"What do you do to keep the riced cauliflower from tasting like a slightly solid form of boiled water?"  This is a message from my friend Marci after she read my recipe for Spring Vegetable Mishmash.  I've been swapping out cauliflower rice for regular rice recently as I have evidence that consuming rice too often has led to some recent autoimmune flare-ups.  Cauliflower rice is also popular with people who follow a Whole30 or a Paleo diet or an autoimmune protocol.   I definitely feel better after eating cauliflower rice versus eating traditional rice.  

However, Marci's question brought up a good point and that is cauliflower rice can sometimes taste like just a bunch of wet styrofoam pebbles.  Frankly, food should taste good, especially healthy food.  Through trial and error, I have found that roasting cauliflower rice produces the most flavor.  It's an easy cooking method and takes as much or less time to make as traditional rice.  

Here are the ingredients for it, if you are not starting with a whole head of cauliflower, plus what it looks like spread in the pan:

Can you have too many mishmashes?  I know I posted this salmon one last month, but I am finding a medley of ingredients both comforting and healthy.  The other night I made this using vegetables that are finally appearing in the market as we transition from winter to spring: fresh peas, arugula, and, here in southern California, even zucchini.  It has so much flavor, so much bang for the buck, so much green beauty in one meal!  Plus, it's easy.  If you've read my blog for any length of time, you know I am a big fan of ease.

The inspiration for this recipe came from this risotto recipe.  BUT risotto requires a lot of hands on attention, all that stirring and whatnot.  So I thought about how I could make something equally as delicious, equally as nutritious, and eliminate all the stirring.  That is how you have come to find yet another mishmash recipe on my blog.  It's worth it, though, so very worth it.  And if you drink wine, I can attest to the fact that a Sauvignon Blanc plays nicely with this mishmash.  


​Spring Vegetable Mishmash
Serves 4

Good quality olive oil
Salt and fresh ground black pepper
1 small yellow onion or 2 shallots, finely chopped
3-4 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced
1 to 1.5 pounds of zucchini, washed, ends trimmed, cut into a large 1-inch pieces
1 cup of fresh (or frozen peas)
3 to 4 cups of arugula or spinach, washed and chopped
2 cups of cooked white rice, brown rice, or cauliflower rice
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Feta or Parmesan cheese, optional
Pine nuts, toasted, optional

In a 12-inch skillet or sauté pan, cook the onions and garlic in two tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat until the onion is translucent, about five minutes or so.  Add the zucchini and cook until nearly tender.  Stir infrequently so that the zucchini has a chance to become light golden brown on the outside.  Cooking the zucchini will take a good 10-15 minutes.  When the zucchini are crisp tender (in other words, not mushy), add the peas and the arugula or spinach.  Cook until the arugula is wilted and peas and just cooked through, another five minutes or so.

In the meantime, heat your cooked rice or cauliflower rice.  Once the veggies are done cooking, put 1/3 cup to 1/2 cup of rice in the bottom of a shallow bowls, top with a spoonful of veggies, season with salt and pepper to taste, and add a sprinkle of any toppings you desire.  

Make it vegan: Eliminate the cheese.  

​Play with the veggies: Instead of 1.5 pounds of zucchini do 1/2 pound of asparagus cut into one-inch lengths and one-pound of zucchini.  Add the asparagus to the pan at the same time as the zucchini and continue to follow the directions. 

Nutritional awesomeness: Zucchini has a lot of nutritional benefits, which you can read about here.  It's a good source of Vitamin A and potassium (source).   Arugula is an excellent source of Vitamin K, which is essential for proper blood clotting. 

​

I'm really excited to share this recipe for three reasons.  One, it is damn delicious.  Two, it is healthy and nourishing.  Three, it is a method you can apply for using random ingredients in your fridge (leftover rice + that half an onion you forgot about + those three sprigs of parsley you were going to let turn black).  

This recipe was created because I had enough whole ingredients plus leftovers in my fridge that were in danger of going bad.  Food waste is a real problem, and I am trying to contribute less to that problem.  On average, "Americans waste about a pound of food per person each day."   That's insane, and it feels absolutely immoral to me given that people are going hungry in the U.S., especially children.  One in six children in the U.S. is hungry, which means at a time in their lives when they need food, especially nutritious food, for proper development, they are not getting it.  

Here is a formula for creating what I call the "From Meh to Marvelous Bowl of Leftovers."   Scroll down for the Salmon Mishmash recipe.

1. Sauté an onion over medium heat until it starts to brown.  Stir often.
2. Add some minced garlic, as much or as little as you would like.  If you have some ginger lying around, toss in some grated ginger.  Cook for one minute, stirring frequently.
3. Add any uncooked diced vegetables that need extra time in the pan, including potatoes, carrots, or zucchini.  Stir occasionally.  You want the veggies to get a nice toasted color, but you don't want the garlic to burn so you stir often enough to achieve these two objectives.
4. Toss in any already cooked protein, like cubed or shredded chicken or some salmon.  If you are going to add some spinach, toss that in now too.  What about leftover rice or beans?  If you're adding those, now is the time to do it.  Cook until the protein is heated through and the spinach has just started to wilt.  
5. Taste it.  Does it need salt and pepper? A dash of salt and a pinch of pepper can make a huge difference.  If it's tasting flat, one teaspoon of lemon juice will help brighten it.
6. Put it in a lovely bowl.  Pour yourself a beverage.  Enjoy!

Molly's Salmon Mishmash
Serves approximately 3-4

1/2 to a whole onion, peeled and diced
2 Tablespoons good quality olive oil
a shallot, finely chopped optional - only use if you have one randomly laying around
3-6 green onions, cleaned, thinly sliced white and green parts, optional - only use if you have it on hand
2-4 cloves of garlic, minced - if you really love garlic, use more.  If not, use less.
1-2 teaspoons fresh ginger, grated or minced, optional - only use if you have it on hand.
2 cups or so of fresh zucchini, diced
1-2 cups of fresh peas, optional - only use if you have them on hand.  Frozen is fine, and they will need to cook a bit longer.
10-16 ounces leftover cooked salmon, flaked
2 cups leftover rice or cauliflower rice
a handful or two of spinach, optional

In a 12-inch pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat and add the onion.  Cook the onion until it is starting to brown, stirring often.  This will likely take 7 to 10 minutes.  If you are using shallot, add it at the same time you add the onion.  If you are using green onions, add those when the onion has turned translucent but before it has started to brown.

Once the onion is brown around the edges, add the garlic, and, if you are using it, the ginger.  Cook for one minute, stirring frequently so the garlic does not burn.  Add the zucchini.  Cook, stirring every so often, until the zucchini has started to develop a golden color and is tender.

Add the salmon, the rice, and the peas (if you are using them).  Cook until the salmon is heated through and the peas are tender, about three to four minutes.  Add the spinach and stir until it wilts.  Serve immediately in shallow bowls.

There are some fun condiments you can add.  If the dish tastes flat, a squeeze of lemon juice will boost the flavor.  Another option is gluten free tamari or soy sauce.  Tahini plus a sprinkling of toasted pine nuts is a delicious addition.  One last option is a light sprinkling of Parmesan cheese.  

Nutritional awesomeness:​ Zucchini is an excellent source of Vitamin C.  Fresh peas are nutritional powerhouses.  Not only do they contain protein, they are loaded with Vitamin C, Vitamin K, and Folate.  Folate is needed to make DNA and assists with cell division in the body.  
​

There it was above a shelf of featured books at the library, "New Year.  New You."  It was also the subject line of multiple emails from companies/people who purport to have my best interests in mind.  And every time I saw it, whether on a friend's social media feed or as part of a corporate marketing campaign, it made me angrier.  Why?

The underlying implication of "New Year, New You" is that you are broken, something to be fixed, and the time to do something about it is now at the beginning of the new year.  It's complete and utter baloney (can you tell I teach in a public school district?).  Don't buy it.  Don't believe it.  You are not broken.  You may feel broken, but you are not broken.  You are not something that needs to be fixed.  

You are a human being.  You will always be a human being.  There is no "new you" that you need to strive for or make your goal because you are already you.  Now, if you don't feel like you and you would like to feel more like yourself, then you need to come home to yourself.  Listening to the "New Year, New You" campaign will not help you come home to yourself because by its very nature it is telling you to look for answers outside of yourself.  It's saying that a corporate marketing department knows what you need better than you do.  That's baloney!  Coming home to yourself means looking inside yourself for answers.  

If you are sitting there wondering how you look inside yourself for ways to come home to yourself, who you are, what you value, and what brings you joy, then I have some ideas for you to consider.  Have you ever noticed that the "New Year, New You" slogan can feel like someone is shouting at you?  Guess what, your body doesn't shout at you.  Those answers you have inside you, they don't shout.  They sit quietly and invite you to notice them.  One way to get quiet is through meditation.  And there lots of different forms.  You can use the app Headspace.  You can take a meditation class.  You can set a timer for five minutes, sit still, and just notice every sound you hear.  

Did you know that I never talk to health coaching clients about weight or weight loss?  Why?  Focusing on your weight is a trap to keep you from being yourself.  It also is a drain on your valuable time.  And it feeds into the idea that you are not lovable just as you are in the same way that "New Year, New You" does.  Instead of focusing on a scale, on a number, ask yourself, "How do I want to feel?  Daily?  Consistently? In my body?"  The Desire Map is one book that helps people tap into creating your reality around how you want to feel. 

Another way to start leaning into how you want to feel is to create a vision board.   Every year I create a vision board as a compass for what I want to bring to fruition as well as how I want to feel.  I'll put a funny image on there as a reminder that I need humor and laughter in my life.  I'll also put what is important to me.  Here is a vision board I created a couple of months after one of my miscarriages.  I can remember feeling so foggy, which is why you see the word "clarity" and the phrase "move forward".  I wanted to feel clear again, and I was ready to move on.  And by the end of that year, I did feel much more clarity.  Also, notice that cruise ship?  I put it on the board as a placeholder for more travel and grander travel.  Be very intentional about what you put on your board.  Why?  Less than two years later I took a cruise on that very same ship to celebrate my 10-year wedding anniversary.  

​Please take back your power and don't give into the "New Year, New You" nonsense.  You are lovable just as you are.  And if you would like to shift from looking for answers outside of yourself to mining the treasures within, there's a number of ways to do that including meditating and creating a vision board.

Studies show that it is not that happy people are more grateful.  Rather, people who practice gratitude consistently are happier, and, it turns out, they may be healthier, too.  A study at the University of California San Diego found that keeping a gratitude journal is good for your heart by lowering cardiac inflammation.  Researchers at the University of California Davis Medical Center have found that being grateful and practicing gratitude can boost your immune system, lower your blood pressure, and improve your sleep.  And, sleep is the most healing thing our bodies do every single day!

Practicing gratitude to improve your health does not require you to go to a gym or eat kale or give up anything.  It simply requires you to purposefully focus on what is going well in your life.  Through focusing on what is going well in your life, you then invite in more positive feelings.  And who doesn't want more positive feelings?!  So how do we get this gratitude party started?  Well, there are a couple of simple, easy, doesn't take too much time ways to do this.  

Ways to practice gratitude:

• Keep a gratitude journal.  Keep a notebook on your nightstand.  Every morning or evening, write down three or more things you are grateful for.  They do not have to be major things.  The other day, I wrote in my gratitude journal that I was grateful for broccoli rabe because it's nutritious and delicious!
• Keep a gratitude jar.  I know some families who keep a gratitude jar.  Get a jar and put in a place all family members can access.  Have a pen/markers and scrap pieces of paper next to it.  Anytime someone feels grateful, they write down what they are grateful for and stick it in the jar.  I know some families who do this year round and pick a day of the month to empty the jar and read all the notes of gratitude.  I know other people who do this just for the month of November and read the contents of the jar on Thanksgiving. 
• Commit to handwriting thank you notes.  The act of physically writing something down with a pen helps commit it to memory and wire the brain towards it, research shows.  If you are writing thank you notes, you are wiring your brain for gratitude.  
• Go for a walk and repeat to yourself the mantra, "I am grateful."  It will help wire your brain towards what you are grateful for.  

I am excited to share how gratitude improves your health and how you can easily incorporate it into your day because yes, I want you to be happy.  And I'd love to hear what you are grateful for in the comments below!

What is the one thing people universally complain about not having enough of?  Time!  Time!  Time!  I've been teaching my popular meal planning class this fall, and one idea we really focus on is how meal planning will save you time.  One thing my clients say before I get them started on meal planning is that they don't have enough time to do it.  They say it takes too much time.  This is absolutely not true.   Here are three ways meal planning saves you time:

1. Meal Planning eliminates multiple weekly trips to the grocery store.  How?  Pick a day to plan your meals. Sit down, write down your meals, and, at the same time, write your grocery list of ingredients you will need for your meals.  Pick one day to do to all your grocery shopping for the week.  Usually, I do it the same day I plan my meals.  This way, you will have all the food you need for the week in your refrigerator, eliminating going to the store every day or every other day.
2. Meal planning cuts down on decision fatigue.  Every decision you have to make in a day takes time.  Decision fatigue is what happens when you have to make a lot of decisions every day and the more decisions you make, the more likely that the quality of your decisions will diminish.  With meal planning, you eliminate having to decide what to have for dinner and whether you need to go to the store for ingredients.  Why?  Because you made those decisions when you planned your meals.  You are no longer expending your energy on what to have for dinner.
3. With meal planning, you can cook once and eat twice.  For almost every dinner we make, my husband and I cook double the amount needed.  Why?  Because it gives us dinner one night and lunch the next day.    It's one less decision we have to make every day about what to have for lunch and whether to go out for lunch or bring lunch to work.  At lunchtime, I am usually hustling home to let the dogs out, spent from teaching or meeting clients, and it is wonderful to know that a delicious, nutritious meal is waiting for me in the fridge and will take less than five minutes to heat up.

A common saying found in the halls of my culinary school is, "Failure to plan is a plan to fail."  Sure, it sounds harsh, but if you put that aside, it's very true.  When women hire me as a health coach, we often talk about one of the keys to becoming healthy is meal planning.  Think about all the times you've eaten food that didn't make you feel very good.  When I think about it, about how I dove into that bag of chips, it's because I hadn't thought through my meals for the day, what my body would need to feel nourished and satisfied.  Net, when you don't have a plan, then yes, you are more likely to head straight for the foods that will derail you and make you not feel very good.

To get started meal planning, pick a day of the week to plan your meals and do your grocery shopping.  I find it best to do this on Sunday mornings so I can shop in peace.  Figure out what day of the week works best for you.   Start with dishes you already know how to make since it will make incorporating meal planning into your life easier.   Plan your dinners for the week in a notebook or electronically if that is better for you.  I'm old-fashioned in this way so pen and paper works best for me.  As you plan your dinners, will you be making enough food for lunch?   Write your grocery lists based on what you will need for the week's worth of dinners.  Go shopping.  Come home, put your feet up, and congratulate yourself for meal planning!

​Good news!  I am writing a book on meal planning that I plan to publish at the beginning of 2019.  In it, you'll learn how to consistently plan delicious meals using tools you already have.  Stay tuned!

This post is for you if an hour or two after eating breakfast, you feel hungry or sluggish or both.  For most of us, breakfast is really the most important meal of the day because it helps shape the entire rest of the day.  If we eat something nourishing that makes us feel satiated and full of energy, then we can go light the world on fire.  If we eat something that leaves us feeling hungry or tired an hour later, then we can't be alert or productive or engaged in our lives.  I lead a self-care seminar for women.  One of the ideas we visit over and over again is the idea that how you begin your day, what you eat, and whether you do things daily that bring you joy, can positively impact not only the rest of your day, but your life in general.

I love breakfast.  It is easily my favorite meal of the day.  My favorite date is to go out to breakfast.  I am very aware that what I eat for breakfast has a profound effect on how I feel the rest of the day.  Oatmeal and I had to break up because an hour after eating it, I am starving again.  After a lot of experimentation, as well as listening to my body, I know I need a good combination of protein, carbohydrates, fat, plus green veggies.  That combination gives me steady energy all the way until lunch.  There's no crash, which is what happens when I have toast with Nutella or jam.  For me, breakfast is a huge part of having a good day.  And spinach breakfast hash is one of the reasons I have consistent energy throughout the morning.  

I have had health coaching clients who have resisted spending time on breakfast.  Here's how I look at the time I invest in breakfast.  I spend about 15-20 minutes cooking breakfast.  I sit down to eat so there's another 20 minutes.  Breakfast is easily a 40-minute commitment.  What do I receive from that commitment?  Well, I am not searching for food at 10:00 a.m. because I ate a breakfast that gives me good energy until lunch.  So there is time saved.  And because my energy levels are good and not dropping or on a rollercoaster, I can focus more easily for longer periods of time on what I need to get done.   Those rewards are worth the time.  I am worth making breakfast for.  In fact, we all are!  So if grabbing a granola bar in the morning is leaving you unsatisfied, it's time to reconsider breakfast.  

I am sharing this breakfast hash recipe because it works for me, and because friends and family who have eaten it really enjoy it.   I also recognize that a big breakfast is not for everyone.  If you are ready to reconsider breakfast, my invitation to you is to look at what you traditionally eat in the morning.  Do you eat what your parents fed you as kid?  Do you eat out of convenience?  Do you eat something because food marketing has done a good job convincing you this is what you should have for breakfast?  Once you answer the question of why you eat what you eat for breakfast, then look at your energy levels after breakfast.  Do you have sustained energy all morning long?  Are you famished an hour after eating?  From determining how your current breakfast makes you feel, you can either keep doing what you're doing or you can start to experiment with foods that give you your desired levels of energy and focus for the morning.  And you can be really open-minded to the point where you reconsider what is a breakfast food.  I know someone who enjoys sautéed chicken cutlets at breakfast.  There's no right answer except for which food is right for you at breakfast.

Spinach Breakfast Hash 
serves 1

3/4 - 1 cup shredded potatoes
Extra virgin olive oil
2 handfuls of baby spinach, washed and dried
1 egg, beaten with a splash of water
salt and pepper, to taste

Heat a nonstick skillet over medium heat.  Swirl olive oil one time around the pan, and then lift the pan to coat it with the oil.  Add the shredded potatoes and stir to coat them with the oil.  Sauté for three to four minutes, just until the underside is light brown.  Flip and stir the potatoes so that the uncooked sides are exposed to the heat.  Cook for another three to four minutes until most of the potatoes have a nice golden brown color on them.  Flip and stir them again.  Cook for another few minutes and then add the spinach.  Stir a bit so that the spinach is evenly covering the pan.  Turn the heat down to medium low and let the spinach cook down.  This will take approximately two to three minutes.   

Add the beaten egg and stir it around so it coats the spinach and potatoes.  Cook until the egg is no longer liquid and the whites are solid.  Transfer the hash from the pan to a plate, season with freshly ground salt and pepper, and enjoy.

One way I make this more flavorful is I mash one-fourth of an avocado with a couple of tablespoons of my favorite salsa and serve that with this delicious hash!

Nutritional awesomeness:  Eggs are a very good source of protein, some B vitamins, and vitamin D.  Spinach is an excellent source of iron and vitamin K.  Vitamin K is essential for good bone health.  

I'd love to hear from you.  What do you eat for breakfast that makes you feel great all morning long?

Back to school.  The onset of fall and cooler weather in some parts of the world.  Roast chicken.  For me, there is nothing more comforting than a good roast chicken, especially as the days become shorter.  It can boost a mood, soothe grief, bring people together, and it's deeply nourishing.

Over the years, I have had many favorite roast chicken recipes.  Judy Rodgers, late chef of the Zuni Cafe in San Francisco, created an iconic roast chicken recipe.  We loved this Barefoot Contessa roast chicken recipe served over onion and croutons right up until we discovered gluten was trying to kill me.  Now, though, I have new roast chicken recipe to love.  And I love it because it's flavorful, because it's easy, because I can reasonably make it on a weeknight since it requires little prep and it goes from raw to roasted in one hour, including preparation time.  I love it because the skin gets crispy.  I love it because it creates up to eight meals.   The first night, Brian takes a thigh, and I take a leg and a wing.  The next day at lunch, Brian takes the other thigh, and I enjoy the other leg and wing.  We shred the remaining meat, mostly from the breasts, and use it in tacos, pastas and soups.  We take all the bones and Brian makes a couple of quarts of homemade broth.  We use the broth for soups, risotto, rice, lentils, and polenta.  Nothing goes to waste.  

The secret to this easy roast chicken is that it is a spatchcock chicken.  Spatchcock is an English word dating to the early 1800's that means to split open and grill or roast.    In this case, we are splitting the chicken open by cutting out the backbone, or having your butcher cut out the backbone, and laying it flat which means it will cook more quickly.   I bought myself a nice pair of tough kitchen shears so I could cut out the backbone myself.  For a tutorial about how to do it, please watch this video.  Note: Do not skewer the chicken the way the chef in the video recommends.  It's unnecessary.  Remember, you can ask your butcher to do this for you.

My recipe is adapted from one by Arthur Schwartz.  He uses fresh garlic, but every time I made it his way, the garlic burned due to roasting at high heat.  He calls for using peanut or canola oil and I opt for the healthier choice of olive oil.  I also prefer a lower temperature to the 450 F degrees he recommends.   His recipe calls for a three to four pound chicken.  However, my experience is that U.S. grocery stores seem to only sell whole chickens that are somewhere between four and five pounds so I've taken that into account.  

I'm really excited to share this recipe with you since it makes roasting a chicken on a weeknight accessible.  Beyond the useful cooking time, it's lick the plate good!

Molly's Spatchcock Chicken
Serves 4-6

1 whole chicken, 4 to 5 pounds, preferably organic, backbone removed*
2 teaspoons sweet paprika
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1-2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

*Either remove the backbone yourself using the technique in this video (though, don't skewer it as done in the video) or have your butcher remove the backbone for you.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.  If your oven can do 430 F, that's our preferred roasting temperature for this recipe.

Line a large baking sheet with aluminum foil.  Lay the chicken on top of it and press down very firmly with both hands so that the chicken will lay as flat as possible.  

Make the spice paste.  In a small bowl, combine the paprika, garlic powder, salt, and a couple of grinds of fresh black pepper.   Stir.  Add in one tablespoon of olive oil.  Stir.  You want a paste that's not too thick so it will spread easily.  You also don't want too thin or it will slide off the chicken.   If it seems too thick add another 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil.  Stir.  Judge if you need more.  Otherwise, the paste is ready.

Wash your hands and prepare to get a little messy.  Rub the spice paste all over the chicken, even using your fingers to gently separate the skin from the meat in some places and rub the paste directly on the meat.  When you are done rubbing in the spice paste, your chicken will look like this:

Roast for 45 to 50 minutes, until the internal temperature measures 165 degrees and the juices run clear.  To take the temperature of a roasted chicken, insert the thermometer in the thickest part of the leg avoiding the bone.  Another spot you can stick the thermometer is into the thigh, near the breast, and again avoid the bone.   We use this thermometer to measure the temperature of our foods.  

Let rest for 5 to 10 minutes.  Using a sharp knife, break the chicken down into two legs, two thighs, and two wings.  Slice the breast meat.  Place the chicken pieces on a platter and serve.

Didn't I make that presentation sound wonderful?  Here's what really happens in our house: I pace around the chicken as soon as it comes out of the oven.  When Brian isn't looking, I'll tear off a piece of crispy skin and burn my tongue as I devour it before Brian notices.  Sometimes, I think I was a Labrador retriever in a past life given the way I hover and obsess about food.  Roast chicken emerging hot from the oven is one of those times.  

And one of the most versatile.  Vegans, vegetarians, please don't leave until you've read a bit more about this salad and see all the ways it can be tailored to meet the needs of various food preferences.

This is tagliata.  It's essentially Italian steak salad.  If your jaw just dropped because you are thinking, "How can a health coach eat beef?" well, then, let me tell you.  It turns out that my body does well on red meat and gets a bit of energy from it.  I do well with this kind of protein.  I only eat red meat, on average, every four to six weeks, so not often.  However, when I travel, when I go to a restaurant and every dish except the steak has gluten in it, something I absolutely cannot eat for medical reasons, then beef it is.

​And so this past January, when Brian and I were visiting Bracciano, Italy, and we couldn't find lunch because places were closed on a Monday or they didn't have a table for us, we found ourselves violating a rule of travel: do not eat at restaurants off a public parking lot.  But it was 2:30 p.m., and we had exhausted lunch options in two nearby towns.  And I was starving, and I can be very unpleasant if I am allowed to get hungry.  So we parked at the carpark in Bracciano, and went into the restaurant off the carpark.  And immediately we became deflated.  It had TV's on, only one table of customers, and half of the restaurant lights were turned off.  But we were hungry and determined.  I asked the waitress what dishes didn't have gluten (senza glutine) and she pointed out exactly one: tagliata.  She said it's just beef with some arugula.  I don't like to eat beef if I don't have to, but I was hungry, our options had run out, and so with some hesitation I ordered it.  I calculated that for less than 10 euros, if I didn't like it, I wasn't losing much money.  Brian had great options and went with lake trout.  

You can imagine our surprise when a platter, not a plate, of various pieces of steak, all measuring about the size of a deck of cards, was presented to me.  The pieces of steak were buried under a mountain of raw arugula, wilting from the heat of the meat, topped with shaved Pecorino Romano cheese.  On the side were some lemon wedges and a bottle of olive oil to drizzle over what amounted to be a steak salad to feed a whole family.  In our surprise and hunger, we forgot to take a picture of it, and also we forgot the name of the restaurant.  And, you know where this is going, it was so simple, so delicious, so satisfying, that if I recall correctly, we ate the whole platter.  

And since that trip, we've been making it about once a month, often for guests, and sometimes because it's Wednesday and we're tired, and it takes less than 30 minutes to throw together.

I've debated whether to write the recipe for one serving or four servings because it's not an exact science, and you cannot screw it up as far as I am concerned.  I've written it for four servings, planning on four ounces of meat per serving, but you certainly can scale it down or scale it up as needed.  And vegetarians/vegans, read through the recipe to see how it can meet your needs.

Tagliata, Italian Arugula Steak Salad
Serves 4

1 pound of thin steak, such as flank steak or skirt steak*
5 ounces of fresh arugula, rinsed and dried
1/2 cup or more Pecorino Romano cheese, grated**
1 lemon, washed, and cut into wedges
Extra virgin olive oil**
Sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper

*Our supermarket usually has thin cuts of steak that are labeled for stir-fry or for carne asada.  The key is you want a thin piece of meat.  Thin pieces of inexpensive meat tend to be tough so it's key to slice it against the grain.  
**You want quality over quantity when it comes to the cheese and the olive oil.  This is a characteristic Italian recipe in that there are few ingredients so you want them all to be of high quality since they are minimally manipulated.  

​Heat your gas grill to high heat and then turn down to medium.  While the grill is preheating, brush each side of the steak with olive oil.  Next, sprinkle the steak with salt and pepper on both sides.  Grill the steak 4 to 6 minutes on each side, depending on the thickness, for medium rare.  Let the steak rest for 5 minutes.  Additional grilling guidance from my  husband, Brian, "It really does depend on what kind of steak you have.  I grill flank steak about 7 minutes per side to medium, while the thin blade or flat iron steak that we usually use for tagliata gets about 3 minutes per side to medium-well." 

To serve, cut the steak into four pieces.  On each plate, put a piece of steak, top with a handful of arugula, and then sprinkle on the cheese.  Or put the cheese on first and then the arugula.  It's up to you.  Place a lemon wedge off to the side for people to squeeze over it.  Drizzle with a bit of olive oil.  Pass salt and pepper at the table.  

Make it vegetarian:  Substitute a portobello mushroom for the steak.
Make it vegan:  In addition to substituting a portobello mushroom, omit the cheese, and instead sprinkle with chopped nuts and/or a pinch of nutritional yeast.

I recently taught my last cooking class for the foreseeable future.   The Get Saucy class came about because I noticed my friends and family commenting on the sauces we make at home and how complicated they seemed.  The thing is, sauces can be so easy and are such a great way to bump up the flavor of anything from roasted vegetables to grilled chicken.   Here's what I know to be true for me: cooking at home is a great way to control what you eat and support your health and vitality.  Sauces are an integral part of home cooking.  To me, there are two sauce methods.  One method is the "beat the heck out of it" method.  Pesto falls into this category.  Just put all the ingredients into the food processor and beat the heck of out it (apologies to Italian grandmothers who use a mortal and pestle).  The other method is the "cook the heck out of it" method.  Tomato Provençal Compote falls into this category.  While it takes a while to cook, the preparation is easy, and, therefore, it feels accessible to everyone, no matter your level of cooking ability.  

This recipe is inspired by a Barefoot Contessa recipe for roasted lamb.  We made it once when Brian's parents were visiting for Christmas and everyone raved about how the tomatoes that were roasted with the lamb disintegrated into a magical concoction that had me licking my plate in front of my in-laws.  Perhaps not my proudest moment, and I love to eat.  

As I have lots of friends who are vegan and vegetarian and wanted to share the sauce with them, I created my own recipe for Tomato Provençal Compote that anyone can enjoy.  And as it is summer and tomato season is upon us, now is the time to enjoy this delicious recipe, which can be served cold or warm, with meats or veggies or on bread.  It's not bad eaten with a large spoon right out of the container standing in front of an open fridge!

​Molly’s Tomato Provençal Compote
Makes ~ 1 pint or a little more

¼ cup of extra virgin olive oil
1 large Spanish onion, sliced
2 pounds of fresh tomatoes, seeded and diced
5 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped
3 Tablespoons of Dijon mustard
1 ½ Tablespoons of balsamic vinegar
½ teaspoon of honey
Leaves from two to three sprigs of thyme
Leaves from one sprig of rosemary
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan (at least 3 quart saucepan).  Add the onions and saute over medium heat until they are starting to turn light brown.  While the onions cook, chop the thyme and rosemary leaves together. In a bowl, combine the garlic, mustard, vinegar, honey, and chopped herbs.

When the onions start to change color, add the tomatoes, a couple of pinches of salt and a couple of cracks of black pepper.  If anything is sticking to the bottom of the pan, deglaze it with one tablespoon or two of water, and then add another drizzle of olive oil.  Stir the tomatoes and onions a bit. When the tomatoes are starting to break down, add the mustard herb mixture and stir to combine. Continue to cook over medium low heat for 15 minutes.  If there’s still a lot of liquid in the pan, turn up the heat to evaporate it while stirring to keep the compote from sticking to the bottom of the pan. The compote should be fairly thick, like a stew.  Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve.

Storage:  Can be stored up to one week in the refrigerator or frozen for up to three months.

Serving ideas:  Excellent with grilled meats, served over white beans, slathered on grilled toast, or eaten out of the jar with a spoon.

​Nutritional awesomeness:  Cooked tomatoes are an excellent source of Vitamin C and a good source of Vitamin A.  They have a low glycemic load.