It doesn't help that there's beautiful produce everywhere I go and I just keep running across interesting recipes I want to try. Well, full disclosure, I definitely look for the recipes. I think I'm up to three or four Indian cookbooks I've gotten on interlibrary loan... and I have my own sizable stash... and online recipes... and a sudden fascination with Thai and Mexican food... A garden with yummy things coming up and trips to the farmers' market do not help either. Thankfully at least gardens and farmers' markets tend to have low calorie stuff.
So let my gain be your gain too! And don't worry, I have a good excuse for mine and these recipes are pretty healthy. Here are some of the more interesting ones from all the experiments.
This one is a simple Mexican noodle soup-- I looked for it because Hendrik's baby-sitter was always making soups for the kids' lunch, and that seemed like a good idea. This is so easy and affordable to make, and in the two times I've made it Hendrik has just gobbled it up. It's nice to have some in the fridge for a quick lunch for him. Dirk and I like it too.
For some reason I didn't know you could make this without a dehydrator. But hooray for not having to get another gadget and still being able to use the many pounds of strawberries we picked! The recipe above was the simplest one I tried and ended up being my favorite (even though the cooking part took a long time). I preferred a more tart product with the seeds in it. Dirk liked the Martha Stewart recipe better, which was much sweeter and smoother.
3. Chana masala
Yum yum yum. This is a really good chickpea curry. I always have the goal of eating beans for a meal a day because they are so healthy for you and so cheap. I've tried most of the Indian recipes on the Smitten Kitchen site, and they're all good. But this curry and the Indian Spiced Cauliflower and Potatoes (scroll down) are our favorites. Hendrik eats these up too!
Ok, keeping in mind that I dislike food blogs because I hate how over-the-top the descriptions can be, this corn salad will be your new favorite. It is so good! And yes, it has mayo and butter in it, but not an excessive amount. I calculated the calories at about 200 per serving. The secret to this one is letting the corn cook until it chars and you see burnt spots. It adds so much flavor. And serve it warm. It works with corn from the cob or just frozen corn dumped in the pan. If you don't have lime, it's good with lemon juice, and I didn't have cotija cheese so I used cheddar the first time around. I also made it without cilantro once when I had run out. It's really good every time. Instead of chili powder I use the Tajin seasoning I got a while back to put on my mangoes. Our Walmart carries it.
5. Radishes and turnips with honey
I made this one tonight, at the suggestion of the guy at the farmers' market who sold us several turnips. We had some radishes from our garden, and he said they were good sauteed together with honey drizzled on the top. This recipe has a few more steps, but being a turnip novice I wanted all the help I could get. It was very tasty. Who knew you could cook radishes?? I sort of want to plant more now.
There are so many more recipes I've tried! Just today I made pita bread and grilled chicken to go inside. For guests I've made this super easy cobbler with peaches from Mary. I think in one of the reviews someone says it's faster to make this than it is to go to the store and get a carton of ice cream. So true. This next one's not healthy, but it was a treat-- I had lots of cornflakes in the pantry for some reason, and I found this recipe for cornflake treats. We've also had loads of veggies and fruits and some creative salads. Tomorrow I am going to try some summer rolls from the Thai section of this cookbook, and I'll keep you posted.