Vegetables

Things that sprout up from the earth!

Balsamic Green Beans with Cherry Tomatoes

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Balsamic Green Beans with Cherry Tomatoes

My idea of a perfect snack is a big bowl of steamed green beans. I really love green beans. My favorite way to eat them is actually the most boring: steamed and absolutely naked save a squeeze of lemon juice. Strange coming from a flavor freak/chili belly like me. I blame my true-to-form Gemini personality! This side dish (or snack) is incredibly simple, irresistibly tasty, and EASY. The key to maxing out the flavor and, thus, satisfaction is to buy fresh veggies, preferably from your local farmer’s market, and use the best oil and vinegar you can get your hands on. It sounds cliché, but the best food really does come from the best ingredients.

Balsamic Green Beans with Cherry Tomatoes

Serves 2-4

One pint of Cherry Tomatoes, rinsed and dried
Half pound of green beans, rinsed and trimmed
About a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
Two tablespoons dried basil
Good olive oil

Pre-heat oven to 350. Cover a cookie sheet with foil and spread the tomatoes out on it. Drizzle the tomatoes with about a tablespoon and a half of olive oil, sprinkle with a large pinch of salt, the basil, and pepper to taste. Bake tomatoes for 15-20 minutes, until just bursting.

Whilst the tomatoes are hanging out in the oven, steam your green beans. This should be done about 10 minutes prior to removing the tomatoes. Steam for about three to five minutes until bright green and tender (I like mine to have some crunch so I go easy on the steaming). Whilst the beans are steaming, prepare an ice bath in a large bowl with fresh water and ice and one tablespoon of salt. Upon removing the beans from the pan, plunge into the ice bath to arrest the cooking process and preserve the color of the beans.

Combine tomatoes and beans in a serving dish. Season with salt and pepper to taste (should not need much salt). Drizzle with the balsamic vinegar and the oil. Stir to coat well.

Miso-Garlic Sweet Potatoes

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Miso-Garlic Sweet Potatoes

Ever so slowly, I’m beginning to incorporate sweet potatoes into meals. I am fully aware of the loaded nutrient punch that sweet potatoes throw; however, eating potatoes is very hard for me. Being the daughter of an Englishman is wonderful on many levels. Travel opportunities abound and all your friends love your dad’s accent and it’s Britain, and Britain is amazing. However, one of the negative side effects is that I ate more potatoes than an enthusiastic Idaho resident in the midst of marathon training. A side effect from the thousands of potatoes consumed during my formative years: a general aversion to potatoes of all kinds with the exception of Purple Peruvian Potatoes. Purple potatoes make the cut for three reasons: 1) the awesome alliteration; 2) they are purple and I love purple things; and, 3) In Costa Rica, I was lucky enough to have the world’s best Purple potatoes from my awesome chicken lady and I tend to recreate them and relish the memories and the food. The side effects of the side effects are also my justification for not liking French fries until fairly recently.

So long story long, sweet potatoes are full of beneficial nutrients and a good source of carbs for those with an active work-out regimen. I will not touch sweet preparations of sweet potatoes, but this savory preparation compliments the natural sweetness of the orange starch whilst delivering a savory bite with an umami finish. Miso paste is a good source of umami and a breeze to make into a sauce. I roasted these with some miso and garlic paste and then made additional sauce to pour over the hot potatoes (oh how cliché) after removing them from the oven. The result is a triumph of texture that is given a lovely silky texture from the sauce and rendered slightly crispy with a soft center from the roasting. By all means, if you want to throw some rendered duck fat into the pan feel free.   I ended up throwing what I had leftover into some quinoa a couple days later. You could also make a mash with these same ingredients and a different preparation.

Note: I used roasted garlic that I had from the chicken that I was roasting immediately prior to roasting the sweet potatoes. You can use fresh garlic that has been made into a paste or  even powdered garlic if you have no other options. Whole Foods sells pre-roasted garlic, so you can always skip all the prep work on roasting it (simple as the process is we all have our days) and pick it up.

Miso Garlic Sweet Potatoes

Two medium sweet potatoes, washed and cut into half-inch cubes
Six roasted garlic cloves (more or less to taste)
Four tablespoons Miso Paste
One tablespoon Sriracha (optional or to taste)
One tablespoon Mirin
Salt and Pepper
Two tablespoons Toasted Sesame Oil or Garlic Olive Oil

Optional Garnish

Two tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
Chopped Chives or Scallions

On a large baking sheet, toss the cut sweet potatoes with two tablespoons oil (using more if necessary to coat), two tablespoons miso paste, and a couple god pinches of salt and black pepper. Roast on 375 degrees for about 50 minutes, removing halfway through to stir the potatoes. Test with your eyes and a fork – the outside should be crispy and nicely browned and the inside should be tender. Shortly before removing the potatoes, mix the remaining Miso paste (using more at your discretion), garlic cloves, sriracha, and mirin very well mashing the softened garlic cloves. To achieve a more liquidy consistency or to subdue the miso, you may need to add more Mirin. Remove the potatoes and put into a serving vessel. Pour the sauce on top and stir to coat gently. Garnish with sesame seeds that have been toasted for a few minutes in a dry pan on the stove and scallions if desired.

Kale and Avocado Salad

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Kale and Avocado Salad

This salad may be  IS the King Kong of salads. It is quite possibly one of the healthiest and most nutritious meals you can have for lunch, snack, or dinner (kale has a ANDI score of 1,000). It meets almost all dietary restrictions (no oil, limited salt, no meat, dairy free) and gets richness from tangy avocado – a healthy fat. I became mildly addicted to a similar salad that Whole Foods makes in their prepared, raw foods section. Their version had a bit too much lemon for me and I much prefer not paying four bucks every time I crave this. The best part about making this at home is that you can add whatever you like to it. I tend to make a different version each time. Ingredients I have added include: mango; apple; chickpeas; and, zucchini ribbons. It is important not to let your significant other watch you make this as the massage the kale gets might invoke jealousy. In order to break down the fibrous raw kale, you must massage lemon juice and salt (for proper flavoring) into the kale. Really put some elbow grease during this rub down and you will not believe that the Kale, properly softened, is not actually cooked.

 Words of caution – if you do not like Kale, you may not like this salad. This is not for those who (quite inexplicably) despise kale. It tastes like kale. It is great for all the kale lovers out there. Which reminds me, D recently bought me a shirt that says KALE on it – it is amazeballs (and indicative of how much kale I eat). I am pretty sure he stole it a bite or two even though he pulls a gag face when I pull big bundles of kale out of the fridge. Time to sneak some kale into his quinoa…

Note: The pictured version includes mango, radish and apple. Feel free to use one, two or all.

Kale and Avocado Salad

Serves Four

One bunch Green Kale
One large Haas Avocado
One half red onion, very thinly sliced
One red apple, thinly sliced (sub mango or other fruit if desired)
Two teaspoons Kosher Salt
Juice of One lemon

De-stem the kale leaves and wash well. Drain leave and tear roughly. In a large bowl combine the kale, red onion, and avocado. Sprinkle mixture with salt and squeeze lemon juice directly onto the greens. Using both hands, massage the kale while simultaneously mixing the greens. Massage strongly until kale has softened and all elements are incorporated. Add apple and black pepper to taste and mix well.

Serve on its own or with your favorite chicken salad, quinoa, fish or grilled chicken.

Curried Red Lentil and Veggie Soup

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Curried Red Lentil and Veggie Soup

This soup is something along the lines of an “East Meets West Minestrone” or maybe  a worldly interpretation of “everything-but-the-kitchen sink” soup; either way, it is a darn successful example of fusion food.  The soup’s benefit list is long: comforting, healthy, nutritious, restorative, flavorful (with anti-cancer spices as well), easy, a breeze to make from your freezer and pantry, affordable…the list goes on. All with just a twist on the every day garden veggie soup. I created this (and in doing so, greatly elevated my self-esteem) to use up A LOT of leftover food including: chicken; chicken stock; cooked squash; zucchini; and, carrots. Then I just added ingredients from the pantry or freezer that are usually on hand and – VOILA! There is one stipulation: you MUST use homemade broth as it will give the soup depth and richness and also is essential for the restorative factor (your body likes what the bones of animals put into stocks). Homemade broth, inclusive of the gelatin that is formed, is incredibly restorative for a tired or aching body (and probably has something to do with the “comfort” in comfort food). Omission of homemade broth will lessen the amazeballs quality that this soup has. And, yes, amazeballs is a legitimate adjective in Andiland.

Note: I made this a while back and cannot recall the exact amount of what spice that ended up going in. The quantities listed below are more like suggestions. If you are a confident spicer, you will know what to do; however, if you follow a recipe to the “t” you may want to start with a bit less, taste along the way, and add as desired. The curry powder is a blend that is Barons Thai Curry Blend Secret #52 (available at Whole Foods). You can substitute your favorite curry powder in its stead. I think the only difference is the presence of onion and red pepper flakes. If you have a Parmesan rind you would like to throw in, go for it – I did not (though I usually do with broth-based soups) and did not miss it one bit.

I really have to make more broth so that I can have this again! Please do not be scared of the long ingredient list – this is a cinch and you just throw stuff in!

There are no pictures of this soup unfortunately. I was too busy eating it to snap a picture. Next time…

Curried Red Lentil and Veggie Soup

Serves Six (unless I am around and that number reduces to One)

Two cans Kidney Beans, rinsed and drained
About two tablespoons Ground Cumin
Two Tablespoons Thai Curry Powder (add additional to taste)
Three teaspoons Red Pepper Flakes or Cayenne (optional)
A good pinch or two of Salt (add one first and taste before adding more)
Juice of one lemon 
One and one-half yellow onions, diced
Eight to ten cloves garlic, minced  
One Box (or can) Chopped tomatoes
Six to Eight cups Homemade Stock
Five carrots, sliced and quartered
Two celery stalks, leaves attached, sliced
One Bay leaf
One tablespoon olive oil
One package Frozen 365 Organics Kale
Two Zucchini, cut into quarters  
Three Cups fresh, frozen or dehydrated Green Peas
Two cups (or more) cooked Spaghetti Squash
Two cups Red Lentils, washed well in cold water
One half cup of chicken stock gelatin
Two cups shredded chicken breasts (I had some leftover, but you can also cook the breasts in the soup if you wish)
Black pepper to taste

In large saucepan, heat a tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic, onions, celery and carrots and allow to sweat until onions are glassy. Add the stock and gelatin and bring to a simmer. Add the cumin, curry blend, cayenne, bay leaf, and salt, (which can be pre-mixed in a small bowl) and stir well. Add the lentils, kidney beans, and tomatoes and allow to simmer for about 25 minutes. Check the lentils for doneness (should have about 10 more minutes or so and check the soup for seasoning deficiency (and/or awesomeness). Try to stop testing the soup…it will be hard, but you can do it. Add the chopped zucchini, kale, spaghetti squash, chicken, and a squeeze of lemon (use more or less to taste). After about five minutes add the peas. Serve with whole grain bread or with a salad (or all by its Divine self).

Spaghetti Squash with Spinach, Pesto, and Roasted Tomato

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Spaghetti squash has become one of my favorite foods (my mother will tell you that she can now see pigs flying across a sky that has fallen to the earth). I was a girl who used to refuse to eat squash of any sort to begin eating spaghetti squash on a bi-weekly basis, but loving something new is one of the beauties of expanding your horizons. Nowadays, I eat butternut squash without regard to the season (sacrilege I know), I add zucchini to ninety percent of my dishes (possibly more), I even eat yellow squash – though I reluctantly admit I am still coming around to it.

I am a textural eater and my aversion to squash has been its texture. Many times in my life I have had squash that was mushy, flavorless, and soggy. The latter two are quite fitting with squash as many kinds have very little natural flavoring and lend themselves well to versatility. Summer squash (i.e. zucchini and yellow squash) boast a high water content which can make them….soggy. Who knew, water makes things soggy? Summer squash are less nutrient dense than winter squash due to their higher water content. Winter squash, including my favorites butternut and spaghetti, is nutrient rich and serves as a great source of carotenes, B1, vitamin C, and fiber.

I digress; spaghetti squash is a little magical thing that can be prepared in a seemingly infinite number of preparations. I love experimenting with different applications and cuisine. My favorite so far is with pesto – shocker – and a sautéed medley of zucchini, spinach and tomato with a tad bit of lemon zest, shallot and garlic. This meal is a powerhouse for the busy week-day health, healthy eater. It is easy, cheap, waist-whittling, and NOM NOM NOM delicious. One cup of Spaghetti Squash amounts to a whopping 42 calories so go ahead and gorge. You can do anything you like to spaghetti squash. ANYTHING. You can hit it up with some meat sauce, though go light on the saucing as it is obviously not as sturdy as pasta. you can make any worldly variation you would like with different spices; you can keep it simple with lemon and pesto, you can add it to soups for a bit of low calorie, carb-like substance; you can even make it into dessert. I tend to have tomatoes that need to be used so I have gotten in the habit of having a roasted tomato with my spinach and squash. Sometimes I will throw in chicken if it needs to be used, but I never miss it if I do not (giving the meal yet another perk…it is vegan).

 Note: The recipe given below incorporates only Spinach, which I always have on hand. It is just as easy to add zucchini when you are preparing the spinach, if you have some on hand. Feel free =) Also, the photo was taken before I added pesto (I only wanted a touch of it being on a diet an all). I have stopped photographing my food for thirty minutes before eating given my time crunch the past four months and this was the only photo I had; normally, the squash is a bit more green. Final Note: ADD ROASTED GARLIC TO MAKE THIS MIND-BLOWING. I roast the garlic with the squash and add it in – you don’t have to, though I have no idea why you would not want to.

It has been a long journey from the PB and No J sandwich girl who turned her nose up at the wonderful squash family, but I am happy to announce my arrival.

Pesto Spaghetti Squash with Spinach and Tomato

Serves Four

One large spaghetti squash, halved and seeded
One recipe sautéed spinach
One baked tomato
Basil Pesto in an amount desired (I like about a quarter cup)
Salt and Pepper
Seasoning as desired (I used cayenne, thyme, pepper, salt, and Italian herbs)
One lemon, zested (I actually used two, but I really like lemon zest)

Preheat oven to 375. Prepare the squash (cut in half, scrape threads in center and rub inside flesh with olive oil). Sprinkle the amount of seasoning desired on the two halves and place meat-side down on a baking sheet. Bake for fifty-five minutes and remove.

Meanwhile, one stove prepare the sautéed spinach and reserve. If using previously baked tomatoes, skip making them and simply reheat when ready. If the tomato has not been previously baked, lightly drizzle with olive oil, top with salt, pepper and fresh herbs and bake for twenty to thirty minutes until tender.

Using oven mitts to hold the squash by its skin, scrape the squash into a bowl with a fork (it should break apart and look like angel hair pasta). Once this is done, strain excess water (some squash are worse than others so you may be able to skip this step).

Combine the squash with the pesto and zest, adding salt and pepper as desired. Mix well. Finally add the spinach and top with the baked tomato. Top with fresh grated pecorino (if you desire) and serve immediately.

Zucchini Ribbon Salad with Seared Scallop

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Zucchini Ribbon Salad with Seared Scallop

This is a warm, satisfying salad. It’s a dish that tastes as wonderful as it makes you feel healthy. The entire dish may be 300 calories total – and most of that is olive oil. I added very thinly shaved apple to brighten the dish and help bring out the scallop’s sweetness. I was out of fresh lemons that day, but feel free to use a (very little) bit of zest to really brighten the flavor of the veggies.

The scallops I bought for this dish were HUGE!! I have never seen U-10s this big. They were more like U-6 scallops. And they also happened to be some of the driest scallops that I have been able to buy away from the coast. Ergo, the size made one per person a perfect portion. Lucky for me D doesn’t eat fish so I ate both….they were glorious.

Zucchini Ribbon Salad with Seared Scallop

Serves two (or one in Andiland)

 

One Zucchini, sliced lengthwise into thin ribbons
Three cups Baby Spinach
One large shallot, thinly sliced
Two Garlic cloves, finely minced
Two Large U-10 scallops
About a cap full of white wine (optional)
One-Half Pink Lady Apple, very thinly sliced with a peeler
Fresh Squeezed lemon to taste

Wrap the scallop in a paper towel and let drain for at least a half hour. Prepare veg whilst the scallop dries out. In a large skillet (or cast iron), sauté the garlic and shallots with a bit of olive oil. After about seven minutes, hit the pan with a (very) small amount of white wine and add spinach. Allow spinach to wilt just slightly and then add zucchini ribbons., add a pinch of salt, a good amount of fresh ground pepper, . Meanwhile, heat about a tablespoon of olive oil over a medium high heat and add scallop that has been dusted with salt and pepper. Cook for two minutes per side (the scallop should have a nice brown caramelization on it).  Spoon the greens onto a plate, top with scallop and shaved apple.

Winter Sashimi Salad

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This has become my favorite meal recently. It is super fast (especially for anyone who can walk to Whole Foods or their favorite fish monger) and very healthy, clean and light. I am currently craving this, but cannot afford the salmon component – which is ok because the salad without the fish is excellent as well.

Winter Sashimi Salad 

Serves Two

 

Three cups steamed kale, divided between two plates

One Jazz (or favorite red) apple, thinly sliced

One Haas avocado, sliced

Five ounces of sashimi grade Salmon, raw – sliced into equal pieces

Half tablespoon of wasabi paste (You may want to start with less and add as you go because this stuff will clear your sinuses)

One tablespoon of eel sauce 

Divide steamed kale between two plates; mound in the center. Alternate apple slice, avocado slice, salmon slice all the way around the kale until a circle is complete. Spritz with fresh lemon juice. Mix wasabi and eel sauce together well then drizzle over the entire plate. Enjoy!

Squashy Pasta

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This is a wonderful wintry pasta that fits with everyone’s new years resolutions. Seriously, this is healthy, full of nutrient-dense veggies, vegetarian, is budget friendly (as in I had all ingredients on hand and no money left to buy groceries after not being very thrifty in December), and is darn tasty! I threw what I had in because I was craving veggies but also needed the fiber and the carbs from the pasta after a week of hard work outs. Farro pasta is a great alternative pasta. Farro is an ancient wheat grain that is high in fiber and has a whole wheat nuttiness taste that it lends to the pasta.

Squashy Pasta 

Serves Four through Six 

Farro Gemelli Pasta (Rustichelle d’Abruzzo  brand or favorite)

Four Golden Beets, skinned, sliced and steamed

One recipe Roasted Butternut Squash

Two Zucchinis cut into large quarters

One or Two Yellow Squash cut into large quarters

One cup Cherry tomatoes, halved and seeded

Three to four larger shallots, sliced into thin strips

Five or Six Garlic Cloves

Black Pepper

Small amount of Pecorino Romano, shredded

Half Cup Basil Pesto

Quarter cup White Wine

Quarter Cup reserved pasta water

One bunch of fresh basil, julienned

An hour prior, prepare the butternut squash (or make the night before). Once the squash has about twenty minutes left, begin to steam beets and bring salted pasta water to boil. Reserve beets and add pasta to water to cook for about 14 minutes. Heat a bit of olive oil in a large saute pan and add garlic, shallots and a bit of pepper. Cook until glassy (add crushed red pepper if desired). Hit this with the white wine and cook off the alcohol. Salt Zucchini, Tomatoes, and Squash and when the pasta has about two minutes left to cook, add to the saute pan (this is to make sure your veggies still have some crunch. Drain pasta, reserving a small amount of the pasta water, and add pasta to the saute pan. Add beets, roasted butternut squash, pesto, black pepper, and a small amount of grated Pecorino cheese. Add small amount of water a bit at a time as needed to make a sauce. Mix well and garnish with plenty of fresh basil and serve.