Dessert....♥

I love dessert.  If I'm asked what my weakness is during a job interview, I really am tempted to say, "sugar."  It really is my weakness....I cannot let it go, I will not go on any sort of non-carb diet, and maybe I'm just a sugar addict.

With the Panera Bread's rewards program, they gave me a free pastry.  I got a brownie.  I forced myself to split in half but my husband was kind enough to warm it up and put a small scoop of mint chocolate chip ice cream.  It made my day.

Chicken Paillard with tomatoes, fennel, and olives

This recipe is from Eric Ripert's (of Le Bernardin, NYC fame) show, Avec Eric.  I really enjoy his show because he travels, especially to Tuscany (....jealous) to learn traditional dishes.  He then uses it as inspiration for a dish at Le Bernardin or brings it back to his home kitchen for recipes we can cook at home.  The great thing is, they're easy enough to make you think, "oh.  I can definitely make that!"

So here is my first dish from Avec Eric:  The Chicken Paillard with Tomatoes, Fennel, and Olives (Click Here for recipe).

I have to say, it was delicious.  I omitted the fennel and wine-soaked raisins because we're not fond of these two items, but I wonder if it would have balanced out the dish even more.  Next time, I would not salt the vegetable mixture - it came out a bit too salty between the salt from the olives and capers.

Since it's just the two of us, we stuck the chicken in the toaster oven at 450℉.  Saves on electricity and came out wonderfully.

Sunset Valley Farmer's Market

There are several farmer's markets in Austin and we chose to go to the one in Sunset Valley - it's the closest and apparently one of the best too.

We had heard great things about Johnson's Backyard Garden through Yelp's reviews and they have a stand at the Sunset Valley Farmer's market.  The first time we went, it was one of the few that had a long line which is always a great sign.

We bought several things - a cucumber, cantaloupe, and tomatoes.  All of their produce is organic and prices are better than at Central Market.  The tomatoes?  Oh my goodness, they were so flavorful, juicy, and sweet I wish I had bought more!

We also purchased pastured eggs.  We saw on Eric Ripert's (of Le Bernardin fame, as well as a judge/guest on Top Chef) show that eggs from pastured chickens have golden yellow yolk and are much tastier so we wanted to try them.  Apparently it can't be just organic - this can mean several things and not necessarily pastured.

We had also heard great things about Texas peaches.  They don't distribute nationally so you can only get them in Texas.  They are small, but full of flavor.  Unfortunately peaches are in the dirty dozen for pesticides and no one had organic ones.

Shiitake & Sweet Peas risotto

One of my favorite cuisines is Italian.  I really should have been born an Italian - everything tastes delicious with a little bit (or a lot) of garlic and olive oil.  They have pastas, cheeses, wines, tiramisu, canolis, porcinis, truffles, prosciutto, and of course gelato.  One of my favorite dishes, is risotto.  Many people are intimidated by it but if I can make it, anyone can make it.
I love this recipe from Cooking Light Magazine because it's relatively healthy compared to other risottos by using fat free/low sodium chicken broth.  Only 1 tablespoon of butter is used, and I put in 1/4 cup of freshly grated parmesan cheese.

from Cooking Light Magazine (recipe)

The only thing is, it's time consuming.  It took me an hour and a half from prep to finish.  I also suggest cooking the mushrooms (a later step in the recipe) first so you have it ready.  Otherwise you have to stir the risotto and cook the shiitake at the same time...that requires too much coordination on my part.

The risotto comes out great each time.  Make sure to use fresh thyme - it's really the star of this dish and goes well with the shiitake and green peas.

Buon Apetito!

Salad Tacos

I'm not sure how cookies and muffins appear as results when I search "fast & easy" or "quick and healthy."  I decided Mexican food is always delicious, it's easy, and can be healthy.

I intended to make regular tacos, but instead of having regular tacos and a side salad, my husband started to put his creativity to work and created a salad taco.  Some fat free sour cream, Sriracha hot sauce to give it a kick, non fat cheddar, layered on with salad greens, tomatoes, avocados, and shrimp.  I'm a fan of corn tortillas for tacos and they tend to be healthier.  These were delicious and filling!