Ratatouille – a delicious french vegetable dish that is usually kind of like a stew. I found a recipe from WendyinKK that was inspired by the more upscale version presented in the Disney film. Beautifully sliced veggies layered in a casserole – this is so gorgeous and hearty. It is time consuming though, so be prepared.
Eggplant, bell pepper, roma tomatoes, yellow squash, zucchini. You will probably want to bust out the mandolin slicer for this one, unless your knife skills are really good.
Such beautiful slices! You will need to saute the eggplant and squash slices to release their moisture and enhance their flavor. (more…)
It’s time for another vegetarian lunch dish with Melissa from Smells Like Brownies! Similar to our last lunch (post here) we went with quinoa and roasted butternut squash, but changed up the rest of the flavors. This time we added in broccolini, cherry tomatoes, pine nuts, and a delicious avocado cream.
We started out by cooking the quinoa and roasting the squash, which should take about the same time. We followed the directions and added the broccolini into the partially cooked quinoa to blanch, but it wasn’t really cooking, so we put the lid on to steam it which turned it brown. Next time, I think I would blanch the broccolini in a separate pot from the quinoa. (more…)
I LOVE roasted beets – sweet and rich and beautiful, like healthy edible jewels! One of my favorite ways to serve them is in a salad with watercress and fresh mozzarella. But I have made that so many times that I wanted to try something a little different. This version uses goat cheese, a slightly more complex dressing, and a different method of roasting.
Usually I just wrap the beets in foil and roast them. This method involves first placing the beets on a bed of salt and herbs. It imparts just a little bit more flavor to the beets. (more…)
A while back, I posted a super tasty enchilada recipe. Now that I am practicing healthier eating habits, I wanted to revamp that recipe to be lighter. I used whole wheat tortillas, fat free sour cream, fat free soup, and reduced fat cheese and they tasted just as great as the original!
Before I get into the main part of the recipe, I want to talk about a basic technique that I use all the time. A lot of my recipes call for “cooked, shredded chicken”. You could acquire that in a number of different ways (and in fact, shredding a rotisserie chicken is one of the easiest) but I want to show you my favorite method. I like to poach big batches of chicken at a time (especially when I see a bulk pack on sale), shred it, and freeze it so that I always have some on hand.
To do this, place boneless skinless chicken in the bottom of a large pot. Toss a quartered onion, carrots (no need to peel), celery, garlic, peppercorns, a bay leaf, and herbs over the top. I like to use thyme and this year I grew some myself! Cover with water (just the chicken, the veg can be floating), bring to a boil, then quickly reduce the heat to low so that the water is barely at a simmer. Partially cover and gently simmer for 10 minutes. Then turn off the heat completely, and allow chicken to sit in the hot water for another 15-20 minutes. Doing it this way prevents is from being overcooked and keeps it moist and tender. (more…)
I was so inspired by this shaved vegetable salad at Simon in Las Vegas that the first thing I wanted to do when I got home was to make my own version.
So I went and bought the vegetables I wanted to use – carrots, celery, beets, fennel, and asparagus.
Then I sliced them up using the slicing blade on my food processor (a mandoline would also work) and tossed them with high quality olive oil, lime juice, and sea salt.
I actually stored the vegetables like that in the fridge and throughout the week or so that they lasted I would take out what I needed and add it to raw kale massaged with olive oil (which takes some of the bitterness out) along with watercress, grapes, pepitas, and fresh mozzarella for a delicious summer salad.
It is so healthy and fresh and keeping the vegetables raw means that you are getting the full nutritional value from them, plus they keep you super full. But this seriously tastes so good that you will not even be thinking about how healthy it is.
What says “Summer” more than peaches or tomatoes? In this recipe (recommended by my lovely former roommate Bradley), we combine the two into a delicious compote with just a hint of sweetness and serve it over curry rubbed pork tenderloin. (more…)
This salad is packed with a ton of flavor, and all the vegetables make sure that it is actually a healthy salad. For those who don’t know – it is easy for a salad to get out of control with cheese and dressing and restaurant salads can have well over 1000 calories. This salad doesn’t need a whole lot of dressing, b/c the ingredients have a lot of flavor. Also – Feta cheese is low-fat and it has a strong flavor, so you don’t need to use much. (more…)
