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7/29/16

Happy Weekend

Wishing you all the happy things this weekend with some of the murals from Richmond,VA.




7/25/16

Meatless Monday Breakfast: Patty Pan Squash & Rainbow Chard Frittata Recipe


What's for breakfast? Do you get asked this question often or ask yourself that? I'm usually an English muffin with cream cheese and smoked salmon or ricotta and peaches type of a girl, but my weight management person (eye roll) told me to switch things up a bit and make a frittata. That was a much easier advice to follow than to do dumbbell exercises (it took me THREE tries to type that correctly).

I love frittata:
1. you can use a million different ingredients
2. it's a one pan meal
3. the leftovers are awesome.

Last week I received a giant bouquet of rainbow chard in my Washington's Green Grocer order and one of my friends suggested I turn it into a frittata. Done!



Meatless Monday Breakfast: Patty Pan Squash & Rainbow Chard Frittata
Makes 4 servings

Ingredients
olive oil
3 large patty pan squash, diced
salt to taste
5 large rainbow chard leaves {stems and membrane removed and discarded}, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
red pepper flakes to taste
6 eggs
splash of half & half
1/2 cup shredded cheese {I actually used 2 slices of Havarti that I cut into smaller pieces}
sriracha to taste


Directions
1. Heat olive oil in a large broiler safe pan. Add patty pan squash, season with salt and saute until the squash pieces are golden.
2. Add rainbow chard, garlic and red pepper flakes, and saute until the chard pieces have softened. Don't burn the garlic. If needed, you might want to add a bit of olive oil in this step.
3. Whisk the eggs with half & half. Pour the egg mixture on top of the vegetables, cover with a lid, and cook on medium low for about 7 minutes or until most of the egg mixture has set.
4. Cover frittata with cheese and put under the broiler until the cheese bubbles.
5. Serve wedges of frittata topped with sriracha.


This recipe makes for a great breakfast and can be eaten cold the next day as leftovers. You can also serve this frittata with a salad and toasted baguette for dinner for Meatless Monday. If you aren't a fan of patty pan squash or can't find it, use potatoes or zucchini.


Stay cool!

7/22/16

Weekend!

Another hot weekend expected in DC. I'm planning to stay cool indoors and cook the giant bunch of rainbow chard. What shall I make with it?

What about you?


7/20/16

Summer Dinner of Leftovers: Simplicity At Its Best


What's better than a superb steak dinner? Superb steak dinner that someone else cooks for you. What's even better than that? Leftovers!

Oh summer food, how I love you!

Slice leftover medium rare dry aged steak and serve it with quickly boiled corn on the cob, leftover broiled asparagus (made more decadent by using birch smoked salt from Iceland and chili oil), cucumber/avocado/tomato salad and chunks of ripe sweet watermelon.

Not pictured, a glass of chilled white wine.

What are you eating for dinner?

7/18/16

Vegan & Raw Red Cabbage Tropical Slaw Recipe: Meatless Monday


Who wants to do a lot of cooking in this hot and humid weather? Not me!

Over the weekend I made a vegan and raw Red Cabbage Tropical Slaw. It took me longer to figure out how to put together my KitchenAid food processor than to make the entire recipe ;)

Red Cabbage Tropical Slaw
Serves 2

Ingredients
1/4 red cabbage, shredded
2 carrots, sliced
1/2 mango, sliced
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
juice of 1 lime
drizzle olive oil
salt & pepper to taste
1/4 cup cashews, chopped {I used Thai Lime & Chili flavor from Trader Joe's}
1/2 avocado, sliced

Directions
1. Combine red cabbage, carrots, mango and cilantro. Dress with lime juice, olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
2. Top each bowl with cashews and sliced avocado.


How pretty is this salad!? I ate half of it on Saturday and the rest on Sunday. I typically love leftovers, but in this particular case, I think it's best to eat the salad immediately. You don't want the mango slices to be colored by the red cabbage or the nuts to get soggy.

Enjoy your Meatless Monday!

7/15/16

Weekend Wishes

Stay cool. Have fun. Surround yourself with beauty.


7/13/16

Vegetarian Weeknight Dinner Under 25 Minutes: Mushrooms With Corn & Potatoes In Garlicky Lemon Wine Sauce

No plans for dinner tonight? I have you covered. You need only 25 minutes to prep and cook this recipe for Mushrooms With Corn & Potatoes In Garlicky Lemon Wine Sauce. The recipe vegetarian and can be turned into a vegan dish if you use olive oil instead of butter and forego the cheese.

My Mushrooms With Corn & Potatoes In Garlicky Lemon Wine Sauce dinner was inspired and adapted from a recipe I saw on TheKitchn for Herbed Gnocchi and Mushrooms. I did not have gnocchi and did not feel like making a trip to the grocery store, so decided to use fingerling potatoes.

I also added fresh corn, used a larger amount of mushrooms and a smaller amount of butter, and changed a few steps in the cooking process. The dish was a 100 percent success, and there were no leftovers.


Mushrooms With Corn & Potatoes In Garlicky Lemon Wine Sauce
Serves 1 hungry person

Ingredients
6 fingerling potatoes, halved
1.5 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
8 ounces baby bella mushrooms, stems discarded, caps sliced
salt & pepper to taste
2 garlic cloves, minced
kernels from 1 ear of corn
1/2 cup Pinot Grigio
1/2 lemon, juiced
red pepper flakes to taste
3 basil leaves, chopped
1 slice Fontina cheese, chopped


Directions
1. Cook fingerling potatoes in salted water till tender.
2. Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon of butter in a large skillet. Add mushrooms, season with salt and pepper and saute for 4 minutes.
3. Add garlic and corn and saute for another 1-2 minutes.
4. Add wine, lemon juice and red pepper flakes and simmer until the liquid has been reduced by half.
5. Add cooked potatoes to the mushroom and corn mixture and finish cooking with the last 1/2 tablespoons of butter.
6. Serve immediately garnished with basil and cheese.


I LOVED this dish. You can add pasta instead of potatoes, or serve the mushroom and corn mixture on top of a grilled pork chop. It'll also be a great base for a fritatta.


Be ready for your house to smell amazing and for all of your taste buds to be satisfied!

7/11/16

Watermelon & Berry Aqua Fresca With Sparking Water

It's Monday!

The weather in DC is still hot and humid. Over the weekend I wanted a refreshing and slightly sweet drink after doing a 12 minute dumbbell video: I'm still INCREDIBLY sore after it. Every part of my body aches. Oy.

Anyway....I had watermelon and blueberries and strawberries and thought aqua fresca will be a great way to go. My plan was to puree, strain, chill and drink aqua fresca, but the mixture came out thicker than expected, so I added sparkling water. You can add champagne or vodka ;)

Watermelon & Berry Aqua Fresca With Sparking Water


Watermelon & Berry Aqua Fresca With Sparking Water
1 part blueberries
1 part strawberries
2 parts watermelon chunks
sparkling water

Puree the berries and watermelon.
Strain.
Cool.
Fill glasses with ice. Add the cooled strained aqua fresca and top with sparkling water.

How fun is the fizzing sound!? Also, you can listen to my music of choice while I'm cooking ;)

A video posted by @mangotomato on

Gorgeous flowers are not necessary, but recommended ;)


Cheers!

7/8/16

Weekend

Here's to a peaceful weekend and no more awful breaking news.




7/1/16

Happy Weekend! TGIF. Happy 4th


Happy Friday! Wishing you all a sweet, juicy and fun 4th of July weekend!!!