Category Archives: Cooking

Dani’s Spinach and Zucchini Lasagna

This was the best lasagna ever: Ingredients About 9 Pasta sheets (make your own or use fresh pasta from Whole Foods) 1 15oz package of part skim ricotta cheese 3/4 cup mozzarella 1/4 cup parmesan 1 egg Approximately 4 cups … Continue reading

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Roasted Cauliflower Pizza

Dani and I decided to try to duplicate the roasted cauliflower pizza from Anthony’s in Orlando, and we came darned close. We started with some pizza dough from Whole Foods, which I rolled out repeatedly, really thin, and then baked … Continue reading

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5-Spice Apples

I invented this simple recipe to use up ingredients before leaving town. It turned out delicious. Ingredients 2 apples 3 Tbsp brown sugar 2 tsp Chinese 5-spice Preparation Peel and chop up apples. Dump in a covered casserole dish, add … Continue reading

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Pan-Seared Chicken with Balsamic Fruit Glaze

I fiddled with this recipe so much I’m calling it my own. This is a really good way to cook boneless, skinless chicken; it ends up crisp yet moist. And the glaze can be prepared in a leisurely fashion while … Continue reading

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Grilled Zucchini with Pesto

These turned out great. I used much more garlic and twice the pine nuts the original recipe suggested. I don’t see how you could stretch it to recommended six zucchini, though. I used more than half the pesto on one … Continue reading

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Garden Lasagna

Last night I made a vegetarian lasagna. I was skeptical because of the large amount of skim milk in the recipe, but it worked great. I left out the corn the recipe called for, and used ricotta cheese rather than … Continue reading

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Farmers’ Market

On Saturday mornings Evanston has a farmers’ market behind the Hilton Garden Inn. Unlike many farmers’ markets I’ve been to, this one is actually a market of farmers. Nearly every booth has fresh picked (or sometimes potted) herbs and vegetables … Continue reading

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Green Beans and Bacon

This is a dish we used to have all the time, but had forgotten about. Maybe if I put it here it will remind me to fix it more often, as it is extremely succulent. Ingredients 3/4 lb Green Beans … Continue reading

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Lemony Hummus

This recipe comes from Scott Joesph’s blog. Make 2 cups 15-ounce can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed 3 tablespoons water 4 tablespoons lemon juice 1 clove garlic, peeled 2 teaspoons ground cumin 2 teaspoons coriander 1 teaspoon paprika, plus more … Continue reading

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Three Bean Chili

I know there’s a big disagreement over whether chili should have beans in it, but to me it’s all about the beans, and to heck with the meat. This is a new recipe Linda got from a co-worker at a … Continue reading

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Thai Beef Salad

This is my favorite salad recipe. We originally got it from Standolyn Robertson, Jamie Robertson’s wife. She served it at a dinner that was memorable because it was the night, twenty years ago, that a micro burst blew down our … Continue reading

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Stuffing Meat Loaf

Linda made a new meat loaf recipe last night that’s the best I’ve tasted. Rather than bread or cracker crumbs, it uses Stove Top Stuffing mix: 2 lbs ground round 1 package Stove Top Stuffing mix 2 eggs 1 medium … Continue reading

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Lemon-Free Hummus

Because Dani’s roommate is allergic to citrus (and several hundred other things) they’ve discovered some interesting alternative recipes. Today she made this, which I think I like better than regular hummus. Recipe 19 oz can of chick peas 3-4 tbsp … Continue reading

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Fourth of July in Evanston

We decided to avoid the traffic and stay in Evanston for the Fourth of July. Dani made her traditional berry and jello flag cake, I grilled some steaks, Linda made Julia Child’s sauteed pearl onions, and we watched the spectacular … Continue reading

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Broccoli and Cauliflower and Carrots, Oh My

For dinner I fixed Tiger Butter curry chicken along with two new side dishes. THey both turned out pretty good. Another ten servings to add to Dani’s freezer. Broccoli and Cauliflower Casserole Ingredients white rice broccoli florets cauliflower florets olive … Continue reading

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Basil Chicken, Sweet Potato Casserole, Brussels Sprouts

Basil Chicken I thought I had memorialized Linda’s Basil Chicken recipe on this blog, but apparently not, so here’s my version: Ingredients Boneless chicken breasts Onion Lemon Basil leaves White Wine Milk Olive Oil Salt and Pepper or Poultry Seasoning … Continue reading

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Lock & Lock Korma

One of my missions this year in Evanston is to make lots of one-serving meals for Dani’s freezer. I ran errands to Ace Hardware and Whole Foods, returning with about 50 pounds of stuff in the poor shopping basket cart. … Continue reading

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Mussels!

When I was at Publix I spotted these frozen mussels and thought I’d take a leap of faith. Wow! Linda fixed them on some scampi flavored pasta and they were delicious, as good as at a restaurant. They’re made by … Continue reading

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Asparagus with Balsamic

This turned out pretty good, but I’ve reduced the cooking time from 25 to 15 minutes because it was overdone. Ingredients Fresh asparagus Spray grapeseed oil Seasoning 2 tablespoons butter 1 tablespoon soy sauce 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar Directions Preheat … Continue reading

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Zucchini Casserole

A Somewhat different version than the one I usually make, this one has no marinara, just fresh tomatoes. Ingredients: 1 lb. zucchini 1 Tbsp olive oil 1 chopped onion 3 cloves garlic 1 lb. tomatoes, chopped seasoning 1 cup Italian … Continue reading

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Linda’s Gazpacho

Linda made some delicious gazpacho last night. She started with a recipe from Food Network and modified it. Ingredients 2 cucumbers, diced 3 large tomatoes, diced 1 red pepper, chopped 1 green pepper, chopped 1 red onion, chopped 3 garlic cloves, minced … Continue reading

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Crepes

Linda fixed crepes tonight, what a creative use of frozen leftovers! Spinach Souffle, curry chicken, and ratatouille. Accompanied by two different Adobe Road zinfandels that happened to arrive today, and a BV chardonnay.

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Ratatouille

The dish, not the movie. Sauté zucchini in organic garlic and grapseed oil spray. Add onions, variety of bell, red and yellow peppers, green onions, fire roasted diced tomatoes, dash of hot sauce, seasoning salt, fresh terragon. Simmer for 20 minutes. Pretty … Continue reading

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Tilapia with Caramelized Apples

This was a weird idea that turned out well. Ingredients: Tilapia filet Apple, sliced Onion, chopped Cup of white wine Splash of milk Seasoning salt Grapeseed oil spray Caramelize the apples and onions, add white wine and milk, reduce, set … Continue reading

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Christmas 2010

We had a lovely Christmas, leisurely opening our packages all day.  The best gifts were homemade. Dani wrapped up a LOST-themed Dharma pillow in DHARMA “Standard Wrapping Paper” that she made herself, and she also gave us a world map … Continue reading

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Gingerbread House

Dani’s annual tradition of making a gingerbread house got a bit more complicated this year, as she baked the gingerbread herself. We were all a bit skeptical of whether it would hold together for final assembly, but we shouldn’t have … Continue reading

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Delish New York Bakery

For dinner I made Bacon Wrapped Scallops and Cilantro Lime Rice. That meant a trip to Whole Foods for wild caught sea scallops and uncured hikory smoked bacon. Whenever I go to Whole Foods I like to stop in at … Continue reading

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Mission Acomplished!

Dani took her chemistry final this morning. While she was away I put up the banner Jackie made for her. She was very surprised when she arrived home to find that, and my lame excuse at cake decorating. In all … Continue reading

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NU Library

Today was my last day to walk around, so I wandered up through the Northwestern campus and visited the library, which is really, really large. And confusing. The three towers are linked in a very unintuitive way on all but … Continue reading

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Winding Down

This week I’m beginning to get ready for the return to Orlando. I have mixed feelings, as I’ve loved spending the summer with Dani in Evanston, but it will be nice to see Linda again, and I’m sure we’ll all … Continue reading

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