Sometimes you just need an easy snack. Something nutritious and fast that you can have around for a while or feed a crowd with. My answer? Hummus. Friends coming over on short notice and you don’t know what to serve? A hummus and veggie tray. Have kids? Want to make lunches with minimal ingredients so you’re not cooking all week? Consider hummus sandwiches, pitas, or snack packs. Need a healthy afternoon pick-me-up at work? Hummus and chips. You see where I’m going with this. I mean, really- throw all ingredients into a blender. Blend. Serve. Who doesn’t love a recipe like that?
2 cans reduced-sodium garbanzo beans, drained with liquid reserved
1 cup tahini
1/2 cup olive oil
juice of 2 lemons
1 tbsp cumin
1 tbsp paprika or smoked paprika
2 tsp crushed garlic
roasted garlic cloves, optional
kosher salt, to taste
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Directions:
Place all ingredients in a large blender or food processor bowl; you can halve this recipe easily. Blend, pouring in the reserved liquid from the garbanzos until the hummus is as smooth as you’d like (you may need to scrape the bowl). Taste, adjust seasonings, and serve, refrigerating leftovers. Enjoy!!
Crazy Bowls and Wraps. I love this place. Crazy Bowls is a fast food chain where you can get all kinds of tasty creations, as healthy or unhealthy as you’d like, vegan or full-on carnivore, stuffed into a wrap or served over grains as a bowl with your choice of sauce. Crazy Bowls is mainly in Missouri and California with a smattering of stores in Illinois, which seemed like a weird combination to me, until I thought of what other amazing thing Missouri and California share: Brad Pitt. That’s right. Let’s take a moment of silence for the sustaining force that is the MO-CA symbiotic relationship. Thank you, universe, for Brad Pitt. And thank you, Crazy Bowls, for inexplicably branching out into Eastern Missouri.
bright and beautiful
There’s a Crazy Bowls location with a drive though just a few minutes from my office and it’s where I go on the rare days I go to work lunchless. My order is the same every time I go. Every time. “Hi, may I please have the stir-fried veggie bowl with quinoa, double veggies, Thai sauce, and an extra side of Thai sauce? Thanks.” And the total is always $8.00, which always stings and makes me feel lazy and wasteful since I know how to cook a %&$#@ bowl of veggies for gosh sakes and since I know the bowl would cost about $2.00 to make.
Well, guess what? Today, I broke the witchy spell that veggie bowl had on me! I made my order at home, and way more of it. I know the ingredients by heart and grabbed a pre-made peanut sauce at Whole Foods to simplify the process.
My homemade bowl absolutely hit the spot and with a healthy bonus- I steamed the veggies instead of stir-frying them. Mind: blown. Have you made your favorite to-go food at home? Was it as satisfying? Here’s mine- let me know what you think!
STEAMED VEGGIE BOWL WITH QUINOA
Ingredients:
1/4 head green cabbage, cut into 1/4 inch ribbons
1/4 head red cabbage, cut into 1/4 inch ribbons
2 red bell peppers, cut into 1″ squares
1 cup edamame
1 cup carrots, peeled and chopped
1-2 cups quinoa, cooked according to package directions
bottled Thai peanut sauce or homemade sauce, ya showoff
Sriracha, for serving
optional: 1 cup kale, sliced into ribbons & 1 small zucchini, sliced into half moons (these are in the CBW bowl)
Directions:
You’re going to love this process- so easy and versatile! Chop all veggies. Put the quinoa on according to its package; as the quinoa cooks, set up a large pot and colander for steaming. Bring about 1/2 inch of water to boil in the pot, and add the veggies into the colander, with the carrots on bottom.
Cover and cook about 10 minutes. Fluff the quinoa, spoon about 1/2 cup into bowls, then top with as many veggies as you’d like and some sauce.
I’ve always looked up to my aunt Liz. A world-traveling, multilingual, distance running biological science grant approver with a PhD, she’s been reliably exciting and in-the-know my entire life (and hers, too). Being around her has always been an exhilarating treat; you should have seen the fervor caused when my two sisters and I would rip open boxloads of Liz’s hair products, makeup, jewelry, headbands, etc. that she was through with or passing on before an overseas move. Watching us divvy those half-used cans of designer mousse was like watching sweaty, sobbing pre-teen fans claw over each other to grab a tossed scrunchie at a Britney Spears concert. Big, Big News.
As you can imagine, this sense of excitement has only slightly dissipated, mostly because I’ve caught on to the whole “acting calm in public” thing (work in progress). When Liz gave me a copy of Heidi Swanson’s James Beard award-winning “Super Natural Every Day,” I had to work really hard to not squeal and yell MINE as soon as she handed it over. Super Natural is a lovely book by a lovely chef, filled with lovely photos and very helpful tips. In addition to the creative, delicious recipes, the pantry chapter is my favorite- Heidi really breaks down how to properly stock a modern kitchen. The cover recipe looked so glorious, I had to try it first. Cooked cabbage is a win in any dish for me, and this recipe was no exception. Have you tried Heidi’s recipes? What did you think?
2-3 small Yukon Gold potatoes, scrubbed and chopped into 1/4″ dice
2 shallots, thinly sliced
1 can white beans, rinsed and drained
2-3 tbsp olive oil
kosher salt
Parmesan cheese, optional
Directions:
Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a deep saucepan over medium heat. Take the time to let your OCD freak flag fly and really dice your potatoes into a small, uniform dice. Doing so will not only enhance the beauty of this dish and ensure even cooking of the potatoes, but will provide you with more crispy, cooked potato surface area, and who doesn’t want that?
So. Do that, then toss the potatoes and a healthy pinch of kosher salt with the hot oil. Cover the pan and cook for 5-8 minutes, scraping the pan occasionally, until the potatoes are cooked through. Add the shallots and the beans.
Allow the beans to cook in a single layer for a minute or two, until they’re slightly browned. Scrape the pan again, cook until the beans are browned all over and a bit crispy, then add the remaining tablespoon olive oil and the cabbage. The cabbage will wilt as you stir; once it has broken down a bit, you’re ready to taste for seasoning and serve. Enjoy!
we served ours with pork tenderloin. ’twas delish.
Happy holidays! I hope everyone reading this is stuffed to the gills with pie and ham and eggnog and booze and sugar cookies. That’s a good way to be. Dave and I have between three and four family Christmases to attend each year and the highlight is always the food. This, for our crazy Cruse appetites, means two dinner plates each and a dessert plate, at every meal. WHOA. Hey, we love life! What can I say? A delicious practice, gorging ourselves, but fleeting and not without serious après-holiday plumping effects.
This year, Dave’s mama suggested a healthy Christmas Eve feast- novel idea! I assume some responsible families, somewhere (somewhere very far away from us, out of sight and mind) have been doing this for generations, but it was definitely a twist in our holiday routine. The menu included mashed sweet potatoes, Oaxacan eggplant spread, shrimp cocktail, quinoa salad, grilled salmon, and roasted pork tenderloin. Not a stick of butter in sight, and the meal was a huge hit! I’ve included all recipes below. What did you make? Does your family steer from the norm and go healthy during the holidays?
Oaxacan Eggplant Spread: adapted from Gourmet magazine. Char eggplants and poblanos, peel, chop, and combine with white onion, cilantro, lime, and the kicker- a habanero! Divine. This was the underdog Big Deal dish of the evening. We made it one before, in the summer- it’s really good with ice cold beer. Serve with corn tortillas or tortilla chips.
Mashed Sweet Potatoes: clean, roughly chop, and boil 3-4 large sweet potatoes until tender (do not skin). Drain, return to pot, and mash with 1/2-3/4 c orange juice, 2-3 tbsp margarine, 1 tsp cinnamon, and a pinch of kosher salt. Taste and add more OJ/margarine/cinnamon/salt to taste.
Quinoa Salad with Avocado, Black Beans, Corn, and Tomatoes: adapted from MindBodyGreen. Cook and cool 1 cup quinoa according to package directions. When cool, add a whisked vinaigrette of the juice of a lime, 2 tbsp olive oil, and 1/4 tsp each salt and pepper. Add a handful chopped cilantro, 1 cup corn, a rinsed can of black beans, 10-12 halved cherry tomatoes, and a diced avocado. Adjust seasoning to taste.
My next stop on the one-way kale train I’ve been lately on was a tasty and versatile savory grain recipe. It was a win-win because of the kale and because I heart savory cooked grains. We were given a generous amount of groats from my husband’w coworker, who bought them by mistake. After Dave made them for breakfast several times with milk, cinnamon, and berries, I thought to myself “self, I bet we could get rid of these more quickly if I paired them with dinner.” And guess what? Well, there were still a LOT of groats left and we’re not quite through them and there are only two of us for Pete’s sake, but the new dish helped us slog through.
I served this with salmon rubbed with my favorite herb rub and cooked in cast-iron. The fish can be grilled or broiled, so cook it however you’d like. The rub takes well to each of those cooking methods. If you don’t have kind coworkers to bless you with a windfall of oat groats, you can find them in the dry goods sections of health food stores or in larger grocery stores. You can usually buy them loose. Also, the groat recipe is vegan!
2 leeks, sliced into matchsticks and rinsed well in a colander
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 large carrot, diced
1 cup oat groats
1 cup vegetable stock
1 cup water
1/2 tsp Kosher salt
1 large bunch kale, deveined and chopped into ribbons
cracked black pepper
a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
lemon wedges, for serving (optional)
Directions:
Heat 1 tbsp of the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion, the leek matchsticks, and 3 cloves of garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until the onion is translucent. Stir in the carrot and the groats, and cook for 1 minute more. Add the stock, water, and salt and bring to a boil; when boiling, reduce heat and cover, cooking for 25-30 minutes.
before….
Meanwhile, heat the remaining tablespoon olive oil over medium in a deep saucepan. Add the kale and garlic and saute about 3-4 minutes, until the kale has wilted. When the groats have cooked their 25-30 minutes, stir in the kale and garlic, cracked black pepper to taste, and the crushed red pepper. Voila! All done! I like to serve this dish with lemon wedges on the side.
Okay, now for the fish! Heat your skillet over medium and add a teaspoon of olive oil. Add all rub ingredients in a food processor and blend well. This makes enough rub for a few go-rounds, so save what you don’t use in the fridge. You’ll be glad you did, this is good stuff right here.
Rub the salmon on both sides with olive oil. Take 1-2 tsp seasoning per filet and rub that onto the salmon flesh. Place the fillets in your skillet, skin side down, and cook 3-4 minutes, until about halfway done (you’ll see the color changing from dark pink to light). Flip over and cook an additional 3 minutes, or until the fish is cooked through and flaky. If you’re grilling or broiling, prep the same way but don’t flip. This rub is so flavorful, surprisingly so. It’s almost the only way i make salmon at home- I hope you like it! What rubs do you use on fish? Let me know what you think in the comments below.
Hi! Long time no talk! Not sure how things have gone during your November, but mine has involved a nasty running fall, bronchitis, and various culinary and alcoholic over-indulgences. Okay, the last few are on me but I found myself in need of purification tonight (soul, mind, and body) and whipped up this tasty and heart-warming soup. I’m nursing myself back to health from the brink of my antibiotic haze and from the over-zealous discovery of my new favorite cocktail, the old-fashioned. Yowza.
ignore my creepy, crepey hand
Though the ingredient list below seems long, it’s a chop, boil, and puree kinda soup. The easy kind. The easy kind you can add your own favorite healing green veggies to. Enjoy!
handful roasted garlic cloves or 3 fresh garlic cloves
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp curry powder
cracked black pepper
a few dashes cayenne pepper
4 cups vegetable stock (or 4 cups water and 4 tsp vegetable base )
dollop of yogurt for serving, if you like (recipe is vegan if not)
Directions:
In a large stockpot, heat the olive oil over medium. Add the onion and sauté until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the chopped kale and the entire bag of spinach, stirring until the greens are completely wilted. Add the thyme, curry powder, and as much black pepper as you’d like, and cook until fragrant, about one minute more. Ready for the easy part?
Add everything but the yogurt to the pot. This mixture will look super hearty and amazing, because it is. Good for you for making this. Your body will thank you. I reserved a handful of broccoli florets to add back to my soup for texture- do so here but it’s completely optional. If you’re rushed or are fine with your broccoli in liquid form (it’s cool with me), bring all of the ingredients to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes.
When cooking time is up, blend the soup in batches. Taste for seasoning once it’s all whipped up. You may want to add salt depending on the saltiness of your broth and garbanzos. Ladle up a big bowl and turn your life around!
Well, well, well, looks like dinner was vegan and I didn’t even mean to plan it that way. And meat was not missed! This meal was full-flavored, hearty, and robust, sans any major source of protein. I did miss having a glass of wine, though- but that still wouldn’t have disrupted the accidental vegan harmony (winey ommmmm).
Dave and I made spaghetti squash for the first time last month, after my mother-in-law ordered it at a Ruby Tuesday (who’da thunk it) the night before a race. The race went well and we were left with happy memories of swimming, sweating, and spaghetti squash. I’ve made it three times now, and have been roasting it à la Martha– the squash has turned out well each time. Ms. Stewart doens’t disappoint. You really will be shocked and amazed at how easily the strands shred away in noodle-like ribbons from their gourds. Ooh! Aah! Spaghetti squash has a mild, neutral flavor, so pairing it with this very bold kale worked well. I also opted to use Newman’s Own Sockarooni, a loud sauce, for the squash itself.
SPAGHETTI SQUASH & GARLICKY KALE
Ingredients:
1+ lb kale, washed and cut into ribbons
3 large cloves garlic, minced
3 tbsp olive oil
water
red wine vinegar
1 large spaghetti squash
1 jar Newman’s Own Sockarooni or 2 cups homemade marinara (show-off)
salt & cracked black pepper
Parmesan, if desired (I understand this is not vegan- leave it off for true vegan purity and click more for a related video)
Directions:
***Before you begin, let me tell you that roasting spaghetti squash takes an hour and a half. It can be microwaved, but I can give zero advice on microwaved spaghetti squash because I haven’t done it. That sounds pretty unappealing, anyway. Cleared your calendar? Good! Here we go!***
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees and move the rack you plan to use to the middle or bottom middle of the oven. Prick the spaghetti squash all over with a knife, in rows from top to bottom. Place the squash on a baking sheet and b=roast for 1 hour and 20 minutes- set your timer for 40 minutes so you can flip it halfway through.
Once you have flipped the squash at 40 minutes, heat your olive oil over medium-high heat in a heavy-bottomed dutch oven. Add enough chopped kale to cover the bottom of the pot and stir. It will be snap-crackle-popping, but don’t be scared. Add more kale if you think too much bare, hot pan is exposed and causing oil to pop. Stir and add the rest of the kale, in batches, coating with the hot oil. After all of the kale has wilted (about 3-5 minutes), salt it, cover and reduce heat to medium. After 5 minutes, or if the kale seems too dry, add a bit of water (about 1/4 cup), and recover.
Let this kale cook until the spaghetti squash has just 5 minutes left, and add more water if you need to. With 5 minutes to go on the squash, uncover the kale, cook off any excess water, and push the kale to one side of the pot. Add a splash of olive oil to the bare side, and add the garlic to the oil. Stir gently for 1 minute; then combine with the kale. Add a splash of red wine vinegar, and stir again. Done!
Okay, back to the squash. Remove it from the oven, cut off the ends with the trimmed stem, and cut the squash in half lengthwise to cool- use an oven mitt for this. It will be hot. Let the squash cool for about 15 minutes, then remove its middle seeds with a slotted spoon, the way you would with the seeds of a [piping hot] Halloween pumpkin. Holding a squash half with an oven mitt, scrape the flesh out from side to side over a colander. The flesh will come out in perfect, spaghetti-like strands! Heat a bit of sauce and top the squash with the sauce if your choice. Serve alongside the kale. Tasty, healthy, hearty, ever-loving goodness.
The change of seasons must be triggering my cravings. I don’t know what it is about summer-to-fall, but the transition puts me into cooking and Pinterest overdrive! Two nights ago, I stopped at the grocery store on a mission: TO MAKE FISH SOUP. I had to have fish soup! A warming yet light, garlicky, fresh and fragrant tomato-based fish soup. IMMEDIATELY. The drive was so intense that I completely neglected to pick up the other items on my grocery list!
feeling rustic?
The soupy cravings I had were a perfect compass to a healthy and sustaining meal. We tend to eat large portions, and this recipe fed Dave and me for three meals straight. Please, if you’re a fish lover, give it a shot! It’s a boulliabaise-y dream come true. Would be even more delectable with a crusty loaf of French bread, and shrimp could be left out for those avoiding shellfish. Bonus: I felt quite rustic and womanly while making it. Ha! Bon appétit!
1 1/2 lbs cod or halibut, chopped into 1-inch chunks
1 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined
3 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
2-3 stalks celery, chopped
10 cloves garlic, smashed (trust me on this)
1/3 c white wine
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 bottle (16 oz) clam juice
6 c vegetable broth, or 6 c water and 5 tsp vegetable base
pinch crushed red pepper
1 orange, juiced and rind reserved
2 fennel bulbs, cut in half width-wise and chopped
2 yellow potatoes, diced
1 large tomato, seeded and chopped
salt & cracked black pepper
2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
Directions:
In a large stockpot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion, celery, and garlic, cooking until tender.
mmm, aromatics
Add the white wine, tomato paste, crushed red pepper, orange juice, clam juice, and vegetable broth. Cut a few inch-long strips off of the orange peel, and toss into the pot. Bring this stock to a boil and reduce by one-third. This took me about 10 minutes; feel free to taste-test to gauge your reduction time or cook at a lower heat if you’re blessed with this elusive “patience” I keep hearing about. Sounds interesting. I haven’t had time to check it out.
nourishing goodness
While the stock is reducing, finish chopping your tomato, fennel, and potatoes. Add these veggies when the stock has reduced, and cook at a simmer, uncovered, for 15 additional minutes. Salt and pepper your fish and cut into chunks. When the potatoes and fennel have cooked for 15 minutes, add the fish chunks, shrimp, and parsley. Cook for 5 minutes at medium heat, stirring to make sure the fish is well-immersed in the hot broth. Do a taste test and add salt and pepper, if you like (I added lotsa black pepper). Ladle into bowls and enjoy! And enjoy again!
allez! gourmet 