Eating healthy is a way of life, some may argue that it is a boring way of life. They might say, food is about passion, and that you shouldn’t dumb down that passion through making it healthy all the time. I am certainly one to splurge but I really believe that some of the healthiest foods are the tastiest. For me there is no question of what I would prefer given the choice of a nice juicy marbled steak with Bearnaise sauce or a sushi roll. Who can argue that fresh vegetables from the garden are something most of us look forward to every year?

A list of my favorite foods include cheese, beans, hummus, olives, yogurt, papaya, salads of all varieties, avocados, almonds, artisan bread, ice cream and nice fresh sushi. So for me, healthy does not equal tasteless or boring – to me it equals fresh, unrefined, un-tampered with goodness. “Healthy” means something different to different people. For me, it is about moderation and the above qualifications are more important than calories and fat, calories and fat are natural, they are in everything, there is good and bad and they are important for a balanced diet. For me it is more important that my food is free of chemicals, hormones, additives, preservatives and dyes. So when you think about that, a diet of all my favorite foods fit into my category of “healthy”.

Here is another Leftover Queen classic! It was one of those meals which kind of cleaned out the fridge of Farmers Market finds and the pantry of dry goods . I made this when we were spending a weekend at home and had some time to kill. Usually if we are home on the weekend, we spend one day making and prepping food for the following week. We made bread, ice cream, sauces and usually a nice meal – that will produce leftovers!

When we made this we had some for dinner one night and then the next day, ate it like a cold salad at the beach. It is so flavorful, healthy and full of goodness. This made quite a lot so we had lots for lunches the following week.

This is one of those recipes that you can substitute anything you like. For us, the combination of the shrimp, pine nuts and raisins backed by the curry flavor was amazing! I am submitting this in Ben and Ivy‘s Fat Chefs or Skinny Gourmets event promoting healthy foods. I wanted to show that cooking healthy is a lifestyle and not something that needs a lot of planning to achieve. If you have a well stocked pantry full of whole grains, legumes and whole wheat pastas, as well as a freezer and fridge full of vegetables that have already been washed and are ready to use, cooking healthy is a breeze. You can create awesome stir fries, couscous, hash and healthy pasta and bean dishes in a flash.

Healthy foods are not boring, especially when you are using local, seasonal produce that is at the height of flavor and freshness in tandem with what is already in your pantry.
Read the rest of this entry »

Okay guys, Brussel Sprout season is coming to an end, so I wanted to give them a little tribute since I love them so much. I know they have a pretty bad reputation out there. I also know I am talking to people who really appreciate food so I am guessing you guys are a little more open minded about these cute little mini-cabbages and probably there are many of you reading this right now that also adore this vegetable! However, I am sure there are a few of you who are turning their nose up as we speak. So just hear me out, okay?

Lately I have seen lots of recipes out on the net targeting people who hate Brussel Sprouts – so here I am to give you a few more
recipes for your arsenal to welcome the members of the brassica (Brussel sprouts, cauliflower and cabbages) family onto your plate.

First, is my classic recipe where I just steam them and then throw them in a pan to sautee with onions, garlic and toss with a home made honey mustard vinaigrette. Sometimes I add a bit of bacon when I am sauteeing and it is a delicious side dish or main meal. I love this recipe so much, I got into the habit of making Brussel sprouts this way all the time, so I decided we needed to change it up a bit. So I did. I had a bunch of little bits of stuff in the fridge that needed to be used up, so I went with that as my inspiration.

This new way is even better than my old way and you will love it too!
Read the rest of this entry »

I love polenta – it is total comfort food and a great base for a variety of vegetables and great with tomato sauce and cheese. My favorite way to make polenta is with sundried tomatoes, olives, cheese and spinach-  put it in the fridge until it gets hard, dust it with flour and pan fry in olive oil. Served with a hearty tomato sauce it is really one of the best things to eat. This time though, I didn’t feel like frying the polenta. I wanted something lighter but still comforting and flavorful, so I decided to use the polenta rectangles as a base for lasagna. It was really good and something I will certainly make again.

This is also my contribution to Marie of Proud Italian Cook and Maryann of Finding La Dolce Vita ‘s Event: Festa Italiana. All Entries due March 22nd. Please click on either of their links for participation guidelines!
Read the rest of this entry »

Soup doesn’t always have to be a long and involved process. I love quick and easy soup recipes using things I normally have stocked away in my pantry and fridge – that’s what being the LeftoverQueen is all about, right? I love spending hours experimenting in the kitchen but sometimes even I am in a rush and need a quick but healthy meal. To me soup is the opposite end of the coin from salad – both use lots of veggies and healthy ingredients – just one is hot and one is cold. Here is one of those easy, healthy and delicious recipes straight from the pantry!
Read the rest of this entry »

Here is a Leftover Queen classic! Remember all those greens from the Farmer’s Market several week ago?

Well even with all my recipes that week, I still couldn’t use all the greens, so I washed some and stored them away in the freezer. I also had leftover tomatoes in juice from the Imam Bayildi and then there was the issue of random pieces of veggies in my vegetable bin. I also had purchased a small piece of lamb shoulder at the store, perfect for soup. I went into the pantry and found a can of cannellini beans and a package of rice pilaf. Put this all together and what do you have – an AWESOME stew. I am telling you guys, the flavors in here really really rock. It’s got a bit of the Middle East happening in here since I spiced it up with Sumac and Za’atar, a dash of coriander and a bay leaf and the world is a warm bowl of stew. We ate some for dinner, had it for lunch the next day and put the rest in the freezer for next week, so we can have leftovers of leftovers!

Here’s what I did.
Read the rest of this entry »

Mushrooms were on sale this week – two for one. There was some phyllo dough in the fridge needing use. Recently I saw Michael Chiarello make a mushroom tart and a plan came together. I love mushrooms, they are rich and satisfying and can easily be the focal point of any dinner as they are a wonderful and healthy substitute for meat. They stand up to spicy and flavorful sauces and give an earthy balance to anything you can cook up. This tart was savory and delicious. I ate two pieces and easily could have had more because it tasted so good. The fresh pepper and nutmeg gave the mushrooms even more earthiness and went well with the tangy-ness of the Greek yogurt. This is a perfect dish for those crisp fall days that are upon us!

Read the rest of this entry »

We needed to go to the store BAD. There was just nothing in the house to eat. I could hear an echo in the fridge when I closed the door for about the 5th time, hoping that if I opened it again, I would find inspiration in the worst of times. Afterall, what kind of Leftover Queen was I if I was not able to find SOMETHING to eat! It was lunch hour and our stomachs were growling. I needed to make something, that was obvious, but what? Open the fridge…AGAIN… stare for a few minutes MORE. I was beginning to feel rather stumped and annoyed with myself for lacking all this food creativity. Hurumph.

Wait. Today was the day that my Honey Hazelnut Semifreddo had been made and we had leftover eggs that did not whip properly and they needed to be used – not gonna waste 3 egg whites on my watch! There was also some bread in the fridge and cream cheese, thoughts of lunch were beginning to form. Somewhere recently we had heard about stuffed French toast and it sounded really good, but we needed something else to round out this meal. One quick look in the freezer and there it was – Frozen mango! Perfect. Mango Stuffed French Toast!
Read the rest of this entry »

Here is a quick reminder that the voting for this month’s Royal Foodie Joust challenge is underway. So please stop by the forum to place the vote for your favorite!

Now on to Ratatouille!

Ratatouille is the perfect summer dish as it incorporates all of the season’s bountiful vegetables like eggplant, zucchini and bell peppers so it is a perfect way to close out the summer, which is quickly drawing to an end. For those with a nightshade allergy or sensitivity this is the worst thing you can eat, but for those of us fortunate enough not to have that issue, it is a welcomed treat and a solution to a surplus of summer vegetables.

Ratatouille, besides being the name of a wonderful movie, it is a traditional French Provencal comfort food – a dish of stewed vegetables. It can be served as it is with a nice crusty bread for scarpetta – the Italian word for “sopping up the juices” or wiping your plate clean with a piece of crusty bread – something I am a pro at! Clearly the Italians are smart to actually have one word to describe this phenomenon! Or you can serve your ratatouille as a filling for crepes, or over pasta for a wonderful change of pace. This recipe can be modified in one hundred different ways. We had some leftover juices from a Chicken Chianti I did (will be posting that recipe soon) and so I used this as a base to stew the vegetables in. I also added some sun dried tomatoes for an extra sweet and summery element. Bon Appetite!
Read the rest of this entry »