carrots

Carrot Farro Risotto

October 7, 2014 by Erica

Before the wedding, I developed a zucchini recipe for the blog… then ran out of time to post it. I thought about sharing it this week, but you know what? I’m just not feelin’ it. The zucchini ship has sailed. And although I hate to say it, I have finally moved on to fall foods. I almost can’t believe it, because I feel like every year I’m even sadder to see summer go. I think it has to do with the beautiful Utah weather. Other bloggers start with the pumpkin recipes when it’s still 80 degrees here, and I’m all noooooooo. But now that it’s October and I actually have to wear a jacket when I leave the house in the morning, we can talk about warm, comforting food.

But maybe I will sneak a zucchini in sometime soon, just for kicks.

Not that this is a fall dish per se, but to me, risotto is a very wintery food. I mean, am I going to stand at the stove stirring for ages in the summer? Nein danke. Only when it starts to get dark and chilly can I commit to risotto.

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Moroccan-Spiced Roasted Carrot Dip

August 27, 2014 by Erica

So I’ve finally made the acquaintance of harissa. For the last year, I’ve seen other bloggers making delicious spicy recipes with this spice blend I’d never heard of. I kept vowing to try it… then returning to my lazy, familiar ways. But a little tub of it caught my eye at the farmer’s market on Martha’s Vineyard, and I knew I’d regret it if I procrastinated further. Plus, who doesn’t like to come home with some foodie souvenirs from their travels?

As it turns out, I probably should have left the harissa, because I spent my last cash on it. When Nate and I went to apply for our marriage license minutes later, neither of us had the $4 that it cost, thanks to his farmer’s market coffee and my harissa purchase. We actually had to ask my dad for $5 to apply for the license! Now there’s a story for our kids – Mommy and Daddy were so poor they couldn’t even afford to get married for $4. It’s kind of romantic, right? (We can leave out the part that Mommy had just paid more than that for a gourmet spice blend and Daddy was feeding his expensive latte habit.) That’ll teach me to walk past the ATM on my way out of the airport…

It was the harissa dip I sampled at the farmer’s market stand that put me over the edge towards buying it. That dip, made with yogurt and cream cheese, was nothing like this one, but I wanted to try out the harissa and carrot combination I’d seen all over the blogosphere. Also, Nate read The China Study while we were on the Vineyard, and he’s convinced me we should try to be a liiittle more vegan again. (Although I probably had you fooled with Monday’s recipe, which contained three types of dairy and an egg.) In any case, a carrot dip seemed like a good place to start with making a dent in my new tub of harissa.

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Moo Shu Vegetables

March 12, 2014 by Erica

Moo Shu Vegetables

So you guys know I have been on a kick of recreating my old favorite meaty Asian dishes with vegetables. We’ve had Cauliflower Coconut Masala and Asian Orange Cauliflower… and now, one without cauliflower! I bet you didn’t think I had it in me. But yes, today we have a vegetarian version of the Chinese takeout classic: Moo Shu Vegetables!

I have fond childhood memories of moo shu pork. Whenever my parents ordered Chinese food, we’d beg them for moo shu, but not because we liked the filling – we LOVED the pancakes. (Anyone else?!) I definitely remember rolling up the pancakes and eating them plain – no filling required. My parents would complain that we needed to save some pancakes to actually eat with the filling. {Scoff} Adults.

So naturally when recreating them, I went the opposite direction. Not only am I now all about the moo shu filling, but I stuffed it in flour tortillas out of pure laziness.

Oops.

Don’t tell.

Or actually, we’ll just blame it on those dang kids who ate all the pancakes.

Moo Shu Vegetables

Turns out? In my adult life, moo shu vegetables are pretty darn delicious, no matter how you serve them.

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Muhammara Roasted Veggie Bowl

March 5, 2014 by Erica

Muhammara Roasted Veggie Bowl

Thank you for all your sweet comments on Monday’s post. You all sure know how to comfort a girl! Even when that girl is being a self-indulgent whiner. Oops!

I’m going to take my complaining down a notch. As I think we all know, Sunday anxiety is way worse than the actual work week. So next week, feel free to give me a virtual slap if I let out a peep about my busy schedule!

Still, I appreciate Monday’s virtual hugs. You are all way too sweet, and I can’t believe my luck that we get to hang out and talk about food together all the time. Seriously!

Muhammara Roasted Veggie Bowl

We are still enjoying the double batch of muhammara I made last weekend, and this has been one of my favorite combinations: a bowl of wheat berries and roasted veggies topped with a big dollop of that rich spread. It’s not exactly earth-shattering (more like fridge-emptying!), but it’s still high on the deliciousness scale.

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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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