Big Bowl of Happiness for Catherine

Dear Readers,

My BFF Catherine and I were talking about her recent travels and how we sometimes find ourselves without healthy vegetarian food. This is especially complicated if one is gluten-free, or has food allergies such as eggs or dairy. When returning from such trips cooking and enjoying nourishing food is vital. It is in this spirit that I whipped up tonight's recipe.



It's just a big bowl of happiness and health. Looks great and tastes delicious. Big bowl recipes are simple and improvisational. I got the idea originally from Heidi at 101 cookbooks. 2 years ago I was inspired by her recipe and created my own "Quinoa Big Bowl with Garlic Spinach & Roasted Yams" recipe. What's funny, is now when I went back and checked out Heidi's original recipe she talked about traveling and how much she craved healthy earthy quinoa and cooking for herself as soon as her plane landed. Whoa. Seriously, I did not read that before coming up with tonight's recipe. I guess it's a universal experience for healthy eating foodie cooks.

For a Big Bowl, start with a tasty whole grain. Usually I choose quinoa, but tonight it's short grain brown rice. Followed by delicious sauteed potatoes, wilted spinach & chard with garlic, sauteed fresh local asparagus, rounded out with garbanzo beans, and finished with toasted walnuts. Mix. Devour. Yum. In my photos it looks very composed. But, when I eat it, I just mix it all together.

This kind of meal helps me feel so nourished. It's gluten-free, vegan, and loaded with fiber, protein and fresh vegetables. Olive oil and walnuts give a boost of omega fatty acids. Trust me, this big bowl is all around goodness. And I hope it makes my Catherine very happy. It's making me happy right now.

In Health,
Miss Jolie Ann



Big Bowl of Happiness Recipe
Makes 4 large servings

1 cup short grain brown rice
1 cup cooked garbanzo beans
extra virgin olive oil
1 yellow onion, chopped
2 yukon gold potatoes, diced
1/4 tsp tumeric
sea salt & black pepper
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 bunch spinach, washed & chopped
1 bunch chard, washed & chopped
1 bunch asparagus, washed, tough ends cut off, sliced
1/4 cup chopped walnuts

1. Put the brown rice with 2 cups water in a pot and cover. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 50 minutes. Set aside.
2. While the brown rice is cooking, prepare the rest of the recipe. In a skillet warm a splash of olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and a pinch of salt. Saute for 5 minutes. Add the potatoes and the tumeric. Cover and cook over medium heat about 15 minutes. Potatoes should be tender and browned. Set aside.
3. In the now empty skillet, add another splash of olive oil. Add the garlic, spinach, and chard. Ad a pinch of salt and black pepper. Cook uncovered over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Greens should be wilted, still bright green, and the garlic should be fragrant. Set aside.
4. In the now empty skillet, add another splash of olive oil . Add the asparagus and another pinch of salt. Cook uncovered for about 5 minutes. Asparagus should be bright green and still firm. Set aside.
5. In the now empty skillet, add the walnuts. Cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes until they are starting to brown and have released their fragrant oils.
6. Assemble the brown rice, potatoes, greens, asparagus, and garbanzo how you would like in individual bowls or family style on a large platter. Top with the toasted walnuts.

Asparagus Carrot Stir Fry with Cashews

Dear Readers,

Have I mentioned asparagus season? Ha! It's just beginning. Today I made a simple stir-fry of asparagus and carrots that totally hits the spot. For the best flavor possible use young spring carrots for this recipe. I'm not talking about your bland storage carrots typically seen in the grocery store. If you don't grow your own, then choose the thinnest, tops-still-on, bright crisp carrots you can find. The same goes for the asparagus. Choose pencil thin stalks. Do not buy fat asparagus. It's not worth it.

Once you've cut the veggies this recipe takes about 5 minutes to cook. So, we're talking a satisfying healthy meal in about 15 minutes. You can't beat that. That's all I have, because I really want to go eat this now. Enjoy!

In Health,
Miss Jolie Ann











Asparagus-Carrot Stir Fry with Cashews

1 bunch thin asparagus, tough ends removed and stalks slice in half
1 bunch young carrots, sliced thinly on the diagonal
1 tbsp canola oil
about 1 tbsp wheat-free reduced-sodium tamari
fresh ground black pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup toasted lightly salted cashews

1. Clean & chop the asparagus, carrots and garlic and you are halfway there.
2. Warm the canola oil over medium-high heat in a skillet.
3. Add the asparagus, carrots, splash of tamari, pinch of black pepper to the pan. Stir-fry over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes. You want the veggies to be somewhat soft, but still bright colors and slightly crunchy.
4. Add the garlic and the cashews. Cook for about 2 minutes more. Do not overcook!
5. Serve hot over brown rice, soba noodles, with tofu or just by it's beautiful delectable self.

Chilled Asparagus in Dilled Mustard Sauce

Chilled Asparagus in Dilled Mustard Sauce
Recipe from the Enchanted Broccoli Forest

Oh, asparagus season. It is briefly here in late spring in the Pacific Northwest. How I love asparagus. Which is a good thing, because during asparagus season I try to eat at least 2 asparagus recipes each week. This recipe is great because it is so simple and really features the lovely taste of fresh lightly steamed asparagus. Nothing complicated, no rich layers of flavor. Just plain asparagus and a lip smackin complimentary sauce. I could eat this every night...

In Health,
Miss Jolie Ann

CHILLED ASPARAGUS IN

DILLED MUSTARD SAUCE

4 SERVINGS

ABOUT 15 MINUTES TO PREPARE & 1 HOUR TO CHILL

1 pound fresh asparagus, pencil thin

1 cup organic nonfat plain yogurt

1/4 cup organic mayonnaise

1/3 cup organic Dijon mustard

2 heaping Tbsp each: freshly minced dill & freshly minced chives

sea salt and freshly-ground pepper, to taste

1. Snap the very bottom-most tiplets from your elegantly thin asparagus spears. Leaving the spears whole and long, steam them until they are just tender (i.e. still crisp at the heart). *miss jolie's note: about 8 minutes if they are thin spears* As soon as they are done, run them under cold water, and drain.

2. Combine all remaining ingredients and mix well. Place the asparagus spears in a long, shallow dish, pour the dressing over, and chill.

Miss Jolie's note: You can also chill the asparagus and sauce separately and then serve next to each other. That way your guests can decide just how much sauce they would like on their asparagus :)

Scrambled Eggs with Asparagus on Feta Toasts

Scrambled Eggs with Asparagus on Feta Toasts
Recipe from A Year in a Vegetarian Kitchen by Jack Bishop

Asparagus Lovers,

Hi there! Asparagus season is here, and are you loving it or sick of all the asparagus recipes yet? I'm still eating asparagus once or twice a week while I can. Some day I'll own my own property with a perennial asparagus bed. Until now I'm reliant on my local produce market...But, I do have lots of fresh homegrown mint varieties in my kitchen-garden. Perfect for this recipe.

In Health & Peace,
Miss Jolie Ann

Scrambled Eggs with Asparagus on Feta Toasts

Feta Toasts

4 ounces feta cheese, crumbled (about 3/4 cup)

1 tablespoon minced fresh mint leaves

Freshly ground black pepper

1-2 tablespoons milk (**Jolie's note: I used unsweetened plain soymilk)

2 large slices country white bread, at least 8 inches long and about 1 inch thick

Scrambled Eggs

Salt

4 ounces thin asparagus, touch ends snapped off

5 large eggs

1/4 cup milk

Freshly ground black pepper

2 teaspoons unsalted butter

1. For the toasts: With a fork, combine the cheese, mint, pepper to taste, and 1 tablespoon milk in a small bowl. If the mixture is still lumpy, add more milk as needed until smooth. Place the bread slices in the toaster, but do not toast them yet. (The bread slices can also be placed on a baking sheet, ready to go under the broiler, if your toaster wont' accommodate such large slices.)

2. For the Eggs: Bring about 1 quart water to boil in a medium saucepan. Add the salt to taste and the asparagus and cook just until crisp-tender, about one minute. Drain the asparagus.

3. Beat together the eggs, milk, and salt and pepper to taste with a fork in a medium bowl. When combined, add the asparagus and beat just to incorporate.

4. Place the butter in a medium nonstick skillet and turn the heat to medium-high. When the butter foams, swirl to coat the pan bottom with the butter. Add the egg mixture and wait until it just begins to set on the bottom, about 20 seconds. With a rubber spatula, begin to fold the set eggs back toward the middle of the pan. Continue using a folding motion to turn the set pieces back on top of each other. After about a minute or so, the eggs should be fluffy and piled about 1 inch high. Use the spatula to divide the eggs into several pieces and flip them to finish cooking. The whole process, from start to finish, should take about 2 minutes. The idea is not to scramble the eggs, but rather to fold them so they emerge fluffy and light from the pan.

5. To finish the Dish: At the same time the eggs are cooking, toast the bread. Spread the feta mixture over the two toasts and place one on each plate. Divide the eggs between the toasts, piling them high over the feta. Serve immediately.