Tag Archives: cashews

Sweet Soba Noodles with Baby Bok Choy

2 Aug

Baby-Bok-Choy-Soba-2

For some reason I’m really into asian food lately. I recently learned that Michael LOVES asian cuisine so it’s been a win-win over here. This bowl of deliciousness was born from a side dish that I have been trying to make for about 6 months. Every time I would buy the baby bok choy, it would wind up going bad and my plan was foiled. Very sad.

This time I scheduled the meal for early in the week so the baby bok choy would be fresh and perfect. Mission accomplished!

Baby-Bok-Choy-Soba-1

Ingredients
1 package of Soba Noodles
1 lb baby bok choy, bottoms trimmed
1 cup chopped green onions, white and green parts
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 – 1/2 cup cashews
4 tbsp olive oil
1/4 tsp. dark sesame oil
1/4 cup of A Taste of Thai Sweet Red Chili Sauce

Directions:

  1. Cook noodles according to package.
  2. Heat 2 tbsp of olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions and cook for about a minute, then add the bok choy and garlic. Cover, lower heat and cook until the bok choy is wilted.
  3. Add the noodles, 2 tbsp of olive oil, sesame oil sweet red chili sauce and cashews to the pan and toss well.
  4. Split equally into bowls and top with chopped green onion.

As always, enjoy!

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Dark Chocolate Covered Cashews

25 Apr

Chocolate-Covered-Cashews-2

We made it back to Chicago! Isn’t it awful when you get home and there is no food in the house? That’s how these little bits of deliciousness came to be. I had chocolate left over from the Thin Mints and wanted to use it up. So I popped open the bag of cashews, tempered the chocolate, dumped the cashews in and voila chocolate covered cashews!

I didn’t make a lot of these, so you may have to adjust the amounts of ingredients based on how many you want to make.

Chocolate-Covered-Cashews-Side

Ingredients:
1 bar of dark chocolate, broken into pieces
1/4 cup raw cashews

Directions:

  1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  2. Break half the chocolate into pieces and place in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave for 20 second and stir. Continue to microwave for 20 second increments and stir until the chocolate is melted. Add the rest of the chocolate and stir to melt. Microwave in 20 second increments, if necessary.
  3. Drop the cashews a handful at a time into the chocolate. Cover with the chocolate.
  4. Place the chocolate covered cashews onto the baking sheet. Once all the cashews are covered in chocolate, place the baking sheet in the refrigerator until the chocolate has hardened

As always, enjoy!

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Cheeseless Chocolate Cheesecake

27 Mar

Cheeseless-Chocolate-Cheesecake

I actually made this cake as part of our Valentine’s Day dinner. When I saw the picture on Facebook, I knew that it would be the perfect way to end the evening. While I can only take credit for the homemade whipped cream, I highly recommend that you try the cake. It was amazing. Not super sweet and not overly chocolatey, just perfect.

You can find the recipe at Paleo Parents

Homemade Whip Cream
Ingredients:
1/2 cup whipping cream
1 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp confectioner’s sugar

Directions:

  1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment or with a hand mixer, combine the cream, sugar and vanilla.
  2. Begin slowly mixing and gradually turn the mixer to medium and mix until the cream has thickened to form a peak on the end of the whisk. Be careful not to overmix or you will wind up with really sweet butter!

As always, enjoy!

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Rainbow Chard over Quinoa

12 Mar

Rainbow-Chard-over-Quinoa

I had a tiny cold last week and was really in need of comfort food. Now that I’m feeling better, I was compelled to counter all the heaviness of last week with loads of veggies. I plan our weekly meals before going to the grocery store. This way I only buy what I need and don’t have to worry about wasting food. Plus, it makes getting things ready super easy since I already know we’re having for dinner that night. Feeling uninspired when I was making my weekly grocery list, I turned to the interweb for some help. I found this recipe on the Vegetarian Times and was inspired to make it a little more budget friendly. Are pine nuts only outrageously expensive in Chicago?

This meal was incredibly delicious. It was light, yet filling and had a wonderful hint of summer flavor. The success of this meal was confirmed by Michael’s second helping.

Note: My sister gave me a bottle of Orange Muscat Champagne Vinegar from Trader Joe’s that she had leftover. It’s delicious! I used two tablespoons of this in the recipe, but you could also combine champagne vinegar and orange juice with a bit of sugar or honey.

Ingredients:
Inspired by Sicilian Swiss Chard over Quiona
1 bunch rainbow chard, leaves cut into ribbons and stems sliced thinly
2 carrots, peeled
1 onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1/4 cup golden raisins
1/4 chopped cashews
2 tbsp Orange Muscat Champagne Vinegar (from Trader Joe’s)
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 tbsp red pepper flakes (I like things hot, but you can tone it down)
1 tbsp cumin
1 cup quinoa, rinsed
2 cups vegetable broth

Directions:

  1. Bring the vegetable broth and cumin to a boil and add the quinoa. Cover and reduce to low heat. Cook until all the liquid is absorbed.
  2. Heat olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Add the carrots, onion and chard stems. Cook until the onion is golden brown.
  3. Toss in the chard ribbons, garlic, red pepper flakes and raisins. Stir in the orange muscat champagne vinegar and cook for about 4 minutes.
  4. Remove the pan from the heat and toss in the cashews.
  5. Spoon the quinoa into bowls and top with the chard.

As always, enjoy!

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