Fig, Walnut & Balsamic Tapenade with Goat Cheese

Looking for an easy and unique appetizer you can make ahead of time for holidays? This is for you! Elegant and flavorful, the combination of sweet dried figs, salty kalamata olives, and piquant goat cheese will please everyone; even picky eaters! I've served this to people who think they don't like any of the ingredients, and seen the magic of this flavor combination light up their faces with surprise!

As always, the most important part of this dish is the quality of ingredients. Splurge on good balsamic vinegar and you will be paid back in rich, full flavor every time. Indulge in premium olives or a special type of dried fig. Not sure what to serve with this appetizer? Check out Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg's epic dictionary of all things food/beverage - What to Drink with What You Eat.(separate post on that coming!)


Makes roughly 1 cup of tapenade (original recipe here)

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup chopped stemmed dried Calimyrna figs
• 1/3 cup water
• 1/3 cup chopped pitted Kalamata olives
• 1-2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon drained capers, chopped
• 1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
• 2 5.5-ounce logs soft fresh goat cheese cut into 1/2-inch-thick rounds (or serve in log shape, with cheese knife)
• 1/2 cup chopped toasted walnuts
• Sliced, toasted baguette or crackers

DIRECTIONS:

1. Combine chopped figs and 1/3 cup water in heavy medium saucepan. 
2. Cook over medium-high heat until liquid evaporates and figs are soft, about 7 minutes. 
3. Transfer to medium bowl. Mix in olives, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, capers, and chopped thyme. 
4. Season tapenade to taste with salt and pepper. 
5. (Can be made 3 days ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Bring to room temperature before serving.)
6. Either serve goat cheese, tapenade and baguette toasts plated separately or pre-make each toast for passed appetizers by spreading a smear of goat cheese on each toast, topping with a dollop of tapenade and garnishing with a few extra walnut pieces or thyme sprigs.

Tuna Melt - Under 400 Calories!

There is nothing better than two slices of bread, spread with butter, stuffed with melty cheese, fried in a pan. NOTHING. Okay, maybe a side of macaroni and cheese. It's awful, my obsession with these two foods. I can make almost anything, but in my heart of hearts, I want grilled cheese and/or macaroni and cheese. I want it after a nice long workout. I want it in the middle of a long run. I want it at the beginning of my day and at the end. It's more than love, it's a sickness.

I've relegated things like grilled cheese to the list of items saved for special occasions (or nasty hangovers), but then... then... I saw a recipe for a low-calorie, high-protein tuna grilled cheese. Most tuna melts are laden with butter (on the bread), full fat mayo (in the salad), tons of fatty cheese, maybe even some avocado, useless white bread and can top out over 1000 calories each. Quizno's Tuna Melt contains 1420 calories, 118 fat grams and 1535 mg of sodium. So much for that healthy lunch! Yikes!

Our tuna melt comes in under 400 calories and will blow your mind. 

Prepare to fall in love. 

You're welcome.

Oh, and that amazing looking soup in the photo? It's a perfect fall roasted garlic and sweet potato soup. It's coming soon!

Serves 2
INGREDIENTS:
Note: some ingredients are approximated as how "wet" you like your tuna salad is a personal thing!

• 4 slices of Ezekiel sprouted grain bread (or other healthy whole grain bread of your liking)
• 1 5oz can white albacore tuna packed in water (drained)
• 1.5 Tbsp light mayo, veganaise, or even plain non-fat yogurt!
• 1.5 Tbsp sweet pickle-relish
• 2 Tbsp spicy brown mustard or dijon
• 1 tomato (preferably heirloom) thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup reduced fat Irish white cheddar (check out Kerrygold's!)

DIRECTIONS:

1. In bowl, combine tuna, mayo (or substitute) and pickle relish. Mix together.
2. Spread one side of each piece of bread with mustard.
3. Top two pieces of bread with tuna mixture, sliced tomatoes and the cheese.
4. Top with the other two slices of bread (forming two sandwiches). Mustard sides IN, non-coated sides OUT.
5. Heat a large pan over medium heat. Spray top of each sandwich with cooking spray. 
6. Place sandwiches in pan cooking spray side down and cook, covered, about 1-2 minutes (until golden). 
7. Spray top of sandwich with cooking spray and flip carefully. Cook, covered, 1-2 minutes longer until that side is golden.
8. Serve immediately.

Breakdown: 382 calories, 10g fat, 23g protein, 53g carbs, 7g fiber

Mexican Lasagna - Spinach, Tofu, Mushroom

For me, this is comfort food of the highest order. Mexican Lasagna was a childhood favorite of mine, and no one made it better than my mom. It's the kind of recipe originally torn out of the local paper's food section, extra ingredients appended in my mom's angular script; a rare artifact discovered in an old shoe box, spattered with cooking oils, threatening to disintegrate like the Dead Sea Scrolls. A recipe loved and cherished for decades past and decades to come.

This healthy, vegetarian cousin of our family classic is easily convertible to vegan by substituting vegan cheese, and  provides enough servings for a dinner party or (my personal favorite), a few ready-made lunches for the week! Play with the ingredients - swap kale for spinach, roasted root vegetables for mushrooms, add fire-roasted chilies, have fun! 

Unlike most lasagna, this dish was born of an enchilada recipe - so there is no cheesy layer - making it a breeze to assemble! Feel like a challenge? A little more traditional assembly? Put the mushrooms, onions, garlic, and spinach in one layer and the tofu and creamy cheese into another. The options are endless!

Makes one 13"x9" glass baking dish (approx. 8 servings)

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 package of corn tortillas (you will need about 18-24)
• cooking spray
• 14-16oz block of extra firm organic tofu, liquid squeezed out (use paper towels) and crumbled
• 1 large bag organic baby spinach (about 4 large handfuls)
• 15 medium cremini mushrooms
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 white onion, diced
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1-2 tsp each cumin, chili powder, oregano 
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 4 oz light cream cheese
• 1 small jar salsa verde (8 oz)
• 1 cup shredded light cheddar, jack or pepper jack

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 375'. Coat 13x9 glass pan with baking spray.
2. Heat 1 Tbsp olive oil in large sauté pan over medium. Add onion and garlic. Sauté until fragrant 2-3 minutes.
3. Add crumbled tofu and spices. Sauté about 3-5 minutes. Coat with cooking spray if tofu is sticking.
4. Add mushrooms and spinach. Fold spinach into the mixture so that it wilts. 
5. Stir in cream cheese and turn off heat. Adjust spices if necessary.
6. Arrange 6 tortillas on bottom of dish, overlapping slightly and slightly going up the sides.
7. Top with half of mushroom-tofu-spinach mix.
8. Arrange 6 more tortillas on top of that. Top with balance of mushroom-tofu-spinach mix, and one more layer of 6 tortillas.
9. Spread a generous layer of salsa verde over the top of lasagna and tent with foil.
10. Bake at 375' for 25 minutes. Remove foil, sprinkle cheese on top and bake for another 7-10 minutes.
11. Remove from oven and let rest 5 minutes. Cut into individual portions and serve!

Oak Smoked Salmon over Mixed Greens, Feta & Marinated Mushrooms

My dear friend Leah gave me a stove-top smoker as a birthday present last year, and it shames me to admit it sat unused until this dish. In my defense, I've never smoked anything (well, at least nothing I ate afterward) and I was intimidated. I usually tackle new challenges right away, but I balked at smoking. Leah regaled me with tantalizing dishes created in her cooking class: smoked garlic, smoked vegetables for salsa, smoked fish, and on and on! All indoors, fast, and with little added fat.

Anyone with news or facebook has heard that it's been hot in Southern California; serious, Sahara hot. We've been craving fresh, cool salads and cringing at the thought of twisting oven knobs. I recalled a fantastic salad I've had many times at a local eatery and set myself to its recreation. 

I smoked wild-caught salmon over alder chips until the fish flaked into sheafs of soft, creamy layers, all in only 25 minutes. Both Adam and I were suspicious of the Camerons' "no smoke in your house" claim, but lo and behold, we stood amazed at a near-smokeless experience. The kitchen merely smelled faintly, pleasantly, of flavorful smoke. I dressed up some plain white mushrooms, marinating them in a little grape-seed oil, sesame oil, and yuzu rice vinegar. I balanced the smoke's sweetness with a mild acidity from a quick sugar-salt-rice vinegar pickle of thinly shaved onions. Combined with super-salty fresh feta and cool mixed greens, this salad was a winner!

Serves 2

INGREDIENTS:
Components:

• 2/3 lb wild-caught salmon
• 2 Tbsp alder or oak chips
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice
• salt and pepper
• 2 large handfuls mixed greens
• 1/4 white onion or sweet onion, thinly shaved (use a sharp knife or peeler)
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp rice vinegar
• 1/4 tsp (or just a few drops) sesame oil
• 6-10 white mushrooms, thickly sliced
• 2 Tbsp rice vinegar (or if you can find it yuzu rice vinegar)
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1 tsp grape seed oil
• 4 oz high-quality feta, crumbled
• daikon sprouts or radish sprouts

Dressing

• sesame seeds
• 1 tsp soy sauce
• 2 Tbsp yuzu rice vinegar
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• dash of sugar or agave syrup if too vinegary

DIRECTIONS:

1. Follow directions for your stove-top smoker! Ours requires us to put the chips in the bottom, lay the pan on top, then the grate, then the fish. Season fish with a squeeze of lemon juice, salt and pepper. Cover and light heat under smoker. Smoke on medium for 25 minutes.
2. Check fish. When done, turn off heat and allow to cool, covered.
3. Meanwhile, prepare onions by combining onions with 1/2 tsp sugar, 1/2 tsp rice vinegar and 1/4 tsp (or just a few drops) sesame oil.
4. Prepare mushrooms by combining sliced mushrooms with 2 Tbsp rice vinegar (or if you can find it yuzu rice vinegar), 1 tsp sesame oil and 1 tsp grape seed oil.
5. Whisk all dressing ingredients.
6. Toss lettuce with dressing, mushrooms and onions. Divide between two plates
7. Flake fish by hand and top salad with fish. Garnish with daikon sprouts, sesame seeds and feta.