Here you’ll find everything I’m preparing in my kitchen - from veggies, to leftovers and pasta. I eat simply, and I cook for one, but love cooking for others. And no matter what, I always pause to plate pretty.
Most of my meals are often times the result of freestyle recipe free ingredient riffing and a trip to the vegetable market. Produce is my passion, and I hope that you won’t simply come here for a recipe - but that you’ll read, cook and create a new story of your own.
I believe there’s power in a stocked pantry and freezer. From traditional Italian dishes to alternative sweets, vegan and vegetarian swaps - there’s something for everyone.
Let this serve as inspiration and let’s eat!
This fruity oatmeal bake came about because I want a good, warming breakfast in the morning without relying on eggs or having to start from scratch to make something in the AM. Staring into the depths of my freezer I questioned when I’d make a smoothie again and honestly answered myself with a “no time soon.” In the colder months I’m way less about smoothies and more about comfort.
Read MoreTo my knowledge tourlou tourlou translates in Greek to all mixed up. I love saying tourlou tourlou. Roll your r’s and repeat tourlou tourlou as though conjuring up a most intoxicating spell. And, I suppose this rustic all vegetable stew could be likened to an intoxicating spell all its own. Vegan friendly and the perfect hearty crowd pleaser […]
Read MoreI’ve been eating a lot of beans. Shocking. I must begin these blog posts with that line at least 3x a week. And, being as my life goal is to make a bean cookbook before I die or head to some sort of after life where I pray (as much as I love beans) that I can eat more cannoli’s than beans without feeling the wrath of sugar ills and where I can drink more Negroni’s
Read MoreButternut squash baked ziti is a gooey, cheesy, baked faux-pasta bomb that will leave you wanting more every time. A true transformation of comfort food, you won’t miss a beat or the pasta when you immerse your entire being in the process of making and eating this spin on an old classic. And listen, I love pasta as much as the next human, and carbs are my friend,
Read MoreCanned tomatoes, chicken stock (or concentrated bullion) wine, butter and onions are something I always have in my home. And, usually, a few carrots or bag of baby peeled carrots so I have something lying around when I want to snack “sensibly.” All of the above are my cooking essentials, particularly in the case of the aforementioned wine. Anything that allows me to cook and party, well, I’m into it.
Read MoreAs a woman who loves a bargain, I’ve translated the process I have with clothes - often times bragging to my friends that my whole outfit was purchased for $27.76 on a high fashion Old Navy day - into grocery shopping. The thrill of turning the pages of a circular and glancing at signs that read FRESH LONG ISLAND CAULIFLOWER $2.49
Read MoreWhen the mood strikes and I want to bake I have no choice but to apron up and turn on the oven. There’s something about gray days and time spent in my tiny Queens apartment that warrants baking and a vibrancy that can only come from making a cake from scratch. Gone are the days where I wouldn’t bake because I feared eating the whole damn thing.
Read MoreGrowing up my grandmother, Aunt Jo and my own mother made a very special sauce. This sauce I write of was not just any sauce, you know, it was a cascade of vegetables perfectly cooked - never mushy - made with expert sauteing and an abundance of care. The classic family recipe has asparagus, mushrooms, tomato and zucchini and it is required that each vegetable is
Read MoreI’m not guaranteeing this veggie loaded turkey chili will change your life, but it will probably change your life!
One pot, no slow cooker needed, this was a flavor, veggie and texture experiment as next week I plan to amp up the veggies and make this chili wholly vegan. I can’t wait for more kitchen experiments. Clearly.
Tired of hummus? Same old, same old dip? Don’t just spice it up, triple spice it up!
Fresh out of chickpeas after last weeks bean filled bonanaza, I had a can of cannellini to spare. Instead of using them in their standard Italian preparation, I took them on a new flavor journey.
Lately I’m dropping beans into bowls like they’re hot …
1) ’Cause they’re easy to cook (hello, can opener!) and prepare well ahead of time.
2) They’re inexpensive, while also being filling. See more on #3
3) Finally, they add a meatless, high fiber protein pop to mealtime.
The majority of my meals are often times spun from half used veggies, opened cans of beans and an overabundance of grape tomatoes because I have a tomato purchasing problem wherein I should likely enroll in some sort of small red fruit rehab program. I always anticipate I’m going to use wayyyyy more tomatoes during the week than I actually do.
Read MoreSo here’s the thing about me and cooking salmon … because, yes, there’s a thing … I love salmon, but I dislike turning on the oven in my apartment during the yearly, quite confusing, September transition from summer to fall in NYC. Now, you might say, “Tina, what about grilling?” To which I would answer, “On my fire escape? Well, that’s illegal! I only sit out there and drink wine until I fall back into my window around 9pm! Then I pick myself up from the floor and drag my a$$ into bed.”
Read MoreIf you know my cooking and weight loss story, you know I love lentils. Lentil soup was the first meal I prepared in the summer of 2001 as I was forced to cook for myself while I was living on a small working farm in Ashford, CT. Recalling meals of my childhood, I remade my grandmas lentils until I got the pot of soup just right. Packed with fiber and protein they’re one of my favorite meal bases
Read MoreAre we really what we eat? Well, not only. We are what we say. What we do. The things we don’t do … and I’ve been exploring ways to shift my mindset outside of food. Do you think of your overall health as more than what you eat, or do you find yourself constantly hung up on the next meal or bite?
Read MoreBack in 2016 I went on a solo trip to Italy and it forever changed the way I not only looked at life, sex, being naked and truly living. It changed the way I saw … PASTA! I grew up in a home of pasta. Pasta Sunday, pasta with peas, pasta with beans, pasta with broccoli, pasta with cauliflower, pasta with zucchini, pasta with insert any and every seasonal vegetable. As a family we ate pasta, not daily but at least twice weekly, and
Read MoreSummer is coming to a close and after a trip to the market, where I spied an abundance of corn, I knew I had to make a flavor packed grain salad before the time was up. For me, NJ and LI corn are a weakness, unlike their men. I kid, I kid - and that's a whole different newsletter! Pairing corn with farro, fresh veggies, cilantro, scallions, zesty lime and smoked paprika makes for a Mediterranean meets southwestern flavor profile.
Read MoreI love eggs. I love my eggs scrambled, sunny side up and poached. Sure, I also love a fluffy filled to the max mega frittata and the popular omelette but, of late, my only true love is the open faced omelette. The open faced omelette, AKA the pizza omelette - made with a thin layer of egg and then piled high with ingredients such as veggies, meats and/or cheese
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