Ok, I’ll just cut right to the point… It’s been awhile. This isn’t to say I haven’t been in the kitchen, because I definitely have been, but there are times when I just enjoy throwing things into pots and dishes and ignoring my pretty little measuring cups. 

The good news is, Busy as a Brie is back. After many emails from friends and family with subtle hints to get my blog in gear, it’s nice to know someone out there is enjoying my recipes!

Here’s the thing though. I’ve got a marathon in June. I just started my training. My eating changes pretty drastically when the running season begins, so you can expect more hearty dishes and less sweets. But fear not, the sweet stuff will always come around from time to time!

Let’s get right to it with this beautiful, rich and luscious soup.

For the recipe, click here:

Wild Mushroom and Barley Soup

Though I look forward to it, Thanksgiving scares me a bit in terms of nutritional value. I mean… potatoes are fine, but when combined with butter and cream, they are no longer saints. Somewhere amongst the buttery delicacies, the veggies get lost. I mean, seriously, who wants green beans when you can stuff your face with stuffing? 

But maybe, if the greens were more interesting than steamed and salted, you would be more apt to put them on your plate? Give greens the chance to add some health to your meal with this complex and flavorful side dish that takes no time at all to prepare.

For the Recipe, click here:

Lemon Ginger Collard Greens with Golden Raisins

This is my 100th post! I’m serious. It seems like just a blink ago that I decided to write this blog and miraculously, I am still really enjoying the process of cooking and sharing! Thank you for your emails and facebook messages etc and for trying out a recipe or two. I hope the food on Busy as a Brie continues to make your tummy growl.

And for another milestone, after a year and nine months of being married, I finally am going to meet my in-laws! Ivan and I just bought tickets to visit his parents in Bulgaria and I have already posted a countdown on the refrigerator. I am itchy with anticipation.

Here’s a little end of summer meal to tickle your tastebuds.

For the Recipe, click here:

Mustard Roasted Beets with Grains and Collard Greens

This has to be one of the easiest ways to prepare fish. You would have to be armless, legless and eyeless to have trouble preparing this. In other words, if you are a human, this shouldn’t be trouble.

I think fish, if it’s fresh, requires very little doctoring, especially when it’s meaty, flaky sea bass. The bright, clean flavors in this easy preparation make a great summer to fall transition lunch or beefed up with some jasmine rice, dinner. I served it with some French bread right out of the tinfoil for a light lunch. And I just had it again with some steamed carrots, so really, endless possibilities.

For the Recipe, click here:

Ginger and Garlic Soy Sea Bass with Wilted Greens

Believe it or not, despite my absence from Busy As a Brie for three whole days, I have been cooking up a storm. The truth of the matter is, nothing has been worthy of a post. It irritates me to no end when I get giddy about something like Banana Peanut Butter Oat Bread and then it just turns out to be the weirdest and least satisfying baked bummer. Don’t get me wrong, I will still eat it… just slathered with cream cheese or butter… As if it needed anything else added to it.

Or, I made what I imagined would be epically delicious cornmeal crusted grouper, and I will not lie to you, it should have just stayed a whimsical thought in my food obsessed head. I managed to butcher some perfectly innocent fish.

I’m sharing this because it makes me feel very guilty when someone says “you must never make anything short of delicious.” It’s like I’m lying to them by serving something yummy. Should I confess that for every success there are three disasters? This is what happens when you make up your own baking recipes. You definitely learn that science cannot be screwed with… or at least, not that much.

But THIS is good. It is. I promise.

For the Recipe, click here:

Wild Rice with Parmesan “Croutons” and Stir Fried Veggies

We just got back from such a refreshing weekend packed with long hikes and some seriously breathtaking moments. I love to be outdoors. I find myself smiling the most when I’m sweaty and suntanned and breathing in fresh air. So the past few days have been a thrill!

Zion National park is a stunning place. Ivan and I tackled Angel’s Landing which helped us triumph over any fear of heights we might have had. There were moments when the trail would shrink to 2 feet and stretching down to either side were sheer drops of 12,000 feet. You can be sure we held pretty tightly to the chains that were nailed into the limestone. Reaching the top was euphoric and offered an insane view!

Keeping in tune with this refreshing weekend, as I was browsing through our pictures, I munched on this brightly seasoned lunch.

For the Recipe, click here:

Summery Squash Salad with Barley and Shrimp

Here’s a sad story… my computer crashed. I will admit that I should have known it was coming considering it was eight years old and seriously slow. I mean, so slow I could click on an icon, walk away, take a shower, make lunch, and go pick up the dry cleaning only to come back to find my ancient dinosaur still deep in the process of thinking. So, I solely take the blame for not backing up some important things such as… ah… wedding pictures. Yea. I don’t really want to talk about that.

What I DO want to talk about is pickled beets. Pickled beets will take your mind off anything! In fact, when they put them on the salad bar at work, my friends and I practically threw a party.

It’s a wonderful thing to stain your salad purple. But homemade pickled beets not only stain your salad, they stain your fingers, your sink, your cutting boards…so I recommend you wear gloves and get moving on this refreshing afternoon delight.

For the Recipe, click here:

Pickled Beet, Orange, and Goat Cheese Salad

Life is so great! I’m loving everything about the sun and days spent entirely outside that it’s been a little difficult to spend much time in the kitchen. From the moment I wake up and brew some coffee, I’m itching for a good book, a summer berry smoothie and my feet kicked up out on our patio. Turning on the oven just seems like a drag!

Today was the first day in about two weeks that I visited an actual supermarket. My pantry was looking a bit sad. Farmer’s markets have made it easy for me to avoid the usual routine. No complaints here.

This stress free salad would be wonderful with some grilled chicken, fish, or just as it is. I confess, I topped it with some leftover BBQ Pulled Pork and was extremely satisfied!

For the Recipe, click here:

Black Bean Spring Salad

I know, I know. More tofu. But what can I say, I’m on a kick. I’m loving that you can whip up a simple marinade, drop in the tofu, pop it in the refrigerator and forget about it until you are ready to grill. Simple, simple, simple. Paired with crispy rice with spring sweet peas, this little take on Risi e Bisi is a perfectly satisfying lunch.

I also will make you a promise. If you make this recipe, I will share the most perfectly buttery, deliciously gooey chocolate chip cookies with you. They will most likely cancel out any health benefits from this tofu dish, but then again, I am a believer in balance. Nobody wants too much of anything. Right?

For the Recipe, click here:

Balsamic Marinated Tofu with Crispy Risi e Bisi

I would like to give Mario Batali a huge bear hug. Every Thursday, Chef Batali asks local farms and organic vendors to set up shop in the warehouse that stores dry goods for his Vegas restaurants and gives us Vegas desert dwellers a chance to buy some really amazing produce.

I don’t think if you live in the suburban side of the Northeast that you will quite understand what a pleasure and gift this is, but maybe you can just imagine life without grass and full of dirt and rocks! Pleasant.

In my visit this week, I got purple carrots with Bugs-Bunny greens shooting out of them, beautiful cream potatoes, a cherimoya (more on that later), rainbow swiss chard (that was hiding a little snail I discovered when I washed it), huge heirloom tomatoes, and some especially fragrant pea shoots. I brought it all home, plopped it on the counter and just stared at the colors for a good 5 minutes, smiling.

This turkey burger is simple. I wanted to really focus on the tomatoes and pea shoots and let them shine. Hopefully you can find something similar to make your own!

For the Recipe, click here:

Curried Turkey Burgers with Grilled Tomatoes and Honey Mustard