vegetables

You are currently browsing articles tagged vegetables.

This is the third post in less than two weeks that starts with the word grilled. Grilling is not just seasonal, it is so much easier than cooking in other ways. For one, there generally isn’t much prep. A little cutting, maybe some marinating, but it really is a great way to show off beautiful ingredients while saving time. Perfect for summer.

eggplant, zucchini, squash

I also happen to be on a pretty big zucchini, squash, and eggplant kick, and am trying to eat lighter than I did all winter. I can’t seem to lose the winter weight I gained, even though I am eating better and moving a lot more, but that’s a story for another day.

Our simple dinner was just a blend of eggplant, zucchini, onion, and squash, doused in olive oil and garlic powder. I love fresh garlic, but I tend to burn it in marinades, so garlic powder is a great, concentrated substitute.

grilled vegetables

Ssssssssssssss. . . look at those grill marks! I grilled the eggplant the longest; I find I don’t like it at all if it is not cooked enough. I really like for the eggplant to be almost falling apart.

grilled vegetables

Once the veggies were done, I popped some whole grain English muffins on the grill to brown. I am loving English muffin sandwiches these. They remind me of being a kid.  My mom used to make me English muffin pizzas with sauce and cheese, and to this day, any time I taste something similar, it is like being at home, such a warm feeling.

grilled vegetable sandwiches

We piled our sandwiches high with veggies and drizzled them with aged balsamic vinegar and some more olive oil. Then, I sat at the table, with my plate apparently too close to the edge, went to cut my sandwich in half, and pushed the entire thing off the table, my sandwich tumbling on to the floor. A floor which I try hard to clean but one that is run by two cats, resulting in a not-so-delicious, furry sandwich.

Luckily I made enough vegetables. . .

Do you have a favorite childhood snack or food that just brings you back every time you eat it?

Tags: dinner, easy recipe, Food, sandwiches, vegetables, Vegetarian

Summer makes blogging easier. The light is great, and the ingredients, local produce, make for great photos with no work. It also makes eating easier. The elegant, fresh flavors of summer fruits and vegetables lend themselves to quick meals without much fuss, almost as if nature planned it that way. . . I just need to find a place where it is like this year round!

As you know, I have been working mostly from home, but this week I started a contract job that has me in the office more. And that means making lunch again. Summer helped make that a no-brainer. A fresh, light, and veggie-packed pasta salad was my first thought, and it was a good one.

orecchiette

I started with about 3/4 bag of Trader Joe’s orecchiette, the little ear shaped pasta. I really like tiny pastas in pasta salad. I got the water boiling and the pasta cooking while I prepped the rest of my simple recipe.

An entire shallot, finely diced, went into the pan.

shallot

It joined a large zucchini, two small summer squashes, and grape tomatoes, all from Trader Joe’s, and all local or semi-local, at the very least grown somewhere in the US, an option that my Shaw’s just does not offer. Does it ever completely enrage you that, even in the height of the season, we import veggies and fruits from everywhere but our local farmers? Hello, economy fix. Let’s support businesses in our communities!

vegetables

Anyhow. . . once the pasta was cooked, I mixed it in with the vegetables and four triangles of Laughing Cow garlic & herb cheese. For a light cheese, which I normally would laugh at, I actually think Laughing Cow is good, and mixed in with the veggies and pasta, it made a nice cream “sauce”. Yummy.

Laughing Cow Cheese

I forgot to take a photo of the final product, but it was great! It made for a lunch I looked forward to, and for me, that is the ultimate test of a lunch recipe.

This pasta salad would make a great vegetarian side dish or main dish for a summer BBQ, as long as it isn’t kept out in the sun too long!

What did you have for lunch at work this week? Anything delicious?

Tags: cheese, Food, Lunch, pasta, summer, vegetables, Vegetarian

A sandwich favorite turned into a cool, easy rice salad for summer? Yes, please! Make it mayo-free, and it is the perfect on the go meal, great for bringing to barbecues, parties, on picnics, or less fun places like work.

I love a good banh mi sandwich, pretty much any day of the week. I really enjoy the crisp veggies, the spice and the cilantro. With a bunch of random ingredients on hand, and inspired by Myers + Chang tofu banh mi, I decided to make a salad.

 

organic basmati

I started by cooking about a cup and a half of basmati rice according to the package directions.

While the rice was bubbling, I grabbed some pre-cut veggie slaw, a mix of broccoli, carrots, and cabbage, and marinated it all in a mix of rice vinegar, cilantro paste, and sriracha for intense flavors.

veggie slaw

Once the rice was done, I mixed it right in with the veggies. I wanted them to get slightly softer from the rice, and I wanted the warm rice to absorb the vinegar mix.

veggie slaw

 

banh mi rice

While all of this was going on, I was also baking up some tofu chips to top the rice with. I sliced a block of Nasoya  extra firm tofu into very thin slices and quickly dusted them with cayenne and black pepper. I initially put them in the oven at 375 and after about 15 minutes lowered it until 320. I left the oven at 320 for 20 minutes and then shut it off, leaving the tofu in the oven to dry out.

baked tofu

The end result was tasty but not pretty! These crunchy chips made a great topping for the banh mi salad though. I used vegetable scissors to cut them into strips and tossed them in with the rice and vegetables.

tofu chips

I will definitely be making this salad again. Even though I have mentioned that I don’t love rice, I think it is more than I don’t love it on its own. Add in lots of vegetables and protein, and I am a fan!

Have you ever taken inspiration from one favorite dish and turned it into something else?

Tags: dinner, rice, tofu, vegetables, Vegetarian

« Older entries § Newer entries »

new restaurant
WordPress SEO fine-tune by Meta SEO Pack from Poradnik Webmastera