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….
Gluten-Free
Burrito Bowls
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!
Carrot and Zucchini Noodle Skillet
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!
Don’ forget to save and share this recipe for #meatlessmonday!

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- Meatless meals for kids
- How eating less meat is more sustainable and healthy
- How to cook from farm deliveries or CSA’s
- How to make a meal plan using less meat
- Non-meat protein sources
- and much more!
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Asparagus and Arugula Breakfast Salad

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.
How to make the perfect hard-boiled eggs
*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’.
- Always forgetting how long ago you boiled eggs? write the date boiled on the shell.
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.
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Put an Egg on it: Sweet Potato, Arugula, and Egg Skillet
So, I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I feel like “put an egg on it” is now the equivalent of “put a bird on it” in food land. {If you’re not familiar, Put a bird on it is from Portlandia’s skit on the hipster habit of painting a bird on everything a few years ago}
At first I was hesitant to jump on this protein-packed band-wagon. But with my recent decision to stop eating meat (most of the time…) I went searching for alternative protein sources, and this trendy little egg-topper number came to mind.
Turns out, this is a very delicious trend. One I think you should absolutely try if you haven’t already. Not only does it bump up the nutrition content of any meal, it also adds great texture and flavor (think cheese sauce. yum}.
For this supper, I simply roasted some cubed sweet potatoes with salt, pepper, and olive oil, plated them next to some arugula tossed in a simple lemon viniagrette, grated some fresh Parmesan over both of these items, and topped the sweet potatoes with an over- easy egg that was fried in butter and sprinkled with salt and pepper.
Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Fried Egg with lemony Arugula
For the sweet potatoes:
4 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed (1″)
salt, pepper, olive oil, for roasting
pre-heat oven to 400, toss sweet potatoes with salt, pepper, and olive oil, spread onto parchment paper covered baking sheet and roast until tender, about 30 minutes (check them carefully near the end, they can burn)
For the arugula:
wash about 3-4 handfuls of arugula
toss with this vinaigrette
To Serve:
Place a portion of sweet potatoes next to a scoop of the arugula. Top with some fresh pepper and grated fresh Parmesan. Place your fried egg, prepared with salt, pepper, and butter (over easy so you have a nice liquid yolk and get that cheese sauce effect) on top of the sweet potatoes.
Enjoy!
**Prep-ahead tip: I roasted the sweet potatoes earlier in the day, then heated them in a skillet for a few minutes when we were ready to eat. I also made the vinaigrette earlier in the day as well (you can make life really simple and make a bunch of this lemon vinaigrette and store it in a mason jar in the fridge. It literally goes on almost every one of my salads and is also a great marinade). At dinner time, I simply heated the potatoes, fried up a few eggs, and tossed the arugula in the dressing. This meal came together in about 7 minutes. LOVE.
Are you a fan of the egg topper trend or have another favorite way to prepare eggs for supper?
Roasted Radish & Potato Salad {and We’re Back!}
After a brief hiatus from posting on The Salty Table, I’m back! While I’ve been away I’ve been writing recipes for my food column at UsaHerald, and I’ve also started a new project (That will be a book in 2015!) Salinger’s Salad, where I take a look at food in literature and offer up a few imaginative lit and food pairings of my own.I’d love for you to follow along with me on these endeavors!
In the meantime, I’ve decided to come home to The Salty Table, my original food blog, to share a bunch of my new recipes and my new food journey of eliminating highly processed foods from my family’s kitchen. It feels good to be back.
First up to share is this roasted red potato and radish salad. This was my first go with roasting radishes. I’ve always loved radishes raw, thinly sliced in salads and slaws or atop a sandwhich, but now I’m really a believer in the roasted version. The roasted radishes really give this potato salad a unique, earthy flavor. And the herb vinaigrette livens up the warmth and crispy-tenderness the vegetables take on after roasting. Yummers.
This dish is great for any time of year and is perfect for parties, picnics, or BBQs because it can be served at room temperature. Try mixing up the herbs to create a different flavor profile.
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Serving Size: 4 side dishes
Ingredients
- 1 lb. radishes, trimmed and quartered
- 1 lb new potatoes, quartered
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- kosher salt, fresh black pepper
- Vinaigrette:
- 1/4 cup white wine (or red wine) vinegar
- 3 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 2 Tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- 2 Tablespoons chopped fresh dill (I have also used tarragon, delish)
- Salt and black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425o F with a large baking sheet inside.
- Toss radishes, potatoes, 2 Tablespoons olive oil, salt and pepper ion a large baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Roast until golden, 20-25 minutes, stirring halfway through roasting.
- For the vinaigrette whisk together vinegar, 3 Tablespoons oil, Dijon, parsley and dill in a bowl until combined; season with salt and pepper. Add roasted potatoes and radishes to bowl while warm so they really absorb the flavor. Toss and serve warm or room temperature.
This recipe was originally posted by me in my Food column @UsaHerald.