TAHINI STIR-FRY WITH QUINOA

Limited sleep [such is the woe of being a parent] begs this to be a really simple post to mirror a simple recipe.

I tend to rely on a variety of stir-fries for my lunches throughout the week. Getting a meal in while tending to two active, demanding girls is hard enough. Cooking nearly impossible. So salads, stir-fries, and smoothies generally round out my daily meals.

During the summer we put away quite a few veggies from the Farmer's Market and our own garden. When these run out, as they inevitably do, I rely on store-bought frozen. Organic ensures the product itself is not genetically modified but doesn't protect the product from being owned by a GMO-based company. Whenever you can, try to find out who the parent company is and what they're standard practices include. Even better, ask your local health food store if they carry any local, organic frozen [or storage] produce. You may be surprised with what you find!

[THE RECIPE]

2 medium mushrooms, chopped
1/2 a medium onion, diced
2 T. extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, minced or granulated garlic powder
A good 2 - 3 cups of veggies of choice, fresh or frozen [for this recipe I use frozen beans and frozen asparagus]
2 tsp. tahini
splash of white wine vinegar
sea salt, to taste
quinoa, cooked
raw sesame seeds, garnish

In a large skillet, saute mushrooms and onion in olive oil over medium-high heat until onion is just transparent and mushrooms slightly browned. Add fresh or frozen veggies and saute until just soft. Add tahini, a large splash of white wine vinegar, garlic or granulated garlic powder, and salt to taste [I tend to make this recipe on the saltier side]. Mix well.

Serve over warm quinoa and garnish with sesame seeds.

EARTH DAY: LET'S CELEBRATE!

Lately I have been combing all of my recipe books for plant-based, whole foods recipes using mainly local, seasonal ingredients [see this post to understand why local has become really important to me]. Turns out there are quite a few out there.

In honor of earth day I thought I would share one of my favorites. It's extremely simple, filling, and unexpectedly delicious. This recipe comes compliments of Super Natural Every Day by Heidi Swanson [author of the blog "101 Cookbooks" and Super Natural Cooking] and happens to be on the cover of the cookbook.

This earth day may you find yourself outside admiring the flowers, trees, grass, bugs, birds, dirt, air, water, and all else natural and good within this planet. May you gaze up at the stars in awe that something so much bigger than you and me is going on around us. May a deep gratitude flow from you and may you find ways to preserve what you've seen.

And may you whisper a prayer of thanks to the creator of it all.

Happy Earth Day.


[THE RECIPE]

6 -8 small potatoes or 3 -4 larger ones, cut into small cubes
1 - 2 tbsp. of extra virgin olive oil
pinch or two of finely ground sea salt
a few grinds of black pepper
1 medium size sweet onion, finely diced
3 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
3 - 4 c. of cooked white [or Northern] beans. drained and rinsed

1 head of green or purple cabbage, thinly sliced

In a large cast iron skillet or wok, heat oil. When oil is warm, not smoking, add potatoes. Sprinkle with sea salt and pepper. Cook until just soft, stirring frequently, about 5 - 7 minutes. When soft, add onion and garlic and cook an additional 3 - 5 minutes. Add cabbage, mix, and cook until cabbage is soft with a little crunch remaining [or to your preferred texture]. Don't worry if the cabbage seems to overflow. It will shrink as it cooks. Stir occasionally. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve immediately.

This will make a large batch allowing for leftovers!

Spring Vegetarian Stir-Fry

This past week I've been doing a 10 day elimination detox. The great thing was, I could have any vegetable almost all of the days. I came up with this green veggie (local and/or organic) spring stir-fry recipe that is delicious! I'm posting it so I don't forget what I did :)

Spring Vegetarian Stir-Fry

Olive Oil
Large bunch of kale
Large head of broccoli
1 Ib. of asparagus (appx.)
1 medium onion (I prefer sweet)
6 cloves chopped fresh garlic
1/2 tsp. crushed red peppers
1 tsp. ground ginger or 1 tbsp. fresh grated ginger
ground sea salt and pepper to taste
(I couldn't have tofu or nuts at this point in the detox but both would be great additions)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut up asparagus into 1" pieces and broccoli into small chunks. Mix both vegetables with olive oil and 3 cloves of chopped garlic in glass bowl. Spread on cookie sheet, shaking pan to get them even. Roast for about 20 - 25 minutes or until vegetables start to brown.
While veggies are roasting, cut kale into 2" long pieces. In wok or large frying pan, heat other 3 cloves of garlic with 2 tbsp. olive oil. Mix in kale and saute until deep green and tender. Add ginger and pepper flakes and saute for another minute or two.
Remove roasting veggies from oven and add to kale mixture. Toss and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Serve on bed of organic brown rice. Enjoy!