vegetables

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Vegetable Pancakes

April 2, 2011 in Food, recipe by traveleatlove | 5 comments

On weekends that we go to NJ, we rarely end up doing a big grocery shopping trip. Instead, I try to make time during the week to walk to the store meaning I can only buy as much as I can carry on a 15 minute walk each time.

As I am realizing more and more that I need to. . . ahem. . . revise my eating habits a little after a long winter at home, I made the focal point of this shopping trip fruits and vegetables. I didn’t really have a plan for them, but I knew they had to come home with me.

I purchased a huge bag of carrots, radishes, and several summer squash and zucchini, and we ate or drank them little by little throughout the week. By the time Friday rolled around, I needed to do something with the remaining carrots and squash, and I decided to rework the zucchini pancakes I made last summer.

After trying to figure out what veggies I would use, I went with one batch of zucchini and sweet corn pancakes and one batch of carrot and summer squash. I started by grating my veggies.

To those, I added an egg, about 3/4 cup of milk, and 1/2 cup whole wheat flour.

I also sprinkled in some garlic powder and stirred until I had a thick, almost doughy consistency.

To keep the recipe as healthy as possible, I pan-cooked these in just about a tablespoon of olive oil, flipping so that both sides got golden brown.

I obviously had to sneak some sriracha in there, so I served these with a side of Greek yogurt mixed with sriracha. I dusted the actual pancakes with nutritional yeast and added a side of chopped radishes. Radishes might just be my new vegetable obsession. I love them all alone or topped with a sliver of Kerrygold. . .

These veggie pancakes were a perfect lunch and a great way to use up a variety of vegetables at once. The whole wheat flour and skim milk meant that these are pretty good for you too.

You’ll be seeing more salads and less wine on this little blog over the coming weeks, and I will definitely welcome any suggestions as I try again to revive my Spring Health Challenge!

Have you ever had savory pancakes?

Tags: Food, pancakes, vegetables, Vegetarian

Veggie-Full Sauce

March 29, 2011 in Food, recipe by traveleatlove | 11 comments

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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!

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

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.

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!

del.icio.us Tags: recipe,vegetarian,food

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

Vegan Joe’s

March 2, 2011 in Food, recipe by traveleatlove | 11 comments

One of the things I have been focusing on while recovering from my flu, especially now that I can eat, is replenishing my body with whole foods. Having seen a few vegan Sloppy Joe recipes around the blog world. including Veganomicon’s Snobby Joe recipe, and with an abundance of dried lentils and beans in the house, I decided to bust out the slow cooker for my own version of a Sloppy Joe.

Working from home is amazing. I was able to start my recipe out by soaking two cups each of yellow lentils and black beans two times before actually starting them in the slow cooker.

While they soaked the second time, I mixed up a flavorful sauce that included 1/4 cup organic maple syrup, a tablespoon mustard, and a can of tomato paste.

I also pureed 1/2 a Vidalia onion, two habanero peppers, and four cloves of garlic into a nice paste.

When it was time to get cookin’ I threw all of the ingredients in my slow cooker. The beans and lentils were added to a few cups of water, plus the sauce and veggies. I mixed it thoroughly, then put the lid on and cooked on high for four hours, checking to make sure there was enough liquid to soften the lentils and the beans.

Before I left for a night of fun blogger events, I put the slow cooker on warm and left whole wheat rolls next to it for my hubby. I also left instructions that there was potato salad and cabbage slaw in the fridge; the slaw recipe is amazing, and I will be able to share it in a few weeks when it is launched in a new recipe app.

I decided to forego the roll when I got home, eating two bowls of the Sloppy Joe with the spicy slaw. The contrast between cold and warm, crunchy and soft, spicy and somewhat sweet was perfection. Though not at all fancy or complicated, this meal really “got” me. I could eat it again and again.