Quick-braised Broccoli with Sun-dried Tomatoes and Goat Cheese

A few months ago my girlfriends and I got together for a "cooking night" where we would all work together to make several healthy recipes which we could eat during the week. I selected Quick-braised Broccoli with Sun-dried Tomatoes and Goat Cheese from the April, 2010 issue of Vegetarian Times.

The recipe note in the magazine suggests to serve it over whole grains like brown rice or quinoa. I ate it with barley, one of my favorites, but my friends were eating it just as it is. We all loved it and I find that I make this every few weeks. I find cutting broccoli a challenge but I've been making this so often that I'm starting to get the hang of it!

Quick-braised Broccoli with Sun-dried Tomatoes and Goat Cheese Serves 6 2 Tbs. pine nuts 1½ Tbs. vegetable oil 2 large heads broccoli (1 lb.), cut into small florets ¼ cup crumbled goat cheese (2 oz.) 1/4 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained and sliced 2 Tbs. balsamic vinegar

Toast pine nuts in a dry skillet over medium heat 3 to 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Transfer to large bowl.

Heat oil in same skillet over medium-high heat. Add broccoli, and cook 2 minutes, or until florets are evenly coated with oil and beginning to soften and brown, stirring constantly. Carefully add 1/3 cup water; cover tightly with lid. Steam broccoli 4 minutes, or until water has evaporated and broccoli is tender.

Transfer broccoli to bowl with toasted pine nuts, and season with salt and pepper, if desired. Sprinkle goat cheese over broccoli, and stir in sun-dried tomatoes. Drizzle vinegar over top, and serve warm.

Nutritional information as published in magazine:
Per 1-cup serving: 115 Cal; 5 G Prot; 8 G Total Fat (2 G Sat Fat); 7 G Carb; 4 MG Chol; 74 MG Sod; 3 G Fiber

Latin-Rubbed Pork Loin Chops with Chimichurri

We made these Latin-Rubbed Pork Loin Chops with Chimichurri only because I was looking through my cookbooks for pork chop recipes and this one seemed to have ingredients that I already had in the house. I found it in Grill Every Day which isn't a cookbook I turn to very often, but I was flipping through it just to see if there were any other grilling tricks I wanted to learn before it's too cold to grill anymore!

I'm not sure why I haven't paid more attention to this book, because there are lots of recipes for the basics - pork chops, pork tenderloin, chicken, steaks, etc. My Mario Batali and Bobby Flay grill books - which I turned to most often this summer - have more complex and expensive recipes.

So anyways, I learned that you can have a fabulous dinner with nothing more than a spice rub and sauce both made of simple ingredients. The flavor combination of the rub and the Chimichurri is really great and we were raving about it with every bite!

We followed the instructions almost exactly, except that we made the Chimichurri in a blender instead of a food processor. And even though it looks complicated when you read it - make a rub, make a sauce, etc., I think this is one of those dinners you can have on the table in a about a half an hour. Start the coals, make the rub, whip up the sauce and get grillin'! We threw some asparagus on the grill with it and we were ready to go. Yum!

Latin-Rubbed Pork Loin Chops with Chimichurri Serves 4 4 bone-in, center-cut port loin chops, 3/4 to 1 inch think (10 to 12 ounces each) Extra-virgin olive oil 1/4 cup Latin Spice Rub 1 cup chimichurri Latin Spice Rub makes about 1/4 cup 1 Tbsp. packed dark brown sugar 1 1/2 tsp. Kosher or sea salt 1 1/2 tsp. freshly ground pepper 1 1/2 tsp. ground ginger 1 1/2 tsp. ground cumin 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper Chimichurri 2 large cloves garlic 1 tsp. red pepper flakes 1/2 tsp. ground cumin 1/2 tsp. Kosher or sea salt 1/2 tsp. sugar 1 cup packed fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

For the Latin Spice Rub: In a small bowl, combine the sugar, salt, pepper, ginger, cumin and cayenne pepper. Stir well to blend. Use immediately, or transfer to a jar with a tight-fitting lid and store away from heat and light for up to 6 months.

For the Chimichurri: In a food processor fitted with the metal blade, combine the garlic, red pepper flakes, cumin, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and sugar and process until the garlic is minced. Add the parsley and lemon juice and pulse until the parsley is finely chopped. With the machine running, pour the 1/2 cup olive oil through the feed tube and process until the sauce is well blended.

For the Pork: Prepare a medium-hot fire in a charcoal grill or preheat a gas grill on medium-high.

Remove the port chops from the refrigerator 20 to 30 minutes before grilling and place them on a rimmed baking sheet. Rub the chops on both sides with olive oil. Liberally season the chops on both sides with the spice rub. When the grill is heating, make the sauce.

To create a cool zone, bank the coals to one side of the grill or tun off the burners. Oil the grill grate. Place the pork chops directly over the medium-hot fire. Grill on one side until nicely seared, about 4 minutes. Turn and cook until seared, 3 to 4 minutes longer. Move the chops to the cooler part of the grill, cover, and grill until the meat is slightly pink in the center, or an instant-read thermometer registers 145°, 10 to 12 minutes longer.

Remove the chops from the grill and let rest 5 minutes. Transfer to chops warmed dinner plates and spoon some of the sauce over the top. Place the rest of the sauce in a bowl for passing. Serve immediately.



I thought this would be a good recipe for Weekend Herb Blogging because of the use of parsley in the Chimichurri. Parsley is almost an invisible herb to me - something green that a lot of Italian recipes call for. Something my grand ma told me to chew on to freshen my breath (but tasted gross so I never did). So i was impressed when this simple ingredient, that I use alot but have never appreciated on its own, was used with some simple spices and oil to make such a great sauce.

Look for more herb recipes at Healthy Green Kitchen who is hosting this week's Weekend Herb Blogging roundup.

Israeli Couscous with Saffron, Olives, and Spring Vegetables

I'm a huge fan of couscous, but this recipe for Israeli Couscous with Saffron, Olives, and Spring Vegetables from the April, 2010 issue of Vegetarian Times magazine is one of the few times I have cooked with Israeli couscous. I know the recipe is titled "Spring Vegetables", but I had no problem finding these ingredients in early fall (I used frozen peas). For some reason, to me Israeli couscous seems more foreign than regular couscous - maybe because of I have made tons of recipes with regular couscous. But I fed this to two people who "don't like couscous" and they never wrinkled their noses once! They both really loved it. To them it tastes more like pasta and they like the texture of this larger couscous than regular.

The flavors of this dish are somewhat strong - the saffron and kalamata olives really come through. In fact it was a bit to saffron-y for me at first. But this was a really healthy and tasty dish that lasted well for leftover lunches and side dishes at dinner for the rest of the week.

Israeli Couscous with Saffron, Olives, and Spring Vegetables Serves 6 2 cups dry Israeli couscous 4 tsp. canola oil 2 bulbs fennel, slivered, grated, or finely chopped (1 cup) 1 medium leek, white and pale green parts finely chopped (1/2 cup) 6 cloves garlic, chopped (2 Tbs.) 1/2 cup dry white wine 2 cups shelled fresh or frozen peas 1 cup low-sodium vegetable broth 4 plum tomatoes, chopped (1 cup) 2 0.25-g. pkg. saffron threads 2 cups baby arugula leaves 1/2 cup chopped, pitted oil-cured or kalamata olives 3 Tbs. olive oil Fresh basil leaves, for garnish

Prepare couscous according to package directions. Set aside.

Heat canola oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add fennel, leek, and garlic, and cook 3 to 5 minutes, or until lightly browned.

Stir in wine, and cook 1 minute to deglaze pan. Add peas, and let wine reduce 1 minute more, then add broth. Add couscous, tomatoes, and saffron; season with salt and pepper, if desired. Cover, and let stand 5 minutes. Stir in arugula, and remove from heat. Season with salt and pepper, if desired.

Spoon into bowls, then top with olives, olive oil, and basil.