paste.
5. Add eggplant and cook until tender.
6. Add yellow onion, snap peas, and coconut milk.
7. Cook until eggplant is soft and peas are tender.
8. Add sliced chili peppers. Cook until peppers are warm and water has evaporated off to desired thickness.
9. Serve alone or with rice.
   

Market Haul

Today's trip to the Downtown Phoenix Public Market was very fruitful this morning. Citrus is in season, and I loaded up with 9 grapefruit (mixture of pink and white) and 2 lemons. I also brought home 2 pomegranates, 4 lbs of pink lady apples, and 1 lb of granny smith apples. I also bought a couple red chili peppers, beefsteak and heirloom cherry tomatoes, a large bunch of bok choy, a couple of onions, a shallot, a few white, red, and sweet potatoes, snap peas, baby eggplant, broccoli, and a big bunch of rapini. Plus I had a double shot of espresso.....all for under $30. Look for recipes that feature these fine veggies this week.

Yellow wax beans and tomatoes

Approx. 130 Calories per serving. Recipe makes 2 servings.

One of the farmers at the market had some yellow wax beans, so I had to buy them. I ate the first serving of this recipe warm as a side dish with a piece of grilled chicken. The next day, I ate it as a cold salad for lunch. It was tasty both ways.

Ingredients

• 1/2 lb yellow wax beans (approx. 3 cups)
• 1 medium leek (approx. 1 cup)
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 medium tomato (approx. 1 cup)
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1 Tbs balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 cup vegetable stock

Directions

1. Add minced garlic and oil to a frying pan.
2. Heat pan until garlic releases scent.
3. Add leeks and cook until wilted.
4. Add beans and vegetable stock. Cook until beans are crisp tender.
5. Add tomatoes and cook until just soft.
6. Add balsamic vinegar and mix well.
7. Serve (this is good hot or as a cold salad).
   

Garlic Rapini

Approx. 110 Calories per serving. Recipe makes 2 servings.

I bought a large bunch of rapini (also called broccoli raab or rabe) at the farmer's market this weekend. I usually just saute it in olive oil and garlic, but decided to add the sun dried tomatoes (and cook it without oil). The sun dried tomatoes didn't really add all the much, and next time I make it I will leave them out of the recipe. Cooking in just the water and no oil didn't really make a difference in the taste to me, so I will use this same method to cook it in the future.

Ingredients

• 1 large bunch rapini (approx. 16 oz.)
• 6 sun dried tomatoes
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1/4 tsp red chili pepper flakes
• 1 Tbs balsamic vinegar
• water (approx. 3/4 cup)

Directions

1. Chop sun dried tomatoes and mince garlic.
2. Add enough water to cover bottom of a shallow frying pan.
3. Bring water to a boil and add all ingredients except for the vinegar.
4. Cook until rapini is tender, and the water has evaporated (add small amounts of water as needed until the rapini is tender).
5. Toss with vinegar before serving.

Minestrone soup

Approx. 210 Calories per serving. Recipe makes 4 servings.

While this recipe isn't quick to make, it is fairly easy. This is just a basic minestrone recipe, but could easily be adjusted for other ingredients, such as adding cooked pasta or meat to the soup.

Ingredients

• 1 cup mixed dried beans
• 2 cups Swiss chard
• 2 cups zucchini
• 3 tomatoes
• 1/2 cup onion
• 2 cloves garlic
• approx. 8 cups water
• 2 tsp dried basil
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp red chili pepper flakes
• 1/2 tsp black pepper

Directions

1. Soak beans overnight then rinse.
2. Add beans to a pot of boiling water.
3. Separate Swiss chard stems from the leaves.
4. Add the chopped chard stems, chopped onion, and all of the spices to the pot (adjust spices to your taste).
5. Boil for 30-60 minutes, or until beans are tender.
6. Add diced zucchini and tomatoes and then simmer for an additional 20 minutes.
7. Add chard leaves and simmer for an additional 10 minutes.

Beef with snow peas

Approx. 350 Calories per serving. Recipe makes 1 serving.

I was looking for a quick easy dish that had very little prep work to it. This fit the bill. Just grate a little bit of garlic and ginger, slice some beef and chilis, and toss in a skillet with some snow peas and soy sauce. It doesn't get much easier than that.

Ingredients

• 4 oz. sirlion steak
• 1 cup snow peas
• 2 red chili peppers
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 tsp grated ginger
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1 Tbs vegetable stock
• 1 Tbs low sodium soy sauce
  

Directions

1. Cut beef into thin strips (on bias, across the grain).
2. Grate ginger and garlic and then add to a cold pan with oil.
3. Heat until the spices release their scent and the pan is hot.
4. Add beef. Quick stir fry the beef.
5. Add the vegetable stock, soy sauce, snow peas and chili peppers.
6. Cook until the beef is done and the peas are just tender.

Shredded beef chili

Approx. 340 Calories per serving. Recipe makes 3 servings.

I had a big piece of steak that I didn't know what to do with, so I decided to use it up by making a crock pot full of chili. This didn't turn out quite as spicy as I had hoped, but it was still pretty good.

Ingredients

• 8 oz sirloin steak
• 1/2 cup red bell pepper
• 1 can Ro*tel diced tomatoes and green chilies
• 1 can red kidney beans
• 1 cup spinach
• 2 cloves garlic
• 3 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1/4 tsp crushed red peppers
• green onion (for garnish)

Directions

1. Pour 1/3 of the can of tomatoes/chilis into the crock pot.
2. Add spices and mix well.
3. Cover with the beef, diced bell peppers, and spinach.
4. Add drained and rinsed kidney beans.
5. Cover with the rest of the canned tomatoes/chilis.
6. Cook 8 or more hours on low heat.
7. Shred beef with forks before serving.
8. Garnish with chopped green onions.
   

Swiss chard with feta and tomatoes

Approx. 165 Calories per serving. Recipe makes 1 (very large) serving.

I bought a big bunch of Swiss chard today at the farmer's market. I used about half of it to make this tasty recipe. The cheese and vinegar provide a nice offset to the slight bitterness of the chard. It makes a great side dish to your favorite grilled meat.
I decided to serve it with a nice piece of grilled sirloin steak.

Ingredients

• 4 cups Swiss chard
• 1 medium tomato (approx. 1 cup)
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1 Tbs balsamic vinegar
• 2 Tbs feta cheese (I used fat free)
• 1/4 cup water

Directions

1. Wash Swiss chard and separate stems/ribs from leaves.
2. Rough chop chard stems and leaves.
3. Chop tomato.
4. Add oil and minced garlic to a cold skillet.
5. Heat until oil gets hot and garlic releases scent.
6. Add chard stems.
7. Cook approx. 3 minutes, until stems start to soften.
8. Add tomatoes, chard leaves, and water.
9. Cook approx. 3-4 minutes, until leaves and tomatoes soften and most of the water has evaporated.
10. Add vinegar and mix well.
11. Serve and top with feta cheese.
    

Curried sweet potato soup

Approx. 265 Calories per serving. Recipe makes 2 servings.

Instead of the sweet, sticky sweet potato marshmallow casserole that is commonly served on Thanksgiving, I decided to make a nice savory soup out of my sweet potatoes instead. The coconut milk gave it just the right hint of sweetness and creaminess.

Ingredients

• 2 cups peeled and cubed sweet potatoes
• 1 leek
• 1 tsp curry powder
• 1 tsp garam masala spice mix
• 1/2 Tbs olive oil
• 1/4 cup coconut milk
• water
• cilantro (optional, for garnish)

Directions

1. Heat oil, curry powder, and garam masala in a sauce pan.
2. Add leeks and cook until soft.
3. Add sweet potato cubes and then cover with water.
4. Bring to boil and then simmer until soft (approx. 30 mins).
5. Add coconut milk and remove from heat.
6. Blend until smooth (I used an immersion blender).
7. Serve and garnish with coconut milk and cilantro.

Mixed bean chili

I'm a sucker for bags of mixed beans. I get sucked in by the different colors and patterns, even though I know (but forget) that when they are cooked, they all turn various shades of beige/brown. When I started making this chili, I pictured all sorts of lovely colors, and then once the beans started soaking, I remembered that that wouldn't be the case. Oh well. At least each bean adds complexity to the flavor.

I used dried beans for this recipe, but you could easily use canned beans, either of one or multiple varieties. If using canned beans, cooking time is significantly reduced.

Approx. 280 Calories per serving. Recipe makes 3 servings.

Ingredients

• 1 cup mixed beans (dried)
• 2 medium tomatoes
• 1/2 medium onions (approx. 1/2 cup)
• 1/3 cup red bell pepper
• 4 roasted green chili peppers
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 3 tsp chili powder
• 1/4 cup green onion

Directions

1. Soak dried beans overnight or approx. 8 hours.
2. Drain water and rinse.
3. Add to pot and cover with water.
4. Add cumin, chili powder, and minced garlic.
5. Bring to boil then reduce heat to a light boil. Cook covered for approx. 45 minutes.
6. Add diced chili peppers, onion, tomato, and bell pepper.
7. Cook covered for an additional 30-45 minutes, or until beans are tender.
8. Serve and garnish with green onion.

Shrimp stir fry

Approx. 160 Calories per serving. Recipe makes 2 servings

I was cold all day today and since I couldn't seem to get warm on the outside, I thought something spicy might warm me from the inside. This quick dish had a nice spice level and I did feel toasty warm inside - but I was still cold on the outside! You could easily substitute your favorite stir fry sauce for the Thai green curry paste.

Ingredients

• 3 oz medium shrimp, precooked (60 count per pound)
• 4 cups bok choy
• 1/2 medium onion (approx. 2/3 cup)
• 1/2 cup yellow bell pepper
• 1 cup snow peas
• 2 Tbs Thai green curry paste
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1/4 cup water

Directions

• Wash and chop vegetables, separating the bok choy stems from leaves.
• Heat oil in a frying pan.
• Add onions and bok choy stems. Cook until the onions start to get tender.
• Add bell pepper and cook 1-2 more minutes.
• Add curry paste and water. Dissolve curry paste and coat all vegetables.
• Add snow peans and bok choy leaves.
• Cook until bok choy leaves wilt and most of the water evaporates.
• Add shrimp and heat until warm. (I used pre-cooked. If using raw shrimp, add at same time as snow peas.)
  

Curried carrot and potato soup

Approx. 240 Calories per serving. Recipe makes 2 servings.

It's getting towards the end of the week, and the fridge is looking a little empty. Instead of going shopping, I decided to use up some of the root vegetables in the crisper. This is a nice warm savory soup that really sticks to your ribs.

Ingredients

• 2 cups potatoes (I used red, skin on)
• 1 cup carrots
• 1/2 cup onions
• 1/2 Tbs olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1/2 cup vegetable stock
• 1 Tbs curry powder
• water

Directions

1. Wash and dice carrots and potatoes.
2. Add minced garlic, curry powder, and oil to a sauce pan.
3. Heat pan until oil and spices sizzle.
4. Add onions.
5. Cook onions until they start to wilt.
6. Add potatoes, carrots, vegetable stock, and cover with water.
7. Boil until all vegetables are soft.
8. Remove from heat and blend until smooth (I used an immersion blender).

Turnip, Apple, and Pomegranate Salad

Approx. 60 Calories per serving. Recipe makes 2 servings.

I bought some salad turnips at the market this week, so I decided to use two of them for a salad. They had the flavor of a mild radish, so you could easily use radish for this recipe instead of the turnips. I thought the tart of the apple and the sweet of the pomegranate would nicely balance the sharpness of the turnip/radish taste. Since I was planning on eating this immediately after making it, I didn't add any lemon to the apples to keep them from turning brown. If you plan to make this in advance, toss the apples with some lemon juice before mixing with the turnips.

Ingredients

• 2 medium salad turnips
• 1 small Granny Smith apple
• 1/4 cup pomegranate seeds
• 2 Tbs red wine vinegar

Directions

1. Wash and then grate the turnips (I left the skin on)
2. Dice the apple.
3. Toss the apple, vinegar, and turnips together.
4. Stir in pomegranate seeds (rinse first if they are covered with juice, otherwise the entire salad will turn purple).
5. Serve immediately.

Pomegranate fish curry

Approx. 215 Calories per serving. Recipe makes 1 serving.

Since pomegranates aren't in season all that long, I have been eating them like crazy. I like the curry I made and haven't thought of any other way to cook with them, so I made this dish again. This time I made sure to dice the onions, which greatly improved the texture compared to the chicken version. I also decided to try this recipe with fish. The flavor was nice, but the fish was a little too delicate for the heavier curry. In terms of flavor and texture, I think the shrimp version is the way to go. I'm not planning to make this same dish with any other meats, so this is the last of this redux recipe.

Ingredients

• 3 oz. fish(I used dover sole)
• 1 medium tomato
• 1/2 small onion
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1 tsp curry powder
• 1 clove garlic
• 1/8 cup vegetable stock
• 3 Tbs pomegranate seeds

Directions

1. Dice tomato and onion. Mince garlic.
2. Add curry powder, minced garlic, and oil to a frying pan.
3. Heat spice and oil mixture until it sizzles.
4. Add onion and stir fry for 1-2 minutes.
5. Add tomatoes and cook until it starts to stick to the pan.
6. Add vegetable stock to deglaze pan and 1 Tbs pomegranate seeds. Cook 1 minute.
7. Add fish and cook until done (approx. 2-3 minutes).
8. Serve and garnish with remaining pomegranate seeds.

Fennel Carrot Soup

Approx. 50 Calories per serving. Recipe makes 3 servings.

I didn't really feel like doing much for dinner, and soup is always an easy solution. I can just dump everying in a pot and let it cook until it is ready to eat. You could saute the leeks and fennel before adding the carrots and water, but I didn't feel like doing this extra step and I don't think I sacrificed the flavor at all. As the vegetables cooked, I was a little worried that I didn't use enough carrots. However, once it was all blended, the soup took on a lovely orange shade and I think any more carrots would have completely overwhelmed the fennel taste. Leftovers tasted just as good as the fresh soup (maybe even had a slightly stronger fennel taste).


Ingredients

• 2 medium carrots (approx. 1 1/4 cup)
• 1 medium leek (approx. 2/3 cup)
• 1 bulb fennel (approx. 2 cups)
• water
• red pepper flakes, to taste
• salt, to taste

Directions

1. Wash and chop leek (white and light green portions)
2. Wash and core fennel bulb, then rough chop.
3. Wash and chop carrots (I didn't peel them).
4. Add vegetables to a sauce pan and cover with water.
5. Boil until all of the vegetables are soft.
6. Remove from heat and blend until smooth. (I used an immersion blender.)
7. Add salt and pepper to taste.
8. Garnish with fennel leaves.

Pomegranate chicken curry

Approx. 240 Calories per serving. Recipe makes 1 serving.

I really liked the pomegranate shrimp curry I made a while ago, and have actually made it a couple of times while pomegranates are still in season. Today, I decided to try making it with chicken instead of shrimp. It was pretty good, but I like the recipe with shrimp better. While making this dish, I got a little lazy when I chopped the onion, and instead of a fine dice, I just rough chopped them. While it didn't impact the flavor, I liked the texture better when the onion was smaller.


This recipe is almost identical to the shrimp recipe, except I used more pomegranate seeds and the chicken was added to the pan much earlier in the cooking process.

Ingredients

• 4 oz. boneless skinless chicken breast
• 1/2 medium tomato
• 1/2 small onion
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1 tsp curry powder
• 1 clove garlic
• 1/8 cup vegetable stock
• 3 Tbs pomegranate seeds

Directions

1. Dice tomato and onion. Mince garlic.
2. Add curry powder, minced garlic, and oil to a frying pan.
3. Heat spice and oil mixture until it sizzles.
4. Add chicken breast and cook until nearly done.
5. Add onion and stir fry for 1-2 minutes.
6. Add tomatoes and cook until it starts to stick to the pan.
7. Add vegetable stock to deglaze pan and 2 Tbs pomegranate seeds. Cook 1 minute.
8. Serve and garnish with remaining pomegranate seeds.

Market Haul

There were so many delicious looking fruits and vegetables at the Downtown Phoenix Public Market this morning that I spent the entire $40 that I took. I bought about 6 lbs of apples (pink lady and granny smith), 8 pomegranates, a few bell peppers, red and green chili peppers, beefsteak and heirloom cherry tomatoes, a zucchini, yellow summer squash, lettuce, a large bunch of bok choy, cilantro, fennel, a leek, a couple of onions, a shallot, a few potatoes, snow peas, carrots, salad turnips, and a bag of mixed dried beans. Look for recipes that feature these fine veggies this week.

Vegetable noodle soup

Approx. 130 Calories per serving. Recipe makes 3 servings.

If I don't go grocery shopping mid week, I am usually left with a few scraps of random vegetables by Friday night. My solution to using the scraps is to make a salad, a stir fry, or soup. Since most of my scraps were root type vegetables, soup seemed like the best option. I tossed a few noodles in just to make it a bit more filling.

Ingredients

• 1 cup white potatoes (skin on)
• 1 medium carrot (approx. 1/2 cup)
• 1 small bunch bok choy (approx. 2 cups)
• 1/2 cup zucchini
• 1/2 cup onion
• 1/2 cup rice stick noodles
• 1 tsp Thai red curry paste
• water

Directions

1. Chop onion and potatoes and add to pot.
2. Cover with water and bring to a boil.
3. Add red curry paste stir to dissolve.
4. Separate bok choy stems from leaves. Chop stems and add to boiling water.
5. Once potatoes start to get soft, add dry noodles to the water.
6. Julienne the carrots, and then add to the water once noodles soften. (If you are just adding chopped chunks of carrots, add those with the potatoes.)
7. Once potatoes and noodles are soft, add diced zucchini and cook 2-3 more minutes.
8. Add chopped bok choy leaves and cook an additional 1-2 minutes, until leaves soften.
   

Fish tacos

Approx. 350 Calories per serving. Recipe makes 1 serving.

These tacos made a quick and easy lunch. I didn't need to roast the green chilis since I bought them already roasted at the farmer's market. All I did was dice them and microwave them for about 30 seconds. The fish only took about 2 minutes to cook, and in that time, I was able to heat the chilis and tortillas, and then assemble everything. You could pan fry the fish, but since I was adding avocado, I decided to cook the fish without oil.

Ingredients

• 3 oz. dover sole
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 lime
• 2 tortillas (6")
• 1/2 avocado
• 2 roasted green chilis
• spring mix lettuce

Directions

1. Poach sole in water and juice from 3/4 of the lime.
2. Dice the chilis and heat until warm.
3. Warm the tortillas.
4. Add a few pieces of lettuce.
5. Add chilis.
6. Add cooked fish.
7. Top with diced avocado.
8. Serve with slivers of lime.

Tomato fennel soup

Approx. 175 Calories per serving. Recipe makes 2 servings.

I was in the mood for soup and was trying to think of something I could make that would use up the fennel. I enjoy the combination of tomatoes and fennel, and thought I could make a tomato soup with fennel. I was a little worried that I was going to have an issue with the tomato skins (since I used fresh and was too lazy to remove the skins) but they blended nicely and there was no trace of them in the final soup. I also added a few sun dried tomatoes to add a bit more depth of flavor.

While the soup was enjoyable, it tasted a little bit too much like spaghetti sauce to me and I kept thinking of how good it would be poured over a big plate of pasta. While the connection to spaghetti sauce was distracting, the soup still really hit the spot and I ended up eating both servings for dinner (and not grilling the chicken that I planned to eat with the soup).

UPDATE: The next time I made this soup, I didn't add any fennel seeds and I doubled the amount of sun dried tomatoes. I really enjoyed the flavor this way and could taste the fennel and tomato without thinking of spaghetti sauce.

Ingredients

• 1 fennel bulb (approx. 2 cups)
• 1/2 yellow onion
• 2 cups chopped tomatoes
• 3 sun dried tomatoes
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1 tsp fennel seeds
• 1 Tbs olive oil
• 1 cup vegetable stock
• 1 1/2 cup water
• Black pepper, to taste

Directions

1. Remove top from fennel bulb, saving a few leaves for garnish.
2. Remove core and then chop bulb into small pieces.
3. Chop onion, tomatoes and the garlic.
4. Add the olive oil to a sauce pan.
5. Saute the garlic, fennel seeds, sun dried tomatoes, chopped fennel, and onions until slightly tender.
6. Add water and vegetable stock.
7. Boil for 10-15 minutes.
8. Add tomatoes and mix well.
9. Simmer covered for an additional 20-30 minutes.
10. When everything is soft, remove from heat and blend (I used an immersion blender).
11. Serve garnished with a few fennel leaves.

Chicken bok choy stir fry

Approx. 220 Calories per serving. Recipe makes 1 serving.

I was craving something savory tonight and thought that a garlic-ginger sauce on chicken and bok choy would really hit the spot.

I usually am not able to use up a piece of ginger before it goes bad, so I usually toss most of it in the freezer. Sometimes I peel it before I toss it in the freezer (especially if I think I will be adding sliced ginger to a recipe). Sometimes I just scrub the skin and then freeze the whole thing. I can't tell the difference of whether the skin was left on when grate the ginger (as I did in this recipe) so I don't bother peeling it.

Ingredients

• 4 oz boneless skinless chicken breast
• 2 bunches small bok choy (approx 3 cups)
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1/4 cup vegetable stock
• 1 tsp grated ginger
• 4 garlic cloves
• 1/2 Tbs low sodium soy sauce

Directions

1. Wash and drain bok choy.
2. Grate ginger and crush garlic.
3. Add ginger and garlic to oil in cold pan.
4. Heat oil, ginger, and garlic together.
5. Once oil is hot, add chicken.
6. Once chicken is almost done, add bok choy and vegetable stock.
7. Cook bok choy until leaves are wilted, the stems are tender, and most of the liquid in the pan has evaporated.
8. Toss with soy sauce and serve.
   

Black eyed peas

Approx. 200 Calories per serving. Recipe makes 2 servings

I thought the green chilis and black eyed peas would go well together, so made this dish. I tasted one chili to test the level of spice, and it was pretty mild and added two more. I should have tasted all of them, because at least one of them was HOT!!! As a result, this dish ended a little spicer than planned. Luckily, I had an avocado that I could garnish the plate with (not included in calorie total) that helped cut the spice level.

When it came time to make the leftovers, I had the brilliant idea to stick the whole thing in the food processer to make a paste that I could mold into a patty. I was thinking along the line of either falafel or bean burger. I didn't think to add egg or bread, or something to act as a binder. When I plopped my patty into a little bit of oil in the pan to cook, it disintigrated. I ended up smashing the paste into the full bottom of the pan, and cooking it until it got a little crispy. I didn't have luck flipping it, so ended up eating it with just one side crispy. It had the texture of corned beef hash that had been crisped on one side. I scooped that into a large lettuce leaf, and made a wrap. It was pretty good.


Ingredients

• 2 cups fresh black eyed peas
• 3 large roasted green chilis (approx. 3/4 cup)
• 1/2 cup chopped tomatoes
• 1/4 cup red onion
• 1/8 cup green onion
• 1 tsp olive oil
• water

Directions

1. Cover peas with water and boil for approx. 30 minutes, or until tender.
2. Drain peas and set aside.
3. Add remaining ingredients (except green onion) to pot and saute until all vegetables are warm and slightly softened.
4. Add peas back to pot and mix well. Heat for 2-3 minutes.
5. Add green onions and mix well. Heat for 1-2 minutes.
6. Serve.

Pomegranate Shrimp Curry

Approx. 200 Calories per serving. Recipe makes 1 serving.

I finally found a pomegranate that had deep red seeds. Unfortunately, half of the seeds were a moldy shade of brown and that fruit made a direct trip to the trash. The second one I opened had seeds that weren't quite as red, but they were very juicy and tasty.

I was in the mood for a shrimp curry tonight, and decided that the sweet of pomegranates would nicely complement the savory of the curry. I made a small batch in case it didn't turn out, and all I can say is that I wish I had used a pound of shrimp!! This was sooooooo good! I plan to make this recipe several times while pomegranates are still in season!

Ingredients

• 3 oz. shrimp (I used pre-cooked)
• 1/2 medium tomato
• 1/2 small onion
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1 tsp curry powder
• 1 clove garlic
• 1/8 cup vegetable stock
• 2 Tbs pomegranate seeds

Directions

1. Dice tomato and onion. Mince garlic.
2. Add curry powder, minced garlic, and oil to a frying pan.
3. Heat spice and oil mixture until it sizzles.
4. Add onion and stir fry for 1-2 minutes.
5. Add tomatoes and cook until it starts to stick to the pan.
6. Add vegetable stock to deglaze pan and 1 Tbs pomegranate seeds. Cook 1 minute.
7. Add shrimp and cook until warm (if using raw shrimp, cook until done).
8. Serve and garnish with remaining pomegranate seeds.
   

Chicken Chili

Approx. 250 Calories per serving. Recipe makes 3 servings

One of my purchases at the farmer's market was a big bag of roasted green chilis. When I bought them, I wasn't sure what I was going to do with them, but a quick look around the pantry helped me to decide that they would be perfect in a nice chicken chili. The chilis had a nice smoky mild flavor to them, and I decided to not add a lot of other spices, and let the flavor of the chilis come through. Therefore, this has just a mild spice level (at least according to my spice tolerance level).

For the chicken, I just bought boneless skinless breast meat that was already cut into strips. I just added the full strips, and then once the dish was done cooking, teased apart the meat with a fork to make smaller pieces.

Ingredients

• 1 can pinto beans
• 5 oz boneless skinless chicken breast
• 4 roasted chili peppers
• 1 cup chopped tomato
• 1 cup green bell pepper
• 1/2 cup onion
• 1/2 tsp cumin powder
• black pepper to taste

Directions

1. Drain and rinse the can of beans then add to crock pot.
2. Chop all vegetables and add to crock pot
   (I added the seeds and membranes of the chilis too).
3. Add chicken.
4. Mix in spices.
5. Cook in a crock pot on low/medium heat for about 8 hours.
   

Fennel and Pomegranate Salad

Approx. 55 Calories per serving. Recipe makes 2 servings.

Every time I see pictures of pomegranates, they show juicy fruits filled with dark red seeds. Every time I buy a pomegranate, I get yellowish or pinkish seeds. Most of the time they are pretty dry. This time, the one I opened was juicy, but instead of the dark red/purple juice that comes in stores, it had a slight pink color and the seeds were more pink than red. I'm not sure if I just have bad luck with pomegranates, or if all the red seeds in pictures are color enhanced.

I never bought fennel before and had no idea what to do with it. I used a little bit of it by chopping up the bulb and adding it to this salad. I really liked the combination of the fennel, saltiness of the cheese, and sweetness of the pomegranates together.

Ingredients

• 1 cup zucchini
• 1 cup fennel bulb
• 2 cups spinach
• 1/8 cup pomegranate seeds
• 2 Tbs feta cheese (I used fat free)
• 2 Tbs red wine vinegar
• fennel leaf for garnish

Directions

1. Finely dice the fennel bulb (I used about 1/4 of the bulb)
2. Rough chop the zucchini
3. Mix fennel, zucchini, cheese, and vinegar.
4. Plate on a bed of spinach.
5. Top with pomegranate seeds.
6. Garnish with a couple fennel leaves.
   

Market Haul

This is what $30 gets you at the downtown Phoenix Public Market. I got about 8 lbs of apples, three pomegranates, a few bell peppers, roma and heirloom cherry tomatoes, a zucchini, yellow summer squash, lettuce, two bunches of bok choy, basil, fennel, a leek, a couple of onions, a few red potatoes, a bag of roasted green chilis, and fresh, shelled black eyed peas.

Look for recipes that feature these fine veggies this week.

Chicken vegetable soup

Approx. 220 Calories per serving. Recipe makes 2 servings.

When I woke up this morning, I had a terrible headache, chills, and general feeling of malaise. I decided not to go to work in case I was coming down with the flu and also decided to throw together a pot of chicken soup before crawling back under the 4 blankets that were on my bed.

For the chicken, I just bought boneless skinless breast meat that was already cut into strips. I just added the full strips, and then once the dish was done cooking, teased apart the meat with a fork to make smaller pieces. This minimizes how much I have to handle the raw meat. The jalapeno I added was pretty mild, so it gave the soup a nice flavor without the kick.

My crock pot is very small (4 cup capacity) and I ran out of room before I could add the green beans and squash. This was a good thing, since I added them about a half hour before serving and they retained their color and a bit of firmness. This gave the soup more color and texture.


Ingredients

• 6 oz boneless skinless chicken breast
• 1 cup red potatoes
• 1 medium leek (approx. 1/2 cup)
• 2/3 cup carrots
• 1/2 cup green beans (I used frozen)
• 1/2 cup yellow summer squash
• 1 large jalapeno pepper
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1/8 tsp dried basil
• 2 bay leaves
• water
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Clean and chop leeks, carrots, potatoes, and the jalapeno pepper (I included seeds).
2. Add to crock pot.
3. Add chicken.
4. Add spices. Cover with water.
5. Heat on low/medium for about 8 hours.
6. About 30 min before serving, add squash and green beans.
   

Garlic Bok Choy

Approx. 230 Calories per serving. Recipe makes 1 serving.

With Halloween coming up, I didn't want to take any chances running into a vampire, so I decided to load up on the garlic. What's in this dish should protect me for at least another month.
This dish serves two as a side dish, or makes a single generous portion if it is the entire meal.

Ingredients

• 4 cups bok choy (stems and leaves)
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1 cup snow peas
• 1/3 cup bell pepper (red)
• 1/2 Tbs low sodium soy sauce
• 1 Tbs olive oil

Directions

1. Wash and chop bok choy.
2. Chop snow peas and bell pepper.
3. Add crushed garlic and oil to a cold frying pan. Heat the pan.
4. Once the garlic starts to brown, add the bok choy, snow peas, and red pepper.
5. Once the bok choy wilts, add the soy sauce.
6. Mix well and then serve.

Sole and Salsa

Approx. 225 Calories per serving. Recipe makes 1 serving.

I had the remaining sole to use up tonight. I thought about making my favorite standbys - either fish soup or chili lime sole, but thought I would try something new. I originally started with the intent to make a Veracruz type of sauce for the fish, but didn't have any capers or green olives, so gave up on that, and just tossed in what I did have. This isn't the most inspired dish, but that didn't stop me from cleaning my plate.

Ingredients

• 4 oz. dover sole
• 1/4 cup yellow onion
• 1 cup Roma tomatoes
• 1 key lime
• 1 cup spinach
• 2 tsp salsa
• 1 cup water

Directions

1. Add water to a frying pan and bring to boil.
2. Add sole and top with thinly sliced onion and juice from the lime.
3. Cook for 1-2 minutes on each side or until sole is cooked.
4. Place cooked sole on bed of fresh spinach.
5. Heat salsa and tomatoes in the same frying pan, until tomatoes release juices and get soft.
6. Top fish with salsa/tomato mixture.

Thai Red Curry Sole

Approx. 360 Calories per serving. Recipe makes 1 serving.

I was craving Thai red curry tonight, but wasn't really in the mood for chicken, so I made a quick trip to the grocery store. I picked up some Dover sole at the grocery store. Usually, I only buy a quarter of a pound and use it all up the same day, but there wasn't any behind the meat counter and I had to buy a half pound package. I guess I will be having fish for dinner again tomorrow night. At least it saved me from having the meat guy ask if I was buying it for a cat! He always looks shocked when I tell him I'm buying it for dinner.

If you serve this recipe with rice, it is probably big enough for two servings, and you probably would want to leave a little more water in the sauce. I was really hungry tonight (and it was very tasty!), so I ate it as shown (without rice). I was very full when I was done, but not too full for dessert. I finished my meal with a bowl of frozen cherries (I like to eat them frozen). It worked perfectly to cool the spice.


Ingredients

• 4 cups baby eggplant (approx. 1/2 lb)
• 4 oz. dover sole
• 1/4 cup yellow onion
• 1/2 cup green onion
• 1/4 cup coconut milk
• 1 tsp. Thai red curry paste
• 2 cups water

Directions

1. Slice yellow onion into thin strips and cut each baby eggplant in half.
2. Add 1 cup water to a skillet and bring to boil.
3. Add eggplant, yellow onion and curry paste.
4. Cook until eggplant is almost soft.
5. Add coconut milk and remaining water and cook until eggplant is soft.
6. Add fish and cook for approx. 2 minutes on each side, or until fish is cooked and most of the water has evaporated off.
7. Add green onions and mix to coat with curry sauce.
8. Serve alone or with rice.
   

Teriyaki Beef

Approx. 350 Calories per serving. Recipe makes 2 servings.

Ingredients

• 6 oz top round steak
• 2 cups summer squash
• 1 1/2 cup bell pepper (green, red, and yellow)
• 1/2 cup onion
• 3/4 Tbs olive oil
• 2 1/2 Tbs teriyaki sauce
• 1 clove garlic
• 1/8 tsp red pepper flakes

Directions

1. Marinate sliced beef in 2 Tbs of the teriyaki sauce for at least 15 minutes.
2. In a frying pan, head crushed garlic and olive oil.
3. Add beef and sliced onion and bell pepper.
4. Cook until beef is medium rare, then add the squash and red pepper flakes.
5. Cook until beef is done and toss with remaining teriyaki sauce.

Potato Leek Soup

Approx. 180 Calories per serving. Recipe makes 2 servings.

Even though it's been warm out during the day (high 90s) it has been cooling down at night and actually feels like fall. To celebrate the cool evenings, I decided to make this soup to keep me warm on the inside. I added quite a bit of red pepper flakes to spice it up, but that's an optional ingredient.

Ingredients

• 2 cups red potatoes (with skin)
• 1 leek (approx. 1 cup)
• 3 cups water (or enough to cover potatoes to boil)
• 1/8 cup diced bell pepper (for garnish)
• 1/8 tsp red pepper flakes (or to taste)
• black pepper, to taste
• salt, to taste

Directions

1. Wash and chop vegetables.
2. Add potatoes and leek to water and boil until potatoes are soft.
3. Add spices to taste.
4. Blend (I used an immersion blender).
5. Serve and garnish with diced bell pepper.
   

Artichoke bean salad

Approx. 80 Calories per serving. Recipe makes 8 (potluck sized) servings.

A friend was having a birthday party/bbq and I thought this would be a nice side dish to bring. I brought about half of it back home, so I guess it wasn't as appealing to everyone else as it was to me.

Ingredients

• 1 can garbanzo beans
• 1 can artichoke hearts (not marinated)
• 1/3 cup bell pepper
• 1/4 cup red onion
• 2 cups zucchini
• 15 leaves basil
• 2 Tbs balsamic vinegar dressing (I used fat free)
• 1 Tbs balsamic vinegar

Directions

1. Open cans and rinse beans and artichokes.
2. Add to bowl with chopped vegetables.
3. Toss with dressing and vinegar.
4. Add chopped basil and serve.