roasted veggie wraps

Last Friday we finally caught a much-needed break from the lethargy-inducing 90+ humid weather we've been experiencing.

I could not get out of bed that day. You know what got me out of bed? I heard my husband leaving for work and I bolted up and scrambled to the top of the stairs so I could yell down for him to bring some of the giant banana-coconut cake I had just made with him to work so we wouldn't be stuck with a giant banana-coconut cake to eat between the two of us. I guess there are worse things.

Anyways, I didn't catch him. And I was too lazy to chase him. And I kind of headed back to bed. But then! He called me and told me I had to get outside because it was THE PERFECT WEATHER. 

So I got up, put on my running clothes and headed outside and he was right. Perfect weather. The run was amazing. And since I did that, I can eat more cake. That's how it works, right?

In an effort to squeeze every last drop out of The Perfect Weather Day (you never know when you'll get another one around here), we decided to have a picnic after work. And these veggie wraps were the perfect thing. Wrapped them up in foil like burritos and toted them to the park with our blankets and crosswords and cake (what else?). 

I can't stop thinking about how delicious and satisfying these were and how I can't wait to make them again. Props to Bar Louie, which is where I had a very similar wrap that inspired me to make these.

Roasted Veggie Wraps

Serves 2

Veggies

1/2 of a red pepper, sliced

3-inch section of a large zucchini, julienned (or two 3-inch sections, if using a small zucchini)

1 small carrot, julienned

1/4 of a small red onion, sliced

1-2 T. olive oil

1 tsp of kosher salt, or more to taste

1/2 tsp of lemon pepper or regular fresh ground pepper, or more to taste

Wrap Ingredients

2 tortillas

Hummus (about 2-3 T.)

Pesto (about 2 T.)

1 cup spinach or arugula

Crumbled feta (about 1/4 cup)

1/2 of an avocado, sliced

Preheat oven to 400. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.

Combine the red pepper, zucchini, carrot and red onion in a medium bowl. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper and toss to coat. Pour veggies onto prepared baking tray and distribute evenly. Roast for 12-15 minutes, tossing once or twice, until tender-crisp.

While veggies are roasting, you can start preparing your tortillas. Spread half of one side of each tortilla with hummus, and spread pesto on the other half. Coarsely chop up your spinach or arugula.

When the veggies are finished, take them out and add the chopped spinach or arugula to the baking tray and toss gently to slightly wilt the lettuce. Divide your veggies evenly onto the prepared tortillas. Add the crumbled feta and the sliced avocado on top. Roll up your wraps (aluminum foil is helpful for holding it all together). Chomp.

no-cook summer chickpea salad

Oh hey, it's me.



Truth be told, this recipe was never going to make it to the internets.
It was a salad that I threw together one night a few weeks ago when husband was gone, and I wanted something healthy and fast and super easy, probably to balance all the cookies or chocolate almonds I had eaten that day (just a guess), and girls were coming over soon to swoon with me over Jef  watch the Bachelorette.



So I made this salad. It was really good. But I didn't really think much more about it until my sister-in-law came over, starving, and finished up the rest of it, and loved it so much that she asked me for the recipe and then made it like 5 times in the next two weeks. And told me I had to post it.

So here I am. And here it is. I think it's perfect for summer. It's crunchy, light, slightly sweet, and has avocado, which automatically makes anything at least 52% better. And you really you don't have to cook a thing. If you buy those ready-to-eat edamame from Trader Joes, you literally just have to cut up a couple of veggies and stir some dressing together and shovel this into your mouth straight from the mixing bowl. I have really good manners.



(P.S. I love you, T. Thanks for liking my food.)

Summer chickpea salad
Serves  2-3
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup shelled, ready-to-eat edamame
1/2 cup chopped cucumber
1 ear of corn on the cob, kernels removed
1 green onion, sliced
1/3 cup chopped tomatoes, optional (I added them mostly for color)
1/2 of an avocado
2 T. chopped cilantro

Note: If you are making this salad ahead of time, or would like to save some for the next day, I'd recommend leaving out the tomatoes and avocado until just before serving.

Dressing
1 T. white wine vinegar
1 T. sugar
Juice from 1/2 lime
3 T. olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste

red chili flakes, optional

Combine vinegar, sugar and lime juice in a small bowl. Add olive oil slowly while whisking. Add salt and pepper and chili flakes. Taste and adjust seasonings as desired.

Combine all salad ingredients in a medium bowl and gently stir. Pour dressing over the salad and toss. Serve cool or at room temperature.

spicy tomato and spinach soup

Before we begin, I'm sorry these photos are so...rushed.

The idea to even take photos was super last minute and pretty perfunctory, because I was just trying to throw together some soup for my sick husband with whatever I had on hand, and also I was hungry. But it turned out so surprisingly delicious that I'm glad I at least have these few average photos to share with you.

It's a good healthy soup. It's warming and spicy. It's comforting when served with toasty bread or grilled cheese or these warm winter chickpeas. It's even better when you take some of said chickpeas onto a spoon and then get some soup onto that spoon too. Comfort food man.

Definitely one of favorite dinners recently though. Especially since I just covered the entire thing in parmesan cheese.

Spicy tomato and spinach soup
2-3 servings

2 T. olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. herbes de provence
1 14-oz can stewed or crushed tomatoes
2 cups vegetable stock
2-3 cups chopped fresh spinach
1/4 cup heavy cream, optional
1/2 cup fresh grated parmesan

Heat olive oil in a pot over medium heat. Add garlic and onion and sauté until soft and fragrant, about 3-4 minutes. Add salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, oregano, and herbes de provence. Stir to combine. Add the tomatoes and the vegetable stock and stir. Add the spinach, bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer uncovered for about 15-20 minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings as desired. Stir in cream, if using. Serve sprinkled with fresh parmesan.

OPTION:
Add pasta or rice to the soup to turn this into a heartier soup.

 

I hope you have a very happy and bright new year full of love and bubbles!

harvest grain salad (?)

I'm sorry that I'm presenting you with another salad. On a Monday.

I'm sorry that this salad looks eerily similar to this one. Or perhaps this one. I promise you it's different.

I'm sorry that I haven't had coffee yet. I'm sorry I keep putting off my workout today. I'm sorry my house is dirty. Let's move on to happier things.

...Salad? A happier thing? I think so. I say it's a salad but you really can't call it a salad any more than you can call a Hollywood marriage permanent.

Eat this. It has everything in it. Deep, earthy flavors from the grains and nuts combine with the richness of the goat cheese and squash, only to be balanced out by the bright pop of pomegranate seeds and sweet chewy Craisins. How's that for a description? May be my best yet.

Note: The farro has to soak overnight or for about 8 hours, so you kind of have to plan this in advance.

Harvest Grain Salad
About 3 servings

2/3 cup Isreali Couscous (uncooked)
1/2 cup Farro (uncooked)
1/2 of a butternut squash
1/4 cup of pistachios, shelled
1/4 cup of Craisins
1/4 cup of pomegranate seeds
2 oz. of crumbled goat cheese
1-2 cups of spinach
olive oil and red wine vinegar
kosher salt and lemon pepper (or regular pepper)

Preheat oven to 400. Line a baking sheet with foil. Prepare squash by cutting off the rind and cutting the squash into small cubes. Put it into a bowl and toss it with a drizzle of olive oil and some salt and pepper. Pour onto prepare baking sheet and roast, for about 15 minutes or until soft and starting to brown. (Stir or turn once or twice as needed during roasting.)

While squash is cooking, cook your (presoaked) farro and couscous according to package instructions.

When grains are done cooking, put them in a large bowl. Add the cooked squash, the pistachios, the craisins, and the pomegranate seeds. Add in about a tablespoon of olive oil (I used lemon-infused) and about a tablespoon of red wine vinegar, and a couple pinches of salt and pepper (to taste). Toss. Add goat cheese and spinach and toss gently until spinach wilts slightly from the warmth of the other ingredients. Taste and adjust seasonings/ingredients as desired. Serve slightly warm or at room temperature.
 

vegan week recap

Well, vegan week is over. I promise I meant to update sooner than this, but vegan week also turned out to be sick week and crazy work week. C'est la vie.

breakfast veggie hash

Let's get straight to it, shall we? I liked vegan week. Really liked it. I didn't miss meat at all, and I barely missed cheese and milk, thanks to the presence of the So Delicious coconut milk in my fridge, as well as the Earth Balance vanilla soymilk that made morning lattes a pleasure to drink. But wait, it's not like I normally hate drinking them. But nevermind.

vegan carrot cherry breakfast cookies

I actually didn't get around to making all the recipes I picked out, due to the aforementioned sick/work thing, so that was a little disappointing. I still want to try them. The one thing about eating this way is that it takes a bit of effort. It's not as easy to just heat something up or order something when you're trying to eat a fresh, plant-based diet.

carrot cake oatmeal

It feels really great though. It feels like you're doing yourself a favor. It's something I want to keep in mind from here on out. I'm not going to be a vegan or even a vegetarian, but I think I'll cut a lot of meat and some dairy from my diet, simply because I don't feel like I need them as much as I thought I would. Especially meat. (Bacon isn't meat, right?) Cheese may be another story.

vegetarian burrito bowl

Recap of the week's eats:
Some breakfasts:  Carrot Cake oatmeal, veggie hash, vegan carrot cherry cookies
Some dinners: Quinoa and black bean burgers and butternut squash fries with chipotle BBQ sauce, homemade vegetarian chipotle-style burrito bowls, spicy sweet potato and coconut soup with detox salad, colorful quinoa salad

detox salad

Favorites:
-The carrot cake oatmeal, which I made twice.
-The butternut squash fries with the chipotle BBQ sauce, which I didn't get a picture of because they were devoured in about 3 minutes flat.
-The sweet potato soup
-The quinoa salad, cause it was so easy and delicious.

-Husband's fave was the burrito bowl, which I put too many onions in for my taste, so my perception of it was skewed. I would make them again, with less onions.

 colorful quinoa salad

spicy sweet potato and coconut soup

colorful quinoa salad

You know those weeks days when you just don't feel like doing anything?

Saturday was that day.

I'll spare you the not-so-exciting details and just tell you that the highlights of the day included a lengthy Starbucks visit and this salad. That should give you an idea. It's a shame that Saturday was such an absolutely perfect day and the most I made of the weather was an hour spent in Starbucks' courtyard. It was a nice hour though.

I was so hungry for dinner but felt so lazy but still wanted something so delicious and so good for me. I think I may have used the word 'so' enough in that sentence but I'm not sure. Maybe one more would have been good.

But this salad was just the thing. It was super easy, especially since I found a container of already-cooked plain quinoa leftover from earlier in the week. I wouldn't have wanted to like actually get out a pan and boil something, so that was fortunate.

This is goood stuff, and also, conveniently, good-for-you stuff. Everyone knows that quinoa is the ultimate health food right? And then you have things like mangoes for sweetness, black beans for delicious protein, pomegranates for a nice crunch and some antioxidants, avocado for healthy fat and because they are basically the best food/fruit/vegetable ever.

Your stomach will thank you.

Colorful Quinoa and Black Bean salad 
Serves 1-2

1/2 cup cooked quinoa
1/2 cup black beans
1/2 cup mango, diced
2 T. cilantro, chopped
2 T. pomegranate seeds
1/2 an avocado, diced

Dressing:
1 T. red wine vinegar
1 T. olive oil (I used lemon-infused)
1 tsp. agave nectar (or sugar)
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 tsp. pepper or lemon pepper

Add salad ingredients to a bowl except for the avocado. Add dressing ingredients and toss. Adjust seasonings and ingredients to taste. Add avocado and toss gently. If you will be storing some of the salad for later, I'd suggest leaving the avocado out until just before serving.

(You'll notice that I accidently left the avocado out for most of the photos anyway...got it in this last one though.)

spicy sweet potato and coconut soup

Last week I didn't cook...or at least I don't remember cooking anything. It was one of those weeks.

We had frozen pizza, we went out to eat, we ate at people's houses (by invitation)...

I just wasn't in the mood for it. Does that happen to you? The thought of making a mess in the kitchen (usually something that makes me pretty happy) sounded hugely unappealing. I didn't have anything I really wanted to make. I was completely uninspired. (violins)

This week was looking like it was going to be another one of those weeks. Monday was busy and I didn't get to the store to stock our empty-from-last-week fridge, so we got fried chicken for dinner. Yup. We even did a fried chicken tasting: KFC vs. Popeye's, just because we thought we'd better figure out once and for all where we need to be getting all of our future fried chicken. (In case you're wondering, KFC won for chicken, but Popeye's had the better mashed potatoes. Biscuits were a toss up, but I think it goes to Popeye's as well.)

high-qual iphone pic

 So Monday night, after our fried feast, as I sitting on the couch doing whatever it is that I do on the computer, my husband started this movie. I was all, "what are we watching?" as I looked up from the computer. Then suddenly I became completely engrossed in the movie. I think I even put my computer down. Watched the whole thing.

It was called Forks over Knives. Maybe you've heard of it. It's a documentary about our meat-and-dairy saturated culture and how so many of our health problems can likely be treated by a plant-centered diet.

Okay. Normally I find these things interesting at best, I give them a listen, maybe a smile and a nod, an "I-appreciate-your-point-of-view" eyebrow raise, but inside I know that I couldn't give up juicy hamburgers and milkshakes for quinoa and green beans. I don't like to get too radical or extreme about these things, and I most certainly don't like limitations.



But suddenly veganism had never seemed so appealing. Naturally a movie like that will make meat look horrible, and it did it's job.

After the movie, I asked my husband what he thought about trying a plant-centered diet, just for a week. (Who am I?) He agreed. (What a guy!)

Apparently that was what I needed to be inspired to cook again. I stayed up for another hour or so, researching vegan recipes to make for the week and assembling my grocery list. I was PUMPED.

So we embark on this mini adventure...emphasis on mini. We're doing this for fun/experimentation, to see how we feel and to see how it works for us. We're not going to be strict about it. If some feta finds it's way into my vegetarian sandwich, I'm not going to kick it out. If hub needs an egg for breakfast, I ain't gon stop him. It's the only way I could do something like this anyway. If I were to adopt it as a lifestyle choice, it would be more of a guideline than a rule. I told you how I feel about limitations. Same goes for deprivation. Is that the same thing?

I'm pretty excited about it though. Highlights so far include: some absolutely killer butternut squash fries, marvelous carrot cake oatmeal, and this sweet potato and coconut soup. I just realized those are all orange foods. Weird.

Anyway. This soup is so so good. (I seem to have run out of adjectives at this time. Forgive me.) It's creamy and a little sweet with a nice kick to it from the ginger and red curry paste. I would make it any day, vegan diet or not.

Stay tuned for more vegan-week adventures and a recap. And less-wordy posts.

Spicy Sweet Potato and Coconut Soup 
Recipe lightly adapted from here

Serves 6

1 1/2 pounds orange-fleshed sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped into 2-inch chunks
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 (2 inch) piece fresh ginger root, peeled and thinly sliced
1 tablespoon red curry paste
1 (15 ounce) can unsweetened coconut milk
3 cups vegetable broth
3 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon sea salt (or more, to taste)
Fresh ground pepper, to taste
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro 

Heat the oil in a large saucepan or soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion and ginger; cook and stir until tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in the curry paste and heat for 1 minute, then whisk in the coconut milk and vegetable broth. Add the potatoes. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer until potatoes are soft, about 20-25 minutes, or longer if necessary. 

Using an immersion blender, blend the soup until smooth. (Or transfer the soup to a normal blender, in batches, then return it to the pot when blended.)

Stir in the lemon juice, salt and pepper. Adjust seasonings to taste. Ladle into bowls and garnish with a drizzle of the sesame oil and some cilantro.

israeli couscous salad

The other afternoon I made this really good pear and chocolate tart. 

this isn't it.

The thing that can happen when you make really good pear and chocolate tarts in the afternoon is that you can ruin your dinner. 

It can be 8:30 and you're still not hungry but maybe your husband is, and maybe you have a fridge-full of vegetables you want to use even though you're not hungry.

Your husband you might start chopping vegetables anyway and you might start stirring around cute little balls of couscous and you might take inspiration from one of your favorite salads and make a really tasty dressing too.

You might throw it all together and decide it looks good enough to eat. Even though you're not really hungry. You might eat a whole bowl of the stuff and some of your husband's second bowl of it as well.

If you do all this, your tummy will be happy. It will thank you. Really, it will feel so good.

And then since you feel so good about what you just ate, you might decide that it's okay to have another piece of that tart.

And then your tummy might be mad at you again.

Israeli Couscous Salad

Serves 2

2/3 cup of Israeli couscous

1/3 cup red onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1 medium tomato, chopped

2 persian cucumbers, chopped (or about 1/2 cup regular chopped cucumber)

1 T. chopped dill

1 T. chopped mint

1/4 cup crumbled feta

Olive oil

Salt and pepper

Lemon

Dressing:

2 T. extra-virgin olive oil (I use lemon-infused)

2 T. red wine vinegar

1 T. sugar

1 tsp. lemon pepper (or regular fresh ground)

1/2 tsp kosher salt

Combine all dressing ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.

Cook the couscous according to the package instructions. While it is cooking, heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Add a swirl of olive oil and the chopped onion and garlic. Saute for about 2 minutes until onions are tender and slightly translucent. Remove from heat.

When couscous is done cooking, add it to the skillet with the onion and garlic and a sprinkle of salt and pepper (I used lemon pepper) and stir to combine.

Add chopped vegetables and herbs to a medium bowl. Add couscous mixture and dressing and toss to combine. Add in crumbled feta and give it another toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and add a squeeze of fresh lemon juice if desired. Serve at room temperature or chilled.

green bean salad with feta and dill

Did you have a good Labor Day weekend? I hope so.

Want to know what I did for the holiday weekend?

I fed the mosquitos.

I sacrificed my body to the little bloodsuckers for the sake of camping in the woods. These weren't just any mosquitos, no, I think they're special mosquitos. Mosquitos that have built up an immunity to Off. Mosquitos on steroids. Bold, persistent mosquitos.

I counted 16 bites on the front of the upper half of my right leg. Like from knee to hip, just on the top side. 

I hope those mosquitos choke on my blood and die.

But you know what else I did for the holiday weekend?

I camped in the woods with some of my favorite people. We ate hot dogs around the campfire, and spun around in the dark, and had volleyball tournaments, and played scattergories under tarps in the rain. We ate s'mores (have you ever spread peanut butter on your graham cracker first? Amazing.) and drank instant coffee in the cool of the morning, and laughed until we almost peed our pants. We all sacrificed our bodies to the mosquitos together and it was so worth it. I wouldn't trade it.

This has nothing to do with green bean salad. But. Make this salad anyway, it is so delicious. The green beans are crunchy and the dressing is tangy and the feta is cheesy and it will make you happy.

Green Bean Salad with Feta and Dill

Serves 2

About 2 cups of fresh green beans

1/4 cup of a vinaigrette dressing, like Italian Dressing. I used Brianna's French Vinaigrette.

2-3 T. crumbled feta

2 T. chopped red onion

2 T. chopped fresh dill

Cook beans in boiling water about 3 minutes or until tender crisp (I like mine on the crispier side, but if you prefer a little more cooked, increase time to 4 minutes or so). Drain and rinse well with cold water to stop cooking. Toss beans with dressing, cheese, onion and dill in a bowl. Serve immediately or refrigerate and serve chilled.

pasta primavera

Last week was a carb-y sort of week. No wait, that's every week. Every day, even.

If I don't have some kind of bread, or pancake, or cookie, or pasta, or Cap'n Crunch, it's a sad day. I cannot live by protein alone. I wish, but I can't.

But one of the things I made for dinner was this primavera, and I would say it's healthy, because I mean, look at that entire cookie sheet full of vegetables. You could put that in cookies and call them healthy...but why would you inflict that kind of pain on some poor innocent cookies?

This pasta is light and delicious and a fantastic way to use up vegetables. I felt pretty good about it.

Pasta Primavera

Adapted from Giada's recipe

Serves 2-3

3 small carrots, peeled and cut into thin strips

1 medium zucchini, cut into thin strips

1/2 of an onion, thinly sliced (I used sweet)

1 pepper, cut into thin strips 

2 T. Olive oil (I used lemon infused)

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1/2 tablespoon Herbs de Provence

1/2 lb. pasta of your choice

1/2 cup chopped tomatoes or halved cherry tomatoes

1/4 cup grated parmesan, plus extra for topping

1-2 T. Butter

Chopped basil, for topping 

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

On a large heavy baking sheet, toss all of the vegetables with the oil, salt, pepper, and dried herbs to coat. Arrange evenly over the baking sheet. Bake until the carrots are tender and the vegetables begin to brown, stirring after the first 7-8 minutes, about 15 minutes total.
Meanwhile, cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente, tender but still firm to the bite, about 8-10 minutes, depending on what pasta you are using. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid.
Toss the pasta with the vegetable mixtures in a large bowl to combine. Add the cherry tomatoes and about a tablespoon of butter, or more to your taste, and toss to combine and melt the butter. Add a little of the reserved cooking liquid if the pasta needs moistening. Toss with 1/4 cup of parmesan and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Sprinkle with the extra parmesan and the basil and serve immediately.