Take It Easy! A Few of My Favorite Simple Recipes

Great food can be so simple, but I insist on making it complicated. ~The Food Hound

I used to be of the mindset that simple recipes must not be tasty. The more ingredients the better. Why have 8 spices when you can have 13? 5 ingredients or less? Must taste like swill. Fewer than two hours start to finish? For weenies.

Then I had a reality check: I work. I blog. I BodyPump. I am the mama of two incredibly adorable, yet mind-numbingly energetic hounds. I like to watch important TV shows, like "Jersey Shore,""Baseball Tonight" (only for the Web Gems), and "Bethenny Getting Married." And... I kind of like to cook :) After a few too many nights of five hours of sleep, I made an important decision: I have to simplify dinner. Did you actually think I'd say that I had to give up Jersey Shore? And miss The Situation's exploitation of his abdominal muscles? By the way, he's coming out with his own vodka called "Devotion." It's the first vodka infused with protein. Now you can get drunk and recover from your triceps dips. *fist pump* But I digress...

Truth be told, making simple recipes more often isn't just about work night time efficiency. Most of the best recipes from around the world are, indeed, simple. They may take a long time to make, like a good bolognese sauce, but there are few steps and few ingredients. And isn't there something brilliantly satisfying about making something delicious out of only a few ingredients? Especially when someone compliments you and you get to say "oh my gosh, it was so easy, just (and then you list the few basic steps it took for you to create the culinary masterpiece in question)." In fact, my favorite food personalities (Nigella Lawson, Barefoot Contessa and Mama Hound :) all make the best food out of few ingredients.

So this has been my task the last few weeks: focus on simple, fabulous food. Having returned from my food orgy in Boston last weekend, I was very willing to keep it easy this week (plus I had to log some extra gym time due to said orgy :). Here are some of last week's recipes-- all with a very high fabulosity quotient and with minimal time requirement. Cheers!

I have no idea why I so rarely make this since it's one of my favorite things! Although it gets a little soggy if made the night before, a fresh egg salad sandwich is one of my favorite lunches. I put a little chopped celery in my version for crunch, but you totally don't have to-- the celery seed will give you the flavor. And I don't like mine too mayonnaise-y, so adjust the mayo as you prefer.

12 eggs, hard-boiled and mashed very well with a potato masher

2 celery stalks, minced

1/3-1/2 c mayonnaise (I use canola or olive oil mayo, I think they are the best!)

Pinch of celery seed

Salt and pepper to taste (I use Penzey's California Seasoned Pepper-- it's FABULOUS!)

Mix all ingredients together. It's great on baguette, Triscuits, or just with a spoon :)

OK, ok, so I borrowed this recipe from Mama Hound :) I am obsessed with roasted foods: nuts, vegetables, meat... how can a cooking method that concentrates the already-delicious flavor of food be bad?? Tomatoes, like onions and carrots, roast especially well because they are naturally sweet and their flavor is knocked out of the park. I used Juliet Hybrid Tomatoes, which are like mini plum tomatoes. If you can't find these, use plum tomatoes and you'll still have fabulous results. These little babies are small enough that the thought of seeding each one makes me want to jab a steak knife into my eye, so I came up with a much more efficient, much more fun way to do them: squeeze 'em. Did I mention it's also cathartic? Just cut each one in half length-wise, and scrape the juice/seeds out with your thumbs. That way you get the juice out (soggy tomatoes will not roast well), and you get more flesh because you keep the "sternum" of the tomato intact. Yes, I'm sure "sternum" is the technical term for it :) I served these sweet nothings with my egg salad. What a lunch!

1 quart Juliet Hybrid Tomatoes

2-3 T good olive oil

Garlic powder, salt, pepper to taste

Slice tomatoes in half lengthwise and seed each half. Place cut side up on a baking sheet lined with foil. Drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with garlic powder, salt and pepper to taste. Roast for about an hour at 350 degrees F, then turn oven down to 300 degrees F and continue roasting for about 20 minutes. They will start to look dehydrated and crispy in parts, but not black (unless, like me, you tend to burn your first batch :).

I have mentioned many, many times that we have amazing neighbors. And lucky me, we all like to eat (and "beverage" :) My neighbor made his famous salmon for me one time, and I was ashamed that I had not yet tried to make it like he did. So simple: a little olive oil, salt, and Italian seasoning. He grilled his, but never flipped it, so it really was like he roasted it. I was too lazy to take the cover off the grill, so I adapted mine to the oven. If you had ever told me I would like salmon roasted with a little bit of seasoning on it, I would tell you you've been drinking too much Devotion vodka. Fish is one of those things that I like well-seasoned. I think I'd rather starve than eat bland fish. Bland is one thing this fish is not. He used all of his seasoning very liberally, so it formed a nice crust. The flavor permeated the fish, and it was amazing. I made this two nights in a row (a shout out to following the AHA guidelines for fatty fish ;), and the first night I used Penzey's Fox Point seasoning, the second I used Penzey's Turkish seasoning. Both were smashing. I served it with Fresh Corn Salad (see next recipe).

4 portions of salmon (approx 6 oz per person)

Good olive oil

Italian seasoning, or your favorite seasoning blend

Salt (**unless using a seasoning blend that already contains salt; then omit)

Place salmon skin side down on a baking sheet lined with foil. Drizzle each filet with a teeny bit of olive oil and spread over filet evenly. Sprinkle lightly with salt (if using), then coat each filet liberally with your choice of seasoning. Bake at 400 degrees F for about 14 minutes, or until salmon flakes easily. Seriously, you need to try this! And as a bonus, your heart will say thank you.