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Archive for category Vegetarian

Delightful Vegetarian Dinner Party

Nov 22

Posted by Shari B. in Cooking, Vegetarian | 5 Comments

Good morning friends!  Happy Tuesday!

Last week, my fabulous friend Keri had me over for dinner.  It was SUCH a treat.  As a personal chef who spends most of my time in either a client’s kitchen working or in my own kitchen testing, I can’t tell you how nice it is to have someone else do the cooking!

Keri was so thoughtful in preparing a delicious vegetarian meal for me and she did such a beautiful job with the presentation, I just knew I had to take pictures to share on the blog!  It was all a surprise so I didn’t know what was coming from one course to the next!

Inviting dinner decor:

The appetizer was a Spinach Feta Crescent, using rolls from the Immaculate Baking Co.  I knew of their cookies, but I had no idea they had ROLLS!  You can bet I’ll be picking some of them up for use on Thanksgiving!

These were little clouds of heaven.  I LOVED them, and ate THREE.  Which I shouldn’t have done, because then I filled up too quickly before the rest of the dinner!

Next she prepared a chilled soup with tahini, lemon and chickpeas.  Plus warm pita bread for dipping.  (She must know I’m a HUMMUS-holic!)  I can’t get enough hummus or things made with chickpeas.  This was so good.  Look at the gorgeous garnish and arrangement!

And the entree was a grilled spaghetti squash with vegetable marinara and basil.  Who would have thought to cook squash on the GRILL?  It was such a great way to give the spaghetti squash some depth of flavor – it had just the right amount of smoky flavor.  This is a technique I’ll be trying myself!  (If only my phone took better pictures in this lighting – the photos don’t do the food justice at all.)

She also had a dessert at the ready, but I was so stuffed from all the healthy, delicious food we’d had already that I couldn’t even imagine another bite.

What I loved about this meal was that it shows how vegetables can be elevated to such an elegant status for dinner parties, without needing to be fussy or difficult.  This was such a satisfying meal and it was so nice to have someone prepare pretty food for me to admire!

OK, who’s cooking for me next?  ;)   I could get used to this!

Speaking of cooking for people or enjoying the culinary stylings of others, what are you doing for Thanksgiving?  At your house or elsewhere?  What’s on the menu?

– Shari B. =)

 

Holy Crucifers!

Nov 1

Posted by Shari B. in Cooking, Vegetarian | 4 Comments

Good morning friends!

I hope you all had a very nice Halloween!  I enjoyed reading the comments about what your plans were, thank you!  They all sounded like fun!  Our “Haunted Forest” was actually a really good time.  I found a link to some video of it on our rec association website if you want to take a look (click HERE). I’m not sure how long they’ll keep it out there, so if the link doesn’t work when you read this, my apologies.

It was the right amount of scary for me, to be honest.  I don’t like to be totally petrified.  People in scary costumes would jump out of the bushes and scream or growl at you.  The creepiest part was that you were following a hiking trail in the dark and bumping into twigs and bushes (or were they …? ha ha).  I was so focused on watching my step to keep from rolling an ankle that I wasn’t as worried about things scaring me.  So in that way it was PERFECT!  :)   I enjoyed it and feel we got our $8 worth.  We appreciate that our HOA/Rec Association does so many fun things in our community that we’d like to continue to support things like this so they keep doing them!

After we returned home, we watched the 1968 version of “Night of the Living Dead” which on the scary movie scale is just about the right speed for me.  It was in black and white with such outdated effects that it wasn’t at all scary, and more fun to watch.  That is about the level of scary I can handle anymore.  Ever since seeing “The Strangers” on Halloween ’08, I have banned myself from scary movies.  I think that one left me scarred for life.  :D

Something else that I found to be scary?  Brussels sprouts in their raw form.  As I mentioned yesterday, it was a big recipe testing day and on the list was Brussels sprouts slaw.  I love Brussels sprouts, but apparently I love them roasted or stir-fried.  Raw – not so much. Fortunately I started with a very tiny batch.  I’ll still eat it, but I’ll probably *hide* it in a wrap or something.  (BTW, sorry for the weirdly colored photos – I miss the summer daylight already for the sake of pics!)

I roasted up a small batch of remaining sprouts and used the dressing on them too – I like it better this way:

And then I used the dressing again on a “two kale” salad with raw walnuts and dried cranberries:

I’ve been in a cruciferous salad mode, it seems.  This was last week’s which had some spinach, kale, Brussels sprouts (shredded and lightly sauteed), honeyed walnuts:

I am up to my eyeballs in crucifers right now – I certainly have no shortage of greens to eat right!

Here are some of pics of other recipe tests going on.

Orange Scented Beet Soup

Kelp Noodle Salad with Tamari Almonds

Hummus Soup with Garlicky Croutons

Tempeh Walnut Unmeatballs with Shiitake Sauce

Today I really need to force myself to get some yoga in or maybe even just a good long power walk.  I’ve been so busy with business stuff and recipe testing that my fitness routine has been set aside more than I’d like to admit.  I’m putting it out here to keep myself accountable!  :) What’s the first thing to go out the window for you when things get insanely busy?  Sleep?  Healthy eating?  Exercise?  All of the above?

Have a great day FitFeat friends!  I’ll see you next time!  I’m gathering ideas for Volume 2 of the Recipes to Inspire series so that will be coming in the near future.

– Shari B. =)

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Blackstrap & Mirin Caramelized Onions

Oct 4

Posted by Shari B. in Cooking, Vegetarian | 2 Comments

Good morning friends!

I have been in an onion mood lately – not sure why.  I made a batch of dehydrated onions right before I went on vacation and ate them like a snack when we got back.  Then I decided to make a batch of caramelized onions to have in the fridge to reheat and add to different dishes.  I’m sure this drives Cory nuts, as he is definitely not an onion fan.  Not only did the house smell like them but so did I!  :)

I thinly sliced one onion (since it’s just me that will eat them).

I preheated my skillet over medium heat and then added a bit of ghee to my pan.  In this instance I prefer ghee because it maintains its ‘silkiness’ in the bottom of the pan for the duration of the cooking, since these will be in there for a while.

While they were cooking away on the stovetop, and just turning to their golden brown phase, I add in about a teaspoon of blackstrap molasses for flavor (and a health boost of minerals and iron).  I let my onions go for about 30 minutes (longer if they are thicker sliced).

This time though, I decided to deglaze the pan with a few splashes MIRIN (a sweet Japanese rice wine).  Deglazing is when you add a liquid (sometimes stock, water, or something acidic like a vinegar or citrus juice) to the pan and scrape up all of the brown caramelization in the bottom – that’s where your flavor is.

The mirin added so much flavor and worked really well with the blackstrap.  I wanted to just eat these onions straight out of the pan!

But I restrained myself and used half of them for a cup of onion soup using some overnight crock pot mineral broth I’d pulled from the freezer the night before, and served it with some sprouted grain bread sprinkled with some goat gouda and toasted.

This turned out to be a really fun and delicious lunch.

Better go refill the breath mints in my purse! ;)

What food have you been craving lately?

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Autumn Vegetable Ragu with Pumpkin, Fennel and Sage

Sep 14

Posted by Shari B. in Cooking, Vegetarian | 3 Comments

Hi there friends!

Is it just me or does it feel like today should be FRIDAY not WEDNESDAY?  The weather here is dreary and a little on the chilly side (high of 58 today).  My internal solar battery is running low already today.  I feel like I need a nap or some caffeine.  One or the other.

Hope you guys aren’t getting too sick of me, what with all this daily posting again during the ‘challenge‘ days!  It’ll be over in a couple of days and then I will be back in ‘travel mode’ again so you’ll get a breather!  ;)

So yesterday’s exercise was an EARLY hilly interval running session with some extra-intense intervals on a steep long hill tacked on at the end.  I was feeling pretty beat when it was done.  I’ve been running on an empty stomach again because I noticed I felt less sluggish.  However on this particular day, I wish I’d had something prior because I could have used the extra oomph!

My post-workout meal was a smoothie made with kale, cucumber, frozen pineapple, mint, pepitas and some raw plant protein powder.

Some other highlights of the day included leftover fajita veggies for lunch, this time in a “Southwest” tortilla that I picked up at Whole Foods.

Times two, because it was delicious.  The red, yellow and orange peppers were so sweet and flavorful on their own, the only ‘condiment’ I added was smear of garlic that I’d roasted when I made the veggies.  No need for standard fajita fare here (meaning cheese or sour cream) – it would just detract from the natural flavors of the good stuff!

And a wonderful treat that I split up throughout the day into 2 servings.  A bubbly!!  Mmmmm kombucha!

I was looking forward to cooking dinner because I recently found some tomatoes packaged in an aseptic box rather than in a can!

Love the ingredients list:

Nothing but tomatoes!

I made kind of a pumpkin-infused vegetable ragu.  I’ll call it Autumn Ragu with Pumpkin, Sage & Fennel.  In last month’s Good Housekeeping, there was a recipe for Linguine with Carrot Turkey Ragu that sparked the idea.  But I totally revamped it and did my own thing.  Here’s my take on it:  I sauteed some onion, carrot and fennel, then added fresh garlic, a little cinnamon and some rubbed sage (dried).  I deglazed the pot with red wine then added the tomatoes and a cup of pureed pumpkin.  I let it all simmer for about an hour and then I added some Eden (BPA free) lentils, a pinch of red pepper flakes and some fresh basil. The idea with the lentils was to provide texture (and a little protein) that a meat normally would have.

I spiralized some carrot and zucchini into ribbons to serve along with spaghetti noodles (you can add them to the pasta water with the noodles for the last minute of cooking to take the cold edge off the spiralized veggies).  Whenever I use pasta, I almost always try to cut it down by at least half using some sort of vegetable (like these ribbons, or spaghetti squash or kelp/tofu noodles).

And dinner was served!  (There I go doing something with some Italian influence again.  It looks like a marinara based meat sauce, but taste-wise  you get the pumpkin and fennel undertones with a hint of the cinnamon).

This was another meatless dinner that Cory and I were able to enjoy together.  His review was that the sauce was very “meaty” for not having any meat in it and that the only thing missing was “garlic bread on the side”.   :D

Late evening I had a little Teecino with almond milk and a bit of dry cereal.

So today’s question (which maybe someday should be a whole post topic and discussion):  do you find that you actually USE cookbooks or recipes?  I don’t write out the meals I make “recipe style” very often here, because my hope is that something I make will just spark your creativity with whatever you happen to have in your own kitchen at the time.  I love to READ cookbooks (and I own a bunch of them too) but truth be told I just don’t use them very often.  I have also read through the recipes on a zillion blogs, but have probably only tried a handful over the course of 3-1/2 years of blog reading.  Usually I’ll try a recipe from a cookbook checked out from the library or I’ll adapt one from an online source, like Epicurious.com.

Have a fabulous Friday friends!  (Ha, just kidding:  make that Wednesday!)

– Shari B. =)

 

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Tomato Babies!

Jul 21

Posted by Shari B. in Adventures in Home Gardening, Vegetarian | 6 Comments

Hello there blog buds!  Welcome to Thursday!  I always love “Friday-EVE”!

I went out this morning to take a look at our vegetable plants and things are starting to FINALLY bear ‘fruit’ so to speak!

A baby heirloom tomato:

And future “Red Beauty” red pepper:

I went over to check out the raised garden around to the side of the house and things there are growing faster there too.  We’ve had insane heat (high 90s) and crazy rain lately, so things are starting to take off.

We have some ‘accidental’ garlic growing!

Some of my garlic bulbs in the kitchen sat a little too long and had a tiny green sprout so MSP put a clove in the garden just to see what happened.  Pretty cool!  I’m not sure what we’ll find UNDER the ground but I’ll at least have some “garlic scapes” to use!

We have zucchini blossoms but no actual zucchini yet:

And lots of KALE:

The beginning of cauliflower:

So exciting!  I’ll obviously know when to harvest my zucchini, cucumber, peppers, tomatoes, etc., but I have NO clue when I should pull up my scallions, garlic or kale!  Any tips from you seasoned green-thumbs out there?  We apparently have a late growing season here, as I am reading friends’ blogs in other states where they already have red juicy tomatoes.

***

In the spirit of “things blooming”, I have to share that I found the most perfect buyer for my car (well actually I guess SHE found ME). In the process of selling the car, I have gained a new friend!  You know when you have to give up a pet and you want to know it will be going to a good home?  I felt this way about my car.  I loved that car and was a little emotional about selling it, even though I knew selling it was the smart thing to do for me right now.  The buyer turned out to be this really cool young woman who is into running and is just as talkative as me.  At the bank yesterday, the banker could hardly get us to pay attention to what we needed to do because we were so busy gabbing about all that we have in common.  We exchanged info and plan to stay in touch.  I was so anxious when I listed my car about the kind of people I might have to deal with during a sale and about the whole process itself, and I couldn’t have asked for a more perfect experience.  She and her dad were just really neat people.  Who would imagine you could sell a car and make friends in the process?  So fun!

Do you have any good (or horrifying) experiences with selling something?  I’ve sold a fair amount of things over the years, usually on Craigslist, and I have to say that I’ve met some characters, to say the least!

This week the song that speaks to me is Andy Grammer’s “Keep Your Head Up” (click HERE to listen to the song):

I’ve been waiting on the sunset
Bills on my mindset
I can’t deny they’re getting high
Higher than my income
Income’s breadcrumbs
I’ve been trying to survive

The glow that the sun gives
Right around sunset
Helps me realize
This is just a journey
Drop your worries
You are gonna turn out fine.
Oh, you’ll turn out fine.
Fine, oh, you’ll turn out fine

:)

Love that song! Have a great day, friends!

– Shari B. =)

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Stuffed Kabocha Squash

Mar 19

Posted by Shari B. in Cooking, Recipes, vegan, Vegetarian | 5 Comments

Good morning friends!

I was a busy bee in the kitchen yesterday, trying some recipes that I want to freeze for later use.  One of the things I made I just couldn’t resist eating for dinner.

I roasted a kabocha squash then stuffed it with a revised version of my Indian Spiced Quinoa.  Because I was using what I had on hand, I substituted dried plums and basil for the dates and mint in the original version.

Stuffed Kabocha Squash with Indian Spiced Quinoa

Makes 2-4 servings (2 as a meal, 4 as a side dish)

  • 1/2 cup quinoa (measured dry)
  • 1 kabocha squash, halved and seeds removed
  • 3/4 tablespoon coconut oil
  • 1 small shallot, minced
  • 1 yellow pepper, chopped and seeds removed
  • 1 small finger of ginger, peeled and minced
  • ½  teaspoon minced garlic
  • 1 teaspoon garam masala
  • sprinkle of sea salt
  • 1 cup vegetable broth
  • 3 dried plums, finely chopped
  • 3-5 fresh basil leaves, chopped
  • ½  teaspoon balsamic vinegar

Directions

Soak quinoa for 30-60 minutes prior to cooking.  Rinse well, drain and set aside.

After quinoa is done soaking, preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Place halved, deseeded kabocha squash face down on a lightly greased baking sheet.  Roast for 30-35 minutes or until flesh is fork tender.

While kabocha is roasting, melt coconut oil over medium heat.  Add shallots, pepper, garlic, ginger, garam masala and a pinch of sea salt, stirring often until peppers soften, about 5 minutes.

Add quinoa and stir well to coat with spice mixture.

Add vegetable broth.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until quinoa begins to look fluffy and liquid has absorbed into the grains.

Allow quinoa to sit uncovered for 3-5 minutes.  Using a fork, mix in plums and basil leaves.  Divide mixture in two and stuff into the kabocha cavities.  Drizzle each very lightly with balsamic vinegar to finish.

If you are serving the squash as the entree, serve the full half like this:

If you are using it as a side dish you can serve cut into quarters (or even slice through into half-circles):

I did put half in the freezer because I’m curious how the textures and flavors will react with freezing and thawing.  I’ll come back out and update this post when I take that one out of the freezer.

Enjoy your Saturday and the LAST DAY of WINTER!  It’s definitely going to feel like spring here this weekend!  In the 70s!  Nice!

– Shari B. =)

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Kelp is Kool

Mar 5

Posted by Shari B. in Cooking, Vegetarian | 4 Comments

Oh what a glorious start to the weekend already!  We were finally able to get the dogs out for a nice 5K wog this morning!  Sun was shining, not too much wind.  Chilly at 32 degrees, but I was cozy in my awesome birthday beanie from the talented Cindy!

If you say the words “WOG”, “WALK”, “PARK” or really any phrase that starts with “Do ya wanna go for a _____??”,  Rascal perks right up!  Look at this face!

I LOVE starting my days outside almost as much as the dogs do!

It’s amazing what 5 days of eating and exercising back in my own routine again has done!  I was experiencing a bit of digestive stress during most days of school, and I attributed it to a combination of things:  rushed eating, too many types of foods in one meal, and STRESS!  This week after being back to my more simplified approach to meals, I feel great.  And I’ve been fortunate to get to work out every day.  I am back to using my “no slacker tracker” and so far all 5 days of March are filled in!  I’ve done 250 minutes of exercise in 5 days.  Perfect!   A little strength training, some cardio, some iron yoga (Bob’s yoga yesterday means sore traps and obliques today!).

I did do a little running Thursday night with my friend Jen, but other than that none of my cardio has been running much over the past months.  I thought I might miss running more, but I don’t (yet).  I think when spring fever sets in I might be itching to throw on my five-finger shoes and hit the trails.

Before I switch gears to some food talk, I want to send a big shout out to Sunshine Burger for putting my blog post on their Facebook page and Twitter yesterday.  It’s always such an honor – and I love that it creates conversation with some new folks!

So one of the meals I showed you in my last post was the Tempeh Spinach stirfry with Kelp noodles.  A classmate gave me a package of kelp noodles on her last day here because she was moving back to her home state and she knew I was excited to try them.  I have yet to find them in my local Whole Foods or Vitamin Cottage, so I might order them online.  They are by a company called “Sea Tangle“.

OH.  MY.  These things ROCK! It’s like eating zero calorie food!  OK maybe not ZERO.  But SIX, which is practically ZERO!  A full 4 oz serving of these noodles is only 6 calories!  When cooked they remind me a little of rice noodles.  And they are a sea vegetable, which you all know I believe to be a fabulous addition your diets.

These are a great way to get that “noodle” feel into a meal without breaking the carb or calorie bank with regular noodles.  Even gluten-free noodles (while better for us than refined wheat noodles) still add up fast in calories if you aren’t careful with portion size.

I will definitely be experimenting with these more in the future, because I love noodly meals!

Have you ever had kelp noodles? What’s your favorite dish to eat them in?

Hope that you have a SUPER Saturday!

– Shari B.  =)

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Veggie & Tempeh Stuffed Tomatoes

Feb 27

Posted by Shari B. in Cooking, Recipes, vegan, Vegetarian | 2 Comments

Hi friends!  Wow, Sunday got away from me!  Here is the second recipe from my final presentation for you.  Let me know if you try it!

Vegetable and Tempeh Stuffed Tomatoes with New Mexico Chile & Chipotle Sauce


A protein-rich meal that packs heat and flavor!  A great way to incorporate some vegetarian/vegan friendly meals into an omnivore’s menu rotation, while keeping the body’s pH in balance.
Serves 4 to 6

For the stuffed tomatoes

  • 4 to 6 large tomatoes
  • 1 tablespoon coconut oil
  • 1 small onion, finely chopped
  • 1 stalk celery, finely chopped
  • sea salt to taste
  • 4 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
  • 2 teaspoons cumin
  • ½ teaspoon smoky paprika
  • 16 oz tempeh (2 lightlife at 8 oz each)
  • 4-5 medium kale leaves, woody stems removed, leaves cut in chiffonade (tiny ribbons)
  • 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
  • 2 teaspoons dulse flakes
  • ½ bunch of cilantro, chopped (woody lower portions of stems removed and discarded)
  • 2 limes, cut into wedges

For the sauce

  • ¾ cup vegetable stock
  • 3 to 4 large dried New Mexico (Anaheim) chiles, stems and seeds removed and discarded
  • ½ to 1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce (depending on level of heat desired)
  • 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons maple syrup
  • ½ tsp cumin
  • sea salt and pepper, to taste

Procedure

Slice tops off tomatoes.  Scoop out the insides to make a bowl-like vessel to stuff.  Reserve the inside of the tomatoes to use in the stuffing.

Preheat oven to 400.

Heat coconut oil in a medium pan over medium heat.  Sauté onion and celery sprinkled with a pinch of sea salt until the onions begin to caramelize, about 8 minutes.

Meanwhile, as the onions are sautéing, bring stock and chiles to a boil in a small saucepan. Cover; reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes. Transfer mixture to blender. Add vinegar, maple syrup and cumin. Blend until smooth, thinning with additional stock as needed for desired sauce thickness.  Season to taste with sea salt and pepper.

To the sautéed onions and celery, add in garlic and spices and sauté for another minute or two to allow the flavors to bloom.  Transfer the crumbled tempeh to the pan and add the kale.  Heat over medium heat just until the tempeh is warmed through and the kale is wilted, about 4 minutes.  Remove from heat, stir in nutritional yeast, dulse and cilantro.  Pour the sauce into the mixture and stir well, then fill the tomatoes with the mixture.  If the tomatoes don’t hold all of the filling (this can happen sometimes if the tomatoes are small), place the extra filling in the oven proof dish with the tomatoes.

Replace the tomato tops onto the tomatoes.  Cover loosely with foil to keep the tomato tops from burning.  Bake for 15-20 minutes.

When ready to serve, transfer tomatoes to a serving platter (spreading any extra filling on the platter first), garnish with a few sprigs of cilantro and set out some lime wedges for squeezing.

***

Have a GREAT start to your week!

– Shari B. =)

New and Improved Pineapple Projito

Feb 26

Posted by Shari B. in Cooking, Vegetarian | 2 Comments

Hi blog buds!

Here is the newly updated projito recipe that I presented as one of my final recipes at school (the stuffed tomato recipe will post tomorrow).

If you are a new reader to FitFeat, a PROJITO is a basically a Protein [and Probiotic] fortified mojito-style smoothie, non-alcoholic of course!

I’m posting this one on a Saturday so you have time to run out and get your ingredients tonight – who needs to serve their friends alcoholic cocktails when you can sip on this?  It’s FAB!  Highly alkalizing, anti-inflammatory, good for digestion.

You can tell your dinner guests you are serving them mint in honor of the tradition of rubbing mint leaves on the tables in ancient Greece as they used to do as a gesture of welcome and hospitality.  ;)

Allergy note:  this revised recipe does contain dairy.

Pineapple Projito Smoothie

Serves 1 for a meal or 2 for a snack

Ingredients

  • 8 ounces Greek yogurt
  • 1 cup frozen pineapple
  • 11 ounces coconut water
  • 1 small lime
  • 24 mint leaves, plus a few extra for garnish
  • 2 teaspoons maple syrup
  • 8 drops liquid stevia

Procedure

Slice the lime in half, cutting a round from the middle and setting aside for garnish.  Juice the rest and add to blender with remaining ingredients. Blend until smooth.  Serve with slice of lime and mint leaves.

This is a good chunk of calories, so if you aren’t drinking this right after a workout, split it with a friend!  ;)   If you drank the whole thing yourself (which I do, because it’s THAT yummy), here are the numbers:

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Natural Chef Culinary School: Showcase Recap

Feb 21

Posted by Shari B. in Cooking, Natural Chef Culinary School, Vegetarian | 12 Comments

Hi friends!

It’s amazing how quickly school is coming to an end. I will give my Final Presentation (for 45 minutes in front of my peers and instructor – EEK!) on Wednesday.  Then Friday I’ll just be an audience member while students are giving their presentations that day.  We come in on Monday to turn in our very last homework assignment (which is basically our business plan, flyers, sample menus for our business, etc.) and then fill out some final paperwork.  Then I will have OFFICIALLY finished Natural Chef training!  And I even have all of my externship hours completed!  Wahoo!

One of the big things we’ve been working on at school as of late culminated Friday night with our Culinary Showcase.  It had been a very long week (and extremely long Friday) leading up to it.  But it was worth all the hard work.  It came together so nicely.

The theme for our event was Boulder’s Seven Sister Cities.  Which couldn’t have been more fitting, because we had 7 courses to prepare.  I’ll list the menu first then show pics of the food after.  The sister city being represented is listed under each menu item:

Welcome Beverage:

Digestive Tonic
(Yamagata, Japan)
Kuzu broth with lemon, ginger and umeboshi plums

Appetizer:

Steamed Momos
(Lhasa, Tibet)
Sprouted brown rice dumpling cups filled with crimini mushrooms, cabbage, onion and a sweet & spicy tamari sauce

Soup:

Maharagwe
(Kisumu, Kenya)
Spiced red beans and tomatoes in a tumeric coconut broth

Salad:

Vigoron
(Jalapa, Nicaragua)
Herbed cassava (yucca) and cilantro salsa over red cabbage tossed in an avocado emulsion
and topped with crispy ‘raw’ onion rings

Entree:

Vegetarian Tamales
(Mante, Mexico)
Masa Harina dough surrounding kabocha squash & blackbean filling
topped with red chile cherry chocolate mole & goat cheese
Served with a side of jicama salad

Dessert:

Banana Cassarole
(Yateras, Cuba)
Citrus caramelized bananas, almonds, and raisins with a blood orange reduction and coconut mint ice cream.

Closing Beverage:

Decaf Green Tea
(Dushanbe,Tajikistan)
Steeped with date infused water and fresh mint

***

The digestive wellness tonic:

The momos (which normally are little dumplings that I consider somewhat similar to potstickers) – my teammate and I made them into little cups instead:

I didn’t get to snap a shot of the soup as it was on its way out of the kitchen.  Imagine a gorgeous yellow soup with some red beans in it!  :)

The “vigoron” salad – I LOVE the presentation of this salad – built up tall and served on a banana leaf:

The entree (mmm tamales – the cherries and dark chocolate in this mole made this sauce over-the-top delicious!):

The dessert – topped with a scoop of homemade coconut mint hempseed ice cream:

And cheers to decaf green tea sweetened with date water and fresh mint:

I was so impressed that the students selected to be on the decorating committee were able to absolutely transform the huge eyesore dining hall into something cozy.  Since our food theme was all over the world, we decided on an airplane theme.

We had a runway:

We had blue sky and clouds:

We had window seats:

We had departures timed with the service of food for each city:

And even tearful goodbyes:

I think I was over-tired. ;)   Yeah, that was it.

It was the last time we’d all be cooking together as a team – and while I’m so excited to be done with school, I guess I really am more attached to my classmates than I thought.

I’d like to give a special mention of thanks to my kind and beautiful friend Keri from Om of the Rockies for attending this event as one of my guests and for helping me out by taking lots of pictures of the evening.  Keri – it meant a lot to me that you were there, and I so appreciate all the support you have given me in the years we’ve been friends. You’re awesome!

Well friends, I have some vegetable stock in my pressure cooker that is needing my attention so I better get busy!  I have lots of fun food pics to show you coming soon of creations I’ve been making at home, including what I plan to prepare for my final presentation.

Have a WONDERFUL week and I’ll see you next time!

– Shari B. =)

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