apple pound cake

toasted, buttered pound cake. stewed sugary apples. whipped cream.   good god.

veggie burger

by now you know i am a huge burger fan.  absolutely love them. one of my clients had a guest over for dinner that is a vegetarian and asked me to pick up a box of frozen veggie burgers.  when i went to purchase these veggie burgers, i couldn't believe all the crap that was in them.  stuff i couldn't even pronounce.  what gives?  it just didn't sit well with me.  so, back home i went in search of a homemade veggie burger.  the one i found was on food network.  it was guy fieri's recipe.  and it was good.  very good.  his instructions and recipe list was a bit confusing and seemed inaccurate, so i used it as a guide and made mine up as i went along.  i also made a larger batch.  his recipe calls for using 3 different types of beans and only 4 oz of each.  i didn't want to waste the rest so i made a few burgers and froze the rest.  you can see in the photo all the beans i used, black, garbanzo, and cannellini.  add in a few other vegetables, oats, and spices, and you have a great twist on a burger. 

japanese sweet potato (a.k.a. imo)

japanese sweet potatoes or satsumaimo (or imo for short) are so fantastic in many ways.  first they taste delicious, second they are very versatile, and they are incredibly good for you.  these japanese sweet potatoes have 150% more antioxidants than blueberries.  that's a lot.  i made this the other night for brian and he devoured them.  this is the version i made.  so simple.   bake the potatoes in a 400 degree oven for about 1 hour.  remove the skins and add the flesh to a bowl.  with a hand masher,  roughly mash the potatoes.  keep it somewhat chunky and rustic.  add a splash of fat free milk and a pinch of salt.  chop 2-3 scallions and saute in a bit of olive oil.  top the imo's with the scallions and fresh ground black pepper.  japanese sweet potatoes are at whole foods right now.  they have a purple skin and the inside is white - much different than the typical  orange fleshed sweet potato or yam we are used to.  and personally, i like these much better. 

whole wheat flat bread

this is about the only thing i made this weekend.  it's really about the only thing i did this weekend, if we're being honest here.  i think i left my house for a total of 15 minutes over the weekend.  no grocery store's involved.  i had very little choices when it came to meal time, but this came together beautifully!  i made super thin pizzas - or flat breads, and topped them with the only few items lingering in my fridge and pantry.  i had one onion, some arugula, a block of parmesan, a limpy batch of basil, and 3 artichoke hearts.  i started by making a killer pesto - even with the limpy basil!  i put the basil in a mini food processor, with one clove of garlic, a few walnuts ( i didn't even toast them), olive oil, salt and pepper.  then, i ran into a problem.  i didn't have enough basil - i poured too much olive oil in the processor.  so, i added a few more walnuts.  that didn't work.  i added some grated parmesan.  that didn't help.  that's when i threw in the 3 artichoke hearts i had (which were going to be part of the topping) and blended away.  it made for the best tasting pesto i have ever eaten.  i love it when that happens.  so, i made some pizza dough, rolled it out super thin, and topped it with some pesto and caramelized onions.  popped it in the oven to get crisp, and when it cooled a bit, i threw some baby arugula and strips of fresh grated parmesan on top, with a drizzle of olive oil.  i also made my pizza dough with whole wheat flour - this was one delicious, impromptu dinner.

seared sea scallops

so simple and so good. well, if you like scallops, that is.  what is it with scallops that people don't like?  my sister can't stand them.  when the word scallops comes up and she is in ear shot, she without fail will grimace and shiver.  i don't get it.  i absolutely love them.  hearty and soft.  and, you don't have to do much to them at all to enhance their flavor.  just a little olive oil, salt, and pepper.  i think often times scallops aren't cooked correctly.  you have to get a non stick pan screaming hot, add some olive oil to the pan and once you have put the scallops in the pan, don't move them around.  cook each side for 2 minutes and they are done.  i served these with pea puree.  one bag of frozen peas, thawed, a handful of fresh mint, juice of one lemon, one glove of garlic, about 1/4 cup of olive oil, salt and pepper.  put it all in a food processor to blend.  yum.  serve this with a salad and you have a great spring meal.