Roasted Asparagus & Oranges

I don't make romantic meals for two . . . yet.

I'm persuaded, however, that when my days are full of wifely love and cooking for two, my meal planning might involve the following: vegetables, citrus, fish, a 400° oven, and about 30 minutes to impress.

Roasting will.save.lives. 

Or at least it could save your Valentine's Day (in case you forgot to plan ahead and make reservations for your love's favorite restaurant, and now you feel weighted down by shame and persecution and lack of ideas and stomach groans . . .). 

Redeem yourself!  

Asparagus. Oranges. Fish. 

It's not at all impossible to take three ordinary foods and create a warm, delectable, and sophisticated dish.

 

 

Roasted Asparagus & Oranges

Ingredients:

          1. a stalk of asparagus (cleaned and thick ends trimmed off)

          2. one or two oranges (cut into wedges)

          3. olive oil, basil, paprika, and sea salt

Directions:

          1. Preheat oven to 400°. Line a baking sheet with tin foil or 

              parchment paper.

          2. Spread out asparagus and orange wedges on sheet and drizzle 

              with a little olive oil.

          3. Sprinkle basil, paprika, and sea salt over top.

          4. Roast in oven for 30 minutes.

          5. Let the oranges cool for a few minutes before serving.

Baked Fish Fillet

Now don't go all crazy with the fish. I didn't catch and scale it myself or anything. Not that I know how to do either of those two activities. 

I will learn. 

One day.

The frozen fish section of your local grocer is magical. I made swai for this dish but have used haddock, cod, and salmon before too.

Ingredients:

          1. two fish fillets

          2. sea salt, turmeric, rosemary

Directions:

          1. Cut a large piece of tin foil and place the fillets in the center

          2. Sprinkle with salt, turmeric, and rosemary

          3. Creating a pouch, bring long ends of tin foil together and fold tightly. 

              Fold the smaller ends inward to create a seal.

          4. Place the pouch directly on the oven rack and bake along with the 

              vegetables and oranges (400 for 30 minutes).

          5. Optional: drizzle the excess juice from the fish pouch over the 

              asparagus. So good.

Roast! Toast! And eat warm basil-ly fruit! 

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Rice Pudding

I'd like to tell you that I had a hankering for rice pudding because the chilliness of winter simply called for it. Warm brown sugar. Cinnamon. Sooo winterish.

But January and February have been hijacked by 60-degree days, and so warm indulgent treats beckon without necessity.

I'd also like to persuade you that a gathering of friends arrived to help spoon ridiculous amounts of vanilla-y, nutty goodness from the pot.

Nope. Just me. With a spoon. And an unjustifiable hankering for rice pudding.

Do I own a cow? Nope.

Did I make my own milk? You betcha.

Cashew Milk
Food creds: About.com: Vegetarian foods

Ingredients:
          1/2 cup raw cashews
          2 cups water
          sweetener (honey, stevia, or similiar), optional
          a dash of sea salt (to taste)

Directions:
          1. Soak cashews in water for at least one hour. Drain and rinse.
          2. Put cashews and 2 cups of water in a blender or food processor and
              mix until smooth (about one minute).
          3. Add sweetener and salt, to taste.

I suppose using the term "rice" is a bit misleading. And by a bit, I mean I didn't use rice. At all. Not one grain.

Quinoa. Keen-wa. Say it. Buy it. Eat it. Make up reasons to substitute it for ordinary grains.

It's power-packed. My friend Rachel has a great post on her website, PureGoodness, about the benefits of quinoa and lists other awesome recipes for its use.

As for me, I'll make non-rice pudding out of it. With milk made from nuts.

Quinoa "Rice" Pudding
Food creds: Simply Recipes

Ingredients:
          2 cups water
          1 cup quinoa
          pinch of salt
          2 cups cashew milk
          1 egg
          1/4 cup dark brown sugar
          1 tsp vanilla extract
          1/4 tsp cinnamon

Directions:
           1. Using a medium saucepan, bring water, quinoa, and salt to a boil. 

               Turn to simmer and cook covered for 20-30 minutes. *Quinoa 

               doesn't get as tender as rice does.
           2. Fluff quinoa with a fork and then add the cashew milk.
           3. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the egg and brown sugar. Add half 

               a cup of the quinoa mixture into the bowl on spoonful at a time, 

               whisking thoroughly with each addition.
           4. Add the egg mixture back to the saucepan of quinoa and milk, and 

               stir on low heat for 10 minutes until thickened. Stir in vanilla.

           5. Remove from heat and add cinnamon.
                

               Optional: Add raisins. I topped with granola. Yum. 

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Easy-Shmeasy Guacamole

Hot wax will come off your yoga mat. . . . In case you were wondering.

It seems I am peculiarly prone to ridiculous calamities. Ahem. Like the time I decided to use the automatic car wash only to discover that my sun roof leaks. Profusely. That’s right -- a continual faucet of flowing water. Inside.my.car.  

My faux pas are right up there with the embarrassing yet laugh-out-loud scenarios that entice you to watch sitcoms. Yep. My life’s pretty similar to an episode of I Love Lucy. Minus the red curls. Oh, and the Cuban singer. Don’t have one of those.

It’s totally hereditary. Some sort of recessive gene that makes up the family DNA. Are you doubting? Well, it could be true. I just happen to recall that my mom backed over the heel of my foot with the car once. And my sister impaled the inside of her cheek with her s'more stick when tumbling over a tree stump at the family camping trip. And at the stage of childhood when the tooth fairy was my only source of income, I may or may not have abruptly yanked out my grandmother's loose tooth when she showed me how her's wiggled, too. I thought she might like the spare cash. I dunno.

So I suppose it wasn't at all unusual that one minute I was picking up a candle to blow it out before going to bed, and the next, my mostly asleep arm willed itself to dump liquefied wax all over the yoga mat lying unrolled on the floor. This is my life. Welcome.

This mishap-oriented gal has to have some simple stuff in my food repertoire in order to feel accomplished sometimes. For those occasions, I bust out foods with few ingredients and that don't require much cooking or baking. Essentially, dips. This guacamole recipe is sure to win you over. Even for those who succeed everywhere else in life other than the kitchen. You can do it! And you'll truly feel fulfilled when you crunch on your tortilla chip loaded with that savory green mound of garden goodness. Who knew it'd be so easy to feel like a not-failure?!

Aren't they perdy?



Easy-Shmeasy Guacamole
Food creds: Food Network: Alton Brown

Ingredients:
           3 avocados, halved, seeded, peeled
           1 lime, juiced
           1/2 tsp salt
           1/2 tsp cumin
           1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
           1/2 medium onion, diced
           2 tomatoes, seeded and diced
           1 Tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped
           1 garlic clove, minced

Directions:
           1. In a large bowl, coat avocados with the lime juice. Then drain juice
               into a separate bowl.
           2. Adding the salt, cumin, and cayenne pepper, mash the avocados
               with a potato masher.
           3. Fold in the onions, tomatoes, cilantro, and garlic.
           4. Add 1 tablespoon of the lime juice back into the guacamole.
           5. Let the dip sit at room temperature for 1 hour.

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Black Bean Burgers

I'm not a vegetarian. I'm not. I promise. I love a well prepared fillet mignon and spinach|feta-stuffed chicken every now and again. But I also love healthy veggies, too. So when I stumbled across this recipe in June during a meatless fast I was undertaking, I said "Heck yes! Hand over the beans, please. I will make these." Yep. That's what I said.

So I made them. And then a week later I made them again. And then just last night I made them... again. Obsessed? Me?! Nah. Okay, maybe just a little. But really, it's because they are just that delicious. Super healthy, super filling, super easy to throw together. Who wouldn't be making these at least one night of the week? People with too much time on their hands, that's who. But then again, I don't know too many of those folks. Do you?

I loved these. My mom loved these. My roommates loved these. My 5 year old nephew, not so much. But as suspected, his carnivorous tendencies refused a burger that was not made from meat. You can't win 'em all, I suppose.

The spices really do it for me. It's so flavorful. Cumin and cayenne pepper add just enough excitement to say Wake up, tastebuds. Don't be fooled by a burger with beans. I'll cause you to forget all about those meaty imposters you thought you loved so much. It'll be like healthy codependency. Right? No? Not okay? Alright then.   

And just look at these colors! I've heard it said that you should eat the rainbow. It's true! Vegetables are vibrant and alluring. Ever notice how prepackaged meals are super bland in color? Not this guy. No siree. 





Excuse the naked thumb nail in bottom left corner. Made time for bean burgers that night just not nail polish. 

Black Bean Burgers

Food creds: Annie's eats

Ingredients:

              3/4 cup panko (can be substituted with bread crumbs)

              3 T., plus 2 t. of olive oil, divided

              2 (15 oz) cans black beans, drained and rinsed, divided

              2 large eggs

              1 t. ground cumin

              1/2 t. salt

              1/4 t. cayenne pepper

              1 red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and finely chopped (yellow or
                orange work nicely as well)

              1/4 cup fresh cilantro, finely chopped

              1 shallot, minced (half of a vedalia onion will also work, finely
                 chopped)

Directions:

1. Place a medium sized skillet over medium-high heat. Blend the panko and 2 teaspoons of olive oil with a fork. Add the mixture to the skillet and, stirring frequently, toast until light golden brown. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature.
2. Place 2 1/2 cups of beans in a bowl and mash with a potato masher (or fork) until mostly smooth. In another bowl, combine eggs, 1 tablespoon oil, cumin, salt, and cayenne, and whisk until blended. To the mashed beans, add the egg mixture, toasted panko, remaining 1/2 cup beans, bell pepper, shallots, and cilantro. Stir together until combined.
3. Divide into 6 equal portions and form into patties*. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in large skillet over medium heat. Place 3 patties in skillet and cook until well browned on both sides (about 8-10 minutes total). Remove cooked burgers and repeat with last tablespoon of oil and 3 patties. Serve warm.

*Once divided, you can cook all six or refrigerate the patties that won't be eaten at that time and then cook them the next day. Wrap in either plastic wrap or tin foil.

Or, you can cook all six, refrigerate, and reheat uneaten burgers the next day. Both turn out just as yummy.

Enjoy!

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