Spring Break

It's spring break and I decided to actually cook good things for myself this week. I've been eating veggie burgers, pizza and beer since the semester started...time for something green. This was a killer salad that I threw together last night:

Warm Pasta Salad with Roasted Tomatoes and Pesto

1/2 box of Penne
1 cup roasted grape tomatoes [about 2ish cups raw]
2 Tablespoons of pesto [I used this vegan pesto from Oh She Glows]
4 cups salad mix

Cook the pasta. Save about 1/2 to 1 cup of the water.
Mix the pasta water [a little at a time - you just want it a little saucy], roasted tomatoes and pesto in a sauce pan [maybe even the same pan you used to cook the pasta in] – then throw the pasta in. You can either serve it over the greens or mix it up a little so they wilt. Your decision.

Super delicious.



Side note:
[In case you don't know how to roast those tomatoes, here's an easy way to do it:

Place sliced tomatoes on a baking sheet and drizzle with oil, salt, and pepper. Roast for about 45 minutes to an hour at 400F. Watch closely during the last 15 minutes of roasting.]

Bright Green Vegan Risotto

I love risotto - so easy to make - and this is definitely not the first one I've posted on this site. These days I skip the cheese partly because it's expensive, and partly because it ends up creamy enough that I don't miss it anyway.

Please note: I am not vegan...though, I have cut back on significantly on dairy in general. Anyway...here it is my new risotto recipe:

Bright Green Vegan Risotto

Some olive oil for the big-ish sauce pan
1 small yellow onion, finely diced
2-4 garlic cloves minced
1 cup arborrio rice
½ to 1 cup white wine [or just use extra vegetable broth or water]
3-4 cups of vegetable broth [or you can just use water and add salt to taste]
1 cup frozen peas
1 whole bunch of cilantro, chopped
zest of 1 lime [or lemon]
black pepper

heat the pan up over medium heat.
Add oil, onion and garlic. Cook until the onions are soft.
Add the arborrio and fry it up for a minute with the onions and garlic
Add the white wine and stir pretty often til absorbed
Add the vegetable broth ½ cup at a time til the rice is soft, stirring frequently.
Once the rice is cooked add the peas and cook for just a couple of more minutes. Then take off the heat and add cilantro, lime zest, and a few turns of freshly ground pepper.

The taste of this risotto is clean and bright!

tiny bags of grains

I noticed it's been over 10 months since I've posted anything. Well, please just know I've had good reason - this past year has been a doozy. I'm just gonna leave it at that because it's not that kind of blog here.

What I am going to write about is soup. I made an amazing soup yesterday. Now, I'm not gonna lie, soup might be my forte. I can whip together an insanely good soup from just about nothing at all. That's what I did last night.

Trying hard these days to not spend a lot on groceries, I've been trying to use everything I have before I buy more. Last night, I was rummaging through my cupboard and I found 3 tiny bags of left over grains and lentils from some other recipe. [this one actually.]

And so here's what happened: amazingness. I don't know where my knack for soup comes from - but I'll take it. I love soup.

here's the recipe:

8 cups of water
1/4 cup Bulgar wheat
1/4 cup pearled farro [barley would also work here]
1/4 cup lentils
3 small Thai chilies chopped [optional]
1/2 inch fresh ginger root peeled and chopped
1/2 tsp granulated garlic
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
1/2 tsp hungarian paprika
freshly ground black pepper
salt to taste
3 tablespoons of tomato paste
1 15oz can of garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed

1. Bring water to a boil
2. Add grains and all the seasonings, chilies and tomato paste
3. Simmer for a good 25-30 minutes.
4. Taste it. [perhaps add a couple of bouillon cubes if you like for extra flavor - I did]
5. Simmer for about 20-25 minutes more until the grains are cooked to your preference [nobody wants to chip a tooth on an undercooked lentil!]
6. Add garbanzo beans and cook until they're heated through.


Get some crusty bread and go to town!