Green Detox Smoothie

I’m alive, I’m alive!
I know you guys were super worried — OK, maybe not “super worried”, let’s go with concerned? Puzzled? Curious? You have to give me curious at least.
Anyways, I’m here in one piece, still alive, typing on the keyboard, with my cup of green tea.
Life seems to be going back to normal, finally.
So what happened?
Well, nothing that exciting.
In a nutshell, when I got back from the holidays on January 4th I got the flu. Just like that.
I’m not complaining, it’s flu season, people get the flu.
However, I didn’t get the flu, I got the super flu, the terminator of flu.

Goulash

New Year's Eve is coming up in two days.
Where is your ideal place to ring in the new year? How will you celebrate?
Traditionally New Year’s Eve brings out the party animals and bucket-listers in droves. Not me though, I’m not big on parties.
My worst nightmare is to spend New Year’s Eve in Times Square.
Watching the ball drop while being squeezed flat by a million screaming people is literally my idea of hell. Just the thought of it takes the life out me.
Seriously people, how is that even fun?
To be honest, I resent altogether the idea that New Year’s Eve is the biggest night of the year. One MUST get drunk, MUST dance the night away, MUST have the time of his/her life.
It really stresses me out because there’s this unspoken pressure for it to be the best party of the year.
It never is.
When expectations are too high, disappointment is always right around the corner.
Don’t think of me as a pessimist, but when it comes to New Year’s Eve, I’ve learned that’s pretty much always the case.
I’ve had a few good ones but nowadays I’d rather spend a relatively quiet and peaceful evening with the people I love. Good food, some fun games, going to bed relatively early, and waking up rested. That’s the New Year’s Eve I like.

Merry Christmas To You All!

It’s Christmas Eve you guys!
I can say without hesitation that this is my favourite day of the year.
All that has to be done, has been done and if it hasn't happened there is little you can do about it now.
It's a day of anticipation for the excitement to come.
Roaring fires, good food, and the air filled with warmth. I’m busy whipping up a feast for my family, and will probably be up into the early hours wrapping presents.
I come from a large family, and being together with everyone is just so much fun.

I hope that each and every person has a wonderful holiday filled with all of the people you love, food, and fun.
I also hope that everyone gets a chance to relax and enjoy the people that surround them.
Is anyone having a White Christmas? If so, you’re lucky because there’s nothing better than a White Christmas in my opinion.
It is also a time to reflect about how the past year went, and to be thankful for the friends, family, and my presence here on earth.
I am so very grateful that you guys read this blog, enjoy it and that in some way it enriches your life as it enriches my life to write it. Thank you.

I wish you a Merry Christmas with your all loved ones.

Chicken-Spinach Meatballs with Creamed Feta Paste

"To sneak or not to sneak?"
That is the question.
Are you one of those parents that - just like Gwyneth Paltrow - sneak veggies into food your kids love?
Do you make chocolate brownies with hidden carrot and spinach, fudgy zucchini chocolate cookies, and sweet potato waffles?
Do you feel like you're winning at parenting every time you kiddo eats some veggies without knowing it?

Honey-and-Spice-Glazed Chicken

You know that feeling when you open a refrigerator and you’re like “Uhm, what the hell am I going to eat tonight?”
To me that happens a lot. Which is sort of weird because I love to eat, I love to cook, and I love food.
Now that I think about it, it’s actually super weird being that I run a food blog.
Anyways, that question inevitably comes up more often than I would like to admit.
The game changer I've realized, is having chicken breasts ready (either fresh or frozen).
There's really not much one CAN’T do with chicken breasts. Grill them, bake them, fry them, shishkabob them, make fajitas, stir-fry, slow cook & pull the meat apart for burrito/taco filling, braise them.
Pretty much the only thing you can't do with a chicken breast is eat it raw or treat it like a roast. It's a versatile, almost characterless chunk of protein.
I never look at a chicken breast and ask myself “what can I do with this?"; instead I decide what I want to eat and then ask myself "how would I work chicken into this?"

Shredded Kale Salad with Pancetta and Hard-Boiled Egg

Every time I’m about to post a recipe with kale, I start thinking of things I could write in the post to convince you to give it a try.
It’s kinda weird, as I feel compelled to make a case for it.
Presenting some valid points, such as listing all the health benefits of kale or why the dish is delicious.
I even try to anticipate all issues you might have against this green veggie — such as “Kale is bitter”, “Kale is hard to chew”, “My hubby doesn’t like kale”, et cetera, et cetera.
It’s all in my head though. It’s not like you guys have ever given me a hard time for posting a recipe with kale.
To the contrary, I always get super positive responses when I post a recipe with kale.
Still, part of me feels the need to justify it.

(Paleo) Skillet Chocolate Chunk Cookie with Coconut Whipped Cream

Let me introduce you guys to baking simplified.
Just one pan and two steps create a giant, gooey, delicious, gluten-free, and grain-free cookie.
An ingenious recipe that is basically a variation of my basic Paleo chocolate chunk cookie recipe, with one huge difference. Instead of the endless cookie parade of scooping, rotating trays, timing batches, transferring to cooling racks, and all the other tasks associated with baking a batch of cookies, I threw the dough in a 6.5-inch cast-iron skillet, baked it for 30 minutes, and oh my, it turned into a delicious gigantic cookie.

Kale Chips 5 Ways

I was at a Christmas dinner party the other night and they served kale chips.
I thought that everyone in the whole wide world knew about kale chips, so I was a bit surprised when people started saying things like “Uh, what is this green stuff?” “Is that seaweed?” “That’s good, what is this?”
I mean, how long has the “kale chips craze” been going on? Three years, maybe even more.
Everyone has blogged, tweeted, facebooked, and even instagrammed about kale chips.
Is it possible that someone has not heard about ‘em yet?
Apparently...
Soooo for all those of you that haven’t tried kale chips yet (and btw who are ya?), or for those who have yet not tried making them at home, here is not 1, not 2, not 3, not 4 but 5 recipes to make kale chips at home.
Crispy, delicious and so very healthy kale chips.
If you haven’t done it yet I suggest you jump on the bandwagon and join the kale chips CRAZE asap.

Parmesan-Roasted Cauliflower

Winter is a time for resting, eat nourishing food, recharge your batteries, and even feel a little depressed or melancholy.
The days are short, and the nights are long. It’s nature’s way of showing us to recuperate.
We should embrace hibernation, save energy, and get a lot of sleep. Maybe sleep until we’re completely sleeped-out (if that's even a thing).
It has been said that the “average” American sleeps for 8 hours every night during wintertime.
I honestly would like to meet this “average” American.
Because I don't think I've slept 8 hours nightly since...ummm...since...I don't know when.
6? Always.
7? Sometimes
8? I would love to but I NEVER do.
Every single night I crash into bed like a ton of bricks, yet I always wake up 5 minutes before my alarm goes off.
It’s not like I’m perpetually tired, but I know I could sleep more.
And I never oversleep, not even on weekends. It’s just not in me.

Creamy Broccoli Soup with Cheddar Crisps

I get it, soup is not as exciting as a cookie, a cheesy casserole, or a ramen burger.
Maybe a clam chowder or creamy chicken might get your attention, but a broccoli soup?
I already know what you’re thinking: “Booooring!”
In fact, if I were to advertise to you a healthy broccoli soup, you’d probably run in the other direction screaming “Please not another greenish healthy soup!”
Still, I think that soup may be the most under appreciated category of food. There is something awesomely comforting about a bowl of piping hot soup when it’s chilly outside.
And I know for a fact that I’m not alone on this one.
The long lines at Hale & Hearty Soups are proof that soup is a favorite among many, not just me.
But that’s not the reason why I made this broccoli soup.
The reason why I made this soup is because, in general, I don’t find broccoli soups all that interesting, not even when there’s a ton of melted cheddar inside.

Sweet Potato and Caramelized Onion Hash with Baked Eggs

Not all cookbooks are created equal. Some are great, some are good, some are just fine, and others are not so great at all.
Some are old favourites, others are personal favourites containing your go-to recipes, and many more are just filled with recipes that put food on the table.
And there are those that are more than just a cookbook — maybe they take you on a journey, tell a story or teach you something.
The Kitchn Cookbook is definitely not your average cookbook.
Actually, I don’t think it can even be considered a cookbook, it’s more of a book.
It’s a combination of recipes, kitchen lessons, and organizational and storage tips.
You can think of it as some sort complete guide to organizing and working in your kitchen: from stocking the pantry, to implementing simple tweaks that will make cooking easier, and planning meals and gatherings around the table.
The Kitchn Cookbook, takes you through all the basics, balancing prescriptive steps with explanations that serve to teach foundational principles.

Chicken Rollatini

Weeknight meals can really be a challenge.
We all have busy lives, and by the time we get home we’re tired and hungry.
We open the fridge hoping that some food has magically appeared while we were out, but reality always hits us right in the face.
Sadly, there are no gnomes cooking for us while we’re at work, nor stealing the socks out of the dryer for that matter.
Sure, if you’re wealthy enough you can have a cook.
But for the rest of us who can’t afford having a cook on staff, cooking dinner every night can be a time-consuming task.
One of my go-to recipe when I’m short for time, is these chicken rollatini.

There Is Always Something To Be Thankful For...

102 Pilgrims arrived in New England aboard the Mayflower in the fall of 1620.
One year later only about half of those Pilgrims had survived.
Throughout the first brutal winter, most of the Pilgrims remained on board the ship, and perished through lack of shelter, scurvy, outbreaks of contagious disease and starvation.
In November 1621, after the Pilgrims’ first harvest proved successful, they organized a celebratory feast and invited a group of the Wampanoag Indians.
That was the first Thanksgiving.
The Pilgrims gave thanks to God for their first plentiful harvest.
Good harvests were vital back then, for in a world without commodity markets and adequate transport, food shortages often resulted in death due to starvation.

The Pilgrims led a miserable life when compared to ours.
The died relatively young, they had no medicines. People with ailments had to be treated in ways that were unspeakably cruel.
They lived in houses that were bug-infested and with neither privacy nor comfort. Few people knew how to read or write, and almost no one travelled past beyond their native towns.
They worked in the fields from sunrise to sunset, yet scarcity and hunger were all too common.
Yet they were grateful for what they had.

Today, we live a longer, healthier, happier, and safer life. We are not longer concerned with eating too little.
All too often we tend to overlook how lucky we are to live in such an abundant world.
So during this Thanksgiving holiday, let us give thanks for how blessed we are.
Life can be hard, but it was definitely harder back then.

Happy Thanksgiving to you all!

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.

Pumpkin and Carrot Soup with Crispy Pancetta and Fried Sage

Pumpkin soup. Perhaps the quintessential fall/winter food. That and casseroles.
But soup warms you from the inside out, like only tea does. Especially on days where the winter wind chills you to the bone.
Not that we have experienced particularly low temperatures at my latitude so far. To the contrary, it has been a fairly mild fall/winter.
But when temperatures will be dipping below freezing (much too soon unfortunately), we’ll all take refuge under warm blankets with a bowl of piping hot pumpkin soup.
By the way, has anyone tried eating soup literally under the blankets?
I don’t think it possible. You can barely move under the blankets; sure you can read, text or watch a movie on the iPad. But eating a bowl of soup? Not feasible. Unless you find pleasure in scalding hot soup on yourself.
Which got me thinking, maybe eating under the blankets is just one of those cliche’ things they do in movies.
Like the tree outside boyfriend’s or girlfriend’s house where said boyfriend or girlfriend can climb through. Or the love at first sight + kiss under the moonlight thing. Or convincing someone minutes before the wedding that you are the one they should really be with.
Or even worse: the mad and successful dash through airport security to talk to somebody, who you have a desperate to confess your love to.
That sort of things.
Truth is, you don’t need to be under the blankets to enjoy pumpkin soup.

Cauliflower Crust Quiche Lorraine

OK, I'm just gonna say it before someone else does “I am a liar. A Big. Fat. Liar!”
There, I said it.
Just two months ago I was telling you guys I had peaked at the cauliflower crust thing, that the cauliflower noodle lasagna was the last act of a heroic saga involving cauliflower used as the base for pizza, grilled cheese, breadstick, et cetera.
Yet, here I am today, posting another recipe labeled “cauliflower crust”
So yeah. What.A.Liar.

Sweet Potato Pie Waffles

Before we get to the cookery per se, let me rant a little: I refuse to acknowledge anything Christmas related until Thanksgiving is over. I refuse it, and you will not change me!
Christmas starts the day after I’ve had my turkey, stuffing, mashed, potatoes, sweet potato pie, etc.
NO EARLIER.
I refuse to acknowledge anything Christmas prior to Thanksgiving because it’s just a way to dilute the Christmas excitement.
If Christmas starts too soon, I get sick of it before the day rolls around, and it takes away from Thanksgiving as a special time in its own right.
I just wanna celebrate each holiday in turn. Is it too much to ask?
A couple of years ago I even decided not to shop at any place that was advertising Christmas before Thanksgiving — I wanted to make a stand.
Unfortunately, I had to desist because I didn’t have anywhere to shop anymore (except for the Deli down the street.)

The Feel-Good Equation

Eating well, being active, and positive thinking are the most important factors in the “feeling good/being healthy” equation.
Is it a hard equation to solve?
Of course it’s hard.
When was the last time you have done anything worth that wasn’t hard?
It’s so worth though.
The initial step is usually the hardest. But once you get started, there’s no stopping you.
What matters is that you make changes that you can stick with for a long period of time.
The road to being healthy isn't one that ends, it’s long. At first it might be tough - after that - it takes less and less effort.
You get used to the routine, the routine gets easier. You start feeling better and begin to change your life.

Sticky Harissa Chicken

It’s pretty clear that I’m a simple, straightforward guy.
I enjoy good food (nearly everything), good conversation, good music, and sports (triathlon, football, tennis, soccer, etc.)
[And if you've been wondering, no, this is not a personal ad for a dating site]
The way I blog reflects the way I live my life.
The recipes I create are often done on the spur of the moment.
Most of my inspirations come from whatever I have in my fridge as my goal is to utilize everything I have in my kitchen.

Homemade Harissa (Spicy Red Pepper Paste)

You guys know how I love me some Sriracha.
The other day I took the “How addicted to Sriracha are you?” quiz - created by TheOatmeal - and got “100% addicted to Sriracha”.
True story.
But wait, I’m not here to annoy you with another post on the notorious rooster hot sauce; today we’re talking about Harissa.
A fiery paste used in North African cuisine that - just like its Thai cousin - is hot, complex and totally addictive.
Harissa is a blend of hot peppers, garlic, various spices and olive oil.
In North Africa it’s used as a flavor base for stews and curries, as well as a condiment to cooked vegetables and meats, and even spread on bread for a simple snack.