FreshIngredients Archives

January 4, 2026

Tropi-Cobb Salad

Tender lettuces get topped with juicy spiced chicken, ripe mangos, soft avocado, and cherry tomatoes. There’s so much flavor and texture going on that there’s barely a need for a dressing: just a hit of lime juice, salt, and EVOO, and dinner is done. …

Soups & Salads

by CookDiaries

November 29, 2025

Carrot Salad

Low calorie, full flavour, everything you want in a salad! I started making this as a cool meal on a hot day, it’s simple, refreshing and has that bit of crunch in it we all want. Prep Time: 15 minutes minsCook Time: 15 minutes minsServings: …

Soups & Salads

by CookDiaries

October 15, 2025

Avocado Cucumber Sushi Roll

Avocado Cucumber Sushi Rolls are fresh, light, and effortlessly satisfying. Creamy avocado and crisp cucumber are wrapped in tender sushi rice and nori, making them a simple yet elegant bite that’s perfect for lunch, dinner, or a healthy snack.

Prep time 30 mins
Cook time 45 mins
Serves 4

Ingredients

Sushi rice

1 cup short grain brown rice, rinsed well
2 cups water
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon sea salt

For the Rolls:

1 cucumber, sliced into long strips
1 ripe mango, sliced into vertical strips
1 avocado, sliced
⅓ cup micro greens, optional
2 tablespoons sesame seeds, optional
4 nori sheets

Serve with

tamari or ponzu sauce
Coconut peanut sauce from this recipe, optional

Instructions

Make the sushi rice: In a medium saucepan, combine the rice, water, and olive oil and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce the heat, and simmer for 45 minutes. Remove the rice from heat and let sit, covered, for 10 more minutes. Fluff with a fork and fold in the rice vinegar, sugar, and salt. Cover until ready to use.
Assemble the sushi rolls: Place a small bowl of water and a kitchen towel near your work area as your hands will get sticky. Place one nori sheet, glossy side down, onto a bamboo mat and press a handful of rice onto the lower two-thirds of the sheet. At the bottom of the rice place your toppings (see picture). Don’t overfill or it will be more difficult to roll. Use the bamboo mat to tuck and roll the nori. Once rolled, use the bamboo mat to gently press and shape the roll. Place the roll to the side, cut side down. Repeat with remaining rolls.
Use a sharp chef’s knife to cut the sushi. Wipe the knife clean with a damp towel between cuts.
Serve immediately with tamari or ponzu sauce and coconut peanut sauce, if using.

Simple

by CookDiaries

August 28, 2025

calzone

This calzone features a quick pizza dough recipe that needs minimal time to prepare, and a bolognese filling that’s as easy as it is delicious. The result is a tasty, generously filled calzone with a perfectly thin crust, spicy beef and rich tomato sauce. Prep Time20 minutes minsCook …

Dinner & Lunch

by CookDiaries

August 26, 2025

Sunlit Chicken & Rice Medley

Charred chicken takes center stage in this vibrant bowl, smoky and tender, surrounded by a symphony of textures and flavors. Each bite is bright, comforting, and layered with subtle richness a feast that feels as lively as it is satisfying. Prep: 5 minsCook: 15 mins …

Chicken

by CookDiaries

July 20, 2025

Caprese Salad

Caprese salad (a.k.a. Insalata Caprese or “salad from Capri”) is a classic, crowd-pleasing appetizer, side dish, or light lunch that’s as refreshing as it is easy to prepare. The recipe originated in the 1950s at the Trattoria da Vincenzo for lunchtime regulars they’d simply order a ripe tomato picked off the vine, which would be served with fresh fior di latte (cow’s milk mozzarella, as buffalo weren’t found on Capri).

Recipe information

Total Time 15 minutes
YieldServes 4 to 6

Ingredients

2 pounds vine-ripened tomatoes (about 4 large), sliced ¼-inch thick

1 pound fresh mozzarella, sliced ¼-inch thick

¼ cup packed fresh basil or arugula leaves, washed well and spun dry

¼ teaspoon dried oregano, crumbled, if using arugula instead of basil

3 to 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Fine sea salt to taste

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Preparation

On a large serving platter arrange tomato and mozzarella slices and basil leaves, alternating and overlapping them. Sprinkle salad with basil or arugula and oregano and drizzle with oil. Season salad with salt and pepper.

Notes

For this classic caprese salad recipe, it’s imperative that you use the freshest ingredients you can get your hands on: Thick slices of tomato (heirloom, please) at the peak of their season and which have never been refrigerated; milky fresh mozzarella cheese; fragrant basil leaves swiped from your backyard or your closest farmers market; and your best bottle of extra-virgin olive oil. Another piece of advice: Keep it simple. Pesto? Save it for another night. Balsamic glaze? No thanks. The vinegar would drown out the delicate flavors of the cheese. Ideally eaten in the shade, overlooking the sea (or, okay, on your patio), this classic Italian summer salad is a balm of a dish on any blistering day.

Soups & Salads

by CookDiaries

June 17, 2025

Cranberry Sauce

Made from 5 ingredients, this easy sauce is ready after 20 minutes on the stove. It thickens as it cools. You can use fresh or frozen cranberries. See notes. Prep Time: 5 minutesCook Time: 20 minutesYield: 2 cups Ingredients Instructions Notes

Liquid Gold, Simple

by CookDiaries

June 9, 2025

Stuffed Hatch Chiles

A spicy sweet stuffed Hatch chile with quinoa and corn topped with cheese and served with a cilantro yogurt honey sauce that will awaken your taste buds. Prep Time 10 minsCook Time 20 mins Serves 2 Ingredients For the cilantro yogurt sauce: Instructions For the …

Dinner & Lunch

by CookDiaries

May 31, 2025

Malaga Salad Recipe (Ensalada Malagueña)

Malaga salad (ensalada malagueña) is a popular, refreshing summer salad that’s made with potato, and we add salt cod, olives, and oranges to make a delicious and colorful salad!

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes minutes
Soaking Time: 1 day day
Servings: 6 servings

Ingredients

▢ 10 ½ ounces salt cod
▢ 2 ¼ pounds potatoes peeled
▢ 1 tablespoon sea salt plus more to taste
▢ 4 hard-boiled eggs quartered or diced
▢ 4 oranges peeled and wedged
▢ green olives to taste pitted and sliced
▢ 1 onion diced
▢ olive oil to taste
▢ 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar

Instructions

Soak the salt cod for about 24 hours, depending on its thickness. Once it’s desalinated, dry the cod with paper towel and carefully remove any skin or bones.
Wash and peel the potatoes, put them into a large pot, and cover with water. Cook over high heat and the sea salt right when the water boils. Cook the potatoes until fork tender, about 20-25 minutes. Let them cool and then cut into bite-sized pieces.
When the potatoes are halfway done, hard boil 4 eggs, cooking them for about 10 minutes. Peel and cut the eggs into bite-sized pieces.
Mix the potatoes, eggs, onion, orange slices, olives, and salt cod in a large bowl.
Dress with olive oil, sherry vinegar, and sea salt to taste. Be careful here, as the cod itself is salty, so you may not need to add salt depending on your preferences.
Serve the salad at room temperature or chilled and enjoy!

Notes

Be sure to soak the salt cod in water for about 24 hours to remove a lot of the salt, and remove the skin and bones before flaking.
I recommend using waxy potatoes, like Yukon Gold or red potatoes, for this recipe, as they keep their shape well when boiled.
Try using black olives instead of green olives for a unique twist.

Nutrition

Soups & Salads

by CookDiaries

July 9, 2024

BLT

A BLT is a master class in the art of simplicity. Even the name a direct, no-nonsense reflection of its main ingredients couldn’t be more straightforward. Bacon, lettuce, tomato, mayo and two slices of bread are arranged just so. Every bite is texturally complex, beautifully …

Dinner & Lunch

by CookDiaries

Tag: FreshIngredients

Recipe information

Ingredients

Preparation

Notes

Ingredients

Instructions

Notes

Nutrition