It's been quiet around here recently, and for a good reason. This little space of mine is getting an well-deserved update, and I should be up and running with the new site next week.
But while that has been going on behind the scenes, the late summer vegetables are still lingering, in my backyard as well as in the market, and knew I needed to jump back on here and share one last late summer favorite. I hope you haven't moved onto butternut squash on me already.
It's kind of that in-between season time right now, the days are still warm but at night the chilly air is sneaking it's way in, and before we know it jackets will make their way back into our daily wardrobe. It right about this time that I start roasting my veggies instead of eating them raw, and this is one of those recipes I will be using to get my last bit of late summer indulgence on.
This swiss chard pesto is a new one for me and I've been putting it on anything and everything. I've make kale pesto, and I've made plenty of basil varieties, but this swiss chard pesto is going to be a new staple. Plus it is just another way for me to use and freeze the mass amounts of swiss chard I ended up with in my garden this season.
Hey guys, guess what? I want to be the one to tell you this, so here it goes. Summer isn't over yet. Just because Labor Day has come and gone, I am not turning in my flip flops for knee-high boots just yet. I am going to soak up every last second. As long as I have a slight hint of tan on my legs and vegetables in the garden it's summer in my mind.
This summer was a productive one for me. I had some pretty serious goals I was trying to accomplish, but within the serious goals I had some not so serious ones I was aiming for too.
Try to wiggle in a couple of beach days in-between working on the cookbook (check).
Have fun (check).
Sleep in during the last week of August (check).
Work on my garden and improve my green thumb skills (check).
Last summer I planted my first garden on my own, and I had very few successes and way too many zucchinis and mini-pumpkins. This summer I had a different strategy. I may have cheated a little, but I think it was necessary in my learning process.
I planted my garden with plants I bought that had already sprouted. Some may call this cutting corners, others may call this smart, but since I am not a person who can dedicate all of my attention to my garden, it turned out to be the best decision I could have made. My entire garden was a success (except for some little creature who was loving my kale) but besides that we now have a beautiful and balanced garden that is full of gorgeous summer vegetables.
I have been eating mostly from the garden for the past few weeks, and as far as home cooked meals go, there is not much that beats that.
I planted a few swiss chard plants in my garden and by mid-August they had grown to have some of the biggest leaves I have ever seen. I'm talking seriously big. I had to do something fun with them.
You know I am not one to take the safe route and just throw them into a pan and satuée them. I wanted to come up with something totally different. After several attempts, these enchiladas came to be.
Michael and I had a little bit of a debate on what to call these. Actually, the debate was sparked because I was accidentally calling them "empanadas" and he vehemently protested. Empanadas are one of Michael's great food loves, so I wouldn't want to mess with them. Woops! Enchiladas ... not empanadas! Once we sorted out the confusion, he agreed that "enchiladas" made more sense.
Traditional enchiladas are made with a corn or flour tortilla that has some kind of filling, topped off with a tomato based sauce and typically lots of cheese and then baked. Over here, I have a slightly different take on enchiladas for you. Subbing out the processed, carb-heavy tortilla for swiss chard is bold move in the health direction. And, by sticking with the green theme, adding in a green tahini instead of a tomato based sauce and cheese still satisfies the creamy texture but in a much more "still kind-of bathing suit season" sort of way. This is a perfect light, but indulgent, meal to ease into late late summer.
Today is my birthday. I am not someone who does not like people to know it is their birthday, Obviously. I am a little like a 10 year old when it comes to my birthday, and I'm not ashamed to admit that. I don't mind getting older. Actually, I enjoy it. I like that I am slightly wiser (emphasis on slightly), but I have more energy than I did 10 years ago, and I hope that 10 years from now I will be lucky enough to say the same thing.
I don't love the spotlight aspect of birthdays (I really don't), and I don't necessarily want gifts of free things, or 15% off at Anthropology (however, I will not turn them down). I love my birthday because it is the one day all year when I get to connect with all the people in my life that I love.
I love all the phone calls, texts, facebook messages and conversations that you don't always get to have on a normal day. I love getting friends together and celebrating, eating great food, and having a good time. That's what it's all about.
So before I run off to do birthday things, I wanted to share this recipe that I have been dying to get out to you. I know you love falafel as much as I do, and tacos, I know you love tacos too ... so this is how we are going to celebrate my birthday today.
Throw some spicy harissa in there, and avocado (OF course) .... and we're having a birthday party in a warm corn tortilla.
Sometimes I get caught up on coming up with unique recipes for this blog, that I get away from the real deal food I eat on a daily or weekly basis. Not today.
This meal right here is pretty much our go-to Monday night meal, especially this time of year when we're in the peak of wild salmon season. It's feel good food that is easy to make and hits all the right notes of flavor and health to makes this one of my favorite at home. A great dinner for just the two of us.
Since I post mostly vegan and vegetarian recipes on this blog, I thought twice about posting a seafood recipe here, but this blog is really all about overall health, and wild salmon is one of the healthiest foods on the planet.
Wild salmon is so good for you. You know this. Loaded with Omega3's, wild salmon is straight up food for your brain. When looking for salmon, the only word you need to look for is WILD. None of this organic farmed salmon. There simply is no such thing as "organic" salmon.
I am pretty picky about my seafood, just like I am my produce and most other things I eat and prepare. I eat salmon because of all of the health benefits, but I stay away from many other types of seafood, especially farmed seafood and deep water fish that contain high levels of mercury.
It's all about being a conscience eater and knowing exactly where your food comes from before it makes it's way back to your kitchen.
For my vegan and vegetarian friends, you can make this as a warm quinoa salad and omit the salmon all together. On days I cannot find a good piece of wild salmon, that's what I do. I am kind of addicted to the ginger sesame dressing that goes over this dish. You can put that dressing over anything and it will make it feel like a special meal.
I cannot believe that this is the first ramp recipe I am posting this season, since ramps have been on my plate at almost every single meal I've had at home over the past few weeks. Breakfast: side of crispy ramps, lunch: raw ramps in my salad, dinner: ramps any way I can think of.
Ramps, all day every day.
I'm hoping you have not been overwhelmed by onslaught of ramp recipes this year .... if you're anything like me, you'll never be sick of ramps.
But this recipe is not just about the ramps. They're sharing the spotlight with this quinoa burger. If you've been following along here for a while, you know that I have done a few variations of a quinoa burger, shifting ingredients and preparations around each time. This might be my favorite one to date.
The very first recipe I posted for a quinoa burger went internet famous on me. And by internet famous, I mean it has made it's way around Tumblr (not as exciting as being YouTube internet famous). To be honest, I don't even think it was the burger that was getting all of the love, I think it was the avocado spread.
Because let's face it, when it comes to a veggie-type burger, it is just as much about the sauce as it is the patty.
And with that, the conversation gets turned back to ramps.
I've tried some pretty interesting and awesome ramp preparations this year. There is so much you can do with them. They're great raw, sauteed, pickled, or incorporated into a sauce, like this recipe here.
Last night I watched my father-in-law chop a few up and mix them into some homemade guacamole (I'm pretty sure he thought it was green onion). It was so good.
Ramps are a little more pungent and exciting than green onion, but the two can be interchanged in almost any recipe. So if you cannot find ramps where you are, or when their short season is over, then go ahead and sub green onion.
Okay, back to the burgers. These burgers are super versatile. You can switch up, increase, or leave out pretty much any ingredient listed, including the egg, since I know some of you would prefer a vegan version. In the past, my quinoa burgers were made without egg, however the egg really helps to bind. If you prefer not to use the egg, by all means leave it out. Just be aware that they will be a little more delicate (they fall apart easier).
You can go crazy with the toppings. For mine, I just added some arugula and some thinly sliced red onion but you can also add avocado, and any other veggie you can think of. If you want a gluten or bread-free option you can leave out the bun and serve it over a salad or in a lettuce wrap.
The only non-negotiable part is the ramp pesto. You cannot leave out the ramp pesto, it really is the best part.