Spicy Zucchini "Noodles" with Sausage and Mushrooms

Posted by amanda in budget, easy, mushrooms, pasta, tomato, vegan, vegetable, vegetarian, zucchini

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M and I recently went on our honeymoon, which means we're coming back from a week of eating unlimited delicious food and downing tons of awesome girly drinks in the pool. It also means we're feeling pretty sluggish and a little heavier than we were when we left. So, when we got home, I decided to get back into cooking with tons of fresh vegetables. Since I'm mostly off work for the summer days, I've got lots of cooking time on my hands every other day. Even though it's crazy hot out these days, I was craving something warm and filling, so I decided I'd finally try out using zucchini for noodles.

You'll need:
2 or 3 zucchini
2 cups sliced mushrooms
1 can diced tomatoes (or dice your own if you've got them)
2 mild Yves meatless sausages (optional- these are obviously a lot healthier than pork sausages, but if you're not into meatless, anything like this would do)
1-2 tsp chili flakes (depending on how hot you like things)
1 clove garlic, minced
olive oil
salt/pepper

Optional: feta

Cut the stems off the zucchini, and slice them into noodle shaped/sized strips. You can use a food processor if you have one, but I used a potato peeler to peel off thin strips, then sliced the strips into narrower bits. Eliminate any middle parts that are too wet and seedy.

Put these zucchini "noodles" in a colander in the sink, or over a bowl, and salt them lightly and allow to drain for 30 mins to an hour. This causes the zukes to release extra water and stops them from getting soggy. If you want to go the extra mile, gather the drained noodles and wring them out in paper towel. Set aside.

While these are draining, make the "sauce" for your "noodles".
Start by sauteeing the mushrooms in your oil and garlic until they're nice and brown. Slice the sausages into thin rounds and add them in to the mix. Drain the water from the tomatoes and add them in as well. Season with chili flakes and let simmer for a few minutes.

Heat a little oil in a separate pan, and toss the zucchini in it for no more than a couple of minutes. Combine noodles and sauce in whichever pan is larger. Heat together for about 5 minutes until nicely combined.

Crumble some feta on top, and serve warm.

Enjoy!

A

Sparkling Summer Salad: Or, How I learned to stop slicing and love the mandolin,

Posted by amanda in apple, budget, celery, cilantro, cucumber, healthy, lemon, quick, recipe, salad, summer, vegan, vegetable, vegetarian

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I get a terrible feeling when I come to the end of a recipe I have all the ingredients for (ish) only to read the final instruction: crockpot-ing, immersion blending, dutch oven-ing...or any number of other final touches for which I don't have the right kitchen tool (yet!). So, having recently acquired a very handy mandolin from the previous owners of my new house (when someone leaves something in a cupboard still in the box, that's a housewarming gift right?), I've spent the better part of the afternoon julienning everything slice-able in my fridge (which is more than you'd think! Skinny cheese sticks anyone? Strawberry stick-men? Long long banana slices? No?).

The very tasty outcome of this little experiment is a pretty awesome summer salad: it's crunchy, tart, filling, and refreshing, and above all, easy (especially if you have a mandolin or any other kind of slicing tool).

You're gonna want:
A large bowl
A little bowl
A mandolin (you lucky duck)

In your big bowl toss together:

3 stalks of celery, sliced thick
half a cucumber, julienned
2 large carrots, peeled and julienned
2 granny smith (or other tart) apples, julienned [to do this, cut the apple into 4 sides, then attempt to slice - I kept the peels on)
l large handful of fresh cilantro, roughly chopped

In your small bowl mix:
1/2 cup lemon juice
1-2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp apple cider vinegar (optional)
1 tbsp sugar (also optional - i wanted my dressing a little sweeter than lemony)
large grain salt to taste (I used a citrus chili salt mix and it was perfect)
cracked black pepper to taste

Drizzle the dressing over your salad mix and stir around until well distributed. Cover and keep in the fridge for an hour to let the flavours combine if you have the time, or serve fresh immediately!

DIY Veggie Garden

Posted by CK in cucumber, gardening, peppers, vegetable

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For a while now, I've been thinking about starting my own veggie garden. I honestly didn't think it was possible since I live in an apartment, until I found a wonderful chart on Pinterest (see image below). Planting your own garden can be an excellent way to make sure you're eating organic food and to save money (bell peppers can get expensive if you use a lot).


Starting indoors was perfect for me. When summer comes I will easily be able to transplant my garden into big pots onto my balcony. But before I started, I still had a lot of questions I needed answered: what type of soil should I get? What vegetables would I be planting? How big should my pots be? So, I went to Walmart where they were very helpful in helping me choose everything I needed to get my garden started.

First, I chose to plant cucumbers and mini bell peppers. As I don't have a very good track record with keeping plants alive, I thought they would probably be the easiest to plant and take care of.  Note that you can definitely use the seeds of the veggies you have at home! I was just too lazy and decided to purchase them :P

The very helpful young man at Walmart suggested I use Organic Choice as my soil of choice. It's specific to vegetables, is organic and is good for starting indoors and transplanting outdoors - using the same soil.

Once you get home, plant your seeds into pots. I bought biodegradable pots that I can just plant directly into my bigger pots once it's time to transplant, but you can easily use plastic yogurt boxes (make sure you pierce holes at the bottom).

That's it! 3 easy steps! Now, set next to a window and watch your veggies grow! :) Make sure to do a little bit of research on your veggies before you plant your garden. I found out that cucumbers and bell peppers need a lot of water so should water them daily!

Stute Kitchen will be taking a 2 week break to take care of the garden! We'll see you then with new recipes and an update on the garden! :)

Have fun!!

- CK

100 calorie Sweet Potato and Zuke Latkes

Posted by amanda in breakfast, budget, easy, healthy, recipe, sweet potato, vegetable, vegetarian, zucchini

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3 100-cal latkes with astro biobest plain yogurt!

I love love love latkes and regularly order them when I'm out for brunch, but I know they're not the healthiest way to eat a potato. Some experimenting with different grate-ables led me to this combo, which significantly improves the nutrition factor, and minimizes the caloric intake. Plus, this is a great way to use zucchini (I'm always wondering what the heck to do when I'm not making it into a risotto or my mom's curry-zucchini soup (coming soon!).

You'll need:

1 medium zucchini (funny ends sliced off)
1 big sweet potato (peeled)
1/4 cup onion (chopped as finely as possible, unless you really love onion and want longer strings in your latkes)
1 large egg, lightly beaten
3 tbsp canola oil
salt and pepper to taste

optional: plain yogurt (instead of sour cream) or your favorite applesauce (if you're that kind of latke person...I've never understood the applesauce thing)

Do: (do these things in order - you want to prepare the batter RIGHT before cooking to keep things from getting soggy, and while cooking, pour off any excess liquid for the same reason)

Slice your zuke lengthwise and remove its seeds.
Grate your potato and zucchini (coarsely) either in a food processor (preferred) or by hand on a grater.
In a big bowl, mix your egg, onion, salt and pepper: stir in your grated veggies.
Heat half the oil in a large skillet (med-hi, but more med than high).
You're going to do this the same way you do pancakes: add a heaping tablespoon of the mixed ingredients to the skillet, flattening down a touch with your spoon (don't overdo this - let the latke be once it's frying).
When the edges start to lightly brown, flip the lakte, and cook the other side for about a minute or two - depending on your oven, the first side can take from 2-4 minutes (mine is slow).
Remove and rest on paper towels to absorb excess liquid.
Repeat until your batter is used up (if you need, use the remaining 1.5 tbsp of oil to refresh your skillet).

Should make about 24 latkes. If you want to reheat them later, bake them at 375 on a cookie sheet for about 5 minutes.

Serve hot and enjoy guilt-free.

Not feeling so Swell? Foods that can cause and cure inflammation, and one quick and dirty cure for when the going gets rough

Posted by amanda in bloating, cure, fruit, inflammation, tips, vegetable

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Increasingly my friends have been complaining about a wide variety of gastrointestinal discomforts, from things that are disabling as aggressive, but undiagnosable food allergies, to a basic discomfort impacting their ability to enjoy foods. Whether it's part of the process of aging (even just a little), or has something to do with the additives in most commercial foods (probably more than just a little), it's still unpleasant. One of the main complaints I hear from friends, family, and especially my own mouth, is the problem of bloating (which can be particularly painful) or more broadly, inflammation in general. Though everyone's relationship with food is a little bit different, and some foods may cause me instant pain while they don't affect you, here are some of the possible culprits, based on their makeup. Now, though inflammation and bloating aren't always the same thing, I'm going to put it all in one list, because if you suffer from either of these discomforts, you probably want to take all of these things into account.

Baddies for inflammation:

• Foods high in saturated or trans fats both cause inflammation and can cause that uncomfortable "too full" feeling
• Processed meats: between the nitrates and the sodium..bad news
• Deep fried foods, or foods cooked at extremely high temperatures
• High fructose foods, or foods with high sugar contents

Tip: Limit your omega-6 fatty acids intake by balancing it with omega-3s

Baddies for bloating:

• naturally gassy foods: broccoli, cauliflower, onions, legumes, cabbage and now you're going WHAT? healthy foods? Yes, in a word. These guys are all huge catalysts for me personally, and I'm a vegetarian, so that's bad news. I've learned that eating these foods more slowly, or in a still-nutritious cooked form, like roasting or steaming, reduces my suffering. The good news is that these foods will help with overall inflammation, but they might cause short term bloating until they've passed through your system. Pay attention to what you're eating around periods of bloating, and deteremine what causes you discomfort. For example, I've determined that only onions and broccoli actually cause me to bloat or feel stomach pain, so I know to be careful around these foods, while the others don't bother me at all. Learn your belly, in short.
• Foods containing artificial sweeteners (sorbitol, mannitol, and malitol), including protein supplements
• Carbonated drinks (kind of a no-brainer that one)
• Starchy foods in too-large quantities or too-fast consumption (pasta, rice, breads) - just eat these guys slowly and in moderation, as you should to control your sugar intake anyways
• Fatty foods - AGAIN...The lesson here is to focus on taking in healthy helpful fats, and balance out your bad fats with the good ones, which can actually improve the stomach situation.

Good guys, generally: 

• DRINK LOTS OF WATER
• fruits and veggies (particularly ones high in phytonutrients): some key foods are oranges, grapefruits, watermelons, strawberries and blueberries, lettuce, spinach, broccoli and cauliflower (i know i know...try eating a small serving, a half cup at a time, and avoid the bloat that can come along with huge helping of raw veggies), cucumbers (apparently, a natural diuretic!)
• Apparently, pineapple is an anti-inflammatory and bloating superfood that deserves independent recognition in this department because it's soooo SUPER
• increased fiber intake: you should be taking in 25-30 g of fiber a day, and very few people actually do. Take in both soluble and non-soluble fibers, in the forms of whole grains, fruits, veggies, and legumes (beans, etc), but make sure you're not taking in a whole lot of sugar or salt at the same time. One tip is to look for cereals with less than 5g of sugar in them.
• omega-3 fatty acids...these are good for so many different things, and this is one of them! Get them in supplement form, in fish, etc.
• walnuts, flax seed, canola oil 
•  chili peppers, peppermint, ginger, and garlic
• yogurt - this superfood helps good bacteria grow in your gut, and that good bacteria is a gas-killer. Again, check your labels and choose options with a little bit of fat (no-fat yogurt always has wayyy too much sugar, or artificial sweeteners that are a trigger for gas and inflammation) and a little bit of sugar. I like Astro Biobest for the time being. Personally, going off fat-free yogurt really improved my stomach discomforts.

Inflammation and bloating can be caused by different things in different people, so if limiting and taking in these foods don't improve your situation, you may have to start monitoring your diet even more carefully to find the culprit. Having recently improved my own situation though, let me say that it's really worth it to find what works, or doesn't for you.

Need a quick fix? I tried everything. I used to experience such bad pain that on one occasion I called paramedics because I thought my appendix was bursting (imagine my embarrassment when it turned out to be stomach gas :P). I've improved my diet, and the situation is much improved, but when you really need some help, particularly for stomach gas or rapid bloating up that's causing you serious discomfort, the only thing that ever worked, and continues to work, for me, was Eno, available in your local pharmacy. A la Don Draper, a bi-carbonate of soda can really help (though your fingers might be swollen in the morning ...sodium etc., not necessarily a friend for inflammation sufferers, but amazing for gas and bloating relief, and actually, makes a good antacid as well). It's been around since the 1850s, so you know it's good ;)

Roasted HeartBeets Valentines' Day Appetizer

Posted by amanda in appetizer, beet, budget, cheese, chevre, easy, healthy, mint, recipe, roast, valentines day, vegetable, vegetarian

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Special occasion dinners are divine, but they can also put a lot of pressure on people who are used to eating out of tupperware to make a multi-course meal on real dinnerware (i.e. me). I'm always on the lookout for fun appetizers that make me look like a better cook than I am, and this year I've happened upon a winning combination. The combination of foods isn't a terribly original one (beets and chevre have a long standing and delicious history), but this is a cute visual twist on a safe taste combination that will dress up a dinner in a heartbeat ;) Though this dish is commonly served as a salad, I think it makes an elegant appetizer. It would pair nicely with the lobster dinner we're recommending, and would also be dressed up prettily by a glass of champagne! A nice bonus: beets are great for, you guessed it, your heart.


You'll want to prep your parts about 1.5 hours before serving: the beets need to cool once roasted, and you want to assemble no more than 30 minutes before you serve, so things don't try out or unravel too dramatically). I actually roasted and cooled my beets a whole day before prepping my dish - slicing mint and spreading chevre takes only a minute, and you only need to spend as long arranging your plates as you actually want to - assembly takes about 5 minutes let's say)






Appetizer for 2


Ingredients:

• 2-3 medium sized beets, peeled
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• Sea Salt
• 2 sprigs of fresh mint (depending on your servings and your mint...basically you want about 2.5-3 mint leaves per plate)
• a small pat of chevre (I know that's an incredibly vague measurement designation, so check out the final picture..basically you want to put down a little pillow of chevre to "plant" your heart-shaped beets in, so it's pretty much up to you.)

"Heart-beets" before roasting

Don't:
-Wear white. These hearts bleed.


Do:


-Preheat your oven to 375 (make sure your rack is on the middle rung)


-Notice that your peeled beets are already somewhat heart shaped. Slice the beets top to bottom (preserving this natural shape in the slices) in pieces about 1/4 inch thick.


-Using the preexistent shape, make small cuts to shape your beet slices into hearts


-In a bowl, toss the beets in the olive oil until coated


-Sprinkle the coated beets with a few dashes of sea salt


-Lay them out on a Pyrex (glass type?) baking dish or pan. Try to make enough room so that each beet has a surface on the bottom of the pan


-Roast for 35-40 minutes, checking every 10 minutes or so. Skinnier slices will roast faster, so feel free to take them out early (my littler hearts took more like 15 minutes), thicker ones could take as long as 40 minutes. Stir the beets every 10 minutes. When they're done they'll look glazed, but not crispy.


-When they're done, chill the beets covered in the fridge, for an hour.


Before serving:


-Using a knife, lay down a pat or "pillow" of chevre on a little plate; try to mold the pat into an angle, so the hearts will be supported "up" by the chevre, as in the first picture in this post.


-Using your knife, dig little wedges into the cheese, to place the heart in. The beets will dye the chevre pink where they touch it, so you can get creative with that if you want.

Stirred and delicious final product

-Slice your mint into strips, removing the stems. If you want to make little rosebuds of mint, roll a leaf (or stack of leaves) into a tube and slice across the tube. Pinch the little rolls (little minty cinnamon bun shapes) and plant them in the chevre around the hearts, or strew them like confetti if you prefer. It'll be pretty anyways :)


-Love all serve all!

Kick Up Your Coleslaw

Posted by amanda in brocolli, budget, carrot, celery, coleslaw, daron richardson, do it for daron, easy, mayonaise, mental health, salad, vegetable, vegetarian, zazaza

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Tangy and tasty!

There's this little place in my neighborhood called Zazaza, and they make the tastiest, most creative pizzas I've ever had the pleasure of getting my paws on. While this isn't a story about them, you should totally check them out for eat-in or take-out. They're also great supporters of the Do It For Daron initiative involved in raising awareness about, and transforming the experience of youth mental health issue, born out of the tragic death of 14-year old Daron Richardson in November 2010.

So, Zazaza is a great community restaurant, full of great people, supporting an even better cause that warrants all the attention it can get in this difficult times for teens.

In addition to these excellent things, Zazaza serves a ridiculously delicious coleslaw with their pizzas. I don't even LIKE coleslaw, and I LOVE this coleslaw. I think it has to do with their dressing, which is the part I usually don't like about the average 'slaw (since from this blog, I'm sure you can deduce that I am seriously into vegetables).

My take on their dressing is as such..in a bowl mix together:

1/4 cup mayonnaise (or miracle whip or sandwich dressing or whatever you're into these days)
1/2 TBSP Apple cider vinegar (any other vinegar would also work, but would alter the flavor slightly, so experiment!)
1 TBSP whole grain mustard (my mustard option of choice, though I'm sure others are tasty...a spicy mustard would probably be divine!)
1/2 TBSP Brown sugar
1 TSP red pepper flakes (more if you're REALLy into kicky cole')
A couple of good cracks of black pepper

Spoonful by spoonful I used this to dress: [you're basically looking at being able to dress 6.5-7 cups of veggies  all told, so divide up as you like)
2 large celery stalks sliced thinly
2 large carrots sliced thinly
roughly 11oz of carrots (julienned), broccoli stalks (julienned) and red cabbage (sliced thinly)

I love broccoli coleslaw, so usually go heavy on it..of course proportions here are up to you, but this is the quantity of slaw content that the dressing is proportional to.

Tasty additions would be:
-dried cranberries
-flax seeds
-toasted almond slivers or slices

Cold Quinoa Salad

Posted by amanda in budget, celery, cucumber, dressing, easy, healthy, quinoa, recipe, salad, tomato, vegetable, vegetarian, yellow pepper

1 comments

The finished product~

After all that holiday cheer (turkey pies, bacon based salads, and wines of all kinds), it might be time to get back to basics...like vegetables, and primary colors. This cold quinoa salad has both of those things, and is really easy to make. Though he might just be trying to placate me, M said he liked this one too. I adapted this recipe from a recipe on a box of Casbah quinoa...it didn't look like it would have enough crunch or flavor as it was originally intended, so I adjusted some quantities and ingredients to make up for that:

Fluff your quinoa to give it texture and to
make it grainy

First, cook up your quinoa (225g, or 1.5 cups):
To do this, bring 3 cups of vegetable broth to a boil.
Then add your quinoa to the broth; stir, and reduce the heat to low. Allow this to cook for between 15-20 minutes: you want the water to be completely absorbed by the quinoa.
When cooked, fluff the quinoa with a fork.
Let the quinoa cool while you prepare the rest of the salad ingredients.






In a large bowl combine:

Half a cucumber (I prefer skin intact) - thickly sliced and quartered
3-4 stalks of celery  - sliced
1 quart grape tomatoes - halved
1 yellow pepper - roughly chopped
(half a red onion would probably delicious chopped into this, though I didn't do so myself)
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley (you could up this even, especially if you love parsley, and go to 1/2 cup)









In a small bowl, whisk together:

Apple Cider Dressing

1/4 cup virgin olive oil
4 tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
1.5 clove garlic, minced
2 tsp red pepper flakes
3 or 4 good cracks of black pepper



Once the quinoa has cooled, combine it with the vegetables. Drizzle the dressing over the mixture and let sit in the fridge for a few hours to let the flavours settle.

A nice touch would be to add 2 handfuls of fresh baby spinach to the mix before serving.

Delicious Quinoa and Sweet Potato Soup

Posted by CK in broccoli, easy, healthy, quinoa, recipe, sweet potato, vegetable, vegetarian

2 comments

Today we're welcoming my friend Sandra to our blog! Being an avid cook (and a great one at that), she's kindly agreed to share with us this AMAZING quinoa and sweet potato recipe!

**NOTE: The picture is one I took when I made the recipe last week - with broccoli addition (read on)**

I grew up in a traditional Lebanese household watching my mother cook. Almost every day after school I’d watch her wash, chop, season and stir meal after meal. She cooked a lot of Lebanese dishes from memory and seasoned our food based on taste. But she was curious and adventurous when it came to food, so it wasn’t uncommon for her to clip recipes out of magazines, newspapers or get recipes from friends that ended up on our kitchen table to eat.

I did not start to cook until I moved out of my parent’s home, which compared to most, was late in life. So it took a while for me to come into my own as a cook and realize I’d inherited my mom’s curiosity about food.
Teaching myself how to cook helped shape the way I approach making meals. I believe that if you can read you can cook; recipes are guides – don’t be afraid to experiment; I appreciate recipes that have a few basic ingredients that are easy to find and pack a lot of flavour; use spice instead of salt but if salt is a must, use it sparingly and try sea salt.

More recently, in an attempt to avoid gluten and not rely too heavily on rice- and corn-based products, I turned to quinoa as a side-dish substitute. Coincidently, my sister gave me a cookbook dedicated to quinoa-based dishes titled, Quinoa 365 by Patricia Green and Carolyn Hemming.

that's cheese on the bread, didn't
feel like grating it :P

I knew this super-grain was versatile but the cookbook really opened my eyes to the range of its possibilities. Quinoa will easily take on the flavour of a marinade or sauce, add texture or flavour depending on how it is used.

The recipe that I’m sharing is a soup that uses quinoa, sweet potato and coconut milk as its main ingredients. I’ve served this dish to friends and family with a broad range of eating habits and it has been a hit with all of them. It is simple to make and delicious, especially the day after it’s made and the flavours have a chance to fully blend.

I encourage readers to add their own twist once you feel you’ve mastered the original recipe. Maybe add roasted carrots, broccoli or cauliflower if you’re looking for more veggies. Bacon or a smoky sausage might add an interesting flavour and some extra protein.

Happy cooking!

Ingredients:

• 2 large sweet potatoes
• 2 Tbsp (30ml) water
• 1/2 cup each (125 ml) diced onion and quinoa
• 3 cups (750 ml) vegetable stock
• 1 cup (250 ml) coconut milk
• 1/4 tsp each (1 ml) cayenne pepper and chili powder
• 1/4 cup (60 ml) plain yogurt (optional as topping)

1. Wash, peel and cut the sweet potatoes into 2-3 inch pieces. Boil 5-6 minutes just until soft not mushy.
2. Place water and onion in a large saucepan over medium heat and cook until the onion softens, about 7 minutes.
3. Stir in the quinoa and vegetable stock and bring mixture to boil. Reduce heat to medium and cook for another 15 minutes, until the quinoa is cooked.
4. Add sweet potatoes to the saucepan. Puree the mixture either by hand blender or wait until cool and puree in 2 batches using a blender or food processor.
5. Return to low heat and stir in the coconut milk. Reheat slowly on low, adding the cayenne and chili powder.
6. Serve with yogurt (optional).

Thanks Sandra for the wonderful recipe! I actually added broccoli to mine and it was a success! :) Note that if you'd like to freeze this recipe, feel free to do so (it's just as good!!). Once you want to eat it, defrost it in the microwave (adding a dash of water) and then simmer it in a large pot until the soup is back to it's normal consistency.

Enjoy!

- CK

Exciting Post-Holiday Broccoli Salad Update!!

Posted by amanda in brocolli, budget, dressing, easy, mayonaise, salad, vegetable, vegetarian

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So a few months back I posted a slapdash version (not that there's anything wrong with slapdash...amirite?) of my very own personal momma's broccoli salad - one that's been a holiday favorite chez our house since she made it for the first time a few years ago. So, this Christmas she asked me to make it to save her some chopping time, and sent me the recipe (no slapdashery at Reddick family Christmas). Much to my dismay I realized how very different her salad actually was from the one I'd put together here. BUT this can be good! Cause that one's yummy...and so is this one!


This salad takes a little chopping time, but the ingredients keep nicely once chopped. After this Christmas no less than SEVERAL boys asked me for this recipe. BOYS asked for SALAD. So, you know it's good :)

This is the body of the salad, but the original also calls for bacon. Probably a shit ton of bacon.

1 large head broccoli (or, two small heads) (cut into small pieces)
2 cups red grapes (cut in half)
1 cup celery (large dice)
1/2 cup onion (minced as thin as you can)
2/3 cup slivered almonds (lightly toasted)

I doubled that for our family dinner of 13 guests. Notably, this salad keeps fairly well, and makes a great lunch, (probably even greater with aforementioned bacon) so it's nice to make up a double batch and keep it in the fridge.

Try not to think about the dressing too much: it's a combination of mayonnaise, sugar, and vinegar. The amounts are sort of up to personal taste, though it's mostly mayonnaise.


To dress the doubled ingredients, you're looking at roughly:

1 cup of mayonnaise
1/3 cup of sugar (though I always use a little less of this than even I call for here)
2 tablespoons of vinegar


Add it to your mix of veggies in spoonfuls only until it's as coated as you like it - I find that these amounts are the easiest to get the right tangy to sweet proportion of, but make a bit too much dressing to actually use. Another suggestion then, is to just keep these proportions in mind, and sort of wing it with the dressing, tasting as you go. It always turns out delicious, so don't sweat it :) I'll post a picture of mine the next time I make it (M ate all the leftovers, which is a very very good sign).




Add in the toasted almonds last.

 Happy (late) new year from Stute Kitchen! Stay tasty ;)

Guilt Free Rutabaga Fries

Posted by amanda in easy, healthy, recipe, roast, rutabaga, vegan, vegetable, vegetarian

0 comments

Love French Fries but hate the thought of all the starch, carbs, various bad fats and total lack of nutritional benefit that go along with them? Get ready for rutabaga. Move over potato - this vegetable is part of the brassica family, which means it rubs shoulders with brocolli, brussel sprouts, cauliflower, and other nutritional heavyweights. Plus, rutabagas have just under half the calories of an equal amount of potato, less than a third of the carbs, and pack a whole lot of nutritional punch.

Rutabagas are full of Vitamin C (keep that scurvy at bay), potassium (hello lower blood pressure and lowered stroke risk), and have also been linked to the reduction of easy bruising (who knew!) and cataract formation.

Here's how to make rutabaga a part of your life without resorting to mashing it or realizing you're eating an almost turnip:

The first cut is the deepest: How to peel a rutabaga

Ok so to be fair..I wasn't sure either. First of all, this is what they look like pre-preparation:

I know what you're thinking: "that is not a food". But it is! And a damned good one. To get into it:

1. Rinse any dirt or wax off the outside of your 'baga.

2. Using a sharp but not too large knife (paring is good, but make sure it feels right), slice a disc of peel off the top and bottom of the vegetable.

3. Using a [in my case, butcher's] knife, cut your rutabaga in half, using the flats you created in step 2 to help this out.

4. Peel the vegetable using your paring knife, removing any tough parts (though these are fine to eat, they just taste different).

To be in 'baga french fry heaven: (preheat your over to 450)

1. Cut your halves into either slim wedges or thick french fries (they'll shrink in the oven)

2. Boil them in a pot for 3-4 minutes (at a full boil)

3. In a large bowl, toss them with canola oil (1 tbsp, but just barely) and as much salt as you like.

4. Grind a generous amount of fresh pepper over the sliced rutabaga.

5. Lay slices on a baking sheet avoiding overlap - I needed to use two different cookie sheets at one time.

6. After about 15-20 minutes (depending on your over), flip your fries. Don't be alarmed if they're getting black in spots, they're likely not burning inside at all.

7. After another 10 minutes, taste test, and take 'em out when they're cooked to your liking.

This should make between 4-6 servings of side fries, depending on the size of your original rutabaga.

Serve hot, with ketchup, vinegar, salt, or any variation thereof, and thank yourself for doing your body a favor.

Rachel Ray's White Beans and Spinach Side Dish

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

1 comments

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

Easy Peasy Split Peas Soup!

Posted by amanda in easy, healthy, soup, vegan, vegetable

0 comments

OOOOhhh BABY those cold nights are coming on! Nothing says cozy on a crisp Fall evening like pea soup and a fuzzy blanket! Here's a super easy recipe courtesy of my Nanny!

Metric	Ingredients	Imperial
500 ml	split peas (green or yellow)	2 cup
2 L	cold water	8 cup
2	celery stalks, chopped	2
2	medium carrots, chopped	2
2	small onions, chopped	2
-	salt & pepper to taste	-

Rinse peas in colander with cold water. Place in large saucepan. Add cold water and bring to boil over medium-high heat. Lower the heat to simmer and cook, covered, for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until peas are soft.

Add celery, carrots, onions, salt and pepper. Bring back to boil and simmer, covered, for another 30 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

Serves 6

A word about Spaghetti Squash

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

0 comments

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

zucchini and yellow pepper risotto with A BASIL BONUS

Posted by amanda in cheese, easy, pasta, pepper, recipe, rice, vegetable, zucchini

3 comments

So I have recently begun working, by which I mean I have a real job that leaves me exhausted by 6pm and yearning for sleep by 10. Somewhere along the line between unemployed vagrant and underpaid (but profoundly grateful) teacher, I lost the time I used to spend chopping vegetables to my couch and tired feet. I realize that this is my own fault: granola bars and coffee do not a lunch make 5 days a week. I've been burning out because I'm just not feeding my furnace, so here's a recipe I'm returning to in a time of nutritional need. I used to make this for special occasions, but risotto is actually one of the best things for me to eat for lunch as my version is packed with nutrient rich vegetables and the benefit of fresh herbs, satisfying carbs and dairy protein. Besides, risotto is one of those rare foods that actually benefits from a microwave, or can be eaten cold, which suits my noontime cravings just fine. Also, sometimes I buy a whole basil plant and can't keep it alive so I just eat it, in this :)

FYI this is a little time consuming, and I would set aside an hour to do it, but it' worth the wait for the long term gain :) And it's an impressive dish when you're done, not to mention totally delicious.

INGREDIENTS:

• 4tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 4 zucchini. diced generously
• 1 large yellow pepper, seeded and diced
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped finely
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 3 1/2 cups dry risotto
• 4 tbsp dry white vermouth
• 7 cups vegetable broth, simmering
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter or margarine, room temperature
• EXTRA LARGE handful (or entire plant) of fresh basil, torn roughly
• 1 cup (freshly) grated parmesan cheese (I know it's expensive, but the real stuff will make such a different with the basil, it's really worth the extra dollar to buy a block of reggiano and grate it yourself)

DO!

Heat half your oil in a large skillet on high. When it's super hot, but not smoking hot, toss in your zucchini and peppers, and stir fry them for about 2-3 minutes, until they're starting to get a wee bit golden brown (gauge by the zukes, not the peppers). Add your garlic and stir it all together to fry for about 30 secs, then remove it all to a separate plate and set it aside for a spell.

Heat the rest of your oil in a heavy pot (this will eventually hold everything, so account for about 7 cups of rice); add the chopped onion and cook, stirring, until soft, which usually takes a good 2-5 minutes IMO. Add the risotto and cook it all together, stirring so it doesn't stick, for another vague 2-5 mintues (you want your risotto to become translucent, which has taken a wide range of times in my experience). Make sure the risotto is well coated with the olive oil.

Pour in your vermouth (delicious); let it bubble and steam away - this is its job, and I promise, not a waste of your vermouth :) Add ladleful by ladleful of hot almost boiling stock to your risotto pot, stirring each ladleful until it is absorbed by the rice. Do this until all your stock is finito. This should realistically take about 20-25 minutes. The rice will get creamier and tender, but should still be firm (think al dente pasta). It will get a little tough to stir.

When this is done, stir in your pre-cooked veggies, along with any of their escaped juices. Add in the butter/margarine, basil (LOTS OF BASIL) and grated parmesan, stirring gently (but forcefully, for the cheese spreadage). When mixed, drizzle with oil if you like, garnish generously with EVEN MORE BASIL(!) and serve hot.

Makes about 6 girl sized servings.

Roasty Toasty Asparagus

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

1 comments

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