Smashed Potatoes with Tapenade

This recipe comes from celebrity chef Francis Mallmann whom I’ve discovered thanks to Netflix Original Documentary Series “The Chef’s Table”.
He’s the Argentine god of fire and I’ve cooked a lot from his cookbooks Seven Fires and Mallmann on Fire.
And if it wasn’t for him, I never would have thought to put these two flavors together in all the world of combinations: On one side the tapenade so briny, savory, and aromatic, on the other the ever-so-mellow boiled potato.
Who would have thought that they’d be any good together?
Thankfully Chef Mallmann did and he had the fortitude to put it in his cookbook for me to find.

(Vegan) Creamy Chipotle Spaghetti

Okay seriously people, I can barely stand how delicious this is. It’s going to knock your socks off, roll them into a little ball, and return them to your sock drawer.
But it won’t blow your budget or your time, because you can make this in 15 minutes or less.
You in?
I love easy, quick, and delicious recipes that free up time for other things.
Having quick recipes you can get on the table in a snap is so helpful to anyone trying to juggle too many balls in the air. Which is pretty much everyone on earth nowadays. We are all so busy.

(I Can’t Believe It’s Meatless) Mushroom Lentil "Meatloaf"

I’m sorry guys for the long recipe title. I know that it’s annoying and I tried every which way to shorten it but I wanted it to describe the awesomeness of this dish, hence the long title.
But you see, when the process of perfecting a recipe takes time (a lot of time) and what normally takes a couple of days of testing ended up taking over a week to finally hit the mark, you want to showcase it in all its glory.
So there you have it: (I Can’t Believe It’s Meatless) Mushroom Lentil “Meatloaf”.
A title that requires parentheses and quotes.

(Vegan) Easy Coconut Green Curry Lentils

If you know anything about me, you know that I do love me a good curry lentil.
In my humble opinion lentils are perfect for curries: They pair perfectly with spices, help thicken the sauce, and cook down and get super soft and yummy.
I already have a couple of pretty awesome curry lentil recipes on this blog too. Including some spectacular red curry lentils, my worldwide famous red lentil and spinach tikka masala and a recent addition, the Crock-pot Thai curry lentils, that has quickly become a new favorite.

Mom's Chocolate Pudding

In my forced departure from chewable-food, I dusted-off some old recipes that I haven’t made in years and asked friends and family for their own recipes that don’t require heavy use of your jaws. Needless to say it, a large number of pudding recipes showed up in my inbox.
It’s funny that when somebody is in no condition to flex those cheek muscles to smile, let alone to chew food, pudding is the first thing that comes to mind.
Which hardly ever happens, pudding is not that popular. Seriously, when was the last time you had pudding? Or thought about pudding?

Creamy Banana Breakfast Smoothie

I got one wisdom teeth out yesterday. Ouch!
I’m still numb/sore and most of all irritated by the fact that I cannot eat solid food.
When you get a wisdom tooth pulled, the rule of thumb is to chew as little as possible, eat cold foods to soothe the mouth, and avoid seeds and hot spices (as they’ll irritate the wound).
In other words you can have smoothies, juices, and ice-cream during the first few days, and when the wound starts to heal you can start eating hot food such as soup, mashed potatoes, and other non-chewable things like hummus, applesauce, etc.
So, no solid food and no strenuous physical activity. Which begs the question: What the heck I am supposed to do then if I cannot eat and train?
I dunno, I dunno people

Minted Sweet Pea Hummus

Good morning guys, I hope that you all had a great week and that you're ready for the weekend.
Today I have a quick and delicious recipe for you guys.
Since I’m sure you already have these ingredients in your kitchen — because they are so basic/such a staple (at least in my pantry) — what about mix them all up and give yourself a treat? You interested?

Spring Pasta Salad with Pesto and Peas

For someone who is manifestly terrified of all the offerings in the salad bar pasta salad universe — the tri-colore, mayo-drenched, provolone-loaded, pepperoni-laden, dotted with green peppers, raisins and more often than not sugar-sweetened (oh the horror!) — I surely have some nerve presenting you with a pasta salad recipe.
Truth is, I spend an incredible amount of time trying to come up with cold pasta preparations I’d find satisfying.
So far, I’ve been lucky just once, with my kale pasta salad. And though I love it and it loves me back (though I’m not exactly sure how a recipe shows its love) I felt it was not enough.

(Gluten-Free) Lemon Polenta Cake

Now, I know what many of you are thinking.
Has he lost his mind? Polenta goes great with all kinds of meats and sauces what does it have to do in a cake?
Hold on a sec, and hear me out: Polenta makes for an excellent substitute for flour in cakes and in turn makes them naturally gluten-free.
Plus polenta gives an awesome yellow-sunshine color to cakes and also gives a wonderful texture.
Are you on board?
I thought so….

Zucchini Pizza Boats

Usually pizza is the first thing that gets tossed out of the window the moment somebody starts eating healthy.
That’s why there are so many healthier alternatives to pizza around. Such as cauliflower crust pizza, eggplant pizzas, quesadilla pizza or my all time favorite pizza sweet potato skins.
These Zucchini Pizza Boats are another gem that you absolutely need to try.
Fresh zucchini topped with olive oil, garlic, marinara sauce, mozzarella cheese, Parmesan cheese, and your fave toppings.
It makes for a perfect pizza without all the carbs and the calories.

(Vegan) Creamy Crock-Pot Eggplant and Zucchini Curry

Considering that my obsession with curry borders maniacal — I don’t mean to brag but there are so many curry recipes on this blog I can’t even count, including but not limited to, chicken tikka masala, chickpea tikka masala, sweet potato tikka masala, butter chicken, eggplant curry, coconut curry chicken, etc... — it should come as no surprise that today I have yet another recipe involving curry for you.

Zucchini Crust Grilled Cheese

Guys, today I made something awesome.
Awesome as in, literally awe-inspiring and awe-amazing.
But let’s start from the beginning. Almost three years ago I created what has become the most popular (and copied) recipe on this blog, my worldwide famous Cauliflower Crust Grilled Cheese.
A recipe that made headlines and sparked obsession around the entire globe. If you don’t believe me, read here
So today I decided the time was ripe to make something as incredible as my cauli crust grilled cheese.

Classic Black Bean Veggie Burger

Today I have a little awesome recipe for you that I love very much.
I always had a place in my heart for black beans burgers. I can’t really explain it. I often sneak one off my vegetarian friend during barbecues. If a restaurant claims to have a great black bean burger (such as the New York Burger Co. or Smashburger), I’d order one.
For me the true test of a burger joint is whether they can make a solid black bean burger.
I mean, anyone can make a good beef burger, but a black bean burger? That’s a whole different story.

Mock Tuna Salad

First off, I have to talk about how delicious this is.
Every time I eat this Mock Tuna Salad (as in “tuna”) I’m literally like “Oh yeah man, this is awesome!”
Though I love me a classic tuna fish sandwich — which has been my classic lunch choice for many years, especially in college — this vegetarian alternative is just as good (maybe even better?) and doesn’t make me miss the tangy, creamy lunchtime treat.

3-Ingredient Brown Sugar and Mustard Glazed Salmon

Today I have a new entry in the much-neglected seafood category on this blog.
It’s a known fact that I am almost fish-averse.
Sure, I’ve come around to salmon and tuna but for the most part my seafood appreciation level is pathetically low.
If you ever invite me out for sushi, I will never say no but don’t be surprised if I order only avocado sushi and cucumber sushi.
Raw fish is still a step too far for me. I mean I can eat it, of course, and I’ve done it many times but I don’t find any pleasure or satisfaction in it.

(Flourless) Chocolate Beet Cake with Chocolate Avocado Frosting

It was recently pointed out to me that this blog lacks cake recipes and the reason, I am sad to say, is that I don’t bake many cakes.
That is not to say that I don’t like baking cakes, I just don’t do it that often.
When a craving for cake strikes, usually mug cakes come to the rescue. Truth is, I surely don't need an entire cake laying around the house, with the risk of polishing the entire thing off.
If y’all know what I mean...

Broccoli Flatbread

I don’t mean to sound corny but this broccoli flatbread is MMM MMM GOOD.
Made with only 3 ingredients (if you don’t count salt and pepper), these Broccoli flatbread not only are super easy to whip up but are also incredibly yummy, super colorful, and since they’re made with broccoli (aka one of the healthiest vegetable there is) they’re also good for you.
Wanna hear more?
I bet you do.

Chef John's Meatless Meatballs

For me, the true test of any alternative meatless recipe is whether I would eat it again. Based on taste and texture alone, and not just because it’s meatless.
In this case, I would. Oh yeah man, I definitely would!
It’s not like I’m giving up real meatballs or anything, but trust me when I say that these are without a shred of doubt the most delicious vegetarian-friendly meatballs ever.

Easy Crock-Pot Bourbon Chicken

You know a recipe is a total winner when you make it year after year, you still love it like the first time, and you never get bored of it.
So you might ask why am I posting this Easy Crock-Pot Bourbon Chicken only today?
It’s a valid question. And the answer is: I don’t know.
Plus it’s like I’m under some legal obligation to share all of my recipes with you.
And say I invite you over for dinner and when it is time to eat I serve you chickpea tikka masala, lemon garlic chicken zoodles or cauliflower grilled cheese. You’ll be probably like “Uhm okay is that it? I know these recipes already…”
Which is precisely the reason why I need to keep some recipes secret.
Mmmkay?

Spinach-Mozzarella Stuffed Burgers

I know I'm not reinventing the wheel here. Stuffed hamburgers have been around since at least 1954 but it seems like they have been a bit of a trend the past few years.
Sometimes called inside-out burgers — because cheese and other traditional topping ingredients are folded inside the burger — stuffed burgers offer a surprising burst of flavor and some believe that the stuffing also helps keep the meat itself more moist and juicy.
The most notorious stuffed burger is, of course,  the Juicy Lucy: a cheeseburger that has the cheese inside the meat patty instead of on top, resulting in a melted core of cheese within the patty.

Vitamin C Bomb Smoothie

Is it me or it looks like spring is finally in the air?

The temperatures are still pretty chilly but the forecast says it will start warming up soon and the days are getting longer and lighter, if you know what I mean.
Although the approaching change in season has us rejoicing for the sunshine, warm weather, and blooming flowers that it brings, it also has us bracing for allergies and seasonal colds to flare up.
No matter how much you love spring, colds and allergies are not fun.
Luckily, there are natural ways to fend them off.
Such as charging on Vitamin C, which is considered the "muscle" of the immune system.

Rainbow Salad with Parsley Lemon Vinaigrette

When it comes to salads, I’m confident that you already know everything there is to know.
We could have a conversation about it, which would be as follows: “Is it healthy? Of course it is! It’s a salad, isn’t it?”
I mean, as long as it vaguely resembles a salad, it must be good for you, right?
And I’m also sure you’re eating salad for any of the earnest reasons that one usually eats a salad: A desire for healthy greens, fresh veggies and, of course, to get ready for swimsuit season in like no time.
But seriously salad can be delicious, filling enough, and of course healthy.

Crock-Pot Chipotle Lime Chicken

If you, just like me, think that there are many perfect marriages in the food world — like avocado and chocolate or garlic and butter or orange and pork — then you’re probably already familiar with chipotles in adobo sauce.
If not, let me give you a quick primer.
Chipotles in adobo are dried, smoked jalapeños rehydrated and canned in a sweet and tangy purée of tomato, vinegar, garlic, and a couple of spices, for a tasty sauce that packs serious heat but also plenty of balance and body.
What I really love about chipotle in adobo is that they’re complex enough to use as a solo seasoning but they pair really well with herbs, other spices, honey, etc.
These little suckers can do it all. Sauces, glazes, marinades, braises, soups, sandwiches, you name it.

(Paleo) Banana Bread in a Mug with Lemon Glaze

There are many good reasons to make banana bread:
You have a pile of ripe, sad-looking bananas that have clearly reached their life’s expectancy. You are a fan of things that are incontrovertibly delicious and awesome.
It’s cold outside and you need something comforting to go with your hot beverage.
You’re into recipes you can make in one bowl.
You believe that banana bread could cure any woe.

Salted Double Chocolate Brownie Cookies

I have, for a very long time, looked for a chocolate cookie I could award with what I considered the highest honor in the baking world, declaring it the best brownie cookie (aka brookie) ever.
I just didn’t expect it would take me so long to find what I was looking for.
Along the way, I encountered cookies that promised fudgy but delivered cakey; those that were chocolatey in name only; and even versions that were a perfect chocolate cookie, but have little to do with brownies.

Creamy Baked Ziti with Broccoli and Provolone

Most of my understanding of the category of baked pasta is that it falls in the category of dump casserole.
Basically just combine all the ingredients, dump them into a casserole dish, and let the oven do the rest. Also known as the ultimate unfussy comfort food.
Italian-American baked pasta classics include: Chicken-Spaghetti Casserole, Baked Ziti with Meatballs or Chicken Tetrazzini. Then there’s lasagna, which is just a more refined version of baked pasta.

Lemon Almond Crinkle Cookies

February is always the time of the year when most of us get caught up in what I like to call the “winter produce stagnation”. The lack of flavorful fruit and the glut of starchy vegetable are enough to kill any enthusiasm.
Still, I find that if I set my mind on citrus I can sail through the winter months with relatively no problems.
Even when the deepest, darkest winter has set in and I’m all fogged in by the relentless grind of being indoors, a bright pink grapefruit, a sunny orange, even a gleaming lemon, reminds me of summer days, warm breezes, and skies as blue as the ocean.
I’ve got an archive full of lemon muffins, lemon chicken piccata, lemon pound cake in mug, raspberry-grapefruit smoothie, orange chicken, and orange glazed salmon that should be enough for me to feel I’m not missing out just because strawberries, peaches, and apricots are still in hibernation.

Spanish Chicken with Chorizo and Potatoes

I’ve been thinking a lot recently about what it means to cook when you’re pressed for time.
I, for one, always had the luxury of time.
Even with a job, a blog, and at least two hours a day dedicated to training, the sum of my evening tasks is still only to make whatever I felt like making for dinner. And it doesn’t really matter if dinner is done at 9 p.m. or even 10 p.m. instead of say 7:30 p.m since I don’t have other mouths to feed (e.g., children) — except for the occasional friend or family member.

One-Pot Spaghetti with Kale and Cherry Tomatoes

So, kale is good for us. We all know this.
It also tastes great. And there are many ways to prepare it: gratins, casseroles, salads, chips, pesto, smoothies, baked, with quinoa, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.
In fact, I’m unwaveringly certain that the last thing this blog — let alone the internet — needs is another kale recipe.
But I can’t help it.
I made myself some fantastic spaghetti with kale last weekend and I couldn’t not share it.
It would be just rude to keep it from you. Because you and I have no cooking secrets and it should always be that way.

(Vegan) Easy Flavorful Spanish Rice

Guys, we should definitely, definitely talk about this dish.
Here, I’ll go first: I think it’s essential that you not let another week pass without making it.
I realize that you might imagine rice cooked with tomato sauce to be something bland and unappetizing.
Maybe you already had it in one of those combination plates that are served in Mexican and Tex-Mex restaurants all the over the country, and its dullness is still fresh in your mind.
Maybe you cannot imagine why anyone would consider Spanish rice (sometimes referred to as Mexican rice) noteworthy, being just rice and tomato sauce — arguably two of the most generic foods out there.
But this Spanish Rice is notable for being delicious in its simplicity. And you should take notice.

Maple Frosted Almond Butter Blondies

I don’t mean to sound overly dramatic, but this might be one of my favorite recipes on the TIY.
I'm aware that it’s not smart to say this — and likely in a couple of weeks I’m going to say the same thing about another recipe — but right now I feel like I need to declare it.
Truth is, these blondies deserve this kind of love and outright favoritism. They’re simple and just so delicious.
If I could think of the perfect treat, it would be one of these Maple Frosted Almond Butter Blondies with a cup of (green) tea or a tall glass of (almond) milk.

Parmesan Lemon Crispy Broccoli

Let’s talk about broccoli, shall we?
My favorite way to cook it — and the word “favorite” doesn’t do enough justice to this addictive broccoli recipe — came about mostly by accident, also known in my kitchen as “I’m so distracted by Candy Crush I forgot about the broccoli in the oven...”
But to my own surprise they came out halfway charred and very crisp and looked much better than I though. So I took ‘em one step further and I sprinkled them with Parmesan cheese and lemon zest.
One word: uh-mazing.
What started as an accident became an intentional practice, and now it’s my favorite way to make broccoli.
Not only mine, as it’s pretty much the surest guarantee that Nephew and Niece will polish off an entire head of broccoli with dinner.

(5-Minute) Cinnamon Streusel Coffeecake in a Mug

There are many reasons to love coffeecake, but the fact that you can eat it for breakfast tops it on my list.
It’s like someone — just like myself — clearly wanted to eat cake at 7AM but was never allowed to because, say, their mother never let them.
But with coffeecake it’s different. So different that when your mom tells you that you can’t have cake for breakfast, you can answer:
“Hush Mom, this is not cake, this is Coffeecake. It’s completely different, you’re supposed to eat in the morning with coffee!”

Crock-Pot Honey Sesame Chicken

For someone who was all “Harrumph! There’s only one authentic recipe for Bolognese Sauce!”, I have some nerve telling you what I’m going to next, which is that I’m in love with an unapologetically 100% so-not-authentic Chinese recipe.
Actually, now that I’m thinking about it, this Honey Sesame Chicken is — just like General Tso’s chicken, wonton soup, hot and sour soup, sweet and sour pork, chicken balls, ginger beef, crispy beef, and lemon chicken — one of the quintessential American-Chinese recipes.
Dishes we think are Chinese but are considered foreign fare in China.

Salted Double Chocolate Almond Butter Brownies

I understand that when a website almost 6 years old has not one, not two, not three but nine brownie recipes, it’s possible - or at least highly likely - that the brownie category has been exhausted.
The archives are full.
I get it. I do.
Probably we should discuss about sesame chicken, coconut curry lentils or Ethiopian chicken stew.
Probably.

Mississippi Roast

Happy New Year guys!
I know, I know, we are well into the new year but I took a week off to recharge so I haven’t had the chance to wish you a Happy New Year yet.
I hope y’all started the new year with a bang.
Mine has been very chilled out so far. Ski, delicious food, good friends, good books, and no alarm clock. I recharged my batteries and it was incredible.
Now I’m back and it feels awesome. I’m so open to all that 2017 is going to bring.
Like the Counting Crows sang: maybe this year will be better than the last.
I have plenty of exciting recipes I can’t wait to share with you guys.
Starting with this Mississippi Roast.