Sicilian-style roasted cabbage with cannellini beans

We had half of a medium green cabbage in our fridge, and we tried this recipe featuring Sicilian flavors: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1027365-roasted-cabbage-and-butter-beans?unlocked_article_code=1.GVE.83ft.KgNNjUppQSZc&smid=ck-recipe-iOS-share. This was a surprisingly delicious and complex recipe; definitely a keeper. Our modifications: first, we halved the recipe as follows: 1/2 medium cabbage (see Note below), 1 Tbsp avocado oil (for roasting) 2+ Tbsp olive…… Continue reading Sicilian-style roasted cabbage with cannellini beans

Black-eyed peas, Instant Pot style

We need cooked black-eyed peas for a recipe, so we followed this easy method for cooking 1 lb dried black-eyed peas in the Instant Pot: https://beanrecipes.com/instant-pot-black-eyed-peas/ We followed the instructions for manual timing and manual release (despite warnings to the contrary on the Instant Pot panel). The peas turned out very well: perfectly cooked but…… Continue reading Black-eyed peas, Instant Pot style

Sausage and potato soup with spinach

We tried this recipe as an option for a packed lunch: https://www.skinnytaste.com/creamy-sausage-and-potato-soup/. This was delicious and easy to make. Our modifications: first, the amount of sausage was vague to us, so we used 3 links of raw spicy Italian chicken sausage (about 1.15 lb), which we removed from its casing. The next time, we will…… Continue reading Sausage and potato soup with spinach

Mediterranean-style lemon garlic pan-seared chicken breast

This NYT Cooking recipe was intended for the grill, but we pan-seared it instead: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/783022762-lemon-garlic-grilled-chicken-breasts?unlocked_article_code=1.wFA.v_8B.jedgwudgn_k8&smid=ck-recipe-iOS-share. We followed the marinade instructions. For the fresh herbs, we used only parsley. We marinated the chicken for 20 mins. We heated two large nonstick pans, added 1 Tbsp olive oil in each and then once it was shimmering, we…… Continue reading Mediterranean-style lemon garlic pan-seared chicken breast

Cuban black beans (frijoles negros), vegetarian and Instant Pot style

We have been craving Cuban black beans for a few weeks. We initially planned to follow a traditional recipe (overnight soak, then hours on the stovetop) from a 1973 NYT recipe (see Note 1 below). But then we stumbled upon this Instant Pot recipe for vegetarian frijoles negro on Instagram (we recommend watching the video…… Continue reading Cuban black beans (frijoles negros), vegetarian and Instant Pot style

Simple frozen fruit smoothies

Years ago, my husband loved ordering fruit smoothies from Whole Foods’ kiosks. Those smoothie bars are long gone, but we had a craving this weekend. Taking inspiration from recipes such as this one (https://www.thekitchn.com/pineapple-smoothie-recipe-23761690), we experimented with two flavors: Pineapple smoothie: 1/4 cup Greek vanilla yogurt (we used Siggi’s Icelandic-style), 1.5 Tbsp honey, 1.5 cups…… Continue reading Simple frozen fruit smoothies

Roasted vegetable pasta with Italian flavors

We tried this Feasting at Home recipe, and it was delicious and satisfying: https://www.feastingathome.com/roasted-vegetable-pasta/ For the vegetables, we used 1 large zucchini (1/2” half-moons), 1 large bell pepper, 10 oz grape tomatoes, 8 oz cremini mushrooms (stemmed trimmed and cut into quarters, and for large mushrooms into 1/6), and 1 medium red onion (first halved…… Continue reading Roasted vegetable pasta with Italian flavors

Italian lentil and escarole soup

We love lentil soup, and we were curious about escarole. So we tried this recipe: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1013354-lentil-and-escarole-soup?smid=ck-recipe-iOS-share&cgs=c Our modifications: first, we added 2 celery stalks (diced) to the carrots and onion. Second, the recipe didn’t specify the type of lentils, so we used 1 cup French de Puy lentils (small, dark gray), which hold their shape…… Continue reading Italian lentil and escarole soup