Lemon & Arugula Potato Salad

My weekend.. in numbers!:

10: Time that my new favorite trashy tv show, My Big Fat American Gypsy Wedding is on TV (light up dress this weekend!!)

9: Number of times I thought about going to the gym on Sunday... but didn't

8: Time that I woke up on Saturday AM. I know you're impressed.

7: Number of sports Adam was watching on Saturday... simultaneously

6: Number of corny jokes at which I laughed too hard

5: Amount of hours I spent editing a writing sample (GOOD GOD.. I know)

4: Times I ate ice cream (relax, I was a good sharer)

3: Number of foods I created on Saturday before 1 PM (Go me!!)

2: Trips I made to the grocery store (I was really ready for a third)

1: Times I made a list of my weekend in numbers

0: Number of rolls of toilet paper available in the bathroom at Morgan's Pier on Saturday night (I will forgive the place for being all around pretty awesome otherwise)

11: Rating on a scale from 1-10 of how excited I am about this potato salad. Yep. Potato salad makes me that excited. But here's the deal: I love potatoes. All kinds. And in salad form they are so much fun (yea I just called potatoes fun). Easy, breezy, and dressed up for summer. But this salad is so light and so unlike the mayo laden salads of old. It makes me feel as though I just ate a real vegetable... well 2 real vegetables. The tangy taste of the vinaigrette contrasts with the saltiness of kalamata olives and peppery arugula perfectly. It tastes even better outside, or alongside a turkey burger. It's easy to make and fun to share. 

And for those who hate mayo... promise them there is no mayo. Let them take a few bites before you tell them the secret ingredient is mayo. Let it eat at them for a minute before you tell them you're kidding.

Soundtrack: Ms. Patsy Cline


Lemon and Arugula Potato Salad
Inspired by Cooking Light's Lemon-Herb Potato Salad
Serves 5-6


1 lb red new potatoes
1 tbsp EVOO
1 tsp lemon zest, finely chopped
1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp honey dijon mustard (I used Bookbinders. The key is a good dijon mustard, not a honey mustard dressing)

splash of kalamata olive juice (about 1/2 tsp)
3 oz arugula, chopped
1/4 c kalamata olives, finely chopped

1/2 tsp parsley (dried) or 1 tbsp fresh, chopped

1/2 tsp basil (dried) or 1 tbsp fresh, chopped

salt & pepper

Fill a 5 qt pot 3/4 of the way full with water. Place on the stove, cover, and bring to a boil. Add potatoes. Cover and simmer for ~10-15 minutes, depending on the size of the potato. The potatoes are done when a fork can be very easily inserted into the potato. Once the potatoes are finished cooking, turn off the heat. Allow the water to cool.

Drain the potatoes and set aside to cool fully (I let mine cool a while on the counter, then in the refrigerator to finish).

Once the potatoes are cooled, whisk together the EVOO, zest, lemon juice, honey dijon, and the splash of olive juice. Set aside.

Move the potatoes to a cutting board and cut into small cubes, about 1/4 in. Move the cubed potatoes to a large bowl.

Add the arugula, olives, parsley and basil. Add the dressing, then toss to combine. Salt and pepper to taste. Allow to rest for at least 10 minutes before serving to allow the flavors to marry. Serve chilled.

Triple Citrus Ricotta Cookies

I discovered something new this weekend. (Aside from a who-knows-how-old dust bunny under my bed.) 

I didn't discover this thing though, really. I was introduced to it. And people have been watching it for ages now.. or since they installed the traffic cameras in Philly. So I "discovered" it, in much the same way Columbus discovered our great nation.

Philadelphia has a television channel... devoted... to... traffic cameras. Rotating camera views of different points on all major highways set to an eclectic mix of music spanning all genres and ages. No repeats (on the music, that is). And it's titled... Jams and Cams.

I know what you're thinking. What happens if you happen to witness a horrible accident? Or just any accident really? Are you supposed to do something about it? I would think so. Thus, there is a lot of responsibility that comes in watching this channel. It's not for the faint of heart.

And now you know what I did this weekend (other than to make these cookies of course). I went to the gym. I ate a delicious meal of bbq brisket out. I drank some beers to kick of Philly Beer Week. And I watched Jams and Cams. I'm so cool.

Soundtrack: I like this.

Triple Citrus Ricotta Cookies

Adapted from Giada DeLaurentis Lemon Ricotta Cookies
Yield: ~3 dozen cookies

2 1/2 c ap flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
2 c sugar
2 eggs
1 (15-ounce) container whole milk ricotta cheese
6 tbsp of citrus juices, divided*
~ 1 tbsp zest of the mixed citrus used for juices

1/2 tbsp poppy seeds
1 1/2 c powdered sugar

*I used 2 tbsp orange juice, 2 tbsp lemon juice and 2 tbsp lime juice. Combined them in a bowl and then measured out 3 tbsp of the mix when needed, thus I had 1 tbsp of each in the cookies and in the glaze. You will need 1 lemon, 1 lime and 1/2 an orange for this. Also of note: I used fresh squeezed orange juice, not sure the effect that carton juice would have.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a medium sized bowl, stir flour, baking powder and salt with a whisk until combined. Set aside.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar, until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, continuously beating the mixture. Once eggs are combined, add ricotta cheese, 3 tbsp of mixed citrus juice, and the zest. Beat just until combined.

Using a spatula, stir in the dry mix and poppy seeds. Dough will be very moist, more similar to a batter.

Spoon ~ 1 tbsp drops of dough onto lined cookie sheets. Dough will spread when baking, so make sure to leave room. (These are a flat cookie, not raised.)

Bake for 15 minutes (or until golden brown at the edges). Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the cookie sheets for ~20 minutes before glazing.

While cookies are cooling, whisk together the remaining 3 tbsp of citrus juice and 1 1/2 c powdered sugar, to create a glaze. Once cookies are cooled, spoon ~1/2 tsp of glaze onto each cookie and spread to coat.

Glaze will need to cool ~2 hrs before storing.

Blueberry-Lemon Scones with Lavender Honey

On a scale from 1-cool, how cool is it if I stay in on a Friday night to bake scones? I mean, if nothing else I should at least get points for baking something so classy as a scone. And for putting zest in them. And lavender honey! Right on guys, I think it's pretty cool. 

Blueberry Blood

I should also mention that all the while I was baking these scones, my poor roommate was scrubbing the inside of our refrigerator, trying to erase the smell of rotting something-or-other that had been festering all week. It had actually moved to the freezer by this point and just was not backing down. Headfirst into rancid yuckiness all night long. On this scale from 1-cool though, he's beating me. Because I sure as shit didn't want to deal with it. Helllloooo ladies, this one is single and ready to mingle. And IT CLEANS! He's a keeper for sure. (Someone please take him off my hands!... juuuust kidding.)

Not a bad site, huh ladies?

Anyway, Adam and I have been together.. hmm..  I guess you could say a few years now. We aren't really sure exactly how long. We've known each other for 6 at least. And I've been trying to convince him to go on a picnic with me ever since. He finally agreed and OMG I AM SO EXCITED!  Picnics rule. I think it means finals week has officially burnt out his brain, but it's working to my advantage so it's all good. I hope I don't sound too much like Barefoot Contessa with this scenario, because I'm really not much a fan of all of the hokey stories on that cooking show. In fact the name Jeffrey makes me shudder. I'm just foreshadowing and it's totally going to work in your favor! Menu to drool over coming soon to a computer near you.

I figured scones would be a fun thing to bring along. I've also been dreaming about using the lavender honey that I made a couple weeks ago. So again, win-win. 

One of my favorite things about having a food processor is the ease at which I can make pastries. The thing cuts butter into flour like, well, butter.  If you don't have one, obviously you could make this the old fashioned way with a pastry cutter or two knives, but I really recommend investing in a food processor. Plus, you can make hummus and Pesto and all sorts of other delicious things. (I can make great product pitches if anyone wants to sponsor me... just sayin'.)

These scones have a great texture. Scones are baked from dough and more like a sweet biscuit than a muffin. These are pretty light and moist. The blueberry flavor is the most prominent, with a hint of lemon and then lavender on the end. Perfect for brunch or 12 AM on Friday night. Just be careful if you eat them warm, that night time snack lead to a blueberry massacre all. over. my. fingers. In a good way.

Soundtrack: Disco Deviance

Blueberry-Lemon Scones with Lavender Honey

Makes 8 (small) scones

1 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
6 tbsp unsalted butter, chilled
2 tbsp lavender honey (you can buy it or it can be made from simmering honey with lavender flowers for 30 minutes)
1/2 c. plain greek yogurt

1 tbsp lemon zest

1/4 c. fresh blueberries, frozen

Preheat the oven to 425 (That's right, 425).

Put the flour, baking powder, and salt into a food processor. Cut the butter into tablespoon sized pieces and add to the processor. Pulse (about 10 times at 30 seconds each) until butter is cut into the flour. The mixture will resemble course cornmeal when it is ready. (This can also be done by hand!)

Transfer the mixture to a medium bowl and add the honey, yogurt, and zest. Cream with a fork until a moist dough is formed, then mix in the blueberries in as few strokes as possible. (Working the dough too much can result in a dense pastry.)

Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and shape into a circle, about 8' in diameter. Cut the  dough (pizza-style!) into eighths. Place the triangles on a cookie sheet that has been lined with parchment paper. Bake for about 13-15 mins, until golden brown.

Sweet measuring cups, man

Pads of butter.. Pats of butter?

Is it flour and butter? Or cornmeal? Who knows!

Yellow anyone?

D'oh!

A pizza scone

Delicious blueberry, everywhere!

Pan-fried Tofu in Lemon Sauce with Arugula & Tomatoes

So this morning I took Jagger for a walk and accidentally tucked my keys away with his leash upon our return (if you haven't guessed at this point, he's my puppy). I then proceeded to distract myself just enough by eating breakfast and doing other morning procrastination things that I freaked out when I tried to leave for work. I tore the house apart for a few minutes before deciding the closet would be a great place to check. Once I finally found my keys, I grabbed them out of their hiding place and did the following: I rolled my eyes and thought to myself something to the tune of, "Ugh, Thursday." Actually, I may have said that out loud, I do tend to do that. Regardless... 


I interact with a lot of people at work everyday and I've heard a lot hate for just about every day of the week in this exact form (must be where I'm getting it from!). But is there a day of the week on which it's inappropriate to blame mindless behavior? Obviously one can have a case of the Mondays, your brain has already checked out for the weekend on Fridays (and thanks to Rebecca Black we've all learned a valuable lesson this year about how we should spend our Fridays anyway), hump day is just a wash (middle of the week blues), Thursday you're just so excited for Friday, etc etc. But I'm going to go with Tuesday. I think you've got to be on point on Tuesdays. I'll accept counter arguments though. I'm always down for a good excuse to act a fool.

The Great Wall of Tofu!

This dish is a good one for those days of the week where you're feeling a bit slow, off, frustrated, etc. Long day at the office? Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday got you down? You just want a healthy and delicious meal, but you don't want to fuss over it.

Ok, ok, here's the REAL DEAL

I've practiced this a few times now since I found the original recipe on The Skinny Chef (follow that link to see the original). I love. love. love. this dish because it's delicious and I can make it happen in about 15 minutes with 5 dirty dishes. It's a science at this point. (Yea me!) That makes Adam happy. He hates to do the dishes. Grump. Grump. Grump.

The original recipe is made with chicken. I like this more with tofu, but chicken works great too.  The lemon flavor compliments the pepper-iness of the arugula very nicely. The lightly cooked fresh tomato is my favorite new addition. I serve it with couscous and make a little more than the original amount of sauce for drizzling. (PS Why does Snoop Dog carry an umbrella?..... Fo drizzle!)


Soundtrack: Nicos Gun (You won't REALLY have time to listen, but that's ok. That's the point. Make dinner and then listen to this while you do something else you enjoy.. ehemm.. don't wanna know.)


Pan-friend Tofu in Lemon Sauce with Arugula & Tomatoes
Serves 2-3


1 package extra-firm tofu, pressed for 20 minutes
1/4 c whole wheat flour
Juice of 1 lemon
1/3 c. dry white wine
1/2 c. chicken stock (or vegetable stock)
1 med tomato, cut into pieces
3 or more handfuls of arugula (this is really a matter of preference... I suggest more)
EVOO
salt & pepper


Cut the block of tofu in half to create two thin, flat pieces. Cut these two pieces into strips and then cut them in half. (If you were in Kindergarten, you would be instructed to cut hamburger style and then hot dog style.) On a plate, season the flour with salt & pepper, stir to combine.


Heat a drizzle of EVOO in a saute pan over medium heat. Dredge the pieces of tofu through the flour to coat and then drop into the pan once the oil is heated. Pan fry for a minute or so on all sides so that they become crispy.


Once tofu is crisped, remove from pan into a bowl. In the same pan, add lemon juice, chicken stock, and wine. Scrape bottom and sides of the pan with a spatula to remove and stuck remnants from the tofu. Bring sauce to a boil and simmer for 3 minutes until sauce begins to reduce. Add the tomatoes and cook for another 2-3 minutes.


Once tomatoes are cooked, turn of the heat. Stir in the arugula and tofu. Serve!

Frying tofu. Sometimes after a long day at work
I feel like my brain is comparable.

Reduce the sauce. Simma down now.

Cooking the Tom A. Toes

Finished product!