I love sweet potatoes. And most of the time when I serve them for dinner, I simply bake one and split it with Mr. C. Now if I could just eat the sweet potato with no additives, I would be fine. But the thought of not “decorating” my half with lots of butter, salt, and pepper, is just totally unappealing. So, out comes the butter dish every time.

But last night I decided that instead of simply baking the sweet potato whole, I would try a different approach. So I went to the internet for inspiration. And I found a simple recipe on the Epicurious site. I changed the recipe a bit to better fit our tastes. The result was both easy and delicious. And the best part. Not a dab of butter was used. Just a small amount of olive oil, plus fresh garlic and thyme. Speaking of time. (Nice segue wouldn’t you say?) This recipe takes no longer to get on the table than if I had simply baked the potato. Of course there is a bit of prep time, but not 30 minute’s worth. (Baking a whole sweet potato – 60 minutes. Baking these potato rounds – 30 minutes.)

So if you want a new and healthy way to serve sweet potatoes, give this recipe a try. You will be surprised by how much the addition of thyme and garlic enhances the flavor of the sweet potato. Of course I’m pretty sure garlic and thyme would enhance the flavor of dog food too given the opportunity. (Not going to give this hypothesis a try, you realize.)

So next time you are at the grocery store, bring home a couple of sweet potatoes. Even if you end up just baking them, you are doing your body a great favor. They are naturally rich in vitamin C, thiamine, niacin, and potassium. Just what the doctor ordered!

• 1 lg. sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into ½-inch thick rounds
• 2-3 tsp. extra virgin olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 T. fresh thyme leaves
• ¼ tsp. kosher salt, plus more for sprinkling
• freshly ground black pepper

In a large mixing bowl, combine all the ingredients and toss until all pieces are coated with the oil. Arrange in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Place in a 400 degree oven and roast until tender and slightly browned, about 30 minutes. Remove from oven and if desired, lightly sprinkle with kosher salt. Serve immediately. Serves 2-3 beautifully.

I just recently developed a recipe for Hot Crab and Artichoke Dip (and yes I know, everyone and their dog has a recipe for this rather retro appetizer). But I didn’t happen to have a good one, so I thought I better get with the program.

Now you may feel that this seemingly outdated 50s cocktail party dip should go the way of the Partridge family. But I am here to tell you, when done right, there is no other dip quite so delicious. So, like I said, I worked up a version that I think will be fantastic . Actually I plan to serve the dip to our JazzVox* guests this Sunday. I’ll let you know how it turns out. Or I should say, if it turns out good, I’ll post the recipe. If not, you’ll never hear another word about the subject!

Anyway. The reason I mention the crab dip at all, is because I was thinking about the recipe when I was trying to figure out what vegetable to serve with dinner the other night. The veggies in my refrigerator crisper were all looking rather pathetic, especially the one tiny zucchini near the back. (I actually think it was trying to hide.) But something about the zucchini struck a chord with me. Imagine it hollowed out and stuffed with some of the same ingredients that I plan to use in my crab dip. Huh. So I snatched it from the bin, washed its little green hide thoroughly, cut it in two lengthwise and scooped out its innards. Then I mixed the soft flesh with the other ingredients listed below, threw the pan in the oven, and came back 30 minutes later. Well I am here to tell you; if my dip is half as good as this stuffed zucchini, I am going to have some very happy guests.

And for all you strictly healthy food advocates out there, I realize this is not a low calorie veggie dish. But once in a while, you simply must help an unpretentious and sometimes boring veggie (that would be the zucchini), become worthy of accolades (that would be the cream cheese, sour cream, and Parmesan part).

So if you are serving a fairly simple meat for dinner one of these evening, and need a veggie to liven up the meal a bit, give this recipe a try. You just won’t believe how good an “all dressed up” zucchini can taste.  

*For more information visit www.jazzvox.com  

• 1 medium sized zucchini, sliced lengthwise
• 2 T. cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 T. sour cream
• 2 T. finely grated Parmesan
• pinch granulated garlic
• pinch seasoned salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• paprika

With a table fork, scoop out most of the flesh on each half of the zucchini and place it in a bowl. Add the soft cream cheese, sour cream, Parmesan, and a pinch of granulated garlic, seasoned salt, and pepper. Place the zucchini halves in a baking dish. Fill the cavity with the cream cheese mixture. Sprinkle lightly with paprika. Bake in a pre-heated 375 oven for 30 minutes or until the zucchini is soft and the filling puffy and slightly brown. Serve hot.  

So call me slow, but it took me almost 71 years to figure out that Popeye didn’t eat spinach because it tasted good (it was canned for heaven’s sake!), but rather because he thought it would make him stronger. Not until I conducted some research on good old Popeye did I learn the error of my thinking and his as well.  (As if a cartoon character could think in the first place, but bear with me, I’ll get to the point sooner or later!)

The truth begins more than fifty years before Popeye was even a glimmer in E. C. Segar’s eye. According to Samuel Arbesman, Popeye’s “thinking” was precipitated by a scientific error. To quote Mr. Arbesman, “Popeye, with his odd accent and improbable forearms, used spinach to great effect, a sort of anti-Kryptonite. It gave him his strength, and perhaps his distinctive speaking style. But why did Popeye eat so much spinach? What was the reason for his obsession with such a strange food?

Back in 1870, Erich von Wolf, a German chemist, examined the amount of iron within spinach, among many other green vegetables. In recording his findings, von Wolf accidentally misplaced a decimal point when transcribing data from his notebook, changing the iron content in spinach by an order of magnitude. While there are actually only 3.5 milligrams of iron in a 100-gram serving of spinach, the accepted fact became 35 milligrams. To put this in perspective, if the calculation were correct each 100-gram serving would be like eating a small piece of a paper clip.

Once this incorrect number was printed, spinach’s nutritional value became legendary. So when Popeye was created, studio executives recommended he eat spinach for his strength, due to its vaunted health properties. Apparently Popeye helped increase American consumption of spinach by a third!

This error was eventually corrected in 1937, when someone rechecked the numbers. But the damage had been done. It spread and spread, and only recently has gone by the wayside, no doubt helped by Popeye’s relative obscurity today. But the error was so widespread that the British Medical Journal published an article discussing this spinach incident in 1981, trying its best to finally debunk the issue.”

So now that you have Popeye’s story, I’m going to bore you with mine. (Your lucky day folks. But then you know me – I yam, what I yam, and that’s all what I yam.)

I don’t care that spinach has only 3.5 milligrams of iron in a 100-gram serving rather than 35 milligrams. Because spinach is also an excellent source of vitamin K, vitamin A (in the form of carotenoids), manganese, folate, magnesium, copper, vitamin B2, vitamin B6, vitamin E, calcium, potassium, and vitamin C. It is also a very good source of dietary fiber, phosphorus, vitamin B1, zinc, protein, and choline. And most important of all – IT TASTES GREAT! And I don’t care that Popeye was disillusioned. He was still one healthy and strong dude. After all, if he was good enough for Olive Oyl; he’s alright in my comic book too!

So if you too are a believer in the powers of spinach, give this recipe a try. Anytime I ask Mr. C. if he likes a dish, and his answer is “no, I love it”, then I know the recipe is a winner. It shivers me timber just thinkin’ about how much you are going to love serving this dish to your family. BTW, Bluto says Hi!

• 2 T. extra virgin olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 6-10 oz. fresh baby spinach, roughly chopped
• ¼ c. slivered or chopped whole almonds
• freshly ground black pepper
• pinch crushed red pepper flakes
• ½ c. crumbled feta cheese

In a large skillet, heat the olive oil and add the garlic. Sauté for 1 minute, or until the garlic releases its aroma. And the spinach, almonds, a small amount of pepper, and crushed red pepper flakes; sauté until the spinach is just wilted. Sprinkle with cheese and serve immediately.

Mr. C. is not a potato lover. Can you believe it? I mean really, what’s not to love about a potato? But in his defense, he does enjoy French fries, and will tolerate, albeit only rarely, Twice Baked Potatoes (recipe soon to come) and garlic mashed potatoes. But there is one fairly healthy way I serve potatoes that he actually enjoys, and you guessed it, it’s when I “bake” a potato using this recipe.

I learned about this recipe for oven roasted potatoes one day while watching Rachael Ray on the Food Network. This was a few years back when it seemed to me that the Food Network still had more cooking shows dedicated to educating people than pathetic attempts at entertainment aimed at the lowest common denominator! (My high horse has been hitched too long in the North 40, so I decided today I should either take off the bridle, or give it full rein. I decided I might ride it again, so I gave it full rein!) And yes, I still enjoy watching programs that provide me with wonderful recipes and cooking techniques. But truly, you would have to hog tie me to get me to watch some of the programs currently being broadcast on TV. But back to our regularly scheduled program.

These potatoes are really good. They satisfy my inner “French fry fiend” without any of the bother, hot grease, mess, cleanup, or fuss associated with the real thing. And because you use such a small amount of oil, and the kind that I think is still good for us (the experts change their mind on whether or not olive oil is good or bad for us as often as I wash my hands when I am cooking!), they are certainly healthier for us than regular fries.

So next time you want some “fries” with your lunch or dinner, give this recipe a go. You will not be disappointed. They are easy, inexpensive, and oh so tasty with or without Fry Sauce. (Recipe below.) And just as an FYI: 1 large russet potato is perfect for 2 or 3 people.

• 1 very large russet potato, cut into 8 wedges
• 2 tsp. extra virgin olive oil
• ¼ tsp. dried thyme
• ¼ tsp. dried oregano
• 1 tsp. Montreal Steak Seasoning
• sea salt

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Spread potato wedges on a baking sheet. Slather potatoes with olive oil. Combine thyme, oregano, and steak seasoning. Sprinkle over oiled potato wedges. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until tender inside and brown on the outside. Turn after 10 minutes. Serve hot from the oven sprinkled with a small amount of sea salt and with Fry Sauce on the side.

FRY SAUCE

• ½ c. ketchup
• ½ c. low fat mayonnaise
• hot sauce (I use Frank’s RedHot sauce)

Whisk the ketchup and mayonnaise together. Add as much hot sauce as you like.

Now that it’s corn season, I thought I should post this recipe because there is just nothing as economical, easy, and delicious as fresh corn grilled on the BBQ. And when you can purchase fresh corn at a farmer’s market for four ears for a dollar, there is absolutely no reason not to serve grilled corn a couple times a week. And when the corn is slathered with butter that has been lovingly seasoned with chili powder, garlic, paprika, seasoned salt, and pepper; all the better!

I first started making this corn about 20 years ago. And why I haven’t already posted this recipe is beyond me. Maybe it’s because I have recently started doing a lot more grilling. And if truth be told, I haven’t grilled as much as most people because it has always intimidated me. And no I don’t know why. Well, actually I do know one of the reasons. I’m cheap. And have never owned a really top quality BBQ. My good friends have Webbers and Traegers and even Big Green Eggs. But since I never grilled that much, I never felt like I needed to spend the money. (See a chicken/egg thing happenin’ here?)

But I’ve decided not to let the fact that I have a reasonably inexpensive BBQ stop me any longer. And you know, I’ve been turning out some really wonderful grilled food lately. And along with some other amazing new BBQ dishes, this grilled corn has been featured frequently. And I’ve got to tell you, Mr. C. doesn’t mind that a bit!

So if you too have a perfectly functional BBQ feeling lonely and neglected, I suggest you fire it up, toss on an Adobo Seasoned Grilled Flat-Iron or Skirt Steak (recipe on this site), some ears of this corn, and if you really want to go the distance, a Grilled Romaine Salad (recipe also on this site). I promise you that if you make the meal I just suggested, your family and friends might end up doing a happy dance right on your deck or in your dining room. And wouldn’t that be special to watch!! Happy days my friends.

• ¼ c. very soft butter
• ½ tsp. chili powder
• ½ tsp. granulated garlic
• ½ tsp. paprika
• ¼ tsp. seasoned salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 4 shucked ears of corn, yellow or white

Combine the butter, chili powder, granulated garlic, paprika, salt, and pepper. Place ears of corn on a medium hot BBQ. Slather with the butter mixture and rotate the corn as necessary to make sure the corn is evenly cooked. Keep smearing the butter on until you run out, or the corn is done, whichever comes first. Serve hot.