Parmesan Zucchini Chips

Today I have a super simple recipe for you guys. One that I always come back to when in need of a snack and that my friends request time after time.
Even those who claim to dislike zucchini pop these little babies in their mouth as fast as humanly possible.
To be honest, even I don’t have self-control with these Parmesan Zucchini Chips, good thing they are ultra light and packed with goodness.

Greek Chicken Marinade

Let’s be real for a second, barbecue season is still a long way away.
This winter feels like it's lasting forever and spring is nowhere near.
To help beat the winter blues why don’t we pretend it’s grilling time already and make ourselves some delicious Greek Chicken?
Let’s act like the sun has come out to stay, temperatures are in the mid 70s, we’re sitting out on the back patio, we’re firing up the grill, and making some mouth-watering chicken. Okay?

Easy Rice and Mushroom Casserole

Our weather has been incredibly and ridiculously cold recently (although it seems like months) — a seemingly endless string of days of bone-chilling temperatures.
This type of weather makes me crave comfort-type food — something warm and filling.
In my opinion casseroles are the quintessential all-American belly-warming one-pan comfort food.
Hearty, nourishing, and simple to make, they can make nights a little easier by keeping dinner contained to just one pan.
No dishes to wash and heat of stove and oven to warm home naturally. Kinda like kill-2-birds-with-one-stone.

Mom's Gratineed Spinach

If there’s one thing I truly detest in life, it' canned spinach.
It's one of those foods that I can't image liking. To me they taste bland and are pretty much a mushy mess.
I love fresh (and frozen) spinach though. Even as a kid I would choose Mom’s Gratineed Spinach over French fries any day of the week.
Mom was always happy to whip it up for me time and again.
I mean, when a kid asks for spinach there’s no way a mother would refuse such a request, am I right?

Gnocchi alla Sorrentina

This is Italian comfort food at its best. No joke, at its best.
If you’re not familiar with it, Gnocchi alla Sorrentina (which means gnocchi Sorrento style) is a crowd-pleasing dish that comes from the town of Sorrento on the Amalfi coast, near Naples (Italy).
A classic Italian staple you can easily make in your own kitchen.

Curried Chickpeas

This recipe come from Joan’s on Third, a specialty food store and restaurant located in West Hollywood, Los Angeles. A great little place with a refreshing yet comfortable atmosphere and a great menu selection.
I am obsessed with the curried chickpeas at Joan's on Third. They are the best curried chickpeas ever. I’ve been there three times and every single time I’ve ordered them as part of the salad trio (a selection of three salads from their daily specials on the marketplace menu). But truth to be told I should order just the chickpeas because they're all I ever want to eat (well, that and the carrot cake.)
Luckily for me, I found the recipe on the LATimes and I was able to recreate it home — meaning that I don’t have to fly to LA if I get a curried chickpeas craving.

French Onion Soup Grilled Cheese

Guys, I think I have a favorite new grilled cheese sandwich.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m still fond of my cauliflower crust grilled cheese and of my zucchini crust grilled cheese but this French Onion Soup Grilled Cheese is really special.
I think it has something to do with my love for caramelized onions. In fact, I just realized that a good percentage of my recipes call for either partially caramelized onions or super caramelized onions.
Especially when I am making something vegan or vegetarian caramelized onions add a much needed umami flavor, such as in this sweet potato hash or on this focaccia.

Crock-Pot Chicken Teriyaki

Chicken teriyaki is probably one of the most well known and liked Japanese dishes in the US and for sure one of the classic takeout recipes we all love.
Most people don’t think about making it at home because they either have a restaurant they love or because they buy teriyaki sauce like they buy ketchup.
But I do love making it from scratch.
In fact I have not one, not two, not three, but four different recipes for chicken teriyaki on this blog: Baked Honey-Teriyaki Chicken, Teriyaki Glazed Chicken Kebabs, Beer-Flavored Chicken Teriyaki, and Pineapple Teriyaki Glazed Chicken Skillet
And today I have a fifth.
*drumroll please*
Crock-Pot Chicken Teriyaki -> one word: uh-mazing.

Spinach Ricotta Vegetarian “Meatloaf”

I recently came to the conclusion that it’s almost impossible for me to take a decent picture of a meatloaf.
I’ve tried and miserably failed.
Which is one of the reasons why I only have one other recipe for meatloaf1 on this blog (not pretty, but so very delicious.)
However I feel that even though a meatloaf is not a photogenic dish, one should never judge a dish by the way it appears — no matter how bad the picture is.
In this case, for instance, what this Spinach Ricotta Vegetarian “Meatloaf” lacks in looks, it makes up for in flavor. Trust me.

Salt, Pepper & Paprika Potato Wedges

I’ve been making these spicy potato wedges for so long, I can’t even remember (most likely I was still in college.)
To be honest, I can’t believe that after all these years of blogging I haven’t told you about them yet, you should revolt or something. Just kidding, please don’t.
I don’t even remember if I found the recipe somewhere or someone told me about it or if I just experimented on my own.
It’s as simple as it gets: Potatoes cut into wedges, oil, salt, pepper, paprika, and garlic powder, pop in the oven, and voilà: awesomely crispy, packed-with-flavor, potato wedges.

Curried Cauliflower Fritters

If you follow this blog you know that I always had a soft spot for cauliflower. It ranks up there as one of my favorite veggies to cook with - it lends well to so many different flavours, and is similar to rice in that it is a blank canvas for any meal.
As an avid cauliflower lover, I have cooked it a million different ways but cauliflower fritters hold a special place in my heart. Especially my Parmesan Cauliflower Fritters. I used to make ‘em as a side dish, but they are so delicious and satisfying that nowadays I serve them as a main. Vegetarians and non-vegetarians love them equally.

Baked Stuffed Tomatoes

I took a month off and went on a trip to France for the summer. I so needed it.
While I was traveling on the French Riviera I stopped in Nice for a couple of days.
What a gorgeous city, you could easily have stayed there a week — or 37 years, like the artist Matisse did.
Anyways, on a breezy summer evening in a small brasserie on the Promenade des Anglais, I tried some amazing tomates farcies à la viande hachée (i.e., tomatoes stuffed with ground beef.)
An amazingly simple dish but so fantastically delicious that the next day and the day after that I came back to the same brasserie to eat it again.

Italian Farro Salad

If you’re not familiar with it, farro is a grain similar to pearl barley, but it’s dried in such a way that instead of being fluffy and spongy, it becomes a bit chewy and has an incredible nutty flavor.
Farro is a pure form of wheat with the husk intact.
It’s been a staple in the Mediterranean diet for centuries, in fact it was a major food for the ancient Romans, who used it to make bread and soups before shifting to wheat.
It’s incredibly versatile and pretty healthy too. It contains a lot of fiber which proves to be very good when it comes to digestion and cardiovascular health. It’s also exceptionally high in protein for a grain and supplies more than 10 different vitamins and minerals.
It used to be pretty hard to find, but nowadays almost all grocery stores carry it. From Trader Joe’s to Whole Foods to Walmart, look for it in the natural-food or special selection sections.

Greek Pasta Salad

Pasta salads tend to get a bad rap, but I find that the more I think of them as cold and fresh summer dishes and the less as mayo-laden bowls of suspicious ingredients offered in delis around the country, the more inviting they become, not only for picnics and potlucks but for an awesome Friday night.
I actually made this Greek Pasta Salad for a BBQ this past weekend, everyone raved about it, and wanted to know how to make it.
In my book, I always know that something works when people ask for the recipe. Then again, I’m not sure if they are ever going to make it but sure enough, they’ve enjoyed it.
I love when people get so excited about something that is so simple to make and so fresh.

Sheet Pan Spicy Chicken Fajitas

I don’t know if I should tell you or not, but I kinda have a thing for Mexican food in my house.
I’ve never actually thought about it until now, but I’m pretty sure I eat Mexican food at least once a week. From quesadillas, to carnitas, to enchiladas, to these awesome Sheet Pan Spicy Chicken Fajitas.

"Blow Your Mind" Grilled Chicken Marinade

Sometimes simplicity is the best. Like the easy breezy grilled chicken marinade I invented the other day.
As a person who loves chicken dishes and couldn’t get tired of them, ever, I’m constantly looking for different and original methods to cook chicken so I can serve it more often without the risk of getting bored. My goal is always the same, juicy, tender, succulent chicken that packs a flavor punch.

Marinated Red Peppers with Garlic and Oregano

Most of the time, I don’t choose the recipes I share here, it’s the market that controls it.
As it happens when you live in a climate that deprives you of field-fresh produce for almost half the year, leaving you to go completely out of control and of course overdo it in the months that you’re graced with it — bringing home buckets of fresh produce when you only need a fraction of it.
The other day I picked-up some mega-huge red peppers thinking about pickling them, but then I changed my mind — as I often do— and I instead roasted them.

Easy Gratineed Eggplant

It’s finally starting to feel like summer so today I’m making a dish that has summer written all over it.
A super simple Gratineed Eggplant — a dish that get raves from anyone who's tried it.
I know that “gratineed” sounds like a fancy word but in reality it just means to bake or broil in au gratin style. That’s it.

(Vegan) Sun-Dried Tomato and Chickpea Burgers

Here is the thing about veggie burgers — I found that once you bite into them, they are often mushy, or they tend to fall apart or even worse they are cardboard-like.
Even some of the good ones are more akin to a fritter than a burger and all miss that juicy burger texture.
Prepare to be amazed.

Socca (Gluten-Free Chickpea Flatbread)

Let’s talk about socca, shall we?
For those of you who are not familiar with this food, socca is a sort of large flatbread (or unleavened pancake if you prefer) made with chickpea flour, water, olive oil and seasoned with salt and pepper.
It’s a popular street food along the French Riviera and in and around the province of Genoa, Italy. It's traditionally cooked in wood ovens on copper disks, roughly cut, and served hot.
It’s a great any-time-of-the-day recipe that can be enjoyed in so many ways.
Socca is often served as an appetizer with a few herbs and spices and eaten with the hands with a glass of crisp rosé. My favorite way to eat it is with hummus or harissa: so delicious!