The Global Kitchen

I really wanted to make the Green Goddess pizza from Vegan with a Vengeance but my boyfriend balked at a pizza with no cheese and tofu. Apparently he thinks both those things are a crime against pizza. He would have tried it but he had a mental block against liking it.

I had heard this recipe from Eating Well is just as good but I will do the vegan pizza another time even though he insists he'll prefer this one. We shall see.....I think this pizza was a good "training" pizza to prepare him.

I use Eating Well's Whole Wheat Pizza Dough recipe for all my pizzas because it's so easy and never fails me. It also refrigerates well if you want to make it ahead of time.

The toppings were easy. Chop broccoli, steam, add chopped arugula and wilt. I did add some hot pepper flakes to the pesto because I like them. I'll definitely make this again as it's a great way to get your veggies and with the prepared crust it's an easy weeknight meal. Easier if you use a store bought crust or flatbread.

Green Pizza recipe courtesy of Eating Well October 2009.

Mom sent me some new cookbooks for my birthday and one of them is The New Portuguese Table by David Leite.

I love the pictures and the recipes look like they're right up my alley! I knew I had to make something from it right away.

It's out of character for me to choose this recipe because I have never liked the taste of fennel, black licorice and anise. My mom used to buy Blackjack gum because she knew my brother and I would never take it.

I've been trying to get over some food phobias and I've never had fennel bulb-just seed. I didn't hate it but I didn't love it either. But I will continue to try recipes with fennel in the future.

I did, however, like the fish very much!

Sea Bass with Fennel and Orange
Robalo com funcho e laranja

3 oranges
1/2 small bulb of fennel, stalks removed, cored and sliced thin
1 1/4 cup chicken stock or broth
1 1/2 tsp cornstarch mixed with 3 tbs cold water
salt and fresh ground black pepper
4 6oz sea bass fillets
2 tbs oil (I used less)
1 small tomato peeled seeded and diced(I used canned)

Juice 2 oranges so you have 1/2 cup juice. Peel, segment and remove the membranes from other 2 oranges.

Combine orange juice and chicken broth in small sauce pan. Boil till reduced to 1 cup. Add fennel slices and cornstarch mixture and boil for another minute. Remove from heat.

Heat oil in non stick skillet over med-high heat. Season with salt and pepper and sear, pressing sown with spatula to prevent curling, until crispy. Flip and cook till opaque in the center.

Add tomato and orange segments to warm broth mixture and arrange over fish.

I've made this twice in a week because I love it!!! It's like a Mexican tabouleh.

The salad involves a lot of chopping but the result is worth the time. It makes a nice lunch for my Mr Bento and it's pretty healthy to boot with all the veggies, whole grains, and legumes.

I used a non stick saute pan filmed with a little olive oil instead of the 2 tbs the recipe calls for and I reduced the olive oil in the dressing a bit since I like the taste of lime.

I also used practically all the optional veggies and used cilantro in place of basil.

Recipe courtesy of The Savvy Vegetarian website HERE.

Xuxu is just another name for chayote squash but xuxu is way more fun to say.

If you haven't had chayote it doesn't have a squash consistency but has the texture of a pear and a very mild flavor. I like it raw in salads.

Stir fried with the chile lemon sauce shrimp and cilantro makes xuxu great! This dish is so easy and so healthy. It tastes very fresh. Except for the chayote I always have the ingredients on hand. Guess I'll have to start buying chayote and put this on a regular rotation.

Recipe from Gourmet magazine, Sept 2009 is HERE.