Roasted Yams & Orange Slices with Ginger, Garlic, and Honey

I've been mentally chewing on this recipe for a while now. I knew I wanted to do something with yams and oranges ever since my mom told me that she secretly adds a splash of orange juice to her candied yams at Thanksgiving - sorry for spilling the beans, mom! Her candied yams are usually the highlight of the Thanksgiving meal for me, so I knew it would be a winning combo from the start. What I didn't know was what the heck else to add. I bought the yams and oranges and watched as they sat in sadness day after day until finally I knew I needed to use them or lose them. In the end I decided to add ginger and garlic to spice things up a bit, and drizzled the whole thing with honey to kick up the natural sweetness of the yams and oranges. It turned out looking gorgeous and tasting even better. The sweet caramelization of the yams and honey mixed with pungent orange, ginger, and garlic flavors were spot on. Next time I might try adding some red pepper flakes for a bit of heat, or some cardamom for another layer of spice, or maybe I'll just leave it as is. It was pretty darn good.

Thai Spicy Hummus

Another spicy hummus recipe. Are you surprised? I know you're not! I did things a little differently this time to keep it interesting, though, using Thai inspired ingredients instead of the same old same. Thai food is one of my absolute favorites, and I don't get to have it nearly as often as I would like. This is a great way to bring all those great flavors together in an easy to make dip for chips, veggies, pitas, sandwiches, or whatever your heart desires.

You'll notice in this recipe strong coconut and peanut favors with a nice spicy kick from the cayenne, jalapeno, and sriracha; complimented well by the lime, cilantro, and cumin. There are really so many ways you could take a recipe like this, depending on your tastes, so don't be afraid to experiment. In the future I'm hoping to try variations using lemongrass, Thai basil, and curry. I'd love to hear what you come up with!

Perfect Vegetarian Gravy

I love the holidays. LOVE them. I like the camaraderie, the pretty lights, the goody bags that suddenly appear on your desk while no one is looking, the chaos, the dysfunctional get-togethers - all of it. So it made sense to me that I would host a holiday dinner this year, a decision that took me on a teensy roller coaster of emotions as I simultaneously excited over cooking a great meal for the people I love, and agonized over how to make our non-vegetarian, and REALLY non-vegetarian guests, still like me afterward.

Cheesy Twice Baked Potatoes with Black Beans & Olives

Have you ever bought a bag of potatoes, but couldn’t think of anything to do with them? Of course not! You can do practically anything with potatoes! Boil em, mash em, stick em in a stew (sorry, I couldn’t resist). They can be initially time consuming, but if you bake them in advance, you can quickly make roasted potatoes, homemade French fries, potato salad, and now these delicious twice baked potatoes. You’re welcome.

I got the idea for these from a cheesy bread recipe my mom used to make when I was a kid. She would scoop out the inside of a long piece of French bread, mix it with cheddar cheese, red onions, olives, and mayonnaise, then put it back in and bake it until bubbly and delicious. It was always the first thing to go at any party, and I thought it would be easy to adapt to twice baked potatoes. I was planning to make them ahead of time for dinner tomorrow, but we ended up eating most of them tonight. I think that means they’re blog worthy!

Perfect Pasta Salad

Right now I’m on a serious pasta salad kick. I love it. I eat it for lunch every day…then I come home and have it again for dinner. Every day, you say? Yes (well, mostly for the last week anyway). Why, might you ask? Because it’s delicious! Also because it’s super-duper easy to make, and it’s ideal for leftovers (you don’t even have to heat it up, for goodness’ sake!). Are you crazy, you might think? That is yet to be determined, BUT, in my defense, this is a much better kick than the strawberry cake kick I was on a few weeks ago, or the McDonald’s dipped cone kick before that, or the hummus and spicy pretzel kick before that – none of those were doing me any favors. I’m also on a grape kick, and a carrot/cucumber kick at the moment, but I don’t have any recipes for those. You may or may not have come to a conclusion about my sanity at this point, so I will move on.

This recipe is pretty simple – the only thing you have to cook is the pasta! (are you on board with me yet?) I use a mix of fresh veggies and some favorite preserved items, like kalamata olives and marinated artichoke hearts. The thing I love is that it’s really adaptable for your taste preferences; and there’s nothing better than coming home and NOT having to cook dinner because it’s already waiting in the fridge.

Sweet Roasted Acorn Squash

This recipe started as most of them do, with meanderings in the grocery store. As usual, I was in the produce section picking out my week's larder, sorting through yams and gathering up potatoes, when my eyes wandered to the plump little acorn squashes nearby. I was intrigued by their shape, so without thinking much about what I would do with it, I nestled one in my basket and continued with my shopping.

A few days later when I realized that I actually had to cook the thing, I started looking for recipes online. I started out thinking I would make a savory dish, possibly stuffing it with rice and fresh herbs, but I started seeing all kinds of recipes that called for butter and sugar instead - it didn't take me long to jump on that train and pull out of the station! And, despite my husband's skepticism once it came out of the oven, it was delicious! I can't wait to make this one again.

Baked Asparagus with Sea Salt and Lime

If you're anything like me, then you probably have some fall back side dishes that don't really taste that great but never get an upgrade because they're quick and easy and comfortable. Asparagus has been one of those side dishes for me - I always prepared it in one of two ways: steamed, or baked with lemon slices...adventurous, I know.

As you may have guessed, I recently upgraded my lowly side dish and wanted to share. Purely by improvisation I used lime juice instead of lemon slices one night when I forgot to pick up lemons at the store (see, being forgetful can have its good points!). And bingo-bango: I had a yummy new side dish! Honestly, I really can't believe what a big difference this small change made.

Impromptu Greek Salad

Hello friends! I’m leaving for Europe tomorrow (yay!!), so I thought I would leave you with a quick post before disappearing for 2 weeks! This one is super simple, and I’m sure many of you have had some variation before. It’s one of my summer favorites.

Tomatoes and cucumbers are at their peak during this time of the year, and this salad is the perfect way to take advantage. It’s a cool and refreshing snack or side dish on those extra hot days (106 yesterday?!), and I often just eat it for lunch when I’m feeling lazy and need to get rid of my fruit stand bounty.  I always buy more fruits and veggies than I need and then scramble to find uses for them before they start to wilt, dimple, shrivel, and other unsavory things that make me feel guilty. It all just looks so good; I can’t help myself!

Vegetarian Cornbread Stuffing

Okay, it’s official – I have a serious problem with procrastination! I thought I learned my lesson after all of October went by and not a single thing pumpkiny, chocolaty, spooky, or even the slightest bit orange came out of my kitchen! I swore to myself, November will be different, Thanksgiving will not go unnoticed! Well, here we are on the eve of the big day, and I have only one recipe to share. I guess that’s why I’m the scattered cook and not the perfectly organized and on top of things cook,

Moving on! I’ve been rather anxious about Thanksgiving this year, since it’s my first year braving the turkey carcass filled day as a vegetarian. It may be a delicious, melt in your mouth turkey carcass, but carcass all the same! And don’t get me started on the gravy…I love gravy.

Okay, so maybe I'm throwing myself a little pity party here, but I really can’t feel too sorry for myself. Although there will be a turkey on the table (since I'm not the one cooking), all the other dishes will be completely veg friendly. This is due to the fact that my amazing mom, who will be cooking this Thanksgiving meal for the most part, is wonderfully supportive and has offered to adapt her classics for me (no one messes with the bird, though). She’s even making vegetarian gravy!  Have I mentioned that my mom is an incredible cook???!!!! (yes, it warrants 3 question marks and 4 exclamation points)

That brings me to this lovely recipe (I nearly got off topic, there!), which is a vegetarian version of my mother’s famous cornbread stuffing. Feel free to gorge yourself until you feel like a stuffed turkey :)

Magically Disappearing Guacamole

If there’s one thing I love about get-togethers, it’s all the yummy appetizers I don’t normally take the time to make at home. One of my favorites is guacamole.

Now let me make this clear, I’m referring to the real stuff here, not the pre-packaged, store bought “guacamole,” which I regrettably bought several months ago. I put it in quotes because, unbeknownst to me, it wasn’t actually guacamole. In fact, I don’t think it even contained avocados in any form. 

After pulling back the lid and seeing the weird, goo-like consistency glaring back at me (it was almost frightening…almost), I realized the container actually read “guacamole flavored dip,” which could mean any number of things in the tricky marketing world. Even worse than the consistency were the ingredients listed on the back, half of which I could not pronounce, and all of which were not very tasty.

So long story short, I decided to find a recipe and make my own, and I’ve never looked back…I’m afraid to; that goo was the stuff of food-lovers’ nightmares!

Easy Avocado Jalapeno Spread

One of my all-time favorite snacks has to be toasted bread with avocado mashed up on top, and maybe a sprinkle of coarse salt and pepper. The crunch of warm, toasted bread with creamy, smooth avocado is delightful in its simplicity. Its rustic nature appeals to me, and I also take a certain amount of pleasure from smashing the avocado into all the nooks and crannies (that's not strange, right?). 

Of course, I’m an avocado lover to begin with, often sneaking it straight out of its shell before my fellow avocado-loving husband realizes he’s not getting his fair share, so maybe it’s just me. Either way, I recently tried adding in bits of chopped jalapeno, so I thought I would let you in on my little secret – it turned out delish!

Grilled Portobello Mushroom “Steaks”

Is calling them “steaks” going a bit too far? Perhaps, but that’s what I thought of when I was grilling these yummy portobello mushroom slices. I spotted a tidy package of these beauties while perusing the produce department recently. I almost walked right past them, but their gleaming white flesh, dark gills, and perfectly curled edges looked so pretty…how could I not throw them in the basket? My mom had recently told me about a grilled mushroom burger she had seen on the food network, and grilling seemed like the perfect thing to do, so in they went!

Making them was super easy. They were the focus of our meal, but they would also work great as a side, would be perfect for burgers or sandwiches, and would be even more fantastic with some melted cheese on top…darn, now I’m hungry again!

Tzatziki Sauce

A few weeks ago my sister made the suggestion that I try making homemade tzatziki sauce for the blog. For those unfamiliar, it’s a Greek appetizer made with yogurt and cucumber, and works great as a dip or spread. I wanted to make Vegetarian Gyros last night, which would not be complete without the cool and creamy taste of tzatziki, so I decided to finally take her advice and give it a try! I found a recipe that I liked on tammysrecipes.com, and the instructions seemed simple enough, so I got started.

Tomato Basil Bruschetta with Whole Grain Bread

Ever have one of those appetizers that make you wish you hadn’t ordered your main dish? It tastes so good; you just can’t stop eating it. I’m sure you’re familiar with the type…do I have to mention chips and salsa…bread baskets…Cheddar Bay Biscuits (why do you torture me, Red Lobster?)…or really any kind of bread and dip combo? Bruschetta is one of those appetizers, and this is especially true during the summer when tomatoes are ripe, vibrant, and full of flavor. Last night was no exception. Since we had so much bread left over from our shopping trip a few days ago, I decided to whip up these scrumptious toasted treats to go with dinner. Needless to say, we had a lot of leftovers today from the main course!

Spicy Hummus

Yesterday was a long and draining day. I was in a grumbly mood and definitely craving some comfort food, so I decided to whip up some yummy hummus, or yummus as I like to call it, while waiting for dinner to finish cooking (I made my roasted vegetable medley again - so good!). I discovered a really great hummus recipe several months ago and made a few alterations to it, as usual, to fit my liking. Their recipe called for 1/3 cup olive oil, which I reduced to 5 Tbs (mainly because I kept using up all of the olive oil!); I also added more lemon juice and a tablespoon of pine nuts, which made an excellent addition. 

One thing is for sure, this yummus doesn't hang around very long. Garlicky, spicy, a little tangy, and oh so tasty; this dip is great with vegetables, crackers, or chips (I really enjoy it with tortilla chips); and also makes a terrific addition to sandwiches.

Quick Tip: Cinnamon Corn

I've found over the years that most people are traditionalists when it comes to corn on the cob: butter, salt, and perhaps some pepper. Why mess with a good thing? Admittedly, I only started putting cinnamon on my corn by happenstance a few years ago, and probably wouldn't have tried it otherwise, but now it just doesn't taste right without it! The pungency of the cinnamon mixed with the sweetness of the corn almost acts as a dessert, and the flavor is reminiscent of churros, or Spanish doughnuts. It's definitely a great way to satiate the palate without a heavy dessert!

"Everything" Cheese Spread

Last night my husband and I were at our local grocery store. I’ve been eyeing these delectable looking everything bagels in the bakery department for a while now, and decided to go ahead and pick them up for breakfast this morning. I could smell the onion and garlic seeping through the package, and could practically feel the poppy seeds in my mouth, the way they pop and crunch with every bite. I was so ready to toss them in my basket when I turned them around to look at the nutritional information (I like to torture myself): 330 calories, and only 3 grams of fiber. Next to them were the whole wheat variety (staring me down with their bran crumbles on top) with only 280 calories, and 9 grams of fiber. I liked what I was reading on the whole wheat variety more, but I was practically drooling over the everything version. Now since I don’t often buy bagels, I was okay with splurging on something not entirely healthy, but then I had a thought: what if I buy the whole wheat bagels (which I also really like) and make an everything-type spread to go on top! Problem solved.