Super Quick Warm Salad with Popped Snap Peas

This salad is super yummy and super quick. I'm working on the house today and don't have a ton of time to cook, but I wanted something warm and super healthy. That's where this salad comes in. And I love the way sugar snap peas sound when they're snapped, more of a round "pop" than a snap, so that's what I'm calling them -- popped snap peas! Using pre-washed greens and washing your tomatoes when you bring them home from the store makes this a super quick meal. Also, these pics are bit bit blurry because of the whole, not a lot of time today thing. But, you get the idea, and I'll retake them eventually!

Warm Salad with Popped Snap Peas

3 cups greens -- I used baby spinach and mixed spring greens
handful of canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed
drizzle of olive oil
several turns of fresh pepper
handful of grape tomatoes
juice and zest of one lemon
handful of sugar snap peas, "popped" in the middle

Tear your greens into a bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients except the lemon juice to a warm skillet, cover and cook on high just for a couple of minutes until your chickpeas are a bit browned. Add the lemon juice and let cook for a minute to reduce the acidity and increase sweetness. Pour contents of skillet over your greens and top with more olive oil and pepper, if you want. Enjoy!

Chickpea Florentine Tart with GF Breadcrumb Topping

Here's another one out of Cooking for Isaiah. I've modified it quite a lot to replace the eggs, and what I've ended up with is a deliciously hummus-y florentine tart that both me and Sam can eat! Yay!

1 can great northern beans, drained and rinsed
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 T tahini
1 tsp egg replacer powder (optional, I think)
1/2 tsp garlic powder or onion powder
juice of one lemon
1/2 cup water
salt and pepper, to taste
1 package spinach, thawed
1 T olive oil, to grease the pan

2 small tomatoes, thinly sliced and lightly sprinkled with salt
1/2 cup rice cereal crumbs
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 clove garlic, grated
more olive oil, for drizzling

Add everything from the first list except the spinach and oil to a blender. Blend for a couple of minutes, until thick and smooth. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Mix spinach with bean mix. Grease a cast iron skillet (a pie plate would probably work too) with the olive oil. Use the whole tablespoon, to create a nice crust.

Spoon the mixture into your skillet, top with the tomatoes, and place in the oven for about 50 minutes.

Process a bunch of rice cereal (Chex), into a breadcrumb texture. Reserve 1/2 cup, and save the rest in an airtight container-- trust me, you'll want some more later, the topping is the best part! Put the 1/2 cup back into the food processor, grate a garlic clove in there, and add 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes. Pulse. When your tart is finished, and looks golden around the edges, take it out, top it with the crumb mixture, and drizzle pretty liberally with olive oil. Broil for about 3 minutes. You can totally eat this hot from the oven, but it will slice and serve much better if it cools to at least room temp and can be served cold. Enjoy!

Black Bean, Corn, and Yellow Rice Enchiladas and a New Cookbook!

Last week on Meatless Mondays, I made some pretty amazing enchiladas from Cooking for Isaiah by Silvana Nardone. This is a really cool cookbook that Sam picked out at Barnes and Noble a couple of weeks ago. All of it's recipes are dairy and gluten free, and while it is by no means a vegan, or even vegetarian cookbook, there are a few vegan recipes that look delicious and I plan on veganizing some of the other ones. Sam is gravitating to more and more gluten and dairy free things, which gives me another way to challenge myself in the kitchen-- challenges are what keep me cooking! I just got all of the flours and starches to make her gluten free flour blend, and I'm going to try my hand at gluten free baking. I'm hoping that I can find an egg replacer that works with the flour blend because all of the bread and cake recipes in the book include eggs, although I did see one recipe for bread sticks on her blog that is vegan. My usual go-to egg replacer is flax, but Sam is allergic to flax, so I'll find something new. Does anyone have suggestions for a good egg replacer for gluten free baking?

Our whole perspective on meatless Mondays for him is that we want more things we can eat together, without making two separate meals. It's fun to eat the same thing, it's easier, and it's something we want our future family to be able to do, for the most part. That's where these blackbean and corn enchiladas come in. They are delicious! They feature a homemade red enchilada sauce made with red wine that is so flavorful, the carnivores may not miss their meat, at least for one night!

I don't think the recipe is out there on the interwebs and I didn't really adapt it so no recipe today, but if you are into non-vegan cookbooks or veganizing amazing recipes, I recommend this one! It has some beautiful photography, amazing reviews, and if this first recipe is any indication, some pretty darn good recipes!

so yummy!

Tomato Tart and Kittens

Wow this is good. I've been craving a tart like this for months and I was just waiting for my local farmer's market to open up with some delicious tomatoes and herbs. The filling is based on Maple Spice's almond feta. It's topped with thinly sliced tomatoes and fresh herbs and the crust is made light and crispy with the addition of rice flour.

Crust

- 1/2 cup flour

- 2 T brown rice flour 

- 1/4 tsp salt

- 1 T chopped fresh herbs

- 2 T Bestlife or other buttery baking sticks

- 1 T vegetable shortening

- 2 T cold water

Mix first 3 ingredients together and then use a fork to break up the margarine and shortening into the flour mixture. Add the water until the dough comes together and press into a pie pan. Set aside to chill.

Almond Feta Filling (makes double than what's needed for the tart, so 1/2 or keep the rest to use in pasta or something else)

- 1.5 cups almonds, skinned (directions below)

- 1/3 cup lemon juice

- 1.5 tsps salt

- 2 cloves garlic

- 2 T olive oil

- water to blend, about 1 cup

Bring some water to a boil,then  boil the almonds for 1 minute, rinse in cold water and use your fingers to pop the naked almonds out of their skins. Cover them in hot water and let soak for 1 hour to overnight. Drain the almonds and add all to a blender. Blend until it becomes smooth and creamy, stopping the blender and pushing the ingredients around if blending stops. Pour 1/2 into chilled crust (about a cup) and keep the rest in the fridge for about a week (if it lasts that long).

Preheat oven to 350F.

Tomato-Herb Topping

- 3 medium to large tomatoes

- 1/4 cup fresh herbs, chopped

Slice the tomatoes very thinly-- save the ends for a salad later. Arrange the tomato slices on top of the almond filling, sprinkling the herbs between layers. Bake for 40 minutes or longer, until the crust and almond filling is lightly browned.

Enjoy warm or cold!

Nutrition for 1/8 of tart: cals: 177kcal | fat: 12.52g | carbs: 13.44g | prot: 4.45g

And now a few pictures of some kittens in a bag!

We heard these little guys meowing for weeks under our house. One morning one of them was attacked by a dog (he wasn't hurt but he was scared) and we realized him and the other 2 had been abandoned so we just couldn't help but bring them in and love them. They are the best 3 kittens in the world (excluding any kittens that you guys might have, of course).