Oatmeal Cranberry Nut Love Cookies

The persuasive heart.

Ingredients:

3 cups oatmeal

1 cup flour (I used 3/4 white + 1/4 buckwheat)

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

1/2 tsp. baking soda

pinch salt

3/4 cup (1-1/2 sticks) butter

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1/2 cup cranberries

1/2 cup white chocolate chips or yogurt chips

Step 1.

Mix together oats, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, soda and salt.

Step 2.

Cream butter and sugar.

Beat in egg and vanilla.

Step 3.

Blend wet and dry ingredients thoroughly, then add in chopped nuts, cranberries, and chips.

Step 4.

Spoon cookies onto a greased cookie sheet and bake at 375° F for 10-12 minutes.

I used a heart-shaped cake tin to make a large heart cookie. Or, you can press and form cookie dough into a heart shape about 1/4-inch thick.

Step 5.

Cool on rack.

I'd tell you that even one bite is engaging in risky behavior, but it's already too late for that.

A 2010 Kitchen of Love Valentine submission.

These hearts are filled with cranberries, an aphrodisiac loaded with vitamins C and A that stimulate and benefit sexual health. Eat that!

Cilantro Sesame Noodles with Snow Peas and Shrimp

A good noodle is one that satisfies hot and cold, dressed up or down, and embraces meat, fish, fowl, or greens. This dish scores on all fronts. Bonus: it all comes together in the time it takes to boil water and cook linguini.

The simple premise:

Noodles + dressing + greens + protein = dinner

I've made this dish with chicken, tofu, sausage, or simply vegetables.

Ingredients:

chives

cilantro

jalapeños

tahini

brown rice vinegar

sesame oil

honey

tamari

linguine

snow peas

shrimp

Step 1.

Boil water for linguini noodles. Meanwhile,

Step 2.

To make sauce, mix equal parts tahini (or peanut butter), brown rice vinegar, and sesame oil. Add tamari and honey to taste.

Step 3.

Rinse chives and cilantro.

Chop herbs and jalapeños finely.

Step 4.

Blanche snow peas.

Step 5.

Cook shrimp in hot skillet with sesame oil for 2-3 minutes.

Step 6.

Toss everything together. Serve on a bed of bok choy leaves.

Delicious hot for dinner tonight.

And chilled for lunch tomorrow.

Duck and Chevre Stuffed Figs and Dates

Every once in a while I come across a gourmet ingredient at an incredible price, and I need to pounce. This week, it was duck bacon. Same price as pork, way tastier than turkey. Why say no? And so the stuffed fig was born.

Ingredients

dried black Mission figs

pitted dates

goat cheese

rosemary

duck bacon

olive oil

Step 1.

Remove the stems from the figs. Slice figs and dates in half.

Insert a wedge of goat cheese in the centers of the dates and figs.

Sprinkle tops with rosemary.

Press a sliver of duck bacon on top.

Step 2.

Arrange in baking dish lightly greased with olive oil. Bake at 450° F for about 10 minutes.

Whet your taste buds with this before dinner. Be warned, however, with this on your tongue, you may not make it to the next course.

Central Park Frittata

There are some things worth getting up before sunrise for. A two hour hike in Central Park after a fresh snowfall counts as one of those things. Especially if it includes a frittata afterward. More especially, if it's a frittata at my friend Karen's.

Ingredients:

1 zucchini

2-3 scallions

4 eggs

olive oil

butter

salt

pepper

parmesan cheese

Here's how she does it:

Step 1.

Slice the zucchini and bake in hot oven (450° F) for about 5 to 7 minutes on an olive-oil greased cookie sheet. Then flip and broil until slightly roasted.

Step 2.

Slice scallions and braise them in olive oil until lightly browned.

Step 3.

Heat butter in skillet.

Whisk eggs and add them. Keep heat on low.

Step 4.

Layer scallions evenly on top.

Add zucchini on top.

Allow to cook until eggs are no longer runny.

Step 5.

Lightly sprinkle top with parmesan cheese.

Broil for an additional 5 to 10 minutes or so until the top is lightly browned.

Serve hot.

A very nice reward for the early bird.

Arugula Fig Tomato Salad with Walnuts and Goat Cheese

I love a lunch that takes no time to throw together and is full of flavor and texture. Figs are a huge favorite for me, as they are so adaptable to savory and sweet dishes. The first time I ever ate a dried fig was the last time I ever needed to eat a fig newton. Skip the cookie! The fruit is dessert enough. In this salad, with the crunch of walnut and tang of balsamic, it's kind of a bite of heaven. And then some.

For the salad:

arugula

dried Black Mission figs

grape tomatoes

herbed goat cheese

walnuts

For the vinaigrette:

olive oil

balsamic vinegar

honey

salt

pepper

I usually also add a medley of dried herbs to the vinaigrette, sometimes a squeeze of orange, or freshly chopped shallots.

Crispy Waffles and Cinnamon Coffee

The writing salon is in session at my apartment. Friends who need a place to work (with snacks) get the library, the wifi, and the waffles.

I made a half batch of my crispy waffles recipe.

And French press coffee with a cinnamon stick.

Simply add the stick to freshly ground beans in the French press. (I used Sumatra.)

Brew and press as you normally would.

Serve with milk, or black. Sweet or black.

My kind of Sunday afternoon.

Edible Schoolyard. More Please!

Here's a great idea. Worth supporting, and worth starting up everywhere!

Edible Schoolyard New York is having a fundraising event hosted by Alice Waters and David Chang.

Please join us for a preview evening at David Chang's newest restaurant, Má Pêche, for cocktails and hors d'oeuvres prepared by Executive Chef Tien Ho.

Sunday, February 7th from 6:30 – 8:30 p.m.
Preview David Chang's Má Pêche
Chambers Hotel Mezzanine, 156 West 56th Street
Contact: www.esyny.org to purchase tickets and for more information.

The mission of the Edible Schoolyard New York is to transform children's relationships to food, food systems and the larger world by bringing Alice Waters' vision of a garden-based edible education to the places where young New Yorkers learn, eat and play.

Daikon Miso Noodle Soup

Sometimes I forget to eat. I get caught up in my work and lose track of time. Then suddenly, it's late, I'm tired, and the hunger pangs kick into full gear. The worst part: I'm too lazy to do much about it.

That's why it's worth keeping miso in the pantry. I use whatever veggie I have on hand, I toss in a few noodles, and in ten minutes, I'm having a bowl of satisfying soup.

Ingredients

daikon radish

fresh miso

soba noodles (or any pasta of your choice)

water

Step 1.

Slice up a daikon radish.

Halve the big slices to make them bite-sized.

Step 2.

Rinse the greens. Save some for future soups, sautés, or salads.

Step 3.

Bring as many cups of water as soup you wish to eat to a boil.

Add in the radishes.

Add in a serving of soba noodles. (I broke mine up in thirds for easier spooning.)

Allow to simmer for 6 to 7 minutes or so (depending on your noodle choice), or about 1 - 2 minutes before noodles are cooked to your liking.

Step 4.

Add about 1 tablespoon of miso per cup of water.

Add chopped up radish greens.

Simmer for another 1 to 2 minutes.

Step 5.

Serve it up!

Serious satisfaction for the lazy hungry soul.

Halibut and Andouille Fish Stew

This came together so fast, I didn't even have time to document the process. I'd say 15 to 20 minutes, start to finish.

Ingredients

olive oil

andouille sausage

shallots

chicken broth

sweet potato

saffron

heavy cream

halibut

green onions

Step 1.

In a large Dutch oven, heat olive oil and add sliced andouille sausage until it begins to brown.

Step 2.

Add sliced shallots to the mix and sauté until they become translucent.

Step 3.

Add chicken broth, sweet potato cut into cubes, and saffron threads. Bring to a boil and simmer, covered, until sweet potato is tender, about 5 minutes.

Step 4.

Stir in heavy cream.

Add halibut, simply allow it to float on top, cut into cubes, and allow to simmer for another 10 minutes, covered.

Step 5.

Serve it up, with fresh green onions, sliced on top.

This is so simple, and the flavors from the sausage are such that you'll likely find no need to add additional seasonings.

If you have a nice crusty bread to go with it and soak up the flavors, it's a meal you'll want to repeat over and over again.

That's what I'm talkin' about.