Kale Broccoli Bowl with Roasted Chickpeas

Posted on February 1, 2016 by Emily Wasserman

greendetoxsalad

Everyone, meet kale broccoli bowl. Kale broccoli bowl, meet everyone. I’m going to introduce you to coconut curry hot chocolate later this week. But I thought I’d get this introduction out of the way, first.

Sunday nights are a time for reflection, and usually, this involves thinking about what I ate during the past weekend. I like to indulge on weekends, with as many cookies and sweets as my heart desires. So sometimes, I bring it down a notch on Sunday nights and go with a healthier option. Tonight, this kale broccoli bowl fit the bill.

Grapefruit and avocado are two of my favorite things, and crispy chickpeas also rank highly. I think chickpeas taste best when they’re roasted and crunchy, and combined with the perfect amount of salt and seasoning. The ones in this recipe have a dash of spicy cayenne and soy sauce, which gives them a kick.

Toward the end of making this salad, I realized that this song was playing on my Spotify. It seemed kind of ironic: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2ppnw_VowY

Feel free to add your own soundtrack. And enjoy!

Kale Broccoli Bowl with Roasted Chickpeas (slightly adapted from Half Baked Harvest)

Ingredients

Lemon Tahini Dressing
2 tablespoons tahini (sesame seed paste)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon low sodium soy sauce or tamari
juice + zest from 1 lemon (use only half of the zest)
2 cloves garlic, grated
2 teaspoons fresh ginger, grated
salt + pepper, to taste

Kale Bowl
2 cups cooked chickpeas
1 cup unsweetened flaked coconut
2 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce or tamari
2 tablespoons sesame oil
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
4 cups Tuscan kale, roughly torn
2 cups fresh broccoli florets
1/4 head purple cabbage, shredded
1/2 cup fresh parley + cilantro, roughly chopped
hemp seeds + chia seeds, for topping
2 red grapefruits, segmented
2 ripe, but firm avocados, sliced or chopped

Directions

Lemon Tahini Dressing: Add all the ingredients to a bowl and whisk until combined. Taste and adjust salt + pepper to your liking. Alternately you can add the ingredients to a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. The dressing can be made a week in advance and stored in the fridge until ready to use.

Kale Bowl: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Spread the chickpeas out on a towel and dry them completely. Add the chickpeas and coconut to a baking sheet and toss with the soy sauce, sesame oil and cayenne pepper. Toss well to evenly coat. Roast for 20 minutes and then stir the chickpeas around and roast another 10 minutes or until the chickpeas are browned and the coconut is dark brown. Remove from the oven. Save any leftovers for snacking on later.

Add the kale to a large bowl and drizzle with 1 teaspoon olive oil and a big pinch of salt. Using your hands, massage the kale for 2-3 minutes until the kale is well coated and has slightly softened. To the bowl add the broccoli, cabbage, parsley and cilantro. Toss well. Add the dressing and continue to toss until all the veggies are coated. Add the grapefruit segments and avocado. Gently toss to combine. At this point, you can cover and store the salad in the fridge for up to 24 hours or continue on with the recipe.Divide the salad into bowls. Top with the crunchy coconut chickpeas and a sprinkle of chia + hemp seeds.

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Pistachio Rose Water Shortbread Cookies

Posted on January 30, 2016 by Emily Wasserman

Pistachio Rose Water Cookies

I’d never had rose water cookies until I lived in France. There was a Middle Eastern bakery on one of the popular streets in Orleans, right across from a bar that my friends and I would go to. One night, I got hungry after I started drinking and I saw that the bakery was still open. My friend and I decided to go inside.

Walking through the door was a little like stepping into a different world. There was sitar music playing, you could smell mint tea and behind a glass case, there were rows and rows of colorful cookies, all tiny and delicately shaped. There were also stacks of Turkish delight, vibrantly colored and dusted with powdered sugar. I remember saying to my friend, how am I going to choose? In the end, I think we just got one of everything.

I still miss that shop in France, and I’ve had trouble finding something similar in the U.S. And I never forgot the rose water pistachio cookies I tried there. So this weekend, I decided to try to recreate them.

Rose water is so fragrant and sweet, it’s almost like a perfume. But don’t worry–it’s not so perfume-y that putting it in cookies doesn’t make sense. Once you bake the cookies the flavor becomes more subtle, and the pistachio balances out the sweetness.

The original recipe calls for baking the cookies at 325 degrees F for 12-15 minutes, but I found that was too short. I ended up increasing the heat to 350 degrees, and it took around 25 minutes for them to bake. But if you start with a higher temp and check them often, I bet you can bake them for around 15 minutes.

Pistachio Rose Water Shortbread Cookies (adapted slightly from here)

Ingredients

1¾ cups flour
½ cup powdered sugar
½ tsp. salt
1½ sticks of unsalted butter (cut in cubes)
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1½ Tbsp. rosewater
1 Tbsp. water
½ cup pistachios

Directions

Combine flour, powdered sugar and salt in a food processor. Pulse a few times until well blended.

Add the rest of the ingredients. Blend until the mixture begins to form a ball.

Remove from food processor and place on a lightly floured surface. Bring together into a large ball.

Cut ball into two equal parts.

Roll out each part into a 9″ log that’s about 1 inch thick. Wrap with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for about 3 hours (or overnight if you want to).

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Cut cookies into ½ inch circles, place on a greased baking sheet and bake approximately 12-15 minutes or until they appear golden brown on the edge.

Sprinkle with powdered sugar after they cool.

 

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Baked Banana Oatmeal with Raspberries and Cashews

Posted on January 26, 2016 by Emily Wasserman

bakedoatmeal

Nothing says the day after a blizzard like baked oatmeal. I woke up the morning after the snow stopped in D.C. and I was going to make a smoothie.

But then I sat in bed for a while scrolling through pictures of oatmeal on Instagram, and I decided to change my game plan. When I saw this recipe for baked banana oatmeal with raspberries, it practically jumped off the screen saying “make me now.”

I was worried because in the picture, the oatmeal is served in ramekins. And I didn’t think that I had any lying around. Then I remembered that I had an old creme brûlée kit that came with four china ramekins, so I dug that out of the closet.

The dish comes together quickly, and the smell of the oatmeal as it bakes in the oven is nothing short of heavenly. The smell is a combination of banana bread, nuts and a berry crisp…I’m almost tearing up just thinking about it (this is not an exaggeration).

I also wanted to give a shout out to this blog, Rebel Recipes. I found the baked oatmeal recipe through the blog’s Instagram handle but then I visited the site. It’s very vegetarian and vegan-friendly and there’s no shortage of delicious, healthy breakfast recipes. I’m all about pancakes and French toast, but if you’re looking for colorful smoothies and oatmeal dishes, this is the blog for you.

Baked Banana Oatmeal with Raspberries and Cashews (slightly adapted from Rebel Recipes)

Ingredients

1/2 cup organic oats
1 mashed up banana
1 tsp baking powder
1tbsp sweetener – coconut syrup, maple, honey, agave; I used raw honey
1 tbsp chia seeds
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp cinamon
1/2 tsp all spice
1/2 cup cashews
Pinch sea salt
1/2 cup almond milk
1/2 cup raspberries
Toppings:
1/2 banana cut into slices
Few more raspberries

Directions

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl then add in the banana, sweetener, vanilla extract and almond milk.

Mix everything together and the divide between four small ramekins or two large ramekins. Top with some banana slices and raspberries.

Bake for approximately 25 minutes then allow to cool for a few minutes.

I highly recommend drizzling with some maple syrup to finish. Enjoy!

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French Lentils with Avocado and Hazelnuts

Posted on January 25, 2016 by Emily Wasserman

frenchlentils

I’ve basically been subsisting on lentils for the past few weeks. They’re easy and versatile, and sometimes I’ll just whip up a batch with some white wine and vegetable stock and add it to a simple salad.

But other times, I’m feeling more creative. When I saw this recipe from 101 Cookbooks, I knew it was a match made in heaven.

There are few things I love more than avocados. I don’t know when the obsession started, but I eat one almost every day. Like lentils, they can play starring roles in many dishes: Salad. Toast. Even in brownies as a substitute for butter. The options are nearly endless.

For this recipe, you cook some French lentils and top with roasted hazelnuts, sliced avocado, chopped chives and some flaky sea salt. I highly recommend going for the perfect bite; the combination of avocado, lentils, crunchy hazelnuts and chives is well worth the extra effort.

Also, if you’re looking for hazelnuts at the grocery store but you don’t find any, try looking under another name, “filberts.” It always makes me think of “filibuster”…unrelated, but at the top of many people’s minds in D.C.

French Lentils with Avocado and Hazelnuts (from 101 Cookbooks)

Ingredients

2 teaspoons fresh oregano
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 cups cooked lentilles du Puy
1-2 ripe avocados, quartered
1/4 cup toasted hazelnuts, chopped
1/4 cup minced chives

Directions

Smash the oregano and salt into a paste in a mortar and pestle. Gradually work in the olive oil, and then the lemon juice.

Toss the lentils with 2 tablespoons of the oregano oil, taste, and season if needed. Arrange on a platter or in a bowl. Just before serving, cut the avocado into quarters, then slice quite thinly, and arrange on top of the lentils. Drizzle with a bit more of the oil, and sprinkle with the hazelnuts, and chives. A final drizzle of oil might be needed, and perhaps a bit more lemon juice.

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Rum Hot Toddy

Posted on January 23, 2016 by Emily Wasserman

rumhottoddy

This is the perfect drink to get you through #snowmaggedon, #snowmg, #snowpocalpyse or whatever you’re calling it these days.

I’m glad that I didn’t pour the entire bottle of rum into the bananas foster that I made for New Years. I realized that I had a little extra on my hands, so I decided to make Hot Toddies afternoon.

The honey pitches in some sweetness and the lemon juice gives it that tangy, citrus appeal. I also had some cinnamon sugar leftover from when I made brioche toast earlier, so I sprinkled it on top as a final touch.

I can’t wait to enjoy a few more of these during my weather-imposed hibernation.

icicle

Rum Hot Toddy (from here)

Ingredients

4 to 6 ounces hot water, varies on cup size
1 ounce or 2 tablespoons spice rum (recommended: Captain Morgan)
1 tablespoon honey
1/4 lemon
Cinnamon sugar, to taste

Directions

Combine the hot water and rum in a mug. Stir in the honey and squeeze out the juice from the lemon wedge. Finish with a dash on cinnamon sugar and serve warm.

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Brûléed Grapefruit with Honey and Pistachios

Posted on January 23, 2016 by Emily Wasserman

bruleedgrapefruit

Sometimes, all you need is some brûléed grapefruit.

Last week, my friend/co-worker Carly sent me a picture of a broiled pomelo with raw honey, pistachios and coconut on Instagram. After some discussion, we decided to go back to my place after work and make a couple. It had kind of been a stressful day, and at one point, Carly thought I was talking to her from inside of a plant. Needless to say, we needed some stress relief, ASAP.

We used grapefruit instead of pomelo, because they didn’t have any pomelos at the grocery store. But the effect was still the same. Drizzle a spoonful of raw honey on top of a sliced grapefruit, and sprinkle on some cinnamon, nutmeg and turmeric. Place it in the oven and let the broiler work its magic. Then, when the surface is nice and caramelized, take it out and sprinkle some dried cherries, pistachios, coconut, almonds and chia seeds on top. This could be a delicious snack, breakfast, or even a late night treat.

Brûléed Grapefruit with Honey and Pistachios

Ingredients

1 grapefruit
1 tbsp raw honey
Roughly 1 tsp of turmeric, cinnamon and nutmeg, each
pistachios, sliced almonds, chia seeds, shredded coconut and dried cherries for topping

Directions

Pre-heat the oven to broil.

Slice a grapefruit or pomelo in half and place it in a shallow pan, cut side up. Drizzle some raw honey on top until it’s well-coated, and sprinkle on some turmeric, cinnamon and nutmeg.

Place the pan with the grapefruit in the oven and wait for the broiler to make it nice and caramelized brown on top. It will take a few minutes, and make sure to keep an eye on it so it doesn’t burn.

Once it’s done, take the grapefruit out of the oven and let it cool slightly. Sprinkle with pistachios, chia seeds, sliced almonds, shredded coconut and dried cherries. Enjoy!

 

 

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SNOWMG and The Dabney

Posted on January 23, 2016 by Emily Wasserman

nighttime

Snowmaggedon is here.

I guess I shouldn’t be surprised; People have been running around D.C. all week preparing for the storm. But when I saw the snow start to fall last night, it still took my breath away. It gets me every time.

dupont

There’s something so peaceful about walking in the snow, especially at night. Maybe it’s because there are fewer people outside, and not as many cars want to brave the roads. But everything becomes very quiet, and for a second, you feel like you’re in a snow globe. It also makes me feel like a kid all over again. All I want to do is lie down and make snow angels.

Two nights ago, I decided to venture out in pre-SNOWMG to get last minute provisions. I ran into George on the way home.

george

Today, the real storm started. I’m lucky that I have a few friends from Chicago here, and they keep things in perspective for me weather-wise. A couple of them, including one of my most intrepid friends, Carly, wanted to get dinner tonight. I almost bailed, but then I decided, why not? The train was still open, I didn’t feel like cooking, and I’ve wanted to try this restaurant, The Dabney, for forever. Plus, no one is leaving their apartment tomorrow.

metro

All I can say is, I’m happy that I decided to venture out into the snow. The dinner itself made it worth it. I got the poached farm egg with grits, Virginia littleneck clams, spicy pork sausage and tomato. Whoa. I mean, WHOA.

poachedfarmegg

I highly recommend ordering the skillet cornbread as a side. Once I ate most of the grits and sausage, I used the bread to sop up the tomato sauce. As the French would say, mon dieu.

But honestly, I don’t know if anything can top the dessert. I hesitate to say this, because I’ve tasted many a good dessert in my day, but this might be one of the best desserts I’ve ever had. It’s definitely the best that I’ve tried since I moved to D.C. The sweet potato doughnuts were fluffy and dusted with the perfect amount of sugar and cinnamon, and were served alongside a quenelle of sweet potato ice cream, candied pecans and toasted marshmallow. I felt like being selfish and eating it all myself, but I let a couple people at the table try a bite. We all agreed that it was almost too pretty to eat.

sweetpotatodoughnuts

Good luck to everyone in the DMV area this weekend! And if you have a chance after the storm, check out The Dabney in Shaw. It’s well worth a trip in any weather.

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Coconut Ginger Tea with Honey, Lime and Turmeric

Posted on January 20, 2016 by Emily Wasserman

turmerictea2

Apparently, a winter storm is headed toward the East Coast.

After a few months of spring-like weather (even the cherry blossoms in D.C. thought that it was time to bloom), we’re about to be hit with a couple feet of snow. And somewhat predictably, everyone in D.C. is FREAKING out. I saw more than a few Twitter posts about stockpiling milk and dry goods today.

I’m not a huge fan of snow or cold weather in general. But I try to make the best out of a bad situation. My go-to plan usually involves bottomless cups of tea, burrowing myself in my apartment and waiting for the storm to pass. To start things off on the right foot, I made a cup of turmeric tea with honey and lime.

I made this tea for the first time about two years ago when I moved to D.C. There was already snow on the ground then and my old apartment was freezing. This tea is part of what got me through the winter. The coconut and lime makes you dream about places where it’s not snowing, the ginger and turmeric warms you and the honey adds the perfect touch of sweetness.

Enjoy before, during or after the eye of a winter storm. Or, you know, whenever you feel like it.

Coconut Ginger Tea with Honey, Lime and Turmeric (from the NYT Recipes for Health)

Ingredients

¼ cup finely grated unsweetened coconut
2 to 3 teaspoons minced ginger
2 ½ cups boiling water
Up to 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice, to taste
For each serving: 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons honey or honey-turmeric paste (see below)

Turmeric-Honey Paste
½ teaspoon turmeric
2 tablespoons honey

Directions

Place the coconut and ginger in a large pyrex measuring cup or teapot and pour on the boiling water. Cover and allow to steep for 30 minutes or longer. Strain into another measuring cup, a bowl or a teapot and press the coconut against the strainer to extract all the flavorful liquid.

Reheat the infusion and pour into cups. Stir 1/2 to 1 teaspoon lime juice and 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons honey or honey-turmeric paste into each cup.

 

 

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Cinnamon Raisin Brioche French Toast with Berries

Posted on January 18, 2016 by Emily Wasserman

briochefrenchtoast

The best part about a long weekend is being able to sleep late, wake up and make any breakfast that I want. During the week, I usually grab a yogurt or have some cereal as I run out the door. But today, I had a whole loaf of cinnamon raisin brioche bread at my disposal, a full carton of eggs and a whole container of almond milk. And you know what that means…

Cinnamon raisin brioche French toast.

I’ve struggled with French toast in the past. Unlike pancakes, which are kind of a universally approved, easy-to-make at home breakfast staple, French toast can get into disaster territory. The bread can get too soggy, and if you don’t keep an eye on things, the bread can burn. But if you jump the gun, the slices might not cook all the way through. For that reason, I usually just order it when I go out for brunch, and stick to things like pancakes and waffles at home.

But with trial and error and a little faith, you can create the French toast of your dreams. That’s what happened to me this morning. I soaked some brioche in an egg and milk batter, put some Irish butter on the griddle and got to frying.

I also think it helps to have a little motivational music playing as you fry: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tg00YEETFzg

Cinnamon Raisin Brioche French Toast (makes 6 slices)

Ingredients

Cinnamon raisin brioche bread, sliced
3 eggs
1/4 cup milk (I used almond…you can sub in whole if you prefer)
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp butter, for frying
Raspberries, powdered sugar and maple syrup, for serving

Directions

Take a long, wide, deep pan and whisk together the milk and eggs. Whisk in the vanilla extract. Place the slices of brioche bread in the mix and let it soak on one side for a few minutes. Then turn over and let the other side soak in the milk and egg mixture.

In the meantime, heat the butter in a skillet over medium/low heat. Once the pan is hot, place a couple slices in and let each side fry until golden brown, about 3 minutes.

Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve with raspberries and maple syrup.

*NOTE: A good way to keep slices warm while you fry the rest is by pre-heating your oven to 225 degrees before you start cooking, and placing a baking sheet covered with foil in. Once you’re done frying a slice, you can put it in the oven and carry on with the frying.

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Green Smoothie Bowl with Kiwi and Shredded Coconut

Posted on January 17, 2016 by Emily Wasserman

greensmoothiebowl

I’ve been wanting to make a smoothie bowl for a while, but I kept resisting the impulse. I sort of felt the same way about them that some people do about the cronut: It sounds great, in theory. It’s probably delicious in practice. But it’s also one of those “trendy,” “hip” things that everyone seems to be making. So I didn’t feel like jumping on the bandwagon.

Well, let me tell you…sometimes jumping on the bandwagon is worth it. At least in the case of this smoothie bowl, I found that to be true. It comes together super fast: Just throw a handful of spinach, half a banana, an avocado, a few dates and a pinch of matcha green tea powder in a blender, give it a spin, and then top it with slices of remaining banana, kiwi and shredded coconut if you so desire. You can also add some raspberries if you have them on hand; I found that it doesn’t do anything to hurt the aesthetic.

It’s fun to eat this with a spoon and also with a straw, just like you would with a milkshake.

Green Smoothie Bowl with Kiwi and Shredded Coconut

Ingredients

Handful of spinach (or kale)
1 avocado
1/4 cup Kefir or yogurt
1/2 cup almond milk (or another milk of your choice)
1/4 cup chopped pineapple, fresh or frozen
1/4 cup mango (I used frozen)
1/2 banana
2-3 dates, pitted
1 tsp matcha powder
1 tsp chia seeds
Kiwi, raspberries, banana slices and shredded coconut for topping

Directions

Place all the ingredients in a blender and pulse until smooth. Pour into a bowl and top with pieces of kiwi, whole raspberries, banana slices and shredded coconut.

 

Posted in Breakfast, Smoothie Bowls, Uncategorized, Vegetarian | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments