Fresh Spices are a Key Ingredient to Recipe Success: Spaghetti Puttanesca

Sometimes your spices are not fresh enough for your recipes. Pereg Natural Foods has a line of spices that is quite fresh and can add that critical touch to a meal. TasteTV had a moment to talk with them about how they source their herbs. Pereg also shares its recipe for tasty Spaghetti Puttanesca.

Italian Desert Roses Cookies Recipe

 

If you’re looking for a special occasion dessert, try this recipe by author and expert Paola Lovisetti Scamihorn for Rose Del Deserto (Desert Roses) cookies. It includes healthy options based on Paola’s improved version of the classic Mediterranean diet in her cookbook, which she calls The Mamma Mia! Diet.

ROSE DEL DESERTO (DESERT ROSES)

Preparation time: 20 minutes
Baking time: 10 minutes
Yield: about 35-40 cookies

INGREDIENTS

  • 130 g (⅔ cup) granulated sugar
  • 120 g (4.3 oz ) unsalted butter (at room temperature)
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
  • 240 g (1 3/4 cups) all-purpose flour
  • 5 g (1 teaspoon) baking powder
  • Pinch of salt
  • 180 g (1 cup) chocolate chips
  • 200 g (7 oz) approx., cornflakes (like Special K) or similar
    Powdered sugar

DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 180°C (350 °F). Cream the butter and sugar in a medium-sized bowl with an electric mixer. Add the eggs and the vanilla extract. Then mix the flour and the baking powder together in a small bowl. Add the flour mixture to the creamed butter and stir in the chocolate chips. Roll teaspoon-sized balls of dough in a bowl of cornflakes. Place the cookies, well-spaced (about 3-4 cm), on a greased cookie sheet and bake for about 10-12 minutes. Remove from pan and cool on a rack. Sprinkle with powdered sugar on top, just before serving.

Note: This recipe makes about 35-40 cookies. If the dough is too sticky, add one or two spoons of flour. You can substitute chocolate chips with other ingredients such as raisins, for an even healthier snack. Store in a airtight container. You can also store the baked cookies in the freezer; before serving, let them thaw at room temperature and then sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve.

ABOUT THE COOKBOOK AUTHORS

Paola Lovisetti Scamihorn is an Italian pharmacist, researcher and food writer. Cooking, eating healthy food and staying active have always been her life-long passions. She has a cooking blog Passion and Cooking, and contributes to several international magazines. She has previously published in Italy Love is Eating, focusing on Italian culinary culture.

Paola Palestini is a biochemistry professor at the Medical School of the University Milano-Bicocca, Italy. Recently, Paola has been actively involved in the promotion of the principles of a healthy diet through conferences and in collaboration with several magazines. She is the author of seventy-six scientific articles published in international journals.

THE MAMMA MIA! DIET
Written by Paola Lovisetti Scamihorn and Paola Palestini

Published by Hatherleigh Press.

Chicken Sausage, Feta and Kale Frittata Recipe

If you’re looking for a fast and easy meal, you can’t go wrong with a tasty and organic-sourced frittata.


Chicken Sausage, Feta and Kale Frittata

Recipe provided by True Story

Ingredients:

Makes 4 servings

  • 8 eggs
  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/2 cup crumbled feta
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 3 cups trimmed and thinly sliced kale
  • 1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded and chopped
  • 2 Sweet Italian Chicken Sausage links, cut in bite-size slices

How to Make Frittatas:

  1. Heat broiler to high.
  2. Combine eggs, salt, and feta, and stir with a whisk. Set aside.
  3. In a 12-inch ovenproof skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add kale and sauté for 4 minutes, or until starting to wilt. Add pepper and sliced chicken sausage and stir 2 minutes, or until heated through.
  4. Add egg mixture. Cook over medium heat until eggs are partially set, 3 to 4 minutes.
  5. Transfer the skillet to the broiler and cook about 3 minutes, or until the top is set.

 

About True Story:

Founded in San Francisco in 2011, True Story Foods believes in a future of food that is a return to what is real and true. True Story believes in a future of food that is a return to what is real and true. A future that is respectful of the source of our food – the soil, the animals, and the farmers. True Story is nurturing a community of family farmers, artisan producers, progressive retailers, and food lovers who are dedicated to this future.

True Story is available nationally in select natural and traditional grocery retailers and Costco. For more information, visit www.truestoryfoods.com.

Healthy Transformations of 2 Classic Jewish Holiday Recipes

Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, is a time for family, friends, and food. Modern food lovers want to keep all of these cherished aspects, while at the same time updating the health-quality of their meals.

Chef Adrianne’s Recipe for Honey-Jerk Roasted Cauliflower

 

Cauliflower used to be shunned by many, but these days it’s a hot and stylish food to cook and eat, especially when roasted with olive oil to bring out its essence.

Miami celebrity chef Adrianne Calvo has created an innovative cauliflower recipe that highlights her concept of Maximum Flavor that makes every single delicious bite count. She pairs it with a quick pickle dish.

Honey-Jerk Roasted Cauliflower + Flash Fresh Pickles

Serves: 2

Ingredients:

1/2 cauliflower, cut into stems

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons jerk seasoning, store-bought

1 tablespoon honey

1/4 teaspoon curry powder

1/8 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 cucumber, thinly sliced

1 cup white distilled vinegar

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 cup sugar

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Have a bowl of ice on hand. In small stockpot, bring vinegar to a boil with salt and sugar. Once it is boiling, add the cucumber slices. Cook for 30 seconds. Remove cucumbers from cooking liquid and place in ice bowl, set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together olive oil, jerk, honey, curry, and salt. Add cauliflower and toss to coat evenly. Place seasoned cauliflower on a baking sheet and into the oven for 20-25 minutes. Place roasted cauliflower on a dish and serve with pickles.

ABOUT CHEF ADRIANNE CALVO:

Adrianne Calvo is the Executive Chef and owner of Chef Adrianne’s Vineyard Restaurant and Wine Bar, Host of Maximum Flavor Live on NBC’s 6 in the Mix, author of four cookbooks: Maximum Flavor (2005); Chef Adrianne: Driven by Flavor Fueled by Fire (2008); #MaximumFlavorSocial (2014); and Play with Fire (2015), and founder of the Make it Count Foundation. Chef Adrianne’s Vineyard Restaurant and Wine Bar opened in 2007 and offers a varied and rotating menu with something for everyone. Monthly, the restaurant holds its signature event, Dark Dining, where guests are blindfolded for a sensual experience eliminating one sense to enhance another, providing Maximum Flavor.

Social Media

www.instagram.com/chefadrianne

www.facebook.com/chefadriannecalvo

www.twitter.com/chefadrianne

Celebrity Chef Zipora Einav’s Hibiscus Blueberry Popsicles Recipe

If you are looking for a refreshing treat for the hot summer, then try Chef Zipora Einav’s recipe for Hibiscus Blueberry Popsicles . This recipe is a favorite with many of her celebrity clients

Chef Zipora Einav (www.chefzipora.com) is an accomplished private chef who has cooked for some of Hollywood’s most notable celebrities – Bob Hope, Jack Nicholson, Mariah Carey, Pierce Brosnan, Scarlett Johansson – and for professional athletes, including former National Football League star Donovan McNabb.

Hibiscus Blueberry Popsicle

(Makes 8-10)

Ingredients for Step 1

½ cup maple syrup

2/3 Cup Water

3 TB Dry Hibiscus Petals

Ingredients for Step 2

Juice from 4 fresh lemons

1TB Lemon Peel

1 ½ cup water

¼ cup Fresh Blueberries

Note: You will need 8-10 Popsicle Molds and Sticks

 

Instructions:

1. In a small pot, mix the maple syrup, 2/3 cup water and hibiscus petals and heat up on low heat for 5-7 minutes.

2. Remove from heat and let cool for 15-20 minutes; then strain the mixture and throw away the Hibiscus petals.

3. Combine the fresh lemon juice, lemon peel and 1 ½ cup water; then mix with the Hibiscus water and pour into a measuring cup

4. Fill 8-10 popsicle molds with the liquid and add the popsicle sticks to each mold. Then add 4-6 whole fresh blueberries into each mold; set the cover on top of the mold.

5. Place in the freezer for 12 hours or overnight.

6. To remove the frozen popsicles, rinse the mold under hot water for 30-40 seconds and remove gently. Then serve and enjoy!