I am a sucker for banana bread

Definitely this title defines me. Even tough banana bread is not my favorite cake of all time I think it’s the most versatile recipe in the baking area. It’s super simples: you basically need overripe bananas and it seems my family can never get through the whole bunch so we always have “sad bananas” around, just waiting to be baked with whatever I’m in the mood of: chocolate chips, walnuts, hazelnut, almond flour, yogurt, maple syrup, coconut sugar, etc.

After seeing Raiza Costa’s Stories on Instagram this week it got me craving for banana bread. Unfortunately her recipe takes butter and I was feeling lazy for that - to wait it reach room temperature and just pull my stand mixer seemed a lot of work for an easy cake. But there’s one thing she adds to a few of her cake recipes that makes all the difference: yogurt. It makes the cake SUPER moist. It’s pure chemistry: the baking soda reacts with the yogurt acidity and as a result produce the gas that enlarges a batter's bubbles. I had to look for it because chemistry definitely is not a strength of mine. All I know is that works!

After a little research I decided to try a recipe of my own and now I have the perfect Chocolate Chip and Walnuts Banana Bread recipe to share. Of course you can either omit the chocolate chip and walnuts part or just swap for something that you like better. My suggestions includes chopped dates, peanuts, hazelnuts and even blueberries or raisins (if you are into it).

CHOCOLATE CHIP AND WALNUTS BANANA BREAD

INGREDIENTS

• 3 eggs

• 1/2 cup canola oil

• 1/3 cup maple syrup

• 1/4 cup Greek yogurt

• 1/4 cup oat milk (or any other kind of milk)

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 4 mashed ripe bananas (do not over mash it)

• 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour

• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• ½ teaspoon salt

• 1 cup dark chocolate chips (optional)

• ½ cup chopped walnuts (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS

Start by pre-heating the oven to 325F and grease loaf pan (butter, ghee, canola oil - whatever you want) and set aside. Start by mixing the dry ingredients in a medium bowl: flour, cinnamon, baking soda and salt. In a larger bowl beat the eggs, then add the oil, followed by the maple syrup, yogurt, milk and vanilla. Add the mashed bananas. Beat all the ingredients until all mixed, about 2 minutes. Slowly start to incorporate the dry mixture through a mesh strainer. Always with delicate movements. Lastly incorporate the toppings such as the chocolate and walnuts. Pour the batter into the pan and bake for 55 minutes to 1 hour, or until the cake tester (or toothpick) comes out clean.

I have a sweet tooth

When I moved to NYC about 3 years ago I was basically alone. Of course I had my husband and our little dog to be with but I had no friends, no family. Also we stayed at this Airbnb for about 3 weeks until we finally moved to our first apartment.

In this beginning I had just a few things to lean on during my time: buying stuff for my new apartment and the internet. I came to NYC with no job and no career - my deepest desire was to change from advertising from something else, something related to food. So I started to follow Bon Appétit on Youtube. From the first video that I saw I loved the content. Also it taught me so much - from full recipes to techniques.

Still nowadays I count on BA’s recipes. It’s the first website that I check whenever I want to find out about a new recipe or if I have an ingredient which I’m in doubt of how to prepare - for techniques or just creativity.

Recently I acknowledge the fact that I have a sweet tooth. Between breakfast and lunch I crave something sweet. And very often between lunch and dinner I have the same cravings. Usually I rely on my favorite combo: banana and peanut butter, sometimes I add some chocolate chips, maple syrup and/or chopped hazelnuts. But I was getting tired of eating the same thing over and over again. So I would munch on chocolate! (Lindt is my favorite).

I know that people really like chia pudding. I tried a few recipes but didn’t like any of it. I believe the texture is what it makes that not so tasty for me. It comes as a surprise for me that I have this issues because I always had zero problems with texture.

Until on the beginning of this year I founded out this Molly Baz recipe for Chocolate-Cashew Chia Pudding. She blends lots of ingredients and then add the chia pudding. But since I was already using the blender I thought “why not blend the seeds with it?”. It was the best decision I had. The texture was super creamy and after some hours on the fridge it got even better.

Now I have a quart container on my fridge every week, just one step away from me to dive into it and have a healthy and delicious snack. It’s a good breakfast too if you are into sweet treats on your mornings - I’m not, I gotta have savory stuff for breakfast with a big cup of coffee and you guess… cashew milk!

For my chia pudding I like to add vanilla whey protein and chopped fruits on top. The combination of vanilla and chocolate really makes me happy. And adding strawberries almost makes me feel like I’m having Neapolitan ice cream. Other combinations that I like are hazelnuts with banana and coconut chips with blueberries. Just yummy!

Spicy Hot Cocoa

Happy 2018! As I am writing this just there's this massive amount of snow falling, or as they call it: BOMB CYCLONE.

I remember my first snow storm in NYC. It was 2010 and I was just a tourist having vacation in town. Me and my boyfriend, now husband, went out to get the most of the town and to see the snow. As soon as we got to Union Square everything was so white that I thought that I was going blind just like José Saramago's book Blindness. We went to this restaurant over there  called The Coffee Shop and I got so surprised because I saw Brazilian things on the menu. I was probably on my final days of vacation and a bit homesick for sure, so I reached for the most Brazilian soft drink ever: Guaraná. A very sweet soda made of the guaraná fruit.

After the restaurant we basically just crossed Union Square to go to Starbucks. Back in the day I wasn't a big fan of coffee so hot cocoa was my choice. Since then every time that there's snow I feel like having hot cocoa. But of course my choice now goes for a more rich in flavor and healthier version.

Spicy Hot Cocoa - why not?

I had bought a bag of xylitol - a natural alternative to sugar. It has 40% less calories than sugar and it's basically a sugar alcohol (polyalcohol), and I wanted to try the thing. So here was my opportunity. Also instead of milk I decided to go with the almond version - after going to a summit about food and health I decided to take a break from regular milk on a daily basis. Turns out almond milk is so delicious that I don't even miss the other one (I always go for the unsweetened vanilla version). 

For this hot cocoa I wanted it hotter, spicy! I have a pantry full of spices and wanted to be bold about this recipe. I saw a spicy hot cocoa at a menu in some coffee shop and this idea stayed with me until I went to kitchen and decided to do my own version. This time I reached for the black Urfa chili from Burlap & Barrel. It has this malty flavor that pairs so well with chocolate. 

Other ingredient used on this recipe is arrowroot powder. I needed a thickening element to give that creamy texture to my hot cocoa. I wanted it to be gluten free so no wheat flour, of course. You may think about corn starch, but I wanted something more delicate not only when it's hot but when it's cold as well. I wanted to be able to put the leftovers on the fridge and maybe eat by the spoon when a sugar craving appeared. Arrowroot has this power because it doesn't break down when cold. Bonus points to arrowroot!

Without further ado here's is the recipe:

SPICY HOT COCOA

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups almond milk
• 2 tbsp cocoa powder
• 2 tsp arrowroot
• 2 tbsp xylitol
• 65 grams 70% chocolate
• Black Urfa chili to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

Pass the 70% chocolate by the food processor or grater and mix with all dry ingredients - except the chili. Reserve. In a pan pour the almond milk and bring it to a simmer. Put it in the low heat and add the mixed dry ingredients and mix it with a whisk until everything combined and very smooth. Add the chili in the end to taste. 

Super easy, super delicious! It's ready in 5 minutes or so. Also you can substitute the almond milk for other one, even the regular milk. Instead of xylitol you can use regular sugar, coconut sugar, stevia or other kind or sweetener that you prefer! And if you don't have arrowroot go for corn starch, no problem at all!

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Flourless Banana Bread

I have a sweet tooth in this phase of my life. A few years ago I couldn’t care less about sugar, but since I moved to America I crave for it. I don’t blame America, if I’m being honest, I think that my palate has change so much in the last months and this is one thing that has changed as well.

In order to keep a health lifestyle I am always searching simple solutions about food. I try to eat ultra-processed foods as little as I can. So when I saw this Buzzfeed Tasty video I was shocked! How come we can do cake with only two ingredients? I was mesmerized.

I tried it. It works. I baked on a muffin tray and add some cherries as well. Delicious. 

As the days were passing by I wondered if I could use the same technique with banana. Today I finally took some time to try the idea and I am so happy with the result.

Of course I added a few more ingredients: cinnamon, walnuts, baking powder and agave. I think the baking powder is useless here, since we use whipped egg whites. But since I didn't test it yet, I listed on the recipe.

Another plus about this recipe: it is totally FODmap diet friendly! Not with the agave, but you can swap it for your preference sweetener, or don’t do sweetener at all since the banana is already sweet enough. Suggestions: glucose or maple syrup.

FODmap diet friendly. Low carb. Low sugar. And delicious!

INGREDIENTS

• 2 rippen smashed bananas
• 4 eggs - whites and yolks separated 
• 1 tablespoon agave (or glucose/maple syrup - for FODmap diet)
• 3 tablespoon chopped walnuts
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

INSTRUCTIONS

Pre heat the oven at 350F. Whip the egg whites. Mix the smashed bananas with the egg yolks, cinnamon, agave and baking powder. 

Gently, mix 1/3 of the egg whites into the banana mix. Add the other 2/3. Always very slowly to no break the bubbles of the egg whites. Pour the batter in a greased the muffin tray. Spread the walnuts on top of the muffins. Bake for 25 min or until the top is golden.

A sweet treat to my sweet tooth.

Just to be clear: I am not against carbs or sugar. Not at all. I just want to enjoy the most the foods around. I like to eat. A lot. But I like to eat healthy as well. That doesn’t mean that once in a while I’ll not eat a nice dessert. The thing is: I try to save these moments for something that really worths the calories. And I don’t blame myself later. I am always looking for balance :)

Fish Kibbeh

Believe it or not but kibbeh is something very common in Brazil. I think it's because back in the day people from Lebanon went to my country and we loved their food. Actually we have a lot of Middle Eastern food restaurant across my country, one of the most famous fast food chains is inspired by its kind of food. So you figure.

This week my husband and I decided to do a cleaning on our fridge. I am always writing and posting about it here because I think it's a necessary thing to do before going to the supermarket and fill your cabinets and refrigerator. This way you ended up wasting a lot less and consuming what you bought before. Also I think this is great for my creativity - it's a simple exercise: I have to work with whatever is left and deliver an awesome meal for my family.

Yesterday I saw some fish and seafood and decided to do a hot stew with coconut milk and black. Check it out here. I had half tilapia fillet left for my lunch today and since I saw Rita Lobo's fish kibbeh on her Instagram, I decided to do my version of it.

I had some quinoa on the fridge, so instead of bulgur I went for it. I know it's not the same thing at all, but you know necessity is the mother of creativity and this was my case. I had onions, garlic, mint, parsley and lemon juice. I just mixed everything together and wait for the result.

First I chopped a bit of white onion and garlic. Do you have a bowl at home that you use to whisk things and now is looking very old? Note to myself: do not buy white bowls anymore (they are not even pretty!).

Next I just had to cut the fish to put it on the mini food processor. If you think that I am going to use my big one you are mistaken. I think my mini device could process a whole fillet if it was the case.

Fish, parsley, mint, one garlic clove, salt, olive oil and pepper. 

Then I mixed the "fish paste" with the chopped onion and garlic, add the quinoa (already cooked) and transferred everything to a glass container (with olive oil on it). The oven must be preheated at 350F (180˚C). Splash a bit of olive oil on top and cover with foil. Let it cook for about 15 minutes. Then I turned the broil mode for about 4 minutes.

I had some white rice left and some arugula, shredded carrots and tahini sauce as well. For the rice I add some fried garlic and for the salad I mixed everything and topped with walnuts. Done. 

Salad, fish kibbeh and garlic white rice.

In the meantime I was also doing some meal prep for dinner - I roasted half an eggplant with onion and garlic on the oven - since it was already on. Today we will have baba ganoush as side for dinner. As I said: no food will be wasted in this house!

Four summer salads

Since I moved here to USA I've become a season person. I started to pay more attention to the seasonal changes, and not only the weather, but the mood, activities and food, of course.

Most of the time is cold in NYC, or not so hot. But on summertime things are different. I also noticed that my body has some different needs now: during the cold weathers it wants something hot - like braises, soups, roasts... But on summer it goes light, like the fish, for example. And salads. I've been very creative about this now since I can't have the same salad everyday. In my country by salad most of the times we mean lettuce, tomato and onion. Here in America I noticed that instead of onion people usually puts cucumber, and I am not even going to start to give my speech about this vegetable, since you can read my thoughts about it here. (and yes, you should eat your vegetables, and try to eat it more than once, in different preparations)

Now I want to share my ideas and inspire you to create your own salads, and share with the world if something that you create is really good! Here it is:

Spring mix salad

So, I think I'll not be very creative on the names, but my first salad is just the doomed spring mix. I read articles about this and it seems like almost nobody likes them. But let's thing about the spring mix being a way of avoiding some good leaves to go straight to the trash. Let's try to look to this bright size. I know that it can't hold up dressing, that's why you should serve it on the side and let people decide the amount of dressing that goes on the plate. I am not a fancy restaurant, so I will defend the spring mix. 

INGREDIENTS

• 3 cups pf Spring mix leaves
• 1 cup of shredded carrots
• ½ chopped fennel
• Fennel frond (to taste)
• ⅓ cup feta cheese
• ¼ cup walnuts

INSTRUCTIONS

Put everything together on a big bowl and mix it.

Simple, huh? For the dressing I like to go with the classic combination: lime + olive oil+ salt + pepper. Sometimes I add 1 minced clove of garlic as well.

Cauliflower couscous

This was a request from my husband. If think he had this at work and wanted to have again at home. I have to admit that I was a little bit afraid of doing it, but everything went well. First because I am not a big cauliflower fan. But as my vegetables post says: "try in different ways" I was very optimist about this. Kind of, because once I tried the cauliflower rice and hated it. But maybe it was my own fault, since I cooked it and also I wasn't REALLY that open to this flavor. So I decided to give it a second chance. And I am glad I did.

INGREDIENTS

• ½ cauliflower 
• 2 cloves of garlic
• ½ sweet onion
• ½ sliced zucchini
• 10 grape tomatoes
• 10 basil leaves
• Salt (to taste)
• Chili flakes (to taste)
•  Olive oil

INSTRUCTIONS

Pre-heat the oven at 350 F (180˚C). Place zucchini on the olive oil and then transfer it to a pan sheet with parchment paper. Leave space on half of the pan for the tomatoes. Cut the tomatoes in half and pour it in a mix of salt, chili flakes and olive oil. Then transfer to the sheet pan with the inside turned up. Place the pan sheet in the oven for 20 minutes - turn the zucchini side on the half. In a food processor place the cauliflower florets and chop it (you can use either the razors or the shredded blade for it).

Fresh and delicious!

Strawberry vinaigrette

I saw this recipe on a Brazilian TV cooking show once and since then I was intrigued by its flavor. In my country we usually have a classic vinaigrette sauce, specially for barbecue, made with green bell peppers, tomatoes, onion, garlic, olive oil, vinegar plus some herbs and spices. Nothing fancy, but very, very popular. But this is a much fancier version. Also is a low FODmap diet friendly, since I did some changes on the original recipe.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup strawberries 
• 1 tomato
• ¼ fennel
• ½ cup olive oil
• 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• Fennel frond (to taste)
• ½ teaspoon salt

INSTRUCTIONS

Wash the strawberries and the tomato. Starting by the strawberries, take off the green part and slice it in half, them cut in strips and then in cubes. Take off the tomato seeds and cut it in cubes. Cut the fennel in cubes as well. In a bowl mix everything together and start adding the olive oil, balsamic vinegar and the salt. Take it to the fridge and put the fennel fronds on top of it before serve for a fresh taste.

Quinoa Mexican Inspired

I absolutely love Mexican food. Last time I was there I only had pizza and soda. First because I was a vegetarian and so afraid of trying new things, even the veggie friendly ones. But still, I love it. In Brazil I only had the TexMex version of it, but here in NYC I've got a bite on some authentic dishes, or something really close to it. Sometimes I try to bring a bit of these flavors home. I think the Mexican cuisine is so fresh and perfect for the summer. Since it's a country full of coast (did you know that it's possible to reach the coasts at the same day? I mean, if you have a lot of money, of course!) we can understand why their food is fresh, but they have their heavy side as well. 

Since I am doing salads here, my inspiration was something light. Let's go to the recipe!

INGREDIENTS

• ½ lbs clean shrimp

• ½ cup of quinoa
• 1 corn on the cob
• 1 radish 
• 1 roma tomato
• ½ red onion
• 1 lime
• 5 tablespoons olive oil
• Salt and pepper (to taste)
• 2 garlic gloves

INSTRUCTIONS

Put the quinoa on a pan with 1 cup of water and a pinch of salt. Cover the pan with a lid and let it cook on medium heat until it gets soft. Meanwhile, cover the corn on the cob on plastic wrap and take it to the microwave for 4 minutes on high power. Let it rest and let it cool down. Slice the radish with a mandolin, then cut it into thin strips (or use the julienne blade). Cut the tomatoes in half, take off the seeds and chop it into cubes. Also do cubes with the red onion. Put the shrimp on a bowl and let it sit on a mix of garlic, ½ lime juice, salt and pepper for 5 minutes. Stir fry the shrimp with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Mix all the other ingredients in a bowl and season with salt, pepper, olive oil and lime juice. Add the shrimp and devour everything! 

Summertime: the fish season

It's officially summer! After a long period of cold temperatures I must confess that I was pretty anxious for a little heat. Also I was in the urge for some salads, dressings, smoothies and fish!

Don't be surprised. I know I can have fish all year long and etc. But to me fish = summer. It's light so just perfect for the season. I noticed that on summer I eat much less than on autumn/winter. I think it's because of the heat and also I am drinking more water than in the cold season.

Back to the fish, this week my husband I decided to dine on a restaurant. I had a workshop about ancient grains that afternoon and I tried this amazing cavatelli in a shellfish ragout, a recipe by chef Vito Gnazzo from Ill Gatopardo. I was mesmerized by the flavors on it and craving for more fish that day. I suggested us to go to Kittery. 

As I entered the restaurant I knew what my order would be: mussels! It was about time already to have this delicious dish. But my husband took a little time on the menu, and finally he chose the Pecan Trusted Trout. Now, let me say that I looked to the trout on the menu and my mouth watered! I was happy with his decision (and mine as well).

The trout was pan seared, with sweet potato puree and sautéed spinach on the side. I took a bite of the fish - DELICIOUS. Then I took a bite of the sides, and finally I took bite of everything together. By this moment my world exploded. All this flavors together were amazing! But I had my mussels, my passion fruit mojito and the company of my beloved man. So I was pretty happy. 

On the next day I hit the Greenmarket and bought some flounder. I wanted fish again and more than that: I wanted to recreate my husband's dish from the day before. So I alsobought sweet potato. And can I just add that sweet potato is something new on my life since I just started to each it regularly last autumn? Moving on... I wanted to add my own flavors on this dish. So I seasoned the fish with lime, pepper and Trader Joe's onion salt.

I cooked the sweet potato on the microwave: wash, poke holes on it with a fork or knife and wrap it on wet paper towel. Put on the microwave for 3 minutes. TA-DA!!! Then I took the potato from the peel, put it on the food processor and add a splash of coconut milk and salt. Done!

For the spinach I sautéed with garlic, sweet onion and cremini mushroom. The spinach has a lingering bitter taste that can overpower the dish, and this I felt on my husband's dish on the restaurant. My tip is to add something acid, like lime juice, and don't overcook it. 

I was very pleased with my final result and version of the restaurant dish. I wish now that I took a picture of their dish to compare though. 

Sweet potato puree with coconut milk, sautéed mushroom and spinach and pan seared flounder.

Eat Your Veggies

I think everybody grew up listening this catch: "eat your veggies, dear". Our moms (and dads!) used to try to make us eat this health food, and sometimes they failed miserably. I've been thinking about this specially because I know I was a terrible kid - super picky about my food. I wanted hot dogs and French fries all the time. Worse: I wanted chocolate sandwich cookies, Coke and chips for life. I could live on this for many days, for sure.

I have this memory of my mom doesn't letting me get off the table until I finished my green beans. Of course that nowadays I just hate it. But I must admit that I haven't tried this yet. I am 28yo and still afraid of some vegetables. In the same time I have to congratulate myself because since I started cooking for real my eating habits has changed a lot. In the past years I've added much more vegetables to my diet and I am trying to embrace everything, to try everything more than once to see if I really like something.

That's the secret: try it. More than once. Cook things using different methods and seasonings. Try a new recipe using that ingredient that you don't like so much. Start by doing it with things that you love, like bacon or cheese. 

A few years ago I tried to eat broccoli. I know that for some people this green vegetable isn't appealing at all. I used to see it on cooking shows and fell disgusted by it. Many years ago I did a recipe with vegetable meat (soy) and broccoli, and my boyfriend hated it - he only told me this years later. Poor thing. Today I know that I can do an awesome broccoli.

My favorite way to do it? Roasted! Like most vegetables Roasting is my favorite cooking method for sure. It's so democratic - almost everything turns up good when roasted. I think thats because this method brings the best of the ingredient. When you do this right, it can bring the most moist, succulent, smokey flavor. Also you can play with the seasoning: change as you like it. 

For this broccoli I used:

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 broccoli bouquet
• 1/3 cup olive oil 
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• dried oregano (to taste)
• red chilli flakes (to taste)
• 1/4 lime juice
• 3 garlic cloves

HOW TO DO IT

First I washed the broccoli florets. In a bowl mixed all the ingredients and then placed the florets. Let it marinade for about 5 minutes. Pre-heated the oven at 350 F (180º C). In a sheet pan did put some parchment paper and sprayed olive oil. Then I placed the florets. I poured the rest of the marinade on the broccoli because I didn't want to waste that amazing flavor. I placed the sheet pan on the oven for 15 minutes. And that was pretty much it. Almost zero work for a delicious broccoli.

Here are a few suggestions of marinades for you to try and also some vegetables suggestions:

MARINADES

• lime + garlic + olive oil
• orange + Sriracha + olive oil
• teriyaki sauce + sesame oil + rice vinegar
• balsamic + garlic + dried oregano + olive oil
• ginger + lime + olive oil
• taco seasoning + lime + olive oil
• garlic + hazelnut oil + rosemary

VEGETABLES TO TRY

• zucchini
• tomatoes
• peppers
• potatoes
• radishes
• asparagus
• green beans (I'll try it, I promise)
• artichokes 
• squashes
• onions
• brussels sprouts
• cauliflower 
• okra
• etc...

Think about a vegetable that you don't like, then try it at home! Season it, put in the oven and try! If you don't like this way, try another. And if after a few attempts you didn't like either way, that's ok. At least you tried. To finish, here's my dish for the day: white rice, a simple salad (green leaf lettuce, onion and radishes seasoned with lime, oregano, salt, pepper and olive oil), grilled flounder and the roasted broccoli :)

Spinach Rice

My goal with this blog is not only give recipes - the internet is already a full library of them. You can Google anything you want and there is a recipe for it. My goal is to inspire people to eat more at home, to know what they are putting inside their bodies, and also to avoid waste in a smart way.

So yesterday I went to the supermarket (Trader Joe's, I love you!). I bought a lot of things because I was out of so many things - specially some super necessary staples and vegetables that are a wild card for me. 

I already knew what I was going to do for dinner. Something that tastes like my childhood: sausage and potatoes, cooked on the pressure cooker. I even called my mother to learn how to do it in the way that I liked it. But I need something else, a side. Rice? Yeah, but I already had the potato. I needed more vegetables here as well. So I opted for brown rice. I prefer the white, but sometimes I go for this option, specially when I am having potatoes. But just the brown rice wasn't enough. So I remembered this TV show that I saw once that they did a rice with broccoli. It was a green rice, the host called it "Hulk Rice". I felt in love for this idea. So I decided to do it with spinach. But not stir-frying the spinach, I did a juice, using my homemade stock.

Stock, spinach, salt and garlic

All I need was my stock made out of the leftover bone, a cup of baby spinach, a pinch of salt and one garlic clove. 

Spinach juice

Then I decided to pass it on the strainer, I didn't want the fibers and garlic pieces, just the juice. Again: best decision I've made. I think this process made my rice light on the spinach garlic taste and very colorful. 

All I can see in this image is the mess behind the juice being poured on the strainer. Sorry (not sorry)!

I did about 1 cup of rice. So of course I needed more water to cook it. Since I did not let my rice rest on water (this is the wisest thing to do - let it sit on water for about 8 hours so it will cook in about 15 minutes, with less water. Also it neutralizes phytates - which helps other nutrients to be better absorbed (check the link!).

In the last minute I decided to add some quinoa because why not, right? I actually wanted to do more food because I was thinking of the future me and future me wanted to eat this on lunch.

Quinoa and rice on the spinach juice

I added a little more salt, cumin, garlic powder and the olive oil of the garlic confit and let it cook. In the process I was thinking about doing this with carrots, for an orange rice, and beets, for a pink rice. There are a lot of possibilities, right? Not just for the colors, but flavors as well: basil, chives, olive, pepper...

I was very happy with the result, both color and flavor were amazing. To be honest my husband didn't realize that he had this for dinner - here we eat in the dim light. And he liked it. So it's an extra point for this idea/recipe.

Spinach rice ready to be eaten

I would like to add that yes, I had this for lunch as well. With the leftover fish and a leftover salad!

Spinach rice, Milanese tilapia (made with my homemade breadcrumbs) and cabbage salad with orange vinaigrette

Just to be clear: I don't have a spinach obsession. Yes, I usually have it on the fridge, I like to hide this veggie on my sauces, meats, juices and smoothies. It's healthy, right?

Working the creativity - Spinach Risotto

This week my husband gave me a challenge: to work with what I got in the fridge and not do any grocery shopping. Of course this has a purpose: save money.

What I Ate Today: Spinach Risotto with Italian Sausage and Green Bell Pepper

Whenever he asks me this I feel scared. A lot of questions pop up on my head: will I be able to do breakfast and dinner everyday without going to the deli? There's not enough of this or that, what should I do?

This is where the creativity comer along to help me. Sometimes I just open my fridge and say: "surprise me today". Sometimes I spend my whole day thinking about what I am going to cook for us. I even go to bed thinking about breakfast and dinner. 

Yesterday after coming back from a session of the documentary Wasted! The Story of Food Waste at the Tribeca Film Festival, I was determined to work with what I had and be creative. I had no meal planning for this, so imagination had no limits for me.  I knew that I had some Italian sausages on the fridge. Two, to be precisely. Two is enough for two people, right? It depends, ok? So, I know that sausages, specially the Italian types, goes well with peppers. And yes, I had one green bell pepper (half of it) hanging on my fridge drawer, just waiting. I also had garlic (always!), onion and white whine. That's it. If you have just plain white rice, you already have dinner at this point. 

But I wanted risotto. I was craving it. Maybe because of the rainy day... I wanted something comfortable. Not pasta this time. Risotto. I had some cheese: a bit of fresh mozzarella, blue cheese, cheddar and this smoked gouda. I had good choices, except the cheddar, this would be a bold move for sure and a risk I wasn't willing to take. I went with the smoked one. Last but not least, I decided to add spinach to the risotto - I had some and didn't want to waste the opportunity of adding some nutritional on my meal. 

Turns out that I didn't think about my wine quantity and ended up putting everything on the sausage. By the time that I was doing the risotto, I asked my self what I was going to do? I didn't want to put lime, because I know the risotto would taste like it, even with the other layers of flavor. So thinking about the acidity, I grabbed my apple vinegar. It worked amazingly. Just like wine, to be honest. 

Tip: to make the pepper sweeter and tender I did let it sit on the fire on my stovetop for a few minutes. Better than stir it for a bunch of time.

And on the top of everything: garlic confit. I did this yesterday morning and wanted to try. So everything was actually a good excuse to put my new garlic confit on top. I know that everything was good because after two spoons my husband said: "I wish I could eat three times this".