Whidbey Island
June 16, 2012
Whidbey Island
Fire Roasted Tomato & Pepper-y Lentils with Citrus Kick
I whipped this quick-and-easy lunch up from things I scrounged in the fridge. A half-used can of fire roasted tomatoes, some crazy good fire roasted red pepper spread from Trader Joes, some leftover lentils, citrus salt I made awhile back and some of the gremolata I served at Easter that has been chilling in the back of my fridge.
Fire Roasted Tomato & Pepper-y Lentils with Citrus Kick
1 tsp. olive oil
1/2 cup black lentils, cooked
2 Tbsp. fire roasted tomatoes with green chills
2 Tbsp. fire roasted red pepper paste
2 big pinches citrus salt
handful hazelnut gremolata
In a medium pan over medium heat, warm the olive oil. Add the cooked lentils and cook, stirring frequently, until warmed through and starting to sizzle. Add the tomatoes and red pepper paste and stir (and stir, and stir) until thoroughly combined. Let sautee a few minutes until nice and hot. Toss in a big handful of the gremolata and sprinkle with a couple pinches citrus salt.
Serves 1 for lunch.
June 15, 2012
Discovery Park lighthouse
June 14, 2012
Ferris wheel @ Seattle seafront from the Pike Place Market.
June 13, 2012
Let the ‘it’s ok, I’m on vacation’ rationalizing begin!
June 12, 2012
Whoo hoo, killed it! Lucky me, I managed to serve the chunk of wooden spoon I snapped off in the blender to myself. Winning!
June 11, 2012
Mmmm….. first grilled items on our own grill in 5 years.
June 10, 2012
One of the many places we wandered today.
Mental note: the Scribner building is worth checking out again.
June 9, 2012
CSA bouquet
Lemony Chickpea Mash
I made this side to go with Cider-Braised Pork Shoulder with Caramelized Onion and Apple Confit and haven’t been able to stop thinking about it since. The pork was great, don’t get me wrong – soft, sweet, tangy, porky. But the chickpeas, the chickpeas were a revelation. My DH and I are trying to make a conscious effort to decrease the amount of “white” starch we are eating – no more bread, pasta, potatoes or rice noodles at home. Basically, no more of our very favorites and my go-tos for meal planning. Well, I wouldn’t say quite no more, but a limit has been placed on that type of food around these parts. And it’s at turns hard (when all I want to do is make a quick noodle dish) and not very hard at all (I really don’t miss bread).
As such, we are eating more lentils and legumes, more nut butters, a little more “real” meat (apparently bacon and/or eggs doesn’t really count as actual meat), and more straight-up vegetable based meals without the use of starch as a crutch. That’s the hard one. That one has been frickin killing me – I’m the queen of one-bowl dinner salads. Dinner salads and noodle dishes. Luckily, I’ve discovered the joys of cauliflower rice and stumbled upon an offhand mention of chickpea mash.
Think of chickpea mash like a mashed potato. It should be a luscious, decadent feeling puddle – a balm, even. Like mashed potatoes, or even grits. Comfort for the health-conscious (yeah, I know, my recipe uses canned chickpeas – I’m lazy).
Chickpea mash pictured above with the lovely pork dish mentioned in the head notes and crisped greens with garlic.
Lemony Chickpea Mash
1 can low sodium chickpeas, washed and drained
1 Tbsp. tahini
Juice of 1 lemon
Olive oil
Water to lubricate
Salt & pepper to taste
Add the chickpeas, tahini and lemon juice to the bowl of your food processor. Let spin, using water and a few good glugs of olive oil to get everything moving until you get the texture you want. You’re looking for a thick-ish, velvety spread. Something that isn’t watery, but isn’t a big pile of glop. Kind of like hummus (this would also make a killer hummus-style dip, btw). Taste. Add salt & pepper ’till your heart’s content.
Serves 2 for dinner with a small portion left over for lunch.
Gastography 