Instead of collard greens, I had kale this week, so I added it to some spinach I also had to make spanakopita. It was actually very easy and delicious. Enjoy!

Spanakopita – Greek Spinach Pie

Spanakopita

1 tbsp. olive oil

1 large onion – chopped

4 cloves of garlic – minced

1 lb. spinach

1 lb kale – without stems, chopped

1 cup fresh parsley – chopped

2 cups crumbled feta cheese

2 eggs – lightly beaten

16 sheets of phyllo dough

1 stick butter – melted

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Sauté onion and garlic until soft and lightly browned. Stir in spinach, kale and parsley, and continue to sauté until spinach is limp, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

In a medium bowl, mix together eggs and feta. Stir in cooled spinach mixture.

Brush bottom of 9×13 pan with butter. Lay 1 sheet of phyllo dough and brush lightly with melted butter. Repeat process with 5 more sheets of phyllo. Spread half of spinach and feta mixture into pan. Layer 6 more sheets of phyllo dough, brushing each with butter. Spread the remaining half of spinach and feta mix. Layer the rest of the phyllo dough, brushing each with butter.

Bake at pre-heated 350 degree oven for 40 minutes. Cut into six pieces.

Spanakopita – Greek Spinach Pie

When I think of NYC, I think of Italian food, pizza, and cheesecake, so of course I had tons of those. My friend S. met my dad and I at an Italian Restaurant called Biricchino near 7^th Avenue. I swear I’ve only had pasta once in the past six months, so I went all out in New York, while my dad had the stuffed trout. He’s doing so good eating healthy! Me, not so much this weekend… I had cheesecake for dessert every single night I was there.

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I was also impressed with the cupcakes by Baked by Melissa. They are moist and tiny, which is great since I can try a bunch of different flavors this way.

Mini-cupcakes

Cupcake Flavors

Just under the Brooklyn Bridge there is a super famous place called Grimaldi’s that has always a huge line. Having enough time to spare and knowing my dad is game for anything, I decided to try it. It actually only took us 20 minutes to get a table and it was worth the wait: the sun-dried tomatoes and ricotta cheese pizza was spectacular. Once at the hotel, I looked up the pizzeria and found out there is one in Reno, and that I had been there a couple of times! Oh well, still worth the wait.

Line outside Grimaldi’s

Grimaldi’s Pizzeria

Ricotta and Sun-dried Tomatoes Pizza

As you know, I just love the diversity of cities, especially when it comes to food, so guess what I found in NYC? Australian meat pies! I wasn’t really hungry that night, but I had to try at least their mini-pies and they were as good as the ones from my summer in Australia. We need to get a Pie Face store in Reno!

Pie Face Australian Meat Pies

Mini-pies

Another chain we need in town is the Europa Café. They have a great variety of breakfast items and a make-your-own-salad bar. All the calories are on the board and their cheesecake had only 400 of them :p But seriously, their salad is to die for (or was it my salad, since I created it?)

“Europa Café” Salad

It seriously took me over 4 hours of prepping, cooking, and cleaning for lunch the other day. I am such a perfectionist I have to chop everything perfectly and then I’m such a clean freak I have to wipe down everything right away. Half of my day is spent in the kitchen these days and it wouldn’t suck so much if I didn’t have much else to do, but I still have to work 60 hours a week, train for the half-marathon, and have fun… My only consolation is that I’ve been eating super healthy lately and hopefully that will pay off in the long run.

2 hours chopping veggies

In my organic basket this week I got some collard greens, and when I looked up online I found a traditional Brazilian recipe – Couve a Mineira. Didn’t even know collard greens were so popular in Minas, where I’m from, but I decided to try. Well, here’s the reason why I didn’t remember they existed: I don’t like collard greens. After my first taste I remembered my mom making me eat them when I was little and how bad they were. However, I already have plans to improve them next time they arrive in my basket: mix them with spinach to make spanakopita!

Collard Greens

Oh, yeah, I was going to write about a recipe I actually liked: Mashed Yams. I’m always amazed when I look up a recipe and find out I actually have all of the ingredients. This time I had honey in my pantry because a new co-worker gave us some from his own bees. Lucky me!

Mashed Yams

Mashed Yams

2 lbs. of yams – peeled and chopped (about 5 cups)

¼ cup butter

2 tbsps. honey

½ tsp. ground cinnamon

¼  tsp. salt (or less )

Add the yams to a pan and cover with water. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce the heat and simmer until yams are tender, for about 8-10 minutes. Drain well and return potatoes to the pan. Add the rest of the ingredients and beat at medium-low speed with an electric mixer until smooth.

Makes 5 servings of 265 calories each.

My 4-hour meal

Dad at the Nevada Museum of Art

After a recommendation from the receptionist at the Nevada Museum of Art, my dad and I went to Hill Street for a bite of eat at Sodo, which stands for “South Downtown”. Although from the outside I thought it would be a more casual bar/restaurant, the inside is pretty fancy and the food is pretty gourmet, with a nice wine list and some vegan and vegetarian options.

Sodo

None of the entrees caught my attention, so I had a couple of appetizers instead. The spinach and strawberry balsamic scallops were regular. I think it was missing something heavier for a sauce… Or maybe I just really miss the way the last restaurant I worked at did their scallops. However, the tempura shrimp with the wasabi sauce was divine. Wanted to order a second portion, but decided to save room for dessert.

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Glad I did, because the brownie was crazy good. It had a pretzel crust on the bottom and salted caramel on top. Yum! I think I even dreamt about it later that night.

Brownie

I’m still getting my organic basket every week, but with my dad in town, the veggies go much quicker! This week I had some cucumbers, which is pretty much the only vegetable I don’t like, so I decided to try something different: how about roasting them in the oven? This roasted potatoes and vegetables dish is super easy because you can just add whatever vegetables you have, the cleaning is minimal because of the aluminum foil, and during the 45 minutes it takes to be ready, you can go on a 4 mile run!

Roasted Potatoes and Vegetables

Roasted Potatoes and Vegetables

2 lbs potatoes – peeled and cubed

1 cucumber – peeled and cubed

2 crookneck squashes – cubed

2 tomatoes – diced

½ onion – diced

¼ cup olive oil

1 tbsp. Italian Seasoning

Salt and Pepper

In a bowl, mix all the ingredients until the vegetables are coated with the olive oil and herb mix. Line a large casserole dish with aluminum foil and spread the vegetables in it. Bake at 400 degrees for 45 minutes or until tender.

Makes 4 servings of 350 calories each.