Black Eyed Pea Salad

My favorite part of my local Whole Foods is the bulk section. Dozens and dozens of different grains, beans, nuts and lot of other delicious things. The prices are good and the selection is amazing. Every week I stock up on some new things that I store in mason jars. This week, I decided to give black eyed peas a whirl. I knew they are traditionally prepared in southern cooking, but I wanted to put a fresh and healthy spin on these.

Using the rest of my farmer's market haul, I decided to throw together a fresh and healthy salad to highlight this wonderful legume. Black eyed peas are low in calories, and high in soluble fiber, potassium, and zinc.

This salad is vitamin packed and makes for a healthy main or side dish. I dressed it with only a bit of olive oil and lemon juice so as not to overpower all the delicious fresh flavors. Fresh parsley and fennel give this a bit of a kick as well.

In addition, I had an eventful weekend! After soliciting some help on Facebook, I found a local hardware store that had all the canning equipment I was looking for! I may have gone a bit overboard...

Anyway, I used this amazing haul to make jam on Saturday! My first canning experience involved a lot of sweat, foul language, minor burns and a huge mess but I had a blast. I can't wait to keep experimenting.

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Lemon Parmesan Crusted Tilapia

Everyone knows they should eat more fish. However, it can be so difficult to find and get fresh, healthy and environmentally conscious fish. I am lucky enough to live in a place where fish is affordable and easy to come by, but for many that's not the case. This is one of the many reasons I love tilapia. It's plentiful, low in mercury, safely farmed and relatively easy to find, especially frozen. It's also generally cheaper than other types of fish (salmon, swordfish) and can be quickly and easily turned into a delicious dinner.

Craig and I were both feeling like fish after a decadent weekend, so I decided to dress up some tilapia filets we picked up. I combined two strong flavors, lemon and parmesan, with some whole wheat breadcrumbs for a light and healthy topping for the fish. Start to finish this recipe takes about 15-20 minutes total, making it a great weeknight dinner option.

The result was tangy and delicious. The flavors complimented the fish without being overpowering. I was  really happy with the taste as well as the simplicity of the recipe. I served this with asparagus and wild rice, but it could work well with anything.

Full recipe after the jump
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Lemon Kale Fettuccine

Tonight was one of those throw together a quick dinner night, since I just got back from a whirlwind long weekend visiting my Grandparents in Dallas. I spent a lot of time cooking, eating and catching up with all my relatives and was also able to enjoy a big Patriots win on Saturday! Craig went grocery shopping yesterday and brought home some gorgeous homemade spinach fettuccine. So I was inspired to create this simple, 15 minute dish! Kale, lemon, toasted pine nuts and a bit of garlic combine to make a healthy, filling and super easy pasta. You could top this with chicken to make it a one pot meal or serve it on the side. I added some grated Parmesan and a sprinkle of red pepper flakes.

Recipe and photos after the jump
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Delicata Squash with Kale and Potatoes

Happy New Year! This is my first post of 2012! As much as I love the holidays, I am excited to take a break from excessive celebrating and get back to some healthy eating! I have dubbed this week the week of kale. Since kale is one of my favorite veggies and an incredibly versatile ingredient, I wanted to show you some unique ways to prepare and enjoy it. Personally, I usually like it raw, but it's a bit of an acquired taste. So I decided to kick off a healthy 2012 with some new and interesting kale recipes.

This dish is a hodgepodge of incredibly vitamin rich ingredients. You start with roasting some creamy delicata squash and fingerling potatoes and then toss that with crunchy kale and radicchio. The heat of the roasted squash will wilt the greens, making a warm, flavorful salad that I top with a light lemon vinaigrette. Radicchio has a slight bitterness, which is offset nicely by the sweet and creamy squash. This dish is light and flavorful while also being absolutely packed with fiber and vitamins. Most importantly, it's simple and easy to prepare.

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Tilapia Piccata

Tilapia is such a versatile, lean fish. It is safely farmed, so there are no health or environmental concerns, and it's usually available year round. It is the perfect lean protein to build a tasty meal around. I decided to use tasty lemons and capers to make tilapia piccata. This recipe is as lean and simple as possible, no butter or excess salt and it cooks up in just a few minutes. The perfect last minute dinner.

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Hurricane Muffin Extravaganza!

What an eventful day! Threw an impromptu brunch party this morning as every restaurant in town was closed because of the hurricane. It turned out to be a lot of fun, and it was a good chance for me to put together some new recipes. I made a ton of mini muffins because they are tasty and simple to make. It was so easy to bake them ahead and just have them available for guests when they arrived. These took about 10 minutes to prep and then less than 15 to bake. Super quick and easy.

I have been wanting to bake with ricotta for a while, and this seemed like a good opportunity. The ricotta muffins are incredibly light and fluffy. As a bonus, the ricotta adds a lot of calcium and protein, giving it some nutritional heft. I also made raspberry almond muffins using frozen raspberries and some sliced almonds, both things I  had at hand. They were tasty and filling and had just the right amount of sweetness. Best of all, because I used heart healthy olive oil instead of butter, they were light and not greasy.

The secret to really light and crumbly muffins is not to over mix. I recommend using a rubber spatula to fold the dry ingredients into the wet. Resist the urge to stir. Since I was cooking for a crowd, I wasn't planning on blogging so I didn't take any step by step photos. If my instructions are unclear or don't work for you, shoot me an email and I'll explain.

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