What do you do when unexpected guests, a limited budget and a lack time conspire to put a wrench into an otherwise beautiful summer evening?

I had the quinoa, an avocado, some olives and cheese and the chocolate sauce!

The grocery was about to close in 10 minutes!

I ran in without a plan. Went straight to the “fish area”; I needed something fancy that would cook fast and go well with the quinoa salad I had just decided to make.

I bought the salmon; Wild Norwegian Salmon which is thick and moist which for me means easy cooking and a juicy dinner.

I chopped the avocado and put together a deconstructed salad on a cute plate with some olives and feta cheese.

A handful of fresh veggies get chopped and go into the cooked quinoa with olive oil and lime juice.

I broiled the salmon with crushed garlic and some olive oil and lemon.

A quick toss of the quinoa and veggies and plate it up! 20 minutes! Quick and Fancy!

I bought a quart of coconut ice cream and blackberries and topped it off with chocolate syrup.

I was almost embarrassed by how impressed everyone was but happily took the credit!

This amazing potato salad recipe has endured a handful of incarnations.

Originally, it included bacon so I, a vegetarian, have been on a quest to replace that bacon flavor with a handful of substitutions.

I have tried avocado in the dressing, toasted pine nuts, immitation bacon; spices. You name it.

Nothing really captured not only the flavor of the bacon but the crispy texture or greasy mouthfeel, either.

Fried leeks were my next attempt to capture all of these elements that have always seemed to be missing from the veggie version of this very popular dish.

Recipe:

Chop and boil 4 lbs. of red skin potatoes

Chop 1 red bell pepper, 1 orange bell pepper, 1 yellow bell pepper

Chop 7-8 green onions

Chop 1 red onion

Fry 2 leeks until crispy

Add ingredients together when cooled

Mix togehter about 2 cups of Hellman’s Real Mayonnaise with about 2 Tbsn of yellow mustard

Salt and pepper to taste

Learning about leeks was the next step.

My very knowledgable girlfriend gave me some useful tips when dealing with leeks:

Clean them very well as they have dirt in between the leaves and use only the white to bright green portion when frying or using for salads.

The dark green leaves can be used for soups and stews.

This corn on the cob cooks on the grill. What could be easier!?

Open the husks and remove the silk

Mix together butter and crushed garlic and rub all over the corn

Close the husk and place on the grill. Delicious! and Easy!

I used 1 medium eggplant and sliced into thick planks.

Then dredged them in flour, egg wash and Italian style bread crumbs and fried until golden.

Then I place them on a baking sheet and kept them at about 325 degrees until we were ready to make our burgers.

I toasted the buns with a bit of olive oil and made a mayo/spicy barbeque sauce to serve on the side.

My very handsome date, Wolf!

Inspired by a visit with my favorite aunt, I felt like nurturing her with her favorite flavors and some new decedant treats like cheeses and bread!

We enjoyed the leek and mushroom pizza on tuesday at the restaurant, however, we did have some issues.

We thaught that there was too much “sauce”. It was cheese or something, we couldn’t put our fingers on it but it over-powered the delicate flavor of the leeks and the mushrooms seemed non-existant.

I sauteed my leeks in olive oil with about 4-5 cloves of roasted garlic which I had left over and I used shiitake mushrooms.

I use the shiitake because of the intense flavor and the rubbery texture. They stand up to cooking and the flavor is rich and earthy.

I also used fresh mozzerella; about 5 1/4 inch slices then sprinkled on some parmesan; not much. Pizza is best with a light touch.

The leeks had the sweet, delicate onion flavor that I was hoping for and that sweetness accented the shiitake perfectly.

Arugula and tomatoes with feta cheese and a splash of oil was fresh and flavorful! I threw in some fresh basil for a peppery/licorice punch!

We are already missing her and looking forward to the next visit.

With more omega 3 than salmon, vitamin D and coenzyme Q, there is no denying the health benefits of sardines.

I am just trying to make them more appealing!

I can and do eat them out of the can, with mustard on toast, I’ve eaten them out of tubes and from tins of “paste”.

But I realize that most people won’t do this. And even I want to sit down and enjoy my healthy food with a little romance and the beauty of the presentation!

I threw together a brown mustard/olive oil dressing and mixed it with arugula and added 1/2 a sliced avocado to 1 can of water packed sardines and add a sqeeze of half a lemon.

The flavors worked well together to create not just a tasty but highly nutritious meal which is also quite low in calories. 360 total. Nutrient dense for sure!

Check out this article for Reasons to eat sardines

Some have long been aware of the health benefits of eating sardines. In a 1984 issue of the Town & Country magazine, James Villas wrote an article entitled “The Unsung Sardine” in which he said that “ounce for ounce, sardines provide more calcium and phosphorus than milk, more protein than steak, more potassium than bananas, and more iron than cooked spinach.”

Sardines are also a highly sustainable little fish which contains fewer toxins than it’s bigger fish friends.

Lots of pesto and olive oil!

I sliced french bread and brushed it with olive oil and broiled for a few minutes to get crunchy, crusty goodness!

I also toasted some pine nuts and served them on the side to garnish everything!

Arugula dressed with fresh squeezed lemon and olive oil is simple, clean and delicious!

A great bottle of red wine and Brownies a la mode definitely make this a Meatless Monday to remember!

No one feels deprived. Not even the most serious of meat eaters.

So fragrant! Throwing chopped tomatoes, basil and crushed garlic into hot pasta brings out all the aromas and delivers flavors at the peak of freshness.

The girls loved it! Lots of olive oil and crushed garlic put this over the top.

Parmesan cheese brought it all together!

The freshness of summer is right around the corner!

Meatless Monday! Was Pizza Night for us this week.

The girls were in charge.

I picked up dough at my favorite pizza spot; $3.50 for one large dough which makes a 17 inch pizza. That is a great value and a tremendous time saver. Plus, you know that it will be perfect every time.

We made tomato and basil, shiitake and spinach, pesto and pine nut, and a red sauce and cheese.

For the shiitake and spinach I sautéed the mushrooms and spinach in olive oil before adding them to the pizza. For the base I spread parmesan, garlic and olive oil cream sauce spread which I made beforehand then topped it off with shredded mozzarella cheese. Delish!

The tomato, basil and mozzarella pizza was fantastic! After preparing the dough we coated the top with a drizzle of olive oil then laid on the veggies…..this one was best; Belle’s creation! Gorgeous!

Homemade pesto, a few pine nuts and mozzarella made a great light pizza which was great with the Blue Moon Belgian wheat beer.

This is not only Meatless Monday! But family night and Pizzalicious!

Meatless Monday! was a huge hit tonight. It may have been the best to date.

The soup and sandwich idea was inspired by a cold and rainy day

This meal was not just meatless but vegan deliciousness.

My kale obsession continues and I have made it kid friendly and so satisfying.

I had planned to put the white beans in the soup and serve with a gourmet toasted cheese sandwich. When I mentioned this to my daughter she turned up her nose at the cheese sandwich idea, which actually made me happy as I am all about vegan meals.

So I began “deconstructing”. What to do with the beans? What do we get from cheese that we like so much? The creamy, filling, salty goodness! I can do that with white beans!

A baguette thinly sliced and lightly coated with fragrant organic olive oil was the beginning.

I then lightly toasted them and put them aside.
I sautéed ¼ of a white onion with 5 cloves of garlic and about 2 big tablespoons of rosemary in ¼ cup of olive oil until the onions were transparent.
Then I placed the cooled mixture into the food processer with 2 cans of white northern beans and pureed and set this aside, also.
I then sliced 1 large roasted red pepper.

I also had a large bunch of fresh basil. I used 5-6 cloves of garlic and toasted about a half cup of pine nuts and combined in the food processer with ¾ cup of olive oil and set that aside to assemble right before dinner so that the crostini did not become soggy.

The kale soup was easy plus I cheated with vegan soup bullion.

In a large soup pot I sautéed ½ a white onion with 5-6 cloves of garlic and about ½ cup of olive oil.

I chopped the kale and sautéed it for a bit, then added cubed yellow organic potatoes.

I then added about 8-10 cups of water and 2 tablespoons of vegan bullion and allowed it to cook for about an hour and a half.

Parmesan cheese tops my daughters soup.

This wine was great with the soup.

This was my “cheat” ingredient!

My food processor was my best friend today. I couldn’t have done it without her! I could have but it wouldn’t have been as easy or as fun!

I am in love with kale!

I am deep into experimentation and I am sure that I haven’t even scratched the surface.

Today I was thinking stir fry but as I ate this meal I felt as though the kale was the “pasta”; carrying the weight of the flavors while not offering much more than nutritive value; which “ain’t a bad thing”.

I could definitely taste the kale but it wasn’t the dominant flavor, however, all the while offered texture and surface for the earthy shiitake, sweet leeks and creamy coconut.

If you read here often you know that I like spicy so there was a lot of crushed red pepper, some red chili paste, and I also threw in the last of a jar of peanut sauce; about 1 tablespoon. And, it goes without saying, lots of garlic! ¼ cup of coconut milk rounded out this dish.

This was very easy and quite filling. It was more delicious than I thought it would be and that was because I underestimated the power of the leeks.

I sautéed the leeks , garlic, mushrooms and red pepper flakes in about a ½ tablespoon of coconut oil.

This process bought out a creamy texture and caramel –like sweetness of the leeks which added a whole new dimension to the overall dish. The garlic and mushrooms became just the slightest bit crispy and the crushed pepper infused into everything.

I added the chopped kale and let everything cook to perfection.

Just as everything was just about finished I added ¼ cup of coconut milk to bring it all together.

Just before serving I squeezed a half of a lime over the dish….gorgeous!

Total calories: about 425 Delicious and nutritious meal: Priceless!

Ingredients:

1 bunch of organic kale
1 large leek
4-5 large shiitake mushrooms
4-5 cloves of garlic sliced
As many shakes of crushed red pepper as you like
About 1 TBSPN peanut sauce (peanuts/peanut butter would work)
1 TBSPN red chili paste
¼ cup coconut milk
½ lime juice
1/2 TBSPN coconut oil

I wish that my meals looked as good as they taste.

How can I convince you that nutritious, yummy vegan meals are satisfying and delicious when they look so awful in photographs?

Food photography is indeed an art unto itself; an art which I have not mastered and do not see doing so in the near future.

However, making this stuff look good must take a talent far beyond my reach so I will have to ask you to indulge me; trust me, this food is great, not just nutritionally balanced but tasty!

When I make a meal like this I consider all the nutritional elements and the flavor notes, as well.

Some ingredients just lend themselves to certain herbs and spice combinations. Sometimes it’s nice to think outside the proverbial box and combine the unexpected.

And getting over the notion that you need a pound of flesh at every meal will liberate you to introduce your palate to flavors and textures that will seduce into a new way of eating.

It will also allow you to obtain necessary nutrition and micro-nutrients from foods which you haven’t been eating.

For my main meal of the day I consider a few things: I like to eat a lot of vegetables, I need to incorporate a healthy fat, and I like to make sure that there is protein.

Herbs and spices are important to healthy body function and can help fight off disease and increase overall wellness.

This recipe includes fresh ginger and garlic as well as crushed red pepper and red chili paste.

Coconut oil and avocado help provide that creamy mouth feel which leads to satiety and provide a vehicle for fat soluble nutrients.

Ingredients

1 TBSP coconut oil
2 TBSP red chili paste (or to taste)
1 TBSP crushed red pepper flakes
3-4 cloves garlic, sliced
fresh ginger to taste, sliced
2-3 Cups of broccoli
1-2 cups fresh spinach
1/2 cup pinto beans
1 avocado sliced, for garnish

Method

In a frying pan, saute coconut oil, garlic, ginger, red chili paste and crushed red pepper.

Add the broccoli and spinach and allow to cook; Just a few minutes on high.

Add 1/2 cup of pinto beans and allow to cook on medium heat for about 10-15 minutes.

Serve with sliced avocado.

Enjoy!