Another Favorite Spring Dinner

I made this a ton last year so it was one of the first meals I was excited to revisit when asparagus was back in season. Serve as a salad and guests can make their own little flavor combos. It never fails - people love this! Perfect starter or light dinner.


Tomatoes
Fresh or whole canned tomatoes, sliced and drizzled with olive oil, balsamic, salt and pepper, then roasted until they are sweet and delicious. They are definitely the highlight of the whole plate if done right.

Asparagus
Roasted with olive oil, salt and pepper. Finished with a splash of balsamic.

Arugula
Tossed with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

Mozzarella
Good quality buffalo mozzarella, sliced (I like Delaurenti's brand fresh mozzarella).

Prosciutto
Good quality prosciutto.

Crostinis
Baguette slices brushed with olive oil, broiled until golden brown, then rubbed with raw garlic clove.

Any other antipasto ingredients
Artichoke hearts, olives, etc.

Great Hangover Cure

Tropical Flavor Emergen-C Packet (3/4 packet)

Equal Parts:

Coco Aloe Water & Trilogy Kombucha

Ice

For other reasons I have these ingredients in my house at all times. 

It just so happens they also come in handy for hangovers which I have been 

known to have once or twice. Plan ahead, you won't be sorry.

Homemade Granola Bars

My friend Marion made a version of the Sprouted Kitchen granola bars from the cookbook and they were delicious. Marion found this recipe online from Sweetsonian adapted from the original. I made some today using pecans instead of cashews too.

I should have listened to Marion and skipped the protein powder. The flavor is too distinct. They are great though and an easy recipe to be creative with, adding different nuts, seeds, or dried fruit.

These are great for breakfast, lunches, after school snacks, and even dessert. 

Carrot & Halloumi Patties

Photo credit: The Spice Peddler

My friend Marion made these Carrot and Halloumi Patties for me and they were SOOOO good. Great paired with a salad. Delicious, fresh, light and flavorful. 

I used a bag of grated carrots and eyeballed the rest so my consistency was off and they didn't stick together. Next time I will follow the recipe better. They still turned out great though. 


Carrot & Halloumi Patties

4 large carrots - grated
4 spring onions (40g)
30g coriander
1 lemon
100g hallumi - grated
1 clove garlic - minced
20g red onion - minded or grated
40g rice flour (I used regular white flour)
1 egg white
2 T fennel seed
2 T olive oil

Combine all the ingredients except the fennel and olive oil. Put olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Add fennel seeds and cook for 3 minutes. Add to bowl with all the other ingredients. Squeeze out all the liquid and make into little patties. Saute in a pan until golden brown on each side. 

Serve with tzatziki or any other creamy sauce.

Addiction

I get addicted to certain breakfast foods and eat them daily until I never want to have it again. It's what gets me out of bed in the morning. Currently I am obsessed with this combo: 

Eltana everything bagel

Whole Foods lemon hummus

Sliced radish

Minced chives

Pepper

I first had a bagel with hummus and radish in Portland at the Taste Bud food truck but have since perfected it (added pepper and chives). I like to eat this with coffee, yogurt, berries, and a green juice. Healthy and satisfying start to your day.

Spring Favorite: Raviolis & Asparagus

One of my all-time favorite spring dinners is also one of the fastest and easiest. 

Roasted cauliflower raviolis from Delaurenti with browned butter and sage. While you bring the water to a boil and cook raviolis for 5 minutes, you brown the butter and mince the sage. I shave a few pieces of parmesan on top and then serve with roasted asparagus. I personally cut the asparagus up and toss with the raviolis. I love the flavor combo and this meal can be done in 15 minutes!

I like to serve this with kale caesar too because it pairs well and is hearty but any green salad would be good.

My asparagus prep is so simple...

- Toss with olive oil, salt & pepper on a cookie sheet
- Broil for 2 minutes
- Remove and toss
- Broil for 2 minutes
- Done!

P.S. The raviolis are frozen so you can have them in your freezer for those nights when you need a quick meal. They have tons of different ravioli flavors in case roasted cauliflower doesn't speak to you.