meatless monday

Meatless Monday: Easy Eggplant and Squash Curry

/ Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / Leave a comment

“We haven’t had Indian food in a while,” said B the other day. He was right – we were on a stint for a while where we were having Indian food as our go-to takeout or eat-out option on a somewhat (not daily) regular basis. And it’s true, I can’t recall the last time we both went out for Indian food. OR Thai food. BUT I’ve been on a going-out-to-eat spree and didn’t really want to continue it. Between traveling for work, lack of groceries and birthday / friend / etc. meals, I’m somewhat getting tired of eating out. Just ask B – I go eat to eat 4 times in a row and I’m sick of it.

Anyway, that’s why I decided to make some semi-Indian/Thai-hybrid dinner from what we had on hand in our apartment. OK, it’s probably neither (sorry if you are an expert in either cuisine) – it’s just a vegetarian curry dish. Anyway, we go to the West Side Market nearly weekly and tend to stock up on a ton of veggies from our favorite stand – and last week I had gotten tomatoes, squash, eggplant, peppers, onions and more. Keeping this in mind, and seeing a few fun recipes online, I decided to recreate the Indian/Thai/Going Out To Eat food experience right from our apartment.

eggplant and squash curry over quinoa - i crashed the web

Eggplant and Squash Curry with Quinoa

Here’s what you need:

  • 1 butternut squash
  • 3 TBS olive oil, divided into 1TBS and 2 TBS
  • 3 TBS cumin, divided
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 red bell peppers, diced and seeded
  • 1 onion (I used a red onion), sliced into bite-sized pieces
  • 1 medium eggplant, diced into bite-size pieces
  • 1 (1-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
  •  3 cloves garlic, sliced
  • 2 TBS curry powder
  • 1 teaspon ground cardamom
  • 1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes in juice
  • 1 can (1 ½ cups) chickpeas
  • 1 c. quinoa, cooked according to package directions (typically with 2 c water)
  • ¼ c unsweetened coconut

Here’s what you do:

  1. Reheat oven to 425 degrees F.
  2. Peel and cut squash into bite-sized pieces, about 1 inch squares. toss with 1 TBS of olive oil and season with salt, pepper and 1 TBS cumin.
  3. Place seasoned squash on a baking sheet and roast for 25 to 30 minutes, until squash is soft and starting to brown.
  4. While squash is cooking, heat  2 TBS olive oil in a large skillet. Add chopped pepper, onion, eggplant, ginger and garlic. Add salt, pepper, curry powder, cardamom and 1 TBS cumin. Cook for 3-5 minutes, letting vegetables start to get tender.
  5. Cover the skillet and cook for 10 minutes or until eggplant is softened. Add in roasted squash, canned tomatoes in juice and chickpeas. Add another tablespoon of cumin. Cook for another 3-5 minutes.
  6. Add in cooked quinoa and unsweetened coconut and cook for another minute.
  7. Enjoy!
eggplant and squash curry - icrashedtheweb.jpg

Add in the quinoa and coconut …

eggplant and squash curry - icrashedtheweb.jpg

Enjoy!

Some notes:

  • B thought this recipe was “so so” and when I asked him what he’d change he said “maybe a little less seasoning next time.” SO please use the curry/cardamom/cumin guidelines to taste – you can always add more as it continues to cook.
  •  B also doesn’t like coconut so I only added a handful to the final dish, and mostly on the portion I was eating – feel free to add more, and even some coconut milk if you prefer coconut curry to traditional curry.
  • I have used the powdered red curry, which is spicier than the yellow curry I have. Thus I didn’t add any chili powder. If you like it spicy and you only have yellow (not-so-spicy) curry on hand, feel free to add some chili powder as well!

Some questions for you: Share your answers in the comments – mine are in italic!

  • Do you ever just literally throw everything you have on hand into a dish to see what happens? Yes, too often. In this case I was actually kinda pleased with myself – it seems pre-thought out!
  • What’s your favorite Indian food dish?  I love Chicken Tikka Masala or anything Vindaloo.
  • What’s your favorite Thai dish? Any thai soup, or pad ke mao and I love their spring rolls!
  • How often do you go out to eat? How often do you feel is “too much?” I don’t know why, but after eating 3-4 meals out in a row I start to feel sick/gross. Even if I’m eating healthy, I just prefer homemade meals!

Cooking with Ali – Vegetarian Samosas

/ Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 4 Comments

I don’t know when it happened, but one day I started to really enjoy cooking. I began to see cooking as an activity, not as a means to an end, and on any given weekend (or time that I wasn’t rushed), enjoyed taking the time to cook as a way of entertainment, stress relief etc. This isn’t always the case – we all know that after a day of working late and then a late workout, cooking gets pushed to the side burner – but when I have the time I love to take the time to enjoy it and be adventurous.

My former “work spouse” (don’t ask, that’s what we called one another) Ali, also feels the same way. I am in awe of her instagram – she is always posting so many fun, creative and healthy recipes. That’s why when we got together for dinner before the holidays and she suggested we get together in January, in honor of my birthday, for a day of cooking, I couldn’t have been more excited!

Enter, cooking with Ali. First let me introduce you to Ali:

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Can’t you tell how awesome she is? Her apron even matches her comfy zip up. And it wasn’t intended!

Anyway, we started out with a trip to the West Side Market to pick up supplies. We knew we wanted to make something Indian-inspired, and Ali had found a recipe for some vegetarian samosas that looked amazing. I admittedly have been intimidated by rice paper for years, so I figured there was no time like the present to get over my fear.

So here you go – I present to you, Ali and my slight modification of My New Roots’ fully loaded samosas. If you make these, you MUST make the mint chutney. I admit that I wasn’t so sure (I’m not always a fan of the sweet/spicy combo) but it was AWESOME.

  VEGETARIAN SAMOSAS - I CRASHED THE WEB

Vegetarian Samosas (with slight modifications from  My New Roots’ fully loaded samosas)

Here’s what you need:

  • 8 round rice paper wrappers, about 8.5”
  • 1 Tablespoon of coconut oil
  • 1 medium onion
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1 tsp. minced ginger
  • ¾ tsp. sea salt
  • ½ cup unsalted cashews
  • ¼ cup unsweetened coconut
  • 3 medium carrots
  • 1 ½ cup green peas
  • 1 cup chickpeas
  • 2 cups packed fresh baby spinach
  • 2 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp mustard powder
  • ½ tsp. turmeric
  • ¼ tsp. cardamom
  • 1/8 tsp. cinnamon
  • cayenne pepper (to taste)

Here’s what you do:

  1. In a dry skillet over medium heat, lightly toast coconut until golden. Remove from heat and set aside.
  2. Dice onion and carrots to about the size of the peas. Roughly chop up cashews.
  3. Heat the coconut oil in a frying pan. Add the onion, cumin, mustard powder and minced ginger.  Cook five minutes, then add the garlic. Cook a couple minutes, then add carrots. Stir to coat with spices, cook five minutes, add peas and chickpeas. Remove from heat and stir in spinach, coconut and cashews.
  4. Fill a large bowl about halfway with warm water. One at a time, place a rice paper wrap in the water and let soften, just until it becomes somewhat pliable (NOT soggy! – as Ali told me you should still be able to see some of the pattern from the paper on it). Remove from water and place rice paper on a clean, flat surface – like your counter. Using a pizza cutter, slice the rice paper circle in half. On both halves, place a  scoop of the filling. Fold it up! This is somewhat hard to explain and do – but the original site recommends you: “Fold the bottom corner about a third of the way up the round side of the half), followed by the top corner to meet the base of the fold you just made, creating a triangle. Fold the round edge up onto the top of the package to seal it, and flip it over. This is now the top of the samosa.”
  5. Continue and repeat steps with the remaining rice paper and filling. Place samosas on a lightly greased baking sheet.
  6. Cook for about 20 minutes, flipping about halfway through in a preheated 400°F  oven. They should be slightly brown and somewhat crispy when done. To make them even crispier, brush samosas with a little melted coconut oil before putting int he oven.
  7. Remove from oven and serve with the Sweet n’ Spicy Mint Chutney.

For the Sweet n’ Spicy Mint Chutney (DEFINITELY MAKE THIS)

Here’s what you need:

  • 1 cup firmly packed mint leaves (no stems, washed and dried)
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 1 tsp. minced ginger
  • 2 Medjool dates
  • 1 fresh serrano chili
  • ¼ cup freshly squeezed lime juice
  • 1 Tbsp. olive oil
  • salt to taste

Here’s what you do:

  1. In a food processor pulse garlic, ginger, and chili pepper until a nice paste.
  2. Add dates (you may need to remove the pits first!), mint leaves, lime juice and olive oil. Blend on high until your chutney is smooth.
  3. If it’s too chunky, add a little more olive oil.
  4. Enjoy! I dare you not to want to eat this with a spoon. Or your finger. YUM!
Some of our goodies from the West Side Market

Some of our goodies from the West Side Market. We also made stuffed portobellos.

vegetarian samosas

cooking the “meat” of the samosas. this filling was so good – i’d eat it by itself!

folding the rice paper

folding the rice paper

ready for the oven!

ready for the oven!

vegetarian samosas

ready to eat!

Three things happened after I made these:

  • I got over my fear of rice paper. Spring rolls, here I come!
  • My New Roots became one of my new favorite blogs. You must check it out. Not only because her food pictures are way better than mine, but because she has SO many good recipes I can’t wait to try – especially when I give up meat again for Lent!
  • I fell into a food coma. And was surprised that even B enjoyed these!

Oh, and this happened:

My apron clearly doesn't match

My apron clearly doesn’t match

we proceeded to take pictures of our food

we proceeded to take pictures of our food

Anyway, you MUST make these and tell me how much you love them. And how My New Roots is your new favorite blog.

Some questions for you:

  • Do you have any “work spouses”?
  • Do you wear an apron when you cook?
  • Any weird food phobias for cooking  (not eating)? Mine was rice paper, but now it may be seaweed to roll for sushi. Apparently I have a fear of things you roll?
  • Do you like cooking or find it just a necessary evil?
  • Favorite vegetarian recipes? I want them!

Meatless Monday: Chickpea Ratatouille

/ Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 3 Comments

B and I have been watching old episodes of Julia Child’s The French Chef lately. That’s what happens when you don’t have cable. The show is in black and white, done in all one take, and all in all pretty funny to watch – not only because Julia Child is a funny character (her voice sounds like a muppet to me!) but also because the kitchen appliances are SO old and also because things don’t always work out as planned. There is no “cut” and then on to the next scene – meaning if something boils over or Julia uses vermouth instead of vinegar, we see it all! Why aren’t food shows like that today? So much more real, and fun, in my opinion.

Anyway, one old episode we saw Julia make some sort of french ratatoullie. I think I zoned out during the episode, but it reminded me that I hadn’t had ratatouille in quite some time and I was overdue. So, here’s a simple and easy meatless meal you can enjoy. I served mine over a quinoa blend, and B had his with chicken.

Chickpea Ratatouille - i crashed the web

Chickpea Ratatouille (Vegetarian)

Here’s what you need:

  • 1 medium eggplant, cut into about 1-inch large chunks
  • 1 zucchini, cut into about 1-inch chunks
  • 1/2 medium red onion, chopped
  • 2 peppers (I used two red bell), sliced
  • 3 large carrots, chopped into about 1/2-1 inch slices
  • 1 tbs olive oil
  • 1 28 oz. can of diced tomatoes
  • 3 cloves garlic, chopped in half
  • 1 16 oz. can of chickpeas, drained
  • salt/pepper to taste

Here’s what you do:

  1. Preheat your oven to 425°F.
  2. Combine chopped eggplant, zucchini, onion, peppers and carrots in a large bowl. Pour olive oil over mixed vegetables and mix well.
  3. Pour veggie mixture, can of tomatoes, garlic, and salt in large roasting pan.
  4. Roast vegetables for 30 minutes, until lightly brown and softened. Check at about 15-20 minutes in and stir mixture to ensure evenly cooked veggies.
  5. At about 30 minutes in, add chickpeas to roasting pan and cook for another 10-15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste and enjoy!

Makes about 4 vegetarian main courses (again, mine was served over quinoa!) or even more side dishes (B had his with some balsamic marinated chicken I made).

Vegetarian Chickpea Ratatouille - i crashed the web

I’m also thinking about giving up meat again for Lent? What do you think – should I try it again? It wasn’t easy for me, that’s for sure!

Some questions for you:

  • What’s your favorite cooking show?
  • Vegetarian main meals – yay or nay? What’s your favorite? I’m a big fan of hearty veggie burgers, either homemade or store bought if I have to (my faves are Luna burgers and Morningstar).
  • Do you try to eat meatless once a week?
  • Do you give up anything for Lent?

Meatless Monday: Carrot, Spinach, Pepper and Chickpea Quinoa Salad

/ Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 2 Comments

It’s just a few days before the holidays, and amidst all the heavy meals, treats, and so on, we’re all in need for a healthy, light, yet comforting and satisfying alternative. Enter: quinoa. I love quinoa. Quinoa in my granola, quinoa as a side dish, quinoa as a stuffing for zucchini or squash, quinoa in soup, quinoa on my salads, etc (seriously, see all the quinoa I enjoy). Quinoa is filling, healthy and is a great starting point for any vegetarian meal.

I’ve been back in NY for the holidays and my mom let me make this dish for her and my dad. She pretty much had all the ingredients on hand, and it was great to be able to help her with dinner, especially as she’s been busy cooking, cleaning, baking, shopping, and so on in preparing for the craziness of the holidays.

Looking for a simple, healthy dish to make in less than 30 minutes that’s sure to please your family (even your parents)? Here you go. You’re welcome 🙂

Carrot, Spinach, Pepper + Chickpea Quinoa Salad - i crashed the web

Carrot, Spinach, Pepper and Chickpea Quinoa Salad

Here’s what you need:

  • 1 Tbs olive oil
  • 1 shallot, chopped
  • 1 cup quinoa
  • 2 cups vegetable (or chicken if you’re not a vegetarian) broth
  • 1 teaspoon fresh thyme
  • 1 carrot, chopped
  • 1 tomato, chopped
  • 1 pepper, finely diced
  • 2 cups baby spinach
  • 1 cup chickpeas

Here’s what you do:

  1. Warm up the olive oil in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the chopped shallot and cook until softened and appears translucent. And smells delicious 🙂
  2. Turn down the heat to low and add in quinoa. Toast quinoa (continue to stir so it doesn’t burn) for about 2-3 minutes.
  3. Add in vegetable broth and thyme and raise heat to high. Bring to a boil. Cover quinoa, turn down heat to low and let simmer for about 6 minutes.
  4. Add in the chopped carrots. Cover and simmer for about 10 more minutes, adding in finely chopped pepper after about 5 minutes so it softens. When all broth is absorbed, turn off the heat, add the tomatoes and spinach, and continue to stir until the spinach is wilted. Just before serving, add in chickpeas and give it a final stir some everything is evenly distributed.
  5. Enjoy! Makes 4-6 side dishes or 2-3 main meals for a vegetarian dish.
Carrot, Spinach, Pepper and Chickpea Quinoa Salad - ingredients

some of the ingredients – not pictured, chickpeas and spinach

Carrot, Spinach, Pepper + Chickpea Quinoa Salad - i crashed the web

look how colorful it is!

 

Happy Christmas Eve Eve! (yes, mom – that really is a thing)

Crock Pot Lentils and Kale

/ Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / Leave a comment

Some nights for dinner I just want something healthy, easy, filling AND tasty – is that so much to ask for?

Most nights I can get 3 of the 4. Pasta with meatballs – tasty, easy, filling, but not super healthy (especially when served with a chunk of crusty bread and fresh mozzarella .. OMG I can taste that goodness now).  Homemade black bean burgers with sweet potato fries and braised kale – tasty, filling, healthy but not really super easy (well it’s easy .. just takes time to prepare). So last week when I was “cleaning” out my fridge and found some leftover kale from our CSA and an onion – and then of course found lentils and canned tomatoes in our pantry – a light bulb went off. I realized that combining all those ingredients would most definitely satisfy all of the above! Healthy? Obviously! Easy? Yes – I’d be using my crock pot. Filling? Of course – 1 cup of this dish has about 15 g. of protein (and more if you pair it with chicken). Tasty? Um, anything with lentils and kale in my opinion is tasty (I understand if you disagree).

Enjoy the following “recipe.” I literally just threw everything in my crock pot, googled “lentil crock pot cooking times” and hoped for the best. And it worked! Serve as is, or with chicken, which B had. He actually looked at me like I was crazy when I asked if he wanted anything with the lentils for dinner. “You mean, do I just want lentils and kale for dinner? Am I a rabbit?” – may or may not be exactly what he said. I also sprinkled Penzeys vindaloo seasoning on my leftovers which made for an awesome Indian-type dish. 

crock pot lentils and kale - i crashed the web

Crock Pot Lentils and Kale

Here’s what you need:

  • 2 cups lentils, rinsed
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 4 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes
  • 3 cups chopped kale (don’t forget to remove the stems)
  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1-2 tablespoons cumin
  • 2 cups vegetable broth (or chicken, if you don’t mind if it’s not vegetarian)
  • 1 cup water
  • salt and pepper, to taste

Here’s what you do:

  1. Rinse lentils. Add to crock pot with onion, garlic, canned tomatoes and kale.
  2. Add spices — ginger, onion powder, garlic powder and cumin. Mix all ingredients within crock pot. Pour broth and water over mixture.
  3. Cover and cook on Low for 5-6 hours.
  4. Enjoy! Serve alone, or as a side dish with chicken if your husband gasps at the thought of just eating lentils and kale alone.

Enjoy! As you can see, it’s not the prettiest dish, but it’s healthy, filling and SUPER EASY.

slow cooker lentils and kale - i crashed the web

PS – Here are some more of my favorite crock pot dishes. You MUST try the jambalaya!

Fresh Fork Week 8 – And Fennel, Tomato and Avocado Salad {Recipe}

/ Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / Leave a comment

How are we already EIGHT weeks into our Fresh Fork summer share? It may seem weird to say this – and somewhat cheesy – but I feel like it’s become a part of B and me. We look forward to picking up our weekly share, trying the new recipes and enjoying all the glorious fresh produce and some other local grub (those local corn chips … and local oats … and more – were SO good!).

Anyway, enough blabbering with how much I am loving my Fresh Fork. Here’s what we got this week:

  • 1 lb grassfed ground beef
  • 1 bulb fennel
  • 3# red skin potatoes
  • 1 candy onion
  • 1 head red cabbage
  • 1 lb yellow beans
  • 1 cucumber
  • 1 dozen eggs
  • 1 pint sweet cherries
  • 1 quart apricots

And a blurry photo of what we got (I may have been at Parnell’s for happy hour before the pick up):

fresh fork week 8

We’ve finished pretty much everything, minus the beef, which is in our freezer until B figures out what he wants to do with it. Because I don’t really like ground beef unless it’s in a meatball. Even then I prefer turkey. It happens.

Some of our meals:

B made this dish, featuring the cabbage (doesn’t it look professional?!)

pork and cabbage

We had a wine and cheese night – and the apricots went deliciously with it!

wine and cheese

A summery meal featuring potato salad from the potatoes (and the corn, tomato and eggplant are from week 9 – shhhh yes I’m skipping ahead)

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And my favorite (well, not my favorite – the pork and cabbage was probably the best, but don’t tell B) – fennel, tomato and avocado salad – which we enjoyed with the beer can chicken.

20130728_174833

You can make the fennel salad too – it was really easy so here’s another non-recipe for you to enjoy for the next time you get fennel. There was something just so delicious about the sweetness of the fennel with the bitterness of the balsamic. And who doesn’t like tomato and avocado?

fennel tomato and avocado salad {i crashed the web}

Fennel, Tomato & Avocado salad

Here’s what you need:

  • 1 bulb fennel
  • 2 fresh tomatoes
  • 1 ripe avocado
  • Your favorite balsamic vinaigrette. Don’t have one? Make your own! Here’s my favorite recipe – it makes more than enough for this salad plus more:
    • 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
    • 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
    • 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
    • 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
    • 1 garlic clove, crushed or minced

Here’s what you do:

  1. Cut up the first three ingredients. Chop up the fennel bulb into 1/2 inch thick slices. Cut up tomato into thin slices. Find a ripe avocado and cut it into bite sized pieces.
  2. Arrange tomato, avocado, and fennel on a plate.
  3. Drizzle about 1-2 tbs of your favorite balsamic dressing over the salad. If you’re making mine, combine vinegar, oil, mustard and garlic in a jar and shake well to combine before drizzling a little over the salads. You’ll have leftover dressing for later.
  4. Enjoy!
fennel tomato and avocado salad {i crashed the web}

Fennel, tomato and avocado salad

For other Fresh Fork Recaps:

Summer Yellow Beans with Onions, Lentils and Toasted Almonds (And a mini Fresh Fork Week 7 Recap)

/ Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 1 Comment

I’m slacking off this week. Thursday after our CSA pickup, I didn’t take a picture of everything we got. Shocker, I know … but I can assure you that nearly everything has been eaten AND enjoyed already. Here’s what we got:

  • 1 whole chicken, approx 5 lbs
  • 1 lb yellow wax beans or green beans
  • 1 shallot
  • 1 candy onion
  • 1 bunch swiss chard
  • 1 pint blueberries
  • 1 quarter peck cling peaches

We haven’t used the chicken yet (I hope to make something yummy this weekend …. and don’t worry, I hope NOT to have another giblet incident again) but have already enjoyed the blueberries, peaches, swiss chard, beans and onion!

Here are some photos instead of how we’ve enjoyed the food:

Perfect snack - blueberries and peaches!

Perfect snack – blueberries and peaches!

salmon yellow beans swiss chard

Dinner! Veggies are all Fresh Fork – sauteed swiss chard, balsamic marinated salmon, and yellow beans with lentils, onions & toasted almonds (recipe below!)

And now – what we did with all the yellow string beans. Besides eat them as snacks – because I definitely did that. Yes, I brought a baggie of them into work  – they were so sweet and perfect as a crunchy snack! But then I only had 1/2 pound left for dinner (shh don’t tell B that I ate the rest) – so I had to supplement them with some other stuff, like lentil and onions – which meant they actually came out awesome! Even B really liked them – he asked me multiple times how I had made them, and not in a weird, eew how did you make this type voice, so I take that as a good thing.

Summer Yellow Beans with Onions Lentils and Toasted Almonds ~ I Crashed The Web

Summer Yellow Beans with Onions, Lentils and Toasted Almonds

Here’s what you need:

  • 12-15 almonds
  • 2 garlic cloves, finely diced
  • 2 candy onions, diced
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1/2 pound yellow string beans with the ends cut off
  • 1/4 cup low sodium chicken or vegetable broth if you are a vegetarian
  • 1 tsp Italian seasoning
  • 2 cups lentils, already cooked (or 1 15-oz can if you don’t have any prepared)
  • kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Here’s what you do:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Once preheated, toast the almonds on a baking sheet for about 5-10 minutes or until they start to take on a darker color and begin to smell. Watch them  – you do NOT want them to burn!
  2. While almonds are toasting, boil some water in a large pot. Add the beans and cook for about 3-5 minutes until they’ve begun to soften slightly. Drain beans.
  3. In a large nonstick pan, heat oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and diced onions and cook until onions are translucent. Add half of broth and cook until broth starts to disappear.
  4. Add beans and rest of broth and cook for about 3 to 5 minutes until beans start to get tender. Add the Italian seasoning and lentils. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes until entire dish is warmed through. Transfer beans to a serving bowl.
  5. Sprinkle with toasted almonds and season with salt and pepper to taste.
  6. Enjoy!
Finely chop the almonds and toast for 5-10 minutes at 350.

Finely chop the almonds and toast for 5-10 minutes at 350.

First get some awesome onions from your CSA. You may have to clean them off.

Get some awesome onions from your CSA. You may have to clean them off.

Dice the onions and sautee with garlic.

Dice the onions and sautee with garlic. Add part of broth and cook until broth cooks down.

Summer Yellow Beans with Onions, Lentils and Toasted Almonds {I Crashed The Web}

Boil the trimmed beans for a few minutes.

Add green beans, rest of broth and cook for a few minutes. Then add seasoning and lentils and cook a little more.

When onions are soft, add green beans, rest of broth and cook for a few minutes. Then add seasoning and lentils and cook a little more.

Summer Yellow Beans with Onions, Lentils and Toasted Almonds {I Crashed The Web}

Put in a fun plate and top with toasted almonds.

Summer Yellow Beans with Onions, Lentils and Toasted Almonds {I Crashed The Web}

Enjoy!

For other Fresh Fork Recaps:

Meatless Monday: Roasted Beets Recipe (And a bonus post – how to get beet juice stains off a white dress)

/ Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / Leave a comment

A week or so ago, B and I picked up our CSA for the week and I was delighted to find fresh beets! I LOVE beets and find them so delicious in so many things  – in a salad with goat cheese, roasted, on top of a pizza, just alone as a snack, or even in smoothies or juices (ok confession I’ve never had a juice with beets but I’ve seen them at the West Side Market at the stand where B gets his frozen strawberry lemonade and I’ve thought about getting it). B, however, doesn’t really like beets. Still, he said that whatever I did with them he’d try the recipe.

So, what did I do? I called my mom. I asked her what she does because she roasts beets quite often. She told me how she roasted them (in the oven, in foil, and then tosses them in a mustard vinaigrette) and to be careful because beet juice stains everything(the counter, your hands, etc. ) so not to be careless/quick (which I often am when cooking). That is foreboding – make note. And here’s the recipe:

oven roasted beets mustard vinaigrette

Roasted Beets with a Mustard Vinaigrette

Here’s what you need:

  • 3-4 medium beets, cleaned and prepared (chop the top, bottom and greens off- but save the greens! You can saute them like spinach)
  • salt/pepper
  • dash garlic powder
  • 3 Tablespoons olive oil, separated (1 Tb plus 2 Tb)
  • 2 Tablespoons of red wine vinegar
  • 1 glove of garlic, pressed
  • 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

Here’s what you do:

  1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
  2. Using a brush, coat the beets with approximately 1 Tablespoon of olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic powder.
  3. Create an aluminum foil pocket for the beets. Put the beets in the foil, wrap the foil around them, and put in the oven.
  4. Bake for approximately 45-55 minutes or until a fork can easily pierce through the beets.
  5. While beets are roasting, make the vinaigrette. In a small bowl, whisk together 2 Tbs olive oil, red wine vinegar, pressed garlic and dijon mustard.
  6. After beets are done roasting, wait until they are room temperature and then remove from their foil pouch and peel the beets. The skin should come off very easily. Pour dressing over peeled beets.
  7. Enjoy!
sliced beets

cut the ends off the beets

oven roasted beets

Enjoy!

So I made the recipe, as she shared with me, and the beets came out great! They were delicious, juicy  and even B didn’t hate them. Which is a good thing – he generally hates beets and think they taste like dirt. AND I didn’t get juice ANYWHERE. I was feeling kinda cocky actually, thinking wow I am such a good beet roaster. I didn’t get beets on the counter, or on me.

The next day I brought some into work as a snack. I ate them super carefully, as I was wearing a white dress and didn’t need any beet juice on my dress. I finished eating them and couldn’t believe my luck – I was clean! As I was bringing my bowl into the kitchen, I noticed I had dropped a beet. I picked it up from the floor – and BAM. It slipped out of my hand. Onto my dress. It literally ROLLED DOWN MY DRESS. I had a DARK RED line of stains down the front of my dress! I ran to borrow a stain stick from a coworker. The little Tide To Go stick just didn’t do it – it wasn’t big enough to handle the entire dress.

Luckily I had been in meetings from 8 a.m. through 2 p.m. that day and had about an hour free until my next meeting  – so I ran home. Well sorta – I power walked back to my apartment, called my mom, and asked her what to do. She suggested soaking it in a stain remover solution and then washing it on cold water. She also suggested I treat it with seltzer water, but I had literally just finished our seltzer earlier that week. So soaking then washing was what I was going to do.

This is what happens when you spill beets on your white dress .... okay maybe not really

This is what happens when you spill beets on your white dress …. okay maybe not really

Here’s what I did:

  • I sprayed the dress liberally with my Shout Stain Remover Spray and let it sit for about 10 minutes while I found something new to wear and checked my email.
  • I tossed the dress in the wash, on cold. In addition to detergent, I also added two Tide Stain Release Boost packs to the laundry machine.

And here’s what happened:

THE DRESS IS AS GOOD AS NEW!

Yup. Sorry, no before/after pictures – I didn’t take a picture of the dress with the beet juice all over it. But I promise, it was ugly. I’m not sure if I’ll have the courage to roast beets anytime again soon …and if I eat them, I may have to wear a garbage bag!

5 Ingredient Garlicky White Bean Dip

/ Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 3 Comments

You may recall, B and I were assigned appetizers to bring to his family’s Memorial Day gathering. We were going to be bringing two appetizers, and this bean dip was the second appetizer we brought, along with Buffalo Chicken Dip (recipe coming soon). It’s so easy, I managed to make it AND clean up while the Buff Chick Dip was cooking.

Seriously, this is possibly the easiest appetizer you can bring to a party or get together. Not lying – there are 5 ingredients (salt/pepper don’t count in my opinion), only one cooking/mixing container is used (and thus needs to be cleaned), and it’s somewhat healthy. See? A win-win!

5 ingredeint garlicky white bean dip

5 Ingredient Garlicky White Bean Dip (from Giada)

Here’s what you need:

  • 1 (15-ounce) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  • 1/3 cup olive oil
  • 1/4 cup parsley
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Here’s what you do:

  1. Place the beans, garlic, lemon juice, olive oil and parsley in your food processor. I have a Cuisinart Mini Chop and it is THE BEST. Small and works perfectly for something like this.
  2. Pulse until the mixture is coarsely chopped. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
  3. Transfer to a small bowl and serve with something yummy – I served our with pretzel crisps, pita and veggies. It’d also be great on some crusty bread (Because really, what’s NOT good on crusty bread?). Enjoy! Mine made about 3 cups or so, which was plenty (esp. with the Buff Chick Dip).
5 ingredient garlicky white bean dip

Put the ingredients (beans, oil, garlic, lemon juice, parsley) in your blender or cute Mini Blender.

5 ingredient garlicky white bean dip

Blend until slightly lumpy, like this.

5 ingredient garlicky white bean dip

Serve with crackers, pita, bread, or pretzel thins and enjoy!

Meatless Monday: Mashed Cauliflower

/ Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / Leave a comment

B and I have been eating about a head of cauliflower a week. Whether it’s raw or roasted, cauliflower has seemed to become a staple in our household, to my excitement. Why do I love cauliflower? It’s so versatile, healthy, super easy to make, and it can take on so many different flavors depending on what you do with it. A few weeks ago I made some mashed cauliflower for the first time and have been making it about monthly since. It’s another healthy side dish that tastes like it should be unhealthy – but it’s not!

mashed cauliflower

Simple Mashed Cauliflower

Here’s what you need:

  • 1 medium cauliflower or 4 cups cauliflower florets
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 3 garlic cloves
  • Optional – something to add more creamy goodness to the mixture: I’ve used cream cheese, Greek yogurt, butter, cream and milk

Here’s what you do:

  1. Chop cauliflower into large chunks, around 1-2 inches in length.
  2. Cook cauliflower. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add to boiling water and cook 10-12 minutes or until a fork can easily pierce the cauliflower.
  3. Drain cauliflower and throw into your food processor.
  4. Use food processor to completely mash cauliflower. Throw in garlic, and the salt and pepper to taste. Mash the cauliflower completely, it may take 5 minutes to get it to a nice consistency like that of mashed potatoes.
  5. Taste the blended cauliflower mash. Add more garlic or salt/pepper as needed.
  6. Optional: Add some Greek yogurt, cream cheese or sour cream to make the cauliflower even creamier. I’ve made it with heavy cream (leftover from making the Murphy’s Irish Stout Cupcakes), Greek yogurt, and even Parmesan cheese. This most recent time I followed the recipe, above, without any added cream or anything (just garlic, salt and pepper) and it was delicious!

Pat yourself on the back and enjoy how delicious and healthy your mashed cauliflower is. If you somehow managed to eat half of the recipe (made as is without any of the optional add-ons) you’ve only downed about 105 or so calories. AND you’ll be stuffed! B and I manage to make 3-4 servings out of the above recipe when served as a side dish.