Tag Archives: garlic

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!

Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Creamy Red Pepper Pasta

29 May

Creamy-Red-Pepper-Pasta-2

We rented our place last week so I’m finally able to cook again! These short weeks really throw me off. I work best when I have a regular schedule. Normally I go to the grocery store on Monday morning, but we were gone for the holiday so I had to go today. Really strange for me. On top of everything, Michael is going to San Francisco on Friday which threw me off even further. So now I’m off my schedule, Michael’s leaving and I have to start packing up our house. Yay for me!

Creamy-Red-Pepper-Pasta-3

This recipe was born from a state of complete disarray. As I said, I’m kind of a mess and needed something delicious and easy. Honestly, this couldn’t be any easier.

Ingredients:
Serves 2
2 red peppers, roasted, seeded and peeled
2 cloves garlic
2 tbsp mascarpone cheese
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 lb asparagus, trimmed and cut into bite sized pieces
1/2 lb whole wheat pasta
3 tbsp fresh basil, julienned
2 tbsp Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

    1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place the peppers on a baking sheet and roast until well charred. Remove from the peppers from the oven and cover with a large pot. Allow the peppers to steam for 10 minutes. Seed and peel the peppers.
    2. Cook the pasta according to package.
    3. Add the peppers, mascarpone cheese, both garlic cloves and 1 tbsp olive oil to a blender. Mix until well combined.
    4. Heat remaining tablespoon of oil over medium heat. Add the asparagus and saute until tender. Remove from heat.
    5. When the pasta is just about cooked, add the sauce to the pan with the asparagus and warm over medium heat. Add the drained pasta and toss until well combined. Add the basil and toss.
    6. Top with parmesan cheese and some fresh basil.

As always, enjoy!

Creamy-Red-Pepper-Pasta-1

Tags: , , , , , ,

Beluga Lentil and Sweet Potato Stew

10 May

Beluga-Lentil-Sweet-Potato-1

I would buy the Green Kitchen app just for this recipe. It was mind-blowing. I didn’t have cardamom which made me a little nervous that the meal would be lacking flavor. To make up for the missing cardamom, I decided to add cinnamon and nutmeg. The result was so good that I may never try it with the cardamom.

This was a really hearty meal. I could definitely see this recipe becoming a fall/winter favorite. Despite being so hearty, it was still really light and didn’t leave me feeling really full.

Beluga-Lentil-Sweet-Potato-2

Keep your eyes out for my review of the app on Monday!

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Poached Eggs with Roasted Asparagus and Thyme-Garlic Potatoes

28 Mar

Poached-Eggs-Roasted-Asparagus-Thyme-Garlic-Potatoes-View

We had brinner again last night. Although, this seemed more like a schnazzy dinner to me. I had something else planned but had an epiphany while running, and rearranged my dinner plan to make this. Luckily, it did not disappoint! I could have eaten the entire pan of potatoes!

Poached-Eggs-Roasted-Asparagus-Thyme-Garlic Potatoes-Front

Ingredients:
5 yukon gold potatoes, washed and cubed
1 tbsp fresh thyme
3 cloves garlic, mashed (I used a garlic press)
12 asparagus spears, bottoms trimmed
4 eggs
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350o. Place the asparagus in a baking dish, drizzle with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and toss to coat. Roast in the oven until tender, about 20 minutes.
  2. Combine the cubed potatoes, 2 tbsp olive oil, garlic, thyme, salt and pepper in a large bowl and combine until the potatoes are coated with oil and spices.
  3. Heat the butter in a large pan over medium heat, add the potatoes and cook until golden brown on all sides.
  4. Add the eggs to an egg poacher and cook until the eggs are just tender.

As always, enjoy!

Poached-Eggs-Roasted-Asparagus-Thyme-Garlic-Potatoes-Side

Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Spinach, Mushroom and Onion Calzones

15 Mar

Calzone

I think of calzones as portable little pizzas. Minus the sauce of course, which is probably why I enjoy them so much. You see, I’m not a huge fan of tomato sauce. I did serve these with sauce from a jar on the side but Michael didn’t even use it. He said they were perfectly delicious without the sauce.

For the Dough
Ingredients:
2 cups white whole wheat flour
2 tsp yeast
1/2 tsp salt
11/2 cup warm water (approx. 105o)

Directions:

  1. Combine the flour and yeast into the bowl of a mixer fitted with a dough hook and stir
  2. Continue mixing as you slowly add the water and salt. Mix until the dough forms a ball on the hook.
  3. Transfer the dough into a bowl greased with olive oil and cover with a towel. Allow the dough to rise in a warm place (I put mine in the oven with the light turned on) for 1 hour.
  4. Uncover the dough and punch it down. Lightly flour a countertop and lightly knead the dough into a ball. Roll the dough into a log and divide in half for larger calzones or quarters if you want small ones.

Calzone-Vegetable-Mixture

For the Filling:
Ingredients:
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
2 cups uncooked spinach
1 cup mushrooms, chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 400o
  2. Heat the olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Saute the onions until they are clear, about 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and spinach and cook until the spinach is bright green, about 3 minutes.
  3. Add the garlic, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper and stir into the vegetable mixture. Remove from heat and cool.
  4. Mix the ricotta and mozzarella in a large bowl. Add the cooled vegetable mixture to the cheeses and mix well.
  5. Roll the divided dough into circles and fill half the dough with the filling, leaving about a 1/2 inch between the filling and the end of the dough.
  6. Fold the unfilled half of the dough over to cover the filling and press and fold the edges together.
  7. Transfer the calzones to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake until golden brown, about 25 minutes.

Calzones-Uncooked

As always, enjoy!

Tags: , , , , , , ,

Three Bean Chili and Vegan Cornbread

8 Mar

Three-Bean-Chili

It’s been pretty cold here in Chicago and nothing makes me feel warm and happy like a bowl of chili and warm cornbread.

Just a warning, I like my food a bit on the spicy side. If you don’t, you can reduce the amount of chipotles and jalapeño you put into the chili. The adobo sauce itself isn’t terribly spicy and neither is chili powder. That’s what helps give it the smokey flavor.

For the Chili:
Ingredients:
1/2 cup dry black beans
1/2 cup dry pinto beans
1/2 cup dry white beans
1 onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 jalapeño, stemmed, seeded and chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 28 oz. can of diced tomatoes
2 cups vegetable broth
2 tbsp chili powder
2 tbsp cumin
2 tbsp chipotle chilis in adobo sauce, chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
Shredded cheddar cheese or nutritional yeast as a topping

Directions:

  1. Heat the oil in a heavy stock pot over medium heat
  2. Add the onion, bell peppers and jalapeño to the oil and saute until the onions are clear. Once the onions are clear, add the garlic
  3. When the garlic is fragrant, sprinkle the chili powder and cumin and stir
  4. Add the tomatoes, vegetable broth and chipotle chilis with some of the adobo sauce
  5. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 20 minutes
  6. Season with salt and pepper

Cornbread

For the Cornbread:
Ingredients:
11/4 cups garbanzo bean flour (you can substitute any flour you like)
1 cup cornmeal
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup sucanat
4 tbsp coconut oil, melted
1 cup milk of choice (I used Homemade Almond Milk)
1 tsp vinegar
2 tbsp ground flax
2 tbsp water
1 cup frozen corn, thawed

Directions:

  1. In a medium bowl, combine the flax and water to make a paste
  2. Add the milk, vinegar and sucanat to the flax mixture, and stir well
  3. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, cornmeal and baking soda
  4. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour the wet ingredients into the center and combine well
  5. Add in the corn and coconut oil and mix well
  6. Pour the batter into a greased 8×8 baking dish and bake until the edges are golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean
  7. Allow to cool for 20 minutes before slicing

As always, enjoy!

Chili-with-Cornbread

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Vegetable Bolognese

7 Mar

Vegetable-Bolognese-Cooked

Pasta definitely tops the list of my favorite foods. Add in some cheese and it’s even better. However, being the healthy person that I am, I knew that I needed to throw in something to balance the pasta and cheese. Enter vegetables!

Raibow-Carrots

When I was at the grocery store this weekend these beauties jumped out at me and I knew that they would be perfect in this bolognese. It’s kind of sad that you can’t see their beautiful color but they sure tasted good.

IMG_9391

Just a quick note, I doubled the recipe so that I could freeze half for later.

Ingredients:
Inspired by Giada De Laurentiis
2 red bell peppers, chopped
8 oz cremini mushrooms, chopped
1 bunch rainbow carrots
1 onion, peeled and chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
3 tsp fresh thyme
3 tsp dried oregano
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup vegetable broth
1/2 can tomato paste
16 oz. mascarpone cheese
1/4 cup parmesan
1/8 cup fresh mozzarella cheese, cubed
1/2 pound whole wheat pasta
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

  1. Cook pasta according to package and preheat oven to 350o
  2. Give the bell peppers, carrots and onion a rough chop and transfer to a food processor, along with the garlic and pulse until you have a mixture of finely grated and chunks of vegetables
  3. Heat the olive oil over medium heat. When the oil is hot, transfer vegetable mixture to the pan and add the thyme and oregano
  4. Cook vegetables until golden brown and stir in tomato paste
  5. Once tomato paste is combined, add vegetable broth and reduce for about 20 minutes
  6. Remove the pan from heat and stir in mascarpone and parmesan cheese
  7. Stir until both cheeses are combined
  8. Toss the pasta with the sauce and cubed mozzarella cheese. Spoon into individual ramekins or baking dish
  9. Bake until cheese is melted

As always, enjoy!

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,