Lately, I’ve been trying not only to stick closely to our meal plan, but also to shop my pantry before I do any grocery shopping. You’d be amazed at the quantity of quinoa I found in there. And the truth is, we’re not even the biggest fans of quinoa! Occasionally, it does the trick because quinoa is a blank canvas, which is a great thing, a dish with quinoa can go in any number of different directions. For this dish, I wanted to replicate the flavors of guacamole in a protein heavy side dish. Just because I had it on hand, I also added an ear of corn.
Two of my favorite words to associate with a meal are quick and easy. From start to finish, plus the additional elements of this meal, it took me all of 15 minutes to assemble {not counting the 10 minutes that it took to cook the quinoa, I did that while giving Caroline a bath}.
I loved how this salad came together. Creamy avocado, sweet corn, tangy lime juice and zest, and bright cilantro mixed in with tomato, red onion and perfectly cooked quinoa. As is, this is a vegan dish; we ate it along side salmon. With the addition of black beans, it would be a great vegan main dish.
by The Splattered Apron
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: n/a
Keywords: salad vegan vegetarian avocado quinoa
- 1 cup quinoa, prepared according to package
- 1 cup grape tomatoes, sliced
- 3/4 of an avocado, small dice
- 1/4 large red onion, small dice
- 1/4 cup cilantro, minced
- 2 ears of corn, kernels removed from the cob
- Juice of 2 limes, zest of 1 lime
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- Salt and pepper
Prepare the quinoa according to the package.
In a small bowl, whisk together the lime juice, lime zest, salt and pepper. While whisking, add the olive oil.
In a large bowl, combine all of the ingredients and stir well.
Serve immediately or store in the refrigerator.
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Enjoy!
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by Lisa on August 15, 2012
I love pickles. So does Caroline. The process of making pickles always seemed pretty intimidating. There was fermenting and barrels and ratios of things….it was just too much. I knew there had to be an easier way. Thanks to Ashley, there is!
I followed Ashley’s Simply Pickled recipe, only modifying by not measuring each spice exactly, just eyeballing it.
- 12oz pickling cucumbers, sliced
- 8 sprigs fresh dill
- 1T coriander seeds
- 1/2T mustard seed
- 1T whole black peppercorns
- 4 garlic cloves, halved
- 1T kosher salt
- 3/4c distilled white vinegar
- water to cover
Place a couple of sprigs of dill in the bottom of a 1 quart glass jar.
Combine the salt and vinegar in a bowl.
Add the cucumbers to the jar and place some sprigs of dill in between the layers of cucumbers.
Add all of the spices and garlic on top of the cucumbers, pour in the vinegar and salt mixture than add water to cover.
Refrigerate for 4 to 6 hours before serving.
As long as cucumbers are readily available, I will make my own pickles and avoid buying them in the store. Store bought pickles pale in comparison to this quick and easy homemade recipe—the fresh flavors cannot be beat.
Throwing these together took five minutes and then after about four hours in the refrigerator, they were ready to go!
Enjoy!
Recipe from Edible Perspective.
Remember these muffins from last year? I loved them. But I thought I could make them better. This weekend, when the temperature was low enough {yaay high 70s – low 80s!} to actually turn on the oven, I did just that.
I added in almond meal in place of some of the all purpose flour and omitted the walnuts and shredded apples. And let me tell you, I like these ones better.
by The Splattered Apron
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 25-30 minutes
Keywords: bake bread vegan dairy-free zucchini summer
- 1.5 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup almond meal
- 1 medium zucchini, shredded and squeezed to get out excess moisture
- 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1 flax egg {1 tablespoon flax meal plus 3 tablespoons water}
- 1 cup almond milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/3 cup light brown sugar
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Set aside the flax egg to gel and shred the zucchini. Squeeze the zucchini to get rid of as much excess water as possible.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Next, combine the dry ingredients {flour, almond meal, sugars, baking powder, salt and cinnamon}.
In a separate bowl, combine the wet ingredients {applesauce, flax egg, milk and vanilla}.
Add the wet to the dry and mix until just combined. Then stir in the zucchini until just combined.
Spoon the batter into a prepared muffin tin {I prefer not to use muffin liners}.
Bake for 25-30 minutes, until the muffins are puffed up, brown around the edges and a toothpick comes out clean.
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I have to confess. I baked these at 11 pm on Saturday night. As soon as they came out of the oven, I ate one. It was an awesome midnight snack on what was clearly a wide and crazy night.
The combination of apple and zucchini is one of my favorites.
I can’t wait to have one of these for breakfast.
Okay, fine. I’ll be eating two.
Enjoy!
It’s amazing how sometimes, the simplest ingredients can create the most flavorful yet humble dishes. This is one of those dishes. My Sitoo {you know her for her Tabbouleh, Fudge Cookies and Stuffed Shrimp} made this for us when we were visiting Massachusetts a few weeks ago. Using a pot that belonged to her mother, she stewed these green beans and potatoes to perfection. I couldn’t get enough. You know who else couldn’t get enough? Caroline. She ate this for 3 days straight. Sure sign of a good dish.
by The Splattered Apron
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
- 1 onion (on the larger side) chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, smashed
- 3 tablesppons olive oil
- 2 lbs green beans, cleaned
- 2 lbs small white potatoes, peeled
- 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
- 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
- salt and pepper
In a heavy bottomed pot, heat the olive oil.
Saute the onions until they have a little bit of color, but are not browned.
Add the garlic cloves and saute for a minute.
Add the green beans and stir until coated with olive oil. Add the the potatoes and both types of tomatoes, salt and pepper. Stir well to combine, cover and simmer over medium low heat for one hour.
After one hour, season with salt and pepper to taste.
Serve immediately or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
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Green beans. Tomatoes. Garlic. Onions. Potatoes. Does it get any simpler?
Despite cooking for an hour, the green beans still have a little bit of bite. Somehow, they don’t become mushy. The potatoes break apart easily with a fork. For Caroline, I cut up the green beans and mashed the potatoes. Girlfriend gobbled it up before touching anything else on her plate.
My Sitoo has been making Loubieh for years and years and it always tastes the same. To me, it tastes like home.
Enjoy!
Recently, I saw a new addition at our Trader Joe’s: bags of shaved Brussels sprouts. I was intrigued. I love Brussels sprouts, but I had never used them in a raw application. With the heat we’ve had around here this summer, I am almost never in the mood to turn on the stove. So when we needed a side for some meat Jeromy was grilling, I grabbed these ingredients out of the fridge, herbs from the garden, threw them together and was very happily surprised by the result.
by The Splattered Apron
Prep Time: 8 minutes
Cook Time: n/a
- 1 bag shaved Brussels sprouts {10 oz.} or prepared by hand
- 1 bag shredded carrots {10 oz.} or prepared by hand
- 1 cup chopped herbs. I used basil, Thai basil and mint. Mint is a must!
- Juice of 1 large lemon {about 2 oz.}
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- salt and pepper
In a small bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, olive oil and a small amount of salt and pepper.
In a large bowl, combine the Brussels sprouts, carrots and chopped herbs. Add the dressing and mix well.
Serve immediately or chill for a few hours. This salad tastes even better the next day!
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Pretty simple, right? Not shockingly, it’s the herbs that really make this dish. I love the brightness of the mint and the sweetness of the basil.
The tart lemon balances well with the herbs. And because the base is shaved Brussels sprouts and carrots, it doesn’t get soggy.
I love a salad with a good crunch.
Enjoy!
