My friend Brian taught me this recipe. Well, actually, funny story. It’s more truthful to say that my friend Brian was making this recipe, and luckily I came for dinner early because he was about to royally screw it up. Although this recipe is really easy, you do have to separate the eggs and whip the whites, then yolks, to soft peak. He didn’t really get what that was all about so he was just planning to dump them all in there a little stirred up. Crisis averted, dusty hand mixer pulled from back of cabinet, teamwork prevailed!

This soup has a very interesting, almost mousse-like texture. It is really rich tasting, lemony, and frothy. A definite hit that’s one of my go-to recipes. The chicken flavor reeeeeally does it for me but you could go vegetarian with a mushroom or vegetable broth.

Avgolemono
this amount will serve 6-8, depending on what else you’re going to serve with it.

Ingredients:

• 8 cups chicken broth (best quality you can find, or homemade ideally*)
• 1 cup orzo  or rice
• 4 eggs, separated
• juice of 3 lemons
• salt to taste
• chopped mint or cilantro for garnish

Method:

• Heat the broth until it boils, then add the orzo or rice and simmer until tender, about 20 min.
• Meanwhile, whip the egg whites until they hold medium peaks.
• While beating continuously add the yolks and then the lemon juice.
• Temper the egg mixture by adding 2 cups of the hot chicken broth in a slow, constant stream while continuing to beat so that you do not curdle the eggs.
• Add the tempered egg mixture back into the remaining broth and combine. Taste and add salt if needed.
• Garnish with mint or cilantro.
• You can make it ahead, but heat it up slowly over low heat so the eggs don’t cook too much.

* Here is a link to a recipe for homemade chicken stock. But don’t get me wrong. I never make chicken stock because I am LAZY. Occasionally I buy fancy stock from a fancy store but also I am CHEAP so that’s not my norm. For those of you who make stock, GOOD JOB. You are better than me and I bow to you. For those of you who are lazy and cheap, here is my secret to success: I like Pacific organic chicken stock (from Whole Foods, NOT reduced sodium, iww) with a couple of those semi-weird liquid concentrated chicken stock packet thingies (also from Whole Foods, or Trader Joes).

Here in San Francisco we’re enjoying the delicious days of Indian summer- after being shrouded in fog through July and August, our warm September days come and shower us with summer sun. As such, it’s time to use up the last of the summer produce and highlight it a few more times, before saying goodbye until next summer.

You might be wondering why this salad is Buddha-Approved. My friend Linsey was visiting from New York, and we were cooking together. She was explaining that in essence, the Buddha’s diet advice was to eat things that were all different colors for the best nutrition and health. I have no idea if that’s true, but it sounds good and makes sense. Ergo she and I chose vegetablesof all different colors for our salad, including these pretty dark purple wax beans.

They lost some of their color in the cooking process but I think Buddha would still approve.

Buddha-Approved End of Summer Salad

Serves 4 as an appetizer. You don’t really have to measure the vegetables- feel free to eyeball, adjust, and play as much as you like.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 lb purple wax beans (green or yellow is OK if you can’t find purple)
• 1 cob white corn
• 3 cups arugula
• 1 cup mixed color heirloom cherry tomatoes, chopped in half
• 1 1/2 tsp dijon or grainy mustard
• 1/4 cup hazelnut or walnut oil
• 2 T white wine vinegar
• 1 tsp finely chopped marjoram
• 2 T finely chopped shallots
• juice of 1 lemon
• salt and pepper to taste
• olive oil for sauteing

Method:

• Trim the beans and chop into 1 inch pieces. Cut corn off cob.
• Saute beans and corn briefly in a small amount of olive oil and a sprinkle of salt, just to tenderize. Remove from heat and set aside.
• Combine mustard, oil, vinegar, marjoram, shallots, lemon juice, and salt and pepper until thoroughly mixed. (I like to do this in a jar so it’s easy to mix by shaking the jar.) Taste and adjust seasoning as necessary.
• Toss arugula, corn, beans, and tomatoes in serving bowl with dressing. Serve immediately.

On a recent trip to Vieques, Puerto Rico, we ate at a fantastic little restaurant called El Quenepo. I loved their grilled caesar salad and thought that while the dish was fresh in my mind, I’d try making a version at home. Grilling the romaine hearts adds a fantastic layer of smoky complexity that compliments the strong flavors of the dressing.

Vieques is a notoriously, unabashedly casual place, and El Quenepo is probably the “fanciest” restaurant on the whole island. I say that in quotes because, well, nothing on Vieques could remotely be referred to as fancy- we’re talking about a restaurant with a hand-painted sign and no glass in the window frames. Still, it’s an utterly charming place with a laid-back island aesthetic and an adventurous, sophisticated fusion menu. The owners are a young couple from Virginia who encourage local farmers on Vieques to grow food for use in the restaurant, which is a real treat in the Caribbean, where most folks don’t emphasize the importance of eating locally. If you find yourself in Vieques, I highly encourage you to head to the Malecón in Esperanza and give El Quenepo a try.

A few notes about the recipe:

1. This would work better on a BBQ grill, but alas, I don’t have one, so I used a grill pan, which worked just fine.
2. For the bread for the croutons, you can really use anything. I used sliced sourdough that had gone a bit stale.
3. If you’re uncomfortable using a raw egg yolk, you can leave it out.
4. If you prefer your caesar with anchovies, you can add 3 to the dressing and/or you can place them on top of the salad when you plate it!

Grilled Caesar Salad

serves 2 as a main course; 4 as a side.

Ingredients:

• 1-2 slices bread
• garlic salt to taste
• 3/4 cup grated parmigiano or pecorino cheese
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1 clove garlic, peeled
• 1 raw egg yolk
• 1/4 cup good quality extra virgin olive oil
• 2 Tblsp slivered almonds
• salt and pepper
• 2 small heads of romaine
• extra olive oil for grilling and toasting

Method:

• Make the croutons: Cut bread into 1/2 inch cubes. Heat a generous amount of olive oil in a non-stick saute pan (at least a couple tablespoons). Add bread cubes and a healthy sprinkle of garlic salt to the oil. The bread will quickly soak up the oil. Add more as needed (don’t be afraid you’re adding too much because in this case there’s practically no such thing.) Taste and add more garlic salt as necessary. Cook bread cubes until toasty on all sides, flipping often. Remove to bowl and set aside.
• Make the dressing: Put cheese, lemon juice, garlic, yolk, oil, almonds, and salt and pepper in a food processor or blender. Blend until thick and creamy, scraping down sides in between. Set aside.
• Grill the romaine: Cut the romaine lengthwise, leaving the hard connector part on the bottom intact (you’ll remove it later.) Heat a grill or grill pan to very very hot. Brush the cut side of the romaine with olive oil and sprinkle with coarse salt and pepper. Press the cut side onto the grill or pan, checking every 5-10 seconds (it will cook very quickly.) You don’t want the lettuce to wilt too much, just to get the cut side smoky and grilled.
• Assembly: Place romaine on plate and sprinkle croutons around. Drizzle dressing over.

Before I say anything else let me tell you that THIS WHOLE DINNER HAS UNDER 200 CALORIES and is VERY TASTY AND FULFILLING!!! OK, I’ll stop yelling at you now so you can look at the picture.

Now I have never been into dieting or counting calories, but from time to time, often around the start of swimsuit season, I begin to eye my middle section and think that it’s starting to look like Costco up in here with all these muffin tops. This extra unwanted pudge is most likely a result of my personal interpretation of the food pyramid, which, if I’m being honest, looks about like this:

From this pyramid you may deduce a few things. Such as: I am a food hedonist and I really don’t like to deny myself anything. I like to eat animals and gorge on starches. I loves me some wine and meat… and butter, heavy cream, and cheese are all vying for the role of “Karen’s BFF.” So, my goal is to change up my pyramid a bit while still maintaining my lust for life and all of its edible/drinkable wonders. This will mean reinforcing some good habits and rewiring some bad ones. I am aiming for a pyramid that’s more like this:

I’m also in love with this iPhone app called LoseIt! which lets you set calorie goals and then log all of your exercise and  food. It’s great at helping me figure out what some of my good and bad habits are! Tonight my goal was to eat something really tasty, filling, and low calorie, since I had totally crammed a huuuuge bagel with ginormous snowy peaks of cream cheese for breakfast, and I had a fair bit of wine last night (I’m going to let you interpret the phrase “a fair bit” however you wish…) I decided it would be fun to challenge myself tonight.

I wouldn’t have believed it was possible until I did it. But I am here to tell you: I am virtuous. I ate my veggies. I got my balance. My pyramid is turning a corner. I am still full, hours later. And I did it all for 190 calories. But don’t be afraid! I have sacrificed NO deliciousness for this meal. It’s the real deal: and I didn’t even have any wine or butter or bacon to go with it.

Asian Chopped Salad with Tuna and Mint

serves one.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 carrot, peeled and grated
• 1/2 cup alfalfa sprouts
• 5-7 mint leaves, chopped finely
• 1 1/2 cups spinach leaves, roughly chopped
• 2 scallions, chopped finely
• 1 three oz. can solid white albacore tuna in water, drained
• 1-2 tsp fresh lemon juice
• 1-2 tsp fresh grated ginger
• 1/2 tsp rice vinegar
• 1/2 tsp sesame oil
• 1/2 tsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp vegetable oil
• salt and pepper

Method:

• Combine veggies, mint, and tuna in a bowl and toss.
• Mix together lemon juice, ginger, oils, vinegar, soy sauce, and salt and pepper to taste.
• Toss dressing with salad.
• Bask in the imagined glory of how thin your thighs would look if you ate like this every night!

The calorie breakdown, with the amounts in the recipe, in case you’re interested…

• 1/2 carrot: 13 calories
• 1/2 cup sprouts: 4 calories
• 5 mint leaves: 3 calories
• 1 1/2 cup spinach: 15 calories
• 2 scallions: 6 calories
• 3 oz. tuna: 80 calories
• 1 tsp. lemon juice: 4 calories
• 1 tsp ginger: 2 calories
• 1/2 tsp rice vinegar: 3 calories
• 1/2 tsp sesame oil: 20 calories
• 1 tsp vegetable oil: 40 calories
• 1/2 tsp soy sauce: 1 calorie
• GRAND TOTAL >>> 190 CALORIES!
  

I bought some fresh ahi tuna yesterday and envisioned searing it and serving it over some tasty Asian noodles, but that didn’t happen. We wanted to eat a light dinner tonight because we’re going to a “holiday” party (yep, in January) and are unsure of the potential food options at the event. I made a mixture in the food processor and seared half of it onto the tuna, then tossed the rest with some microgreens. A lovely, tangy, fresh and healthy meal!

Note: I’m calling it “Vietnamesque” instead of “Vietnamese” because I don’t want to front or anything. You know, because I just made it up and I’m not Vietnamese.

Vietnamesque Seared Ahi Salad
serves 2.

Ingredients:

• 2 Tblsp packed mint leaves
• 2 Tblsp packed cilantro leaves
• 1 shallot
• 1 small jalapeño, seeded and chopped (optional)
• 1/2 tsp grated fresh ginger
• 3 Tblsp slivered almonds
• 1/2 tsp rice vinegar
• juice of 1 lime
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1 Tblsp sesame oil
• 1 Tblsp vegetable oil
• salt and pepper
• 2 small ahi tuna steaks
• about 2-3 oz microgreens (or greens of your choosing- I found the microgreens at Trader Joe’s)

Method:

• In a food processor or blender, combine mint, cilantro, shallot, jalapeño (if using), ginger, and 2 Tblsp almonds. Pulse until chopped.
• Add vinegar, lime juice, sugar, 2 tsp sesame oil, vegetable oil, salt and pepper and pulse until well-blended and saucy but not perfectly smooth.
• Heat 2 tsp sesame oil in a flat pan. Meanwhile rinse ahi steaks and dry very well. When oil is hot, use tongs to sear all sides of the tuna. (If tuna is less than 1/2 inch thick, you can just sear on each side. If it’s thicker than that, you should sear the edges as well as the large flat sides, by holding the fish on edge in the pan with the tongs for ~30 seconds each side.)
• When done, smear about 1/4 of the sauce on one side of each tuna steak and flip over to cook for about 10 seconds. Mixture will brown almost immediately. Remove fish to cutting board, sauce side up.
• Toss microgreens with remaining sauce. (Start with one Tblsp and add more as desired.) Arrange on plates.
• Slice tuna in large pieces and lay over greens. Crush remaining Tblsp of almonds in your hand and sprinkle on top. Serve immediately.