A few years ago my mom went on this big “health” kick. She switched from whole milk to 2%, white bread to wheat, eggs to egg whites, the list goes on, I even believe there was a jar of tofu “mayonnaise” purchased, though I don’t think it was ever actually consumed.

She also purchased a couple “healthy” cookbooks. I remember my sister and I flipping through them in digust. The ONLY recipe that made the cut was these unbelievable Turkey Meatballs from mom’s Eating for Life Cookbook.

Made with, yes, egg whites, ground Turkey and tons of fresh herbs, these meatballs are so good for you, you don’t feel guilty when you got back for your third or fourth.

I’d like to make these into a giant Turkey Meatball Sub one day, I think that would be beautiful…

The Ultimate Turkey Meatballs

2 lbs. Lean Ground Turkey
3 Egg Whites
3/4 Cup Dry Italian Breadcrumbs
1/4 Cup Water
3/4 Yellow Onion finely Chopped
3 cloves Garlic finely Minced
1/4 Cup Fresh Parsley finely Minced
1/4 Cup Fresh Basil finely Minced
1 1/2 tsp black Pepper
1 tsp Salt

4 Cups Marinara Sauce
1 box of Cooked Spaghetti

1. Preheat Broiler
2. In a large mixing bowl, mix Turkey, Egg whites, Breadcrumbs, Water, Onion, Parsley, Basil, Garlic, Salt & Pepper throughly.
3. Shape in 1 1/2 inch Meatballs and place on a greased Cookie Sheet.
4. Broil for about 10-15 minutes Turning to make sure you brown meatballs on all sides.
5. In a Large Saucepan Heat Marinara Sauce.
6. When Meatballs are browned, remove from oven and place into sauce.
7. Cook over Medium/Low Heat for about 20 minutes.
8. Serve with Cooked Pasta and Enjoy!

Source: Recipe Adapted from Spaghetti & Meatballs, Eating for Life Cookbook by Bill Phillips

This month’s Cookie of the Month is my kind of cookie. I’m not a big chocolate lover or cookie lover for that matter, but I love anything with bananas.

To be honest I have been on banana bread/muffin burn out for a while now.

These are the PERFECT solution. Moist and Fluffy and there’s that surprise ingredient, crunchy Granola w/raisins. I wasn’t sure how the granola would turn out, but it’s the ideal contrast to the moist cookies.

Also a great way to dispose of that extra Granola lying around my pantry!

Banana Granola Cookies

1/2 Cup Butter
1 Cup Brown Sugar
1 Egg
1 tsp Vanilla
3 Bananas Mashed
1 3/4 Cup Flour
1 tsp Cinnamon
1/2 tsp Nutmeg
3/4 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Salt
1 Cup Granola

1. Pre heat Oven to 375 Degrees
2. In a Large Mixing Bowl cream together Butter and Sugar with a mixer on medium
3. Add Vanilla, Egg and Banana, and mix till combined.
4. Seperately Sift Together the Dry Ingredients – Flour, Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Baking Soda & Salt
5. Add Dry Ingredients to the Banana Mixture.
6. Add Granola and mix until just combined
7. Spoon onto a greased cookie sheet leaving some room, cookies will slightly spread out.
8. Bake 10-12 minutes
9. Cool and Enjoy!

Food News for the week -

**Did you know today was National Lemonade Day? Lemonade stands and retailers all over the country are celebrating by donating profits to Alex’s Lemonade Stand a non-profit working to raise money for kids with cancer.

** Sherry Vinegar, Smoked Sea Salt, Fish Sauce… 10 Ingredients to Fancy up Your Meals and a few tricky ways to use them from CNN.com

** And Lastly in case you haven’t yet heard there’s been a MAJOR egg recall this week… and here’s a great article from CNN.com explains some of that tricky egg termonology: Free Range? Organic? Cage Free? What does it all mean? Get it all Egg-splained HERE!

I made this the other day for a light lunch. Super easy, fresh and oh so delicious!

Easy Italian Pasta Salad

Ingredients:
1 Bunch of Broccoli – tops (or florets) only
1 Green Bell Pepper – Diced
1 cup Cherry Tomatoes cut in half
1/2 cup chopped kalamata olives (or black olives, any type you like will work)
1/4 cup chopped Fresh Basil
3/4 cup Italian Dressing (I used 1/2 Newman’s Own 1/2 Kraft Italian, you could use any kind you like or have on hand)
Salt & Pepper to Taste

1lb Cooked Pasta

1. Blanch broccoli – Bring a pan of salted water to a boil, Add broccoli florets and Cook for a couple of minutes, just to allow broccoli to slightly soften, but not completely cook. Immediately remove broccoli to a bowl of cold water w/ice to stop cooking process and keep broccoli green and crunchy.

2. In a Large Bowl, Mix Add HOT cooked Pasta to diced green bell pepper, cherry tomatoes, broccoli, Basil and Olives.

3. Add Italian dressing and mix to combine. Add Salt and Pepper to taste.

4. Enjoy!

Refrigerate Leftovers.

Want a creative way to use up those veggies from the garden? This is it!

I have to admit I didn’t know what ratatouille was until last week.

My husband bought the movie for me a couple years ago, because I loved the sweet story about a Rat with a heart of gold who loves to cook.

So the other day I googled it.

I was pleasantly surprised to discovered it wasn’t anything strange, but a wonderful recipe using many of the veggies that are currently in season, the name is VERY misleading.

What it is, is gorgeous combination of zucchini, yellow squash and eggplant layered between a simple sauce made of fresh tomatoes, bell pepper, onion, garlic, basil and parsley.

Since it’s that time of year and ALL of these items are super fresh and super cheap, how could I not make it?

The result? A fresh summer flavor explosion!

This is one of those recipes I would HIGHLY recommend making NOW, while everything is still fresh, beautiful and, well, cheap.

Since I had several of the ingredients on hand straight from my garden and the gardens of friends, it literally cost me like $3.00 to make.

Now I will say it is a TAD labor intensive, most just the chopping really. I used the long side of multi-purpose grater for the squash and zucchini, and thinly sliced the eggplant by hand. But it is definitely worth all the work.

I was going to use the famous Julia Child’s recipe, but when it came down to it, that was twice the work and, as usual, I just ended up doing it my way.

Boy am I glad I did!

While Julia’s tips were invaluable, I’m happy I skipped the part where she individually fries each veggie in olive oil before layering it all together. I think my recipe was a LOT lighter and allowed the fresh veggies and herbs to really come together and shine.

Ratatouille

Ingredients:
1 Medium Eggplant
1 Medium Zucchini
1 Medium Yellow Squash
1 Red Bell Pepper
1lb. or 4 Large Tomatoes – diced
1/2 a Yellow Onion – diced
2 Cloves Garlic – finely chopped
1/4 Cup Chopped Fresh Basil
1/4 Cup Chopped Fresh Parsley
2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper

1. Preheat oven to 350

2. Thinly slice Eggplant, Zucchini and Squash.

3. In a medium skillet add Oil, Onions and Bell Pepper

4. Cook on Medium-High 5-7 minutes until just tender.

5. Add Garlic, cook for 1 minute, then add Tomatoes, Salt and Pepper to taste.

6. Cook for about 10 minutes just to bring it all together – it will still be very thin.

7. In a Casserole dish (I used my cast iron skillet, but you don’t have to) spoon a layer of the sauce to cover the bottom.

8. Sprinkle with a portion of the fresh Basil and Parsley, then Layer Zucchini, Eggplant and Squash alternating in a circle.

9. Add another layer of Sauce, then herbs, then more veggies.

10. Finish with a final layer of Sauce and Fresh Herbs to top. (If you have a deep enough dish you could probably pull off another layer, but this is all I could fit)

11. Cover with aluminum foil and Bake 45 minutes.

12. Slice and Enjoy!

Source: Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child

I found a few good food articles and recipes I’m thinking about trying this weekend…

From the LA Times a great article about experimenting with up-side down cakes:

The upside-down gets around… Why limit yourself to canned pineapple? Summer’s abundance of fruit is a great reason to experiment — and the baking is easy.

This article includes a great recipe for an apricot upside down cake and links to a few more.

I’m thinking an upside down cake is in order this weekend, but now I just don’t know what fruit to use… peaches, plums, apricots or fresh pineapple… I see a blog about this monday!

This next one: Playing it by ear? Corn tastes better when you follow some simple rules… from the Chicago Tribune is about cooking with fresh sweet corn, with a mouth-watering recipe for fresh corn pancakes… Sunday morning breakfast anyone?

And Lastly, a Recipe from the Detroit Free Press, Garlic-Balsamic Chicken Kebabs – Yum!

Well hopefully I provided you with a little Inspiration for your weekend!

See you Monday!

I came across this article about words that were just recently rejected from the Oxford English Dictionary.

These 7 food words were my favorite…

“Dringle” –  The watermark left by a glass of liquid.

“Freegan” – Someone who rejects consumerism, usually by eating discarded food.

“Locavor” - A person who tries to eat only locally grown or produced food.

“Oninate” – To overwhelm with post-dining breath.

“Peppier” – A waiter whose sole job is to offer diners ground pepper, usually from a large pepper mill.

“Smushables” Items that must be pack at the top of a bag to avoid being squashed. (For us, that’d usually be food.)

“Spatulate” Removing cake mixture from the side of a bowl with a spatula.

I think some of these might just make it into my vocabulary…

Window Farms

Made from recycled water bottles they have an self irrigation system that require’s little maintenance.

I think these are SO cool!  Especially if you are like me and cursed with no decent spot to grow a thing. You can grow everything from your basic herbs to lettuce, cherry tomatoes and snap peas, ALL year long.

They do require a bit of work if you get started if you get the basic set-up. You have to do some minor cutting of water bottles and some small assembly. Although, if you have the cash you can skip all the hard parts and get it done for you. 

I’m seriously considering trying it…

Of course I’d want to hide it in my office where no one would see it.

It’s that time of year, and I have tomatoes stacking up on my counter top like crazy.

I seem to not be able to come up with near enough recipes to eat them all… but I’m not giving up!

I’m going to try this recipe today…

Broiled Tomatoes

Ingredients:

2 medium tomatoes
Dijon mustard
salt
fresh ground pepper
3 tablespoons melted butter
1/4 cup seasoned fine dry bread crumbs
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1. Cut tomatoes in half.

 2. Spread each cut side with mustard, then sprinkle with salt and pepper.

3.  Mix melted butter, bread crumbs, and Parmesan cheese.

4. Spoon crumb mixture over the top of each tomato half.

5. Place tomatoes under the broiler and broil until crumbs are browned and tomatoes are tender.

I also found a few other GREAT recipes from the Washington Post’s Tomato Contest, here’s the one’s I wanna try:

Tomato Stack Salad - the winning recipe -

Mato Sammidges

Tri-Color Tomato Salad w/Lime sour cream & Pesto

Pasta w/Tomato & Honey Mustard Sauce

Today I’m inspired by….

Food Art by Shawn Kenney

AND a few good food quotes…

~ “Why does Sea World have a seafood restaurant?? I’m halfway through my fish burger and I realize, Oh my God….I could be eating a slow learner.” -Lynda Montgomery

~ “I cook with wine, sometimes I even add it to the food.” – W.C. Feilds

~ “The only time to eat diet food is while you’re waiting for the steak to cook” – Julia Child

~ “If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.” – J.R.R. Tolkien

~ “Strength is the ability to break a chocolate bar into four pieces with your bare hands – and then eat just one of those pieces” – Judith Viorst

~ “I bought a doughnut and they gave me a receipt for the doughtnut… I don’t need a receipt for the doughnut. I give you money and you give me the doughnut, end of transaction. We don’t need to bring ink and paper into this. I can’t imagine a scenario that I would have to prove that I bought a doughnut. To some skeptical friend, ‘Don’t even act like I didn’t get that doughnut, I’ve got the documentation right here… It’s in my file at home. …Under “D”.’”- Mitch Hedberg

~ “It is ludicrous to read the microwave direction on the boxes of food you buy, as each one will have a disclaimer: “THIS WILL VARY WITH YOUR MICROWAVE.” Loosely translated, this means, “You’re on your own, Bernice.”” -Erma Bombeck