Her Modern Kitchen

Eating & Living in Austin, Texas

Healthy

10 Minute Sautéed Asparagus

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This Sautéed Asparagus recipe guarantees perfectly cooked asparagus every time! It’s simple and will have a healthy side dish on your table in 10 minutes!

Once warmer weather rolls around, there’s nothing I love more at dinner time than a quick, healthy meal. In our house, that usually means firing up the grill, throwing on our favorite meat (topping it with a bit of homemade pesto!) and serving it with a side of sautéed vegetables.

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Lately, my go-to dinner vegetable has been asparagus. It’s spring time, so that means asparagus is in season and at its peak! Since fish or chicken takes less than 10  minutes to cook on the grill, you can start this quick 10 Minute Sautéed Asparagus recipe on the stovetop at the same time as you begin to preheat your grill.

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It took me a while to figure it out but the secret to perfectly cooked asparagus is adding a splash of water to the saute pan and then quickly covering it to lock in all the heat. You get the best of both worlds with this method.  You end up with asparagus that’s tender and cooked all the way through while also getting a bit of browning on the outside.

Sautéed Asparagus - Raw

Before I figured out this water trick, I used to cook the heck out of asparagus, widdling it down into little spears that were charred on the outside with a crunchy, undercooked inside. By the time I was done cooking them, they had turned an ugly shade of green — you know that shade of green, it’s that same shade of green as the boiled-too-long, frozen peas your Grandmother used to serve you (or at least mine did!). It’s that shade of green that’s unattractive and definitely not appetizing.

My water method keeps the asparagus looking green, bright and fresh, and definitely something you’d be craving to put on your plate and eat!

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To jazz up the asparagus in this recipe, I add a bit of pressed garlic to the olive oil while it heats in the pan before adding in the veggies. This gives the garlic a chance to cook some and also flavors the olive oil. Right before the asparagus has finished cooking, I add in a sprinkle of coarse salt, crushed red pepper flakes and a dash of sesame seeds for a bit of crunch.  This dish is definitely simple, quick and perfectly complements any main dish you choose to serve.

Right before the asparagus has finished cooking, I add a sprinkle of coarse salt, crushed red pepper flakes and a dash of sesame seeds for a bit of crunch.  To finish it off and add a bit of brightness and acidity, I squeeze a small wedge of lemon over top, right before serving. This dish is definitely simple, quick and perfectly complements any main dish you choose to serve.

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10 Minute Sautéed Asparagus
 
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Serves: 4 servings
Ingredients
  • 1 pound asparagus spears, washed and cut into thirds
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 2 small garlic cloves
  • ¼ cup water
  • 1 teaspoon sesame seeds
  • ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper
  • pinch of coarse salt
  • squeeze of lemon juice (about a ¼ of a lemon)
Instructions
  1. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat
  2. Press the garlic cloves into the warming garlic and let cook for 30 seconds
  3. Add in the asparagus and toss to coat with the olive oil and garlic
  4. Cook on medium-high for 3 minutes
  5. Pour in the ¼ cup of water and immediately cover the skillet with a secure fitting lid
  6. Reduce heat to medium-low and let the asparagus cook for 5 minutes
  7. Remove the lid and add the sesame seeds, red pepper, and a hefty pinch of coarse salt
  8. Toss to coat then squeeze on the lemon
  9. Serve immediately

 

Healthier Basil Pesto

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A healthier and flavorful basil pesto sauce using vegetable broth and walnuts for an added boost of protein and less fat!

I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone who dislikes basil pesto. There’s just something about the mix of fresh basil and garlic that creates a savory, rich flavor combination that seems to fix all the problems in the world. Or at least, all problems are minimized for the 15 minutes you spend eating your pesto flavored dish.

Healthier Basil Pesto - Finished Ingredients

I personally love pesto and tend to keep a jar of homemade pesto on hand in our freezer at all times to quickly add a fresh burst of herbs to our meals. Although pesto is most often paired with pasta for a deliciously, carby entree, <3M and I very rarely use pesto as a pasta sauce.

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Artichoke & Leek Fritatta

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Our 2nd CSA box from Johnson’s Back Yard Garden contained a lot of the same veggies as last time – which meant we repeated a few of the recipes from the first box and threw in a few new ones too.

Photo from of JBG, Week of April 20th CSA Box

Photo from of JBG, Week of April 20th CSA Box

Artichokes & Leeks – I really hate fresh artichokes. They’re so fussy and the end result is hardly worth my efforts. Personally, I’m more than wiling to pay a premium at the grocery store to have someone else do all the prep work so I can easily begin cooking with just the artichoke hearts.

That being said, I did waste a half hour of my life trimming the ‘chokes, steaming them and plucking out the rich hearts in order to make an Artichoke & Leek Frittata (recipe below). It’s something I’ve made before, it’s delicious, healthy, and filling. We enjoyed ours as is but it’s also great served with a side salad or some garlic bread!

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Beets  – If it ain’t broke, why fix it? I went with the same pickled beet recipe as last time and am still enjoying them on my salads and in wraps for lunch!

Carrots & Red Spring Onions – Carrots in our house usually end up as hummus dippers on the side of a salad or as roasted carrot fries, as last time. But with this CSA box, I wanted to get a little creative and was inspired to make a carrot soup.

The bright orange color and the fresh carrots just sang spring, making this soup delicious, filling and satisfying.  The soup is very simple with only a handful of ingredients but the result is a refined, slightly spiced, carrot soup.  I garnished our soup with some homemade, roasted chickpeas which gave the soup texture and a wonderful crunch. Here’s a recipe similar to what I made for both the carrot soup and the spiced chickpeas.

Carrot Soup, Tahini Kale Salad & Spiced Chickpeas

Carrot Soup, Tahini Kale Salad & Spiced Chickpeas

Kale – Sometimes simple is best. This time around, I made a simple kale salad with a tahini-lemon dressing massaged into the kale. This salad is flavorful, slightly nutty and has a fresh, spring lemon flavor that compliments the earthiness of the kale. We paired the kale salad with the carrot soup and topped the salad with more of the roasted chickpeas. I’ve detailed the kale salad recipe below.

Parsley – Last CSA box, we really enjoyed the Chimichurri sauce and used the leftovers as dressing on salads for lunch the remainder of the week. So when we received another beautiful bunch of parsley, I had to recreate the Chimichurri sauce once more.  We topped both grilled chicken and grilled salmon with the sauce. While creating the sauce, I also utilized a few of the red spring onions from our CSA box.  This time around, I did tweak the Chimichurri sauce, reducing the olive oil by half and swapping in vegetable stock to ‘healthily’ it a bit.

Romaine & Spinach – At heart, I’m a true salad lover. So our two heads of romaine and bundle of spinach were quickly turned into salads for lunch, wilted into tomato, feta, and spinach omelets and made into lettuce buns for turkey burgers, keeping with the low-carb dinners.

Artichoke & Leek Fritatta
 
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A light, easy meal! Great for a weeknight dinner or weekend brunch.
Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • 2 medium leeks sliced and cleaned
  • 8 artichokes heart, chopped into ½ inch pieces
  • 1 tablespoon, chopped fresh tarragon (or 2 tsp dried tarragon)
  • ½ teaspoon salt & ½ teaspoon pepper
  • 4 eggs
  • ½ cup non-fat ricotta cheese
  • 2 Tbsp all purpose flour
  • ½ teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees
  2. Spray an 8x8 or 9x9 oven proof pan with olive oil or non-stick spray and set aside.
  3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs and ricotta. Whisk in the flour, salt, pepper, Parmesan, and baking powder. Set aside.
  4. Spray a large skillet with olive oil and place over medium-heat on the stove. Once warm, add the sliced leeks and gently cook until softened, about 10 minutes stirring often to avoid excessive browning.
  5. Once the leeks are cooked through and softened, add the artichoke hearts to the skillet until warmed then remove from heat.
  6. Gently stir the artichokes and leeks into the egg mixture. Note that the color of the mixture may change, don't worry if this happens, it will go back to normal when cooked.
  7. Pour the mixture into the prepared 8x8 or 9x9 baking pan and place in oven to cook for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, the top should be slightly brown check for doneness by pricking a toothpick into the center. If it comes out clean, it is done. If not, return to over for 5 additional minutes and repeat toothpick process until the toothpick comes out clean.
  8. To serve, cut into 4 large pieces and sprinkle each with a bit of additional Parmesan.

 

 

 

Apple Pie Smoothie

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Apple Pie is an iconic American dessert.  And in my family, it was a regular.  I have quite a few childhood memories that include making and eating apple pie with my family. It was always around for holidays, made every year for my Dad’s birthday [because it was his favorite], and was enjoyed after most Sunday night dinners.

Making the pies, at least when I was younger, was a family affair.  I remember my Dad sitting at our kitchen table running apples through a hand-cranked apple peeler and watching the thin strips of skin drop to the floor.  These were my apple strings were favorite part, I always loved eating the long ropes of apple skin while watching him crank away.

While Dad was peeling the apples, my Mom would begin making the homemade pie crust using her Mom’s recipe [obviously, because in our family, we just don’t do store-bought pie crust].  I remember her carefully rolling out the dough so it wouldn’t tear and crimping it perfectly around the edge of the pie pan, creating perfect edges with ease.  Once the apples were peeled and cut, she’d mix the apples in with the sugar and cinnamon and pile them high into the crust, neatly topping everything with a buttery-rich crumb topping.  In our family, crumb topping was the only way to enjoy apple pie.  Not only did you NOT have to roll out two pie crusts but you got that extra crunch & warmth from the topping that made eating apple pie that much more comforting.

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My mom would bake the apple pie an hour or so before dinner so by the time our meal was complete, we’d be able to enjoy warm apple pie – which is the only way an apple pie should be enjoyed, warm & fresh out of the oven.  In fact, my Aunt Val didn’t even realize apple pie was served cold until she was in her 20’s.  Some may say she was considered spoiled but I’d save she was privileges for never having to eat cold apple pie [yuck!]

Most people love enjoying a slice of apple pie topped with vanilla ice cream, and in my family, we enjoyed that once in a while but our standard was to accompany apple pie was with a few slices of sharp cheddar cheese on the side.  It might sound strange, maybe even a bit “Polak” but apples & cheese are a common pair and the creaminess of the cheese and its slight bite paired perfectly with the sweet-tartness of the apple pie.  My Grandma Hellert would be the to initially make the cheese request and at times, she’d simply show up with blocks of cheese whenever she knew apple pie was on the menu.

Although I have fond memories of apple pie from my childhood, my current apple pie indulgence is limited to visits home or in this past Christmas’ instance, my Mom’s visit to Austin. And honestly, I’m fine indulging in it every few years but in between these homemade treats, I still enjoy the flavors of apple pie by mixing up an Apple Pie Protein Smoothie – the healthified apple pie!

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This smoothie recipe is something I came up with years later, after first enjoying an Apple Pie Milkshake during my 3rd grade class’ Apple Day celebration.  The original recipe had applesauce, cinnamon, milk, and of course, ice cream.  Mine on the other hand has fresh apples & applesauce, spices, almond milk & vanilla protein powder. It’s a slimmed down version of the milkshake but still delivers all the flavors of Mom’s apple pie without the fat, calories, and post-indulgence guilt.  It’s great for breakfast, a mid-afternoon snack or even a late night dessert!

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Apple Pie Protein Smoothie
 
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A healthy, tasty creation to curve a sweet craving that taste's just like Mom's homemade apple pie!
Serves: 1 smoothie
Ingredients
  • 1 cup almond milk, vanilla or original [I use unsweetened]
  • ½ cup unsweetened applesauce
  • ½ apple finely diced* [I prefer Fuji or Empire but I’ve also used Granny Smith for some extra tartness]
  • ½ tsp ground cinnamon
  • ¼ tsp ground clove
  • ½ scoop vanilla protein powder [I use about 40 grams]
  • 6-8 ice cubes
Instructions
  1. Directions:
  2. Place everything in the blender beginning with the top of the ingredient list and working you way down.
  3. Add additional ice cubes as needed to acquire your desired thickness.
  4. Pour into a glass, sprinkle with cinnamon & enjoy!
Notes
Sometimes, I only add half of the apple to the smoothie and choose to stir in the rest to the smoothie after blending. Obviously, you can’t drink the smoothie but I enjoy eating it with a spoon, kind of like a soup smoothie!

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Panko Crusted Goat Cheese Salad

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Usually while dining, the term “cheesy” refers to calorie bomb, most often in the form of a creamy, gooey,  or melted.  Though delicious, this cheese is usually accompanied with something being fried (MozzSticks), smothered (Enchiladas), or creamy (Alfredo).

Now cheese isn’t bad but there is a good and bad way to eat it.

CheeseStick – Good: Go for lowfat and have it with some almonds or an apple as an afternoon snack.  I love Sargento because they even make flavored sticks like Pepper Jack & White Cheddar to switch it up.

Feta- Good: Enjoy it on a salad.  The harder the cheese the better it is for you, honestly. Atheno is  my personal favorite, even the reduced-fat version is amazing. Sprinkle it on salads and wraps.

Alfredo – Bad: It not only involves cheese but cream as well which is code for fat.

Queso – Bad: Not only is it creamy, gooey, and melted but it comes with a side salty chips.  And you no, once you start you can’t stop.

If you really want cheese in your diet – try shredded cheese, a little goes a long ways and make it the reduced-fat or part-skim version.  Cabot makes a great 50% fat free cheese in a variety of flavors.  Need blue cheese, swiss cheese, Mexican cheese, or an herby cheese?  Try Laughing Cow wedges.  They’re 35 calories and low in fat.  I’ve used them for quesadillas, buffalo wraps, alfredo sauces, and even just plain ol’ cheese & cracker snacks.  This company is also the maker of the famous mini Babybel cheese rounds.  Those are good in moderation as well – like a cheese stick type snack.

This being said, the king of cheese, at least in my opinion, is Goat Cheese aka Chevre. It’s French.  It’s fancy.  It’s creamy.  It’s decadent. It’s full of flavor.  It usually have 70-80 calories per ounce and around 6g of fat. Totally reasonable for cheese.  Plus they make all types – spreadable logs, crumbles, and even cream cheese, I have a Fig flavor that’s great on bagel thins.

The below recipe is my ode to Chevre.  Healthified of course!  Often times while dining out, I’m drawn to a specific goat cheese salad, the encrusted goat cheese medallion salad that I often find on restaurant menus.  However, I’ve never ordered it for I know the truth about this salad.  This once healthy salad is destroyed in a restaurant kitchen with a dip in the fryer resulting in oil soaked cheese rounds.

So here’s my version at home version that’s quick and healthy.

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Encrusted Goat Cheese Salad with Grapefruit Balsamic
 
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Serves: 2 salads
Ingredients
  • ¼ cup panko bread crumbs
  • 3 tablespoons whole almonds, finely chopped in a food processor
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon pepper
  • ½ teaspoon dried basil
  • 3 tablespoons flour
  • 3 tablespoons liquid egg whites or 1 egg white
  • 1-4oz log of Chevre cut into 6 rounds
  • 1 grapefruit (3/4 sections with skins removed, ¼ used for juicing)
  • Spring mix (3-4 cups or desired salad size)
  • ¼ cucumber, diced
  • a handful of berries of choice, as garnish
  • additional almonds, coarsely chopped, as garnish
  • ¼ cucumber, diced
  • handful of berries of choice, as garnish
  • additional almonds, coarsely chopped, as garnish
  • 3 tablespoons fresh squeezed grapefruit juice (about 1 quarter of the fruit)
  • 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
  • 1 – 2 teaspoons agave nectar or honey
Instructions
  1. In a bowl mix breadcrumbs, almonds, salt, pepper and basil.
  2. In a 2nd bowl, place flour.
  3. In a 3rd bowl place egg whites.
  4. Next, cut four goat cheese rounds. If you have trouble cutting the rounds, warm the knife under hot running water to make the cut a bit easier, then mold and flatten to get your desired round shape.
  5. Take our four goat cheese rounds and dip the rounds in the flour then egg whites, then panko-almond mixture. You might need to press the crumb mixture into the grounds. Set aside.
  6. Next make the balsamic dressing.
  7. Heat balsamic vinegar over low heat on stove. Squeeze in 3 tablespoons of grapefruit juice (roughly a quarter of a grapefruit). Once warmed, stir in agave nectar or honey. Taste for desired sweetness. It should be sweet-tangy. Set aside.
  8. Next, assemble the salads so they’re prepared when medallions are done cooking. Compile spring mix, cucumbers, grapefruit sections, berries, and roughly chopped almonds.
  9. Finally, heavily spray a pan with olive oil (I use Pam Olive Oil). Heat on medium high and place medallions into pan. Cook 2-3 minutes per side until a brown and golden crust forms. Before flipping, spray the uncooked, top side with olive oil (3-4 second spray per round) and gently flip. Allow to cook until also golden and crispy. (You may need to re-spray pan if it looks a tad dry.)
  10. Once medallions are cooked and warmed through center, place on paper towel to soak up excess oil. Let stand 1 minute then place a top salads, drizzle with dressing and serve.

Let me know if you like it/try it.  And I’ll try and make a separate link in time for a printable version without pictures…just in case!