On the Table: Plenty

Feeding a toddler is…difficult. This little boy used to eat just about anything, his taste buds were new and he was happy to have anything flavorful hand scooped into his mouth. These days things are a little more peanut butter and jelly shaped but we do have our moments. 

My brother and sister-in-law gave me the most beautiful cookbook for my birthday when they were in town called Plenty by Yotam Ottolenghi. It written by a London based chef and is compiled completely of unique vegetarian dishes that focuses on freshness and variety. I spent the afternoon just looking through it. I found so many things that I would like to try but I started with something I was pretty sure this kiddo would eat. Mee Goreng is a stir fry noodle dish made with bok choy, green beans, and tofu. It was quick and most importantly the kid gobbled it up! Well, the noodles and the tofu but I'll count this as a win. 

Check it out if you are looking for something new.  Happy Friday and enjoy your weekend! There's lots to do in Cleveland so get on out there!

On The Table: Green Goddess

 

Most days we have salads for lunch. My go-to dressing is a balsamic vinaigrette that I mix up at the beginning of the week but it's starting to feel like we were in a rut. Then one night I went to a friend's birthday party and her husband made a really simple and delicious dressing of just avocado and lemon on a spinach salad. It was really tasty and I was hooked. I started looking around for more dressing along those lines and found this Mexican Green Goddess recipe (and this one too, I combined them). It really delicious! I skipped the cilantro and used parsley instead, the husband is not a fan of cilantro at all. It's so lovely and green and I wanted to share! What's your favorite salad dressing recipe?

Give Me A Beet

I decided to branch out of my normal range of cooking and bought some beets. A friend told me that she makes beet chips for her kids and they love them. I was impressed so I decided to give it a try. 

Now I'm going to be completely honest with you and say that these didn't turn out all that great. I think the mandolin slicer that I used didn't cut them thin enough and we had some issue, burned edges and soggy centers. But the few that survived were very tasty and Oliver wouldn't eat a single one...but the beets are incredibly beautiful and I couldn't stop taking photos of them.

I based my recipe off of Martha's and this one too. I added salt, rosemary, and garlic to the sliced beets and cooked them in a 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes. My goal was to get Oliver to try something new but that didn't work. I'm willing to give it another go but I think I need some tips. Anyone have any thoughts? If nothing else it's sparked my interest and most likely means that I will get a mandolin of my own one day. 

Mean & Green

Here's how my life goes. I do my very best to eat responsible, leafy green meals multiple times a day so I can then go for short walks with the family for cookies. Luna Bakery, you call my name but I counter it with tasty green smoothies and stir fry kale. French fries on the weekend, I see you too...we're all good.

Tuesday Tropical Smoothie
Large handful of spinach
1 banana
1/3 cup frozen mango
1 diced frozen kiwi
1 Tbsp ground flax seed
1/4 avocado
Water

Put it all in the blender and blend until smooth. Share it with the little one and start the day!

Hey Chickpea

We went to the grocery store on Sunday morning to shop for the week. We've started a nice routine where we all go together so I'm not trying to do it all myself and entertain Mr. Short Attention Span. Once he's done shopping and sampling one of us takes him to the play area while the other finishes up. Anyway, I picked a recipe for Chana Masala which calls for two cans of chickpeas. But the only ones they had at the store were very expensive and I just couldn't do it. So on a whim, I bought the dried beans. I know that many of you use dried beans all the time so maybe this isn't all that big of a deal. BUT to me it was. I've cooked dried beans in the past and have never felt all that impressed with my results so I almost always return to the ever convenient can. This time it was a success and I'll tell you what I did.

Ingredients
2 cups dried beans (my guesstimate for the recipe that called for 2 cans)
Water, water, water
2 carrots cut into chunks
1 onion, quartered
2 juniper berries
1 bay leaf
1 Tbsp + 1 tsp coarse salt, I used a Hawaiian black salt
Pepper

I used a teapot to quickly boil some water. Rinse and sort the beans and put into a large pot. Cover beans with two inches of the boiling water and let soak for about an hour, add 1 tsp salt (eyeball it). The beans will increase in size by about double. Pour out that water and fill the pot with fresh cold water and cover the beans by about two inches again. Add the remaining ingredients (including the new salt) and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer for about an hour until beans are tender but not too soft. This method helps to keep the beans intact without rupturing the skin. Then I went on with the recipe for Chana Masala which was also pretty good. But I have to say that the beans were the crowning victory of the day and the dish. I'm just happy it worked out. How do you cook your beans?

All Hail the Kale

Tell me, how do you feel about kale? I love it! Our kale garden is growing wild. We have some everyday in our morning smoothies but it hardly puts a dent in the six plants that I bought! I was a little overzealous. So last night I made some kale chips to snack on after dinner. Because I like to eat all the time. I found a simple recipe here but I would tweak it just a bit.

Ingredients

12 large kale leaves, middle rib removed

Olive oil

Salt & pepper

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Tear apart the kale into medium sized pieces. Toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Cook for about 20 minutes but check them after 10 and toss. I let mine go for 25 because the recipe suggested 30 minutes but that was really too long. I would have preferred mine to be a little less done. A cookie sheet of fresh kale bakes down quickly so don't be stingy with your leaves. Enjoy!

On the Table: Eat Your Veggies

Are you a fan of vegetables? It's so easy to get in a cooking rut and end up making the same things every week, pizza and pasta are easy. So I'm trying my best to mix things up while making sure we get our fill of fresh vegetables. Visiting the farmer's market weekly helps me to find new and fresh things to build our weekly menu around (do I sound like a broken record yet about the market?). 

Fresh salads and stir fries are really quick and easy. These top two meals featuring fresh spinach, zucchini, and broccoli. Then I like to add beans or lentils too to bulk up the meal.

My husband loves green beans so I made an easy side salad of cooked beans with balsamic and garlic to accompany our quick dinner of Luna burgers and oven fries.

Every morning. I have a green smoothie. The ingredients always include spinach, banana, and flaxseed then vary between mangos and peaches, or berries. Sometimes I use kale but my blender is no Vitamix so it can be a little chunkier than I like.

Now that Little Man has mastered the straw, he's all about me sharing with him too. How do you add vegetables into your meals? I'm always looking for something new.

On the Table: Strawberry Salad

Saturday was another trip to the Farmer's Market and the winning purchase by far were the fresh strawberries!

It was a beautiful day and that makes for a crowded market so we put the boy in the carrier to make maneuvering the crowds a bit easier.

The line was for berries was at least 15-20 people deep but everyone was patient and nice. Which meant they were all rewarded with quarts of locally grown berries for a pretty decent price.

Just look at these beauties! Strawberries come in a close second only to the beloved banana for the babe so he was pleased. For about a minute I had hopes of making some delicious dessert with these but we just couldn't wait. Oliver ate about half of them on his own by Monday! Here's a tasty lunch recipe that I wanted to share with you now.

Ingredients

Strawberries

Spinach

Avocado

Roasted almonds

Red onion (not pictured above, but I love the combo)

Chop up all of the ingredients and arrange on a plate or bowl. I like to try and make a salad look as fancy as they do at restaurants. It makes things seem more interesting. Toss with a simple balsamic vinaigrette and you have lunch ready in minutes! This spring salad is also great to bring along to a BBQ to have on the side of your main dish. Hope you enjoy!

On the Table: Vegan Quinoa Bowl

Lunch is that meal in the day that I constantly struggle with. Almost everyday at 11:00 I start rummaging around looking for a healthy, fast, and filling meal. More often than not I do not end up with something that fits all three of those stipulations. Scrambled eggs and grilled cheese are my go to and I've honestly had enough.

My mother-in-law is visiting and she mentioned how she likes to make a big batch of quinoa on a Sunday and then each day throw together a hearty salad and that seemed like something I could handle. So I present my version, and I do not mean to scare anyone away with the word vegan, trust me, it's good!

Ingredients
1 cup quinoa
2 cups water
Balsamic vinegar
Olive oil
S&P

Avocado
Cucumber
Red pepper
Arugula, spinach, kale (whatever you have on hand)
Baked tofu

Now this does require some prep time but I swear it's easy. Combine the quinoa and water with a dash of salt and bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to a simmer for 15 minutes until the water is absorbed. Toss with vinegar and a little oil while still hot. Then set aside until you need it. You can just stick it in the fridge and portion it out each day.

I also diced and baked the tofu ahead of time in a 425 degree oven for about 30-40 minutes and had it on hand for later. You really can add whatever you want; beans, vegetables, pineapple, feta cheese, whatever sounds good to you! Dice up your vegetables, mix in a bowl together and add your greens. Then toss with a little vinegar (or lemon juice), olive oil, and salt and pepper. Enjoy your very healthy lunch. So far this week I've had the exact same salad each day, but I'm a creature of habit. Tell me, what are you going to make?

On the Table: White Bean and Kale Soup

I love soup. It's known that at least one meal, which inevitably turns into at least two due to left overs, a week is going to be soup. This week I found a recipe in Better Homes & Gardens (which we get as a replacement for Ready Made and it's not even close to being the same magazine, but I digress). I altered it to make it vegetarian and ultimately it wasn't much different than ones I've had before. We usually don't use a lot of meat substitutes in our cooking because to be honest, I don't really like meat so...but for this occasion I used Field Roast sausages and they were pretty tasty. I browned them up first in a pan then added them last basically as the kale wilted. The soup was really filling and of course we now have enough to feed everyone on our street. Have a happy Friday and a great weekend too!

Snack Attack

I am a serious snacker. I have found that since I've been home with the baby, I have a hard time figuring out what to eat for lunch if there are no left overs. I usually end up making something that is quick but not very filling so then there I am at 3:00 back in the kitchen.

So I'm pinning my hunger squashing hopes to this homemade Larabar recipe that I found over on Little Monter, which she found over on Chocolate Covered Katie. It's really easy and super tasty! I made a few changes to the recipe based on my serious dislike of raisins and subbed in apricots instead and went with all almonds. Once my little man is a bit older, I think he'll like these too!

Recipe
1/2 cup quick oats
1 cup almonds
1/4 cup dates
1/4 apricots
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
2-4 Tbsp water as needed

Pulverize quick oats in a food processor. Add the rest of the ingredients minus the water and pulse until well combined. Line a 3x9 loaf pan with parchment paper and press the mixture into the pan. Add water if it's not workable. Or you can roll them into little bite-sized balls. Stick them in the fridge in an air-tight container and they should last at least two weeks. For my first attempt I made them into bars, but I think next time I'll try the balls and see how they work out. Mine were a little crumbly so I think a little more water would have done the trick. The vanilla extract sort of made them taste like raw cookie dough, yum. You can portion them out ahead of time for an easy snack on the go!

I also will make this disclaimer that the dried fruit makes these very sweet, so have a glass of water on hand. Enjoy!

Source: http://www.littlemonsterbaby.com/2012/02/homemade-larabars.html