Tag: cabbage

Sesame Noodles with Cabbage and Broccoli

My Dad was in the hospital this week. He had a heart attack in July of 2012 and at the time, for various reasons, the doctors thought it would be best to send him home instead of doing surgery. In the months that followed, I watched as my Dad struggled daily with chest pain, headaches, and severe exhaustion. He couldn’t work and sometimes he couldn’t get out of bed until the afternoon. His quality of life was shattered and though I knew he desperately wanted to make positive changes for his health, the odds seemed to be stacked against him.

Fast forward to today, and he’s finally had his bypass surgery. He’s in recovery and doing great! He says it’s the first time in 6 months that he hasn’t felt like someone is squeezing down on his heart. His spirits are high, and I’m really hopeful about the future and his potential to change things up and live the best life possible.

So this week when Monday came around and it was time for my Food Matters Project post, I wasn’t quite feeling up to it. I was pretty exhausted, but the crew of FMP’ers was super supportive and said I should just whip this one up quickly… and I’m glad I listened!

What a great, easy dinner for a tired weeknight. This came together so quickly and tasted so great! The original was a recipe with salmon and spinach, but it’s such a versatile recipe that just about anything would work. I was thinking it would be great with some shiitake mushrooms and red peppers… what do you think?

Check out the Food Matters Project site for all the other fantastic variations on this dish. And wander on over to Sara’s lovely blog for the original recipe. While you’re at it, why not check out our Pinterest board for some awesome meal planning inspiration!

SESAME NOODLES WITH CABBAGE AND BROCCOLI
serves 3-4

1 tbsp coconut oil
1 onion, diced
1/2 head red cabbage, sliced thinly
1 large head broccoli, cut into florets
1 small tin of bamboo shoots, drained
2 tbsp Braggs soy seasoning
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 tbsp sesame seeds
1/2 tsp sesame oil
2 drops stevia or 1 tsp maple syrup or other sweetener
2 tsp dried red chili flakes
8 ounces buckwheat soba noodles (I found ones with 95% buckwheat flour and 5% sweet potato!)

Bring a pot of salted water to boil. When the water boils, add the noodles and cook for about 5 minutes, or according to package directions (stop cooking before they get mushy!). Remove the noodles from heat, strain, and rinse. The rinsing step is necessary so they don’t taste too starchy.

Saute the onion in the coconut oil in a large skillet over medium heat. When the onion is tender, add the cabbage and cook for a couple minutes, then add the broccoli and cook another couple minutes. Stir in all of the remaining ingredients (except the noodles), until everything is well mixed and then remove from heat. Taste it and adjust the seasoning if you need, maybe a tad more soy sauce, sesame oil, or chili flakes. Now toss the noodles in the mix or just scoop the cabbage mix over top of the noodles and enjoy. So easy!

+ Erin
P 01/16/2013
t Blog, Dinner, Gluten-Free, Vegan
Cbamboo shoots, broccoli, cabbage, coconut oil, sesame oil, sesame seeds, soba
9 4 Comments

Veggie Okonomiyaki

Okonomiyaki is a popular Japanese dish sometimes translated to something like “Japanese Pizza”, but it’s really much closer to a potato pancake – yet with cabbage instead of potato. It’s typically loaded with toppings and covered in a sauce and mayo.

I have for you a healthier, veggie-friendly version. Cabbage, leeks, onions. Delicious.

Even with no potatoes, the taste is reminiscent of a potato latke… but full of cabbage, and with it a healthy dose of vitamin C, anti-inflammatory nutrients, and antioxidants. Cruciferous vegetables for the win!

+ Erin
P 09/21/2012
t Blog, Dinner, Gluten-Free, Sides
Calmond, cabbage, green onion, leek, sesame seeds
9 No Comments

Grilled Vegetables with Chimichurri Sauce – The Food Matters Project

We recently bought a little barbeque from some friends who were moving out of town. As of this morning, it was still sitting on the balcony, not yet set up, just begging to be used for a summer grill. Add to that the fact that our fridge is overflowing with vegetables AND this week’s Food Matters recipe was a Mixed Grill with Chimichurri… it was time to get the little BBQ cracking!

I have been so thrilled each weekend to pick up our CSA share and our market haul. We had kohlrabi and beets lined up on the floor because there was no room left in the fridge. What better way to use them all up than a fresh summer grill?!

I’m still grilling beginner, really, so our balcony setup is majorly exciting to me.

This week, for the Food Matters Project, Lexi picked the Mixed Grill with Chimichurri and I am so glad she did! You can find the rest of the crew’s creations here.

Chimichurri is my new favourite way to pack greens into my day. I can’t get over how delicious it is – how had I not discovered it sooner?! I want to put it on everything. I can’t get enough cilantro as it is, so this sauce really does it for me. It’s so light and refreshing and can be dolloped on top of just about anything – vegetables, rice, beans, fish, meat.

+ Erin
P 06/25/2012
t Blog, Dinner, Gluten-Free, Vegan
Cbeets, cabbage, carrot, chimichurri, cilantro, food matters project, garlic scapes, green onion, kohlrabi, mint
9 13 Comments

Warm Kale Salad with Sweet Tahini Dressing

This was the kale dish that converted my Dad to a kale lover. A pretty serious feat if you know the guy. He was adamant this green veggie was not for him.

Now he praises the goodness of kale to all who will listen! How fantastic!

He often makes it without the dressing, relying on the natural sweetness of the apples to sweeten the dish, but I love to add some creamy, sweet tahini dressing.

This is one of the easiest side dishes ever. Promise. It also happens to be mega nutritious. I’ve been known to sprinkle in some pecans and call it dinner.

+ Erin
P 06/07/2012
t Blog, Gluten-Free, Salad, Sides, Vegan
Capples, cabbage, kale, red onion, sesame seeds, tahini
9 2 Comments

Cleanse Day 7 – Chocolate Green Smoothie and Baked Green Falafel with Baba Ganoush

Trying new things in the kitchen is half exciting, half scary. You never know how it’s going to turn out. There are no guarantees.

Those kitchen failures can be devastating. We’ve all been there. Tossing a meal in the trash because it’s downright inedible. Disappointing times.

Sometimes cooking feels more like alchemy than cooking. Combining ingredients in hopes of coming up with gold… and never quite being able to make it happen.

BUT! Stay confident! Stay hopeful!

Get back in the kitchen and experiment. See what tasty places your inspiration will take you when you have the courage to wing it. You’ll develop a keen sense of kitchen intuition (kintuition?) and the rewards are well worth it!

I’ve never made falafel OR baba ganoush, but I can attest to the yum-factor of both. Perhaps it’s foolish to try two new recipes for dinner when you’re already hungry and you have a sprained ankle that makes getting around the kitchen challenging… but I’m up for a challenge (and also slightly foolish).

Thankfully it turned out great! Baking the falafel is a healthier option, and you still end up with a crispy exterior and soft centre. All the herbs give it such a fresh zing of flavour, and using sprouted chickpeas and then wrapping it in cabbage leaves?! Mega delicious. Mega healthy. Mega crunch factor. Top with creamy eggplant-tahini Baba Ganoush. DROOL.

Rewind! First things first, I started the day with a CHOCOLATE GREEN SMOOTHIE. To recreate this delicious breakfast treat, blend up a handful of greens (I used romaine – spinach is great too), a cored pear, 2 tbsp hemp hearts, 1 mega-heaping-might-as-well-call-it-2 tbsps raw cacao powder, 1 tsp maca powder, 2-3 drops stevia, and 2 cups almond milk. How can this be breakfast? Just trust me.