Tag Archives: vegetarian

Sunshine Salad

22 Jun

This recipe comes from a little Mexican cookbook that’s been kicking around the apartment for years, but we really only started using it recently. I sent this recipe to a friend of mine a couple of months ago and she raved about it.  We decided to make it for Father’s Day and after a couple of bites, I understood why she’d liked it so much: it’s fresh, it’s simple and it’s kind of addictive. So much so that we made it again the next day…

Serves 4, as a side dish.

Ingredients

1 c pineapple (1 can)
1 avocado, diced
1 1/2 c corn (or 1 14oz can)
1/4 c cilantro, chopped
1 – 2 green onions, sliced
2 oranges, peeled & sliced
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 ts black pepper

Directions

1. Assemble all ingredients in medium-large bowl.
2. Refrigerate for at least one hour.
3. …Eat.

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Spaghettini w/ Feta & Cherry Tomatoes

21 Sep

Easy, tasty and gave us the chance to use some of the cherry tomatoes from the garden.

Serves 4.

Ingredients

1 lb spaghettini
2 garlic, minced
10 pearl onions, peeled & halved
1 c cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 c feta, crumbled
1/4 c basil, julienned
1/2 lemon, juiced
4 tb olive oil
salt & pepper

Directions

1. Boil the salted water for the pasta and cook to the directions on the package.
2. Heat 2tb of olive oil to low-medium in a sauce pan.
3. Add onions.  Saute 5 minutes.
4. Add garlic and tomatoes and saute for an additional 5 minutes.
5. Strain pasta, reserving one cup of water.
6. Gently mix the onions, garlic & tomatoes to the pasta. Add the rest of the olive oil, feta, basil & lemon juice.
7. Stir, adding salt & pepper to taste. For a creamier texture, add in the reserved pasta water.

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Coconut Curry

15 Sep

I absolutely love curries. I think they have a great balance of sweet and spicy and are incredibly versatile. I frequently make a Thai-influenced coconut curry that comes out better each time I make it so it shows up at the dinner table a lot around here.  The recipe below is vegetarian, but should you choose to add meat or seafood (like I did in the picture), it’s equally delicious. Great to take for lunch the next day – your coworkers *will* be jealous. 🙂

Serves 4.

Ingredients

1 tb sesame oil
2 ts minced ginger
2 garlic cloves
1 sweet pepper, chopped
5-10 mushrooms, chopped
1/2 cup frozen peas
1 c green onions, chopped
2 ts curry powder
3 ts red curry paste
1 ts ground cumin
4 ts soy sauce
1 ts brown sugar
1 ts salt
14 oz coconut milk
1 lime
1/2 ts hot sauce
3 c rice, cooked
2 tb cilantro

Directions

1. Heat your oil to medium in a large sauce pan and add the garlic and ginger. Saute 1 minute.
2. Add pepper, mushrooms and green onions. (If you’re using meat add it in this step, too. For shrimp/fish, wait until the coconut milk goes in.) Saute 2 minutes.
3. Stir in curry powder, curry paste and cumin. Saute 1 minute.
4. Add soy, sugar, salt & coconut milk, hot sauce and 1/2 the lime juice.
5. Simmer, but DO NOT BOIL, for 10 minutes. At five minute mark, add in peas.
Stir, taste and adjust if necessary.
6. Remove from the heat.
7. Serve over rice, sprinkle with cilantro and squeeze remaining lime juice on top.
8. Devour.

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Asian Pasta

17 Aug

We call this “peanut butter pasta” at home, but that can sound kind of unappealing. My mother-in-law made this a while back and I absolutely dug it. It covers a wide range of flavours – salty, sweet, hot – and is very versatile.

Serves 4.

Ingredients

12 oz spaghetti (or however much you think you need! Some peeps are hungry, okay?)
1/2 green/red/yellow pepper, julienned
1 carrot, shredded
1/2 cabbage (Napa or red. Depends on your preference)
1/2 onion, julienned
1/2 c peanut butter
1/4 c soy sauce
2 tb sesame oil
2 tb cider vinegar
1 tb hot sauce
2 tb olive oil
1 ts salt
1 ts pepper
2 tb sesame seeds (toasted if you have time)
1 scallion, chopped

Directions

1. Set a large pot of water on to boil.
2. Slice (julienne) all the vegetables. (Note: you can really put in any veg you like. It all works!)
3. Whisk together the peanut butter, soy, sesame oil, vinegar and hot sauce. Taste it! You might want to add more of one ingredient depending on your personal preference.
4. The pasta should take 6-8 minutes to cook. Add salt to the pasta water, followed by the spaghetti.
5. Heat the oil in a medium pan to medium heat. Add vegetables, then salt and pepper.
6. Drain the pasta, reserving one cup of the cooking liquid. Add the vegetables and sauce to the pasta. Combine all the ingredients and add some of the reserved water if the sauce is too thick.
7. Plate the dish and sprinkle with the sesame seeds and scallion.

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