If there is one thing that is perpetually on my list of Things to Get Better At, it would be meal planning. I always go to the grocery store and buy the same old, same old ingredients to make the same old, same old meals – not having any specific plan for the week  (Maybe I have one new or specific meal in mind.)  I rarely decide on what I’m going to make until it’s time to get started making dinner.  Sometimes this is fine, other times it feels very boring.

Sweet Potato Hash

January 28th, 2014 | Posted by Alison Spath in Lunch - (3 Comments)

Today we’re making sweet potato hash.

Sweet Potato hash

And by we I mean *I*, and by today I mean *yesterday*.

Whoever, whenever – sweet potatoes are cheap, healthy and delicious.  One of the best things about this series of affordable healthy foods is that it’s encouraging me to find new ways to prepare a bunch of my favorite foods so I don’t bore us all to tears with the same old, same old.

Well cry not my potato loving friends!  Sweet potato hash is new to me and was a welcome change from my default roasted sweet potatoes that I always make.  (If sweet potato hash is not new to you – then here, have a tissue.  And I guess I did still roast them, but still – THIS IS DIFFERENT!)

A Chopped Greek Salad for Lunch

November 7th, 2013 | Posted by Alison Spath in Lunch - (6 Comments)

Since reading Cholesterol Clarity, I’ve been rocking out with the Low Carb/High Fat way of eating.  (I’ve been trying to do this for a nearly year now and have finally figured it out… more details to come in an upcoming post.)  I found my way to this salad when I was looking to swap my usual yogurt and fruit combo with something a little lower in sugar and carbs.

Let me cut right to the chase: I’m still a little shocked at how much I love this salad.  This is officially My New Favorite Lunch, I’ve eaten more days in a row than I can count.

Shrimp Ceviche on Salad

October 22nd, 2013 | Posted by Alison Spath in Vegetable Lovin' - (4 Comments)

“Ceviche” is a relatively new word to me.  Wikipedia says ceviche is a seafood dish marinaded in citrus juices – and I’m with ya so far.

But Google Chrome and it’s squiggly red line under the word Ceviche is suggesting I use the word “Crevice”, which is not especially helpful because until just a few moments ago, I wasn’t even sure how to pronounce “ceviche”.  Now I’m going to go to a fancy party some day and say “May I please have the Shrimp Crevice?” and people are going choke on their caviar and/or snort Cristal out their nose.  Thanks for nothing, Google Chrome.

Since new baby = fewer trips to the grocery store, we’ve been visiting our weekly, neighborhood farmer’s market a bit more regularly this summer than we have in the past.

Farmers Market

For the last couple of years the CSA has served most of our local, seasonal produce needs. I didn’t sign us up this year because I didn’t know how much I would be cooking, I also didn’t want to have to worry about waking any babies from afternoon naps in order to make it in time for pick up. WHO CARES ABOUT VEGETABLES!  WE’VE GOT A SLEEPING BABY HERE!

Old Man Dolin

October 17th, 2011 | Posted by Alison Spath in Dinner Time - (5 Comments)

Dinner tonight was about ease and speed.  Mama’s got a 6:30 yoga class she wants to get to, gang!  Chop chop!

Or should I say “slice slice!”?

With fast cookin’ potatoes on my mind, a couple of orange spuds and I went head to head with the mandolin.

Sweet Potatoes Cut with Mandolin

A mandolin is a fancy schmancy slicer contraption that is supposed to make vegetable slicing easier. The last time I used this thing, the mandolin and I had words.  But tonight?  I grabbed this bull by the horns until it bucked me off.

Oneida Mandolin

Ratatouille, Ratatouille

August 1st, 2010 | Posted by Alison Spath in Dinner Time - (14 Comments)

Whenever I say “Ratatouille”, I always want to say it twice and then the chorus Rock Me Amadeus starts to play in my head.

What? Is that just me?  Probably.

So… Ratatouille. Yeah. I’m fairly sure “Ratatouille” is French for “what the hell am I going to do with all these summer vegetables?”

My mom has been making Ratatouille and raving to me about it during recent phone conversations.  When she described what went into it, I realized that I had every single one of the ingredients in my overstocked-with-produce fridge.  That’s what I call vegetable fate.

A dear reader named Kenzie left a comment the other day asking me to do a post about how I make my salads and what I put in them. Turns out I just so happen to have “Big Giant Salad” on the dinner menu tonight! Here’s how I make a salad that will knock your (and maybe even someone else’s!) socks off.

Step 1: Start with a beautiful head of lettuce. Something OTHER than iceberg for crying out loud please. Red leaf is typically my head of choice, but green leaf or romaine work nicely.  Don’t be afraid to throw in spinach, arugula, dandelion or other mixed field greens too if you’ve got ’em.

Quinoa Stuffed Peppers

March 30th, 2009 | Posted by Alison in Dinner Time - (6 Comments)

(Adapted from Feb 2009 Vegetarian Times) Serves 4.

1 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
1/2 Tbsp ground cumin
1 clove minced garlic
5 oz frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1 15oz can diced tomatoes, drained, liquid reserved
7 oz canned black beans, rinsed and drained
1/3 + cup quinoa, rinsed
2 medium carrots, grate
1 c vegetable broth
3/4 c pepper jack cheese, grated, divided
2 large red bell peppers, halved lengthwise, ribs and seeds removed