Beet & Heirloom Tomato Salad with Roasted Chickpeas

My first box from Imperfect Produce showed up today! Fortuitously, I was already planning to work from home (read: mess around in my kitchen all day). The beets went straight from box to cutting board to oven in the span of 7 minutes after I brought the box inside.

Followed very closely by a beautiful yellow tomato, half of which went in this salad and the other half on my toast for breakfast. Underneath those tomato slices is a mixture of tahini, miso, garlic, soy sauce and green onions that I've been putting on almost everything.

This salad is ridiculously healthy, simple and delicious (if you like beets, unlike my boyfriend), but it takes a little planning. The beets and chickpeas take almost an hour to roast but that can be done hours or a couple days earlier.

Beet & Heirloom Tomato Salad with Roasted Chickpeas
(2-3 servings)
3 beets, scrubbed and halved
1 tablespoon olive oil

1 can chickpeas, rinsed and dried
1 tablespoon olive oil

1-2 tablespoon red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons parsley, chopped
1 green onion, chopped
1/2 lemon, juiced
1 heirloom tomato, sliced
salt and pepper
feta cheese
arugula

Preheat oven to 375. Toss beets in olive oil and roast on parchment paper or tin foil for 45-60 minutes, until easy to cut into. Coat chickpeas in olive oil and spread out onto sheet pan covered with parchment paper or tin foil. Roast 35-45 minutes, shaking every 10 minutes. (This can be done at the same time as the beets). When chickpeas are done, toss them in combination of cumin, salt, chili powder, and a pinch of cayenne.

When beets have cooled, slice thinly and place in a mixing bowl. Add vinegar, parsley, green onion, lemon, salt and pepper. Allow to marinate in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes. Toss in tomato, feta and arugula, top with chickpeas to serve.

Beet Quinoa with Nectarine, Feta & Sweet Corn

The coolest piece of junk mail was waiting for me in my mailbox this afternoon. It was a promotional card for a company called "Imperfect Produce" that ships ugly fruits and veggies to your door that would otherwise be thrown away by grocery stores. The produce is 30-50% cheaper than grocery stores! I'll be their mail-marketing success story. Just signed up for my first free box.

But isn't my grocery store produce pretty? 

Tonya came over for dinner, wine and furniture kvetching. Luckily she came over late after her 6pm meeting (woof), because these beets took a solid hour+ to cook though. Dense little buggers. 

Regardless of the time commitment, I will definitely be making this again. Both of us kept eating out of the bowl, and not because we were hungry. And it's pink, so that's a plus. 

Beet Quinoa with Nectarine, Feta & Sweet Corn

2 large beets

1 cup white quinoa

½ lemon, juiced

olive oil

1 nectarine, cubed

2 ounces feta, crumbled

1 sweet corn cob, cut off

1 avocado, cubed

¼ cup walnuts, roughly chopped

salt and pepper

red pepper flakes

3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar, reduced

sriracha

arugula

Preheat oven to 375. Scrub grit off of beets, then rub with olive oil. Roast beets for 45-60 minutes until very tender. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before cutting into 2” cube. Blend beets in food processor with olive oil and lemon juice until finely chopped. Scrape mixture into a large mixing bowl.

In a medium pot, add quinoa with 2 cups water. Bring to a boil then reduce and cover for 15 minutes, or until all liquid is absorbed. Combine cooked quinoa with beet mixture. Stir in remaining ingredients. Serve with drizzle of reduced balsamic vinegar, handful of arugula and sriracha. 

Day 5: Confetti Lentils with a Fried Egg & Braised Leeks

I haven't exactly been "by the book" on this cleanse, and tonight was no exception. The protein paired with the confetti lentils was lamb shank, which would have been delicious, but I've decided to forfeit red meat during this process. Bonus - I love fried eggs in strange places. Somehow a leek ended up in my grocery basket last weekend, so I googled "braised leeks" and found a simple recipe from Epicurious.

I learned two things today. One, my new blender is awesome - powerful, quiet, easy to clean. Two, lentils take a lot longer to cook than I thought they did. The recipe said 20-30, but it took at least 40 minutes. Have a snack on hand.
- Breakfast: Banana almond smoothie made from 1 frozen banana, 1 cup almond milk, 1 tablespoon almond butter, 2 dashes cinnamon

- Lunch: Spinach salad topped with canned tuna, blood orange slices, cucumber slices, pistachios and pepitas with drizzle of olive oil and whole grain mustard

- Snacks: Pickle, carrot sticks, almonds, apple

- Dinner: Confetti lentils with a fried egg and braised leek (just the one leek)
- Dessert: 7 dark chocolate chips, a few frozen berries and a dried fig

Confetti Lentils

1 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 cup baby carrots, diced

1/2 medium celery root (I left this off)

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 onion, diced

1 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 cup French green lentils

In a large pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add vegetables to the pan and sauté until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in lentils and add 3 cups of boiling water to the pot. Return to a boil then cover and simmer for 30-40 minutes. Lentils should be tender but keep their shape. Add salt and pepper if desired. *Do not strain liquid. Store leftover lentils in cooking liquid to keep them tender. Serve using slotted spoon. Top with fried egg to make a meal!

Braised Leeks with Lemon 
4 leeks, tough exterior removed and trimmed to be 7" long, cut into quarters lengthwise
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 cup chicken stock
1 teaspoon lemon zest

Soak or rinse leek thoroughly to remove grit. In heavy pan, heat olive oil and add leeks. Cook leeks for 5 minutes, then add chicken broth. Continue to cook until leeks are very tender, around 5-7 minutes. Top with lemon zest and serve immediately.

Roasted Butternut Squash with Pomegranate & Pecans in Tahini Maple Dressing

Is it just me or are persimmons the new kale? I see them everywhere. I know they're in season but they're at every stand at the farmer's market, grocery store, restaurant menu, Pinterest page. This is the first season I've really embraced persimmons. I had an incident with an unripe Hachiya persimmon a couple years ago that turned me off of them for a while. Do not, whatever you do, eat a Hachiya persimmon that isn't completely soft, or your mouth will dry up in a severely uncomfortable way. 

I've been eating Fuyu persimmons all month but this was my first ripe Hachiya. Dang, it was incredible. The cute, hippy farmer girl gave me the best one in her stand. Find these in a farmer's market near you immediately. 

Unlike persimmons, Delicata squash couldn't be found anywhere today. The recipe from Minimalist Baker originally had Delicata, but butternut squash played really well tonight. (Maybe I should chill on the Friday Night Lights episodes).

Something else I became obsessed with today: tahini. Hello, it's in hummus, I knew it wouldn't be bad. But as the star in it's own sauce, it really freaking good. Tahini founds it's way into both of my dishes tonight.

I'm not sure which one I liked more. This white bean and kale salad in tahini dressing I will definitely make again. Garlic French bread croutons on anything though...

Gratitude journal entry: I'm grateful for yoga. It's always a good activity for a Sunday to sweat out the weekend, breath in and out for the week ahead and remember that everything in this moment is okay. 

Roasted Butternut Squash with Pomegranate & Pecans in Tahini Maple Dressing

Squash

• 1 butternut squash (or 2 Delicata squash), halved lengthwise, seeds removed, cut into 1/2-inch slices
• 2 Tbsp coconut oil, melted
• Pinch sea salt

Dressing

• 3 Tbsp tahini
• 1/2 lemon, juiced 
• 1 Tbsp maple syrup

Toppings

• 1/4 cup pomegranate arils
• 1/4 cup dry roasted pecans, loosely chopped
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (204 degrees C).
2. Add sliced squash to a bare baking sheet (1 large or 2 small, depending on size of squash) and toss with oil and sea salt, then arrange in a single layer.
3. Bake for 20-25 minutes, flipping once at the halfway point to ensure even baking. You’ll know it's done when fork tender, golden brown, and slightly caramelized.
4. While squash is baking, prepare dressing by adding tahini, lemon juice, and maple syrup to a small mixing bowl. Whisk to combine, then add hot water 1 Tbsp at a time and whisk until pourable. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed.
5. To serve, arrange baked squash on a serving dish and top with dressing, pomegranates, pecans, and parsley. Best when enjoyed immediately.

Spaghetti Squash with Chickpeas, Feta & Arugula

Here's an example of how not to ease into the week: Invite work to dinner and engage in lengthy conversations about furniture placement, budgets and timelines. Regardless of how dry our conversation sounds, I enjoyed every bite of the meal we shared. 

I've embraced spaghetti squash in a big way this season. It's so easy, you get to eat pasta without eating pasta and you can put any darn thing in it. The trick to quicker cooking is to slice the squash in half before roasting. Plus, if you roast it whole, you will likely get blasted with molten steam when you slice into it. 

 If you, too, were debating inviting work over for dinner, I'd discourage it. I got hardly any compliments and he stuck around way too long after dessert. 
Rude. 

Spaghetti Squash with Chickpeas, Feta & Arugula
1 spaghetti squash, halved
1 tablespoon olive oil
salt and pepper
1/4 cup cooked chickpeas, rinsed
handful of arugula 
sprinkle feta and/or parmesan (both in my case)
1/2 cup marinara
red pepper flakes

Preheat oven to 400. Drizzle oil over squash halves and season with salt and pepper. Place on cooking sheet and roast for 35-40 minutes, or until soft enough to pull flesh away easily with a fork. Allow to cool slightly before shredding the inside of the squash with a fork. Place squash flesh in a bowl and stir in chickpeas, arugula and cheese. Toss with marinara sauce and a sprinkle of red pepper flakes. Zap in the microwave for a minute to heat up all ingredients. 

Roasted Carrot & Sweet Potato Soup with Turmeric & Curry

It has been an uncharacteristically warm November in San Francisco. Sunny, 60’s… I’m not complaining, but it won’t hold me back from making soup. In these weeks leading up to Thanksgiving, I try to sneak in my veggie-full meals while I can. If Thanksgiving was one meal on one day, that’d be one thing. But let’s face it, you’re facing a Thanksgiving pot-luck at work, Friendsgiving (I can’t wait for ours!), Thanksgiving day + leftovers. It’s a marathon, people. Condition accordingly.

This happens to be one of the most budget-friendly soups, too. The two main ingredients together might cost you $2. And do you see that color?? Lots of vitamin c bang for that buck. Recipe sourced from Love & Lemons.

Roasted Carrot & Sweet Potato Soup with Turmeric & Curry

6-8 big carrot sticks, diced
1 large sweet potato, or 2 small, diced
2 large cloves garlic, minced
1 medium onion or leak, diced
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons turmeric, ground
2 teaspoons madras curry powder
2 teaspoons fresh minced ginger
4 cups veggie stock plus 2 cups water
a pinch of cayenne pepper
1-2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
salt and pepper

Greek yogurt
Shaved Parmesan

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Peel and roughly chop the carrots and sweet potatoes and place on a baking sheet.  Toss everything with a drizzle of olive oil, and a good amount of salt and pepper. Roast for about 25 minutes, or until everything is golden brown.

Meanwhile, in a large pot, heat a bit of oil over low heat, add the chopped onion and garlic. Add a pinch of salt and cook until translucent. Add the turmeric, curry, and grated ginger and heat just until fragrant (30 seconds). Add the water and stock, and bring to a gentle boil, cover, and reduce to a low simmer.

Add all of the roasted veggies to the pot. Leave the pot uncovered and turn the heat off. Allow it to cool for a bit and then puree in a high speed blender.

Taste and adjust, I added a bit more salt, pepper, and a few pinches of cayenne and apple cider vinegar. Sprinkle with parmesan, top with yogurt and serve with bread.

Kale, Goat Cheese, Apple & Sausage Stuffed Delicata Squash / Olive Oil & Sea Salt Brownie Cookies

We made it to Friday, team. Great work out there. Do you ever wonder if you might not make it? It’s kind of a silly fear, but every Friday there is a unanimous feeling of relief. This makes Friday evening the perfect time for a “treat yourself” meal (read: healthy and filling dinner, glass of wine and decadent dessert).  

My homie, Quin and I discussed the menu during our lunch break, while walking through Nordstroms in the zoo that is Westfield Mall. Look who found me and needed a home in the purse section:

Plus, a 25% off Tory sale doesn’t happen every day.

But I digress. Dinner had to be fall themed, as we are both obsessed with all things fall. For dessert, the chocolaty goodness of Something Swanky’s brownie cookies topped with TJ’s pumpkin ice cream (To. Die.)  For wine, Merlot.

Cheers to making it to the other side!

Kale, Goat Cheese, Apple & Sausage Stuffed Delicata Squash

2 delicata squash, halved and seeded
olive oil
salt and pepper
½ cup quinoa
1 spicy Italian sausage, removed from casing, crumbled and cooked
1 onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
½ teaspoon dried sage
pinch cayenne
pinch nutmeg
1 Honey Crisp apple, diced
1 cup kale, chopped
2 tablespoons white wine
2 ounces goat cheese
red pepper flakes
¼ cup panko crumbs
2 tablespoons parmesan

To prepare squash, preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place halved and seeded squash on a baking sheet and drizzle with a touch of olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast in a preheated oven for 25 minutes.

In a small sauté pan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add turkey sausage and onion, cooking until sausage is cooked through and onions are soft about 10 minutes. Add garlic and cook 1 minute more. Stir sage, nutmeg, cayenne, salt and pepper into the sausage mixture. Add chopped kale, apple, and white wine. Give a good stir and then cover pan with a lid for 3-5 minutes, stirring a few times, until kale is starting to wilt and most of the moisture has evaporated. Remove filling from the stove and let cool 10 minutes.

Lastly, stir in goat cheese until mixed through and add salt and pepper to taste. Divide mixture among 4 halves and top with panko crumbs and parmesan cheese. Bake for 20 minutes until squash is cooked through.

Recipe inspired from Mountain Mama Cooks.

Heirloom Tomato & Feta Quinoa Tabouli

Being a member of Scribe Winery has been the gift that keeps giving. This weekend I took my friend Leslie, who was visiting from Charlotte, to pick up my third quarter shipment. Not only did she get to see the beauty that is Scribe with a complimentary glass of wine in hand, but we got to take home heirloom tomatoes from their garden.

Alanna and I strategically have wine club memberships near each other, so we made the rounds…

There is really only one way to eat homegrown, ripe heirloom tomatoes: raw. Maybe paired with cheese. Dinner was obvious.

Heirloom & Feta Quinoa Tabouli

1 cup quinoa
1 tablespoon + 2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves + 1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 red onion, chopped
1/2 bunch kale, chopped
1 can garbanzo beans, rinsed
1 heirloom tomato, diced
2 ounces feta, cubed
1/4 cub fresh mint, chopped
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
red pepper flakes
salt and pepper

Add quinoa and 2 cups water to a pot and bring to a boil. Reduce and cover for 12-15 minutes, until fluffy. In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil and add 2 cloves garlic and onion. Once onion start to soften, add in kale and stir. Sprinkle a tablespoon or two of water and cover to let steam for 3-5 minutes.

Dump cooked quinoa to a large bowl.Top with kale mixture, garbanzo beans, tomato, feta and mint. In a cup, whisk 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1 clove minced garlic, red wine vinegar, and lemon together. Pour over tabouli and toss. Season with salt, pepper and red pepper flakes. Serve or chill until ready to serve.

Fresh Mango, Avocado & Tofu Spring Rolls with Spicy Peanut Dipping Sauce

A fact of life: you’re going to cook what you have around the house. Or at least that’s a fact of my life. I’m not trying to reinvent the wheel every time dinner rolls around. The way I’ve been able to branch out – slowly, but surely – is to start accumulating interesting or exotic ingredients. Rome wasn’t built in a day (I became the proud owner of a bottle of soy sauce only earlier this week) but having things like fish sauce and rice noodles around the house encourages stepping-out-of-the-box.

Rice paper sheets are the best because you can stuff them with essentially anything you want. I haven’t yet attempted a dessert version but it is absolutely doable (I’m thinking pan fried banana and peanut butter spring rolls??) This time I had stocked up on vegetables from my neighborhood cheap Asian grocery store – avocados, mangoes, green onions, tofu, etc. Hence: avocado mango spring rolls.

Fresh Mango, Avocado & Tofu Spring Rolls

4 rice paper sheets
4 leaves Romaine lettuce
1/2 block firm tofu, pressed dry and cubed
1 tablespoon peanut oil
1 teaspoon fresh ginger, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 red Thai chili, chopped
1 red bell pepper, cut into thin strips
1 green onion, sliced
1 avocado, sliced
1 small mango, sliced
bean sprouts/carrots/cucumber

Spicy Peanut Dipping Sauce

1/4 cup peanut butter
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon sriracha
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon lemon/lime juice
1 teaspoon rice vinegar

Heat peanut oil in a pan and add garlic and ginger. After about a minute, stir in tofu and sauté until tofu has lightly browned sides – set aside. Dip rice paper sheets into 1 inch of water and soak for 10 seconds.  Remove, lay on plate or flat surface and blot dry with paper towel. Lay leaf of romaine lettuce on top of rice paper and layer tofu and remaining desired ingredients. Scoot lettuce leaf to edge of rice paper and pick up edge of paper to wrap ingredients with rice paper and lettuce together. At the half way point, fold in sides of paper and continue wrapping until a tight spring roll. Set aside, and repeat.

In a small bowl, whisk together dipping sauce ingredients and serve with spring rolls.

Roasted Red Pepper Soup with Fresh Mint & Sourdough Croutons

My Sunday cooking extravaganza didn’t stop with strata muffins. I still had a big chunk of the whole wheat sourdough bread left to use, and what is more satisfying than dipping a chunk of crusty bread into soup? If you’ve never roasted your own red peppers, I suggest trying it. 450 for 45 minutes and you’ve got tender, charred veggies that beat the hell out of the soggy jarred version.

I know most of you out there are experiencing the sticky heat of summertime and this soup is a refreshing dinner to serve on the porch with a chilled glass of chardonnay. Or sitting in a sweatshirt at your kitchen table, in my case.

Especially if you’re serving overs…how impressive is chilled soup? Recipe inspired by Palate/Palette/Plate.

Roasted Red Pepper Soup with Mint & Sourdough Croutons

Serves 2
2 red bell peppers, halved
6-8 cherry tomatoes, halved
1 small red onion, sliced
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
1/4 cup greek yogurt
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon lemon juice
salt and pepper
1 ear sweet corn, kernels sliced off
2 tablespoons mint, chopped

2 slices sourdough bread, cubed into 1” pieces
drizzle olive oil

Preheat oven to 450. Place bell peppers sliced-face down on a tin foil covered baking sheet. Roast for 25 minutes, then flip over and roast for another 15-20 more minutes. Wrap peppers in tin foil and allow to cool before peeling off skin.

At same temperature, spread tomatoes, onion and garlic onto baking sheet and toss in olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast for 10 minutes, or until tomatoes start to release their juices. Set aside to cool.

In a food processor, combine all ingredients except for mint and corn and blend until smooth. Adjust liquid to attain desired consistency. Stir in corn and chill for at least 1 hour or until chilled.

In a pan over medium low heat, heat a drizzle of olive oil and add bread cubes. Toast until golden and crunchy. Top soup with mint and croutons.

Healthy Weekend Lunch & Tilapia Meunière with Caper, Tomato & Olive Sauce

I love the idea of brunch as much as the next guy. But in practice, it really throws my day off. Bottomless mimosas and hollandaise do serious damage to my energy level and willpower.

Weekends are my healthiest days of the week – walking all over the city, shopping at the farmer’s market, taking time to prepare each meal and no time for boredom snacking. My adventure this Sunday was a walk up to Coit Tower. My inspiration for Sunday’s lunch was this roasted red pepper and eggplant sauce from Trader Joe’s. At 15 little calories a tablespoon, you can kinda go crazy.

White Bean, Red Pepper & Arugula Salad
Serves 2

1 can white beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 red pepper, chopped
1 ear fresh corn, cut off the cob
1 small tomato, chopped
1/2 cup pea shoots
1 handful of arugula
2-3 tablespoons red pepper and eggplant sauce
juice of 1/2 lemon
dash balsamic vinegar
salt, pepper and red pepper flakes
fresh parsley, chopped

Toss all ingredients together in a large bowl and season to taste. Serve immediately or refrigerate for up to 2 days.

Arguably, this is not really fish meunière at all. The recipe calls for white wine and all I had was cabernet sauvignon. Though very different tasting than the original, it was still delicious and briny.

The original recipe by Giada can be found here. I only substituted the white wine for red, and obviously used fish rather than chicken. The fish was served over multicolored quinoa with chopped bell pepper.

Wild Rice Soup with Vegetables & Chicken Sausage

I saw this meal as a benchmark in my culinary career, took the extra step. I made homemade vegetable stock for my soup! It’s a lot quicker and easier than I thought.

Toss a ton of vegetables in a pot, sauté for a bit, then dump some water in and cover for 30.

Then for the soup. There were a lot of vegetables harmed in the process of making this soup. And maybe a chicken. But their sacrifice was not in vain as it has resulted in a ton of leftovers, making my life really easy for the next few days.

Wild Rice with Vegetables & Chicken Sausage

1 cup wild rice
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 shallot, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 spicy chicken sausage, diced
1 cup cremini mushrooms, sliced
1 head broccoli, diced
1/2 bell pepper, diced
1 zucchini, sliced
1 cup rainbow chard, diced
3 carrots, diced
1 can crushed tomatoes
3 cups vegetable stock (ideally homemade)
1/2 cup red wine
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
handful fresh parsley, diced
red pepper flakes
salt and pepper

garnish: Greek yogurt, parmesan, green onion

Cook wild rice per instructions. In a large pot, heat olive oil and sauté shallot, garlic and chickens sausage for a minute until aromatic. Add in mushrooms, broccoli, bell pepper, zucchini, chard and carrots. Sautee while stirring for 6-8 minutes or until vegetables begin to soften. Pour in crushed tomatoes and wine, stir 2 more minutes. Lastly, add in broth and seasonings. Simmer for 15-20 more minutes. Serve with desired toppings.

Veggie Wrap with Cucumber Mint Raita Sauce

My high school, and later college, friend Tonya popped up from Venice Beach to visit me this weekend. It was a blast, as it always is when friends come to town. Lots of eating out, wine tasting, bar hopping and long-walking. After an indulgent weekend, I always hit the vegetables hard to get my engines back to neutral.

I’ve made tzatziki sauce before, but never raita. Since my neighbors conveniently started an herb garden on the back stairs, that featured mint but no dill, I opted for the Indian over the Mediterranean yogurt sauce.

It kicked tzatziki’s butt. It also made for a delicious sauce in my lunch wrap.

Vegetable Wrap with Cucumber Mint Raita
(makes 2 servings)

1/2 cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt
1/4 cup chopped cucumber
handful fresh mint leaves, chopped
1 green onion, diced
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
dash cayenne pepper
pinch cumin
salt and pepper

2 wheat tortillas
1 tomato, sliced
1/2 bell pepper, sliced
feta, crumbled
pea shoots

Combine raita sauce ingredients in a small bowl. Spread sauce on tortilla and top with remaining vegetables and cheese.

Tomato, Avocado & Eggplant Hummus Wrap

My friend Sara and I totally rocked Saturday morning. We met up in North Beach and walked/ran/mostly-walked almost 7 miles, stopped by the Ferry Building farmer’s market for a beautiful tomato, and finally Trader Joe’s for lunch supplies.

After a straight uphill walk back to my house with groceries, we were STARVING. It is very possible this wrap tasted so good due to our hunger. But check out how pretty she is!

Only in California can a veggie wrap taste this incredible in February. The tomatoes and avocado knocked this warp outta this world. Luckily for me, there is a Saturday and Sunday farmer’s market nearby, so I’ve already picked up another tomato to recreate this for lunch today.

Tomato, Avocado & Eggplant Hummus Wrap

2 wheat tortillas
eggplant hummus (Trader Joe’s)
1/2 cucumber, sliced
1 tomato, sliced (must be a good tomato)
1 ripe avocado, sliced
salt and pepper
sprouts
feta, crumbled
drizzle balsamic vinegar

Spread hummus on half of wrap. Layer cucumber, tomato and avocado. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to bring out the flavors of the vegetables. Top with sprouts, feta and balsamic. Eat your heart out.

For dessert, we polished off a pound of Brussels sprouts that Sara baked into chips. Love these. (Rub leaves with olive oil, salt, pepper and balsamic, bake at 400 for 12-14 minutes).

Vegetable & Cheese Stuffed Portabella Cap with Brussels Sprout Chips

I have a new obsession.

Brussels sprout chips. Kale chips have a special place in my heart, but I could eat these all day. Slice the sprouts into quarters, pull them apart and toss with olive oil, balsamic, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes. Bake at 375 for 10-15, until brown and crispy.

Per my mother’s suggestion, I watched the Ted Talk on how to live to be 100+. The encouraging news is that most of the centennials did not have dedicated exercise schedules - God knows mine has gone out the window lately. The other good news is that all of these healthy societies were based on hanging out with friends, drinking and eating a predominately plant-based diet. Sounds like I should keep up my weekly happy hours with friends and coworkers. Also, that I should not beat myself up over my gym membership that has become more of an expensive key chain ornament. People can joke about my daily sweet potato for lunch, but it sounds like I’m right on track. This dinner is about as on track as it gets in the vegetable department. And I loooved it.

 Vegetable & Cheese Stuffed Portabella Caps

2 portabella mushroom caps, stem removed
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 zucchini, sliced
1/2 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup rainbow chard leaves, shredded
red wine vinegar
salt, pepper, red pepper flakes
fresh mozzarella/grated mozzarella or feta cheese
Kalamata olives, diced
Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 375. In a skillet, sauté zucchini, onion and garlic until translucent. Add chard leaves and sprinkle with vinegar to wilt the leaves. Season to taste and spread half mixture into the bottom of the caps. Lay sliced mozzarella/grated mozzarella or feta on top of the vegetables. Sprinkle olives over the cheese and cover with remaining vegetable mixture. Top with Parmesan and bake for 15 minutes, until cheese is melted.