Tag: zucchini

Barley Risotto

5 Comments

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Big fan of The Oscars over here.

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Love the drama, the fashion, the awards, all of it. I trust them, mostly. (I do not want to talk about the years of Leo snubs.)

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Working on a project with my dad to watch all of the best picture winners. I have a spreadsheet, it’s serious.

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We’re quarantined apart, so can’t watch any together, but thought I’d suggest us watching the same one from afar. This year’s best picture winner is Parasite. Maybe you’ve heard of it, maybe not. When it first came out, I was utterly convinced it was a horror movie. I don’t even know why, the title and the movie poster were just eerie to me! Then it won and a bunch of people paid attention to it and I was ASSURED by the masses it was not a horror movie. It’s just about a family. OK, so maybe just a quiet, melancholy drama, I can dig it! So Garr and I watch this weekend….NO SIR, IT IS A HORROR MOVIE. I suppose the technical term is thriller, but I was absolutely horrified. And I couldn’t even look away during the scary parts because it’s in Korean and I have to read the subtitles the entire time or I’d miss something!!!! Torture.

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Garrett really loved it, if that reveals any major plot points to you.

 

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

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup of barley, uncooked
  • 1 zucchini, cut into rounds + halved
  • 1 head of cauliflower, cut into florets
  • 1 pint of cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 1 red bell pepper, chopped
  • 1/4 cup of cilantro, chopped
  • 3 tbsp. of olive oil
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • S+P, to taste

How to:

  • Preheat oven to 400
  • Arrange cauliflower + zucchini on a lined baking sheet
  • Drizzle with 1 tbsp. of olive oil + some S+P
  • Bake for 20-25 minutes, tossing once
  • Cook barley to package directions, but go low + slow, stirring often so it gets creamy like a risotto
  • Meanwhile, combine remaining olive oil + lemon juice + S+P in a lil bowl
  • Add cooked barley to a bowl + add roasted cauli + zucchini + raw tomatoes + red pepper + cilantro + S+P
  • Drizzle with lemon dressing
  • Serve warm or chilled
  • Wash your grubby hands first, then dig in with a miniature shovel
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Zucchini Sammies

4 Comments

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A place I thrive is our nation’s capital.

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I spent the long weekend gallivanting around one of my top 3 fave cities and I feel energized and refreshed!

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If only the U.S. Army 10-Miler didn’t get in the way of my itinerary!

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Obvio I did not run the race, I’m not a masochist, but I did do an exceptionally good job of spectating and just generally being uber supportive of my athletic husband. To make the race, we had to catch the metro bright and early. Catching the DC metro is one of my top 5 favorite activities so this was invigorating for me, though I would have preferred not to be wearing athleisure at the time, but I digress. We ride the escalator down to our platform & it is packed like a can of sardines (a saying I don’t love). Stranger’s bodies are just pressed too closely together, it’s terrible. We squeeze our way in and watch the escalator as more bodies arrive. Eventually the escalator is overwhelmed & people are stuck & there is some mild trampling. It was all very dramatic. The train finally came and people were squeezing in so tight the doors barely closed. If I hadn’t been trying to act like a local who was appalled by the throngs of people who didn’t know how to act riding public transit, I would have absolutely had a panic attack.

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I was rewarded for my positive attitude with copious amounts of falafel and an evening at a piano bar singing Elton John and swaying in a dimly lit corner.

 

 

Time: Overnight marinating + 1 hour cooking | Serves: 2-3

Ingredients:

  • 3 zucchini, halved lengthwise + pitted
  • 1 package of tempeh, cut in cubes
  • 1/2 cup of soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp. of dijon mustard
  • 2 tbsp. of lemon juice
  • 2 tbsp. + 1 tsp. of garlic, minced
  • 2 tbsp. of smoked paprika
  • 1 tbsp. of chili powder
  • 1/2 lb. of shiitake mushrooms, roughly chopped
  • 1 tbsp. of garlic powder
  • 1 tomato off the vine, sliced thin
  • 1/2 a red onion, sliced thin
  • 1 avocado, mashed
  • 1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar
  • 1 tbsp. of agave
  • 1/4 cup + 1 tbsp. of olive oil
  • S+P, to taste

How to:

  • In a bowl, combine 1/4 cup of soy sauce + 1 tbsp. of lemon juice + 1 tbsp. of garlic + 1 tbsp. of smoked paprika + chile powder
  • Place zucchini halves in a big sealable bag + pour in soy sauce mix
  • Refrigerate overnight
  • In the morning, combine remaining soy sauce + dijon +  1 tbsp. of garlic in a lil bowl
  • Add tempeh + let marinate for a few
  • Meanwhile, combine mushrooms + garlic powder + remaining smoked paprika in a large bowl
  • Heat 1 tbsp. of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat
  • Add tempeh + cook for 6-7 minutes or until starting to crisp
  • Add mushrooms, cook another 4-5 minutes
  • Meanwhile, combine balsamic + agave + 1 tsp. of garlic + olive oil + S+P in a lil bowl’
  • To serve, spread some avocado inside one of each of the zucchini halves + top with S+P, top with tempeh/mushroom mix + tomatoes + onion + drizzle with balsamic + top with other zucchini half
  • Please try to pick up one of these bad boys + actually eat it like a sammie + see how much food you get all over your face

 

Roasted Beet Tacos

8 Comments

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I’m in the best shape of my life.

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That’s really not saying much considering my default state is a giant sack of spoiled potatoes nestled in a couch cushion.

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My daily hot yoga sessions have made me ripped! JK I have like one semblance of a tricep and that’s it, but it’s prob the best I’ll ever get, so I’m milking it.

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Tbh I thought I was ready to like run a marathon or get in a street fight or really take on anything. So when Garr suggested a hike this past weekend I was game. We hiked in WA and I totes held my own – even without triceps! So I fully planned to smoke everyone and come in first place (in the race I created in my mind and shared with no one). I was extra jazzed because G said there was a waterfall at the end of the hike. I was like zomg EPIC photos are about to be ours. I am PUMPED UP. I am pushing it those first 2.5 miles. My breathing is good, I am getting after it. We get to the “waterfall” and it is literally a river surrounded by trees so I can not even take in the majesty of nature and then a couple of like babbling brooks. Womp womp. We got some subpar photos with the trees and recharged with some sammies and kept moving. Ya girl bout fell out on the way back. If Garrett didn’t have a rucksack on his back, I would have absolutely made him carry me to the car.

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It’s been suggested I start doing a lil bit of cardio.

 

 

Time: 1.5 hours (prep + cooking) | Serves: 6 tacos

Ingredients:

  • 6 small beets, cleaned + peeled + cut in 1/2 inch thick quarters
  • 1 zucchini, sliced thin
  • 1/2 red onion, sliced thin
  • 2 tbsp. of sunflower seeds
  • 1 avocado, diced
  • 1/2 cup of apple cider vinegar
  • 1 tbsp. of pure cane sugar
  • S+P, to taste
  • 1 tbsp. of olive oil
  • 6 corn tortillas, for serving
  • Cilantro, for serving
  • Lime, for serving

How to:

  • Preheat oven to 400 degrees
  • In a small bowl, combine apple cider vinegar + sugar + 1 cup of warm water + 2 tsp. of S
  • Pour that over a bowl containing your red onion slices, let sit while you prepare the rest of the ingredients
  • Meanwhile, spread beets on a lined baking sheet + drizzle with 1 tbsp. of olive oil + some S+P
  • Roast 30 minutes, tossing once in the middle of cooking
  • Sprinkle your zucchini slices with some S+P
  • Warm your tortillas – I throw mine in a warm oven for a couple of minutes or microwave in a wet paper towel for about 20 seconds
  • Place some beets in a tortilla with zucchini + onions + avocado + seeds + cilantro + some lime juice, repeat
  • Roll these lil guys up like taquitos + let them dangle from your lips like delicate, edible, scrumptious cigarillos

 

Adapted from here!