This recipe for orange braised carrots and parsnips was a side dish at my friendsgiving this year. Confession time-I have never before cooked or eaten a parsnip. And while I don;t know how that is possible, I do know that now I am trying to put them into everything that might benefit from a slightly spicy, slightly sweet, all delicious root vegetable presence….
These burrito bowls are one of my favorite simple weeknight dinners for two reasons. One, with a little chopping, a few tosses of olive oil, and a sprinkling of a few seasonings I have a delicious dinner. Two, after feeding four, there is always enough leftover to portion two or three lunches for the rest of the week.
you can watch the video recipe here
This meal can also be used solely as lunch prep which would give you about four or five burrito bowls.
enjoy!
Last weekend we started the day at Cocoon Coffee house in Hawley, PA. Looking for a nice place to work out of for the afternoon I remembered Cocoon from a recent write up for a holiday event. A unique spot, Cocoon is a coffee house that serves coffee, tea, pastries, lunch items, and…alcohol. Want a shot of bailey’s or Whiskey in your coffee? Done. Want a beer with your muffin? Done. How do they pull that off? The owner of Cocoon uses his liquor license for the entire property-a property which houses Ledges Hotel, a marketplace of unique shops, and Glass Wine Bar. All of these buildings are part of Hawley Silk Mill, which happens to be the largest laid bluestone building in the world. Truly unique and tucked away, yet very accessible a few turns off of Hamlin Highway, Cocoon (and the rest of the Hawley silk Mill compound) are worth a weekend drive.
Enough work- onto cocktail hour. We drove down a few miles to The Ridge, an old school Italian restaurant that is part of the Hotel Belvidere (also in Hawley). Confession, I have an obsession for hotel bars. The Ridge fit the bill. Small bar, located right off of the quaint main lobby, great menu, and they even offer a gluten-free option as a substitute with their pasta courses. Look for an update on this post after I dine there in a few weeks. But for now, I can tell you the service and the cocktails were both great.
Until next weekend,
Rebekah
This pasta was inspired by one of my favorite new (to me) cookbooks, Forest Feast {find these great cookbooks here } My two little ones have been especially picky with their food lately and this was a hit. Few things make me happier at dinner time than not having to make anything “extra” for my little people.
Here’s the super simple recipe. This is perfect for a weeknight, and the leftovers (if there are any, we ate it all) would probably be delish warm or cold for the next day’s lunch. This just served four with no leftovers. Double the vegetables and pasta to have more to enjoy!
Carrot and Zucchini Noodle Skillet
2 large carrots
2 zucchini
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tablespoons of minced garlic
8 oz of fettuccine (I use jovial egg noodles to keep it gluten-free)
1 tablespoon of butter
a few springs of fresh thyme, leaves removed and chopped
kosher salt and pepper to taste
Zest and juice of one lemon
Parmesan cheese (optional)
instructions:
Boil pasta in salted water. Peel carrots and zucchini then use peeler to create”ribbons” with both veggies. (chop and roast leftover pieces for tomorrow’s breakfast or lunch). Add these ribbons to large skillet with olive oil and salt and garlic and thyme – toss together and cook until tender about 5-ish minutes. Add in cooked pasta, butter, lemon zest and juice (use half the lemon juice, toss and taste. add more if desired) toss together, salt if needed and sprinkle with fresh parmesan if desired.
Plate, Serve, Enjoy!
~Rebekah
Just looking at this makes me want to run down into my kitchen and make myself this salad right now. It was that good. And simple. While I’m calling this a breakfast salad it’s wonderful anytime-breakfst, brunch, lunch, dinner, and any other time you want to eat something fresh, simple, and hella nutritious.
This preparation is so simple I’d rather call it an assembly than a recipe. So here goes;
Ingredients:
Arugula
Lemon vinaigrette (simply mix some zest and the juice from half a lemon with olive oil, a bit of garlic powder, and salt and pepper to taste. You can further simply this by squeezing some lemon over the arugula, drizzling on a bit of olive oil and sprinkling on some kosher-or other coarse-salt and pepper.)
Asparagus
Yolks of two hard boiled eggs*
Assembly:
Preheat oven to 425. Trim and wash your asparagus. place on sheet pan, drizzle and toss with olive oil and salt. Roast for 5-7 minutes (depending on thickness) While the asparagus cooks, place arugula on a plate, drizzle with vinaigrette. Place asparagus on top of arugula. Top with yolks. Take a bite. Smile.
*If you don’t have a favorite hard boiled egg recipe that yields beautiful bright yellow yolks, here’s one I use that has been fool-proof. Place eggs in a pot and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil. Turn off heat and cover eggs for 10 minutes. At 10 minutes, drain and run cold water over eggs, leaving them sit in cold water for a few minutes. Dry them and store them in a bowl in the fridge. Viola’.
As life gets busier and busier with two small boys and a new business, I am loving these recipes that I like to call “assemblies.” Look for more and more of these showing up here. There may even be a cookbook dedicated to them in the works.
Next Monday, Monday Coffee Break returns (my “best of” for foodies) with a rundown of my new favorite cookbook finds. One of my favorite things to do in the Winter months is to hunker down with copious amounts of cookbooks and hunt for new recipes and flavor ideas.(newly discovered: the library has a ton of amazing cookbooks!)
See you then!
After a quick trip to the farmer’s market I was wanting a simple lunch highlighting some of the fresh goodies we had just brought home. This was basically nothing more than a deconstructed egg salad sandwich, made all the more satisfying by a fresh baguette, fresh eggs, and a side of crunchy farm carrots.
More of an assembly than a recipe, I simply halved the baguette, spread on some mayonnaise (fresh butter would also be really tasty), then peeled two hard boiled eggs and lightly smashed them with a fork onto the bread. Topped with kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper. Along for the ride were a few bright and crispy carrots.
This recipe embodies the idea I have about eating well in a time crunch. Instead of searching endlessly for make-ahead meals that often end up being prep-intensive and too heavy for the Summer months, I am finding that preparing super fresh foods in simple ways is often even faster and more satisfying.
Until next time, happy eating.
