Tomato Artichoke Salad

After taking this picture, I ate the entire bowl by myself.

The Story Behind This Recipe

Some time ago, I watched a TED talk by Dr. William Li called “Can We Eat To Starve Cancer?” Around that same time, Whole Foods was promoting a nutrition ranking system by Eat Right America called ANDI. I couldn’t help but notice the glaringly obvious similarities between Dr. Li’s list of cancer-fighting foods and the ANDI Superfoods list. So, I decided to change my diet to include more of these naturally healthy and delicious foods. That I already loved many of these foods didn’t hurt the cause either. 😉

After returning from the supermarket with a load of super foods late one night (which is the perfect time to go grocery shopping), my appetite was… “heightened.” So, I decided to make a little snack using the ingredients I had just purchased. I quickly chopped up some stuff and threw it in a bowl. Honestly, I wasn’t expecting much because I didn’t give this concoction much thought, but I knew I had discovered something after that first bite. This recipe kind of feels like a home run – or maybe even a grand slam. It’s easy, fast, delicious, and healthy. You can’t ask for much more than that.

Ingredients

• 6-8 campari tomatoes – quartered
• 1 (12 oz.) jar marinated artichoke hearts – quartered
• 1/2 C. flat leaf parsley – roughly chopped
• 3 cloves garlic – crushed or finely minced
• 1 T. dry or fresh oregano
• 1 lemon – zested and juiced
• 1 T. olive oil
• sea salt & fresh cracked black pepper (to taste)

Directions

In a large bowl, zest and juice the lemon over the garlic and oregano to kick start the marinating process. Pour the liquid from the artichokes in the bowl. Quarter the tomatoes and artichokes into similar size pieces and chop the parsley. Dress with some good olive oil and a little salt & pepper. Stir to combine. Allow the magic to marinate for as long as you can stand. Usually I can only wait about 10 minutes, but if you have patience you can prepare this recipe day ahead of time.

Serves 4-5 adults (or 1, if you’re me).

Download this recipe in PDF Format!

Faux Penne Pasta

Earlier this year, while visiting our good friends and owners of Cream City Market, we held a cooking night amongst the four of us. The idea was for each person to come up with an original recipe using Cream City Market cheese curds as a star ingredient. We went to the grocery store together, came up with good ideas for recipes, ate some great food, and had a ton of fun together. Excellent way to spend an evening—if your friends can cook. Luckily, my friends can cook.

My recipe idea was to feature the Cream City Market mozzarella whips and some asparagus (both cut on a bias) to give at least the shape of if not also the flavors of a penne pasta dish. It turned out really well and my friends have featured my recipe on their website.

Ingredients

• 1/2 lb. pancetta, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 shallot. minced
• bundle asparagus, cut on bias
• 5 oz. Cream City Whips, cut into 1″ strips
• 1/2 lemon
• 1 Tbs. olive oil
• pine nuts
• parsley

Instructions

Serves: I would say this serves 4, but honestly, you’re going to want to eat it all yourself.

1. Toast pine nuts, set aside
2. In same pan, brown pancetta.
3. Add garlic & shallot, sauté.
4. Add asparagus, sauté 3 minutes.
5. Toss with Cream City Whips, olive oil, and squeezed lemon.
6. Garnish with pine nuts and parsley.

Head over to Cream City Market and order yourself some cheese curds!

This is the recipe card they put together. And yes, that’s me holding the pan.