We love the versatility of eggplant, but its one downfall is that its flesh acts like a sponge, absorbing copious amounts of oil during cooking. We wanted an Asian-inspired stir-fry that starred eggplant but wasn’t weighed down by excessive oil, yet still boasted plenty of flavor. We started by mixing our sauce ingredients, allowing the bright lime zest, savory fish sauce, and spicy pepper flakes to meld together. We used just 2 tablespoons of heart-healthy canola oil and sautéed the eggplant (purposefully leaving the skin on for extra fiber and phytonutrients) with a vitamin C–rich red bell pepper until both…
Author: Chef M
We love snacking on edamame steamed in their shells, but to turn these immature soybeans into a more substantial salad, we took advantage of frozen, shelled edamame, a great source of vegetable protein and isoflavones, and tossed them with a vibrant mix of arugula, basil, and mint. The sweetness of the basil and mint complemented the peppery arugula, and the edamame’s neutral flavor and satisfying pop of texture paired well with the fragrant greens. Though fresh herbs are often used in minimal amounts for seasoning, we wanted to treat them like salad greens and used a handful of each, ensuring…
Soba noodles are so handy to have in the pantry. They taste great, cook quickly and can be served warm or at room temperature with these quick pickled veggies, or they can be cooked in advance and used as part of a cold salad. In this recipe the tofu and cashews make it a delicious light meal, but without those the noodles and pickled veggies would make a lovely accompaniment to miso-coated grilled salmon.
Diminutive po’ boys, or “po’ babies,” can nicely show off fried catfish fillet curls—the “up-do” flips created during frying. A fine yet rugged crust on this fish keeps the fillets in good shape, as does the paper wrapping, exposing just enough of the sandwich’s innate beauty and flavor while also making it easily portable for tailgating events and picnics. Low-protein cake flour or Wondra yields a crispier crust—always a plus for fried catfish. Just make sure to marinate the fish for 8 hours before cooking. For sandwich wrapping, you’ll need twelve pieces of butcher or freezer paper, cut into 6½-by-15-inch…
If people think they don’t like okra, it’s usually because they haven’t had it in season (May through September) or otherwise fried right. I know—I used to be one of the people who could only stomach it encased (read: hidden) in a fortress of cornmeal. And while I still like it that way, I’m fonder of slicing okra lengthwise like “fries,” and using a light buttermilkand-flour-based batter to help show off okra’s curves and seedy charm. I’ve paired it here with Comeback Sauce, but it’s also good with Creole Rémoulade Sauce or Goodly Ranch Dip.
This breakfast pudding isn’t quite sweet enough to make a satisfying dessert, but with honey or maple syrup and vanilla, it is sweet enough to feel like a treat at breakfast. And packed with protein from Greek yogurt and chia seeds (which help give this a thick, pudding-like consistency), it’s healthy, too. If you like fruity yogurt, top this with homemade Strawberry Sauce or a spoonful of Quick Berry Jam. You can also thin this by adding extra milk and strawberry sauce to freeze into healthy Popsicles.
My boys love starting the day with cereal. So much so that I had a real problem on my hands when they started refusing oatmeal, yogurt, and my other healthy go-tos. They begged for cereal to the point where I decided to limit their cereal to three days a week. I’m no joke. And then I introduced this granola cereal. Since it’s homemade and packed with health, I told the boys that they could eat this even on noncereal days, which felt like a win to them. As for me, well, it’s true that nothing makes the morning as easy…
Little brioche à tête are a mark of the French breakfast table, but few French people in their right mind would make them when there’s always a good neighbourhood boulangerie within walking distance. Given that many of us aren’t quite so lucky, here’s a slightly simpler breakfast bun that’s easy to make at home.
Bran muffins can be hard to love – they’re too virtuous for many tastes, with their whole raisins and their sawdust-like bran. We take those same ingredients but apply a few simple extra steps to transcend them into another universe of flavour and texture. These muffins are brilliant for breakfast, and so filling that eating one in the morning might well see you through till supper (or, at least, lunch) without snacking!
I think cauliflower and broccoli are often spoken of in the same breath because they have a similar shape. Each comes in a head that separates out into florets that grow off a central stem. Each relies on its likeness to a tree to get itself into the mouths of toddlers everywhere. And, of course, they do belong to the same big family of cruciferous vegetables that also boasts cabbage, kale, kohlrabi, and so many other delicious leafy vegetables. But at the end of this list, they go their separate ways—broccoli snapping and crunching and shining under tamari or lemon,…