so this isn’t *really* a recipe. it’s just an idea i’ve seen on various blogs. a very great idea, especially for someone like me who: 1) always has extra bananas hanging around my house; 2) has a stomach that ice cream hates (or is it vice versa?); and 3) has a bottomless sweet tooth that i’m always trying to ignore/satiate with healthy foods.

this recipe contains just one ingredient: frozen bananas. all you do is put said frozen bananas into a food processor or blender and blend. and blend. and blend. the bananas get chunky, then fluffy and smooth. and delicious. it’s sweet, but not too sweet. it solves the problem of extra bananas. and the problem of missing real ice cream. and the problem of the sweet tooth. win, win, win, right? enjoy, everyone!

one year ago: tortilla soup
three years ago: broccoli mushroom pizza
four years ago: glazed seitan

banana “ice cream”

yields 1 serving or 2 small servings

• 1 banana, sliced and frozen
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i feel like every recipe that i’ve shared lately is a fast weeknight meal. nothing’s fancy. nothing’s lengthy. just simple, yummy food. and yep, you guessed it, this is another quick meal.

someday soon, i’m sure i’ll be back to making more lengthy recipes and baking…but things have been really busy lately (in mostly good ways :-) ). so for now, please enjoy this incredibly yummy, gussied up version of rice. we love this dish’s combination of sweet raisins, peas, and coconut oil – it’s a delicious side dish (especially with homemade aloo gobi). it’s also pretty darn great on its own. i hope you agree, and that you’re also busy in all kinds of good ways!

one year ago: five minute chocolate cake
three years ago: broccoli quiche
four years ago: spinach quiche

jasmine rice with peas and raisins

borrowed from daily garnish
yields 4 servings

• 1½c jasmine rice
• 3c water
• 2c frozen peas
• 1c raisins
• 2T coconut oil
• salt to taste
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about a month ago, mike and i hosted a movie club night at our place. we decided to make tamales and black beans for our friends (i know, i know: where’s the tamale recipe? it’s coming soon, i promise). after our friends had eaten their fill, we had a lot of black beans left over from the feast. i mean A LOT. plus, we had some extra salsa, corn, zucchini, and avocado. and we had a ton of quinoa left from making these quinoa cakes the week before. so what are two people who hate to throw food away going to do with that situation? make hippie bowls!

the first time we made this dish, we ladled our latest favorite black bean recipe into the bottom of a bowl, topped it with some parmesan cheese, sautéed zucchini and corn, spinach, salsa, and avocado.

after about five minutes of silence while mike and i thoroughly enjoyed eating this meal (does that ever happen to you? complete silence when a dish is fantastic?), we looked up at each other and said, simultaneously: “these bowls are amazing!” fair warning, though: they’re definitely not fancy, and they’re pretty hippie (hence the name we made up for them), but they’re absolutely satisfying and delicious. plus, the whole meal comes together in just about 30 minutes – perfect for a weeknight and it makes plenty of leftovers for lunch, too!

oh, and we’ve mixed up the vegetables in several different iterations, and changed the spice blend based on what was in our cupboards. but each time the dish has turned out amazing. so i hope you all enjoy them, too, and i encourage you to mix up the vegetables and spices based on your favorite foods/what’s in the refrigerator!

one year ago: lentil soup with french lentils & ginger and orange tofu with bok choy
two years ago: black pepper tempeh and hearty minestrone
three years ago: asparagus risotto and lentil curry coconut soup
four years ago: strawberry shortcake and banana black bean empanadas

hippie bowls

yields 6 servings

• 1 batch of black beans (see below)
• 1c rinsed, uncooked quinoa
• 2T oil
• 1T chili powder
• 2t cumin
• 1/4t cayenne pepper
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 12 mushrooms, sliced
• 2 zucchini, sliced
• 1c frozen corn
• 1/2c parmesan cheese
• baby spinach leaves
• 1/2c salsa
• avocado, sliced
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1. begin the black bean recipe below
2. once the black beans are simmering, start work on the quinoa
3. boil 1½c boiling water with a dash of salt, then add the quinoa
4. cover the quinoa and allow to simmer over low heat for 25 minutes
5. meanwhile, in a frying pan, heat up the oil
6. add the chili powder, cumin, and cayenne and stir to combine
7. add the onion and allow to saute over medium heat for 5 minutes
8. add the mushrooms and saute for another 5 minutes
9. add the zucchini and corn and saute some more, until everything is hot
10. grab a bowl and ladle in some black beans
11. top with a healthy scoop of quinoa
12. cover with several spoonfuls of the vegetables
13. sprinkle with parmesan cheese
14. toss some spinach on top, spoon some salsa on top of the spinach, and finish with avocado
15. enjoy!

black beans

borrowed from edible perspective
yields 6 servings

• 4t coconut oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 x 15 oz cans black beans, rinsed and drained
• 2 small cans of diced mild green chiles
• 1/2c vegetable broth
• 1/2c salsa
• 1T (or so) hot sauce
• 1t cumin
• salt to taste
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1. in a large pot, heat the coconut oil until melted
2. add the garlic, sautéing for 1 minute
3. add the black beans, chiles, broth, salsa, hot sauce, and cumin
4. bring everything to a boil, then simmer for 15 minutes (or until the rest of the food is ready to eat – we found that the longer it simmers, the better it tastes)
5. add salt or more hot sauce to taste, and enjoy

i actually made this recipe way back on easter, but we’ve been super busy over the past few weeks with fun activities – including traveling to the skagit valley tulip festival this weekend to walk through enormous fields of blooming tulips! so i’m a little late in posting this…but don’t let that be any indication of how great this recipe tastes. it’s simple enough that all of the vegetable flavors shine, and made enough food to get us through a whole week of lunches. enjoy!

one year ago: garbanzo lemon burgers and snow pea, tofu, and soba noodle salad
two years ago: butternut squash stew
three years ago: stuffed shells and chickpea noodle soup
four years ago: cashew tempeh with noodles and coconut lime cinnamon rice

roasted ratatouille

borrowed from vegetarian times, april/may 2013
yields 8 servings

• 1 small eggplant, chopped into large chunks
• 28oz can of whole tomatoes, roughly chopped
• 2 large zucchini, chopped into large chunks
• 1 onion, sliced
• 2 red bell peppers, cored and sliced into large chunks
• 6 cloves of garlic
• 1t salt
• 1/4c olive oil
• 3c chickpeas (2 cans)
• 1/2c fresh parsley, chopped
• 2c quinoa, optional (we boiled 3c water/leftover tomato juice and added 2c quinoa and a dash of salt, and allowed it to cook for 25 minutes)
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1. preheat the oven to 425º
2. toss the eggplant, tomatoes, zucchini, onion, bell peppers, garlic, salt, and oil on a large cooke sheet
3. bake for 40 minutes, until vegetables are tender and tomatoes are saucy
4. add the chickpeas and bake for another 10 minutes
5. sprinkle with the parsley and season with salt and pepper, then serve with the quinoa and enjoy!

mike and i have two cardinal rules for grocery shopping: 1. make a list before going to the store, and 2. never shop hungry. since i’ve discussed my meal planning and grocery list methods recently, i thought i would focus on the latter rule. you see, when we shop hungry it’s astounding what makes it into the cart: lots of sugar-laden food (read: cookies and chocolate), tons of salty snacks (read: pretzels, chips, popcorn, etc), oh yeah, and someone always gets cranky (read: me). does this sound familiar to any of you?

due to all of the aforementioned reasons, we always eat or snack before grocery shopping. often, this means grabbing something quick at the hot food bar in the grocery store and – maybe you can guess where this is going – my favorite hot bar item is mushroom barley soup. it’s super simple, satisfying but not heavy, has lots of chew from the barley, and an incredibly savory broth.

i’ve been meaning to recreate the recipe for awhile at home. which brings me to one of my lovely friends, who sent me a copy of the moosewood cookbook circa the 1980s (thanks, j!). the cookbook is amazing – loaded with vegetarian recipes that appear handwritten with drawings (is it possible that they just copied handwritten pages?) and offers recipes from a huge range of genres (everything from mexican food to indian to chinese food). this recipe tastes almost exactly like my favorite hot bar soup. hope you enjoy, and never have to go grocery shopping hungry!

one year ago: chunky spaghetti sauce
two years ago: whole wheat bread
three years ago: muhammara
four years ago: carrot oat coconut cookies

mushroom barley soup

borrowed from the moosewood cookbook
yields 6-8 servings

• 6½c vegetable broth
• 1/2c raw pearled barley
• 3T butter
• 1c onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1lb mushrooms, sliced
• 3T tamari
• 4T dry sherry
• salt and pepper, to taste
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1. boil 2c of broth, then add the barley, boiling until tender (approx 30-40 minutes)
2. meanwhile, heat the butte in a saute pan over medium heat
3. add the onions, and saute for 10 minutes, or until onions are translucent
4. add the garlic and mushrooms to the pan and saute until the mushrooms are tender
5. pour the saute pan mixture into the barley, then add the rest of the broth, tamari, and sherry
6. simmer for 20 minutes over low heat, then season with salt and pepper and serve with a big green salad

i love fresh spring rolls. and i love pad thai. so when i saw this recipe that combines all of the ingredients of fresh spring rolls with a pad thai-style sauce, i knew i had to make it right away.

aside from the delicious, bright flavors in this meal, my favorite part is that it takes about 15 minutes to prep everything. so after a long, hectic work day, mike and i can whip up a super satisfying dinner in the blink of an eye. and we have leftovers for the next day, too! we’ve been making this dinner every week for the past month, and i hope you all enjoy it as much as we do. happy easter to all of you, dear readers, as well!

one year ago: taco night
two years ago: sourdough blueberry pancakes and sourdough bread
three years ago: sweet potato tacos and healthy brownies
four years ago: banana chocolate chip bundt cake and thai chicken pizza

fresh spring roll bowls

borrowed from vegetarian times
yields 4 servings

• 8oz dried rice noodles
• 1/2 cabbage, grated
• 2 carrots, grated
• 1/2 cucumber, grated
• 8oz of baked tofu, cut into small into strips
• 1/2c mint, chopped
• 1/2c cilantro, chopped
• 1/2c peanuts, chopped
• peanut sauce (recipe below)
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1. boil water in a medium pan, then cook the rice noodles until tender and drain
2. grate the cabbage, carrots, and cucumber, in a food processor if you have one
3. slice the tofu
4. chop the mint, cilantro, and peanuts
5. whisk together the peanut sauce (recipe below)
6. place 1/4 of the noodles in a bowl, then top with the grated vegetables, tofu, mint, cilantro, peanuts, and peanut sauce, then enjoy!

peanut sauce

adapted from vegetarian times
yields 4+ servings

• 1/2c peanut butter
• 1/3c hot water
• 1/4c soy sauce
• 2T rice vinegar
• 1½T toasted sesame oil
• 1T ginger, minced
• 1T honey
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1t chili paste
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1. place peanut butter and hot water in a medium bowl and allow to sit while adding the soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil, ginger, honey, garlic, and chili paste
2. whisk everything together and liberally drizzle on the fresh noodle bowl, then enjoy!

ok, so i know that st. patrick’s day has come and gone, but i still wanted to share this delicious irish soda bread recipe with you!

i had every intention of posting this recipe on saturday, but i was fighting an ugly cold and barely had the energy to finish the recipe, let along blog it. but the cold didn’t prevent me from demolishing a huge portion of this bread – it’s so good! and toasted with some butter and jelly…mmmm…i love the combination of the caraway seeds, currants, and buttermilk. so i’m sorry for the late post, but i’m finally feeling like a normal human being again and this bread definitely helped me feel better. i hope you enjoy it, too! and may the luck of the irish be with you!

this week’s recipe list:

• leek fritters from smitten kitchen (prob won’t post the recipe…)
• mushroom barley soup (i’ll post the recipe after we try some tweaks)
• fresh spring rolls, deconstructed (i’ll post this recipe soon!)
• yam and black bean tacos

one year ago: brussels sprouts with dijon
two years ago: lemon meringue pie
three years ago: potatoes and coleslaw
four years ago: waffles

irish soda bread

borrowed from sunset magazine, via the mccormick family
yields 2 x 8″ round loaves

• 4c flour
• 1t salt
• 3t baking powder
• 1t baking soda
• 1/4c sugar
• 1/4c butter
• 1 egg
• 1¾c buttermilk
• 2c currants
• 1¼t caraway seeds
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1. preheat your oven to 375º
2. combine the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and sugar in a large bowl
3. cut in the butter until the mixture is crumbly
4. in a smaller bowl, beat the egg and whisk in the buttermilk
5. add the liquid mixture, currants, and caraway seeds to the dry ingredients, and stir until combined
6. knead the bread on a floured surface for about 3 minutes
7. grease two 8″ cake pans
8. divide the dough in half, and press each half into a cake pan
9. bake for 35 minutes, and enjoy warm, cold, or toasted with butter and jam!

i think there’s no good way to take photos of a lentil loaf. no matter how many different angles i tried, it kept looking kinda blah. but the thing is that this recipe is anything but blah. the lentil loaf is loaded with such amazing flavors, all held together by two magic ingredients: ground flax seeds that are soaked in water and slightly overcooked lentils.

the soaked flax meal and the overcooked lentils hold together all the other amazing components: walnuts, raisins, apples, celery, carrots…the list goes on and on. as soon as we tried this at mike’s cousin’s house a few months ago, i knew i needed the recipe asap (thanks, natalie!). and since then, we’ve made THREE of these loaves. i feel like a broken record – but seriously, we rarely make meals over and over. except for this one…we just can’t get enough of it! (but one piece of advice: this is not a quick recipe, so make sure you have a good chunk of time set aside to make it!)

this week’s recipe list:

• this lentil loaf with roasted vegetable salad
• roasted moroccan vegetables with rice
• corn, quinoa soup, and red bell pepper soup

one year ago: chili with indian spices
two years ago: red lentil loaf
three years ago: minestrone soup
four years ago: pesto pizza

lentil, walnut, and apple loaf

borrowed from oh she glows
yields 1 large loaf, approx 8 servings

• 1c uncooked green lentils
• 3c vegetable broth
• 1c walnuts, chopped
• 3T ground flax meal
• 1/2c warm water
• 1T olive oil
• 1½c onion, diced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1c celery, diced
• 1c carrots, peeled and grated
• 1/3c apple, peeled and diced finely
• 1/3c raisins
• 1/2c oat flour
• 3/4c baby oats
• 1/2t dried thyme
• 3/4t salt, or more to taste
• 1/4t red pepper flakes
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1. preheat your oven to 325º
2. put the lentils in a pot with the broth and simmer for 45 minutes, stirring often
3. meanwhile, toast the walnuts for 10 minutes, then remove from the oven and increase the oven to 350º
4. next, mix the ground flax meal with the water in a bowl and set aside
5. heat the olive oil in a large pan over medium, then add the onion and sauté for 5 minutes
6. add the garlic, celery, carrots, apple, and raisins, sautéing for another 5 minutes, then remove from the heat
7. mix the oat flour, baby oats, thyme, salt, red pepper flakes, lentils, walnuts, and ground flax meal (i.e.: everything!) together
8. grease a loaf pan and then line it with wax or parchment paper
9. use a spatula to press the loaf firmly into the loaf pan
10. spread half of the glaze (recipe below) over the loaf and bake for 45 minutes
11. allow to cool for 10 minutes, then slice, top with more of the glaze, and enjoy!

balsamic apple glaze

borrowed from oh she glows
yields enough for one large loaf

• 1/4c ketchup
• 1T maple syrup
• 2T apple butter
• 2T balsamic vinegar
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1. whisk all ingredients together and spread on top of the loaf before baking
2. drizzle slices with the sauce as you serve it, and enjoy!

this recipe is so simple that i feel silly posting it. but i’ve been eating the leftovers for the past three days, and i’m still loving it. so i figured that i had to share it with you!

unfortunately, i didn’t think this dish would be a keeper, so i didn’t photograph the process. i just thought i was experimenting with an idea based on a dish i had at purple cafe last weekend, which included beets, dried citrus zest, and sheep’s cheese. i knew i wanted to add a few more vegetables to the dish and use fresh citrus instead of anything dried. i also knew i had feta hanging out in the refrigerator, so i swapped that for the fancy sheep cheese.

somehow, though, this humble combination is better than all the parts by themselves – the asparagus pieces are crispy, the yams are soft, and the beets and carrots add a nice firm crunch. the citrus adds a nice brightness to the vegetables, and the feta adds a little extra salt. who knew that this recipe would be a keeper? next time i’m experimenting, i promise to document better! hope you enjoy this dish as much as we do!

this week’s recipe list:

• roasted vegetable salad
• lentil loaf (recipe coming soon!)
• zucchini and corn stuffed into lasagna noodles (not sure this one will make the blog…)

one year ago: moroccan roasted vegetables
two years ago: ginger pear muffins
three years ago: apple crisp
four years ago: wild rice and chickpea soup

roasted vegetable salad

yields 8-12 side servings

• 2 large beets, peeled and diced
• 3 yams, peeled and diced
• 6 medium carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
• 2 bunches of asparagus, trimmed
• olive oil
• salt and pepper
• zest from 1/2 of a navel orange
• juice from 1 navel orange
• 4oz crumbled feta
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1. preheat your oven to 425º
2. toss the beets and yams with olive oil, salt, and pepper on a baking sheet and roast for 30 minutes, turning the vegetables with a spatula halfway through and removing when the beets are tender
3. toss the carrots and asparagus with olive oil, salt, and pepper on a baking sheet and roast for 10 minutes, until asparagus is bright green but tender (it’s ok to do this simultaneously with the yams and beets)
4. place the beets, yams, and carrots in a large bowl
5. using tongs, cut the asparagus into bite-sized pieces then place into the large bowl
6. add the orange zest, orange juice, and feta, and stir to combine
7. taste and season with salt and pepper and/or olive oil if they vegetables are a little dry
8. serve and enjoy!

one of my close friends gifted me the smitten kitchen cookbook (thanks, lis!) waaay back in november, and i’ve been trying to decide which recipe i should begin with ever since then. does this happen to any of you, dear readers? when gifted with an amazing cookbook, i often suffer temporary paralysis, wherein i can’t decide which recipe to make first because they all look so delicious. so the cookbook just sits, often open, on my nightstand until i finally pick the first recipe (this happened with both of the cookbooks from 101 cookbooks, plus the moosewood cookbook). or maybe it’s just me?

regardless, i finally picked a spaghetti squash taco recipe, and decided to make it this week. deb (yeah, we don’t know each other, but i totally pretend that we’re on a first-name basis) compared spaghetti squash texture to that of pulled pork, and created a super simple but flavorful recipe to make tacos with squash, beans, queso fresco, cilantro, limes and spices. yum, am i right?

but when we got to the store, we couldn’t find a single spaghetti squash. so we improvised by buying yams instead. and this is the moment, dear readers, when i have to pause and laugh. because yam tacos are my favorite thing ever. (i’ve been eating them weekly at tnt taqueria lately.) but they’re not mike’s favorite. and that means we make them less often because they aren’t top on both of our lists. (here’s where i have to add the caveat: we don’t always agree on all of our meal choices. but if one of us doesn’t like something as much as the other person, it naturally becomes lower on our list of meals to make.)

so, where was i? oh, right, i was at the part of the story where mike got suckered into making yam tacos with me because of a lack of squash. and, if i’m not mistaken, these tacos may have won him over a lot more than these other yam tacos that i’ve already posted. i still want to try this recipe with spaghetti squash, but for now i’m pretty happy eating the leftovers and kinda really glad that there weren’t any spaghetti squashes at the store this week. hope you enjoy them, too!

this week’s recipe list:

• yam and black bean tacos
• black pepper tempeh
• field roast sausage, coconut rice, and roasted vegetables (similar to this meal)

one year ago: apple sage garbanzo burgers
two years ago: chickpea and greens curry soup
three years ago: stuffed acorn squash
four years ago: warm quinoa salad

yam and black bean tacos

yields 4-8 servings
borrowed from the smitten kitchen cookbook

• 2T olive oil
• 3lbs yams, peeled and diced (or sub one 3lb spaghetti squash, cut in half, de-seeded, and roasted for 40 minutes in a 375º oven)
• 1/4c onion, diced
• 2T fresh lime juice
• 1t chili powder
• 1/2t ground cumin
• 1/2t ground coriander
• 1/2t salt
• 16 corn tortillas
• 15oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 4oz feta cheese
• 1/4c cilantro, chopped
• hot sauce, optional
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1. pour the olive oil into a large pan over medium heat
2. add the yams and allow them to saute until soft, approx 20 minutes, flipping regularly
3. push the yams to the sides of the pan and add the onion, plus a little more oil if needed
4. saute the onion, then stir it in with the yams
5. while the yams are sauteeing, mix the lime juice, chili powder, cumin, coriander, and salt in a bowl, whisking to combine
6. pour the liquid over the yams when they’re tender, and remove the pan from the heat
7. heat the corn tortillas either in the microwave or in a separate frying pan
8. heat the black beans in the microwave or in a small pot with some added water
9. place the yam-onion mixture in the tacos with a heaping spoonful of black beans and a sprinkle of cheese and cilantro
10. top with a couple splashes of hot sauce, and enjoy!