Recipe of the Weeks: Summer Succotash

This is the easiest summer side dish that will please pretty much any foodie crowd!  It's gluten-free, soy free, and vegetarian with a vegan option.  It is also made up of things that are chilling in your freezer or veggie drawer, so no last minute trips to the grocery store!  Hurrah!  I brought this to a BBQ on Sunday at Bestest Best's house and it was a success!  See there, I'm totally testing recipes for you now.

Summer Succotash adapted from Everyday Food
Serves 6-8 side dishers
Ingredients:
1 bag of organic frozen corn, defrosted
1 can drained and rinsed or 2 cups frozen and defrosted black eyed peas or lima beans
1 bunch of green onions, sliced into 1/4 inch pieces
1/2 teaspoon celery seed
3/4 teaspoon paprika
Salt and pepper
1/4 cup butter or vegan margarine

In a large saute pan over medium heat melt your butter or vegan margarine and add the green onions.  It's important to not let the butter get brown in this recipe, it will impart a nutty flavor that isn't very succotash-y, so keep the pan moving and lower the heat if in doubt!  After they begin to soften add the paprika and celery seed.  Add the corn and saute until heated through.  Season with salt and pepper.  Add your lima beans or black eyed peas and heat those through, as well.  Dish it up!  This can be served hot or at room temperature!  Pat yourself on the back for being most excellent.

Recipe of the Weeks: Leek, Arugula, and Italian Sausage Pasta

It's been a little while since I've posted a recipe!  The reason is: I HAVEN'T BEEN COOKING.  At all.  This is a pretty sorry state of affairs for: my health, my pocketbook, and Shug. 

Eating out (or just super snacking, which is all we do some evenings for sustenance) definitely makes it simpler for one evening to not have to whip something up for dinner, but our food bills are astronomical when we eat out three or four times a week!  It is so crazy how just eating at home can cut back on that spending!  And it's not like we're eating ramen and Tang when we eat at home, we have halibut and free range buffalo, organic produce and gluten free everything.  These are not "bargain items" from the grocer, but they are still less expensive than eating these items in a restaurant.

Cooking for yourself also allows you total control over what goes into your food and how it's prepared.  As a gluten-freegan, this can mean the difference between unknowingly eating wheat-contaminated food or having a perfect, wheat-free meal.  As a person concerned about the health of her family, cooking myself means I can use less salt, more extra virgin olive oil and veggies when I prep our meals.

BUT, we all know that real life doesn't care if you've had the longest day ever.  Trying to motivate myself to make dinner some nights just ain't happening.  This little recipe is ready in about half an hour and prep is pretty minimal!  All of the ingredients can keep well in the fridge or pantry, so this is something that can be shopped for on the weekend and whipped up whenever!

Leek, Arugula, and Italian Sausage Pasta
Adapted from Everyday Food, May 2011
Feeds 4 real life people
Ingredients:
3/4 lb sweet Italian sausage with the casings removed or vegan sausage of any kind
3 large leeks, sliced and cleaned (I'll tell you how to do this in a sec!)
1/2 cup - 3/4 cup dry white wine
2 T butter or vegan margarine
Salt and pepper
3/4 pound gluten free curly pasta, I especially like the quinoa pasta!
4 handfuls of baby arugula, rinsed and patted dry
Grated Parmesan or nutritional yeast, if you're vegan

To clean the leeks, slice them down the middle lengthwise and then chop into little 1/4 inch half-moons all the way to the light green part of the leek (the darker green tops are tough and woody.)  Have a big bowl nearby and dump all of the chopped pieces in, dirt and all.  Next go to the sink and run cold water into the bowl, using your fingers to swish the leeks around to dislodge any dirt, until the bowl is almost filled.  I let them them hang out for a sec, while I'm prepping everything else, to allow the dirt to settle to the bottom of the bowl.  After the dirt has settled, take a strainer and scoop out the leeks and give them one more quick rinse under some cold water.  Drain on some paper towels and you should be good to go and your leeks clean as a whistle!

In a large skillet over medium heat, throw in your sausage and break up with a spatula until it starts to brown.  Throw in the leeks and keep them moving in the pan until the leeks soften.  Get a large pan of salted water going to boil your pasta while your leeks and sausage are at work.  Once the water is at a rolling boil, add your pasta.

Add your white wine to the sausage and leek mixture (be sure to test a glass of this while you're prepping, you wouldn't want to use rotten wine;)) and stir until almost evaporated.  Add your butter and stir until melted and turn off the heat.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Cover and check your pasta!  Is it al dente?  Good!  Pour about a 1/2 cup of the pasta water into your leek and sausage mixture and drain the rest!  Add the drained pasta to the leek goodness and stir gently until the pasta is coated!  Add the arugula one handful at a time and fold gently until it is all incorporated and starting to slightly wilt. 

Portion out your pasta and dress it up with a shaving of Parm or a sprinkle of nutritional yeast!  Eat up!

Recipe of the Weeks: The BEST Gluten-Free AND Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies

Having to eat gluten-free means I've had my fair share of mediocre (and sometimes downright nasty) cookies.  Not being able to eat wheat meant I had to give up one of my most favorite foods on the planet: perfect chocolate chip cookies my old roommate, 11, used to make.  11's chocolate chip recipe was usually tripled and the roommates chose to nourish themselves on these magical cookies for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and our obligatory midnight snacks.  It was chocolate chip cookie nirvana = the perfect combination of chewy and crunchy.

After being diagnosed with Celiac's Disease, these cookies were on the roster of things I could never touch again.  My stomach cried for weeks over this loss.  After that it was one dry, crumbly, gluten-free cookie after the other....Until I found Erin McKenna's recipe for gluten-free and vegan chocolate chip cookies!

My first few attempts with her recipe were great: delicious and definitely worth the cost of the cookbook alone, but the texture and taste were still a little bit less than "the best."  So after multiple batches of this recipe with a few of my own tweaks, I've finally figured out the alchemy behind the BEST gluten-free and vegan chocolate chip cookie!

The Best Gluten-Free and Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
Modified from Erin McKenna's babycakes Cookbook
Makes ~28 cookies
Ingredients:
1 cup melted coconut oil (just portion out and zap in the microwave to melt)
1 pre-packaged 4 ounce unsweetened applesauce cup, I like Santa Cruz Organics
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups evaporated cane juice
2 cups Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free All Purpose Baking Flour
1/4 cup flax meal ground from fresh flax seed
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons xanthan gum
1 cup vegan chocolate chips

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees.  If you have a convection bake option, now's the time to use it!  Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.  Be sure not to use wax paper!  Also, for those of you bakers who swear by your Silpat, don't whip it out this time.  For some reason the parchment paper helps with crisping up the edges of the cookie perfectly while absorbing a little of the coconut oil.

A note about measuring: use your "dry measuring cups" (what you'd use to measure the flour or sugar) for your liquids (like your coconut oil) in this recipe!  Using a "wet measuring cup" screws up the proportions!

You need two larger bowls for this recipe, so start with your wet ingredients in one and dry in the other.  In the dry bowl add your Bob's Red Mill flour, flax meal, baking soda, and xanthan gum.  *A side note on the flax seed: I had used pre-ground seed and it left my cookies tasting a little bitter.  I found a great way to combat this is to grind your flax seed right before you use them!  Either in a dry blender or a clean coffee grinder, pulse until the seeds are powdery and light.  Be sure to measure ~1/3 cup to grind, since some of the seeds will get stuck to the blade and sides.  Of course, only use 1/4 in your recipe;)!*

In the other bowl, combine the melted coconut oil, applesauce, salt, vanilla extract, and evaporated cane juice (another tip: if you want to save a little moolah and are are ok with using refined sugar you can replace the evaporated cane juice with sugar!  The amount is the same and our bodies and tongues really can't tell the difference between the two!)  Mix until the sugar begins to dissolve.  Add the dry ingredients to the wet and combine with a rubber spatula until well combined.  Fold in the chocolate chips and incorporate into the mixture well.

Using a tablespoon, portion out a heaping scoop and shape lightly into a ball on your parchment paper.  Don't crowd these little puppies, they realllllllly spread out when baking!  I suggest no more than 9 cookies per 14x17 inch cookie sheet.  Place on the middle and bottom racks of your oven and bake for 9 minutes.  Then rotate the sheets 180 degrees and switch the pans on the racks (the bottom pan goes to the top rack and vice versa for the remainder of the baking time.)  Bake for another 6-7 minutes until the edges of the cookies are slightly crisp and starting to turn golden.  The centers should still be soft!

Remove from the oven and let cool on the cookie sheet for an additional 10 minutes then remove with a spatula to a wire rack to cool completely!  You can store these in an airtight container for up to 4 days OR you can freeze them for up to two months!  Enjoy your perfect chocolate chip cookie!

Recipe of the Weeks: Egg and Asparagus with Gluten Free Pasta

There is nothing more difficult for me than to come home after a super-long day and get creative about what's for dinner.  I'm a little ashamed to admit that some nights, all our dinner consists of is cheese and crackers or chips and salsa!

This quick and simple recipe will have you enjoying a healthy meal in under 15 minutes!  Really!  It's filling, healthy, and can be customized for your resident wheat-eater (with regular pasta), carnivore (add shredded chicken breast or pancetta), or vegan (by omitting the cheese and egg and adding walnut pieces and nutritional yeast!) Shug and I, the culinary moderates we are, like the ovo-lacto vegetarian version of this!

Egg and Asparagus with Gluten Free Pasta 
Serves 4 hungries
Ingredients:
3/4 -1 pound gluten free pasta, any shape
Salt and pepper
Extra virgin olive oil
1 pound fresh asparagus, rinsed and woody ends trimmed
4 organic eggs
2 T butter
1/2 - 3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Get a large pot of generously salted water boiling over medium high heat.  Add a squirt of olive oil to help the gluten free pasta from sticking to each other.  Once the water is at a full boil, add your pasta and stir well.

Take your trimmed asparagus and cut in half or in thirds, depending on their size.  You want easily munchable pieces!  When the pasta is about 3-4 minutes away from being "al dente," throw your asparagus pieces in to the boiling pot with your pasta.  Give the pot another good stir and get working on those eggs!

In a large saucepan, heat a generous squirt of the olive oil over medium heat.  Crack and add your eggs gently to the pan, making sure they don't run together.  While the eggs are cooking, test your pasta and asparagus.  The pasta should be soft, but not mushy and the asparagus tender-crisp.  Drain your pasta and asparagus, but leave about 1/2 cup of the cooking water in the bottom of the pan, this will help make the sauce!

Add the butter and 2 T of olive oil to the pasta mixture.  Add salt and pepper to taste and throw in your Parmesan cheese.  Be sure to reserve a little cheese for the garnish!  Your eggs should be cooked to your liking (we like sunny side up!)  Serve up the pasta and asparagus and top each portion with an egg, another sprinkling of Parm, and pepper!  Eat up!  You've had a loooooong day;)!

Recipe of the Weeks: Broccolini and Spinach Frittata

We have been in need of some super-quick and easy to make meals these past few days and one of our favorite go-to recipes is frittata!  Frittata is essentially a fancy-schmancy omelet that can handle more savory add-ins like potatoes, broccoli, and whole asparagus.

The 'Teef household really likes to up the veggie power in our frittatas!  One of our favorite combinations is broccolini, spinach, onions, and sun-dried tomatoes!  You really can't mess up with whatever you want to throw into your recipe!

Broccolini and Spinach Frittata
Serves 4-6 starving students
Ingredients:
6 eggs, cracked and beaten
1 T extra virgin olive oil
1 small onion, peeled and diced
1 bunch broccolini, cleaned and bottoms of stems trimmed (don't cut off the whole stem, they are yummy and tender!)
1 big ol' handful of fresh spinach, rinsed and dried
Salt and pepper
1/3 cup sliced sun-dried tomatoes, we like ours packed in olive oil
Parmesan cheese for garnish
Balsamic vinegar for garnish 

Preheat your oven's broiler.  Make sure you use a saute pan that has an oven-proof handle, since it will need to go under the broiler for the last bit of cooking.  I use my 12-inch, nonstick, oven safe saute pan and it works like a charm.

Heat your saute pan over medium heat and add the olive oil.  Add the onions and saute until the onions become translucent.  Add the broccolini and saute until the long stalks begin to get tender.  Add a little bit of salt and pepper.  While the broccolini is working, add a little salt and pepper to your eggs.  Throw in the spinach just before you pour the eggs over the veggies.  I like to let the spinach wilt just a little before I add the eggs.

Now here's the trick: arrange the veggies evenly in the pan before you add the eggs.  You aren't going to get to stir the pan after that!  Once you get the veggies arranged evenly, poor the beaten eggs over the entire pan.  Tilt the pan whichever way you need to evenly distribute the awesome eggs!

Before the eggs set, sprinkle your tomatoes over the mixture.  It's ok if some of the veggies poke out and are not completely covered by the eggs.  Once the bottom of your frittata is set (you can check carefully with a spatula) put the pan under the broiler for about 3-5 minutes or until the top is set and slightly browned in a few spots.

Remove from the oven (don't forget your pot holder!) and garnish with Parmesan cheese and a drizzle of Balsamic vinegar and serve along side a fresh green salad with a little olive oil and a squidge of that Balsamic you were just using...!  Enjoy!

Hope you have a lovely weekend!

xo.

Recipe of the Week: Chocolate Covered Bacon!

Things that I know: 

1) Bacon is delicious.

2) Chocolate is delicious, as well.

3) Serving them together has already been done.

4) In culinary circles bacon is passe.

5) I choose to ignore #3 and #4!

Recipe of the Weeks: Savory Oatmeal

I don't know where your position on this planet is, but in my neck of the woods it's been frrrrrrrreezing!  I hope you are all staying warm and snugs and not having to shovel too much snow!

In our crazy post-holiday, hit-the-ground-running lives, Shug and I have turned to this dish a number of times for our evening meal: savory oatmeal.  Now before you conjure up images of gelatinous bricks of tepid too-sweet Quaker Instant Oatmeal, let me allay your fears!  Savory oatmeal is more of a heartier cousin to risotto.  (And we all know how I feel about risotto, it's adult mac and cheese!)  

Savory oatmeal is also a snap to make and the variations are endless in how you choose to gussy it up!  While Shug and I try to enjoy our savory oatmeal vegetarian most of the time, you can easily create a vegan oatmeal by adding vegan Parmesan cheese, miso, and herbs.  You can cater to the carnivore's palate by adding bits of bacon or shredded pancetta.

I'll give you our favorite variation, we make ours with Irish Steel Cut Oats that adds a little more to the cooking time, but is a heartier and chewier version of rolled oats.

Recipe of the Week: Fried Green Tomatoes and Fresh Tomato Basil Salad

My ability to prepare dinner these past few weeks has been grossly hindered by my "job."  When I say "job," it doesn't really pertain to an actual 9-5 gig where I show up, do my assigned tasks, and then get fair monetary reward for completing my tasks in a timely manner.  No, my "job" is actually an internship where I was SUPPOSED to show up, observe and learn, make a few copies, and get a laughably small sum of money in exchange for my copy machine prowess.

Mind you, I moved from "copy machine intern" to "the idiot who will work 12-hour days because she doesn't have a choice" and "the if we don't want to deal with it let the intern person" in a matter of weeks, with a case load and list of difficult clients even Dr. Phil would balk at.  I've been the anchor on some clients and situations where I KNOW I WASN'T READY for the stress and psychological support these clients needed, because I'M JUST AN INTERN.  My supervisor just goes, "What a great DEAL you are!" as she rakes in client fees hand over fist while paying me my $3.78 hourly.  I am doing some serious grown-up work for the laughably small sum of an intern.  None of my classmates have had this issue.  Poop.

It hurts something awful to think that I can make more at an entry-level position at a fast food restaurant.  And get normal hours. 

What a rant!  I'm done, now on to the food!  That will make it alllllll better.  I know it.

Anyway, my new "salary" also necessitates a real vice-grip on the old pocketbook.  Shug and I have been coming up with creative ways to only go grocery shopping every two weeks, longer if we can manage!  With the bounty of tomatoes our garden has been producing, we've had some serious tomato meals in the past few weeks.  Our new favorite is Fried Green Tomatoes, it's lighting-fast, and sooooo delicious!

Fried Green Tomatoes
Serves 2 hungry underpaid serfs
Ingredients:
4-5 large green tomatoes, still firm
Salt and Pepper
Extra virgin olive oil
Cornmeal

Slice the tomatoes into 1/2 -3/4 inch thick slices.  Place on a plate and season each side with salt and pepper.  Let the tomato slices start to "sweat" a little so the cornmeal will adhere nicely.

Coat the bottom of a saute pan generously with the olive oil and heat over medium-high.  While the oil is heating dredge the tomato slices the the cornmeal until lightly coated.  When the oil is hot add a layer of tomatoes to the pan and fry until golden brown on one side.  Flip the slices and continue to cook until golden brown on both sides and softened.

Place on a clean paper towel to drain and serve with salsa or your favorite dipping sauce!  We like it as a base for fresh mozzarella slices and fresh basil with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar...!

Tomato Basil Salad
Serves 2-4
Ingredients:
4-5 ripe tomatoes, clean and cut into bite-size chunks
3 tablespoons fresh basil, chiffonaded
Salt and Pepper
Extra virgin olive oil
Balsamic vinegar

Throw all in a bowl and toss well.  Let sit for a few minutes if you can to let the flavors marry.  Or just stuff your hungry face.

Recipe of the Week: Herb Potatoes with a Mustard Sauce

First and foremost, I'd like to thank everyone who emailed and commented on my "Paris Shoe Conundrum!"  It really did help with my packing plans.  I have one little backpack to try to squish my bridesmaids dress and heels ALONG with enough clothes to last me five days...I'll keep you posted on the strength of the seams in my pack!

Secondly, sorry for the radio silence.  I'm pretty diligent about posting, but sometimes you get a call at three in the morning for work and you don't get to come home until five that evening.  THIS is why I am crossing an ocean to go to a wedding and travel with Shug.  Our boundaries have been encroached upon by our jobs and it's about time we get a break!

Thirdly, with the insanity of work, I haven't been able to cook as much.  And if I have had the opportunity to cook, it's been an under 15-minute meal (more on this next week).  But here is a little recipe I whipped up that's exceedingly easy to make, takes only about half an hour, and is really inexpensive to feed a crowd.

Shug and I have had moderate success in our garden this summer, but our herbs have taken off!  This recipe can accommodate whatever it is you have on hand, but I used lemon-thyme, chives, rosemary, and flat-leaf parsley.

Herb Potatoes with a Mustard Sauce
Serves 6-8
Ingredients:
3-4 lbs. new or waxy potatoes, like Yukon Gold, scrubbed clean and cut into chunks
Salt
2 shallots, diced small OR 1 small red or white onion diced and rinsed with cold water, drained well
3-4 generous tablespoons of mixed herbs like parsley, rosemary, thyme, chives, dill, etc.
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
2-3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
Fresh herbs for garnish

Bring a saucepan of the potatoes and cold water that has been generously salted to a full boil.  Reduce to a vigorous simmer and cook until potatoes are easily pierced with a knife.

While the potatoes are boiling, in a large bowl, whisk the shallots or onions, mustard, olive oil and balsamic vinegar together until well combined.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Drain potatoes well and add to bowl with sauce.  Toss to combine and set aside.

Finely mince all of your herbs, setting a few sprigs aside for garnish.  Once the potatoes are cool, add the herbs and toss well to combine.  If the potatoes are too hot the herbs will discolor, no biggie if they do, it just won't look as pretty!  Spoon into a serving bowl and garnish with reserved herbs.  Can be served at room temperature or chilled.  Enjoy these easy, yummy potatoes!

Recipe of the Week: Skirt Steak Fajitas

I'm in school. And lawd knows there is little disposable income left to spend on filet mignon or tenderloin cuts of meat.  To save money and have less of a carbon foot print, we eat vegetarian or vegan most of the time...but every once in awhile, momma needs some STEAK.  No, that is not a euphemism.

But since prime cuts of meat are usually spendy, we've been finding ways to make the tougher (and cheaper) cuts of beef downright appetizing.  What makes meat so stinking chewy is the fibrous connective tissues that bind the muscle together.  If you attack these "bindings" with a few different weapons, you'll be enjoying some tender fajitas in no time!

Skirt Steak Fajitas
Serves 4
Ingredients:
1 pound skirt steak, brought to room temperature
1 Vidalia onion, thickly sliced
1 bell pepper, cleaned and thickly sliced
Salt and pepper
Juice of two limes
Extra virgin olive oil
2 or 3 tablespoons of adobo
Warmed corn tortillas
Crema mexicana
Shredded pepper jack cheese

You are going to need two saute pans for this concoction, so if you have just one big one and one medium sized pan like I do, start the onions sauteing in the large pan over medium-high heat.  While those are working, heat the medium saucepan with a little olive oil in it until the oil starts to smoke a little, season both sides of the steak with salt and pepper and place in pan. Don't move it around!  You want to sear the juices in and caramelize each side, so the meat will release when it's ready!

Add the peppers to your large pan and flip your skirt steak.  Let this side sear and when it's ready flip it one more time and reduce heat to medium.  Let it cook for 2-3 more minutes and then remove from pan and let it rest on a plate.  Squeeze the lime juice in both sides if the steak and tent with aluminum foil.  Add the adobo to the onion pepper mixture.  After the steak has rested for 5-10 minutes, using a sharp knife cut it thinly across the grain, if you cut with the grain the pieces will be chewy.

Add the slices of meat to the pan and give it a quick toss to coat in adobo and warm through.  Serve immediately on the tortillas garnished with cheese and crema mexicana if you want!  Enjoy!  

Recipe of the Week: Vegan Chili

Chili has been the center of heated debate in my house for years...There are some who believe a good chili consists of only meat and tomato goodness, while others scoff at the idea of tainting their chili bowl with anything remotely bovine.

Time taken to concoct a good chili has also been the center of many culinary arguments.  Should the chili simmer all day long, only to marry its flavors after 8 hours of slow cooking? Or should the chili be easily whipped up as a hearty and filling finish to a long and arduous day?  I don't know about you, but most of my days seem to trend towards the "long and arduous" and slow cooking anything seems like an impossibility.

Enter this easy vegan and gluten-free chili that takes about a half-an-hour to prep.  It's a dump-everything-in-the-pot-and-walk-away kind of dish, as well, so you'll have time to whip up some biscuits to dunk in your chili in the meantime.

Vegan Chili
Serves 6 hungries
Ingredientes:
2 T extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, peeled and diced
2-4 garlic cloves, peeled and diced
3 large carrots, peeled and diced
1 1/2 t ground cumin
1 T chili powder
1/2 t cinnamon
1-2 T adobo sauce
Salt and pepper to taste
1 medium zucchini, diced
6 oz. can tomato paste
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
1 can white beans, rinsed and drained
2 14.5 oz. cans diced tomatoes, undrained
1 4 oz. can diced green chiles
Crema mexicana to garnish
Corn tortillas to garnish

In a large pot heat your olive oil, onions, carrots, and garlic.  Cook until the onions become translucent.  Add your cumin, chili powder,  and cinnamon, saute until fragrant.  Add your adobo sauce, more or less depending on how spicy you like your chili.  I'd recommend going easy on the adobo, as you can always add more after you get all of your ingredients together.

Add the diced zucchini with a little salt and pepper.  Add the tomato paste and cook until the paste becomes a deep brick red.  This deepens the tomato flavor and adds a great dimension to the chili.  Add the black, pinto, and white beans to the pot along with the diced tomatoes and green chiles.  Add 2 cups of water and bring pot to boil.  Cover and reduce to a simmer.  Let the pot simmer for about 20-25 minutes or until the zucchini and carrots are tender.  Season with salt and pepper and garnish with crema mexicana for a vegetarian chili or folded tortillas.

Recipe of the Week: Spaghetti Squash with a Quinoa Ragu

Spaghetti squash is one of those amazing things the earth created that is so crazy-delish and crazy-easy to prepare, you'll wonder why you haven't been using this as a base for pasta sauce for your entire life!  As a gluten-free gal, I am always looking for great pasta alternatives and spaghetti squash has almost ALL of the gluten-free pastas beat, hands down.  It can hold up to heavy sauces, but has a delicate enough flavor to hold up to lighter dressing, say a lemon, thyme, and olive oil coat...The options are as endless as what you have chillin' in your fridge.

Spaghetti Squash with a Quinoa Ragu
Serves 4-6 hungry peeps
Ingredients:
One large spaghetti squash, 5-6 pounds
Extra virgin olive oil
3 stalks celery, cleaned and diced
1 large onion, cleaned and diced
2 large carrots, peeled and diced
Salt and pepper
1 can diced low sodium tomatoes
1/4 cup sun-dried tomato paste
1/4 cup sliced sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil
1 cup red or white quinoa
Healthy squirt of Bragg's Liquid Aminos
1 t crushed red pepper
1 t dried oregano
1 t dried basil
1 bay leaf
Shredded Parmesan to garnish if you wish

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.  Now it's time to squash wrestle.  I will warn you that the spaghetti squash can be a wiley lil' bugger, so use *CAUTION* and *COMMON SENSE* when bashing this open...and you will need to bash.  The most effective way I've found to slice the squash open is to take a heavy cleaver and carefully work the point of it through the rind and into the flesh of the squash.  Work it in until you can't push the cleaver any farther and it seems stuck.  Then take both hands on the handle of the cleaver and bash it down firmly on your chopping board.  This should take the cleaver clean through the squash!  You should have two halves of squash and all fingers left. 

Turn the squash face down on a lightly oiled cookie sheet and place in your preheated oven.  It will need about and hour to bake, so you might want to lollygag with your ragu.

45 minutes before you take your squash out of the oven heat a generous squirt of olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.  Add the onions, carrots, and celery.  Add a little salt to draw the sugars out of the onions to help them soften and caramelize. (FYI this is called a mirepoix, shi shi shoo shoo, right?)  While this is working, start a small saucepan with two cups of water boiling with the cup of rinsed quinoa.  Make sure to rinse it well since the powder on the quinoa is full of saponins that can taste bitter and gross.  Once it's at a boil, reduce to medium heat and cover until the quinoa has absorbed all the water.

Add the bay leaf, basil, oregano, and crushed red pepper to the mirepoix along with the can of un-drained crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, and sun-dried tomatoes.  Add Bragg's and pepper to taste.  Add the quinoa and mix until well incorporated.  Let heat on low while you prep your spaghetti squash.

Remove the squash from the oven and turn over the face-down slices with an oven mitt.  You'll need the mitt to hold the slice while you use a fork to scrape the flesh out of the rind and into a medium bowl.  Continue until all the flesh is separated and stringy.  Dress with a little olive oil, Bragg's and pepper.  Portion into bowls and ladle a generous portion of the quinoa ragu on top.  Garnish with Parmesan cheese if you're vegetarian.  Enjoy!

Recipe of the Week: Raw Tomatillo Cilantro Salsa

Shug has been venturing into the kitchen more and more and I couldn't be happier about it!  This salsa is one of his creations via the help of an extremely creepy Rick Bayless.  His pic might seem innocuous, but as soon as you see him on t.v. you'll get the heebie-jeebies, too.  Promise.

Anyway, as the weather transitions to warmer temperatures, Shug and I are transitioning back to more fresh and raw fare.  This fresh tomatillo salsa is a perfect segue.  It's so fresh and GREEN tasting, it'll get you excited for salad season!

Raw Tomatillo Cilantro Salsa
Ingredients:
6-7 fresh husked tomatillos, cut into chunks
1 large bunch fresh cilantro, removed from stalks
1-2 garlic cloves, cleaned and depending on preference
2 serrano chiles, seeded if you can't take the heat*
Generous pinch of salt

Throw all this fresh goodness into your food processor.  Pulse until well blended.  Serve with chips and raw veggie slices.  Try to leave room for dinner!

*When chopping hot chiles, wear plastic gloves if you have sensitive skin.  The capsaicin in the chiles is an irritant even to the toughest skin, but to sensitive kids it can be excruciating to get on your fingers.  And, of course, don't rub your damn eyeballs after handing these chiles...
  

Recipe of the Week: Tempeh Fajitas with Adobo-Lime Goodness

Sometimes you gotta have a recipe in your pocket for those nights you get home late.  Your day probably didn't just end late, but it was stacked on waking up waaaay before the sun, working, schooling, freaking out, studying, interviewing, sweating, speeding, interacting, living...You get the idea.

Having to whip up some quasi-healthy grub on some days is a real challenge.  Enter the Tempeh Fajita.  These lil' beauties can be prepped and ready for your facehole in about 15 minutes.  Take THAT Rachel Ray.

Tempeh Fajita with Adobo-Lime Goodness
Serves 4
Ingredients:
One yellow onion, peeled and sliced into large strips
One green bell pepper
One red bell pepper
Once yellow bell pepper
One package of tempeh, sliced into long strips
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper
Juice of one lime
Two Tablespoons adobo sauce
Corn tortillas
Shredded sharp cheddar or pepper jack
Cotija or sour cream for garnish
Spring greens for garnish

In a large saucepan over medium high heat, saute your sliced onions in a squidge of olive oil and a dash of salt.  As the onions are working, clean and slice all of your peppers into long, thin strips.  You want them to fit nicely in a folded taco, so knife accordingly.  Also, if you only have one color of peppers chilling in your veggie crisper, no worries, just use those!  Add the peppers to the saute pan and make sure the slices get covered with the olive oil.

After about five minutes of sauteing, add the tempeh slices.  You may have to be a little more delicate with the spatula from here on out to keep the slices intact.  Add the juice of one lime and the adobo sauce. Don't add the chiles, just the sauce the chiles be chillin' in (sorry.)  Add more sauce if you like the heat and less if you have a more delicate palate.  Season to taste with salt and pepper and make sure the whole mixture is evenly coated with the adobo-lime goodness.

While the fajita filling is working, warm some corn (or flour) tortillas in the microwave or individually in a dry skillet over medium low heat.  Plate your tacos with a generous amount if the tempeh filling and add cheese and sour cream if desired.  Serve with spring greens to round out your meal.

Enjoy and put your feet up!  You've had a long day!

Recipe of the Week: Shepherd's Pie with a Vegan Option

I'd never even heard of Shepherd's Pie until I was in the middle of the 4th grade lunch line. Stepping out of the queue to see mounds of grayish ground beef speckled with the lonely carrot or pea and covered in instant mashed potatoes sail by on my classmates' lunch trays did not make me excited that I'd forgotten my lunch that day. I still curse that day, come to think of it...

This Shepherd's Pie is not comprised of instant anything or even leftovers. If you have a few more minutes to bake this, I highly recommend it! It's filling and if there's just two of you, the leftovers taste great for the next few days!

Shepherd's Pie with a Vegan Option
Serves 6-8
Ingredients:
1/2 lb ground turkey breast OR tub of extra firm tofu*, crumbled
2 T extra virgin olive oil
4 stalks of celery, diced
4 large carrots, peeled and diced
1 large onion, peeled and diced
Salt and pepper
1 t rubbed dry sage or 1 T fresh chopped sage
1 t crushed dried rosemary or 1 T fresh chopped rosemary
2 pounds new or red potatoes, scrubbed clean and cut into large chunks
Healthy drizzle of extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup of milk or soy milk
1 can cream of mushroom soup, gluten free
Hungarian paprika for garnish

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Get a pot of generously salted boiling water going with the chunked potatoes in them. While your potatoes are boiling, brown the ground turkey breast in a dry skillet, breaking up the meat as you go. Cook until there isn't any pink left and set aside.

*If using tofu, let the crumbles sit in a marinade of 2 crushed cloves of garlic, 3 T soy sauce, 1 t hot chili sauce, 1 crushed piece of ginger, and 2 T extra virgin olive oil. Let this sit until ready to assemble your pie.

In a large saucepan covered in extra virgin olive oil, saute the onions, carrots, and celery. Add a little salt to help the onions caramelize a bit. Add the sage, rosemary, and pepper to taste. Once the veggies have softened, add the cooked turkey or the drained tofu crumbles. Once well combined, add the can of condensed mushroom soup. Stir well and turn off heat after the mixture is heated trough.

Your potatoes should be done, check to see if they are easily pierced with a knife. Drain and mash with the 1/4 cup of milk or soy milk, healthy drizzle of olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste.

In a large baking dish that's been drizzled with a little olive oil, cover the bottom with your turkey or tofu mixture, making sure it's level. Add the mashed potatoes on top, sealing the edges. Sprinkle some Hungarian paprika on top, cover with tin foil, and bake for 30 minutes until piping hot in the center. Remove the foil for the last 10-15 minutes of baking to crisp up the potatoes. Remove from oven and let sit for another 10 minutes and then serve! This is the furthest away from a school lunch you can get!

P.S. For all you vegan kids, I found a great mushroom soup that you can use in this recipe! It's Imagine Creamy Portobello Mushroom Soup. It's gluten free, too! You won't have to use the entire carton for this recipe, but the soup is so great on it's own. Since this isn't a concentrated soup, you may have to simmer your tofu/veggie/soup mixture a little longer to thicken up the sauce!

Recipe of the Week: Tofu Scramble with Broccoli and Sweet Potatoes

Tofu gets a bad rap in most culinary circles for being bland and blase. In our fridge, it often languishes in its little plastic tub next to the prosciutto and fancy-schmancy cheeses. I'm sure the cheeses are the mean girls of the fridge, making every other resident feel ugly and unoriginal. I can just see them making fun of the celery for being flat as a board, the ketchup for being sooooo obvious, and the eggs for being scaredy-cats. But I'm positive tofu gets the brunt of it all with its plain looks and sometimes spineless attitude.

Well, tofu can give that shi-shi-la-la cheese a run for it's money with this recipe. The turmeric gives the tofu's plain complexion a healthy tan and the spices add a kick in the pants. It may not be the prettiest dish, but nobody's gonna push tofu around after this dance with broccoli and sweet potatoes!

Tofu Scramble with Broccoli and Sweet Potatoes
Serves 2 with leftover tofu stuffing and broccoli for lunch tomorrow
Ingredients:
2 small sweet potatoes, scrubbed clean, pricked all over with a fork, and wrapped in tinfoil
1 large crown of fresh broccoli
1 tub of firm or extra firm tofu, drained
2 T extra virgin olive oil
1 onion, peeled and finely minced
1 T turmeric
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
Bragg's Liquid Amino's to taste
1 T Pickapeppa Sauce
1 t hot chili sauce (or more if you like it spicy!)
1 T Worcestershire Sauce or up the Pickapeppa dosage if vegan!
1 1/2 T Hungarian paprika
Sour cream or plain Greek yogurt to garnish

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and throw in the sweet potatoes. They'll take around an hour to an hour and a half to bake, so do this right when you get home from work or school! Also, put a cookie sheet underneath the potatoes, since they like to ooze and spit more than regular bakers, this will save you some serious elbow grease when it comes to oven-cleaning time!

When the potatoes are close to being finished, set a small saucepan on the stove with about a cup and a half of salted water. Bring to a simmer and add the cleaned and roughly chopped broccoli crowns. Cover and keep an eye on them until they turn bright green and are still tender crisp.

In a large saute pan, add your olive oil and onions and saute until the onions are translucent. Crumble in the tofu with your hands. Add the Bragg's, pepper, turmeric, Pickapeppa, chili sauce, Worcestershire, and paprika. Stir until well combined and the tofu dries out and starts to brown in places. You may need to add a little more olive oil to keep the pan moving.

Remove your sweet potatoes from the oven and remove tin foil. Add your broccoli to the saute pan full of tofu and stir well until the broccoli is seasoned. Plate your potatoes and cut in half. Spoon your tofu-broccoli mixture over the tops of the potatoes. Be generous!

Garnish with a little sour cream (if not vegan)! Enjoy!

Recipe of the Week: Quinoa-Stuffed Acorn Squash

On the heels of yesterday's post touting how imperative it is try to eat vegetarian a few nights a week, I wanted to get a recipe up that is supremely easy (and microwave-free;)). All you need to prepare these perfect, delicious, and visually stunning cups is for the earth to make them and you just cut them in half, scoop out the seeds and 30 minutes later relish in Mother Nature's amazing work. How easy is that?

Quinoa-Stuffed Acorn Squash
Serves 2 with extra stuffing for tomorrow's lunches
Ingredients:
One acorn squash, cut in half with the seeds scraped out
Extra virgin olive oil
4-5 new or red potatoes, scrubbed clean and thinly sliced
1 onion, diced
Few pinches of dried rubbed sage
Pinch of saffron
1 bay leaf left whole
1 can vegan/vegetarian gluten free cream of mushroom soup*
1 cup rinsed quinoa
1 cup frozen peas
1 squirt Bragg's Liquid Aminos
Freshly ground black pepper
Few slivers of Parmesan cheese (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees while you wrestle with the squash. Squirt a little of the extra virgin olive oil on a cookie sheet and place the squash cut side down and place in the oven. Let bake for 30 minutes or until easily pierced with a knife.

While your squash is baking, bring 1 cup of quinoa to a boil with 2 cups of water. Reduce to a simmer and cover. In a large saucepan, saute the potatoes in some olive oil. Once they start to soften add the onions. Season with the sage, bay leaf, saffron, Bragg's, and pepper. The quinoa should be close to being finished, so keep an eye on it!

Once the potatoes are tender, throw in the cup of frozen peas and the can of cream of mushroom soup. Once well combined add the quinoa. Mix until well incorporated and the peas are hot. Give it a taste and add more Bragg's and pepper if needed. Take out the bay leaf. Remove your squash from the oven, turn them over and fill with your delicious stuffing. Top with Parmesan if wanted and sit back and pat yourself on the back. You are actively helping the planet!

*Healthy Valley makes a great gluten free Cream of Mushroom soup! It's not as thick as the mushroom soup you may know and love, but it is organic and the flavor is much better in my opinion!

Recipe of the Week: Moroccan Chicken Stew with Sweet Potatoes

This is a quick-to-whip-up stew that is filling as it is healthy! The acidity of the lemon juice really brightens up an otherwise heavy dish. If you are a vegetarian, tempeh or seitan (mind you the seitan is SO not gluten-free) could easily replace the chicken in this recipe. You could also replace the brown rice or quinoa with traditional couscous (plus it's 20x faster to prepare than the good ol' brown rice, but not gluten-free, either!)

P.S. Pay no attention to the Christmasy wrapping paper! I pinky swear I took down the decorations!

Moroccan Chicken Stew with Sweet Potatoes
Serves 4
Ingredients:
3 boneless skinless chicken breasts, sliced into strips (or 8 oz. tempeh or seitan)
Salt and pepper
2 T extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
1 2-inch long piece of peeled ginger
1 cinnamon stick OR 1 t. ground cinnamon
1 can reduced sodium chicken or veggie broth
2 medium sweet potatoes peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
Pinch of saffron
2 T fresh lemon juice
1 cup of brown rice OR couscous OR quinoa
Fresh cilantro, roughly chopped

In a 5-quart Dutch oven or heavy pot heat the olive oil and add the salt and peppered chicken. Brown on both sides for 4-6 minutes and then transfer to a plate. Add the onion, ginger and cinnamon to the pot and stir until the onions are translucent. Return the chicken to the pot. Add the broth, sweet potatoes, and saffron. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until the chicken is cooked through and the sweet potatoes can be easily pierced with a knife.

While the stew is simmering, prepare your brown rice, quinoa, or couscous. If using brown rice you should start it well before you begin the stew...it takes a long time!

Remove the cinnamon stick and ginger piece from the pot and add the lemon juice and cilantro. Dump a big ladle of stew over the starch of your choice and don't burn your tongue, it'll be hot!