Cremini and Leek Frittata
So to go along with yesterday’s post, here’s another great easy breakfast idea. It’s not quite as quick in the morning as muesli, perhaps, but it does come together quickly for a hot breakfast, and with a couple of slices of bread, you can make a killer breakfast sandwich if you want. If you don’t already know what a frittata is, you’re in for a treat. It’s basically an omelet without the fussy rolling or flipping. I realize that the ingredients aren’t exactly seasonal, but leeks and mushrooms together make one of my favorite vegetable combinations. It’s irresistibly earthy, and the leeks are just the right amount of mild and sweet oniony-ness so as to not overpower the mushrooms. The parsley brightens everything up, and come on, cheddar. All held together by custardy eggs.
12 Days of Christmas day 2: Pumpkin Bircher Muesli
Breakfast is my least favorite meal of the day. Well, I guess that’s not exactly true. It’s my least favorite meal to prepare. I hate that panicked feeling when I wake up and wonder what in the world I’m going to feed my family. I feel like the options are either time consuming or unhealthy, and neither work for me. Am I the only one that feels this way? This is why Bircher Muesli is my life-saver. But, I realize we can’t do the same ol’ thing every single morning, so today I’m going to give you a pleasant, seasonal variation.
Pumpkin Coconut Curry
Last time I showed you how to make your pumpkin purée, which will work wonderfully in your usual pumpkin pie, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin cheesecake, pumpkin muffins. But today I’m going to show you a completely different way to use it that is super delicious and also super simple. And completely from scratch.
Homemade Pumpkin Purée
I was never a fan of winter squash growing up. I can’t really explain why. But 2 years ago, I was asked by a friend to teach a little class on pumpkin recipes for a group of women at my church, and I was apprehensive but accepted the challenge. I hadn’t really considered that there was a whole lot more to those Autumnal flavors than pumpkin pie and overly brown-sugared butternut squash. But as I researched and experimented, I discovered a whole world of varieties and flavors beyond the tried and true cinnamon, clove, ginger, and nutmeg combo and was completely smitten.
Loaded Salsa
I started college in the Summer, and for that term I was in a dorm with 5 other girls. There were 3 bedrooms, a big bathroom with multiple showers, and a little kitchen. We all got along really well, stayed up super late every night playing beach volleyball, and ate a lot of food. In fact, I’m pretty sure I gained the dreaded freshman 15 in that short Summer. And I’d like to give full credit/blame to my super cute roomate from Mexico.
Bean, Green and Coconut Milk Soup
Here’s another idea on how to use those beans you soaked, cooked, and froze for quick meals.
I love soup. It’s such a great one-bowl meal. You often find your carbs, your veg, your protein, lots of flavor, and it’s hydrating on top of all of that. This recipe comes from me scrounging through my pantry and fridge, not knowing what to make for dinner, and having a lightbulb moment. But more importantly, it comes from knowing some crucial soup-making basics.
White Bean, Avocado, and Kale Salad
Wait, did that title just scare anyone away? Please, no! Come back! It’s so good! And I won’t talk (write? type?) your ear off today. I’ve pretty much covered the whole how to cook your beans thing, so let’s just get excited about what we can do with those nutrient-packed beauties.
Soaked Brown Rice 2 Ways
Several years ago, long before I became this paranoid health-foodie of a mom, my husband worked retail in a pretty remote little town and he always came home with awesomely hilarious lunchbreak conversation stories. My two favorites were “Have you ever noticed that water ain’t got no flavor?” and “Did you know that eating a bowl of rice is like eating a bowl of sugar?”
We always had a good chuckle, but in the back of my mind that second one haunted me. I mean guys, I am Japanese. (Well, half, but let’s not get too technical here) I LOOOOOOOVE me some rice. And Japan has one of the top 10 highest life expectancies in the world, and one of the lowest obesity percentages in the developed world, and we love rice. So things didn’t add up in my head. I mean, we’re all told that whole grain is better than refined, but is it really ever explained? We throw around buzz words like “healthy” and “high fiber” and “slow carb” and we’re generally pretty satisfied. And frankly, I was happy eating my bowl of white-rice-sugar 3 times a day and didn’t want to find out the reasons behind why I shouldn’t be eating what I wanted to keep eating.
But I’m a mommy, and these little babies entrusted in my care deserve the best. So, I swallowed my cultural pride and did a little digging. And hoooooly moly, people are passionate about this subject. There are heated articles on both sides.
