Tomato & Basil - two ways

Holy cow! I can't believe its the end of August. But hooray, that means almost the end of the hot weather. We only have to tough it out for a few more weeks. Then we'll be leaving here in september to make the long trek to weed california, where josh will be recording with the band for a month and I'll be heading up to washington with our kitty and we'll spend most of the trip there. (the recording process isn't cat friendly)

But anyway! On sunday I got a super strong craving for a tomato and basil bruschetta, and i immediately went to the store to pick up a baguette. It's one of my favorite things to eat... EVER. I really should be making it more often. A sunday lunch/dinner doesn't get much easier than this.

Bruschetta

6 or 7 ripe plum tomatoes, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil (plus more for bread, optional)
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
6-8 fresh basil leaves, chopped.
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1 baguette

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Put the tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, vinegar and basil in a bowl and mix together. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Slice the baguette in 1/2" slices and lightly brush one side with olive oil. Place on a cooking sheet, olive oil side down. Toast for 5-6 minutes, until the bread just begins to turn golden brown.

Spoon the mixture onto the bread.

(And be prepared to eat it all.)



Or you can also spoon the mixture on top of some pasta, like i did the next night. It was amazing. And just as easy.

Curry chickpea burgers

Need a healthy summer dinner?

These are so easy. And so tasty, I ate them plain. Although I'm willing to bet they'd be even better on a bun with some fixins.

1.5 cups cooked chickpeas
1/2 cup regular oats
10 baby carrots or 2 carrots
1 tbsp coconut oil (or oil of your choice), melted
1.5 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp Paprika
1/4 tsp Tumeric
1/4-1/2 tsp sea salt, to taste
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp Parsley flakes (optional)
3 tbsp sunflower seeds

Preheat oven to 375F. Grease a baking sheet or line with parchment paper and set aside. In a food processor, process the oats, carrots, and all the spices/seasonings (sea salt, black pepper, curry, paprika, tumeric, ) for 30 seconds or until somewhat smooth. Now add in the chickpeas at 1/2 cup increments and coconut oil (melted), stopping to scrape down the bowl as necessary. Once the chickpeas are mostly processed and smooth, take the mixture and place in a medium sized bowl. Stir in the sunflower seeds. Wet your hands and shape patties. Makes about 6-8 patties depending on how big you want them. Note: You can also pre-bake these for about 20 minutes and them pop them on the BBQ to finish them off.

Miso soup

Week one of the detox down, and the worst is over, hooray! And in all honesty, it wasn't too hard this go round and I feel like a million bucks. I have more energy, I feel more alert, and my skin is thanking me x3000. I've had a ginormous sweet tooth my whole life and every time I go on a refined sugar fast I realize how bad sugar can make you feel after so much of it, for so long. I'll be sticking with agave, maple syrup and honey sweetened desserts for awhile and maybe eating something with refined sugar every now and then. Everything in moderation, right??

But enough of that for now.. let's talk miso soup. This was my first time making it at home, and I bought miso over 3 months ago so it's about time. Since the first of the year it's been quite cold here, which is nice since it was 68 on new years eve, and has been perfect soup weather. There are a ton of miso soup recipes out there, but I knew Heidi would have one that suits me best right now. It is mellow, filling and quite good. My often picky husband ate his entire bowl, down to the last drop.


(click on pictures to see full size)

Make this if you're feeling sick, make this if you're snowed in, or just make it because it's absolutely delicious, but please do MAKE IT.

If you don't have buckwheat soba noodles, substitute with a whole wheat linguine or even spaghetti.

P.S. Thanks to joythebaker for featuring me on her new food blog post. You're a sweetheart! And if you're new to this blog, Welcome!! Leave me a comment saying Hi and tell me what kind of recipes/posts you'd like to see in the future.


Miso Soup (Adapted from 101cookbooks)

3 ounces dried soba noodles
2 - 4 tablespoons miso paste (to taste) (I used organic white miso)
2 green onions, tops removed thinly sliced
a small handful of cilantro
a pinch of red pepper flakes

Cook the soba noodles in salted water, drain, run cold water over the noodles to stop them from cooking, shake off any excess water and set aside.

In a medium sauce pan bring 4 cups of water to a boil. Reduce the heat to a gentle simmer and remove from heat. Pour a bit of the hot water into a small bowl and whisk in the miso paste - so it thins out a bit (this step is to avoid clumping). Stir this back into the pot. Taste, and then add more (the same way) a bit at a time until it is to your liking. Also, some miso pastes are less-salty than others, so you may need to add a bit of salt here. (Add 2-3 ounces tofu, if desired) Remove from heat.

Split the noodles between two (or three) bowls, and pour the miso broth and tofu over them.

Feel free to add watercress, spinach, ect. (i left greens out this time) now. Top with green onions, cilantro and red pepper flakes.

Serves 2 - 3