Italian Salad

This quick and easy salad reminds me of my Grandma because she used to make something like this all the time. Back then I didn't appreciate onions, but as usual my Grandma was right! They are delicious! This little salad of tomatoes, red onions, and cucumbers is dressed with olive oil, apple cider vinegar, lemon juice, Italian seasoning and minced garlic for lots of zing and lots of crunch!

Lemon Artichoke Pesto Zoodles

Doesn't the name of this dish just make your mouth water??!! It's just as good as it sounds, and you can find the recipe here: http://theleancleaneatingmachine.com/2013/12/30/lemon-artichoke-pesto-zucchini-noodles/ I used a small jar of artichokes for this one. I also used the fresh parsley, lemon juice/zest, fresh garlic, olive oil, and salt and pepper that the recipe calls for, but since I didn't have any walnuts I used some raw almonds. The flavor was still amazing. Next time, I would definitely add more chunks of artichoke (I was all out after making the pesto) and maybe add some tomato, too. But this one is worth making again!

Vegetarian Sushi

We love sushi, but we don't usually make it at home because we're worried about using raw fish (yes, even buying sushi grade fish doesn't ease our minds). We've made veggie rolls, but I was really excited to find some nigiri recipes that are vegetarian! And, I have to say that they were pretty freaking amazing! Here are some of the recipes we referred to for our sushi night: http://www.tastespotting.com/features/vegetable-sushi-recipe http://www.olivesfordinner.com/2013/09/shiitake-nigiri.html http://cleangreensimple.com/2011/04/sushi-time/ http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/masaharu-morimoto/vegetable-sushi-recipe.html The roasted bell pepper (which we made in red and orange for variety) were a hit, but it was the mushrooms that really made the best nigiri! The flavors and textures were perfect for veggie sushi! The shiitake mushrooms were simmered in a soy/ginger sauce, and then topped with a glaze of soy, ginger, brown sugar, and mirin (my go-to Asian sauce). The roasted zucchini and squash were good, but the flavors weren't as strong as the others. Considering how time consuming this project was (it took about 2 hours to make everything) I think I would skip that next time.

Tofu Lettuce Wraps

I usually like to make lettuce wraps with raw veggies (infused with things like ginger for flavor) but I was in the mood for something hot. Luckily, I found this great recipe: http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2012/02/vegetarian-lettuce-wraps/ Of course, I improvised (as I usually do). I cooked up some tofu in the skillet with some chopped zucchini and red bell pepper (the recipe uses corn, but I didn't have any). I added lots of chili powder (yum), cooked a bit, then added the soy. I also added the balsamic, but I think next time I might just skip this part. I had some pea sprouts that I needed to use up, so I added those to the lettuce boats and added the tofu, then topped with avocado and sriracha. So good!

Sage Polenta Bowls with Roasted Brussels Sprouts & Wild Mushrooms

I love polenta, but Matt is not a big fan. I keep trying to get him to eat it anyway, but I finally found a recipe that he likes! You can find it here: http://ohmyveggies.com/recipe-sage-polenta-bowls-with-roasted-brussels-sprouts-wild-mushrooms/ I think that next time I would prefer to sautee the sprouts and mushrooms, but this recipe is definitely a winner!

Cucumber & Carrot Noodle Thai Salad

We LOVE our spiralizer! I want to spiral everything! So when we found this recipe, I got so excited! Guess who's having zoodles again tonight? You can find the full recipe here: http://www.tasteslovely.com/cucumber-carrot-noodle-thai-salad/ I had to improvise a bit and use what I had in the house, so it's a bit different and not as pretty, but it was delicious! Definitely will make this again! We started with spiralized zucchini and carrots (nom nom, crunch, snap). The dressing is olive oil, peanut or almond butter (we prefer almond), soy or tamari or liquid aminos, sesame oil, honey or agave, lime juice and zest, salt and pepper, and crushed pepper flakes. I added Thai chili sauce and garlic chili sauce as well. Now here's where we had to improvise on the recipe, since we didn't have the other ingredients. Instead of mint, we used basil. We added peanuts, but since we didn't have sunflower seeds we just used sesame seeds. I love the flavors in this one!

Mediterranean Tortellini Salad with Red Wine Vinaigrette

This is a great salad for summer! I love the crunch of the raw veggies with the tang of the vinegar! Credit for this one goes to: http://joanne-eatswellwithothers.com/2014/07/mediterranean-tortellini-salad-red-wine-vinaigrette.html It's a cold tortellini salad with red onion, tomato, bell pepper and cucumber, but we added some artichokes and olives to ours. If fasting (or vegan) you can leave out the feta. The dressing is red wine, lemon, sugar (we left this out), oregano, crushed pepper, salt and pepper, and olive oil.

Cold soba salad with shiitake dressing

This is an easy and delicious recipe that I found here: http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/cold-soba-salad-with-dried-shiitake-dressing The sauce is just dried shiitake mushrooms, soy, mirin and ginger (the usual suspects). Simmer those, strain and then emulsify with sweet chili sauce and oil. I actually prefer to use garlic chili sauce, and for oil I use sesame. Cook soba noodles and then cool by rinsing in cold water, then dress it all up. Looks like we used julienned carrots, bean sprouts, sesame seeds, and chopped up some of the reconstituted shiitake mushrooms.