FoodFash

Adventure Begins in the Kitchen

Mexican Polenta Casserole

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Weekends are for baking, Mondays are for veggies.  I had to remind myself of this constantly tonight to resist the urge to reclaim the pie I left with the boys on Saturday.

I distracted myself by heading to the market and loading up on lots of produce to vegify an already vegiful dish.

FoodFash Mexican Polenta Casserole (yields 8 servings)

Adapted from this Eating Well recipe

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 large yellow onion, chopped

2 poblano peppers, chopped

1 zucchini, shredded

2 tomatoes, chopped

1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed

2 cups of frozen chopped spinach

2 teaspoons cumin

1 teaspoon salt

1 pound ready made polenta

1-1/2  cups enchilada sauce

top with Greek yogurt, sour cream, or non-dairy sour cream

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  In a large pan, heat olive oil over medium heat.  Add onions and poblano peppers and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add shredded zucchini, tomatoes, beans, spinach, cumin, and salt.  Let cook over medium heat for another 5 minutes.  Slice polenta into 1/4″ thick slices (you’ll need about 24 slices).  Layer the bottom of 8×11-ish pan with 1/3 of the polenta slices.  Top with half of the veggies and 1/2 cup of enchilada sauce and repeat.  Top the casserole with the last 1/2 of the polenta slices and 1/2 cup of enchilada sauce.  Bake for 30 minutes.  Let sit for 10 minutes before serving.

I’d be lying if I said it didn’t take me a second to adjust my palate to eating a mostly dairy free meal again.  But by the time I was a few bites in (and I forgot about this weekend’s peanut butter pie and cheesy Mexican feasts) I began to appreciate my meal.  It reminded me of a hearty, polenta topped, stew – a perfect dinner for a thunderstormy eve!

Savory Cakes

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Savory waffles have been on my mind a lot lately.  Not enough to actually buy a waffle maker, but enough to gab about them, dream about them, and make pancakes that resemble them.  And since I woke up this morning with no desire to go to the market and a huge desire for savory something, I dug around in my spice cabinet until something clicked.

FoodFash Rosemary, Garlic, and Onion Pancakes (yields 7, two tablespoon pancakes)

3/4 cup sprouted wheat pancake mix (I suppose any mix would do)

1/2 cup coconut milk

1 egg

1 teaspoon crushed rosemary

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 cloves of garlic, crushed

Mix all of the ingredients in a bowl until spices are evenly distributed.  Heat a pan over medium heat and then spray with olive oil cooking spray.  Use two tablespoons of batter for each pancake.  Prepare as you would an ordinary pancake.  When pancakes are finished, top with a fried egg and enjoy!

Savory pancake topped with an egg??  Completely.  Magical.

I’m off to drop the extras off to the boys and get my paddle board on.  Happy Saturday!!

Quinoa Tabbouleh

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Holy moly, tabbouleh should be called something along the lines of use-every-cutting-board-in-your-cabinets-and-dirty-every-dish salad, for tabbouleh is no joke in the prep-work department.

FoodFash Quinoa Tabbouleh

1/2 cup quinoa

1 cup water

1 bunch flat leaf parsley, de-stemmed

1 bunch mint leaves, de-stemmed

1 bunch scallions, chopped

1 cucumber, deseeded and chopped

5 ounces cherry tomatoes, chopped

2 tablespoons olive oil

juice of two lemmons

salt & pepper to taste

Bring quinoa and water to a boil, reduce heat, and cover for 20 minutes.  While quinoa is cooking, get ready to chop, a lot.  Chop deseeded cucumber and tomato and set aside.  Add parsley, scallions, and mint to a food processor and press the chop button until everything is mixed and nothing resembles leaves.  Mix the quinoa and veggies together in a large bowl, add olive oil and lemon juice, and stir.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Tabbouleh can be eaten immediately, but tastes best after about an hour in the fridge.

Tabbouleh is about as powerhouse of a salad as they come.  Parsley is filled with Vitamin K, antioxidants, and volatile oils.  Quinoa is crazy in the protein and fiber departments.  And the tomatoes, mint, and scallions add their fair share of nutrients as well.  Tabbouleh is one of those dishes that, in a perfect world, should be served with every meal.

All Wrapped Up

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I knew the mom and I would be restauranted out by the end of her visit, so when I dropped her off at her conference this morning I asked what she wanted me to make for dinner.  She simply responded “black bean hummus”.

Black bean hummus for dinner?  How about black bean hummus wraps filled to the max with uber fresh veggies for dinner?  Yeah, that’s more like it.

While roasting an entire package of cherry tomatoes, I pulled out the veggies and a cutting board and got to work.  I shredded the carrots, chopped up the cucumber, and pulled two new-to-me veggies out of their containers:  zesty sprouts and mache rosettes.

I layered a pita with black bean hummus and veggies and rolled it up, Pita Pit style.  So guiltless, so good!  And I bet these would keep well in the fridge overnight for lunch the next day.  I shall keep you posted.