Tag Archives: Vegan

Green Juice Boost (of Energy!)

Posted in Breakfast, Gluten Free, Paleo, Recipe, Vegan, Vegetarian, Whole Lotta Nothing by

I’ve been intrigued by juicing ever since watching Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead on Netflix a few months ago. The film follows a man who was 100 pounds overweight with all kinds of autoimmune disorders. He starts juicing in an attempt to jumpstart a healthy lifestyle. It was an interesting film and inspired me to start using the juicer that was collecting dust in my basement.

One of the main motivations to start juicing was the fact that I had to wake up at 5:30 a.m. in order to be at school by 7:30. It was hard for me to eat a full breakfast that early; nothing sounds appetizing when you are still half asleep! But, since I didn’t want to leave the house on an empty stomach, I decided to give juicing a try.

The results were amazing! I had a ton of energy and didn’t experience the harsh crash in the afternoons that I usually get with coffee.This is one of my favorite juice recipes. I stuck to this one almost religiously because it wasn’t overly sweet. The lemon gave it a nice tartness and the parsley added a refreshing finish.

Green Juice Boost (of Energy!) - 1/2 cucumber, 1 small apple, 1 lemon, 1 small handful of parsley (about 1/4 cup), 3 stalks kale, 2 handfuls of spinach (about 3 cups). Roughly chop apple and peel lemon. Run all ingredients through a juicer. Enjoy immediately! | Cucina Kristina cucinakristina.com

No mid-afternoon crash!

Green Juice Boost (of Energy!)
*This recipe requires a juicer.

Green Juice Boost (of Energy!). No mid-afternoon crash! Run all ingredients through a juicer. Enjoy immediately. | Cucina Kristina cucinakristina.com

Green Juice Boost (of energy)

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cucumber
  • 1 small apple
  • 1 lemon
  • 1 small handful of parsley (about 1/4 cup)
  • 3 stalks kale
  • 2 handfuls of spinach (about 3 cups)

Directions:

  1. Roughly chop apple and peel lemon.
  2. Run all ingredients through a juicer.
  3. Enjoy immediately!

Homemade Vegetable Broth

Posted in Gluten Free, Paleo, Recipe, Vegan, Vegetarian by

Making homemade broth is incredibly simple and seems to really impress people. It is also inexpensive, totally customizable, and so much better tasting than any canned broth or bullion cube on the market. I make homemade vegetable broth approximately once a month. I keep a gallon sized freezer bag in my freezer and throw any vegetable trimmings and ends from my food prep into it.

Store vegetable trimmings in a freezer bag to make homemade vegetable broth

Store vegetable trimmings in a freezer bag to make homemade vegetable broth

When the bag gets full, I dump it out into a large pot of water and 4-5 hours later have a rich, dark amber broth that is perfect to use as a soup base. You can refrigerate the broth if you are using it that week or freeze it for later use. I like to freeze my broth in ice cube trays and use them to cool down hot soup. I use this method for cooling down my hot coffee.

Ice Cube Tray Measurements

2 cubes = 1/4 cup
4 cubes = 1/2 cup
6 cubes = 3/4 cup
8 cubes = 1 cup

Save Vegetable Peelings and Ends for Homemade Vegetable Broth | cucinakristina.com

Don’t discard gems like this!

This is also a great way to use up any vegetables you won’t be able to eat before they spoil. The smell that will seep throughout your house is amazing as this broth is simmering. The hardest part about making broth is waiting

Ingredients that can be used:

  • Carrots (shavings, tops, trimmings)
  • Parsnips (shavings, tops, trimmings)
  • Radishes (trimmings)
  • Celery (leaves, base, trimmings)
  • Onion/Shallots (all types! skins and trimmings)
  • Garlic (skins and trimmings)
  • Mushrooms (whole or scraps)
  • Fennel (trimmings, base, tops, scraps)
  • Leeks (base, tops, trimmings)
  • Turnips – I always toss a whole one into any batch of stock
  • Any vegetable you have on hand!
  • Herbs (rosemary, oregano, parsley, whatever you like!)
Freeze odds and ends for later

Freeze odds and ends for later

The great thing about this method is that your broth will change flavor depending on the scraps you collected in the bag. Generally, I make sure to add a few garlic cloves, an extra onion that is chopped into quarters, and a turnip. I find the turnip gives the broth a nice earthy undertone that is otherwise missing.

Homemade Vegetable Broth

Save Vegetable Peelings and Ends for Homemade Vegetable Broth | cucinakristina.com

Simmer for ~4 hours

Ingredients:

  • 1 turnip, quartered
  • 1 onion, quartered
  • 3-4 garlic cloves, smashed
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 bag of vegetable trimmings*
  • Water – The amount of water you start with will depend on the size of your pot. Generally speaking, you want the water to reduce to about 1/3 of the original amount. The more it reduces, the more concentrated your broth will be.
  • Salt and pepper**

*NOTE: If you do not collect trimmings and want to make broth from scratch just use whole ingredients from the list above.

**Generally, I don’t add salt or pepper to my broth. I usually wait until I am cooking with it to add salt, pepper, herbs, etc. However, you should experiment and season according to your taste!

Directions:

  1. Place all items in a pot and fill with water. Leave about 1 inch from the top of the pot.
  2. Bring water to a boil.
  3. Reduce heat to low and simmer for ~4 hours. Times will vary depending on the size of your pot so be sure to check periodically the first time you do this.
  4. When the water has reduced to about 1/3 of the amount, remove from heat and strain.
  5. Let the veggies cool and then squeeze them over the broth to make sure you get all the flavor you can out of them.
  6. Strain again to remove any big chunks of vegetables.
  7. Freeze in ice cube trays and store ice cubes in a large freezer bag.

Mason Jar Salads

Posted in Gluten Free, Paleo, Recipe, Vegan, Vegetarian by
Mason Jar Salads. Stay fresh for up to a week in the fridge. Layer hardier ingredients on the bottom and more delicate items on top. Cucina Kristina | cucinakristina.com

Great time saver!   

I do my grocery shopping and food prep for the week on Sunday afternoon. It the single best time saver and stress reliever that I have discovered to date. It takes a bit of planning in the beginning to get the hang of it, but it is so worth it once you figure out the odds and ends!

I typically spend anywhere between 5-6 hours shopping, prepping, and cleaning up on Sunday, but it totally eliminates any work I have to do for meals during the week. At any point during the week, I can whip up breakfast, lunch, or dinner with zero prep time and minimal clean up. Mid-week clean up is reduced to the pots/pans I use to cook and the dishes we eat on.

For the past few months, I have been eating salads everyday for lunch and storing them in mason jars. I make 6 at a time and the mason jars keep the ingredients fresh for the entire week. Any airtight container would probably work, but I like mason jars because they fit in the door of the fridge. If I were to make the salads only, shopping, prep, and clean up would probably take 2-3 hours.

A few weeks ago, I posted a picture of my mason jar salads on Instagram and it sparked a ton of questions from people. I originally saw this idea floating around Pinterest so I thought everyone already knew about it, but it turns out they do not. I never actually “pinned” the original idea onto one of my boards so, unfortunately, I can’t credit the place that I first saw this.

I don’t add any dressing into the mason jars because I dress my salads with olive oil and vinegar only. If you want, you can add the dressing to the bottom of the jars. Just make sure that you always layer sturdy veggies at the bottom (like carrots or radishes) so they stay crisp throughout the week.

Mason Jar Salads
Time: 2-3 hours which includes shopping, prep, and clean up
Makes 6 salads

Make a week's worth of salads ahead of time and store them in mason jars. They will keep in your fridge for up to a week! Layer hardy ingredients on bottom and more delicate items (like lettuce or sprouts) on top. Cucina Kristina | cucinakristina.com

Example of the items you will need

Ingredients
You can use any ingredients that you want. For the above salads I used the following:

  • 3 green peppers – 1/2 pepper per salad
  • 12 radishes – 2 radishes per salad
  • 6 carrots – 1 per salad
  • 3 small apples – 1/2 apple per salad
  • 6 celery stalks – 1 per salad
  • 3 shallots – 1/2 shallot per salad
  • 3 heads of romaine lettuce – 1/2 head per salad
  • 3 small cucumbers  – 1/2 cucumber per salad. Note: Pictured above are 6 small cucumbers because I planned on using 1 per salad. As you can see in the picture below, it was way too much so I ended up using half of the original amount I bought.
  • Sport peppers

Directions

Mason jar salads will keep fresh and crisp in your fridge up to a week. Cucina Kristina | cucinakristina.com

Layer your ingredients

Start with your sturdy ingredients and layer each ingredient. Add the lettuce last. I layered in this order. Radish, carrot, cucumber, celery, green pepper, apple, shallot, sport peppers, and lettuce.

Mason Jar Salads - They will keep fresh and crisp in your fridge up to a week. Cucina Kristina | cucinakristina.com

Shake the jar to create more room

Don’t worry if your jar starts to look like it is getting full. You have tons of room left and you can push the items down when you add the lettuce. Before adding the lettuce, shake the jar to settle the ingredients and fill in the gaps between layers. The jar on the left has not been shaken, the jar on the right has. See the difference?

Make salads for the week ahead of time and store them in a mason jar. They will keep in your fridge for up to a week. From: Cucina Kristina | cucinakristina.com

Finished salads

Lastly, add the lettuce. Really pack it in there. You can fit a lot more than you think in these jars!

When you are ready to eat them, dump them out into a large bowl. At this point you can add a protein source like hard-boiled eggs, grilled chicken, or shrimp. Add nuts or seeds if you are keeping it vegetarian or vegan. You can also add homemade pickled banana peppers.

Store vegetable trimmings in a freezer bag and use them to make homemade vegetable broth. Cucina Kristina | cucinakristina.com

Use these to make homemade vegetable broth

Make sure you save any veggie shavings or trimmings. Just throw them into a plastic bag and store them in your freezer. When the bag gets full, dump the contents into a large pot of water and make homemade vegetable broth.

Curried Acorn Squash and Red Lentil Soup with Spiced Acorn Squash Seeds

Posted in Gluten Free, Recipe, Soup, Vegan, Vegetarian by

Are there any curry lovers out there? I am dying to share this recipe with someone because it is hearty, comforting, and oh so tasty. It’s the type of soup that warms you from the inside out. I threw it together on a whim last night and apparently nobody in my life likes curry!  More for me, right?

Before we get to the recipe, I want to share a couple of notes about this soup and some substitution ideas. First, I used an acorn squash because it is what I had on hand. If you are new to using squash and do not have good knife skills, substitute with a butternut squash. The butternut squash is infinitely easier to peel and has a similar taste. If squash is not your thing, substitute with sweet potatoes. If neither squash nor sweet potatoes are your thing, try my chicken tortilla soup.

Second, this soup has an intense curry flavor. If you like curry, but you do not love curry, cut back to 1 teaspoon and use vegetable broth and water as the base instead of just straight water. As the soup is cooking, taste and add more curry as desired. Remember that it is easier to add more of an ingredient than to try to balance it out after the fact.

Third, do not throw out the squash seeds! The seeds are edible just like pumpkin seeds. For some reason, people do not think about toasting the seeds of other squashes, but they make a wonderful soup garnish or can be used on salads or as an on-the-go snack. I flavored my seeds with salt and Chinese five spice, but you can use anything you like to season your seeds. Some spices that compliment curry are cinnamon, ginger, chili powder, cumin, or cloves.

Now, on to the soup! This is the type of soup that you will want to make on a chilly winter day. The mere smell of curry warms my body as it seeps throughout the house. I almost can’t wait for the first real snowfall so I can make it again. This soup would be a great starter to a Thanksgiving meal even though the flavors are not necessarily traditional. By the way, how is Thanksgiving THIS Thursday? Where does the time go?

Just before serving, I added a tablespoon of chili paste. I use Huey Fong, which is the same company that makes Sriracha (aka rooster sauce). I think the chili paste adds a nice layer of heat to this soup. For you spicy food haters, I would not describe the flavor chili paste adds to this soup as spicy at all. It is not going to burn your mouth and make your eyes water, it just adds a little kick and enhances the overall flavor of this soup. Give it a try! If you are nervous about adding chili paste to the entire pot of soup, you can always put it on the table and have guests add it to their individual bowls as desired.

Curried Acorn Squash and Red Lentil Soup

Cucina Kristina | Curried Acorn Squash and Red Lentil Soup with Spiced Acorn Squash Seeds

Warms you from the inside out!

Ingredients:

  • 1 tablespoon coconut oil
  • 1 small onion, diced
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and minced
  • 1 acorn squash, peeled and cubed (see substitution ideas above)
  • 3 carrots
  • 1 cup red lentils
  • 1 tablespoon curry powder (see substitution ideas above)
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • 1 tablespoon chili paste (optional)
  • 1 1/2 quarts water

Directions:

  1. In a large pot, cook onions and garlic in melted coconut oil, stirring frequently for about 5 minutes.
  2. Add ginger and cook for another 3 minutes.
  3. Add carrots and squash and cook for 5-7 minutes, stirring frequently.
  4. Add the curry and cumin and cook for about a minute. This will toast the spices and open their flavor.
  5. Add water and lentils and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and let simmer for 20-25 minutes or until lentils are cooked through and vegetables are tender.
  6. If using, add 1 tablespoon of chili paste just before serving.
  7. Serve warm and garnish with spiced acorn squash seeds.

Spiced Acorn Squash Seeds

Ingredients:

  • Coconut oil
  • Chinese five spice (see substitution ideas above)
  • Salt

Directions:

  1. Rinse and dry the seeds from 1 acorn squash.
  2. Melt coconut oil in a small bowl and toss the seeds to coat evenly. If you do not have coconut oil, you can use olive oil.
  3. Add 1 generous pinch of Chinese five spice and toss to evenly distribute.
  4. Spread seeds onto a baking sheet lined with foil and sprinkle with salt to taste.
  5. Roast in a 375˚ oven for about 12 minutes. All ovens vary so you will want to watch the seeds and check on them periodically. They are done when they look toasted and golden brown.

Easy Pickled Banana Peppers for Salads or Sandwiches

Posted in From the garden to my kitchen, Gluten Free, Recipe, Vegan, Vegetarian by
Cucina Kristina: Garden Salad

A true garden salad!

I snapped this photo last week before diving into my salad at lunch. I grew everything you see in that photo except the banana peppers, the dried cranberries, and the pumpkin seeds. I will definitely get a plant or two of banana peppers next year because nothing makes me happier than grocery shopping in my own backyard!

If you are an inexperienced gardener and want to grow some greens, I would highly suggest arugula. If you came over to my house at all this summer, you would probably think to yourself, “Why on earth aren’t you eating all of this arugula? Who spends the time planting and cultivating a garden and then doesn’t use it?” I kid you not, I’ve eaten a giant arugula salad for lunch nearly every day for the past 4 months. I can’t eat this stuff as fast as it grows! I would bring in fistfuls of arugula like you see in the photo below at least every 2-3 days. I am going to try to grow some indoors over the winter. I’ll let you know how that goes.

Cucina Kristina: Garden Fresh Arugula

Armed with a fistful of bas… arugula!

One of my favorite additions to salad are pickled banana peppers. I don’t buy them very often because they are expensive, and I can go through an entire Costco-sized jar of them in about a week. While at my favorite grocery store in Chicago, A&G Fresh Market, I noticed fresh banana peppers were on sale for something ridiculous like .19¢ a pound. I thought to myself, “I wonder how easy it is to make those banana peppers I love so much.” Turns out it is absurdly easy, quick, and cheap (even when the peppers are not on sale) to make them on your own. The hardest part is waiting the 48-72 hours for them to pickle properly.

Pickled Banana Peppers
The recipe below is for a pound of banana peppers. A pound didn’t sound like that much, but it yielded about 3.5 quarts of pickled peppers! Keep that in mind when making these; a little goes a long way. Assuming you do not eat them the way I do, the good news is that they will last quite a while in your fridge due to the high vinegar content.

Also, you generally want a 3:2 ratio of vinegar to water, but you do not need exact measurements for a recipe like this. If you only have 2 cups of vinegar handy and you have to add more water, that is ok, but you should try to aim for no less than a 1:1 ratio of vinegar to water when pickling since vinegar is what make things “pickle.”

Cucina Kristina: Homemade Pickled Banana Peppers

Perfect for salads or sandwiches

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb. banana peppers
  • 3 cups vinegar
  • 2 cups water
  • 2 tablespoon kosher salt
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 1 smashed garlic clove per jar – 1 lb. of peppers filled 3 and a half quart sized mason jars. Therefore, I used 4 cloves of garlic.

Directions:

  1. Slice banana peppers into rings. Remove seeds if desired. Note: I do not remove the seeds because I like the small amount of heat banana peppers have. Banana peppers are not spicy like jalapeños or serranos. They have a Scoville rating of 100-900 (more than a bell pepper, less than a poblano pepper), but some people are super sensitive to heat. If you are, remove the seeds.
  2. Put the banana peppers into a glass jar(s) with an airtight seal.
  3. In a small saucepan, heat the water, vinegar, salt, garlic, and sugar until it comes to a simmer.
  4. Simmer for 3-5 minutes to dissolve the sugar and salt, remove from heat, and cool to just above room temperature. If you pour hot liquid over your peppers it will cook them and they will get soggy. Let your pickling mixture cool. Be patient!
  5. When cooled, pour pickling liquid over peppers making sure each jar has a piece of smashed garlic in it.
  6. Store in the fridge. Let the peppers pickle for at least 48-72 hours before eating. The longer they sit, the better they are!

Salted Maple Roasted Pumpkin Seeds, Cinnamon Sugar Roasted Pumpkin Seeds, and Chili-Lime Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Posted in Gluten Free, Recipe, Vegan, Vegetarian by

I love old vintage radio shows. I used to listen to them every day when I was commuting to and from my office job. My favorites were Vintage Horror Radio, the Twilight Zone, and the Great Detectives. They are especially fun to listen to at this time of year.

I hope everyone has a happy and a safe Halloween!

Cucina Kristina: Salted Maple Roasted Pumpkin Seeds, Cinnamon Sugar Roasted Pumpkin Seeds, Chili-Lime Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Salted Maple Roasted Pumpkin Seeds, Cinnamon Sugar Roasted Pumpkin Seeds, Chili-Lime Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

The recipes below are for the seeds of 1 medium-sized pumpkin. If you are going to use one of the recipes below for a full pumpkin worth of seeds, you’ll need to adjust a bit!

Cinnamon Sugar Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Ingredients:

  • 1 tablespoon raw coconut oil, melted
  • 1 scant teaspoon cinnamon
  • 3-4 tablespoons sugar depending on how sugary or cinnamony you like things.
    Hint: Pumpkin pie spice and apple pie spice work really well here, too!

Directions:

  1. Mix cinnamon and sugar in a small bowl and set aside.
  2. Toss pumpkin seeds in coconut oil until evenly coated.
  3. Spread in an even layer onto a cookie sheet lined with foil.
  4. Roast in a 350˚ oven for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.

Salted Maple Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Ingredients:

  • 1 scant tablespoon coconut oil, melted
  • 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
  • Sea Salt

Directions:

  1. Mix coconut oil and maple syrup in a small bowl.
  2. Toss pumpkin seeds in maple syrup/oil until evenly coated.
  3. Spread in an even layer onto a cookie sheet lined with foil.
  4. Sprinkle with sea salt to taste.
  5. Roast in a 350˚ oven for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.

Chili-Lime Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Ingredients:

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • Chili powder to taste
  • Salt to taste
  • 1 lime

Directions:

  1. Toss pumpkin seeds in olive oil until evenly coated.
  2. Spread in an even layer onto a cookie sheet lined with foil.
  3. Sprinkle with chili powder and stir to evenly coat.
  4. Sprinkle with salt.
  5. Roast in a 350˚ oven for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.
  6. Cool and squeeze fresh lime juice over seeds before serving.

Cocoa Roasted Cauliflower

Posted in Gluten Free, Recipe, Vegan, Vegetarian by

OMG! This recipe is amazing. I think I might love cauliflower now, which is good because cauliflower is low in calories and packed full of vitamin C. Ok, ok enough with the boring stuff. On to the chocolate!

I received an email from Vosges Haut Chocolate with this recipe for cocoa roasted cauliflower. I was intrigued, Googled it, and found this recipe on The Clothes Make the Girl, which sounded so much better. It was! I am a sucker for coconut oil so I was in as soon as I saw that.

OMG. So good.

Next time I make this I am going to omit the paprika because the coconut oil, salt, and cocoa powder together are such a wonderful sweet, salty, savory combination. I’m not sure the paprika adds enough umph for me to use it again, but experiment, you might love it! I am also going to use fresh garlic because freshly roasted garlic is one of the best things ever.

Cocoa Roasted Cauliflower

Cucina Kristina: Cocoa Roasted Cauliflower

Savory and sweet. So lovely!

Ingredients:

  • 1 head of cauliflower
  • 1 tablespoon coconut oil, melted
  • 1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder
  • Salt and garlic powder (or fresh garlic) to taste

Directions: 

  1. Preheat oven to 400°. Line a baking sheet with foil and set aside.
  2. Melt 1 tablespoon coconut oil in a bowl and toss cauliflower until it is evenly distributed. Note: We do not have a microwave so I melted the coconut oil by blasting it with a hairdryer. Worked like a charm! True story.
  3. Spread cauliflower on a baking sheet and sprinkle with salt, garlic, and cocoa powder.
  4. Roast for 25-30 minutes.

Zucchini Pickles: Recipe from the Zuni Café

Posted in From the garden to my kitchen, Recipe, Vegetarian by

About a month ago, I posted this photo on my Facebook page.

Cucina Kristina: Zucchini Blossom

Our first zucchini blossom!

About two weeks later, our baby zucchini sprouts turned into these huge plants.

Cucina Kristina: Zucchini

Holy Zucchini!

What you can’t see in this photo are the two equally large plants in the box next to this one. I began scouring Pinterest for zucchini recipes, convinced that I was going to have zucchini coming out of my ears. I even started planning a zucchini themed dinner party. I was going to use zucchini in each dish and was going to pass out the recipes and let my guests take home zucchini as a party gift. However, shortly after taking the photo above, I noticed this little guy.

Cucina Kristina: Cucumber Beetle

Nooooo!!!

For those of you that do not know what that is, it is a squash vine borer moth. Ugh! From this point on, I became a vigilante. I checked the leaves of my zucchini (I had 6 plants in total) every morning and every evening. After the initial sighting, I never saw another moth. I thought I was in the clear.

Then, earlier this week as I was watering the plants, I reached in to harvest a zucchini and saw this:

Cucina Kristina: Vine Borers

The vine borers have attacked!

They got me for the second year in a row! I checked out the plant next to it. Infected. I went to the third plant. Infected! As were the fourth, fifth, and sixth. Those borers got every single one of my zucchini plants. Ugh!

I did manage to salvage a few zucchini before having to rip all of the plants out of the ground. The upside.

There are tons of ways to enjoy zucchini, but my favorite over the years has been to pickle it. If you have never made homemade pickles, you should definitely give it a try. Anyone can pickle because it really is as easy as 1, 2, 3. How easy?

  1. Can you boil water?
  2. Can you measure spices?
  3. Can you slice vegetables?

Yes, yes, and yes? Congratulations, you can pickle!

The recipe below was published in the LA Times in 2008 and is courtesy of the Zuni Café in San Francisco, California. San Francisco is such an amazing town for food. You literally cannot get a bad meal in San Francisco. It’s impossible.

Cucina Kristina: Market Street SF

I left my heart in San Francisco

If I can ever convince my husband to move back to California, we’re headed for the Bay Area.

Cucina Kristina: Golden Gate Bridge SF

November in California

Zucchini Pickles
Recipe from the July 23, 2008 LA Times

Cucina Kristina: Zucchini Pickles

Zucchini Pickles. So Sweet. So Tangy

Ingredients:

  • 1 pound zucchini
  • 1 small yellow onion
  • 2 tablespoons kosher salt
  • 2 cups apple cider vinegar
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons dry mustard
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons crushed yellow and/or brown mustard seeds
  • Scant 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
  • NOTE: I added 1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns and 1 teaspoon ground ginger. 
  • NOTE 2: You do not need a mandolin. I have made these as rounds and as spears. This is just how the recipe was printed. Don’t let the mandolin deter you from making these amazing zucchini pickles!

Directions:

  1. Wash and trim the zucchini, then slice them one-sixteenth-inch thick; a mandolin works best. Slice the onion very thin as well. Combine the zucchini and onions in a large but shallow nonreactive bowl (this just means not metal – something like glass, ceramic, or plastic), add the salt and toss to distribute. Add a few ice cubes and cold water to cover, then stir to dissolve the salt.
  2. After about 1 hour, taste and feel a piece of zucchini — it should be slightly softened. Drain and pat dry.
  3. Combine the vinegar, sugar, dry mustard, mustard seeds and turmeric in a small saucepan and simmer for 3 minutes. Set aside until just warm to the touch. (If the brine is too hot, it will cook the vegetables and make the pickles soft instead of crisp.)
  4. Return the zucchini to a dry bowl and pour over the cooled brine. Stir to distribute the spices. Transfer the pickle to jars, seal tightly, and refrigerate for at least a day before serving to allow the flavors to mellow and permeate the zucchini, turning them a brilliant chartreuse color.

Homemade Strawberry-Banana Popsicles

Posted in Featured Kitchen Item, Gluten Free, Recipe, Vegan, Vegetarian by

I love the kitchen section of TJ Max. The store by my house carries a hefty selection of brand-name kitchen items at bargain prices. My most recent purchase was a set of Tovolo Popsicle Molds, which I picked up for $5.

I’ve made two types of popsicles in the last few weeks and both have been great! They are so refreshing to have as dessert and not as heavy as ice cream. I have seen tons of recipes online that call for added sugar or a simple syrup, but I found these to be fantastic without either. My healthy-phobic husband even gobbled them up and requested I make more immediately.

I used almond milk in the first batch of popsicles and orange juice in the second batch. The almond milk gave the popsicles a slightly creamier consistency than the orange juice, but the consistency was not as creamy as yogurt would have been.

Strawberry-Banana Popsicles
Makes 6 pops

Cucina Kristina: Strawberry-Banana Popsicles

Strawberry-Banana Popsicles

Ingredients:

  • Approximately 20 strawberries
  • 1-2 bananas
  • 1 tablespoon honey (Optional. I like a subtle hint of honey, but you can omit this if you are not a honey lover or substitute with agave)
  • 1 cup orange juice

Directions:

  1. Combine all ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth.
  2. Taste and add more fruit as desired. More banana if you want a more bananay flavor, more strawberries if you want more of a berry flavor.
  3. Pour into popsicle molds and freeze for 4-6 hours.

You don’t have to have fancy popsicle molds to make homemade popsicles. Popsicle sticks are cheap and you can get creative with molds. You can use Dixie cups, ice-cube trays, empty yogurt containers, or mini muffin tins to name a few.

These work out to be just under 100 calories each so they are perfect for a late-night snack when you are craving something sweet. I also thought of adding a scoop or two of protein powder to the mix and having them as an before/after workout snack.

Cucina Kristina: Strawberry-Banana Popsicles

The sweet taste of summer!

Some other combinations I am going to try are:

  • Strawberry-coconut
  • Mango-pineapple
  • Kiwi-strawberry
  • Strawberry-balsamic
  • Blackberry, blueberry, raspberry
  • Pineapple, almond milk, and coconut
  • Watermelon-mint
  • Peanut butter, honey, chocolate

These are can also be adapted to fit almost any dietary need. They can be vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free, nut-free, soy-free, dairy-free… You really can’t mess up a popsicle so have fun playing around with the unlimited combinations!

I’m Alive (Barely!) and Butternut Squash & Pear Soup

Posted in Gluten Free, Recipe, Soup, Vegan, Vegetarian by

Phew! I just finished my first quarter of Grad school and I feel lucky to be alive. Ok, it wasn’t that bad, it was just more time-consuming than I ever could have imagined. The past three months have given me a whole new perspective of the phrase “trying to keep my head above water.” Needless to say, I have reverted back to the old college diet for the last few months. You may be familiar with it if you gained the “Freshman 15″ when you were in college. It consists mainly of Pop Tarts, frozen pizzas, and take-out. It is disgusting, and I am looking forward to getting back on track during my holiday break.

Speaking of holidays, I have been charged with making a few sides for Thanksgiving that I will share with you in the next week or so. I’ll be making cranberry sauce, glazed carrots, burssels sprouts (don’t hate!), and stuffing. Some people think it is a sin to make stuffing from a box, but I think Stovetop rocks and I’ll share a few ideas for sprucing it up a bit.

In addition to all of the holiday classics, I love seasonal food this time of year. It is so comforting, warm, and hearty. My favorite fall/holiday food is squash. I love all types of squash–acorn squash, butternut squash, spaghetti squash, you name it. If it’s a squash, I want to roast it and eat it. I especially want to toast the seeds. We are all familiar with toasting pumpkin seeds at Halloween, right? Well, you can toast any squash seeds the same way you toast pumpkin seeds. Just toss them in a little olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Roast them on a baking sheet for 10-12 minutes at 325 degrees. Do this with the butternut squash seeds from the recipe below and garnish the soup or enjoy them as a snack.

I love making soup during the colder months for a few reasons. First, it’s easy. Second, it’s cheap. Soup is a great way to stretch your grocery budget, especially around the holidays when everyone is strapped for cash. I particularly love this soup because the squash makes for a ticker, bisque-like consistency, which definitely fills you up more than a broth based soup. And finally, because you can get a few meals out of very little ingredients.

Butternut Squash & Bartlett Pear Soup
Recipe from Vegetarian Times
Issue: November 1, 2009 
Serves 6

The toasted seeds are key to taking this soup from good to fantastic!

Ingredients

  • 3 Tbs. olive oil
  • 2 medium leeks, white and tender green parts finely chopped
  • 1 small butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces (save the seeds for toasting!)
  • 3 Bartlett pears, peeled, cored, and cut into 1-inch pieces
  • 5 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
  • 1 14-oz. can light coconut milk
  • 1 tsp. chopped fresh thyme (you can substitute about 1/2 tsp. dried thyme, maybe a little less)

Directions

  • Heat oil in saucepan over medium-low heat. Add leeks, and cook 10 minutes, or until soft, stirring often.
  • Add squash and pears, and sauté 5 minutes.
  • Stir in vegetable broth, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer 20 minutes, or until squash is fork-tender.
  • Remove from heat, and stir in coconut milk. Purée soup in batches in food processor or use immersion blender in saucepan; blend until smooth.
  • Return soup to saucepan, and stir in thyme. Reheat over medium-low heat 2 to 3 minutes, or until warmed through. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
  • Serve garnished with toasted butternut squash seeds, if desired.