Red Lentils with Mixed Greens

2 cups vegetable broth
1 cup dried red lentils, rinsed and drained
2 tsp dried rosemary, chopped
7 Tbs olive oil, divided
1 lb baby bok choy, thinly sliced, stems and leaves separated
6 cups baby arugula
2 Tbs fresh ginger, grated
3 Tbs red wine vinegar
1 Tbs Dijon mustard

1) Bring broth, lentils and rosemary to a boil in a saucepan. Reduce heat to medium-low, and cook 15 to 20 minutes, or until lentils are tender. Drain.
2) Heat 1 Tbs olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add bok choy stems and saute 2 minutes. Add bok choy leaves and baby arugula, and saute 3 to 4 minutes, or until wilted. Stir in ginger and cook 30 seconds, or until fragrant.
3) In a small bowl, combine the remaining 6 Tbs olive oil with the vinegar and mustard, whisking well.
4) In a large serving bowl, combine the lentils, greens and vinaigrette. Serve warm.

Review: This originally called for mustard greens, which I decided I don't like and adds too much mustard flavor. I had decided the best substitute would be collard greens. However, the selection at the grocery store was wilted/gross and so I settled for baby arugula. Now, I can't imagine it with any other green. The bitterness of the arugula was the perfect green to balance the mustardy vinaigrette and savory lentils. I really liked this dish and it was fairly quick/easy to make!

Adapted from:
http://www.vegetariantimes.com/recipe/red-lentils-with-mixed-greens/

Blueberry Julep

1oz bourbon
1/4 cup fresh blueberries
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp brown sugar
4oz seltzer

1) In a chilled rocks glass, muddle blueberries with the lemon juice and brown sugar.
2) Add ice and pour in the bourbon and seltzer,
3) Garnish with a blueberry skewer

Review: My drink was so ugly compared to the picture in the magazine article I had saved. This was pretty ugly and the seltzer foamed like crazy around the blueberries and sugar. This didn't have much flavor other than watered down bourbon. I was expecting something a little more exotic and was disappointed. Am I missing something?

Adapted from:
http://www.womenshealthmag.com/weight-loss/low-calorie-cocktails?page=2

Zucchini with Spicy Romesco & Wilted Chard

1 bunch Swiss chard, stems removed & leaves torn into bite-sized pieces
3 Tbs olive oil, divided
3 Tbs lemon juice, divided
3 red bell peppers
3 roma tomatoes
1 clove garlic, peeled
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/4 cup raw almonds
1/4 cup raw hazelnuts
4 large zucchini, peeled

1) To make the wilted chard: Toss together the Swiss chard leaves, 1 Tbs olive oil and 1 Tbs lemon juice in a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper, if desired. Set aside to marinate.
2) To make the spicy romesco: Place bell peppers, tomatoes, garlic, chili powder, red pepper flakes, almonds, hazelnuts, 2 Tbs olive oil and 2 Tbs lemon juice in a food processor. Pulse until all ingredients are well combined but still chunky.
3) Slice zucchini into noodles with a spiral slicer.
4) To serve, make a bed of wilted chard, place zucchini on the bed of chard, then top with spicy romesco.

Review: This was another great use of my Veggetti. However, this was fairly bland. I didn't think the romesco was spicy at all (and I used more than is recommended here when it came to the spices). I was quite underwhelmed and not sure what I should do to make this tastier.

Adapted from:
http://www.vegetariantimes.com/recipe/zucchini-with-spicy-romesco-and-wilted-chard/

Broiled Zucchini Salad

3 medium zucchini, spiral sliced

French grey salt 

freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted

1) Spread zucchini onto a baking sheet sprayed with olive oil cooking spray. Sprinkle with the salt and pepper. Place under a broiler for 10-15 minutes, or until browned. Watch carefully, as it can burn quickly. 

2) Serve topped with pine nuts. 

Review: My nieces got me a Veggetti for Christmas. I looked forward to using it, but this was my first opportunity to use it. As you can see in the picture, there are three things produced from this tool. On the left is the spiral cut zucchini, the middle is the zucchini core that gets pushed through the middle of the veggetti and on the right is the end of the zucchini that becomes a useless top-shaped zucchini bit. It was a lot of fun to make the zucchini and was quick to do. It made a quick side dish, which was savory and so tasty. I served it as a side with some vegan seafood.  I've been loving those products and got too trusting, since they're vegan and gluten free. These 'crab' cakes had nutmeg in them and I didn't know this until I'd already eaten them. Mike gets my leftovers and I get to spend my night miserably sick from my nutmeg allergy. Eesh.

Adapted from:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/michael-chiarello/grilled-zucchini-ribbon-salad-recipe.html

Thai Iced Coffee Popsicles

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup water

1/4 tsp almond extract

1 cup strongly brewed coffee, cooled (prepared with 1/2 tsp ground cardamom added to coffee grinds)

2 Tbs coconut milk creamer

1) Boil sugar and water in saucepan, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and add almond extract.

2) Combine syrup with remaining ingredients. Distribute into popsicle molds. Freeze for 8 hours.

Review: I can only make coffee using a Keurig. I added a 1/2 tsp ground cardamom to a reusable pod and it was clearly too much for just a cup of coffee. I believe the 1/2 tsp is for making a whole pot of coffee. It's a strong flavor and these popsicles strongly smelled of cardamom. However, I got a great taste of the Thai flavor. The almond extract balanced well and the coconut creamer worked well. The recipe pictured a popsicle that had layers of colors. I can't manage anything that fancy!!

Adapted from:

http://recipes.womenshealthmag.com/Recipe/thai-iced-coffee-pop.aspx

Fines Herbes Potato Rosti

2 large russet potatoes, peeled and roughly chopped
1/2 cup fresh chives
1/2 cup fresh parsley
1/4 cup fresh tarragon
2 Tbs olive oil, divided

1) Toss all ingredients into the food processor. Pulse just a few times, until all ingredients are chopped and potatoes resemble a grated texture.
2) Heat 1 Tbs oil in a 9-inch skillet over medium heat. Press potato mixture into pan, and cook 10 minutes, or until bottom of rosti is golden brown. Loosen bottom and sides of rosti, then slide onto plate. Add remaining 1 Tbs oil to pan, flip rosti back into pan (browned side up), and cook 10 to 15 minutes more, or until second side of rosti is golden brown. Loosen rosti, then slide onto serving plate.

Review: For some reason, I thought this would be fancier than it was. It's really just one giant, herbed hashbrown. Regardless, I found it very tasty and ate the whole thing. That's not very healthy and I didn't have leftovers for lunch tomorrow. Oops.

Adapted from:
http://www.vegetariantimes.com/recipe/fines-herbes-potato-rosti/

Asian Kale, Green Bean & Tofu Salad

6oz green beans, trimmed and cut in half
1 bunch kale, stems removed, leaves torn into bite-size pieces
1 orange bell pepper, cut into thin strips
4 Tbs toasted sesame oil
4 Tbs rice vinegar
2 Tbs brown sugar
2 Tbs soy sauce
1 Tbs chile-garlic sauce, or sambal oelek
8oz smoked baked tofu, diced

1) Place beans and 1/4 cup water in skillet. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cover and cook 3 minutes, or until beans are just tender. Drain, and rinse under cold water to cool. Drain again.
2) In a large bowl, massage the kale until tender and reduced in size. Toss with green beans, bell pepper and tofu.
3) In a small bowl, whisk together the sesame oil, rice vinegar, brown sugar, soy sauce and chile-garlic sauce. Pour dressing over salad and toss to coat.

Review: I've been making a ton of Asian foods lately. It's such a great food option for me. The recipes have been wheat-free (check your soy sauce, though!), vegan, easy and tasty. That's rare to find in any other cuisine. But, it also means I've been going through ingredients that once upon a time were a novel ingredient in my kitchen. I keep emptying bottles of toasted sesame oil (it used to rot in my fridge from lack of use!) and I'm about to empty a bottle of rice vinegar! This recipe is another fine example of how well this type of food is for me. This was a quick, easy salad to make. It's a little spicy, but very savory and filling. I thought of using hot chili sesame oil instead, but ultimately forgot to do so. Maybe next time!

Adapted from:
http://www.vegetariantimes.com/recipe/asian-kale-green-bean-and-tofu-salad/