vegetarian

Balsamic & Orange Roasted Carrots

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Who here likes to be fancy? ME! ME! Actually, it’s more that I like to pretend to be fancy. It’s a fine line between real and pretend fancy so pretending to be fancy is 99% of the way there. Either way, these carrots will make you seem super fancy. Why? First, because I say so. Of course that’s a legitimate reason. Second, because balsamic vinegar. Fancy. Third, you add orange zest into anything and it’s *for real* fancy. Even the word “zest” sounds fancy. Fourth, we grew these multi-colored carrots in our garden and WHOA are they fancy.

You can of course make this recipe with normal orange carrots from the store. I swear I won’t even tell you that you are not fancy, partially because the carrots that you see in the picture are the ONLY carrots we were able to grow this year. Better than last year when we did not get even one carrot to grow. Luckily, these beauties turned out absolutely delicious so it was all worth it!

It’s hard to tell but if you look at the pan of carrots, you can actually see that the reddish purple carrots were bright yellow on the inside (i.e. the carrot on the far left on the baking sheet above)! How awesome!! Little things amuse me…but come on, pretty cool. I was shocked when I cut into it. For those of you who knew this because you are real gardeners or real cooks, just pretend to be excited with me. Someday maybe this won’t surprise me anymore but for now it seems crazy awesome! 

Balsamic & Orange Roasted Carrots
Serves 4
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Prep Time
15 min
Cook Time
35 min
Prep Time
15 min
Cook Time
35 min
Ingredients
  1. 12 small to medium whole carrots
  2. 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
  3. 1 large orange (to get 1/4 cup orange juice and 1/2 tablespoon orange zest)
  4. 3 cloves garlic, minced
  5. 2 tablespoons olive oil
  6. salt & pepper, to taste
  7. handful of green beans, optional (I threw them in because they were in our garden)
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
  2. Cut carrots into halves or quarters lengthwise depending on the size of the carrots. You want them to all be a similar thickness. Place on a baking sheet with green beans (optional).
  3. Zest orange and set orange zest aside for later. Add 1/4 cup of orange juice from your orange into a small sauce pan. Add the balsamic vinegar and simmer on low heat for 3-5 minutes until is starts to thicken slightly. Add minced garlic and 1/2 tablespoon of orange zest. Simmer for another 3-5 minutes until the mixture reduces by about half.
  4. Toss carrots and green beans (optional) with olive oil, balsamic orange sauce, and salt & pepper.
  5. Place carrots in 375 degree oven for 30-40 minutes, until they reach your desired tenderness.
  6. To serve, you can squeeze fresh orange juice over the top.
Notes
  1. This recipe works with regular or fancy multi-colored carrots so don't fret if you don't have the ones like in my pictures.
Flavor From Scratch https://www.flavorfromscratch.com/
 

Garden Fresh Pizza Sauce

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I’ve already discussed my feelings on pizza. If you missed this, you can check out my pizza dough recipe to understand my obsession. Luckily, I found a husband who shares my pizza obsession. Apparently we were just meant to be. A match made in pizza heaven. Everybody say, “AWWWW.” Okay good. We can move on now.

When we were in college my husband and his brother were roommates and would easily eat at least one frozen pizza a week. I have to admit that for college, even making a frozen pizza was pretty good. I’m guessing a lot of students probably didn’t even know if the oven in their apartment actually worked. Why cook when there are 50 million cheap take-out places nearby? Seriously, they had a point. However, once out of college and married the deal became that we could eat pizza to our hearts’ content but I wanted to make it at home.

Our homemade pizzas started with homemade pizza dough and store bought everything else. That was a great start! Then I started making cheese so it was homemade pizza dough with homemade cheese and bought everything else. Now I apparently make pizza sauce so it’s homemade pizza dough, homemade cheese, and homemade pizza sauce with store bought pepperoni. Pepperoni is pepperoni and it’s a hard habit to kick. Seriously. I don’t see myself making it so I may have to actually buy it as is. Such is life.

Bottom line is, you don’t have to make EVERYTHING from scratch to have some good eats! We didn’t start by making the whole shebang from scratch but eventually it becomes easier. Also, once you make one piece of the pizza (like sauce or dough), you can freeze it for the next time and the process is a lot easier!

Garden Fresh Pizza Sauce
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Prep Time
20 min
Cook Time
30 min
Prep Time
20 min
Cook Time
30 min
Ingredients
  1. 10 Roma tomatoes
  2. 2 tablespoons olive oil
  3. 1/2 cup chopped onion
  4. 4 cloves of garlic
  5. 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  6. 2 1/2 tablespoons fresh basil, minced (or 1 teaspoon dried)
  7. 1/2 tablespoon sugar, optional depending on sweetness of tomatoes and preference
  8. 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
  9. pinch of salt & pepper, to taste
Instructions
  1. Bring small pot of water to a boil. While waiting for the water to boil, cut an "X" shape on bottom of each tomato (see above image). This will help the skin remove easily. Once the water is boiling, place the tomatoes in the water for about 30 seconds. Remove the tomatoes and place into bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. Once cool enough to handle, remove the skin and discard. The skin should basically fall off of the tomatoes. Cut tomatoes in half, remove extra seeds from the tomatoes and discard. Set the tomatoes aside.
  2. Heat olive oil in skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and let saute 4-5 minutes. Add garlic and saute about 1 more minute. Add seeded tomatoes and break apart a bit with a spoon. Add the oregano, basil, sugar, crushed red pepper, and salt & pepper.
  3. Let simmer for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  4. Transfer to blender to blend or blend with handheld blender in the skillet (this option can get messy) if you want a smoother texture.
Notes
  1. You can also make this with a can of diced or crushed tomatoes (I'm guessing about a 28 oz can) instead of the fresh tomatoes.
  2. I used about 1/3 of a cup of sauce on my pizza but I'm not a fan of a ton of sauce. With the leftovers, I split them into small freezer bags in about 1/3 cup portions. This way, I can put the sauce in the refrigerator the night before and it will be waiting for me to make pizza!
Flavor From Scratch https://www.flavorfromscratch.com/

Zucchini, Corn & Spinach Quiche

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I didn’t eat eggs until I had quiche. True story. Except for in baked goods, I didn’t eat eggs for about 20 years of my life. I think in my mind they were mysterious and gross and wouldn’t be good to put in my mouth. I had no reason to think this. I don’t think I had ever actually given them a chance.

One day, my friends and I were all home from college and they were coming over for brunch. My mom asked what I wanted to make and I said quiche. Why I chose quiche I have no idea. I was fully aware that it was made with eggs as a star ingredient. Apparently I thought my friends really liked quiche. Who knows.

My mom asked what I wanted in my quiche so she could pick up the ingredients when she went grocery shopping and I just found a recipe with the basics. Eggs. Cheese. Sweet bell pepper. Done.

I made the quiche with a store bought crust and the basics. By the way, you can also make this recipe with an uncooked store bought crust. It will still be yummy! Anyway, I sat and twiddled my thumbs while it baked thinking it would turn out like a giant egg mess.

Lo and behold, about an hour later when the quiche was done it looked rather tasty. Being that I asked for quiche, had my mom buy the ingredients, then went through the trouble to make it, I figured I better eat it. So very tentatively I picked up my fork and took a bite. Delicious! Turns out eggs are pretty good.

Sorry 20 years of my life. Sorry you missed out on eggs and delicious quiche. Because I missed so much deliciousness over the years, I make it up to myself now by making all sorts of delicious quiche. Here’s a good one!

Zucchini, Corn & Spinach Quiche
Serves 8
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Prep Time
30 min
Cook Time
1 hr
Prep Time
30 min
Cook Time
1 hr
For the pie crust
  1. 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  2. 1/4 teaspoon salt
  3. 1/4 teaspoon sugar
  4. 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed (1 stick)
  5. 3 tablespoons cold water
For the filling
  1. 1 zucchini
  2. 1 yellow squash
  3. 1 tablespoon olive oil
  4. 1 garlic clove, minced
  5. 2 ears of corn (about 1 cup corn)
  6. 1/4 cup chopped onion (I used half a small yellow onion)
  7. 2 cups of fresh spinach
  8. 4 eggs
  9. 1/4 cup milk
  10. 1 tablespoon dried basil
  11. 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  12. 1/2 teaspoon salt, plus a pinch to sprinkle on zucchini
  13. 1/4 teaspoon pepper
  14. 1 cup grated melting cheese (I used cheddar)
  15. 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
For the pie crust
  1. Place dry ingredients (flour, salt, sugar) in food processor and pulse to blend.
  2. Add butter in 1/2 inch cubes, one or two at a time. Pulse between adding cubes of butter to incorporate.
  3. Add water and pulse until the dough just comes together into a ball
  4. Flatten dough into a disc and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate 1 hour.
  5. After dough has rested, roll into circle on well-floured surface and transfer into pie dish.
  6. Crimp edges of pie crust and set aside.
For the filling
  1. Slice zucchini and squash into thin slices (I used a mandoline) and place on a wire rack. Sprinkle with salt and let sit for at least 15 minutes while preparing the rest of the filling.
  2. In a large saute pan, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add garlic and saute for 1 minute. Add corn cut from corn cobs and onion. Saute for about 5 minutes until the corn turns bright yellow and the onion starts to turn translucent. Add fresh spinach and heat until it just wilts in the pan. Take off heat and set aside.
  3. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, dried basil, dried oregano, salt and pepper. Mix in the melting cheese and Parmesan cheese (I saved a little cheese to sprinkle over top).
  4. Take a paper towel or towel and pat the zucchini and squash dry. You want them as dry as possible so the quiche does not become soggy.
To assemble
  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
  2. Layer zucchini/squash with onion/corn/spinach mixture in pie crust.
  3. Pour egg mixture over top, making sure it gets all the way to the bottom of the crust. Sprinkle the top with remaining cheese.
  4. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until eggs become firm to the touch in the middle. Let sit about 10 minutes once it is out of the oven to set before cutting. Quiche can be served hot or warm.
Notes
  1. You want to make sure the zucchini and squash are VERY dry or else there could be too much water in the mixture and you end up with a soggy pie crust.
  2. You can buy an uncooked pie crust at the store and complete the process the same way...but what's the fun in that?
  3. Mozzarella, Gouda, or another kind of melting cheese would be nice instead of cheddar but I had cheddar I had to use up! It was still delicious!
  4. I topped mine with fresh basil because I had it. And because it's pretty. Who doesn't like pretty?
Flavor From Scratch https://www.flavorfromscratch.com/

Veggie Packed Peanut Butter Pasta

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This pasta dish is CRAZY good. Seriously. Don’t believe me? My sister and her husband along with my *adorable* niece were here a couple weekends ago from Ohio and we made this pasta dish together. While eating, the conversation went something like this:

Sister: This is soooo good. The best thing I ever ate.

Me: I know, right?

Brother-in-law to my sister: Steph sent you this recipe, right?

Sister: Yeah I should have it in my email.

Brother-in-law: Ok, good. Just wanted to make sure.

Then, silence. While eating. And eating. And eating. The only one who wasn’t silent was my niece but that’s because she’s a baby and was hungry. Can’t blame her really. She is only just starting to eat real food and doesn’t understand the concept “CRAZY good” yet. All she knew was that she was hungry so she’s exempt from the silence while eating I speak of.

Needless to say, my sister and her husband ate the leftovers the next day before they went home. They also made it about 2 days later. Actually, every time we’ve talked since then my sister says they are eating it for dinner. I’m starting to wonder if this is all they eat.

Well to add to the fun, my sister and brother-in-law apparently told my parents about this pasta gold and my parents ended up coming a couple weekends later. I’m pretty sure they came for the pasta. Forget their daughter. Forget their son-in-law. Forget their cute grandkitties. They came for this pasta. What is this world coming to?? Delicious pasta…that’s what it’s coming to. I’m okay with that honestly.

Why is it so delicious? It’s probably the homemade pasta. Or maybe the abundance of colorful and delicious vegetables. Or maybe the creamy, salty, sweet, tangy sauce that goes on top. You’ll have to decide why you love it so much. All I know is this recipe is worth the time. Now go make it. Thanks. Actually, you should be thanking me for giving you the recipe. It’s that good.

Veggie Packed Peanut Butter Pasta
Serves 4
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Prep Time
20 min
Cook Time
10 min
Total Time
30 min
Prep Time
20 min
Cook Time
10 min
Total Time
30 min
Pasta and veggie ingredients
  1. 1/2 of fresh homemade pasta recipe (or 1 pound of dried pasta)
  2. 1 tablespoon sesame oil
  3. 1 red bell pepper, cored and thinly sliced
  4. 1 yellow bell pepper, cored and thinly sliced
  5. 3 carrots, peeled and sliced into thin sticks
  6. 2 cups shredded red cabbage
  7. 1 bag frozen shelled edamame (10 ounce bag)
Peanut butter sauce ingredients
  1. 1/2 cup peanut butter (crunchy or creamy)
  2. 1/4 cup soy sauce
  3. 2 tablespoons honey
  4. 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
  5. 1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger
  6. 2 teaspoons sesame oil
  7. 1 clove garlic, minced
  8. 1 teaspoon sriracha, or to taste
  9. 1/4 cup pasta water, as needed
Instructions
  1. Whisk all the peanut butter sauce ingredients (except the pasta water) together in a bowl. This can also be done in food processor, though I like the crunch of the crunchy peanut butter we used.
  2. Prepare pasta by cooking al dente. Save 1/4 cup of the pasta water to help thin the peanut butter sauce.
  3. While the pasta is cooking, heat 1 tablespoon of sesame oil in a large saute pan, then add the bell peppers and carrots. Saute for 2-3 minutes
  4. Add the red cabbage and edamame. Saute for an additional 2-3 minutes, or until edamame is heated through.
  5. Toss the peanut butter sauce, sauteed veggies, and pasta together in a large saute pan or pot. Add the pasta water, as needed, to thin the pasta to desired consistency.
Notes
  1. You can add peanuts, sesame seeds, or scallions to garnish if you would like, though I did not. I enjoy using crunchy peanut butter because it adds a crunch to the pasta along with the vegetables. I honestly have never made this recipe with dried pasta. This may be because I have not eaten dried pasta since I got my pasta maker. We're officially pasta snobs I suppose. If you can make the pasta from scratch, go for it! Otherwise, my sister informs me that it is also delicious with dried pasta.
Adapted from Gimme Some Oven
Adapted from Gimme Some Oven
Flavor From Scratch https://www.flavorfromscratch.com/

Roasted Corn & Bean Salsa

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I love summer. First of all, working in the schools as an occupational therapist I get the summer off (minus a few weeks of summer school). Woo hoo! Second, Michigan feels like it has about 8 months of winter so summer is a nice break from cold. And snow. And cold. And snow. You get the point. If you don’t understand, I envy you because you must live somewhere warm where everyone thinks winter is a myth that us Northerners make up. Well, winter is real, folks. It’s real and it’s horrible. Unless you like snow up to your head. Then it’s wonderful. Third, and most of all, summer has the most wonderful options for beautiful fruits, veggies, and herbs!

I love going to the grocery store knowing that most of the food in the produce section is actually in season and not shipped from across the world. Actually, most of it is probably still shipped across the world BUT I try to gravitate towards the stands that say “Grown in Michigan.” It makes me feel better…even if it’s a lie.
 

Right now, corn on the cob is in abundance. A big perk of buying produce is season is that you can find it for cheap. Look for what’s on sale. Chances are there’s a reason it’s on sale. Like as in they have 5 bajillion ears of corn so if you don’t buy it the corn will go to waste. It’s very wrong to let something as delicious as fresh corn go to waste. So, I decided to use some of the sweet summer corn for a gorgeous and scrumptious corn and bean salsa!

I actually used corn that I cut of the cob with a knife for this recipe. Novel concept, I know. BUT if you *really* didn’t have fresh corn (I understand not everyone lives in corn country) you can use frozen or drained canned corn. To cut the corn off the cob I stood the uncooked, husked corn up on it’s edge and simply cut down the side as close as I could to the cob with a serrated knife. I usually do this in a bowl to keep the kernels all together. But if you want to make a mess, that’s your decision. I support you. I will not come and clean your house after you make the mess though, so choose wisely.

This salsa is so fresh and very versatile. I ate mine with tortilla chips but it would also be delicious on a salad, in tacos or a quesadilla, on top of rice, or just straight up. Try them all. I dare you. Comment and let me know how you ate your roasted corn and bean salsa!

 *Side note. We went out to eat the next day. Because that’s what my family does when we’re together apparently. Anyways, we got corn and bean salsa/salad at a Tex Mex restaurant and my family told me that mine was better. WIN! If you want to be a winner make this salsa.
Roasted Corn & Bean Salsa
Serves 12
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Prep Time
15 min
Prep Time
15 min
Ingredients
  1. 1 cup corn
  2. 1 cup shelled edamame
  3. 1- 15 oz. can of black beans, drained
  4. 1/2 cup red onion, chopped
  5. 1 cup tomato, seeds removed and chopped
  6. 1 jalapeno, seeds removed and minced
  7. 1 clove garlic, minced
  8. 2 tablespoons cilantro, chopped
  9. juice from 1 lime (about 2 tablespoons)
  10. 1/2 teaspoon cumin
  11. salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
  1. Saute the corn and edamame on medium heat with a pinch of salt and pepper until the corn turns a brighter yellow and the corn and edamame start to slightly brown. Let cool.
  2. Mix corn and edamame mixture with remaining ingredients. Salt and pepper to taste. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
  3. *I found that letting the salsa sit for a couple of hours or even overnight before serving lets the flavors mix nicely!*
Notes
  1. I cut the kernels from 2 uncooked ears of corn, which ended up being approximately 1 cup of corn. If you do this, make sure you saute the corn as listed in step 1 because raw corn would not be yummy! For the edamame, I used frozen. If you find fresh that's great but the frozen works wonderfully! I used about half of a medium red onion to get a half a cup chopped. I removed the seeds and chopped up 3 Roma tomatoes to get about 1 cup chopped. I like to remove the seeds to make the overall salsa less runny. Roma tomatoes are nice because they have a lot of meat to them!
Flavor From Scratch https://www.flavorfromscratch.com/
 
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