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!

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!

Savory Celery Stalks

        Celery has never been a favorite food of mine. However, this summer I've become quite a fan of it. It's the perfect base for tons of dips, spreads, and toppings and is way healthier than crackers or bread. I've come to love the crunch and the unique flavor that really good celery has. 

        My favorite celery topping is definitely the old favorite, peanut butter with raisins (a.k.a. "Ants on a log"). Today, as I went to prepare said celery for lunch, I noticed my mom eating some rice cakes with balsamic hummus. She then suggested putting some of the hummus on celery instead of peanut butter. I tried it out and loved it! However, I decided that was far too boring a recipe for this blog. So I spiced it up a little. By topping the celery with balsamic hummus and sun dried tomatoes, I created a new snack to add to my repertoire. The combination of crunchy, creamy, and chewy textures make for a fun chewing experience, and the different flavors blend together in a very delicious way. 

Savory Celery Stalks

By Caroline Mac

Ingredients:

Celery, washed and cut into 3-4 inch pieces

Balsamic hummus (you can buy this at the store or make your own by adding balsamic vinegar to regular hummus)

Sun dried tomatoes, sliced (dry, not packed in oil)

Step 1: Spread the hummus on each celery stick so it fills the bowl-like part, but not overfilled.

Step 2: Take 2 or 3 pieces of tomato and press them into the hummus

Enjoy!