Oooh, I know I haven’t posted one of these in a while! Â And it’s not for lack of favorites. I’ve just been having a hard time keeping up with everything, to be honest. Â A lot of people say to me, “how do you do it all?” Â Truthfully, I don’t do it all. Â Not even close. Â I do what you see, but there’s a lot that slips through the cracks, like these posts! Â But now that I’m back teaching again, it’s a great time to share some of the things I am loving right now.
First a few administrative details!
I’ll be at Interabang Books in Dallas on Monday, September 25th at 7:00 pm for a talk, Q&A and book signing. Â Please come say hi!
I’m doing a cooking demo and book signing at Room at the Beach in Malibu on Thursday, September 28th from 1:00 to 4:00 pm. Â Cooking demo at 2:00, book signing before and after. I’d love to see you!
For people who lost power for an extended period of time due to a hurricane, Clean Eating is keeping the cart open for my Batch Cooking 101 Course through Sunday. Â You can still sign up and we’ll help you get caught up!Continue reading
Football season has started which is very exciting! Â And coincidentally so has soccer season and for some reason Mr. Picky’s soccer games are often scheduled at the same time as the game I want to watch LOL!
Also, I have received a lot of emails from people in Florida who are still without power who want to sign up for the Clean Eating Batch Cooking online course I developed. Â Week 1 started on September 11th and the cart was going to close this weekend, but Clean Eating will keep the cart open one more week through September 24! Â Click here for the 7-week version and here for the 6-week Vegetarian Times version. Â And, Week 1 will be available even if you have missed it. Â Hoping all of you that have been affected by Hurricane Harvey or Irma are back on your feet as soon as possible!
It’s soup season! Â I made my first pot tonight and even though I’m a warm weather gal, I am also crazy for soups. Â I’ll make two soups a week minimum. Â They’re easy, healthful, and so many rely on pantry staples, like this Lemony Chickpea Soup I developed for Clean Eating Magazine a few years ago. So flavorful, super rich texture, and loaded with fiber and protein!
We made it through the first week of school! Â And I made it through my first week back teaching cooking classes, AKA my real job. Â I had to be really organized this week for breakfast (my son needs to eat by 6:30 am!), lunch (school lunch, you know) and dinner. Â Yikes! Â Follow me on Instagram where I have been doing some live videos during dinner prep, and it’s not too late to sign up for my course on batch cooking that I developed for Clean Eating Magazine. Â It starts on Monday!
I’ve had some feedback about posting the dinner planner earlier, on Saturdays. Â Seems like many of you prefer that. Â Let me know if you’d like this to continue on Saturdays or go back to Sundays.
This recipe is an oldie, but goodie! Remember when everyone was like, “Ottolenghi who?” Â I bought Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi’s first book and knew they were going places with their emphasis on beautiful, veggie-forward, fresh looking recipes which happened to be vegetarian. Â This recipe is adapted from their first book, “Ottolenghi.”
I pretty much can’t get enough of cauliflower. Â It used to be a fall/winter vegetable in my book, but now I eat it all year in so many different forms. Â Cherry tomatoes, on the other hand, are strictly a summer/early fall ingredient. Â So this recipe is one I have been making in September for many years. Â I have served it at almost every Rosh Hashana luncheon, as well as weeknight dinners with a piece of salmon or a wedge of frittata.
In Ottolenghi’s recipe, the cauliflower is charred, but I prefer to keep the flavor really clean with just a simple blanching. The result is a bright salad with herbaceous dill and a tangy mustard-caper dressing. Â It’s so good and I am contemplating how else I can use this delectable dressing.
When I make this for the holidays, I prep everything the day before and keep the spinach separate until just before serving so it doesn’t get wilty and discolored. Â I know everyone is looking at this for Christmas with all the red and green. Â I might consider buying cherry tomatoes out of season just once.
In the meantime, give this a go sooner rather than later and embrace the best of summer and fall!
⅓ cup unrefined, cold pressed, extra virgin olive oil + 1 Tablespoon, divided
1 small-medium cauliflower, cut into bite-size florets (about 4 cups)
2 Tablespoons chopped dill
2 ounces baby spinach leaves
20 cherry tomatoes, halved
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
Steam the cauliflower florets until tender or blanche in salted boiling water, about 3 or 4 minutes. Drain thoroughly in a colander and run under cold water to stop the cooking process. Allow to dry.
To make the dressing: combine the capers, mustard, garlic, vinegar, ½ teaspoon sea salt and some black pepper. Whisk briskly while slowly adding the ⅓ cup oil. Taste for seasoning.
It’s always funny that juuuust before school starts for us here at the beach, the weather finally gets hot and feels like summer. Â We’re lucky that the weather rarely makes us uncomfortable, but it’s ironic the “beach days” come just after school is back in session.
Do check out the online course I developed for Clean Eating and Vegetarian Times called Batch Cooking 101. Â It helps you learn how to prep ahead, set up your kitchen with the right tools, how and what to freeze, how to cook once for the whole week! Â It begins on September 11, so don’t waste another minute!
I finally arrived in Chicago after a very unfortunate flight which was diverted to another airport for several hours until a storm passed through O’Hare airport. I am only here until after my segment on “Good Day, Chicago” tomorrow morning. Â I’m on around 9:20 am, so tune in if you live in Chicago! Â I decided to make this a quick trip because I have barely been home this summer and I have been away from my family a lot.
I had such an incredible week with two stops in Dallas and Houston (got out just before the storm hit!) Â I love meeting new people, especially ones with whom I have interacted on social media or here on the blog. Â Then I was lucky enough to have two beautiful book parties hosted for me back in LA and I have a book signing Sunday 8/27 at the Barnes & Noble in Calabasas from 2:00 to 3:30! Â If you have bought my book and you’re enjoying it, may I ask a huge favor? Â Would you please write a review on amazon? Â The more reviews I have, the more the amazon algorithm recommends my book to potential customers. Â Thank you!
Also, check out Friday’s post about the online cooking course on Batch Cooking that I developed for Clean Eating Magazine. Â Sign-ups are now and the 7-week course begins on September 11!
