Don't Think, Just Cook

If I do so much,

How can it be that I don't

Do anything well?

Work late or school play?

Boss or child to disappoint?

Who will pout the most?

There's always justification for the axiom that "simple foods are the best." Sure, with the freshest ingredients and a loving, honest touch even the plainest of meals can shine. But that's not why we love simple meals so much.

We love them because they're fast, easy and satisfying when we're slow, overwhelmed or frazzled.

So here's something that will not pluck the energy out of the evening. You don't have to think, just get into the kitchen and do it. Enjoy having time to ponder other issues one night this week, at least.

Bistro Beans and Sausage

Serve with crusty bread for dunking.

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided

4 fresh chicken sausages (preferably seasoned with fennel), about 6 to 8 ounces, uncooked

1 cup diced onion

4 or 5 sage leaves, whole, optional

2 pints cherry tomatoes

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 (15-ounce) can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained

1 cup chicken broth

12 to 16 pitted kalamata olives, halved

Heat a large, deep skillet over medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon oil and heat a few seconds or until hot. Add sausages and cook until browned and cooked through, 12 to 14 minutes. Transfer sausages to a plate.

Heat remaining olive oil in skillet. Add onion and sage leaves; cook until onion is just beginning to brown, about 4 minutes. Add tomatoes and garlic; cook until tomatoes begin to burst, about 3 minutes. Add beans and broth; cook, stirring frequently, until tomatoes are very soft and beans are hot, 4 to 5 minutes. Add sausage and olives to skillet; cook, stirring, until hot, about 1 minute. Remove sage leaves; serve in bowls. Makes 4 to 6 servings.

Easy Ways to Put Whole Grains into Quick Meals

Big hug from my son.
"Mommy," he says, "I love you.
Why are your arms so fat?"


Forget textile art
Aging bodies crave whole grains
That's fiber magic!

My daughter recently forwarded a link to test my “real age.” I assume she was reminding me to do what I can to stick around.

It is not my nature to indulge in taking random internet quizzes, especially in the middle of this busy week, but I was begging for a distraction (anything to quit doing the mundane stuff on my desk) and found myself lured into the website’s evaluation of my health habits. I was curious: I do not consider myself “old.” (Frantic maybe, but not ancient.) What age do those "real age" people think I am?

After answering the questions about my daily habits as truthfully as I wanted to, my age was not revealed to be 25-30 as I suspected. The hard reality is that if I eat more whole grains, fruit, and fish, I will shave off at least 10 years. That sounds pretty good to me, but when I am in a hurry to cook dinner, spending 45 minutes on a pot of brown rice or wheat berries is not my idea of quick.

But I do know about Kashi’s heat-and-serve grain pilafs. These are not empty carbs; the 7 whole grain pilaf sides are bags of textured grains, full of fiber and protein. If for no other reason, I will buy these packages of precooked mixed grains for the wheat berries. They are nutty in flavor and pleasantly chewy, but traditionally can take an hour to boil. Now we can eat them in an instant.

This bag of grains is my latest food compulsion; here are a couple of experiments that we have enjoyed as meatless mains.

- Debby

Mediterranean Grains with Feta, Olives, and Tomatoes

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 (8.5-ounce) package Kashi 7 whole grain pilaf

1 cup quartered cherry tomatoes

3 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian flat-leaf parsley

3 tablespoons chopped Kalamata olives

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese

Heat olive oil in a large heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, and sauté until golden, about 4 minutes. Reduce heat to medium, and add tomatoes; sauté 1 minute. Add pilaf, parsley, olives, salt, and pepper; cook, stirring to break up pilaf, until hot, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a bowl; toss with feta cheese. Makes 3 servings.

Grains Pilaf with Spinach, Walnuts, and Goat Cheese

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 (8.5-ounce) package Kashi 7 whole grain pilaf

3 (packed) cups baby spinach leaves

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

2 to 3 ounces goat cheese, crumbled

Heat a large heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add walnuts, and cook, stirring or shaking pan constantly, until fragrant and toasted, about 4 to 6 minutes. Transfer to a bowl, and set aside.

Reduce heat to medium. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in skillet; add garlic and sauté until golden, about 45 seconds. Add pilaf and spinach; cover and cook 2 minutes, stirring to break up pilaf. Uncover and sauté until pilaf is hot and spinach is wilted, about 2 minutes. Stir in salt and pepper.

Transfer to bowl of walnuts; toss. Sprinkle each serving with goat cheese.

Fridge-clearing pizza

True food recycling.
If it's not for fresh eating.
It's pizza topping.

Every Friday night is pizza night at Betsey's house. I'd like to say that I use a time-honored crust recipe that I wheedled away from a little Italian grandmother on a romantic trip to New York — but I confess it's just Jiffy mix from a box.

For the younger family members, toppings are a simple affair. Three-year-old Owen is a straight up, from-the-jar red-sauce and cheese man. Eight-year-old Anne Elise likes the same base, but she throws on a few slices of onion and kalamata olives.

For the grown ups, topping the Friday pizza is always an adventure. See, Friday at my house is the end of the grocery week. What's available for pizza is what's left in the fridge. And while I absolutely agree that spanking fresh ingredients make the best meals, I also know that you can disguise a lot of tired produce with some melted cheese and a super-hot oven. (I also believe that just about any leftover can make a worthy burrito filling - but that's another topic for another day.)

This week, we happened to get lucky. Here's what we ended up with.

Green Pizza
3/4 cup thinly sliced leek
1 1/2 cups broccoli florets

minced garlic to taste

1/4 cup kalamata olives, pitted and halved
white truffle or olive oil
1/3 cup feta cheese, crumbled
1/4 cup shredded fontina cheese
1/4 cup shredded mozzerella

Preheat oven to 425.

Saute leeks in a small amount of olive oil or butter (with a few random onion slices if you have some left from your daughter's pizza) over medium heat until soft and beginning to caramelize. Stir in minced garlic and broccoli florets until thoroughly heated.

Brush truffle oil (or olive oil if you don't have it) onto pizza crust. Spread sauteed mixture evenly over the top. Arrange olives over that.

Sprinkle on feta, fontina and mozzeralla.

Bake until cheese is completely melted and edges of crust begin to brown, about 15 minutes.

Playing "Chicken"

My boss’ face fades

I savagely pound the breast

An awesome feeling

One cannot have too many chicken recipes, especially those with 5 ingredients that take 15 minutes to cook. And let’s face it – when you've had a stressful day and need to work off some steam, nothing submits to a satisfying pounding quite like a chicken breast.

But we always want something imaginative to go with it — besides steamed broccoli. So we have devised a few “chicken toppers” that will turn simple, quick dinners into pleasing entrees. Stash these recipes away for company, too.

The 15-minute dinner prep starts with pounding chicken breast halves between pieces of waxed paper or plastic wrap. (A rolling pin works perfectly, but if you have a meat mallet, that is even more fun to pound. It is, quite literally, hammering your meal together. Very powerful, indeed.) Lightly mash the chicken breast into an even thickness; it will end up being about 3/4-inch thick. Salt and pepper the chicken, and you are ready to cook.

Brown the chicken breasts just to sear them; they will continue cooking as you heat the chicken with the toppings in the oven.

What to top with? Here are some winning combos:

Chicken Topped with Bacon, Cheddar, and Corn (“The All-American”)

4 slices bacon

1 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels

1/2 cup diced onion

4 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

Salt and freshly ground pepper

4 ounces thinly sliced Cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cook bacon in a nonstick skillet until browned and crisp; remove bacon and drain on paper towels. Reserve drippings in skillet.

Pound chicken between pieces of plastic wrap to even thickness.

Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Heat bacon drippings in skillet over medium high

heat; add chicken, in batches, and cook until browned, about 2 minutes on each side. Transfer chicken to a baking dish. Add corn and onion to skillet; sauté until tender.

Place cheese slices on chicken; spoon corn mixture on top. Halve bacon strips and place on top. Bake until chicken is cooked and cheese is melted, 5 to 8 minutes. Makes 4 servings.

Special additions: Stir diced roasted red pepper and minced basil to the corn mixture after sautéing

Chicken Topped with Provolone, Avocado, and Sprouts (“The Californian”)

4 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

Salt and freshly ground pepper

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

4 ounces thinly sliced Provolone cheese

1 or 2 firm, ripe avocados, peeled and sliced

Alfalfa sprouts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Pound chicken between pieces of plastic wrap to even thickness. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Heat olive oil in skillet over medium-high heat; add chicken and cook until browned, about 2 minutes on each side. Transfer chicken to a baking dish. Top chicken with cheese and avocado slices. Bake until chicken is cooked and cheese is melted, 5 to 8 minutes. Transfer to serving plates; top with sprouts. Makes 4 servings.

Special additions: Layer sliced tomatoes and bacon strips on top of the cheese for a “California Club”.

Chicken Topped with Tomatoes, Feta, and Pine Nuts (“Greek-Style”)

2 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

Greek seasoning

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

2 ripe tomatoes sliced

3 ounces crumbled feta cheese or sliced goat cheese

3 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Pound chicken between pieces of plastic wrap to even thickness. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Heat olive oil in skillet over medium-high heat; add chicken and cook until browned, about 2 minutes on each side. Transfer chicken to a baking dish. Top chicken with tomato slices, goat cheese, and pine nuts, if using. Bake until chicken is cooked and cheese is melted, 5 to 8 minutes. Makes 4 servings.

Special additions: Sprinkle quartered Kalamata olives and chopped fresh oregano on top.

Chicken is easy.

Pound. Sear. Chop. Top. Bake. Melt. Serve.

Everybody wins!