Oven-Baked Salmon and Brussels Sprouts with Black Bean Garlic Sauce

Combined with potassium-rich Brussels sprouts, oven-baked salmon is a nutrition-packed meal that makes an unbelievably quick and wholesome dinner when you are pressed for time and short on ideas. I make it a point to serve salmon at least once a week. Any leftovers are served on a bed of greens the next day, and drizzled with a balsamic vinegar dressing. 

Oat Soda Bread

Hey guys you've heard me talking about this bread for about a week now.  I fell in love with this simple loaf when I spied it on Heidi Swanson's gorgeous blog, 101cookbooks.com.  The great thing about it is the few ingredients needed and the minimal time required to put it together, pop it in the oven and then enjoy with warm, salted--yes I said salted--butter. I hope you love the taste as much as I did. And go to Heidi's blog. She's truly talented and an amazing food photographer. 

Mustard Onion Pork Cutlets

I am finally up and running on this new Mac and feeling a little more like I know what I'm doing. The transition from PC wasn't so bad but it does takes a little while to get comfortable doing the same thing in a completely different way. I have been cooking and baking and taking lots of pictures; now I just have to put everything up! I'm hoping in my absence Blogger has made some progress in making things easier for users. Here we go...

This recipe was in the January 2011 issue of Cook's Country and it caught my eye because it fits in my lifestyle these days: fast, reasonably healthy, and no "deal breakers"...you know, those pesky steps or pieces of equipment that just make you say, no freaking way...

Basil, Basil Everywhere...Except When You Need It.

Few of us always have fresh basil on hand unless we cook every single day and go through our little supermarket basil plant or clamshell before the dreaded gray starts spreading on the leaves.

But even those of us who cook often run into the basil supply flow chart: need basil --> run out and acquire basil --> use a bit of the basil --> throw out what used to be lovely basil because it wasn't used up in time --> need basil again.

Where in the Hell is Diva?

Well, dear friends and Loyal Ten Followers...what can I say, it's been a busy, busy summer for this stay-at-home Diva but One Diva Dishing has been on my mind. Guilt for the stuff I know I am blowing off has a way of worming itself to the very front of my frontal lobes until I scream UNCLE, cave in, and address the situation. (You will get used to the disappearing acts I pull. Just ask the many bulletin boards of which I am a member. They hate it!)

Linguine with Clam Sauce - Pantry Version

I credit my brother-in-law Michael for this dish. For the longest time I found clams that weren't battered and deep fried New England-style to be completely repulsive. Yet often when we'd get together for an impromptu meal, he'd make Linguine Con Vongole--or Con Von as he, and soon we all, affectionately called it. 

My husband loved this dish and I hated it. But you know what they say about acquired tastes and after a few tries my persistence paid off. Now I curse myself that I didn't enjoy this saucy, garlicky, comfort-y meal more often when I was younger and my metabolism was a little less sloth-like than it is today.

Meatloaf with Brown Sugar-Ketchup Glaze - Cook's Illustrated

After a long absence during which my heart was broken by my Boston Celtics and stomped upon by the hateful Los Angeles Flakers, I am back to blogging. What better theme than comfort food, I say.

Maybe it's the fact that San Diego went through an unusually cool spring following an unusually cold winter, and things are still not looking up 2 days into summer...but lately all I've wanted was simple, unpretentious, healthy and FAST meals for me and my family.