Pasta with Kale Pesto

This recipe can be found in the September 2012 edition of Yoga Journal (looks like it may have been reprinted from Vegeterian Times).  SUPER YUMMY!!

1 bunch stemmed, chopped black kale (I used 4 cups of pre-packaged, chopped kale, eliminating steps 1 & 2)
1 c. grated Parm-Reg cheese, plus more for serving
6 tbsp EVOO
1/4 c. pine nuts
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1 lb fettuccine (we used penne)

1.  Bring a large pot of salted water to boil.  Meanwhile fill a large bowl with ice and cold water.
2.  Plunge kale into boiling water for 3 min.  Then transfer to ice water, drain & squeeze out excess water.
3.  Puree kale with 1/2 c. cheese and remaining ingredients (except pasta) until smooth.
4.  Return water to boil and add pasta.  Cook until al dente (I recently learned that the chewier the pasta is, the lower impact it has on your blood sugar!).
5.  Just before pasta is done, remove 2 tbsp pasta cooking water and add to the pesto.  Add remaining 1/2 c. cheese and mix well (don't forget this step!).  
6.  Drain pasta and toss with pesto.  Serve with additional cheese if desired.  ENJOY!

Sweet Potato Salad with Apple and Avocado

Yummy salad!  Got a little funky the next day, so you might either plan to eat it all right away.  (Two people could eat this is a main-dish salad.)

1 lb sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes (about 1 large sweet potato)
1 c frozen corn
1/4 c unsalted hulled pumpkin seeds or pepitas (*I used pine nuts)
1 medium red or green apple, diced (1 cup)
1/2 small onion, finely chopped (1/2 cup)
1/4 c chopped cilantro
2 tbsp. olive oil
1/2 avocado, finely diced

1.  Place sweet potatoes in large saucepan, and cover with water.  Bring to a boil, and cook 3 minutes.  Add corn, and cook 1-2 minutes more, or until potatoes are tender.  Drain in colander and rinse under cold water to cool.  Drain well.

2.  Toast seeds in dry skillet over med-high heat 3-4 minutes, or until they begin to pop.  Cool on plate.

3.  Combine apple, onion, cilantro, and lime juice in large below.  Stir in sweet potatoes, corn, and oil; add salt and pepper to taste.  Stir in avocado and toasted pumpkin seeds just before serving.

Source:  Vegetarian Times presents Healing Foods Cookbook (2011)

Nutrional info: (for 6 servings)
179 calories
3 g protein
9 g total fat (1 g sat fat)
23 g carb
0 mg chol
117 mg sod
4 g fiber
8 g sugars

Quinoa Salad with Orange-Cumin Vinaigrette

We had this last night, and it was yummy!  It kept well for leftovers, too.  I found this is Vegetarian Times presents Healing Foods Cookbook (2011)

1/3 c. sliced almonds (*I used Almond Accents Sea Salt & Cracked Pepper sliced almond)
1 c. quinoa, rinsed through a mesh strainer until the water runs clear, and drained
1/4 tsp. salt
1/3 c. dried apricots, diced small (*I used dried cherries, already on hand)
1/3 c. raisins (*I used currants, already on hand)
1/3 c. fresh orange juice (about 1 large orange)
1 shallot, finely chopped (2 tbsp.) (*I used red onion)
2 tbsp. chopped cilantro
2 tbsp. chopped fresh mint
2 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
1 tbsp. grated orange zest
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. ground coriander
2 tbsp. olive oil
2 oranges, peeled, sections cut from membranes

1.  Toast the almonds in a dry skillet or toaster oven for 4-5 minutes or until pale brown and fragrant, stirring often.

2.  Boil 2 cups water in a medium saucepan.  Add quinoa and salt, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer 15 minutes, or until tender and most of water is absorbed.  Drain (if needed); transfer quinoa to large bowl.  Toss with apricots and raisins.

3.  Whisk together orange juice, shallot, parsley, cilantro, mint, orange zest, cumin, and coriander.  Whisk in oil.  Pour dressing over quinoa, and toss to coat.  Garnish with oranges and almonds.

I'll include the nutritional info:  for 4 servings:
383 cal
9 g prot
14 g total fat (2 sat)
61 g carb
0 mg chol
161 mg sod
7 g fiber
22 g sugars

Easy, Oil-Free Pesto

I checked out the Moosewood Low-fat Favorites cookbook from the library, and my favorite recipe so far is an oil-free pesto, which can be made with basil or cilantro.  The "substitute" is tomatoes.  I did drizzle a little good "finishing" oil over the pesto at the end, but this is purely optional and still uses far less oil (=saturated fat) than traditional recipes.  This is a really easy recipe to remember, too.

Susan's Pesto (makes 1 cup)

1 cup well-packed fresh basil leaves (or cilantro leaves)
1 cup chopped tomatoes
1 garlic clove, pressed or minced
1 tablespoon toasted pine nuts
1/2 tsp salt

Pulse in food processor, scraping down sides from as needed.

We have used the cilantro pesto as a "dressing" for a black bean salad, as well as on a homemade pizza with corn, tomatoes, and pearl mozzarella.

Cilantro Cubes

Do you have the same problem as me?  You need 1/2 cup or so of fresh cilantro for a recipe, but it only comes in huge bunches at the store?  Even if I incorporate 1 or 2 more recipes with cilantro into the week's menu, I still can't seem to use it all before it goes bad.  And even though it's cheap, I just hate to throw that wonderful-smelling stuff away! 

I came across this recipe for cilantro cubes on www.thyhandhathprovided.com, and with some tweaking, it's really useful for using up cilantro AND saving yourself time/money in the long run. 

2 cups cilantro, loosely packed
3 cloves garlic
3-4 tbsp. lime juice*
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 tsp. sea salt
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper

*I buy limes (and lemons, too) by the bag because they are cheaper; I freeze what I don't need right away into ice cubes and store them in a freezer container.  One ice cube is roughly a tablespoon.

Process this in the food processor.  On her website, she recommends scooping the mixture into mini-muffin trays, but this didn't work so well for me.  Despite the heaps of oil in the recipe, the cubes didn't want to pop out.  Next time, I think I will use a tablespoon scoop and scoop them on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper.  Then you freeze them, and when they are solid, put them in a freezer container.  I like ball freezer containers with screwtop lids.  (Alternately, you could put it all in a ziploc freezer bag, seal it, spread it in a thin layer and freeze it flat (at least initially), then break off a piece that suits your needs.)

Here's the beautiful part...next time you make quacamole, a mexican-inspired dish, pico de gallo, etc., just throw one or more defrosted cubes in your recipe instead of buying/chopping fresh cilanto/garlic/lime (unless it just HAS to be fresh).  We just had guac last night, and it was great with the cilantro cube (I did use one extra clove of fresh garlic, though). 

Whole Wheat Coconut Waffles

I got a Belgian waffle maker for Christmas, with the idea that we could save money on frozen waffles while increasing our variety of flavors as well.  By doubling a batch of waffles, I can easily warm frozen waffles up in the toaster oven for a quick breakfast.  Ada loves waffles--actually, anything that can be dipped in syrup. 

To freeze waffles, place cooled waffles on a sheet pan or cooling rack in the freezer until for a couple hours or until they are thoroughly frozen, so they don't stick together in the freezer bag you will store them in. 

These waffles smell awesome!  And the fact that they are wheat 1) gives them more fiber and 2) gives them more structure (they're not floppy, soggy waffles).  This recipe is for 7-8 waffles, assuming you want to freeze some (might as well make it worth your while to get the waffle iron out and clean it afterwards). 

I adapted this from www.cookieandkate.com. 

Ingredients:

• 3 cups whole wheat pastry flour (or 1.5 c AP flour + 1.5 regular whole wheat flour)
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 4 tablespoons sugar
• 2 large eggs (you could probably sub 2 flax eggs: 2 tbsp ground flax seeds + 6 tbsp warm water)
• 3 cups room temperature light coconut milk
• 1/3 cup melted virgin coconut oil
• 1/3 cup canola oil (you could do 1/3 more coconut oil but it's an expensive oil and you still get a great coconut flavor by using half of each)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cardomom

Directions:

Preheat waffle iron.  Mix wet and dry ingredients separately, then together.  Spray waffle iron with non-stick spray or brush on a little canola oil.  One waffle was about 3/4 c batter for our iron.  Enjoy!

Coconut Curry Cabbage

Our favorite Indian restaurant, The Curry Pot, occasionally features this dish on their noonday buffet.  I love both cabbage AND coconut, and was truly surprised to find that they go so well together!  I found several recipes when I searched online, some of which had a very lengthy ingredient list, but this is a truly easy and satisfying one.  It's a bit intimidating to venture into the world of Indian cooking - I have always been a little stymied by it (my food tends to turn out all heat and no spice).  But this one is a winner!  I serve it with some type of dal (I especially like palak dal and naan (which I can get pre-packaged at my local grocery).

Ingredients

• 3 cups green cabbage (finely chopped or shredded using food processor) 
• 2 tbsp oil
• Salt – to taste
• 1/4 tsp mustard seed
• 1/4 tsp cumin seed
• 1/4 tsp Turmeric Powder 
• 1 Curry leaf (I substituted with 1/4 tsp curry powder or to taste)
• 1/4 cup shredded coconut   
• Green Chilles – sliced, to taste (I left these out since my daughter is not a fan of spicy)

In a pan heat the oil over medium heat.  When the oil is hot, add mustard seeds. When they start popping add cumin seeds, curry leaves or powder, and turmeric powder. Add the shredded cabbage into the pan with a generous pinch of salt.  Reduce heat, cover and cook till cabbage is nice and soft, but not mushy.  Add green chilies, shredded coconut, and check for seasoning.  Cover and cook over low heat till the cabbage absorbs all the flavor from coconut.