at home with ann

Happy New Year! I hope you had a wonderful holiday season, and ate all the cookies.  I'm not big on New Year's resolutions, but all the treats I've been eating for the past month have been making me feel a little sluggish.  When I saw a one day "cleanse" I thought I'd give it a try.  Loosely, it called for drinking hot lemon water first thing in the morning, a Glowing Green Smoothie for breakfast, Ginger Lemon Cayenne Detox tea and vegetables for lunch and dinner. My day went like this: First thing after my run: Hot Lemon water - This is a nice way to warm up.  I do this all the time. Breakfast: Glowing Green Smoothie - I liked it a lot.  Very refreshing and hydrating.  Wished I hadn't baked donuts the night before as they were staring me down on the kitchen counter. Lunch: Spicy Mulligatawny Soup - I'm pretty sure that's not what they meant by "salad," but I went with it. Snack: Ginger Lemon Cayenne Detox tea - Zingy and invigorat...

I've been in a lunch rut.  On a good day I'm eating hummus wraps, on a more hectic one I'm enjoying grilled cheese crusts and the ends of a green smoothie.  While I spend our lunchtimes running back and forth to the kitchen and keeping an eye on the baby to make sure he doesn't try to eat an entire pear in one bite, it's nice to have real food in front of me when I do sit down.  I try to keep the afternoon snacking to a minimum, as it's all too easy to inhale half a bag of cashews without noticing, and this combination of protein, veggies and healthy fats keeps me full and up for toddler level sprinting races. I love this sauce.  I posted about it way back in the beginning of my blogging days as part of a lentil recipe.  Today I used it on quinoa and vegetables, but it makes a great dressing for salad or any grain or bean. Lemon Tahini Dressing From Oh She Glows 1/4 cup tahini 2 garlic cloves 1/2 cup lemon juice 1/4 cup nutritional yeast (optional) ko...

We received some boneless pork loin chops along with a Christmas gift from Omaha Steaks.  My first attempt at cooking the pork yielded tasteless, dry hockey pucks, so the remaining two pieces stayed in the freezer for several months while I mustered the courage to try again.  Then one day while watching Giada, everyone's favorite perky Italian, she made sandwiches with grilled pork loin chops and they looked delicious.  Even so, I wasn't all that excited about this meal, but it turned out very well.  Jon was the grill master, and I handled the toppings.  Also, can we go ahead and ignore the ice cubes floating in my wine glass?  The wine wasn't chilled, and I'm not so secretly an 80 year old woman.   Grilled Pork Sandwich with Lemon Basil Mayo  original recipe from Giada De Laurentiis 2 boneless pork loin chops Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper 2 teaspoons herbes de Provence 1/2 cup mayonnaise 1/4 cup packe...

Earlier this week, my local Whole Foods posted on Facebook that they were looking for food bloggers to post some new recipes featuring their Sockeye salmon, which is going on major sale this Friday.  A food blogger who loves salmon and Whole Foods?  Sign me up!  They graciously offered to provide me with a piece in advance to test my recipe, but you can bet with the great deal they are featuring, I will be going back.  Whole Foods is my favorite place to have lunch dates with my little guy, so I'm always happy to have an excuse to visit. Now, some people say you shouldn't ever have cheese on the same plate as seafood.  I say food rules are meant to be broken and you should eat what you like. Pan searing and then oven roasting the salmon gives it a slightly crispy exterior and a rich, almost buttery interior.  Paired with the orzo and the tart lemon vinaigrette, crisp cucumbers, salty feta, delicious green herbs and the slight bite from the onions, this ...

The fluffy texture and blueberry lemon flavor is reminiscent of my favorite muffins.  But, the shape says cookie.  This just means you can eat them anytime of day.  Plus, since they use yogurt instead of butter or oil, we can go ahead and call them healthy.  The batch made quite a few, and even after sending some home with friends, we were left with a lot of cookies.  I tossed them in the freezer in an effort to prevent us from eating them nonstop, and they seemed to fare well.  You can take them straight from the freezer and reheat them for about 7 minutes in a 350 oven.  Blueberry Muffin Top Cookies original recipe from spoon fork bacon Yield ~48 cookies Ingredients: 2 cups all purpose flour 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 1/4 cup sugar 1 1/4 cups Greek yogurt 1 egg, lightly beaten 1 lemon, zested 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 1/4 cup blueberries Preheat ov...

This was so easy I won't call it a recipe.  I didn't even make my own pesto, so the whole thing was ready for the table in 20 minutes.  I used tilapia, because I like it and it was on sale at the market.  Use whatever fish you like. I'm also happy to report that my little guy liked it, especially the pieces with pesto breadcrumbs, so if I have any readers who cook for little people, I'd recommend giving it a try.  Also, sorry about using the word moist later on.    One more thing!  If you read via Google reader, word on the street is that it's going away.  I've switched my blog reader to Bloglovin, and it's working out well. Baked Lemon and Pesto Tilapia 1 lb. tilapia fillets 1/2-1 lemon, sliced 1/4-1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs 2-4 Tablespoons pesto Olive oil Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Arrange tilapia in a single layer in a baking dish. Drizzle with olive oil and turn to coat all sides. In a small bowl, mix together breadcrumbs an...

I know this is a bold statement, but I stand behind it.  These are, hands down, the best lemon bars I have ever had.  Way back when I first started this blog I shared a recipe for banana bread that is so good it will help you make friends.  If you can make friends with banana bread, you can use these lemon bars to make someone fall in love with you.  Marriage proposals and declarations of love will ensue.  Engagement Lemon Bars, better than chicken any day.  These are far and away the most requested dessert I make, I've brought them to three parties so far this summer and they are always extremely well received.  My father-in-law has even been known to sneak them off the dessert table before the meal is even served just to be sure he gets one.  Jon and Matt hovered around the kitchen until I let them loose on the "ugly" corner pieces.  I've shared another lemon bar recipe before, which makes an 8x8 pan.  Those are good, but these a...

As far as I'm concerned, you can never have too much quinoa.  At the market the other day I was trying to decide between buying barbecue ribs for dinner or a giant bag of quinoa.  While I like ribs, I knew I'd get much more mileage (and nutrition!) out of the quinoa, so I did the virtuous thing.  This hasn't stopped me from dropping not-so-subtle hints to Jon about the barbecue stand I want to try, however.  I'll wear him down eventually.  Add anything you want to quinoa, stir in some sort of sauce or dressing, and you have a meal.  Perfect for summer.  This is a combination of fresh summer vegetables topped with the amazingly delicious Lemon Tahini Dressing from Oh She Glows .  We had this on it's own as a light entree one night, and the leftovers as a side dish for burgers.  And, you know me, I topped mine with goat cheese, but that's entirely optional.  Summer Quinoa 1 cup dried quinoa, rinsed 1 3/4 cup vegetable broth 1 larg...

This is a delicious dressing that is chock full of avocado, herbs, lemon juice and a topped off with a little olive oil.  All those healthy fats, your skin will glow!  I originally made it to go on chef salads, but also used it to top black bean burgers, and as a vegetable dip.  It's very versatile.  I also licked the spatula as I was transferring it out of the food processor, but that's not an official serving suggestion. Avocado Herb Dressing 1 large avocado 1/2 lemon, juiced 1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar Handful each of basil and parsley (about 1/2 cup each) Kosher salt Black pepper Water, as needed In a food processor, combine avocaod, lemon juice, apple cider vinegar and herbs. Blend well until smooth. With the motor running, slowly add water until desired consistency. (More for a pourable dressing, less for a scoopable dip.  I did something in the middle, about 2 Tablespoons.) Season with salt and pepper to taste. This keeps in the frid...

It was a million degrees here on Wednesday.  I used to relish the hot summer days, but it's different when you are carrying a little sweaty inferno with you everywhere.  We usually take a walk in the later afternoon, but there was no way that was happening, so we headed out to do some errands.  We took advantage of the air conditioning and samples while wandering around Whole Foods.  After several laps and one near disaster getting wheat germ in the bulk foods aisle, we came upon the sushi bar.  I should have listened to my cravings and picked us up sushi for dinner, but I stuck with my planned menu of red lentil curry.  I love curry, but it wasn't exactly light and refreshing.  This is my long-winded way of saying that last night I knew I wanted to keep dinner light.  I loved this dish, it fit the bill perfectly.  Plus, it only took about 20 minutes to prepare, and can be served warm, cold or at room temperature.  Salmon, Asparagus ...

We went to New Hampshire to celebrate my Mom's birthday this past weekend.  The plan was for everyone to help with cleaning up their yard, pruning, weeding, and planting for the summer.  Everyone else worked very hard and I stood around chatting with my sister and held the baby.  I did do some cooking, though.  We had salmon for dinner, and I brought along this Spring Vegetable Quinoa.  I'm not even sure if mushrooms are Spring vegetables.  I have absolutely no idea when mushrooms are in season, but, as you know, I've been on a mushroom kick lately, so in they went. Spring Vegetable Quinoa Ingredients: 2 cups quinoa, rinsed 4 cups vegetable broth (I think you could cut this down to 3 1/2 cups, mine was a little soupier than I wanted.) 3 small shallots, sliced 1 small onion, chopped Olive oil 16 oz. mushrooms, sliced 1 bunch asparagus, sliced into 1-2 inch pieces 1 cup fresh spring peas (or 1 cup frozen peas, thawed) 3 green onions, sli...

At about 8:30 on Friday night I remembered that I had offered to bring a dessert to the cookout we were attending on Saturday.  Despite spending the afternoon going to three different grocery stores for my weekly shop, I at no point remembered to pick up the ingredients for nutella cheesecake brownies (a delicious sounding recipe sent to me by my friend Jackie).  I also know from experience that trying a new, complicated recipe late at night is often unsuccessful and results in missing ingredients.  Instead, I went with a tried and true old standby, Lemon Bars.  Straightforward to make, uses ingredients I generally keep on hand, and extremely popular, these fit the bill. Lemon Bars Ingredients: Crust: 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature 1/4 cup confectioner's sugar 1 cup flour 1/8 teaspoon salt Filling: 1 cup white sugar 2 eggs 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice (2 lemons) 1 tablespoon grated lemon zest 2 tablespoons flour Preheat oven to 350 degrees. ...

Before we get started today, I need to jump on the royal wedding bandwagon. I've actually always been on the royal wedding bandwagon.  In 1981, my mother and I watched Charles and Diana's wedding together.  I was too young to remember watching, but I do remember that dress.  I visited St. Paul's Cathedral when I went to England at age 15, and hoped I'd run into William around London and he might decide that I'd make a good princess.  If it wasn't going to be me, Kate makes an excellent choice.  I confess that I haven't seen all the coverage yet today (although of course I DVR'd it), however, my first impression is that she looked lovely and they seem very happy.  It has been reported to me that they had the same hymn at their wedding as we did at ours, and also my mother said Kate didn't look as beautiful as I did on my wedding day, but mothers are supposed to say things like that. I should have made scones.  Instead I made couscous. This salad ...

All the snow finally melted from our yard this week.  My tulips and daffodils are growing inches every day.  Spring is coming. One of my favorite things about Spring cooking is finding good asparagus on sale.  The beautiful, thin, green stalks give me hope that it will be warm soon. Lemon Asparagus Quinoa Ingredients: 1 cup uncooked quinoa 1 Tablespoon olive oil 1 small onion or shallot, chopped 1 bunch asparagus, cut into 1 inch segments 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed 1/2 lemon, juiced salt and pepper parmesan cheese Start by cooking the quinoa.  Bring two cups of water to a boil in a saucepan, add 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, the quinoa, and reduce heat to simmer.  Cook for 15 minutes or until all the liquid has been absorbed and the quinoa looks partially translucent. Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a frying pan.  Preferably one with a lid.  Add in chopped onion and saute about 5 minutes.  Wash and trim asparagus and cut into 1 ...

This post is part of my vacation series highlighting some amazing recipes from my favorite bloggers! Miri Leigh (via Steamy Kitchen) - Meyer Lemon Clouds with Lemon Whipped Cream and Fresh Blueberries Lemon and blueberries are two of my most favorite things. I can see this being a dessert staple this summer. Baking Blonde - Lemon Cheesecake with Lemon Curd Topping You had me at lemon.  Cheesecake too?  Heaven.