Feta Avocado Scramble

Lately, with the mornings getting darker and colder, I’ve been waking up craving a hot breakfast. Fruit and yogurt just isn’t making the cut. And getting out of bed on crisp fall mornings is easier when I know I’ll soon be enjoying my favorite egg scramble.

Starting your day with protein is a great way to fuel up. I’ve noticed when I eat a high-protein breakfast I’m more productive throughout the morning and less likely to get the afternoon munchies. Once incorrectly branded an unhealthy food, eggs are now heralded as a top 10 healthiest food by many nutrition experts. Eggs contain the purest form of protein found in whole foods, which means our bodies use it more efficiently than any other protein.

And please, please, don’t throw out that yolk! Unless you’re allergic, you should definitely indulge in the egg’s incredible center. The yolk contains not only all the egg’s vitamins and minerals, but also healthy fats your body needs to absorb such fabulous nutrients.

My favorite egg scramble naturally has to include avocado. I have yet to meet someone who doesn’t love avocados (and to those out there who don’t, you’re seriously missing out!). Avocados can turn an average dish into an oh-my-I could-eat-this-every-day type dish. They give the eggs a creamy texture and a decadent flavor. The trick is to add the chopped avocado towards the end of cooking so you don’t end up with just a mushy pile of green eggs (although Dr. Seuss would approve).

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8-Vegetable Minestrone

Cold weather is ahead and that means all the good things that come with it. Cozy fires, hot chocolate, comfy sweaters, and holiday parties.

Oh, and flu season.

But fret not. Darya and I are here to help you stay healthy all fall and winter long. A recent post of hers contains ten great tips on how to avoid getting sick. And my recipe for a hearty, healthy homemade soup will help you nail her #9: Eat well.

For years I’ve been working to perfect the recipe for my Immune-Boosting 8-Vegetable Minestrone. I love the result.

This isn’t your average minestrone with some beans and a few wimpy vegetables floating in some tasteless broth. My minestrone alone is a complete meal. It satisfies like a bowl of your favorite hearty pasta, and in addition to eight different fresh veggies this soup includes whole-wheat penne, cannellini beans, spicy chicken sausage (optional), and a sprinkle of Parmesan. Even better, it is easy to make and hard to mess up.

Ready to beat cold and flu season? Don an apron and dust off your pots and pans. It’s a lot of vegetables to chop, but enlist the help of a friend and you’ll both benefit from the big batch of soup this recipe makes. It’s so good you can eat it multiple nights in a row, or freeze the leftovers and enjoy a quick, healthy dinner at a later date.

Enjoy!
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Ko Lan Grilled Chicken

My life recently went from moderately busy to extremely crazy. I got a puppy. He’s 9 weeks old and pure energy.

Meet Huck

Meet Huck. Huck-a-boo. Huckleberry.

When I get home this wild little pooch wants 110% of my attention. Because of him I’m beginning to better understand why some parents say, “I just don’t have time to cook a healthy meal.” Huck is my “first” and he’s like a little warning of what it’s like to try to balance work with raising a child, while still finding time to cook a healthy and delicious dinner.

I’ll admit that during my husband’s and my first week with Huck there were a couple of nights that we relied on takeout after he finally went to bed at 10 p.m. I’m now determined to create recipes for you (and me) that are great for hectic nights. They’ll be quick and easy without compromising taste or nutrition.

The marinade in this Thai-inspired dish takes just five minutes to make and gives the chicken incredible flavor. The miso in it pairs deliciously with the ginger, garlic and lime, and a touch of agave helps the marinade to bind, which keeps the chicken extra moist. My marinade is also far healthier than store-bought ones, which are full of sugar, low-quality oils, artificial flavors and preservatives. Even the organic ones are high in sugar and salt and lack fresh flavor.

I love grilling on weeknights because it requires no cleanup and it’s fun to cook outdoors after a day spent behind the computer. I always make enough of this dish for two dinners. The first night I serve the chicken with grilled veggies and an easy tomato avocado salad. It also goes perfectly with my Kale Superhero Salad. The second night it’s delicious sliced and served cold on top of a salad full of seasonal greens.

For a vegetarian option this marinade pairs fantastically with tempeh. Simply slice the block of tempeh into four pieces and follow the same directions below.
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Photo Credit: Leo Gong

Today I’m thrilled to share a recipe from The Longevity Kitchen, the fabulous new cookbook by Rebecca Katz, MS. Rebecca is a Marin-based nationally recognized cookbook author, nutrition expert and chef. She is the founder and director of the Healing Kitchens Institute at Commonweal, which is dedicated to transforming lives through nutritional science and culinary alchemy. Her previous book, The Cancer-Fighting Kitchen, is a two-time IACP award-winner.

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Kale and Farro Superhero Salad

Elyse Kopecky is a social media consultant and whole foods chef based in Portland, OR. After 10 years working for NIKE and EA SPORTS she left her desk job for the chance to study culinary nutrition at the Natural Gourmet Institute in NYC. Follow her adventures in the kitchen and on the trail at www.freshabits.com and @freshabits.

Foodist Approved: Kale + Radicchio Superhero Salad with Farro

by Elyse Kopecky

The flavors of this salad combined with the al dente texture of the farro make for a salad reminiscent of a bowl of fresh pasta tossed in olive oil, garlic and lemon.

Do you find yourself making the same salad night after night? Let me guess (and I speak to you now from my own past habits), does it include baby spinach, tomatoes, carrots, and maybe a few sugar-loaded dried cranberries, plus a drizzle of store-bought dressing (also sugar-loaded)? No wonder you aren’t excited to eat it.

Enter kale salads. If you’ve dined out recently you’ve probably noticed that kale salads are making appearances everywhere, from pizza joints to upscale farm-to-table restaurants. Thanks to some top chefs kale has recently gained celebrity status, and for good reason. Kale works great in a variety of dishes and is especially delicious in salads. I don’t feel the least bit sorry for spinach losing some of the limelight.

Ready to up your salad repertoire? You won’t be disappointed by my recipe for Kale + Radicchio Superhero Salad with farro, walnuts and Parmesan all tossed in a lemon garlic dressing. I aptly named this dish Superhero Salad because it incorporates a range of my favorite nutrient-dense ingredients for strength and energy. And don’t frown at the parmesan cheese. Yes, hard cheeses are healthy.

If Popeye ate spinach, then Batman and Wonder Woman ate bowls and bowls of kale salad.

Enjoy!
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Elyse Kopecky is a social media consultant and whole foods chef based in Portland, OR. After 10 years working for NIKE and EA SPORTS she left her desk job for the chance to study culinary nutrition at the Natural Gourmet Institute in NYC. Follow her adventures in the kitchen and on the trail at www.freshabits.com and @freshabits.

Foodist Approved: Fabulous Fish Tacos with Fiery Peach Avocado Salsa

by Elyse Kopecky

If you’ve just finished reading Foodist you’re probably inspired to cook more at home, but are wondering where to begin. Fret not. I’ve got you covered. As a graduate of the Natural Gourmet Institute for Health and Culinary Arts, I know how to make healthy food taste amazing. And amazing food that satisfies and keeps us energized is the key to giving up all that barcoded junk once and for all.

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Shiso Pesto With Shrimp

The first time I had shiso I was at a sushi bar in San Francisco. At the time it was the best sushi I’d ever had, but it wasn’t just about the fish. Every now and then a new flavor, one I had never tasted before, would fill my mouth with happiness. It was a fresh flavor, almost like mint, but richer, more earthy and, at the same time, ethereal.

I asked the chef what I was tasting and he explained it was a Japanese herb called shiso (also called green perilla). Ever since that day I had been on a mission to find a place to buy it so I could use it at home. Occasionally I’d find shiso at a Japanese market, but always in small quantities and often at steep prices. Not an ideal situation for a shiso fiend.

I’d always wanted to have a more regular supply of shiso, and this year I finally had the opportunity when I started my first garden. To my delight our shiso plant thrived. Or more accurately: exploded.

Shiso Leaves

For the last few weeks I’ve had shiso coming out my ears and have been using it in salads, stir fries and everything else I could think of. It’s been awesome, but I still had barely dented the towering shiso bush that was taking over my garden. I needed to figure out a way to use a huge bunch of it so it wouldn’t go bad. And fast.

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I get asked a lot of strange questions here at Summer Tomato, but last week the folks over at Fact or Fictional took the healthy eating questions to a whole new level by asking me to help them stay nourished in a post-apocalyptic world.

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Perfect Steamed Artichoke

A perfect artichoke can be elusive. If it’s undercooked, it’ll be tough and stringy. If it’s overcooked, slimy and mushy. When it’s perfect it will be silky, creamy and hold together well.

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Japanese Carnitas

A few weeks ago I tweeted about this dish and got an overwhelming positive response, begging me to share the recipe. I have finally acquiesced.

While it was in fact mind-blowingly delicious, I’ve been resistant to publish it because bad lighting and my trusty iPhone camera really didn’t do the dish justice in the photos. To be honest, my dislike of food photography (the taking, not the viewing) is what prevents me from posting more recipes in general.

Lame, I know.

I used to spend a ton of time styling food, perfecting the lighting, then spend hours editing in Photoshop to get that one perfect photo. It’s a tedious process, and I can’t stand it. I like to cook and eat good food, but I don’t like to fret over it. And photography is fretful. Maybe one day I’ll have enough free time to spend my days mastering shutter speeds and lighting, but in the meantime you’ll just have to believe me that this is one worth making.

I’ve been messing around with my slow cooker lately, and have made several renditions of this Japanese version of carnitas. It’s so unbelievably good. It’s basically a pork shoulder (I got mine from Prather Ranch) braised in Japanese flavors like dashi, soy sauce, and ginger. I throw some Tokyo salad turnips or daikon in with the meat as well. I serve it in little cabbage cup “tortillas” with rice, cilantro and Sriracha hot sauce.

You’ll have a better time if you find a cabbage with leaves that are easy to separate, such as Napa cabbage. Smaller cabbages make this easier as well. I used some concentrated liquid dashi broth I found at a market in Japantown, but you can make your own or use the dehydrated kind if you prefer.

This is a great, simple dish for a group, though vegetarians might want to sit this one out.

Mind-Blowing Japanese Carnitas Tacos

Serves 6

Braised Pork Shoulder

Marinade

4 c. water

1 c. concentrated dashi

1/2 c. brown rice vinegar

1/2 c. soy sauce

1/3 c. mirin cooking wine

1/4 c. rough chopped ginger

1 cippolini onion chopped

1 c. coursely chopped daikon or Tokyo turnips

Meat

3.5 lbs pork butt (shoulder), trimmed of excess fat, cut into 4 large hunks

Garnishes

1 medium cabbage

2 c. cooked haiga rice (cook 1 hour before serving)

Fresh cilantro sprigs

Sriracha sauce

Preparation

In a large Dutch oven or cast iron pan, brown the meat on each side (about 20 minutes total). A splatter guard will come in handy during this step. While meat is browning, prepare marinade by adding all ingredients to crock pot.

Add cooked pork to marinade, liquid should cover 3/4 of meat. Cover and cook on high for 6-8 hours, turning half way through, or until pork pulls apart easily with a fork.

Before serving wash and dry cabbage and cut in half. Separate leaves and place on serving platter. Leaves should be approximately the size of corn tortillas, 5-6” across. Rinse cilantro sprigs, trim the ends and add to serving plate.

To serve, separate meat with fork into smaller, but still hefty chunks. Scoop some rice onto each plate, along with a portion of pork and a few daikon pieces. Place the vegetable serving platter in the center of the table, with a bottle of Sriracha. Fill some small bowls or ramekins with a small serving of cooking liquid for dipping.

To eat, scoop a small amount of rice onto a cabbage leave and top with pork. Add a few cilantro sprigs and a squirt of Sriracha to taste. Dip in sauce as desired.

Enjoy!