• kath on May 08, 2013

  This book was just given the 2013 James Beard Award for books in the "Focus on Health" category.

Notes about Recipes in this book

• Chicken puttanesca

  • Aggie92 on December 02, 2015

    Delicious, quick weeknight dinner. I substituted chicken tenders for the cutlets, canned diced tomatoes for fresh, and 1/2 tsp. anchovy paste for a canned fillet.

• Chicken enchilada casserole

  • Aggie92 on February 02, 2016

    Not sure how to rate this recipe. Hubby loved it and I thought it was just okay. Surprisingly for all the really flavorful ingredients, it tasted kind of flat. One thing for sure it is neither quick nor easy. This is definitely a weekend recipe when you have lots of time for the prep work. Makes lots of dirty dishes too. All in all, there are better chicken enchilada casserole recipes out there.

• Wild rice stuffing

  • Aggie92 on November 25, 2016

    I love rice dishes like this at the holidays. Made (a half batch) for Thanksgiving so my gluten free mom would have a starchy side she could eat. I used a brown basmati/wild rice mix that I bought at Safeway and cooked it in my rice cooker with the chicken broth. Then I added the sautéed veg and the rest of the ingredients and let it stay on the Keep Warm setting until ready to serve. So easy. I forgot to add the sage before serving but I don't think anyone missed it. I also did not have any dried apricots so I doubled the amount of dried cherries. I don't see why you couldn't substitute dried cranberries for the cherries and even golden raisins for the apricots.

• Cabernet short ribs with Parmesan polenta

  • EdM on February 07, 2022

    Quicker than usual cooking of short ribs, and definitely less rich sauce than typical recipe, yet very flavorful. Depending on size of ribs, will usually need more than recommended 1.5 hours at 350 to achieve proper tenderness - reduce heat to 300 for 30 minutes more, 2 hours total, worked for me.

• Chermoula-marinated lamb loin chops

  • chawkins on November 13, 2018

    Very simple and easy recipe even though the chops were not as flavorful as I expected them to be, but the marinade did tenderize the meat and impart a nice flavor. I marinated for about 19 hours. Given the simplicity, I will make these again.

• Sausage and cheese breakfast casserole

  • dinnermints on October 10, 2015

    Delicious! This is more of a bare-bones strata in that there aren't any veggies or herbs, but that does make it easier to put together the night before. I used precooked spicy italian chicken sausage and skipped the first step, making it that much easier. Also used Trader Joe's 100% whole wheat pain pauline, did not remove crusts. Did not use reduced fat cheddar (used some kind of aged cheddar). Would make again and add more veggies/herbs if I had the time.

• Farfalle with creamy wild mushroom sauce

  • dinnermints on October 10, 2016

    This was pretty good, something to make with leftover bits of cream. Next time I'd definitely salt the pasta and decrease the salt elsewhere. I made .75 recipe, and we had some home-canned tuna on the side since it's a bit light on protein.

• Turkey cabbage cups (Larb)

  • vikingcook on April 02, 2015

    Delicious & lo-cal! Quick to fix!

• Roasted Moroccan-spiced chicken with grapes

  • AnnieNeu on November 18, 2018

    My family LOVES this recipe. There is something really satisfying about the crunchy skin, sweet warm grapes, salty olives, caramelized onions and juicy chicken. I like to serve it with rice.

• Spicy honey-brushed chicken thighs

  • jay.moe on July 22, 2022

    Slightly spicy, slightly sweet, this chicken is a family favorite. Cooked on the grill adds a bit of smoky, charred flavor and makes for easy clean up. Great on a salad, sandwich, or just as a main protein. Quick, easy and great flavor!

• Cauliflower with garlicky panko

  • jay.moe on December 19, 2021

    Added a little parmesan cheese after it was taken off the heat. Tasted good. Will definitely make again.

• Bucatini with green peas and pancetta

  • jay.moe on January 12, 2023

    This was an easy dish to make. The flavor of pancetta, peas and parmigiana goes well together.

• Tofu fried rice

  • jay.moe on January 04, 2023

    Substituted left over ham for the tofu, left over rice for the instant rice and the suggested rice wine vinegar for the sake. The fried rice had a nice flavor balance and it wasn't too salty. Quick meal to put together. Would have been even better had I not forgotten the garlic and ginger!

• Fruit and walnut-stuffed pork loin

  • jay.moe on January 29, 2022

    The family liked the bread crumb crust but was a little disappointed with the filling.

• Overnight apple butter

  • jay.moe on September 10, 2022

    Overnight apple butter is easy to make and tastes great. The recipe notes to use more than one variety of apples to give it a more complex flavor. I used a combination of Jonothan and Autumn Crisp apples. After cooking overnight in a slow cooker, the recipe states to push the apples through a sieve to strain out the pulp. Since there was less than a quarter cup of pulp after sieving the butter, next time I may try putting the apple butter through a food mill to make the process quicker. I used a larger slow cooker, so made 1 1/2 recipes. The apple butter has a sweet, apple-cinnamon flavor and a smooth texture. Tastes great on toast.