Browsing Tag

vegetables

Tasty

Vegan/GF BBQ Salad

March 17, 2014

IMG_8002 This week is all about getting Spring Break ready!  While being a college grad/adult, I may not get an actual “Spring Break” on my calendar anymore.. but I am lucky enough to get to tag along on my family’s annual vacation – thus gifting myself a “Spring Break” each year.

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That being said, working 8-10 hour days everyday takes a toll on your body, and getting spring break ready is a lot of work… so this week is going to focus on some key points.  First up – health.

The past few weeks I have been focusing on clean eating – a lot of produce and fish, and minimal red meat/gluten, and no processed foods.  That being said whole eating is a priority, and here is one of my go-to salads (great for dinner or lunches for the week).

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BBQ Veggie Salad

  • 1 head of Romanesco cauliflower (or regular cauliflower)
  • Lentils or black beans
  • Radishes
  • Carrots
  • Red Onion
  • Avocado
  • 1/2 cup BBQ sauce
  • Vegan Ranch Dressing
  • Tortilla Chips (optional)
  1. Cut cauliflower into florets and roast at 350 degrees for 7 minutes.
  2. Brush BBQ sauce onto cauliflower and bake 3 minutes more.
  3. Assemble salad with ingredients of your choice.
  4. Top with more BBQ sauce and/or ranch dressing.

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* Disclaimer: The joy of this salad is it doesn’t really need a recipe – you can add (or not add) whatever you would like – other ideas include cilantro, corn, celery, cheese (if you don’t want to go dairy free), etc.

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Tasty

Farm Fresh to You

January 27, 2014

images via Farm Fresh to You

I am a big Farmer’s Market junkie.  I love the idea of eating what’s in season (now that I have tasted the MAJOR difference in food straight from a garden/farm) and really enjoy going to the market and picking my produce for the week.

Unfortunately, I have realized the whole “pay with cash” thing, does not work in my favor. I am very bad at tracking just HOW much I spend on a given morning at the market – $2 here, $5 there… and after filling my bag up with goodies at a particular stand, I realized that I had spent $11 on brussels sprouts.  I wasn’t buying brussels sprouts for a family of 12 – I was buying it for my little family of 2.  You wouldn’t even pay $11 for a side dish of them in a restaurant! And these weren’t even cooked! Ok rant over…

Long story short(er), I realized that while I thought I was saving “some” money, I probably was doing just the opposite.  Some things are great deals – but sometimes seeing $5 written in a cute font on a chalkboard, makes me feel like I’m getting a great deal on a bunch of kale, when in reality, I was probably taken to the house a bit.

After this realization, my sister brought to my attention that Farm Fresh to You (they have a stand in the Ferry Building), delivers organic produce straight from the farm to your front door!  They have different box sizes and contents, starting at $25 (which will last 1-2 people a week or two!).  I also love that the box is a surprise each week, containing only the freshest, highest quality produce.  You have the option of deselecting items you really dislike and can log in a couple of days before to see what you will be receiving.

They make it very easy – with a vacation hold capability and an interactive scheduling portal.  You even can add on a dozen cage free, organic eggs (I’m telling you – I didn’t like eggs before I crossed over to these kind!) for a few extra bucks!

This is my first week with the box and I already love it… Here is what I received:

  • 2 D’Anjou pears
  • 3 assorted apples
  • 1 bunch golden beets
  • 1 bunch broccoli
  • 1 bunch carrots
  • 1 bunch red leaf lettuce
  • 1 bunch spinach
  • 1 lb fingerling sweet potatoes

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I wanted to share a few things I whipped up with the contents this week… so here we go!

Cowboy Steak with Roasted Fingerling Sweet Potatoes and a Red Butter Leaf Salad with Pecans and Dried Cranberries (used potatoes and lettuce)

Honey Sesame Chicken with Broccoli (used the broccoli)

Oven-Roasted Golden Beets over Couscous (used beets)

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Then I had carrot sticks with apple and pear slices for snacks at work and used the spinach in a breakfast scramble with Italian turkey sausage and sweet potato… yum!

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If you are interested in trying out Farm Fresh to You for yourself, click here to sign up and use code 6164 for to save $10 off your first order – just say Whitney Beaver referred you!

 

Tasty

Miso Veggie Tofu Bowl

January 6, 2014

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This week, I am focusing on fresh starts and new ways to begin this calendar year (sorry if that’s super cliché… I personally love the whole New Years concept)! I wanted to begin with a delicious and healthy meal option that I’ve been loving lately! I have always loved miso – some of my all-time favorite recipes include this one and this one. But recently have a new obsession Smitten Kitchen’s Miso Veggie Bowl recipe.  I whipped it up for dinner a few weeks ago and immediately added it to my recipe line up.  The major perk (apart for the flavor?!) the fact it makes a great lunch the next day (although there is rarely enough left over for that).

Here is the original recipe – and here is what I’ve been whipping up:

Dressing:

  • 2 T white miso
  • 1.5 T almond butter
  • 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
  • 1 small garlic clove, minced
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • 1/4 cup rice vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil

Mix with an immersion hand blender until combined.

The Goods

  • Tofu (I prep it using this recipe)
  • Sweet Potatoes
  • Butternut Squash
  • Carrots
  • Broccoli

Roast according to Smitten Kitchen’s directions and serve over rainbow quinoa and top with the miso dressing!
I love how you can create the dressing, while the veggies are roasting… And you can be flexible with whatever veggies/protein you use… I love it’s versatility! You easily can use this recipe as a veggie dipping sauce if you wanted to as well…

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PS if you aren’t familiar with Smitten Kitchen, I highly recommend you do so.  I have followed Deb’s blog for sometime, but recently treated myself to her cookbook – it is amazing!

What is your favorite week day meal lately?

Tasty

Spring Roll Party

September 16, 2013

I had my girlfriends over for dinner last week, and wanted a fun, interactive (key word: I didn’t want to have to do that much work) type of a meal.  My answer? Spring Rolls!

Shrimp VegetablesI simply prepped the veggies before work, made a couple dipping sauces and boiled the shrimp once they arrived… a simple tutorial on how to roll them and we were all set!

Mint Jalapeno Shrimp Spring Rolls

Spring Roll Veggies For veggies I did:

  • Carrot (use a veggie peeler for the ribbon effect)
  • Mango
  • Cucumber
  • Jalapeno
  • Red Leaf Lettuce
  • Mint/Basil

Shaved Carrots

Other additions/ideas:

  • Vermicelli (rice noodles)
  • Shrimp
  • Tofu
  • Marinated pork/steak

Rolling a Spring Roll

Soak spring roll wrappers in warm water for 30 seconds or so and then add your favorite toppings and roll burrito-style.

Making a Spring Roll

I also served a super yummy Thai Chicken Salad that I HIGHLY recommend… I used light coconut milk in the recipe and it was delicious!

We paired everything with a yummy Sauvignon Blanc… and we were all set for a wonderful meal together!

Tasty

Summer Supper

July 29, 2013

Chicken Dinner

Summer weekends call for most of my time being spent reading by or in a pool.  A prefer to cap off a lazy day with a freshly decadent meal and a great glass of wine… but who has time to slave away in the kitchen when you are working through a perfectly great book!?  Introduce the impressive yet easy menu!  A little prep work in the morning, tan your way through the day and then an hour of so of cooking and dinners on!

Nectarine Caprese with Honey Balsamic Reduction

Summer Veggie Salad with Cilantro Vinaigrette

BBQ Chicken with Carrot Puree

BBQ Chicken

Root Beer Floats

Tips:

  • Caprese: Use great ingredients and this will be a crowd pleasure! You also could cube the nectarines and serve on a skewer with tiny mozzarella balls and basil.
  • Veggie Salad: We used fresh corn and didn’t grill it.  Sweet, fresh corn is super tasty (and as my sister mentioned) full of nutrients when in it’s original/”natural” state.
  • BBQ Chicken: I used nice BBQ sauce and substituted thighs with boneless/skinless breasts.  We let it marinate all day in BBQ sauce (in the fridge) and then added minced garlic and seasoning right before we put it in the oven.  Make sure to have the chicken sit out for 30 minutes or so before putting it in the oven.  The meat turned out super moist and so flavorful!
  • Carrot Puree: The carrot puree is also out of this world and definitely something I will serve with other meals.  The color is gorgeous!  You can also substitute 1 cup of half & half for 1 T of melted butter and the remaining amount of 1 cup with milk.