Zoodles with Creamy Garlic Cashew Sauce

I don’t know if you’re aware of it or not, but there is such a thing in this world called cashew cream.
And it is awesome.
You don’t need to be a vegan or a vegetarian to appreciate it. Actually, you’re going to love this as long as you’re a person who likes to try new things every now and then.
And this comes from a person who has been super skeptical about cashew cream for years.

Eggs Poached In Marinara Sauce

Some recipes are so simple and quick they should hardly be called recipes. This is one of those.
Maybe I should call this an idea instead of recipe. An idea on how to poach eggs.
Maybe that’s a better way to define these Eggs Poached in Marinara Sauce.
A humble but soulful dish that makes for a wonderful breakfast, tasty lunch or dinner.

Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto Zoodles

There is a bunch of zoodle recipes on this website: Lemon garlic chicken zoodles, Avocado pesto zoodles, Butter zoodles with herbs, Zoodles aglio olio e peperoncino, Pad Thai Zoodles, Zoodle Pie, Zoodles with Marinara Sauce, and Zoodle Bake.
All of which are pretty darn fantastic, and yet this one might be my absolute favorite.

10 Minute Magic Italian Salsa Verde

Strangers from distant lands, friends of old let me introduce you to 10 Minute Magic Italian Salsa Verde.
A bold green sauce comes together in a flash and that it's loaded with parsley, capers, garlic, and some unlikely ingredients like eggs, anchovies, and vinegar.
I know it sounds weird and you might be thinking “Hold on a sec buddy, capers, eggs, and anchovies in a parsley based sauce? Really?”
Yup guys, you have to trust me on this one. This is sauce is really magic — or I wouldn’t have called it that.

Baked Sticky Sriracha-Honey Chicken Wings

In order to properly celebrate the biggest sports event ever known to mankind (Super Bowl 50, obvs) a heaping platter of wings is not only necessary, but essential.
They’ve got to be sticky. They’ve got to be greasy. They’ve got to be spicy. They’ve got to be delish.
Personally I love wings. Those small little morsels of chicken meat soaked in sauce and dipped in bleu cheese dressing is one of the best things to eat when watching football.
And there’s this magical thing about wings: you can order as much as you want and there won’t be leftovers. They are going to get eaten. There won’t be leftovers.
The problem with loving wings is that they are downright bad for you. Most of the time they are breaded and deep fried — oily and greasy as the day is long.

Sun-Dried Tomato and Roasted Almond Pesto

Just like any other 30-something I love going out on Friday nights.
I love being with my friends and have dinner together. Eat delicious food, chat, and laugh.
I love going out for drinks, meet new and interesting people from all walks of life.
I love going to gigs, meet other folks with a similar interest in music as me, listen to good music, dance, and have just a blast.
For me, and for many others, that’s what Friday nights are for.

Lemon Garlic Chicken Zoodles

Even if you don’t believe in climate change or global warming, you can’t deny that we had, so far, a particularly mild fall — especially in my neck of the woods.
It hardly ever went below 60, most people are still in flip flops and sandals, I haven’t worn my winter running gear just yet, and man, this morning I stepped outside in my tee and denims.
Is it fall yet? It still does feel like summer to be honest.

Homemade (Paleo) Enchilada Sauce

Every time I make my primal enchilada casserole, I’m always amazed by how delish the sauce is.
Actually, it’s not really clear to me whether I make enchiladas only as an excuse to make the sauce (and eat it by the spoonful) or because I do enjoy enchiladas.
Which I do, I’m not denying that. But now that I’m thinking about it, what I really dig about enchiladas is the sauce.

Zoodles Cacio e Pepe

I like to think of myself as a smart person, but I guess we all make bonehead errors from time to time.
Yesterday despite a heat advisory, I went for a run.
We were well into the red zone where heat exhaustion and heat stroke could occur.
You know, one of those summer days when the thermometer reads 92º, but it feels like standing in the pits of hell — thanks a lot humidity!
The news advised people to stay indoors and avoid strenuous activities, warning that “if you have to be outside, be sure to schedule frequent rest breaks in an air conditioned or shaded place!”

Classic Basil Pesto

I'm a real snob when it comes to pesto — only fresh homemade, thank you very much and a strict no to anything coming from a jar.
Oddly enough, I haven’t posted my recipe for Classic Basil Pesto on TIY yet.
I wonder why.
I made Kale Pesto, Avocado Pesto, Avocado-Spinach Pesto, Radicchio Pesto but not Basil Pesto.
Weird things happen on this blog.

Zoodles alla Norma (with Tomato Sauce and Eggplant)

I made Pasta alla Norma.
Let me rephrase that.
I made Zoodles alla Norma.
One word: epic.
Another word: simple.
Another word: healthy.
Three words I like to use, especially when it comes to cooking. And I know you do too. Right?

Creamy Avocado-Spinach Pesto Zoodles

I hate when people start launching into “I could never be a vegan” or “I could never live without gluten” speeches.
I’m always like “You know that from experience or are you just guessing?”
Most of the time, people are just guessing.

Homemade (Paleo) Mayonnaise

You certainly don’t need me to tell you how to make mayonnaise.
You might need me to tell you how to make Homemade Sriracha or Homemade Ketchup, and tell you not to go to a chinese place to pick up a food delivery order you placed online: "I had a delivery" "Why are you here, then?" [DUMB]
Mayonnaise though...I’m sure you can handle that on your own.
Maybe I just need to remind myself how to make mayonnaise. And that mayo is a simple emulsion made of just oil, egg yolks and either vinegar or lemon juice. There’s no place for water, HFCS, sugar, modified corn starch, dried eggs, CALCIUM DISODIUM ETA (ugh!), natural flavors, etc.
Not mention that homemade mayo tastes well...like real mayo and that it’s so delicious.
Homemade mayonnaise is an entirely different species when compared to store-bought mayo. Creamy, rich, flavorful, so quick and easy to make - it literally takes 1 minute.

Creamy Avocado Pesto Zoodles

It’s weird for me to say this but “Enough with the cold weather!”
I've had it. You have, too.
A cold snap here or there, is OK.
But for two months and more?
Stop it, already. Seriously, it’s not even fun anymore.
I want spring to arrive, and finally be able to venture outside for my morning runs without freezing to death and risking my life on those icy sidewalks.
Is it too much to ask?

Kale Walnut Pesto

Last week I posted two recipes with kale pesto (this one and this one).
Though you guys seemed to have liked ‘em both, I had the feeling - through your comments on the blog, FB, IG and Twitter - that you were more interested in the kale pesto than the recipes themselves.
So yesterday I was like “Uhm, maybe I should post just the recipe for the kale pesto. If the readers want just to print/save the kale pesto they should. It totally makes sense!”
I know, I’m smart as a whip (Ha!)

Sweet and Sour Cranberry Sauce

It’s blackout Wednesday people.
For those of you that are not familiar with it, blackout Wednesday is the night before Thanksgiving, which is usually associated with binge drinking.
Since few people have work on Thanksgiving - and students are back home celebrating the Thanksgiving holiday with their families - they hit the bar, and the alcohol flows.
Hence the name “blackout” -> because of the memory loss due to alcohol intoxication.
Blackout Wednesday is a big party night.
Especially in Chicago. The folks over there celebrate it BIG TIME, like in no other city. It’s even more popular than New Year’s Eve or St. Patrick’s Day.
Deals on shots, drinks specials, and at a few select local establishments, you can even find fried turkey testicles. Sounds cool, right?
Just remember: what happens on blackout Wednesday, stays on blackout Wednesday. Just like in Vegas.

10-Minute Soy-Ginger Salmon

OK, I know I’ve said this before but I’m going to say it again: I used to hate fish.
All of it. Blech. Yuck.
Slowly I weaned myself into the seafood genre, starting with tuna. And it was on accident. Then crab cakes. Then swordfish. Then salmon. Then a bite of someone else’s grilled something-or-other, but only because it didn’t smell fishy.
I then realized the reason I hated fish was ‘cuz I don’t like FRIED fish, and that’s what they served at the school cafeteria.
But nowadays, a good fish entree is the one thing I look for in fine restaurants; because when done right, fish is absolutely delightful and super healthy too.

Radicchio Pesto

First things first, let’s do the name thing.
It’s radicchio as in Rick, not rich. The ‘CH’ is pronounced ‘CK’ (as the famous cologne); so ra-dee-ckyoh.
Radicchio is one of those foods I think of as very grown up.
It has moustaches, monocles and wanders around the apartment in a regimental dressing gown, with the New Yorker tucked under his arm, smoking a pipe and sipping bourbon.
Radicchio is upscale and sophisticated and looks down with contempt at the dull plebeian lettuce murmuring “We are not cut from the same cloth!”
In a way, snobbish radicchio has the right to say so because it is not, strictly speaking, a variety of lettuce.
It’s a member of the chicory family that comes in several varieties, with two types being most widely available in the United States: Treviso and Chioggia. Treviso leaves are oblong with pointed ends and grow in small, tightly packed heads. Chioggia instead grown in loosely packed round heads similar in shape to lettuce. Both varieties have purple leaves with white ribs.

Crock-Pot Roasted Pepper and Tomato Sauce

Apparently my quest for finding an “edible” gluten-free/paleo-ish pasta isn’t over yet.
Although two months ago I sweared I wouldn’t waste any more money on ‘fake’ pasta...I did it again.
Are you guys familiar with ‘recidivism’?
In criminal law it's defined as the relapse into criminal behavior. Basically you commit a crime over and over again, even after experiencing negative consequences of that crime.
OK, I won’t go as far as saying that buying shitty gluten-free pasta makes me a recidiv felon, but repeating the same action, and expecting a different result, makes me at least some sort of dumb-ass — as per my friends words. Yeah, THANK.YOU.GUYS.
And gluten-free pasta can be quite expensive too; ergo I’m dissipating my income.
But as I like to tell myself “If you don’t try it, there's no way of knowing if you'll like it” so I’m still at it.
The gluten-free pasta quest is still on.

Creamy Pumpkin Sauce

Autumn sparks the start of the unavoidable pumpkin everything craze. It’s that time of the year when the leaves are changing, the cold starts to bite and every single food you’re eating has some pumpkin in it, or next to it, or on top of it. Pumpkin-flavored lattes, pies, muffins, even ale. You name it.
And you guys know how much I love ME pumpkin; so before I knew it, I’ve found myself elbow-deep in pumpkin guts.
Operation “Jack-o’-lantern” is officially on, which means loads of pumpkin flesh leftover ready to be used in every single dish I cook.
By the way there’s this rumor going around, about people not liking pumpkin. Folks spreading ill will about pumpkin.
Something like a secret society trying to sabotage our pumpkin extravaganza.
I have the sneaking suspicion that my friend Martha might be part of this sect. The other day - as we were carving the hell out of a humongous pumpkin - she suggested that I should throw out the flesh because “There’s not much you can do with all that pumpkin!”
OK, hold your horses there miss. There are tons of stuff you can do with pumpkin. What about pumpkin curry, pumpkin chili, pumpkin cinnamon rolls, pumpkin Mac&Cheese or pumpkin protein muffins?
BAM! In your face pumpkin-haters.
And here’s another recipe with pumpkin. DOUBLE-BAM!