vegetarian

Asparagus with Balsamic Browned Butter

by Lisa on May 13, 2013

For the second year in a row, I served this on Easter. Sure, I could make this at another time of year, but there is something about getting asparagus in the spring, in the season it should be consumed where we live, instead of crops flown in throughout the year from other parts of the world. With few exceptions {like bananas!}, we eat the produce local to our area all year round so it’s a treat when asparagus shows up in the store and at the farmer’s market again! I love that this recipe allows the fresh flavor and texture of the asparagus to shine through. The browned butter sauce is rich but light enough to accentuate the asparagus instead of drown it.

This recipe should serve a crowd of six to eight people, but it’s so good that with four of us eating, we only had a few bites leftover. Having a last minute dinner party? No problem—this recipe comes together in 20 minutes. You guys all know how I love those quick and easy dishes. Plus, the asparagus is roasted, so it has a little bit of a charred flavor and still maintains a crunch. Seriously, you want to make this as soon as possible.

Asparagus with Balsamic Browned Butter

by The Splattered Apron

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Keywords: roast side vegetarian asparagus spring

Ingredients (serves 6-8)

2 pounds asparagus, remove woody bottom and cut into 2-inch pieces
1 teaspoon olive oil
kosher salt
black pepper
2 tablespoons butter
2 teaspoons low-sodium soy sauce
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
zest of one lemon

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

In a bowl, toss the asparagus with the olive oil and some salt and pepper. Spread in one layer on a lined cookie sheet. Bake for 12 minutes.

While roasting the asparagus, melt the butter in a small skillet. Continue to cook, shaking the pan every now and then for at least 3 minutes, until the butter starts to brown.

Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in the soy sauce and balsamic vinegar.

Pour the sauce over the asparagus and toss to coat.

To serve, sprinkle with lemon zest. {I forgot to add it before taking pictures, but it makes the dish!}

Serve immediately, or refrigerate until ready to serve.

Enjoy!

Recipe from Cooking Light.

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{ 1 comment }

Guacamole Quinoa Salad

by Lisa on May 10, 2013

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.

Guacamole Quinoa Salad

by The Splattered Apron

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: n/a

Keywords: salad vegan vegetarian avocado quinoa

Ingredients (serves 4-6)

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

Instructions

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.

Enjoy!

{ 6 comments }

Broccoli Cheddar Soup, Revisited

by Lisa on January 15, 2013

Broccoli Cheddar Soup

I took a very scientific unofficial poll on Facebook and Twitter to find out what type of recipe my readers wanted—sweet or savory. Savory won! So here’s a savory recipe for you that seems indulgent but is actually very light. Just check out the nutritional facts at the bottom of the post!

I’m a big fan of soup, especially hearty, creamy soups in the winter. What I am not a fan of is the amount of calories and fat that come in a teeny tiny bowl of thick and creamy soup. It’s just not fair that in January, right when it’s time to hunker down and stay warm, it’s also time to work off the excess indulgences of the holiday season.

In this season, one of my very favorite soups is Broccoli Cheddar. I love how creamy and cheesy it is while still providing a punch of green vegetables to my diet. With the help of Silk PureAlmond Unsweetened Original, the creamy texture remains while cutting the calories from using skim milk by 21 calories per serving and drastically reducing the amount of sugar in the recipe—from 5.4 grams per serving to .9 grams per serving. There is still a small amount of cheddar which provides a subtle cheesy flavor with the addition of nutritional yeast enhancing the cheesiness of the soup. I promise, you won’t miss the cream and extra cheese and those skinny jeans you found under the Christmas tree will thank you. {I wasn’t the only one who found skinny jeans under the Christmas tree, right?}

I made a version of this soup before, but I wanted to try and make it almost completely dairy-free. If you omit the cheddar and substitute a non-dairy cheese, it can be.

Broccoli Cheddar Soup, Revisited

by The Splattered Apron

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Keywords: soup/stew vegetarian

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Ingredients (serves 4)

3 Tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion, diced
4 heads of broccoli, cut into florets
1 1/2 cups Silk PureAlmond Unsweetened Original
1.5 Tablespoons arrowroot
3 cups vegetable broth
pinch of nutmeg
6 Tablespoons nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon creamy Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4-1/3 cup of cheddar cheese, grated
salt and pepper

Instructions

In a large pot, like a Dutch oven, heat the olive oil over a medium flame.

Add the onion and sauté until soft, about 3-4 minutes.

In a bowl, combine the almondmilk and arrowroot, whisking until no clumps remain.

Add the milk and vegetable broth to the pot. Season with a pinch of nutmeg. Next, add the broccoli, nutritional yeast, and Dijon mustard and garlic powder. Stir well to combine. Season with salt and pepper.

Cover and bring to a simmer over low heat for 17 minutes. Remove the cover and continue to cook for another 3 minutes.

Remove from the heat and puree the soup using an immersion blender or regular blender. If you use a regular blender, do it in batches and be sure to use a kitchen towel to protect your hand as you hold the cover on the blender and allow the steam to escape.

Stir in the grated cheese. Freshly grated cheese melts much better than packaged shredded cheese.

Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed.

Serve immediately.

Nutrition Label Broccoli Cheddar Soup The Splattered Apron

To find more recipes featuring Silk Pure Almondmilk, check out the Facebook page!

Enjoy!

This post is part of a sponsored campaign with Silk and FitFluential, LLC. All opinions are my own. Learn more about Silk Pure Almond Unsweetened on Facebook and Twitter.

{ 12 comments }

Pea and Basil Pesto

by Lisa on September 4, 2012

Things I love about the fall:

pumpkin
apples
cooler weather
leaves changing colors
sweaters
knitting
baking

Things I don’t love about the fall:

shorter days {Speaking of which, these photos are awful. It was late. A sign of things to come?}
less fresh herbs from the garden

I just sat her for five minutes and could not come up with one other things I don’t like about fall. Oh wait, candy corn. I particularly dislike candy corn.

Anyways, I made this pesto a couple of weeks ago {and teased you with it on Instagram} with a large harvest of purple and green basil from my garden. Then I got to thinking how perfect it would be to freeze it in ice cube trays and save it for winter, when I just want a fresh, bright and herby plate of pasta. I got to thinking that about five days past when I should have put this pesto in the freezer. Don’t be like me, portion and freeze some of this pesto! After you enjoy some of it for dinner.

This is a great way to use up the last basil of the season!

Pea and Basil Pesto

by The Splattered Apron

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: n/a

Keywords: puree condiment vegan vegetarian basil peas

Ingredients (1 mason jar)

1.5-2 cup basil
1 bag frozen peas, 16 oz {boiled in the microwave for 3 minutes, drained}
3 garlic cloves
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1/2 cup dry roasted pignoli nuts {found at Trader Joe’s or roast them yourself for a few minutes until golden brown}
2 teaspoons lemon juice {fresh squeezed from a half of a lemon}
Kosher salt
pepper
1/2 cup olive oil {I use extra virgin, use whatever you prefer}

Instructions

In a food processor, combine all ingredients except for the olive oil.

Pulse until a paste is formed.

Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed.

With the the food processor running, stream in the olive oil.

Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator or freeze individual portions in an ice cube tray, then store in freezer bags in the freezer.

To serve, combine the pesto with some pasta water, until it is just thin enough to coat the pasta. Garnish with quartered grape tomatoes and grated Parmesan cheese.

I definitely went back for seconds on this one. I couldn’t help myself. Caroline loved it too!

There’s something about pesto that I just love—it’s the green, herby flavor and the richness of the olive oil. The peas up the nutritional value of the dish while giving it some texture to allow for less olive oil.

I love that having this in the freezer means that dinner will be ready in 15 minutes or less on any given day. Especially when it’s no longer summer.

Serving pesto as a main dish with pasta is great, but I think I’d also like to spread some on a toasted baguette with goat cheese and sliced tomato.

And then I’d eat another bowl of this pasta.

Spring, Summer, Fall or Winter….Enjoy!

{ 3 comments }

Gruyere Grilled Cheese with Apple Salad

by Lisa on August 22, 2012

Ordinarily, Caroline and I run errands together on Sundays. This week, our girl was running a fever, so I went and ran errands on my own while she hung out with Jeromy. On my way to Trader Joe’s, Jeromy called and said he was going to make us lunch, a recipe he just read in Bon Apetit. He gave me the ingredient list, I picked them up and I high-tailed it home.

When I walked in the door, Caroline was napping and Jeromy set to work. Naturally, Caroline woke up just as Jeromy was putting our food on plates. So we gave her a snack, sat her between us and hoped she’d let us enjoy our meal. As long as I held her in one arm and ate with the other, she was okay with it. She’s a benevolent toddler.

Gruyere Grilled Cheese with Apple Salad

by The Splattered Apron

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Keywords: bake sauté sandwich salad vegetarian

Ingredients (serves 2)

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
3/4 cup thinly sliced shallots
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
4 thick slices of rustic sandwich bread {we used Rustic Pane Bello from Trader Joe’s}
8 oz. Gruyere, sliced 1/8 inch thick
2 cups arugula
3/4 of a Fuji {or a pink lady} apple, cut into 1/4 inch slices, then broken into bite-sized pieces
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Prepare the ingredients. If you have a mandolin, I recommend using that to slice the cheese in a uniform thickness. {If you slice the cheese first, subsequently slicing the shallots and apples will help clean the cheese off of the blade.}

In a small saucepan over high heat, melt 2 tablespoons of butter. Once it begins to foam, add the shallots and thyme, then season with salt and pepper. Stir continuously while cooking until the shallots begin to soften and caramelize, this should take about 4-5 minutes. Remove the shallots from the pan and set aside.

In the same pan, add 1 tablespoon of butter. Swirl to melt the butter and coat the pan. Add two pieces of bread to the pan and toast until golden brown and crisp on the bottom. Set aside the two pieces of bread, toasted side down, on a rimmed baking sheet, then repeat the process with two more pieces of bread.

Top the slices of bread with the cheese evenly, then cover with the shallots.

Place the baking sheet in the oven and bake for 7-8 minutes, until the cheese is melted.

While the cheese melts, combine the arugula, apple slices, lemon juice and olive oil in a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper then toss to coat.

Once the cheese is melted, make a sandwich with one slice of bread with cheese and the other with cheese and shallots.

Serve sandwiches alongside the salad.

Sunday was dreary, but the flavors on this dish were bright and flavorful. If I were eating with my eyes closed, I would have thought it was a spring day. {Does anyone eat with their eyes closed?}

The sandwich has a remarkable richness that the lemon juice in the salad cuts right through.

The apples give the salad just a bit of sweetness and a great crunchy texture.

I was sad when I finished this sandwich. I could have had another one. Maybe two.

A simple meal, made special by the fact that my husband made it for me.

Enjoy!

Recipe from Bon Apetit, September 2012.

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You know Clare of Cooking with Clare fame? Well, today is her 10th birthday! Happy Birthday, Clare!! I can’t believe you’re already in double digits. You are one awesome kid. Jeromy and I are so happy that Caroline will have such a fun friend growing up. And yes, you will be her babysitter Winking smile We love you!