Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Quick Fix Cabbage

When I'm not cooking for my husband, I don't care much what I eat.  It's usually just nibbling food - cucumbers and hummus, chips and salsa, apples and peanut butter.  Super healthy, right?  But I'm just being real with you, because that's what I promised to do here.  Every once in a while, though, I feel like cooking something healthy for myself, like when my body starts yelling for some nutrition.  But it can't be just anything.  It has to take under 15 minutes to make and have only 2 main ingredients (or less!) or it won't happen.

Today it was:

Cabbage & Squash with Flax Seed Oil and Plum Vinegar
Serves 6 as a side dish


2 Tbs olive oil
1 small head green cabbage, thinly sliced
2 small squash (yellow or green), diced
flax seed oil
ume (plum) vinegar (available at most grocery stores)
soy sauce
sesame oil
black sesame seeds

Heat olive oil over medium heat.  Add cabbage and squash and saute for 5 minutes.  Lower heat, cover, and let simmer for 10 more minutes.  Turn off heat and drizzle generously with flax seed oil (4 or 5 tablespooons?  Taste and adjust) and ume vinegar.  Add a few splashes of soy sauce and sesame oil and toss gently to coat vegetables.  Top with a sprinkle of black sesame seeds and enjoy!  This is great both hot and cold.


Sprinkle flax seed oil and ume vinegar on almost any vegetable and it will make it taste like butter!  Alicia got me into this.

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Fresh & Easy Asian Pasta Salad + A Little Soul-Bearing

I'm a perfectionist.  There.  I said it.  That took me about 10 minutes to write because I had to make sure I said it perfectly...

Ahhhh...

Okay, now that that's off my chest, I wanted to let you know that I'm making changes.  That's right.  I'm no longer going to worry about writing the "perfect blog" or posting the "perfect recipe" or taking the "perfect picture".  Okay, maybe I will a little, but my goal is to just do something I enjoy and hope that you all like it.  Otherwise I'll be missing for weeks (Months?  Yes, months....) on end again, and that would be lame, right?

I was reading a book today about why people procrastinate, and it said something really interesting about Action and Motivation.  Which comes first?  "If you said motivation, you made an excellent , logical choice.  Unfortunately, you're wrong."  (Oops!)  "Motivation does not come first, action does!  If you wait until you're in the mood to do something, you may wait forever!"

Amen.  Hence, my absence as of late.

So, thanks for being patient.  I'm back to cooking, inventing and experimenting again, and it feels good.

And you thought you just came here to read a recipe for Asian Pasta Salad!  Ha!  Poor things.. Thanks for letting me spill my guts.  I feel better now :)


Fresh & Easy Asian Pasta Salad
Serves 6

1-16 oz. package brown rice noodles (penne or spiral)
1-15 oz. can garbanzo beans, drained
1-15 oz. can kidney beans, drained
2 cucumbers, diced
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
3 green onions, both green and white part, sliced thinly
1/4 cup red onion, minced
5 green olives (preferably marinated in hot oil), minced
1 bunch cilantro, chopped

Cook pasta according to directions on package.  Rinse and set aside.  In a large bowl, combine both beans, cucumbers, tomatoes, both onions, olives and cilantro.  Add pasta and toss with dressing (recipe below).  Serve over lettuce for extra nutrition.

*Note:  Brown rice noodles, strangely enough, tend to turn al dente when refrigerated (I didn't mind it, it just surprised me), so you may want to either eat it all in one sitting or try a different type of noodle if you want to eat it as leftovers.  The flavors marinate well though, and everything keeps its crunch.

Asian Dressing
1/3 cup rice vinegar
1/4 extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 Tbs dried basil
2 Tbs agave nectar
2 Tbs real maple syrup
2 Tbs soy sauce

Combine all ingredients and whisk until everything is incorporated and consistency thickens a bit.

This dressing is so mild, making it very versatile.  You can use it on plain lettuce salads, 3 bean salads, or even as a sauce over cooked veggies.  I almost always prefer to use fresh herbs when cooking, but in this case I usually have all these ingredients on hand so it makes for a very quick dinner.  Feel free to substitute if you'd like.

This salad is perfect for summertime.   Hope you like it!

Food Truck Revolution - Vegan Style

If you, like me, have been envying the Truck Food craze but are disappointed that most don't offer a veggie option, there's no need to whine any longer (unless you enjoy whining)!  The newest Vegetarian Times mag has an awesome article called Munching on the Move, and in it you'll find mobile veggie food options from Portland, OR to Providence, RI.  I was bummed to find that there aren't any in San Diego, but then there's Seabirds in Irvine, CA (and other parts of Orange County when mobile)...and I'm up there often enough visiting with my Bestie that I'm sure we'll be hitting it up soon.  Check out their menu!  This place is perfect for gluten-free, soy-free and raw foodies as well.


***UPDATE:  After doing some research, I found that Green Truck has a location in San Diego!  Their menu is not 100% veggie, but they do offer a tasty looking Vegan Burger for only $6.  Check their website for locations around San Diego, Los Angeles and New York.