dinner

               Yes, Shehu was the chef from Team Marcus that ended up staying while I got sent home on The Taste a few weeks ago but us New Yorkers stick together and I couldn’t have asked for anyone better to be in the bottom with. Shehu is a big sweetheart and it was such a pleasure cooking with him on the show and hanging out with him here in NYC. He was generous enough to share his absolutely delicious and VEGAN recipe for potato gnocchi with vegetables with me because he knew I’d just love it! Gnocchi is one of my absolute favorite comfort foods in this cold weather and I couldn’t think of a better thing to whip up this weekend to warm you up if you’re reading this from the east coast, like us! It’s also a great dinner party dish, simple to make and super impressive to guests! Give it a whirl, get creative and feel free to keep up with Shehu on facebook and instagram for more delicious food inspiration!

Sauté Potato Gnocchi with Vegetables and Tomato Sauce

1 med size Potato
2 cups AP Flour
1 sm Zucchini
1 sm Yellow Squash
1 sm Carrot
1 sm Onion
1 cup Broccoli Florets
1 cup Cauliflower Florets
2 cups Tomato Sauce
1 tbsp Shehu Fitzgerald Spice Blend # 14 ( or your own favorite spices!)
Salt and Pepper

Place Potato in a pot and cover with water 1 tbsp salt and boil till just tender. Remove from water let cool for 2 mins then peel off skin. Place into a bowl and mash ( try best not to have any lumps ) season with salt and pepper and add flour litter at time and mix to make dough ( sorry I always do this by eye ). Knead and roll into 1/2″ rope and cut into 1″ pieces.

On the stove have a pot of boiling water ready. In a small sauce pot warm tomato sauce. Drop gnocchi into the pot of boiling water and cook till they start to float, then sear them in a sauté pan over med high heat. Season with #14( your own favorite spices!) and cook till golden, then remove  from pan. While pan is still hot add veggies and cook till done.

Assemble the plate and serve 🙂

shehucooking

 

Even vegetarians and vegans need to be a little naughty sometimes and I just couldn’t resist sharing this decadent southern classic that my friend (and fellow Taste gal), Rebekah Faulk whipped up for her wonderful blog Some Kinda Good. I think these would be a wonderful veggie friendly addition to your superbowl apps and because they’re a little naughty, you’ll still feel like you’re indulging with boys without having to chow down on buffalo wings or those baby hot dogs. Now, of course, if you want to make them even healthier, you can try baking them instead of frying them. Same prep just put them on a parchment lined baking sheet at 375 degrees and then once they’re cooked, maybe sautee them in a pan with a little bit of coconut oil to get the outside crispy! However, I wasn’t about to mess with greatness, so I left Rebekah’s recipe just the way it was for you here. Enjoy!

FriedGreenTomatoes

Some Kinda Good’s Fried Green Tomatoes

Ingredients
3 Large Green Tomatoes
½ cup cornmeal
½ cup self-rising flour
2 Teaspoons Old Bay Seasoning
Kosher Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper to taste
Vegetable Oil for frying
Green Onion for garnish, optional

Directions:
Slice tomatoes about ¼ of an inch thick. Place them on a flat surface and season with salt. Transfer the tomatoes to a colander and allow them to drain in the sink for at least 30 minutes. Meanwhile, fill a cast iron skillet or 10-inch frying pan with vegetable oil halfway full and set over medium heat. The oil will be ready for frying when sizzling occurs after gently sprinkled with water. In a small dish, use a fork to combine the cornmeal, flour, Old Bay, salt and pepper. Dredge the tomatoes in the flour mixture on each side. Roll the sides of the tomato in the flour mixture too, to ensure an even coating. Shake off any excess before dropping the tomato slices into the hot oil. Fry the tomato slices until golden brown, turning once during cooking.  Remove them from the oil and drain on paper towels. Garnish with green onion.  Serve warm with Ranch Dressing if desired.

Rebekah Faulk is a Georgia food writer and Statesboro-based TV Personality. A Season 2 contestant on ABC-TV’s The Taste, she blogs at SomeKindaGood.org, a Southern, coastal food blog highlighting East coast restaurant reviews and Lowcountry-inspired recipes. Follow her on Twitter @SKGFoodBlog or on find her on Facebook. 

 

romanesco1

This adorable vegetable is called Romanesco and looks like a baby green cauliflower and tastes like a mix between broccoli and cauliflower. I HIGHLY suggest you try it if you haven’t already! Pick it up at your local farmer’s market and make it for dinner this weekend! I whipped up this super easy and delicious Asian inspired version the other night and wanted to share it with you. If you’re unsure how to cook this, follow this recipe and feel free to substitute the sauce for anything you like or just leave it plain with a little salt and pepper.

romanesco2

Asian inspired Romanesco

1 tbsp of coconut oil
2 tbsp of plum sauce
2 tbsp of ginger infused olive oil (or regular olive oil + chopped ginger)

Rinse and chop up your Romanesco (like you would a head of cauliflower or broccoli). Place a small frying pan on the stove with a tbsp of coconut oil in it and your Romanesco and sautee for a few minutes. While that’s cooking, mix your plum sauce and ginger olive oil together and then drizzle over the cooking Romanesco. It shouldn’t take more than five – ten minutes to cook since the Romanesco is so tiny but use your judgement on how crunchy you want the finished product. I love my veggies when they still have a bit of a crunch to them! 😉

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I love butternut squash and this maple cinnamon recipe is a super easy crowd pleaser for the holidays!

maple cinnamon butternut squash

1 butternut squash
1/2 tsp of cinnamon
1/2 tsp of nutmeg
1/2 tsp of cloves
1 tbsp of brown sugar
2 tbsp of macadamia nut oil

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees and get out your Pyrex or whatever oven safe dish you’d like to use. Skin and chop your squash to small chunks. Place your squash in the oven dish and drizzle with oil. I love using macadamia nut oil or coconut oil but regular olive oil will do if your in a bind. Next sprinkle some brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. I’d use about a tablespoon of sugar and two shakes of each spice but do it to your preference. Next, move your butternut squash around in the pan to evenly distribute the spices and oil. Let it bake in the oven for 45 minutes till squash is nice and soft. When it cools, drizzle some room temp grade b maple syrup over it and enjoy!

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Cauliflower purée is one of my absolute favorite comfort foods! It’s one of my very first veggie indulgences and it’s super easy to make vegan! Obviously it’s still very good if your personal preference is to add in the butter but trust me, this is delicious just as it is!

vegan cauliflower purée
head of cauliflower
3 cups of almond milk
2 garlic cloves (or ten peeled garlic)
2 tbsp of earth balance soy free “butter”
1 chopped white onion
A sprig of rosemary

Pour almond milk into saucepan and add your head of cauliflower (broken into smaller pieces), peeled garlic cloves, onion and rosemary. Let it boil and then simmer till the cauliflower is thoroughly cooked. Remove the rosemary and drain the rest of the contents, keeping the almond milk on the side. Place cauliflower, onion and garlic into a food processor or blender and purée. Add almond milk little by little till you have a nice, smooth and creamy texture. Now add some cold vegan butter and stir it in. Salt and add remaining butter to taste. Let cool and enjoy!

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There is absolutely NOTHING I love more than fall flavors but recently, after a trip to L.A., I started falling hard for Indian food! Dare I say I crave it endlessly?!! So naturally when I was in the kitchen thinking of some healthy, delicious thanksgiving sides I couldn’t help but put a little Indian spin on an old favorite! Easy to make and absolutely delicious, I highly recommend trying this recipe out!

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Indian Style Butternut Squash
1 butternut squash
2 tbsp of coconut oil
2 tsp of tumeric
2 tsp of curry powder
2 tsp of gram marsala
1 can of light coconut milk
A handful of unsweetened coconut flakes for garnish

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees, skin and chop your squash into manageable pieces. Place the squash pieces in a glass baking dish(Pyrex) and drizzle coconut oil (also can use olive oil) evenly across the pieces. Sprinkle your tumeric, curry and gram Marsala seasonings to your discretion and put in the oven for 45 minutes. Once they are finished baking, either place them in a blender/food processor or just place them in a bowl to be mashed by hand. Slowly add in 1/4 cup of coconut milk and mash. Continue adding another 1/4 cup till you reach your desired consistency! Scoop out and serve with a sprinkle of coconut shreds on top!

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This whole meal was inspired by a Japanese eggplant that was given to me by a friend I work with! I love eggplant and I couldn’t wait to make something delicious with it. It turned out surprisingly delicious considering I mostly just used whatever I had laying around in the kitchen and lucky for me I had enough left over to eat it again for lunch! Give a whirl yourself..

JAPANESE EGGPLANT OVER QUINOA

1/2 cup quinoa
1 cup water/veggie broth
place in a saucepan and stir while boiling till all the liquid has evaporated. Season as needed and set aside.

1 Japanese eggplant
1 bundle of asparagus
1 package of edamame
1/4 cup chopped garlic
1/4 cup chopped ginger
2 or 3 tbsp of ginger infused olive oil

2 cups red table wine
1 cup plum sauce
1/4 cup chopped shallots
1 tbsp of olive oil

First, thinly slice your eggplant and lay it out on paper towels to help absorb some of it’s natural water. Chop asparagus and add to a large frying pan with ginger infused olive oil, half your garlic and half your ginger. Add in the shelled edamame and finally your eggplant slices. Keep the veggies moving around and the heat on low-medium while you work on the sauce.

For the sauce, in a separate sauce pan, put your chopped shallots, the leftover ginger and garlic, and olive oil and sautée. After they have cooked for a bit, add in your plum sauce and red wine and let it reduce on medium to low heat. Sauce is ready when it has a medium thickness.

Assemble your dish by placing quinoa on the plate first, then veggies and top of with a drizzle of your red wine sauce! Enjoy!

myfavsalad

 

After a month of hotel living and room service/take out eating, I could not wait to get back to NYC, my apartment and my kitchen! My body was craving something delicious, fresh and healthy. Yes, your body will actually start CRAVING that after you feed it too much heavy, restaurant-y food! I didn’t eat like a total heathen, I mean this is ME we’re talking about but fair enough to say I had a couple more cocktails than usual and indulged my love for mexican food more than once while on the west coast. So first night back and all I can think about is making a salad! Seriously, starved for a salad with home-made dressing for a change. Now, don’t get me wrong, I can not wait to start making some season fall dishes, but it was almost 80 degrees in NYC when I got back (total bummer for fall-obessed me) and so I thought it fitting to have my favorite salad just one more time before pumpkins, cranberries and apples take over my culinary life. Spinach, strawberries and brie, it’s a little naughty but very nice, all of my favorite things combined to make a very easy, simple and delicious salad. Enjoy!

MY FAVORITE SALAD

SALAD

2 handfuls of baby spinach

5 small strawberries, sliced

small handful of crushed walnuts

5 slices of brie, chopped into fourths

 

DRESSING

1 tbsp dijon mustard

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 tbsp olive oil (I used basil infused)

pinch of salt

1 tbsp of fresh strawberry (or any kind of berry) preserves

 

 

vegan mac

In reality this dish is quinoa + cheese, but it really scratches the itch for it’s naughty alter ego mac and cheese! This stuff came out creamy and amazing, it’s SUPER easy to make and a definite MUST TRY!

VEGAN “MAC” and CHEESE
1 cup of water
1/2 cup quinoa
4 slices of Daiya cheese
1 tbsp of vegetable oil spread

Boil your quinoa in the water, and stir it around until most of the water has evaporated. Now add in your vegetable oil spread, tear up the slices of daiya cheese into your saucepan and mix everything together. I even added some chopped avocado after this picture was taken to kick it up a notch but it’s pretty delicious either way!

fruity french lentils

I LOVE LENTILS! Seriously. In the winter lentil soup is one of my favorite comfort foods and now that it’s hot outside I needed to find a lighter, more summery way to enjoy my lentils! Inspired by a recipe I found in The Kind Diet, these Fruity French Lentils are the perfect way to enjoy my favorite beans all year round! Enjoy these at home with some Cauliflower Steaks and salad or bring them to a barbecue as a great vegan/vegetarian alternative dish. They are sure to be crowd pleasers!

FRUITY FRENCH LENTILS
1/2 cup of lentils
1 cup of water
6 large strawberries, cleaned and chopped
2 tbsp of fresh chopped basil
2 tbsp of fresh chopped parsley
1/2 cup orange juice (I made mine fresh with a juicer)
1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar
a pinch or two of salt

In a saucepan, combine the lentils and water and let boil, mixing the lentils until all the water has evaporated. Chop the strawberries and place them in your orange juice while your lentils cook. When the lentils are finished, drain out any excess water and add in your basil, parsley and OJ’d strawberries. Gently fold the berries in and top it off with your balsamic and salt before your ready to serve. This a delightful light lunch on its own or side dish but can also be combined with some tofu or seitan if you would like something heartier!

cauliflowersteaks

Cauliflower steaks are an easy to make, delicious, vegan food. I baked these in the oven at 375 degrees on a baking sheet but they would also be fabulous on your grill this summer! Healthy and light, these can become a summertime dinner staple for you.

Cauliflower Steaks
1 head of cauliflower (makes 2-3 steaks)
EVOO or White Truffle Olive Oil
3 tbsp fresh garlic (chopped or spread)

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Clean and cut your cauliflower head like a loaf of bread. You are likely to get two or three good ‘steaks’ and then a lot of extra little pieces that fall off. I cooked everything because it’s all so delicious! Drizzle your oil on the baking sheet and place your cauliflower on top. Drizzle more over your cauliflower and spread on the fresh garlic or sprinkle it over the cauliflower. Bake for 15 minutes, flip the steaks and drizzle a little more oil and garlic if needed. Bake for another 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Enjoy this quick and easy light vegan dish with a nice summer salad, lentils or quinoa to complete your meal!

Hello all! As a lover of all things healthy, delicious, and gluten free, I have been battling a most recent foodie obsession with kelp noodles. On the hunt and coming up short in finding these little guys, I was finally able to pick some up at a local Gluten Free Fair here in San Diego! You heard me correctly, kelp noodles…as in sea kelp. Kelp is a type of seaweed that is packed with more than 70 minerals and 21 amino acids. Kelp aids the body in digestion, increases metabolism, and works to strengthen bones and teeth! Kelp noodles are relatively flavorless and if eaten cold offer a crunchy consistency whereas when warm offer a more typical noodle like texture.
Here is the dish and the quick simple steps/ingredients to tasty nutritional success!

Amanda Alimo Girl in the Healthy City

Ingredients:
1 bag of kelp noodles
1 whole red pepper, chopped (high in alkaline, help balance out acids)
1/4 cup of Kalamata olives (provide healthy fats to the body)
1 container of firm tofu, chopped into eatable pieces (contain antioxidant effects)
1 can of chickpeas (high in fiber)
1 tablespoon of sesame seeds (high in calcium & magnesium)
3 tablespoons of rice wine vinegar (gluten free)
3 tablespoon of tamari (gluten free soy sauce)

Cooking:
Combine the kelp noodles, chopped red pepper, Kalamata olives, and chickpeas in a bowl. Mix in 2 tablespoons of rice wine vinegar and 2 tablespoons of tamari. Set bowl aside.
In a pan over medium heat, cook pieces of tofu with sesame seeds, remaining rice wine vinegar, and tamari until tofu pieces are golden brown around the edges.
Add tofu into the bowl set aside, mix and enjoy!

I hope you find this to be as tasty, nutritious, and delicious as I did 🙂
xoxo Amanda Alimo- Girl in the Healthy City

Amanda Alimo is a studying Health Coaching at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. A recent transplant from NYC to San Diego, she soaking up the West Coast lifestyle with some sun and Namaste. Amanda is a digital savvy gal with a passion for holistic health coaching a love of writing, cooking, and teaching. You can follow all of her happenings on her blog, Girl in the Healthy City, or catch her on any of her social media pages!

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