I re-read Skinny Bitch this week. BIG MISTAKE.

Once again, I swore off my beloved vices: coffee, Dr. Pepper and white wine. After a mind-melting headache that lasted four days, I am feeling clean and clear (and maybe a little cranky.)

But now I have to figure out the food. If I can’t cook with bacon and brown sugar, what do I eat? In a state of utter confusion, I walked into the grocery store and grabbed every crunchy thing in the produce section. By God! I can eat like a skinny bitch!

While I assembled the crunchy-salad-of-goodness, my sister and the man turned up their noses at every ingredient: “I don’t really like fennel” “Can you leave the jicama out of mine?” “Do sprouts even have any flavor?” But they ate it … They liked it … They thanked me for saving them from imminent heart disease.

Here is the cast of characters:

Arugula: peppery leaves rich in Vitamin C and Potassium
Jicama: sweet and crunchy and high in dietary fiber
Sprouts: crunchy and rich in Vitamins A, E, C and B complex which all aid digestion
Fennel: licorice (anise) flavor that is supposedly good for whatever ails you
Red Onions: sweet onion rich in flavonoids which are said to fight allergies and cancer
Walnuts: delicious and woody and said to strengthen kidneys, back and knees
Pear: Sweet and juicy and high in dietary fiber

Assemble ingredients and drizzle with olive oil, a tiny bit of balsamic vinegar and a dash of salt.

I grew up eating chinese food at Chien Garden … a magical place in Richardson, Texas. Moo Shu Pork (think chinese pork burritos) was my father’s go-to-meal. Our favorite server, Kevin, would prepare them table-side … rich sauce spread on thin tortillas, topped with pork goodness and then wrapped up with nothing more than chop sticks. Quite impressive actually.

I saw this recipe for Moo Shu Shrimp, and it brought back all the good memories.

Wrap tortillas in foil and place in the oven at 200 while you prepare the meal.

Heat a wok (or your largest saute pan) over HIGH heat. Add a little oil only after the pan is very hot. Add the shrimp and cook for about 5 minutes. Place shrimp on a large plate. Scramble eggs in the wok and set aside with the shrimp.

Chop garlic, ginger and mushrooms. Add a little more oil to the wok and saute until tender (about 4 minutes.) Add cabbage and green onions and saute for an additional 4 minutes. The cabbage should be tender but still crunchy.

Add the shrimp and cabbage back to the wok and combine together.

Remove tortillas from the oven. Spread hoisin sauce on a tortilla and top with shrimp mixture.

Simplicity is refreshing. Simple ingredients, prepared in a simple way. It's hard to beat.

So when a head chef of a fancy restaurant publishes a cookbook of simple dishes, I pay attention. Alfred Portale (Gotham Bar and Grill) is the subject at hand. He published Simple Pleasures several years ago, and it has risen to the top of my cookbook pile.

You might argue that peeling tomatoes does not qualify as ‘simple’, and I would agree. But this dish is good. It has a simplicity of flavors that rings through. A pasta caprese of sorts … fresh tomatoes, grated cheese and basil. Not a comforting winter meal, but a nice break from chili. (It’s really good cold too. Feel free to eat leftovers for breakfast like I did.)

Boil a large pot of water and place a large bowl of ice water right next to it. Mark an ‘x’ shape on the bottom of the tomatoes, just deep enough to puncture the skin. Place them into the boiling water for about 15 seconds. Place immediately into the ice bath. Now the skin will start to come away from the tomato. Grab a small knife and peel the skin away from each one. Chop the tomato in half, and squeeze out the seeds. Give the tomatoes a rough chop and place in a large bowl that will be large enough to hold all the ingredients. Add the garlic, shallots, salt, pepper, oil and vinegars to the tomatoes and let marinate for at least 30 minutes.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for about 5 minutes until tender. While the pasta is cooking, taste the tomatoes and adjust seasoning as needed. Drain the pasta. Add to the tomatoes and toss together. Serve pasta and top with grated cheeses and basil.