Recipes (Keep comments in a separate thread!)

Just another simple, decent recipe.🙂

Spinach Bake(chard works too, I guess)

about 300g cleaned spinach
2 eggs
100g fresh cheese (I usually go with dairy-free)
50g sour cream
1.5 dl yogurt
1 dl milk
1 cup (approx. 8 oz) cornmeal
1/2 tsp baking powder
flour as needed
salt
oil

First, wash the spinach thoroughly, slice it into thin strips, and just let it sit for about 30 minutes.
After that, squeeze out all the excess water. You really have to.
Mix the eggs, sour cream, cheese, yogurt, milk, and salt together.
Stir in the spinach, then add the cornmeal, baking powder, and enough flour to get the consistency right—it should be thicker than pancake batter.
Give it a good mix.
Grease a baking pan with oil (though I usually just use parchment paper), pour in the mixture, and bake at 400°F for maybe 30-40 minutes, depending on how your oven behaves.
I used a smaller pan myself...
Once it's done, cover the bake with a kitchen towel for at least 5 minutes so it softens up.

You can pretty much eyeball these kinds of recipes. You could add more cheese or less sour cream if you wanted; basically, as long as the batter is thicker than pancake batter, you won't mess it up. It should turn out soft and tasty enough.

I’m a huge fan of broccoli. I probably have it on my menu at least three times a week, especially lately.

Here is a recipe for a decent broccoli pesto.

350 g broccoli
About 20 whole hazelnuts
1 clove of garlic
60 g grated parmesan
1 sprig of fresh basil (or parsley, I guess)
3-4 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

-Break the broccoli into florets; cut the larger ones in half.
-Drop them into a large pot of boiling, lightly salted water and cook for about 10 minutes, or until they're soft.
-Drain them and immediately toss them into another bowl filled with cold water and ice—just to keep that green color from fading—and let them cool down.
-Maybe save a couple of tablespoons of the broccoli cooking water; you might need it later.
-Toast the hazelnuts in a dry pan until they turn golden and crunchy.
-Wash the basil leaves and pat them dry with some paper towels.
-Throw the basil, cooled hazelnuts, grated parmesan, peeled garlic (make sure to remove the germ from the middle), and 2 tablespoons of oil into a food processor.
-Blend everything, drizzling in the rest of the oil in a thin stream until you get a fairly smooth pesto.
-Add the well-drained broccoli, salt, and pepper, then pulse it all together again. If it seems too thick, maybe add a tablespoon or two of that reserved cooking water to adjust the consistency.
-Put the pesto into a glass jar, pour a little olive oil over the top to seal it, and keep it in the fridge.

Serve this with slices of whole wheat or rye bread, crackers, or maybe even some galettes.

I made this for lunch yesterday, though I ended up using regular quinoa because I couldn't find that specific Quinn blend at my local grocery store.

Quinn and Broccoli Bake

1/2 cup (approx. 4 oz) Quinn (or just standard quinoa)
50g ricotta (I actually used a mix of low-fat cream cheese and ricotta here)
25g feta cheese
25g grated parmesan
1 carrot
1 green onion
1 egg
1 small head of broccoli
gomasio (or just salt if you prefer), pepper
extra virgin olive oil

-Rinse the Quinn in a fine-mesh strainer under running water.
-Place it in a pot with double the amount of water (about 1 cup). Cover and simmer on low heat for roughly 15 minutes until most of the liquid is absorbed. Let it cool down.

-Break the broccoli into small florets and boil them for about 5 minutes in lightly salted water. Drain them well.

-In a bowl, whisk the egg together with the ricotta, parmesan, and crumbled feta.
-Mix in the finely grated carrot, chopped green onion, and the cooled quinoa mixture.
-Season with gomasio (or salt, I guess, if you don't have any) and some pepper.

-Line the bottom of a baking dish with parchment paper—make sure it's dampened and squeezed dry first.
-Lightly grease the bottom, then spread half of the quinoa mixture in.
-Layer the broccoli florets over that, then top it off with the remaining quinoa mixture.
-Drizzle with a little oil and sprinkle with sesame seeds (maybe toast them in a pan for a second first?) and bake at 350°F for about 25-30 minutes.

-Serve warm with a side salad or maybe some tzatziki if you're feeling fancy.
-If you're eating this as a main course, it serves two.
-If it's just a side dish, I suppose there's enough for four.

Thick, hearty vegetable soup.
Honestly, this recipe was my absolute lifesaver after a rough night out. It’s incredibly simple to whip up, easy on the wallet, and comes together in no time at all.🙂
All you really need is some broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, an onion, and one carrot.
First, sauté the onion in a bit of olive oil. For this specific soup, I actually prefer to let the onion brown just a little more—it gives the whole thing such a rich, intense aroma. Then, toss in all the rest of the veggies. And hey, don't be wasteful! Don't throw away those broccoli and cauliflower stalks; just peel them, chop them up, and throw them in. Pour in enough water to just cover everything, and let it simmer for about 10 minutes. Once it's done, pull the vegetables out and blend them until smooth. Finally, pour that puree back into the cooking liquid, stir in whatever spices you're feeling, and let it simmer for another minute or two. That’s how you get that perfectly creamy, cohesive texture.🙂

Grilled Chicken Breast with Cherry Sauce
I marinated the chicken in olive oil, mixed with a bit of mint and basil.
I cooked it all on a grill pan without adding any extra fat.
This incredibly unique sauce is actually quite simple to make.
First, you sauté a teaspoon of whole wheat flour in a teaspoon of butter. Once it’s smooth, stir in a cup of cherries along with their juice, stirring constantly until the mixture thickens.
You don't want the sauce to get too thick, so if it starts thickening too fast, just splash in a little more juice.
Since I used frozen cherries from my freezer, I added a teaspoon of brown sugar to the sauce. If you're using canned cherries, though, you won't even need it.

Here’s what I had for lunch today.

Kale Stew

What you'll need:

One head of kale
One leek
2 cloves of garlic
1 carrot
Tomato paste or canned tomatoes
3 tablespoons of rolled oats (I found this was enough to get a decent thickness)
Seasoning to taste

Sauté the leek in a bit of olive oil.
Once it softens up, toss in the garlic and grated carrot and let them sauté for a bit. You might want to add a splash of water if it gets too dry.
Next, throw in some sliced kale strips along with your seasonings (I just used some salt and pepper) and let it wilt down a little.
I took some oats and pulsed them in my coffee grinder—you could use whole oats and soak them first, I suppose, but grinding them makes for a much smoother, thicker texture—then mixed them with a little water to make a slurry and poured that over the kale.
Add enough water to cover the kale, then stir in the tomato (I went with paste).
Let it simmer for another 10-15 minutes. You might need more water since the oats tend to thicken everything up quite a bit. Finish it off with a little black pepper.

Enjoy.😉

The sandwich that was actually meant to be a salad (for an unexpected lunch guest)🙂
Fine, chop up some hard-boiled eggs and whip them into a dressing with a little olive oil and mustard.
Boil some leeks, broccoli, and carrots in salted water, then toss everything together with that egg dressing.🙂Once you've assembled the sandwiches, just top them off with a little bit of hair? Wait, I mean herbs!

You know those lucky days when you open the fridge and realize you’ve basically got half a cauliflower, half a Brussels sprout, and just a tiny bit of parmesan left over🙂
What I ended up with was a cauliflower and Brussels sprout soup, followed by some whole wheat pasta tossed in garlic, herbs, olive oil, and a dusting of parmesan.🙂
For the soup, I sautéed some onions in olive oil, tossed in the cauliflower and sprouts, and added just enough water to cover the veggies. After simmering for about ten minutes, I pulled the vegetables out, blended them until smooth, and poured them back into the pot. A quick boil, a hit of garlic, and some fresh parsley, and it was done. For the herb sauce, I just mixed together basil, tarragon, and parsley with some garlic and olive oil.🙂

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Whole wheat pasta with fat-free cheese.😁
I actually tried to turn Milbon into something edible!
Melt a tablespoon of butter and then whip in the cheese. There's no need to keep the cheese over the heat. If you do, it just turns watery and mushy. Why ruin a good texture? Don't let it happen!
Don't forget to add a little salt! I also highly recommend tossing in whatever spices you think pair best with cheese. Personally? I’m always a fan of adding some extra herbs.😍
You just mix everything together with cooked pasta.🙂
It’s just a fresh green salad topped with some shredded kale—honestly, I am completely obsessed with kale lately. I seasoned the whole thing with a bit of olive oil and lemon juice. Simple, right?🙂

I actually picked up this little recipe from my old man back in the day. It’s incredibly straightforward—you just peel and grate a single vegetable, toss in some chilled, pre-cooked cannellini beans, a dollop of yogurt or maybe some sour cream, and a tiny pinch of salt. It’s pretty delicious if you happen to have a bit of a craving for something with a little kick. 🙂

Root Vegetable and Millet Detox Soup😁
Two days after the holidays😍
2 carrots
one small onion
one small kohlrabi
parsnip
parsley
a handful of fresh parsley leaves
millet
Roughly chop the onion and sauté it in some olive oil. Once it's fragrant, toss in the sliced carrots and let everything sauté together for a bit.
Throw in the rest of the veggies along with 1.5 liters of water.
Season it simply with salt, pepper, and those parsley leaves🙂

Quinn with veggies.
First, sauté one onion in some olive oil, then toss in the leeks and carrots.
Add the parsley and parsnip, stirring everything together over heat for about 10 minutes.
Since we're in the middle of winter, I like to throw in some frozen peas and corn
and just keep stirring while it cooks for another 10 minutes.
Right at the end, season it all with salt, pepper, and a handful of finely chopped fresh parsley.
Prepare the Quinn according to the package instructions, then once it's done, fold it right into those cooked veggies.

Inspired by a classic hearty stew, but I'm doing a lighter version without any potatoes or an assortment of different meats.🙂 Since the traditional recipe calls for three types of meat and I didn't have any green beans on hand,🙂
I started by sautéing some onions in a bit of oil, then tossed in my pork shoulder chunks and let them simmer together for a few minutes. Next, I threw in carrots, parsley, parsnips, and cabbage, letting it all cook for about half an hour. Right toward the end, I added peas, salt, pepper, and a little extra fresh parsley, then let it finish simmering for another 15 minutes.🙂



That thing in the photo that looks like potato is actually just poorly chopped parsnip! And the peas were mixed with carrots, so you see a mix of shapes—some look like rustic home-grown carrots and others look like perfect little cubes.🙂 It’s a total kitchen fail for lunch!🙂

Millet, Potato, and Zucchini Casserole🙂
First, grab a glass baking dish and coat the bottom with a light drizzle of olive oil. Start layering your ingredients: potatoes, zucchini, frozen peas, and corn. Finish off the layers by sprinkling millet over the top. Just keep repeating those layers depending on how deep your dish is.
Season everything however you like! Then, pour in enough water to just barely cover all the veggies.
Pop it into a 400°F oven for about 40 minutes. You’re looking for that perfect moment when the top layer of potatoes turns a beautiful golden brown.

Chicken and Lentil Salad.
one chicken breast
one cup of lentils
3 carrots
1 bunch of parsley
olive oil
a teaspoon of mustard
Whisk together a dressing using the mustard and a tablespoon of olive oil. Use a blender to coarsely
chop the carrots and parsley, then stir them into the dressing. Boil the lentils and pan-fry the chicken
after cutting it into cubes. To finish, just toss everything together and add salt, pepper, or whatever else you like!🙂

Not exactly health food, but totally fine for a Sunday indulgence.🙂
Chili chicken pasta.
You’ll need to pulse some chicken in a food processor until it's ground, or just pick up some pre-ground
chicken at the store. Sauté an onion in olive oil, toss in the chicken, and
let everything sauté together for a few minutes. Throw in a bag of frozen Mexican veggie mix, some chili, salt, and garlic, then let it all simmer for about 10 minutes. To finish it off, pour in about a half cup of tomato juice and let it cook on low heat so all those flavors really marry together.
Whole wheat pasta would have been the better choice here, but I ran into a shortage at my local grocery store.🙂

SEA BASS FILLET WRAPPED IN PROSCIUTTO OVER A BED OF CREAMY GRITS WITH WILD ARUGULA PESTO

Ingredients: 4 sea bass fillets, salt, pepper, 8 slices of thinly sliced prosciutto, olive oil, 80g cornmeal, 0.5L water, 250ml milk, 50g butter, 50g parmesan. For the arugula pesto: 2dl olive oil, 1 clove garlic, 50g walnuts, 50g pine nuts, 50g pecorino cheese, 300g wild arugula, salt, pepper.

Instructions: First, season your sea bass fillets with salt and pepper—then wrap them snugly in those prosciutto slices—and lightly sear them on all sides in some olive oil. While that’s happening, bring your water and milk to a boil, add a pinch of salt along with the cornmeal, and let it simmer for about 10 minutes. In the meantime, pop the fish into the oven at 350°F for about 10 minutes. To make the pesto, just toss all those ingredients into a blender and give it a good whirl. Once the grits are done, stir in the butter and parmesan quite vigorously—think of it like whisking a risotto! Finally, spread the creamy grits on the plate, nestle the sea bass on top, and drizzle everything with that bright arugula pesto.

🙂🙂🙂

Decided to share my go-to lunch 😍

- turkey breast cutlets (as many as you want)
- light cottage cheese (the kind from Walmart); low-fat cheese works too, though the effect varies... my brother can handle the low-fat stuff, but I can't
- sliced turkey breast (deli meat style)
- Casa Fiesta fajita seasoning (or just paprika, salt, and pepper)
- a bit of olive oil

Place the thinly sliced turkey cutlets in a bowl, sprinkle with the seasoning, add a drizzle of olive oil, and mix until everything is thoroughly coated.
Pound each cutlet flat, lay them over half a slice of deli turkey and a spoonful of cottage cheese, roll them up, and secure them with toothpicks.
Wrap each roll in aluminum foil and cook on a grill pan. After about 6-7 minutes, unwrap them to finish—just sear them on all sides on the grill pan until the spices form a nice crust.

(My preferred sides: oven-roasted sweet potatoes in foil and a crisp romaine lettuce salad)

Chicken and Mixed Veggie Rice / Beet Salad with Horseradish
First, slice up the chicken and let it marinate in some soy sauce and a splash of sesame oil.
Sauté the onions and chicken, then toss in some grated root vegetables. Stir in the rice, let everything cook together for a few minutes, and then pour in the water.
After about five minutes of simmering, throw in some cherry tomatoes, peas, salt, pepper, and a handful of chopped parsley.
I actually made this beet dish back in the fall when I was preserving my first batch of seasonal veggies—only I added some freshly grated horseradish to it.
Seriously, that spicy kick from the horseradish paired with sweet beets? It’s a total game changer.🙂

Tried something killer yesterday. It's based on the packaging for Quinn 😁—I tweaked the recipe a bit, and honestly, it’s a game changer.

Sauté some onions in olive oil with two cloves of garlic. Toss in 100g of Quinn, toast it dry for a second, then hit it with about 3/4 cup of water. Add salt. Let it simmer low and slow until the Quinn softens and the liquid evaporates. Then, throw in a drained can of lentils (or an equal amount of cooked ones), let it bubble for a minute, stir in a splash of tomato sauce, and finish with some thyme.
It’s delicious—you don't even need meat to make it feel like a real meal.