Romantical Meal Series Post 2 – Coconut Oil Roasted Cauliflower

Mar5

Here is the second course in my Valentine’s Day meal for Rob. I’ve been working a lot with cauliflower since Rob loves it so much but also it’s really versatile! This side dish could go with just about anything. As a reminder, this is adapted from the Feb/Mar 2014 Taste of Home magazine.

6 garlic cloves, unpeeled

3 tbsp coconut oil

1 medium head cauliflower, broken into florets

1/4 tsp sea salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1/4 cup golden raisins

1/4 cup chopped parsley

1 tbsp capers, drained and coarsely chopped

2 tsp lemon juice

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut stem ends off unpeeled garlic cloves. Wrap cloves in a piece of foil. Bake 25-30 minutes or until cloves are soft. Unwrap and cool to room temperature. Squeeze garlic from the skins. Mash with a fork.

Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, melt coconut oil over medium heat. Heat 5-7 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.

Place cauliflower florets in a 15x10x1-in. baking pan. Drizzle with melted coconut oil; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toss to coat. Roast 15-20 minutes or until cauliflower is golden brown and tender.

Transfer to a bowl. Add remaining ingredients and roasted garlic; toss well to combine.

This was such a yummy side dish. The golden raisins added just a bit of sweetness that went really well with the cauliflower. Stay tuned for part 3 of the series. Happy cooking!

Romantical Meal Series Post 1 – Kale Salad

Mar3

Valentine’s Day was last month and Rob and I decided that our gift this year would be homemade. In true cook form I decided making a big, romantic meal was my best bet. I’m going to do a series of three posts to chronicle what I made for him. I’ll start with this yummy kale salad. This recipe is adapted from a recipe in the Feb/Mar 2014 Taste of Home Magazine, as is the rest of the meal.

10 cups sliced kale (about 1 bunch)

1 medium apple, thinly sliced

3 tbsp olive oil

2 tbs lemon juice

1 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1/4 cup pepitas

Place kale in a large bowl. With clean hands, massage kale until leaves become soft and darkened, about 2-3 minutes; stir in apple.

In a small bowl, whisk oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper until blended. Drizzle over salad, toss to coat. Sprinkle with pepitas.

First off I must apologize for the quality of the picture. I was running around trying to get the meal put together before Rob got to my place so pictures were taken haphazardly. Second, wow who knew what a difference massaging kale makes!! It as the first thing Rob commented on. The kale was soft and easy to eat. I will be massaging my kale from here on out! Stay tuned for post number 2 on our Valentine’s day meal. Happy cooking!

Eggciting Veggie Frittata – My Paleo Breakfast Staple!

Jan15

Paleo breakfasts can be difficult because you need to eat a lot of protein and who wants a steak for breakfast every morning? I’ve done the Paleo thing before and this is what I had for breakfast pretty much the entire time. It’s super easy to make and lasts a while. I usually triple the recipe so it lasts me all week. Rob’s sister and brother-in-law got me a cast iron skillet for Christmas so now I really have all the tools necessary to make it. I swear it tastes even better from cast iron!

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced

1 small yellow onion, thinly sliced

1 garlic clove, minced

2 oz white mushrooms, thinly sliced

4 large pasture raised eggs, beaten

onions, red peppers, and mushrooms in cast iron skillet

Showing off my new Lodge cast iron skillet!

Preheat oven to broil.

Heat oil in a cast iron skillet over medium flame. Add pepper, onion and garlic. Saute while stirring for about 5 minutes or until tender. Mix in mushrooms and continue cooking for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Pour in eggs and continue to stir occasionally for 2 additional minutes.

Place in over and broil for 3 to 4 minutes until eggs are brown on top and firm to the touch.

I usually add a little salt and pepper before I put mine in the oven but if you want to be truly Paleo, leave it out. I use this recipe all the time and switch out different veggies to keep it interesting. Hope you like it as much as I do. Happy cooking!

Final Detox Post – Potassium Balance Soup

Jan13

I finished my green detox, yay! Proud of myself for doing it. Here’s the final recipe in the detox and I’ll talk about results afterward 🙂

4 cups filtered water

4 medium zucchini, finely chopped

3 celery stalks, leaves removed, then finely chopped

1 cup roughly chopped green string beans

1 large bunch fresh parsley, stems and leaves roughly chopped

3 medium tomatoes, finely chopped

3 garlic cloves, finely chopped

2 teaspoons unrefined sea salt

1 teaspoon thyme

1 teaspoon rosemary

Put all the ingredients in a large stock pot. Bring to a gentle boil, then lower the heat, cover, and let simmer gently for 30 minutes.

There you have it. I ate this all three days for dinner. It’s surprisingly hearty and yummy! So now for the results. I did the detox purely for health reasons. I wanted to start this year off with a clean and healthy body. I wound up losing three pounds during the detox. An added benefit I guess! The first day of the detox I had so much energy! Then that night I got a killer headache and felt really nauseous after dinner. Day two I felt very weak and then I got another headache in the afternoon that went through until the next morning. Day three I felt really exhausted and weak. Only a headache in the morning but it subsided early and then I was craving chicken! The day after I finished the program I felt great! My body just felt so clean an energized! My run in the afternoon was awesome! I highly recommend this to anyone who is interested. I didn’t post everything so make sure to get the book Hungry for Change and read about it so you know what to expect. That’s all for now. I’ve begun the Paleo diet. More to come! Happy Cooking!

Happy New Year! Detox time…Green Sushi Salad

Jan9

Hi friends! I’m back at it! After my job change, a crazy move across LA and the holidays I’m finally ready to start cooking again. I’ve been cooking just not COOKING. Nothing exciting at least. I’m all settled in now and I have the time, so the blog is back in action! I decided to start 2014 with a guided green detox from my favorite Hungry for Change book. It’s a three day thing and then after that I’m doing Paleo for 30 days. I’m making the commitment. I posted my detox breakfast smoothie on my Facebook page so if you’re interested, check it out there. This salad is what I had for lunch all three days of the detox. It’s surprisingly delicious!

For the Dressing:

1 tbsp finely grated ginger

1 tbsp tamari

Juice of 1 lemon

For the Salad:

1 ripe avocado, sliced

1 large cucumber, halved and chopped

1 carrot, grated

Handful of alfalfa sprouts

Handful of fresh parsley, finely chopped

1 nori sheet, cut roughly with scissors into bite-sized strips

1 tablespoon sesame seeds

To prepare the dressing, take the ginger gratings and squeeze them between fingers, making your hand a fist, into a small jar. Discard the pulp. Add the tamari and the lemon juice to the ginger juice. Close the lid and shake.

To prepare the salad, mix the avocado, cucumbers, carrot, sprouts, parsley, and strips of nori in a bowl and toss with the salad dressing. Sprinkle the seeds over the top to garnish.

This is a surprisingly hearty salad. It takes a while to eat because there’s so much to chew but it will keep you feeling full! Stay tuned for the dinner installment in a day or two and the results of the detox! Happy cooking!

Back on Lentils – Hearty Lentil Stew

Jun26

There was a time in my life when I ate lentil soup for lunch every day for probably 6 months straight. A friend of mine inspired me and she and I both vowed to never eat lentil soup again around the same time as we both got completely sick of it. That was about a year ago so I figured it was time to try it out again. It’s a great lunch staple afterall!

4 tablespoons coconut oil

4 medium onions, roughly chopped

4 celery stalks, cut into 1/2-inch chunks

4 carrots, cut into 1/2-inch chunks

4 cups dried green lentils

2 bay leaves

2 tablespoons dried Italian seasoning

1 bunch kale, chopped

2 cups frozen peas

Fresh sage, chopped

Unrefined sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Heat oil in a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Saute the onions, celery, and carrots in the oil for 3 to 5 minutes, stirring often. Add the lentils, stirring to coat them evenly with the oil and vegetable mixture. Add enough filtered water to the pot to cover everything by an inch. Add the bay leaves and Italian seasoning. Cover the pot and bring to a boil, then reduce heat and gently simmer for 30 minutes.

Once the lentils are tender and the water is absorbed, add the kale and peas. Cook an additional 10 minutes. Stir in the chopped sage to taste. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and serve warm.

This makes a bunch and is hearty enough to keep you full until dinner time. I guess I’m back on the lentils! Happy cooking!

Salad of the Summer – Arugula Salad with Berry Dressing

Jun10

I have my go-to salad that I rework every once in a while with different fruit and vinegars but its basically the same. I decided to do something a little different for Memorial Day and found this recipe on tasteofhome.com. I reworked it so it complied with real food guidelines 🙂 It turned out really delicious.

1 cup halved strawberries, divided

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon raw honey

Dash salt

2 tablespoons finely chopped pistachios

4 cups fresh arugula

3/4 cup fresh blackberries

3/4 cup fresh blueberries

1/4 cup grated jicama

For the dressing, place 1/4 cup strawberries, vinegar, oil, honey and salt in a blender; cover and process until smooth.

Divide the arugula between 4 salad bowls, top each with blackberries, blueberries, jicama, remaining strawberries, and pistachios. Drizzle with dressing.

This might be my favorite salad ever made. I love fruit in salads and this one is so easy. Enjoy! Happy cooking!

Summer Love – Basil Corn on the Cob

Jun5

Who doesn’t love grilled corn on the cob? I don’t have a grill but I still wanted to do corn on the cob for Memorial Day so I did it in my oven. It turned out deeeeelish! Here’s the recipe:

6 large ears of corn

6 tablespoons raw butter, softened

1/2 teaspoon dried basil

1/4 teaspoon rapadura

Dash sea salt

Dash garlic salt

1 cup fresh basil leaves

Carefully peel back corn husks to within 1 inch of bottoms: remove silk. In a small bowl, combine the butter, dried basil, rapadura, salt, and garlic salt; spread over the corn. Place basil leaves over the butter mixture. Re-wrap corn in husks. Place in a stock pot; cover with cold water. Soak for 20 minutes; drain.

Grill corn in an oven set to broil for 25-30 minutes or until tender (or on a grill over medium heat for the same amount of time) turning often.

Peel and serve! I got this recipe from tasteofhome.com and reworked it so it was a little healthier. Let me know if you like this one. I loved it! Happy cooking!

And she’s back! – Steamed Cauliflower and Broccoli with Chunky Avocado Salad

May27

I have to apologize to you all, I’ve been away from this blog for quite a while. I recently quit my job and took a new one which is great except that I’m now commuting 2 to 2 1/2 hours a day to and from it. I’m also still trying to finish my MBA. Needless to say, this cuts into my cooking and blogging time! So the frequency at which I post will likely be less but I will still be sharing good real food recipes that I find as often as I can! This dish makes is really great to take to work for lunch.

Half a head of broccoli, cut into florets

Half a head of cauliflower, cut into florets

4 ripe avocados

2 small carrots, sliced into coins

1 cup chopped purple cabbage

2 garlic cloves, minced

6 tablespoons fresh parsley, roughly chopped

4 tablespoons hemp seeds

1 teaspoons chili powder

4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Juice of 2 lemons

Unrefined sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Place the broccoli and cauliflower into a steamer basket and steam over boiling water until just fork tender. Remove from the steamer basket and arrange on plates. Place the avocados into a bowl and gently toss with the carrot, cabbage, garlic, parsley, hemp seeds, chili powder, olive oil, and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Divide the mixture between the plates, placing alongside the broccoli and cauliflower.

I found this recipe in my favorite Hungry For Change cookbook. It’s a good one! Happy cooking!

Healthy Yumminess – Sweet and Sour Brussels Sprouts

Apr30

I haven’t had a lot of time to cook because it’s the end of the semester and, well, I got a new job! So interviewing, and now finding my replacement along with school projects and studying for finals has me pretty busy. But I did make this little side dish last weekend when I was cooking up a storm so I’m posting it now! It’s a really good one. If you have kids that don’t like Brussels sprouts, try this. They’ll eat them right up!

1 pound Brussels sprouts, ends trimmed

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

2 tablespoons maple syrup

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 cup roasted peanuts

Sea salt to taste

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Steam the Brussels sprouts in a medium sauce pot with an inch of salted water for 7 minutes, or until tender. Drain and cut them into quarters. In a bowl, whisk together the vinegar, maple syrup, and mustard, then slowly drizzle in the olive oil, whisking until emulsified. Combine the Brussels sprouts, peanuts, salt and pepper. Pour the vinaigrette over the top and toss to coat. Serve immediately.

There you have it! I’ve already forgotten what I served this with but it would go well with anything. Another great one from the Hungry for Change cookbook. It’s seriously my go to book! Happy cooking!

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Real Food Cooking in Today's Busy, Modern World.

Category Archives: Vegetarian