Tag: Veggies!

Vegetable Black Bean Enchiladas

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My CSA this week was one of the best!  I’m not sure if it’s that I missed it since I haven’t been able to pick it up for about 3 weeks or it was just outstanding.

Kale, Green Onions, Sweet Peppers, Jalapenos, Eggplant, Beets, Parsley, Basil, Lettuce, Cabbage, Tomatoes, Oh my!

Wayy too excited.  Another exciting thing was this

Maseca to make tortillas!  Just add water!

I’ve been going TORTILLA CRAZZYYYY!  Yesterday, all the talk of families made me miss my own.  Naturally, Guatemalan breakfast came to the rescue: Black Beans, Eggs, Sour Cream and Homemade Tortillas.

Today I decided to combine the two wonderful things: Handmade Tortillas + CSA Vegetables.  Result = Black Bean Vegetable Enchiladas


Vegetable Black Bean Enchiladas

1 tbsp olive oil
2 small summer squashes, chopped
1 medium onion, diced
1 bell pepper, diced
1 jalapeno, seeded and finely chopped*
2 cups greens (spinach, kale, beet greens, etc.)
2 cups black beans, cooked
1 1/2 tbsp cumin
1 1/2 tbsp chili powder
1/2 tbsp paprika
salt and pepper to taste
12 tortillas (handmade or store bought)
2 cans enchilada sauce
2 oz cheese (optional)

In a large pot or pan, heat oil.  Add onions and squash.  Cook until onions are translucent.  Add red pepper and jalapeno, cook for a few more minutes.  Add beans, spices and greens (I used beet greens), cook for a few minutes until the greens have wilted.  Now you have the delicious filling that is a wonderful side dish on its own as well!

Next, take a tortilla, spread some of the filling in the center and roll like a taquito/flauta.  Place on a 9 x 13 baking dish.  Repeat until all 12 tortillas are rolled or you run out of filling.  Pour enchilada sauce over the tortilla rolls.    Sprinkle with cheese (I used string cheese, because that’s how I roll but I bet chedder or monterey would be better).

Let the tortillas soak up the liquid for at least 30 minutes.  In the meantime, clean up and preheat the oven to 350.  Bake for 20 minutes.  Allow to cool and serve with a dollop of sour cream (or greek yogurt) and some chopped green onion!

*Please use gloves when chopping the jalapeno!  I had a terrible experience over 4th of July weekend where jalapeno got in my eye, saturated my contact and pain ensued!  Trust me take the precaution.  Use gloves!

Deeeeelicious!  Wayyyy better than a lot of the stuff at Mexican restaurants.  I generally don’t like Mexican restaurants because the food a lot of times isn’t that great.  Refried beans and sour cream covered in cheese is not my idea of a delicious Mexican meal. Maybe that’s the food snob in me 🙂

Are you a fan of Mexican food?

Brooklyn Birthday

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I had a pretty amazing weekend.  Sure, it was my birthday, but really that wasn’t even the good part.

Let me tell you about it.

It started on Friday, when I drove down to the NYC area.  I picked up the Biscotti Queen at her parents house and we headed to Brooklyn to visit our friend who was subletting a place with the most AMAZING rooftop.

The view was outstanding.

Even better was the food

and obviously drink

Grilled french bread with dijon mustard, brie, avocado and sundried tomato.

Oh goodness.  Make it now!

This was only the beginning of the weekend of eating.   Stay tuned for more!

Wafflezone-o-wich?

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Nope.  Those aren’t burnt waffles.

It’s a waffle, pizza, calzone, and a panini all in one!

Okay so I have no idea if I read about this or dreamt about it.  Let’s be realistic, I probably read about it because I doubt I could be this creative.

Actually nevermind, let’s pretend I’m great and I thought it up all on my own.

I made a quick whole wheat pizza dough by mixing together:

1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour (or just 1 cup WW flour and omit all purpose)
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 1/8 tsp yeast
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp sugar
3/4 cup warm water
1/2 tbsp olive oil

After kneading it for about 2 minutes.  I let the dough rest for about 10 minutes.  Then I divided it into two equal sized pieces and on a well floured surface, rolled each piece VERY thinly.  I topped one side with some pasta sauce, kale (obviously), smart dog and 1 string cheese.  I put the other thinly rolled piece of dough on top and sealed the edges by folding over and pinching together.  After I put it in a heated waffle iron for 5 minutes.  The dough shouldn’t reach the edges, you’re going to squish it down so it’ll get there but leave about an inch of room all around.

It got a little messy in the spots where the sauce oozed out.  But it was completely worth it.

Perfect for days like today when turning on the oven could easily qualify as murder.  Not to mention it takes about 20 minutes total to make and if you use store bought pizza dough, the process takes less than 10 minutes.

Also fun because I’m obsessed with this waffle maker!  While these were delicious, there’s always room for improvement.

A few suggestions:

  • Roll the dough very thinly,  maybe don’t use all the dough.
  • If something is in chunks (i.e. kale and smart dog in this situation), chop them very finely.  Big chunks are okay but I bet it would be less messy if the chunks were smaller.
  • Reduce the sauce or just use tomatoes.  Ragu is a little more runny than other sauces.  I’d reduce it a bit (or maybe I was just over zealous with the sauciness, as I often tend to do).

I should also note that this waffle maker is huge!  So one waffle is enough for two people.

If you have a waffle maker, try it!  Super easy and relatively healthy!

Brownies and the French

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July 14th was Bastille Day.

I’m not French.

I know that, but I’d take any excuse for a party and baking.

Some friends had a party, Sara and I made Champagne Brownies

and I tried to look French because obviously a black dress with a sassy look and an odd hairdo screams Je suis française!

But really, Champagne, we can call that French, right?

I’m not sure we should call these brownies brownies though.  They should probably just be called fudge.  They’re dense and bittersweet and intense.

Champagne Almost Fudge Brownies

adapted from Couture Cupcakes

1 lb of unsweetened chocolate (i.e. baker’s squares or coco powder+oil)
12 tbsp butter
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup powdered sugar (omit if you use sweetened chocolate)
4 eggs
3/4 cup flour
1 cup champagne

Preheat oven to 325F.

In a large pot on low heat, melt together the chocolate and butter.  Remove from heat.  Add the salt, sugar and vanilla.  Stir together to combine.  Stir in 1 egg at a time until just combined.  Add the flour stirring until just combined.  Add the champagne and stir until incorporated.  Transfer to a greased 9 x 13 baking pan.  Bake about 40 minutes.  Allow to cool completely (I would even say you can chill them), cut and serve (with ice cream or on its own).

So rich!

I kept up with the French theme this morning (two days later).

Omelets are French.

Zucchini Goat Cheese Omelet

1/2 tsp olive oil
3 tbsp diced onion
1 small zucchini, diced
1/2 cup chopped chard or kale
1/2 tbsp fresh chopped parsley or basil
salt and pepper to taste
3/4 cup egg substitute  (or 3 eggs, beaten)
1 oz goat cheese

In a small skillet, heat oil, add onions and zucchini cook for a few minutes until zucchini is almost tender.  Add chard and cook an additional minute or two.  Season with salt and pepper and set aside.  Spray a medium skillet with cooking spray and put on medium/low heat, add eggs, cover and cook until eggs are pretty much cooked through (no longer jiggle when shaken) about 4 minutes.  Carefully flip the egg using a spatula, sprinkle with goat cheese and vegetable filling, fold over and transfer to a plate.

Sprinkle with a little more parsley and serve with a slice of homemade oatmeal bread.

Very light and tasty.

This omelette only has 200 calories, must be why French women don’t get fat.

We’ll just forget about the brownies.

The Pros and Cons of a CSA Share

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Hi friends!  Hope your day is starting out well.  This morning I went to a TERRIBLE spinning class, but we won’t talk about that.  Instead, let’s talk about vegetables.

I’ve had my CSA share for about a month now.

Overall I’d say it’s been great.  Here in Ithaca, having a CSA share is pretty common, but I know in other places it’s not.  So why not do some pros and cons. Feel free to chime in with some comments!

Cons:

1. My salad spinner is my new best friend.

With a CSA you don’t have the luxury of packaged/pre-washed vegetables.  Preparing things takes a bit longer as everything has to be washed, trimmed, chopped, etc.

2.  No more green monsters everyday.

I haven’t gotten any spinach in my share so I’ve been going through green monster withdrawal.  I actually went to the grocery store at one point this month ONLY to buy spinach so I could make a green monster.  I tried it with JUST kale, it was NOT good.

So sometimes you miss certain vegetables.  I also haven’t had a carrot since May even though I used to have one every day.  But I have plenty of other vegetable options.

3.  Eat cautiously.

Because the veggies are so fresh and haven’t traveled far, I’ve found my fair share of worms in my lettuce.  Some would see this as horrible, but I don’t think it’s that big a deal.  If anything, it’s a marker of freshness.

Added bonus: helps me slow down (as I tend to eat very quickly) when I have to inspect each bite 🙂

4.  Somewhat pricey?  I’m torn on this one.  My share ends up costing $19 per week.  For that amount, I have unlimited local organic vegetables.  For one person, that might be a lot but I think if I bought the same stuff (entirely local and organic) at the grocery store it would probably cost more.

Pros:

1.  Supporting local agriculture.  You can feel good about yourself… or something.

2.  Plenty of organic vegetables!

Having a CSA share has definitely made me increase my vegetable intake.  Since I don’t have the heart to throw anything away, I eat a huge bag of vegetables each week usually something to the effect of: 2-3 bunches of kale, 1 head of lettuce, a kohlrabi, some broccoli and a cucumber.  Kind of a lot.

3.  Forces you to get creative.  A lot of times, you’ve never heard of a vegetable that’s in your share (check out my first experience with kohlrabi).  But a lot of times you don’t want to eat the same vegetable prepared the exact same way for weeks on end.

So you try to get creative, like this:

Vegetable Polenta Bake for One (or Two)

1/2 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, diced
1/2 tsp minced garlic
1 small zucchini, thinly sliced
1 small yellow squash, thinly sliced
1-2 cups greens (I used kale and chard)
1 cup pasta sauce (jarred or homemade)
1-2 tbsp fresh chopped parsley
1 oz mozzarella (I used 1 string cheese)
1-2 tbsp grated paremesan/pecorino romano/asiago cheese
1/4 cup cornmeal
1 cup water
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp salt

Heat oil in a pan, add onion and cook for a few minutes (until translucent), add garlic, zucchini and yellow squash and cook for a few minutes (it shouldn’t be cooked all the way).  Next add greens and stir around until they start to wilt.  Add pasta sauce and stir until greens have cooked down.  Turn off the heat and stir in the parsley.

In a small pot or sauce pan, combine cornmeal, water, garlic powder, onion powder and salt.  Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.  Once cornmeal starts to thicken (aka polenta), keep stirring until the polenta starts to come off the sides.

Take a small baking dish,  spread half of the sauce/vegetable mixture in the baking dish, then on top of that spread half of the polenta.  Next top with half the string cheese/mozzarella and half of the parmesan.  Repeat.

Bake in the toaster oven for 20 minutes.

Allow to cool.  Either eat it straight from the dish for another single lady (or gent) meal or serve on a plate with a simple green salad.

Ingredients from CSA in this dish: zucchini, yellow squash, kale and chard, parsley. + side salad with lettuce and cucumbers from CSA as well.

4.  Less trips to the grocery store!   Since I pick up at the Farmer’s Market once or twice, I make less frequent trips to the grocery store.  As a result, I spend less on things I don’t really need.  Because let’s face it, who actually sticks to their shopping list when they go to the store?

5.  It’s fun!  If you’re like me, vegetables are probably one of the most exciting things ever!  You get fun new ones every week!

Do you have a CSA share?  Consider getting one?
Any Pros or Cons I missed?

Naturally Nutty Zucchini Muffins and a Wine Trick

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A few nights ago, my roommate and I were talking about muffins.  Yesterday morning after my nap (at 10:30am!  Isn’t that nuts!??!  I’m ridiculously tired these days) I was inspired.

Naturally Nutty Zucchini Muffins

1/2 cup Naturally Nutty Cinnamon Vanilla Sunflower Butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup egg substitute (or 1 egg)
1/2 cup milk
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 small zucchini, grated (about 1 cup)

Preheat oven to 350F.

Cream together the sugar, sunflower butter, egg and milk.  Add whole wheat pastry flour, baking soda, and baking powder  and mix together.  Fold in grated zucchini.  Place in greased muffin pan and bake for approximately 20-22 minutes.  Makes 10 muffins.

I have to confess the whole reason I made these up was because I wasn’t a fan of the Naturally Nutty Cinnamon Vanilla Sunflower Butter.  I got two jars a while back from one of Kath’s Open Sky deals.  While it tastes okay, I’m not a HUGE fan of it on its own.

However, baked into these, it tastes good!  If you don’t have Naturally Nutty Cinnamon Vanilla Sunflower Butter on hand you can use 1/2 cup of any nut butter + 1/2 tsp vanilla + 1/2 tsp cinnamon!

These aren’t the sweetest thing in the world but they’re tasty enough for a baked treat.  Definitely not bad for about 150 calories. But honestly, not what I was  expecting.   The batter tasted a million times better than the baked product.   Oh well.

A few days ago my friend sent out this video about opening a bottle of wine with a shoe. I can’t insert it here for some reason but watch it! It’s nuts!

So we tried it.  Here’s the recap.

We rewatched the video (tools ready).

Tapped the bottom.

Hit it against a wall and nothing.

Tried a door frame.

Hmmm maybe it has to be a real cork not a synthetic cork.  Good thing we have another bottle.  Start over.

Brick outside maybe?  Still looking for other hard surfaces.

Hmm maybe it’s the shoe.  Let’s try a cowboy boot (his, not mine, in case you were wondering).

Nothing. We’ll try again later.

We’re thinking maybe it has to do with the bottom of the show. We’re going to try with one of my hard bottom leather boots instead of a rubber soled shoe.

Isn’t that video nuts!?!?  Anyone speak French who can tell me if I’m missing something?

Baked Falafel

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Today was much better than yesterday.  I was still pretty lazy but not NEARLY as much as yesterday.

I got my butt to the gym as soon as it opened (12:00pm, isn’t that crazyyy late?!?).  I did a FANTASTIC interval work out inspired by this lady.  Actually I wrote this work out plan on a little piece of paper with the intention of taking it to the gym with me, but left it at home as I often tend to do.  Instead, I made up my own on the spot.

5 min warm up
3 sets: (9 mins)
1 min 6.0
1 min 7.0
1 min 4.0
3 sets: (9 mins)
1 min 5.6
1 min 8.0
1 min 4.2
3 sets: (9 mins)
1 min 6.5
1 min 7.5
1 min 4.5
3 sets: (9 mins)
1 min 7.0
1 min 6.0
1 min 4.0
3 sets: (9 mins)
1 min 8.0
1 min 6.5
1 min 4.2
5-10 min cool down

LOVED IT.  I was a sweaty mess at the end.  The work out just flew by!  Probably helped that I was listening to an old school playlist that I hadn’t listened to in a million years.  I hate to admit it but I like running on treadmills.

I’m excited to do this again sometime this week.  Next time, I’ll do her actual work out.  Definitely recommended!

Then I came home and made the most magical lunch ever!

Baked Falafel

adapted from Epicurious
1 cup dried garbanzo beans
1/2 large onion, roughly chopped (about 1 cup)
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro
1 teaspoon salt
4 cloves of garlic
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon baking powder
6 tablespoons flour (I used sorghum flour, so I think they were gluten free)

Soak beans overnight in plenty of water.  The next days, put the garbanzo beans and onion in the food processor and pulse to roughly chop.  Next add remaining ingredients and pulse until combine.  Refrigerate mixture for a few hours (this is when I went to the gym and did the above mentioned fab work out).

After the  mixture is chilled, pre heat your oven to 375 degrees.  Form garbanzo bean mixture into 20 walnut sized balls.  Place on a greased baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes.  Turn and baked for another 15 minute.  Serve on lettuce with cucumbers, tomato and yogurt tahini sauce.

Yogurt Tahini Sauce

1/4 cup greek yogurt
2 tbsp tahini
2 tbsp water (more or less depending on how thick you want it)

Stir together in a bowl and drizzle over falafel.   This recipe makes enough to serve 4 or 5.

In case you’re curious, this is the nutrition information for each ball:

Pretty tasty!  I will say that they can be rather messy to eat, God forbid I use silverware!

Of course after lunch I watched the World Cup Final.  Big surprise (I’m sure you’re tired of hearing about it, but it’s over now).

Spain won! I’m pleased!

Alright now back to my book!  Have a great night!

Vegetable Goat Cheese Risotto

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Yesterday was another blazing hot day (and today will probably be the same).

As promised, I got up at 5:55am and got my workout out of the way before it started to get hot.  I think my early morning work out when it was still a reasonable temperature (70 degrees by 6:00am) made me underestimate the heat.  I did 2 things today I probably shouldn’t have done in this temperature.

1.   I thought it was cool enough to bake.

Surprisingly, my apartment was fairly cool.  Sadly, my creation didn’t turn out that great.  I thought I would make Peanut Butter Banana Blondies, but really they just turned out to be like Peanut Butter Banana Bread. Not bad, but not what I had in mind and definitely not worth the calories.    I hate wasting food but most of them went in the trash.

Usually I give my baked goods away, but if it’s not good enough then I won’t give it away.  Is that terrible?

2.  I made risotto for dinner with my roommate.

Delicious but stirring this thing for 20 minutes over a medium/high flame while my apartment was almost 90 degrees was probably a bad idea. Please make this on a cool day if you (like me) do not have air conditioning in your house!  But if it’s below 70F (or you can make your house that cool), then by all means make it ASAP!

Vegetable Goat Cheese Risotto

4 cup vegetable broth
2 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion (or two small), thinly sliced
2 tsp minced garlic
1 cup arborio rice
1 cup peas, frozen
1 tomato, seeded and diced
4 oz goat cheese
2 tbsp chopped fresh basil (plus more for garnish)

Bring broth to a boil, turn flame on occasionally to keep warm until ready to be used.

In a pot or deep sauce pan, heat oil, add onions, garlic and arborio rice.  Cook for about 5 minutes or until rice is golden brown, about 5-10 minutes.  Add broth 1/2 cup at a time, stirring constantly until it is all absorbed, about 20 minutes.  Lastly, stir in peas, cheese, tomato and basil and cook for an additional 2 minutes.  Top with extra basil and serve!  Serves 4-6.

We enjoyed our risotto on the back porch with cold drinks.

Diet Wegman’s brand soda with blueberries in it, because we’re classy…

Looks kind of fun, right?  Not to mention you have instant dessert (blueberries) when you finish your drink!

Feel free to do this with other adult beverages (gin and tonic?).  I’m pretty sure I will at some point.

Have a great day!

Edamame Hummus

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I have about a million things I want to bake.  But it’s not happening.

It’s 90 degree out, 50% humidity.  I walked to and from the farmer’s market and was basically a sweaty mess.

So instead of baking, I made…

Edamame Hummus

1 1/2 cups shelled edamame (I thawed the frozen kind)
zest and juice of 1 1/2 limes
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp garlic
2 tbsp tahini
1/4- 1/2 cup water (enough to reach a consistency you like)

Throw it all in the food processor.  Start with only 1/4 cup of water stream more in if you want it smoother and not as thick.  I used about half a cup.

Then came a cucumber, edamame hummus and cheese sandwich.

Not bad.

A few hours later, I was going stir crazy from sitting around all day working on my computer.  For some reason, I thought a run would be a good idea.  I made it maybe a little more than a mile before I stopped and walked home.  Way too hottttttt.  Honestly, I probably could have kept going but I just plain wimped out.

Note to self: early morning gym sessions will resume tomorrow morning due to the heat.

Have a great (sweaty) night!

Lentil Chili over Sun Dried Tomato Cornmeal Waffles

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Ever since my friend Liz left me her waffle iron for the summer, I’ve had waffles on the brain.

It sits in the living room next to my basil plant and mini rose bush, because there’s no where in the kitchen to put it.

I basically think about waffle ideas all the time. In the shower.  On runs.  During movies.

Today was no exception.  It was kind of cold out today (low 60s), something warm and tasty was in order.

Lentil Chili

1 onion, diced
1 tsp garlic
1 tbsp olive oil
1 can of diced tomatoes
2 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp cumin
1 tbsp paprika
1 tsp cayenne
1 cup lentils
2 cups water or vegetable broth
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp salt (optional)
1/2 cup frozen corn kernels
1 smart dog (or real hot dog if you eat meat), diced, optional
1/2 bunch of kale (about 7 leaves), cleaned, stemmed and finely chopped

Heat oil in a pot.  Add onions and cook for a few minutes.  Add garlic and cook for an additional minute.  Add can of  tomatoes, spices, lentils, water and corn.  Bring to a boil and simmer for 20 minutes.  Add kale and smart dog and cook for an additional 10 minutes or until lentils are tender.

Serve over savory sun dried tomato cornmeal waffles

Sun Dried Tomato Cornmeal Waffles

1/4-1/3 sun dried tomatoes (about 10 pieces), rehydrated or packed in oil
1 cup buttermilk (or the old trickeroo 1 tbsp of vinegar + enough milk to fill up 1 cup, let sit for 10 mins)
1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup + 2 tbsp cornmeal
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp parmesan cheese
1 egg
1 egg white
3 tbsp olive oil

Blend together rehydrated sun dried tomato and milk until smooth.  Add eggs pulse.  In a separate bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, baking soda, baking powder, salt, parmesan cheese.  Gradually pulse in dry ingredients until just combined and smooth (make sure to scrape the sides of the blender).  Pour into a hot waffle iron, bake for 3 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through.  Makes 2 huge belgian waffles and probably a few regular waffles.  Enough for 4 people.

Honestly, this might be one of the best things I’ve ever made.  Sort of like a better version of corn bread and chili, right?

Who knew savory waffles could be so good!

Not only was it ridiculous quick and easy, it’s pretty healthy!  The lentil chili is vegan and all sorts of healthy (because I put kale in everything) and the waffles… well we all need a little bit of carb and fat in our life.  We especially need sun dried tomato!  You could probably blend in some spinach or kale to sneak in some more vegetables.

You can also freeze the waffles if you have leftovers then pop them in the toaster oven when you’re ready to enjoy them again!

Try it.  You won’t regret it.

Well, I’m headed to the middle of nowhere NY to do some stuff for my internship then I’m headed out of town for the weekend!

Have a great 4th of July!!