Lemon-Vegetable Risotto with Goat Cheese

Patience is a virtue… that I do not have.

I always start out with good intentions, but patience is as fleeting for me as those two days where I thought joining the soccer was a good idea or that time I got those full bangs.

It doesn't help that I get distracted so easily.

I'm really good at starting projects. I'm terrible at finishing them. I'll decide it'll be fun to revisit my childhood and make a scrap book or do some arts and crafts, but half the time, the hot glue gun is still heating up when I call it quits. I have this same problem with books. I can't just go into the library and check out one. I have to get about five. And I have to start reading them RIGHT NOW, because I am just that determined to get a good book under my belt. But about 40 pages in I will inevitably move onto the next one, knowing that even though I couldn't force myself to finish this one, that one, will definitely keep my attention.

...It won't, trust me, I speak from experience.

But somehow, my impatience, my lack of focus, and my attention span the likes of a door knob (as my middle school teacher once said), don't apply to cooking. And miraculously, these productivity-handicaps have not stopped me from taking on time-consuming or challenging recipes.

The thing about risotto though, is that it's not really as overwhelming as people seem to make it out to be.

Sure, it involves a lot of standing around by the stove, spooning obnoxiously small batches of broth into rice that is simmering on obnoxiously low heat. Not going to lie.

But I am here to tell you that that is glass-half-empty thinking, my friend. Don't be a Negative Nancy. Think of it this way, yes, risotto can take an obnoxiously long time compared to regular old rice, but it also tastes a million times better than regular old rice, AND, all that stirring and pouring and stirring gives you the perfect excuse to dance around your kitchen listening to obnoxiously, wonderfully catchy music at full volume for the same amount of time.

So have a little patience, embrace the experience, and make this risotto. Because it's so worth it.

Lemon-Vegetable Risotto with Goat Cheese
serves 4

8 ounces asparagus, trimmed and cut into pieces

8 ounces sugar snap peas, trimmed and cut in half

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided

2 medium sized zucchini, sliced

1 medium sized yellow squash, sliced

2 leeks, darkest green leaves removed and remainder sliced into rounds

1 carton (32 fl oz) or 4 3/4 cups vegetable broth

½ cup shallots, chopped

1 cup Arborio rice, uncooked

¼ cup dry white wine

1 teaspoon grated lemon rind

Juice of 1 lemon (or about 3 tablespoons)
¼ cup Romano or Parmesan cheese

1 tablespoon butter

salt and pepper to taste

4 oz goat cheese 

2-3 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped

Bring a pot of water to a boil, quickly blanche asparagus and snap peas in the boiling water for 2-3 minutes. Set aside.

Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a medium pan over medium-high heat. Add zucchini, squash, and leeks. Sautee until tender and beginning to brown, about 5-10 minutes. Set aside with the asparagus and peas.

In a medium saucepan, heat the vegetable broth over medium heat. Do not boil, simply bring to a simmer then reduce heat, keeping broth warm.

Meanwhile, place remaining olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add shallots and sauté until tender, about 5 minutes. Add rice, cook for about 1 minute, stirring continuously. Add wine, cook until the liquid has reduced, this should take less than a minute.

Stir in 1 cup broth, cooking until the liquid is almost completely absorbed, stirring continuously. Add the remaining broth, ½ cup at a time, repeating this process and stirring continuously. Once all the broth has been added and absorbed and the rice looks plump, mix in the vegetables, Romano cheese, butter, salt and pepper. Remove from heat, top with goat cheese and basil and serve immediately.

Soyrizo and Quinoa Stuffed Lettuce Leaf Tacos

I am generally against food products pretending to be other food products. I'll explain.

Veggie burgers do not pretend to be regular burgers. 


Having an honest name helps, for a start. I don't eat a veggie burger and go, "Boy, I wonder what kind of meat they put in this" or "You think this'll taste like bison or just regular beef?" When I watch someone bite into a black-bean burger, I don't expect them to turn to me and say--"Wow, who knew this was made from vegetables? Could have fooled me!"

What I'm talking about is someone trying to let margarine masquerade as butter, or someone who hands you a tofu-dog instead of a hotdog and goes "Come on, it's just like the real thing!" 

I'm sorry, did you accidentally lose all of your taste buds and a small portion of your mind recently? No, they are most certainly not the same. 

But every once in a while, I go against my own (and Michael Pollan's) food rules.




Although I live with a vegetarian, I am not one myself. But sometimes, the vegetarian alternative can be the preferable one, for lots of reasons outside of the obvious animal rights ones.  


Soyrizo is one of the few exceptions I've made because it is just. that. good. It has the same spice and richness as the original Mexican sausage without making you feel like you could slick back The Fonz's hair for a full 3 seasons of Happy Days simply from touching the stuff.

Also, real chorizo--equally delicious of course--has about 90 billion percent of your day's recommended fat intake, or you know, something in that ball park. I don't ever exaggerate. Clearly. 

This way, you get that great chorizo flavor, without the feeling that your hips may or may not fit through the next doorway you try to go through. Plus, they're wrapped in lettuce, which has got to mean you're scoring all kinds of healthy-points.

So....Who wants an ice cream sunday for dessert? We totally earned it. Sort of.

Quinoa and Soyrizo Stuffed Lettuce Leaf Tacos

Serves 3-4

1 teaspoon olive oil

½ medium onion, sliced

½ cup frozen corn, defrosted

½ cup cherry tomatoes, halved

8 oz soyrizo

½ teaspoon cumin

salt and pepper to taste

2 cups quinoa, cooked

3 tablespoons cilantro, chopped

juice of ½ lime

6-8 medium-large lettuce leaves (romaine or iceberg work best)

1-2 avocados

plain yogurt or sour cream, optional

salsa or hot sauce, optional

Heat the oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté. Once onion has begun to soften and brown in color, add corn, tomatoes and soyrizo. Sauté for about 5-7 minutes, until everything is heated through and the soyrizo has become aromatic. Remove from heat and add seasoning, cooked quinoa, and cilantro. Stir together until ingredients are combined. Add lime juice and toss to coat. 

Spoon soyrizo mixture into the lettuce leaves. Slice avocados and add 1-2 slivers into each lettuce leaf. Serve. Optional: top with yogurt, sour cream, hot sauce, or salsa as desired.

Blueberry Pineapple Smoothies

Breakfast is usually an all-or-nothing kind of thing for me.

Either I go all out—pancakes and an omelet and bacon and fruit and coffee and it-wouldn’t-be-breakfast-without orange juice—or I grab a banana or an underdone piece of toast that, at best, might get peanut butter haphazardly slathered on it, and then run out the door.

I used to dislike most breakfasts altogether—especially the proper English breakfasts we’d get when my family would travel across the pond to the UK during my summer vacations as a kid. I’m sorry, I would like my scrambled eggs to not still be liquid, thank you. Also, you’re certainly not helping anything with that black pudding business or that “bacon” that’s really just a slice of ham, or you know, that random tomato.

The sausage and the baked beans though, that I can get on board with.

Most of the time, I’d rather just fast forward to lunch. 

Apparently this is not allowed though, seeing as how somewhere along the line breakfast got named “the most important meal of the day” which just completely ruined my plan to shun it for good. Thanks a lot, nutrition people.

Despite the fact that I know I have to eat something before I sprint to my car in the mornings, it can still be difficult to make the time. Smoothies are the perfect middle-ground between that half toasted toast or that handful of grapes I sometimes call breakfast and spending the time to make homemade hash browns or a small breakfast soufflé. 

I can even eat it in my car without the risk of getting peanut butter on my steering wheel. Always a good thing. Not that I've ever done that or anything, obviously. 

Blueberry-Pineapple Smoothies

Makes 1 smoothie

1 large banana (sliced and frozen)

½ cup pineapple (fresh or frozen)

½ cup blueberries (fresh or frozen)

½ cup fruit juice (apple juice works well, but anything you have on hand-like orange juice-can work)

Combine all ingredients in a blender. Blend together until smooth. 

Adjust the amount of juice as necessary to assist with blending or to thin out the smoothie if it appears too thick. Serve.