Moussaka

After coming in from a brisk walk along the Charles, a nice hearty dish of moussaka was just what I needed to warm me up :) I had prepared this ahead of time using a regular eggplant from the farmers market, so it reheats well. Instead of serving it over couscous, just used some spaghetti squash that was already cooked up. It was my first time trying this dish, but I really enjoyed it, so it won't be the last ;-)

BSI: Lentils

Hi everyone!! So exciting to choose this week's BSI ingredient... but then what to pick?!? I had so many ideas (most revolving around the ingredients in my fridge--I was a little overzealous at the farmers market and store), but decided to take a little different path.

I don't remember eating lentils as a kid. This was no fault of my parents (i think i recall dad liking lentil soup), more of my picky eating-- I highly doubt I would've considered the notion of consuming lentils :) I've tried them all of 3 times the past year or two, so I thought this would be a fantastic way to learn some fun new ways to prepare them!! So BRING IT!!! Link back to this post, or leave me a comment so I can pull all of your fantastical recipes together. And I'll come up with some sort of *prize* for my fav ;-)

Lentils seem pretty big around the blog world, but in case you aren't in the know (don't worry, I wasn't!), they are especially good sources of soluble and insoluble fiber, folate and magnesium (both good for your heart), iron, and protein! (I did discover that red lentils have less protein than other types... hmmm)


Just another quick note... please bear with me as I begin my new job this week!! I'll be adjusting to a new schedule and will have lots to do to in order to get started... I'll probably do some reading from trusty Google Reader, but I don't know how much time for comments there will be. I'll still be posting, as I mentioned above I got a bit excited shopping last week...

Caramel Apple Muffins

It's still fall, and I've still got apples, so here's another one for you... and since I didn't have it in me to risk another disaster, I made Apple Oat Muffins, mini style. To kick them up a notch, I threw in some Kraft mini caramels (forgot to take a picture of those, sorry! they were a Walmart find).


If you're wondering about those caramels, well, they're perfect to use in baking. But beware, they also have a tendency to jump right into your mouth. Even when they aren't adorned by apple and flour goodness. I swear. I can't buy them again...

Leftover Salmon?

This post was supposed to be about some rockin' salmon cakes/burgers... but this one needs some work. Great flavor profile (salmon, spinach, red pepper, scallion, dijon), sorry execution! All was not lost, I was really craving a burger, but all I had were mini pitas...


I don't think that would've worked, unless mini got really hungry. The pictured pattie was the only one that held it's shape. The others I made? Well... they'll make an awesome scramble tomorrow morning for breakfast :)

Butternut Spinach Rolls

Yup, more butternut squash!! The one i cooked up Sunday was HUGE, so I still had ~3c of puree left. I also had an open package of whole wheat lasagna noodles that I moved from Philly, so I decided it was about time they got used. I've probably seen this many different ways (almost threw in an "oodles of noodles" there), but I just flew by the seat of my pants on this one.

butternut-spinach-ricotta filling

Butternut Spinach Rolls (my creation)
with a Goat Cheese Sauce from Cooking Light

For the filling:
3c butternut squash flesh
1c fat-free ricotta
cinnamon, nutmeg, s/p to taste
1 pkg baby spinach (mine was 6oz), sauteed in ~1T EVOO and 1-2 cloves of garlic
(next time i'd add some shallots or other onions to the spinach mix)

1 pkg whole wheat lasagna noodles (or desired noodles)

For the sauce: (might want to do 1.5 batch if you like alot of sauce)
1T butter
2T flour
1 1/2c FF milk
1/4c water or chicken broth
2oz goat cheese
2T parm
1/4t salt
1/8t pepper
1/8t nutmeg

Mix together squash, ricotta, spinach, and spices. Taste and adjust seasonings, then set aside. (Can be done ahead of time)

Preheat oven to 350deg. Cook lasagna noodles al dente, rinse with warm water to prevent sticking.

Lay out the noodles on a plate or dish, add filling along the noodles, and roll them up. As for the amounts here, I unfortunately didn't measure. It was a good amount of filling, I just kept it towards the center-- it spread when I rolled them up. Place them in a baking dish with the seam either towards the bottom or edge of the dish to prevent unrolling. (This can also be done ahead of time, just refrigerate the rolls until you want to make the sauce and cook. Just make sure to take them out for a bit so the dish isn't too cold when it goes into the oven.)

Now to the sauce. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the flour, and cook for 30 seconds, stirring constantly with a whisk. Gradually add 1/4 cup water/broth and milk, stirring with a whisk until blended. Cook until mixture thickens (about 4 minutes). Remove from heat. Add the goat cheese, 2 tablespoons Parmesan, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and1/8 teaspoon pepper, and stir until cheese melts.

Pour sauce over assembled rolls (could add some extra grated parm on top) and bake in preheated oven ~20min or so, then dig in!!

assembled rolls

Couple more notes: I did this over a couple of days so it really seemed managable (I noted the steps where it could be done). I made the full amount of the filling, but only had 7 noodles, so I have filling leftover that I'm thinking would be awesome tossed with pasta--nice and creamy!! But I think this would work for a full lasagna-worth of rolls. I felt it needed a little something, maybe a little more kick in the filling? But very tasty :) Sorry for the lack of cross-section photo, I tried, none of themwere in focus...

right from the oven!

You put polenta in what??

Jeez louise. another oopsie (don't ask...), a cold, and a not quite fabulous attempt at baking... today was a real winner :-P I've had this recipe in my "to-try" pile for quite some time (the page said June 2005), but when Sabrina chose polenta for this week's BSI, I knew just what I was going to make! I haven't cooked much with polenta (tried it for the first time last year), so I didn't come up with one myself. Instead, this one's from Fitness of all places... Chocolate Polenta Cake!! I mean come on, a dessert with 120 calories and 4g protein per serving? Not that i didn't have two... oops :)

looks like someone didn't fold things together all that well!

Ok, so the recipe... a little strange, as it has you beat egg whites and eggs... together... i don't think i did this step long enough, but i was tired (i think this why mine was kinda flat). But it tasted good so that's all that matters! Not too dense or too chocolaty, almost reminded me of a souffle? (I question that b/c i don't think i've had too many of those, either :)) Ok, without further ado:

what a lovely fuzzy picture

Chocolate Polenta Cake
Fitness, June 2005

1c plus 2T skim milk
2 1/2T polenta

2/3c semi-sweet choc chips

3T sugar
2 large eggs
4 large egg whites

1T unsweetened applesauce
1/2t baking powder

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In medium saucepan, over hi heat, bring milk to a boil then whisk in polenta (watch this if you really do have it on hi heat milk will boil over quickly!!). Lower heat and whisk constantly for 3-5min, until thickened. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.

In med saucepan, melt choclate over very low heat. Stir in polenta mixture, then set aside. (I actually did this in a double broiler b/c of the next step--I just swapped out bowls)

In a bowl over simmering water, whisk together eggs, egg whites, and sugar until warm (you don't want to cook them!) Remove from heat and beat on hi until mixture is 6-8 times original volume.

Stir applesauce into chocolate mixture and mix well. Fold 1/5 of egg mixture into chocolate. Sprinkle with baking powder and gently combine. Slowly fold in remaining egg mixture 1/3 at a time. Pour batter into 8" square baking pan coated with cooking spray. Bake for 25-30min. Cool on a wire rack.

New to Me: R+D Kitchen and M Cafe

Yabu, Il Fornaio and Musha are my favorite restaurants. They have great food and they're comfortable and affordable. I'd go to them every week if I could. Having said that, without realizing it, I'd fallen into a rut. It took my wife, Michelle, to shake things up and get me to try two new restaurants.

R+D Kitchen (310-395-3314) is part of the Hillstone restaurant group that includes Bandera, Gulfstream, and Houston's among others. Recently opened at 1323 Montana Avenue in Santa Monica, R+D took over an address that was something of a black hole. Montana Lounge and Yu Restaurant had failed. Even a successful entrenpeneur like Wolfgang Puck couldn't make the space work for him. With the Aero theater directly across the street, this should be a good location.

Good design makes such a difference. The previous tenants had sealed off the space, creating dark interiors. Walking into the restaurant, it's easy to see that R+D came up with a fresh approach. With a minimalist design, a skylight in the middle of the dining room, an L-shaped bar to one side, and windows that open out onto Montana, R+D is inviting both inside and out.

Running along the street side of the restaurant is a window space that in warm weather is covered by almost invisible screen. The effect is complete openness.

A single sheet, bar-style menu focuses on a few choices: sandwiches (cheeseburgers, Reuben Sandwiches, Veggie Burgers), salads (Mediterranean tuna salad, chopped chicken salad, and an heirloom tomato salad), a few entrees (chicken, pasta, omelet, and steak), and one or two specials.

The night we visited the restaurant we came early while it was still light, all the better to enjoy the airy interior. The portions are large. The Featured Sandwich for the day was an ahi tuna burger which the kitchen obliged us by splitting. We shared a salad as well. The Newporter was a perfect salad entree, with pieces of roast chicken sharing the plate with a mix of apples, bacon, cashews and greens. Judging by the crowded tables and with a lively bar and a good wine list, R+D certainly seems to have hit a sweet spot on Montana.

M Café (310/838-4300) adds a macrobiotic kitchen to the ever-expanding restaurant row on Culver Blvd. Like R+D, M Café is a member of a larger family of restaurants. The Chaya organization in Los Angeles has always been known as a design-savvy company with an eye on fusion cuisine. M Café in Culver City is an inviting restaurant with a large space inside and a shaded patio out front. With its refrigerated cases, the offerings have the feeling of an upscale deli.

If you think that "macrobiotic" means a subsistence diet of whole grains and raw vegetables, you will be pleasantly surprised. M Café bends the rules to include fish. An avoidance of refined sugar, eggs, or dairy doesn't mean that the pleasures of the patisserie are ignored.

An extensive menu offers salads, rice bowls, sandwiches (hot and cold), sushi, and desserts. As befits a restaurant that has "fusion" embedded in its corporate identity, Cole slaw comfortably shares space in the deli display with whole-grain brown rice inari sushi.

Since Michelle has recently embraced a whole grain, sugar-free, largely vegetarian diet, M Café is a dream-spot for her. With the original M Café at 7119 Melrose, she can enjoy her new diet on the West Side and in town as well.