green stuff

Warm Quinoa and Arugula Salad with Lemon Dressing

May 3, 2013 by Erica

Warm Quinoa and Arugula Salad with Lemon Dressing

Hello, beautiful.

Warm Quinoa and Arugula Salad with Lemon Dressing

You should know that I’ve been wanting to post about this salad for a looong time. Ever since I started this blog, in fact. It’s a copycat of my favorite salad at (probably) my favorite restaurant in Salt Lake, Caffe Niche. But every time I’ve made it, it hasn’t quite lived up to the restaurant version, and I had to get it juuust right. But I think I finally did!

Warm Quinoa and Arugula Salad with Lemon Dressing

Warm red quinoa, roasted tomatoes and onions, and lemon dressing served over a bed of arugula. It is just as good as it sounds – the nutty flavor of the quinoa, the sweetness of the roasted vegetables, and the bite of the lemon and arugula all combine to make my perfect salad.

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Roasted Carrot and Chickpea Salad with Miso Ginger Dressing

April 29, 2013 by Erica

Roasted Carrot and Chickpea Salad with Miso Ginger Dressing

Sometimes doing the same thing over and over again is a bad thing. It’s called getting stuck in a rut.

But sometimes doing the same thing over and over again is a good thing. You’re hitting your stride. Perfecting the art. Getting it down to a science.

What I just learned from writing those sentences is that sports, art and science all involve doing the same thing over and over again. And I often feel like cooking is all three of those things! Definitely art. Definitely science. If you’re skeptical about the sports bit, you should see the sweat I can work up trying to get three dishes ready at the same time. It probably counts as my workout for the day, right? I thought so.

Roasted Carrot and Chickpea Salad with Miso Ginger Dressing

I guess what I’m trying to say is that I’ve been roasting a lot of vegetables lately. I’ve put them in tacos, I’ve had them on lentils, I’ve eaten them as sushi, I’ve called them poutine. April has kind of been The Month of the Roasted Vegetables around here. Stride = hit. Art = perfected. Science = …gotten down to? Sure. All of those things.

And so, just as the weather is getting warm enough here in Salt Lake that I’m not sure how much longer I’ll be wanting to turn my oven on, here is another roasted vegetable recipe. And it’s a really good one, too, this time over kale for Dole National Salad Day on Wednesday.

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Baked Eggs with Tomato Sauce, Spinach & Quinoa

April 19, 2013 by Erica

Baked Eggs with Tomato Sauce, Spinach and Quinoa

It’s been a long week in these parts. Monday was not the best day, obviously, and that set a heavy tone for the week. I also started off the week already excited for to our trip down to Moab today. And waking up on Monday morning looking forward to the weekend is NOT a way to have your week pass by quickly!

Thank goodness Friday is finally here! My hiking shoes are packed, my gas tank is full, and Nate and I are psyched to drive down to Moab after work/school this afternoon. The one slight issue: my enthusiasm for planning is trumped only by my enthusiasm for grocery shopping. Also, I tend to think that I can cook 5 or 6 dinners in a week. Wishful thinking. I cooked twice this week? But as always, I got a little overzealous in the produce section last Sunday, and forgot that I don’t have the weekend to cook up any odds and ends. Goodbye asparagus, avocado, and bell peppers. Good thing you aren’t like the three most expensive things I could have purchased.

Anyone want to come over and clean out my fridge? I’ve got some wilted asparagus for you.

I won’t be in the kitchen this weekend, but should you be inspired to whip up a tasty brunch, lunch, or dinner, may I suggest these baked eggs:

Baked Eggs with Tomato Sauce, Spinach and Quinoa

We don’t often have eggs for breakfast, since I will pick sweet over savory any day, but I did make these for lunch recently. I think they’d even make a great dinner (I mean, they have spinach!), especially if you’re in the mood for a breakfast-for-dinner-ish type thing.

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Blueberry Almond Chia Smoothie

April 15, 2013 by Erica

Blueberry Almond Chia Smoothie

Spontaneity: not my thing.

Lists: totally my thing.

The way I get excited for things is by planning them. Vacations, parties, meals, you name it – planning is just my way of looking forward to something.

Come to think of it, that’s probably one of the reasons I like blogging so much.

This weekend, Nate and I have plans to go down to Moab, UT, one of my favorite places. Moab is home to Arches and Canyonlands National Parks, as well as an adorable downtown and lots of mountain biking, climbing, and running. I’ve been there a few times, but only once with Nate, and that was for about 24 hours. I’m excited to go back with him and show him Arches and Canyonlands, both of which are suuuuper beautiful and make me so happy to live in this state.

I’m starting to get excited for the weekend as I plan out which hikes we’re going to do, where we’re going to eat, what I should pack, etc. I haven’t made any lists or strict schedules for us yet… but you know, there’s still time. :)

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Strawberry Spinach SunButter Smoothie

March 29, 2013 by Erica

Strawberry Spinach Sunbutter Smoothie

There’s nothing like a mug of strong French press coffee and a big, delicious smoothie to start your day off right.

Oh, and some birthday roses from your sweetie… and a couple smooches, too.

But sweet boyfriends aside, smoothies are the breakfast treat I’ve found myself looking forward to most lately. There are just endless combinations, and the fact that they’re sweet and frosty just makes them so much fun. Recently, I’ve been obsessed with making mine with sunbutter. Although I’m not a huge fan of sunbutter plain – as a spread, I prefer peanut butter – I love it in smoothies, especially with spinach, for some reason. It’s what makes this smoothie extra special!

Strawberry Spinach Sunbutter Smoothie

Speaking of spinach: I don’t really make green smoothies, but I do like adding spinach to my fruit smoothies. Especially if there are berries involved, the spinach doesn’t change the flavor much, although it does turn your smoothie kind of garbage-colored. (I considered naming this post “strawberry sunbutter garbage-colored smoothie,” but something about that just didn’t seem so appetizing… not sure why.) Anyway, it’s the flavor that counts, and the fact that you are eating green stuff for breakfast!

These are also my favorite way to recover from hot summer long runs. Those are a few months away at this point, but I’m looking forward to them lots! I have been dying a long, slow death by treadmill this winter. It has just got to stop.

Strawberry Spinach Sunbutter Smoothie

If you look at the ingredient list below, you’ll see an ingredient that looks a little out of place: apple cider vinegar. Weird, right? Well, I took Faith’s advice recently and added just a tiny bit of apple cider vinegar to my smoothie. And it totally made it more flavorful! So, odd though it may seem, definitely don’t skip the vinegar.

I like my smoothies so thick that they have to be eaten with a spoon. If you prefer a more slurpable smoothie, you could sub the Greek yogurt with more almond milk or just add another half cup of almond milk or water.

Enjoy this garbage-colored, I mean, green smoothie!

Strawberry Spinach Sunbutter Smoothie

5.0 from 2 reviews

Strawberry Spinach SunButter Smoothie

Hands-on time

5 mins

Total time

5 mins

Author: Erica

Yields: 1 smoothie

Ingredients

1 frozen banana, sliced
1 cup frozen strawberries
1 large handful spinach leaves
2 Tbsp SunButter
1/2 cup Greek yogurt (I use Fage 0%)
1/2 cup plain unsweetened almond milk
1 Tbsp maple syrup
1/2 Tbsp ground flax seed
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1/4 tsp cinnamon

Instructions

Add all ingredients to blender or food processor and blend until smooth, scraping down sides and breaking apart chunks of fruit as necessary. Pour into a glass or bowl and enjoy!

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