Pecan and Kidney Bean Burgers

These are going to be a regular staple in my house. They are SO delicious, especially compared to frozen store-bought veggie/bean burgers, AND they’re made from all real food — no preservatives or scary ingredients. The spice combination is fantastic — almost has a warm cinnamon note to it. The best part of these burgers is that almost all the ingredients can be kept in your pantry for a quick meal.

Farfalle with Zucchini and Egg

This dish is delicious, healthy, and fast. It has a little creamy carbonara-flair to it because of the eggs, which I love love love. Try it – it will quickly become part of your repertoire.

Cannellini and Escarole Soup with Garlic Gruyere Sausage

Soup is an all-season comfort food for me. And while it’s been a wee-bit too hot in Boston this summer to actually enjoy soup, it was the first thing I wanted to make when it dipped down to the 70s today 🙂 I love escarole in soups, and the creamy cannelinis really make it a hearty and healthy dish.

Sauteed Broccoli Rabe with Garlic

I was seriously craving the yummy bitterness of broccoli rabe today, but could not bring myself to blanch it first, which generally makes the bitterness it a little more palatable. If it’s over 85 degrees out, I’m not boiling water unless pasta is going in it. This is a great one-pot method for broccoli rabe that is super easy and delicious.

Pork Chops alla Pizzaiola

This is one of the first dishes I made when I was learning to cook, and I’ve it countless times since. I always seem to have a little extra sauce, so this time I decided to make good use of it and serve a little pasta with it. Yummers.

Lamb Burgers

I’ve had a series of dinner fails this week…I’m not going to get into the details, but I ended up ordering take out twice, and, while delicious and convenient, it most often makes me feel sluggish and lazy. And not in a good way. While I was making these burgers, I was sort of thinking of an alternate dinner plan in my head (um…triscuits? tuna fish? vodka and ginger ale?), because I was half-anticipating another fail. Lamb has been hit or miss for me sometimes because of its gamey-ness, but this recipe has been in my head ever since I read about it in one of my beach-reading books. Also, I’m on board with pretty much any savory recipe that includes cinnamon. I’m glad I made this — they didn’t require a take-out menu and were very satiating and aromatic. In a good way.

Ever since I had those merguez sausages, I’ve been craving some of the same flavors. I haven’t substantiated this yet, but I suspect that sumac is involved in those sausages. Since I also made a fattoush salad as a side dish to serve with the burgers, I added some sumac to the burgers. Good idea by me, but totally optional if you can’t find sumac (I bought mine at Christina’s spice shop, but also available online at Penzey’s, amazon, etc.) Serve it up sans bun, in a pita like I did, or on a hamburger roll — yummy.

Almond Butter Pumpkin Brownies

When I found this recipe, I couldn’t not make it. SO good and I love the pumpkin. They taste slightly chocolately to me, even though there’s not a trace. Yum.

Squash Ribbon Salad with Goat Cheese and Pine Nuts

Week after week, I find myself with a lot of squash to cook because of my CSA, so be prepared for more squash recipes! This one is a great cold (or room temp) salad.

Merguez Sausage with Halloumi and Roasted Red Peppers

Merguez sausage is very likely the best sausage I’ve ever had.

That is a bold statement, I know, but from the moment I unwrapped the package and smelled these spicy, fragrant little weenies, I was in love. This dish is impossibly easy, absolutely delicious, and will put a smile on your face. I promise.

Banana Soft Serve

Ok, the blog that I found this “recipe” on said it would change your world. And it WILL. Take a few ripe frozen bananas, cut them up, put them in a ziploc, and stick ’em in the freezer. Blitz in a food processor for 5 minutes and BLAMO, instant “ice cream”. No fat. No dairy. No added sugar. Instant whipped banana goodness. Do it.

Summer Squash with Walnuts and Asiago

OMG this dish is amazing! And, I can’t believe I’m actually going to say this, but I think you could get away with less cheese (or more squash). I can’t wait to get a boatload more squash at tomorrow’s CSA pick up so I can make this again immediately.

Sauteed Calamari with Capers and Cherry Peppers

Because I love to cook so much and always have a seemingly endless stack of recipes to try and cookbooks to discover, I don’t end up eating out too often. When I do go out, I love to try to recreate dishes that I fall in love with. This calamari is one of those dishes.