Country Kitchen (in the city) healthy delicious meal inspiration for everyone

Country Kitchen (in the city)
vegetarian
weekend special: the leftover veggie frittata
weekend special: the leftover veggie frittata

I have a busy life, unlike my parents who went to the grocery store religiously, every Saturday morning, I’m only able to get the car out and do a big shop about once every two weeks (if I’m lucky). The rest of the time I find myself running out on my lunch break to scavenge […]

bowl of spaghetti squash
bowl of spaghetti squash

This meal is straight out of my childhood. My mother was very find of a healthy-eating lifestyle and after I got out of my SpaghettiO’s and mac&cheese phase, I quickly picked up on her style of low-fat, low-sodium, heavy on the fruits and veggies eating habits. But there was NO WAY I was going to […]

quick breakfast bite
quick breakfast bite

As you may have noticed, I’m a huge fan of brunch but not so keen on the early morning before work breakfast. Lately, however, I have been trying to change my ways and start off the day right with a quick savory bite.  I’ve found that I feel more energetic and satisfied (aka. no snacks) […]

tagliatelle marinara with burrata & cerinola olives
tagliatelle marinara with burrata & cerinola olives

This Italian specialties dish was inspired by a shopping trip to buonItalia in the Chelsea Market. Quite simply, this meal was whipped together in the time it takes to cook marinara. The components are: fresh tagliatelle pasta, marinara sauce (recipe here), burrata cheese (what it it? read about it), shaved Parmesan and Cerinola olives. Mangia!!

work lunch: community salad!
work lunch: community salad!

My love of food is no secret here at work… with salad-envy spiking the charts. Every time I prepare a salad for lunch, I make sure to bring in enough to feed (at least) three hungry mouths. Lately, lunchtime salads have become a team effort. Yesterday, my boss whipped out a package of spinach, some […]

brunch: polenta porridge breakfast bowl
brunch: polenta porridge breakfast bowl

Having company is the best… feeding them, while working all day, going out at night and juggling home life, sometimes calls for a bit more creativity, especially if you can’t just hop in your car and run to the supermarket. Shopping, for me, usually involves walking to the train, going into the city (about 20+ […]

veggie taco platter
veggie taco platter

This healthy and colorful Make It Yourself Veggie Taco Platter takes as long to cook as it does to cut (which is not really all that long).  I served it with a side of antioxidant-packed Black Bean Soup. You will need: -one sliced green pepper -one medium onion (half julienned for the tacos, half chopped […]

black bean soup
black bean soup

This Black Bean soup, although hearty enough to be a meal in itself, was actually a side dish to my forthcoming veggie taco platter post! Ingredients (pictured above): – 1 1/2 cups of black beans – 1/2 chopped green pepper – 1 small yellow onion, chopped – 2 cloves chopped garlic – 1 teaspoon chili […]

red white and green green green pasta
red white and green green green pasta

I had a lovely weekend of hanging with friends, relaxing and cooking. After a quick breakfast and a day full of running around, Sunday’s mid-day meal was an light, fresh and early dinner – spinach fettuccine with fresh mozzarella, zucchini, roasted grape tomatoes and arugula. Here’s a rundown of how it came together: For ingredients: […]

brunch: veggie frittata
brunch: veggie frittata

If I had to choose a favorite meal, it would be brunch! To me, brunch, more than any other meal, allows for the most creativity, resourcefulness and diversity. As far as ingredients are concerned brunch usually goes one of two ways in my house – It’s either envisioned on a bright sunny stroll through the […]

kimchi collards & polenta grits
kimchi collards & polenta grits

Pictured above are the ingredients for the collard greens: a turnip, carrots, collard greens, vegetable base, garlic and kimchi. Oh… and if you have some red wine in the house, that helps too!! As a side note, Astor Wines has definitely dropped their prices since Trader Joe’s planted themselves up the street. This medium bodied […]

green-power dandelion soup
green-power dandelion soup

Being a one woman household either means sharing meals with good company, or eating the same ingredients (in different ways) for a few days in a row. The Mediterranean Chicken with Dandelion Greens Pastina I made the other day, became the Pastina and Asparagus work lunch (shown below), AND this healthy nutritious soup. Remember when […]

cheese stuffed rigatoni with broccilini
cheese stuffed rigatoni with broccilini

This dinner is pretty much all in pictures. If you need some sauce help check out a past post here.

roasted beet, carrot, and tomato soup
roasted beet, carrot, and tomato soup

I whipped up this jazzberry colored soup with ingredients I had in the house: -3 large beets -2 vine tomatoes -one carrot -one medium yellow onion -cumin (seeds and ground) -celery seeds -lemon thyme –vegetable base I started by roasting the beets. I cut off the tops of the beets, washed them, and them wrapped […]

countryside brunch: polenta and eggs
countryside brunch: polenta and eggs

It’s no secret- lazy weekend mornings refresh my soul and I LOVE BRUNCH. I wake up, put on some coffee, walk and feed the dog, and then walk through the apartment tying open all the curtains letting the sun shine in. And if it’s gloomy out, I do the same nonetheless.  Even though I find […]

polenta perfect dinner
polenta perfect dinner

Last night I turned simple pheasant-fare ingredients into a mouth-watering, upscale delight.  Here’s a quick rundown of the meal. The sauce: olive oil, dried crushed red pepper flakes, 3 cloves crushed garlic, a large pinch of fresh rosemary & basil coarsely chopped, medium yellow onion half-chopped half-sliced into slivers, 28oz can organic chopped tomatoes. In […]

kitchen rescue: sick day soup
kitchen rescue: sick day soup

The only thing I want when I’m sick is soup. I make a huge pot and eat it until I’m well; breakfast, lunch, dinner: soup! Being under the weather makes it tough to procure ingredients, so sometimes you have to use whatever is in the house. Luckily, working with what I’ve got is an innate […]

brunch: the farmers market deception
brunch: the farmers market deception

One of my favorite warm weather weekend activities is going to the farmers market with someone special and then coming home and concocting brunch with our farm-fresh finds. So, okay, it’s still winter, the only one special is myself, I’m hungry.. and I deserve lovely food!! So here’s my scrape-together-whatever-looks-good-in-the-refrigerator into a delicious not-quite-farmers-market brunch. […]

spinach sun salad
spinach sun salad

Simple delicious organic salad of spinach, sun sprouts, heirloom tomato, radish and carrot. Basically, whatever greens and veggies I had in the house that day!! For dressing, there was a little mustard left in the jar so I used it as a shaker and added balsamic, lemon infused oil, and dash sesame oil to the […]

chinese snake bean stir fry
chinese snake bean stir fry

What’s for dinner? Chinese long bean stir fry with Enokitake mushrooms, water chestnuts and brown short grain rice. Pictured above is a photographic gathering of ingredients: Chinese snake beans cut into 3 inch pieces (substitute with string beans if you can’t procure this ingredient locally), Enokitake mushrooms, water chestnuts (not pictured), chopped garlic, chopped ginger, […]

farfalle with cannellini beans parsley and parmesan
farfalle with cannellini beans parsley and parmesan

  This hand-me-down dinner is cheap, easy and tasty. It’s so easy, in fact, that it was made for me by someone who was trying to pass off the fact that they really couldn’t cook. Guess what, it worked!! A fail-prof dish. Gather and prepare the ingredients: Cannellini beans washed and strained (I used canned, […]

whole wheat naan veggie pizza
whole wheat naan veggie pizza

This yummy pizza can be quick and easy or a little more labor intensive, depending on #1. if you have sauce on hand and #2. how you want to veg it up. Being from an Italian-esque family, I always keep a little extra homemade marinara in the house, either in the refrigerator (if it was […]

dinner becomes breakfast (or lunch)
dinner becomes breakfast (or lunch)

Growing up with Hawaiian/Japanese neighbors you learn a bit about rice. For one, buy a rice cooker.. it’ll become your favorite kitchen aid!! Also, if you’re planning on consuming it the next day, it’s not necessary to refrigerate leftover rice until morning, simply leave it covered on the counter top. But what to do with […]

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