The Friday Five 10.5.12

1. What I’m Reading: Wild About Greens: 125 Delectable Vegan Recipes for Kale, Collards, Arugula, Bok Choy, and other Leafy Veggies Everyone loves.

Ok, that has to the be the longest book title ever. This cookbook is broken up into 5 chapters: Basic Preparations for Leafy Greens; Greens with Beans, Grains, Pasta & Other Vegetables; Salads, Dressings & Dips; Greens in Soups & Stews; and Green Juices & Smoothies. There are a ton of good recipes but unfortunately very few pictures. This is sad because I’m sure they’d all photograph beautifully.

2. What I’m Eating:  Lately I cannot get enough of Publix’s reduced fat mozzarella string cheese. I feel like a 5 year old when I eat it, but it’s an easy, somewhat healthy snack. Each stick has 70 calories, 4 grams of fat and 8 grams of protein. Are you a peeler or a biter? I’m most definitely a biter. I take aggression out on my string cheese.

3. Recipes I’m Bookmarking:  Grilled Chicken with Balsamic and Feta. Did you just drool? I did.

4. What I’m Listening To: Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa by Vampire Weekend.

5. GIFs I’m Loving:

WHEN I SCROLL THROUGH FACEBOOK IN SEARCH OF A DATE TO A WEDDING

WHEN I PUT DOWN MY OTHER SINGLE FRIEND AS MY PLUS ONE FOR A WEDDING INSTEAD OF FINDING A DATE

Have a wonderful, blessed weekend! 

Gruber Farm CSA Week 1 / Honey Balsamic Green Beans & Onions

It’s finally back! In the beginning of the Fall CSA, I expected to see the last bit of the Summer harvest. I was right!

Week 1:

• sweet potatoes
• cucumbers
• okra
• green onions
• corn
• apples
• green pepper
• zucchini
• yellow squash

Oh, the variety! On Tuesday, I immediately dug into the box and baked some sweet potato fries to have with dinner. Later I had an apple for dessert. It really is amazing to taste the difference in quality with local produce.

For dinner Wednesday evening, Amanda brought over homemade turkey meatloaf. To accompany it, I made a new green bean recipe.

Honey Balsamic Green Beans and Onions

 

Ingredients

• 1 lb. fresh green beans
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
• 2 tsp. honey
• salt and freshly cracked black pepper

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil over medium heat. Add the beans and blanch them for 2 minutes. Immediately remove the beans from the water and add them to an ice bath to stop the cooking process. Drain.
2. In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until translucent, about 5-7 minutes. Add the garlic and green beans. Cover, and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Uncover, then stir in the vinegar, honey, onion powder, and salt and pepper, to taste. Cook to desired degree of doneness, about 5 minutes.

Don’t let the blanching step fool you; this recipe is pretty darn easy to make. After adding the balsamic and honey, the onions begin to caramelize which gives the dish an overall sweetness. We loved it and would definitely make it again.

What’s your favorite green vegetable?

CSA Week 10 / Roasted Eggplant & Tomato Stacks

Yesterday was the first official day of Summer! It was also Summer solstice – the longest day of the year. Despite these facts, I’m nearing the end of my Summer CSA. Only 2 more weeks left. Thank goodness for the Fall subscription!

Week 10:

• butternut squash (I could have sworn this was a Fall veggie)
• eggplant
• watermelon (the cutest!)
• cantaloupe
• turnips
• tomatoes
• green peppers
• jalapenos

Remember the mini watermelon from last week’s box? I chopped that up and soaked it in vodka for a boat ride. It made for a deliciously good time. I may or may not be using this week’s melon for the same thing.

I also made the Sweet & Spicy Salsa again. I’ve been putting it on my grilled chicken and even my eggs for breakfast. It’s quite versatile.

So, confession time. I’ve never actually cooked with eggplant…until tonight. Eggplant is surprisingly easy to work with. Here’s a little snack/appetizer I made before dinner.

Roasted Eggplant and Tomato Stacks

Ingredients:

• 1 small eggplant, sliced
• 2 tomatoes, sliced
• olive oil, for drizzling
• goat cheese, for topping
• balsamic vinegar, for drizzling

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 400*. Place eggplant and tomato slices on a plan lined with a Silpat or foil. Drizzle with olive oil.
2. Roast for 20 minutes, turning once.
3. Place sliced vegetables on a plate, drizzle with balsamic vinegar, and top with crumbled goat cheese. Serve warm.

Voila! It’s too easy not to make. If you crumble the goat cheese atop the stacks right away, it melts just a little and becomes so creamy. Enjoy!

While you’re cooking, listen to this song:

Favorite roasted vegetable?

Did you love the song?

Healthier Beef Stew 4 U

You know how sometimes you just crave comfort food? I’m not sure if it’s the weather cooling down, or my body telling me I need iron, but I’ve had beef stew on my mind for a few days. This is so random, as I rarely eat red meat. I’ll probably have 2 burgers a year and a few bites of someone else’s steak. I don’t choose not to eat red meat, I just prefer chicken and fish. With that said, when I have a craving for something, I go with it.

Beef stew doesn’t sound very healthy now, does it? Well, it doesn’t have to be that bad. Beef stew typically contains boneless chuck pot roast, but while in the grocery store I spotted mock tender roast, which is a less fatty cut. Yes, fat adds to the flavor, but I’d rather cut back and add flavor with my own seasoning.

Healthier Beef Stew 4 U adapted from Martha Stewart

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs. mock tender roast, trimmed of fat and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1/3 cup tomato paste
• 3 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
• salt & pepper
• 1 lb. medium onions, sliced
• 1 lb. sweet potatoes, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 lb. baby carrots
• 6 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 bay leaves

Preparation:

1. In a 3-quart (or larger) slow-cooker, combine beef, tomato paste, balsamic vinegar, and salt & pepper.
2. Add onions, sweet potatoes, carrots, garlic, bay leaves, and 2 cups of water. Cover, and cook on high for 5 hours (or low for 8 hours) until beef is fork-tender.

Now that we’ve covered the food (literally), let’s talk about this week’s fitness plans. I’m decided to participate in more classes for a better variety of workouts. This ensures that I stay interested in the gym and my muscles aren’t getting bored.

Monday: Body Pump Express on my lunch break, 3 mile run outside with Amanda this evening

Tuesday: Body Attack

Wednesday: CX30 (a core class), possible outdoor run

Thursday: Cardio kickboxing

Depending on my weekend plans, I might squeeze in some additional strength training or a run. The above plans are a minimum and contingent on my social life, haha.

What’s your favorite crock pot recipe?

Do you plan your fitness for the week or just go with what you feel like doing each day?

Do you let fitness trump your social life? Or the other way around?

Thank Yous, A Winner, and Rainbow Eating

First, I’d like to thank you all for the sweet compliments on my nerdy glasses. I love how much better I can see and really have only taken them off to shower, work out, and sleep. When I take them off, I’m like ewww. Also, thank you for your help on the t-shirt contest!  :)

Second, I’d like to announce the winner of the Fiber One Brownie giveaway. Instead of using a random number generator, I used the Mariah generator. Without telling her why, I asked her to pick a number between 1 and 92…and she chose #8:

Congrats, Britton! Please e-mail me your contact information and your prize pack will be on the way.

…

In preparation for looking svelte for my birthday party on Saturday, I have increased my fruit and vegetable intake. Ok, ok, really I just have so many veggies from my CSA. I was chatting with Mariah, who also subscribes to a CSA and we were joking amount how many fruits and vegetables we ate all day. We kind of feel like rabbits.

For breakfast, I had my usual Kashi original cereal with light vanilla soy milk and blueberries. FYI, the “abbrev” for blueberries is “bluebs.”

Mid-morning, I snacked on some almonds and dried cranberries.

For lunch, I had more of the Roasted Beet & Goat Cheese Quinoa.

My afternoon snack was a zucchini muffin and some baby carrots.

After I picked up my 10th CSA box, I cut up fresh yellow squash, zucchini, carrots, corn, and tossed them with italian dressing, balsamic, and goat cheese.

I ate that along with black beans and my most recent discovery: Bilinski’s Apple Chardonnay chicken sausage.

The moral of this story is: There is a rainbow in my stomach. It might even be a double rainbow.

On a completely different note, while I was gorging myself with rabbit food, Mariah asked me a very serious question. Our gchat conversation, complete with faces:

Mariah: if there was a breakfast that is just 100% bad for you (but wasn't) and you could eat it all the time... what would it be?

 

 

me:oooh probably pancakes.or cinnamony french toast

 

 

Mariah: with an assload of butter and syrup

 

 

me:and powdered sugar and brown sugar. also honey and whipped cream.

 

 

Mariah: all of the above

 

 

me: i wouldn't mind if there were chocolate chips in there either

 

 

Mariah: nope me neither

 

 

I can’t stop laughing at our heads. But the point of that was my question for you all:

If you could eat any breakfast, regardless of how bad it was for you, what would you have?!

I May Be Crazy But I Can Make Beet Risotto with Goat Cheese!

All of my negative traits must be forgiven, for I can make some killer risotto.

And cookies.

But really, I am a CLUMSY MESS. It’s not a joke. My attention span is unreal. I’m either unable to focus on anything, or I’m hyper focused on one thing. Luckily, I tend to be hyper focused at work, as long as I have my music on.

A typical Whole Foods shopping adventure for me includes a)knocking something over, b)dropping something, c)ramming something or someone with my cart, d)losing my cart, or e)all of the above. Today, while purchasing Arborio rice for my dinner, I had a moment. You know those bins at Whole Foods? I had pulled down the handle to release Arborio rice into my bag and then heard my phone go off and for some reason, I just walked away. While the handle was still down.

I made it rain Arborio rice all over that place.

This girl looked at me like I was all sorts of stupid, but I looked at her and laughed, because really, how serious could this be? It’s freaking rice. It costs like 2 cents and you have to laugh at life, right?

I walked out of Whole Foods and chuckled to myself the entire ride home. Then the cooking began! I was in the mood for something comforting, so the beet risotto that Lucy’s mom had made us came to mind. It was time to recreate her masterpiece!

I used a combination of her recipe and one that Jenna recently posted on Tasty Kitchen.

Beet Risotto

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 2-3 medium beets, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 1 cup Arborio rice
• 3 cups fat free, low sodium chicken broth
• 2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
• 2-3 sprigs of fresh thyme
• salt & pepper to taste
• crumbled goat cheese, for topping

Preparation:

1. Warm the olive oil over medium heat in a medium pot.

2. Add the beets and onion, and cook for 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3. Add the rice, chicken broth, and balsamic vinegar. Increase the heat. Bring to a boil, and then reduce the heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer until the rice is tender and the risotto is creamy, stirring occasionally (about 15 minutes).

4. Season with salt and pepper and add the thyme. Sprinkle with the goat cheese. Serve immediately.

While chopping the beets, I nicked my palm with the knife. Then I realized I had no idea if I had broken the skin because my entire hand was red anyway! Aren’t beets fun?!

Despite spilling rice and cutting my palm, this meal was ridiculously good. It was creamy and comforting with a nice hint of thyme. The goat cheese balanced out the tangy balsamic and also added to the creaminess. I’m kind of glad I didn’t invite any friends over because I want this alllllllllll to myself!

Along with the beets, I had some Swiss chard that I sautéed in olive oil with garlic and crushed red pepper. Quite a colorful meal.

Now apparently I am not the only crazy in Charleston. Check out this dude I spotted walking down King Street last weekend. HOT PANTS! They are bright yellow and his hair is blue. I found it to be such perfect timing that he was walking by a fire hydrant when I spotted him. They match!

XO!

Lana Restaurant / Day #14

Photo Day #14 - A picture of someone you could never imagine your life without.Grammy. This lady is so awesome. See more on her here.

Remember last week when I mentioned that I’d be going to Lana with Rob and his parents? One of my lovely readers, Chelsea, posted this comment:

“OMG! I'm a hostess at Lana (and work Thursday nights) and have always wondered if you would ever stumble in and how I would react given you are a mini-celeb and I read your blog daily. Have you made reservations yet?”

She pretty much made my day. I immediately contacted her telling her when we’d be in so I could meet her.

The afternoon of, I made cookies to bring to Chelsea and Rob’s parents. Gotta send appreciation to bloggy lovers and nice parents! I used Emily’s recipe for Mini Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies. Again, another perfect cookie recipe by such a fabulous baker. I adore her! :)

So back to Lana. The restaurant is located in a renovated building on the corner of Rutledge and Cannon. The Mediterranean style menu is full of decadent and unique elements that will appeal to everyone.

I wasn’t about to take out the giant camera until Rob’s mom encouraged me to take pictures. She had visited my blog when Rob did the sushi challenge and the Reindeer Run so she knew what was up. I loved it!

We started off with a cheese plate appetizer that featured 5 different cheeses served with sliced apple and walnuts. We also ordered salads while deciding on our entrees. I chose the roasted vegetable salad with goat cheese and a lemon thyme vinaigrette. There were beets, cauliflower, and parsnips. I think I love beets more than your average person and it’s kind of fun to see your pee turn pink. TMI? Sorry.Rob ordered an arugula salad with warm lentils in a bacon vinaigrette.Now you know I love chicken. Love love love. But whenever I eat out, I try to go out of my realm and order something crazy. So, I went with the server’s recommendation: seared duck breast and leg confit in a fig balsamic reduction with lentils and cabbage. Read again: fig balsamic reduction. This made the dish.Dessert was a requirement. I was torn between two choices: blueberry sorbet and cinnamon gelato. Luckily, Rob wanted the cinnamon gelato, so I went with the sorbet. Both were excellent!

Just for giggles, Rob ordered a glass of Courvoisier with dessert.

Can we say potent? I nearly choked from smelling it. I took the tiniest sip ever (probably a teaspoon worth) and it burned. Badly. One glass of this could do some serious damage to your body, mind, and soul.

I drank coffee instead. :)

Huge hugs and thanks to Mr. and Mrs. Brenan for the lovely meal. Yall were so sweet and such great conversationalists. Hope to see you again soon!

My Turkey Day Duties

For this year’s Thanksgiving, I was in charge of making an appetizer and a dessert. I love showing my family that healthy can equal delicious, so I chose two recipes that would do just that. On Thanksgiving Eve I made the dessert: Pumpkin Chiffon Cake by Rachael Ray. I’m not usually a fan of RR or her recipes, but this one caught my eye bc a)the name sounds fancy and b)it was lightened up.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup flour
• 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 eggs, separated, plus 5 egg whites, at room temperature
• 1 cup canned pure pumpkin puree
• Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 325°. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, 3/4 cup granulated sugar, the pumpkin pie spice, baking powder and salt.

2. In a medium bowl, combine the egg yolks and pumpkin puree. Stir the pumpkin mixture into the flour mixture until smooth.

3. Using an electric mixer with a whisk attachment, whip the remaining 9 egg whites at medium speed until foamy, about 2 minutes. With the machine on, gradually whisk in the remaining 1/2 cup granulated sugar; increase the speed to high and beat until stiff but still moist, 1 to 2 minutes.

4. Add one-quarter of the egg white mixture to the pumpkin batter, folding with a rubber spatula just until no streaks remain. Fold in the remaining egg white mixture in the same manner. Pour the batter into a 10-inch tube pan with a removable bottom and bake until springy to the touch and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 55 minutes.

5. Let cool in the cake pan for 5 minutes, then invert the pan onto a narrow-necked bottle and let hang upside down until completely cool, about 1 1/2 hours.  (I REFUSED to put a hole in my cake, so I let it cool on top of cans.)Place the cake right side up and remove the pan. To serve, dust the cake with the confectioners’ sugar.

For a beautiful cake, this was quite easy! While it baked, Lucy and I did some Christmas decorating and arts & crafts. I picked up these mugs for our nightly tea seshes. So adorbs!! I am the penguin and she is the snow(w0)man.I also found place mats. Target has the best seasonal crap. Omggggg I’m obsessed.

And for $2, I found crafts! This kept me busy and away from the oven window.

Here’s the finished product hanging on our front door – inside and outside. I’m sure the neighbors think we’re 5-year-olds.So back to the cake. The pumpkin cake made the twenty-six mile drive safely!

This was one of the best desserts I have ever made. My family is full of chocolate fanatics, but every single one of us loved this. Even the baby ate two slices! At only 122 calories per slice, this is the perfect indulgence. We could not get over how light and moist it was. Move over pumpkin loaves and cookies, the pumpkin chiffon cake is the best yet!As if you could even focus on a vegetable right now, I do want to show the app too. I simply took a bunch of fresh asparagus, snapped off their tails, and parboiled them for a few minutes. I wrapped them in prosciutto while drinking a mimosa…and then roasted them in balsamic and honey with pistachios. Easy and delicious!

Hope everyone had a fatttttttttttttttt Thanksgiving!