This is a good one – smoky, satisfying, and just the thing when you’re craving some veggie goodness – or when you’ve found a cache of almost-bagels and need something to dunk them in.
gluten-free, vegetarian, vegan, paleo
Smoky Roasted Tomato Soup
28 ounce can whole tomatoes
1 yellow onion
4 cloves garlic
1 Tablespoon olive oil
3 Tablespoons tomato paste
1 can coconut milk
1/2 cup vegetable broth
Salt & pepper
1 teaspoon caraway seed (optional)
1 Tablespoon smoked paprika
2 teaspoons curry powder
Preheat oven to 400F/220C. Pull the tomatoes out of the sauce and place on a prepared baking sheet with the garlic cloves and the onions (chopped roughly). Bake 30 – 45 minutes or until the tomatoes are a bit blackened on the top. My onions were a bit burnt on the outside layer, but I think that added to the flavor. I chucked about half the burnt outer layer parts.
Cool and add to a blender with the rest of the ingredients. Whiz until smooth.
Add to a saucepan and simmer 20 minutes or so, stirring semi-frequently, and tasting to add salt & pepper.
I made this as an accompaniment to some killer meatballs (recipe coming next week), but this dish as it is would be great as a holiday side or studded with any protein of choice for a rounded out meal.
Note: I completely forgot to do so when making this recipe, but chucking a couple big hands of baby spinach was a fantastic way to dress up the leftovers and add a nutrient punch.
gluten-free, paleo, vegetarian, vegan
Pomegranate & Fig Salad
2 sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped into inch-ish chunks
6 figs, sliced (I had dried on hand but fresh would be even better)
1/4 c. pecans, chopped
1/3 c. pomegranate arils
Tahini & pomegranate molasses to drizzle
Salt & pepper
Your favorite seasoning – I used a spicy creole mix
Oil
Preheat your oven to 200C/375F. Prepare a baking sheet.
Chop the sweet potato into inch-ish chunks, drizzle with oil, sprinkle with salt, pepper & seasoning, spread out onto a baking sheet and bake until your desired level of doneness is achieved. I let mine go until the pieces were almost crispy.
Toss with the rest of the ingredients and drizzle with the sauces.
As noted in the head notes, a good couple hands of baby spinach and your protein of choice would round this out to a great meal.
Everything But The Bagel Seasoning is on it’s way out of the zeitgeist, but I’m behind the times. EBB seasoning has been causing a stir as of late where I live, with warnings going out left and right to not try and smuggle illegal items into the country while coming back from your Summer vacations.
Whaa?
Where I live, poppy seeds are illegal. I thought this had something to do with them not being halal, but according to Islamweb.net, they are fine to consume as food. The Global Arabic Encyclopedia says that the seeds have no narcotic properties, and are fine for both human and livestock consumption. [Source]
No idea why they’re illegal where I live, but they most certainly are.
In a 2019 bulletin, they were still on the banned import list.
“All Types of Papaver or Opium poppy seeds with or without mixing with other substances and all foodstuff include Papaver or Opium poppy seeds as ingredient.” The reason given was “Precautionary measure due to possibility of non-food prohibited use.” [Source]
Which is a total bummer, since I’ve been dying to get my hands on an EBB seasoned avocado toast (I know, stick me in Uggs and gimme a PSL at Target).
I was not about to risk going to jail for a seasoning, so I indulged during my trip to the US and then made plans to make my own when I got home.
I’m glad I did. Yum. I remember liking EBB seasoning on bagels, but it’s a nice way to dress up an otherwise pretty plain breakfast (unless you top it with Tajin, that is – my other go-to).
gluten-free, vegetarian, vegan
Legal Everything But The Bagel Seasoning Avo Brekkie
seasoning:
2 Tbsp. granulated onion (chunky dried onion)
2 Tbsp. granulated garlic (chunky dried garlic)
1 Tbsp. black sesame or nigella seeds
1 Tbsp. white sesame seeds
1 Tbsp. chia seeds
2 tsp. flaky salt
the rest:
2 tsp. oil
1/2 shallot, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/3-1/2 c. frozen spinach
Dusting nutmeg
Dusting smoked paprika
Salt & pepper
1 small avocado
2 slices toast
Heat the oil in a pan over medium. Sauté the shallot and garlic until soft. Add the spinach, and let go a minute or two to start thawing.
Add a couple dashes of water to steam the rest of the spinach thaw.
When thaw, add the spices and stir. Let cook a minute more to combine. Hit with salt & pepper.
To serve, mash the avocado lightly and spread in a thick layer on the toast. Add the spinach and sprinkle the whole thing liberally with the EBB Seasoning. Add a little more flake salt to the top. Enjoy.
This is a good one and fine for a nice light Summer dinner. I think I also finally licked the issue with having my coconut curries turn out too bland – I think I *finally* added enough spice!
gluten-free, paleo, vegetarian, vegan
Roasted Veggie Coconut Curry
2-3 c. pumpkin or butternut squash, peeled and chopped
1 c. broccolini, chopped
2 green chilis, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 shallot, chopped
15 oz. can coconut milk
2 empty cans’ worth your favorite stock
4 Tbsp. curry blend
1 Tbsp. red pepper flakes
Protein of choice
Rice noodles
2 Tbsp. lime juice
1 scallion, sliced
1/4 c. cilantro, chopped
Bake the pumpkin at 400F in a little oil, seasoned with salt & pepper, 20-30 minutes or until soft.
Add the rest of the ingredients to a slow cooker or Instant Pot, minus the protein, noodles, lime juice, scallion or cilantro. Set on “Soup” or “Stew” and let cook. If you are using chicken, add the protein at this step. If you’re using something like seafood or tofu, cook separately and add at the end with the noodles.
Prepare your noodles separately.
When the curry is done cooking, tase for salt & pepper and top with the lime juice, scallion and cilantro.
Miso. Butter. Is. Amazing. I don’t know why the combo never occurred to me, but when I scrolled past the mere mention somewhere out there on the Internets, I was intrigued.
I’m glad I followed that particular tangent, because I would happily slather this stuff on pretty much anything (including toast).
gluten-free, vegetarian, vegan if you swap for vegan butter
Pictured here with sweet potato fries, which is also a good call
Miso Butter Bowl
miso butter:
3 Tbsp. your favorite butter, softened
2 Tbsp. white miso
A big hand full of minced scallion whites
Mush the above into a compound butter.
bowl:
1 zucchini, chopped
1/2 c. frozen corn kernels
1/2 onion, sliced thin
2 cloves garlic, chopped
Your favorite seasoning (I used Tony’s Cajun)
toppers:
Roast chickpeas (to make: drain and rinse a can of chickpeas, spread out in a single layer on a prepared sheet and bake at 400F for 20-30 mins or until your desired level of crisp and brownness has been reached. Toss with a Tablespoon of oil and a liberal amount of your favorite seasoning – I used more of that Tony’s)
The greens from your scallions
Sesame seeds
This would also be great with a good cashew cheese, but I did not have any on hand
To assemble, sauté the zucchini, corn, onion and garlic in a teaspoon of oil until your desired level of brownness has been reached. Season with salt, pepper and your seasoning. Add the miso butter and let go another minute or two.
Add the veggies into a bowl, and top with your extras.
I’ve been having a mini love-affair with miso this week – stay tuned for more umami bomb recipes coming in the next few weeks – and this delicious little dinner salad does that love justice.
I can see using the leftovers of this dressing mixed with quinoa, or in a pumpkin-heavy dish. Also as a drizzle for chicken.
gluten-free, vegetarian, vegan
Miso Vinaigrette Salad
Dressing:
1 heaping Tbsp. white miso
1 Tbsp. sesame oil
2 Tbsp. neutral oil
2 Tbsp. sushi vinegar
2 Tbsp. lime juice
2 tsp. honey
Pinch cayenne
Salt & pepper
Salad:
1 large zucchini, chopped
1 large bok choy, washed and sliced thin
1 package baby spinach
2 tsp. sesame oil
Soy sauce
1 scallion, thinly sliced
Sesame seeds
Big hand pepitas (toasted cashews would also be great)
Protein of choice: I used simply sautéed tofu
Optional topper: crispy chickpeas
Chop the zucchini and bok choy (whites) and set to sautee over medium-high with the sesame oil.
Let cook until crisp-tender.
Add a generous sprinkle of soy sauce.
Add the spinach and bok choy greens and toss until the spinach is barely wilted. Set aside. Drain if wet.
To make the dressing, whisk or shake all ingredients together.
To assemble the salad, add the toppers and toss with a couple Tablespoons dressing.
This week, I was really attracted to the Buddha bowl pics scattered throughout my Pinterest feed and didn’t want to make 9,000 ingredients – so I worked to combine a list (albeit a large list) of simple ingredients in a variety of ways to make the best of a simple mixture of quinoa + rice.
My week 100% could have been more cost-effective, but it gave me a good dose of the ingredients combining kind of Chopped Kitchen kind of life I’ve been missing.
Quinoa & Rice Base
3/4 c. quinoa (rinse if you’re not lazy like me)
3/4 c. sushi rice (rinse if you aren’t lazy like me)
2 Tbsp. mushroom-based umami powder
1 Tbsp. vinegar (I usually use rice vinegar but only had black vinegar on hand)
1 Tbsp. sesame oil
Big sprinkle salt
3c. water
Combine all and set your rice cooker to cook. Alternately, sushi rice & quinoa both take about 25 minutes to cook on the stove.
Now for the mix-ins to transform this simple added-protein base into a few different dishes.
Day 1: Sesame Crusted Salmon Bowl
Sesame crusted salmon (take 1 salmon steak, skin and de-bone. Pat dry. Brush with a little soy sauce and sprinkle liberally with sesame seeds. Press the sesame seeds into the fish to adhere. Shallow fry over medium-high in a pan until cooked to your desired doneness. Drain on paper towels until ready to use.)
Quinoa + sushi rice base (see recipe above)
Avocado, sliced or cubed
Lemon sesame pickled cucumbers , diced
Pickled ginger, minced
Nori
Roasted butternut squash (Mix 1 Tbsp. soy sauce, 1 Tbsp. sesame oil, 1/2 tsp. date molasses & 1/2 tsp. white miso into a sauce – drizzle over a halved and seeded butternut squash and bake @ 400F for 25 mins or until soft and browned)
Sauce
1 Tbsp. peanut butter (tahini would also be great)
1 tsp. white miso
1 Tbsp. soy sauce
2 tsp. Bulldog sauce (or Worcestershire)
2 tsp. black vinegar (or sushi vinegar)
1 Tbsp. water
1 tsp. your favorite hot sauce (I used a habanero mix)
To make your bowl, assemble about half a cup of the quinoa mix and later the desired amount of the rest of the ingredients. Drizzle sauce over top and sprinkle with thinly sliced nori. Dust with more sesame if desired.
Day 2: Spicy Fiesta(ish) Bowl
1/2 c. frozen corn
1 bell pepper, chopped
1/4 red onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
Sauté the above in olive oil; season with salt, pepper & Tony’s Creole seasoning or your favorite spicy mix
Bowl Base
1/2 c. quinoa
1 hand full cilantro, chopped
1 Tbsp. water
1 Tbsp. lime juice
Add the water to the quinoa and zap to warm. Stir in the cilantro and lime juice.
Sauce
2 Tbsp. your favorite plain yogurt (mine is a plain coconut milk)
2 tsp. – 1 Tbsp. your favorite hot sauce (mine is a habanero garlic mix)
Stir to combine.
Toppers
Avocado
Butternut squash leftover from the first bowl
To make your bowl, assemble about half a cup of the quinoa mix and later the desired amount of the rest of the ingredients. Drizzle sauce over top and top with avocado & squash.
Day 3: Spiced Chickpea Veggie Bowl
1.5 c. chopped kale
1/2 small red onion, diced
1 bell pepper, chopped
1 lg. zucchini, diced
1 Tbsp. oil
Salt & pepper
Sauce
1/4 c. yogurt
1 Tbsp. almond butter
1 tsp. turmeric
1 tsp. sumac
2 tsp. lemon juice
Leftover Bowl Components
Butternut squash
Quinoa rice mix
Topper
Avocado
Roasted chickpeas (I usually buy mine and have an Indian spiced variety that’s amazing)
To make your bowl, assemble about half a cup of the quinoa mix and later the desired amount of the rest of the ingredients. Drizzle sauce over top and add avocado & chickpeas.
Gastography 