FEED YOUR SOUL

This week kicks of Women’s Health Week.  In its spirit, entertaining with friends and family with delicious food is so good for your mind, body and spirit!   Spring greens, outdoor sports and blossoming blooms motivate us all to make better choices when selecting dishes that encourage us to get our culinary game on.

So let’s boost our salads, lettuces and vegetables to a whole new flavor level by grilling them into smoky goodness.  Below is one of my favorite twists on a classic salad recipe.  Paired with a chilled glass of Chardonnay or Rose, this al fresco party will be ready for revelers in just a few simple steps.

If interested in booking private cooking lessons complete with entertaining time-saving tips in the comfort of your own home, contact us at info@mealsonheelsbymindy.com or 1.800.989.7876.  Enjoy the good eats and Feed Your Soul!

EAT WELL. FEEL WELL. ENTERTAIN WELL.

• LOVE your life!
• CELEBRATE your culinary creativity!
• PLAY with a renewed vitality!

Exercise!  Breathe Fresh Air!  Exhale Sunshine!  Listen to INSPIRING TUNES WHILE COOKING!

• Hot in the City, Billy Idol
• Hot Child in the City, Nick Gilder and Time Machine
• Hot Stuff, Donna Summer
• Summer Nights, Rascal Flatts
• What Makes You Beautiful, Glee Cast

FEED YOUR SOUL

Love is in the air and the kitchen as we continue to welcome Spring sunshine and fresh produce into all the farmers’ markets nationwide.  With all the vibrant leafy greens and succulent fruit selections at-hand, we’ve rounded up two of our winning dips that are super easy to prepare and ideal for entertaining!

If interested in booking private cooking lessons in the comfort of your own home and motivating yourself for a spirited Spring culinary make-over, contact us at info@mealsonheelsbymindy.com or 1.800.989.7876.  Enjoy the good eats and Feed Your Soul!

EAT WELL. FEEL WELL. ENTERTAIN WELL.

• LOVE your life!
• CELEBRATE your culinary creativity!
• PLAY with a renewed vitality!

Exercise!  Breathe Fresh Air!  Exhale Sunshine!  Listen to INSPIRING TUNES WHILE COOKING!

• She’s a Rainbow, Rolling Stones
• Happiness Loves Company, Red Hot Chili Peppers
• We Are Going to Be Friends, The White Stripes
• Partyman, Prince
• Get the Party Started, P!nk

Perfect for entertaining, serve these Spring dips in individual shot glasses garnished with seasonal produce and platters of Artisanal breads, crackers and crudites.

A favorite twist on the classic olive tapenade from Provence, this fig and Kalamata olive recipe is delicious any time of the day.  It’s also tasty as a spread atop grilled chicken, pork or vegetables.

FIG AND OLIVE TAPENADE
Prepared in 10 minutes or less.

Ingredients
1 cup dried figs, chopped and stems removed
1/4 cup brandy
1/3 cup water
1/3 cup pitted Kalamata olives
1 Tbs fresh lemon juice
1 Tbs capers, drained
1/2 cup Extra-Virgin olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 1/2 tsp fresh chopped thyme
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts or walnut halves, chopped

Preparation

Place 8 tall shot glasses in the refrigerator to chill.

Simmer the chopped dried figs, brandy and water in a small saucepan until the figs are tender, about 7-10 minutes.  Drain and cool.

Combine the figs, olives, lemon juice and drained capers in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Pulse to make a thick paste. With the machine running, slowly drizzle in the olive oil until blended. Add chopped thyme and season with salt and pepper.  Option to stir in the toasted and chopped nuts if desired.  Spoon into chilled shot glasses and garnish with Artisanal bread sticks and fresh thyme sprigs.

Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to 3 days.  Serves 8.

SPRING CRUDITES AND ZESTY GREEK DIP
Prepared in 15 minutes or less.

Ingredients
2 hearts of celery, stalks separated and rinsed well
2 bunches of baby bok choy, leaves separated and rinsed well
1 cup green beans, sliced in half diagonally
1 bunch pencil thin asparagus, sliced in half diagonally
1 bunch fresh long baby carrots, peeled and cut vertically
1 seedless cucumber, peeled and cut into 2 sections then cut into 1/2-inch strips
1 clove garlic, peeled and crushed
1 cup plain Greek yogurt
1/2 lemon juiced and zested
Freshly ground white pepper to taste

Preparation

Place 10 tall shot glasses in the refrigerator to chill.

Take prepared green beans and asparagus and blanch in boiling water for 3 minutes.  Rinse immediately in cold water to stop the cooking.  Drain and set aside.

Simmer the chopped dried figs, brandy and water in a small saucepan until the figs are tender, about 10-12 minutes.  Drain and cool.

Cover all the prepared vegetables in damp paper towels.  Place in refrigerator to crisp before assembling and serving.

In a bowl, crush garlic and combine with plain Greek yogurt, lemon juice, lemon zest and ground white pepper.

Spoon zesty yogurt mixture into the bottom of each chilled shot glass.  Fill with crisp vegetables standing upright like little soldiers and serve immediately. Serves 10.

FEED YOUR SOUL

Spring is on the way with its beautiful colors and peak-season produce bursting with taste.  Clean, fresh and nutrient-rich greens make cooking and holiday entertaining eye-catching, flavorful and fun.  Such goodness can elevate Sunday suppers, Passover and even Easter dinner into a true feast for the eyes and soul.

The leafy Spring veggies shine best from January through April, when they’re truly in season.  Look for crisp green leaves with no yellowing, wilting or insect damage, and keep them refrigerated in a plastic bag for three to five days.

Below are two of my all-time favorite recipes to help kick-start your holiday home-cooking: Spring Salad; and Lamb Stuffed with Spring Greens and Feta.  If interested in learning how to create featured recipes and reinvent your own kitchen with a provocative pantry ingredient make-over, contact us at info@mealsonheelsbymindy.com.  Happy holidays that Feed Your Soul!

EAT WELL. FEEL WELL. ENTERTAIN WELL.

• LOVE your life!
• CELEBRATE your culinary creativity!
• PLAY with a renewed vitality!

Exercise!  Breathe Fresh Air!  Exhale Sunshine!  Listen to INSPIRING TUNES WHILE COOKING!

• Fresh, Kool & the Gang
• Happy Hour, Housemartins
• Holiday, Madonna
• Ray of Light, Madonna
• Rapper’s Delight, Sugarhill

SPRING SALAD WITH CELERY, FENNEL, RADISH AND SNAP PEAS WITH CITRUS VINAIGRETTE
Prepared in 15 minutes or less.

1 head celery, outer stalks removed, rinsed well
2 medium fennel bulbs, stalks removed
10 scallions, root ends removed and outer layer peeled away
2 bunches fresh red radishes, tops removed, rinsed well
1/3 lbs sugar snap peas, stem end cut off with thread at seem peeled

For the dressing:
4 large garlic cloves, peeled and grated with zester
3/4 cup Extra Virgin olive oil
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 Tbs fresh orange juice
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Preparation

Using a sharp knife, thinly slice celery and fennel.  Toss together in a large bowl.

Cutting on the bias (slightly diagonal) sliver the scallions and sugar snap peas.  Add and toss together with celery and fennel.

Thinly slice radishes and add to bowl.

In a small bowl, grate garlic cloves over microplane zester.  Mix together the garlic, oil, lemon juice and orange juice.  Season with salt and pepper.

Pour citrus vinaigrette over salad and toss well.  Allow to stand for a few minutes before serving.  Serves 4.

Option:  Add six ounces crumbled blue cheese to salad.

LAMB STUFFED WITH SPRING GREENS AND FETA
Prepared in 15 minutes or less plus 1 hour and 15 minutes to cook.

1/3 cup olive plus, plus extra for brushing the meat
1 fennel bulb, trimmed, halved and thinly sliced (reserve fronds and stalks)
1½ cups scallions, thinly sliced (white and green parts used)
1Tbs chopped garlic plus 2 whole cloves, peeled and quartered
1½ cups mixed greens coarsely chopped including Swiss chard, baby spinach, romaine leaves, beet greens
1 tsp fennel seeds, ground or crushed
Freshly ground pepper
1/4 cup fresh chopped mint leaves
4 lbs butterflied leg of lamb (your butcher can prepare for you)
½ cup crumbled Feta cheese plus 1 tsp dried oregano
½ cup dry white wine, plus more if needed
½ cup chopped fennel fronds or fresh dill

Heal olive oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat.  Saute the fennel bulb until just tender, approximately 3 minutes.  Add scallions, chopped garlic and saute an additional 1-2 minutes more.  Add the mixed Spring greens and saute, stirring frequently until wilted.  Remove skillet from heat and stir in the fennel seeds and freshly ground pepper.  Allow to cool a few minutes then add the chopped fresh mint.  Set aside.

Take the entire butterflied leg of lamb and make 8 small slits to insert the 8 garlic quarters.

Transfer half of the wilted Spring green mixture to a bowl.

Add the crumbled Feta cheese to the remaining greens in the skillet.  Season with pepper and salt.  Adjust seasoning flavor to your liking.  Spread the cheese and greens mixture stuffing all over the lamb with your hands.  Add extra greens if necessary.  Roll  up the butterflied lamb and tie securely with kitchen twine.

Rub the entire lamb with remaining wilted greens.  Cover and refrigerate overnight (or at least 3 hours).

Preheat oven to 450°F.

Scrape wilted greens off the lamb’s surface and set them aside.

Brush stuffed leg of lamb with olive oil and generously sprinkle with dried oregano, salt and freshly ground pepper.

Place lamb in a large roasting pan and roast for 20 minutes.

While roasting, heat a medium saucepan and bring the white wine to a boil.  simmer for 1 minute then add reserved wilted greens.

Pour the wine and greens over the stuffed leg of lamb and roast an additional 5-7 minutes.

Reduce oven to 350°F.

Roast the lamb for 30-35 minutes, basting frequently with the pan juices to keep it moist.  You might want to add a little more white wine to the pan during this process.

Remove lamb when meat thermometer  reaches 135°F when inserted in its thickest part for medium.

Sprinkle with chopped fennel fronds or fresh dill.  Cover with foil and allow lamb to rest for 15-20 minutes.

Carve the stuffed leg of lamb and spoon juices on top before serving.  Serves 6-8.

Feed Your Soul Shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad

FEED YOUR SOUL

Let’s all celebrate our new lease on culinary life with nutritious flavors one Provocative Pantry plateful at a time.  The sky’s the limit, right?  If you approach cooking and entertaining like a new romance–with delight, curiosity and whimsy–it’s bound to be sexy good!  Today’s spotlight focuses on nutritionally power-packed recipes that are fast, simple and delicious.

I recently teamed up with world renowned fitness expert and SatiLife founder, Patricia Moreno, to share and create some of my favorite “Real Food Is Love” recipes in her kitchen.  During our one-on-one cooking class chit-chat, we covered a lot of ground including questions about metabolism boosters, clean food and proper portions.

With new twists on SUPER foods and SUPER spices from our local SUPER market, Patricia and I whisked, chopped, smiled and laughed together as we nibbled one amazing dish after another including a Shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad with Roasted Hazelnuts and Pecorino recipe below.  If you’d like private Feed Your Soul cooking lessons, send an email to mindy@mealsonheelsbymindy.com or call 1-800-989-7876 for details.

Join me in the collective Health IS Wealth momentum and pledge to romance your soul from the inside out:

EAT WELL. FEEL WELL. ENTERTAIN WELL.

• LOVE your life!
• CELEBRATE your culinary creativity!
• PLAY with a renewed vitality!

Exercise!  Breathe Fresh Air!  Exhale Sunshine!  Listen to INSPIRING TUNES!

• Super Freak, Rick James
• Find the Beat Again, Sugarland
• New Soul, Yael Naim
• In Your Light, Gotye
• Put It Behind You, Keane

Brussels sprouts are quite healthy when they are cooked, but when raw they have even more going for them. They contain sulforaphane, a chemical believed to have anti-cancer properties, as well as high levels of vitamin C, Folate, iron and dietary fiber.  A cup of sprouts is just 55 calories and provides 4 grams of filling fiber.  Hazelnuts are rich in protein and unsaturated fate.  And they contain significant amounts of thiamine and vitamin B6 and other B vitamins.  

SHAVED BRUSSELS SPROUTS SALAD WITH PURPLE KALE, TOASTED HAZELNUTS & PECORINO  
Prepared in 15 minutes or less.

Ingredients
1 1/2 lbs raw Brussels Sprouts
1 cup toasted hazelnuts, roughly chopped
1/2 lbs Pecorino Romano cheese (grated and 1/2 chopped)
Fresh lemon juice (2 medium lemons, approx 4-6 Tbs)
3 Tbs Extra Virgin olive oil
1 Tbs hazelnut oil
Sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

(Because we LOVE kale, I added 1 cup shredded purple kale)

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Toast the hazelnuts until browned and fragrant approximately 7 minutes.

Let them cool then rub them between your hands or inside a towel—the friction flakes away most of the skin.  Coarsely chop.  Set aside.

Trim Brussels sprouts and remove any discolored outer leaves.  Shred raw sprouts using a sharp knife, mandolin or food processor (with the slicing blade).

In a large bowl, whisk together the fresh lemon juice, oils, salt and fresh ground pepper to taste.

Toss the shaved Brussels sprouts, toasted hazelnuts and Pecorino into the dressing.

Serve at room temperature.  Serve 4-6.

TO CREATE A TEXTURED SALAD, I LIKE TO GRATE HALF THE PECORINO CHEESE AND DICE THE REMAINING HALF.   USING HAZELNUT OIL IN THIS RECIPE ENHANCES THE FRAGRANT AROMA AND DEPTH OF OUR TOASTED NUT FLAVOR.