Quinoa, Kale, and Roasted Veggies

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I’m a big fan of cooking in a Cast Iron Skillet. It brings great memories of cooking at my grandma’s house growing up and I swear it makes the food taste better! The more seasoned, more flavor, and crispier your entrée. Today I went to the market with the intention of grabbing the largest selection of fall veggies I could get my hands on. It was fun, and the following recipe is what I threw together using the produce I came up with.

Quinoa and Roasted Vegetables with Tahini sauce:
1 sweet potato
1 purple potato
1 zucchini
3 carrots (I did a variety: carrot, parsnip, purple carrot)
1 onion
1 bunch of kale, de-stemmed
½ cup of frozen peas
3 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 Tbsp oregano
½ Tbsp thyme
½ Tbsp. cumin
Dash salt & black pepper, to taste

For the quinoa:
1 cup quinoa + 2 cups H20

Dressing:
3 Tbsp tahini
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Juice from one lemon
1 garlic clove
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp cinnamon
dash of salt
4-5 Tbs water

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees
-Chop the carrots, zucchini, and potatoes into bite-size pieces
-Cut the onion into slivers
-Mix all veggies in cast iron skillet with olive oil and spices
-Bake 30-35 minutes until mostly cooked through
-On stove-top cook quinoa as normal (Bring 2 cups of water to a boil, add 1 cup quinoa, bring to a simmer for 16 minutes)
-On stove-top blanche kale, to soften
-Thaw peas
-Once veggies are mostly done roasting, stir in kale, 1 cup of quinoa, and peas and continue to cook about 5-10 more minutes.

In a separate jar, stir together ingredients for tahini sauce. Add more of less water to sauce, depending on your consistency preference.

 

When the entire thing is finished cooking, pour sauce on top, while warm. Enjoy

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Summer Cabbage Salad, with Tahini Dressing

cabbagesaladSummer Cabbage Salad

3 cups shredded cabbage
1 cup chopped kale
1 cup grated carrot
1 cup grated cucumber
1/3 cup diced parsley

Dressing:
½ cup tahini
Juice from 2 lemons
¼ cup Bragg’s Aminos

Optional Toppings:
Heirloom tomatoes
Crushed walnuts
Avocado

Toss all salad ingredients in a bowl.
In separate, small bowl mixed together ingredient for dressing. (It should be thick)
Massage dressing into salad. Toss in your favorite toppings before serving.

Curried Carrot Soup

Curried Carrot SoupCurriedCarrotSoup

2 Tbs coconut oil
1 onion
6 c carrots, peeled and chopped
3 ½ c veggie stock
15-ounce can of coconut milk
1 Tbs freshly chopped ginger
2 Tbs curry powder
½ tsp chili powder
salt and pepper to taste

-Heat oil in soup pot on medium heat. Add chopped onion.

-Add in carrot, and cook for about 5 minutes, add in milk and vegetable stock

-Add in ginger, curry, and chili powder. Stir well.

-Put lid on pot and cook about 15 minutes until vegetables have softened.

-When ready, blend in batches until smooth

-Season with salt and pepper and more chili powder

(Serve with vegan spring rolls)

Easy Vegetable Soup

The great thing about this soup is you don’t have to stick to the exact recipe.  Add more of veggies you love and leave out the ones you hate.  I frequently use this as a way of “cleaning out the fridge”.  When my veggies look like their at the end of their life I chop ’em up and toss ’em in!
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1 sweet onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
3 Tbs olive oil
2-3 large zucchini or squash, sliced in coins and cut in half again
4 large carrots, chopped into bite size pieces
4 stalks of celery, chopped into small pieces
1 bag of frozen corn
1 bag of frozen green beans
2 cans of beans, (I chose 1 kidney beans and 1 can black beans)
1 can diced tomatoes (low sodium)
1 can tomato paste
4 cups water plus one vegan bullion cube (or 32 ounces of veggie stock)
S and P to taste
I also add a season from Trader Joe’s called the Every Day Seasoning

veg. soup2Heat oil in large soup pot.  Sauté onion and garlic for a couple of minutes until brown.  Lower heat to medium heat and add in the zucchini, carrots, celery.  Once the vegetables have softened a little, about 5 minutes) Add the water and bullion cube.
Bring to a boil and add thawed green beans and corn.
Once boiling, reduce to a simmer for about 30 minutes or until you are ready to serve.

Soup saves well in jars, and re heats nicely.  Can last about a week in refrigerator.