Spaghetti Squash w/ Pomodoro Sauce

Happy Thursday!  I'm back to posting with a minute to spare.  In the spirit of keeping things short and sweet, here's an easy recipe below for Spaghetti Squash.  Enjoy!

-1 medium-sized spaghetti squash
-2 cans of crushed tomatoes
-1 clove garlic, minced
-1 T. fresh basil, chopped
-1 t. olive oil
-salt, pepper and red pepper flakes to taste.


Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.  Split one spaghetti squash in half and place on sheet or pan that includes a small raised edge - you need this bit of height so that you can pour in a bit of water so the squash doesn't dry out.  Place squash open side down and pour water into pan.  Roast for about 1/2 hour or until soft.  While squash is cooling, take 2 jars of crushed tomatoes and pour into saucepan.  Add 1 clove of minced garlic and chopped basil.  Add 1 t. olive oil, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes to taste.  Let simmer until it thickens.  Once squash has cooled a bit, scoop out and place in bowls, top with sauce and shredded parmesan.  Yum.

Millet w/ Toasted Pecans and Currants

Happy Friday, Everyone!

Even though it was a short work week for me, I'm glad it's nearly done!  It's been crazy in office prepping for an upcoming photo shoot. 

Anyway, I'm finally posting a couple photos of my millet recipe.  If you're bored of couscous, quinoa or brown rice, give it a shot.  It's probably closer to the texture and bite of couscous or brown rice with a slightly nutty flavor.  The pecans add a nice crunch and the currants give it a hint of sweetness.

Millet with Toasted Pecans and Currants

-1 cup millet
-4 chopped scallions
-a large handful of toasted pecans
-a large handful of dried currants
-1 1/2  t. olive oil
-1 T. red wine vinegar
-3-4 basil leaves, chopped
-salt and pepper to taste

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.  Boil 2 cups salted water.  Add millet to boiling water and bring to simmer.  Millet is done when it's soaked up by water.  While millet is cooking, toast pecans on cookie sheet in the middle rack for 7-8 minutes depending on your oven.  Let cool and chop into small pieces.  Chop scallions and basil leaves.  Once millet is done, add pecans, scallions, basil, currants and mix in olive oil and red wine vinegar.  Finish off with salt and pepper to taste.  Serve cold.  Serves about 4-6.

Get Your Veg On

I've been on a soup kick lately.  To feed my addiction, I created a variation to my soba noodle soup.  This soup is a bit heartier but it's just as fast and equally as satisfying. 

Here's the recipe:

Kale & Pasta Soup

-3 cartons of low-sodium vegetable stock
-1 small bunch of kale, chopped
-3/4 of a can of chick peas, rinsed
-2 carrots, peeled and chopped
-2 celery stalks, chopped
-1/2 yellow onion, chopped
-1 clove garlic, chopped
-1-2 T. olive oil
-1 cup of pasta
-1-2 bay leaves
-salt and pepper to taste

Sauté carrots, celery, onion, and garlic in olive oil until slightly soft.  Add stock, bay leaves and bring to boil.  Once boiling, bring back down to a simmer and add chick peas and kale once the veggies are soft.  Add pasta that you've cooked separately.  Serve with crusty french bread/rolls.  Serves 4-6

Soba Noodle Soup

 

At long last, I'm posting a recipe for my ridiculously easy soba noodle soup.  

Ridiculously Easy Soba Noodle Soup

-3 containers of vegetable stock (the large size)

-a handful of soba noodles (no exact measurement, it's just how you like it)

-1 cup of shelled edamamme

-2 carrots, peeled and diced

-2 celery stalks, diced

-1/2 onion

-1 clove garlic, minced

-1 T. minced fresh ginger

-2 T. olive oil

-1-2 bay leaves

-salt and pepper to taste

Sauté diced vegetables, garlic and fresh ginger with olive oil.  Once softened, add vegetable stock.  I usually add one carton of low-sodium stock.  Let boil and then bring to simmer until vegetables are softened.  Add soba noodles and edamamme (I buy them frozen and toss them in the pot to defrost).  Done!  Makes about 4-6 servings.

Recipes I Made Up And Liked

So my boyfriend Wendel (who is quite possibly the cutest guy on the planet) greatly appreciates my cooking - even when I try to make stuff up.  After pouring through piles of Gourmet, Bon Appetit and Donna Hay magazines over the years, I think I've gotten pretty darn good at it.

Well, he actually bought me a cool notebook for when I feel like playing "mad scientist" in the kitchen. 

So this weekend I made a delicious flatbread pizza.  And might I add, it was much healthier and tastier than Domino's or Pizza Hut.

VEGETARIAN FLATBREAD PIZZA
-1 or 2 rectangles of Trader Joe's flatbread or lavash bread (plenty of grocery stores now stock this.  I just like their brand).
-2 sliced plum tomatoes
-Trader Joe's meatless meatballs
-Shredded mozzarella cheese
-Arugula
-Olive oil
-Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.  Place 1 or 2 rectangles on large cookie sheet (depending on level of hunger).  Drizzle with olive oil.  Slice up tomatoes and place on top of flatbread.  Rinse arugula, pat dry and add to bread.  Garnish with cheese - I didn't measure it.  Just eyeballed how much I wanted.  Slice meatballs and place on top of bread.  These typically require 10 minutes of baking time at 375 degrees and if they're too difficult to chop when frozen, defrost them for a couple minutes before placing on flatbread.  Garnish with salt and pepper.  Bake in middle rack of oven for about 10-12 minutes.  Serve by itself or with a side of mixed greens. 

If you're feeling fancy, I sometimes serve the flatbread with a little bowl of tomato sauce on the side.  That way you can either drizzle it over the bread or rip off a slice and dunk it in the bowl.  Both methods work perfectly fine.  :-)

 

 

Veg Out

Having a 9-6ish job (not factoring in LA commute time) leaves me with little time for cooking extravagant dishes on the weekdays.  But I do believe in cooking healthy, eating seasonally and limiting the amount of processed food.  I don't think dishes need to be overly complicated to taste good.  All you really need are fresh ingredients, good olive oil, your favorite kosher/sea salt (I prefer Maldons) and cracked pepper. 

And there you have it, I just gave you the recipe for roasted brussel sprouts.  If you want to dress them up a bit more, I sometimes toss them in a little aged balsamic vinegar or a drizzle of maple syrup.  Roasted them on a lightly-sprayed sheet at 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

 

Quinoa & Sweet Potato Cakes

If you have an iPad and enjoy recipes from Whole Foods Market (a U.S. based grocery chain), then you might want to check out their iPad app.  It's chock full of delicious and nutritious recipes.  Many of the one's that I've saved have a manageable ingredient list and are easy to make.  See, I have a thing about recipes that require too many obscure ingredients.  I love food but have limited time during the week to cook as I'm sure many of you can relate.  Thankfully this recipe for Quinoa Sweet Potato Cakes is pretty easy.  I like to cook extra quinoa and lentils so that I can use it for other recipes later in the week. 

Hope you enjoy it.  I modified the recipe slightly by adding fresh garlic and omitting a random Whole Foods special seasoning b/c I didn't feel like spending the extra $$.  Not to mention, the exact special blend probably isn't available in other grocery stores.

Quinoa and Sweet Potato Cakes

Serves 4-6

These flavorful cakes make a unique appetizer or side dish. Try pairing them with vegetable soup or salad for a hearty meal.

Ingredients

1/2 cup quinoa
1/2 cup truRoots Organic Sprouted Green Lentils
1 red bell pepper, finely chopped
3 tablespoons diced red onion
2 tablespoons Bragg Organic Sprinkle Seasoning
1 tablespoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
Pinch ground black pepper
1 cup mashed cooked sweet potato, more if needed
Salsa or other condiments of your choice

Method

Preheat oven to 350°F. Cook quinoa and lentils separately according to package instructions. Drain lentils well. In a medium bowl, mix together quinoa, lentils, red pepper, onion, seasoning, chili powder, salt and pepper. Add sweet potato and combine using hands until mixture sticks together easily. If mixture is not sticking together, add more cooked sweet potato until desired consistency is reached.

Form the mixture into four (4-inch) patties and arrange on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake 10 minutes. Flip and continue baking 10 to 12 minutes more until edges are dry and patties are heated through. Serve with your favorite condiments.

***NOTE:  I CREATED 6 PATTIES B/C 4 WERE TOO LARGE.  I ALSO NEEDED TO BAKE THEM FOR ABOUT 40 MINUTES IN MY OVEN.

Nutrition

Per serving: 230 calories (20 from fat), 2.5g total fat, 0g saturated fat, 0mg cholesterol, 360mg sodium, 44g total carbohydrate (8g dietary fiber, 8g sugar), 10g protein

Greens and Grains

For 2012, my boyfriend and I are planning to eat more more vegetables and try to substitute them for meat in many meals.  Here's a perfect side dish that I easily created from items in my fridge/pantry one night.  It pairs well with seared tofu, tempeh, chicken, pork, or really any kind of meat.  And it's just as good alone.  I sort of threw it together so the measurements aren't exact but it's hard to mess it up.  Totally healthy, totally delicious.

Brown rice with chick peas, spinach and pine nuts

• about 2-3 cups of cooked brown rice
• half a bag of spinach, washed
• 1 t. chopped garlic
• 1 t. extra virgin olive oil.
• 1 small can of chick peas
• handful of pine nuts
• salt and pepper to taste

Cook brown rice and set aside.  I like to use Trader's Joe's frozen bags of brown rice.  Each bag only takes 3 minutes to cook.  Sauté spinach and garlic with olive oil in pan.  Drain and rinse can of chick peas.  Once the spinach is wilted, mix everything together in a bowl and sprinkle in pine nuts.  Season with salt and pepper.  Enjoy.