Vegetarian

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.

Somen with Ginger Scallion Sauce

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This past Saturday I had made plans to go to my friend Susanna’s for dinner. This small feeding experience quickly turned into a 10 person dinner party. This expansion was a) totally predictable and b) fervently welcomed (I heart my friends)! Most of you undoubtedly know that it IS HATCH GREEN CHILE SEASON (!!!!!!) and I have been getting requests, and cravings,  for hatch green chile mac and cheese and hatch green chili pulled pork.  Susanna and I planned, in the wee hours of the morning, to make that for dinner. So when I woke up at two in the afternoon, at which time I  grouchily reprimanded her for keeping me up chatting until the wee hours of the morning, I was forced to ask what the backup plan for dinner was because pulled pork was not happening until three am the next day (at the earliest).  Luckily,  Susanna had a request for Larb (or Laab depending on your region) from Big Jimmy, so the plan was to do an Asian menu: Larb as the appetizer; veggie stir fry, Somen noodles, and marinated flank steak. As the day wore on I added General Tso’s chicken to that list due to the insatiably strong resistance of a craving I could not keep at bay. The menu changed again when J and K Bear, fresh off the plane from Alaska, brought over 20 pounds of fresh salmon. I have to say this was the best menu addition! The salmon was fresh and delicious and complimented the meal perfectly. The flank steak was abandoned in the fridge to be enjoyed later in the week.

The main reason I was excited about Asian, apart from it’s generally being awesome sauce, was because I got to re-browse through Momofuku. It is a Greek tragedy, but Momofuku has been accumulating dust since I have run out of cookbook browse time (well free time is one issue, the reading of the Hunger Games, 50 Shades, and Millennium Trilogies really sucked up most of my cookbook browse time). Travesty, I know. The book inspired me to make the somen as a separate dish from either the stir fry or protein. Somen with Ginger Scallion Sauce. The result, though adapted to utilize available ingredients, was delicious and easy peasy. As the book states, the sauce can top anything from noodles to meats and can be used for a few days. If serving with noodles, remember to serve with side accoutrement of sriracha, somen dipping sauce or soy, and hoison as the sauce is not liquid heavy – and because those ingredients are just plan tasty.

Note: you can use homemade crispy shallots or the store-bought brand Lars Crispy Onions. Additionally, you need to use a neutral oil – such as grapeseed – so that the other flavors are not overpowered. I did not have grapeseed and used peanut and olive oil. It’s  fine, just expect the oil to carry the more predominant flavors of the oil than with grapeseed oil.

Somen with Ginger Scallion Sauce

Serves 8-10

Somen, three bunches
Dried shallots
Light soy sauce
Hoison
Sriracha
Ginger Scallion Sauce

Ginger Scallion Sauce
Adapted very slightly from Momofuku

Two bunches green onions, thinly sliced
Large knob of fresh ginger (finely minced it should be about a half cup)
One and one half teaspoon light soy sauce
Three Fourths Teaspoon Sherry Vinegar ( I used a half teaspoon Sherry Wine and a fourth teaspoon rice wine vinegar
Three fourths teaspoon salt, adjusted to taste
One fourth cupgrapeseed oil (I used half peanut, half olive)

Boil water for noodles as instructed. The noodles should take a maximum of three minutes to cook, so make sure to cook them after you have prepared the sauce.

In a medium bowl, combine the green onions, ginger, soy sauce, vinegar, and oil and mix well. Add salt slowly and taste before adding more. Adjust flavors according to taste (for example I used a bit more ginger and added some soy sauce). Reserve and allow to sit for at least 30 minutes so that the flavors can hang out and get all awesome. When the noodles have been cooked, top them with the sauce and LIGHTLY Drizzle Soy sauce around the sides of the serving bowl and mix together well. Top with the crispy onions and serve with soy (or favorite noodle base), sriracha, and hoison so that everyone can customize their noodle bowl!

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.

Simple Black Bean-Corn Salsa

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Simple Black Bean-Corn Salsa

It’s easy. It’s healthy. It’s Tasty. It’s versatile. I always serve some variation of this with enchiladas (as we know from my previous post that includes garlic, avocado and tomato). Lately, my favorite application for this summertime delight is to throw it into Mexican Quinoa (recipe coming soon). It would also be a great topping for a mexicanesque or southwest style soup.

Black Bean-Corn Salsa

Black Beans, one can drained and rinsed
Sweet Corn (feel free to use canned, frozen, or fresh charred corn)
Half-Red onion – small dice
One Half Red Bell Pepper – small dice
Sweet Corn
Lime Juice
One tablespoon Red wine vinegar
Spices (just a pinch each): Ground cumin, cayenne, adobo, salt
Two Cilantro to taste

Combine the red onion, bell pepper, corn, cilantro and black beans in a large bowl. Mix gently and well. In a small bowl combine the red wine vinegar, spices, and lime juice and mix well. Add the liquid mixture to the onion mixture and toss gently until incorporated. Adjust seasoning according to taste and if it is too bitter add a pinch of sugar.

Yep that is pretty much it, you are done. Enjoy!

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.

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Raspberry Champagne Vinaigrette

I was making dinner recently and one of my besties (and new neighbor) needed to do laundry. Being that I love to feed people, I was ecstatic to make her belly happy. She needed to use some raspberries that were almost bad, some spring mix and some arugula. I was determined to fit everything into the meal so the menu took on the form of a veggie lovers dream…our appetizer was brown butter roasted brussel sprouts and the main dish was spinach basil pasta packed with steamed asparagus, zucchini, squash, arugula and spinach with a pesto sauce and sides of steamed asparagus and mixed greens salad with Raspberry Champagne Vinaigrette. The whole meal took about thirty minutes of actual cooking time and was delicious! I used less olive oil than I call for here (also know that you can use Grapeseed oil if you have it on hand) just to decrease fat and calories. Hey even if they are good fat calories, they still can add to the cellulite situation that creeps up in unison with age brackets. I also added more lemon and thought that the end result was a little to acid heavy, though really it was fine (especially for someone who likes lemon). I ended up throwing a pinch of sugar in as well to help sweeten the raspberries. If you make this in the summer you should not need to add extra sugar as the raspberries will be in season.

 Raspberry Champagne Vinaigrette

One pint Raspberries, very ripe
Half cup olive oil
Salt, start with a pinch then add as desired IN VERY SMALL AMOUNTS
Pepper, start with a pinch then add as desired
Pinch Cane Sugar
Juice of one half of lemon
Four Tablespoons champagne vinegar

Mix all ingredients except oil in a small food processor. Slowly add the oil to the food processing as it runs on a medium setting. Taste and adjust as desired.

Serve over mixed green salad and steamed or roasted asparagus.

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.