Here is what you need:

1 pkg of rice paper wrappers

1 med sized fennel bulb

1/4 small head of red cabbage

1 small orange

1 tsp apple cider vinegar

1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1/2 cup of Terra Sticks OR Crushed Peanuts

Thoroughly wash the fennel bulb and cabbage, thinly slice them over a bowl on the finest setting of your mandolin, add salt, vinegar and oil, toss until fennel and cabbage are coated. Peel and slice orange segments into bite sized pieces and add them to the bowl along with the Terra sticks (which I used because I had no peanuts in the house, feel free to substitute with peanuts). Toss mixture again.

Dip rice paper sheets in warm water for about 5-10 seconds as directed on the pkg, lay flat on a large plate add 2 tbsps of salad to wrapper and roll…repeat until you have used all of your veggie mix. Cut the rolls in half and serve immediately with your favorite dipping sauce.

For my choice I used a spicy mango dipping sauce, 1 pureed mango with 1/2 cup water to thin out mango puree add salt and  chili oil (to taste), a pinch of red pepper flakes make a beautiful contrast and garnish.

This by far was my favorite GUILT FREE treat yesterday, I will be making these again!

Enjoy

Anyhow…back to my story. I love, love , love my Mom’s cooking/baking whatever she makes tastes like the best version of that dish I’ve ever had. Case in point, Falafel. Her Falafel is so crisp on the outside and soft inside, not greasy or heavy, they are more like little Falafel pillows…this along with her crisp cucumber salad with the right amount of salty from some Kalmata olives and the smoothest, creamiest, garlicky hummus around, I was in HEAVEN.

I asked my Mom if I could share her recipe and she said “sure”, she has a million great recipes, most of which are in her head and not on paper but here at last is THE-BEST-FALAFEL-RECIPE-EVER!!!

Thanks Mom <3

Excuse the photo which I snapped with my cell phone right before I dug in…trust me you’re going to love this!!

Enjoy

For dinner I wanted to make a powerhouse soup to fill them up, open their sinuses and nourish their tired bodies, this soup did ALL of the above and it was SUPER TASTY too.

Here is what you will need:

3T Olive Oil

3 Med Cloves of Garlic

3 Med Carrots

2 Large Pieces Celery

1 Med Zucchini

1 Small White Onion

1/2 Head of Cauliflower

1T Dried Basil

1t Dried Oregano

1/2t Cayenne Pepper

Salt and Cracked Pepper

4 Cups Vegetable Broth

1/4 Cup Blue Corn Tortilla Chips (Optional)

1T Parmesan Cheese (Optional)

In a large soup pot add olive oil and heat on med heat. Roughly chop all your veggies and add them to the olive oil, season and saute for about 5 minutes. Add vegetable stock to cover veggies, salt and pepper again to taste and bring to a boil until vegetables are fork tender. Using a hand blender or food processor puree the contents of the pot taste and add salt/pepper if needed, return to heat until soup simmers. Ladle soup into bowls top with blue corn chips and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese (optional).

Here is what you’ll need before you start smooching:

3T extra virgin olive oil

1 med fennel bulb shaved thin on a mandolin

1/2 of a large gala apple, pealed and shaved thin

1 large clove of garlic finely chopped or shaved thin

1lb of boneless skinless chicken breast cut into strips

1 and 1/2 cups white wine

1/4 cup heavy cream

2 T butter

1/2 pkg dried spaghetti

Heat a pot of salted water to boil. While waiting for water to boil heat olive oil in a frying pan add fennel, apple, garlic, salt and pepper to taste, saute on med heat until fennel begins to caramelize (brown). Add chicken strips cook for about 4 mins on each side adding salt and pepper to each side, add wine and reduce heat to low let wine reduce with a gentle simmer.

Add spaghetti to boiling water for about 8 mins or as directed on pkg. strain and set aside. Add 2T of butter to chicken, fennel, garlic, apple and stir until coated (optional), add 1/4 cup cream additional salt and cracked pepper to taste…plate immediately, spaghetti, creamy wine sauce, top generously with Chicken strips, fennel, apple, garlic mixture and lastly add some of the fresh fennel threads, then pucker up because you will be getting some kisses for this one!

xoxoxo

Nis

2 cloves finely chopped garlic

2 tsps dried oregano

salt and pepper to taste

1/4 cup clarified butter or olive oil

_________________________

1 med head of Cauliflower

1 clove garlic

Salt to taste

__________________________

1/2 med head of red cabbage shredded

1 Tbsp lemon juice

2 Tbsp olive oil

Salt and Pepper

_____________________

Boil head of cauliflower and 1 clove of garlic. Season chops with garlic, oregano, salt and pepper on each side. Put oil or butter in hot frying pan add chops cook on med heat until browned about 4-5 mins, turn and cook another 4 mins on the other side. Turn heat to low.

When cauliflower and garlic are tender remove and add to the food processor puree until smooth add salt to taste.

Shred the cabbage add lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper to taste.

Plate, Serve and enjoy!

The next day as I was peeling and cleaning the little beauties I determined that I was in the mood for HEAT, so I marinated the shrimp in a mixture of:

1 cup white wine

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp cayenne pepper

2 Tbsp orange juice

Salt and Pepper

While the shrimp were marinating in the fridge, I noticed 2 large sweet potatoes on the counter looking like they wanted to be part of a tasty meal, so I popped them in the oven @ 400 degrees for about an hour because I also love SWEET.

Once the potatoes were ready I peeled them and added them to the food processor with 3 Tbsp butter until mixture was smooth, about 1 minute.

Heat some olive oil in a skillet and add:

1 large clove garlic chopped

2 roasted red peppers chopped

1 green bell pepper chopped

Saute peppers for 3-4 minutes. In another skillet on low heat add sweet potato mash, season with salt and pepper and keep warm on low heat. Then add shrimp and marinade to skillet with peppers cook on med heat until shrimp are pink about 7 minutes, add 2Tbsp of butter, stir until melted and shrimp  is coated with sauce. Plate and serve. This combo of sweet and heat got rave reviews from our guests and it’s definitely a dish I would make again and again and again!!

What you need:

1/2 of a large fuji apple

1 med sized fennel bulb

1 large clove of garlic

2 Tbsp olive oil

2 Tbsp butter

1 cup white wine

1/2 pkg spaghetti

Boil spaghetti as directed, strain and set aside. While pasta is boiling slice very thinly the fennel, apple and garlic, add these to a hot pan with the olive oil saute on med heat until caramelized (about 5 minutes). Add butter, wine and salt and pepper to taste.

Add pasta, thoroughly toss pasta with the fennel mixture and plate. Top dish with some fennel threads and cracked pepper and dinner is served!!

Yes, I’m showing you the end result first and I have my reasons…there may be many steps to this but it is worth it, with every bite you will thank yourself for making this dish and hopefully the special someone you share it with will thank you too.

Here is what you need:

A Small Pie Pumpkin, Cut in Half and Roasted

3 egg yolks

1.5 cups of flour

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1 cup white wine

4 Tbsp butter

4 leaves Sage, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

Salt and Pepper to taste.

Put roasted pumpkin through a ricer or shredder in your food processor. Remove and place pumpkin puree on a floured work surface, make a well in the puree and add eggs and spices.

Add 1 cup of flour, fold with hands until mixture is firm enough to roll into 1/2 in thick ropes. Divide dough into thirds and roll ropes. Add extra flour as needed.

Cut the gnocchi pieces and use a fork handle to bend each piece in a U shape.

Place gnocchi on a cookie sheet and let dry for at least one hour on each side. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil, add gnocchi to pot and boil until they rise to the surface of the pot, about 90 seconds.

Remove gnocchi to bowl and set aside. In a saute pan add butter, garlic, sage and white wine, bring to boil, reduce heat to simmer, add gnocchi and salt and pepper to taste. Simmer until gnocchi are heated through.

Plate and serve with salad. I used a Kale salad with a warm honey and balsamic vinaigrette. Enjoy this with someone you love for it is a very romantic dish.

Until one day Sue Ann sent me a friend request on my personal Facebook page and I accepted, from our personal posts we both grew to know each other and realized we share a common goal, good, quality food! We had both at one time been fanatics about our diets, food Nazis if you will and now we were liberated, we let go of all of our past ideas about what was good for us and we lived, ate and enjoyed every moment!!

Imagine how surprised I was when one morning I had an email from Sue Ann asking if she could interview ME for her Luscious Legacy Project. I had seen and read the interviews and stories of these amazing women and was deeply honored at the request, so after pondering the offer for about 2 seconds I said YES!!!!

Check out my Luscious Legacy interview, I was so delighted to do it and I submitted 2 of my original Chocolate recipes, both of which are featured at the end of the interview and are suitable for breakfast Enjoy!!!

<3 Mama Nis

Earlier this week I made one batch of sauce which I could not be happier with and before I sat down to write this blog I put another batch of my tomatoes in the slow cooker for another round of sauce. Garlic, fresh basil and tomatoes all grown in my garden with love, I was truly proud!!! As I began to quarter and season the little beauties I realized this sauce was more than a part of me, it was me. This sauce had everything I wanted.

Who wouldn’t want the life of one of the costoluto genovese
family? Don’t we all want to be cared for, nourished and given our moment in the sunshine every day? Who doesn’t want to be desired, appreciated and devoured with pleasure? Slowly and lovingly warmed up, spice added (it wouldn’t be as delicious otherwise), stirring the pot gently every now and then and then adding more spice until you get it just right! Ahhh the life of my tomatoes, we all want and deserve this sauce…grab a piece of fresh bread and dip it in the sauce, eat it up and enjoy it…for if left un-devoured it will surely go bad.

Eat the sauce of your life everyday. Here is the recipe (feel free to make adjustments)

1 cup of care

1/2 cup of sunshine

1/4 cup attention

2 cups love

1 tsp spice, oh heck make it 2 tsps and add more if needed.

1/3 cup desire

Directions: Put ALL the ingredients in one large pot, turn up the heat, take your time and cook slowly, take care not to turn the heat up too high for it may burn, but keep it hot. Stir gently and taste often, adding spice until it’s just right! Serve with passion and go back for seconds, thirds if you so desire.

Bon Appetit !!!