Butter Bean & Artichoke Tomato Sauce

There's nothing like the smell of homemade tomato sauce. You really feel like you made a gourmet healthful meal pus it is SO easy. The stuff in the jar works for last minute meals but if you have some times please please try making your own. You will love yourself for it. All you need is high quality crushed tomatoes in a can (I used an Italian brand from my local grocery store), garlic, salt and thats it! The rest is up to your imagination. I dumped in a can of artichoke hearts and a can of butter beans. The butter beans gave sort of a smokey undertone which I liked. I also threw in some sliced kalamata olives. Absolutely delicious!

Simple Dessert: Honey Figs

I was perusing the farmers market during my lunch break the other day, as I often do, and spotted these gorgeous juice-filled figs. They are wonderful sweet or savory. A great savory party appetizer could be a grilled fig topped with goat cheese. However, for a simple dessert you don't have to think about, halve the figs and drizzle with honey. It's is a refreshing, sweet summer dessert without the oven heat.

What is your favorite oven-less dessert?

10-minute Asian Soup

I was grocery shopping with my sister this past weekend and saw her grab a smallish bag of soba buckwheat noodles. Thats a good idea, I thought, so I grabbed a bag as well. When I think of soba noodles I instantly think of the soup that you would get in sushi restaurants. Salty flavorful broth with slurpy noodles and fresh slivers of spinach. Absolutely satisfying. I recreated it at home and it tasted exactly the same! I couldn't believe how easy and quick it was. You can also put some bok choy or cubed tofu in as well. You really won't believe how this tastes!

Soba Noodle Soup

adapted by savvy vegetarian

1 bundle of soba noodles (usually comes 3 bundles in a package)

4 cups broth

1 pint baby bella mushrooms, sliced thin

2 tbsp soy sauce

2 tsp rice vinegar

2 tsp sugar

2 tsp grated fresh ginger

few handfuls of fresh spinach

fresh ground pepper

1 Bring a pot of water to a boil and drop in the noodles. Buckwheat noodles cook rather quickly, so about 4-5 minuter for a bundle should be enough. Drain and rinse with cool water. Drain again.

2 While the noodles are cooking, combing the broth, mushrooms, soy sauce, vinegar, sugar and ginger in a soup pot. Bring to a boil and simmer gently for 10 minutes.

3 Stir in fresh spinach until wilted but still bright green. Stir in noodles and add about 2 cups fresh water. Season with pepper to taste.

White Bean Dip

I recently had an extra-small dinner party of 4. There was a mediterranean theme going on and I wanted to start off the meal with a dip and some homemade spanakopitas (not pictured). This white bean dip is packed with flavor and is hard to stop going back for more. I like that it has some color from the herbs and is not only white, which is not as attractive, especially next to a beige cracker. This would also be great with pita chips rubbed with garlic and dried oregano. I just opted for simple seeded crunchy crackers that I had at home. It was a hit!

White Bean Dip

adapted via Giada De Laurentiis

1 can of cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

3 cloves garlic

3 tablespoons lemon juice

1/3 cup olive oil

1/3 cup parsley

1/4 cup greek yogurt

salt

black pepper

1 Combine all ingredients in the work bowl of the food processor. Pulse until smooth, but still a little bit chunky.

2 Serve with pita chips or crackers.

Oh, and here's a peek of what I served for the dinner party: Lamb and shrimp kebabs, bell pepper salad and israeli couscous salad with olives and roasted tomatoes.