FoodFash

Adventure Begins in the Kitchen

Oh Kale Yeah!

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As wonderful as the Austin Whole Foods salad bar is, I have yet to see my favorite garlicky kale in the line-up.  Thankfully, I love Brittany @ Eating Bird Food’s recipe sooooo much that the lacking salad bar is just a blip on my frustration radar.

I substituted liquid aminos for ponzu sauce only because I’m fresh out.  You couldn’t tell much of a difference, but I would venture to say that I prefer the use of liquid aminos simply because it’s better for you.

I also doubled the amount of sauce because it’s that good.

End Of A Streak

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Recipe-less cooking doesn’t always turn out fine and dandy for this girl.  For instance, the chilled cucumber soup that’s been lurking in the back of my brain since dinner at Haddingons.  I remembered cucumber, creamy, hint of vinegar and thought how yum all of that could taste with some herbs, yellow tomato, and jalapeno.  I was so wrong.

It was an herby explosion of grossness.

I poured it down the drain, fixed another meal, and searched for recipes on the opposite end of the tasty spectrum.  I narrowed it down to the following three, but I’m willing to add another to the running if you’d like to share a chilled soup recipe you love!

A Green Gazpacho via Food & Style

Chilled Cucumber Soup via Real Simple

Cucumber Mint Soup via Whole Foods

Dip Baby Dip

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When a slightly competitive girl woman reads an article like “Five Easy Meals Every Woman Should Know How to Cook” and spots a recipe she’s never made, well…  she crosses it off her list ASAP.

Besides, with a party to go to and a diet to stick to, Green Goddess dip seemed like a pretty solid snack that would keep me from munching on man subs and sugar cookies.

I brought this dip along with quartered mushrooms, snap peas, sliced cucumbers, and sliced orange bell peppers.  Not only did it totally keep my interest throughout the night, but I consistently overheard any and everyone by the dip dish comment on how yummy it was.  Thank you Women’s Health for adding this quick/easy/healthy/tasty recipe to my bag of tricks!

Truffled Quinoa & Cheese

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Obsessed doesn’t even begin to describe my sentiment towards the truffled quinoa and cheese from Snap Kitchen.  So darn delicious.  And after some quick label investigation?  I was beyond confident that I could recreate this delish in my kitch.

I ventured to the Whole Foods butter section and reacquainted myself with the black truffle butter I had fallen so deeply in love with not so long ago.  The first time you spend ten bucks on three ounces of butter is a little painful.  The second time?  Pshhh.  So yum, not phased.

FoodFash Truffled Quinoa & Cheese (yields 4  – 300 calorie servings)

1 cup quinoa, uncooked

2 cups water

1 tablespoon butter

1 – 8 oz. package of baby bellas, stems removed and chopped

2 tablespoons black truffle butter

2 oz. gruyere cheese, shredded

salt & white pepper to taste

Bring quinoa and water to a boil and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes.  In a separate pan, melt butter over medium heat and add mushrooms.  Saute the mushrooms, stirring every few minutes, until they are deep brown in color.  Remove the quinoa from the heated burner and stir in the truffle butter until melted.  Fold in the sauteed mushrooms and add salt and white pepper to taste.  Top each serving with 1/2 oz. of shredded cheese and serve.

When I reviewed Snap Kitchen’s version on Tasted Menu, I noted how rare it was to find a healthy truffle dish.  And even though butter and cheese are far from topping the health charts, using less than 100 calories of each per serving counts as total moderation in my book.  Serve with a hearty portion of greens and you’ve got yourself a sinful, bases-covered meal!