Veggie Bowl

Here is a nutritious and easy meal for when you have left over veggies, protein and fruit. Some might call it a salad, but lettuce is not the main event here.

Start with something green and leafy, like bok choy, chard, kale (if you use kale, cut it fine then rub it for a few minutes with some lemon or oil to help it breakdown and it will be easier to eat), spinach, or lettuce. Then add toppings. 

Toppings will generally fall into these categories: roasted, raw and pickled vegetables, protein, fruit, grains, seeds, nuts and anything else hanging out in the refrigerator. Then top it with a nice dressing, I like to make a rice vinegar, garlic, mustard and olive oil dressing. 

Here is a bowl I made recently.

Garbanzo and Spinach Orecchiette (Little Ears) with Crispy Lemon Bread Crumbs

This is one of those vegan recipes I slip in every once in a while. If it involves pasta - I can pretty much feed my hubby anything. I found this recipe in the Sunset Magazine about a year ago. I've made a few changes and adaptations to it. It makes about 8 cups. Enough for four people. We don't really like left overs unless they are pasta, so we are good with larger pasta recipes.

It comes together pretty quickly. My strategy is to chop up what needs chopping first so I can then focus on the cooking.  Since I'm a pretty slow chopper, it helps me not feel stressed and rushed if I'm trying to chop, cook, etc. all at the same time. That might work for you too.

Quick Pizza Night Dinner

I don't always cook from scratch. Friday night is usually pizza night at my house. Our custom has been to order a pizza for delivery.  Now that we are doing the retired-on-a-tiny-fixed-income gig, we are cutting corners where we can. We decided to see if we could get a grocery store pizza for less than what we pay for a delivered pizza. We wanted something good and not too heavy. Usually we spend about $30 for a medium delivered pizza (we end up with a couple pieces left over for snacking the next day). I like to limit my cheese intake on pizza, mostly because it is clumpy and greasy and high in calories.  Most pizza places these days will provide less or no cheese. Unfortunately, this is not the case with grocery store frozen pizza, so frozen pizza was out of the question.  

Pumpkin Pancakes!

pancakes with stewed apple

What to do with pumpkin. I admit it - I'm not a squash or pumpkin fan unless it is made into pie or sweet quick bread. Or cookies will do. So the famous Full Belly gave me (well I do pay for their produce) a pie pumpkin. It sat and sat on my counter for ages. Finally the other day I got serious about what to do with it. After a little research I decided to make pancakes.

Beets are heavenly!

I love beets - especially the deep red ones that stain my hands as I clean and prepare them. Equally delicious and lovely to look at are beet greens. Full Belly provided me with tiny newly harvested beets and their greens. I generally just boil my beets, slice them and add a bit of salt and lemon. When the tops look nice and tender - I chop them and steam them until they are tender and give them the same treatment - salt and lemon. My husband does not have the same love affair with beets and their tops as I do. The following recipe was provided by Full Belly. I adapted it and it was a complete success with my husband - he loved it. And it stays pretty true to how I enjoy beets. Try it and see what you think.