Strawberry Spinach Salad w/ Poppyseed Dressing

FRIDAY, AUGUST 20TH, 2010

In an attempt to get back to our post-vacation "health", I decided to try to make salads a more interesting part of our meal. There are so many good ones out there that are super simple, and very yummy. I came across a blog which had this recipe (http://fortheloveofcooking-recipes.blogspot.com/2010/06/strawberry-spinach-salad-with-poppy.html). I decided to try it out, with my own modifications.

Ingredients:

Salad:

Baby spinach
Strawberries
Green onion
Goat cheese (optional

Dressing:

1/4 c. white wine vinegar
1/3 c. vegetable oil
2 tsp. granulated sugar
1/4 tsp. dry mustard
1/8 tsp. salt
2 tsp. poppy seed

1. I first prepared the poppyseed dressing by combining the sugar, vinegar, salt, and mustard in a food processor, and processing for 20 seconds.

2. I then added the oil and blended on high for an additional 10 seconds.

3. I removed the dressing into a bowl, and stirred in the poppy seeds, and refrigerated until I needed to use it on the salad.

4. For the salad, I simply combined the spinach, sliced strawberries, green onion, and goat cheese (we had some left over in our fridge).

5. I just spooned the dressing over top as needed, but you could also combine and toss it all together.

Overall, this was a pretty good tasting salad. Hard to screw up! I would have liked if we had more goat cheese to add to it, as I felt it went well with the dressing and strawberries. Will definitely (try to remember to) do this again!

Sweet Potatoes

TUESDAY, MAY 4TH, 2010

4 stars (out of 5 - the simplest, yet delicious, sweet potatoes!)

I don't usually like sweet potatoes, but I was inspired by my new cast-iron frying pan to purchase one and try it out. I wasn't disappointed! With the guidance of PTL, these turned out so well, and were incredibly easy.

Ingredients:

Sweet potatoes (I used 1 which = 3 (very) small side dishes)
Olive oil

1. First, I peeled the sweet potatoes, and cut it into cubes.

2. I added them to a microwaveable bowl, and zapped them for 3 minutes. I had originally added these to the oven, but they weren't baking quickly enough, so I only needed to microwave them for 3 minutes. I would recommend microwaving them at 2 minute intervals, stirring after every 2 minutes. They cook very quickly, though. You want them to be just a tiny bit undercooked at this point.

3. I then heated my (new!) cast-iron frying pan, added a bit of oil, and added the sweet potatoes when it was hot.

4. I cooked over medium heat, until they were slightly burnt on some of the sides. This didn't take long with my new pan.

5. I then served them with my pork recipe: http://etryingtocook.blogspot.com/2010/05/pork-tenderloin-w-sage-parsley-crust.html

Overall, I loved these! I like the flavour my cast-iron pan added to them and the texture was great. This was a fantastic way to mix things up and I will definitely be making them again.

Zucchini Stuffed w/ White Bean Pesto (Slow Cooked)

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 14th, 2010

4 stars (out of 5 - simple, delicious, no-stress side dish!)

I decided to try a recipe out of my new Vegetarian Slow-Cooker book (thanks, PTL!) to make part of our Valentine's Day dinner (SB making the other part). This recipe appealed to me because it seemed very simple (I am not up for anything complex on my weekends!) and I could make it a few hours ahead of time, and then relax. This is a delicious side dish, that I would definitely recommend.

Ingredients:

4 small-medium zucchinis*
2 tbsp olive oil
2 green onions, chopped
1 medium tomato, chopped coarsely
1-1.5 large garlic clove, pressed
1/4 - 1/3 cup pine nuts, toasted
1 (small) can white kidney beans, drained and rinsed well
2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
2 tbsp fresh basil, chopped

{Note. The number of zucchinis depends on how many you can fit in your slow-cooker!}

1. First, I prepared the zucchinis by hollowing them out with a small spoon. Keep the pulp and chop it up.

2. I then added 1 tbsp of the olive oil to a sauce pan, and heated it over medium heat. When it was warm, I added the zucchini pulp, garlic, and green onions. I also added some salt and pepper. I covered and cooked for about 10 minutes, just softening everything up.

3. As the veggies were cooking, I toasted the pine nuts over medium heat for about 4 minutes (watch them, they burn fast!).

4. I also prepared the parsley, basil, tomato, and rinsed the beans. So little stress!

5. After the zucchini/green onion/garlic combo had cooked for 10 minutes, I added the beans, pine nuts, tomatoe, and fresh herbs...

6. ... and stirred everything very well.

7. I then scooped the veggie-bean mixture into the zucchinis. There was enough to fill 4 halves, but my slow-cooker could only fit three :(

8. I placed the zucchini in a lightly oiled slow cooker, drizzled a bit of olive oil over them, and switch it on "Low" for about 3 hours. I put them on for a bit more than 3 hours and they were slightly overcooked. I would even bet that 2 hours would be good enough.

Overall, these were pretty delicious, and very low stress. I actually really liked the veggie filling on its own. I think the slow-cooker was ideal for this recipe, as it cooked the zucchini without drying everything out. I would definitely make this again, but cook them for a bit less time. I would also prefer if I could fit one more in my slow-cooker in case we have a couple of people over for dinner.

SB's Carrot & Potato Soup

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 18TH, 2009

4 stars (out of 5 - a delicious meal-in-a-bowl!)

Ingredients:

2-4 carrots
2 medium-large potatoes
2 large tomatoes
2 small-medium onions
1 leek
1 cube veggie bouillon*

{Note. Use whatever bouillon you normally like; we used veggie so that the soup is vegetarian. We also recommend using celery and the leek is optional... we just had it in the fridge at the time}.

1. First, we put about 2 cups of water in a large pot and brought to a boil.

2. Next, we peeled the carrots and potatoes and chopped them roughly into medium-sized pieces.

3. We then cut the tomatoes into quarters (notice how SB is taking out the core)...

4. ... and cut the leek and onion (not pictured). The onion can be cut just into quarters.

5. We added the veggies and bouillon to the boiling water. The water should basically be deep enough to just cover the veggies. We stirred in some salt and pepper and brought to a boil.

6. Once the soup was boiling, we lowered to heat to low (3-4ish) and simmered for about 40 minutes. We checked on it once and a while to make sure that the water wasn't evaporating too much.

7. After, we added the soup mixture to the blender and mixed it all up!

8. Served with a dollop of sour cream:

Very yummy and filling soup! We ate it with our meals for days. It's also very good for you (no fat). SB thought it was missing something, and then we realized that we had forgot celery, so I think that would be a great addition. Basically throw whatever you have in your fridge in and mix!