Try this at home: Sun in My Belly's Hermes Salad

The best salad I've ever had was at Sun in My Belly, a lovely little restaurant in Decatur. I was taking advantage of a ScoutMob hand-picked deal for dinner for two (they've got one right now and it's almost gone! go get it!) and that included your choice of salad to start.

I chose the Hermes, and it changed my life forever. I would definitely not say that I'm a salad person, but I would eat this happily any/every day.

I decided it'd be really simple to recreate at home, so I decided to give it a go. Sure enough, totally doable and so delicious. I don't think they used gorgonzola as their bleu cheese, but that's what I had on hand from my baked sweet potato the night before.

Usually by the end of a salad I'm having to convince myself to keep eating it, but no so with this one. So even if you have a salad aversion, I dare you to give this one a try! The arugula is perfectly peppery and pairs beautiful with the bite of the bleu cheese and the sweetness of the roasted pears.

Arugula with bleu cheese, toasted walnuts, roasted pears and champagne vinaigrette

For the salad you'll need:
a plateful of arugula
a little bleu cheese (I used gorgonzola)
a handful of walnuts, lightly toasted (pop em in the oven for a couple minutes)
roasted pears, chopped (recipe below)
champagne vinaigrette (recipe below)

For the roasted pears:
2 pears, cored and halved
1 Tbs melted butter
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp lemon juice

Preheat oven to 400. Cut each pear half into 4 lengthwise slices. Toss in the butter, sugar and lemon juice and spread on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Roast for 20-30 mins, stirring them around every 10 or so minutes. They'll be ready when they're golden brown and slightly soft.

For the champagne vinaigrette:
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1/4 cup champagne vinegar
3/4 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
pinch of black pepper

Combine mustard and vinegar. Then, whisking the whole time, slowly drizzle in olive oil to emulsify (mix oil and vinegar). Season with salt and pepper!

Now, assemble away! To your plateful of arugula, crumble some bleu cheese, sprinkle on some toasted walnuts, top with the roasted pears, and finally drizzle on the vinaigrette!

Bon app!

     

Kale pesto pasta. Heavy cream optional (but not really).

A short while back, I shared a recipe for salmon and kale quinoa and we learned all about those three fantastic superfoods with some fun videos!

But I found myself with half a bag of kale left, that needed tending to before it wilted/rotted in my fridge. I can't believe how fast it goes bad once you open that bag. So, I'm here to share with you a super recipe for using up all that leftover kale!

I took a recipe I found here and I've tweaked it (aka added heavy cream) into the deliciousness I share with you today.

Okay, that's actually a pretty glorified way of putting it. What really happened was that I made the pesto, but didn't make enough pasta, so it was a thick pesto mess. A couple days later I made more pasta to thin out the pesto, and went crazy and added a cup-ish of heavy cream. Then I felt guilty, so I diced up a tomato and threw that in there too. Never apologize for anything that happens in the kitchen, Eaters.

[pre-heavy cream and tomato additions. bad pesto-to-pasta ratio.]

Pasta with kale pesto cream sauce. and tomatoes.

2 lbs of pasta (yes, I realize that's a lot. I was going off of my leftover kale situation! i used whole wheat spirals.)
1/2 lb of kale, chopped and destemmed and all that jazz
1 clove garlic
1/3 cup deshelled pistachios
juice from 1 lemon
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
pinch of red pepper flakes for a little heat
1/4 cup olive oil
salt
1 cup(ish) heavy cream
1 tomato, diced

Salt a pot of water and bring to boil. Add kale and blanch for 2-4 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to scoop it out and onto some paper towels. Let em cool a sec then use more paper towels to pat/squeeze dry. 

Toast the pistachios in a small saucepan/skillet situation over medium-low for a couple minutes, stirring to toast evenly.

Cook your pasta somewhere around here-ish.

Grab your food processor, and add the garlic and toasted pistachios. Pulse until coarse. Add the kale and lemon juice and pulse until mixture is nearly smooth (but still has that pesto-y bits to it). Scrape the sides and add the parmesan, red pepper flakes and salt to taste. Pulse again, and while the processor is running, slowly drizzle in the olive oil.

At this point, you can put it in a tupperware with a little olive oil to save, or spoon it over your pasta and give it a good stir.

To make it a pesto cream sauce, heat 1 cup or so (depending on how liquid-y you want it) of heavy cream in a small sauce pan over medium. Bring almost to a boil, then pour over your pasta along with the pesto. Chop up a tomato and toss that in there too.

Happy eating!

   

Eat your veggies, kids!

[so many veggies. these, plus spinach, too!]

I've been eating pretty terribly lately. Lots of empty carbs and too much dairy and I was starting to feel it in my all-around well-being. Time to eat some veggies. Now, being an ESTJ, I'm a go big or go home kind of person, so I went all out. This recipe has sooooo many veggies in it. and lots of spices (which are good for your heart). So if you're feeling a little sluggish and gross from all that sugarrrrrr, make this tonight! Sidenote: it makes a TON, so it's perfect for a week (or month...) of leftovers!

Oh! and it's vegetarian AND vegan friendly!

Fun fact: Marrakesh is a major city in Morocco, so this is a Moroccan-style dish. Another fun fact: Morocco is at the top of my list of places to visit. It looks so beautiful!

 [Saute away, little babies.]

Marrakesh Vegetable Curry
originally found here

1 sweet potato, peeled and cubed
1 eggplant, cubed
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
1 onion, chopped
6 Tbs olive oil, divided (3 for the veggies, 3 for the spices)
3 cloves garlic, minced (get you that canned stuff, it is magical. no shame)
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 Tbs curry powder (I used two)
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp salt
3/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 (15oz) can garbanzo beans, drained
1/4 cup blanched almonds
1 zucchini, sliced
2 Tbs raisins
1 cup orange juice (I used the Naked carrot orange, it's perfect)
10 oz spinach

In a large Dutch oven place sweet potato, eggplant, peppers, carrots, onion, and 3 tablespoons olive oil (don't accidentally add your zucchini yet, it will be mush!). Saute over medium heat for 5 minutes.

In a medium saucepan or skillet, place the other 3 tablespoons olive oil, garlic, turmeric, curry powder, cinnamon, salt and cayenne pepper. Saute over medium heat for 3 minutes. Stir often so it doesn't burn!

Pour the spice mixture into the Dutch oven with the veggies. Add the garbanzo beans, almonds, zucchini, raisins, and orange juice. Simmer 20 minutes, covered.

Add spinach to pot and cook for 5 more minutes. Serve over rice or couscous!