Recipe for Sun-Dried Tomato Tapenade with Garlic and Herbs

I'm having a series of dinners and parties to invite people to come and see my finished house, and this tapenade with sun-dried tomatoes, basil, parsley, garlic, and a few other flavors is something I made a big batch of to serve at the various parties. It seemed perfect to post today, since I used the food processor to make this, and if you're a member of Costco, you can read in the September Issue of Costco Connection magazine about how much I love my food processor. Thanks to Nannette from Cooking in Color, who interviewed me for the piece. Of course, my overwhelming love for Costco is well-documented on the blog, but just for the record, Costco has never paid me or given me any free products for saying nice things about their store.

Friday Night Photos: Dinner at Topolobampo with Lydia and Ted

Months before we started making other plans for the 2009 BlogHer Conference, my blogging friend Lydia and I and Lydia's charming husband Ted were making reservations for Topolobampo, the more upscale side of Top Chef Master's winner Rick Bayless' side-by-side signature restaurants in Chicago. We loved Topolobampo when we ate there, but when I came home there were so many things to talk about for Friday Night Photos like meeting food bloggers in Chicago, the completion of house renovations, and Garden Updates, that this post was delayed. I can't find the menu I saved to help with descriptions of our tasting menu experience, but I do vividly remember the guacamole above, served with incredibly thin and crisp jicama and cucumber.

Recipe for Bulgar Salad with Tomatoes, Cucumbers, Parsley, Mint, and Lemon

A few weeks ago when I had some people over for dinner, my friend Georgette brought this salad, along with a copy of the recipe that she'd found in Cooking Light. I loved the recipe, but didn't realize until I looked for it online that it was created by Joanne Weir, one of my favorite cookbook authors who recently started a blog. This salad has many ingredients found in Tabbouleh, but the amount of tomato and cucumber and the addition of green onion gives this salad a slightly different attitude. I changed the original recipe just a bit, adding lemon zest and a bit more olive oil, and this was a delightful way to use some tomatoes, cucumbers, mint, and parsley from the garden. I'm also thinking there are lots of interesting things that could be added to this. Have you ever cooked with bulgur? If you have a good idea for using this healthy whole grain, let us know about it in the comments.

Recipe Favorites: Grilled Pork Chops Recipe with Lemon, Garlic, and Sage

(Updated and added to Recipe Favorites August 2009) This recipe is a perfect way to use those thick lean boneless pork chops which tend to be dry if you cook them without marinating. (All you Costco shoppers know the ones I mean.) It's also a recipe for people who really like sage, so if you're not really a sage fan, I recommend using less, or check the Grilling category for a different recipe for grilled pork chops. My original photo for this recipe had pretty lame grill marks, but I was much happier with the marks above that I got from my new natural gas grill! (The grill in that picture really is exactly like mine.)

Recipe for Grilled Middle Eastern Turkey Burgers with Yogurt Sauce

If there's anyone reading this who just turned their nose up a bit at the mention of turkey burgers, stay with me here for a minute. While it's true that ground turkey can sometimes be a little ho-hum, these turkey burgers with finely chopped mint and parsley and seasoned with an interesting mix of paprika, cumin, coriander, and pepper flakes were moist and flavorful. I actually had the leftovers for breakfast and again for lunch the day after I made them, which is a pretty high recommendation in a house like mine where the fridge is always packed with interesting things to eat. I found this recipe in the latest issue of Fine Cooking Grilling, a special publication from the folks at Fine Cooking Magazine. Fine Cooking has been my favorite cooking magazine for a few years now, and I've consistently been wowed by recipes I try from there.

Recipe for Macaroni Salad with Fresh Tomatoes, Fresh Basil, and Feta

Pasta salads often don't get much respect, and while it's true there are a lot of soggy and bland pasta salad concoctions, this pasta salad with macaroni, fresh tomatoes, fresh basil, and Feta is loaded with flavor. The dressing ingredients are mixed with the tomatoes and basil and allowed to hang out together for a few hours, then about 45 minutes before you want to serve it you cook the macaroni, let it cool a little, and then mix the dressing into the slightly-warm pasta. I used Dreamfields macaroni to keep the salad South Beach Diet friendly, and the recipe was inspired by a spaghetti salad I used to love at a local deli, so you could use whole wheat spaghetti if you prefer. If you have fresh tomatoes and basil from the garden, this is a delicious new salad option.

Friday Night Photos: 2009 Garden Update #6 (It's happy time in the garden!)

It's been nearly a month since I posted my last garden update, and truly this entire gardening season my mind has been on other things. But happily the plants have mostly thrived (even after a few sprinkling system mishaps) and now it's happy time when the garden is producing gorgeous produce. Above is my new favorite Green Zebra tomato, and I featured this plant last time too, but I couldn't resist showing how they're producing big clumps of tomatoes. I love the flavor of this tomato, and it's one I'll be growing every year from now on.

Recipe for Zucchini Carpaccio (Raw Zucchini Salad) with Lemon, Herbs, and Goat Cheese

Zucchini Carpaccio is a dish I've been intrigued by since I first heard about the idea of thinly slicing zucchini and then marinating it in a dressing of olive oil and lemon juice, so I have no idea why it's taken me so long to try it. It was the Carpaccio of Raw Zucchini from Sidewalk Shoes that finally pushed this dish to the top of my list. Pam used a recipe from Tyler Florence, but I ended up making my own version, heavy on lemon and herbs, and with the addition of a little goat cheese, since I'm always in favor of goat cheese in a salad!

World's Best Tzatziki Sauce Recipe - Greek Yogurt and Cucumber Sauce

(First posted in 2007, updated with step-by-step photos and printer-friendly recipe and added to Recipe Favorites August 2009) Tzatziki is one of the classic sauces in Greek cuisine, with as many versions as there are cooks who make it. I can get away with calling this the World's Best Tzatziki Sauce Recipe because it was made by my friend Georgette, who's not only 100% Greek, but also one of the best cooks I know. In the archives I also have Georgette's Really Lemony Greek Pilafi and Georgette's Greek Zucchini. I keep telling Georgette that someday she'll have her own page in the recipe archives, and when she does, this Tzatziki Sauce recipe will be at the top of the list.

Recipe for Low-Sugar and Whole Wheat Zucchini Bread with Blueberries and Pecans

I still have lots of zucchini in the garden, so after such good results adapting Elise's recipe to make Zucchini Muffins, I decided to try making zucchini bread. My first zucchini bread attempt was not a keeper, but for the second try I came up with this recipe that I really liked. I'll always be more of a cook than a baker, but I was excited that I managed to adapt ideas from a few different recipes and get zucchini bread that worked for my low-glycemic way of eating. Last night I made dinner for my sister Pam, her husband Kelly, and my niece Alyson (after Kelly hooked up my new natural gas grill, thanks Kelly!) and they gave the zucchini bread three thumbs up. Putting blueberries in was an impulse that worked out, but if you don't have blueberries I think you could use another cup of zucchini (with maybe a bit more cinnamon) or add some other type of fruit. The next thing I want to try is savory zucchini bread, so if anyone ideas for that I'd love to hear about it in the comments.

Recipe Favorites: Cucumber and Tomato Salad with Marinated Garbanzo Beans, Feta, and Herbs

(Updated and added to Recipe Favorites August 2009) For people with vegetable gardens, we're currently in the time of year when nearly every meal needs to include some kind of salad with tomatoes and cucumbers, so it seems like a good time to update this recipe (with better photos!) Of course, tomatoes, cucumbers, and Feta are a classic Greek Salad combination, but what makes this more interesting is the marinated garbanzo beans and the use of fresh Greek oregano as a seasoning. I do think fresh oregano is an acquired taste, so if you haven't yet acquired a taste for it, fresh basil or parsley would also be great here. For me, the addition of garbanzo beans bumps this up to a main-dish salad, and this is a recipe where I'd start marinating the beans after breakfast, and then have the salad for a light dinner during the summer.

Friday Night Photos: House Renovations v. 2.1.9 (Nine Months Later and a Brand New House!)

Nine months to go from this . . .

to this!

I'm amazed it's been over a month since I've given an update on my house, and I'm excited to announce that the house is essentially done! My contractors did a beautiful job, and I couldn't be happier with the results. This is the final post to document the changes, so let me warn you, there are a lot of photos. Some are things I've shown in an earlier stage, but I want the final pictures as a record of how the house has been transformed. A few Utah people have asked who was doing the work, so for that information, scroll to the end after all the photos.

Warm or Cold Salad Recipe with Artichoke Hearts, Roasted Red Pepper, Capers, and Basil Dressing

It's fun to have friends who are good cooks, and if you're a food blogger they may lead you to good recipe ideas like this salad my friend Trudy brought for a dinner last weekend (on my new deck!) I love artichoke hearts, red peppers, and capers, so no surprise that I'd love this salad and want the recipe. Trudy credits The Barefoot Contessa as the original source, and this does seem like something Ina Garten might serve on her own deck in the Hamptons. You can make this ahead and chill, or it can sit for hours at room temperature, which makes it perfect for summer entertaining, but I can also imagine this salad served warm on a buffet at a holiday party.

Julia Child's Brandade á la Soissonaise (Puree of White Beans with Garlic and Herbs)

This marks the fourth year food bloggers have celebrated Julia Child's August 15 birthday by cooking one of her recipes, and after seeing Julie and Julia last week, this birthday celebration seems even more fun. I got down my only Julia Child cookbook and searched for something that could possibly be made South Beach Diet friendly, and this recipe for pureed white beans with garlic and basil was the winner!

Recipe for Southwestern Bean Salad with Black Beans, Black-Eyed Peas, Peppers, and Cilantro

At a recent neighborhood party I ran into an old friend, and when she found out I was now a food blogger, she told me enthusiastically about her favorite salad recipe featuring black beans and black-eyed peas. I'd never used black-eyed peas in a salad like this, so I listened carefully, (mentally editing out the canned corn that wasn't South Beach friendly and replacing it with lower-glycemic diced bell peppers.) This salad inspired by her description is exactly the type of dish I love to make when it's hot and you don't want to turn on the stove. I tested the recipe on Ben, (the most adventurous eater of the contractors working on my house), and we agreed one thing that really makes this combination work is cutting the diced red and green bell peppers as small as the beans, so every bite of salad has some crunch and the full blend of flavors. I loved this salad, and if you like black-eyed peas, I'm betting you will too!

Friday Night News: One-Page Printer Friendly Recipes on Kalyn's Kitchen

Even though I've had relatively printer friendly recipes on the blog for several years, for a while now I've wanted to make it so you could print a one-page version of any recipe. I'm happy to share the news that the printer-friend-recipe feature has been added. If you're not sure what I mean, here's an example:

Printer Friendly Recipe

If you click that link it will take you to the printer-friendly version of my latest recipe for Low-Sugar and Whole Wheat Zucchini Muffins with Pecans. Of course, you can still print the full post (without header, sidebars, or photos) just as you could in the past. I'll slowly be changing over all the recipes on the blog to add the printer friendly version, but it's done manually so it will take me a few months. Be patient, and I'll work on it as much as I can!

Thanks for this new printer friendly recipe capability goes to my good friend Karina from Karina's Kitchen who spent several hours walking me through changes needed to add this feature. If you're someone who likes to print recipes on Kalyn's Kitchen, help me thank Karina by clicking over to her blog and leaving a comment! (And if you know anyone who has celiac or other food allergies, tip them off about Karina's gorgeous blog where she serves up original recipes for amazing-looking gluten-free-and-allergy-friendly food.)

Things you might want to know:
You can get Kalyn's recipes by e-mail.
There's a great way to print recipes on Kalyn's Kitchen.
You can become a fan of Kalyn's Kitchen on Facebook.
Sometimes you can see what I'm doing on Twitter.
Here is another place where I write more about food.

Recipe for Low-Sugar and Whole Wheat Zucchini Muffins with Pecans

In Utah we're getting close to the time of year when giant zucchini start to appear overnight in the garden, and even a dedicated zucchini-lover like myself is searching for ways to use them. Last summer I posted Ten Delicious Zucchini Recipes to help those who are zucchini-challenged, but this year I got fixated on the idea of finding a version of zucchini bread or muffins that didn't use white flour or sugar. I tried a few recipes that were close, but the winner was this recipe, adapted from the Zucchini Muffins posted by my good friend Elise at Simply Recipes. Elise's recipe made a lot of muffins, so I cut it in half to make 12 small muffins, which I've been enjoying for breakfast the last few days. Even if you think you don't like zucchini bread, give these muffins a try and I bet they'll be a hit at your house.

Another Option for Freezing Fresh Basil: French Pistou Sauce in Honor of Julia Child

For years I've been freezing fresh basil, and I've also used my garden basil to make basil pesto for the freezer. This year though, buzz about Julia Child, the upcoming movie of Julie and Julia, and thoughts of Soupe au Pistou inspired me to use my first basil pickings for French pistou sauce instead. What's the difference between pesto and pistou? A little quick research using Food Blog Search turned up many variations of pistou. Some recipes include tomatoes, parsley, or other herbs, and pistou may or may not have cheese. Most times though pistou doesn't contain nuts, and pistou usually has more garlic in proportion to basil than pesto. does. Pesto and pistou are both best made to your own taste anyway, so here's my version of pistou, which I'm looking forward to drizzling on soup next winter.

Recipe for Tomato, Cucumber, and Radish Salad with Yogurt and Tahini Dressing

There must be thousands of variations of tomato and cucumber salad in the world, but recently when I was in Chicago attending the 2009 BlogHer Conference, I had a tomato and cucumber salad that really knocked my socks off. I was on the way to The Spice House with my blogging friend Lydia, and we stopped in at Old Jerusalem Restaurant for a quick lunch. Lydia and I both have middle-eastern tastebuds, and we loved this unpretentious restaurant, with me especially swooning over the Jerusalem Salad with a yogurt and tahini dressing. I was determined to recreate the flavors from that dressing, and although when I found their website I realized my salad was a bit different, I loved the salad I came up with. (More experimenting coming to get a salad that's just like theirs!)

South Beach Diet Phase One Recipes Round-Up for July 2009

Kalyn's favorite phase one recipe from July 2009 is Tuscan Baked Eggs
with Tomatoes, Red Onions, Garlic, Parmesan, and Herbs

It seems like each time I write another monthly round-up of South Beach Diet phase one recipes, I wonder how a month has gone by so quickly! Not sure how it got to be August, but happily I'm free of that "there are only a few weeks left" school teacher panic. This month I've been fairly distracted from reading other blogs, so if you're a blogger who posted a recipe that you think would be phase one friendly, check after the recipe links to see how to submit it.