One Third Nerd

I love summer. Even the days that I have to work. I try to enjoy the extra hours of light in the evening. So when I’m picking summer weeknight meals - I’m looking for easy and quick. This recipe for Korean BBQ Marinade is a perfect one. I saw this in the June 1, 2008 issue of Vegetarian Times. They suggested using it to marinade and grill portobellos. If you read this blog, you know I’m not good at improv, so I followed their suggestions to a T, including tossing with chopped scallions and sesame seeds.

Mission Accomplished! Quick, easy, tasty. I served with steamed spinach with red wine vinegar and grilled hearts of palm (inspired by the catering at my cousin, Justin’s graduation party). I’m sure this marinade would work well on other veggies, chicken or steak, too.

It kinda looks like chicken…

The man of the house made these awesome Fiery Fish Tacos with Mango & Avocado Salsa earlier this week. The recipe is out of an old issue of Men’s Health Magazine. The recipe is not posted on their site (bummer), but this similar recipe is posted.

The picture doesn’t do this meal justice. He grilled/blackened the fish on the gas grill with blackening spice. The fish was so so delicious (also served with purple cabbage). Thanks Man!

I could eat curry every night. Seriously, this nerd does not lie. Ask my husband who has a way of subtly recommending that our dinners have more variety. But at least once a week, I get my fix. This week I made a super quick version of Chana Masala from Vegan Express. I served it on 5-minute couscous and broke out a little mango chutney from the fridge. My husband and I both liked this recipe and it was especially nice to have something warm and hearty when the weather is cold and rainy. I am a fan of Vegan Express. I’ve only made 6 or so recipes so far, but they’ve been quick, healthy, weeknight dinners that I’ve liked so much - I cook them over and over again. (Resulting in fewer blog posts but that’s another story).

Oh and this recipe gave me plenty of leftovers for lunches and nights I don’t feel like cooking.

Get on the floor and move your booty, mama. That song just popped into my head when I started thinking about Mother’s Day. On Sunday, we celebrated Mother’s Day with my mom and my BFF (my mother-in-law). I still need to catch up with GB and DR. Once again, I forgot to take pictures, well I took 2, here they are.

Rob and Mom eating brunch at Steph’s House

Steph and I cooked up Santa Fe Huevos on Polenta, a recipe I borrowed from the
Gluten-Free Goddess. I love this recipe. We also made lemon-blueberry pancakes - I think Steph adapted a recipe from Vegan with a Vengeance.

In case you’re wondering, since my wonderful FIL asked me this question which made me realize that readers of this blog could be confused.. I have not gone vegan ..yet. I’m not sure about Steph. I end up eating a mostly vegan diet because I don’t meat and can’t eat dairy. I still eat fish and eggs. I don’t know the official classification for me in the vegetarian world. I’m sure there is one, but it is probably a long difficult-to-use-in-everyday-conversation kinda word.

To my mom, my MIL, GB, DR - Happy Mother’s Day! (names omitted to protect the innocent)

Summer is on it’s way and it makes me so happy inside I feel like someone is tickling me. I got this idea from ED&V and indulged my craving immediately.
I chose these small hydroponic tomatoes, cut in half, inserted garlic into the tomato juices and roasted with sea salt, pepper, oregano. DELICIOUS and SO EASY! Threw these together hot with pasta, spinach and artichoke hearts. Easy, delish weeknight meal.

Since the first recipe I tried from Vegan Express was a hit, I decided to try 2 more.

Last week I made Tortilla Casserole. Most ingredients were canned or frozen making it super easy to prepare. I accidentally added more crushed tomatoes which made my casserole a little soupy. I will use the correct amount next time. Despite the extra tomatoes, I loved this dish. It is quick, healthy, warm, and hearty. The corn tortillas softened while baking, making the end result taste a little bit like a tamale (I love tamales). Here’s a picture of the casserole filling and then a slice of the casserole topped with avocado.

Tonight I made Orzo Soup with Roasted Vegetables. This was also super easy to prepare although I accidentally cut my finger chopping vegetables which slowed me down. Today was cold and rainy so we really enjoyed this warm hearty soup.

This one is not from Vegan Express. Just a picture of a lazy Sunday brunch. It was a rainy gloomy Sunday so the husband and I enjoyed brunch and a little relaxation before the next hectic work week.

I tried some new things this week. Wednesday I tried steaming artichokes for the first time. I totally overcooked them but I learned a lot, so I’ll cook them better next time. My mom made these for us as a kid and I’ve always enjoyed them plain or dipped in salad dressing.

Thursday night, R and I both got stuck at work late. Luckily the recipe I picked out was a quick one. I made a recipe from one of my favorite blogs, Everybody Likes Sandwiches’, Miso-braised Cod with Soba Salad. R and I made a few changes to the recipe - he made the fish and I made the salad. I think he broiled the fish for a shorter period of time, and I used Somen noodles instead of Soba noodles, and cut down on the olive oil. It was delicious. The warm fish with the cold summery salad went well together. Definitely a repeater.

After visiting Sunflower Vegetarian a few times lately and ordering the Kale and Burdock Deluxe I have not been able to satsify my craving for a meal of purely dark greens-cooked well. If you haven’t been to Sunflower you are missing out. There is a heavy alliance on mock meats which isn’t really my thing, but there are so many options everyone will be satisfied.
Back to my point, kale is so tasty. It has fallen into the category of foods I crave. I simply sauted garlic and onion in a bit of sesame oil until fragrant, steamed kale for just a few minutes and added in some chickpeas and cayenne. Very quick and easy took about 10 minutes.

Kale and my glass of wine. Tempranillo, per recommendation by Rob and Stace, my wine of choice.

Expanded View: Includes new furniture and updates to my humble abode. Forgive me the empty walls, one step at a time.

Monday I made Polenta with Black Beans and Spinach from Vegan Express. True to its name, it was express - it took me about 20 minutes total to make. We’ve had that tube of polenta in the pantry for a while now, so I was happy to use it and I enjoyed grilling the polenta. I can’t wait until it warms up and we can really grill.