Erica

Mediterranean Chickpea Salad Sandwiches

February 26, 2014 by Erica

Mediterranean Chickpea Salad Sandwiches

You won’t believe this – I barely believe it myself – but this recipe is inspired by a pre-packaged sandwich I bought in the Salt Lake airport.

I’m almost embarrassed to admit how much I enjoyed that shrink-wrapped airport sandwich… except clearly I’m not, because I led off this post with it.

Airport food is usually to be avoided, especially as a vegetarian. It’s terribly unfortunate, really, because nothing makes me so tired and cranky as travel (just ask my loving fiance…), and those are usually the moments when I could use some good food.

Mediterranean Chickpea Salad Sandwiches

During one of our many cross-country trips in September, I was digging through a pile of turkey sandwiches in an airport kisok when I found a single mysterious chickpea salad sandwich. I almost jumped for joy (it’s the little things in life) because I was thisclose to taking my chances on a portobello burger from Smashburger. Chickpea salad didn’t sound incredibly appetizing, but at least it didn’t have mayo.

No one was more surprised than me when it turned out to be absolutely delicious! I enjoyed it so much that I promptly snapped a picture of the ingredients, and resolved to make it for you ASAP.

And that was five months ago… but that’s just how these things go.

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BBQ Cauliflower Pizza

February 24, 2014 by Erica

I hope you’re as happy as I am to see yet another cauliflower recipe!

I seriously can’t get enough of this stuff lately. I made Asian Orange Cauliflower for dinner last week, followed by this pizza twice this weekend. I’m officially a huge cauliflower fan.

When I say cauliflower pizza, you may assume that this is one of those gluten-free cauliflower crust deals. Not so. I’ve never tried a cauliflower crust recipe, mostly because I sure do love picking up fresh pizza dough from Whole Foods when I’m too lazy to make it myself. Given the recent cauliflower craze in my life, though, I’m sure a cauliflower crust is in my future.

But for now, it’s any kind of crust you like (feel free to double up on cauliflower!), topped with roasted cauliflower that’s been smothered in barbecue sauce. I’m relatively certain that nothing with barbecue sauce has ever come out of my kitchen before, but blogging is great for expanding the horizons like that. Also, Nate sure didn’t voice any complaints about this pizza appearing twice in one weekend, so I have a feeling the barbecue flavor is here to stay around these parts.

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Mocha Yogurt + a Cookbook Giveaway!

February 19, 2014 by Erica

Mocha Yogurt + a Cookbook Giveaway!

I think it’s about that time of the week where we need some chocolate.

We need some chocolate, not just me… right?

And the best part is that this is breakfast chocolate.

Mocha Yogurt + a Cookbook Giveaway!

Actually, I take that back. First of all, this could be breakfast… and I can’t deny that I ate some at that general time of day this weekend… but it could also definitely be dessert. But the real best part is that the recipe is straight out of my friend Julia’s new cookbook!

If you’ve been reading this blog for even a couple weeks, Julia from The Roasted Root probably needs no introduction. She’s a gluten-free goddess, a pancake Wonder Woman, and (if it’s possible) an even bigger lover of roasted vegetables than yours truly. I mean, her blog name kind of gives it away! And her newest and maybe most exciting title is that of cookbook author. Her first cookbook, Delicious Probiotic Drinks: 75 Recipes for Kombucha, Kefir, Ginger Beer, and Other Naturally Fermented Drinks, was just released by Skyhorse Publishing. Hip hip hooray!

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Root Vegetable Tagine

February 17, 2014 by Erica

Root Vegetable Tagine

Hello Monday! Hello President’s Day. And hello new favorite meal.

Do I say that a lot? I feel like I do. I have a lot of new favorite meals, I guess. Like one or two a week. I’m gonna go ahead and say that’s why I started blogging.

Anyway, this meal is certified extra special, because I made it twice in the past two weeks, despite the fact that it makes a huge amount. So yes, I’ve essentially been eating this for 14 days straight. It’s my personal little veggie heaven.

Root Vegetable Tagine

So what is it, anyway? It’s a tagine. Ta-what? Tagine, pronounced “tuh-jhean.” Tagine is a Moroccan stew that typically contains meat and is named after the awesome-shaped pot it’s traditionally cooked in. Not to worry, we’re making ours in a regular ol’ pot, since a tagine is apparently the only thing available on Amazon for which I didn’t register. Not that I didn’t want to… but I have a hard time justifying the space that single-function kitchen items take up. And I think it’s safe to say we’re going to have to move because of all the kitchen stuff I did register for… so anyway, no tagine necessary for today’s recipe. And apologies for the tangent, but apparently I have to bring my wedding into every conversation. It will only last for… 7 more months? Sheesh.

So we’ve got a pot. And we basically throw a whole mess o’ root veggies in that pot – specifically carrots, sweet potatoes, and golden beets. (I used beets of the golden variety because I wanted to avoid this whole dish turning bright pink. But if that’s your thing, go to town with red beets!) Also to that pot, we’re adding a healthy amount of warm spices like cumin, coriander, cinnamon, and paprika. There are a handful of other ingredients, too (raisins, chickpeas, tomato paste, etc.), but those are the essentials. (Oh and raisin haters: you can totally use chopped dried apricots instead of the raisins.)

The result is a fragrant vegan stew that will take the edge off a cold winter’s day like that. And with these sweet root vegetables, the raisins, and the warm spices, the flavor is decidedly sweet. It’s worth mentioning that ahead of time, because if you’re against some sweetness in your entree, this one probably isn’t for you. We’re not adding sugar or anything like that, it’s just that the sweetness that naturally collects in a plant’s roots really comes through in this dish. It is so unique and I loooove it.

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Spicy Red Lentil Chipotle Hummus

February 14, 2014 by Erica

Spicy Red Lentil Chipotle Hummus

Happy Valentine’s Day, my loves!

I didn’t really do the Valentine’s recipe thing this year, as you can see. Though at least this hummus is red? Yeah, it’s a stretch.

But before we get to the food, a shout-out to my valentine.

Snowy Engagement Photos

The man who puts up with me for better and for worse, and is so supportive of everything I do. The man who washes the whole sink full of dishes when I am too stressed out to even function. And who just poured me another glass of wine as I type this.

He’s a keeper, and I am so lucky he’s mine!

Poor guy has a super stress case of a valentine this year, but that’s besides the point.

And the point, of course, is this red lentil hummus.

Spicy Red Lentil Chipotle Hummus

Did you know you could make hummus with red lentils? It is super protein-packed, and tastes surprisingly similar to regular hummus, actually. And I’ll be honest, it’s great for when you forget you’re out of chickpeas.

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