Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Healthy + Delicious + Easy = Perfect Cooking

On Sunday, I wrote about my lazy weekend, which seems to have carried right through to today. Perhaps my refound energy is because the sun finally peaked through the gloom. Perhaps it was the Blueberry Banana Smoothie I adapted from Mairlyn Smith's fantastic book Healthy Starts Here (I'll be writing about it tomorrow. It's so good that I couldn't wait to share the recipes).

I promised to share some of my latest recipe finds, so here they are....
The Family-style Vegetarian Chili (so named because it's mild enough for kids) was the best chili I've had in ages! Frankly, there are no words! It was mellow but very flavorful, none the less. And at Mairylyn's suggestion...
The Quick Quesadillas, made with leftover chili, were delicious.
Continuing on a healthy path with another Healthy Starts Here recipe... Greek-style Grilled Chicken, which I had to cook on my indoor grill... no sunny Greek islands here... at least not outside. The chicken, which I served with more greens from the market, some crumbled goat feta and a dressing of olive oil & lemon juice mixed with some garlic & fresh oregano (sticking with the Greek theme), brought the sunshine in...in spades!
Even the Ancho Chili Cranberry Brownies from Everyday Flexitarian (which I did write about) was filled with wonderful antioxidants and very healthy, in moderation... a term I'm not terribly familiar with.

I think tomorrow the theme will still be healthy, but perhaps a trip to India - since I just reviewed a great book - How to Cook Indian which has over 500 recipes - no exaggeration! Check out my take on it. How about Butter Chicken (my all time favorite Indian dish) with some more Aloo Gobhi (since I accidentally deleted the photos the last time) and perhaps Keerai Kozhambu (a spinach & dal curry) with some Naan bread (although I probably will end up buying some of that?

Where do you go on your imaginary vacation that really just takes place in your kitchen?

3 comments:

Joanne said...

Such delicious food! I'm always up for vacationing to India in my kitchen so I'll have to check out that book! And those brownies...moderation who?

Maris (In Good Taste) said...

Chili cranberry brownies! Bookmarked!

Ruth Daniels said...

Joanne, forget moderation! Just keep reminding yourself how good dark chocolate and cranberries are for your heart health.

Maris... you'll be glad you did!