swiss chard + roasted garlic dumplings with a walnut sesame miso

I usually start thinking about my next meal before I've finished the current meal in front of me. Sometimes I start day dreaming about meals days or weeks ahead of time. If you're reading this, I am guessing you do the same.

This past weekend I visited one of my closest friends from college, Michal, in Switzerland. Michal and I both think about food and talk about food a lot. I knew this trip would involve some pretty great meals. And don't let those mountains in the background fool you, there was no physical activity happening on this trip ...... we didn't want anything to get in the way of our eating. 

Before my trip, I was already thinking about the food I would eat while I was there, and what I would bring with me to eat on the plane. As you might remember, I have been trying to make food for my flights, especially the longer ones. Since I don't really enjoy flying, I like to make food that will make me happy. Looking forward to a good meal is one way to take my mind off of take-offs and bumpy rides. 

Dumplings make me happy. I just love a good dumpling. I get excited when I see a dumpling, and even more excited when I eat a dumpling.

Before I made my first dumpling, I have to admit, I was intimidated (and maybe just a little lazy) to take on the task. Leave it to the experts, I thought. But let me tell you, once you start making your own dumplings, you'll never stop. It is so much easier that you would think, and this way you can come up with crazy concoctions that you would not be able to order from take out.

I bet you wouldn't find swiss chard dumplings at your local chinese food delivery place.

I love the idea of stuffing what is fresh and seasonal into a dumpling. Last fall I made some pumpkin dumplings, maybe this spring I will do some sort of pea dumpling. Right now there has been some stunning swiss chard in the markets, so I thought a fantastic dumpling combination would be swiss chard and roasted garlic, because swiss chard and roasted garlic go so well together. 

The walnut miso was inspired by my favorite cookbook of the moment: Japanese Farm Foods. That book is such an awesome source of inspiration, I am sure you will be seeing more recipes + influences from that book here. 

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hazelnut truffles rolled in goji berries // raw + vegan + gf

If we're anything alike, you probably pretend that you don't care all that much about Valentine's Day, but deep down you love it and you're secretly hoping for a surprise delivery of big, beautiful bouquet of flowers. 

When I was single, sometimes I would hope that some really hot guy like ..... say ..... Bradley Cooper would send an enormous lovely bouquet of flowers to my work. You know, because stuff like that happens on Valentine's Day all the time. 

Now that I am happily married, I still pretend like I don't care all that much, and I still secretly hope that Michael will surprise me with flowers, or a food-related thing. And he does. He always does well. 

{and ... sorry Brad, you can hold the flowers, Michael beat you to the chase.}

 

I love Valentine's Day. It's a holiday about love. It's another reason to show the person/people in your life that you love them. It does not have to be a romantic type of love, it can be a friendship love, a parental love, an animal love. Celebrating love is a wonderful thing. 

I think one of the best ways to show someone you love them it to make something for them. And when that something is raw, vegan and loaded with super healthy vitamins and antioxidants, well then you are spreading extra special love all around. 

Nothing says "I love you" like homemade chocolate truffle rolled in a powerful aphrodisiac. Yes you heard me correctly. Goji berries are known in Asian herbalism not only for their high antioxidant content, but also for their aphrodisiac qualities.

Every single ingredient in this truffle is a super ingredient with superpowers. Cacao, cinnamon, coconut oil, and hazelnuts are all great for us, especially when consumed raw. 

I cannot think of a better gift than a homemade truffle that is as chocolatey and tasty as it is good for you. 

Happy Valentine's Day! XO

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beluga lentils with crispy brussel leaves, carrots + fennel with a ginger dressing

Yes. I am sharing two salads with you in a row. 

You see, there is something I have to tell you ... salads are my thing. My speciality. My jam. 

I know, It is not exactly the most exciting thing in the world. 

Some people are really good at making awesome, fancy things like creme brulee or pot pie. I am really good at making salads. 

I always wanted to be really good at making one thing. You know, so Bobby Flay would come knocking on my door to do a throwdown. Being the veggie lover that I am, I guess it was natural that salads became my thing. I'm ready for my salad throwdown Bobby. Bring it. 

You might be thinking, what's so special about making salads? Isn't making salads really easy. Well, yes, it is. But anyone who is really good at making one thing puts a lot of love into making that one thing.

I put a lot of love into my salads.

I love to make my own dressing, I love to incorporate a good balance of ingredients, I love to use only what's fresh and seasonal, and I love to add unexpected things. 

It's all about the love and the ingredients. 

As always, whenever I post a salad recipe, I like to think of it more as a guideline or an inspiration for your own salad creations. If you've never used sautéed fennel in a salad, maybe you will try it sometime. If you've only had ginger dressing at a japanese restaurant, maybe now you'll be tempted to make your own at home.

Or maybe you will try this just as I made it. I sure hope you do. 

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kale caesar salad with pickled onions + homemade breadcrumbs // a vegan version

When did kale become so cool? 

I mean, seriously. Did anyone even know about kale 5 years ago?

Was anyone making kale chips, or kale smoothies?

Would anyone even touch kale with a 10 foot pole?

I was once terrified of kale. Now ... I cannot get enough. 

If you say the word 'kale' nowadays, people get giddy. You know I do. 

Maybe it's because it is because we finally know what to do with it. We're comfortable, and acquainted. We finally know how to make it taste really really good. 

Maybe it's also because it is really really good for you + me + the people we feed it to. Calcium, vitamin C and fiber are things that make our bodies happy, and kale is loaded with these and other wonderful things. Kale makes our bodies happy. 

Kale caesar salad is just one of the hundreds of recipes I've been using to feed my kale addiction. Kale is just so great in a salad, if you know how to work it. It's not a wimpy green. It does not wilt or sag easily, and that's a good thing. Massaging it breaks it down, and chopping it small makes it easier to eat. 

I love a good ceasar salad, don't you? But I don't really love all of the cheese and bad calories it usually has in it. This version I've been working with has that same awesome caesar salad taste, without the dairy or the anchovies. You'd never know the difference.

Lastly, let's chat about these homemade breadcrumbs. I know I've been posting a lot of gluten-free recipes on here, so I don't want to leave out my GF friends. You can always make homemade GF breadcrumbs using your favorite GF bread. Or, if you want to skip the bread all together, any kind of toasted nut or seed would work well to get that contrast of texture. 

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red beet gnocchi with a meyers lemon pesto // gf + vegan

Michael got me a food processor for Christmas. I asked for one. It was probably the last key piece of equipment I was missing from my kitchen.

It is kind of an embarrassing admission. A food processor should be one of the first additions, not the last, but I always seemed to get by without it. After using it once, I can totally see why they're so popular. This machine might change my life. 

As I was using my shiny new food processor for the first time I couldn't help but think about when I first started cooking a lot in college. I had nothing. No food processor, no vitamix, no mandolin ... I barley even had a sharp knife. I had one pot and no pans, which meant sauteing was done in a pot. YEP. Sometimes I'd even roast things in that darn pot. I always got it done. 

You know what .... it did not matter, because I loved to cook so much. 

 

This recipe is for my old college roommate, Kara, who willingly ate my home cooked meals back then ... the good ... the bad ... and the way too garlicky. Kara will never forget my love for pesto and she recently requested that I do a beet / pesto recipe for the blog. Thankfully I have a much better grip on the garlic proportions now (note: less is always more). 

Since I know she probably will not make this for herself, this is my way of coaxing her to visit me in NYC. 

Gnocchi is easier to make than you might think. The ingredient list is short, and it is pretty hard to mess it up. The most challenging part is to get that dreamy, pillow-like texture. I give some tips in the recipe to tackle that. For this particular recipe, I used a gluten-free flour blend and I did not taste the difference from when I made gnocchi with whole wheat flour. If you would like to use all-purpose or whole wheat flour, just switch out the brown rice flour (same/similar proportions). You can also use an egg or not use an egg. I find that the eggs helps bind so that you use a little less flour, but if you do not want to use the egg, the recipe will work fine without it. 

I just love the gorgeous color that the beets add to this dish. It would make for a great valentine's dinner for two, or this would also make a great meal for a friend who comes to town to visit (wink wink Kara). 

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