Calling all yogurt enthusiasts!

I never liked greek yogurt until this last year and even now I have a difficult time remembering which kinds I've tried and liked or hated. I love that you get a hefty serving of protein with greek yogurt since I don't always have a protein like chicken or shrimp or meat during other parts of the day. They are definitely not all equal - some are thicker than others, some are sweeter, some have fruit at the bottom. While I know it's sort of like comparing apples and oranges, I thought I would set off to actually keep track of the different kinds I've been trying and share my thoughts with you all on the 6 varieties below!

Dannon Oikos - Peach
Fruit on the Bottom, Greek Nonfat Yogurt (5.3oz, 130 calories, 12g protein, 19g sugar)

Tasting this yogurt is what made me write this post. I wanted a reminder to never buy this kind again. It tastes really artifically sweet, and even after adding some granola I still couldn't enjoy it. What a waste of good trader joe's granola! It's the usual greek consistency - pretty thick, and has chopped up peach at the bottom which seems to be in some sort of thick syrup that means you definitely need to stir well before adding anything. I think I decided to try this kind because it was on sale last week at the grocery store - maybe 10 for $10. Not worth it, sorry! I felt bad wasting and tried to force a few mouthfuls down, though didn't make it very far. Unfortunately I have another one of these sitting in my fridge - any takers?! Maybe I can use it for a smoothie and it will mask the flavor a bit. Update: I used it for a smoothie and it was fine for that use!

Let's Talk About Food Festival @ MOS

More than a month ago I stopped by this great event organized by the Museum of Science as a part of their Let's Talk About Food Series. A big shout out goes out to Lisa and her team from the MOS - as it turns out, the team I used to intern with at the MOS was running the event. Their goal was to bring together people to celebrate food, health, cooking and science - all along the Cambridge Parkway and the Charles. I planned to just swing by and look around, but ended up staying for a good four hours. Due to the rainy day the turnout wasn't great - but it meant that I got great front row seats and lots of face time with exhibitors. They had a big tent set up with the main stage - where various local celebrity chefs presented different dishes and sessions, in addition to a long line of exhibitors running all along the Charles. The Museum of Science was also marketing their new exhibit - Around the World in 80 Diets, which I'm hoping to check out next.

I arrived just in time to see Jody Adams (of Rialto in Cambridge) present her session on cooking with lobster - and the program listed a special guest, who turned out to be Deval Patrick! I was a big fan of Adams on Masterchef on Bravo, so this was so fun for me to watch. She talked about her new restaurant coming - called Trade (at Atlantic and Congress in South Boston), and the importance of cooking within the season. They introduced Governor Patrick as a secret foodie who likes to be the cook at home for his family. Just like me, he talked about going to farmers market, seeing what looks good and then cooking what he finds! He even joked that he often catches his State Troopers on his security team watching the Food Network. They showed us how to split a lobster for their recipe - a Lobster Salad with Citrus Vinaigrette. The vinaigrette sounded delicious - with tarragon, lemon and orange zest, olive oil, dijon mustard, vinegar, grilled corn, scallion.

Lemon Blueberry Buckle

It's that time of the year when all of your desserts should start to include fruits and berries - they're fresh, sweet, seasonal and there are endless options for cakes, breads, muffins and more. A cross between a crumble and a cake, a "buckle" is a new type of dessert I discovered last summer. This recipe is reliable and delicious - and can even double as a brunch option. This time around I served it for dessert when I had some friends over for dinner last weekend.


Sunday Dinner with Friends: Spinach Artichoke Dip, Roasted Pear and Goat Cheese Salad, Chicken with Mango Mint Dressing, Green Beans and Mashed Sweet Potato, Lemon Blueberry Buckle

A good start to the week!

I always tell myself I'm going to plan out my meals for the week so that when I go grocery shopping I buy things with a purpose in mind, not just aimless purchases that I hope will create some semblance of a meal. This week I sort of did this - but I also made a point to utilize some things from my freezer and fridge that needed to be used. The result? This lovely, organized and well-planned out set of meals for my entire week, which gives me no excuse not to go to the gym after work because dinner will already be made. It will also guarantee I get to work on time because I won't have to make my lunch in the morning!

Roasted Cauliflower and Pasta
Tomato Minestrone Soup
Ground Turkey w/ Peppers and Onions
Mashed Sweet Potato
Steamed Squash
Turkey Burger
Turkey Meatballs

This list provides me with the basics - I'll add some veggies here and there, as I noticed I'm needing some color, which usually means you don't have enough vegetables!

Cilantro Feta Stuffed Chicken

As promised, here is one of the dishes I made using my cilantro pesto! I'm totally into these flavors now, so watch out for more recipes using the cilantro pesto!

Cilantro Feta Stuffed Chicken with Cilantro Rice and Sauteed Fajita Veggies

Stuffed Chicken:
1 chicken breast
2 cilantro pesto cubes
1 TB feta
Salt and Pepper
Olive Oil
1 TB fresh lime juice

Veggies:
2 cups mixed veggies - zucchini, red pepper, mushroom
1 TB olive oil
2 TB coconut milk
1/2 tsp garlic
1 TB fresh lime juice

My new favorite pesto - Cilantro Pesto

If you recently bought a bunch of fresh cilantro for a recipe, you probably also realized quickly that you used just a couple sprigs and now have an almost full bunch of fresh cilantro left. Fresh cilantro makes a big difference in a recipe so I always buy the fresh bunch when a recipe calls for it rather than using dried. Then I have to cook with cilantro all week to actually use it all up - which is pretty difficult ... until now!! I bought the bunch of cilantro originally for the Thai Peanut Noodle Salad I made with my friends last week - until I could figure out what I was going to do with the rest of the it I put the stems in a cup of water in the fridge (to help the bunch last longer).

In the summer with my tons of bunches of basil I make lots of fresh pesto, and so the same thought came to mind with my cilantro. This may be my new favorite recipe idea - and it's so versatile, which makes it even better.

Playing catch up from the past week

Even though I've only had a couple entries this past week, don't you worry - I've been busy, both inside the kitchen and out. I just wanted to share a few things from this past week. If you remember, last Sunday I made a homemade tomato sauce, some of which I've put in the freezer for later and some of which I kept in the fridge for immediate use.

Mushroom Tomato Pasta
With some mushrooms that needed to be used and a bottle of red already opened I thought this would be an easy way to make something a little more interesting than just pasta with sauce. There isn't necessarily a recipe here - but saute some sliced mushrooms in a little olive oil and garlic, and then add red wine to add some extra flavor to the tomato sauce. Mushrooms cook pretty quickly, so I wouldn't even start this part until your water is already boiling and you've added your pasta to the pot. Once the mushrooms have cooked in the red wine for a couple minutes you can add some of the tomato sauce you made earlier in the week.

Green Chocolate Chip Cookies (with NO green food coloring!)

That's right. I made green chocolate chip cookies this week - in celebration of St. Patrick's Day (I'm a bit early). But I didn't just want to add green food coloring to a chocolate chip cookie batter - that seems like cheating to me a little so I searched around online and found this recipe online! I was a bit skeptical at first, as I'm sure you'll be too - but if I may say so myself, I think they came out quite tasty and would definitely make this recipe again, even without the St. Patrick's Day justification for green food!

I would also like to point out that as I write this entry I'm sitting on my lovely new couch, while watching cable tv on my beautiful new flat screen tv, and most importantly - I'm using the internet in my own apartment and not at the Starbucks across the street! Things are finally coming together so well!

They don't look as green in this picture unfortunately.

Green Chocolate Chip Cookies
1 stick butter, softened to room temp
1 whole ripe avocado
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed down
1/2 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
2 1/4 cups white whole wheat flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 box of pistachio pudding mix
1 cup chocolate chips

First off, let me apologize for my extended absence! Between the new job, commuting from NH, moving and Comcast not showing up, I've had very little access to personal internet business! But alas - I am back! I won't have Comcast at my apartment until Saturday, but I'm making it work.

This past weekend my family celebrated yet another 60th Birthday in the family - for my Uncle Fred, my dad's sister's husband. I've been wanting to make this sweet potato and chili dish for a family party for a while, so with the lingering cold temperatures I thought this would be great timing. I saw this dish on one of Rachel Ray's shows last fall as a special dish for an adult Halloween party because of it's bright orange color and hearty welcoming flavors! I've made it a few times now and each time it's come out a little different, probably as a result of my tendency to change recipes to see if I can make them better. This weekend's attempt was successful, though I think I added a bit too much tomato paste and so, the recipe below, reflects this change. As I'm sure you know by now, I don't like spicy either - so I cut way down the amount of ground chili the recipe calls for, but if you like spice - feel free to add more!

Chicken Chili and Sweet Potato Shepherd's Pie
I would like to note that I am not a fan of Shepherd's Pie, so do not be turned off by it's name. It's basically just a layered casserole sort of dish, with the chicken chili on the bottom, topped with the mashed sweet potato mixture and finished with some grated cheese. Yummmmy!

Original Rachel Ray Recipe
(My ingredient portions are cut in half)

Brown Sugar: Good or Bad?

Both!!! This is a trick question because I have answers to both:

What do you do when a recipe calls for brown sugar and you reach into the cabinet and yours is hard as a rock because you either a.) left it open and unsealed or b.) last used it in 2005 when you tried to bake once before ... The first thing you want to try is putting the brown sugar in the microwave. Try your best to measure out the amount you need so that you don't microwave more than you need. This should soften it right up because the only difference between white and brown sugar is that brown sugar has molasses mixed in - giving it the brown color. This also explains why dark brown sugar has a stronger molasses flavor to it - it has a higher concentration of molasses than the lighter version. So what you thought was bad brown sugar is now good again!


Brown sugar is a great ingredient that adds different flavor than white sugar, though you shouldn't be quick to substitute in every recipe. Brown sugar is a moister sugar, it will often make your baked goods more moist. Nutritionally, there isn't a big difference between the two. When you want to substitute, the amounts are equal - so 1 cup of white sugar = 1 cup of packed brown sugar. An important note - "packed" means that you use the back of a spoon to press the sugar down into the measuring cup until you have a completely packed down amount.

Peanut Butter and Chocolate - a match made in heaven

Give me anything that pairs chocolate and peanut butter, and you've made me a happy girl :-). This is why Peanut Butter Blossoms are one of my favorite cookies. I haven't come up with anything new here - in fact, I did a little research and found out that this recipe first showed up in 1957 at the 9th Annual Pillsbury Bake-Off! So thank you to Freda Smith of Ohio for creating these cookies over fifty years ago!

Traditionally this recipe is made with shortening instead of butter, but I like using butter in my recipes and I think it tastes just as great!

This recipe makes about 28 cookies - and if you're just making them for at home (not for a party), feel free to throw some of the batter or baked cookies in the freezer to save for another time!