Tuna Dill Wraps

This is another easy lunch that can be assembled in a few minutes. This lunch wrap is quick, high in fiber and protein, and has mostly "good" fats in it. Still, it's not the healthiest thing I eat, as it contains tuna, a fish I try to eat infrequently due to its high concentrations of mercury, so eat this in moderation. You could also substitute smoked salmon or baked tofu or tempeh in this for a variation.

If you are interested in learning more about the mercury content of fish or in seeing which types of fish are considered to be the most environmentally and ethically fished, you can find information from the NRDC  or on the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch page.

Tuna Dill Wrap
1 whole wheat tortilla
1 can chunk light tuna
a tiny bit of grated sharp cheese
2 Tbs plain yogurt
1 tsp dried dill
1/2 red pepper cut into slices
1 carrot, cut into bite-sized pieces
large handfull of Romaine lettuce leaves or sliced cabbage or both
1/2 an avocado, cubed

Lay tortilla on a plate.  Drain the tuna and then place on top of the tortilla. Add all other ingredients in the order listed. Roll up and enjoy.

Super Veggie Salad w/Sanctuary Dressing

Yesterday for lunch I threw together this salad using some dressing that my friend Willow made (thanks Willow!). The recipe can be found in Isa Moskowitz's cookbookAppetite for Reduction. It is really delicious and does a great job of brightening up a big bowl of vegetables. I copied the recipe below from the recipe card Willow so kindly included with the dressing she brought me, so if she made any alterations to the original, they are included here. Isa Moskowitz also has a fantastic blog called Post Punk Kitchen that has lots of other great recipes to peruse. I'm excited to check it out and try some more of them soon!



Super Veggie Salad w/Sanctuary Dressing 
 dressing recipe by Isa Moskowitz
For the salad (use as many vegetables as you need to provide a large-sized bowl for each serving):
red cabbage, thinly sliced
carrots, julienned or grated
red pepper, cut into cubes
celery, thinly sliced
Italian kale, cut into ribbons
avocado cubed
pumpkin seeds for topping

For the dressing:
1 12 oz box extra firm silken tofu
1 Tbs Veganaise
1/4 cup water
2 Tbs veggie broth powder or 1 not chicken bouillon cube
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp each garlic granules, onion granules, and dill
2 Tbs apple cider vinegar
1 tsp light agave syrup or sugar
Put it all in a blender and blend until creamy.

To assemble, place a few Tbs of dressing in a bowl. Put all veggies except avocado on top of dressing and mix well. Top with cubes of avocado and pumpkin seeds. Prepare to eat a delicious salad.
P.S. be sure to refrigerate any unused dressing. I don't know how long it will keep, but it didn't last long enough to find out at my house!

Broccoli Quinoa Cakes

To go with the soup I made yesterday, I whipped up some quinoa cakes. These are super easy to make if you have a food processor, and there are about a million recipes for these on the internet. I've posted about them before, but this batch turned out even better, so I thought I'd share the variation I used this time. Zach suggested that they might be even better with slightly less egg and more quinoa, so I might try that next time.

Broccoli Quinoa Cakes
serves 4 generosusly. If you are serving less, only fry up what you will eat right away and refrigerate the rest for later use 
2 slices whole wheat bread(or 1 cup commercial breadcrumbs)
4 eggs, lightly beaten
3 cups cooked quinoa (if you don't have this on hand, make up a batch and let it cool. There are great instructions here, you will want to use 1 cup dry quinoa and 2 cups water to yield about 3 cups cooked)
1/3 cup shredded parmesan cheese
1/2 cup chopped onion
4 cloves garlic, minced
1medium-sized head broccoli, rinsed and cut into florets
1/2 tsp salt
oil for frying (I used about 2 tsp)

First, toast the bread. Then, tear it into pieces and puree in your food processor. Next, puree the broccoli florets in the food processor. They should yield about one heaping cup. Mix together all ingredients (except oil) and let sit for about 10 minutes. Heat oil in a large skillet. Form mixture into patties and place gently in the hot pan. Cover pan and cook for 7 minutes. Flip the patties over and cook for 7 more minutes. Serve while hot.

Curry Chickpea Soup

This afternoon when I was walking home from yoga, I was thinking about what kind of soup to make for lunch. I knew that I had some cooked chickpeas in the refrigerator that I wanted to use up, and I was planning to make something similar to this.  When I got home I discovered that someone (me) had used up the last of the smoked paprika and neglected to replace it. Looking through my spices, I noticed some Vindaloo curry powder and decided to try making a soup with that instead. It turned out pretty well- lightly spicy and very brothy and rich.

Curry Chickpea Soup
olive oil
1 large onion, diced
5 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp Vindaloo curry powder
3 stalks celery, finely sliced
2 large carrots, finely sliced
1 large russet potato, cubed
2 15oz cans diced tomatoes
9 cups lightly salted vegetable broth (I used 4 bouillon cubes disolved in water. If you are using unsalted broth, add salt to taste)
3 cups cooked chickpeas (if you are using canned, this is about a 25oz can)
1 bunched spinach, washed and sliced into ribbons
black pepper

Heat a bit of olive oil in a large soup pot. Add onions and garlic, and cook until they begin to brown. Add curry powder and stir well to combine. Add celery and carrots and cook a few minutes more (if the curry powder begins to stick to the pot, add a little water to deglaze). Add potatoes and cook a few minutes more. Add tomatoes and broth. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and cook until potatoes and carrots are tender. Add chickpeas and spinach and cook for five more minutes. Add a few grindings of fresh pepper to the pot and serve.

Blood Orange, Fennel, and Cabbage Salad

In addition to making a tasty soup on Sunday, I also make this fantastic salad. It's crunchy and fresh tasting; lightly sweet and tart. I tweaked a dressing recipe from an older post, and altered it by using blood oranges since they are in season and possibly the best citrus fruit we have in the produce department right now. The dressing comes out a little pink, but it tastes great and looks pretty against the pieces of blood orange.

Blood Orange, Fennel, and Cabbage Salad
serves 4
For salad:
A mixture of red, savoy and/or green cabbage and Italian kale, washed and shredded into fine ribbons
1 bulb fennel, chopped into very small pieces
A large handful of fresh mint, washed, and sliced
2 blood oranges, peeled, segmented, and cut into bite-sized pieces
2 Tbs toasted sesame seeds

For dressing
:

2 Tbsp. olive oil



zest of 1 blood orange

juice of 1 blood orange

1 Tbsp. liquid honey (or agave, maple syrup)


1/3 cup roasted tahini


Whisk dressing ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.  Fill each plate with your cabbage/kale mixture. Top each plate with mint, fennel, and blood orange pieces. Drizzle dressing on top and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Serve.
Note: After I made this, I kind of wished I'd dressed the salad before plating it. So for a more even dispersion of dressing, put the dressing in a large bowl, add a little water to thin it down, then add the cabbage mixture and toss to coat.  Proceed with platting and topping the salad.

Hearty Bean and Cabbage Soup

Yesterday I made a big pot of soup with some produce that inspired me this week- dried beans from Helsing Junction Farm and Savoy cabbage from Newaukum Valley Farm. Both of these were so beautiful I knew I wanted to make something with them, and preferably together. I looked through a bunch of recipe sites for a soup recipe that would use both, but I didn't see anything I was crazy about, so I decided to just wing it. I used Deborah Madison's  Vegetable Soups cookbook to make sure I got the water to bean ratio and cooking time right. Her cookbooks are pretty fantastic, and getting this one out reminded me that I have lots of great recipes at my disposal without looking online at all. My soup turned out well, but I will say, it's not going to win any beauty contests. Good thing I have the "before" photo!

Hearty Bean and Cabbage Soup
5 Tbs olive oil
1 large onion, diced
5 cloves garlic, finely minced
3 stalks celery, finely sliced
3 carrots, diced
2 small yellow potatoes, cut into small cubes
3 springs rosemary or other fresh herb of choice (the bean website below recommends sage)
1lb dried beans (I used Calypso beans)
10 cups water
6 cups shredded Savoy cabbage, Italian kale, or a combination of both
2 tsp salt (or more to taste)
lots of fresh ground pepper
1 tbs balsamic vinegar

Soak beans overnight. Drain, rinse, and set aside. Heat 4 Tbs of olive oil in your biggest soup pot. Add the onions and garlic and cook for a few minutes until they soften and start to become fragrant. Add the celery,carrots, and potatoes and cook for a few minutes more. Add beans and water. For the rosemary, put springs in a reusable cloth tea bag or a piece of cheesecloth tied into a bundle and float it in the soup while it cooks. This will give the broth a nice herbal flavor. Bring the soup to a boil and then reduce heat and cook until the beans are almost soft (mine took about 45 minutes, but time will vary a lot depending on type of beans used). Add salt, cabbage, pepper, and vinegar. Give it a good stir and cook until the cabbage/kale is wilted but still fairly firm. Stir in the remaining Tbs of olive oil. Top with a few grinds of pepper and serve.

Grains and Vegetables With Broccoli Pesto

Earlier this week, Zach and I made a delicious dinner together. We used this recipe from 101cookbooks, which I've been meaning to try forever. I altered it just a little, since it calls for heavy cream (totally unnecessary) and almonds which we didn't have on hand (we substituted pecans, and they were fine). The one other change I made was substituting brown rice for the quinoa. We did this because we had some cooked rice that we wanted to use up, but I think it would be better with quinoa.  Actually, any whole grain would probably work fine, so experiment and see what you like.



Grains and Vegetables 
With Broccoli Pesto
adapted from 101cookbooks.com
makes four servings
3 cups cooked whole grain (quinoa, brown rice, barley, etc)
5 cups raw broccoli florets
4 cloves garlic
2/3 cup nuts, toasted
1/3 cup parmesan (could probably omit and add a little nutritional yeast to make this dairy-free)
2 pinces salt
juice of one lemon
1/4 cup olive oil
cubed avocado and tomatoes for topping

Add 3/4 of a cup of water and pinch of salt to a saucepan.  Bring to a simmer. Add broccoli, cover and cook for 1 minute. Transfer to a strainer and run under cold water to stop cooking. Set aside. Puree 2 cups of broccoli, garlic, 1/2 cup nuts, parmesan, pinch of salt, and lemon juice in a food processor. Add olive oil in a slow stream and puree until oil is well-combined. Mix cooked grain, pesto, and remaining broccoli florets. Top with avocado, tomato, and remaining nuts. Serve.

Weird Snack: Blueberry Cinnamon Whole Wheat Crackers With Yogurt Dip

Yesterday I made some very weird snacks. Even though I am not a football fan, I decided to show some team spirit for a super bowl party by making snacks that were intended to be green and blue (but turned out green and purple-oops!). I was inspired by this post on oh she glows, and the green cracker and dip in the photo come from that recipe. For my "blue" crackers, I decided to try using blueberries, and they turned out pretty well for a first attempt. They remind me a little of the cinnamon and sugar tortas we sell at the Co-op, but whole-wheat and baked instead of fried. I will warn you that these take awhile to make  and aren't super healthy- after all, they're crackers topped with sugar! But in the realm of "healthier" treats, I guess they qualify. You can use whatever cookie cutters you like. I happened to have these Halloween cookie cutters on hand and decided they were perfect for scaring the opposing team and sweeping them right out the door. Ha!

Blueberry Cinnamon Whole Wheat Crackers 
With Yogurt Dip
1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
2 Tbs sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 heaping tsp cinnamon
4 Tbs butter
1 cup blueberries (frozen are fine but thaw them ahead of time)
extra cinnamon and sugar for topping

Preheat oven to 400F. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper. Whisk together flour, sugar, salt, and cinnamon. Using a pastry blender or two butter knives scissor-fashion, cut the butter into the dry mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs. Blend the blueberries in a blender until they are smooth. Pour into the flour mixture and stir until well-combined. Gently knead the mixture and form two balls. Using a well-floured work surface, roll out the dough and cut into shapes with your cookie cutters. By the way, this dough is pretty sticky, so continue adding flour to work surface and rolling pin as needed. After you have cut out your shapes, re-roll remaining dough and continue making crackers until all of you dough is used up. Mix the extra cinnamon and sugar together and sprinkle liberally on top of the crackers. Bake for four minutes, the switch position of pans in oven.  bake four more minutes and then check crackers for doneness, baking two minutes more or as long as needed for them to turn slightly golden-brown.

Berry Yogurt Dip
2 6oz containers greek yogurt
1 cup blueberries (frozen fine, but thaw)
1 cup blackberries (frozen fine, but thaw)
2 Tbs maple syrup
Blend all ingredients in a food processor. Chill and serve with crackers.