Friday Night Photos: The Other Place Restaurant in Salt Lake City

I finally remembered to take a camera along when I visited The Other Place Restaurant in Salt Lake City, which has been one of my favorite inexpensive Greek-American eateries for a long time. Both times I was with other South Beach Diet fans, and we were going for lunch. The Other Place Lunch Menu has some nice South Beach Diet friendly choices, and if you're a South Beach follower who's not in Salt Lake, you still may get some good ideas about what to order in a Greek-American restaurant where you live.

Recipe for Very Greek Grilled Chicken

(Updated and added to Recipe Favorites: April 2010.) I made this grilled chicken recently for some very thoughtful people in my family, and when I went to the blog to print out the recipe, I decided it was overdue for new photos! This was a recipe I originally came up with in 2005 when I was experimenting to see what type of marinade would taste good on grilled chicken, and I've made it many times since. If you're not that experienced with grilling chicken breasts, you might want to read my post about how to make grilled chicken breasts that are juicy every time. Leftover grilled chicken is something I love to have in the fridge to throw on top of a salad or eat in a sandwich, so even if you're only cooking for a few people, I recommend making some extra.

Recipe for Low-Sugar Double Blueberry Yogurt Parfait

It's been fun reading responses people have shared on the Five-Year Anniversary post, and there have been more than a few of you asking for more low-sugar desserts, so this idea I came up with recently seemed like a good post for today. I served this as a dessert, but it could also be the type of dish you'd serve at a brunch, especially if you made a larger version in a single dish. I'm not someone who cares a lot about desserts, so if I'm going to make a dessert it will be a simple dish like this that can be made in a few minutes, and this was easy to make with lots of flavor.

Kalyn's Kitchen Turns Five Years Old (and five questions for readers to answer in the comments)

Photo of five year birthday cake from ABCteach.com

On April 24, 2005 I wrote the first post on Kalyn's Kitchen, never imagining for a moment how starting a food blog would change my life. Now I'm retired from my teaching job and spend at least a few hours every day cooking, photographing, or writing up recipes for the blog. It's been a great five years with new blogging friends, new foods to try, and new things to learn all the time. To celebrate five years of blogging, I'm going on a road trip with my friend Bonnie, but in the meantime, I'd love it if readers would answer some or all of the questions below the comments.

Black Bean and Pepper Salad Recipe with Cilantro and Lime

(Updated and added to Recipe Favorites, April 2010.) Black beans are such a great pantry ingredient, and this simple salad with black beans, red and yellow bell pepper, red onion, lime, and cilantro has all the flavors that make me happy. I love the colors in this salad too, so when I made it recently to take to my dad for lunch I decided it was time to take new photos and update the recipe. For best flavor, mix the dressing and let the beans marinate for a while (or at least while you chop the other ingredients) but even if you're in a rush like I was and forget to marinate the beans, it will still taste pretty great!

Recipe for Mango Peperoncini Salsa with Red Bell Pepper, Lime and Cilantro

Now that I've become infatuated with those big jars of spicy peperoncini, it's no surprise that I'm thinking of new ways to use them. On a whim I decided to try adding some peperoncini when I made mango salsa, and the flavor combination of mango, red bell pepper, peperoncini, and cilantro made a great salsa, which I served over World's Easiest Roasted Tilapia at a lunch for my dad and my sister-in-law Amy. This would also be very tasty served with something like Grilled Lime and Chile Chicken, Creole-Seasoned and Pan-Fried Pork Cutlets, or even Baked Tofu.

Recipe for Whole Wheat Couscous Side Dish with Green Onions and Parmesan

If you think you don't like Couscous, this recipe might change your mind!

Are you open-minded about couscous? I ask because when I mentioned how much I liked this whole wheat couscous recipe during a food conversation with a couple of my sisters and a friend, they were polite but obviously skeptical that couscous could ever be transformed into something you'd really want to eat. I understand, because plain white couscous has never been something I'd get very excited about. However, I love the nutty flavor of whole wheat couscous, and after I ramped up the flavor with lots of thinly sliced green onions and a generous amount of Parmesan cheese, I gobbled up a huge bowl of this for lunch. Best of all, whole wheat couscous is one of the quickest South Beach Diet friendly side dishes you can imagine; this can easily be on the table in 15 minutes.

Friday Night Photos: 2010 Garden Update #1 and What a Great Family!

I love the arrival of Spring, especially when it's finally time to start planting vegetables and herbs in the garden. A few weeks ago I showed the barely sprouted tomato seeds that I'd gotten in the mail from Nate of House of Annie. I haven't managed to keep all the tomatoes alive, but in the photo above you can see that some of them are developing their second set of leaves. Meanwhile, out in the yard there was a huge amount of garden clean-up that had to be done before any of this year's crops could be planted. I do have the world's greatest family, and last Saturday my brother Dave and part of his family spent the day at my house helping me get my yard and garden cleaned up, ready for seeds and plants to be put into the ground.

Recipe for Maple-Glazed Roasted Carrots

On Tuesday when we were walking in the park near my house, I described this recipe to my friend Bonnie and told her how much I loved it when I'd made it over the weekend. On Wednesday, Bonnie made the recipe and left a message on Facebook telling me how much she and her husband liked it too. I think it's pretty fun that Bonnie wasn't that into cooking before they started eating the South Beach Diet way, and now she's making the recipes before I even post them on the blog! This may possibly become your new favorite way to cook carrots, because the maple glaze brings out the sweetness of the carrots in a most wonderful way. I found the idea in Fine Cooking magazine, which has long been one of my favorite sources for good recipes, and these maple-glazed roasted carrots are definitely another winner from Fine Cooking.

Celebrate Celery: Tasty and South Beach Diet Friendly Snack Ideas with Celery

It's more than five years now since I first embarked on my South Beach Diet journey into lower-glycemic eating habits, but I still remember how I looked forward to the snacks during those early days starting the diet. I'm still someone who loves to snack and one of my favorite snack foods is celery, so diet-friendly and a great vehicle for delivering other flavors to your mouth. It's that time of year when some of you are getting ready for bathing suit season, so I thought I'd share a few of my favorite celery snacks to inspire you. Let's start with celery stuffed with peanut butter, definitely something I'd enjoy as a snack any time of day.

Friday Night Photos: Tarahumara Restaurant in Midway Utah

A few weeks ago my good friend Pat drove me to Midway, Utah (near Park City) where she took me to a wonderful Mexican restaurant called Tarahumara. The restaurant is named for a group of indigenous people from northern Mexico, and the food here was definitely something special, starting with this very interesting salsa bar.

Recipe for Lemon Rice with Scallions, Red Bell Pepper, Cilantro, and Pine Nuts

Anyone who's familiar with my cooking can tell from the list of ingredients that this is a recipe that would appeal to me. This mixture of lemony rice, scallions, red bell peppers, cilantro, and pine nuts can be served cold as a salad, but I actually served it lukewarm as a side dish. The recipe came from Cooking New American, a very old cookbook by the editors of Fine Cooking magazine, a place where I always find great recipes. Despite having quite a few ingredients, this was a simple side dish, and when I tried it out on my friend Bonnie, she liked the combination.

Recipe for Mango Salad with Black Beans, Avocado, Mint, and Chile-Lime Vinaigrette

It's Easter morning, and in a few hours I'll be going for Easter Brunch at my sister Sandee's house. Before I get busy making food for the brunch, I thought I'd share this recipe for mango, black bean, and avocado salad I made a few weeks ago. I'm not making this for the Easter Brunch today, but it would be a great brunch or lunch dish if mangoes are in season where you live. I loved the addition of some thinly sliced mint leaves in this salad, but you could certainly use cilantro if you don't want to buy mint. Happy Easter to everyone who's celebrating today, and if you're not celebrating Easter, I hope you're having a nice relaxing Sunday.

Friday Night Photos: Caputo's By Night in Downtown Salt Lake City

One of my favorite places to buy specialty ingredients in Salt Lake City is Tony Caputo's Market and Deli, so when I heard Caputo's was going to start serving dinner, I was excited to try it. My friend Robin and I both give two big thumbs up to the food at Caputos, and for a restaurant that's located in the heart of downtown Salt Lake, it was surprisingly inexpensive. Here's a little taste of our dinner at Caputos by Night.

South Beach Diet Phase One Recipes Round-Up for March 2010

Kalyn's favorite Phase One recipe for Marcy 2010
was Roasted Cabbage with Lemon.

It's time for another round-up of South Beach Diet Phase One Recipes I've posted on Kalyn's Kitchen or found on other blogs during the previous month. I don't know if the arrival of spring has people thinking about lighter fare, but this month I found more phase one recipes than usual. I know a holiday weekend is coming, but if you're feasting over the weekend for Easter, you might want to come back on Monday and try something on this list.

Recipe for Pureed Cauliflower and Cabbage with Green Onions and Parmesan

When I first started the South Beach Diet (over five years ago!) one of the things I was most suspicious of was the famous South Beach "Cauliflower mashed potatoes." Then I made Pureed Cauliflower with Garlic, Parmesan, and Goat Cheese and later Mashed Cauliflower with Cheese and Dill, and I realized that if you don't expect it to be a substitute for potatoes, pureed or mashed cauliflower is a pretty delicious dish. This particular version of pureed cauliflower has its roots in Colcannon, the traditional Irish dish where potatoes are mashed with cabbage or kale, and I first had this idea for St. Patrick's Day, but didn't mange to get it done in time! I tried out this recipe on my friend Robin since she loves cabbage, and we both thought it was a great-tasting side dish.