Serves 4-6
 
2 Tablespoons olive oil
12 ounces smoked sausage, sliced into ¼ inch pieces-on the diagonal
8 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
4 ounces butter, unsalted
½ head green cabbage-sliced thinly
1 teaspoon dried thyme or 2 teaspoons fresh
1 pound raw shrimp (peeled)-if frozen, thawed        
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 cup assorted greens-baby spinach, flat-leafed parsley, baby arugula-chopped
1 lemon, zested and juiced
½ cup heavy cream
Kosher salt and pepper to taste

1. Heat the olive oil in a large sauté pan over a medium- high heat.  Add the sausage, garlic, and pepper flakes. Cook until the sausage is lightly browned and the garlic is fragrant, about 5 minutes.
   
   
2. Add the butter, shredded cabbage, thyme, shrimp, and pepper flakes. Cover and cook until the cabbage is wilted and is bright green, about 3-5 minutes.
   
   
3. Add the chopped herbs, lemon zest, lemon  juice, and the heavy cream. Toss the ingredients gently to coat. Simmer for 3 minutes to heat through. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot.

Shakshuka is a classic North African and Middle Eastern dish that’s eaten for breakfast or any meal of the day. Shakshuka means “a mixture” and the traditional version uses tomatoes, onions and spices as the base with eggs poached on top. The best Shakshuka that I have had was at Tatte in Boston. Everything there is delicious!

Serves 1
to serve 2, double the recipe and use a larger sauté pan.
​
1 ½ cups bottled or canned tomato sauce(prepared with no sugar or seed oils)
½ teaspoon cumin, curry powder or other spice or spice mix
1 pinch crushed red pepper
1 small red pepper, sliced (bottled roasted peppers are fine too)
2-3 fresh eggs
Optional: Fresh parsley, basil, or cilantro, grated or shredded cheese of choice, leftover vegetables, shredded chicken, meat, seafood, olives, capers

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees or preheat your broiler. Warm the tomato sauce, seasonings, and red pepper in an 8-inch oven proof sauté pan. Heat until simmering and cook until the peppers are just beginning to soften-about 3 minutes.
2. Create a “nesting spot” for your eggs in the sauce. Break the eggs into the pan. Place the pan in the oven and cook for 3-5 minutes or until the eggs have set to your liking. Alternatively, you can place a tight-fitting lid on the pan and cook the eggs. Serve hot.

Servings 4
1 tsp chile powder
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 Tbs cornstarch
1/4 cup water
4 tablespoons olive oil
2  boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1/2-inch strips
1 large red pepper, cored, seeded and cut into thin strips
1 large onion, thinly sliced
2 Tbs fresh lime juice
8 flour tortillas, warmed in the microwave
 
1.In a resealable plastic bag, combine the chile powder with the salt, cumin, onion powder, garlic powder, cornstarch, ¼ cup of water and 2 tablespoons of the oil. Add the chicken, bell pepper and onion, seal and knead gently to coat. Refrigerate for 15 minutes.

2.Heat the remaining 2 Tbs of oil in a large nonstick skillet until shimmering. Empty the contents of the bag into the skillet and cook over high heat, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are crisp-tender and the chicken is cooked through, about 6 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in ¼ cup of water and the lime juice.

3.Transfer the chicken and vegetables to a large plate and serve with the warmed tortillas.
 
*Change it up! 
Use sirloin, pork, or shrimp.
If using leftover, cooked meat, add it to the vegetable after they’ve been marinated and cooked.
Make it a stir-fry by adding 2 Tbs soy sauce and 1 tsp sesame oil. 

Gin and Tonic-Classic
2 ounces Gin
Tonic Water
Lime wedge-garnish
 
Add gin to a highball glass and fill with ice. Fill the glass with tonic water. Garnish with lime wedge.
 
Variation:
Rosemary Scented G &T
Rosemary sprig
 
Recommendations:
Gin
          Classic-Gordon’s Dry, Tanquray 10
          Herbal-Hendrick’s
          Botanical-Uncle Val's Botanical Gin 
Tonic
         Schwepp’s, Fever-Tree

Gin & Soda w/Cucumber and Mint

4 cucumber slices
4 mint leaves
2-3 ounces Gin- this is the time to be picky with your gin. Use a gin with botanical, floral, or herbal notes- Hendrick's Gin, Uncle Val's Botanical Gin are perfect.
Lime wedge

In a tall glass, muddle the cucumber and mint in the bottom. Pour in the gin. add ice and top with soda water. Finish with a squeeze of lime.

Adapted from https://www.mydiaryofus.com/blog/
Prepare the Golden Milk and drink it without the rum for a delicious and anti-inflammatory drink before bed. Serve it chilled or hot if you like. Add the rum to create a tasty cocktail.

2 cocktails

1 can coconut milk (full fat) Thai Kitchen is my favorite
1/4 Tsp. ground turmeric
1 pinch of black pepper (helps for your body to absorb the turmeric)
1/2 Tsp. vanilla extract
2 Tbsp honey 
pinch of salt
4 oz. of spiced or dark rum
ice cubes
Cinnamon for garnish

1. Combine coconut milk, turmeric, black pepper, vanilla, and salt in a small saucepan and gently heat until coconut milk and honey have melted and the milk has turned bright yellow.  Take off of the heat, strain through a fine mesh strainer, and cool in the refrigerator for 30 minutes or overnight. 
2. Add rum to a cocktail shaker and then pour turmeric milk in along with 5-6 ice cubes and shake until thoroughly chilled.
3. Pour over crushed ice and sprinkle with cinnamon.

Mint is the unsung hero of the herb family. It is such a wonderful addition to a meal any time of year. It always reminds me of spring. I use this vinaigrette as a dressing for side dishes and as a sauce for lamb, seafood, and chicken.

​Makes about 1 1/4 cups

¾ cup avocado oil or olive oil
¼ cup rice vinegar (or white vinegar)
1 teaspoon sugar
½ cup mint leaves, chopped
½ cup flat leafed parsley, chopped
Kosher salt and ground pepper

1. In a blender, combine the oil, vinegar, and sugar with the chopped herbs and pulse until the ingredients are pureed. Store in the refrigerator until ready to use.

How to use this vinaigrette:

• ​Serve as a sauce for lamb, chicken, and seafood
  
• Drizzle over roasted vegetables
  
• Add to any rice dish
  
• Combine with mayonnaise to create a creamy dressing
  
• Toss with sweet peas, asparagus, or any other spring vegetable. 

Serves 6

​Gremolata is a traditional Italian herb paste that is a simple combination of five ingredients: parsley, garlic, lemon, Parmesan, and extra virgin olive oil. With its bright, citrusy flavor, gremolata transforms ho-hum recipes into amazing dishes! Here I’ve combined gremolata with thinly sliced potatoes and roasted them to create a tasty side dish. It’s simple, delicious, and gorgeous!  
Low-carb trick-prepare and cook the stacked potatoes one day ahead and refrigerate. The refrigeration changes the structure of the starches in the potatoes to make them "resistant starches". Resistant starches have a reduced absorption rate in our bodies and helps to keep our insulin low. Learn more about this amazing phenomenon RESISTANT STARCH
 
½ cup loosely packed chopped flat-leaf parsley
Zest of 1 lemon
2 small minced garlic cloves
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
½ teaspoon Kosher salt
1 pinch pepper, freshly ground
8-10 Yukon Gold potatoes
 
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Spray 12 standard muffin cups generously with nonstick cooking spray.

To make the gremolata, combine the parsley, lemon zest, garlic, Parmesan, oil, salt, and pepper in a bowl and set aside. 

Peel the potatoes and slice them thinly (about ⅛ of an inch) using a sharp knife or mandolin. Add the potato slices to the gremolata and toss to coat. I use my hands to be sure to coat the potatoes evenly. Stack the potatoes to fill each muffin cup over the rim by about ½ inch. Press the stacked potatoes down firmly. Bake until the tops and edges of the potatoes are browned and the centers are tender when pierced with a fork, about 35 to 45 minutes. Remove the potatoes from the oven. Cut around each stack with a sharp knife and remove them with a spoon. Serve hot. These can be made one to two days in advance and reheated, covered, in a 300 degree oven for 20 minutes, or until heated through.  

Traditionally prepared polenta is amazing, but it takes lots of stirring and time. If you are looking for a quicker, less labor intensive method for making polenta, baking it in the oven is a nice alternative. Please, never, ever, ever, ever buy pre-made polenta in a package. It is an awful substitute for homemade. I won't say anything more about that. 

1 cup polenta
4 cups hot water
1 teaspoon salt
4 Tbs unsalted butter (or more if you like)         
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
kosher salt and ground pepper 

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine the polenta, hot water, and salt in a 8X8 pan or other 2 quart baking dish. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the liquid is almost absorbed and the polenta is creamy when stirred. Remove from the oven. 
2. Stir in the butter and the parmesan cheese. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
   Serve hot or refrigerate for later use.

Polenta Serving Notes:

• If you’d like a firm polenta for grilling, frying, or as an hors d’oeurves leave the polenta in the serving dish until the polenta is firm and cool, about 2 hours or overnight in the refrigerator.  When firm, turn polenta out onto a cutting board and cut into squares, triangles, or use a cookie cutter and cut into shapes.  
• To Grill: Brush polenta pieces with olive oil.  Grill as desired.
• To Fry: Heat butter in a sauté pan and fry pieces until light brown on both sides.  Serve hot.

Mark Bittman is an amazing recipe writter. He knows how to scrounge around in the pantry and always come up with something easy to make and delicious. Here is my adaptation of his recipe from his book "Kitchen Express". Check out his website for more recipes.  https://www.markbittman.comwww.markbittman.com

Adapted from Mark Bittman’s Kitchen Express
Serves 4
1 pound sausage meat (or ground beef or ground turkey)
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 cloves garlic, sliced
28 ounces canned diced tomatoes, drained
1 14 ounce can garbanzo beans, drained
1 tablespoon fennel seed, crushed
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper
2 cups arugula (or spinach), roughly chopped
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup flat-leafed parsley, roughly chopped
Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper to tastes
8 ounces pasta

1. Boil salted water for pasta and cook it, reserving some of the cooking liquid. 
2. Heat a large sauté pan with 2 Tbs olive oil and cook the sausage meat, breaking it up into small pieces, until cooked through.
3. Add garlic and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add diced tomatoes, chickpeas, a tablespoon of crushed fennel seeds, and red pepper flakes. Simmer for 5 minutes.
4. Toss the pasta with arugula and let it wilt.  Add the pasta to the sausage mixture, along with the butter and some pasta water if needed to moisten. Add the parsley and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve with parmesan cheese.  

Grains
Barley, Brown rice, Farro, Quinoa, Wheat berries, 
Red rice
 
Noodles
Thin spaghetti, shirataki (yam) noodles, soba noodles, rice noodles

Grain/Noodle Substitutes
Hemp Hearts, Riced cauliflower, broccoli, and cabbage, Shaved cabbage, spaghetti squash, spiralized vegetables 
 
Greens
Arugula, Kale, Swiss Chard, Lettuce, Mesclun mix, Spinach 
 
Veggies-Raw, Steamed, or Roasted
Corn, Mushrooms, Roasted potatoes or winter squash, Root veggies (carrots, beets, radishes), Broccoli, Peas, Tomatoes, Zucchini, Red peppers, Avocado,
 
Proteins
Chicken, Pork, Steak, Fish, Shrimp, Bacon, Sausage, Eggs (fried, hard boiled scrambled), Tofu, Chic Peas, Lentils, Cheese (see below)
 
Cheese
Blue cheese, Cheddar cheese, Feta, Goat cheese, Mozzarella, Queso Blanco, Paneer
 
Crunch
Almonds, Pecans, Walnuts, Panko (toasted), Peanuts, Pine Nuts, Sunflower and Pumpkin Seeds
 
Other Fun Stuff
Apples, Blueberries or Strawberries, Dried cranberries, Raisins, Apricots, Fresh herbs, Hummus, Kimchi, Olives

Dressings
(search for Dressing recipes here on my blog)
Curried Miso Dressing, Sesame Dressing, Southwest Vinaigrette, Creamy Herb Dressing, Fruit Dressing, Salsa, Asian Peanut Sauce, Pesto Dressing, Lemon Tahini Dressing

​Curry Miso Dressing
Makes 1 cup
 
2 tsp fresh ginger
2 lg garlic cloves
1 Tbs miso paste (white miso) 
1 ½ Tbs honey
1 tsp curry powder
1/3 cup rice vinegar
¼ cold water
½ cup avocado oil
 
Combine the ingredients in a blender and process until smooth. Serve immediately or refrigerate for up to 2 weeks.

​Coconut Peanut Sauce
adapted from GreenCityGrowers.com
Makes 1 ½ cups
 
2 cloves of garlic 
¼ cup soy sauce
3 Tbs toasted sesame oil 
3 Tbs rice vinegar
3 Tbs peanut oil
3 Tbs crunchy peanut butter (unsweetened)
3 Tbs honey
1/8 tsp crushed red pepper
7 ounces (1/2 can) coconut milk
 
Combine all ingredients in a blender and process until smooth.  Store in refrigerator until ready to use.

​Southwest Dressing
1 tsp Southwest seasoning: see below
3 Tbs olive oil
3 Tbs apple cider vinegar
Kosher or sea salt and fresh black pepper to taste
 
Combine all ingredients and store in an airtight container at room temperature.
 
Southwest seasoning:
¼ cup smoked paprika 
2  tsp chipotle power or ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
1 Tbs granulated garlic 
1 Tbs ground coriander 
2 tsp ground cumin 
1 tsp Kosher salt 

Ginger Sesame Dressing
​Makes 1 ½ cups
​
¼ cup Bragg Organic Apple Cider Vinegar 
½ cup olive oil, 
¼ cup sesame oil
¼ cup Bragg Liquid Aminos or soy sauce 
2 Tbs local honey 
3 cloves, organic garlic 
1 Tbs organic ginger 
1 scallion
1 Tbs organic sesame seeds 
 
Combine all ingredients in a blender or use and emersion blender.

Nigella Lawson is still the queen of food television for me. Her recipes are wonderful and her style is sexy as hell! I've discovered her website and so should you. www.nigellalawson.com 
This ice cream recipe is amazingly easy and so delicious! No more store bought ice cream for me. You may feel the same way too.

1 1/4 cups heavy cream, well-chilled
2/3 cup sweetened condensed milk (1/2 of a 14 ounce can)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste or 1/2 teaspoon rose water

1. Whisk all the ingredients together just until the whisk leaves trails of soft peaks in the bowl. 
2. Fill two 1-pint airtight containers, and freeze for 6 hours or overnight. Serve straight from the freezer.

Variations:

• To add a fruit swirl, gently swirl 1/3 cup of a fruit puree into the soft peaks then fill your containers and freeze. I use my Blueberry Sauce or 1/3 cup of raspberry puree made from fresh or frozen raspberries that I have thawed and crushed.
• Instead of pureed fruit, you can add 1/4 cup freeze dried fruit powder.
• To add fresh fruit, chop 1 cup of fruit into small pieces and add to whipped ice cream base.
• To flavor heavy cream with herbs:
  
  • Heat the heavy cream to a simmer, add 1-2 teaspoons of an herb and remove the pan from the stove. Let the cream cool to room temperature. Strain out the herb. Refrigerate the cream for 2 hours (needs to be very cold to whip properly). Add the cream as written above. Lavender, rosemary, mint, thyme, basil, lemon verbena, anise hyssop, and sage are all delicious. 
    

1 1/4     cups heavy cream, well-chilled
2/3       cup sweetened condensed milk
2          tablespoons instant espresso powder
2          tablespoons espresso liqueur

1. Whisk all the ingredients together just until the whisk leaves trails of soft peaks in the bowl, and you have a gorgeous, caffe-latte-colored airy mixture. 
2. Fill two 1-pint airtight containers, and freeze for 6 hours or overnight. Serve straight from the freezer.

 
Variations: 
Go to Nigella Lawson’s website for 6 variations for her One-Step, No-Churn Ice Cream
 https://www.nigella.com/recipes/no-churn-ice-creams

Makes one cocktail
 
1 cucumber, diced
1 large jalapeno, seeded and chopped
2 ounces Silver Tequila (bright) or Anejo Tequila (smooth)
1 ounce orange liquor (bright) or Cointreau (smooth)
1 ounce freshly squeezed lime juice
1 tsp agave syrup or simple syrup (1 part water: 1 part sugar-sugar dissolved)
1 ounce jalapeno cucumber juice (see instructions below)
Kosher salt for rim
 
For the jalapeno cucumber juice:
Place the chopped cucumber and jalapeno in a blender and smash the pieces down into the pitcher. Blend on high until liquefied, about 30 seconds. (You may need to stop the blender and smash the cucumber pieces down more to get the blade spinning again.)
Set a fine-mesh strainer over a 2-cup measuring cup and pour the liquefied cucumber mixture through the strainer. Using a rubber spatula, press on the solids to extract as much juice as possible. Discard the solids in the strainer. Refrigerate until needed
 
Prepare your glass by running a slice of lime around the outside of the rim. Turn the outside rim of the glass though salt and set aside. Add 1 cup ice to cocktail shaker. Pour in Tequila, orange liquor, lime juice, agave, and jalapeno cucumber juice. Cover and shake for 30 seconds. Pour contents into salt rimmed glass. Garnish with a wedge of lime.

1 ounce Campari
1 ounce Sweet Vermouth
1 ounce Prosecco or any dry sparkling wine
Orange peel or wheel for garnish

In a rocks or lowball glass, add Campari, sweet vermouth, and ice. Top with prosecco and stir gently to combine. Garnish with orange peel or wheel.