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Have you ever had soba noodles? Made from buckwheat, these gluten-free noodles are a nice break from regular pasta. I spotted them in the grocery store and decided to pick them up after recently reading that some studies have shown buckwheat to lower both glucose levels and cholesterol, in addition to containing protein and magnesium. I like a pasta that packs a nutritional punch!

Soba noodles are the perfect base for a stir fry, and staying with my healthy vegetarian theme of the week, I made a really delicious meal with them last night.

soba noodles with vegetables

It started with half a box of Annie Chun soba noodles, which I cooked according to the package instructions. Basically, boil them. Winking smile

soba noodles

In a pan on the side, I steamed up a mountain of broccoli and carrots in a little bit of water. I like my veggies to have a bite to them, so I didn’t cook these for very long. There’s nothing worse than mushy veg!

broccoli and carrots

I wasn’t really sure where I was going with the sauce, so I just started pulling random ingredients I thought would go well together: sriracha, naturally, tamari soy sauce, red curry paste, and coconut manna which is a blend of coconut oil and butter and is incredibly yummy, right out of the jar!

spicy noodles and sauce

I also grabbed my trusty tube of cilantro. I love buying fresh herbs, but they tend to wilt and wither quickly. These gourmet garden herb tubes keep the herb flavors fresh and bold for quite awhile, and a few squeezes of this cilantro REALLY brightened my noodles.

 

cilantro

I also grabbed some sesame seeds for a little bit of crunch.

sesame seeds

To put it all together, I drained the noodles and placed them atop the vegetables. Then I added a few dashes of tamari, about two tablespoons of sriracha, a few squeezes of cilantro, a couple scoops of coconut butter, and a pinch of curry paste. Stir it up, and serve!

soba noodles and vegetables

We were instantly fans of this dish. My husband just kept saying how good it was, and I actually finished an entire bowl. There were so many flavors going on, but they all worked together very well. I love Asian-inspired flavors most of all, and I will definitely be trying this combination again with other ingredients.  Not too shabby for something thrown together!

I adore cilantro, coconut, spicy chilis, lemongrass, etc. What are your favorite flavors, things you can’t get enough of?

Tags: broccoli, carrots, Food, recipe, soba noodles, vegetables, Vegetarian

As I have mentioned in recent posts, I am really ready to throw in the winter towel in exchange for some fresh, spring-like dishes. But, with it still miserably cold here in the Northeast, comfort dishes are still a necessity. Once again inspired by the blog world, this time by Renee, I set out to make a slow cooker recipe that combined a little bit of comfort food with lots of healthy vegetables.

vegetables

I gathered a bunch of carrots, green peppers, spinach, and a bit of onion for my sauce. My mom often puts carrots in her spaghetti sauce, and I love the sweetness it adds to the sauce. The other veggies just sort of blended in.

vegetables

I slowly pureed all of the vegetables in my food processer, whipping up the spinach last with some garlic and olive oil creating an almost pesto-like consistency.

grated carrots

Veggie mush! Don’t worry, it all ended up okay Smile As the batches of veggies were pureed, I added them to my slow cooker. Once all of the vegetables were added, I poured in two cans of crushed tomatoes, plus a grind of black pepper, a shake of red pepper flakes, a pinch of basil, and a grind of sea salt.

vegetable puree

I also added a few teaspoons of leftover Tunisian harissa for some smoky spice.

harissa

I set the slow cooker to low and let it get cooking while I prepared several cups of baby portabella mushrooms. I roughly chopped them, then sautéed them on their own in a frying pan to pull out some of the moisture. I did not want watery sauce!

mushrooms

Once the mushrooms were cooked down, I added them to my sauce, which I cooked for six hours on low.

Vegetable tomato sauce

The kitchen smelled amazing. I made sure to check in on the sauce about every hour to make sure it wasn’t burning at the edges. The end result was beautiful and very hearty because of all of the mushrooms and vegetables. My husband had a later than usual night at work, and this was the perfect meal for two different dinner times. I served it over whole wheat rotini, topped with a generous shake of nutritional yeast, a product that I am loving these days.

nutritional yeast

It is full of vitamins and minerals, and with all of the illnesses I have had this winter leaving me feeling lethargic and bleh, I am trying to consume all of the nutrients I can get! Plus it really does taste just like cheese, and it thickened my sauce nicely. Have you tried it?

Do you make spaghetti sauce from scratch? I used to buy jars, but with so many easy recipes out there, I have started making my own and never turned back!

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Tags: carrots, green peppers, nutritional yeast, pasta, spaghetti, spinach, tomato sauce, vegetables, vegetarian recipe, whole wheat pasta

Tis the season, isn’t it? We really don’t do much to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, but I thought I would cook up a few Irish-inspired meals this week. Did anyone catch Bobby Flay’s Ireland special on Food Network on Saturday? I thought it was a little painful to watch, personally. I could have done better.

Sundays are perfect for slow-cooking meals for the week, and so I spent much of yesterday cooking a Guinness Beef Stew, with some 100% Irish daffodils to brighten the room.

Irish daffodils

The most important ingredient in Guinness beef stew is, of course, the Guinness. One 11 ounce bottle went into this stew, and while bottled Guinness would normally horrify my husband, this was actually pretty good.

Guinness draught

Before getting started on the stew, I gathered the rest of the ingredients.

A bag of peeled pearl onions

pearl onions

10 small potatoes, cut into eighths

potatoes

About 24 ounces of organic beef broth

organic beef broth

A few teaspoons of Kerrygold butter for the roux

Kerrygold Irish Butter

Eight carrots, chopped into pieces, as close to the same size as the potatoes as possible

carrots

And of course, all natural stew beef

stew beef

I started with a roux of butter and flour, waiting until I could smell that lovely brown butter aroma made when the flour starts to cook.

roux

And then I just started adding all of the ingredients, pouring the Guinness in last. I seasoned with a grind of salt, two grinds of pepper, a dash of garlic powder and a dash of crushed red pepper.

Guinness beef stew

The stew cooked for four hours. This is actually key when it comes to using stew meat because it is tougher and really breaks down over the course of several hours on low heat.

Guinness beef stew

While the stew cooked, I did Jillian Michael’s Yoga Meltdown. I am not a Jillian Michaels fan at all, and I sometimes get bored with yoga, but I actually really liked this workout. It was fast-paced and I could feel the burn while working out. I can’t wait to do it again!

Guinness beef stew

While I don’t eat beef, I did, of course try the stew a few times while cooking. It was pretty amazing how different it tasted as it cooked along, the flavors getting richer and more complex with each hour. And the meat definitely started to fall apart. Most importantly, my husband loved it, and he has tons of leftovers for lunch. I may freeze a couple of servings for later as well.

In case you missed it this weekend, I started compiling all of my recipes in one place. Check it out if you get the chance!

Are you planning on doing anything or cooking anything special for St. Patrick’s Day?

Tags: beef, carrots, cooking, dinner, Food, Guinness, Guinness beef stew, potatoes, recipe, soup, stew

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