Tag: vegetables

Balsamic Veggie Stacks

11 Comments

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Apparently I moved from Earthquakeville to Hurricaneland.

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I thought the Carolinas were supposed to be a calm little southern piece of the American pie filled with little suburbias and mini vans, but here I sit in the direct path of a ginormous storm with it’s eye (get it) set on trying to kill me!

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Honestly, I was not concerned about this until like 24 hours ago. I was like, k, so we’ll get some rain, kewlie.

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But errbody was wiggin’ out on the interwebs, so I ran to Walmart to get some bottled water. No joke, that place was an absolute zoo. Like, more so than your average Wally World. I park 83 miles away and roll my lil cart to the water aisle. I wish I could describe what I saw. Picture nothing. Absolutely nothing. Not a bottle of water on the shelves. No water in the little mini fridges up by the registers. Nada! I would have bought that fancy artisanal water straight from the depths of the Alps, but it was ALL GONE. The sheer panic that consumed me in this moment was epic. I literally pushed the cart into a large display of cereals (I did not do this) and ran out of that Walmart to ransack every grocery store I could find. I did find some water and stocked up on junk food and cans of soup that the thought of eating cold only slightly churn my stomach.

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Also, I literally just had a preview of what the next few days will be like because our power went out for an hour while in the middle of cooking dinner so I ate pasta in a raw garlic sauce, yum.

 

 

Time: 1 hour (prep + cooking) | Serves: 4-5

Ingredients:

  • 1 sweet potato, peeled + sliced about 1/2 inch thick
  • 1 package of tempeh, cut in lil cubes
  • 2 roma tomatoes, sliced about 1/4 inch thick
  • 1 red pepper, sliced
  • 1 green pepper, sliced
  • 1 zucchini, sliced in coins
  • 1 yellow squash, sliced in coins
  • 1/4 cup of soy sauce
  • 1/2 cup of balsamic vinegar
  • 1 tbsp. of garlic, minced
  • 5 tbsp. of olive oil
  • S+P, to taste
  • Basil, for serving
  • Avocado, for serving

How to:

  • Preheat oven to 400 degrees
  • In a bowl, combine soy sauce + 1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar + garlic + 1 tbsp. of olive oil
  • Arrange sweet potatoes on a lined baking sheet, drizzle with 1 tbsp. of olive oil + S+P, rub on both sides, arrange in an eve, layer
  • Arrange peppers on a lined baking sheet, drizzle with 1 tbsp. of olive oil + S+P, arrange in an even layer
  • Arrange squash on a lined baking sheet, drizzle with 1 tbsp. of olive oil + S+P, arrange in an even layer
  • Bake all for 25 minutes, stirring all once in the middle of cook time
  • Meanwhile, heat remaining oil in a skillet over medium heat
  • Add tempeh, cook for 6-8 minutes until crisp to your desire
  • Add remaining vinegar to a lil pot + reduce over low heat for about 4-5 minutes, until it thickens a bit
  • To serve, place a sweet potato on a place + top with tempeh + peppers + squash + basil + drizzle with some balsamic reduction, repeat with remaining veggies
  • Serve warm with avocado
  • Play rock, paper, scissors with sweetie + only select rock, smashing each veggie stack in the process

Roasted Winter Veggies + Smashed Walnut Vinaigrette

19 Comments

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I am the queen of public transportation, hear me ROAR!!!

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Your girl traversed the DC metro and hailed like 8 NYC cabs ALL BY HERSELF.

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I am the EPITOME of a city girl.

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I only got turned around in the metro station like 3 times. I highly recommend a small bridge to get to the opposite platform rather than forcing me to take 18 escalators (have y’all SEEN that video of the woman getting sucked into one of those?!). I just tried  to channel my inner first lady and act like a refined, political guru. I grabbed a Washington Post and pretended to read it while on the metro so I looked like I had a clue.

NYC was interesting. I’m like an 8 out of 10 at hailing cabs, I’d say. The rejection kind of stings, though. I also think one laughed at me while whizzing past. Can’t be sure. The worst part is the nausea. There was no mention of fighting back upchuck on the travel blogs! The herky jerk driving and constant horn blaring about me put me over the edge. When I finally move to the Upper East Side, I’ll certainly need a car service.

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For now it’s back to ole faithful – my 2004 Honda Civic that resembles a Tonka truck.

 

 

Time: 1 hour (prep + cooking) | Serves: 3-4

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb. of colorful, petite carrots, rinsed
  • 1 lb. of brussels sprouts, peeled + halved
  • 1 lb. of cauliflower, rinsed + cut into florets
  • 1/4 cup of red wine vinegar
  • 1 tbsp. of maple syrup
  • 2 tsp. of dijon mustard
  • 1/2 cup of walnuts
  • Zest of 1 orange
  • 1/2 cup of olive oil + 3 tbsp.
  • S+P, to taste
  • Parsley, to serve

How to:

  • Preheat oven to 425
  • On 3 separate, lined baking sheets, arrange carrots + brussels sprouts + cauliflower
  • Drizzle each with 1 tbsp. of olive oil + S+P
  • Roast all together – carrots + cauliflower for 30 minutes + brussels for 20 – stirring both halfway through
  • Meanwhile, heat a dry skillet over low heat
  • Add walnuts, toast, tossing often for 3-5 minutes
  • Remove + chop
  • Meanwhile, combine remaining olive oil + vinegar + syrup + dijon + walnuts + orange zest + S+P
  • Add all veggies in a pan + drizzle with dressing + top with parsley
  • Serve warm
  • For a fun party game, serve to carnivorous husband as his dinner + see if he stays married to you

 

Recipe from here!

http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/roasted-vegetables-smashed-walnut-vinaigrette

Street Noodles

10 Comments

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It’s staggering how little I know about basic things.

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It hit me yesterday while trying to go through a car wash.

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I simply don’t know how to handle myself in common, adult scenarios. Like, dude is beckoning me to move my car into this tiny tire slot & I just panic. I can’t tell if I’m doing this correctly! What if I miss? Then what? He could see I was struggling so he gave me a lollipop & I felt a little better.

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I don’t know how I’ve gone 25 years & literally know nothing about how the world works. For instance, I just learned the other day that planes are controlled by GPS. Like, the pilots don’t just ~know~ which way to fly. They plug in the destination & the plane goes there. *Mindblown* Also, I was watching 60 minutes last night and there are people living on an ice cap in the middle of the Arctic ocean. How? Why? My feeble brain cannot comprehend.

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The real kicker: I’ll still never ~quite~ understand why we can’t just print our own money when we run out……

 

 

 

Time: 40 minutes (prep + cooking) | Serves: 6

Ingredients:

  • 1 package of rice noodles
  • 1 red pepper, diced
  • 1 yellow pepper, diced
  • 1 stalk of boy choy, stem diced + leaves shredded
  • 1 can of baby corn
  • 1 can of water chestnuts
  • 1/2 cup of frozen peas
  • 1 tbsp. of curry powder
  •  3 tbsp. of olive oil
  • 1/2 cup of vegetable stock
  • 2 tbsp. of low-sodium soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp. of rice vinegar
  • 1 tbsp. of sriracha
  • 2 tbsp. of honey
  • 1 tbsp. of garlic, minced
  • S+P, to taste
  • Green onion, for serving

How to:

  • Place rice noodles in a pot + cover with v hot water + set aside for about 20 minutes, slosh ’em around every few minutes to break ’em up
  • Meanwhile, combine 1 tbsp. of olive oil + veg. stock + soy sauce + rice vinegar + sriracha + honey + garlic + set aside
  • Heat another tbsp. of olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat
  • Add bell peppers + bok choy + S+P, cook for 2-3 minutes
  • Add baby corn + water chestnuts + cook for another 5 minutes or until starting to brown + remove from pan
  • Add the remaining tbsp. of olive oil + add the noodles to the skillet, cook for a minute
  • Add veggies + curry powder + frozen peas, cook for another minute
  • Pour in the sauce + cook for 3-4 minutes
  • Serve hot with diced green onion
  • Lay face on warm pillow of noodles + let the aroma infiltrate your nostrils + brain holes + nap peacefully

 

Idea from here!

http://fashionablefoods.com/2015/11/30/singapore-street-noodles/