green stuff

Crispy Tofu Rice Bowls with the Best Thai Peanut Sauce

March 17, 2014 by Erica

Crispy Tofu Rice Bowls with the Best Thai Peanut Sauce

I’m about to be one of those people that is way too excited for a Monday.

You know… the ones who are bouncing around at 8 AM and draw a dark look from you because… Monday. Monday morning. Why so cheerful?

Well, thanks for asking. It’s actually because of this peanut sauce. {Insert ear-to-ear grin here.}

Crispy Tofu Rice Bowls with the Best Thai Peanut Sauce

I recently found myself on a quest to master a Thai peanut sauce recipe.

It started, as these things often do for me, with a restaurant dish. Specifically the peanut sauce at our go-to Thai takeout place. I am head over heels in love with that peanut sauce. They serve it as a salad dressing, as a dipping sauce for spring rolls, and as a sauce over steamed vegetables and rice. It is incredible and I bet you I’ve dreamed about it before. It’s not stretching the truth to say that I go there just for the peanut sauce.

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Chocolate Berry Almond Smoothie

March 14, 2014 by Erica

Chocolate Berry Almond Smoothie

I play with food a lot. –> I go to the grocery store a lot. –> I have a lot of awkward encounters with grocery store cashiers.

Let’s talk about the different forms that awkwardness can take at different stores.

Trader Joe’s cashiers are aggressively jolly and overly excited about every item you’re purchasing. They’ve tried it all and loved it! Sometimes I think they are commissioned.

Whole Foods cashiers are trained to engage you in conversation at the expense of your privacy. A simple “how are you?” won’t suffice. “What are you doing after this?” is much more common. <– Clearly I am going home to cook dinner. It is 6 pm and I am at the grocery store. Let’s put 2 and 2 together.

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Vegan Caesar Panzanella

March 10, 2014 by Erica

Vegan Caesar Panzanella

I think we should celebrate springtime today.

To my friends in the Northeast still caught in the polar vortex, I apologize. Here in Utah, the birds are chirping, the crocuses are blooming, and I’m starting to feel like I should be spending time outside instead of huddled in front of the space heater wearing a robe and a hat.

Daylight savings seems to mark the beginning of spring here. It’s pretty lovely, even though I dread “springing forward” past an hour of sleep. I can hardly believe the sun doesn’t set until 7:30 tonight! That’s a guarantee that I won’t be leaving work in the dark. The mornings are a different story… back to running with my uber-dorky headlight on. But even that won’t last for long.

I hope it’s nice and warm and sunny where you are, too. Otherwise you might be getting mad. Because I thought we could celebrate the milder weather with a fresh springtime salad today.

Vegan Caesar Panzanella

I recently made a vegan Caesar dressing for the first time, and well, it pretty much blew Nate and me away. It tastes different from non-vegan Caesar, but in the same way that any homemade dressing will taste different from store-bought. I honestly don’t think you’d know it was vegan (unless you eat a lot of tahini, in which case you might be able to pick out the tahini flavor). I was afraid to tell Nate (tahini hater numero uno) what it’s made of when he asked, but he wasn’t scared off, which is really saying something. He requests it regularly, and I’ve been finding an excuse to eat it on top of everything, from salad to pasta to roasted veggies. I have to say that this panzanella is probably this dressing’s highest and best use, though.

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Kale Salad with Roasted Chickpeas and Apple-Miso Vinaigrette

January 29, 2014 by Erica

Kale Salad with Roasted Chickpeas and Apple-Miso Vinaigrette

I haven’t been doing a great job of eating my leafy greens lately. Well, actually, it’s my dark leafy greens I haven’t been eating. For some reason I’ve been on a lettuce kick… maybe using up the the leftover lettuce from all those burgers? Normally, I’d choose kale or spinach over regular ol’ Romaine any day. It recently occurred to me that I couldn’t remember the last time I’d bought kale. Obviously I had to remedy the situation immediately!

And I remedied it the best way I know how – by giving my kale a massage.

Kale Salad with Roasted Chickpeas and Apple-Miso Vinaigrette

A while ago I confessed that I didn’t really get the “massaged kale salad” thing. Aaaand I also confessed that I was immediately sold on the whole deal, because it really makes such a difference in texture. It softens the kale up and makes it way less jaw-achingly fibrous. If you typically skip kale salads, I beg you to give your kale a little massage! You just might turn over a new leaf… har har har.

We’re improving the kale’s texture even more by slicing it into thin ribbons. That way we can make this into a chopped salad, which is my favorite way to eat salad lately because of all the texture you can get in one bite. Start with some kale you can really sink your teeth into, and add crispy apples, crunchy walnuts, chewy roasted chickpeas, and creamy blue cheese to each bite. WHAT could be better, I ask you?! Ah yes… tossing the whole thing with a dreamy dressing of apple cider vinegar and miso.

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Roasted Butternut Squash Chopped Salad with Honey-Lime Dressing

January 15, 2014 by Erica

Roasted Butternut Squash Chopped Salad with Honey-Lime Dressing

I’m glad you were all so intrigued by Monday’s carrot butter recipe! Sarah brought up a good point – that carrots in a sweet recipe aren’t that foreign of a concept after all… just think of carrot cake. Duh! Why didn’t I think of that? So none of you are allowed to be skeptical of carrot butter any more. Carrot cake in vegan dip form! :)

Today, though, we’ve still got some orange in our food, but it’s not cake (or even carrots). It’s a chopped salad with roasted butternut squash! Mmmm.

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