My Boyfriend’s Back in Town: Cranberry Avocado Toast

Remember when y’all met my boyfriend? Anyway, after a stint of being sloppy and unphotogenic (but delicious nonetheless), this toasty boy cleaned up his act in time for the holidays.

My dad and I take Thanksgiving side dishes very seriously (like Bobby Flay Food Network throwdown contests), and I’ve been working to perfect a homemade cranberry sauce. This obviously means that, uhm, I have a lot of cranberry sauce to consume solo, and yesterday the best idea ever hit me:

CRANBERRY AVOCADO TOAST

It’s so epic. The sweet, tart cranberries on top of cool, smooth avocado. Yes. Just Yes. So whether or not you wind up with homemade cranberry sauce, cranberry jam, or that slightly odd but still yummy canned stuff, slather it on top of avocado toast and you won’t be disappointed!

The Thanksgiving: Cranberry Avocado Toast

serves 1

Ingredients

• half a ripe avocado
• good quality bread that makes you smile (I used walnut levain)
• super scant 1/8 tsp salt
• 2 Tbs (or more, whateva) cranberry sauce
• fresh ground black pepper to taste

Directions

Toast your bread to your liking. Then, scoop out of avocado flesh and mash onto toast. Add cranberry sauce, salt, and pepper. Done!

Best Ever Weeknight Pasta Sauce

Jarred pasta sauce is good….

…but it’s not amazing.

 

I prefer amazing.

I also prefer recipes that don’t take foreverrrrr during the week. Lucky for all lovers of both convenience and amazingness, these easy additions to jarred pasta sauce totally elevate it from good to YES HOLY HOT DANG GIMME MORE.

Adding roasted vegetables and freshly simmered lentils adds a caramelized complexity, huge boost of plant-based protein and fiber, and gives your good sauce that amazing touch. I served mine over roast spaghetti squash for a hearty veg meal.

Best Ever Weeknight Pasta Sauce

Ingredients

• 1 lb crimini mushrooms, sliced (or, whatever, these were within my farmers market budget but I’m sure any mushrooms would rock your socks)
• 1 large, yellow sweet onion, sliced
• 3 cups cooked brown lentils
• 1 16oz jar tomato sauce of choice
• 1 Tbs balsamic vinegar
• ¼ olive oil
• salt and fresh ground black pepper, to taste
• Herbs like parsley, basil, etc to taste
• Goat cheese or vegan cheese for crumbling, optional

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 F and prepare baking sheet with aluminum foil or parchment. Don’t want no sticking ‘shrooms!
2. In a medium bowl, mix mushrooms, onions, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Spread onto baking sheet and place in oven for twenty minutes, flipping once.
3. While veggies are roasting, put tomato sauce on low heat in a large sauce pan. Add balsamic vinegar and cooked lentils. As soon as veggies are roasted, add ’em in to your saucepan.
4. WOOOOOOOT FANCY SAUCE FINISHED. Scoop over spaghetti (squash) or anything else that could use an epic tomato sauce boost. Top with fresh herbs or cheese/cheeze as desired.

What other ways do you jazz up store-bought sauces?

Crunch+Love Beet and Zucchini Chips

Confession: I’m a cruncher. Raw carrots, potato chips, celery, crisp apples….I’m all over it.

I’m also a spiralizer addict. After my dad gave me a beautiful one as a welcome home gift from Japan, I’ve been spiralizing everything from potatoes to papaya (okay, papaya probably wouldn’t actually work, huh?) Anyway, you get the point. My favorite spiralized+crunchy winners so far? These beautiful beet and zucchini chips!

They are so easy, full of crispy, farm-fresh flavor, and, yes, CRUNCHY. So chomp on my friends, chomp on.

 Crunchy Beet and Zucchini Chips with Fresh Parsley and Basil

Ingredients

•  2 large beets, one red and one yellow for extra fanciness
• 2 to 3 zucchini
• olive or coconut oil (I recommend 3tbs to 1/4 cup per beet and every 2 zucchini)*
• 2 large handfuls fresh basil and parsley, chopped
• Fresh ground salt and black pepper to taste
• Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and prepare large cookie sheet with parchment or aluminum foil. Place sheet in oven (you heard me people, it’ll help the chips get extra crispy to have a pre-warmed sheet).
2. Spiralize beets and zucchini, using preferred blade for chips. Alternatively you couldddd peel the zucchini and beets, just be prepared to cozy up to your knife or peeler for awhile….
3. Place spiralized veggies in large bowl and toss gently with oil, a generous handful of basil and parsley, and salt and pepper
4. Take baking sheet out of oven, spread chips on top (make sure they’re not touching…otherwise they won’t get crispy!) Bake 20 minutes or so, flipping once halfway through.
5. CRUNCH DEVOUR LOVEEEEE

Notes:

• For olive vs coconut oil, I’ve tried with both, and they’re really good! I personally like coconut oil for the beets and olive oil for zucchini
• This recipe is very much a framework more than an exact science. Play with it and let me know what delicious combos you come up with! Some I’m thinking would be great off the top of my head are basil+garlic, orange zest+balsamic, parmesan+sage

Za’atar Spiced Papaya (and its many yummy uses)

I was recently given this cookbook:

Let’s just say it’s awesome. The pictures are breathtaking and flipping through the pages brings on a total nostalgia-fest for when I went wandering through Jerusalem and Jaffa last September.

One of the ingredients that stood out to me while in Israel was za’atar. Though it varies all over the Middle East, za’atar is a rich mix of dried herbs such as thyme and oregano, toasted sesame seeds, and occasionally sumac and lemon peel. Sprinkled on pita, atop hummus, and on roasted veggies, this exotic sounding deliciousness was everywhere in Israel, and I fell totally in love.

I guess it’s no surprise this spice kept popping up in Jerusalem’s recipes. It’s also no surprise that I frequently over-buy produce and a ripe (like YOU NEED TO EAT ME TODAY ripe) papaya was sitting on my kitchen counter. …Oh heyyyyy oven.

….And somehow, a quesadilla with za’atar roasted papaya sounded like the obvious solution. And I’m not even going to pretend it’s not the most amazing thing ever because it totally is. If my food truck fantasy ever comes true, prepare to see this one on the menu.

And maybe this parfait, too!

 Za’atar Spiced Papaya

 Ingredients

• I ripened large green/yellow papaya
• ¼ cup melted coconut oil
• 1 Tbs za’atar seasoning
• Olive oil, for drizzling
• Salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

 Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375. Prepare baking sheet with aluminum foil or parchment and brush melted coconut oil on top so the papaya doesn’t stick.
2. Peel papaya, and slice in half length-wise. Remove seeds (did you know they’re edible AND taste like citrusy pepper AND look like caviar AND get rid of parasites?! anyway) Cut papaya into ½ inch thick sliced lengthwise (some may break, whatever, roll with it).
3. Place sliced papaya on baking sheet and drizzle with 2 tbs coconut oil, ½ tbs of za’atar seasoning, salt and pepper. Flip slices and repeat on opposite side.
4. Put papaya in oven, for around 25-30 minutes, flipping once in between. (Remember, my oven is not your oven, so trust your own eyes and nose for crispiness vs burnt)

Za’atar Spiced Papaya Quesadilla

Ingredients

• 3 to 4 slices of roasted za’atar spiced papaya
• 1 large tortilla of choice
• 3 TBS your favorite vegan nut-based cheese (I used cashew) or goat cheese
• 2 TBS toasted, sliced almonds
• A small handful of fresh basil
• Juice from 1 key lime (or a slice of lemon or regular lime, I just love that keylime tang)
• ¼ cup chopped kale
• Salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
• Olive oil for drizzling

Directions

1. Spread cheese across tortilla. Add all other toppings and sqeeze key lime juice on top. Fold tortilla over in quesadilla-like fashion.
2. Place quesadilla in pan drizzled with olive oil on medium high heat when ready (you should hear that sizzle sound) and cook on each side for 2 minutes or so (just enough to cook the tortilla and warm the inside)
3. Top with additional salt, pepper, lime juice, and olive oil if desired.

Secret Spice Parfait

(shhhh the secret spice is za’atar, shocker right?)

Ingredients

• 2 to 3 slices of roasted za’atar spiced papaya
• ½ cup yogurt of choice
• 3 figs, sliced
• 1 small bran muffin (or granola, whatever)
• 1 TBS sun butter (again, whatever makes you smile instead is gonna be awesome, too)
• 1 tsp or so cacao nibs
• a few raspberries (delicious and pretty, but totally optional)

Directions

1. LAYER BABY LAYER. Then eat. Then be happy.

What is with this roasted fruit kick I’m on? Do you all have any favorite roasted fruits?

 Notes

• Don’t limit yourself to these recipes. This papaya would be probably rock on oatmeal, sliced into quinoa, layered in a sandwich, the possibilities are endless my friends.

Perfectly Summer Grilled Tostones with Kickin’ Peach-Tamarind Maple Syrup

Oh, hello USA. It’s breakfast time in this timezone? 

This girl is back in America! And not only is she in the US, but Texas. This state is full of different culinary influences and favorite flavors, and I love having easy access to so many Latin American ingredients! At a local farmers market, I recently stumbled across plantains, tamarind, peaches, and, of course, pecans. I always thought both tamarind and plantain seemed like “intimidating” ingredients, but they are seriously not at all scary and totally worth getting familiar with! 

While plantains are maybe more of a “dinner” black beans/rice kind of food, I LOVED having them for breakfast grilled up with an easy-to-make peach tamarind infused maple syrup. They take on this totally hearty pancake-esque feeling, and are basically awesomeness.

 

The syrup comes together super fast, too, and would also be amazing mixed with EVOO and vinegar for salad dressing, and I’ve also been loving it drizzled over oatmeal and blackbeans (cough cough fruit power black bean+oat bowl  anyone?)

GO MAKE NOW GET OFF THE COMPUTER AND COOK

…

…wait, you need the recipe 🙂

Grilled Tostones with Kickin’ Peach-Tamarind Maple Syrup

Serves 4 as a side, 2 main

Ingredients

For Tostones

• 3 large green Plantains
• 1/4 cup melted coconut oil
• salt & fresh ground black pepper to taste

For Peach-Tamarind Maple

• 1/4 maple syrup
• 3 tamarind pods worth of pulp (see NOTES for instructions)
• 1 ripe yellow peach, washed, pitted and sliced
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp chili powder (or more to taste)
• scant 1/4 tsp salt

Directions

For Tostones

1. Preheat grill to medium heat
2. Peel and slice plantains 3/4 inch thick on the diagonal (“bias cut”)
3. Place slices on cookie sheet and coat with 2 TBS of melted coconut oil and salt and pepper
4. Put slices on grill, cover with foil, and cook on both sides for 5 minutes
5. Removes slices, place on cookie sheet, and flatten them with a large drinking glass dipped in water. Coat with Rest of coconut oil.
6. Place flattened slices back on grill, uncovered and cook each side an additional 3 to 5 minutes
7. Remove, drizzle with kickin peach tamarind syrup if desired, and devour! In the photos, I also topped mine with yogurt, basil, blackberries, and pecans. AMMMAZE.

For Kickin’ Peach Tamarind Maple Syrup

1. Place all ingredients in food processor.
2. Pulse to chop peach
3. Blend until desired consistency is reached
4. pour on EVERYTHING (like maybe just directly into your mouth. I won’t tell.)

NOTES

For Tamarind pulp, peel hard shells and “roots” off tamarind pods, then soak overnight, covered, with water. Once soaked, you can easily pop out the seeds and have fresh pulp. Additionally, you could cook the tamarind but I liked the “raw” aspect of the aforementioned method. You could sub premade tamarind paste, too, but taste to test how sweet it is! 

Credit Given Where Due: 

Vegetarian Times has an awesome savory grilled tostones recipe, check it out!

Apple Pie Ice Cream

Remember that Hannah Montana song “you get the bessssssst of bothhhh worlldddddddssssss?” I totally sang that while eating this ice cream (you heard me, no shame). You get all of the deep, caramelized flavors of apple pie in cool, creamy ice cream form. Kind of win win considering summer in Japan makes you question whether or not humans really could melt in the heat.

Dig in and smile, my friends. I promise the initial patience it takes to make this is well rewarded!

Apple Pie Ice Cream

Ingredients

• 1 baked apple, cooled, sliced and frozen (click here for baked apple recipe)
• 1/2 a sliced, frozen banana
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp apple pie spice (or equal parts ginger, nutmeg, and clove)
• 1/2 tbsp candied ginger (optional, but delicious)
• scant 1/8 tsp salt
• 1 TBS maple syrup
• 1-3 TBS milk of choice if needed for desired consistency

Directions

1. Place all ingredients in blender or food processor and BLENDDDD (well, pulse, scrape down sides, keep pulsing, then blend if you, like me, can’t yet afford a vitamix).

Notes

• I love topping this with toasted almonds and coconut flakes
• I think coconut whipped cream would ROCK on this
• I haven’t tried it over oatmeal, but there’s no reason that wouldn’t be  the most delicious thing ever

What’s your craziest banana ice cream flavor?

Lucky Pantry Crusted Tofu

I`m about to leave Japan, and trying to clean out the odds and ends of my pantry. I love that this forces me to use my creative foodie juices to use up ingredients and mix things together I wouldn`t necessarily think to do so. While, admittedly, the toss/bake/pray strategy isn`t always successful, sometimes I get really, really lucky with flavor combos. Tonight, this girl got lucky (bom chicka bow wowwww).

 I found out coconut+rosemary+walnut totally work together to make a delicious, light and crisp crusted tofu. The tofu is super good on its own over mixed greens drizzled with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, but I have a feeling this elegant and easy recipe would be great in sandwiches, or sliced over cucumber rounds for a simple hors d`oeuvre, too!

Lucky Pantry Crusted Tofu

Serves 2-4

Ingredients

• 1 block firm tofu, pressed to release excess water
• Heaping 1/4 cup chopped, toasted walnuts
• 1/4 cup toasted, grated coconut
• 1 TBSP dried rosemary
• 2 TBSP oat flour (or all-purpose)
• Olive oil for coating tofu (egg whites would also work if you`d prefer to use them)
• 1 tsp salt
• Fresh ground black pepper to taste
• Olive oil and balsamic vinegar for drizzling (optional, but recommended for super yumminess)

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 F. Prepare baking pan with aluminum foil or parchment paper and drizzle with olive oil. Combine walnuts, coconut, rosemary, oat flour, salt, and pepper in a shallow dish. Set aside. Slice pressed tofu into 1/2 in thick blocks. Drizzle each piece of tofu in olive oil and rub to coat (or dip into eggwhite). Next place tofu in shallow dish with coating ingredients and turn until all sides are coated. It does not stick as easily with just olive oil instead of egg white, so you may need to lightly press the coating onto the tofu. Place each crust-covered piece of tofu onto baking pan. Repeat process until all tofu pieces are covered. Drizzle all pieces with a little extra olive oil and put in oven for 20 minutes or so, until tofu is golden brown and crisp. This is best eaten right away, but will keep in fridge for three days, covered.

Notes

• You will likely have left over crust mix. I found that the combo of toasted walnuts, coconut, and rosemary was delicious mixed with quinoa and raisins.

Do you have any favorite crusting recipes for tofu? I`d love to hear them!