vegetarian Archives

Lemony Bright Artichoke and Spinach Orzo

Beautiful photography in this post by Nina Menconi.

I’ll never forget traveling through Italy during late May a few years ago and desperately searching for artichokes featured on any menu. Each time the waiter said, “I carciofi sono finiti”–artichokes are finished–and I would just sigh! How was it possible that we missed the window to enjoy my favorite spring vegetable “alla Romana, al forno, fritti, or in tasty little fried balls called polpette ghiotte?!”

You see, I LOVE artichokes. The first time I truly realized that vegetables were cool was as a ten year old girl, and it was the artichoke that did it. My bonus mom, Debbie, was from California and she introduced artichokes to my dad and I–and it was love at first bite. I was fascinated by this foreign food that required not just eating the meaty leaves with your hands but also digging down until you found the golden heart. And so, I was of course dreaming of tasting the love Italians have for our shared favorite–the artichoke (as they call “carciofi,” which in Italian, also means “pine cone!”).

Each May, when I have the chance to work with the local artichokes that are in season, I can’t help but think about how Mediterranean cooks might highlight them in one of their everyday simple pasta meals. Keeping flavors pure and springlike, I imagine they’d lean on staples like spinach, lemon, parsley, onions, garlic and feta and would pick a pasta like orzo that’s fun and fast to cook.

While I’m actually using a jarred artichoke heart in this recipe versus fresh for the sake of convenience and speed, here are my tips on how to select and store fresh spring artichokes and help your child fall in love with artichokes the way my family did so many years ago!

How to pick a great artichoke and keep it fresh

Select artichokes that are deep green and feel heavy for their size. A good test of freshness is to press the leaves against each other which should produce a squeaking sound.
To store artichokes: sprinkle (but do not wash) artichokes with a little water and refrigerate in an airtight bag or container. They can last up to a week when stored properly.
If you are looking for a good artichoke outside of their peak season during spring, you may find fall or winter artichokes “touched by frost – winter-kissed with a whitish, blistered appearance.” These are considered to be tender, tasty and premier–so don’t let their ugly exterior leaves deter you!

Artichoke fun facts about this thistle we adore

Ask your child what part of the plant they think an artichoke comes from. The artichoke is a flower that has not yet bloomed. If allowed to flower, the buds develop into magnificent purple-blue blooms.
Did you know that California produces 100% of the United States artichoke crop? Castroville, California, calls itself the “Artichoke Center of the World.”
Do you know where the word artichoke comes from? The Italian words—articiocco and articoclos—which means pine cone.

Lemony Bright Feta, Artichoke and Spinach Orzo

2016-05-11 23:56:57

Serves 6

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Prep Time

15 min

Cook Time

20 min

Prep Time

15 min

Cook Time

20 min

Ingredients

Onion (yellow), 1
Garlic, 3 cloves
Olive oil, ¼ cup (divided)
Salt, 1 tsp (divided)
Black pepper, ¼ tsp
Artichoke hearts (quartered), 14 oz
Spinach (baby, pre-washed, bagged), 1 bag (8 cups)
White wine, ½ cup
Vegetable broth, ½ cup
Lemon, ½ large or 1 small
Orzo pasta, 1lb
Feta cheese, 7 oz
Parsley, ½ small bunch

Get Organized

Take 5 minutes to get out all your ingredients, measuring and cooking equipment needed, and place them on a cookie sheet within easy reach.
Bring a large pot of salty water up to a boil for the orzo.
Dice onion.
Empty the quartered artichoke hearts, rinse them, drain and set aside.
Crumble the feta and set aside.
Rough chop parsley (stems and leaves).

To Cook

When water begins to boil, add orzo pasta and cook according to package instructions (about 7-9 minutes). Note: we like to undercook the orzo as we’ll add the pasta to the sauce to finish cooking.
Saute onion in two tablespoons olive oil and ½ teaspoon salt on medium high heat until translucent (3-4 minutes).
Add artichoke hearts and continue sauteing for another 3 minutes.
Next add spinach, garlic, and two more tablespoons olive oil. Stir well to combine.
Deglaze pan with white wine by pulling the pan off the heat, adding the wine, and then placing the pan back on medium high heat. Use your wooden spoon to scrape the bottom of the pan to stir up any of the good onion bits that stuck to the bottom.
Add vegetable broth and continue simmering for about five minutes to help concentrate sauce.
Add another ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper and stir.
Turn off the heat. Add lemon, parsley, and feta and stir.
Serve in bowls garnished with extra parsley.

JoyFoodly http://www.joyfoodly.com/

Bursting with Spring Buckwheat Noodles

May 5 by Chef Hollie Greene Leave a Comment

Beautiful photography in this post by Nina Menconi.

Spring makes me happy. It’s not just the sweet strawberries and ripe cherries that start popping up everywhere this time of year, or the yellow daffodils and tulips that tell me that winter is a distant memory. It’s the baby carrots and happy easter radishes, crunchy sweet sugar snap peas, and tender stalks of asparagus that make me want to cook and play in the kitchen. From radish dips to noodles bursting with spring produce, I’m energized to find ways to easily work in these yummy seasonal treats into my weekly meals.

And it’s not only because I love the taste of spring. Do you know how many nutritious goodies (including energy!) these vegetables and fruits provide?! I love looking at Ashley Koff’s spring vegetable “picks” list to feel great knowing that I’m treating my body and my family’s health right! The key of course is to “try” not go overboard–playing with new recipes should be fun, not stressful. That’s why I love simple one dish meals like soba noodles. I use my go-to sauce from the Joyful 12 kitchen learning lab and just mix up the seasonal produce on hand.

One of my new favorite things to add to soba noodles is roasted tofu. It sounds a little crazy, but I’m a newcomer to tofu as a protein source that makes it home in my shopping cart! I just never played with it much until recently when I was trying out a recipe that called for roasting it. In just 20-minutes, roasted tofu develops the most beautiful brown color and deep flavor without having to pan sear or fry it in a bunch of oil. And while I have the oven on anyway, I throw in some diced asparagus for ten minutes–just long enough to develop flavor but not lose the vibrant green hues.

When it comes to play, my motto is always to have fun making mistakes. Take this goof for example. I put my cooked soba noodles into my pan, along with the sauce and veggies and stirred and stirred and stirred, and guess what. The noodles broke! So much for long beautiful soba noodles–more like soba rice! But that just gave me the chance to make this recipe one more time for my husband, Jim, who adores soba noodles. After a little research, I discovered that the trick to not breaking your cooked noodles is to first wash them after cooking them in a big bowl of cold water (to remove some of their starch) AND to add your sauce and veggies off the heat and gently toss them just before serving. Version one was still delicious!

If you’re looking for a seriously happy and delicious spring meal, perfect for Meatless Monday, grab some sugar snap peas and asparagus and let the soba noodle party commence!

Bursting with Spring Buckwheat Noodles

2016-05-03 21:07:09

Serves 4

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Prep Time

30 min

Cook Time

10 min

Total Time

40 min

Prep Time

30 min

Cook Time

10 min

Total Time

40 min

Ingredients

Asparagus, 1 bunch
Olive oil, 3 TBS (divided)
Salt, ½ tsp (divided)
Tofu, firm, 14 oz
Black pepper, ⅛ tsp
Green onion, 1 bunch
Sugar snap peas, 1 cup
Ginger (fresh), 1tsp finely chopped
Soba noodles (100% Buckwheat) 7 oz

Noodle Sauce

Hot pepper flakes, 1/4 tsp
Rice wine vinegar, 2 TBS
Tamari (gluten free soy sauce), 1/4 cup
Sesame oil, 1/4 cup
Ginger (fresh), 2 tsp finely grated

Instructions

Take 5 minutes to get out all your ingredients, measuring and cooking equipment needed, and place them on a cookie sheet within easy reach.
Preheat oven to 425F.
Cut asparagus on the bias into medium sized pieces. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil, and sprinkle with ¼ teaspoon of salt.
Dry off tofu and cut into medium sized (bite-sized) cubes, drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil, and sprinkle with ¼ teaspoon of salt and ⅛ teaspoon black pepper.
Place tofu and asparagus on two different baking pans lined with parchment paper--roast the tofu for 20 minutes and the asparagus for 10 minutes at 425F.
Cut green onion into small pieces. Set aside some of the green tops to use as a garnish on the noodles when you serve them.
Cut the sugar snap peas into bite sized pieces.
Chop 1 teaspoon of ginger and set aside for the vegetable saute. Finely grate 2 additional teaspoons ginger for the noodle sauce.
Make the pasta sauce by combining all the ingredients in a bowl and stirring together.

Cook

Cook noodles separately, according to their package instructions (approximately 5-7 minutes in boiling water--DO NOT salt!). Get a colander ready so you can rinse the noodles right after they are done cooking in cool water. Note: soba noodles should not be al dente, but you also don’t want to overcook them so taste one before pulling the pot off the heat. Once they have been rinsed, you’re now going to dunk the cooked noodles in a big bowl of cold water and “wash them” of their starch. Use your hands and rub them in the water. Drain again in the colander. Now they are ready to be used.
In a pre-heated pan, saute green onion, peas and ginger in 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium high heat for 3 minutes.
Add roasted asparagus, tofu, and your sauce to the saute and continue cooking another 2 minutes.
Gently toss sauteed vegetables and sauce with the noodles in a bowl (off the heat).
Serve in bowls garnished with a little extra green onion and sprinkled with hot pepper flakes, if you like it extra spicy!

JoyFoodly http://www.joyfoodly.com/

Yoga in The Kitchen

Oct 19 by Chef Hollie Greene Leave a Comment

Good cooking and nutrition should be a lifestyle- that’s the basic premise behind what we do here at Joyfoodly. Is it any surprise that Anna Yoga and Ayurveda share many goals in common. Here to share her thoughts on practicing yoga in the kitchen and to share a favorite recipe is Kajal Dhabalia of WholesomeSoul.com. Her chickpea flour and rice patties feature spinach and onions for a delicious vegetable kick, but can easily be adapted to any number of fresh in season vegetables year-round. -Chef Hollie

Have you ever finished a yoga class feeling grounded, quiet and joyful….and wishing you could feel like this all day long? As someone who spends a lot of time and effort on her yoga and meditation mat, I’ve learned that some of the best ways to continue my practice off the mat is through my diet and lifestyle.

The ancient yogi’s of India thought about everything in the context of how things influence our bodies, our minds and ultimately our consciousness. In fact, many people don’t know this, but there’s a whole branch of yoga called Anna Yoga– a science devoted to food for health and happiness. Combined with Ayurveda (the Indian Science of Healing), Anna Yoga and Ayurveda provide great resources for striving yogi’s who want to have a strong yoga and meditation practice…because food after all, is an amazing tool.

Food not only satisfies our hunger, but it replenishes our blood supply, helps us heal and influences the stability of our mind. Yogic cooking does not dissect food into vitamins, minerals, protein, but rather it shows that the true benefits of whole ingredients can be experienced only when they are NOT isolated and are kept true in their natural form as possible (i.e. preservatives, additives, processed foods). They explain that the most vital component to true health is to have a fresh and balanced diet so that all the faculties of digestion can work smoothly.

The core intentions of Anna Yoga + Ayurveda are:

Every body has a different constitution; therefore, not all food is made for every body. To learn what your constitution is, click here: https://www.ayurveda.com/pdf/constitution.pdf
All foods have various qualities of prana (energy) that stimulate the mind/body in different ways. To learn more about basic ayurvedic food guidelines, click here: http://www.ayurveda.com/pdf/food-guidelines.pdf
Food should be easy for the body’s digestion to work smoothly—absorption, assimilation and elimination.
Meals should consist mainly of fresh fruits & veggies and whole grains.
And, developing the understanding and awareness that, we truly are what we eat; so to be conscious of what we put into our bodies.

Hand in hand with becoming more mindful of what we put in our bodies, is the importance of being conscious of the people, places and things we surround ourselves. Just as the food we eat affects us, what we fill our lives up with soaks into our subconscious. For example, good company can inspire us to live well, a meaningful piece of art can serve as a daily reminder of something positive and an uplifting book can put a spark of magic into your day. These little but big doses of inspiration can directly and indirectly shape our perspectives, nourish our faith and foster our own personal growth.

So, here’s to taking your yoga practice off the mat and into your daily life…one bite at a time ☺.

One of my favorite go-to recipes is my Chickpea Flour and Rice Patties. Basically, they turn out like mini, eggless, omelets; easy, delicious and very nourishing. ENJOY!

Chickpea Flour & Rice Patties

2015-10-13 17:47:58

Serves 4

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Ingredients

4 cups cooked rice
1 cup garbanzo bean flour
1 cup yogurt
1-1 1/2 cups water
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoon ginger, finely grated
1 teaspoon jalapeño, finely grated
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
3 cups spinach, finely chopped
1 1/2 - 2 teaspoon salt (salt to taste)
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon red chili powder
1/4 teaspoon asafetida or ½ cup finely diced onions

Instructions

In a large bowl, place garbanzo bean flour, yogurt and water and beat until smooth.
Add turmeric, red chili powder, asafetida and salt to the batter and mix. Then, add ginger, jalapeño, spinach, cilantro and onions and combine again. Add then fold in cooked rice.
Place a non-stick, medium size skillet on medium heat and place 1 teaspoon of oil on pan.
When oil is heated, place 1/2 cup mixture on skillet, flatten out patty a little, if necessary.
*BE PATIENT and allow to cook 4-5 minutes on each side. I like to wiggle the spatula underneath every so often just to ensure the patty isn't sticking, but make sure to be very gentle.

Notes

*It is very important to keep the skillet well greased so that the patty does not stick.
VEGAN NOTES | Just omit yogurt and add extra water in batter for pancake batter like consistency.
GLUTEN FREE NOTES | Totally gluten free!

By Kajal Dhabalia

JoyFoodly http://www.joyfoodly.com/

BIO | Kajal Dhabalia

Kajal Dhabalia is a graphic designer by trade, and at heart a devout lover of yoga, food and art. Basically she loves all things creative and spiritual. When she’s not cooking or doing yoga herself, she runs an online creative design boutique called Wholesome Soul (www.wholesomesoul.com) where she offers an uplifting collection of original art pieces, prints, and other home related goodies, while also sharing a few of her favorite recipes in between.

Since she knows that most of us can’t stay on our yoga mats all day, her mission is to help people stay inspired—off the mat and into their daily lives.

Find Kajal at:

Website: www.wholesomesoul.com
Instagram: https://instagram.com/kajaldhabalia/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Wholesome-Soul-by-Kajal-Dhabalia/272191999486604

Guest feature with the Vegetarian Momma–Sweet n Spicy Eggplant Pasta

Aug 17 by Chef Hollie Greene Leave a Comment

eggplant easy 0

This week, I’m over the moon thrilled to have my Sweet n Spicy Eggplant Pasta recipe from the Joyful 12 featured by the Vegetarian Momma on her beautiful site. What I love most about Cindy’s site is that she’s dedicated to helping families feel confident that they can cook real foods that are allergen friendly (primarily gluten and nut free), vegetarian focused, and easy for busy families. Her approach is to have joy in the cooking process, and that’s how I know we’re kindred spirits!

eggplant easy 1

This recipe was created as a “throw-it-together” simple seasonal meal. It’s based in my love of Italian cooking and the beauty of convenience plus bright flavors. Head on over to Cindy’s site to get the recipe, and if you’d like to learn more about my Joyful 12 Online Kitchen Learning Lab where we explore cooking 48 vegetables and fruits through family friendly recipes and videos over the course of a year together (all gluten free!), start cooking now with this 50% off coupon code: joyfoodlyfriends

Whole Foods for the Whole Family

Aug 13 by Chef Hollie Greene Leave a Comment

I’m thrilled to feature guest blogger Anjali Shah, food writer, board certified health coach, and owner of The Picky Eater, a healthy food and lifestyle blog. I asked Anjali to share one of her favorite ways to get kids in the kitchen and trying new veggies, and she wowed me with this Easy Being Green Smoothie:

One of my favorite ways to get the whole family in the kitchen is to cook together! I have found that introducing kids to whole foods when they’re really young and getting them curious and excited about fruits and veggies makes it so much easier to feed them those veggies later on. Food for kids (and the family) should be like the rainbow: vibrant and full of color. And once kids realize that veggies can taste good, they will no longer recoil at anything green.

An easy way to introduce kids and picky family members to green veggies and whole foods is by making smoothies together. This healthy green smoothie recipe tastes absolutely amazing but has a ton of fruits and veggies in it making it a whole food extravagnaza!

You can get the whole family involved by giving each family member one fruit or veggie to prep (either cutting, peeling, etc.) and then everyone dumps their special ingredient into the blender at the same time. It’s easy, fast, fun and delicious!

It’s Easy Being Green: Smoothie Recipe

2015-08-05 12:58:08

Serves 4

Nutritional Info Per Serving: 113.7 Calories, 0g Fat, 24mg Sodium, 27g Carbs, 4.5g Fiber, 16.4g Sugar, 2.2g Protein

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Prep Time

5 min

Cook Time

5 min

Total Time

10 min

Prep Time

5 min

Cook Time

5 min

Total Time

10 min

Ingredients

1 cup red grapes
1 medium orange, peeled and halved
1/4 cup fresh pineapple chunks
1 medium banana, peeled
1 carrot, halved
3-4 cups fresh spinach, washed
1 fuji apple, quartered and seeded
1 cup of ice

Instructions

Put all ingredients into your blender (or Vitamix if you have one) in the order listed and secure the lid.
Turn your blender on to it's lowest speed setting, and slowly increase the speed to high. Blend for 1 minute or until all of the ingredients have been pureed and the smoothie is the consistency you want it to be (our ideal consistency: no clumps, no grainy texture, totally smooth).

By Anjali Shah

JoyFoodly http://www.joyfoodly.com/

Anjali Shah is a food writer, board certified health coach, and owner of The Picky Eater, a healthy food and lifestyle blog. Her work has been featured on Oprah.com, Women’ s Health, Cooking Light, Reader’s Digest, CNN, Food Network, Glamour, Ladies’ Home Journal, Whole Foods, SHAPE, and at Kaiser Permanente. Anjali grew up a “whole wheat” girl, but married a “white bread” kind of guy. Hoping to prove that nutritious food could in fact be delicious and desirable, she taught herself how to cook and successfully transformed her husband’s eating habits from a diet of frozen pizzas and Taco Bell to her healthy, yet flavorful recipes made with simple, wholesome ingredients. Through her blog, The Picky Eater, Anjali shares her passion for tasty, healthy cooking.

Sumac Grilled Chinese Eggplant Dressed with Tomatoes, Basil and Feta

Aug 3 by Chef Hollie Greene 1 Comment

How often has this happened to you? The smell of someone grilling in their backyard stops you in your tracks. The rich smoky wafts of something caramelizing on the bbq are intoxicating. And while I do adore grilled meats and fish, where I really spend most of my creative cooking energy is on those summer grilled vegetables. Vegetables are meant to be grilled. And not just in the form of a kabob.

Recently, I heard the best public radio chat on how to grill like a pro over the summer. Mostly the banter between the three chefs was meat focused, but then, one of the chefs brilliantly suggested that taking a large globe eggplant and stuffing it with garlic, wrapping it in tinfoil, and throwing it on top of the charcoals was the way to go. The finished grilled eggplant was cut open like a potato and dressed like a mozzarella and tomato salad–with olive oil, salt, and a little balsamic vinegar.

Are you drooling? I was. No, really. It was hard to concentrate on driving! I knew I wanted to try to recreate this luscious image he has planted into my brain, but I was stuck. We don’t have a charcoal grill, just a mini gas Weber grill that literally sits on top of a table out the back door of our small San Francisco apartment. Hmm….grilled globe eggplant was not in my immediate future.

I couldn’t give up. So I figured I’d opt for another variety that would work for my grill, Chinese eggplant. These thinner light purple eggplants are so popular today you can find them in grocery stores all over the country. The best thing about them is that they cook quickly, have great taste and don’t require salting. Now I was ready to grill!

First, I brushed each cut half with a generous amount of olive oil before salting them and placing them down on the searing hot grill for about three to four minutes.

Once I had some nice grill marks on the cut side of each eggplant, I pulled them off the grill. More olive oil was brushed on, and at this stage I added big pinches of my sumac and paprika spices and a little more salt. Placing the two halves back together, I wrapped each eggplant in tinfoil and put them back on the grill for seven to ten more minutes.

The first night we ate them immediately after grilling with all of the fixings I’d dreamed up, but then I discovered something that worked even better–letting them cool in the refrigerator and serving them later to guests as a cool antipasti appetizer helped the smoky but sweet flavors of the grilled eggplant to develop.

Scattered with red and yellow cherry tomatoes.

Crumbled salty feta on top and freshly torn basil.

Drizzled with generous spoonfuls of good balsamic vinegar and fruity extra virgin olive oil.

This is my new favorite antipasti summer side that is sure to make you relish eggplant and want to grill vegetables all summer long. Don’t be shy! Share your favorite summer grilling tips with me–I’m officially addicted to vegetable grilling!

Special thanks to Elle Wildhagen, our photographer and videographer, for this beautiful shoot.

Sumac Grilled Chinese Eggplant Stuffed with Tomatoes, Basil and Feta Drizzled with Balsamic Vinegar and Olive Oil

2015-07-28 10:36:34

Serves 4

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Prep Time

15 min

Cook Time

15 min

Total Time

30 min

Prep Time

15 min

Cook Time

15 min

Total Time

30 min

Ingredients

Chinese eggplant (or fairytale), 4
Olive oil, about ¼ cup (divided)
Salt, 1 tsp. (divided)
Sumac spice, ½ tsp.
Sweet paprika, ½ tsp.
Cherry tomatoes, 1 cup
Balsamic vinegar, 2 TBS
Feta Cheese, 6-7 oz.
Basil, ½ cup

Prep

Take 5 minutes to get out all your ingredients, measuring and cooking equipment needed, and place them on a cookie sheet within easy reach.
Wash all produce.
Pre-heat grill.
Cut eggplants into halves. Brush with olive oil and sprinkle with ½ teaspoon salt.
Get toppings ready: cut tomatoes into halves, crumble feta, tear basil with your hands.
Toss cut tomatoes in 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar and 2 tablespoons olive oil and set aside.

Cook

Grill eggplant cut side down on the hotter side of your grill for 4 minutes.
Take off of the heat and place on a plate. Sprinkle the seared side with the sumac and sweet paprika. Then, wrap each eggplant (the two cut halves back together) in tinfoil. Place them back on the grill over medium low heat, close the lid, and cook another 7-10 minutes (depending on how thick your eggplant are).
To serve, place cooked eggplant on a big platter. Drizzle with a little more olive oil and balsamic vinegar, top with tomatoes, crumbled feta and basil. Sprinkle more salt and cracked black pepper on top, as desired.

Notes

Culinary note: we tested this recipe with the small light purple variety of eggplants, called Chinese eggplants. They are very different from the globe eggplant we are used to, as they do not require pre-salting and cook very quickly. Another summer variety that would work is called fairytale eggplant. They are small, round and a beautiful speckled purple and white color.
Cooking equipment: we grilled our eggplant on a very small Weber gas grill (like it fits on a table top!), so do not worry about your grilling equipment—this is an easy summer recipe! Find the hottest part of your grill to sear the eggplant and build some nice flavor. After 3-4 minutes, we pulled ours off the highest heat, and wrapped each one in tinfoil to create the ability for the eggplant to steam and therefore cook quicker on the lower heat area of the grill.

By Chef Hollie

JoyFoodly http://www.joyfoodly.com/

Summer Moroccan Salads

Jul 27 by Chef Hollie Greene Leave a Comment

Tearing off a hot piece of the freshly baked Berber bread, we dove in with gusto. Green, red, orange, and purple colors danced on the plates put down before us. Mounds of airy grated carrots, heaps of perfectly diced tomatoes and fire grilled bell peppers, glistening chunks of earthy purple beets–all displayed at once–were the starters for our first lunch in Morocco.

Wait. What just happened? Hadn’t we ordered “the Moroccan salad” appetizer? Yet, it felt like a parade of salads had just made its grand entrance into our meal. I love the way Paula Wolfert describes these sensory delights in my favorite of her many beautiful cookbooks, The Food of Morocco:

Moroccan salads are not like ours, mixtures of greens doused with dressings. They’re closer to Italian antipasti, served at the beginning of a meal to inspire the appetite and excite the palate: spiced or sweetened, cooked or raw, or pickled or stewed vegetables, as well as cubed and grilled meat or fish.

Our appetites were inspired…and excited. This was a side of Moroccan cooking I had never experienced stateside. We were all too familiar with tagine and couscous but had yet to relish in the glory of these heavenly treats at the beginning of every meal. You see, the area of Morocco we started our trip in, around Rabat, Meknes and Fez, is known for their agricultural delights–from grapes for wine to artichokes, beets, tomatoes, olives and a whole myriad of vegetables that make this part of Morocco the culinary capital.

And then I wondered. How do families really do this in their own homes? Was this a restaurant show or really a part of their food culture? As it turns out, most Moroccan families will have their three or four go-to salads, usually prepared a day in advance that can be pulled out of the refrigerator and served quickly at the start of a meal.

Both simple and seasonal, the brilliance of the Moroccan salad spread is the reliance on a few seasoning combos that you see repeated in numerous variations of the same salad–from the basics of olive, salt and pepper, to spices like cumin, paprika, and coriander to fresh herbs like parsley and cilantro. So when I got back home and tested out my own version of this glorious buffet of salad bites, I kept to the same principles. And some salads were pre-made things I picked up, like an amazing artichoke hummus at our local farmers market and some harissa brined olives from Bi-Rite Market.

Others, I made up as I went along, making a game of seeing what flavors would work together. Diving into Paula’s cookbook, I grabbed ideas from here and there. For example, she has a beautiful carrot and orange salad that’s as simple as mixing together grated or peeled carrots and tossing them with a tiny splash of orange blossom water (I use the Sadaf brand that’s about 2 bucks), a few tablespoons of fresh lemon juice, cinnamon, and a pinch of sugar. You just can’t imagine how refreshing grated cucumbers are with that same flavor combo!

But the one recipe I must share with you that’s pure summer Moroccan love is from my buddy, Chef Tarik Ait Yahya at Atelier De Cuisine. Recreating his “favorite” summer salad was so easy and delicious–even back on my home soil. The only thing that takes a little planning with this salad is roasting the bell peppers, which I chose to do in my oven since I don’t have a charcoal grill in my small city apartment. At 400F, flipping them after 20 minutes per side (40 total),it was an easy and foolproof way of roasting them enough to extract those rich flavors.

Being rebellious, I chose not to peel my tomatoes as is suggested by any good Moroccan cook–I just couldn’t bring myself to do it with the juicy dry farmed Early Girls I’d bought that morning at the farmers market. I was afraid I’d lose too much juice and good bits…and it worked out just fine!

Literally, 1, 2, 3–with the tossing of diced onion, olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper, and the tomatoes and roasted green bell peppers–the MOST heavenly summer salad came together. Take your own family on a culinary adventure this summer, and start a new tradition of Moroccan Salads to start your meals that are sure to surprise and delight your appetites!

I hope you’ll also enjoy exploring my post on chicken tagine and my six favorite things I learned about Moroccan food and culture on our blog from July. And as I explore and continue to learn about Moroccan cooking, I can not begin to tell you how in love I am with Mourad Lahlou’s cookbook, Mourad: New Moroccan. From Marrakech to San Francisco, Mourad cooks from his childhood memories but in his own Northern California style–full of love, flavor, and the beauty of Moroccan flavors.

Special thanks to Elle Wildhagen, our photographer and videographer, for this beautiful shoot.

Chef Tarik’s Roasted Green Pepper and Tomato Salad

2015-07-20 13:01:00

Serves 4

Adapted slightly (based on my memory) from the original recipe we learned from Chef Tarik Ait Yahya at Atelier de Cuisine outside Marrakech, Morocco

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Prep Time

40 min

Cook Time

15 min

Total Time

55 min

Prep Time

40 min

Cook Time

15 min

Total Time

55 min

Ingredients

Tomatoes, 4 medium (Early Girl variety works great)
Green bell peppers, 2 medium
Red onion, ¼
Lemons, 1
Olive oil, 2 TBS.
Salt, ½ tsp.
Black pepper, ¼ tsp.

Prep

Take 5 minutes to get out all your ingredients, measuring and cooking equipment needed, and place them on a cookie sheet within easy reach.
Wash all produce.
Chef Tarik recommends roasting the green peppers over charcoal. If this is not an option, what we did was to roast them for 40 minutes at 400F in our oven, flipping them mid-way through cooking time.
As they are roasting, juice your lemon, dice the red onion, and measure out your spices and olive oil into a bowl.
For fresh summer tomatoes, I do not recommend peeling them, even as this is the traditional Moroccan way. In Morocco, we used a tomato that appeared to be a paste tomato variety (Roma) and with a small pairing knife, starting at the bottom of the tomato, we worked our way around the skin, peeling slowly. Later, we made roses with our tomato skin!
Dice peeled tomato and add to the bowl.

Assemble

When the peppers have finished roasting, place them into a bowl and cover with saran wrap. Let them sit at least 5-10 minutes. This will help the skin to release. Peel the bell peppers, dice them, and add to the salad.
Toss all of the ingredients together. Taste to make sure you have enough seasoning. Enjoy with fresh bread or your favorite Moroccan main dish.

JoyFoodly http://www.joyfoodly.com/

Teach Your Kids To Make Camp Cauliflower’s Raviolis (so you don’t have to)!

Jun 1 by Elena Dennis 1 Comment

Natalie scrunched her nose and shook her head in disgust; she had a serious dislike for tomatoes. I encouraged the students, “Everyone must try everything while we cook. You never know, you might like it!” This was my father’s mantra when my brother and I were growing up; nothing on our plate was left untasted. Throughout the week, I made sure Natalie didn’t avoid any part of the meal that had tomatoes. Slowly, I started to notice her opening up, however I still wasn’t convinced of any significant breakthrough.

A week after the camp, I was at the farmer’s market buying some fresh produce. I heard a high-pitched voice yell, “Mommy, we need these for the sauce!” Looking up, I saw Natalie at the same stand, smiling and holding three ruby red tomatoes. “Natalie! Are you buying tomatoes?” She looked up and nodded. “We’re making the tomato sauce that we made at Camp Cauliflower!”

Creating Camp Cauliflower, a nutritionally focused and nonprofit summer program, was the culmination of my love for healthy cooking, something I inherited from my father. I remember my first bite into my dad’s vegetarian taco; freshly made salsa and creamy guacamole tickled my taste buds with flavor, making me wonder how he made such a delicious meal from such basic ingredients. For as long as I can remember my father has prepared a wholesome and hearty meal every night for my family.

Our family has been labelled the “busiest bunch in Marin County;” however, we always make sure to sit down and eat dinner together every evening. Whether my brother is rushing to basketball practice or my mother is working with a client, we will always wait until everyone is home to start our meal. I remember watching my dad make pizza dough for the first time; seeing the bubbles rise to the top of the yeast, warm water and sugar mixture at the bottom of the bowl astounded me. With a little flour, this substance would eventually become a ball a dough, ready to go into the oven. The purity of these ingredients made me realize the importance of knowing what goes into our food.

My experimentation with flavors became second nature to me as I learned the secret behind altering a sauce’s sweetness, saltiness, or spiciness. I find that cooking lets me connect to my family through the conversation and activity that occurs in the kitchen; while my mom makes her famous kale salad, I’m helping my father assemble the homemade ravioli. My brother is known as the brave taster, making “sure that nothing is poisonous.” My most memorable moments are the ones spent in the kitchen with my whole family.

To make Camp Cauliflower a reality, I created an online fundraising campaign, connected with the head of the Food and Nutrition Program in Novato, organized my friends as volunteers in the kitchen, and asked local grocery stores for donations; I was determined to make this camp free to the children who wanted to attend and to give them the experience of cooking in a commercial kitchen. During the week, I led the five campers through hands-on cooking projects, making an organic and nutritious lunch every day. That very next week at the market, Natalie proved the camp’s mission successful.

Now it’s your turn to dive into one of our camp experiences! Try out this delicious recipe the Camp Cauliflower kids made last summer.

Whole-Wheat Ravioli with a Spinach-Ricotta Filling

2015-05-28 13:17:36

Serves 4

Culinary Note: Don’t be discouraged if the dough doesn’t come out perfect after the first mix. I’ve found that this recipe yields a pretty dry dough so make sure to have a cup of water next to you in case all the ingredients aren’t thoroughly incorporated.

Save Recipe

Prep Time

40 min

Cook Time

15 min

Total Time

55 min

Prep Time

40 min

Cook Time

15 min

Total Time

55 min

For the Dough

All Purpose Flour, 1 ¼ cup
Whole Wheat Flour, 1 ¼ cup
Eggs, 3
Olive Oil, 1 TBSP
Salt, pinch

For the Spinach-Ricotta Filling

Part skim ricotta cheese, 1 cup
Grated parmesan cheese, ¾ cup
Fresh Italian parsley, 2 TBSP
Sage, 1 TBSP
Freshly grated nutmeg, 1/2 TSP
Ground pepper, 1/2 TSP
Salt, 1 TSP
Fresh Spinach, 3/4 pound

For the Tomato Sauce

Ripe Roma Tomatoes, 2 lbs
Olive Oil, 3 TBSP
Yellow Onion, 2/3 cup
Cloves of garlic, 4
Rosemary leaves, 2 TSP
Fresh Oregano, 2 TSP
Balsamic vinegar, 2 TBSP
Salt and Pepper to taste

Prep

Take 5 minutes to get out all your ingredients, measuring and cooking equipment needed, and place them on a cookie sheet within easy reach. Wash all ingredients.
Mound flour and salt in a pile and make a large well in the center. Crack the egg into the the well, add oil, and carefully beat with a fork. Incorporate flour into the egg by continuing to whisk with the with fork. Once flour and egg are fairly well mixed, use a board scraper to cut and mix dough further. Scrape and roll the dough into a ball.
Knead dough on a lightly floured surface by hand for five minutes to yield a smooth, not too wet or too dry, firmer than bread dough. Let dough rest under inverted bowl for 15 minutes.
Measure out all ingredients for the Spinach-Ricotta filling and place in a mixing bowl.
Mince parsley and sage. Add to bowl.
Wilt and stir fresh spinach. Cool, drain well and press out all remaining water. Chop very fine and add to ricotta mix. Refrigerate mix until you need it.

Prep the tomato sauce

Blanch and seed Roma tomatoes. Set aside.
Chop onion.
Mince garlic, rosemary leaves, and oregano.

Assembly/Cook

Roll dough with rolling pin and cut into squares with pizza or pasta cutter. Place a teaspoon of filling in each square. Brush edges of ravioli with egg wash, put top on ravioli and press edges to seal. Place ravioli on flour dusted tray and let dry. Drop raviolis in boiling water for 4 minutes and then remove.
For sauce, heat a sauce pan and add oil. Add onions and sauté for a few minutes until translucent. Turn off heat and add garlic, rosemary, and dried seasonings if using. Sauté on residual heat until soft and fragrant. Do not burn garlic.
Add tomatoes and simmer on medium-low for 10 minutes until tomatoes have broken down. Add fresh herbs, vinegar and seasonings and stir over heat to incorporate. Taste and adjust seasonings to your liking!

Notes

This recipe is not gluten-free

By Elena Dennis

JoyFoodly http://www.joyfoodly.com/

Elena’s Kickin’ Southwestern Quinoa Salad With Mango Salsa

May 18 by Elena Dennis Leave a Comment

Please welcome Elena Dennis to our Joyfoodly community. She’s not only our spring intern at Joyfoodly, but she’s a fellow educator who has a passion for teaching children to love eating seasonal vegetables and fruits through the camp she started at the tender age of 17–Camp Cauliflower. Please welcome Elena as she shares her passion for living veggie love in these next few blog posts:

I still remember the expression on my best friend’s face when I told her. We were sitting in the food court of the Northgate Mall, a bowl of teriyaki chicken and rice placed in front of us. The majority of the broccoli and carrots were pulled to my side of the plate while the tender chicken strips were gathered near her fork. Surprised that I wasn’t digging into the sweet and sour flavors of this slowly roasted bird, I decided to break the news.

That’s right folks. I officially announced my vegetarianism. However, I didn’t realize the slew of questions I would receive when converting over to a life full of veggies. Let me share some of the FAQs I’ve found over my three years of being a veg.

#1: How do you live?

Well, I’m able to talk, breathe, eat, and laugh, so living isn’t too difficult. I’ve never been the biggest red meat eater, and to be honest, I love vegetables so being vegetarian isn’t a bad lifestyle for me. However, I can see why people ask that question all the time, which brings me to #2.

#2: How do you get enough protein?

Research. It’s all about taking out the fat Wellness Encyclopedia of Food and Nutrition and reading. I’ve found that my favorite sources of protein are quinoa, beans and rice, greek yogurt, and almonds. These are also incredibly versatile ingredients, which you can use and substitute into about any recipe.

#3: What do you usually make for dinner?

And this question brings me to my favorite dish: quinoa bowls. Whether it’s chopped cold carrots and celery or sautéed chard and kale doused in a ginger-miso sauce, I can confidently say that you could put anything on quinoa and feel satisfied after. These fluffy seeds are chock-full of essential amino acids that fulfill my complete protein requirement per day. I’ve been one to sprinkle toasted almonds and pecans over a honey-drizzled bowl of quinoa or create a cheesy quinoa mixture and stuff it into a roasted pepper. However, there is one quinoa dish in particular that I could eat for the rest of my life.

Behold, the Southwestern Black Bean Quinoa Salad. Whew—that’s a mouthful. But it’s a mouthful of deliciousness! I’ve always loved the combination of black beans and cilantro; it reminds of my father’s famous beans and rice that he introduced to me when I was a youngin’. This dish definitely leaves me feeling full, but not lethargic, which is very important as a hustling and bustling student.

With bursting colors of orange, green, white, and black, this zesty salad truly knows how to bring a family together. I’ve been one to finish off a whole bowl of this stuff with my brother and parents in one sitting. Sad? Definitely not! Because even though we left the table feeling as if our stomachs were a couple of inches wider, we were able to enjoy each other’s presence in the process.

Elena’s Kickin’ Southwestern Quinoa Salad With Mango Salsa

2015-05-14 13:40:47

Serves 3

Culinary note: You can top this bowl with just about anything! My favorite is avocado or the mango salsa, but you could throw in some regular pico de gallo or plain ol’ tomatoes.

Save Recipe

Prep Time

25 min

Cook Time

10 min

Prep Time

25 min

Cook Time

10 min

For the Quinoa Bowl

Black beans, 30 oz
Quinoa, 1 cup (uncooked)
Cilantro, 1 bunch
Carrots, 4, medium
Green onions, 1 bunch

For the Lime Vinaigrette

Limes, 2
Olive oil, 1/3 cup
Cumin, 1/4 tsp
Garlic, 1 clove
Maple syrup, 1 tsp
Salt, 1/2 tsp

For the Mango Salsa

Mangoes, 2
Garlic, 2 cloves
Habanero pepper, 1-2 (small)
Shallot, 1
Lime, 1
Salt, approximately 1/2 tsp

Prep

Take 5 minutes to get out all your ingredients, measuring and cooking equipment needed, and place them on a cookie sheet within easy reach. Wash all ingredients.
Cook quinoa. Being 1 cup quinoa and 2 cups water up to a boil. Once you reach a boil, turn the heat to low, cover the pot, and cook for 15 minutes. Leave this mixture cooking while you prep the vegetables.
Peel and shred the carrots. Place in large mixing bowl.
Remove lower stems only and rough chop the leaves. Add to carrots.
Chop the green parts of the green onions and add to the other vegetables. Make sure to save the white parts of the onions for another recipe!
Drain and rinse black beans. Add them to the bowl.

Make the mango salsa--in a separate bowl, prep and combine

Peel and cut mango meat off of pit and place in separate bowl. Using your hands, squeeze pulp off of the pit and place into bowl.
Peel and chop garlic.
Rinse and chop Habanero pepper. WARNING: do not touch your eyes after handling Habanero peppers; they will sting! Make sure to thoroughly wash your hands after touching them.
Peel and finely chop the shallot. Make sure the pieces are very small!
Juice the lime and add salt. Set aside.

Assemble

Once quinoa has finished cooking, take a fork and fluff the grains. Pour the cooked grains onto a cookie sheet, spread them, and let dry while you prepare the vinaigrette.
Measure out all the ingredients of the lime vinaigrette and whisk in a bowl or quickly blend in blender.
Add cooked quinoa to the bowl of prepped veggies, give the mixture a solid toss, and then mix in the lime vinaigrette.
Enjoy a bowl of my Southwestern quinoa dish with a large dollop of mango salsa on top, or eat them separately! Both options are equally delicious!

By Elena Dennis

JoyFoodly http://www.joyfoodly.com/

I want to give a BIG thank you to Chef Hollie Greene for allowing me this amazing opportunity to intern and blog on JoyFoodly. From working with her, I can already feel my skills as a blogger, educator, and lover of fruits and vegetables grow!

-Elena-

Take Back Lunch—With My Spring Build-a-Veggie-Toast Bar!

May 6 by Chef Hollie Greene Leave a Comment

We’re joining Healthy Planet US this month to “take back lunch!” During May, you can join in this deliciously fun 21-day healthy cooking challenge. It’s easy to join: register at https://healthyplanetus.org/21daychallenge/. On May 11th, they will be giving away three Joyful 12 memberships, so be sure to register to receive daily updates and inspiration!

I was never a PB&J kid. I didn’t like sandwiches at all. Orange squares of cheddar cheese, atop salty crunchy Triscuits with a medley of fruit—this, I relished. But the sad bologna squares my friends ate with their Cheetos were not for me. From a very young age, I knew lunch was more than calories to fill my stomach. It was a chance to laugh and talk with my friends while munching on a small meal that satisfied my precocious need for variety, texture, and colorful bites to sample.

Not much has changed. When I’m cooking with kids or teaching adults in a class, I love to expand their ideas of what a tasty but simple lunch can look like. Ingredients are paramount, and my preference is to start with the vegetables first and build the rest of the meal around them. That’s fairly easy, when you begin with what’s in season. Right now, I’m seeing peas, radishes, and strawberries everywhere, so that’s where I begin.

When our partners and good friends at Healthy Planet US, Bryan Jersky, Chief Grower and CEO, and Erinn Butulis, Head of Storytelling, asked me if I’d like to share a fun recipe for their take back lunch challenge, I knew I’d need to channel my inner child to share a simple yet fun way to incorporate vegetables into the beloved sandwich—with an open-faced twist. My dislike for sandwiches hasn’t budged much in twenty years (or so!), but my love of savory and sweet spreads on artisan breads has just begun.

Toast bars and featured specialty toast menu items are all the rage now, and not just in San Francisco. Thick slices of homemade breads perfectly toasted with rich, creamy, and crunchy toppings satisfy customers’ basic needs to feel nourished and delighted. While, I’m a huge fan of supporting these restaurants, as a cook I know that in my own home kitchen, I can recreate these experiences, get more value for my dollar and even make them more vegetable focused.

This spring I’m making two cream cheese based spreads in the Joyful 12 that are made with radishes and are perfect on toasts and to dip spring veggies into as a snack for kids. Bringing back one of my childhood favorites, strawberry cream cheese, I mix fresh radishes, strawberries, and cream cheese together with just a hint of honey to produce a creamy pink spread that’s perfect on bagels and toasts alike. Using the same method, I can quickly switch up the flavors by using the ranch flavorings in my “Easy Homemade Ranch Dip”, mixing dried parsley, granulated onion, salt and pepper, with cream cheese and grated radishes. Just a warning—this dip can be very addictive!

The really fun part of making your own food is the twists and turns that can happen when you start with a recipe you know and trust but then deviate with whatever is on hand. This is exactly what happened with my pea toasts. I figured if radish spreads were delicious on toast, why wouldn’t a pea spread work as well! The French adore the simple pleasure of fresh, organic butter on toast topped with spring radish and a sprinkle of salt. Thus, my pea butter was created as a deviation from a classic that works—but with a pea perfect twist. Believe me, when you eat one of my creamy sweet pea butter toasts with crunchy sugar snaps on top, you’ll be glad you took back lunch by making it yourself!

A Rainbow of Radish and Spring Pea Toasts

2015-05-05 16:07:54

Serves 4

Save Recipe

Prep Time

15 min

Cook Time

20 min

Total Time

35 min

Prep Time

15 min

Cook Time

20 min

Total Time

35 min

Ingredients

Red radish, 1 bunch (divided)
Breakfast radish, 1 bunch
Sugar snap peas, 1 cup
Bread, your favorite toast bread (4-6 slices)

Sweet Strawberry and Radish Cream Cheese Dip

Strawberries (fresh), 5
Cream cheese, 8oz
Red radish, 5 (from your bunch)
Honey, 1/2 TBS

Savory Red Radish Cream Cheese Dip

Red radish, 5 (from your bunch)
Cream cheese, 8 oz
Parsley (dried), 1 tsp
Onion (dried), 1 tsp
Salt, 1/4 tsp
Black pepper, 1/4 tsp

Sweet pea butter

Unsalted organic butter, 4 TBS
Organic frozen sweet peas, ½ cup
Tarragon (fresh), 2 tsp.
Salt, ½ tsp
Zest of 1 orange

Prep

Take 5 minutes to get out all your ingredients, measuring and cooking equipment needed, and place them on a cookie sheet within easy reach.
Wash all produce.
Bring cream cheese and butter to room temperature.
If using fresh peas, blanch them in boiling salted water for 1 minute, remove and drain before using to make the pea butter. If using frozen peas, bring to room temperature before using to make the pea butter.
For the mixture of radishes you’ll use to top the toasts, cut into thin rounds and set aside.
Snap peas used for topping your pea butter toasts can be left whole or sliced down the middle to reveal their interior peas.

Assemble

For either of the radish dips, blend the 5 radishes that go into the dip in the food processor until finely grated.
Then, add all other ingredients, depending on which dip you’ve chosen, and room temperature cream cheese. Blend until smooth in a bowl with a fork or spatula.
To make pea butter: smash peas with a fork. Smash butter until creamy with a fork (or use your food processor). Combine peas, tarragon, butter and salt and set aside.
Toast your bread and build your toasts using the pea butter topped with sugar snaps, or a radish toast with either radish dip topped with thinly sliced radishes. Enjoy these delicious toasts as a lunch, a healthy snack, or use the dips with fresh veggies in your packed lunch!

By Chef Hollie

JoyFoodly http://www.joyfoodly.com/