Mediterranean pasta with no cook olive sauce

Mediterranean pasta with no-cook olive sauce: an easy weeknight meal featuring key ingredients from the Mediterranean diet to support health and longevity.

You've probably heard about the health benefits of the Mediterranean diet (namely living longer -- yay for living longer!) -- the diet that's rich in good-for-you foods like whole grains, seeds, legumes, veggies, fish, olives and olive oil. Couldn't we all use more of these healthy ingredients in our diets? You betcha. So, just for you, I've created a pasta dish, featuring California Black Ripe Olives, that pays homage to the healthy Mediterranean diet.

I have never met anyone who doesn't love black olives. And, if you're like me, you almost always have a can of them on hand in the pantry, right? Which makes them totally handy for creating quick, weeknight meals. Plus, black olives contain a variety of vitamins and fiber -- and, of course, you can wear them on your fingers.

For all of these reasons (not the least of which is the finger-wearing, if we're being honest), California Black Ripe Olives were the perfect choice to star in my new Mediterranean pasta dish. I paired the olives in a no-cook sauce with tangy capers, lots of fresh herbs from my garden, a squeeze of fresh lemon juice and some mashed anchovies (trust me -- they add an awesome yet subtle umami flavor that you will love!), then tossed them all with healthy whole-wheat pasta: it's an easy weeknight meal that's not only delicious, reminiscent of an olive tapenade, but also incorporates many key components of the Mediterranean diet.

Avocado goddess dressing

Jazz up your next meal salad or roast chicken dinner with this 5-minute, herb-filled, healthy avocado goddess dressing.

Sometimes it's the little things that can make or break your meal.

Am I right? Can I get an amen?

Like salad dressing. I've been in a simple balsamic vinaigrette rut lately. Not that the vinaigrette isn't good, it's just that I feel I should be whipping up batches of shallot dressing or sushi-restaurant-inspired ginger dressing or even classic buttermilk ranch dressing ... but I just haven't. And it's bumming out my salads.

Until recently.

And it's because of herbs. My "garden" this year, post-relocation, consists of a couple of planters of vegetables on our back patio. Given the end-of-days, seemingly non-stop rain storms we've had nearly all summer long, coupled with the 30,000 crafty, tomato-stealing squirrels and deer, my supply of homegrown veggies so far has been two half-sized cucumbers and four measly Sun Gold cherry tomatoes.

It's a pathetic situation. Thankfully, I've got plenty of farmers' markets around to make up the difference.

But my little in-ground herb garden, on the other hand, has been doing quite well. (Apparently the wildlife prefer their meals to be heartier.) So I've been trying to come up with herb-filled recipe ideas that aren't simply pesto, although a good (or unique) pesto is nothing to scoff at, that's for sure. Trust me, my freezer will be full of it come September!

Enter this avocado goddess salad dressing. Chockful of fresh herbs, this healthier riff on traditional green goddess dressing gets its rich creaminess from avocado and yogurt. And it's the most delightfully cheery green color you could ever hope to add to a salad.

Roasted grape crostini

Enjoy this recipe for roasted grape crostini, an elegant but easy party appetizer.

I have never been a big New Year's Eve kind of person. Oh sure, I used to try to force myself to stay awake and watch Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve until the ball dropped, but I've even given up that pretense: without Dick, it's not really all that rockin'.

But these roasted grape crostini appetizers might make me change my mind this year. Paired with a lovely glass of champagne, I can think of no better way to ring in 2014.

(I seriously cannot believe that 2013 is nearly over -- can you? Where the heck did this year go?)

And, as is the case with most of The Ninj's favorite recipes, these roasted grape crostini are quick and easy to prepare.

Herb-infused sugar cookies

Make plain sugar cookies special with a simple-to-make DIY herb-infused sugar.

Happy Halloween!

Or, as I prefer to say, Happy Day After The Ninj's Birthday!

I don't do a whole lot for Halloween. Heck, since we moved to the farmette, we don't even get a single trick-or-treater. I guess making the half-mile walk down our driveway in the pitch dark just for  a Reese's peanut butter cup is a little too spooky.

But since I own the cute black cat treat bags that you see in the photos (they have sparkly green eyes, too!!) and I was making these herb-infused sugar cookies anyway, I decided to tip my hat to The Day After The Ninj's Birthday.

These herbed sugar cookies are really a joint effort, though, because they center on herb-infused sugar (in this case, lavender, vanilla and lime zest) made by my new blogger friend Jess of Gather Round Kitchen. We met at a local food swap, where she was swapping this simple infused sugar. Easy yet fancy: totally brilliant!

I used it to make sugar cookies but you could also use it in your tea or some simple breakfast muffins. Another swapper used it to make a lovely sugar scrub as well.

CSA Share Ninja Rescue 2013: lavender, rosemary and sage

It's Monday, which means it's time again for the CSA Share Ninja Rescue, a weekly feature in which you tell me on Fridays what veg you got in your CSA share box (or found at the farmers' market) that you don't know what to do with and I'll give you a whole bunch of recipe ideas on the following Monday.

I'm jealous of those south of me who are already enjoying tomatoes and corn. I am salivating just thinking about it. Here in Vermont, we're still so water-logged that the only thing that I seem to be growing is fungus.

However, my herbs are doing well, as they are for my readers, who this week have requested ideas for using up copious amounts of lavender, rosemary and sage.

(Bonus: most of the recipes below call for fresh herbs but, if you've truly got herbal bounty, don't forget to dry some of them to use throughout the non-summer months!)

Lavender

• Seared ahi tuna with lavender-pepper crust: An aromatic dinner party dish
• Lavender tea bread: Gorgeous and delicious
• Blueberry lavender vodka spritzer: What luck -- it's blueberry season right now, too!
• Lavender simple syrup: Use it in cocktails, in your tea or even on pancakes

Rosemary

• Rosemary bread: An aromatic cheese bread -- yum!
• Rosemary and garlic roasted pork tenderloin: Rosemary and pork make a classic pairing
• Ginger-rosemary lemon drop cocktails: Crisp and refreshing
• Rosemary roasted cashews: A unique cocktail snack

Sage

• Sage brown butter: A perfect simple "sauce" for squash gnocchi
• Pork, sage and apple burgers: Like an early taste of fall
• Polenta with roasted corn and sage: Again, how handy that corn is coming into season now!
• Tuscan vegetable soup with sage: A healthy soup, loaded with fresh summer veg

What's coming in right now in your garden? The Ninj wants to know.

Homemade ranch dressing (and Brussels sprout slaw)

Brussels sprout slaw with buttermilk ranch dressing

As a food blogger, I'm finding that it keeps my job interesting to interact (virtually) with other cooks and bloggers; it helps me see what kinds of recipes and techniques are trending and exposes me to ingredients or dishes that are outside of my regular repertoire.

To that end, I've been participating in Grow It Cook It Can It's Cook It 2012 challenge, as well as the monthly Secret Recipe Club. My latest venture has been to join the From Scratch Club's virtual book club, in which club members not only read and discuss but also cook from Alana Chernila's Homemade Pantry: 101 Foods You Can Stop Buying & Start Making.

This book is cleverly divided into chapters based on supermarket aisles: dairy, cereals and snacks, canned items, condiments, soups, baking needs, frozen foods, pasta, breads and crackers, drinks and candy and sweets. Each chapter includes a few recipes for making your own version of things normally found in those aisles. Every two weeks, the FSC book clubbers read two chapters and are encouraged to test out one of the recipes (member's choice).

For the last "meeting", I made nutella toaster pastries: seriously good. I even made them again, substituting a savory filling of ricotta and parmesan cheese mixed with pesto: perhaps even better!

The focus of the book club's second "meeting" is canning and condiments. Since I have done a boatload of canning and preserving, I decided to focus on condiments.

I was pretty darned excited to find an easy recipe for buttermilk ranch salad dressing.

For the most part, I've moved away from bottled salad dressings and simply make my own. However, I've never been able to part with bottled ranch dressing (organic, at least, to avoid the HFCS).

Until now.

Nicoise toasts: a recipe

Nicoise toasts

I'm excited to be sharing this recipe with you ... finally.

You see, I thought I had lost my entire photo library two weeks ago.

For the average citizen, this would be tragic -- losing all those captured memories, once-in-lifetime shots, images of loved ones.

But for a food blogger? Ay yi yi!

As I have mentioned before, what you see here is what we eat. I don't create advanced posts and save them up and I certainly don't make special recipes only for the blog. Simply, I take photos of the food we eat about two seconds before we eat it. And, given how many awesome things there are to create and eat in the world, I find myself heeding Amanda Hesser's recent advice and rarely making the same dish twice.

(Except for salted oatmeal cookies. I'll continue to beat that dead horse over and over and over.)

So, if I lost the photos of what we've eaten, I'd have to try to recreate not only the recipes but also all the photos. You probably would have noticed a few week hiatus on the blog and heard me wailing all the way from wherever it is you live.

Luckily, data recovery software works and we're back in business here in Ninjaville.

Which leads us back to these nicoise toasts.

Caper pesto: a recipe

Whole wheat spaghetti with caper pesto

When I think about those certain ingredients that draw me to a recipe in a cookbook or to a dish on a restaurant menu, I realize I'm probably a little too addicted to salt.

And bacon, but that's another story.

I'm mainly thinking of anchovies and capers, extra awesome when in combination. (Remember the Mediterranean tuna pasta? Just like that.)

So imagine my delight in finding a recipe for a pesto (one of my faves because of how easy it is) made largely with anchovies and capers.

Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Summer is a great time of year for pesto, since it requires a large amount of one herb or another as its base. I usually have an overabundance of basil, which often ends up as a traditional pesto that gets frozen in small containers for use throughout the winter.

CSA Share Ninja Rescue: arugula and other greens

Spring greens soup

Finally, finally, finally -- we're starting to see some fresh greens in our gardens here in Vermont!

I'm harvesting baby lettuce and arugula, and my mustard greens, bok choy and kale are cookin' right along.

This week readers requested recipe help for arugula. Since I have tackled arugula before, I thought this week I'd just share one really good recipe in which you can use arugula or any other interesting greens that your CSA might be offering right now.

(Administrative note: Please feel free to leave a comment and let me know what you've been getting in your CSA share with which you need help but be advised that there will be no CSA Share Ninja Rescue post next week, as I will be on vacation. The feature will resume on Monday, June 25.)

Spring Greens Soup (adapated from Better Homes and Gardens)
I've called out arugula and spinach in this recipe, but feel free to substitute equal amounts of whatever spring greens you have on hand.

1 onion, halved and sliced
3 cups sliced mushrooms
olive oil
3 cups chicken broth
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
12-14 ounces Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and quartered
3 cups arugula leaves
3 cups baby spinach
2 cups parsley (I used Italian)
sour cream or creme fraiche, for serving

In a soup pot, cook the onion and mushrooms in some olive oil over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Add the broth, salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Add the potatoes to the pot and return the mixture to boiling. Reduce heat and simmer, partially covered, for about 10 minutes.

Remove the pot from the heat. Use and immersion blender to blend the potato mixture until fairly smooth. Add the arugula, spinach and parsley and return the pot to the heat. Bring it to boiling again, then remove from the heat again. Use the immersion blender again and blend it all up until it is smooth and has turned a beautiful spring green color. Season to taste with additional salt and pepper, and serve with a dollop of sour cream or creme fraiche.

[Shared with the What's in the Box? link party]

CSA Share Ninja Rescue: kale, asparagus, fennel and radish

Kale!

Clearly the harvests have started coming in around the country: I received more requests than I could handle this week for CSA Share Ninja Rescue, in which you, the readers, tell me, The Ninj, what veggies in your CSA share are giving you consternation and I give you some recipe ideas.

(Sadly, not so much bounty yet here in Vermont, where we just had another freakin' frost warning on May 17th!)

As always, if you need help with a veggie, leave a comment below or send me an email before this coming Friday. Recipes suggestions are posted on Mondays.

This week, readers in the Northeast asked for help with kale and asparagus, while some West Coast friends were confounded by fennel and radishes.

Kale
It's dark, it's tough, it's hearty -- and it's awesome! If you're new to kale, start out with lightly cooked versions. If you're already a fan, try using it raw, as well (I like to use it in place of lettuce on sandwiches and cabbage in slaws). Now, if only I could get Mr. Ninj to eat more kale, I'd be one happy camper.

• Kale and sweet potato quesadillas: These easy quesadillas have become a staple for me now. And I'm quite convinced that even kids will eat them.
• Kale chips: Move over potato chips, there's a new sheriff in town. 
• Kale and amaretti salad: Cookie croutons on your salad? Oh yeah! (adapted from a Ron Suhanosky recipe in the February 2012 issue of House Beautiful)

  Ingredients:
  1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
  2 tablespoons olive oil
  1 bunch kale, washed, stems removed, chopped
  handful amaretti cookies, crushed (about 4 cookies if you use Lazzaroni brand)
  1/2 ripe pear, thinly sliced
  1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  salt and pepper
  
  Directions:
  Whisk together the oil and vinegar and toss with the kale. Add the pears and toss again, gently. Lastly, add salt and pepper to taste and top with crushed cookies.

Drying herbs: two techniques

Sage, rosemary and thyme, dried in a food dehydrator

It's comin' for us.

Winter, that is. In fact, parts of our lovely state of Vermont already have some snow.

This means that it's time to call the garden done and get it prepped for a long winter's nap.

I don't have much left in garden, veg-wise, but I do have a crapload of herbs, so this week I harvested what was left and set about drying them for use over the cold winter months.

I have dried herbs using two different techniques, one fast and one slow, so I'm going to share both of them with you. Both are simple and will leave you with dried herbs that are much more flavorful than any you can buy.

Farewell, basil -- hello, pesto, or, summer recycling: a recipe

Fresh summer veg really is the best, and there's nothing quite like walking outside to the garden to pick what I need for a meal.

But -- turn, turn, turn -- everything has a season and the summer garden has come to an end.

But not all endings are sad -- not when it means pesto!

And enough pesto to freeze for use throughout the winter! Whoot! Whoot!