Pan-roasted cauliflower pasta

A better way to eat cauliflower: healthy and easy pan-roasted cauliflower pasta with spicy sausage, arugula and olives.

I think I may have mentioned a few hundred times that I'm a pasta addict. In fact, I always say that if you really wanted to punish me, you wouldn't have to send me to prison -- just make me give up carbs.

Yet I don't do your standard American spaghetti and meatballs. I like my pasta to be interesting. Like when it includes healthy, yummy ingredients like butternut squash, pumpkin, olives, beets, broccoli and even sardines.

And sometimes bacon. (Who am I kidding? Often bacon.)

No bacon in this cauliflower pasta but there is spicy Italian sausage, another one of my pasta add-in faves. The spiciness pairs really well with the pan-roasted flavor of the cauliflower and the peppery arugula.

Yep, you pan-roast the cauliflower in this stove-top meal. It comes out tender with just the right amount of cruciferous crunchiness left. And who couldn't benefit from a better way to eat lots of cauliflower than drowning it in cheese sauce or picking it off a crudite platter, am I right?

Shrimp burgers

Healthy baked shrimp burgers are an easy way to get that summery, eating-at-the-beach feeling without leaving home.

Are you familiar with shrimp burgers? If not, be prepared to become a fan.

My obsession with shrimp burgers started during a family beach vacation on the North Carolina Outer Banks. Based on a local's recommendation, we got some shrimp burgers from the famous Big Oak Drive In in Salter Path, adjacent to Emerald Isle.

Oh boy. Talk about summer on a bun.

Being The Ninj, of course, I decided I needed to try to recreate these beauties at home. After years of trying lots of recipes and variations both by me and my mother-in-law, who is a much better cook than I am, we gave up. Somehow, neither of us could find the right mix that would give us the flavor we wanted yet still hold together well enough to be eaten as a burger in a bun.

Until now, that is.

Now, mind you, the flavor of these shrimp burgers is a little different than those of Big Oak fame, but I don't care. Not so long as I can have a beloved shrimp burger that won't crumble into a mound of individual shrimp pieces after the first bite. Plus, mine are just a wee bit healthier.

The funny thing is, the original recipe that inspired my shrimp burgers wasn't really intended to be a burger at all but a shrimp cake. Plus, it called for frying the cakes in quite a bit of oil. And you know I'll never fry when I can bake or roast to make a recipe healthier while also keeping my stovetop clean.

Win win.

Cabot Creamery cookbook giveaway

Normally this blog is all about me, right? Sure, I'm sharing it with you, but the recipes are all mine and the stories generally only involve me and Mr. Ninj.

Today, however, it's all about you.

I wanted to take a moment to thank you for supporting The Ninj and this blog. Every time you view one of my recipes or leave a comment or check out the books I've read (yeah, I need to update it with my 2014 list, don't I?), you make this blog successful.

And, given that I gave up my "real" job five years ago to focus on this hobby-turned-lifestyle, that means the world to me.

So I thank you.

And, frankly, what better way for me to show you my appreciation than by giving you cheese?!! Who loves ya, baby?!

Thanks to my friends at the Cabot Creamery back home in New England, I've got a copy of the new Cabot Creamery Cookbook and a $25 gift box of delicious Cabot cheese to give away to one of you lucky readers.

Pimento cheese hummus

All the creamy, spicy flavor of pimento cheese in a better-for-you hummus: great as a dip or spread it on sandwiches and pizza.

You've tried my roasted red pepper cheese spread (aka pimento cheese), right? So you know how good it is -- albeit slightly decadent. It falls into the category I call H-and-H -- limited to holidays and houseguests.

Well, you're in luck. Now you don't have to be a houseguest or be celebrating a holiday: The Ninj has managed to turn all that awesome pimento cheese flavor into a better-for-you hummus.

Yes, it's hummus with cheese. Sounds a little quirky, I know, but you know I wouldn't steer you wrong.

This pimento cheese hummus is a real treat. In addition to using it like traditional hummus as a dip for pita wedges or veggies, I've also been spreading it on sandwiches and -- perhaps the best of all -- as the base layer on pizza.

Any way you like to eat hummus.

Naan fattoush with yogurt dressing

Healthy and easy meatless fattoush salad made with whole-wheat naan, protein-rich white beans and a tangy Greek yogurt dressing. 

My immediate need for fast and easy meals does not seem to be going away, given our slow local move.

Why so slow? Well, in addition to the fact that The Ninj is "the movers" this time, what started as a couple of paint touch-ups on a couple of walls has turned into a repainting of almost all the interior walls and ceilings. Done solely by me and Mr. Ninj.

(Have you ever painted a ceiling? No? Take my advice: Don't. Not if you like living without a stiff neck.)

So, needless to say, I don't have as much time for dinner prep as I'd like. Which means I've been turning quite a bit to salads -- because one cannot eat from the slow cooker every day, right?

However, at this time of year, before farm- and garden-fresh produce is plentiful, tasty salads can be a challenge.  I love bread salads because they're hearty and not totally dependent solely on vegetables for their awesomeness; they're like croutons turned up to 11. And I'm practically addicted to naan, so I decided to use it in a riff on fattoush, a meatless Mediterranean salad traditionally made with pita.

Blueberry quinoa protein smoothie

Skinny blueberry and banana quinoa protein smoothie: made with soymilk, it's dairy-free, gluten-free and refined sugar-free.

I never get tired of smoothies. How about you?

I swear there are an infinite number of good-for-you ingredients that can be combined to make smoothies so that you rarely need to drink the same flavor twice. Which is great, because I love drinking them both for breakfast or as an afternoon "snack", and usually what my taste buds are craving are pretty different at those two different times of the day.

This blueberry quinoa quinoa smoothie fits the bill for either time of day, as it's super-simple to make, with only five ingredients. Also, it's easy to create new flavor variations simply by changing up the kind of frozen fruit you use in this smoothie recipe. I've swapped out the blueberries for peaches, mangoes, strawberries, grapes -- you name it, I've tried it.

In addition to tasting great, this skinny smoothie is also loaded with energy-boosting protein. I work in all that good protein by first substituting Silk soymilk -- with 8 grams of plant-based protein per serving and no cholesterol -- for dairy milk. I like to use organic unsweetened Silk soymilk, but be sure to check out the full offering of Silk soy products.  Then I also add cooked quinoa, much the same way that I like to use old-fashioned oats in my favorite breakfast smoothie.

Plus, this smoothie is dairy-free, refined sugar-free and gluten-free, making it a great no-guilt, good-for-you snack in that long stretch after lunch but before dinner. Just say no to sugary snacks and say yes to this blueberry banana quinoa protein smoothie instead!

Light broccoli slaw pasta salad

Light broccoli slaw pasta salad: Two of everyone's favorite summer sides and pot-luck staples combined into one healthy meatless meal salad.

Spring is in the air, peeps: We've finally had some warmer weather, the flowering trees are tinged with green buds and I'm preparing to plant my garden. Squeeeeee!

I cannot wait for fresh summer veggies. As much as I love cold-weather squash and root vegetables, I'm once again really ready for some leafy greens, crunchy brassicas and sun-ripened tomatoes.

Booyah.

To get you psyched for the bountiful days that are coming (complete with all those gorgeous CSA veggies for which I happily supply you with delicious, good-for-you recipes), I made this lightened broccoli slaw pasta salad.

Yes, slaw and pasta salad in one. This dish combines two of everyone's favorite summer sides and pot-luck staples -- broccoli slaw and pasta salad -- into one lightened, meatless meal salad.

The perfect gimlet

Learn how to easily shake up a perfect gimlet with your choice of gin or vodka.

Are you ready for some Mad Men? And do you have your cocktail shaker locked and loaded?

I'm torn about this final season premiere. I'm excited that the show is back but I'm also sad that the whole shebang is coming to end. However, I'm a firm believer that when a show is good, it should end gracefully, on a high, rather than continuing on ad infinitum until it jumps the shark.

(Are you listening, Shonda Rhimes? Grey's Anatomy should have ended about two seasons ago. Just sayin'.)

One of my favorite things about Mad Men (me and about a gajillion other people, I know) is the authentic mid-century feel of the sets and the costumes, as well as the characters' behaviors. And while those behaviors are not all admirable (e.g., smoking like chimneys), I think they did a lot of things right in the 50s and 60s.

Like cocktails.

Ah, classic vintage cocktails. No frou frou wine spritzers or pink umbrella drinks for the Mad Men, no sirreebob. (Can you imagine Don Draper ordering a skinny margarita?) And while Roger may have a weakness for a martini (or six) and Don his Old Fashioneds or Manhattans, mine is the same as moody ice queen Betty Draper Francis': the gimlet.