FoodFash

Adventure Begins in the Kitchen

Some Grossness

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How can a fridge be so full of nothing?  So full of stuff and the only create-able meal would be a peanut butter, salad dressing, almond milk, and old fruit sandwich.  Honestly, that might have been better than what I ended up eating tonight.

A can of black beans, frozen spinach, and some random spices is what I came up with.  As a side note, I obviously have no brand loyalty when it comes to spices.  Store brand, name brand, organic, non-organic – apparently I drive blindly down the spice aisle.

I even had to scrape the sides of the chili powder container.  I’m telling you, tonight was rough!

I mixed it all together, ate a brownie, and wondered how bad it could be.

Sadly, it wasn’t the worst thing I’ve ever made for dinner.  I ate the whole thing and I’ll probably eat the rest tomorrow for lunch – that’s how anti-grocery store I’m feeling at the moment.

Fresh Carrot Salad

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The first recipe that caught my attention as I was browsing through EveryDay Feasts was the Fresh Carrot Salad.  This recipe screamed simple and fresh, which define a good summer recipe in my mind.

Fresh Carrot Salad

1 TBSP White Wine Vinegar

1 TSP Dijon Mustard

1/2 TSP Salt

1/2 Cup Olive Oil

2 LBS Carrots, Grated

1/2 Cup Slivered Almonds, Toasted

Combine the vinegar, mustard and salt in a small bowl and whisk until blended.  Whisk in the olive oil and set aside.  Combine the vinaigrette with the carrots in a large bowl and toss to mix well.  Spoon into a serving dish.  Sprinkle with almonds when ready to serve.

I made a couple tiny modifications in the interest of time, calorie reduction, and my one person household.  The most notable changes were using the only available bag of shredded carrots ( 10 oz rather than 16 oz) and reducing the olive oil by 1/4 cup.

After sampling a small portion, I shook the remaining salad in a ziploc and let it marinate as I packed it in a picnic basket to bring with me to Rock The Park.

This was my first experience with a carrot and almond combo and I was very impressed!  I would have never thought that carrots and almonds would compliment each other so well.  This recipe was also ideal for a picnic dish because it tasted even better after sitting and all of the ingredients were outdoor temperature friendly.

I passed the salad around as a side and then plopped the rest on a whole wheat pita with homemade hummus and cucumbers as my main course.  The addition of the carrot salad was a game changer and I highly recommend adding this burst of color to your favorite summer sandwich!

Working Dinner, In Pictures

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Breakfast: PB&J on Sprouted Wheat Toast & Watermelon

Lunch: Amy’s Lentil Vegetable Soup with Leftover Tofu & Veggies

Snack: Remnants of Brownie Batter

Dinner: Pizza Fusion and a Stack of Papers

Tonight was not only my first official Junior League of Tampa Cookbook Steering Committee meeting, but my first official meeting as an active Leaguer.  And prior to an email that our co-chair sent out, I was dreading it.  In my experience, the food at league meetings tends to be boat loads of delicious dairy filled goodies.  But our co-chairs, aware that Lynn (woohoo I’m not the only weird one!) and I are both non-dairy, ordered dinner that accommodated our entire group.  Gold stars for our co-chairs!

Lap Wrap, In Pictures

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Breakfast: Fried Egg & Sourdough Rounds with Sriracha Tofutti

Lunch: Fried Tofu with Spicy Kale and a Hard Boiled Egg

Dinner: A Bigger Hummus Wrap for the Road

I’m attending a conference tomorrow in Orlando, so one of my best friends, Jimmy, suggested I come hang out with them for the night.  I’m verrryyyy excited because this will be the first time I’ve seen them since their wedding and I can’t wait to hear about their honeymooning in Italy!  I packed a gynorm wrap for the drive (I still have loads of veggies leftover from last night).

So on a scale of one to ten, ten being a ton…   How much of this wrap do you think will end up on my lap by the time I arrive in Orlando?