The reason why I haven’t blogged in a month is because our lives have been a total whirlwind, an absolutely fantastic whirlwind. In a nutshell, Carlo started a new full time job that he loves, we decided to move back to Austin, I interviewed for a great position in Austin (fingers crossed!), we found the perfect house in Bouldin Creek that is a few minutes walk away from the hike and bike trail, Carlo graduated with his MBA with both of our families in town to cheer him on, and we are in the middle of packing up our house because we move next Wednesday!

Yikes it has been crazy, but it seems as though after fairly crappy year on many fronts, the universe is finally smiling down on us. Two months ago I was convinced that we would be moving to Portland, Oregon this summer and that we would never live in Austin again, but all of a sudden, it felt like we were meant to be back in Austin and that it was most the obvious choice in the world to make. The response from our family and friends about our decision to move back has been overwhelming and further proves that we made the right one. So this will probably be my last post in a couple of weeks as we drive back to Texas and settle into our new house and more importantly, our new life.

Like our recent life when a bunch of different and disparate circumstances came together to create a perfect opportunity, this Carrot and Chickpea Salad takes two main ingredients that I would never pair together and makes something fantastic with the addition of a few spices. The smokiness of the paprika, the heat of the cayenne, and the earthiness of the cumin combine with the texture of the carrots, chickpeas, and almonds to produce a really hearty salad with a complex flavour that will have you returning to the salad bowl for more. This recipe makes enough for 4 people at 64 cents per serving.

Carrot and Chickpea Salad, adapted from Food & Wine, May 2010
1/2 cup slivered almonds
1 lemon
1 garlic clove, minced
2 packed cups cilantro leaves and stems
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon sweet smoked paprika
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
2 15-ounce cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 pound carrots, peeled and coarsely shredded

Start by toasting the almonds in a dry frying pan over a medium heat. Toast them for around 5 minutes until they start to turn golden brown.

In a small food processor, squeeze in the juice of 1 lemon and then add the garlic, cilantro, cumin, paprika, cayenne pepper, olive oil, and half of the toasted almonds. Whiz everything up into a nice paste.

In a large bowl, place the grated carrots, rinsed chickpeas, and the remaining toasted almonds. Add the dressing and mix everything together. Finish off the salad by seasoning to taste with salt and pepper.

Whisk together the lemon juice, garlic, and honey in a small bowl. Season the dressing with salt and lots of freshly ground black pepper, and then slowly whisk in the olive oil until well combined.

Place half of lettuce on each plate, and arrange the chickpeas, bell pepper, tomatoes, cucumber, onion, olives, and feta on top in sections. Sprinkle the mint leaves over the salad and then drizzle the dressing over everything.

Perhaps this mouthwatering Warm Winter Vegetable Salad is the perfect way to wean me from hearty and filling winter foods to a sunnier spring menu. You still get the nutty denseness of roasted winter vegetables, but the dish is brightened up by some crumbled feta and a lemon juice-based dressing. This salad makes enough for 4 lunches at $1.94 per serving.

Warm Winter Vegetable Salad, adapted from Food & Wine, March 2010
2 red onions, cut into 1/2-inch wedges
2 sweet potatoes, cut into 1-inch pieces
3 carrots, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch pieces
2 parsnips, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch pieces
1 celery root, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch pieces
3 beets, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch pieces
6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
salt and freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup walnuts
3 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
3 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
4 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

Preheat the oven to 425¬?. In a medium roasting pan, toss the onions, sweet potatoes, carrots, parsnips, celery root, and beets with 4 tablespoons of the olive oil. Season the vegetables with salt and pepper and roast them for about 45 minutes, stirring once or twice, until they are tender and lightly browned in spots.

Toast the walnuts in a dry skillet over medium heat until they become fragrant and golden, around 5 minutes. Transfer the walnuts to a chopping board and coarsely chop them up.

In a large bowl, whisk together the vinegar with the lemon juice, mustard, and the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil and mix in the parsley. Season the dressing with salt and pepper. Add the roasted vegetables and walnuts to the dressing and toss everything together. Top the salad with the crumbled feta and serve the dish warm or at room temperature.

In September, I blogged about this great Spiced Butternut Squash, Lentil, and Goat Cheese Salad, but here is another squash-heavy salad to add to your repertoire. This Roasted Squash Salad with Maple Vinaigrette includes cheese and nuts, some of my other favourite toppings to make a hearty salad so you aren’t starving an hour later. The salad makes enough for 4 lunches at $1.31 per serving.

Roasted Squash Salad with Maple Vinaigrette, adapted from Health Magazine, November 2009
1/4 cup chopped, skinned hazelnuts
olive oil cooking spray
1 large butternut squash, seeded, peeled, and cut into cubes
3 tablespoons maple syrup
1 1/2 tablespoons cider vinegar
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 clove garlic, grated
6 cups mixed greens
1/4 cup shaved Parmesan cheese
salt and freshly ground pepper

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Spray a large baking sheet with olive oil spray and place the squash on the sheet, cut sides down. Cover the squash with foil, and roast them until they are tender, around 20 minutes.

While the squash is roasting, place the hazelnuts in a dry frying pan and toast them over a medium heat until they are fragrant, around 5 minutes.

To make the dressing, whisk together the maple sugar, vinegar, grated garlic, and mustard until it is well blended. You can doctor the dressing until it gets just to your liking. Toss the greens with the dressing, and season with salt and pepper. Place the roasted squash on top of the greens, and garnish the dish with the toasted hazelnuts and shredded Parmesan.

Turlu Turlu, adapted from Moro: The Cookbook
2 zucchini, trimmed and cut into 1 inch disks
1 eggplant, halved lengthways and each half cut into 4 wedges lengthways
1 medium onion, roughly chopped
2 garlic cloves
2 green peppers, halved, deseeded and thickly sliced
3 medium carrots, peeled, halved lengthways and each half cut into 3 lengthways
1 medium turnip, cut into 1 inch wedges
2 medium potatoes, cut into 1 inch cubes
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
2 teaspoons coriander seeds
1 can chickpeas
2 14-ounce cans of whole tomatoes, drained and chopped
4 tablespoons olive oil
6 garlic cloves, finely sliced
1 small bunch each of fresh Italian parsley and cilantro, roughly chopped
salt and fresh ground pepper

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. While the oven is heating up, sprinkle a teaspoon of fine sea salt on the zucchini and eggplant slices, and let them stand for 20 minutes before rinsing under cold water. The salt helps get rid of the excess water in the vegetables so they can roast up nicely.

In a large bowl, toss the eggplant, onion, 2 garlic cloves, peppers, carrots, turnips, and potatoes with the olive oil, allspice, coriander seeds, and a little salt and pepper. Spread the veggie mixture on a large roasting tray in a single layer, so the veggies can roast rather than steam.

Cook the vegetables for 45 minutes in the oven, and gently turn the veggies over every 15 minutes or so to prevent them from burning. After 45 minutes of roasting, add the zucchini disks to the tray and cook for another 15 minutes.

While the veggies are in the oven, make a sweet tomato sauce that will bind the dish together. In a medium saucepan, heat up the olive oil over a medium to high heat. When the oil is hot, but not smoking, add the 6 finely sliced garlic cloves and fry until the garlic begins to color. Add the chopped tomatoes and a pinch of salt to balance their acidity. Cook the sauce over a medium heat until most of the liquid that the tomatoes give out has evaporated. Season with salt and pepper and then stir in the rinsed chickpeas to heat them up.

To serve the Turlu Turlu, add the roasted vegetables to the tomato-chickpea sauce and then stir everything together with the fresh herbs. Taste, and season with extra salt and pepper if needed.

Thank god, the Roasted Sweet Potato Salad With Black Beans and Chili Dressing that we had originally made as a side dish turned into a very last minute and desperate vegetarian main course. Roasted sweet potatoes are always a favourite of mine and they paired nicely with the spicy dressing and the fresh cilantro. This recipe feeds 4 people as a side dish (or 2 as a main course when disaster strikes) at $1.24 per serving.

Roasted Sweet Potato Salad With Black Beans and Chili Dressing, adapted from Mark Bittman’s The Minimalist
4 medium sweet potatoes (about 1 1/2 pounds), peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
1 large red onion, chopped
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 to 2 tablespoons minced fresh hot chili, like jalape?±o
1 clove garlic, peeled
juice of 2 limes
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 red bell pepper, seeded and finely diced
1 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Heat your oven to 400 degrees. Place the chopped sweet potatoes and onions in a large bowl and toss them with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and lots of salt and pepper. Spread the mixture into a single layer on a large baking sheet and roast them in the oven, turning occasionally, until the potatoes are tender and start to brown on their corners, around 40 minutes. Remove the roasted veggies from the oven and keep them on the baking sheet until you are ready to toss the salad.

While the sweet potatoes are roasting, whiz up the chilies, garlic, lime juice, remaining olive oil, salt, and pepper in a mini food processor to create the dressing. In another large bowl, dress the chopped red pepper and the black beans with half of the dressing and let it sit to infuse the flavour of the dressing into the beans.

Once the sweet potatoes are roasted, transfer the warm veggies into the bowl with the black beans and red pepper, and toss everything with the remaining salad dressing and chopped cilantro. Season the salad with salt and pepper as needed, and you can serve this sweet potato salad either warm or at room temperature.

I can’t seem to get enough of the early fall squashes that have been hitting our farmers’ market lately. After a summer of too many zucchinis, the earthiness of the fall squashes, especially when roasted, are making me look forward to lots of experimenting with them over the upcoming months. This salad recipe makes enough for 6 salads at $1.25 per serving.

Spiced Butternut Squash, Lentil, and Goat Cheese Salad
3/4 cup French Puy green lentils
2 pounds peeled seeded butternut squash or sugar pumpkin
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon hot smoked Spanish paprika
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
4 cups baby arugula
1 cup soft goat cheese, crumbled
1/4 cup thinly sliced mint leaves
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

Put the lentils in a small bowl, and cover them with water and let them soak for around 10 minutes. Drain them and then cook the lentils in boiling salted water until they are tender but still have a bit of bite to them, around 30 minutes. Drain the lentils and rinse them under cold water to stop them from cooking, then drain again and let them cool.

Combine the cumin, paprika, and sea salt with 2 tablespoons of olive oil to create the marinade for the butternut squash.

We decided to grill the squash on the bbq, so I brushed the marinade onto the halved squash and let it cook until the squash was tender and had some nice grill marks on it, around 15 to 20 minutes. Then I cut up the squash into 1-inch cubes for the salad and let it cool.

If you don’t want to grill the squash, you can preheat an oven to 375¬?F and roast them. Cut the squash into 1-inch cubes and toss the pieces with the marinade. Place the squash in a single layer on a baking sheet and roast them for 20 minutes. Turn the pieces over and let them roast until they are tender for a further 10 to 15 minutes. Once the squash is cooked, let it cool before assembling the salad.

To serve the salad, lay down a bed of arugula and then top with the lentils, butternut squash, and goat cheese. Sprinkle the chopped mint over the salad and season with salt and pepper. Dress with olive oil and red wine vinegar for a hearty fall treat.

I’m a big fish taco fan and have already posted about our favourite fish taco recipe. However after making these Baja Fish Tacos, me, Carlo, and our friend Mike, who came over for dinner, all agreed that these fish tacos are way better. It is probably the fried fish, which creates a nice crunchy base for all of the flavours from the spicy chipotle mayo and mango-radish salsa.

We normally never fry things at home because hot oil frightens me since I’m a klutz and burn myself all the time, but I would gladly risk a few burns to make these tacos again. Tyler Florence’s fish taco recipe makes enough food for 4 people at $2.81 per serving.

Baja Fish Tacos
1 pound skinless and boned Mahi Mahi, cod, or other firm white fish (I used Pacific cod)
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 cup panko bread crumbs
salt and freshly ground black pepper
vegetable oil for frying
8 soft flour tortillas
1/4 head of savoy cabbage, finely shredded
1/2 bunch cilantro, leaves picked
2 limes, cut into wedges for garnish

Cut the fish into 1 ounce strips. Create a breading station made up of bowls of flour, beaten egg, and seasoned panko bread crumbs. Using the wet hand-dry hand technique, dredge each piece of fish in the flour, then the egg, and finally cover them with panko.

Once all the fish is breaded, deep fry the fish in small batches in hot oil, around 375 degrees F. When I put the fish in, I was surprised how fast the first batch cooked and wasn’t really prepared. So be aware of how fast the frying process is since once the breading reaches a nice brown colour, the fish is cooked on the inside.

Drain the cooked fish on paper towels and season with salt. Keep them warm until you are ready to serve the tacos.

Mango-Radish Salsa
1 lime
1 mango, diced
2 to 3 red radishes, diced
1/2 small red onion, diced
1/2 tablespoon chili powder
1/4 bunch fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
1/8 cup extra-virgin olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Mix together the diced mango, radish, red onion, and squeeze the lime over the mixture. Season with chili powder, salt, pepper, and a bit of olive oil. Add the chopped cilantro and place in the fridge until everything else is ready.

Chipotle Mayo
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 chipotle in adobo, plus 1 tablespoon of adobo sauce
1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
salt and freshly ground black pepper

To make this spicy sauce for the tacos, whiz the canned chipotle in a food processor until it is all chopped up. Add the sour cream, mayo, adobo sauce, and lemon juice and whiz further until everything is mixed together and creamy. Season with salt and pepper, and place the sauce in the fridge until you serve the tacos.

To plate the fish tacos, take a toasted tortilla and fill with a few slices of fried fish. Top with the chipotle mayo, mango-radish salsa, shredded cabbage, and chopped cilantro, and then squeeze a wedge of lime over the taco.

I served the Baja Fish Tacos with some really easy and fast to make Mexican Slaw. This side dish recipe serves 4 people at 58 cents each.

Mexican Slaw
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard, or to taste
juice of 1 lime
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon minced fresh chile
1/8 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 head green or red cabbage
1 red bell pepper
2 medium carrots, grated
1/4 cup diced green onions
1/4 cup minced cilantro
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Whiz together the mustard, lime juice, garlic, and chile in a food processor, and slowly add the oil. Mix the cabbage, pepper, carrots, and green onions, and toss everything with the dressing. Add the chopped cilantro and season to taste.

Considering it is August, tomatoes reigned supreme at all the stands and there were so many different kinds, including tons of gorgeous heirloom tomatoes. We brought a bunch back to Vegas to cook with this week, but they would be perfect for this Heirloom Tomato and Pesto Tart with Parmesan Crust that I made with tomatoes from the Vegas farmers’ market. This tomato tart feeds 8 people at $1.31 per serving.

Heirloom Tomato and Pesto Tart with Parmesan Crust
6 colorful, medium-sized heirloom tomatoes, sliced 1/6-inch thick
1 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt
1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup unsalted organic butter, well chilled and cut into 1/4-inch cubes
4-ounce chunk, or around 2 cups, good fresh Parmesan, grated with a microplane grater
fresh pesto
2 tablespoons ice cold water
2 tablespoons good extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup slivered basil

The key to a successful tart is great looking heirloom tomatoes. I’d be lying if I could identify each type of heirloom tomato that I bought at the farmers’ market. I based my choices on which tomatoes looked pretty and made sure I had a variety of different kinds to provide a nice range in flavours.

To prevent a soggy tart crust, you need to get the tomato slices as dry as possible. The best way to do this is to lay a double layer of kitchen towels on your counter and place the tomato slices on top. Sprinkle them with a bit of salt and then top the tomatoes with another double layer of kitchen roll.

Gently press on the tomatoes to relieve them of extra liquid. The longer you can let the tomatoes sit, the less chance they will make your crust all gross and soggy.

Preheat the oven to 350ÀöF.

Place both flours, butter, and Parmesan in a food processor, and pulse quickly, about 25 times. The goal is a sandy-looking blend that has some pea-sized pieces of butter in it. Add the 2 tablespoons of ice water, and pulse a few more times. The end result should stick together when you pinch it between your fingers.

Place the dough into a 9- or 10-inch tart pan, and quickly press the dough into the pan by uniformly pressing the dough across the bottom. Work the dough out towards the sides and up to the edge to form a rim. Place the crust in the fridge and chill it for 15 minutes. Once the tart crust is chilled, take it out of the fridge and poke the bottom of the crust a few times with a fork.

Cover the tart with tinfoil and fill the bottom of the crust with pie weights. Place the pan on a baking sheet and cook it on the middle rack of the oven. After 15 minutes, take out the tart crust and gently remove the tinfoil and pie weights.

Place the uncovered tart back in the oven, and cook for another 10 minutes, or until it is a deep golden brown in color. Let the crust cool to room temperature before filling.

Just before serving, spread some fresh pesto on the bottom of the cooled tart crust, and then arrange the tomato slices in a concentric pattern inside the crust. Drizzle with a bit of olive oil and sprinkle with some chopped basil. Season with salt and pepper because tomatoes taste excellent with lots of salt.

The tart is served at room temperature and is almost like a tomato salad inside a crust since the tomatoes are left raw with just a simple dressing of olive oil and chopped basil.

We got quite a few cucumbers and zucchini, and I found this enormous black squash. It was so big and awesome that I had to pick it even though I had no idea what I was going to do with that much squash. Unfortunately, this photo doesn’t do the size of the squash justice since my hands are covering the top and the bottom of it.

When we went to pay for all of our veggies, we found out that the bad boy squash weighed just over 2 lbs, and only cost 50 cents!!!! Hands down the best valued squash I had ever bought. To figure out what to make with 2 lbs of squash, I turned to the index of my new cooking bible, and looked up different squash and zucchini recipes. As usual, I found some great ones, including this Zucchini Pesto Pancake, which feeds 4 people at 32 cents per serving.

Zucchini Pesto Pancake, from How to Cook Everything Vegetarian: Simple Meatless Recipes for Great Food
1 lb zucchini, or 1/2 of the giant squash, grated
1/2 onion, grated
fresh pesto, around 1/2 cup
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 cup flour
salt and freshly ground pepper
milk, half-and-half, or cream as needed
olive oil for cooking

Grate the zucchini by hand or in a food processor. Mix the vegetables, pesto, onion, egg, and flour together in a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper, and then add just enough milk so that the mixture drops easily from a large spoon.

Heat up a large frying pan with a bit of olive oil in it over medium heat. You have a couple of options for making the pancakes: you can either drop spoonfuls of batter in the pan and make mini pancakes similar to the Thai Style Corn Pancakes, or you can pour in half of the batter to make a large and thick pancake, which I decided to make.

Let the pancake cook for around 10 minutes until the bottom side is nicely browned and then flip over the pancake with a spatula so the other side can brown. The more cooked the pancake is at this point, the easier the flipping will be so let it cook until the pancake is ready to be flipped.

The recipe made enough batter to make 2 large pancakes, which we cut up and served with some salad. This Zucchini Pesto Pancake makes a great lunch or light dinner, and can be served either hot or cold. We kept one pancake to eat the next day and it held up well as a leftover too.