I was super excited when my good friend Eva asked if we would like to use her family’s farm share while they visit her parents in Austria for the next few weeks. Eva is inspirational because she works full time as a pulmonary pediatrician and is raising the two most adorable one year old twins you’ve ever seen. She somehow does it all and still finds time to cook most nights! We are always trading tips and food magazines (my Bon Appetit for her Fine Cooking) and I’m hoping she’ll treat us to a guest post at some point!

Anyway, I thought it was a perfect chance to see if we could actually use all the veggies in a farm share every week before getting one for ourselves. Look at the haul – organic red onion, baby spinach, Swiss chard, lettuce, grapefruit, apples, parsley, golden beets, sweet potatoes, Yukon potatoes, and carrots! Apolinaras immediately claimed the grapefruit and sweet potatoes, and then I set about the task of figuring out what to do with the rest of the goodies!

I set the potatoes and golden beets aside so I could make a mash of them to serve alongside Tom Colicchio’s braised short ribs on Valentine’s Day (which the carrots and onions went into). The short ribs were amazing by the way, and I highly recommend the recipe! My next order of business was tackling the Swiss chard, which I was curious about but had never used before. I knew it could be cooked similarly to spinach but tends to a little bitter, so I decided to use it in a quinoa side dish with my sweet leftover sweet golden raisins. Eva also suggested pine nuts went well with the greens, so I tossed some of those in too, along with garlic, onions, and a bit of lemon juice for some acid.

I settled on pairing the quinoa with champagne poached salmon, which was one of the entrée choices at our wedding, because I stumbled upon a super old bottle of sweet champagne at the back of our liquor stash when I was looking for the ingredients for our Valentine’s Day cocktails. I used to like sweet champagne but my tastes have changed and I’m a fan of the dryer stuff now – I think this particular bottle moved with us from Chicago over 2 years ago! This was a wonderful way to finally finish it off. The champagne flavor is subtle, but you can definitely taste it, and the salmon paired well with the quinoa. Thanks so much to Eva for the farm share – I’m already looking forward to picking up next week’s box!

Champagne Salmon with Swiss Chard Quinoa
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
2/3 cup quinoa
1 1/3 cups chicken stock
1 bottle sweet champagne
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1 dried bay leaf
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3 salmon filets (ours were 7 ounces each)
1/3 cup pine nuts
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup chopped red onion
1 garlic clove, minced
1 bunch Swiss chard, stem removed and coarsely chopped (2 packed cups)
1/3 cup golden raisins
Juice of half a lemon

Directions:
Place quinoa and chicken stock in a stockpot over high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, place a lid on the pot, and simmer 10 to 15 minutes or until all water is absorbed.

Place champagne, vinegar, bay leaf, and 1 teaspoon salt in a stockpot over high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and bring liquid to a simmer. Place salmon filets in the pot and simmer for 10 minutes or until salmon is cooked through.

Meanwhile, place pine nuts in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat and sauté for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring frequently, or until toasted. Remove pine nuts from the skillet and pour in olive oil. Sauté red onion for 5 to 7 minutes or until tender; add garlic and sauté one additional minute. Stir in Swiss chard and sauté for 3 to 5 minutes or until wilted.

Place cooked quinoa in a large bowl and stir in cooked Swiss chard, pine nuts, raisins, lemon juice, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt. Serve poached salmon over quinoa. Makes 3 servings.

Nutrition: 684 calories, 30.1g fat, 7.0g fiber, 50.0g protein per serving
Cost: $5.54 per serving (not counting the champagne)

I just got back from San Diego, where I attended a conference for work. The days were packed with lectures and the hotel was a bit isolated on Coronado Island, so I didn’t actually get to spend any time sightseeing. Good thing I’ve already been to San Diego a couple times! I did enjoy the amazing weather and got to see my friend John, who was nice enough to pick me up from the hotel. We had seafood at Peohe’s, where I enjoyed fantastic coconut crusted shrimp and mahi mahi with a banana and Frangelico sauce – yum! The food at the hotel was actually pretty good too and I’m still thinking about the tempura wasabi tuna wrap I had for lunch one day. I was disappointed that I didn’t get any Mexican food though. After trying tamales for the first time in Phoenix, I really wanted to sample some more authentic dishes!

Since I was still craving Mexican when I got home, I decided to whip up some enchiladas. But, my plans changed when I realized we didn’t have any tortillas! Luckily I had some polenta on hand from Trader Joe’s (I impulsively purchased it a few weeks ago with no plans for it) and decided to top polenta rounds with my shredded chicken mixture. This was a really easy dish and the polenta reminded me of those delicious tamales!

Mexican Polenta Rounds
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 18-ounce precooked polenta roll, cut into 8 round slices
1 chicken breast, cooked and shredded (I poached mine)
1/2 cup black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup frozen corn, cooked
1/2 cup prepared enchilada sauce
1 4.5-ounce chopped green chiles, drained
1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:
Heat olive oil over medium high heat in a large nonstick skillet and cook polenta rounds for 5 to 7 minutes on each side or until golden brown.

Meanwhile, mix shredded chicken, black beans, corn, enchilada sauce, green chiles, and red onion in a medium bowl.

Preheat broiler. Place cooked polenta rounds on a greased cookie sheet and top evenly with chicken mixture (pile them up as high as they’ll go without toppling over – I did have a little extra chicken mixture). Sprinkle evenly with cheddar cheese and broil for 3 to 5 minutes or until chicken is warmed though and cheese is melted. Makes 2 servings.

Nutrition: 700 calories, 23.0g fat, 11.6g fiber, 48.9g protein per serving
Cost: $2.85 per serving

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! I’m in the lobby of the Bright Angel lodge at the Grand Canyon right now sitting next to the fireplace, drinking hot chocolate, and taking advantage of the free internet! Apolinaras and my brother Richard braved a snow and ice covered slippery trail down into the canyon today, but since I’m a bit of a klutz, I decided to walk around the South rim with my parents. Talk about gorgeous views! Phoenix was very warm though, and we all had fun hiking up a rocky Camelback Mountain trail, where a festively decorated Christmas tree and bush greeted us at the top of the peak. Richard even left a little ornament on the tree! It’s been so great spending time with everyone!

Food wise, I’ve really been enjoying all the delicious Southwestern flavors, so I was inspired to share this easy and tasty quesadilla recipe. This isn’t an authentic recipe, but it’s still one of my favorites because two types of salsa are involved! The quesadillas are filled with salsa and cheddar cheese and then served with fresh Pico de Gallo on top. So delicious! I did make Christmas dinner (chicken parm and lemon garlic shrimp pasta) and brunch (egg casserole, bacon, and pastries) with a very limited supply of dishes and ingredients in our condo in Phoenix, but I already can’t wait to get back into my own kitchen and work on some ideas that have been brewing on our trip!

Chicken Salsa Quesadillas
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into small chunks
1 16-ounce jar salsa
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
1/4 cup chopped red onion
Juice of 1 lime
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 8-inch whole wheat tortillas
2 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:
Heat olive oil over medium high heat in a large nonstick skillet and sauté chicken for 6 to 8 minutes, stirring frequently, or until no longer pink in the center. Mix cooked chicken with salsa in a large bowl.

Meanwhile, make the Pico de Gallo by mixing chopped tomatoes, red onion, lime juice, cilantro, and salt in a large bowl.

Preheat broiler. Place 3 tortillas on a large greased cookie sheet. Spread half the shredded cheese evenly on the tortillas; top with the chicken mixture, the remainder of the cheese, and the remaining 3 tortillas. Place quesadillas in the oven and broil for 2 to 5 minutes on each side, or until cheese is melted and quesadillas are heated through. Cut tortillas into 4 wedges and top with Pico de Gallo. Makes 8 servings.

Nutrition: 366 calories, 15.8g fat, 4.5g fiber, 32.5g protein per serving
Cost: $1.36 per serving

I’ve been looking forward to this week for awhile now, because I get to see my good friend Susie not once, but twice, in two different cities! Susie is one of my best friends from college. We initially bonded as partners in organic chemistry lab, where we amused ourselves (and horrified our TA) by bringing in a CD player and dancing along to Salt-N-Pepa in the middle of lab. She’s been my favorite person to hit the dance floor with ever since! Her hubby Brian had business in Boston earlier this week and she tagged along, so we got to have dinner with them at Giacomo’s in the North End, and then Susie and I had lunch the next day and she checked out our lab. And, to top things off, we’re both going to a wedding this weekend in Chicago, where we still can’t wait to hit the dance floor, 10 years later!

We usually don’t gravitate towards Italian restaurants, since I can cook many Italian favorites decently at home, but Giacomo’s specializes in seafood and everything there is unique and incredible! They don’t take reservations, so you have to wait in line, but it’s so worth it – I always have to stop myself from licking the plate! One of my favorite dishes is an addicting butternut squash ravioli served with a mascarpone cream sauce and asparagus. I was really inspired by the butternut squash and pasta pairing, but wanted to lighten things up a bit, so I made a sauce of roasted butternut squash, spinach, buttermilk, and rosemary, and then tossed it with whole wheat pasta. Mmmm, this was a great way to enjoy butternut squash!

Roasted Butternut Squash and Spinach Penne Pasta
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 butternut squash, cut in half lengthwise and seeded
1 pound whole wheat penne pasta
1 cup chopped shallots
1 clove garlic, minced
1 10-ounce package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and well drained
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup milk
2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh rosemary
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400˚F. Use a pastry brush to evenly brush flesh side of the squash halves with 1 teaspoon olive oil and place flesh side down on a greased cookie sheet. Bake at 400˚F for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until tender. Let squash cool for 10 minutes. Remove flesh from the squash halves with a spoon and mash with a fork until smooth (my yield was 2 cups).

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain the pasta in a colander, return it to the pot, and keep warm.

Heat remaining 2 teaspoons olive oil in a large skillet and cook shallots for 5 to 7 minutes or until tender. Add garlic and cook 1 additional minute. Add spinach and roasted mashed butternut squash to the pan. Stir in buttermilk, milk, rosemary, and salt and stir until smooth, about 2 minutes. Mix pasta and sauce until the sauce evenly coats all the ingredients. Sprinkle parmesan cheese over each serving. Makes 6 servings.

Nutrition: 403 calories, 6.8g fat, 12.6g fiber, 19.1g protein per serving
Cost: $1.05 per serving