Berry bliss.

Hello again, friends -- goodbye again, Summer! So much has happened in the blink of an eye. The last few months have been an exercise in spinning plates, developing patience and snagging sweet moments of peace between the madness. Plenty to be grateful for and happy about, but the pace has been more than I can remember in a while. As summer evenings cool into fall, I'm taking advantage of a sliver of downtime produced by some chicken and peppers on the grill to sip a glass of wine and fulfill a secret wish I've been thinking about all summer.

Starting in late spring, our grocery store stocks strawberries from Pell Farms, a New England gem which, hands down, has the best, sweetest, most consistent strawberries I've ever had. At a whopping $7/lb, they are tiny, deep red (all the way through to the center, which you could observe if you were to exercise self control and bite into one instead of shoving it whole into your mouth) and a perfect concentration of summer sun. Most days I ration them fiercely, slicing a scant few onto yogurt for breakfast or to brighten up a salad. It's funny, the things which seem outrageously expensive for what they are (even if under $10) and the other things we will splurge on (a great pair of shoes or a night out with friends).

Today for a little "me time," I washed and hulled a box of these beauties and sat down to blog and binge on as many as I wanted. It may sound ridiculous, but taking a moment to enjoy our string lights (in that magic hour before the mosquitoes come out), sip wine and eat berries seemed like an indulgence worth writing home about.

(Not-so) Extreme cooking.

Happy 2017! Regardless of your political convictions, many will agree that the back half of 2016 was ready for a Whole30 cleanse/detox of sorts. One of the things I look forward to most every January is the influx of inspiration for healthful recipes.

Now, readers of this blog might scratch their heads at the idea that I get enthusiastic about kale and coconut aminos, but in order to eat the way we publish, we eat reasonably healthfully between all the saturated fats. I believe in "Everything in moderation, including moderation," and I subscribe to the theory that a balanced diet is a glass of red wine in one hand and a bar of high-quality dark chocolate in the other.

Presenting: my add-to-anything secret weapons:

• Farro (okay, some people think grains aren't okay, but to them I say THEY ARE DELICIOUS AND FILLING)
• Avocado (the plant kingdom's butter) - as my dear friend Janet taught me last week, a pinch of black lava salt flakes makes it even better
• These roasted chickpeas (on salad/in grain bowls)
• Any roast vegetable with lemon juice

(As a matter of fact, you can mix all of these together and have an awesome lunch...maybe toss in nuts or sesame seeds for crunch, or an egg if you're super hungry?)

But after a while even the old stand-bys in different combinations can get boring -- this time of year sparks creativity in the kitchen as people desperately try to coax flavor and excitement out of raw foods and make awkward substitutes for what we really crave. I believe we should love kale for kale...don't sneak it into things where it doesn't belong, just for the health benefits. Don't make a burger and pretend beets are beef...cook beets in a way that celebrates their beet-ness.

In design, there's a theory that creating products and solutions for extremes (user-outliers such as super tall people or lefties -- my husband, in both cases). If you can solve the problem for those people, you can solve for everyone. In cooking, I learn flavor profiles and texture combinations from both ends of the health spectrum, and we never sacrifice deliciousness for nutritiousness.

Tonight's dinner included white pasta (*gasp!*) but a boatload of greens and bold flavor. The best thing was that it only took about 20 minutes to make, leaving me the rest of the evening to snuggle up with my blog.

*

Sesame Kale Noodles

(adapted from The Kitchen Girl - amped the veggies and adjusted the sauce based on what I had at home)

Noodles for four (to me, that translates to 1/2-2/3 lb)

1/4 c sun butter

1 T sesame oil

Juice from 1 lemon

2 T water

1 T soy sauce

2 T olive oil

2 c Brussels sprouts (thinly sliced)

1/2 c red onion, diced

4 T sliced almonds

3 T black and white sesame seeds

6 c kale

1 T yuzu juice if you have any (or Meyer lemon - the yuzu made the sauce incredibly bright)

avocado (because see above)

Cook pasta in boiling, salted water according to package directions. Whisk together sun butter, sesame oil, lemon, water and soy sauce and set aside.

Heat olive oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat and cook Brussels and onions for 4 minutes. Add almonds and sesame seeds and toss for another minute. Add kale and wilt for 2-3 minutes. Toss with sauce and noodles until warmed through/kale is wilted, then sprinkle with yuzu juice, more sesame seeds and avocado cubes.

Surprise center.

I may cook with a lot of butter (and by now my readers know I'm not shy when it comes to dessert). My cooking and nutrition philosophy revolves more around balancing the "good" and "bad," focusing on flavor and variety, and eating real, natural food.

Few know more about natural food than Heidi Swanson, the culinary genius behind the blog, 101Cookbooks, and a 2012 James Beard winner. Her new book, Super Natural Every Day, is filled with healthful, delicious recipes using all-natural ingredients. The beautiful photography and writing inspire even the most white-flour chefs among us to try her recipes.

Her post about Sesame Almond Brown Rice Balls was so cute that I immediately searched high and low for black sesame seeds (not an integral part of the dish by any means, but a cute addition I had to have). Specialty food store after supermarket failed me, and I was only rescued by my mom bringing me a little pouch of black sesame seeds from home on one of our whirlwind-weekend New York trips.

Sesame seeds in hand, I made the rice and started rolling. As Heidi says, you can put pretty much anything in the center of these little munchkins. I chose avocado for one batch and marinated cubes of tofu for the other. (See? Her recipes inspire me to use tofu.) In the end, they hand-rolling wasn't quite as tedious as I feared they would be, and they tasted even better after a couple days in the refrigerator.


Two tips: I would try to minimize the amount of rice for each ball while still covering the secret center, as they were quite filling. Also, take care with the seasoning -- you don't want to put too much salt in the ball itself because the dipping soy sauce will be quite salty. Do give the avocado a dash of salt when you're tossing it with the lemon, though, since it takes a while for the soy to hit the center when eating them. I ate two or three of these at a time with some Chinese vegetables in soup, which made for a light and delicious meal.

*

Sesame Almond Brown Rice Balls
(101 Cookbooks)

Makes 2 dozen

2 c (when measured raw) brown sushi rice, cooked (I used a rice cooker, and it worked perfectly)

3 c water

1/2 t sea salt

1/4 c sesame seeds (white/black mix)

3 T toasted almond slices/slivers, chopped

1/4 c minced green onions

In the center: avocado cubes tossed in lemon juice and salt; tofu marinated in my "Hero" sauce

After rice is cooked, remove from heat/unplug the rice cooker and let rest, covered, for at least 15 minutes, preferably a bit longer. Fluff with a fork, then gradually add and incorporate the sesame seeds, almonds, and green onions. Taste and adjust seasoning, adding more salt if needed. Let the rice cool quite a bit before shaping.

To form the rice balls, line a small cup/ramekin with plastic wrap, then fill with 1 1/2 - 2 T of the rice mixture. Place your "surprise center" in the middle, then gather the plastic wrap at the top and twist to seal the center inside the rice ball. Using your other palm, shape the rice into a ball. Carefully remove plastic wrap and set the rice ball in a parchment lined container or on a plate. Repeat with the remaining rice. Serve with a dish of soy sauce.

Heidi's tips: If your fingers get sticky, dab with water. And if you run out of steam making rice balls, just cook up a couple eggs into a thin omelette, cut into shreds, and toss with the rice.

Champion of breakfasts.

I'm not a runner. In high school, my gym teacher practically had to chase me around the track so I would finish the mile we had to run every Wednesday. You could say that running is exactly the opposite of what you already know I love, eating. I tried running in college but never really got into it -- winters were too cold to run outside, and my house gym only had two treadmills. But when I started working, I was walking less (taking the metro to work instead of walking to class) and eating more (the proverbial office candy bowl? Not so proverbial after all), so I knew I couldn't avoid the gym anymore. The way I saw it, if I was going to set aside half an hour to 45 minutes to exercise, I wanted to get the biggest caloric bang for my buck.

So I tried running again. But I needed motivation, so I decided this summer that I would register for a 5K in the fall. I no longer loathed running the way I did in high school, but at the time I made the decision, it still seemed impossible. But I had help: a lot of encouragement from my friends (runners and non-runners alike), and some self-motivating perks such as new workout music, new workout clothes, and of course (this is, after all, a blog about food), new workout food. I started making morning shakes after running: frozen fruit makes shakes nice and cold, and Greek yogurt makes them rich enough to feel like a decadent dessert. Maybe my morning smoothies didn't include whey protein or flax seed like those of serious athletes might, but mine were delicious.

Through some combination of encouragement, yummy smoothies, and resistance against the temptation to snooze in the morning, I finally ran my first 5K on Friday. My goal was to run the whole race without stopping to walk, and to finish in under 30 minutes. I'm happy to say, I finished at exactly 28:00. What's your post-workout food of choice?

~

Sunrise Smoothie

1 c frozen peaches

1 c fresh strawberries

1/2 c Greek yogurt

1 t honey

Splash of orange juice

Let the peaches thaw a little (just the same length of time as a shower worked for me). Blend all ingredients until smooth and frothy (an immersion blender works just fine). Beware the brain freeze.

A ragu to gobble, gobble.

Turkey breast gets a bad rap - easily overcooked (particularly when sharing the stage with a juicy leg cooked on the same bird), its ground version seeming like cardboard compared to a flavorful 80/20 ground chuck for burgers...turkey breast is often dismissed as cold cuts.

I'll dismiss the first claim about roast turkey breast being dry, because my last Thanksgiving bird was greeted with choruses of "It's so juicy! It's even better than when my mom makes it!" (Name withheld to protect the innocent). Deploy a little Michael Symon magic (a.k.a. butter-drenched cheesecloth - more on that around Thanksgiving), and you're golden (literally). But I can see what people mean when it comes to ground turkey -- if you're using 97/3 turkey breast, it can be tricky to coax flavor and juicyness out of it. It is my belief, however, that ground turkey just needs a little more attention -- some proper seasoning, a watchful eye while on the stove or grill, and thoughtful partnering with other appropriate textures. Ground turkey will always have a place in my kitchen -- a healthful, inexpensive, and when treated right, absolutely delicious freezer staple.

Bev's secrets to successful uses of ground turkey:

1. Season well - for burgers, I use a combination of herbs and a lovely balsamic-Worcestershire marinade (this both tenderizes the meat and injects iti with flavor); I find that smoked paprika lends an amazing meaty flavor, and I throw thyme in just about everything.
2. When cooking, start with a hot, hot pan to brown and caramelize the outside of the meat to seal in flavors and juice (then turn down the heat so as not to let things burn).
3. Be thoughtful about the accompanying ingredients in the recipe - my burgers involve roasted red peppers, sliced avocado, and fresh mozzarella (nothing dry about that - same with the ragu recipe below); I also love using ground turkey with Barilla Plus or whole wheat pasta; something about the nutty flavor of the pasta works so well with turkey.
4. Don't expect turkey to be beef! Once you start experimenting with ground turkey for what it is, you'll find it's actually quite delightful. I'm a strong proponent of not trying to fool yourself into thinking that one food is another (particularly in the health food department) -- enjoy it for what it is, or you'll always be disappointed it isn't.
   

~

(Another super-fast weeknight dinner)
Penne with Turkey Ragu

1/4-1/3 lb penne (for two; I love Barilla Plus or whole grain pasta for this dish)
1/2 lb ground turkey
1/2 t smoked paprika
1 T thyme, total
1 T oregano, total
1/2 t dried chili flakes
1 T olive oil
1 lb cherry tomatoes, halved (I used both yellow and red)
1 c white wine
1/2 c chicken stock
splash of cream
salt and pepper, to taste

Sauté turkey on medium-high heat (start on the high end of medium-high, then turn down to medium to finish cooking). Season with thyme, oregano, smoked paprika, salt, and pepper. When turkey is cooked, remove from pan and set aside. Add olive oil and tomatoes, tossing for a few minutes. Add the rest of the herbs and spices, plus wine and stock. Deglaze pan and cook until liquid is reduced and tomatoes have cooked down (about 5-7 min.).

Meanwhile, boil pasta.

When tomatoes and liquid are reduced, add a splash (just a splash will go a long way) of cream to the pan and simmer just a minute more. Toss with cooked pasta and serve.