Roasted Delicata, Corn and Black Bean Salad with Cilantro-Lime Vinaigrette

I woke up the other morning with this salad on my mind. Well, the roasted delicata squash and corn aspect of it, anyhow. As the day went by, the other components- black beans, avocado, grape tomatoes and a cilantro-lime vinaigrette, based off of a fajita marinade I had a while back- fell into place.

I'm sure I'm not the only one who sometimes spends all day dreaming up a recipe. (Right?) Adding and taking away ingredients in my mind. Of course, there are those days I'm tired or uninspired, and I just want to follow someone else's recipe or make an old standby, but I love when I am so excited to began putting together the meal that I've spent my day pondering over. This was one of those recipes- when Sage came home from work, he was a little surprised to find I had dinner already prepared. I just didn't want to wait any longer.

I'm happy to share that it was every bit as wonderful as I'd imagined it to be. Everything worked so perfectly together. The warm roasted squash, the sweet corn, vibrant tasting vinaigrette and the creamy avocado, it was all just right and definitely worthy of a day spent thinking about it.

Roasted Delicata, Corn and Black Bean Salad with Cilantro-Lime Vinaigrette
serves 3-4 as a meal

for the roasted vegetables:
3 ears corn, kernels sliced off
1 pint of grape tomatoes
1 (1 lb) delicata squash, unpeeled, seeded and cut into about 1/2 inch pieces
1 tbsp olive oil
kosher salt and fresh ground pepper

for the vinaigrette:
1 cup (loosely packed) cilantro leaves
1 jalapeno, seeded and coarsely chopped
3 cloves garlic, smashed
1/3 cup lime juice (from 2 limes)
1 tbsp worcestershire sauce (use a vegetarian version, if that matters to you)
2 tsp agave or honey
2 tbsp canola oil
1/4 tsp salt

for the salad:
4 cups (loosely packed) baby spinach
4 cups (loosely packed) mixed greens
1 cup (cooked) black beans, drained and rinsed, if using canned
1/2 Haas avocado, sliced

Preheat oven to 425. Toss corn kernels, grape tomatoes, and squash with olive oil and season with several pinches of salt and lots of pepper. Spread in single layer on a baking sheet and roast for 20-25 minutes, or until squash is tender and tomatoes have collapsed, stirring a few times during roasting. Remove pan from oven and set aside to cool slightly.

Using a food processor or blender, pulse cilantro, jalapeno and garlic together until well minced. Add lime juice, worcestershire, agave, canola and salt and process to blend.

To compose salad, place spinach and mixed greens in serving bowl, top with black beans, roasted vegetables and avocado. Drizzle with some of the vinaigrette. Serve with remaining vinaigrette at the table.

Lentil Salad with Grapes, Apple and Feta

My mom is a magazine junkie. She subscribes to at least a dozen cooking and decorating magazines, and every year for Christmas she gifts my sister-in-law and myself each a handful of subscriptions. Sometimes I struggle to have time to read to read them all each month, but I always eventually work my way through them and tear out and save any recipes I might want to make. Each year, she switches up the magazines I receive, but out of those four or five, I always receive Living and Everyday Food. EDF is easily the magazine from which I try the most recipes.

The other day I was skimming through my binder of clippings and came across this lentil salad. I don't remember saving it, and I'll admit wasn't the most eye catching salad in terms of vibrancy, but I'm sure it was the ingredients that caused me to add it to my to-try collection. Lentils, feta, red grapes, walnuts and thyme are all things I absolutely love. Since I had everything on hand I decided to whip up this salad and then just because it seemed like it would be a nice addition, I included a green apple.

As I was in the middle of putting this together, I sampled a bite and at first, found it so-so. But once I seasoned it with salt, pepper and thyme and added the feta, the flavors just popped and became something I immensely enjoyed. This a wonderful make ahead salad, which can be stored in an airtight container container for up to 3 days. I tinkered with the quantities in order to make it 3 servings, so it would be perfect for people who like to make a salad to take for several days of work lunches. It holds up great and is just as delicious on day three.

Lentil Salad with Grapes, Apple and Feta
adapted from Everyday Food
serves 3

1 cup water
1/2 cup green or brown lentils, rinsed and picked over
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
2 tsp honey
2 tbsp olive oil
1 Granny Smith apple, seeded and diced
1 cup red grapes, halved
1 celery stalk, thinly sliced
1/3 cup toasted walnut pieces
1/3 cup crumbled feta (I used reduced fat)
1/2 tsp dried thyme
kosher salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste
baby spinach leaves, for serving (optional)

In a small saucepan, bring water and lentils to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer for about 20 minutes, or until tender but not mushy. Drain any remaining water, and rinse under cool water and drain again.

Meanwhile in a medium bowl, whisk together vinegar, lemon juice and honey. Next whisk in olive oil. Stir in apples, grapes, celery, walnuts and cooled lentils. Add feta and thyme and then season to taste with salt and pepper. If desired, serve on a small bed of spinach.

Parmesan Roasted Vegetable Salad with Creamy Basil Dressing

Hi there! It's been quite a while since I posted. Like all summer, actually. I didn't set out to take such a long break from blogging, but I have a good excuse, I think. My sweet little baby loves:

Life was starting to feel a little too hectic, and I decided I could give more to my family if I just stepped away from my blog for a while. But after a fantastic summer, I was beginning to really miss the creative outlet, so here I am. I want to thank my blogger friends who took the time to send me emails or post comments asking how I was or telling me I was missed. You ladies rock, and I am excited to be returning to such a great community.

On to the recipe I am sharing today. When Simply Life posted a Parmesan Roasted Potato and Squash recipe the other day, I immediately was inspired for that night's dinner.  I used yukon gold potatoes and yellow squash for the red potatoes and zucchini, tossed in grape tomatoes and then to make it more of a main dish, served it over greens with a tangy yogurt-basil dressing. I do want to note that by itself the dressing seems rather tart and strongy flavored, but mellows perfectly once it is mixed with the warm roasted veggies and cool salad greens.

I adored this salad, and since Sage was out of town when I made it, was lucky enough to get to eat it again for lunch the next day. I don't think to use roasted vegetables on salads too often, but this was such a wonderful reminder of how delicious they are!

Parmesan Roasted Vegetable Salad with Creamy Basil Dressing
Roasted Vegetables adapted from Big Girls Small Kitchen via Simply Life
serves 2-3

3 medium yukon gold potatoes, cut in 3/4 inch pieces
2 yellow squash, cut in 1 inch pieces
1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
olive oil
kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
1 tsp dried parsley
salad greens of choice- I used a spring mix

for the dressing:
1/2 cup plain greek yogurt
3 tbsp chopped fresh basil
2 garlic cloves, pressed
1/2 to whole small lemon, juiced
kosher salt and fresh ground pepper

Preheat over to 375 degrees. Place the potatoes, squash, tomatoes and cheese in a large bowl. Drizzle with just enough olive oil to coat veggies (about two tablespoons) and season with several pinches of salt, a generous amount of pepper and the parsley and toss to coat well.

Spread in a single layer on a parchment lined baking sheet, and roast for 20 minutes. Flip vegetables over and return to oven for another 15-20 minutes, until slightly browned.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl combine yogurt, basil, garlic and the juice of half a lemon. Season with salt and pepper. Taste and add remaining lemon juice if desired. Cover and refrigerate until vegetables are finished roasting.

To serve, place warm vegetables on top of a few handfuls of salad greens and drizzle with dressing.

Blueberry-Lemon Spelt Scones

   



We've started a new tradition in our house. Saturday mornings are now spent in the kitchen baking, just my three year old and I. He has so much fun helping with the measuring and stirring, plus it gets him special one-on-one time with me. And I really enjoy sharing with Beckett this hobby I've only recently come to love myself. It's crazy to me that I used to not even like to bake only a couple years ago, and now I keep five different types of flour on hand.

Currently my favorite flour to bake with is spelt. I wanted to give making scones a try, and set out to find a spelt scone recipe. The one I found was originally for raspberry scones, but I altered it slightly to include blueberries and lemon juice and zest. These were so wonderful and fluffy, and I thought the accent of lemon flavor really made these. Sweetened by agave, they are just lightly sweet.

This recipe called for scooping the batter in individual mounds, as opposed to shaping it into a large round and cutting into triangles. Since this was my first time making scones, I just went ahead with the method they instructed. The directions said to scoop 12 mounds of 1/3 cup each. Mine were slightly less than 1/3 cup and I only got 8. Since my alterations shouldn't have affected the amount of dough in any way, I'm not sure why I got less, but having less scones at my disposal is probably a good thing. Especially ones as fantastic as these were. 

   

Blueberry-Lemon Spelt Scones

adapted from Food & Wine, Erin McKenna

yields 8 scones

2 cups spelt flour

1 tbsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/3 cup canola oil, plus extra for brushing (I use a canola and olive oil blend)

1/3 cup agave

2 1/2 tsp fresh lemon juice

1 tbsp lemon zest

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/3 cup hot water

1 cup fresh blueberries

Preheat oven to 375. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a medium sized bowl, whisk the spelt with baking powder and salt. Next stir in the oil, agave, lemon juice and zest and vanilla. Stir in the hot water and then the blueberries.

Using a 1/3 measuring cup, scoop the batter into 8 mounds, placing them on the prepared baking sheet. Lightly brush the tops with oil.

Bake for 20 minutes, or until golden. Let the baking sheet cool completely on a cooling rack before removing scones.  

Black Eyed Pea Hummus

Back in December, I worked a lot at the flower shop for the holidays. My busier schedule meant I was left with the task of grocery shopping the week before Christmas on a Saturday. And I had no choice but to take along a very feisty (then) almost three year old- an activity I try to avoid at all costs. To make matters worse, I had to go to a different store than I normally shop because we had been given a very generous Publix gift card and I figured I ought to use it to balance out all the holiday gift shopping. Naturally, the Publix nearest to me is rather small and crowded, and always a complete madhouse.

So tired and pregnant, I got to go to the busiest grocery store- one that I'm not as familiar with as my normal store, the Saturday morning before a major holiday, with a toddler. Who hates riding in a shopping cart. Good times. In order to make the experience go as smooth as possible, there was some bribery on my part. And I pretty much bought anything he asked for, so long as it was healthy, unprocessed and something we could use. When he insisted we buy a bag of dried black eyes peas -an odd request, I thought- I didn't hesitate, because I had recently seen and saved this hummus recipe.

Five months (and one new family member) later, I actually got around to using those dried beans and trying this recipe. This was a very tasty version of hummus- although not terribly different in flavor from the chickpea hummus I regularly make. This would be just as perfect to have for a casual get together, as it was simply for afternoon snacking. Serve with veggies, tortilla strips, toasted pita wedges or whole grain crackers.


Black Eyed Pea Hummus
slightly adapted from Pink Parsley (as adapted from Carolina Cooking by Deborah Zumstein, originally 700 Dayton- The Mansion as Forseth Park)

I reduced the amount of olive oil slightly, but I believe it could be reduced a little more, subbing in a little of the cooking water from the beans. 

1 2/3 cup cooked black eyes peas (or 1- 16 oz. can, drained and rinsed)
2 large cloves garlic, smashed using the blade of a knife
kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
1/4 tsp paprika, plus additional for sprinkling
pinch cayenne pepper
1 tbsp minced fresh parsley
1/4 cup tahini, well stirred
1/4 cup olive oil (or less if desired), plus additional for drizzling
juice from 1 lemon

Reserve about a tablespoon of black eyed peas. Add remaining to the bowl of a food processor, along with garlic, a few pinches salt and several grinds of pepper, paprika and parsley. Process until almost fully ground.

Combine tahini, olive oil and lemon juice in a measuring cup. With machine running, pour tahini mixture into processor through the feed tube. Continue processing for 1 minute, until the mixture is smooth. If too thick, add water a few teaspoons at a time, until desired consistancy is reached. 

Transfer to serving bowl. If serving right away, sprinkle with paprika, drizzle with oil and scatter reserved black eyes peas on top. Otherwise, cover with plastic wrap and chill, garnishing just before serving.
  

Whole Wheat Orange Bundt Cake

     

After juicing the last oranges of the season from our tree this weekend, I got it in my head I wanted to use some of the juice to bake an orange bundt cake. Searching for such a recipe led me to a beautiful vegan blog, Leaves of Wheatgrass, and a wonderful sounding whole wheat orange bundt cake.

The only ingredient I didn't have on hand was orange extract, but I figured I'd use Grand Marnier. The discovery of an empty decanter led me to plan B and I went with orange zest instead. Later, once the cake was baked, I found that the original recipe that the one I followed was adapted from actually called for zest of two oranges. I'm not sure how much that yields, but I had substituted 1 tablespoon of zest for the 1 teaspoon extract and found it to have the perfect amount of orange flavor. 

I loved this cake and have had a hard time keeping myself out of it. It's very moist, lightly sweet and has that wonderful texture that whole wheat pastry flour lends. I glazed it with a very small amount of glaze that I made by mixing about 2 teaspoons of orange juice with a quarter cup confectioners sugar and an 1/8 teaspoon of vanilla extract, although truthfully, I'm not certain it even needed it. I think I'll try leaving it plain next time.

And there will definitely be a next time.

Whole Wheat Orange Bundt Cake
 barely adpated from Leaves of Wheatgrass, originally from VegKitchen

3 cups whole wheat pastry flour
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup canola oil (I used a canola/olive oil blend)
2 cups orange juice
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp orange zest

Preheat oven to 350. Oil and flour a 12 cup bundt pan very thoroughly. Set aside.

Stir together dry ingredients in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, mix together wet ingredients. Pour wet mixture into dry. Whisk just to combine, taking care not to over mix. 

Pour mixture into prepared bundt pan and tap it on the counter a few times to get rid of air bubbles. Bake on the middle oven rack for 45 minutes, or until cake is light golden brown and tester comes out mostly clean. 

Cool completely in pan before flipping out on a wire rack. Glaze as desired.

Spring Carrot Teacakes with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

During the recent time I spent out of the kitchen, I found myself itching to bake. Which amuses me, because when I started this blog not quite two years ago, I didn't even enjoy baking. I think because it was too messy (I have tidiness issues), too exact of a science (I like to play with recipes), but mostly because I just was wasn't a fan of sweets. I can tolerate a counter covered in flour now, and I've actually come to like sweets, unfortunately, more than I used to. My biggest problem now with baking is that I often try to make substitutions to make them a little better for us and then sometimes wind up with a ruined baked good. Nothing worse than a severely under sweetened or overly dense treat.

Because of this, I was excited to receive a copy of Green Market Baking Book: 100 Delicious Recipes for Naturally Sweet and Savory Treats, a lovely cookbook that embraces the concept of eating locally, seasonally and healthfully, and is composed of baked good recipes without the use of refined sugar or artificial sweeteners, many that are dairy-free, vegan or gluten-free. Normally a cookbook without photos of finished products -there are none, just charming illustrations of produce scattered throughout- would greatly disappoint me, but even without, I found myself wanting to try just about every recipe in the book.

First, I made a Honey Whole Wheat Ginger Cake that we loved (warm, for breakfast with coffee or as an afternoon snack with tea), that I somehow never got to photographing. After that, I decided on these carrot tea cakes. Now I probably love carrot cake more than the average person, but anyone who tried these agreed they were wonderful. They are absolutely delicious, and the "frosting," which is a simple maple and vanilla spiked cream cheese spread, really makes them awesome.

And these are only the first two recipes from the book. I have so many more I'm planning on trying.

Spring Carrot Teacakes with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting
from Green Market Baking Book by Laura C. Martin
makes 12 (I halved this recipe and still got 9)

for the cakes:
4 eggs
1 cup maple syrup, preferably Grade B
1 1/4 cups light olive oil
1/2 cup sour cream (I substituted non-fat greek yogurt)
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup spelt flour
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon
3 cup grated carrots
1 cup chopped nuts, such as walnuts or pecans (I used walnuts)

for the frosting:
12 oz cream cheese (I used the 1/3 less fat kind)
 1/4 cup maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 325.

Beat the eggs until frothy. In a separate bowl, mix the maple syrup, oil, sour cream or yogurt, lemon juice and vanilla extract. Add the syrup mixture to the eggs and beat for another minute.

Sift the flours, salt, baking powder and cinnamon. Add to the egg mixture and mix until just combined. Fold in the carrots and nuts.

Pour into cupcake liners in a muffin pan and bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean (mine took at least 5 minutes longer). 

To make the frosting:
Beat ingredients together until fluffy and spreadable. Use a generous dollop on top of each teacake.

Toasted Orzo with Kale and White Beans

And just like that, everything has suddenly gotten easier around my house. This past week, I did quite a bit of cooking, baked a couple times, went out with friends for lunch (with the baby, of course), and even managed to stay up past 9:30. Life is getting back to "normal" with the addition of one very sweet little person. (Oh, and speaking of our Maisy, I want to say thank you for the comments of kind words and congratulations with my last post.)

I can't tell you how happy I am to be back in my kitchen, cooking dinner every night. If Sage isn't home yet, it can be a little bit of a challenge with both a newborn and a three year old, but I'm working it out. The key is keeping the meals very simple. This recipe fit the bill perfectly- not a tremendous amount of prep work involved and it came together very quickly. It was a lovely meal that tasted of summer to me. Toasted whole wheat orzo with parmesan is tossed with lemony kale, white beans and grape tomatoes for a healthy but very flavorful dish.

You might have noticed kale doesn't normally make an appearance on this blog. The last time I cooked with it, over a year and a half ago, Sage insisted he didn't like it. Something made me buy it anyways this week, and guess what. He enjoyed it in this. Now I'm wondering what took me so long. I'm going to have a lot of kale catching up to do.

Toasted Orzo with Kale and White Beans
adapted from allrecipes
serves 2-3 as a meal

1 tbsp olive oil, divided
1 cup whole wheat orzo 
2 cups very hot vegetable stock, plus about a 1/3 cup for cooking the kale
1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan
kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 small bunch of kale, stems removed and coarsely chopped (about 4 cups)
1/4 tsp nutmeg
2 cups grape tomatoes (you could halve them, but to keep it easy, I left them whole)
1 (15.5 oz) can of Cannellini or other white beans, drained and rinsed
fresh lemon juice, to taste

Heat 1/2 tbsp of oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add orzo and toast 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the 2 cups hot stock and 1/4 tsp salt, stir, cover and reduce heat. Simmer for about 12 minutes, or until orzo is tender but still firm to bite and liquid is almost completely absorbed. Remove from heat, stir in parmesan and set aside.

While orzo simmers, heat remaining half tablespoon of oil in a large skillet. Add garlic and cook for a minute. Stir in kale, then add about 1/4 cup of vegetable stock, the nutmeg and several grinds of pepper. Cover and let cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, adding a splash of stock as needed. Add tomatoes and beans to skillet, recover, and cook until heated through, about 3 minutes.

Toss orzo with kale mixture. Add desired amount of lemon juice (my lemon yielded a 1/4 cup of juice, and I ended up using it all. I would probably only use 2-3 tablespoons next time. It was delicious, but a little on the tart side.) Serve warm.

Roasted Butternut Salad with Spinach, Avocado and Tahini Dressing

As I've reached the end of my pregnancy, I've run out of steam as far as the kitchen is involved. It's not that I haven't been cooking, I just haven't had my typical enthusiasm and motivation. We've had some very simple dinners, quite a few old standbys and a handful of meals that wound up just so-so.

Recently, completely uninspired, I diced up some sweet potatoes and popped them in the oven to roast, figuring it would give me time to decide what else I wanted to make. But once they were finished, the best I could come up with was an extremely simple salad. (Luckily, my family really likes sweet potatoes and salad, so no one complained.) At one point of the meal, I tossed some of my potatoes on top of my salad...and well, it was pretty fantastic. The warm roasted sweet potatoes with the salty feta and creamy avocado and the tangy Lemon-Tahini dressing- somehow that odd combination really worked.

So much that a week later I was wanting it again. I didn't have any more sweet potatoes, but I had a butternut squash. Instead of the bottled dressing I'd use the first time, I made a homemade version (based from this recipe) and scaled the simple salad back even more. It was a little different, as the butternut is a less starchy and the dressings weren't quite the same, but it was just as yummy. Sage liked it in a "perfect for a side dish" kind of way, while I was content for it to be my meal. But I'm more of a salad lover than he is anyhow. I wasn't going to blog it though, since the picture is nothing too special, (I missed the good light) however, after eating the cold leftovers yesterday and loving it all over again, I decided I needed to after all.

Roasted Butternut Salad with Spinach, Avocado and Tahini Dressing
serves 3-4

for the dressing:
1 large clove garlic, minced
juice from 1 small lemon*
2-3 tbsp tahini*
1 tbsp water
1 tbsp olive oil

1 medium butternut squash (about 2.25 lbs), peeled and diced
1 tbsp olive oil
kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
8 cups loose packed baby spinach (any tough stems removed)
1/4 cup crumbled feta (I'll bet goat cheese would be good too!)
1 1/2 Haas avocados, diced or sliced
thinly sliced red onion, soaked in ice water for 10 minutes, to garnish (I used a couple tbsps worth)

Preheat oven to 400. Toss squash with 1 tbsp olive oil and a few pinches of salt and several grinds of pepper on a baking sheet. Roast for about 20-25 minutes or until squash is tender, flipping half way through. Remove from oven.

While squash is roasting, prepare the dressing by combining the garlic and lemon juice. Whisk in the tahini. Next whisk in the water and olive oil. Set aside.

Once squash is done, toss with a little more than half of the dressing and set aside.

Assembled salad by arranging spinach in serving bowl and layering with warm butternut squash, avocado and feta and garnish with (well-drained) red onion. Serve remaining dressing on the side.

*I had a very juicy lemon apparently, which produced a 1/4 of a cup of juice, instead of the typical 2-3 tablespoons I'd normally get from a small lemon. Since the brand tahini I bought this time is a little more mild, I added an extra tablespoon of it. My resulting dressing tasted rather tart straight from the bowl, but once on the salad, it did not. Depending on the amount of juice your lemon provides and the strength of your tahini, you may wish to start with less tahini and add to taste.

Ginger Lime Tofu with Soba Noodles

For the longest time, I thought I hated ginger. Which I'm sure made my ginger-loving husband very sad. Luckily, I realized it was pickled ginger I didn't like (am I the only one who thinks it tastes like a cleaning product?). Since my discovery a while back that I do indeed like it, the fresh stuff frequently finds it's way into my recipes. The other night, we had a store bought ginger-sesame dressing with our salad, and after Sage oohed and aahed over it more than the dinner I'd actually made, it was pretty easy to figure out where I was getting the inspiration for the marinade for the next night's dinner.

I'd say I could measure the success of this meal by how much Sage and Beckett enjoyed this. Especially since neither of them were all that fond of tofu up until recent months. Beckett, who still insisted he doesn't like tofu before beginning to eat, actually ate all of it first. Before the noodles, mushrooms and broccoli- three of his favorite foods. And Sage called dibs on the leftovers for work the next day. To call this meal a hit with my family would be an understatement.

Ginger Lime Tofu with Soba Noodles 
3-4 servings

for the marinade/sauce:
1 1/2 tbsp fresh minced ginger
1 fat clove of garlic, minced
1/3 cup low sodium tamari (or soy sauce)
1 tbsp sesame oil
2 tbsp fresh lime juice
2 tbsp honey
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper

1 (16 oz) pkg firm tofu, pressed and cut into 1 inch cubes
1 (8 oz) box of soba noodles
2 tbsp canola or olive oil
4 cups broccoli florets (2 good sized crowns)
1 medium red bell pepper, sliced
4 oz. sliced button or cremini mushrooms
1 tsp cornstarch
2 tbsp cold water
sliced green onion and chopped cilantro, for serving

Mix marinade ingredients together. Add cubed tofu and toss to coat. Marinate for at least 1 hour.

Transfer tofu to a baking sheet, sprayed with cooking spray, reserving remaining marinade. Bake in oven preheated to 350 for 35 minutes, flipping half way through cook time.

About 15 minutes into baking of tofu, bring a pot of water to boil for the noodles and heat oil in a large skillet over medium. Cook noodles, according to package directions. Drain and set aside.

Once oil in skillet is hot, add broccoli. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Add bell pepper and cook for 3 minutes, then add mushrooms. Cook until vegetables are tender, about 5 more minutes.

Blend cornstarch with cold water. Pour remaining marinade into skillet with vegetables, and stir to coat. Add cornstarch mixture and bring to a boil. Once slightly thickened (a minute or two) add baked tofu.

Serve vegetables, tofu and sauce over noodles. Garnish with green onion and cilantro as desired.

Panko-Crusted Salmon

The first time we had this, it was a last minute decision. It was late and I needed to come up with something easy that wouldn't take long to prepare. I remembered this recipe I had bookmarked in my reader, and in hardly any time, we were sitting down for what looked to be a promising meal. After only the first bite, we knew it would have to made again, soon, so it could go on the blog. That was a month or two ago, and really, that was too long to wait. It was even better than I remembered.

I adapted the recipe to suit our family of three and also to compensate for the fact that the wild caught salmon fillets that are most easily accessible to us are around four ounces and not the six to eight ounces, as the recipe originally calls for. When we made it before, our salmon had the skin on, but this time it did not, so I will include the directions with, but if yours doesn't have it, just pick a bottom side.

If you enjoy salmon, I can't recommend enough that you give this a try. It's so simple to prepare that it is perfect for a weeknight meal, yet worthy of serving to guests. It may just be our new favorite way to eat salmon.

Panko-Crusted Salmon
adapted from The Barefoot Contessa, How Easy is That?, via Pink Parsley
serves 3

1/2 cup panko
2 tbsp minced fresh parsley
1 1/4 tsp lemon zest
kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
2 tbsp plus 2 tsp olive oil
3 (4 oz) salmon fillets
1 tbsp dijon mustard, divided
lemon wedges for serving

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

In a small bowl, combine panko, parsley, lemon zest, 1/4 tsp of salt, several grinds of pepper, and 1 tbsp plus 2 tsp of the olive oil. Mix until crumbs are evenly coated and set aside.

Place salmon fillet on cutting board (skin side down, if it has it). On the top of each fillet, spread 1 tsp of dijon mustard and season with salt and pepper. Press panko mixture thickly on top of each fillet.

Heat remaining tbsp of oil in an ovenproof skillet, such as a cast iron one, over medium-high heat. Once the oil is very hot, gently add the salmon fillets, skin-side down, and sear for 3 minutes, without turning.

Transfer pan to oven, and bake for about 4-5 minutes, or until salmon is nearly cooked through. Broil for an additional minute or two to brown the panko. Remove from the oven and loosely cover with foil. Allow to rest for 5 minutes and then serve with lemon wedges.

Peanut-Orange Marinated Tofu with Stir-Fry Vegetables

When it comes to tofu, I'm not very picky on how it's prepared. Sage and Beckett are another story. I've learned that if I making it at home, they only really care for it when it's been pressed, sliced thin, marinated simply in soy sauce with a touch of sesame oil and baked. Then I almost have to fight them for my share. While I'm pleased to have converted them into tofu-likers, I've been on the lookout for other marinating options I think they will enjoy just for some variety.

The other day, Heather at Where's the Beach shared a peanut marinade/sauce she used on some baked tofu and stir-fried vegetables and it sounded delicious. I had tofu on hand, and I got myself all excited about recreating it...and then I remembered I was out of soy sauce. Naturally, I'd just been to the grocery store that day, and I wasn't going to make a special trip back. Luckily, a couple days later Sage had to stop for something else, and I was able to have him grab it.

This was hands-down one of my favorite meals in recent history. I kept thinking about it for the remainder of the night and made sure to put a claim on the leftovers. Since Heather didn't give exact measurements, I just added the marinade ingredients to taste. I used vegetables I had on hand- carrots, snow peas, zucchini and celery- but you could use red pepper, broccoli, mushrooms, you name it. We had ours with rice, but it would be great over noodles, and if tofu isn't your thing, it would go wonderfully with chicken as well.

Peanut-Orange Marinated Tofu with Stir-Fry Vegetables
marinade/sauce adapted from Where's the Beach
3 generous servings, with the additon of a starch

for the marinade:
1/4 cup reduced sodium tamari (or soy sauce)
1/4 tsp creamy natural peanut butter
1 tbsp honey
1/3 cup fresh squeezed orange juice
1/2 tsp ground ginger

1 (16 oz) package extra-firm tofu, well pressed and cut into 1 inch cubes
1 tbsp olive oil (you could use peanut or canola if you prefer)
3 medium carrots, sliced
2 celery ribs, sliced 1/3 inch thick on the bias
1 medium zucchini, sliced into 1/3 inch thick half moons
3 green onions, sliced lengthwise and crosswise and separated
2 1/2 cups snow peas
brown or white rice, or noodles, for serving

Whisk together marinade ingredients until well blended. Toss tofu to coat and marinate for at least an hour.

Place tofu in a single layer on a baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray, and bake in a preheated oven of 350 for 35 minutes, flipping halfway through cooking time. Reserve remaining marinade.

After tofu has been baking for about 20 minutes, heat a wok (or large skillet) over medium-high heat. Add oil and once hot, add the carrots and celery. Use a wide, flat spatula to keep the vegetables moving. After a few minutes, add the zucchini and onion and cook (again keeping the vegetables moving) for about 10 minutes, or until vegetables have nearly reached desired tenderness. Add snow peas, baked tofu and remaining marinade, and cook for another few minutes. Remove from heat.

Serve over rice or noodles, as desired.

Caramelized Onion, Lentil and Carrot Soup

Not too long ago, I was going through a bunch of older magazines, and I came across a recipe for a Caramelized Onion and Lentil Soup. The combination made me think of Mujadara, only without the rice. But unlike that tasty dish, the soup used canned lentils, and onions cooked quickly at a high heat. It's the slowly caramelized onions which gave Mujadara its flavor, and I didn't see how the soup would be good without taking the time to cook the onions until they reached a deep golden color.

When a gloomy day called for soup, and I had the time to spend babysitting a pot of onions, I decided to make my own version, with the addition of carrots. Thinking back to Mujadara, I recalled how I had first garnished it with yogurt, but then later enjoyed the leftovers even more with a squeeze of lemon. For the soup, I went with the lemon, and it brightened and enhanced it wonderfully, along with a sprinkle of chopped parsley. I knew I'd love this, but I honestly wasn't sure if Sage would be too crazy for it. My worries were quite unnecessary, and the only problem with the soup was that I should've doubled it, since we ate in all in one sitting, along with some hot, crusty wheat bread.


This is my submission to the Charity Souper Bowl, hosted by Branny Boils Over, where for every soup entry (along with a dedication to a special animal) she will donate $1 to ASPCA. I dedicate this post to my greatly missed Soma. She was the first pet Sage and I ever had together, and the sweetest, most loving cat I have ever had. Unadoptable, we took her in as a foster, knowing she had feline leukemia and that she might only be with us for a short time. Instead she was with us for five years and brought me so much joy. It's been almost exactly three years since she lost her, and I still miss her so much every time I think of her.

Caramelized Onion, Lentil and Carrot Soup

serves 2-3

Inspired by a recipe I saw in a magazine but didn't save and my memories of the Mujadara from this post, originally adapted from Orangette

In my opinion, the squeeze of lemon is what really makes this soup, so I'd highly suggest not skipping it!

2 tbsp olive oil

3 medium yellow onions, thinly sliced (about 6 cups)

1 cup carrots in medium dice (3-4 carrots)

kosher salt and fresh ground pepper

2/3 cup green (or brown) lentils, rinsed and picked over

3 1/2 cups vegetable broth

chopped parsley, for serving

lemon wedges, for serving

Heat oil in a Dutch Oven or other large nonstick pot over medium heat. Add onions and cook, stirring often, until a deep golden brown, about 40 minutes. (You can add a tsp or two of water a few times during the caramelizing process if the bottom of the pan is becoming too brown.) Add carrots and a few pinches of salt and cook for an additional 5 minutes.

Use about a half cup of broth to deglaze the pot. Add remaining broth, lentils and a generous amount of ground pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until lentils are just tender, about 20-25 minutes.

Ladle into serving bowls, top with chopped parsley and serve with a lemon wedge or two.

Coconut Curry Shrimp with Rice Noodles

I absolutely adore Thai food, but when it comes to trying to recreate curries at home, I've never had much luck. Even when I've scouted out some the more authentic ingredients, the results have always just been so-so. But I'm not a quitter, so I keep on trying. I realized the other day I'd had the makings of a Thai-inspired dish, including a can of coconut milk that had been sitting there for over a month waiting for a purpose, so I decided to give it another shot.

Instead of following a recipe this time, I decided to just go with it, and see what I came up with. I did borrow the technique I saw somewhere of using the coconut cream from the top of the can to saute vegetables, which didn't wind up being any amazing step, but I suppose it saved a few calories. I used the vegetables I had on hand- which worked for us as mushrooms, broccoli and carrots are all ones we particularly love- but I do wish I would've had a red bell pepper instead of green. You could switch out the vegetables for the ones you like best.

I was really pleased with the final outcome. It was definitely my favorite attempt of a Thai curry so far and a meal we all enjoyed- even Beckett, a little to my surprise. This certainly isn't authentic, but it was really good nonetheless. I'll still on the search for the perfect at-home curry, but until then, this is will be my go-to recipe.

Coconut Curry Shrimp with Rice Noodles

serves 4

1 (13.5 oz) can of lite coconut milk, opened without shaking first
1 tbsp fresh minced ginger
3 cups small broccoli florets (from 1 large or 2 small crowns)
1 1/2 tbsp red curry paste (or more or less, depending on the brand you use and your personal tolerance for heat)
2 tsp fish sauce
2 tsp brown sugar
2 large carrots, sliced thin
1 small bell pepper, sliced thin and cut into 1 1/2 inch long pieces
4 oz. sliced cremini mushrooms
5 oz. thin rice noodles (vermicelli-style)
11 oz large shrimp, peeled, deveined and tails removed
2 tbsp lime juice
sliced green onions and chopped cilantro, for serving

Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Carefully scoop the cream from the top of the coconut milk and spoon into skillet. Add broccoli and ginger. Cook for 3 minutes.

In a small bowl, whisk together remaining coconut milk with curry paste (use less to start, you can always add more), sugar and fish sauce. Add coconut milk mixture to pan, along with carrots, bell pepper and mushrooms. Cook for 10 minutes, or until broccoli is getting close to being tender crisp.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to boil. Add noodles, cook for 2 minutes. Do not overcook. Drain and set aside. If they began to stick, you can rinse with water.

Once broccoli is nearly cooked to desired tenderness, taste sauce and stir in more curry paste if you'd like. Add shrimp to pan of vegetables, and cook until just cooked through, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in lime juice.

To serve, divide noodles between four serving bowls, top with shrimp and vegetables, spoon sauce over top and garnish with green onions and chopped cilantro.

Bulgur and Chickpeas with Roasted Broccoli and Sun Dried Tomatoes

Like most people, I indulged a little over the holidays. I never beat myself up over it and just get myself right back on track once Christmas is over (save New Year's Eve, of course). However, despite my best intentions, the week after Christmas I think I actually ate worse than the rest of the month of December put together. In that week alone, I ate out four times- where I did not always make meal choices I'm necessarily proud of- as well as a birthday cookout where I consumed way more Buffalo Chicken Dip than I should've.

My body was practically begging me for wholesome food, and that's where this simple, healthy meal came in. A warm grain-based salad of sorts, it makes up for it's slightly drab color by having plenty of flavor thanks to the sun-dried tomatoes, feta, garlic and lemon. It also contains chickpeas and roasted broccoli, which are big in our house. I really like the bulgur, but you could substitute quinoa or couscous easily by adjusting the cook time and amount of broth, as needed. It might not be company food, for it's an easy, very tasty and good-for-you weeknight meal.

Bulgur and Chickpeas with Roasted Broccoli and Sun-Dried Tomatoes

serves 4

3 1/2 cups broccoli florets (from 2-3 broccoli crowns)

2 tbsp olive oil, divided

kosher salt and fresh ground pepper

1/2 large red onion, chopped

2 large cloves garlic, minced

1 cup red bulgur

2 cups vegetable stock

1 (19 oz.) can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed (or 2 cups cooked chickpeas)

10 sun-dried tomatoes, reconstituted* using boiling water and coarsely chopped

2 tsp dried parsely flakes (2 tbsp chopped fresh)

half of lemon, juiced, plus extra wedges for serving

fat free/reduced fat feta, crumbled, for serving

Preheat oven to 375. Toss broccoli florets with 1 tbsp of the oil, a few pinches of salt and a generous amount of pepper. Spread onto a baking sheet and roast for about 20 minutes or until tender-crisp, shaking pan occasionally. Remove from oven and keep warm by tenting with foil.

Meanwhile, heat remaining tbsp of oil in a large straight sided skillet over medium. Add onion and cook until becoming soft, about 3 minutes. Add garlic and cook for another minute. Add bulgur to pan and toast for a few minutes, stirring often.

Add stock, chickpeas, sun-dried tomatoes, parsley and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat and simmer until liquid is absorbed and bulgur is tender, about 15 minutes. Stir in broccoli and adjust seasoning if needed (keeping in mind some fetas are quite salty).

Serve warm, each serving topped with a couple tablespoons of crumbled feta and a lemon wedge.

*Since the tomatoes go in along with the broth, I'm sure you could probably just skip the step of reconstituting them first. I was making this up as I went along, and reconstituted them before I knew for sure what I was doing with them, but I'm still writing it as I made it.

Sicilian Chickpea Spread

Now that my refrigerator is free of any Thanksgiving leftovers, (which I'm certain would not yet be the case if we had hosted, as we have done for the past 5 years), I am ready to move on to some simple, fresh foods. Like this Sicilian Chickpea Spread I made from a recipe that I recently found in the monthly flyer from my natural foods store. A creamy hummus-like dip, it uses toasted pine nuts in the place of tahini and gets a boost of flavor from roasted red pepper and fresh basil. While I originally whipped it up for snack to go with with cut veggies and pita, I discovered it makes a pretty awesome addition to a sandwich.

When putting this together, I used slightly less pine nuts and olive oil than it called for, just to reduce the fat by a teeny bit, and found it completely not lacking with these adjustments. Because this was too easy of recipe and I needed to complicate it somehow, I roasted my own red pepper, but you could use a jarred one and have this made in about five minutes. This spread can be eaten immediately, but I think it's even better once it's had a chance to chill a while.

Sicilian Chickpea Spread

adapted slightly from Moosewood Restaurant Simple Suppers (as found in NGR's November 2010 Store Flyer)

1/4 cup toasted pine nuts, toasted

1 (15.5 oz) can of chickpeas, drained

1 large red bell pepper, roasted, peeled, seeded

1 large garlic clove, peeled and smashed

3 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp lemon juice

1/3 cup packed basil leaves

kosher salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste

Place all ingredients in food processor, seasoning with a few pinches of salt and several grinds of pepper, and process for 2-3 minutes or until light and creamy. Taste and adjust salt and pepper, if needed. For best flavor, chill before serving.

Bulgur with Chickpeas, Tomato and Goat Cheese

This was one of those spur of the moment meals that wound up being quite lovely. There were limited fresh vegetables in the house but a well stocked pantry of a variety grains and beans. We've been enjoying bulgur lately, so I wanted to make something with that and our ever favorite chickpeas.

I tried quickly to find a recipe using both, but most seemed to be a summery warm/room temperature salad where the bulgur was cooked separately and then tossed with the other ingredients, or the heartier ones were flavored with spices I wasn't in the mood for that day. I just wanted something simple and comforting, and I wanted to cook the bulgur with the other ingredients so it would really absorb those flavors. I decided to wing it, and it came out exactly like I was imagining.

I didn't buy parsley this week at the market, because I've hardly been using it the past few weeks and I feel guilty tossing out a basically untouched bunch. (Naturally though, I could've used it often this week.) I used some dried, but I can only imagine fresh would make this even better. Goat cheese finished this off wonderfully (and I think feta would be nice too) but it would also be good just by itself. This is an easy, healthy weeknight meal, that reheated nicely for lunch the next day.

Bulgur with Chickpeas, Tomato and Goat Cheese

serves 3-4 as a meal

1 T olive oil

1/2 large chopped yellow onion (about 1 cup)

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 cup red bulgur

1 1/4 cup vegetable stock

1 (14.5 oz) can of diced petite tomatoes

1 (15.5 oz) can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed

2 tsp dried parsley (or 2 tbsp fresh)

kosher salt and fresh ground pepper

1 tbsp fresh lemon juice

goat cheese, for serving

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium. Add onion and cook until becoming soft, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook for another minute. Stir in bulgur and toast for several minutes, stirring frequently.

Add stock, tomatoes, dried parsley, chickpeas and season with salt and pepper. Stir to combine and bring to boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes or until bulgur is soft and liquid is absorbed.

Stir in lemon juice and top each serving with desired amount of crumbled goat cheese.

Lime Cilantro Butternut Squash with Black Beans and Barley

You know how when you are online shopping, and the site you are on is gracious enough to share with you other items "You might also like..." Only then its something not even remotely related and therefore not something you would like at all. Food blogs often have this little feature, and I am often amused by what the computer thinks are similar recipes. Like when it's a vegetable-laden risotto and it suggests you might also like banana nut bread. (Well, actually I would like both of those, but that's besides the point.)

Recently, I was reading a post on Cate's World Cooking that was about cupcakes, and I noticed the generated suggestion below it was for Lime Cilantro Sweet Potatoes and Black Beans. Now, I'm not really a sweets person or a fan of cupcakes, (so it's funny I clicked on that post at all,) but the sweet potatoes and black beans- that was up my alley. I didn't have the potatoes but I did have a butternut, and I find those interchangeable. I got all excited to have it for dinner that night...and then realized I was out of black beans.

As soon as my pantry was properly stocked with black beans once again, I made it, still opting for the substitution of butternut. I just loved the combination of lime, cilantro, roasted squash and beans. I chose to serve it over barley, and while I really liked the texture that they barley added, I do believe that next time I'll toss the barley with the rest of the salad and let it rest a little, just to soak up the flavors a bit. You could also skip the barley and stuff it into a whole wheat wrap or serve it over salad greens. Or of course, just eat it by itself. You might want to double it as well. With the barley, my version only made 2 dinner sized servings, and I'm pretty sure this would make great leftovers for lunch the next day.

Lime Cilantro Butternut Squash with Black Beans and Barley

adapted from Cate's World Cooking (originally from epicurious)

serves 2

1/2 cup pearl barley

1 1/2 cups water

5 cups peeled, seeded butternut squash in 3/4 inch dice (I got this from half of a 3.25 lb squash)

2 tbsp olive oil, divided

kosher salt

juice from 1 lime (about 3 1/2 tbsp)

zest from half of a lime

cayenne pepper, to taste

3 tbsp chopped cilantro

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

Bring barley and water to boil in a medium saucepan. Cover, reduce heat and simmer for 40-45 minutes or until barley is tender and water is absorbed.

Meanwhile, toss butternut with 1 1/2 tbsp of olive oil and a couple pinches of salt. Spread on a baking sheet and roast for 30 minutes or until tender, flipping halfway through cooking time.

In a medium bowl, whisk together remaining oil, lime juice, zest, a pinch or two of cayenne pepper and another pinch or two of salt. Add cilantro and black beans and roasted squash. Toss gently. Let rest slightly and serve warm over barley. Alternately, add barley along with squash and beans.