Root Veg Roll-Up with Farmer’s Market Baked Potato Chips

This weekend the weather in NYC was amazing. During the winter the crowd at the Williamsburg Farmer’s Market usually decreases, but this weekend the crowd was up and about when I arrived at McCarren Park. The vibe of spring was certainly lingering over Brooklyn. I tried to gather as much winter veg as I could, knowing root veggie days are numbered. Today I spent the day either on a run or sitting on the couch, which either way made me hungry. Because it was also warm out, I wanted to make a spring sandwich with homemade potato chips. I used the winter veg that I bought at the farmer’s market. I layered shredded yellow beets, red beets, carrots, sprouts, roasted portabella mushrooms, cucumber, feta cheese, and homemade garlic aioli on top of low-calorie flatbread. On the side I made BBQ sauce potato chips, as well as herb chips. This meal was a perfect balance of winter crunch with light spring flavor!

Root Veg Roll-Up 

(Makes 1)

Ingredients 

• 1 yellow beet
• 1 red beet
• 1/4 large carrot
• sprouts
• portabella mushroom
• feta cheese
• garlic aioli
• 4 slices of cucumber
• flatbread
• olive oil

Directions

1. In a baking pan add sliced portabella mushrooms. Add a sprinkle of olive oil and bake (temperature at 400 degrees) for about 10-15 minutes until soft.
2. Shred 1 yellow beet in food processor, and do the same to the red beet, and the carrot. (Hint: Separate out each ingredient so that the colors don’t bleed into each other)
3. On the flatbread add a layer of aioli, and then layer all of the other ingredients

Enjoy!

Garlic Aioli Recipe

Ingredients 

• 1 egg yolk
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1 C of olive oil
• 1/2 lemon
• Salt and pepper

Directions

• Thinly dice and chop the garlic
• In a large bowl add the garlic, lemon, and egg yolk and whisk together
• Slowly whisk in the olive oil. Continue whisking and add the olive oil slowly. The emulsion will slowly thicken.

Enjoy!

 

Baked BBQ Chips/ Herb Chips 

Ingredients 

• 2 mediums size potatoes
• olive oil
• salt and pepper
• BBQ sauce
• Herb de Provence

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. Using your slicing blade for the food processor, slice your potatoes into thin chips
3. Soak and rinse in water
4. Toss the chips in olive oil
5. Separate the chips into two batches. Add about 2 tablespoons of BBQ sauce to one, and then add about 3 tsps of Herb De Provence to another batch. Salt and pepper to taste.
6. Lay each chip on a baking sheet
7. Bake for about 8-15 minutes. It is important to continue checking.
8. Cook until crisp!

Enjoy!

 

 

Warm Cozy Black Bean Soup

I think it is obvious by now that black beans are one of my favorite ingredients to cook with, as well as I love to cook soup for lunch. Therefore the other night  I decided to make a quick black bean soup. I knew it would be comforting after a long day at work, as well as an easy lunch for the next day. Not only are black beans (even the organic) very cheap, but are also a great source of protein. However soups are tricky, as they require big flavor in one single bite. Therefore to thicken to soup as well as create BIG flavor, I took 3/4ths of the soup and put it through the blender. The sweetness from the onions and garlic therefore reallty blends with the black beans. I did not want to blend all of the soup, so that their could be chunks of black beans. To top off the soup I added slices of avocados. Yum! 

Black Bean Soup

Ingredients 

• 2 cans of black beans
• 1/2 onion diced
• 2 cloves of garlic diced into small pieces
• 1 bouillon cube
• 2 teaspoons of chili powder
• 2 teaspoons of cumin
• slices of avocado
• hot sauce
• olive oil
• salt and pepper

Directions

1. Saute the onions and garlic in a large sauce pan with olive oil
2. Add the chili powder and cumin and toast the seasonings
3. Add salt and pepper to taste
4. Add the black beans with their juices
5. Add 1 1/2 cans of water with the bouillon cubes
6. Cook until the black beans are softened (10 minutes)
7. Take 3/4s of the mixture, and transfer to a blender. Blend until smooth.
8. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan and then bring to a boil
9. Pour into bowls and add slices of avocados and hot sauce

Enjoy!

My favorite rice recipe and Korean spinach

All I can say is that tonight’s dinner was amazing! I made a silky rice (of course I got the idea from Jamie Oliver) with Korean spinach (a dish I have known how to make all my life). The sweet rice with the wilted spinach, really was the most amazing dinner I have made in awhile. The meal only took me 20 minutes to make, and mostly all from scratch. It combines my favorite “asian” flavours, ginger, garlic, green onion, and sweet chili sauce. I added tofu to the rice so that I could get some protein, plus it adds a bit more depth to the dish. I am craving this meal while I am writing this post. Try this dish, it will win you over.

Korean Spinach

Ingredients

• 1 bag of organic spinach
• 1 garlic clove
• 2 tablespoons of soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons of sesame oil
• 2 teaspoon agave
• 2 green onions
• olive oil

Directions

1. In a fry pan add olive oil and spinach. Wilt the spinach until it is dark green and take off the heat
2. In a small bowl add the garlic, soy sauce, sesame oil, agave and onions
3. Add the sauce to the spinach

Amazing Rice with Tofu (Based on Jamie Oliver’s recipe)

Ingredients

• 1 cup of jasmine rice
• 4 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1/2 inch cube of ginger
• 1 clove of garlic
• 3 teaspoons of sesame oil
• 4 green onions sliced in small pieces
• 1 red chili
• sweet red chili sauce
• 2 eggs
• firm tofu
• olive oil

Directions

1. Cook the jasmine rice according to the manufacture’s directions
2. In a bowl mix the green onions, garlic, soy sauce, ginger, red chili, sesame oil and garlic together
3. Add the egg to the sauce mixture and whisk together
4. In a fry pan turn the tofu golden brown
5. Take the rice off the heat after it is cooked. Pour the egg mixture over the rice and cover
6. Sprinkle the tofu over the silken rice
7. Add sweet red chili sauce over the rice

Enjoy!

Cold Nights Mean Vegan Mushroom Soup!

I love mushrooms. I have always loved them. I love going to the farmer’s market and seeing the many different kinds of mushrooms. Therefore whenever I find good mushroom products, I jump for joy. In Chelsea Market there is an amazing Italian food mart. It has imported products from italy, from olives, cheese, nuts, biscuits, and of course wonderful mushroom products. One product I have fallen in love with is the porcini bouillon cubes. They are perfect for soups. They are more flavourful than the vegetable bouillon cubes. Therefore when I am craving mushroom soup, I depend on these cubes.

Mushroom soup is wonderful, though many creamy mushroom soups are full of dairy. I am highly lactose intolerant and cannot digest dairy very well, therefore I have come up with a creamy mushroom soup, totally vegan. I did garnish with some ricotta cheese (a small scoop), but the base is totally vegan. To make the soup creamy I used leeks and splash of almond milk. This soup is really good, and a perfect entertainment starter!

Vegan Mushroom Soup

Ingredients

• 3 cups of portabella mushrooms sliced
• 1 cup regular mushrooms
• 1 sliced leek
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1/4 cup of white wine
• 1-2 porcini bouillon cube
• splash of almond milk
• salt and pepper
• olive oil

Directions

1. In a large saucepan saute the leeks and garlic in olive oil on high
2. Add the mushrooms and cook down until the water has totally evaporated from the mushrooms. The mushrooms will first cook down, water will be present, and then will evaporate and eventually caramelize
3. Add the white wine and evaporate the alcohol
4. Add the bouillon cube and about 4 cups of water and boil for about 5 minutes
5. Move all soup contents to a blender, and blend all together
6. Move the blended soup back into the sauce pan.
7. Add a splash of almond milk
8. Add water if the soup is too thick

Enjoy!

The BEST Potato Salad!

If you haven’t gotten it yet, Jamie Oliver’s “Meals in Minutes” is my favorite show on television. He makes me want to cook CONSTANTLY! This time he made an Italian salsa verde on warm potatoes. This salsa verde has amazing flavors and can be made in minutes using a food processor. Though I had to create my own version of his salsa verde, as I did not have all of the ingredients, still the chopped up anchovies, basil, parsley, hazelnuts, and lemon melded together perfectly. Over warm roasted potatoes, the salsa’s pungent flavors become even more fragrant. Though it is still winter, these flavours make me feel like it is summer!

My Take On JO’s Salsa Verde (makes about 1-2 cups)

ingredients

• 1 bunch of basil
• 1 bunch of parsley
• 2 anchovies with oil and capers
• handful of hazelnuts
• 1 spoonful of Dijon mustard
• 1-2 cloves of garlic
• red wine vinegar
• juice of a lemon
• olive oil
• salt and pepper

Directions

1. Whizz the basil, parsley, anchovies, capers, hazelnuts, mustard and garlic in the food processor
2. Flavor with salt, pepper, vinegar and lemon to taste
3. Thin out with olive oil (It should be the consistency of pesto)
4. Cover with baked potatoes, fish, meat, or anything you with

Enjoy!

 

I am now addicted to KALE CHIPS

I went to my friend’s party during the Oscars, and on her table was a buffet of fantastic food. What was surprisingly addicting were the kale chips. I thought she had bought these wonderful crispy bites, but it turned out that she made them. When I got the recipe I ran home to make them.

Baked kale chips are healthy and easy, which means that they are okay to be addicted too! These are defiantly my favorite thing as of now. You are able to play with the flavor, add some garlic powder, dried basil, cheese, or what I did, red dried chili pepper. Please try these and make them for your friends! The one issue I found is that they do not really keep for more than a day. This wont be a problem though, because you will be eating the ENTIRE batch yourself!

Kale Chip Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 bunch of kale
• olive oil
• salt
• Any flavoring you wish!

Directions

1. Pre-heat oven to 375
2. Cut up kale into chip sized pieces
3. Spread kale on baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil and flavoring
4. Pop into oven for around 15 minutes. Keep an eye on these chips, they burn easily!

Weekend Tomato Soup with Sun-dried Tomato Focaccia

On a cold weekend’s day, a warm lunch is very satisfying. Plopping in front of the television with a blanket and a bowl of homemade soup is what I call a perfect day! Tomato soup reminds me of home. My mom used to serve me grilled cheese sandwiches with Campbell Tomato Soup from the can. She would cut up onions, saute them, and then thin the canned soup out with milk. I do enjoy that soup, but when I have time, I love to make something from scratch. I always keep canned tomatoes in my cabinet, as I believe they are essential in cooking. I added tomatoes and some flavor and voila, a perfect homemade tomato soup. To go on the side, I decided to make a “focaccia”. For the base I used the leftover pizza dough I had in the refrigerator. I used fennel seeds, fresh garlic and sun-dried tomatoes to flavor to dough. I flattened out the dough and brushed the dough with olive oil. I put my flavoring on the dough and drizzled more olive oil on the top, so that the herbs and garlic would not burn. I baked the dough on a medium heat in the oven and out came wonderfully warm fresh bread. Mmmm what an amazing lunch for a cold winter’s weekend!

Tomato Soup

Ingredients

• 1 can of San Marzano whole tomatoes
• 1 onion diced
• handful of chopped parsley
• 2 garlic cloves
• dash of herbs de provence
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
• 2 vegetable bouillon cubes
• olive oil
• salt and pepper

Directions

1. In large sauce pan saute the onion in olive oil with the garlic
2. Sprinkle the fennel seeds and herbs
3. When the onion turns translucent add the tomatoes with their juice
4. Add the two bouillon cubes and about 4 cups of water
5. Add the bay leaf
6. Boil for about 10-15 minutes
7. Take out the bay leaf
8. Blend the soup contents in either a blender or with a hand blender
9. Poor the soup back into the saucepan and bring to a boil with the parsley
10. Serve with ricotta cheese or something creamy

Enjoy!

Root Beer from the Country!

I just have to do a shout out to my friends who brought me an amazing gift from up north! A few weekends ago my friends went to Vermont for the weekend. I got to hang with their dog, and when they returned they brought me a dark brown drink in a mason jar. I thought it was syrup or sludge, but it turned out to be homemade root beer. There were no bubbles therefore I used plain seltzer and put two heaping spoonfuls of ice cream inside = the MOST AWESOME ROOT BEER FLOAT. Of course I used Ben and Jerry’s vanilla ice cream. I have still a bit in my fridge and my do I say, it is a great treat when I come home. YUM!