Its Autumn!

So for my first Autumn treat I decided on trying to rid myself of the piles of beans I have in stock in my kitchen one of which being lentils! I found  a great recipe from one of my favorite books The Kind Life for Sweet Potato Lentil stew. The recipe is as follows:

3 sweet potatoes (yams work too; cut into 3/4"cubes            1tsp coriander
1 medium onion (diced)                                                        1 1/2 tumeric
2 small tomatoes(diced)                                                         dash of sea salt
1 cup brown lentils                                                                1 tsp cumin
7 cups vegetable broth                                                          1/8 cayenne
1 tsp minced fresh ginger                                                       1/2 tsp cinnamon

Start out by heating about 1/4cup of oil in the pan and throw in onions, saute until softened(medium heat). Stir in tomatoes and ginger, cook for 3 minutes on medium heat. Stir in cumin, tumeric, coriander, cinnamon, cayenne and a pinch of salt, and cook for 2 more minutes. Next add your potatoes, lentils and broth. Bring it all to a boil and then simmer for 40 minutes. And ..... your ready for an amazing feast!

I ate mine over brown rice with a piece of whole wheat flax seed bread and a glass of merlot :)

Greens - "you don't have to be southern to eat em"

Yum! Since my new vegetarian lifestyle has changed my thought process and eating habits, I have been exposed to many other wonderful foods, especially vegetables! As I was already a huge fan it has been pretty easy for me to grab something and go with it.  Last night I made Collard Greens (truth be told you don't have to be southern to eat them). I was amazed at how much I got for only $1.99 at Harris Teeter. I would of preferred them fresh from the farmers market but hey, I'm a busy girl. Anyway, I also proved last night that Collard Greens do not have to be soaked in butter and bacon fat to be delicious they are simply fantastic on their own! So, I ended up making collard greens with onions and garlic to go along with my fresh caught Alaskan Salmon (I like to think I spoil myself). Although I don't have a picture this evening, just try to imagine it. So simple and easy to make and endlessly satisfying!
Take a one or two bunches of collard greens, cut the stems off. I found that stacking the leaves and then rolling them and slicing them worked best. Then chop up some fresh onion and garlic to go with. Now I don't have measurements because I am big on cooking from the heart. Just go with your guy and estimate for how many people you are serving. Your eyes should be able to tell you what the right amount is. Bring a large pan with 1-2 tablespoons of butter (I used a vegan spread called Earth Balance, which is lower in fat and calories) or olive oil to medium heat, add garlic and saute for about a minute before throwing in the onion. Once the onion is beginning to become transparent add your chopped or sliced collard greens... Now here's the trick, do not throw them all in at once!!! They cook much better if you through in handfuls at a time and slowly allow them to cook down a little bit. Overall, cook your greens for about 10-15 minutes, they will wilt just like spinach. I wish I had a picture to post because they were delish! That my friends was my southern treat for the week, minus the fat and bacon :)

Strawberry and Spinach Heaven :)

So.. the weathers warm and nice its sunny beautiful and perfect for getting outside. If your anything like me when the weather gets warm its time for light salads yummy veggies but not anything to heavy. Well tonight on a whim I created a delicious salad. Salads are great for a quick healthy meal if you don't want to eat a ton (plus you can eat more without feeling totally guilty, hehe). So I looked in my fridge and definitely did not have much. What I did find was some spinach, if it wasn't already known I love spinach! So in short heres what I threw together :

Sammys Spring Spinach Salad
*Now as far as portion I made a single because its just me but just estimate for how many your feeding

Spinach leaves ( i had the bagged kind - quick easy)
Fresh strawberries sliced
Feta cheese (completely optional)
Almond slices
Raspberry Vinaigrette dressing.

Throw it all together in a bowl mix and enjoy!! Ive also tried this with cucumbers in it as well and it still was delicious! I say go with what you crave and it will always be great!

Simplicity

So I must say when it comes to food, I am usually not hard to please. Some might say my taste is odd however because I generally crave greens, when others want steak. Well tonight I sat back and thought what do I have in my fridge? Spinach. First thing that came to mind and I wanted it for dinner. I did a couple searches of spinach recipes to see what came up before deciding on what I had in my fridge that I could combine to create something scrumptious. I pulled out about 1/4 of an onion and chopped that up along with some garlic and threw it in a pan with some light olive oil. While I let that sautee I then grabbed my spinach and sliced that up (about  a cup Id say) and my feta. Feta just so happens to be a necessary condiment in my kitchen, great with salad! Now I usually do not have processed quick microwavable foods due to well, my choice and we don't have a functioning microwave. However, since the snow storm I acquired a package of uncle bens brown rice, the kind you throw in the microwave and heat. Probably not the healthiest, but hey its still brown rice, right? So I threw that rice in with my onions an garlic and tossed in the spinach and cooked about 5 more minutes. One thing I love about spinach, it take no time to make! Now the best part, the feta! I added about a handful of feta crumbles right when I turned off the stove and stirred it up allowing it to get soft and melted and mixed in. It was a great and simple meal and made enough so that I could probably take some for lunch tomorrow. Hope you all enjoy! 

Snow Day Soup :)

Yesterday was our first day facing this lovely "snow storm 2010 and we decided on soup for lunch. I've definitely learned a lot of my tricks from my dear Aunt Sydney. So when she suggested Black Eye Pea Soup I jumped at the idea. Now the best thing to do with Black Eye Peas before cooking is to rinse them. Once I did this I threw (about 1 bag )  in a pot and covered them with water. I chopped and added one whole onion and some seasonings. Now, whenever I am at a loss of what seasonings to use I generally will check the internet for ideas. Aunt Syd suggested some red pepper which turned out fantastic. So find your own favorite seasonings and throw them in. For this I added some Red Pepper, a little goes a long way, however I gave a little more for an extra kick. I also added oregano and salt and pepper. I added a few more cups of water (recipes for black eye peas usually call for about 8 cups) and after it came to a boil I covered it and turned it down to simmer. I allowed the soup to simmer for about an hour and then added a can of diced red tomatoes and a few dashes of garlic.

Sometime it is just fun to "play" in the kitchen. You can come up with some great meals just by throwing together things you like, listen to your gut! This soup turned out fantastic! We served it over some corn bread and it was just right for the cold snowy day. It also gave me some great warmth and energy to go outside and shovel and remove ice! I hope you all are staying warm. Snow days are great for experimenting and being creative in the kitchen!

Black Eye Pea Soup:
1 bag black eye peas                Corn Bread
Onion                                        Your favorite seasonings!
1 can of tomatoes

P.S. Here is a link to a great site that gives you some insight into different spices : http://www.divinecaroline.com/22145/79177-seasoning-guide-c--spice

Quinoa -beginners luck.

So tonight I decided that I would try a to make a new dish called Quinoa. I first tried this amazing grain at the saturday market when I was shopping with my aunt. As we all known I'm a huge rice/grain fan so why not try something new. I actually looked up some basic recipes online first since i have never made Quinoa, and you buy it in bulk usually so it doesn't come with instructions. It is so simple. You use 2 cups of water for 1 cup of Quinoa, bring it to a boil and then simmer about 15 minutes.

Well I enjoy flavor so heres what i put together. First I chopped up half a red onion, I prefer red to white onions. I also then chopped up a very small amount of daikon. I found out that daikon is a natural diuretic and very good for you so I have been trying to add it to different meals. I sauteed this in a pan with olive oil and added a couple cloves of grated garlic and some salt and pepper. When that was done, you can tell when the onions are becoming transparent, I added 1 cup of quinoa and browned it before adding the 2 cups water. I brought it all to a boil and then let it simmer. When it was almost done I added some parsley and thyme (one of my favorite spices) for taste.

Quinoa can be a side dish to anything or great on its on. I personally love coming up with my own dishes but there are many different ideas so I say just cook from the heart add in your favorite ingredients. I paired my dish with Amy's veggie burger and was perfectly content. :) Enjoy!

The Beginning......

Well my lovely cousin Holly always comments on my crazy cooking fiascos and suggested that I write a blog about. I love cooking and love writing...and i love love love my holly so here goes. Since I have become vegetarian I have been experimenting and learning a lot of different recipes, its been fun and exciting to say the least. I must admit that I have to been one of those people skeptical of the vegan and vegetarian lifestyle. Well Im a changed woman because I completely love it. I miss meat...but I also feel so much healthier and am honestly loosing weight. So its a win win.
Sunday was my first day of a new recipe for this blog, however I got a little busy and wasn't able to post it. So I made a new recipe that i got out of my book, The Kind Diet, which i love, called Raddicho Pizza.
I started out with a basic boli whole wheat crust(first mistake. note:next time use 100%whole grain fresh dough). I preheated the oven to about 415 degrees to initially toast the crust. While I was waiting for the oven to heat I took out my Large Head of Raddichio , washed it and cut it lengthwise into very thin strips. In a bowl i mixed my raddichio with good amount of olive oil and salt and pepper to tasted (easy on the salt). The recipe calls also for truffle oil which at the time I did not have so i left this out.

 Once the oven was preheated i put in the dough for about 5-7 minutes allowing  it to toast. I removed it and added my raddichio with some sauteed onions i had prepared during this time (again onions were an addition by me not originally in the recipe). I returned the pizza with raddichio an onions to the oven for approximately 5 minutes. It only needs to be in the oven long enough for the raddichio to wilt. Since I am not fully vegan I also added some grated parmesan to the top.  Viola! I had a yummy pizza. It turned out well however I bet with truffle oil and a better dough it will be superb! Recipe is below...

Ingredients:
Large whole wheat dough
I large Head Raddichio
Olive oil
White truffle oil
salt and pepper (fine sea salt preferred *healthier)

Preheat oven to 415. Toast crust for 7 min.
Cut raddichio in half, and into thin ribbons and mix with olive oil, salt, pepper and few dashes of truffle oil to tast.
Scatter on toasted pizza crust and return to oven for 3-5 minutes long enough for raddichio to wilt. Yum and Easy.