Cauliflower Crust Pizza with Caramelized onion and Veggies

Every time I browse Pinterest I see about ten pins about cauliflower crust. As a lower carb, gluten free, and healthy alternative to traditional pizza crust, it's no wonder this trendy food has gone viral. I figured it was about time I gave it a shot!

I tried to veganize my pizza as much as possible, using caramelized onions as a base, rice cheese instead of mozzarella, and plenty of veggies. However, since this was my first time making a crust from cauliflower, I decided it would be best to use the eggs included in the recipe. Next time I'll try to use a vegan replacement for those as well!

All in all, the final product was quite tasty and successful. My only issue was that the crust stayed kind of soft in the middle, not holding its shape and making it a bit hard to serve- definitely required a fork! Hopefully I can troubleshoot this the next time I make it and keep the crust more solid all around. Let me know if you figure out a way to solidify the center more!



Cauliflower Crust Pizza with Caramelized Onion and Veggies
By Caroline Mac, crust adapted from recipegirl.com

Ingredients:
Crust:
1/2 large head of cauliflower, shredded into small crumbles (I used a food processor)
1 large egg
1 c shredded vegan mozzarella cheese (I used a rice-based cheese)
1/2 t garlic powder
1/2 t Italian seasoning
1 clove garlic, minced

Toppings:
1/4 bell pepper, sliced
1/4 zucchini, sliced
3 cloves garlic, halved
4-5 basil leaves, shredded
1/2 portobello mushroom, sliced
6.5 oz. jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained
1 white onion, chopped
2 T olive oil

Step 1: Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion. Stir occasionally for about an hour until the onion browns and becomes very soft. The onion is now caramelized. It's worth the extra time!

While the onion caramelizes, make the crust...

Step 2:  Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place cauliflower crumbles in a bowl and microwave for 8 minutes. Let cool.

Step 3: Grease a baking sheet or pizza pan and set aside. Combine cauliflower and remaining crust ingredients in a bowl and stir until thoroughly blended. Pat the mixture onto the baking sheet in a circle about 9-12" in diameter, making sure it is an even thickness throughout. Spread a little olive oil over the crust.

Step 4: Place all veggies and garlic (except the artichoke) in a baking dish and drizzle with a little olive oil and italian seasoning. Stick these in the oven with the pizza crust (step 5) for about 6 minutes. Set aside.

Step 5: Bake pizza crust for fifteen minutes, or until golden. Remove from oven.

Step 5: In a food processor or blender, puree caramelized onions with artichoke hearts. Once creamy, spread over the pizza crust, leaving a 1/2 inch border on the edge. Place all veggies and basil on the pizza.

Step 6: Bake pizza for another 3-5 minutes, making sure not to burn the crust. Remove from oven. Let cool for a few minutes (It'll be easier to serve).


Remember, my crust wasn't 100% successful, so I can't guarantee that yours won't be a bit floppy using this recipe. However, I can vouch for the taste- It's super delicious! I'll update this recipe once I figure out a solution for the crust.


Enjoy!

~Caroline~

Christmas Special: Vegan Holiday Loaf

Merry Christmas everyone!

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday full of friends, family and delicious food. I cooked for the first time in my apartment's newly renovated kitchen! It was also my first time cooking a legitimate meal since Nutcracker performances began. I didn't have to cook nearly as big of a feast as for thanksgiving, but I chose two dishes that I felt would stay in the traditional Christmas realm of foods, but were also vegan and healthy!

I'm only sharing one of these recipes today, since I feel that the other one needs some work and troubleshooting. Here is the main course for the evening!

Vegan Savory Holiday Loaf
Adapted from A Tasty Love Story

Ingredients:
12 oz mushrooms
1 1/4 cup cashews
1 small celeriac (aka Celery root), peeled and cubed
2 white onions
4 cloves of garlic
10 prunes, sliced
1 Apple, sliced
2 T soy sauce
1/2 t salt
Pepper to taste

Step 1: Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Boil celeriac cubes for 10 minutes, or until tender and soft. Remove from water and blend in food processor or blender until smooth.

Step 2: Chop each ingredient EXCEPT the apple and prunes in the food processor until finely chopped. It is best to chop each ingredient individually as to retain the unique textures. The loaf won't be as good if you blend everything at once.

Step 3: Mix together all chopped ingredients and celeriac until evenly blended. Add salt, soy sauce and pepper.

Step 4: Spread half of the mixture in a greased or nonstick bread/ loaf pan. Next, spread the apple slices in an even layer across the top, followed by a layer of prunes. Leave a few  apple slices for garnish. Cover the fruit layer with the rest of the mixture and place remaining apple slices on top top.

Step 5: Bake for approximately 45-50 minutes, or until loaf is golden and slightly crispy on top. Let cool for 10-15 minutes. Loaf will be soft and probably won't hold the shape of a slice, but will taste delicious.


Enjoy! Happy holidays!

Pumpkin Mac & Cheese

It's pumpkin season! One of my favorite seasons, to say the least. I'll leave my description of this recipe to a few words: It turned out to be absolutely delicious! This is a great alternative to macaroni and cheese and is a wonderful seasonal dish.

Pumpkin "Mac and Cheese"
Adapted from Peachy Palate

Ingredients:
1 box Quinoa pasta
2/3 cups pumpkin puree
1 cup unsweetened almond milk
1 can cannellini beans drained and rinsed, 4 T reserved
1c cherry tomatoes
1t whole grain mustard
Lemon pepper to taste
Dash of Italian seasoning
1/4t salt
1-2 T olive oil

Step 1: Cook pasta according to the directions on the box. Drain and set aside

Step 2: Blend pumpkin, milk, 4T beans, mustard, and all seasoning in a blender until smooth. Set aside.

Step 3: Saute tomatoes and the rest of the cannellini beans in olive oil until tomatoes are juicy and tender

Step 4: Combine noodles, sauce, and tomatoes and beans in a pan and heat on low until heated through. Serve Warm

Enjoy!

Sweet and Sour Tofu with Coconut Rice

Tonight was my first night of group cooking! Well, two person cooking. I had my friend Emily over for  dinner, who is also a vegetarian and also gluten-free! I eat gluten, but I was totally up for making a gluten-free recipe. This was a relatively elaborate meal, but it was so worth the extra effort. Better yet, I finally know how to make a delicious sweet and sour sauce! We both agreed as we ate this meal that it was delicious. Utterly delicious.

Sweet and Sour Tofu with Coconut Rice
Adapted from Peachy Palate
Ingredients:
Tofu
1 block extra firm, high protein tofu (Drained and cut into triangles)
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 orange bell pepper, diced
1/2 white onion
2 T diced pineapple
1/3 c bamboo shoots
1 T olive oil

Sauce
Note: Separate 1/3 of the sauce once made for cooking the veggies
4 1/2 T Rice vinegar
1 1/2 T cane sugar
3 T tomato Ketchup
3 t minced garlic
6 T pineapple puree


Rice
1 bag Trader Joe's frozen brown rice, defrosted/ cooked
1/2 cup lite coconut milk
3 t shredded desiccated coconut
1 t coconut oil
1/2 t black pepper
pinch salt

Step 1: Combine all rice ingredients in a mixing bowl and stir until rice is evenly coated and sauce completely mixed. Set aside. Reheat rice in the microwave for 40 seconds when everything else is ready.

Step 2: Combine all sauce ingredients and whisk until completely blended. Transfer to a sauce pan and heat until boiling. Stir constantly. Reduce heat slightly and continue to cook sauce until it thickens. This should take less than 5 minutes. Remove from heat and separate 1/3 of the sauce for the veggies.

Step 3: Coat the tofu with the remaining 2/3 of the sauce and set aside to marinate for 15-20 minutes.

Step 4: Once the tofu is marinated, add red bell pepper, orange pepper, and  half of the onions to a pan with olive oil. Saute until onions begin to go clear. Add the bamboo shoots, pineapple, and tofu. Cook until tofu begins to turn golden, constantly stirring (6-8 minutes).

Step 5: Add remaining sauce to the pan and stir until veggies and tofu are evenly coated. Let simmer for a couple more minutes.

Step 6: Serve tofu and veggies over coconut rice with a sprinkling of onion.

Enjoy!

Fig and Apricot Quinoa Salad

What happens when Caroline plans on making a recipe and then loses the link? She completely improvises and creates her own version! This turned out to be one of my favorite recipes yet. This dish is great both warm and cold and tastes so refreshing!

Fig and Apricot Quinoa
By Caroline Mac
Ingredients:
1 cup uncooked quinoa
2 cups vegetable broth
1/2 cup chopped apricots
6 fresh figs, chopped in large pieces
1/2 cup parsley, chopped
Dressing:
1/2 cup olive oil
3 T lemon juice
1t minced ginger

Step 1: Combine quinoa and vegetable broth in a sauce pan and heat until boiling. Lower heat and let simmer until all broth is absorbed by quinoa (about 15 min.). Remove rom heat and fluff quinoa with a fork.

Step 2: Whisk together olive oil, lemon juice, and ginger until thoroughly blended.  Set aside.

Step 3: In a large bowl, combine quinoa, apricots, figs and parsley. Stir until evenly mixed. Drizzle with dressing and stir until dressing is evenly mixed in.


Enjoy warm or cold!

Vegan and Nearly Raw Fettucini Alfredo

One of my favorite restaurants back in Portland is Prasad. It's a vegan cafe located within a yoga studio. If you're ever in the Pearl District, be sure to check it out. Prasad introduced me to a new raw and ultra healthy phenomenon: Veggie noodles. That is, vegetables cut in such a way that they are nearly pasta-like in consistency. The dish I had at Prasad was a zucchini noodle linguini with pesto and a cashew ricotta. It was delicious! Tonight, I made my own version of this tasty dish. I used my Zyliss julienne peeler to slice zucchini into pasta-like strips, made a cashew cream, and cooked up a veggie burger. The end result was delicious!

Vegan and Nearly Raw Fettucini Alfredo

Ingredients:

2 zucchinis

1.5 cups raw, whole cashews

1 cup boiling water

1 clove garlic

Pinch of salt

1t Italian seasoning

1 veggie burger (or one per person dining)

Step 1: Run cashews in the food processor until finely chopped. Add Cashews and water to a blender and puree until smooth and creamy. Add garlic, salt, and seasoning and blend thoroughly. 

Step 2: Using a julienne peeler or spiralizer, cut long, thin strips of zucchini so it resembles noodles. Set aside.

Step 3: Cook your veggie burger according to the directions on the package. I used a Dr. Praeger's California Veggie Burger.

Step 4: Dish out zucchini noodles and toss with sauce to taste. Top with a crumbled veggies burger.

Enjoy!

Balsamic Beet and Carrot Salad

Hi all! It's been FOREVER since I've posted a recipe, so I figured I'd stop being lazy and post something. I had a bunch of beets from Trader Joe's in the fridge, so I decided to use them up.


I don't think I used as many veggies as the original recipe called for, so there was a lot of excess dressing. Just know that you may have some tasty dressing left over to use on future salads.

Balsamic Beet and Carrot Salad
Adapted from Simple Spoon
Ingredients:
1 package Trader Joe's pre-cooked beets (or 3-4 cooked beets)
1-2 cups baby carrots
1/2 cup raw almonds
Crumbled Feta cheese for topping
1T agave syrup
Sea salt

Dressing:
1/3 cup olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinaigrette
15 basil leaves, shredded
2 cloves minced garlic

Step 1: Heat saute pan to medium. Add almonds and cook until fragrant, stirring regularly but not constantly. Once they've darkened slightly and are fragrant, turn off heat and add agave. Stir until almonds are evenly coated. Sprinkle with salt. Transfer to a clean plate. Syrup will solidify, creating candied almonds!

Step 2: Steam baby carrots until al dente.

Step 2: Add all dressing ingredients together and mix until homogenous. Drizzle beets and carrots with dressing and top with feta cheese and almonds.

Enjoy!

Lemony Lentil Soup

This may be one of my favorite recipes I've ever made! I love soup and wanted to make something quick the night before the ballet program started. There ended up being enough left over to have for dinner another night and a half, which made life easier too. I started with a recipe from Anja's Food 4 Thought, but ended up altering a lot of proportions and ingredients to accomodate what I already had. However, I did follow her cooking directions, which were great as always. This soup would probably be good chilled as well, but I haven't tried that.

Lemony Lentil Soup
Ingredients:
4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
2 c cooked lentils
1 red onion, finely chopped
2 c chopped spinach
1.5 celery stalks, sliced
Olive oil for sautee
2 cloves garlic, minced
1t curry powder
1t cumin
1t Singapore seasoning
1/2t cinnamon
2 1/2 T lemon juice


Step 1: In a large pan, saute onions, garlic, and spices in olive oil on medium-high heat until onions are tender. Stir in celery, lentils, lemon juice, and vegetable stock.

Step 2: Let simmer, covered, for about 20 minutes. Add spinach. Let cook uncovered for another 5 minutes.

Enjoy!

Southwestern Tofu Scramble

Until just a couple weeks ago, I had never eaten a tofu scramble! Crazy right? A vegetarian that has never had this dish... Well, it turns out that I love it. My initiation into tofu-scramble-dom occurred at Whole Foods. They had a Cajun tofu scramble with Cajun sweet potatoes.

It turns out that making a tofu scramble is incredibly easy. I think they're generally made for breakfast, but I did it for dinner. My dad got me a gift of gourmet spices at a cooking shop near my studio, including Southwestern seasoning, a Singapore seasoning, and an Balti seasoning. I've made it my goal to make something each night with these spices as the inspiration. Tonight was Southwestern night. I found a basic recipe online and decided on my own spices and serving suggestion.

Check back in tomorrow for a new Asian recipe!

Southwestern Tofu Scramble
Inspired by Vegetarian Times
Ingredients:
1 red bell pepper, diced
4 green onions, chopped
1/2 cup chopped carrots
1 clove garlic, minced
2t Southwestern seasoning
1 16-oz package extra firm tofu, rinsed, drained, and crumbled
1-2t Mexican hot sauce
2T cilantro, chopped
Salsa verde, for garnish
1/2 avocado, garnish
Olive oil for saute

Step 1: In a large sillet, saute pepper and carrots in olive oil over medium-high heat until tender. Add Onions, garlic, and seasoning and cook for a couple more minutes.

Step 2: Add Tofu and hot sauce, stir until evenly mixed and cook until heated through.

Step 3: Stir in cilantro.

Step 4: Serve topped with salsa and avocado. You can also add more hot sauce if you prefer a spicier dish.

Enjoy!

Slow Baked Sweet Potatoes

I haven't posted for what seems like ages, but I have good reason! I just moved into my apartment, meaning I moved into a new kitchen! Tonight I cooked my first meal in the apartment! I'm excited to say my kitchen is fully stocked and ready to be cooked in.

I wanted to make something easy in case the oven didn't work properly or the stove blew up. Luckily, all things went smoothly. If I make this recipe again, I'm definitely going to try to keep the skins on the potatoes from getting as tough, but overall, they were delicious. I didn't do a complicated base for the sweet potatoes, but I liked the simple combination of beans and rice.

Slow Baked Sweet Potatoes
Adapted from Edible Perspective
Serves 2
Ingredients:
2 Sweet potatoes
Extra Virgin Olive oil
Everyday Seasoning (From Trader Joe's)
1 bag brown rice (I used the frozen kind from TJ's)
1 can Cuban style black beans

Step 1: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Slice the sweet potatoes into 1/2 inch discs

Step 2: Spread slices across a casserole dish, drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with seasoning.

Step 3: Bake potatoes for 20 minutes, flipping halfway through. Bring temperature up to 400 degrees and bake for another 20 minutes, flipping halfway through.

Step 4: While the potatoes are baking, heat beans in a pan over medium heat. Make brown rice and mix the two together once heted.

Step 5: Serve sweet potatoes over beans and rice.

Enjoy!

Vegan Ratatouille

Saturday was a big cooking day for me. I made my Garlic Green Beans with Lemon for the potluck the next day, but also had to make something for dinner that evening. My mom had picked up some delicious summer squash earlier in the week and I wanted to make something that incorporated the colorful veggies. My mom suggested making a ratatouille. I thought that sounded great and went ahead with it! I can't give a definite recipe here, as I think it will vary from kitchen to kitchen depending on the ingredients on hand. I will share the general recipe I came up with, though, and you can do the rest!

Summer Ratatouille

By Caroline Mac

Ingredients:

Variety of summer vegetables, chopped into large chunks (I used assorted summer squashes, red onion, eggplant, and cherry tomatoes)

2 heads of garlic, cloves peeled and left whole (Less if you're doing a small portion)

Olive oil to coat veggies

Italian seasoning

1 can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

1 can Italian stewed tomatoes (canned), drained

Salt to taste

Step 1: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread the fresh veggies and garlic in a large casserole dish. Drizzle with olive oil and mix until thoroughly coated. 

 

Step 2: Shake Italian seasoning over vegetables and mix again until evenly distributed. I was very generous with the seasoning, as I like a lot of flavor. Sprinkle veggies with salt to taste and mix again.

Step 3: Cover and bake for 1 hour. After 1 hour, remove from oven and spread beans and canned tomatoes over the veggies. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with more seasoning. 

Step 4: Bake for 15 more minutes. Remove from oven and serve warm. 

Enjoy!

Pesto Coated Beans and Cous Cous

Tonight's dinner was one of my first completely original recipes, and I really enjoyed the final outcome. I'm a huge pesto fan and I could eat it on everything. Combined with the chewy Israeli cous cous, sauteed fresh veggies, and beans, the dish makes for a healthy and hearty dish. I was very happy with the pesto, as I didn't use completely conventional ingredients (though it was pretty close to the classic recipe). Despite the tasty pesto and wonderful cous cous texture, my favorite part had to be the tomatoes. After they were sauteed, the tomatoes took on a juicy and extremely sweet quality. They practically burst in your mouth as you bite them, and add great contrast to the texture of the beans and cous cous. This dish could also be served chilled as a summer salad.

Pesto Coated Beans and Cous Cous
Ingredients:
Dressing:
2 1/2 cups fresh basil
2 T avocado
1 clove of garlic
1/4 cup walnuts
1/2 cup olive oil
2 T lemon juice
1 t whole grain mustard
Flower pepper to taste

1 1/3 cups uncooked Israeli cous cous
1 can great northern beans, drained and rinsed
1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 T shallots, chopped and separated
1 1/4 cups chopped carrots
1 cup golden cherry tomatoes
1/4 cup chopped basil
Whole basil leaves for garnish
2 T olive oil

Step 1: To make dressing, process all dressing ingredients in a food processor until completely blended.

Step 2: Prepare cous cous according to directions on the package, adding 1 tablespoon of shallots to the pot. Once finished, set aside.

Step 3: Heat olive oil in a large pan on medium-high heat. Add carrots and other tablespoon of shallots and sautee until carrots begin to soften. Add tomatoes and saute until they become soft and juicy, stirring the whole time. The tomatoes took me about 5-7 minutes.

Step 4: Add the beans and chopped basil to the vegetable mixture and stir until completely heated through. Reduce heat to medium-low. Once heated, add the cous cous and stir until thoroughly mixed. Finally, stir the pesto in with the cous cous mixture until everything is evenly coated.


Step 5: Serve warm, topped with fresh basil leaves.

Enjoy!

Simple Cold Quinoa Salad

In my opinion, lunch is the most easily monotonous meal. At lunchtime, I almost always seem to be in a hurry, out and about, or don't feel like making something super complicated and gourmet. I tend to find myself consistently eating veggies and hummus, some kind of whole grain, and some kind of fruit. Consistently, meaning it's what I had for lunch nearly every school day this past year. That's a lot of veggies with hummus. Don't get me wrong, I still love that combination and am not opposed to having it, but there must be more options to make lunch a little more interesting, right?

The answer is yes. Last night, I decided I no longer wanted to have the same-old same-old for lunch. I'm in the middle of a ballet intensive at my studio, which means packing a lunch every day or buying it from the food co-op near my studio. Even though I could easily get something new and exciting for lunch there each day of the week, I don't see the point in buying more food when there's plenty in my own kitchen to work with! So, I threw together a quick little cold quinoa salad for my lunch today. It was incredibly refreshing to have after class and was packed with protein to last me through a few hours of rehearsal.

I wasn't planning on posting this recipe at all, since it's so simple, but one of my friends tried a bite, liked it, and asked for the recipe. This one's for you, Lucas!

Cold Quinoa Salad
Ingredients: You can mess around with quantities until you find a balance you like. You can't really go wrong here!
1-1.5 cups cold, cooked quinoa
1-2 T sun dried tomatoes

1/4- 1/3 cup edamame (fresh or frozen and thawed)
Balsamic vinegar and olive oil to taste (About 1 T each)

Step 1 (the only step!): Combine all ingredients in a bowl, mix until evenly coated with olive oil and vinegar.

Enjoy!

Vegan Beet Crust Pizza

Tonight's meal was a meal full of firsts. These firsts included working with beets, making "pizza dough" from scratch, attempting a balsamic reduction, and discovering that my dad actually does enjoy beets as long as they're disguised in something else!

I found this recipe while combing through one of my favorite blogs, Vanilla and Spice. I couldn't resist trying this recipe, simply because of the sheer originality. Overall, I loved the result. It's definitely not your typical pizza, but it sure is tasty! The beet crust was delicious and was actually quite crusty and bread-like. I loved the way the beet greens and parsley were paired with hummus as the topping instead of the typical mozzarella and marinara.

The only problem I encountered while making this was the balsamic reduction. Vanilla and Spice didn't go into much detail when describing how to make this sauce and it resulted in my burning it slightly. Apparently you're only supposed to let the balsamic vinegar simmer for four or so minutes, but I let it go for about fifteen. It still tasted pretty good regardless, but I'm sure it would have tasted even better if I had done it correctly. For future cooks' sake, I've included a link to more detailed instructions on successfully making a Balsamic Reduction.

One more note to those planning on trying this: This recipe does not make a big pizza. The final pizza makes one small pie of about four slices. If you are planning to feed more than two or three people, then you should double or triple the recipe.

Vegan Beet Crust Pizza
From Vanilla and Spice
Ingredients:
Crust
1 cup unsalted sunflower seeds
1 raw beet, cut into small pieces
 2 T chopped fresh parsley
1/2 clove garlic
1 T coconut oil
Pinch of salt
Topping
2 cups chopped beet greens
3 T balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup hummus
Fresh parsley

Step 1: Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Process sunflower seeds in food processor until finely ground. Add the rest of the crust ingredients and process until mixture forms into a sticky ball. You may need to scrape down the sides occasionally once the dough gets really sticky.

Step 2: Grease a baking sheet. Place the beet dough on the sheet and spread with a spatula into a circle about 1/4" thick. Pinch the edges up to form a crust around the edge.

Step 3: Bake crust for 25 minutes.

Step 4: While the crust is baking, bring a large pot of water to boil. Put the beet greens into the water and boil for abou 4 minutes. Remove from water and immediately douse in cold water. Drain, and dry the greens.

Step 5: Make the balsamic reduction by following the directions on Cookthink.com.

Step 6: When crust is done, remove form the oven and let cool for a few minutes. Spread hummus on crust and follow it by drizzling it with the balsamic reduction. Finally, spread the beet greens over the crust.

Step 7: Bake the pizza for another 20 minutes, let cool, and top with fresh parsley. The crust is a bit fragile, but I could still eat the slice by just holding it.


Enjoy!

Simple Salads

Salads are my main go-to food when I don't want to make anything complicated but want something healthy and flavorful. A major complaint I hear about salads is that they are boring. My response to this is that you simply haven't found the right ingredients! The possibilities for salad are endless. I love throwing together fresh fruits, vegetables, and nuts to make interesting flavor combinations. I don't have one standard salad recipe, though I plan to write up a few as time goes on. Until then, I've made a list of some of my favorite bases, toppings, and dressings so you can start to make your own!

Favorite Salad Bases
Spinach
Romaine Lettuce
Mixed baby greens
Kale

Favorite Fresh Fruit and Veggie Toppings
Tomatoes
Celery
Carrots
Edamame
Beets
Broccoli
Radishes
Cauliflower
Cucumber
Apple
Strawberries
Blueberries
Grapes
Mushrooms
Zucchini
Corn
Onion
Mango
Avocado

Favorite Dried Fruit and Nut Toppings
Cranberries
Raisins
Figs
Almonds
Walnuts
Pecans
Pumpkin seeds
Sunflower Seeds
Sun dried tomato

Favorite Cheeses
Blue Cheese
Feta Cheese
Goat Cheese

Favorite Dressings (My favorite brand is Annies, but other brands make these flavors as well)
Lite honey mustard
Lite raspberry vinaigrette
Goddess
Green garlic
Balsamic vinaigrette
Red wine and olive oil
Blue Cheese

I hope this helps make your salad experience more enjoyable!

Roasted Baby Eggplant

I'm definitely an eggplant fan. I'm also a fan of roasting veggies. This recipe combines the two. Enough said. I chose to pair this recipe with the Garlic Green Beans with Lemon. They complemented each other really nicely because of the lemon and garlic.

Roasted Baby Eggplant
From Real Simple
Ingredients:
6 baby eggplants
3 lemons, 1 thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
12 sprigs fresh oregano
1t salt
1/2t ground black pepper
3/4 cup olive oil
8 oz feta cheese, sliced

Step 1: Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Slice each eggplant lengthwise, leaving the two halves attached at the top. Place them in a pan at least 2 inches deep.

Step 2: Squeeze juice from 2 lemons on eggplant, press the other slices into slits of each eggplant. Press the garlic and oregano into each slit.

Step 3: Sprinkle eggplants with salt and pepper and drizzle with lemon juice and olive oil.

Step 4: Cove the pan with foil and roast for about 40 minutes until eggplants are soft. Keep brushing the juices in the pan over the eggplants throughout the entire cooking time.

Step 5: Remove foil, roast for five more minutes, and serve topped with feta.


Enjoy!

                      My mom got very into photographing this meal...

Thai Red Curry with Noodles and Veggies

I was very apprehensive about trying this recipe for the first time. Why? Well, it's VERY easy to make a bad curry. The flavors are so important and if there's a disproportionate amount of one particular spice, the whole thing just tastes weird. Understandably, it would not have surprised me if my first curry came out less than fantastic. However, I got lucky and found a great recipe and was very happy with the result! My parents even thought it was great. My dad said it was "restaurant quality." Then again, they may just have been being nice. I ate it as well, though, and thought it was quite tasty. I topped this dish with the Curry Baked Tofu and loved the combination.


Thai Red Curry with Noodles and Veggies
Adapted from Vanilla and Spice

Ingredients:
8 oz dry rice noodles (I used Mai Fun)
2T canola oil
1/4C Thai red curry paste
1t curry powder
1/2t turmeric
1 inch piece of minced ginger, or about 1t powdered ginger
1 can coconut milk
1/2t sucanat (This is a form of brown sugar)
1t soy sauce
2 cups vegetable broth
1 zucchini, sliced
1-2c diced carrots
3 sticks of celery, cut into bite sized pieces
1 onion, peeled and diced
Limes for serving

Step 1) Cook the rice noodles according to the directions on the package. It usually only takes a few minutes in boiling water. Set aside.

Step 2) Heat the vegetable oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add in the red curry paste and stir for 1-2 minutes. Stir in the curry powder and turmeric.

Step 3) Add the onions, veggies, and ginger to the curry mixture. Cook until onion becomes translucent and vegetables become tender, constantly stirring. Make sure the veggies are evenly coated in seasoning.

Step 4) Pour the coconut milk in the pot, stir, and bring to a boil. Add the sucanat and soy sauce, stir until evenly mixed, and then add the vegetable broth. Reduce heat to a simmer, cover, and cook for 5 minutes.

Step 5) Serve by placing some noodles in a bowl and spooning the vegetable curry on top. Finish with a squirt of lime. You can also garnish with some chopped cilantro.

Enjoy!

Quinoa, Mixed Veggies, and Sun Dried Tomato and Artichoke Pesto

Since I'll be living away from home this year, I'll be cooking for myself and occasionally my roommate. Because of this, I've been cooking a LOT at home so I'll have a wide variety of tasty recipes under my belt. After all, there's nothing worse than boring food! I also want to make sure I'm eating as healthy a diet as possible, with a good balance of whole grains, fresh fruits and veggies, and good sources of vegetarian protein.

I'll start by sharing my most recent recipes, and will supplement them with the recipes I've done in the past. I've gotten most of my recipes off of other blogs, with some modifications based on what was in the fridge.

Tonight, I made a Quinoa dish. Quinoa is definitely one of my favorite grains, as well as a great source of protein. I'm always trying to find new ways to get protein since meat isn't an option. Originally, I planned to make a kale and sun dried tomato pesto sauce. However, my plans were thwarted when I discovered my kale was covered in bugs! Honestly, I was just way too grossed out to use the buggy kale. Thus, I decided to resort to a recent technique I've adopted in my cooking: Improvisation! I substituted the kale with the artichoke hearts I was planning to mix in later on, and messed around with the other ingredients until I found a sauce I liked. I ended up sautéing some veggies adding them to quinoa and mixing it all in with the pesto! I suggest making the pesto first, and then making the quinoa and veggies at the same time, combining it all at the end. I served it warm, topped with some more sun dried tomatoes and a few walnuts.

Enjoy!

Sun Dried Tomato and Artichoke Pesto
Ingredients:
1 can of artichoke hearts, reserve liquid
1 cup sliced sun-dried tomatoes (Not in oil)
3 T olive oil
2 T Walnuts
2 large cloves of garlic
Lemon Pepper to taste (Mine is from Trader Joes)

Step 1: Combine the artichoke hearts, olive oil, garlic, and reserved liquid in a food processor and blend until smooth.

Step 2: Add the sun-dried tomatoes, walnuts, lemon pepper, and remaining liquid and blend until smooth.

Variations: You can add less of the artichoke liquid to create a thicker, more dip-like consistency. This can then be used in the same way as hummus with veggies, crackers, breads, and anything else you can put it on! 

Quinoa with Shallots
Ingredients:
1 cup dry quinoa
2 cups Low-sodium vegetable broth
1 T diced shallots

Step 1: Combine quinoa, shallots, and broth in a medium-sized saucepan.

Step 2: Over high heat, bring pot to a boil. Stir the quinoa mixture, reduce heat to low, cover, and let sit for approximately 15 minutes.

Step 3: Once quinoa is fluffy and has absorbed all of the broth, remove from heat and fluff it with a fork.

Mixed Veggies
Ingredients:
Mixed vegetables of choice
        My Choice: 2 Cups peas
                            1 Zucchini, thinly sliced or chopped
                            1 bunch of asparagus, cut into small pieces and then cut diagonally across
2-3 T olive oil
Italian seasoning to taste

Step 1: Heat oil in a large pan at medium- high heat. Add veggies and seasoning.

Step 2: Constantly stirring, saute veggies until tender.



Once all of the components are made, Combine everything in a large pot or bowl, making sure the veggies and quinoa are evenly coated. This recipe makes quite a bit of food, but it was a good amount for my parents and myself. I'd say it makes 3-5 servings.