I made some butternut squash pasta the other day that was delicious, and all I did was add red sauce! I still had about half the box left, and I thought I could make it even better by getting healthy-gourmet with the toppings.
1/2 box butternut squash & parmesan raviolis (dry)
1/2 pound blue cheese
1 small bunch dinosaur kale
1 teaspoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons butter
A few tablespoons of water
Boil the ravioli according to instructions (ie: boil for 15 minutes).
Put the butter in a pan, heat it, chop the kale quickly, and add it to the pan with the garlic and water. Cook for the same 15 minutes (or a little longer, until soft). Add the blue cheese and melt.
Strain the pasta, then add to the pan with the kale and mix it all together.
Marshall really liked this version, but I actually preferred the red sauce! I thought the blue cheese overpowered the squash...
It took about 20-25 minutes total, and I had a large serving leftover.
Showing posts with label greens. Show all posts
Showing posts with label greens. Show all posts
31.3.10
Wednesday: Post Happy Hour Greens
I had a case of the post happy hour blues. This is when you go to happy hour, but all the food is junky. You of course eat it anyway, since you are there to socialize. But afterwards you feel nasty. The best answer (if you are not so full that you think you will burst) is the post happy hour greens.
In this case, we had gone to Trulucks, a seafood joint in the UTC area. It was probably ok, but I'm a vegetarian. Even though I make a lot of exceptions, I also don't really like seafood, so there wasn't much of an incentive this time. I am also battling a cold, so I didn't feel like drinking. As an after thought, I probably should have stayed home, but I was so eager to hang out with my new neighbor-friends that I eagerly said yes! But all I ate was sweet potato fries (delicious), and a carrot cupcake (also good). Despite their tasty-ness, I felt incomplete. I needed the post happy hour greens.
Post Happy Hour Greens
The main thing is the cut up something green, season it, and cook it.
1 small head broccoli
4-6 leaves kale (I used dinosaur)
3 small purple potatoes
garlic flakes
nutritional yeast
havarti
white wine
soy sauce
butter
Cut the potatoes very thinly. They take a while to cook, but I was going to put all this in one pan. They had to be thin to cook faster than the broccoli. Chop the broccoli coarsely. Chop the kale. Sprinkle the garlic & nutritional yeast on top. Sprinkle some white wine and soy sauce. Grate half a block of cheese and chop a few small pats of butter. Mix it up, put it in the oven at 350. I baked dfor 20 minutes with foil and maybe 30 without. They were well done. I actually forgot about them after I took the foil off, but they turned out delicious. A minute longer and they would have been on the burned side.
In this case, we had gone to Trulucks, a seafood joint in the UTC area. It was probably ok, but I'm a vegetarian. Even though I make a lot of exceptions, I also don't really like seafood, so there wasn't much of an incentive this time. I am also battling a cold, so I didn't feel like drinking. As an after thought, I probably should have stayed home, but I was so eager to hang out with my new neighbor-friends that I eagerly said yes! But all I ate was sweet potato fries (delicious), and a carrot cupcake (also good). Despite their tasty-ness, I felt incomplete. I needed the post happy hour greens.
Post Happy Hour Greens
The main thing is the cut up something green, season it, and cook it.
1 small head broccoli
4-6 leaves kale (I used dinosaur)
3 small purple potatoes
garlic flakes
nutritional yeast
havarti
white wine
soy sauce
butter
Cut the potatoes very thinly. They take a while to cook, but I was going to put all this in one pan. They had to be thin to cook faster than the broccoli. Chop the broccoli coarsely. Chop the kale. Sprinkle the garlic & nutritional yeast on top. Sprinkle some white wine and soy sauce. Grate half a block of cheese and chop a few small pats of butter. Mix it up, put it in the oven at 350. I baked dfor 20 minutes with foil and maybe 30 without. They were well done. I actually forgot about them after I took the foil off, but they turned out delicious. A minute longer and they would have been on the burned side.
27.3.10
Friday Dinner: Soup & 2 sides
My parents were coming for dinner, and as usual I was already running out of time before I'd even started to make dinner. Also, I wanted something healthy and fresh. And I'd bought some random vegetables a few days before that I needed to use up. Oh, and I had some leftover rice from making sushi, and I wanted to use that, too. But my dad is a little picky - he'll eat what ever someone makes for him, but I actually wanted him to like it, too. Mexican is usually popular, so I wanted to combine the rice into something Mexican... I thought maybe I could mix into some soup, so I went to one of my old standbys: Vegetarian Soup Cuisine: 125 Soups and Stews from Around the World
. I found a couple soup recipes that used rice, but didn't have the ingredients for either one. Instead, I combined them into a Mexican Corn Soup with Sweet Potatoes and Greens.
Mexican Corn Soup with Sweet Potatoes and Greens
2 sweet potatoes
2-3 leaves collards
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1 cube buillion
3-4 cups water
1 can corn
serve with rice
Soup is always easy, and I try to make it even easier. Basically, chop the vegetables, boil those that take longer first, then add the others. In this case, cook the collards and sweet potatoes for 10-15 minutes (with boullion & nutritional yeast). Then at the very end add the canned corn. To serve, scoop into a bowl and put some rice on top.
Bean & Tomato Salad
1 very large and wrinkled heirloom tomato
1 container pre-mixed bean salad
6 leaves basil
6 sprigs parsley
I felt like we needed some protein, but as I looked through my canned beans nothing really sounded like ti would go with the soup. I thought about adding some white kidney beans, which would have been fin,e but didn't sound great. I also had a can of bean salad, and thought I could serve that with some herbs and tomatoes.
Basically, open the bean salad and out in a large bowl. Chop the herbs finely, and the tomato coarsely. Add to bowl, and mix everything well. Tada!
Brussel Sprouts
1 small bag brussel sprouts
2 small sweet mini bell peppers
white balsamic
butter
olive oil
brown sugar
I had the brussel sprouts, and those are not good when they are not fresh. For that reason, I wanted to use them up. I also bought them at the regular store, so I was already suspicious that they'd be bitter. (If you think you don't like brussel sprouts, try them fresh from the farm... they are a different vegetable). To make sure they weren't bitter, I decided to add butter and brown sugar :)
I also mixed in some white balsamic and olive oil, just to add some more depth. I cut the sprouts in half (so they'd absorb more in their leaves), added the butter, oil, vinegar, and sugar. Baked for 20 minutes in the oven at 350, covered with foil. In hindsight, I would have left the foil off to let them get crispy.
Everyone says: The brussel sprouts are the big winner.
Time: Maybe 45-60 minutes to prepare everything, plus another 20-30 while they cook.
. I found a couple soup recipes that used rice, but didn't have the ingredients for either one. Instead, I combined them into a Mexican Corn Soup with Sweet Potatoes and Greens. Mexican Corn Soup with Sweet Potatoes and Greens
2 sweet potatoes
2-3 leaves collards
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1 cube buillion
3-4 cups water
1 can corn
serve with rice
Soup is always easy, and I try to make it even easier. Basically, chop the vegetables, boil those that take longer first, then add the others. In this case, cook the collards and sweet potatoes for 10-15 minutes (with boullion & nutritional yeast). Then at the very end add the canned corn. To serve, scoop into a bowl and put some rice on top.
Bean & Tomato Salad
1 very large and wrinkled heirloom tomato
1 container pre-mixed bean salad
6 leaves basil
6 sprigs parsley
I felt like we needed some protein, but as I looked through my canned beans nothing really sounded like ti would go with the soup. I thought about adding some white kidney beans, which would have been fin,e but didn't sound great. I also had a can of bean salad, and thought I could serve that with some herbs and tomatoes.
Basically, open the bean salad and out in a large bowl. Chop the herbs finely, and the tomato coarsely. Add to bowl, and mix everything well. Tada!
Brussel Sprouts
1 small bag brussel sprouts
2 small sweet mini bell peppers
white balsamic
butter
olive oil
brown sugar
I had the brussel sprouts, and those are not good when they are not fresh. For that reason, I wanted to use them up. I also bought them at the regular store, so I was already suspicious that they'd be bitter. (If you think you don't like brussel sprouts, try them fresh from the farm... they are a different vegetable). To make sure they weren't bitter, I decided to add butter and brown sugar :)
I also mixed in some white balsamic and olive oil, just to add some more depth. I cut the sprouts in half (so they'd absorb more in their leaves), added the butter, oil, vinegar, and sugar. Baked for 20 minutes in the oven at 350, covered with foil. In hindsight, I would have left the foil off to let them get crispy.
Everyone says: The brussel sprouts are the big winner.
Time: Maybe 45-60 minutes to prepare everything, plus another 20-30 while they cook.
20.3.10
Saturday Potluck: Funny Sushi
I wanted to make something that would be popular at the potluck I was going to... but I also didn't want to make a trip to the grocery, nor did I want to make something that would be super expensive, because it is a very large potluck and I wanted to make a good volume. I happened to have rice and nori, so I thought I could make sushi. I didn't have any of the normal fillings, but I recalled some very weird sushi rolls I used to make in college, and thought I'd revisit some of those recipes.
The first thing to do is the cook the rice. White rice is pretty quick, maximum 20 minutes. I made a large recipe - leftovers are easy to use.
2.5 cups white rice
5 cups water
about 1/2 cup seasoned rice vinegar
Put it all in a pot, bring it to a boil, then reduce to low heat. Cook another 10-15 minutes. Turn the heat off after all the water is gone and let it sit a while. Then add the seasoned rice vinegar and mix well. You are supposed to use short grain white rice - it's the stickiest. But I used long grain white this time, and I"ve used brown rice plenty of times in the past.
The next step was to gather some fresh greens from the garden. That is a euphemistic way of saying that I picked some of the dandelion greens that are running rampant. This was also a chance to do some weeding, as I'd promised Marshall I would do while he was gone.
1 colander full of dandelion greens (well washed)
1 package baked tofu (savory flavor)
1 large ripe avocado
1 package nori seaweed
Cut the tofu into thin strips. Slice the avocado thinly as well. I like to slice it in the skin, then remove it with a spoon. It works pretty well. Lay out a large piece of nori. Take a handful of rice and spread it out thinly over about 3/4 of the nori sheet. (You leave a little strip across the top without rice, and fill the rest.) Lay a thin row of tofu, avocado, and dandelion greens all in a strip in the middle of the rice. Roll it up tightly and then use a little water to seal the nori to itself.
Serve with soy sauce and pickled ginger.
Potluck says: It was gone in less than five minutes. That's a hit!
Time: 60+ (rice takes 20 minutes, rolling takes 20-30, picking greens takes 10-20)
Leftovers: I kept one roll uncut, wrapped in saran wrap. I can cut it and have it for lunch tomorrow or this week. I also have a few servings of rice and some chopped up tofu. And a whole basketful of greens, with boatloads to clips form the yard!
The first thing to do is the cook the rice. White rice is pretty quick, maximum 20 minutes. I made a large recipe - leftovers are easy to use.
2.5 cups white rice
5 cups water
about 1/2 cup seasoned rice vinegar
Put it all in a pot, bring it to a boil, then reduce to low heat. Cook another 10-15 minutes. Turn the heat off after all the water is gone and let it sit a while. Then add the seasoned rice vinegar and mix well. You are supposed to use short grain white rice - it's the stickiest. But I used long grain white this time, and I"ve used brown rice plenty of times in the past.
The next step was to gather some fresh greens from the garden. That is a euphemistic way of saying that I picked some of the dandelion greens that are running rampant. This was also a chance to do some weeding, as I'd promised Marshall I would do while he was gone.
1 colander full of dandelion greens (well washed)
1 package baked tofu (savory flavor)
1 large ripe avocado
1 package nori seaweed
Cut the tofu into thin strips. Slice the avocado thinly as well. I like to slice it in the skin, then remove it with a spoon. It works pretty well. Lay out a large piece of nori. Take a handful of rice and spread it out thinly over about 3/4 of the nori sheet. (You leave a little strip across the top without rice, and fill the rest.) Lay a thin row of tofu, avocado, and dandelion greens all in a strip in the middle of the rice. Roll it up tightly and then use a little water to seal the nori to itself.
Serve with soy sauce and pickled ginger.
Potluck says: It was gone in less than five minutes. That's a hit!
Time: 60+ (rice takes 20 minutes, rolling takes 20-30, picking greens takes 10-20)
Leftovers: I kept one roll uncut, wrapped in saran wrap. I can cut it and have it for lunch tomorrow or this week. I also have a few servings of rice and some chopped up tofu. And a whole basketful of greens, with boatloads to clips form the yard!
19.3.10
Friday: Quinoa and Butternut Squash "Salad"
I needed something healthy. I needed something green. I was back in the same predicament I'd faced earlier this week: limited time, nothing fresh in the fridge, and not enough patience to start from scratch. So again, I decided pre-cut vegetables are still a better option than a restaurant or a frozen meal. This time it was butternut squash and collards. I didn't even know they made pre-cut collards; I have to admit that I was actually kind of excited when I made that discovery.
This is a salad like a pasta or potato salad.
Quinoa and Butternut Squash Salad
1 1/2 cups quinoa
3 cups water
2 bouillon cube (or replace water AND bouillon with broth)
Put the quinoa, water, and bouillon in a small or medium pot. Bring to a boil, and then turn to the lowest possible heat. Let cook about 20 minutes while you prepare the rest.
1 bag cubed butternut squash (or about 1/2 whole squash)
1/2 bag chopped collard green (or about 1/2 bunch)
olive oil for pan
If using whole veges, chop up the squash. Mix the squash in a bowl with some olive oil (or other oil). Then place on cookie sheet. Put in oven; turn oven to 375. It is not necessary to pre-heat. Cook about 15 minutes, then add the collards (chop just before if necessary). Cook another 5-10 minutes. I put half of the collards on the baking sheet, and half on top of the quinoa. Those in the oven get crispy, while those on top of the quinoa are steamed and softer.
4 mini red bell peppers (or 1/2-1 large)
olive oil
balsamic vinegar (I used half regular and half white)
a few dashes cayenne powder
salt and pepper
Chop the mini bell pepper. Remove all the ingredients from heat. Mix together in a large bowl, and add bell pepper, oil, vinegar, cayenne, salt, and pepper - all to taste! Mix well. Taste often to make sure you have enough salty, spicy, peppery, sour for your preference. It's a beautiful salad!
Marshall says: He wasn't home... he would probably have added more salt and another dressing. But I snarfed it up as is. Yum! I feel so healthy after eating it, too!
Time: about 30-45 (would probably be about 60 if you had to chop, too)
Leftovers: Lots! This recipe probably serves 4 (large servings).
This is a salad like a pasta or potato salad.
Quinoa and Butternut Squash Salad
1 1/2 cups quinoa
3 cups water
2 bouillon cube (or replace water AND bouillon with broth)
Put the quinoa, water, and bouillon in a small or medium pot. Bring to a boil, and then turn to the lowest possible heat. Let cook about 20 minutes while you prepare the rest.
1 bag cubed butternut squash (or about 1/2 whole squash)
1/2 bag chopped collard green (or about 1/2 bunch)
olive oil for pan
If using whole veges, chop up the squash. Mix the squash in a bowl with some olive oil (or other oil). Then place on cookie sheet. Put in oven; turn oven to 375. It is not necessary to pre-heat. Cook about 15 minutes, then add the collards (chop just before if necessary). Cook another 5-10 minutes. I put half of the collards on the baking sheet, and half on top of the quinoa. Those in the oven get crispy, while those on top of the quinoa are steamed and softer.
4 mini red bell peppers (or 1/2-1 large)
olive oil
balsamic vinegar (I used half regular and half white)
a few dashes cayenne powder
salt and pepper
Chop the mini bell pepper. Remove all the ingredients from heat. Mix together in a large bowl, and add bell pepper, oil, vinegar, cayenne, salt, and pepper - all to taste! Mix well. Taste often to make sure you have enough salty, spicy, peppery, sour for your preference. It's a beautiful salad!
Marshall says: He wasn't home... he would probably have added more salt and another dressing. But I snarfed it up as is. Yum! I feel so healthy after eating it, too!
Time: about 30-45 (would probably be about 60 if you had to chop, too)
Leftovers: Lots! This recipe probably serves 4 (large servings).
9.3.10
Sunday Night: Another Salad
On Saturday I had gone to the farmer's market. I didn't buy a lot - I only had a little bit of cash. But I bought a few things, including one $4 tomato. It was a large tomato, and it was an heirloom tomato. And after trying to grow my own heirloom tomatoes last summer - which produce just a few, small, flavorless, but pretty tomatoes - I vowed to never complain about the price of heirloom tomatoes again. They are well worth it.
This tomato was also very ripe, so I knew I needed to use it this weekend. I had originally thought it was big enough tomato to make a huge caprese salad for me and Marshall. However, the next day I hadn't done that, and we were heading over to my cousin's house. I had offered to bring a salad. This could have worked out well if it had been just me, Marshall, she, and her husband (and their two very small kids), but in addition to all those people, my dad, both my aunts, my uncle, and another cousin were coming. There was no way that tomato was going to make caprese for all of us. SO I made a caprese-inspired green salad instead.
Caprese-inspired Green Salad
1 very large and ripe heirloom tomato (mine was red) - sliced into thin, small pieces
1/2 or 3/4 bag salad greens, maybe 4 ounces (I used herbal salad mix)
1 small bunch arugala (I cut these into smaller pieces - this gives it a kick like basil)
several spoonfuls green & black olives (pitted!)
1 cup grated mozzarella*
3/4 cup the best olive oil you can buy
1/4 cup aged balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper
*I had wanted to use buffalo mozzarella or another fresh mozzarella in brine, and slice them really really thin, but I was in a rush at the store and all I could find was the usual "dry" mozzarella, so I bought it an grated instead. It worked just fine, and grating it (large grater) actually distributed the cheese better throughout the salad.
Once everything is cut up, you just mix it together in a large bowl - large enough that there is room for further mixing once the dressing (oil and vinegar) is added.
Marshall says: I didn't hear him say anything, but my uncle loved it! He said he could really taste the oil and vinegar and that is was nicer than anything you could get at a restaurant.
Serves: 8
Total Time: 15-20 minutes (grating the cheese took about 5 minutes)
Leftovers: I grated the whole block of cheese, so my cousin lucked out with a tupperware full of cheese for use later this week. The salad was all gone.
This tomato was also very ripe, so I knew I needed to use it this weekend. I had originally thought it was big enough tomato to make a huge caprese salad for me and Marshall. However, the next day I hadn't done that, and we were heading over to my cousin's house. I had offered to bring a salad. This could have worked out well if it had been just me, Marshall, she, and her husband (and their two very small kids), but in addition to all those people, my dad, both my aunts, my uncle, and another cousin were coming. There was no way that tomato was going to make caprese for all of us. SO I made a caprese-inspired green salad instead.
Caprese-inspired Green Salad
1 very large and ripe heirloom tomato (mine was red) - sliced into thin, small pieces
1/2 or 3/4 bag salad greens, maybe 4 ounces (I used herbal salad mix)
1 small bunch arugala (I cut these into smaller pieces - this gives it a kick like basil)
several spoonfuls green & black olives (pitted!)
1 cup grated mozzarella*
3/4 cup the best olive oil you can buy
1/4 cup aged balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper
*I had wanted to use buffalo mozzarella or another fresh mozzarella in brine, and slice them really really thin, but I was in a rush at the store and all I could find was the usual "dry" mozzarella, so I bought it an grated instead. It worked just fine, and grating it (large grater) actually distributed the cheese better throughout the salad.
Once everything is cut up, you just mix it together in a large bowl - large enough that there is room for further mixing once the dressing (oil and vinegar) is added.
Marshall says: I didn't hear him say anything, but my uncle loved it! He said he could really taste the oil and vinegar and that is was nicer than anything you could get at a restaurant.
Serves: 8
Total Time: 15-20 minutes (grating the cheese took about 5 minutes)
Leftovers: I grated the whole block of cheese, so my cousin lucked out with a tupperware full of cheese for use later this week. The salad was all gone.
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