One-Pot Pasta and Baked Summer Veggies.

I haven't posted a recipe in some time, so this is long-overdue. I'm sorry.

However, I saw this "one-pot pasta" all over Pinterest, and had to check it out. Originally, the recipe comes from Martha Stewart, but I ended up looking at this recipe for inspiration, and loosely adapted it.

For a side, I did a sort of baked vegetable dish, using zucchini, summer squash, onion, and roma tomatoes. You may notice that it is pretty similar to this dish. I chose not to use potatoes, though.

The flavors of these two dishes paired well together, and the meal was nice enough for a Father's Day dinner for my family.

Here are the recipes:

One-Pot Pasta

Ingredients:

12 ounces linguine (or similar pasta)
3.5 to 4 cups of vegetable broth 
1 15oz can petite diced tomatoes
1/2 large yellow onion, julienned
2 cloves garlic, sliced (I would have used more, but my mom isn't a huge fan)
dash of red pepper flakes (again, I would have used more if not for my mother)
3 fresh oregano leaves, chopped
4 fresh basil leaves, chopped
2 tbs olive oil

Begin by chopping the veggies/herbs. Put half of the chopped herbs in a very small dish with the olive oil. Set aside (or refrigerate). Now, bring broth to a boil (I used one of those little Knorr tubs that makes 3.5 cups) in a large pot. Once the pot is boiling, add everything except the olive oil/herb mixture. Keep an eye on it and stir occasionally. After about ten minutes, add the oil/herb mixture, and stir well. I opted not to cook this dish until all liquid had evaporated, because I didn't want the pasta to be too soft. I estimate that I let it cook about 13 to 15 minutes, then strained out some of the liquid, leaving a little at the bottom. That's it. Pretty easy, huh?

Baked Summer Veggies

Ingredients:

1 zucchini, sliced
1 yellow squash, sliced
3 roma tomatoes, sliced
1/2 large yellow onion, sliced into large pieces
1 tbs olive oil
Parmesan cheese (optional)
black pepper to taste
basil, garlic, thyme, etc to taste
sea salt to taste

Spread olive oil over the bottom of a casserole dish. Chop all veggies, and arrange in the dish (see my picture for inspiration. Ha.)... This can be tricky with the oil, but have patience--it will be okay. Season to taste with herbs mentioned above, or your own herbs.

Onions chopped in fairly large slices.

Put in the oven on 375 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes, covered with foil or a similar covering. After this amount of time, take out, remove foil (carefully--it might be steaming a lot). Sprinkle parmesan cheese on, and return to the oven, without the foil. Let it bake another 25 minutes or so. Yum.

Finished product. Delicious.

Oh, and the pasta, just so you can get an idea of the consistency.

These were both delicious, and my parents gave this meal a high rating. Happy Father's Day!

Shopping, a lemonade recipe, and the purge.

 Yesterday, I went on a shopping trip with my father and Mark (happy Father's Day, by the way!). It wasn't the type of shopping trip I'd go on with my mom. Instead, we went to Strawberry Fields (a natural food store with great selection and not-so-great prices), Am-Ko (an Asian food store--highly authentic and awesome prices), and World Harvest (a store with tons of food from around the world, as well as gourmet and unusual foods). If you are ever in the Champaign, IL area, all of these stores are located very close to the U of I campus, and are definitely worth checking out.

At World Harvest, I got these "If You Care" gloves--just to check them out. I love wearing gloves while cleaning and washing dishes, and these gloves seemed like a pretty awesome investment. They are fair trade, ethically-sourced, and biodegradable. All of that sounded pretty great to me. They seem to be of very good quality, which is great, because they were five dollars. I like to spend my money well.

Unfortunately, they are bright green, which doesn't exactly match my kitchen!

Also purchased yesterday:
- Peanut oil
- Textured vegetable protein
- Arrowroot powder
- seaweed sheets (for making sushi!)
- washcloths
- rice noodles
- soba noodles
- and more!

Overall, it was a great shopping trip, and a wonderful way to spend a Saturday. And did I mention that we went to the Golden Wok Thai/Chinese Restaurant, too? We got vegetables and tofu. Yum.

Let's see. I've been doing some other interesting stuff lately, right? Oh, right, I made some delicious lemonade the other day. The old fashioned way, of course. Here's the recipe I used from the book, Back to Basics:

1 quart water

4 lemons

1 cup raw sugar (I used a little less)

First, juice the lemons. Then, put the peels on a bowl, and cover with the raw sugar. I only did these with half of the peels, because I used to other half to infuse vinegar. Let sit for 30 minutes, then pour one quart of boiling water over the sugar and peels. Let cool. Combine with lemon juice. Taste, and water down as necessary. I probably added at least a cup and a half of water, because it was so sweet. But either way, it is absolutely delicious.

Now, for the purge.

I really don't wear makeup often. Mostly because it's expensive (I won't buy products that have been tested on animals, which is difficult and guilt-inducing, because many of the products within these products have been tested), and adds a lot of time to my morning routine. Still, I own a lot of makeup that has been gathered through the years (pretty gross, now that I think about it). Same with hair supplies. Having been no-'poo for almost seven weeks now, I have not been using any products (hairspray, mousse, etc.) whatsoever. And lotions, creams, powders, etc. with gross ingredients just freak me out. It's time to purge. In favor of more natural alternatives (I've been looking up homemade versions of these things!), I am attempting to rid myself of most of these products. The problem I'm facing is, what on earth do I do with all these stuff? I'll let you know how it turns out...

Quinoa Vegetable Salad.

I am generally guilty of eating a lot of wraps and sandwiches for lunch. And of course these things can be awesome (and they usually are), but when I kept seeing this recipe on Pinterest, I knew I had to check it out. The original recipe comes from The Garden Grazer, and it can be found here. Through this recipe, I also found the blog itself to be wonderful, and I would highly recommend looking at it! But back to this delicious recipe. I changed it just a little from the original, so I would recommend taking a look at both to see which suits your tastes!

You will need:
1 cup of uncooked quinoa
1 can of garbanzo beans (mine was 14oz)
2 tomatoes, seeded and diced
1 bell pepper (I used green because it was what I had at the time)
1 can of corn, rinsed and drained
4 green onions (more or less to taste!)
2 tbs olive oil
1.5 tbs lemon juice
2 tsp dried basil
feta crumbles to taste (omit for vegan diets, of course!)
fresh ground pepper to taste

To do:
Cook your quinoa according to these instructions, if you have never done it before. Meanwhile, make your dressing by whisking together the olive oil, lemon juice, and basil. Set it aside. Chop the veggies into small pieces, drain the corn and garbanzo beans, and set aside. Combine everything, including dressing, into a large bowl, and mix thoroughly. Add feta, if desired. Season with fresh ground pepper, and mix again.

I have had this in the fridge for five days now (I just finished the last of it) and it kept just fine. Make a big batch and eat on it for a while. Yum!

Potato Taco Salad.

This meal is easy. This meal is delicious. This meal is filling.

A layer of small, chopped potatoes (but you could use larger chunks!). A layer of beans. Topped with vegetables. Yum. This serves one, but uses a big recipe of beans, because I like to save them for leftovers. Adjust accordingly.

You will need:

1/2 cup small chopped potatoes (cooked and seasoned with salt, pepper, and a little garlic)
1 can black beans
1 can pinto beans
1 can diced tomatoes and chiles
1/2 cup chopped onions
1 clove garlic, minced or whatever
1 tbs chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp oregano
1 tbs taco seasoning
2 tbs orange juice
vegetables to top (I like using fajitas--made with peppers, onions, zucchini, mushrooms, etc.)

To do:

To make the beans, use a saucepan on medium heat, and saute the garlic and onions in a bit of olive oil. Add beans, tomatoes, orange juice, and seasonings. Cook on low to medium heat for 30 minutes or so. Meanwhile, you can saute some peppers and whatever else you'd like for fajitas. If not, use fresh vegetables--it's up to you! Put the potatoes in the bowl first, followed by the beans in vegetables. Dress with sour cream, Sriracha, cheese, etc. Enjoy!

Recipe Review: Chickpea Bajane

 

(source)

Tonight, while I was over at Mark's place (by the way, we just celebrated our one year this past Wednesday!), I decided to try this new recipe.

How I stumbled upon this recipe is actually interesting in itself. I was at work a few weeks ago, and someone left a copy of this recipe by one of the printing stations. You can find the original recipe here.

I love anything vegetarian, as you know, and this seemed especially delicious, so I gave it a try!

Changes I made:
- unsalted vegetable broth (and I salted the recipe instead, although lightly)
- frozen spinach instead of fresh (so I added it along with the fennel and carrots)
- cooked the quinoa longer (it did not at all seem done after 15 minutes. I probably cooked it closer to 25 minutes)
- cooked the chickpea mixture longer after adding the final ingredients (probably 5 minutes)

Verdict:
This was totally different from anything I've ever made before, flavor-wise. The fennel (which I usually don't care for) was not too overpowering, but in the future, I would probably use less anyway, and more carrots. Would I make this again? Definitely! I will probably tweak it, though, so suit my own liking a little more. It was absolutely delicious, however, and I would definitely serve it to guests.

Potato Parmesan Soup.

Even though it's the end of March, we are under a "Winter Storm Warning" here in Illinois. It was about 55 degrees and sunny 20 hours ago, but you know. And honestly, it doesn't look so bad out there. It's mostly just really, really cold.

So of course, for lunch today, I made a great comforter for these cold days. Some delicious potato parmesan soup. My grandma has always made this for us when we come to visit during Christmas. I naturally have altered the recipe a little, mostly with some added spices. It may not be the healthiest soup out there, but it sure is delicious! Also, this recipe makes quite a bit. We like to save it and have some leftovers. If that isn't your intent, I would suggest halving the recipe. Enjoy!

You will need:

4 cups diced potatoes
2 cups chopped carrots
2 cups chopped celery
2 cups chopped onions
4 cups water
2 cups milk
4 tbs margerine
4 tbs flour (I have experimented with whole wheat flour; it didn't go so well)
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1 1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp basil
1 tsp parsley
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp oregano
optional: 1/2 tsp paprika and 1 bay leaf

Procedure:

Chop the vegetables and boil/simmer them in the water for about 45 minutes. Basically until the potatoes and carrots seems edible. At this point, in a small sauce pan, begin making your sauce. I start with the butter and flour and "cook" it in the saucepan. Then I add the milk. This takes some patience, but I stir it and whisk it until it seems somewhat thick. Next, add it to the vegetables, which should still have water surrounding them. Now, add the parmesan cheese, and let it simmer just a little longer to thicken up. Stay warm while enjoying this soup!

Sweet Pepper Risotto.

I'm tired of seeing risotto recipes with chicken broth, you know? Sure, I can easily substitute vegetable broth. But it's like people are saying risotto is only good when it's made with chicken broth. Forget that! Here's some very simple risotto with bell peppers and onions! Yum!

Risotto is so easy to make. Really. You just have to have a little patience. Here's what you need:

1 cup chopped bell peppers (I used red and orange)
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup arborio rice
3 cups vegetable broth
1 tbs olive oil
1 tbs margarine
1 tsp turmeric
black pepper and parmesan cheese to taste

What to do:

Start by sauteing the onions and bell peppers in the olive oil. After a couple minutes, add the rice, making sure it gets coated with oil. Add about 3/4 cup of vegetable broth. I like to water down my broth, because it tends to be too salty for my liking if I don't. This is up to you, of course!
Now, be patient. Wait for the rice to absorb the broth, then add more. You'll repeat this three or four times. Taste test the risotto to see if it's cooked. It will take at least 25 minutes. Now, add the turmeric, margarine, and parmesan cheese. Season with black pepper. Enjoy this savory dish!

Blueberry Pie.

My favorite fruit? Blueberries. Unquestionably. I love blueberry everything. It should come as no surprise, then, that my favorite kind of pie is blueberry. Maybe it screams summer to some, but I will gladly eat it any time. In fact, I made it for my family last Christmas. As usual, it was delicious. Here is my recipe. I've experimented with several recipes to find what really works for me. I got my original recipe from Fine Cooking magazine, so I'll go ahead and say this is loosely based on their recipe.

(Sorry this isn't the most glorious picture. I promise it tastes delicious.)

You'll need:

- 2 pie crusts (Go ahead and admit it, you'd rather buy pie crusts than make them)
- 4.5 cups of blueberries (honestly, I just use frozen ones half the time and thaw them out slightly)
- 1/4 cup flour
- 1 tbs brown sugar
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 tbs lemon juice
- pinch of cinnamon
- pinch of salt
- 1 egg white, for the crust

Procedure:

I make my pies by combining all the filling (so, everything but the egg white) in a sealable container, then shaking it up. Some people just kind of layer it in the pie. I have no experience with that, so I can only speak for my own way, which I do because Mom has always done it this way! With that in mind, assemble your filling and dump it into the bottom crust, which should of course be lining the pie dish. Next, I "paint" around the edge of the crust with the egg white. I prefer lattice crusts, and I'd like to think it really is quite simple to do. Basically, I just cut the other crust into strips using a pizza cutter, and I weave them in and out. After this is done, I "paint" the entire lattice with the egg white, and sprinkle sugar on it. This part is completely optional. I just think it's tasty. Bake it at 375 degrees, checking every thirty minutes or so. In the end, for about an hour and thirty minutes. Now, I like to wrap the edges of my crust with foil after about the first twenty minutes to keep them from burning. Let me know if anyone has any better solutions!

Enjoy your pie!

Potatoes O'Brien with Sriracha

I'll admit it. I love starchy foods. And I absolutely love potatoes, cooked in every way possible. This morning for breakfast, I thought I'd cook up some Potatoes O'Brien with Sriracha. If heat isn't your thing, you can always omit the Sriracha, replace it with ketchup, whatever you fancy.

Here's what you do...

You need:
1 tbs coconut oil (or whatever oil you prefer)
1 cup diced potatoes. If you're lazy, just use those frozen hash browns that come in a bag.
1/2 cup diced onions
1/2 cup peppers (I used bell peppers and poblano)
1 tbs chopped parsley
1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper
Dash of cayenne papper
Sriracha to taste

Procedure:
On medium-high heat, saute the peppers and onions in the coconut oil for a couple minutes.
Turn the heat down to medium, and add the potatoes. Cook this mixture up for a while Ten minutes or so, stirring often. Turn the heat down to low-medium, add seasoning, and continue cooking for another 10 to 15 minutes, or until potatoes are done. Serve, and artistically add the Sriracha on top. Enjoy!

Valentine's Day Inspiration: Muffins

 For Valentine's Day this year, I was a little busy spending time with Mark. We fried up some tofu and had a wonderful (and spicy) meal. Maybe I'll post the recipe for it at some point. But for now, here is some Valentine's Day fun, although a little belated.

 I love Earl Grey tea. And I love muffins. And I love making cards. All of these things combine into one sweet little idea: Earl Grey muffins and muffin cup cards. Save this one for years to come! Notice anything similar about the heart on the card and the muffin cups? Yep, I used a muffin cup to make a card. I cut a heart out of it and glued it into some red cardstock. Fun and cheap, right?

 Now, as for the inside of the card, it's lined with some light grey (think Earl Grey) cardstock, and a cute skinny heart is placed right in the center. Just for some added love.

 I highly recommend serving these with a cute heart-shaped bit of butter to keep the Valentine's Day spirit coming all day long. Speaking of these muffins, here's the recipe:

1 cup milk
1/2 cup butter
1 Earl Grey tea bag (I used Tazo full leaf and crushed it up so that the pieces would be manageable)
2 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/4tsp salt
1 tsp lemon juice
2 eggs
3/4 tsp vanilla

Combine the sugar and butter, add the egg. Add flour and ear grey tea. Add everything else. Mix. Bake at 350 for about 24 minutes.

Hope you all had a lovely Valentine's Day!

Vegetable Fried Rice

Rice has been feeding mankind for over 5,000 years, and helps feed two-thirds of the world's population. It has so many possibilities, but a great dish to know how to cook is vegetable fried rice. While I try my best to encourage everyone to eat vegetarian meals, I do know that some people might prefer this meal with some sort of meat added. Luckily, this can easily be added while stir-frying the veggies. I'll simply give you the basic recipe here. This recipe is inspired by my boyfriend, Mark. He's wonderful. He isn't a vegetarian, but he doesn't mind eating vegetarian food with me. He fixed some vegetable fried rice for me a few months ago, and it was delicious. I've added some crushed red pepper to the recipe and mixed up the vegetables, but I give full credit to him for this recipe.

Vegetable fried rice.

 So, I like to make my rice in advance. This is up to you, of course, but it will definitely save you time if you make it the night before. Or, you can always use leftover rice from another meal. Here, I am making two cups of uncooked rice. Ultimately this meal will make 3 to 4 servings.

 I like to add coconut oil to my rice as it's simmering. Coconut oil is supposedly really good for you.

Stir, stir, stir.

 Simmering.

 Nice and fluffy.

Packing it away to put in the fridge.

 For this vegetable fried rice, you will need:

-2 cups of cooked rice

-2 eggs (or more to taste)

-broccoli

-carrot shreds

-chopped bell peppers

-chopped onions

-soy sauce (I use the "less sodium" kind)

-crushed red pepper

 Healthier than the normal stuff.

 Start by scrambling those eggs!

 Mmm, looks great. Now set them aside.

Put some oil in a big ol' frying pan. If you're lucky and own a nice wok, then use that, of course.

Start with the broccoli. Just don't burn it!

 Add the peppers, onions, then the carrot shreds.

 Colorful. Must mean it's healthy.

 Now, add the eggs.

 Lookin' good!

 This is optional, but at this point, I like to add some lime juice.

 Now, add your crushed red pepper. If you're like me, you'll add about a tablespoon. If you don't like much heat, then add half a teaspoon or so.

 Time for the soy sauce. How much you add is up to you. I try to be pretty sparing, as the vegetables and crushed red pepper give this dish a lot of flavor as it is.

Yum!

 There you have it. Vegetable fried rice.

 Tasty, right?

P.S., my favorite stir-fried vegetable is broccoli. I absolutely love it.
Enjoy this dish!

Sweet and Spicy Salsa

Sweet and spicy salsa. Delicious.

 Who loves salsa? I sure do. I've tried making salsa more times than I'd like to admit. Sometimes it ends up too tomato-y. Sometimes, too garlicky. Sometimes it turns out great. What I've found is that when it comes to making salsa, I can always rely on canned tomatoes. Thus, this recipe uses:

-1 can of diced tomatoes 

-1 tomatillo

-1/2 cup chopped onion

-1/3 cup chopped bell pepper

-1 bunch of cilantro (I like to use a lot, you may not)

-2 jalapenos (or serrano, or habenero, depending on your heat tolerance)

-juice of one lime

-1 to 2 cloves of garlic

-1/4 tsp cumin

-1/2 tsp salt

-1 tsp sugar

-1 tsp vinegar

-1 tbs crushed red pepper (more or less depending on your taste

Alright. That's a lot, but it really comes together pretty quickly. I promise.

 Start off by tossing your diced tomatoes in a blender or food processor.

 Add the cilantro now, and put the rest in the fridge right away so it doesn't wilt. You need not chop the cilantro. The blender will take care of that.

 Looks tasty already. I like to use a lot of cilantro. I think it really makes salsa delicious. Some people aren't into that, though.

 This, my friend, is a tomatillo. You would be surprised how many people don't know that.

 For example, when I purchased this little guy, the cashier had to ask me what it was so that she could look up the price. Embarrassing.

 After slicing it up, it looks like this.

 Throw the tomatillo in there with the tomatoes and cilantro.

 Pulse, pulse, pulse, maybe stir a little, pulse, pulse.

 Juicing a lime. If you're lazy, you can just use a container of lime juice (a tablespoon or two).
P.S., yes, I have what is known as a "clubbed thumb," which can clearly be seen in the above image.

 Next, add the onions, bell peppers, and jalapenos (or hot peppers of your choice). Since this is for my family, I used jalapeno to keep the heat level down.

 Chop up some garlic. It doesn't need to be chopped too well, since it's going in the blender. Along with this, add the cumin, salt, sugar, vinegar, and crushed red pepper. Blend it up, and hope for the best.

 There you go, sweet and (just a little) spicy salsa!

 Of course it's good on chips. Also great with quesadillas, tacos, etc. You know how salsa works.

 Mmm, don't you wanna dig in? Enjoy it!