Sharing Plate – Your Cooking Coach |

There is nothing better than a bowl of creamy, cheesy risotto.. well, maybe a bowl of creamy, cheesy risotto topped with dill shrimp scampi. It was a delicious combination of flavors. The shrimp had garlic, dill and lemon juice… so, I decided to mimic the flavors in the risotto as well. I love making risotto.. it is like having a blank canvas.. I can do whatever I want with it.

I started with garlic and shallots. I added the rice, some white wine and broth. Once the rice was almost cooked, I added half and half, cheese, lemon zest and of course the main ingredient of the evening- dill. The green specks looked amazing against the snowy white rice. It tasted even better, especially with a huge helping of the shrimp scampi…
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Here is another recipe for the long weekend coming up. I think I have mentioned before how my daughter recently started eating hamburgers… which makes things easier in the summer. I have challenged myself to come up with a new type of burger every Sunday.. lets see how long that lasts…

Anyway, she eats burgers but only likes the ones I make. I like my burgers with herbs and spices inside the meat.. and she is used to that. Anyway, I am flattered but I would like for her to start eating burgers outside as well… although I would rather have her eat the ground beef I get which is always grass fed instead of eating God knows what…

This particular one has Indian flavors running through it. Try it for the long weekend…
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I love anything with pesto- pasta, bread, rice, as a dip, on chicken or fish.. and the list goes on. Pesto can be made with a variety of different ingredients including different vegetables. I have made pestos in the past with zucchini, broccoli rabe, etc.. this one is made with asparagus. I wanted to do a vegetarian meal and had asparagus in the fridge. Instead of making a boring pasta with asparagus, I decided to make a pesto instead.

I blanched the vegetable and then made the pesto just like I would with basil or any other ingredient. Speaking of basil, I did use it as well. I also used pistachios instead of pine nuts- no good reason really except that I love the color pistachios bring and as well as the flavor. I served the pesto with whole wheat past and some homemade focaccia. I bought some pizza dough from our local pizzeria. I rolled out the dough and topped it rosemary, salt, olive oil and cherry tomatoes.

The meal was delicious and simple- the glass of wine was yummy with the asparagus pesto…
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This is a healthy version of a very popular chicken dish in Chinese restaurants. We usually don’t order it since it is not the best thing to eat. It is delicious though- so I decided to make it at home. It is not exactly the same as what you get in the restaurants but it is pretty darn tasty.

I made a separate glaze with oyster sauce, tamari and apple cider. It makes a delicious sauce to drizzle all over the white chicken pieces.

I served the chicken over asparagus fried rice- it was a quick, balanced meal.
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For those who read my blog frequently, know how often I make cauliflower. In case you are new, I make cauliflower a lot- why, you ask?? Well, because my husband absolutely adores it. I like it as well and so does my daughter but not as much as he does. So, since I cook it so often and I write a cooking blog- I can’t post the same recipe again and again. I need to change it up a bit and get creative. Believe me, I have used a lot of my creative juices when it comes to this vegetable.

The other day I bought a big head of cauliflower not knowing what I will do with it. Suddenly I thought of the cilantro rice I make very often- it is a mixture of cilantro, green onions and garlic. Perfect, I thought.

I roasted the florets and potatoes with some oil and salt until the veggies were golden brown and half cooked. Doing this saves a lot of calories. In order to get the same texture in the veggies, I would have to saute them in a lot of oil. This version is healthier and yummier! I then cooked the green mixture with some cumin for a bit and added the vegetables to the mix. A few minutes later, I had a delicious dish of healthy cauliflower and potatoes. I served it with fresh rotis and a healthy dal (lentils). I love serving healthy food to my family, especially when it is meatless…
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