Smooth (ie) Operator
Smoothies are a super simple way to enjoy a filling breakfast on the go or to heal post surgery. Throughout shoulder surgery and, now breast surgery, gathering recipes for a family friend and becoming somewhat of an expert on masking pills in smoothies for my dad (this gets us through tough mornings) — I am excited to share a few recipes here. Smoothies are healing, easily digestible when recovering from anything from surgery to PMS — nutrient dense and can be beefed up with high quality protein powder.
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Mexican Corn Salad
This summer was my first in 3 years where I wasn’t in Oaxaca Mexico experiencing color, music, the celebration of sharing, yoga, teaching English and evening park walks in search of the perfect esquites. Esquites are, essentially, corn kernels in cup, served in a borth, showered with toppings like mayonaise, queso, spice, lime and chapulines (baby grasshoppers). They are the companion to elote, which is roasted corn on the cob that is topped with the same ingredients listed above. I have a strong preference for esquites over elote because I find corn on the cob to be a bit too messy to eat.
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Cabbage & Rice
I grew up with an odd lunch box. No bologna sandwiches for me, instead, a thermos filled with lentil soup or cabbage and rice. Bottomless bowls of cabbage and rice were served in our house, weekly, and my mother snagged that meal from my grandma. The showstopper in her cabbage and rice were the delicious bits of bacon. Beans and rice are peasant food, I’m glad that I grew up eating like a peasant because eating poor never tasted so rich. American kids rarely grow up with a fondness for lentils and cabbage, but I did. Sure, I was chubby and was made fun of, relentlessly, because of my stinky lunch box – but the truth remains that I wouldn’t change a thing.
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Stuffed Zucchini
The zucchini harvest was plentiful in the summer and it has been this fall too. Throughout the two seasons I’ve eaten zucchinis fried and pan seared two ways — one with feta and one with ricotta. They have been enjoyed as rollatini, with pasta in an elevated mac and cheese style, and I have even made them into noodles! Suffice to say stuffing the zucchini seemed like the next brilliant dinner idea to share. Stuffed zucchini are hearty and filling but, somehow, still light. They’re a relatively simple weeknight dinner and perfect for early fall when you can start turning on your oven again without so much hesitation.
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An Ode To Salads: A Visual Feast + Guide to Flavor
Making a salad can be a creative way to start playing in the kitchen because you can easily combine flavors, test your seasoning abilities and get to know the ingredients you enjoy — or better yet — the ones you don’t enjoy. There is nothing to burn, your likelihood of cutting yourself is pretty slim unless you’re not used to wielding a knife at all and you can fish in your pantry — or stock it up — to have a creative cooking playdate with yourself. My love affair with salads runs deep. I know, I know it’s strange, but it’s true. I’ve often heard people and, yes, even my friends, say “I hate salads.”
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Peach Panzanella, and One Last Hurrah for Summer
I’m a wee bit late and playing the recipe catch up game because of a recent surgery. And, while I know it’s technically Fall y’all, I think there’s still breathing room to gather the final remains of farmers market and grocery store peaches to say farewell to summer and welcome in this warm autumn.
Panzanella is a classic Tuscan salad. Traditionally, panzanella it is brimming with bodacious red tomatoes, chunks of toasted or stale bread, chunks of red onions and basil. We always added fresh mozzarella and some recipes call for cucumbers and even bell peppers.
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Sunday Dinner: Pasta e Patate
We have encountered yet another Sunday at the senior center which means it’s macaroni time. Today’s meal of choice was the good old Neapolitan and childhood staple of pasta e patate, aka, pasta and potatoes. Yes, I spent the majority of my childhood eating double carbs because my grandmother made this weekly and, if I had it my way, I would have eaten it daily. Making this dish always brings up fond memories for my father, mother and brother — reminded of my grandmother’s overuse of red pepper and the way she would save the tiniest dish of leftovers and send it upstairs to our apartment for one of us kids to have as a leftover snack the following day.
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Zucchini Rollatini
At every catered event in the scope of my childhood — First Holy Communions, Confirmation parties, baby showers, bridal showers and, yes, even cocktail hours at weddings — there were trays, stacked on trays, of eggplant rollatini. Why? I don’t really know, but we’re Italian and I can only surmise that our love for cheesy dishes slathered in sauce runs deep, deep like a bottomless aluminum tray filled to the brim with hot food. I can recall my brother Louis and I having in depth conversations, as kids, about whether or not there would be eggplant rollatini at a family party or on a menu — and doing the same as adults. We don’t talk much, but we do talk about food and, I guess, that’s something.
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Party Platter: Pickle Infused Egg Salad
Let’s face it, thinking of what to make for dinner, every night for a family, is the pits. I now understand this so truly, madly and deeply as I’ve been a full time caregiver to my parents. I’m finding it’s best to theme nights and days of the the week because, well, I think it helps me get by and it helps them too. Food has given us all something to look forward to — browsing recipes, planning the grocery list and cooking. No frill Friday’s no and no cook nights might be my favorite and, honestly, sometimes they also happen on Tuesday’s and Thursday’s — but who’s keeping track?
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Salted Chocolate Chia Pudding
My chocolate cravings have been bonkers. Bonkers. They could very well be a result of stress. Call it perimenopause or, very likely, the early mornings and long days at the senior center with interrupted sleep to boot. I’m making an effort to steer clear of refined sugar, cookies, cakes and yes — even you my beloved ice cream — in an effort to avoid blood sugar spikes, stay mindful and in my best health before my next surgery in September. I’m back to a somewhat regular yoga practice, which I’ll once again be out of for 2-3 months after this upcoming surgery, so I’m being diligent. Well, as diligent as I can be as a woman who has a history of emotional eating — but, who doesn’t?
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Chia Pudding + How I Came to Love it 9 Years Late
Chia Pudding had its day in 2016 — well — from what I remember. I was getting my certification in Integrative Health Coaching and not only were these power seeds talked about in my health education courses, but every where I looked on health blogs and the internet — there they were. Some folks were putting them in water and drinking them, with an aim to promote better digestion and weight loss — while other bloggers were turning them into a sweet treat like pudding.
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Pan Seared Zucchini with Feta and Honey Lemon Vinaigrette
Zucchini are plentiful and in season late May through August. We’ve been getting our fill of them in our home — AKA “The Senior Center” — because they’re readily available at the market and they make a quick and easy side to prepare at meal time. Last summer I loved pan searing zucchini whole and serving them with whipped lemon ricotta and feta, but this season I’m finding myself drawn to combinations of sweet and savory flavors, the use of a lot more herbs and a lot of garlic — of course.
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Summer Rolls with Peanut Dipping Sauce
When I was working at Lifetime Television, my first real job in the big city, the office building was across the street from a Food Emporium. As a kid from Brooklyn the Food Emporium was FANCYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY. I only knew Waldbaums, Key Food and Shop Rite — and every fruit and vegetable stand in Bay Ridge and on Avenue U. But I loved to go into Food Emporium on my lunch break (it was 2003, mind you) and scope out the sushi section, among many other delights that were beautifully stacked and color coded in the refrigerated “to go” section. Everything was priced way above my pay grade, every thing but one item.
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Asian Marinated Pork Tenderloin with Pineapple Slaw
Admittedly, I’ve been preparing pork tenderloins every other week for dinner. And, yes, I have been using the pre-marinated ones to save a step since I’m cooking every single night, but this past week we made a bodacious Costco order and scored a fair price on two beautiful, un-marinated, pork tenderloins. The part about getting a plain old piece of meat or fish is that you can play with flavors and seasoning, the scary part about that is now the cook has a responsibility to come up with a marinade.
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Pasta with Garlic & Oil
Almost every Sunday, for as long as I can truly remember, we’ve eaten pasta. Heaping bowls filled with macaroni and, usually, red sauce with meatballs, ribs and sausages on the side. It’s tradition, right? Well, I mean, I think there’s room to change things up. In the summer months I find pasta with red sauce to be heavy so we’ve been opting for pesto, but we were over it.
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Mediterranean Rice Salad
With so many nights of dinner to prepare a week, I’m always trying to think of new sides and pairings to balance our plates. Most of the meals I’ve been making have been very veggie forward, with protein and some sort of starch. To be honest, I got a wee bit reliant on the good old potato in its golden and sweet form — which really isn’t a problem — but we were all growing tired of them even if we’d eaten them roasted, boiled and as an air fried french fry.
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Uncle Gino's Italian Tuna Salad
Uncle Gino would often prepare Italian tuna (yellowfin, canned in oil to the taste of the tuna is rich and moist — unlike a solid white albacore in water — Italian tuna is smooth, almost silky, and easy to flake) salad, nothing fancy, but my mother’s memory of it was so strong that I could hear the taste of it in her voice when she described it. I remember his cooking, watching him cook, his hugs — but my mother would not let up on this tuna salad.
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Cod alla Puttanesca
It has been years since I have made puttanesca sauce, so I’m really excited to be sharing this recipe on Tina to Table. Do you know what puttanesca sauce is? Puttanesca is a tomato based sauce loaded with olives, capers, anchovy and red pepper flakes. It is slightly sweet, salty, spicy and thick with love and flavor. When I was growing up, we ate a lot of spaghetti alla puttanesca, particularly on Friday’s during Lent — but as an adult I really favored eating white fish bathed in this hearty sauce, well, for numerous reasons. Sure, I love pasta, but I’m actually a bigger fan of being able to eat salty, briny sauce by the spoonful.
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