Roasted Fingerlings With Aleppo

Fingerling potatoes are at the farmers' market now. I love to prepare these creamy spuds with sea salt, Aleppo and lemon. This recipe is simple and rustic, with a twist from the Aleppo pepper. Aleppo peppers are crushed chilis with a pleasantly tart flavor. The tangy heat from the Aleppo pepper is perfect with potatoes. Instead of regular lemons, meyer lemons are nice too.  
       

Roasted Fingerlings With Aleppo Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 pounds of fingerling potatoes 
• 2 lemons, zest one lemon and reserve the zest 
• Olive Oil 
• Aleppo pepper to taste
• Sea salt to taste   

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375

On a large baking pan, toss the fingerling potatoes with some olive oil and sea salt. Roast the potatoes for 30 minutes. Take the potatoes out of the oven and toss them with the reserved lemon zest. Put the potatoes back in the oven and cook for another 15 minutes or until the potatoes are tender. Before serving sprinkle the potatoes with Aleppo pepper, sea salt and a few squeezes of fresh lemon juice. 

Bon Appetit & Blessings!

xx ~ Jilly  

Moroccan Vegetarian Stew

Hello friends! How are you? I'm sharing another Moroccan stew with you. This recipe is one of my favorites.  

I love making Moroccan stews in winter. My husband and I live two miles from the Atlantic Ocean, on the North Shore of Boston. When the cold wind whips the salty sea air, this stew makes us feel cozy. If a blizzard is in full effect I play some Van Morrison, putter in my kitchen, enjoying the snow-globe-view from my window and the warm aromas from the simmering stew. Vegetarian stews comfort us with their wholesome and healthy nutrition.

Soup And Solitude

Throughout the New England winter, I return to this soup time and time again. I wash away the world and rush back to sweet solitude. A cold walk on a clear beach and a hot bowl of soup restores my peace. Maybe it's because I work part-time in a crisis center or because I'm an introvert or because I was a bit of a wild-child in my youth; whatever the reason, I need to be alone for long stretches of time. My mom used to call it my hibernation-mode.

Solitude is not something you hope for in the future, rather it's a deepening of the present. Unless you look for solitude in the present, you'll never find it. ~ Thomas Merton.

In my twenties, I worked at a hospital with a stable and sweet psychiatric nurse who gave me a birthday card that read, "Happiness is one way of being wise." She sensed I needed to know that. Years later, I read that the true revenge of our enemies, and our darkest demons, is to be deeply happy. As a twenty-something, I lived in Philadelphia. I would go out clubbing all night. Do people even do that anymore? I loved to dance. But it wasn't a particularly happy or mellow time. I was restless and roaming. I was searching for something more meaningful. I'm grateful for those early experiences and the many mistakes I made. I still love cities and urban music. But my life has evolved into something less chaotic and more fulfilling. I used to seek happiness in people, in possessions and in the wrong places. Now I know better. Now those old messages about happiness make sense to me.

Moroccan Roasted Vegetables With Toasted Sesame & Herbed Couscous Pilaf

It's a quiet time to reflect on God and spirituality. We stand still, exhaling into splendid solitude. I don't typically shout about religion from the rooftops like I do my cross stitch patterns or recipes. Vanity, my potty-mouth and an unparalleled addiction to red lipstick have followed me to operating rooms and they'll chase me to my grave. In my spiritual life, I've chosen a single path: a Good Guidebook. 

Ethiopian Style Chickpea Stew

It's cold, dark and rainy outside, but my kitchen is filled cozy aromas. A comforting Ethiopian stew is simmering on the stove. Assertive spices infuse this recipe with fall flavor. Roasted chickpeas, creamy potatoes and caramelized onions make it so delicious and satisfying.

Roasted Carrots And Potatoes With Sea Salt And Sage

Nothing says fall like roasted root vegetables. I love this light and simple recipe. Hints of fresh sage make it very flavorful. The potatoes are golden brown on the outside with creamy centers. The sweetness of the carrots is a nice compliment to the sage.

Easy Indian Chicken Curry

A simple chicken curry with creamy coconut milk and perky ginger is what's for dinner tonight. Coconut milk is a rich source of antioxidants and certain minerals, including iron and potassium. Vitamins C, E and many B vitamins are abundant in coconut milk too. This a light curry in that it doesn't contain lots of butter or cream. You'll feel energized after you've enjoyed a bowl of it.   

Chicken curry can be on your table in no time. A potato gives it substance. It's mild and mellow with great flavor. Even if you've never made Indian food, you can prepare this delicious dish without much effort.  If you've got fresh mint growing in your garden, sprinkle some on top. A squeeze of fresh lime juice is a must!  If you're serving guests who like a little more heat, you can offer them some thinly sliced chilis or sriracha sauce. Get your curry on!  

Thai Garden Vegetable Soup

Today we care so much about what we eat. Yet we have less time to prepare nutritious food. My favorite midday meal is soup. I make a lot of quick ones. This rainbow-colored recipe is ready in about 30 minutes. A bit of chopping and dropping into a pot is all that's required. It's a fun, healthy, Thai-take on garden vegetable soup. I like it much better than the old standard. Spiked with chili, lime and creamy coconut milk, it makes a light and lively lunch paired with crusty rolls or crackers. With an abundance of vegetables, pops of  sweet peas and fresh scallions, this non-traditional veggie soup is a good choice for springtime. It's wonderful sprinkled with Thai basil or regular basil.  If you're craving a satisfying Southeast Asian bowl of deliciousness, give it a try!

Thai Cauliflower Curry

I love to cook Thai food. This vegetarian curry has bright flavors and a creamy, light texture. Potatoes give it substance. Cauliflower pairs well with coconut milk. Tangy lime and warm ginger..it's all here!

This cauliflower curry gives you energy and contentment. My husband loves it. Full of omegas, vitamins, antioxidants, fiber and other good things, you'll be happy you prepared this nutritious, 30-minute meal. Just chop and drop the ingredients into the pot, simmer and serve. Minimal effort, big reward. Jasmine rice, chapati or roti is nice with it too.

Roasted Potatoes with Lemon and Herbs

I love using lemon to add sparkle to golden brown fingerling potatoes. Roasted potatoes with creamy centers and a splash of citrus are good eating. The lemon and mint give them freshness and zip. Any herb or small size potato will work here. This dish is good warm, at room temperature or hot from the oven, making it a nice recipe for summer gatherings. Potatoes are a familiar sidekick for grilled fish, chicken or steak, but they’re equally welcome on a vegetarian/vegan table too.

Quinoa Gratin with Mexican Flavors

This Mexican inspired casserole has everyone’s favorite ingredients, including potatoes and cheese. A good amount of quinoa, vegetables and beans adds fiber and nutrition. Quinoa is perfect for casseroles and it works well with Latin flavors too.
  
Creamy black beans, sweet corn and zesty salsa combine to give each bite Mexican flavor. If you’re trying to sneak whole grain goodness into your family members’ diets, this dish will do the trick.  It'll make a quinoa lover out of just about anyone.

North African Stew with Sweet & Spicy Couscous

Before the cold New England winter appears, my husband and I like to visit to Boston Common and the Lagoon to see the swan boats. In the heart of this elegant city, an emerald-green park appears. Weeping willows, a rose garden and pretty swan boats make up the vintage scene. For more than one hundred years, the boats have been gracefully gliding on the pond. We cross the little pedestrian bridge before heading over to Newbury Street to window shop.

Cauliflower Stew with Chickpeas & Smoky Paprika

The start of the beautiful New England fall season began with a twilight river walk accompanied by my little beagle, Ellie. This savory stew was also part of the picture. A smoky stew that makes the cooler evenings more inviting. 

Ingredients

•  2 medium to large onions, chopped
• 1 large head of cauliflower, chopped
• 2 bell peppers, your choice of color. I used a red and green one. Slice them in half and remove seeds.
• 3 small to medium zucchini, chopped
• 3 baking potatoes, chopped
• 1 15-16 ounce can of chickpeas, cannellini beans or white beans rinsed and drained
• 1 26.46 ounce box of Pomi Chopped Tomatoes or one 28 ounce can of quality chopped tomatoes
• 1 cup frozen peas (optional)
• Olive oil for cooking
• Good drizzle of honey or pinches of sugar to balance the acid in the tomatoes
• 3 teaspoons of smoked paprika
• 3 teaspoons of dried oregano
• A tiny pinch of saffron, 6 threads (optional)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Garbanzo bean flour mixed with cold water to thicken the stew (see notes)
• 4-5 cups of cold water    
• To Serve: rice, crusty bread, drizzle of good olive oil, quinoa, toasted slivered almonds, chopped parsley or basil, shaved or grated Manchego cheese 

Instructions

Place the sliced peppers, cut side down, on an oven safe baking sheet lined with tinfoil and broil them on high until their skins are charred and blackened. Remove from the oven, place peppers in a covered bowl or wrap in tin foil to steam. Once cool enough to handle, peel the skin and discard. Chop them and set aside. Meanwhile, saute onions in a large pot. I use a Dutch Oven, and cook the onions with olive oil, salt and pepper until soft. Once the onions have softened, add the chopped cauliflower, zucchini, chickpeas, potatoes, tomatoes, honey, spices and 4-5 cups of water. The water should just cover the vegetables with some peeking out. Adjust the salt. Cover and bring to a boil. Stir in the chopped roasted peppers, reduce the heat and simmer for about 35-40 minutes or until the vegetables and potatoes are soft. Mash some of the cooked potatoes in the pot with a back of a spoon. Stir in the garbanzo bean and water mixture. Start with 4 teaspoons of garbanzo bean flour mixed with 4 teaspoons of cold water and stir into the stew. Add more of this mixture if you want it thicker. Toss in the frozen peas and stir again. Serve with suggestions and enjoy!

Lebanese Stew With Chickpeas & Tomatoes

Do you love the bright flavors of Eastern Mediterranean cuisine? I’ll show you a setw recipe that will make you happy. I’ll reveal my Lebanese Grandmother’s secrets.

Like my grandmother taught me, adding a little bit of cinnamon and some dried mint to Arabic dishes is the key to authentic flavor. Have you ever wondered what makes this cuisine taste so good? Chances are there are pinches of subtle spices and dried herbs in each dish. The cinnamon is cozy and the mint is fresh. 

Your kitchen will smell divine as it’s cooking. Trust me, the mint and cinnamon work in this stew. Every time I bring one of these vegetable dishes to my neighbor or to my coworkers they ask for the recipe.

Lebanese Stew Recipe

Makes a large pot full. Reheats Well.

Some Notes

The stew is started on the stove and finished in the oven for even cooking and a delicious, homey flavor.

Both oregano and mint retain their flavor once dried. They’re perfect in this stew.

Regular baking potatoes are added to give the stew some body and substance. The starch in the potatoes helps thicken the sauce, producing a rich and satisfying stew with no added fat.

I love Pomi Tomato products for their unmatched clean, garden-ripe taste. They come in a box instead of a can.  If you can’t find them, good quality tomato puree is fine too.

Wine gives another layer of flavor to this dish. I often don’t want to open a bottle to use in a recipe so I keep a bottle of dry or extra dry vermouth in the fridge. I use vermouth in  place of white wine in most of my savory dishes. You can also omit the wine or vermouth with good results.

Finish it with a drizzle of good olive oil, a dollop of Greek yogurt and/or some freshly chopped parsley. If you’re serving a crowd, some olives, feta and pita bread rounds out the meal.

Ingredients

• 2 medium onions, diced
• 1 large bell pepper, chopped. You pick the color. 
• 3 garlic cloves, minced. Use a microplane zester or garlic press to mince it.
• 3 baking potatoes, peeled and chopped.
• 1 16-ounce cans of chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• 1 16-ounce can of white beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 26.46 ounce box of Pomi Strained Tomatoes or a 28 ounce can of tomato puree
• 13-ounces or a generous 1-1/2 cups of crushed tomatoes
• 1/4 cup of white wine or a couple of splashes of dry vermouth (optional)
• 1 1/2 cups of vegetable broth
• Drizzle of honey or about a teaspoon of sugar to balance the acid in the tomatoes.
• 1 teaspoon of dried oregano. Rub it between your fingers to release the flavor.
• 1/2 teaspoon of dried marjoram (optional)
• 1/2 teaspoon of dried mint
• 2 dried bay leaves, remember to remove them before serving.
• A couple of pinches of ground cinnamon
• Olive oil for cooking and drizzling
• Sea salt or kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
• To Serve: freshly chopped parsley, flaky sea salt, a drizzle fruity olive oil, yogurt, pita bread, bulgur wheat or quinoa

Instructions

In a large dutch oven or an oven safe pot with a lid, saute the onions and bell pepper on medium to medium high heat with some olive oil, salt and pepper. It helps to cover the pot. Add a little water if you don’t want to use too much oil to steam-saute them.

Once the pepper and onions are soft, add the potatoes, garlic, chickpeas, white beans, tomatoes, vegetable broth, wine/vermouth, sugar, dried herbs, spices, bay leaves and more salt and pepper. Bring to a gentle boil. Immediately turn down the heat, simmer, covered for about 5-7 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. After 5 minutes of stove top simmering, place the pot in the oven and cook for an additional 30-40 minutes or until the potatoes are tender. When the stew is finished cooking, remove bay leaves. Adjust the salt and pepper. Also add a pinch more of dried oregano, mint and cinnamon. Serve with any of the suggestions listed in serving options above. Enjoy!

Potato Leek Cakes With Peas & Dill

My mother was from a small town in Pennsylvania which had a large Lithuanian population. During the summer, people loved attending the church picnics. Huge fryers cranked out endless orders of potato pancakes to hungry customers. The cakes were always served with sour cream or applesauce on the side.

Thai Sweet Potato Bisque with Coconut Milk

This special soup is suitable for holiday entertaining. It's a great choice for a first course on a Thanksgiving menu. It can be made a day or two before the meal. It's my husband’s favorite soup! He starts requesting this as soon as fall arrives. It also receives rave reviews from my trusty taste testers at the hospital where I work.

This bisque is a healthy recipe makeover and slight departure from the more traditional French ones made with heavy cream. But, you'd never know it by the taste and texture. Creamy coconut milk mellows the assertive flavors of chili and ginger. The heat wakes up the palate in a controlled, pleasurable way. Thai basil and fresh lime juice finish things off with pep. 

Thai Sweet Potato Bisque Recipe  

Serves 6

Some Notes

Vietnamese Cinnamon is the strongest, richest and sweetest cinnamon on the  planet. I love it in this soup. Regular cinnamon is just fine too.

Rapunzel No Salt Vegetable Bouillon Cubes are my go-to choice for all my vegetable soups. This bouillon creates a broth that has a pure clean, fresh taste. I buy it by the case from amazon. You can also find it select Whole Foods supermarkets.  But you can omit it and the water and replace them with 6 cups of your favorite stock or broth..  

A roasted red pepper grounds all the flavors and counters the sweetness of the potatoes. You could leave it out if you don’t feel like doing an extra step. But it’s worth it to include it because it’ll give the soup another layer of flavor.

Ingredients

• 3 large sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped. (They should weigh about one pound each totaling 3-3 1/2 pounds)
• 1 roasted red pepper, halved and seeded (optional)
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 tiny red or green Thai pepper or a jalapeno pepper, diced. You can remove the seeds and veins of the pepper to control the heat.
• 2 limes
• 1 inch piece of fresh ginger peeled and grated 
• 6 vegetable bouillon cubes. I use Rapunzel No Salt Vegetable Bouillon.
• 1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon plus more for sprinkling 
• 1/2 can of coconut milk
• Salt to taste
• Oil for cooking  
• To Serve: Thai basil or regular basil, cilantro, lime wedges, lime zest, ground cinnamon, flaky sea, toasted pepitas (pumpkin seeds), crusty bread

Instructions

To roast the pepper: Place the sliced pepper, cut side down, on an oven safe baking sheet lined with tinfoil and broil on high until the skins are charred and blackened. Remove from the oven, place the pepper in a covered bowl or wrap in tin foil to steam. Once cool enough to handle, peel the skin and discard. Chop and set aside.

In a large pot saute the onion and chili in some neutral tasting oil with a pinch of salt. Once the onion has softened, add the chopped sweet potatoes, roasted red pepper, grated ginger, 6 cups of water, 6 vegetable bouillon cubes and the cinnamon. Adjust the salt. Cover, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until the sweet potatoes have softened. Puree with an immersion blender or in a food processor. Stir in the coconut milk. Start with just a half a can and add more to your liking. Don't shake the can. Take the coconut cream that is usually at the top of the can. Finish the soup with a good dash of cinnamon, a little lime zest, lime juice and basil. Toasted pumpkin seeds are also nice sprinkled on top. Enjoy!

Light & Creamy Leek and Potato Soup with Fresh Dill

This is magic soup because with minimal effort you get a big reward. Everything gets put in a soup pot with some water. Voila, after about 30 minutes of simmering, a cozy and deeply flavorful soup appears.

Fresh dill compliments the creamy potatoes. A  splash of wine and a pinch of nutmeg give the soup additional layers of flavor. A dollop of creme fraiche on top of each individual serving isn't a bad idea either.

I make this soup after the holiday splurge or when I'm in need of some vegetarian comfort and nourishment. Leeks are incredibly good for us! The soup tastes great with or without the addition of half and half.