vegetarian

Classic Deviled Eggs

July 2, 2018 by Lindsay 2 Comments

These deviled eggs with relish have filling made right in the food processor for the lightest, fluffiest deviled egg filling ever. I like to make the filling in advance and pipe it in right before serving to avoid any mess.

Happy July!

True life, I don't like eggs all that much. It's a texture thing, and the overwhelming smell is just...not enough to negate the idea of a cheap+sustainable+healthy protein. BUT, because everyone else likes eggs, and I know how good they are for us, I really want to like them.

So, imagine my sadclown surprise when my magazine editor assigned me deviled eggs for our July feature. It was surprising because mainly I choose my own topics, but I'm always asking for direction because I'm eager to please and insecure.

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White Bean Feta Hummus

June 25, 2018 by Lindsay Leave a Comment

Oh hiiiii Monday after vacation. No one likes you, seriously.

This day is always so ridiculous, the first day back after any kind of hiatus, isn't it? Laundry and unpacking and organizing (we rented a mountain house last week with Jay's family and took half the contents of our home), sorting thoughts and tasks and There Will Be No Formal Meals for a day or two, thank you very much, due to random leftovers and remnants that made it home with us because the Earth has enough to deal with without trying to filter food, of all things, through its landfills.

So we are busy, we are not cooking, but we have random foods to consume, and we need this dip. Specifically for the random crudite that are in the fridge; they need a friend. This dip is definitely an extension of vacation in that it is fun to eat dip and veggies (and bread and cheese obviously) for a meal, but it's also a perfect Monday food because health. The ingredients are simple, healthy, and vegetarian. The dip is done in five minutes or less with a good blender/food processor on your side, and a yummy whole food snack to get us through the week is ours. ...

Fresh Tomato Butter Sauce + Spaghetti Squash

June 5, 2018 by Lindsay Leave a Comment

Raise your hand if you recently had surgery and ate all of the things while not moving for nearly a month!!!

Jay is raising his hand right now. We've had the weirdest few months - we were all three sick in increments so basically someone in the house was sick for over a month, then Jay traveled for work, then had surgery, and in that time frame we decided that CARBS AND DAIRY GOOD and KALE BAD. Which honestly emotionally was exactly what we needed, but still. Can't do that forever, sad aging bodies don't work well that way. Now, let me be super clear that I think Jay looks no different and he's maintained a super duper great outlook on health and food in 2018 so far, BUT, I definitely get that sometimes after a slump it feels great to eat especially lighter or healthier meals. For us, that means less/no red meat, fewer carbs, and smaller portions. We aren't cutting out anything exactly, but more fish + veggies + vegetarian options feels great to us right now. With cheese on top.

So to continue our Whole30-is-over-but-white-carbs-aren't-great way of eating, spaghetti squash is back in the house with a fun vengeance, because we both love it. The idea for this fresh sauce came from Pinch of Yum, which I read all the time and adore, and serving it over spaghetti squash seemed like a no-brainer. The way to make this delicious is a teeny bit of butter in the sauce, parm on top, and LIBERAL use of salt and pepper. Unsalted anything isn't great, but an unsalted healthy-on-purpose meal is just the most sad. Salt for president!

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Yogurt Pesto Dip with Burrata + Roasted Tomatoes

May 29, 2018 by Lindsay 3 Comments

So now that we're officially past the unofficial first weekend of summer we can definitely start eating foods like this every day for dinner and all weekend drenched in rose, right?

You get me.

Did you have any fun at all this weekend? It poured here all day yesterday and we spent Saturday and Sunday doing house project after house project because our addition is almost-basically-will-never-be-fully DONE, but done enough that we're in it and frankly if the contractor never does his final few items then he never gets his final million dollars and that's fiiiiiiine with us, you know? So we're in the new space, it's bright and fresh and clean and we are SO happy with it, and with that came a gazillion small and large organizing tasks, moving things around, hanging things on walls, all of the things. It's far from done, but we did a ton of work on it this weekend and then tons of TV watching yesterday with Beck including her first experience with Moana, which was super special and fun. I'm not sure she grasped much of the story, but every time Moana made any kind of a sad face, Beck was certain "she just misses her Mama!"

So! Now that we used a holiday weekend to do chores, we are READY for summer. We're kicking off our June with a baby sprinkle on Saturday for my bff Heather, and this is going to feature prominently on a very-massive cheese board that I have planned. I've made this a few times already in the spring, and have never had any leftovers, which is how I gauge the success of a new dish. The summer flavors scream at you in the best possible way: a quick pesto yogurt dip, creamy burrata torn over top, roasted cherry tomatoes for tang and to round out the caprese feel of the dish. Olive oil, salt and pepper top the dish AND the bread that I highly recommend grilling - grilling all of the things all summer is the name of our game.

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Spring Veggie and Farro Soup

May 23, 2018 by Lindsay Leave a Comment

One of our favorite easy vegetarian soup recipes, spring veggies with farro! This recipe is easily made vegan AND gluten free, and the herby, lemony broth is absolutely delicious. I love this as part of a weekly meal prep session; it keeps really well in the fridge for lunches.

Because apparently we are a sick house and I only want to eat broth-based things ever.

Our week of healing is going well, thanks to incredible amounts of support from our friends and family and narcotics for Jay. I, on the other hand, have gotten some kind of cold-on-top-of-a-cold and can't stop craving salty brothy things to make my throat feel better and my nose unclog slightly.

Doing a surgery recovery with a toddler while sick and doing regular work has been a struggle; we feel like we.just.can't.quite. catch up on sleep and housework, but we're getting there, one day at a time.

The good news is that the Porta Potty was picked up from our FRONT YARD where it has been for nearly 6 months, so small victories, you know?

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Quick Pasta Primavera

May 17, 2018 by Lindsay Leave a Comment

Talk about eating seasonally. The last salad I showed, this pasta, and a soup I have coming up have all the same flavor base ingredients, and we change up the dish based on our desires. Need lighter? Go for the salad. Dinner with friends? Pasta for sure. Late season cold? The soup's on its way, I promise.

The flavors in question are garlic + green veggies + fresh herbs + lemon. In this case we add cheese and spaghetti for a super quick and flavorful pasta. There isn't a huge amount of sauce, just enough to coat the pasta and veggies and make everything nice and silky.

I made this a few weeks ago for two of my best friends; we managed a kid- and husband-free dinner and it was SO much fun. We also accidentally talked until almost eleven which is way too tired for us at this stage in our lives (they're both pregnant), but I blame that on the pasta too. It lends itself to slow twirly bites between sarcasm and giggles and definitely begs for seconds.

It's full of green veggies and is vegetarian, so seconds are practically mandatory.

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Buffalo Cauliflower Tacos

May 2, 2018 by Lindsay 1 Comment

We made it to May! And now it's only a few more days until Cinco de Mayo and right after that it's Memorial Day and then vacations and 4th of July and two of my besties are having babies and HOW IS IT TIME TO START PLANNING THANKSGIVING.

But really. Does one ever mature enough to accept that they are old enough to experience the passing of time at a faster rate or is it just....too fast all the time until I die?

Let's not think too hard about that. Tacos! Light, healthy, vegetarian tacos, to be exact. I'm a huge fan of Buffalo-flavored anything, and have been seeing cauliflower based dishes all over the internet. I love cauliflower in general, and the idea of it as a meat substitute appealed to me so much - the texture and chew from it plus extra vitamins and low fat/calories YES PLEASE.

So we are having Buffalo Cauliflower Tacos. I didn't do any kind of breading or frying for the sake of our bellies and the smell of our houses. Instead, the cauliflower gets roasted until blackened at the edges, then a super quick buffalo sauce goes all over everything. You can dress your tacos up however you'd like, but I'm a huge fan of lettuce (cabbage can get kind of crunchy and overpower the soft cauliflower), queso fresco, green onion, and lime. I ditched the blue cheese and celery for this version because I think it's kind of obvious BUT those flavors go great with buffalo, so have at it if you have those ingredients on hand!

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Marinated Grilled Artichokes {vegan}

March 29, 2018 by Lindsay 1 Comment

I mean, could there be a more appropriate springy recipe? I'm thinking no, but this one isn't trying too hard with excessive amounts of green stuff. Or any green stuff, really. It is, however, a super simple snack/appetizer/side dish that happens to be VEGAN and takes all of 20 minutes to make.

It is also full of flavor and texture and just feels like warm-weather with the help of an indoor grill because our grill is under the house out of the way of the never-ending construction.

I love marinated artichokes straight out of a jar, especially on cheese plates or as a snack before dinner with nuts/wine, etc. We recently went to a new Italian restaurant in town and their antipasto platter had something similar to these: artichokes that tasted tangy and marinated and familiar but that were charred on the outside and served warm. I loved them (and ate them all, Jay can go either way on artichokes); the contrast of the tangy marinade and charred grilled bits was so good. HOWEVER, when I decided to make them there was no way in hell I was going to mess with a gazillion fresh artichokes even though they are in season. Trimming and choking fresh artichokes takes forever and I always find myself injured. Plus, Trader Joe's has frozen artichokes, so the texture is a little more firm than a jarred version and they hold up really well on the grill.

So! We make a super quick marinade. You can do this the day before or right before grilling, the flavor is great no matter what. A few minutes on the grill just for some blackening, and then we serve hot, warm, room temperature, or cold after a day or two in the fridge. There is no wrong way to serve these, and I'd suggest making a massive batch because extra things to go with wine and cheese is not a bad thing ever. See also: Easter brunch/lunch.

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Chocolate Peanut Butter Chia Pudding

March 26, 2018 by Lindsay Leave a Comment

Dessert for breakfast! Breakfast for dessert! Reese's cup flavored everything!

Should have led with Reese's cup flavored everything.

Happy Monday! We're starting with chocolate. And why not, really? There is a perception that chocolate is always unhealthy, but I think it's more that when cocoa powder is served with sugar + fat + carbs we run into issues. This has those things, certainly, but it also has chia seeds, peanut butter, honey instead of sugar (still acts like sugar, though, don't be totally fooled), and dairy that can be lower in fat if you choose. You can also sub the milk + cream for coconut milk and/or almond milk if you're dairy-free, so lots of options here!

The point is more that things called pudding can definitely be good for breakfast or snacks or dessert. Chia pudding in particular is so easy to make, and I don't know many people who dislike the chocolate+peanut butter combination, seriously. I love making a big batch like this while something else is cooking (because it takes all of 5 minutes), then keeping it in the fridge for several days to grab when we need something fast. This version has slightly more liquid than other variations for a creamier effect, and I DID throw some peanut butter cups on top for a visual (and because they are delicious, obviously) and to up the dessert-factor of these. Maybe leave them off if you make this for breakfast, maybe don't.

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Simple Pan-Seared Parmesan Brussels

March 15, 2018 by Lindsay 1 Comment

Five ingredients, 20 minutes, perfect side dish, boom.

But let's back up. I went to brunch at this new hipster place recently for a friend's birthday, and it was .... predictably brunchy yet good. Beermosas, runny eggs on everything (no thanks), and the promise that "if you like this you should come back for dinner," which I totally want to because I don't like eggs. Make no mistake, the brunch itself was fabulous, I was child-free, the conversation was amazing, and we ordered some dish that included fried Parmesan Brussels sprouts as a base to a grit cake and a poached egg. My friend (we were sharing) got the whole egg, I got extra sprouts, all was right with the world.

The gist was this: the Brussels were definitely fried, but then tossed in COPIOUS amounts of Parm after the cooking process, so there was this great contrast between the cooked veggie and shredded cheese, which I loved. For this method, I did a pan-sear + oven cook to avoid the fat and stink of frying. The result is similar but healthier, and extra parm and crushed red pepper over everything makes this our new favorite way to eat Brussels. You will need an oven-safe skillet, usually cast iron or stainless steel, but I have some nonstick skillets that can be in the oven at high temperatures, so there are lots of options for cooking this dish.

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Beck's Favorite Cheese Toast

March 8, 2018 by Lindsay Leave a Comment

aka slightly-fancy-yet-somehow-redneck cheese toast, and by that I mean YOU'RE WELCOME.

This definitely isn't an innovative recipe by any stretch of the imagination, and it takes all of 5 minutes to create. BUT, it's one that Beck has recently started loving, more day-in-the-boring-life type of stuff. What is it, though, about emotionally needing lots of carbs on weeks where you're feeling particularly bad about your shape/size? This could be just me, and I'm choosing to ignore it with cheese and bread.

This toast! Cheese toast was totally a thing in our house growing up. It's super quick and can vaguely present itself as part of a balanced meal with the addition of some fruit and veg, and kids like it which is kind of the main thing. I make this fully adult-friendly with good ingredients - bread that I love, fancy/sharp cheese, and some simple spices to boost the flavor. The key is to use a teensy bit more cheese than you think you need and broil juuuuuust until the cheese is about to burn for maximum browned cheese happiness.

That's why this is emotionally necessary. Browned cheese.

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Simple Kale Salad with Caesar Croutons and Roasted Tomatoes

February 26, 2018 by Lindsay 3 Comments

Welcome to the salad that makes my dreams come true via buttery bread cubes on top of a superfood.

This salad. It's definitely a new favorite, and the simplicity of the salad itself is one of the reasons I love it so much. I love salads that are dressed super simply to make way for really good toppings, and this is exactly that type of thing. The "dressing" is lemon juice and olive oil, full stop, but just wait for the croutons. I didn't want to do a kale Caesar because, while delicious, I feel like that's been done a lot. Instead, I wanted more of a make-ahead salad that just gets thrown together at the last minute.

Enter: Caesar croutons. They're made in a skillet with anchovy butter, which gives a promise-not-fishy super distinctive Caesar flavor. The croutons get all crispy in the butter with garlic and salt and pepper, and then right at the last minute we add parmesan which fries on the outside of the croutons and OMG. So you see why we don't need much in the way of dressing.

Roasted tomatoes add a sweet + warm element, and we have ourselves a salad. The tomatoes and croutons can be made in advance and served cold or at room temperature, so the salad can be done in five minutes once those two things are done. I love this as a side salad with spaghetti or pizza, but throw a fried egg or some protein on top of this and WHAT a delicious meal. Sliced rare steak sounds particularly delicious with these flavors.

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Mascarpone Risotto with Stewed Wild Mushrooms

February 20, 2018 by Lindsay 1 Comment

I, shall we say, stewed (heh) over what to call this. First, it's delicious. Second, it's vegetarian. Third, though, it's basically some risotto and some mushrooms thrown together to make a meal OR to go with a larger meal with some meat or another veggie side dish.

So I almost posted them separately, but they go so well together that I wanted to present them to you as a complete meal, which they totally are.

Unless you make them separately and serve them at different times, which also works great. You see the problem.

I first had this idea after reading this similar recipe from Love and Olive Oil, and I couldn't get it out of my mind. I adore mushrooms and Jay hates them, it's one of the very few things that we difer on. There are plenty of foods that one of us prefers over the other, but a whole dinner of rice and mushrooms for someone who is mainly low-carb and hates fungus was just not happening. So, I made this for lunch for myself and then ate it again that night for dinner. Jay had some mushrooms and a little rice and I added steak and sauteed spinach for him. Everyone was happy, but I could honestly eat an entire plate just like this.

It's so simple: very basic risotto with mascarpone added right at the end; use veggie stock to make this vegetarian. The mushrooms are vegetarian as they are; a mix of fresh and dried mushrooms for a variety of textures and flavors. Onion, butter, and tomato paste make a super rich flavor combination, and the mushrooms sear then stew while you stir the risotto together. This is SO good.

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Spinach Artichoke Grilled Cheese

February 6, 2018 by Lindsay 1 Comment

yumyumyum, is all I have to say about that.

So, the fun part of this story is that this was Beck's gateway sandwich, and what a freakin way to go, right? She's still just barely interested in any foods that are mixed, still eats pretty plain things separated by miles of plate space, emphasis on pasta and berries. I'm trying to ease her into the idea of eating whatever I put in front of her, though, with fewer options at each meal. One way I've found that she's much more agreeable to trying ANYTHING new is to have her help me make it. We got a Tripp Trapp a few weeks ago and it's been used mainly as a kitchen stool; she's fully obsessed with being able to see what is happening and test out little bits of things as we cook.

These were a weekday lunch inspiration based on a random bag of frozen artichokes from Trader Joe's and some cute thin-sliced sourdough that I wanted to use. Provolone and garlicky spinach rounded everything out, and local butter crisped everything up. I used pretty small pieces of bread in these (about 5 inches corner-to-corner) because there's a good amount of cheese in these, but you can use any bread and melty white cheese you want!

These grilled cheeses are a teeny bit time consuming because you grill the artichokes and wilt the spinach first, but I did them all in the same skillet to save on dishes and they only take about five minutes apiece. Then it's butter/bread/cheese/grill, and lunch is done in half an hour or so.

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Easy Homemade Ranch Dip

January 29, 2018 by Lindsay 16 Comments

Homemade ranch dip in just 5 minutes! This version has lots of yummy dill flavor and uses dried spices - no chopping or messing up a ton of dishes! This ranch dip recipe is particularly delicious with homemade pan fried potato chips or baked chicken tenders.

Unlike some people who love eating a wide variety of foods, I adore ranch. BUT, it has to be good. Hidden Valley is not good. Homemade bar ranch from a packet is good. Those packets are also Hidden Valley, so riddle me that. I think it's something about the combo of less preservatives, less or no mayo, that makes "homemade" ranch so wonderful.

I've seen a ton of no-packet homemade ranch ideas on the internet, and a lot of them call with powdered milk or something similar to achieve a more classic flavor. I don't love having ingredients around that only can be used for one or two things, though, so I don't use anything but spices and sour cream in my ranch.

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Coconut Vanilla Chia Pudding (vegan, dairy free, sugar free)

January 25, 2018 by Lindsay 3 Comments

I mean, come on. All of the free things, which means that pudding for breakfast is totally acceptable whether you're on a diet or not.

When I was reading about Whole30 and the philosophy (a ton that I disagree with), there is a note that it isn't recommended to eat chia pudding because it can make you think of real pudding and THAT IS SO BAD and on and on. So I presented this to Jay, who'd been asking for chia pudding, and he rolled his eyes and we made chia pudding.

Great story, right? So, while this isn't on the hoity-toity list of recommended Whole30 foods, it is totally compliant with all of the actual rules and delicious to boot. You can also make this with sweetened versions of any of the ingredients, which...wouldn't be gross, hence why some people feel the need to detox from sugar. Because it's good. We enjoyed this without added sugar, though, thanks to some fresh fruit and raisins which add sweetness without sugar to the final dish.

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Chipotle Sweet Potato Chili with Walnuts {vegan}

January 8, 2018 by Lindsay 2 Comments

It's our first Whole30 recipe!

Jay is a little more than a week into this endeavor, and is powering through like a champ because "it's a work competition, don't you ever just like to challenge yourself?" Not at avoiding dairy and carbs, no I don't. But! Jay's doing it, so I've made our meals that we eat together as Whole30-friendly as possible, and he in turn isn't huffy when I have a cup of pasta on the side of my protein and roasted veggies. Because balance.

This chili, though, needs zero help or additions; it is PERFECT just as it is. I made it this weekend for Jay's mom and grandmother, and was fully expecting them to politely eat the weird chili and move on with their day. But no. They raved. Had seconds (these are teeny women we're talking about). Went on and on about the flavor, and trust me, I was with them all the way. Truthfully, I created this chili for Jay and expected to eat it once, but I loved it way more than I expected to and am already planning to make it again for another gathering.

Sweet potatoes show up in tons of Whole30 recipes, and I wanted to offset the sweetness with chipotle to keep the dish super savory. I've seen people use walnuts in place of taco meat, and while I haven't tried that, the thought of softened walnut pieces in a super savory broth with soft sweet potato chunks just seemed to work in my mind, and work it did. The walnuts seem weird but they aren't at all; they soften just a bit but still keep a bite after they simmer for a long time, and they add a great nutty flavor to the chili that alllllmost mimics meat. You can use any kind of stock you like for this, but to keep the dish vegan grab a box of vegetable stock and get to it.

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Quick Spaghetti with Tomato Cream Sauce and Spinach {vegetarian}

January 4, 2018 by Lindsay 8 Comments

This easy tomato cream sauce recipe features pine nuts and spinach for extra oomph and comes together super quickly. Spaghetti night is now every night!

Easy spaghetti with tomato cream sauce recipe.

Ok so for today's meal I was between heavy and slightly-less-heavy, but I just COULDN'T share with you anything too light, even like the grain bowls, with these temperatures. Desperate times, man. Also, the first Thursday after a holiday is just...getmetofriday, right?

This will get you there, I promise. It's not the worst thing in the world for you, but it's not checking off any diet boxes unless MORE GREEN THINGS was one of your resolutions, in which case bravo. Honestly meals like this feel very balanced to me with a salad on the side and an appropriate portion, plus its vegetarian, so good for the environment and other things you may or may not care about.

On top of that, this meal is so dang simple and comes together in just a few minutes - 30 if you're quick at cooking, maybe a few more if you don't cook a lot or are managing some toddler's life while you cook. We're basically making a simple marinara but adding spinach, heavy cream, and pine nuts for depth and interest and flavor and texture, four things I require in any meal that I make (omg jk what an awful sentence to be serious about).

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Grain Bowls with Garlicky Spinach, Roasted Sweet Potatoes, and Tahini Drizzle

January 2, 2018 by Lindsay 4 Comments

....and so much more!

HAPPY NEW YEAR, truly. I know this is the teensiest bit cliche to start the year with something so trendily healthy, but it's also delicious so I'm sorry I'm not sorry. I am a thousand percent behind bowls of any kind for meals. Grain bowls, Mexican rice bowls, poke bowls, all of the bowls. I MAINLY like them because it's a lot of healthy stuff piled on a crap-ton of carbs, but that's on me. You don't technically have to use 8 cups of a starch before you get to the veggies, or you can and you know I'm not here to judge.

The flavor combination in this bowl is somewhere in the middle of Italian and Middle Eastern, and let me just tell you how well that works. The sweet potatoes and tomatoes are roasted until caramely and soft, spinach is wilted with anchovy and garlic, and the whole thing is topped with a tahini drizzle, feta, and lemon juice. The flavors are unreal together, and the great thing about bowls like this is what you can customize them to what you have on hand, what you enjoy, etc.

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Easy Vegetable Soup

December 11, 2017 by Lindsay Leave a Comment

Happy Monday! I don't know where you are, but we got our first very unexpected snow this weekend, and with it came highs each day that were below 65F, which has kind of been the temperature every day all fall. It also got down to 26 degrees one night, so you know we were losing our minds.

This isn't necessarily a new recipe - I posted it a few years ago and we make a quick version of it several times per year. I made this yesterday for a family we are friends with who are ALL sick, and Beck shocked me by demanding a bunch of this soup for dinner. Beck doesn't like new things, doesn't like foods mixed, and is generally finicky about suggestions of what she eats, so I was thrilled that her entire dinner was literally vegetables. ...