I am finally back in the land of kitchens and culinary, back from a transformative journey brimming with ideas, direction and passion. Passion which is directed not just towards my running, but my passion for cooking. I am more motivated than ever to share my recipes, nutritional know how and culinary skills. It makes me giddy to think about getting into the kitchen and into writing all the things that I have brewing in my head. All in good time though. As I settle back into life, I have the opportunity to get back into the kitchen and create, create, create. The recipes below just happened into my head when I was wondering around in the grocery store this morning. They turned out fantastic, simple and nutritional.

I am back on top of things and looking towards planning a future where my website is even more of a tool that runners and athletes can meet their nutritional needs, cook and eat amazing gourmet food and find out all sorts of culinary and nutritional information. Also, I am keen to continue to try and work on a cookbook and have that published in the next year or two. That is a task that comes with no small undertaking and I am so ready to take on the challenge. In the meantime if you want to grab all of my recipes from this year and last, head over to the Tastebook badge in the left hand column and buy a Fast Foodie Cookbook. I have one book for last and one for this. This years is currently being updated to be complete, but the cool thing about tastebook is that you can buy pages and add them to your book. Check it out.

As the summer comes to a close, drink and eat up all you can of all the bounty of summer, both literally and figuratively!

Beautiful summer meal for a beautiful summer day

Sage and Garlic Green Beans

Ingredients:

2 tbsp. fresh sage, chopped finely
3 cloves garlic, minced
¼ cup water
1 cup green beans, trimmed
1 tbsp. olive oil
salt
pepper

Directions:
In a saute pan, bring water to a boil and put green beans in the water to poach/parboil them for 2-3 mins. Drain the water, add olive oil, garlic and sage and saute until the green beans crisp up. Salt and pepper to taste.

Summer Melon and Goat Cheese Salad

Summer Melon and Goat Cheese Salad

Ingredients:

3 cups arugula
¼ cup red onion, thinly sliced
½ cup cantalope, cubed
2 tbsp. goat cheese
olive oil
red wine vinegar
salt
pepper

Directions:

Soak sliced onions in ice cold water to remove sharpness. Meanwhile, arrange arugula, melon and goat cheese in a bowl. Add onions, drizzle with nice olive oil, red wine vinegar and salt and pepper to taste.

Sun-dried Tomato, Mushroom and Fresh Herb Chicken

Ingredients:

3 sun-dried tomato, packed in oil
¼ cup mushrooms, chopped
2 tbsp. mixed fresh herbs, minced
1 organic boneless skinless chicken breast, butterflied
1.5 tablespoons olive oil
salt
pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350.

In a oven proof skillet, heat 1 tbsp olive oil over medium high heat. Saute sliced mushrooms for 2-3 minutes. Remove mushrooms from skillet, leaving oil in pan.

Stuff the butterflied chicken with the sun dried tomatoes (3 slices approx), mushrooms and 1/2 of the fresh herbs. Close, sprinkle remaining herbs on top and salt and pepper. Add the remaining oil back to the skillet. Place chicken in the skillet and brown on both sides. Remove skillet from heat and bake in oven until chicken is cooked through about 35 minutes.

I was running along this evening, contemplating and somewhat racing, the butternut squash I had baking away in the oven. I had thought I’d take the baked squash that I had seasoned with some gobi masala spices and stuff it with some arugula, good organic goat cheese and some cheeky chutney from Saturday. But as I ran, the cold ripping and biting through my tights and across my face, the meal just didn’t sound like the right thing to warm me up. I knew the combination would work as I was inspired by a salad I made for Sunday supper, a Cider glazed Butternut Squash Salad w/ Arugula, Goat Cheese, Roasted Hazelnuts and an apple vinaigrette. And of course, the chutney has not been far from my mind since I made it. Naturally I wanted to take the leftover ingredients I had (half an uncooked butternut squash, arugula, goat cheese) and combine it with the chutney to create something new. My idea was good, but not great. The wind started to blow and I shivered and I thought about what my dad had been eating for lunch, which had looked very delicious at the time Tomato-Basil soup and a grilled sandwich. And that is when it struck me: I need more Cowbell! Seriously, that is what I thought but what I meant was, Eureka! I realized that a play on tomato soup and grilled cheese was in order. And thus was born what I consider, at least in part, the best recipe I have ever come up with: Curried Butternut Squash Soup and (this is the best best recipe of which I speak) Goat Cheese, Arugula and Chutney Quesadilla. The soup was good, but the quesadilla was amazing and really simple. I had a small side of roast brussel sprouts to make a well rounded delicious and flavorful meal. My dinner needed more cowbell and boy did it get it!

Butternut Squash Soup
Ingredients:
1 butternut squash, peeled, seeded and halved
2 cups vegetable stock
gobi masala, garam masala, cinnamon to taste
salt to taste
a small squirt of Vanilla Agave

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400. Place the squash halves, cut side up in a baking dish. Fill the pan with 1-2 inches of water. Sprinkle gobi masala and a little olive oil over the squash. Bake until tender. In a saucepan, combine the stock and the butternut squash. Using an immersion blender, puree until smooth. Once the combination is smooth, start spicing! I added a dash of garam masala and a smaller dash of cinnamon. A good whack of salt and a small squirt of vanilla agave. I brought it to a simmer and got to work on my quesadilla. When serving, feel free to top with a cooling spoonful of plain yogurt or sour cream, which balances the spices well.

The best quesadilla ever (at least for today)
Ingredients:
Earth balance
1 brown rice tortilla
Arugula
A good soft goat cheese
Cheeky Chutney
optional: a few slices of roasted turkey

Directions:
Spread Earth balance on one side of the brown rice tortilla and heat a skillet to medium high. Spread goat cheese thinly across the entire tortilla, pile on a few slices of turkey (or not), a good bunch of arugula and top with a few spoonfuls of chutney (see picture below). Fold in half and grill until golden on both side, with the cheese melty and the ingredients heated through. Cut in half and enjoy, immensely.

Oh yes and one final note, per a question I got about the chutney and preserving it. As Jamie Oliver discusses, you do sterilize the jars. I found that when I put the very hot chutney in the jar and closed them up immediately, that when I opened the jar a few days later, the top was sealed on quite tight. That said, feel free to do the water bath sealing. But then again, it may be alot of effort for nothing since frankly its so good, it probably won’t last that long!