arugula.

Lately I have been having an Arugula obsession; I don’t know why.  Maybe back to my younger years working in the French Bistro and eating hamburgers with Arugula piled on top.  That was my first exposure to the lovely little green lettuce.  It has been popular in Italy and France for ages, but caught on in the US and Britain somewhat more recently.

Arugula is a spicy little leaf, some may describe it as bitter, but I consider it to have a "peppery" flavor.  It is a very aromatic salad green and like most salad greens—low in calories and high in vitamins A and C.  A half cup serving is only 2 calories- who can complain about that!

Here is a very simple recipe I found on Trader Joe’s (my favorite place to grocery shop) website:

This salad really doesn't require measuring, but I included some measurements below. If you love pine nuts, add more pine nuts. If you love Parmesan, then load it on.

Arugula Salad with Pine Nuts and Parmesan

Ingredients
- 1 bag Arugula
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 cup toasted pine nuts
- 3/4 cup shaved Parmesan
- Salt
- Juice of 1/2 lemon

Instructions:
1) Toss the arugula with the olive oil till coated.
2) Add the pine nuts and Parmesan.
3) Add a little salt to taste and the lemon juice. Toss lightly and serve.

If you want to make this salad into a light meal, boil some pasta (say half a bag of penne) and toss it all together, allowing the arugula to wilt slightly.

snickerdoodle cookies. yum.

This is one of my favorite cookie recipes, my mom would make these all the time for the family when I was a kid. I loved them so much I even named my first dog after them. They are a very easy to make holiday cookie! Give them a try, you will not be disappointed.

Prep Time: 20 Min
Cook Time: 10 Min
Ready In: 1 Hr

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup shortening
1 1/2 cups white sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons white sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2.Cream together butter, shortening, 1 1/2 cups sugar, the eggs and the vanilla. Blend in the flour, cream of tartar, soda and salt. Shape dough by rounded spoonfuls into balls.
3. Mix the 2 tablespoons sugar and the cinnamon. Roll balls of dough in mixture. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets.
4. Bake 8 to 10 minutes, or until set but not too hard. Remove immediately from baking sheets.

Yield: 4 dozen