Tag Archives: recipes

Quinoa with Kale and Lemon

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Kale + lemon + quinoa = a trio just meant to be together.

Finish Quinoa

I started making this dish over my month-long winter break from school. It was inspired by a pasta dish from one of my favorite blogs, Bev Cooks. Bev’s recipe used spaghetti. I swapped in quinoa for spaghetti and made a few other changes as well.

Spilled Quinoa Pepper

This dish is quick and uses simple ingredients. It’s my favorite kind of recipe.

Lemon

I just know that once you make this, you will love it, and make it again, again and again!

Finish Quinoa1

Method:

Start with:

1 c. quinoa
2 c. vegetable stock

Thoroughly rinse quinoa. Add quinoa and stock to a pot and bring to a boil. Once boiling, stir, cover and simmer for about 15 minutes, or until liquid is absorbed and quinoa is fluffy.

Meanwhile:

2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 Tbsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 of a lemon
2 c. chopped kale
1/4 c. sunflower seeds
Salt and pepper

Heat olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Add minced garlic and cook to flavor the oil, about 2 minutes. Add red pepper flakes and squeeze the juice of 1/2 of a lemon into the pan. Add chopped kale and stir. Cook until the kale is slightly wilted and tender, about 3 minutes. Toss in sunflower seeds and stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper.

Pour lemon/kale mixture over quinoa and stir to incorporate.

*I like to serve this with a dollop of goat cheese and a drizzle of balsamic glaze.

I hope that you enjoy!

Sweet Potato Risotto with Roasted Brussel Sprouts

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This creamy, dreamy meal is sure to turn around any winter blues.

Sprouts Shallots

That’s what it did for me.

Yes, it is true. I am not a lover of winter. I have the winter blues. I don’t dream about being knee-deep in snow during an invigorating winter hike, or swiftly skiing down a mountain of it. I don’t even want to be outside when it is lightly flurrying! I don’t love wearing scarves and boots and jackets. I’d choose to go jacket-less every day of the year if I could. I try my hardest to enjoy being inside, looking out at snow gently falling to the ground. But even that is a stretch for me.

Risotto

Escaping for a week to somewhere warm this time of the year is always an option of trying to cure the winter blues. But, when you can’t do that, eating a steaming bowl of sweet potato risotto will help. I promise.

The sweet potatoes and ricotta makes this extra creamy and the roasted brussel sprouts and sage are the perfect added flavors.

Risotto1

Enjoy every bite, and for all others out there dreaming of warmer weather, spring is officially 16 days away!

Method

Preheat oven to 400*.

Start with:
1 medium sweet potato
1/2 lb. brussel sprouts
Olive oil
Salt and pepper

Peel and cube the sweet potato. Slice brussel sprouts. Toss sweet potato and sprouts with olive oil and season with salt pepper. Roast in preheated oven, about 30 minutes, or until sweet potato is soft and brussel sprouts are crispy. Mash or process sweet potato until smooth, using a potato masher or food processor.

Next:
3 large shallots
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 c. arborio rice
1 c. dry white wine
4 c. vegetable stock, heated
Olive oil
Salt and pepper

Thinly slice shallots. Heat about 2 Tbs. olive oil in a pan over medium-low heat. Add shallots and minced garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Cook until slightly caramelized, about 10 minutes.

Turn heat to medium-high and add arborio rice and cook about 2 minutes. Add wine, cooking until almost completely reduced. Add warm stock, 1/2 c. at a time, to rice, waiting until absorbed to add the next 1/2 c. Stir in between each addition. When done, rice should be full, creamy and tender. This process should take about 25 minutes.

Then:
1/2 c. + 4 tablespoons ricotta cheese
10 sage leaves

When rice is finished, gently stir in mashed sweet potato, crispy brussel sprouts and 1/2 c. ricotta cheese. Spoon into an oven-safe dish and top with 4 tablespoon-sized dollops of ricotta and sage leaves. Bake at 400* for about 15 minutes.

Enjoy!

Gluten Free Bread

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I described this bread to someone at work two days ago as “not really bread, but it’s bread to me.”

Bread

This is another recipe from one of my favorite blogs, Edible Perspective. I made only a few changes to the recipe, and I really enjoy the result.

This “bread” is not going to taste or feel anything like store bought bread. I describe it as a dense flat bread, with so much delicious flavor. It is very sturdy and holds toppings wonderfully. Try topping with nut butter and jelly or nut butter and sliced apple. Or, for a savory version, top it with hummus, a smashed avocado, or with egg and melted cheese.

Jelly

Method

Preheat oven to 375*. Place 1/2 T. melted coconut oil in a 9″ round or square pan and rub around to coat the pan.

Start with:

1 c. quinoa flour

1/2 c. oat flour

1/4 c. almond meal

1.5 T. ground flax seeds

1/4 t. salt

Mix dry ingredients in a bowl.

Next:

1/2 c. water

1/2 c. unsweetened almond milk

1 T. melted coconut oil

1 T. applesauce

1.5 T. honey

Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix until just combined. Let sit for about 5 minutes.

Pour batter into pan and bake for about 30 minutes, or until the top is slightly cracked and the edges are golden brown.

*You can make your own oat and almond flour. Process oats and almonds in a food processor until very fine.

Enjoy!

What do you think? Would you give this bread a try?

Roasted Tomatoes – Two Ways

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I’ve got comfort food coming your way today.

Basil

Over the weekend, I headed home to spend some time with my family and cook with my mom. Believe it or not, we roasted 10 lbs. of tomatoes with a broken oven. We each had a separate plan for our tomatoes. Me – tomato sauce, her – tomato soup.

Onion

Both turned out wonderfully.

Toms

Doesn’t eating soup from a mug make it taste even better?? Not that it needed to — great job mom!

Soup

With this sauce on hand, pasta will be happening very soon.

sauce

Method

For the soup and for the sauce:

Start with:

2.5 lbs. assorted tomatoes

Olive oil

A head of garlic

2 sweet onions

Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400*. Cut tomatoes into large chunks and place on a baking sheet. Place two whole cloves of garlic on the baking sheet. Slice onions and place on the baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast in oven for 20 minutes, or until tomatoes are soft.

*You will need to do this in multiple rounds, or on more than one baking sheet at once, for all 2.5 lbs. of tomatoes. Place two garlic cloves and some onion on each baking sheet you do.

Next:

For tomato soup

1 quart stock (vegetable or chicken)

1 T. butter

1/2 c. chopped basil

1/2 c. heavy cream

Salt and pepper

Grated asiago cheese

Place roasted tomato, garlic and onion mixture into a large pot. Add stock and butter and bring to a boil. Simmer for 15 minutes. Add chopped basil. Turn down heat and, using an immersion blender, blend until smooth. Add heavy cream and stir. Season with salt and pepper. Serve with grated asiago cheese.

For tomato sauce

15 basil leaves

Place roasted tomato, garlic and onion mixture into a food processor. Add basil leaves. Process until smooth, or desired consistency is reached.

Enjoy!

Almond Butter

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Raw almonds are so photogenic, aren’t they?

Almonds

I hope you’re okay with another almond recipe. This time around, almond butter.

Honey

I’ve always been a huge lover of peanut butter, so this is a nice change of pace.

Finished

My favorite uses for almond butter? On toast, in oatmeal or for apple dipping.

Finished1

Method

Start with:

1 c. almonds

2 T. maple syrup

1 T. honey

Preheat oven to 300*. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Combine almonds, maple syrup and honey, and roast on baking sheet for about 20 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool for about 30 minutes.

Place cooled roasted almonds in a food processor and process until the almonds butterize, about 15 minutes, scraping down sides when needed.

Next:

1/2 T. honey

1 T. maple syrup

2 T. canola oil

1/2 T. pumpkin pie spice

1/4 t. salt

Add the honey, syrup, oil, spice and salt to the food processor and process until smooth.

Recipe adapted from Edible Perspective.

Enjoy your almond butter!