Engaging stories of love, joy, comfort and friendship with proven scrumptious, healthy recipes, we celebrate LOVE as the secret ingredient for wonderful food!

Char-grilled Broccoli with Sweet Tahini

October 27, 2019 by Mary 6 Comments

Did you know that broccoli is one of THE most nutritious vegetables? I just learned that and I LOVE broccoli. This recipe from Ottolenghi of Char-grilled Broccoli with Sweet Tahini is super delicious and really different tasting.

Make this soon while it is still warm enough to grill outside, because trying to grill it inside does produce a fair amount of smoke, so better to be outside.

Nutritional benefits

More importantly, back to the nutritious benefits of broccoli, did you know that a cup (91 grams) of raw broccoli provides 116% of your daily vitamin K needs, 135% of the daily vitamin C requirement and a good amount of folate, manganese and potassium? It’s a top source of natural plant chemicals shown to help lower the risk of some cancers (though many other things also affect your cancer risk).

According to one doctor, broccoli is all you need! It’s because the green vegetable is good for healthy gut bacteria, bowel health, and improving immune health.

As an overall marker of health, gut health is quite important as it has a “profound influence not only on our digestive function but also on our mood and brain function” and may also affect our weight and potential joint pain, according to Dr Chatterjee.

This link between healthy gut bacteria and a healthy mind is relatively new, as science emerges.

According to Harvard University Medical School, a person’s stomach or intestinal distress can actually be the cause of anxiety, stress, or depression “because the brain and gastrointestinal system are intimately connected”.

So this is why we must all eat more broccoli!!

Now I am NOT a lover of tahini. In fact, I do not like it at all in hummus, but because this is sweetened a bit with honey, along with the addition of garlic and lemon, this is just different, delicious, and delectable!

Charred Broccoli with Sweet Tahini Dressing.

CHAR-GRILLED BROCCOLI WITH SWEET TAHINI – serves 4

1 head of broccoli – 1+ lbs.
1 TBS. olive oil
Salt
Black pepper
2.5 TBS. tahini – at room temperature and stirred thoroughly so all oil is incorporated
1½ tsp. honey
2 tsp. lemon juice
1 small garlic clove, peeled and crushed
Water – at room temperature
1 tsp. each white and black sesame seeds, toasted (or just 2 tsp. toasted white sesame seeds)

Trim any big leaves off of the broccoli and cut off the woody base of the stems. Blanch for three minutes in boiling, salted water until al dente, refresh, drain and leave to dry.

Toss the broccoli in the oil, a teaspoon of salt and a large pinch of pepper, then cook on a very hot, ridged griddle pan or outdoor grill for two minutes on each side, until slightly charred and smoky. Set aside to cool.

Whisk the tahini, honey, lemon juice, garlic and a pinch of salt, and slowly start to add water, half a tablespoon at a time. At first, the sauce will look as if it has split, but it will soon come back together. Add just enough water to make the sauce the consistency of honey – around three tablespoons in total. Arrange the broccoli on a platter, drizzle with sauce and scatter the sesame seeds on top. Serve at room temperature.

Charred Broccoli with Sweet Tahini Cose-up. — Charred Broccoli with Sweet Tahini Close-up

This is a perfect accompaniment to any meal. And you can make it ahead of time – no sweat!

I hope you LOVE this Char-grilled Broccoli with Sweet Tahini recipe as much as I do.

Halloumi with Griddled Vegetables

September 27, 2016 by Mary 8 Comments

Today we’re spreading the LOVE with a guest post from Rachel Stinson. She reached out to me with a post about halloumi, a cheese with which I was unfamiliar with and excited to learn about. Halloumi /həˈluːmi/ or hellim is a Cypriot semi-hard, unripened brined cheese made from a mixture of goat’s and sheep’s milk, and sometimes also cow’s milk. It has a high melting point and so can easily be fried or grilled. (Wikipedia)

Rachel Stinson has always had a knack for writing, food, fashion, and places. Blogging has combined all four for her with an added bonus of enthusiastic audiences. She expertly analyzes real estates and restaurants with respect to pricing and people involved and can express her opinions in an unhesitant, engaging manner.

Without further ado, here is her recipe!

I’m going to start with a rant, a cheese-o-phile’s rant. It resulted from my last trip to the supermarket. I strolled my way through lofty racks stacked up to the brim with tempting confectioneries and gloriously tinned food. As I approached the cheese section, my heart skipped a beat. I was almost tempted to grab four to five of those yellow cheese blocks wrapped in flashy packaging and toss them in my cart.

But, I didn’t. I felt a sadness descend me as I realized the disturbing monotony wrapped in the name of ‘cheese’. I had tasted all of these brands and they all tasted the same to me. I needed something purer, cruder, and closer to unique hand-crafted cheese. I needed something like the splendid cheese I had once tasted at Operation Falafel, Dubai. That’s when I found Halloumi.

It was love at first bite and now I am addicted to this Cypriot cheese for life. It’s still largely saved from adulteration and carries the true taste and essence of the ‘cooked curd’ cheese category. For this very reason, I use Halloumi in lots of my cheese recipes. My favorite one I’ll share with you:

HALLOUMI WITH GRIDDLED VEGETABLES

225 g Halloumi cheese
2 shallots
100 g frozen broad beans
2 courgettes (zucchini)
1 small bunch of asparagus
1 Tbs. capers
½ bunch of flat leaf parsley
200 g ripe cherry tomatoes
½ bunch of sweet marjoram or oregano
2 Tbs. olive oiL

Shake together all the dressing ingredients in a clean, dry jar. Once thoroughly mixed, put the jar aside.

Boil the broad beans for 5 minutes or until soft. Drain out the boiled water and pass beans under cold water to cool them off. Once you can comfortably touch then, peel off the beans’ white outer skin.

Cut the Halloumi into slices a width and shape of your choice. Trim off unnecessary asparagus leaves. Slice together asparagus and the courgettes longitudinally. And let loose some olive oil over the three.

Get your griddle pan warmed up over high heat. Toss in the Halloumi, asparagus, and courgettes drenched in olive oil. Cook until they are nicely charred and emanating a tantalizing aroma. Then, set them aside in the same pan.

It’s time to cut the shallots into rings and halve the tomatoes. Then pick a flat platter and layer by layer add the shallots, the tomatoes, and the griddled mixture of Halloumi, asparagus, and courgettes.

Fine chop the fresh herbs to sprinkle with the luscious dressing.

Halloumi with Griddled Vegetables tastes even better with friends. So, as much as you want to savor the entire platter all by yourself, call over some cheese lovers and have a grand Halloumi party. Thank me later.

(Photo credits: Shutterstock)

Zach’s quinoa vegetable dish

June 16, 2012 by Mary Frances 2 Comments

This was the dish my youngest made for me as part of my Mother’s Day dinner. I figured I’d better get this to you before Father’s Day!

While I loved their meal, what I love most is watching the two boys cook. They discuss, they gossip, they argue, and then they break into a dance. They are so funny. They planned the meal together and then each was responsible for certain dishes, as opposed to one being the chef and the other being the sous chef. This dish Zach made up while the older one was a Mark Bittman devotee that night.

I hope you enjoy it!

ZACH’S QUINOA VEGETABLE DISH
5 cups of chicken stock (preferably homemade)
3 zucchinis
3 large carrots, peeled
1 onion
Olive oil
2 cups of quinoa
salt and pepper to taste

Prepare the zucchini and carrots, slicing them thinly, and set them aside. Chop the onion fine as well.

In a large pan, heat a tablespoon of olive oil, add the onions, and cover. Let them simmer, break down and become sweet. While those are cooking, put 4 cups of chicken broth in a saucepan, and bring to a boil. When that boils add the 2 cups of quinoa, turn down the heat, stir and cover; let simmer on low heat for about 12-14 minutes. But don’t forget to stir your onions and check on them!
When your onions look good, add the carrots and final cup of broth. Turn up the heat and let the carrots cook in the boiling broth uncovered. After much of the broth is gone, turn down the heat to a simmer, add the zucchini, and cover the pan. When the zucchini is cooked down, after about 5-7 minutes, add your cooked quinoa and stir. Salt and pepper to taste, but be careful, some store-bought chicken stocks can be salty!

Overheard at Fairway

April 13, 2012 by Mary Frances Leave a Comment

So I’m shopping at the local grocery store here and I overhear this conversation of this seriously overweight young woman with her young son about three years old in her cart in the vegetable aisle. She’s explaining to him (and he’s overweight already – are you surprised?) that she’s buying some cabbage. I’m thinking, okay, good, a vegetable. Then she says to him that she’s going to “Cook it in some butter, then combine it with some noodles and sour cream and, you’ll really like it!”

Really? Excuse me? Can you ruin a good head of cabbage more for your already way overweight bodies?

I was aghast. A vegetable is great but loaded with all the fat and carbs she’s talking about – this kid already has a problem and she is feeding it even more. Help her!!

Revise yourself!

October 22, 2011 by Mary Frances 5 Comments

I have been oven-roasting cauliflower with olive oil, salt, pepper and cumin for some time now and it is delicious. But sometimes you need a change. So I am always on the lookout for quick cooking, delicious vegetables to get on the table fast for a weeknight meal. I look at weeknight meals as it’s okay to spend a little time on the main dish but then the vegetable and carbohydrate should be simple and easy. Like rice in a rice cooker while oven roasting asparagus with olive oil and finishing with lemon juice and lemon zest, plus a little more olive oil. So this week, I had a prospective client dinner meeting on Wednesday and my husband cooked for himself and Zach. I had asked him to please use up the plum tomatoes as they were getting too ripe. He forgot. So I’m looking at these soon overripe tomatoes as I’m preparing my cauliflower and say why not? It was great, adding an additional flavor along with some juiciness and color – so important!

ROASTED CAULIFLOWER WITH CUMIN & TOMATOES
Serves 4

1 head of cauliflower
2 – 3 tbs. olive oil
Salt
Pepper
1 tbs. ground cumin
3 plum tomatoes, quartered lengthwise, then cut into 4 or 5 chunks.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Wash, dry and separate or cut flowerets of the cauliflower to be approximately the same uniform size. Pile in the middle of a rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle on 2 – 3 tbs. olive oil, sprinkle with salt, fresh pepper and cumin. Pile on chopped tomatoes and toss the whole thing well with a spatula/flipper/pancake turner.

Roast on a top shelf for 20 minutes or more until cauliflower is fork tender. Toss again when testing.

Enjoy!