Chickpea Veggie Bowl

My work colleagues have a step challenge underway and it's breeding all sorts of other good behaviours, one of which is healthier eating habits. Frozen meals are being traded in for salads and home cooking is back in style. Hallelujah!

I tweaked my own diet earlier this year and a few key changes have stuck.  I cut out sweets after most meals and with the exception of holidays and a few weak moments, haven't deviated from this plan. I now crave sweets less and find that my tolerance for all things sugared has changed.  Desserts I used to love seem too sweet for me now.  I also cut back my alcohol intake, which has fattened up my bank account and trimmed my waist line.

This recipe celebrates the progress I and my colleagues have made to eat well in order to live better. Build on it or modify as required. I topped my veggie bowl with a spoonful of olive tapenade to give it a little extra dimension. Chili sauce (sambal oelek), a dollop of sour cream or humus would be nice with it as well.  Pair it with rice or noodles if you want more substance and of course, add some chorizo or chopped ham to it if meat isn't optional for you.

Adapted from: http://eathealthyeathappy.com

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups cooked chick peas
• 2 T olive oil
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 medium zucchini, sliced
• 1 bunch of asparagus, chopped
• 3 cups sliced mushrooms
• 1/2 cup of fresh basil, chopped
• juice of half a lemon
• salt and pepper to taste

Method

Heat the olive oil in a saucepan on medium heat. Saute the garlic for about half a minute, then add the onion, allowing it to cook for two minutes. Toss in the pepper, zucchini and asparagus and stir well to coat the vegetables with the oil. Let the vegetables sit for about two minutes. Add the mushrooms and cover the saucepan with a lid, keeping in the heat for another three minutes. Add the chickpeas, the basil and lemon juice and toss until they are combined well with the other ingredients. Season with salt and pepper to your taste. Serve with a spoonful of chili sauce or olive tapenade on top.

Cherry Balsamic Pork Chops, Quinoa Pilaf & a Crunchy Salad

While I know I haven't stopped eating, I couldn't figure out why the blog entries have suddenly come to a halt. My analysis brought several excuses. First and foremost was the elusive patio. I've hit every patio I could find over the last month, which has kept me out of the house and the kitchen. Summer cooking also seems less like cooking than the experiments I try in the winter. I think barbecues just call for simplicity and I haven't quite figured out how to make my grill-top creations exciting enough to write about. Finally, I pulled out several of my old favorites and repeat entries just don't make for good reading.

Now that I've given you all my excuses, here's what I ate for Sunday dinner. A good price on pork chops and incessant rain called for an attempt at a way to make pork chops juicy and delicious. I included some goods sides that I can carry as lunches too. 

Pork Chops in Balsamic Cherry Sauce

Adapted From: Fairchild, B. (2006). The Bon Appetit Cookbook. Hoboken, N.J.: John Wiley & Sons. p. 293. 

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 4, 140g pork chops
• 1/2 cup balsamic vinaigrette*
• 2 T butter
• 2 shallots, sliced thinly
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 1/2 cup dried cherries

Method

Place the pork and vinaigrette in a dish to marinate for 15 minutes. Make sure that the chops are turned at least once to coat.

Melt the butter in a heavy skillet over medium heat. Lift the pork from the marinade, shaking off the excess liquid and place in the skillet, reserving the marinade. Sprinkle the pork with pepper. Saute until brown, at least three minutes per side. Transfer the pork to a plate. Add the shallot to the skillet and stir until soft, about one minute. Add the broth, cherries and reserved marinade and bring the mixture to a boil, scraping off the brown bits from the sides of the pan. Return the pork to the skillet and simmer, turning the pork once until it is cooked through, the cherries are tender and the sauce has thickened, about four minutes. Season the sauce with more salt and pepper if required. Transfer the pork to plates, top with the sauce and serve.

*You can make your own by whisking a 1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar with 1/4 cup of any oil of your choice and seasoning it with salt and pepper. Add a tablespoon of dijon mustard for some additional kick.

Quinoa Pilaf with Mushrooms & Caramelized Onions

Opted for oyster and porcini mushrooms 

From: http://eat-drink-love.com

Ingredients

• 1 cup quinoa
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 2 T olive oil
• 1 small onion, diced
• 1 cup mushrooms, roughly chopped
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 1/3 cup toast pine nuts
• 2 T parsley, chopped
• Salt & pepper to taste

Method

Bring the broth and quinoa to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes. While the quinoa is cooking, heat the oil in a frying pan and saute the onions and mushrooms for about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and let cook for about a minute. Empty the quinoa into a bowl and add the mushroom mix to it, mixing well.  Toss in the pine nuts, parsley, salt and pepper and serve.

Chopped Salad with Feta, Lime and Basil

Adapted from: http://smittenkitchen.com

• 3 cups, crunchy vegetables, chopped
• 1/3 cup crumbled feta
• 2 green onions, finely chopped
• 1/3 cup sunflower seeds
• 2 T chopped basil
• 1 t chili powder
• 2 T lime juice
• 2 T olive oil
• Salt & pepper to taste

The original recipe used various wax beans, cucumber and radishes for the vegetables along with mint as the herb of choice. I opted for green beans, asparagus, both blanched, radishes and basil as my herb. Go nuts with your favorite herbs and veg people!! That's what this salad is meant for!

Combine the vegetables, feta, onions, sunflower seeds and basil into a bowl. In a separate dish, add the lime juice with the oil, chili powder, salt and pepper. Whisk well until all ingredients are well combined. Add the dressing to your vegetables and toss well. This salad can be eaten immediately, but makes for great leftovers.

Thai Beef Salad & Spring Green Soup

I have never used herbs in place of lettuce before, but that's essentially what this recipe does. Basil, mint and cilantro are the leafy greens here and they're delicious. I was tempted to put this on a bed of rice noodles, because I had trouble getting over the lack of salad-ness in this dish, but it was tasty as is. It was even better with the spring green soup I made with it. A crusty loaf of French bread would go quite nicely with this ensemble. 

Thai Beef Salad

Adapted from: http://biscuitsoftoday.com

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1 lb of chuck or beef shoulder
• salt and pepper to season beef
• 2 T vegetable oil
• juice of 4 limes
• 2 T fish sauce
• 1 T brown sugar
• handful of cilantro leaves
• handful of basil leaves
• handful of mint leaves
• 2 garlic cloves minced
• 2 red chilis chopped
• one small, red onion, sliced thinly

Method

Season beef well with salt and pepper and let it sit out of the fridge for 30 minutes. Place oil in a frying pan on medium heat and add the beef. Cook the beef for about 5 minutes on each side and remove from pan. Let it sit for about 20 minutes to allow to cool.

Combine the lime juice, fish sauce and sugar in a bowl, mixing until the sugar has dissolved. Set aside.

Combine the remaining ingredients in a bowl and add the lime juice mixture, mixing well. Slice the beef thinly and add it to the salad, tossing it well. Serve immediately.

Spring Green Soup

Adapted From: http://www.wholeliving.com

Serves 6

Ingredients

• bunch of asparagus (preferably thin stalks), roughly chopped
• bunch of spinach with the stem removed
• 4 green onions, chopped roughly
• 1 cucumber
• 1 avocado
• 1/4 cup mint leaves
• 2 T lemon juice
• 1 t salt
• 2 cups of water
• dollops of sour cream for serving
• Freshly ground pepper

Method

Blanch the asparagus in a pot of boiling water for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and strain. Cut half of the cucumber in quartered slices and the remaining cucumber in eighths. Set aside the slices for garnishing your soup.

Place the asparagus in a blender with a 1/2 cup of cold water and blend until smooth. Add the cucumber eighths, green onions, spinach and another 1/2 cup of cold water and purée.  Throw in the avocado, lemon juice and mint leaves, the remaining water and.....blend until smooth!  Season with salt, pepper and serve with the cucumber slices and spoonfuls of sour cream. 

Orzo Leftover Special

This is a great weeknight meal, when all you have is ten minutes and little patience to do anything crazy in the kitchen. All ingredients can be swapped out for other, like-ingredients, so get creative with this one. Enjoy!

Serves 4

• 2 cups dry orzo
• Ham, deli meat and/or bacon (pick a fatty meat if possible as the fat will season the dish)
• Bunch of asparagus chopped into one inch pieces
• Chives, chopped into small pieces
• Salt & pepper to taste
• Parmesan cheese to taste

Cook the orzo according to package instructions, drain and set aside. In a pot of boiling water, blanch the asparagus. This should take no more than a minute and the asparagus will turn a vibrant green when ready. In a large frying pan, heat the hameatcon (whatever meat you've chosen) until the fat releases and can coat the pan. Add the asparagus and chives and stir well, coating it with the juices from the meat. Season with salt and pepper. Combine the orzo into the pan and mix well. Remove from heat and divide into four bowls. Add freshly grated parmesan to each bowl.