A Sweet Crunchy Creamy Broccoli Salad

Posted by amanda in easy, healthy, quick, recipe, salad, side, vegetarian

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Speaking of the brassica family (weren't we?), broccoli is another hearty green you may have run out of ways to love. Never fear. My mom makes an excellent variation of this salad that involves sliced grapes and a more homemade dressing, so I'll post that as soon as I can get her on the horn, but for the time being, this is a reduced and speedier version of her salad.

You'll need

• 1 large head of brocolli, florets snapped or sliced off into small pieces and and with sections of the stalk sliced into disks
• 1/4 red onion, chopped up very small
• small handful sliced almonds (i like the ones that are chunky rather than flat)
• 1/3 cup dried cranberries (ideally not artificially flavored) - for a superfood variation, try dried goji berries!

poppyseed dressing of your choosing (recipe to come, thanks to mom)

Put all dry ingredients in a bowl, broccoli at the bottom. Pour on about 2tbsp dressing to start with, and stir it all with a wooden spoon. Add dressing to combined ingredients until your desired creaminess versus chunkiness is achieved. Serve cold. Makes 4 servings give or take. Refrigerate.





photos courtesy of thepetitfour.com and vegetarian-nutrition

Rachel Ray's White Beans and Spinach Side Dish

Posted by amanda in beans, budget, healthy, recipe, side, spinach, vegan, vegetable, vegetarian

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Ok, so dear Rachel serves this as a side, but I'd be lying if I didn't admit that I've both eaten and served it as a main dish because it is so freaking delicious, and FAST. Moreover, I bet you didn't think you'd ever hear the words "spinach" and "comfort food" in the same sentence. Well, you just did. Did I mention this whole dish should cost you about 3$ if you already have nutmeg and olive oil on hand? Well, it will.

For a healthy, filling, and totally comfy side to any meal (she recommends chicken - I say eat this somewhere between breakfast and desert):

You'll need:

• A can of white beans, rinsed and drained.
• As much spinach as you intend to eat in four servings, usually, a whole package of frozen spinach (500g) or a bag of spinach as sold in grocery stores. Really though, the proportion of beans to spinach depends on how much you love spinach. I fall into the "a lot" category. Adjust accordingly - this recipe might change your mind anyways. Spinach can be frozen and thawed, or fresh; baby spinach works wonderfully.
• Sliced garlic (about 2 cloves, minced is also fine)
• 2 tsp-tbsp olive oil
• 2 healthy tbsps of nutmeg (Rachel asks for less than this, but I've found that particularly when using frozen spinach, more is advisable)
• Salt and pepper to taste

Heat the olive oil in a skillet, and lightly fry the garlic on medium heat until golden.

Add beans and heat, stirring gently, for about 2-3 m.inutes.

Add fresh or thawed frozen spinach to pan and mix; about 5 minutes or until wilted or heated through.

Season with nutmeg, salt, and pepper.

Serve warm. Or cold. Or on pasta, rice, with tofu, or couscous. Or all the time. With everything.

Health note: White beans are rich in soluble fibre, and can help lower your cholesterol and your blood pressure. They're an excellent source of protein, and are rich in magnesium, which humans diets are increasingly deficient in. They are also a good source of iron (never mind all that spinach you just ate), and are recommended for people with a history of diabetes.

Speaking of spinach, remember that many nutrition experts recommend taking in some vitamin C with a vegetable iron source to absorb it more completely. Spinach, thankfully, is high in vitamin C, along with other important elements like calcium, Vitamin K, fiber and carotenoids.

Happy eating!

-A

Image from The Well-Seasoned Cook

Recipe derived (but adjusted) from Rachel Ray's excellent book Express Lane Meals

A word about Spaghetti Squash

Posted by amanda in budget, healthy, pasta, recipe, roast, side, vegan, vegetable, vegetarian

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With the peak season of cold nights and dark mornings, it's time to get thinking about excuses to keep your oven turned on all evening. One of my best excuses is roasting something really huge and hard....right. Not to mention, spaghetti squash gives you a great excuse to wield a really big knife after a long day of whiny teenagers and public transpo employees (or maybe that's just me). But really, spaghetti squash is worth the minimal effort it requires, and last forever in your fridge. Plus, it really does live up to its name as a pasta substitute. Your waistline, and more importantly, your life-long body will thank you. So will your wallet: spaghetti squash goes for about 79 cents a pound, but I've found it in season for 99 cents a squash.

Preparation:

1. By hook or by crook, slice a spaghetti squash into two halves, length-wise. Don't be dauntedl; this is difficult, but not impossible. My suggestion is to saw into it a bit with a bread knife to give your butcher's knife some leverage. Like I said, by hook or by crook. I usually use a man, but I think this is sad, so I keep on trying the two knife approach until he comes careening into the kitchen convinced I'm going to wind up short a hand.

2. Scoop out it's guts: remove seeds, stringy bits, and anything gooey looking from the middles of the halves - you're going to be roasting only the hard parts on its sides. Don't worry - they get nice and roasty in the oven over their long bake. For extra snacking, save the seeds and roast them simulatenously! Throw the rest of that junk out.

3. Light drizzle the exposed squash interior with olive oil or canola oil. Crack a generous amount of fresh pepper into it and season as you like - I generallys stick to salt and pepper, but part of me feels you could go nutmeggy with this baby and it would also be delish.

4. Place on a roasting pan (i.e. your most already-ruined cookie sheet...sugar leaks out of most vegetables and can leave dark burns on pans), inside-down (scooped-out side down), and bake for a good 45 minutes that way.

5. At the 45 minute mark, use tongs (or man) to flip the halves over so they are edible side upfor about 10-15 minutes, or until they are baked-looking enough for your liking. The flesh should be tender and easy to scrape with a fork. When scraped, noodly strings of squash will happen. Note: Generally, my squash comes out a little browner than in the image, which I really like.

This makes an excellent side with a dollop of sour cream or (my preference) plain yogurt. It's also commonly substituted in pasta dishes as is great with tomato sauce or with stir fried vegetables, or really with anything. Heart healthy and worth the one hard part, this is an easy and satisfying way to treat your body nice.

-A

Roasty Toasty Asparagus

Posted by amanda in asparagus, recipe, roast, side, vegetable, vegetarian

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I know what boys like, and it's certainly not long and green and it certainly doesn't make your pee smell funny. As far as they know anyways. In what looks like a life-long quest to make M get any vitamins at all, I'm learning to cook up vegetables (or sometimes not even cook! God forbid) in a way that makes them almost unrecognizable as part of the dreaded food group. Obviously, going veg meant that we were going to have the 'eat-your-vegetables' convo A-LOT. Since I started roasting though, I swear sometimes he doesn't know what hit him. Asparagus is a good place to start roasting because it's so versatile, and despite being a bit tricky to get 100% the way you want it, it makes for a pretty good side dish no matter how wet or charred it turns out. Believe me, I've tested the extremes of both of those categories only to determine that asparagus is always ALWAYS salvageable.

Preheat your oven to 450.

For the easiest roasting, just toss as much frozen chopped-in-half asparagus (arctic gardens for the win) as you like in a tablespoon- to two- of your favorite olive oil (for a really exciting evening, try a flavored one like basil or hot chilis). If you have the luxury of fresh asparagus, you might want to blanche it first, for easier (read, faster) roasting. Alternately, if you want'em really 'done', steam your asparagus over boiling water (using your steamer thingy), or cop out and boil it in a frying pan filled with 1-2 inches of water (flipping with tongs) for about 2 minutes; this will surely result in softer asparagus post-roasting, but that's certainly not always a bad thing. But be forewarned, boiling your vegetables (not to mention some of our other quick-fix vegetable habits) tends to rid them of their most nutritional qualities, so you if you've got the time, do steam them, for your own good . If you're a lemon person, toss in a squeeze to your own taste. Otherwise, minced garlic might make a nice addition. To top it off, I like a serious dose of fresh ground pepper on just about everything except ice cream. Personally, my favorite seasoning is a sea-salt/lemon-zest/dried chillies blend that I sprinkle VERY lightly over the whole shabang. Delicious, but watch that sodium boys and girls. It'll getcha.

To save your pan/cookie sheet from permanent charring, line it with foil, and spread your lightly seasoned asparagus on the pan or baking dish. Generally, try to keep them from touching each other too much (this is science that maximizes deliciousness). Roast at 450 abouts on the middle rack for 15 minutes or so. After this, I generally move my dish up to the top and broil the asparagus for another 10-15 minutes or so. That being said, times will entirely depend upon your oven and preferences, so the first time you do this, I recommend you watch with bated breath through the oven window and get a tan.

Asparagus cools down WAY too fast so you basically have to eat/serve this right away, though when I miss my window for serving it hot, it makes a fantastic addition to roasted baby potatoes and white beans in olive oil as a non-creamy pasta salad that offers up not only a veg, but a LEGUME! wild.

Now just make sure he doesn't pee in the shower. Enjoy!

-A

Image thanks to http://www.worldcommunitycookbook.org/season/guide/asparagus.html

Mom's Jeweled Moroccan Rice

Posted by amanda in ethnic food, fruit, recipe, rice, side, vegetarian

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Photograph: Suat Eman

Potlucks for the win. My friends love to throw a cheap girls night with a smorgasbord of delicious food, and this rice dish trumps potato salad and tortilla chips every time. It makes a statement at a sit down dinner as well, complementing everything from grilled fish to sweet roasted meats, to salads to your favorite white wine. Personally, I love it on its own, or even, gasp, for breakfast: the fruity sweet kick of the dried fruit plus the satisfying feeling of hot rice does it for me every time. Try it out on your friends: it's so pretty, they'll never guess how easy it was.

Serves 4

4 cups cooked rice (your favorite kind. Certain rices will turn out a much chewier dish (hear me rice-for-breakfast lovers), while others will result in drier, more dinner appropriate dishes. Really, it's just a good excuse to try this dish several times :) Of course, consistency will also vary according to how much water you cook your rice in)

1tbsp olive oil

1 cup dried fruit (apricots, raisins, dates...dried cranberries make a great tart addition as well)

.5 tsp cinnamon (because it's so good for you, throw in a little extra if you love cinnamon as much as I do)

.5tsp ginger

.5tsp cumin

.5tsp salt

slivered almonds toasted

optional: garnish with toasted coconut

• cut fruit to size of raisins
• soak all fruits in hot water
• in a non stick frying pan, sautee rice in oil
• add spices, stir well
• add fruit and .25cup of fruit water
• warm through
• stir in toasted almonds
• garnish with coconut if desired

Serve however you like, hot, cold, or somewhere in the middle