Easy Zucchini Salad

This salad is delicious and takes 5 minutes to make. I got the idea reading a menu for restaurant week from Lupa Restaurant in New York City, http://www.luparestaurant.com/home.cfm Take a baby zucchini and slice into ribbons on a Benriner, http://benriner.com/ This is one of my favorite kitchen tools. It is how I get paper thin slices in a moment. and how my food takes on a professional quality. It is an easy to clean inexpensive version of the french mandoline.
Lay the slices over a plate of arugula. Then slice some good aged Pecorino also on the Benriner, over the zucchini. Dress with good extra virgin olive oil and a sprinkle of lemon juice. Finally grind a little black pepper over all and dot with Maldon Salt, http://www.maldonsalt.co.uk/. Maldon salt is chunky so just a little is all you want. It gives you a big salt bite but does not permeate the whole dish. Eat immediately before it melts for the best result.

Cooking Made Easy # 1

There is a trick to cooking easily and quickly. Make something, eat some, keep a bit for later, use it in something else. This saves time. It also saves all the little leftovers but because it becomes something else it is not leftovers and it is not boring. The trick is to learn what combinations you like and to be creative with what's in your frig. I am an old fashioned home cook and I have other things to do than cook all the time so I cook sequentially. What I mean about that is that on day one I might make a vegetable. Day two I might roast a chicken. Now on day three that vegetable I made becomes a side to the chicken and I might just cook a little rice. Learning to cook this way means you never become a slave to the kitchen for a whole day but there is always something around. Sometimes I do my cooking while I am having my breakfast..I find I have a lot of energy in the morning so doing a quick simple vegetable or making a quick marinade is not much extra effort and is a good type of multitasking. Breakfast time is a good time to make a little salad dressing..If I do it then I will have dressing for the week and salad making becomes less laborious.

Everything in Moderation: Three Tasty Omelettes

I hate diets..but I want to be svelte. So I have a compromise that may also work for you..Use the best ingredients you can find and use the caloric stuff in moderation.

To make an omelette I now use one yolk to two whites. Whip that up with a dollop of water and a pinch of salt and pepper..Melt a bit of butter in your pan..low heat to melt then raise to moderate..Add eggs, swirl to cover. add ingredients and roll out of pan tilting while holding the handle up onto a plate..rolling as you go with a silicone spatula. A portion of your butter remains in the pan. Pictures are of

Stracchino, (mild fresh cheese) Herb and Tomato..Use just a tablespoon or so of cheese (make your own substitutions) and spread out. It will be about 100 calories of cheese but adds real flavor.

Penzeys Spices Sunny Paris Seasoning, Finochiella,  White Mustache Savory Shallot Yogurt, Asparagus
Note the tiny bits of meat. small dollops of yogurt. 2 or three asparagus cut and microwaved with a spoon of water for a minute. Sunny Paris is a wonderful spice you can keep in your spice cabinet for delicious omelettes. If you haven't White Mustache yogurt you can simply add minced shallot to a good flavored yogurt..Yes I use full fat yogurt..just small amounts..It tastes better and is actually better than no fat..long story..

 Finally a Proscuitto Cheese Asparagus Version..I use Proscuitto because it is so thin yet adds flavor without being a diet breaker. You can use an ounce or less of any cheese. And you can choose any vegetable and quickly cook it ahead. I also love adding Marjoram or chives or parsley or any other herb.

The idea behind all of these is more veggies less cheese and meat ..but cheese and meat for flavor in morsel like portions. Consult  nutritiondata.self.com

to get the calorie and nutrition data on an ounce of cheese or meat..an absolute must is a good digital scale..mine is by Escali and weighs in grams and ounces and pounds. Once you get used to it you will be well on your way to understanding how to eat as you like and stay at the weight you like using good sense in your portion controlling.