Dinner // Fancy Sandwiches

 

To celebrate Maggie's birthday we had a "fancy sandwich" dinner. We had a spread of colorful options and everyone could build their own. The paradox of choice!!!!!

Options:

peppered bacon

lettuce

avocado

tomato

 peppers

cucumber

fig butter

champagne mustard

fancy pickles

basil
balsamic vinegar
olive oil

more photos over on JaneSays

Dinner // Vietnamese sandwiches

Do you like Vietnamese sandwiches? I've only had them a few times, but never made them myself. Egan and I decided to give them a try for Sunday dinner. We followed the recipe/assembling at Oh Dear Drea blog.
I really loved the combination of flavors. (mint, sriracha, basil, pickled mango/radish/carrots, marinated tofu, lime, cucumbers) It was an easy meal and they were so good.
Another plus, all the colors! Just how I like my food---fresh and colorful.

Easter Dinner

Looking at these pictures from our Easter dinner is making me hungry! It was a flawless meal.

turkey with cranberry sauce

ham with mustard+relish

roasted asparagus

raw rainbow carrots

citrus ginger salad

bunny rolls (our only food tradition for Easter)

scalloped potatoes (not pictured)

Guest Posting on Topsy and Havoc // Dinner Recipe

My friend, Laura, is having "Food Week" over on her blog and it's gonna make you really hungry. She asked me to share an easy recipe and you can see it on her blog HERE.

I am really happy with how the Marinated Sweet Potatoes and Broccoli recipe turned out. I love both vegetables and roast them often, but steaming and marinating was a great change.

Every Sunday Egan and I are trying a new recipe out of "The New Moosewood Cookbook" that we each got for Christmas a few years ago. We are loving that it's letting us explore new methods and ideas in the kitchen. 

Have you ever cooked/baked your way through a cookbook?

Sunday Salmon

 

 

 

 

Sunday dinner is always a good thing. I was just helper in the kitchen on this one so I asked my mom to describe what she did. This dinner spread is a common one for our family on a Sunday or such, but for some reason this particular meal was so delicious and amazing and perfect.

Here's what my mom did:

Salmon: Spread a little olive oil on the top and bottom, place on parchment.  Sprinkle with a salmon rub (I use a blend from Costco, but I have made my own before...super easy). Bake at 400 degrees, but check often.  Don't overcook salmon!  Time depends on thickness and size of your salmon.

Asparagus: Wash thoroughly and break off white ends---at least a couple of inches but where it naturally wants to break off, try it, you'll see what I mean.  Drizzle lightly with olive oil and place on a single layer of a baking sheet (I always cover my baking sheets with parchment).  Sprinkle with coarse sea salt and roast for about 8 minutes at 400 -425 degrees.  You can put it in with the salmon or do it right after the salmon is cooked.

Potatoes: Wash, place in a saucepan with an inch or two of water and a little salt.  Bring to a boil, then turn heat down to about medium and put a lid on.  If potatoes are small, they won't take much time to be "fork tender", maybe 6 minutes.  drain water, add 1 tablespoon or two of butter and a grind of pepper and a little coarse salt and boom goes the dynamite!

Citrus Salad: Cutting the citrus fruits and placing in a bowl while the greens are prepared helps some of the liquid drain off. Once the greens are ready lay the citrus out and it won't get so soggy. We drizzled a homemade poppy seed dressing on.

sunday dinner -- vegetable enchiladas

 

Sunday dinner with Egan was these stacked vegetable enchiladas that we've made a few times before and we totally love them. We added some cabbage cause we had it, and it turned out to be a great addition. It makes lots, so perfect for next day lunch.

Quinoa Dinner Bowl // Recipe

 

My sister Egan is always cooking up some delicious, healthy, unique concoction. Every time I go over to her house I'm inspired by something she's making.
Yesterday we made dinner and she helped me with a craft project. I think I could eat this meal every night no problem.

Quinoa Dinner Bowl

layer the following:
+raw kale with a little olive oil
+purple cabbage
+cooked quinoa (hot or cold)
+canned black beans (hot or cold)
+celery
+carrot
+tomato
+roasted sweet potato
+stir fried chicken (grass-fed)
+avocado
+drizzle of balsamic vinegar

the variations are endless...

Thai at home // recipe

 

For my last meal at home, my mom (with some help from me) made homemade bread and pad thai. One of the best reasons to cook at home is the control. Pad Thai can be pretty heavy at a restaurant, but at home, you can lighten it up and adjust to your liking. This recipe is fresh and feel good. Don't you love my mom's big white bowls? Perfect for pad thai.

The bread recipe is from Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day and has a sprinkling of Mediterranean salt on top from Whole Foods, the spread is grape jam homemade by my mom.

Pad Thai
Family Fun magazine 2007

½ pound dried rice noodles, linguine width

¼ cup Asian fish sauce

3 Tbs. sugar

2 Tbs. soy sauce

1 Tbs. water

½ tsp. dried red chili flakes (optional)

1 egg, lightly beaten

3 Tbs. vegetable oil

1 Tbs. chopped garlic

¼ pound skinless, boneless chicken cut into bite-size pieces

¼ pound shrimp (about 10-12 medium or 14-16 small) or substitute tofu

1 cup shredded carrot

2 cups fresh bean sprouts

½ cup chopped scallions

3 Tbs. freshly squeezed lime juice

Chopped peanuts

Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil.  Add the noodles and turn off the heat.  Let them stand for 10 minutes, using tongs or two forks to separate the strands as they soften and turn from translucent ivory to white. Drain the noodles, rinse them well in cold water, and drain again.  Set them aside

In a small bowl, stir together the Asian fish sauce, sugar, soy sauce, water and chili flakes (if desired), until the sugar dissolves and everything is well mixed. Set aside.

Heat 1 Tbs. of the vegetable oil in a wok or large skillet over high heat.  Add the egg and scramble it as it cooks just until it is no longer runny, about 30 seconds.  Transfer the egg to a plate.

Add another tablespoon of oil to the pan and swirl it around.  Add the garlic and toss well.  Add the chicken and cook it until the edges have mostly changed color, about 1 minute.  Toss it well and continue cooking to brown it, about 30 seconds, then push it to the sides.  Scatter the shrimp, spreading them out, and cook until the edges have changed color, about 1 minute.  Toss them well.  Add the carrot and cook everything about 1 minute longer.  Scoop the chicken, shrimp, and carrot into a bowl, leaving as much oil as possible in the pan.

Swirl the last tablespoon of oil in the pan.  When it’s hot, add the noodles, spreading them to the edges.  Cook for 1 minute, until the oil sizzles.  Scoop up the noodles and turn them over in a big mass.  Cook them another minute, then turn them again.

Pour the sauce mixture around the sides of the pan.  When it sizzles, place the cooked chicken and shrimp on the noodles along with the bean sprouts, scallions, and cooked egg.  Gently scoop the noodles from the bottom and turn them over.  Continue tossing them to mix in the chicken, shrimp, egg, etc.  Remove the pan from the heat.  Add the lime juice and toss the noodles well.  Serve the pad thai hot or warm, topped with chopped peanuts if you like.  Serves 4

Sunday dinner with us

 
My roommates and I made Sunday dinner together which I think was the first time in ever for us.

We had a quinoa taco salad in that bowl there, fruit on the sides, tortilla chips, and I made corn bread from my new Feeding The Young Athlete book (I just got it in the mail, it's so great!).

I'd repeat this every Sunday if I could. Super nice food and time with top girls.

Sunday picnic

 

On Sunday my sister and I and a few friends all met up to grill some food and pack some side dishes to take up the canyon. We chose Millcreek Canyon which is close to my sister's house and turns out everyone else had the same idea as us. So with no vacant picnic tables we found ourselves at the top of the canyon and laying out blankets on the side of the trail. It was perfect. 

For dinner we had each grilled our own main dish (fish on my plate) and then shared some side dishes. There was spaghetti squash, grilled zucchini (a little sad and limp looking in the photo), garden tomato salad, chips and homemade hummus, cookies, Perrier with lime, and paleo pumpkin muffins. It was a great spread. The weather was so nice too. Why haven't I been doing this all summer long?

Recipe: chicken and veggie pizza-tacos

 

Cool recipe name right? I was stumped.

I used the same dinner formula that I did (every night) over HERE.
I had canned chicken (I don't like cooking meat and I rarely make or order it). I had cherry tomatoes and zucchini from my sister's garden. And, then I went to the store and bought the remaining pieces to my creation.

Recipe: Chicken and Veggie Pizza-Tacos

sprouted corn tortillas
olive oil
zucchini
cherry tomatoes
shredded mozzarella cheese
canned chicken
garlic powder
chili powder
red pepper flakes

On a cookie sheet with parchment place tortillas.
I sprayed (with my Misto) a little olive oil on each one.
Sprinkle with some shredded mozzarella cheese.
Top with sliced tomatoes and zucchini.
Next, add some canned chicken to each.
I added a dash of chili powder, red pepper flakes, and a garlic powder.

Oven at 350. 10-15 minutes (I didn't time, just guessed).

Listening to: Band of Horses to prepare for Thursday's Twilight Concert Series here in SLC, UT.

what's cookin good lookin?

Summer eating. It's tricky cause avoiding the oven is preferred and not spending too much time on a meal is necessary. It's hot here in Utah (102 today) and there are way to many fun things going on which makes meal time short and simple. One of my go-to dinners is as simple as it gets and tastes the way a summer meal should.

heated up sprouted tortillas
sprinkled with mexican cheese
warm up some chili beans
layer on tortilla with spring lettuce, spinach, sweet peppers, cherry tomatoes, avocado, and a squeeze of lime.

I love the color that a mexican type dish like this brings. I normally would put the peppers and tomatoes in a pan to heat up as well, but decided to keep the heat off and have raw toppings. Worked just fine and saved me some sweat.

I like that a dish like this can be redone through the week with some tweaks. Instead black beans or add some fish, charbroil the peppers, add an egg etc.
What are you eating this summer?

Listen while you cook: Imagine Dragons "It's Time"

Recipe: Shrimp Tacos with kale and zucchini

 

When it comes to dinner I can get real stumped sometimes. Especially because I'm cooking for one. I want something healthy and colorful, but I don't want to spend a lot of time on it or make too much. Usually my thought process goes like this: what do I have? what vegetables do I need to use? what kind of protein do I have/want? The answer to this question usually results in an omelet type of dinner. (any vegetables + eggs + little cheese = delicious and no grocery store trip)

Last night--- a successful new dinner that I pulled together after my usual round of questions. no grocery store trip: check / colorful: check / protein, grains, vegetables: check

Recipe: Shrimp Tacos with kale and zucchini
makes 2 tacos

1 cup of pre-cooked/tail-less frozen shrimp (thaw)
1/2 tablespoon of coconut oil
1 zucchini (sliced in half circles)
handful of cherry tomatoes (halved)
handful of kale (pre-cut and washed)
2 Ezekiel sprouted grain tortillas
mexican cheese
sea salt for taste

1. heat up a skillet, use some cooking spray, and toss in zucchini. once those are heated up mostly add kale (new discovery: I found kale pre-cut and washed in a plastic bin at my nearest grocery store. Yay! so easy), finally add cherry tomatoes.

2. heat up another skillet with a tiny bit of coconut oil and add shrimp. they are already cooked so it's just a matter of heating them up here. salt the shrimp

3. heat up Ezekial sprouted grain tortillas with a sprinkle of mexican cheese.

4. layer shrimp and vegetables. fold up tortilla and enjoy

What is your go-to easy dinner?

"dreeeams do come true"

On Sunday Egan and I made Joy the Baker's Kale Coconut and White Bean Tostadas.

Brilliant combination right there. Coconut and Kale! I don't know how she came up with that, but it was a money maker. Egan had purple cabbage all chopped up but we somehow forgot it when we assembled our tostadas. next time. 

I could really have this every night.

and those cherries. I couldn't stop.

After dinner we took a cruise to my birthday party location happening this weekend and found it to be a dreamy little gem 9 minutes from my sister's house. So lush and green. Now add friends and food and we have ourselves a party. Birthday WEEK!

Our dinner jams:

Dreams Do Come True- Gabrielle

Love On Top-Beyonce

Nicki Bluhm and the Gramblers and their many covers

Guest Post: Food I Love//Brittany

During the month of February you'll see some guests on Nova Granola talking about a food they love.

Guest: Brittany (I met Brittany through the world wide web but we have some mutual friends and both attended college at BYU-I. Her blog is a site to behold. She does amazing charcoal portraits and is a professional photographer. I love her posts and her hair. I feel lucky to have her here sharing a food she loves.)

When my body is craving something healthy, yet tasty I always turn to collard wraps and sweet potato fries!
This meal allows you to be creative and can easily work for vegetarian diets!

Preparation for the Collard greens:
1. Rinse off the greens and then soak them in warm water with a dash of white vinegar for 10 minutes.
(This helps them to be more 'foldable' when it comes time to wrap!)
2. Once they are done soaking, dry them off, and trim down the stem as shown in the top left photo.
I like a good crunch but sometimes the stems could be overly hard and not appetizing.

Now that the Collard greens are prepared, we are ready to fill:

1. Lay out 2 Collard leaves overlapping them.

2. First spread down your "glue", roasted garlic hummus in my case.

3. Top with your favorite veggies! I used cucumbers, carrots, red bell pepper, turkey, and sprouts.

4. Finally it's time to wrap! Wrap it like a burrito, take in the sides and roll.

5. Cut in half and enjoy!

Now for the yummy fries...

Sweet Potato Fries

2 large unpeeled sweet potatoes

1 1/2 tbsp. olive oil

1/4 tsp. cumin

dash coriander

1/4 tsp. pepper

Kosher salt

1. Heat oven to 425° and put the cookie sheet in the oven to get hot, giving them that extra crisp.

2. Wash the potatoes and cut them into 1/4" slices.

3. Coat potato slices with spice mixture and place on greased pan.

4. Sprinkle with Kosher salt.

5. Bake for 15 minutes and turn them over for a remaining 10 minutes, then enjoy!

I also just learned that adding an egg white to your potatoes before you cook them makes them

extra crispy... I haven't tried it out yet but will definitely give it a try next time.

>Thanks Brittany! I can't wait to give these a try! I've never done collard wraps before and they look easy and fresh. Beautiful.

Recipe: Winter Harvest Bowl

I participated in a challenge that my favorite food blogger put out for the holidays. It was a Holiday Recipe Challenge. We actually made the winning recipe while I was home, a Cranberry Pear Tart.
You can see my recipe on page 37 of My New Roots Holiday Recipe Challenge Cookbook.

I made it with my sister Egan (also the illustrator of the recipe above) and we loved it.

Things I like about this recipe:
+ It reminded me of stuffing (sans bread and meat) probably because of the mushrooms, celery, onions, sage and thyme.
+love how the sage and thyme took the dish to a whole new level. felt fancier.
+love the fresh kale, a leafy green is a great addition to this
+the citrus and apple give it a juicy and refreshing taste
+the nuts add a nice crunch

Winter Harvest Bowl
4 servings

2 sweet potatoes (or winter squash or butternut) diced and rubbed with olive oil
bake at 350 for 20 minutes

2 cups water and 1 cup brown rice (any grain would work here) cook with lid on until tender.

2 tbs ghee
1 onion minced
3 stalks celery minced
1/2 lb mushrooms minced
1 lemon squeezed
1 tsp fresh sage minced
1 tsp fresh thyme minced
1/2 tsp salt

1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/3 cup sunflower seeds
1 apple diced
zest of one orange

top with
ribbon-ed kale
diced orange

Heat ghee in large skillet, then add onions for about 5 minutes

Add celery, mushrooms, lemon juice, salt, sage, and thyme.

Then add cranberries, sunflower seeds, and orange zest.

Just before serving at the diced apple and let it warm up.

To assemble:
place rice in bowl and top with a pile of roasted sweet potatoes, sauteed harvest, fresh ribbon-ed kale, and orange slices.

enjoy with company!