I won’t be posting new recipes this week as I’ll off on vacation. In Maui. While I’m in Maui, I’ll be trying the local favorites:
Shave Ice: So much more than a snow cone.
Plate Lunch: Meat. Rice. Macaroni salad?
Poke: Raw fish right out of the ocean. Drool.
Mai Tai: Uh, not really Hawaiian, but I’ll be enjoying a few anyway.
If I end up having internet access, I’ll probably post some pictures during the week. There will be some hiking, beaching, eating, and luau-ing. Maui, here I come.
I ran across this soup on Je Mange la Ville and ended up making it just a few days after she posted it, it looked so good. I had half the ingredients on hand anyway. I stuck to the recipe pretty closely but did not make the goat cheese croûtons. While they looked good, I eat plenty of cheese as it is.
Provencal Vegetable Soup
4 T. olive oil
3 medium leeks – sliced
6 garlic cloves – minced
2 medium carrots – peeled and diced
3 stalks celery – diced
5 cups chicken broth
Salt and Pepper
1 t. Herbes de Provence
12 green beans – trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 medium zucchini – cut into 1/2-inch dice
1 ripe tomato – seeded and cut into 1/2-inch dice
Pistou:
6 medium garlic cloves – peeled
3 ripe tomatoes – seeded
5 to 6 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
30 fresh basil leaves – washed and dried
In a big pot, saute the leeks in a little oil for about 3 minutes. Add the garlic for another minute before adding the carrots and celery for another 3-4 minutes. Next, add the broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer. Season with salt/pepper and then add the green beans, zucchini, and tomato and continue simmering for 15-20 minutes.
To make the pistou, add all ingredients except the oil into a food processor. Begin processing and then slowly add the oil until it’s a nice smooth consistency. Set aside a bowl of pistou to add to the individual bowls of soup at the end. Once the vegetables are all cooked through in the soup, add the pistou into the pot and serve with a little extra on top.
Notes: This was such a nicely flavored soup, with the garlic and basil and parmesan cheese adding a lot.
Servings: 6 bowls of soup
Yum. This meal was tasty and healthy and I wish I was eating it again right now. I adapted this recipe from Kalyn’s Kitchen and used the fish I had on hand and served with a bed of quinoa and green beans. Chris really enjoyed this recipe as well.
2 pieces of tillapia
Sauce/Marinade:
1/4 C. soy sauce
1 1/2 T. Rice vinegar
1 T. sesame oil
2 T. splenda
1 green onion – sliced
1 tsp. garlic powder
In a flat dish or plastic bag, marinate the fish in half the sauce for about 15 minutes. Heat a grill pan to around medium and spray with oil. Grill fish for 2-3 minutes per side (this is a short cook time for the thinner fish I used, cook longer if using something thicker, obviously). Serve warm with extra sauce (not the used marinade) on top of quinoa and green beans, which I cooked in the same pot, by the way.
Notes: Yum. I will make this again once I get more Trader Joe’s fish. Also, after the fish was done I threw on several whole green onions and grilled with a little of the marinade until nice and crispy on the outside. It’s not in the picture, but I served these with the fish and they were a great addition.
Servings: 2 servings
First off, let me start by saying while this syrup contain seems like a good container for dressing, it’s not. But on the bright side, once I use up this dressing, I’ll have a lovely syrup dispenser! This dressing is from Fat Free Vegan Kitchen and is her “Annie’s Goddess Dressing” wannabe. I’ve been enjoying it all week.
6 ounces lite firm silken tofu
1/4 C. water
1 1/2 T. cider vinegar
2 T. lemon juice
2 t. low-sodium soy sauce
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. sesame oil
1 T. tahini
2 green onions, white parts removed, chopped
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
1 large clove garlic
Toss all ingredients into a food processor or blender and process until nice and smooth. Enjoy on your favorite salad!
Notes: I really enjoyed this dressing and it’s a nice alternative to the high fructose laden, high fat dressing from the grocery store.
Servings: Lots
So far, I think my favorite thing about my grill pan is making the grill marks on my food. Talk about a fun time! Anyway, I grilled vegetables. And they got grill marks. And I was happy.
1 zucchini – sliced
1 sweet potato – peeled and sliced
Italian dressing
ground cumin, salt and oil
Rinse and dry zucchini and then slice. Marinade in italian dressing for a while before grilling. Tasty! Peel the sweet potato and slice. Either par boil or (*gasp*) microwave in a bowl with a little water for 2-3 minutes. This will cook the potato so you just have to get a nice crisp outside when grilling. Dry and spray with oil. Sprinkle with cumin, salt and pepper. Heat the grill and spray with oil. Grill zucchini and sweet potato until you get nice grill marks. Flip and repeat. Eat.
Notes: I’m sure the zucchini would benefit from a little grated parm, but I’m going to Hawaii in two weeks. I don’t need extra cheese.
Servings: 1 – 2 servings
This dish made for a nice healthy dinner. As you’ll see in the next few posts, I’ve been using my grill pan a lot lately. I love grilled asparagus and the dressing combination with the spinach made for a very tasty and filling main dish for me. Thanks Fat Free Vegan Kitchen.
1 bunch asparagus – tough ends snapped off
4 ounces baby spinach
2 tablespoons chopped walnuts
Smoked Paprika Salad Dressing
2 T. water
2 T. lemon juice
1 t. miso
1 T. mayo
1 T. white wine vinegar
1 t. garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
small amount of sweetener to taste
Clean asparagus and spinach and get the asparagus grilling on the grill pan. Spray a little olive oil on the pan first and then grill on medium heat for 5 to 8 minutes. While grilling, make the dressing. I put all the ingredients into a small container with a lid and shook it to mix. In a big bowl, toss the spinach with a bit of dressing and plate. Top with grilled and seasoned (salt/pepper) asparagus and a handful of walnuts. Enjoy.
Notes: You will have left over asparagus, which is great in eggs in the morning or on other salads.
Servings: 2 salad servings
I love cauliflower. It’s so versatile. I’ve seen a few recipes around for roasted cauliflower, roasted to the point of being caramelized.
1 head of cauliflower
Oil
Salt and Pepper
Slice cauliflower into 1/4 inch slices. Some will crumble but you should get several large sections. Spray a cookie sheet with oil and spray cauliflower with oil. Bake at 400 degrees for 30 plus minutes, flipping cauliflower at least once. Salt and pepper and enjoy.
Servings: 4 servings
Once upon a time, in college, I dated a man named Eustace from Sierra Leone. Eustace made this stew he called peanut butter stew, based on west African ground nut stew. After we broke up, about six months after, I wanted this stew so badly I called him up out of the blue and demanded the recipe. He obliged and now peanut butter stew is one of my favorite, most filling and delicious recipes.
2 chicken breast (to add more flavor, use bone in and skin on if you want)
2 onions – diced
3 bell peppers – diced (I used orange, red and green)
2 jalapenos – diced (I cut the seeds out of one and use the seeds of the other)
4 cloves garlic – minced
3 carrots – sliced
1 package mushrooms – quartered
1 large can diced tomatoes
1/4 – 1/3 cup peanut butter (Please, use natural and not that Skippy-Pan stuff with added everything and a gallon of sugar. Please.)
1.5 T. tomato paste
1/2 cup water
Thyme, Rosemary, Parsley
Salt and Pepper
(Please note: The recipe looks haphazard because it is. It is how he used to make it, just throwing in different vegetables, meats, seasonings etc every time. So every time I had it, it tasted slightly different.)
Start by prepping. Chop up the onions and garlic and throw in a big pot with a little olive oil. As they cook, slowly add the carrots, peppers, jalapenos. Stir and cook for about 10 minutes total as you continuously add vegetables. Mix in the tomatoes and the mushrooms. Add in 1/4 cup peanut butter, tomato paste and water. Mix together and stir through the soup. Give a little taste. The peanut butter flavor should not overwhelm you but you should taste the flavor. Adjust by adding more tomato paste/water or peanut butter. Season with spices, salt and pepper and add in your chicken now. I added the two breasts whole and shredded them just before serving. Let this stew for 30 minutes or until chicken and carrots are cooked. Serve over rice if desired or, if it turns out more soup than stew like as mine did this time, serve as soup with bread.
Notes: This stew is so versatile. Add more jalapenos if you want more spice, cut out the chicken to make it vegetarian, add in tofu, add in beef on the bone for more flavor, use different spices like cumin. Whatever you do, be careful. This stew is delicious and filling and you will want to make it again.
Servings: 6-8 servings
Meatballs. That word just sounds kind of gross. Meatball. Meat. Ball.
Anyway, I made venison meatballs last week! They didn’t taste gross.
1 pound ground venison
1/3 cup feta – crumbled
1/2 red onion – diced
3 cloves garlic – minced
3 green onions – sliced
Salt and Pepper
In a big bowl, mix everything up. I used my (clean) hands and was reminded why I never make meatballs or meatloaf. Shape the meat into balls. Place on two cookie sheets and bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. Check, rotate, cook for 10 more minutes and serve.
Notes: The first night I served these balls of meat with a big salad. The second day reheated them and made meatball sandwiches with a little sauce. I probably won’t make these again, but mostly just because it was so… meaty.
Servings: Many many balls of meat.
I adapted this recipe from Kalyn’s Kitchen to what I had on hand. What I didn’t have was 9 plus hours to slow roast tomatoes, so I used regular old canned tomatoes instead, which lead to what I’m sure is a very different tasting soup. It was a tasty soup and very filling with lentils, garbanzo beans and turkey sausage.
1 package turkey sausage – sliced
1 onion
1 T. dried parsley
2 t. dried fennel
2 cloves garlic – minced
2 cans diced tomatoes (juice included)
2 C. garbanzo beans
1/2 C. lentils
4 cups chicken broth
2 cups water
In a large pot, saute onion and sausage in a little oil for about 5 minutes. Add herbs and garlic and cook for a couple more minutes before adding in the tomatoes, stock, water, garbanzo beans and lentils. Simmer for 30-40 minutes or until the lentils are completely cooked. Season with salt and pepper and serve warm.
Notes: Last Sunday I soaked dried garbanzo beans and then cooked them. They taste far better than canned beans and I used them for this soup along with a big batch of sun-dried tomato hummus and in a salad.
Servings: 6 servings
