Warm Potato Salad

3 lbs baby red potatoes
8oz haricots verts, trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces
3 Tbs olive oil
4 Tbs white balsamic vinegar
4 Tbs chopped fresh dill
4 cups loosely packed baby spinach

1) Cook potatoes in pot of boiling, salted water for 8 minutes, or until tender. Add green beans during last minute of cooking.
2) Meanwhile, whisk together the oil and vinegar in a small bowl. Set aside.
3) Drain potatoes and green beans. Toss with oil/vinegar mixture and dill. Season with salt, if desired. Serve warm on a bed of spinach.

Review: This was tasty, but didn't wow me. It would make a great side dish, but isn't sufficient for a main dish. I do like the white balsamic vinegar and have few opportunities to use it. That was the biggest positive to this dish.

Adapted from:
http://www.vegetariantimes.com/recipe/german-style-warm-potato-salad/

Kasha Stir-Fry

Sauce
3 Tbs lime juice
2 Tbs tamari
2 Tbs teriyaki sauce
2 tsp brown sugar
1 tsp chile-garlic sauce

Stir-Fry
3 Tbs coconut oil
2 cups peas
1 small head cauliflower, cut into florets
1/2 tsp kosher salt
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbs fresh ginger, minced
3 cups cold, cooked kasha
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 Tbs cilantro, chopped

1) To make sauce: Combine lime juice, tamari, teriyaki sauce, brown sugar, chile-garlic sauce and 1 Tbs water in a small bowl.
2) To make stir-fry: Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add peas, cauliflower and salt; increase heat to high, and stir-fry 3 minutes or until vegetables are lightly browned. Add garlic and ginger, and stir-fry another 30 seconds. Add kasha and season with salt. Stir-fry 2 minutes.
3) Push grains aside and pour eggs into clear spot in pan. Stir-fry until eggs are set. Remove pan from heat, stir in sauce and top with cilantro.

Review:  This recipe called for buckwheat groats. I put it off, since I had no idea of where to buy this ingredient. However, about a month ago we visited the Nepalese market in town and they had a bag of buckwheat. I cooked it up the other day and it looked nothing like the pictures on google (I had to look up the cooking instructions!). After quite a bit of research, I found that I had cooked buckwheat that still had the hull on it - which is inedible. It's used for making flour, which is not what I needed. So, it all went in the trash. This recipe also called for toasting the *hulled* buckwheat groats. This led to the discovery that you can buy pretoasted buckwheat, which is referred to as kasha, which is easily found in the Kosher section of the grocery store. Eesh. So, I bought kasha and refer to it as such in this recipe!! Notably, there are many references to kasha in Seinfeld - mostly discussing the smell. It smells a lot like potting soil, very dirty and earthy. It tastes pretty wonderful, though. I could easily have eating a bowl of this without the vegetables, just the kasha, sauce and eggs (breakfast?!). I did feel guilty in realizing I would need to reheat this at work for lunch, causing a huge stink in the offices. However, it's not as bad as my coworkers who microwave leftover fish!!!!!

Adapted from:
http://www.vegetariantimes.com/recipe/buckwheat-stir-fry-with-tiny-vegetables-and-eggs/

Green Curry Stir-Fry with Cashews

2 Tbs coconut oil
16oz baby bella mushrooms, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp fresh ginger, minced
1 lb haricots verts, trimmed and cut into thirds
13.5oz can light coconut milk
3 Tbs green curry paste
2 Tbs lemon juice
4 Tbs tamari sauce
1 cup roasted, salted cashews
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

1) Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and season with salt, if desired. Cover and cook 6 minutes, or until mushrooms begin to brown.
2) Uncover pan, stir in garlic and ginger, and saute 2 minutes. Add haricots verts and stir-fry 3 minutes.
3) Whisk together the coconut milk, curry paste, lemon juice and tamari in a small bowl. Add curry mixture to skillet. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 2 minutes, or until sauce has thickened.
4) Garnish with cashews and cilantro.

Review: I chose to serve this up over sprouted red jasmine rice. It helped balance the heat of the curry. I also opted to use haricots verts instead of regular green beans, simply because I like them better. This was a delicious, spicy meal. There is something magical that happens when blending tamari with coconut (be it oil or milk). It's amazingly savory and tasty. That, combined with the heat of the curry, the saltiness of the cashews and the veggies - WONDERFUL.

Adapted from:
http://www.vegetariantimes.com/recipe/green-curry-stir-fry-with-cashews/

Chorizo & Potatoes Tinga

6 corn tortillas
4 Tbs olive oil, divided
12oz Trader Joe's vegan chorizo, crumbled
1/2 medium onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
4 red potatoes, peeled and diced
2 15oz cans diced fire-roasted tomatoes
1 Tbs dried oregano
1 tsp chipotle chile powder
1 tsp chili powder
1 avocado, diced

1) Preheat the oven to 400F. On a baking sheet, spread out the corn tortillas. Baste both sides of each tortilla with 2 Tbs of the olive oil. Bake for 10-15 minutes, turning halfway through, until both sides are browned and crisp. Keep a watchful eye, as they can quickly burn.
2) Heat the remaining 2 Tbs of oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion, garlic and potatoes. Cover and stir occasionally, until potatoes are tender and well-browned, about 10 minutes.
3) Add chorizo, tomatoes, oregano, chipotle chile powder and chili powder to the potato mixture. Stir until well blended. Cover and cook another 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4) To serve, place tortillas on a plate or shallow bowl, top with chorizo and potato tinga, and top with avocado.

Review: I greatly altered the original recipe, as I had no desire to grate the potatoes (though one could buy a bag of frozen hashbrowns if that's the texture you want). The browned potatoes greatly added a savory flavor that is unmatched. This recipe wasn't very hot on the spicy scale, but definitely had the spicy flair of flavor. This was absolutely delicious and made a ton of food.

Adapted from:
http://www.vegetariantimes.com/recipe/chorizo-and-potatoes-tinga/

Egg & Veggie Salad with Dill Yogurt Sauce

5 boiled eggs, quartered
1 lb baby purple potatoes, quartered
1 head orange cauliflower, chopped into bite-sized pieces
1 zucchini, diced
1 bunch radishes, peeled and diced
3/4 cup plain coconut milk yogurt
1 cup fresh dill, chopped
2 Tbs olive oil
1 Tbs white balsamic vinegar

1) In a large saute pan, bring 1/4 cup of water to a boil. Add potatoes and cover. Steam for 10 minutes. Add cauliflower, cover and steam for an additional 4 minutes, or until vegetables are tender. Drain and rinse under cold water until the vegetables are no longer hot.
2) Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the yogurt, dill, olive oil and white balsamic vinegar. Whisk until well blended.
3) In a large bowl, combine all of the vegetables with the eggs. Top with dill yogurt sauce. Best served cold.

Review: I had more vegetables than the recipe called for, so my dill yogurt sauce didn't stretch far. This was incredibly delicious, though the sauce was a bit sweet for my liking. It was a fancier egg/potato salad that was definitely healthier. However, it wasn't very filling. I think it may have been more filling if I'd had more sauce which adds some more fat to the dish.

Adapted from:
http://www.vegetariantimes.com/recipe/egg-and-veggie-salad-with-dill-green-goddess-dressing/

Green Quinoa Salad

1 cup quinoa
1 lb asparagus, trimmed & cut into bite-sized pieces
2 cups frozen fava beans
1 cup frozen petite green peas
2 cups baby spinach
1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted
1 cup prepared pesto
2 Tbs lemon juice

1) Preheat the oven to 425F. Spread asparagus on an oiled baking sheet. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until tender.
2) Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, bring 2 cups of water to a boil over medium heat. Add quinoa, cover and reduce heat to low-medium. Cook for 15 minutes, until water is absorbed.
3) In a large pot, bring 6 cups of water to a boil over medium heat. Add fava beans and peas, blanching for 3-4 minutes. Drain and set aside.
4) In a large bowl, combine the baby spinach with the quinoa while it's still warm, so the spinach will wilt. Mix in the fava beans, peas, asparagus, pesto and lemon juice. Top with pine nuts.

Review: This was soooo green that it earned a new name from the original recipe. It also tasted very green. I know this was healthy, but it was fortunately quite tasty. It was a little busy, as the flavors seemed to compete with each other, so I probably won't make it again.

Adapted from:
http://www.closetcooking.com/2015/06/asparagus-and-pea-spinach-pesto-quinoa.html

Haricots Verts & Radishes with Black Sesame Dressing

1 cup brown basmati rice
1 lb haricots verts, trimmed and halved
1/3 cup roasted black sesame seeds
4 Tbs soy sauce
3 Tbs maple syrup
2 Tbs rice vinegar
1/2 tsp cayenne
8 radishes, thinly sliced

1) In a small saucepan, cook rice according to package directions. Set aside.
2) In a small bowl, blend the soy sauce, maple syrup, rice vinegar and cayenne together to make the dressing.
3) In a large pot, bring 4 quarts of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add haricots verts and blanch 2 to 3 minutes, or until crisp-tender. Drain in colander.
4) To serve, layer in a bowl, starting with rice, topped with haricots verts, topped with radishes, sprinkled with sesame seeds and drizzled with dressing. Serve warm, but also great as a cold leftover.

Review: I am such a fan of haricots verts and love when Costco has them in stock!! This was a quick, easy dish to make (once I trimmed off all the ends and cut them in half!!). The maple syrup was an unexpected flavor for this type of dish, as I would have been more prepared for sesame oil. However, it didn't taste super sweet, but added a certain intrigue to the flavor. Overall, it was a good dish. The original recipe didn't use rice. That's fine if you want a side dish to a bigger meal, but it needs the rice to make it filling enough to stand on it's own.

Adapted from:
http://www.vegetariantimes.com/recipe/haricots-verts-and-radishes-with-black-sesame-dressing/