Tag: food

Try This—Spiced Chickpeas With Harissa and Tamarind

I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that I’ve found my new favorite condiment. Can we talk about harissa?! If you haven’t heard of it yet, just know that this spicy, North African sauce is totally helping me kick my sriracha habit.

I can literally smear sriracha on just about anything. From halloumi sandwiches to vegetarian BLTs, to spicy honey glazed cauliflower, sriracha has always been my secret weapon. Now harissa is quickly becoming my go-to ingredient for everything. And when I say everything, I do mean errrrrthing. If you’re new to the harissa game, pick up a jar of this versatile deliciousness immediately. And for those of us that have gone beyond the classic harissa and couscous combo, this spiced chickpea recipe from One Green Planet does not disappoint! You must try this!

Spiced Chickpeas With Harissa and Tamarind

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil (or coconut oil)
  • 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 small red onion, chopped
  • 1 tablespoon tomato paste
  • 1 teaspoon minced garlic
  • 4 teaspoons harissa paste
  • 1/2 teaspoons smoked paprika (or to taste)
  • 1 teaspoon Aleppo pepper, optional
  • 2-3 teaspoons tamarind paste
  • 2-2 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas (or 1 15-oz canned chickpeas, drained)
  • 1/4 cup water
  • Salt to taste

Preparation

  1. Heat olive oil in a skillet or saucepan over medium-high heat.
  2. Add mustard seeds when oil is hot, stir and cook for about a minute until seeds start popping.
  3. Add cumin, onions and tomato paste and cook for a minute or two until onions start to soften.
  4. Add garlic, harissa, and cook for another minute or so.
  5. Stir in tamarind, and paprika, Aleppo pepper and chickpeas and water, mix well to coat.
  6. Lower heat and cook for three to five minutes or until chickpeas are warmed through.
  7. Season with salt to taste.

The Meal Planning App That Will Replace Your Takeout Addiction

So you’re not hallucinating and this certainly isn’t an April Fool’s joke. I’m officially over the worst of my seasonal Winter blues, out of hibernation, and super excited to share my latest obsession with you! Let’s just get right to it, shall we?! Mealime is changing the game for me right now, and I just have to let you in on the secret.

I’m always on the hunt for the perfect solution for my meal planning woes. To be honest, I’d rather have a personal chef that just magically knows what I want to eat, does all the grocery shopping, organizes my pantry and fridge, prepares my dinner, packs the leftovers for tomorrow’s lunch (so I’m wasting virtually no food), tells me the nutritional facts of every meal, and of course does all of this for free.

Until now, the closest I’ve come to this dream is my short-lived love of meal kit services. Companies like Blue Apron take most of the guess work out of meal planning. Fresh ingredients, portioned out, and delivered directly to your door, all with easy to follow recipes. What’s not to love? The price, y’all. The price. There’s no denying that meal kits are a great solution for busy, indecisive folks like myself, but the price makes them totally unjustifiable for my wallet… and I still have to cook?!  Sigh. *immediately opens Seamless app to get takeout* There’s gotta be a better way, right?

Meal Planning Made Simple

Enter Mealime! Mealime is a free (yes, free) meal planning app that makes meal planning easy, efficient, and dare I say, fun. All you have to do is:

  • create a profile
  • specify any dietary restrictions/food allergies (vegetarian or nah?, peanuts or life?)
  • scratch off ingredients you don’t like (I’m looking at you, eggplant)
  • choose some meals from an automatically generated list of delicious meals
  • import that grocery list to Instacart or Amazon Fresh.

Of course you still have to cook, but meal planning seriously does not get any easier. Ready to change your life? Download it for android or ios. And for the commitment-phobic, test out the entire Mealime process with this recipe (my new favorite)… And for the gravely commitment-phobic, just check out the pics below!

You're not locked into a set number of meals — you can choose as many or as few as you want.

 

Try This— Penne With Butternut Squash and Goat Cheese

This Fall inspired variation on the classic Cacio e Pepe is the ultimate comfort food.

Maybe I’m unlucky in life, but the entire time I was in Rome this summer, I didn’t have one single incredible food moment. The stars aligned and I was truly blessed enough to travel around Europe. We spent a full week in the Eternal City, and I could barely contain my excitement about sampling the food. In fairness, I had heard so much about how great the food in Rome was that I probably built it up in my head until my expectations could never be satisfied. After crawling around Rome from Monti to Trastevere looking for delicious food, I finally just gave up. Our last night in Rome, we stayed in and I made this Cacio e Pepe dish in the kitchen of our vacation rental.

Since being back, I’ve been so over Italian food. I don’t know if it has anything to do with my experience in Rome, but I just haven’t really had that Italian food craving that has been an ever present part of my life. Anyway, this weekend I suddenly had that old Italian food itch that I’ve been missing so much, and I decided to make this Fall inspired cacio e pepe I discovered on Food Network. The subtle sweetness of butternut squash paired with the tartness of goat cheese is a game changer. You must try this!!!

Penne With Butternut Squash and Goat Cheese

Ingredients

  • Vegetable oil cooking spray
  • 1 (2-pound) butternut or kabocha squash, peeled, seeded and cut into 3/4-inch cubes
  • 1 onion, diced into 1/2-inch pieces
  • Olive oil, for drizzling
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 pound penne pasta
  • 1 cup (8 ounces) goat cheese, crumbled
  • 1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts, toasted
  • 1 packed cup chopped fresh basil leaves
  • 1/3 cup finely grated Parmesan

Directions

  1. Put an oven rack in the upper third of the oven. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
  2. Spray a baking sheet, liberally, with vegetable oil cooking spray. Set aside.
  3. Mix the squash and onion together and arrange in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Bake for to 40 to 45 minutes until the vegetables are golden and cooked through. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool slightly.
  4. While the squash mixture is cooling, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain and reserve about 2 cups of the pasta water. Put the pasta, goat cheese and 1 cup of pasta water in a large serving bowl. Toss until the cheese has melted and forms a creamy sauce. Add the squash and onion mixture, the walnuts and the basil. Toss well and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Garnish with Parmesan and serve.

Try This— The Easiest Homemade Vegetarian Ramen Recipe

I pretty much lived on ramen when I was in college. Back then my four basic food groups were salt, junk, cheap, and easy. Such is the gut fortitude of a nineteen year old. Times have certainly changed, and though my taste and my junk food cravings haven’t, at least now I’m old enough to try and make healthier choices. I want to keep my ramen classy, y’all. No more undergrad ramen for me! I mix up my own seasoning and keep it on the shelf, ready for those nights when I’m feeling just as sleepy as I did when I was in college. You can’t get much easier than a basic ramen bowl, and with some simple add-ins, you’ll be well on your way to total ramen sophistication. You must try this!!!

Homemade Ramen Seasoning

ingredients

  • 2 tbsp poultry seasoning
  • 2 tbsp garlic powder
  • 2 tbsp onion powder
  • 2 vegetable bullion cubes
  • 1 tbsp black pepper

directions

  • crush bullion cubes into a powder
  • mix all ingredients, including bullion, together
  • store in an airtight container

Basic Ramen bowl

Ingredients

  • 2 oz vermicelli rice noodles (If you use this kind that’s about one quarter of the box)
  • 1 c of boiling water
  • 1 tbsp homemade ramen seasoning (you might want to start with less and add more to taste)

Directions

  • place rice noodles in a small bowl
  • sprinkle with homemade ramen seasoning
  • add boiling water and allow the rice noodles to sit for 3-5 minutes stirring occasionally to separate the noodles
  • Enjoy!

optional add-ins

  • chili oil or (homemade) sriracha, to taste
  • a splash of lemon or lime juice
  • a boiled egg or two
  • lightly fried tofu
  • kimchi
  • quick cooking vegetables: spinach, thinly slice cabbage, romaine lettuce, mushrooms, bean sprouts, or green onions are all good choices
  • frozen vegetables: corn and peas are my favorite! Just be sure to thaw them a bit in warm water before adding them to your ramen bowl

This recipe makes the perfect mason jar lunch. just like these healthy mason jar snack ideas, mason jar ramen is ready in minutes. The dry ingredients have a long shelf life, so you can assemble a few dry noodles/seasoning mason jars well ahead of time. When you’re ready to eat them, just lift one from the pantry and add boiling water. Lunch in 3-5 minutes with no effort! Think of it as a savory alternative to your favorite mason jar oatmeal recipe.

Recipe adapted from: Connoisseurusveg and Minimalist Baker

Try This—5 Vegetarian Recipes That Almost Got Away

I share a lot of recipes with you guys. I know you haven’t tried them all. Don’t be ashamed. I’m not mad. It’s totally ok. We’re still friends and all that and I’m totally here for you if you need a hug. But you do know if I share a recipe twice, I mean business. These are the recipes that may have gotten away from you, but they are so worth it that I had to share them again. Like I always say, you must try this!!!

Halloumi Burgers With Sticky Sriracha Glaze

Tbh, this sriracha glaze is everything. You’ll dream about this sandwich. Promise.

Cheesy Savory Oatmeal

There’s almost nothing as hearty as oatmeal. This stick to your ribs recipe is definitely a keeper.

Pan-Fried Gnocchi

The perfect weeknight dinner. Quick and amazingly tasty, This is sure to become one of your go to meals.

Savory Yogurt Bowls

Who says that yogurt has to be sweet? Not I. These savory yogurt bowls will make you a believer.

Loaded Sweet Potato With Lime Cream

This is probably my favorite way to serve sweet potatoes. I usually fry up some tofu, load up a sweet potato, toss a side salad and pig out like a queen.