Sharing Plate – Your Cooking Coach |

I made this meal on a Monday- the beginning of the  week is extremely busy for me. I have lots of chores and my daughter has piano and ballet back to back. By the time we get home it is six o’clock and she is famished and wants dinner right away. I try to have something ready for her as we enter the house. I mostly make something ahead of time and heat it up as we walk in.

I bought fresh raviolis and green beans from the super market and I already had fresh tomato sauce in the fridge. I decided to cook the raviolis simply in the tomato sauce and serve them with the green beans sauteed in basil pesto- yes I had pesto in the fridge as well.

It was an easy and fast meal. I sauteed the beans in a little olive oil and cooked them till they were tender with a crunch. I then added the pesto and turned the heat off. It was a simple side dish with a lot of flavor.

I cooked the raviolis in lots of salted water (fresh pasta takes all of a few minutes to cook) and transferred them over to the simmering tomato sauce- thats it.. dinner was ready.

I love taking help from the store when it comes to fresh pasta. It is great to make it at home but obviously it is a bit time consuming and definitely not conducive for a weeknight meal.

It was a quick dinner followed by bedtime for my daughter and a glass of wine for me once she was down.
Click here for the recipe… »

I love tuna salad, especially made with lots of mayonnaise- but then I saw how many calories one tablespoon has- can you guess? A whopping 90 calories!! I just couldn’t get myself to make tuna salad for myself after getting the calories and fat facts.

Since I have been eating the GG crackers, I have been making cold salads for lunch. I thoughts of tuna the other day and felt like eating my usual tuna salad but I knew I couldn’t do it with the usual suspects. So, I took out one of my favorite ingredients- Greek yogurt. I always have the non-fat version in my fridge and I decided to use that as the base. I added Dijon mustard, sweet pickled relish and jalapenos. I love the sweet, salty and spicy combination. I added lots of black pepper and some salt. The idea was to add lots of flavor so I don’t miss the mayo- and I didn’t.

The tuna was delicious, especially with the tamarind vinaigrette drizzled on top of it. I was happy to eat a really healthy yet satisfying lunch.

Next time you are in the mood for tuna salad, give mine a try.

• One (6 oz) tuna can- either packed in water or oil and liquid squeezed out
• ¼ cup non-fat Greek yogurt
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• Dash of hot sauce
• 2 teaspoons sweet pickle relish
• 1 teaspoon chopped pickled jalapenos- optional
• Salt

Add the tuna to a small bowl and add the yogurt, mustard, hot sauce, relish, jalapenos and salt. Mix well and check for seasonings. Keep aside. Enough for two servings.

Prepare to platter with a mix of greens, carrots, etc. Add half of the tuna salad on top and drizzle with tamarind vinaigrette.

Tamarind Vinaigrette

• 1 teaspoon tamarind concentrate
• ½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

Add the tamarind concentrate, mustard, honey, white wine vinegar and salt in a small bowl. Drizzle the olive oil while whisking the mixture until it is emulsified. Pour on to of the tuna and green salad. Serve with the GG crackers.

Who doesn’t love meatballs? I really enjoy them on a cold, rainy day with a nice glass of a bold red wine. I have made quite a few versions over the years- especially for kids. I love incorporating some kind of vegetables in the meat and cook them in a delicious homemade tomato sauce.

These came about as I watched Live with Regis and Kelly- Regis was talking about some meatballs he had with prosciutto in them, “what a great idea”, I thought.

I bought turkey meat, prosciutto and basil from the store and started making the meatballs. I also made fresh tomato sauce with lots of cherry tomatoes. I added the usual ingredients in the meatballs including a mixture of cooked onions, garlic and prosciutto. I also added breadcrumbs and freshly grated pecorino- which I prefer a tad more than parmesan cheese since it has a lot more flavor.

The meatballs were cooked in the delicious tomato sauce. I realized I had run out of spaghetti so I served them on top of penne. In order to serve a balanced meal, I sauteed baby spinach on the side with some garlic and a splash of half and half. The kids had a glass of milk and the adults had a delicious cabernet.

Try the prosciutto and basil meatballs next time you decide to serve a delicious pasta meal.
Click here for the recipe… »

I consider this my quick, easy, go to meal when I have no idea what to make. It is also a pantry dish since I always have potatoes outside in my basket, peas in the freezer and carrots in the fridge. It is an instant side vegetable or even a whole meal.

I decided to make this vegetable with some lentils and fresh rotis. As I was making this vegetarian dish, my daughter’s friend who was visiting asked if she could stay for dinner. I told her it was fine with me but would she be okay with Indian food?? She nodded and said ‘no problem’. Just to make sure I showed her what I had- and her answer was still the same.

I was a bit skeptical if the friend is going to like what she eats only because it would be new to her. I decided to make the fresh rotis and stuff them with the vegetable and roll them up. I asked the girls if they wanted a vegetable roll and they got very excited. I was still quite skeptical about the whole thing and wasn’t sure what I would feed her if she decided not to have what I had cooked.

As I served them the meal, they picked up the rolled rotis and began eating them promptly. It wasn’t a problem at all and I am extremely happy that I was able to introduce a new cuisine to my daughter’s friend. Most of all it is very sweet to see how much they love spending time with each other- especially eating together…

Try this quick dish next time you run out of ideas….
Click here for the recipe… »

As I mentioned last week, I am closely following Jamie Oliver’s reality show every Friday on ABC. Since I was away to Austin, Texas, I didn’t get a chance to watch the show for the last two Fridays. I did watch them once I got back and was very surprised to see what they showed at the high school. Jamie showed up there and saw french fries being served and all the kids choosing them as the primary food.  To change things a bit, he proceeded to cook a noodle stir fry dish with seven different vegetables and served it with flavorful pieces of chicken. One of the inspectors who was reluctantly giving Jamie a chance looked at the plate and immediately said that the lunch doesn’t fit the regulations. According to her each lunch tray should have a cup and a half of vegetables. Although the noodles were full of veggies, she didn’t think they were enough. I was very surprised to hear that, especially since they had shown what the kids were eating earlier- burgers and fries- where were the veggies in there???

Are you ready for this- the fries were considered a vegetable. I guess technically speaking, they are made out of potatoes- but really??? I couldn’t believe it. Such misguided rules are making our kids obese and unhealthy. I was angry our government is not doing anything while our kids eat crap food in schools.

My daughter was sitting next me while I was watching and getting angry. She immediately came to her school’s rescue and told me they are not served french fries. She explained how there was fruit cups and salad in their cafeteria. I was happy to hear that but still very concerned about the future of our schools.

As I continue to support Jamie’s effort to make our schools healthy, please do your bit and sign his petition.