Roasted carrot, bean, and pea salad

This week started off with a smattering of leftovers that needed to be used up... a handful of carrots, a chunk of feta, a shallot, and some thyme. But thanks to some quick googling, I found this delicious recipe that only needed a few more ingredients.

I substituted the shallot for the red onion, frozen petite peas for green beans, and white kidney beans for cannellini. I didn't have any mint on hand, but as the original recipe would suggest, it would be a great addition. Per usual, I added some vinegar and lemon juice to the dressing. I don't like raw onions too much, but the shallots are bearable (you could also roast or saute them), and the overall taste improved after sitting in the fridge for a day.

This recipe has many advantages: limited prep work (roasting the carrots was the main thing, but that's fairly easy), not many dishes, and fridge-friendly. It made about 3 servings (using 1 can of beans and about 1 cup of peas), which is just right for me because it won't sit in the fridge too long and I won't tire of it.

As you can see, a Newcastle snuck into the picture. My small way of celebrating spring break :)

Recipe reviews: lentil soup, frittata cups, fennel/orange salad, and bourbon rice crispies

Over the past week I've tried out a handful of recipes. I only follow a few food blogs, but The Kitchn often links to recipes elsewhere in the blogosphere. The problem with food blogs (such as my own, I admit) is that the recipes seem to often go untested. Your cooking style may be very different from mine, and without even repeat trials of the same recipe, there can be problems. Nonetheless, I have been very happy with this latest batch of recipes.

1) Red lentil soup with garam masala AKA daal

Simmering on the stove as we speak. This is a classic South Asian dish that absolutely brings back memories of food in Bangladesh. Daal varies by region and even within a city like Dhaka, it depends on who taught your cook to cook. I followed the recipe almost exactly, only adding 1.5 chopped carrots with the onions in the beginning. This adds a bit of variety for flavor and texture. Another favorite variation is adding a can of diced tomatoes and coconut milk. I'm not going to puree this when it's done, but rather will just eat it with some leftover pita bread. Add salt to the desired level, it often takes more than you think to really bring out the flavors. I realized I should make this dish more, as its cheap, nutritious, and a ONE-POT-MEAL!

2) Kale and goat cheese frittata cups

Made these last night with the intention of eating one plus a whole wheat English Muffin for breakfast. The taste was fantastic, but my complaint is that even with a layer of butter on a non-stick muffin pan, the cups still stuck at the bottom. I might have cooked them for too long, causing them to burn at the bottom. Also, they overflowed slightly. It was hard to tell what 2 cups of kale was, so I just cooked a whole bunch, which was maybe too much. And finally, I used feta cheese instead of goat cheese, but either way would be good. Next time, I would divide the batter into 9 cups, watch them better, and use cooking spray. But overall this was a good change to my breakfast routine, and didn't require too much work.

[UPDATE] I made the frittata cups again, this time using plenty of cooking spray on the pan, and cooking them for only 25 minutes, and they came out much nicer. If you make these, you still need to cut/loosen them out of the cups with a knife, just like you would cupcakes. I also used goat cheese, though I think I prefer the feta here. And finally, I'd recommend n – 1 eggs for the number of cups you want (11 eggs for a dozen cups, etc.).

3) Fennel, orange, and shallot salad

Except I totally spaced on the shallot. Oh well, it was good. I added red wine vinegar and used 1.5 oranges instead of just one. I paired this with the Sicilian style pasta mentioned at the end of this post. [update] I re-made this salad and added dried cranberries and chopped pistachios; it made it a bit fancier and varied the color/texture/taste in a good way.

4) Bourbon rice crispies

Used bourbon instead of Maker's Mark. No further comments necessary.

Best sandwich ever

So I made this sandwich a while ago, and I wasn't quite sure if the recipe was worthy of my mostly vegan, mostly healthy blog... but I keep thinking about it and I'm ready to share it with the world. Unfortunately, there is no photographic evidence of said sandwich.

Veggie sandwiches can be tricky. I'm often disappointed when I get them at restaurants, because they usually involve sub-par vegetables and too much cheese. But a spark of inspiration led to this tangy, protein packed vegetarian sandwich.

I used a kaiser bun which I think I slightly toasted with Jack cheese on one side. I fried an egg, and layered that on. Finally, I spread on some deli-style mustard and  some bread and butter pickles. That's all. I realize that this sounds like something a pregnant woman would eat, but you have to believe me that it was delicious.

OK, speaking of guilty pleasures, this song.

General Tso's tofu and chickpea curry

This week I tried out two different recipes, and I was pleased with both of them. Sorry for no pictures, but they weren't the most photogenic meals anyway.

On Sunday I made this recipe for "braised coconut spinach & chickpeas with lemon." Technically, its not a curry, but the mixing of spices and coconut milk has a similar result. The lemony taste was unbelievably good and the flavors worked really nicely together. It was creamy and hearty, though also vegan. And guess what? One-pot-meal! Except I used a small dish to microwave the spinach and sweet potatoes. My small substitutions were using frozen spinach instead of fresh, less sun dried tomatoes (just used what I had on-hand, which wasn't a lot), and instead of baking sweet potatoes, I cubed them and added them to the pot at the end.

Yesterday I made some General Tso's Tofu to go along with vegetarian sushi. I substituted tofu for tempeh in the recipe. I baked the tofu cubes (lightly tossed in olive oil) at 425 for about a half hour on parchment paper. Since the recipe I linked to is for a single serving, I increased it by roughly 4x. A lot of the ingredients are more added to taste, so I would start with less and add more as it cooks. I ended up with more sauce then tofu, so next time I would definitely add some lightly steamed broccoli and carrots.

I'd say that I used roughly:
4 gloves garlic
1 Tbsp grated ginger
1 Tbsp soy sauce
2 Tbsp orange juice
1 Tbsp raw sugar
1/4 tsp chili flakes
1/2 Tbsp rice vinegar
1/2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
2-3 Tbsp hoisin sauce (note: this was not gluten-free)
1 tsp sesame oil
2 Tbsp corn starch in 1/2 cup water (variable- depends on how thick you want the sauce to be)

ALSO! If you're still reading :)

I made these awesome vegan cookies and they were a party-time hit. I used 1/4 cup peanut butter and 1/4 cup Smart Balance butter.

Apparently I ate a lot of vegan food this week. Not to worry, I have some cheese enchiladas in the making.

A day in food

First thing in the morning: 1 Samoa Girl Scout cookie

Breakfast: plain Greek yougurt with Kashi and honey. Yesterday I tried out "quinoa flakes," which required a lot of sweetener but were delicious with dried blueberries and cinnamon (they are similar to instant oatmeal, but made from quinoa). French press coffee with flavored, artificial creamer.

Mid-morning snack: Kashi trail mix bar.

Lunch: Leftover bow-tie pasta with cherry tomatoes, basil, and chopped cashews; Quorn "chicken" nuggets with honey-mustard dip. Half a bottle of that addictive no-calorie "flavored" sparkling water.

Dinner: Grilled cheese with roasted red pepper, mixed baby green salad with cherry tomatoes, goat cheese, capers (fancy, I know!), and ginger dressing.

After dinner/throughout the entire day: Dove dark chocolate and Rolos (leftover from roommate's post-race recovery).

Evening snack: Rice cake with peanut butter, small handful of cashews, mint Green Tea.

Currently drinking: Orange-jasmine cocktail with clementine Vodka, flavored sparkly water, and bitters. Very sweet, but dang this is good :)