Vegetarian Foodie

Strawberry Salad

As I sit to write this post, I have suddenly realized that there is no existing category for salads...hmph. I also realized my last post was about strawberries...(it is strawberry season in these parts and besides, organic strawberries are ONLY 4.99 a small basket).

Sooo......here is the recipe for a delicious salad...in fact, I would like to dedicate this salad recipe to Lani who is my carnivorous sister in law that sports a prejudiced palate (however, this salad easily found its way to her heart and now I am confident that I can always show up on the doorstep with it without being labeled as a dirty vegetarian hippy).

Strawberry Salad

Dressing

• 1/4 Cup olive Oil
• 1/4 Cup Balsamic Vinegar
• Salt and Pepper

Salad

• Greens (three to four handfuls for each person to be served)
• A handful of strawberries sliced
• 1/2 Cup Toasted Pecans (Preheat your oven to 400 F. Spread pecans out on a cookie sheet and bake for 5-10 minutes-Do not blacken)
• 1/2 Red Onion sliced and diced
• 1/2 Cup crumbled Blue Cheese

Toss the salad with the whisked dressing and enjoy...you CAN take this one home to the in-laws!

Strawberry Lemonade

Strawberry Lemonade

• A double pint box of ripe strawberries (that you will need to juice through a fancy pants juicer that separates the juice and mushy rest-I suppose you could blend the strawberries and send them through a sieve)
• 1 Cup of sugar (or more if you have a sweet tooth)
• 8-10 lemons squeezed

Mix to enjoy the superb and frothy strawberry lemonade!

What insanity we have recently faced. Just today the husband and I were able to move back into our offices after the sewer mess... What a lot of construction. Although really, the end result of the space reveals itself as quite welcoming. 

So alas, the computer fast of sorts comes to an end. I am now hoping to settle in and officially invite a routine to present itself...tomorrow. For now, I am going to sit back and sip my wine and admire the freshly renovated office with its sea blue walls, appropriately named 'Tropical Holiday'.

Raw Chili

Compliments of the lovely Kirstin who creates stunning mosaics check them out here.

Makes a big pan/bowl of chili

This chili tastes fresh and sprouty but like authentic cooked chili at the same time. This one is a winner! Whole, soaked cashews are a lovely addition to this dish

• 1 yellow bell pepper
• 1 cup cashews, soaked
• 4 cups lentils, sprouted with just a hint of a tail
• 2 large tomatoes
• 1 shallot
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1½ cups sun dried tomatoes, soaked in water ¼ cup olive oil
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1½ teaspoons chipotle powder
• ¼ cup nutritional yeast (optional)
• salt to taste

Soak the cashews. Chop the bell pepper into small pieces. In a food processor, blend the shallot, garlic, tomatoes, 1 cup sprouted lentils, spices, sun dried tomatoes (and enough of their soak water) to achieve a thick, chili like consistency. Mix the remaining sprouted lentils, the blended mixture, the cashews, nutritional yeast and the bell pepper together in a bowl. Season to taste with salt. Eat immediately or place mixture in a lasagna pan and dehydrate till warm.

Variations…add a jalapeno or two to the food processor while blending. Add the kernels of a cob or two of corn.

Enjoy!

Kitchen Memories...

Before I officially introduce you to my new kitchen (which is currently undergoing renovation for a skylight) here are a few bits and pieces from final days spent in the well lived kitchen at Georgia Street:

The boy, cupboard hunting...

Busy waking up in the morning light...

The cat looking handsome...

The gorgeous ones...

I could go on and on with pictures and stories about this kitchen in which so much time was spent. The kitchen that offered a venue for not only cooking but also a space to share hopes, musings, stories, to labor in and even inspired a gambling session to rock paper scissors late into the wee hours...(you really should have been there). Thank you Georgia Street kitchen and everyone that ever stepped into it for all the superb memories.

Same Recipes with Variations

I know I know, how very long it has been since I posted last. Moving has really been action packed. Once we moved the final box over, we spent a solid two weeks unpacking and acquainting ourselves with well, ourselves in the new digs. The husband agreed we were anxious to get back to work and officially begin a routine. 

That was all before we woke up to 4 inches of water in the basement that had backed up from a root invaded sewer line... Thus began the phone calls to plumbers, restoration experts, contractors, insurance agents etc etc. Lets just leave it at that. Take my word for it-it has been a hellish week and a crude welcoming. Oh, and the basement is where our home offices are located so our hopes to settle in and revisit our huge to-do lists have been dashed (temporarily). 

I think I am pleased to say that soon it will all be history.

In regards to food, we have graduated from convenience foods and we are preparing some old favorites with variations. For example, spinach lasagna inspired by the baked cannelloni recipe:

Blueberry Muffins inspired by strawberry muffins...

More soon...

Eat a Color

We are moving house at the moment-excuse my hiccup in posting while I get it all sorted... In the meantime, we are enjoying convenient foods (and they appear to be color coordinated...)

Yellow...

White...

More soon

Oh my! Baked Doughnuts

I knew that when I read about this recipe for Baked Doughnuts on this blog I just had to try it out. The daughter got to work on it too...

We chose a heart shaped cookie cutter for our doughnuts...

...Which was so appropriate because we agreed that we loved the baked doughnuts.

Italian Inspired Crepes

The following recipe is one I had to try from this month's issue of Food and Wine.

Crepes

3/4 Cup Flour
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
2 Large Eggs
3/4 Cup Milk
A Tablespoon of Melted butter

Olive oil (for later...)

Whisk the flour and salt. In another bowl whisk the eggs and milk. Combine two bowls and mix until smooth. Add the melted butter... mix and refrigerate for 1 hour (I didn't read this part before hand and refrigerated for about 20 minutes because I was hungry! The crepes turned out fine).

The Inside

1 1/2 Cup Ricotta Cheese
1 Tablespoon Parsley chopped
2/3 Cup Parmesan Cheese grated
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 1/2 Cup of Marinara (I used a can of roasted tomato chunks)

Mix all together now.

Preheat oven to 375 F.

Heat olive oil in a skillet and pour in 1/4 Cup of the batter  (I eye-balled it). Tilt the pan to make a medium sized crepe. Cook for about 2 minutes...until the crepe is golden and flip. Continue to cook for another minute or two.

Continue with all batter...

Fill crepes and turn over into a semi circle. Arrange in a casserole dish as you like and top with marinara and any quantity of cheese you like.

Bake for 20 minutes.

Welcome Spring

Have a Splendid and Festive Saturday.

We are dancing around to this: CSS 

Vegetarian Harira

Just in time because the deadline is tomorrow... here is my spicy vegetarian soup entry for No Croutons Required. Thank you Holler of Tinned Tomatoes for the invitation to submit my favorite spicy soup recipe!

Harira is a Moroccan soup that is traditionally eaten to break a fast. The soup varies by region and is normally prepared with meat. Not in this case however.

One of the best things about this soup is that each day that it sits in the refrigerator it gets better and better. It is without a doubt, a family favorite around here.

• 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
• 1 Onion Chopped
• 3 Teaspoons Curry Powder
• 1 Teaspoon Cumin
• 2 Teaspoons Rosemary
• 1 Teaspoon Fennel
• 6 Cups Vegetable Stock
• 1 Can White Beans
• 1/2 Cup Red Lentils (this is optional: I soak my lentils in water for about 3 hours prior)
• 1/2 Cup Rice
• 2 Tomatoes Chopped
• A Handful of Cilantro
• Salt and Pepper to taste

1. Heat the oil in a large soup pot, add the onion.
2. Once the onion has cooked for a few minutes, add the spices (Your entire house will smell so good!)
3. Add the stock, beans, lentils and rice. Bring to a boil, simmer and cover for 30 minutes.
4. Add tomatoes and cilantro
5. Salt and pepper to taste

Enjoy this amazing soup! You won't be disappointed...