Overnight Oats w/ Rosemary and Vanilla

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I like to make a big batch of overnight oats to have through the week for fast and easy post-yoga breakfasts. For this one I used vanilla and rosemary to flavor it. I love rosemary in almost anything, most people think of it as a seasoning reserved for savory dishes but I think it’s great incorporated into breakfasts and desserts too. Not to mention its many health benefits; it’s rich in iron, calcium and vitamin B6. According to some studies it has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, improves digestion and prevents brain aging.  But more importantly it just tastes good! Our rosemary plant has TONS of flowers right now, which the bees love, but I also think are very pretty so I picked some for a garnish on my oats. They are edible and taste pretty much like rosemary but a bit more flowery- go figure.

{4 servings}

  • 2 cups of rolled oats
  • 3 1/2 cups water
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp nutmeg
  • dash of salt
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • dash of ground ginger
  • 1 1/2 tbsp chia seeds
  • 1 1/2 tbsp flax seeds
  • 1 tbsp hemp seeds
  • 4 rosemary sprigs

toppings ideas:

  • granola
  • almond butter
  • crystallized ginger
  • pomegranate seeds
  • tangerine slices
  • toasted coconut
  1. in a medium sized tupperware, combine oats, water and spices then put in the fridge for 4 hours or overnight
  2. use a blender or food processor to blend part of the oats to make a smoother consistency, I blended about 3/4 of the soaked oats to make it on the more creamy side
  3. return it to the tupperware and add chia, flax and hemp seeds and stir to incorporate- these will thicken it up overnight and give it more texture
  4. return to fridge overnight, in the morning serve some up and top with your choice of goodies!

© 2016, domenicadreamsofcalamari. All rights reserved.

Farro with Crispy Prosciutto, Toasted Walnuts and Feta

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Farro is one of my favorite grains. It’s good for you, goes a long way and has a great texture. Crisping up prosciutto is also a great way to add texture and lots of flavor. The apricots, feta and walnuts balance out this ‘salad’ with sweet-salty-earthy flavors.

  • 2 cups pearled farro (dry)
  • 8 oz (1/2 lb) prosciutto
  • 1 cup walnuts
  • 1/2 cup feta
  • 1/2 cup scallions
  • 1 cup dried apricots
  • dash of nutmeg
  • glug of champagne vinegar
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • a couple of handfuls of spinach
  1. pre-heat oven to 350º F and spread walnuts on a small baking tray and toast for 8 minutes
  2. cook farro according to instructions (2 cups farro, 4 cups salted water)
  3. in a skillet heat one tablespoon olive oil and lay prosciutto in one flat layer, cook for 15 minutes on low or until brown on the bottom then flip each piece and continue cooking until crispy, remove from pan and let cool
  4. move farro to a large bowl when finished cooking and season to taste with remaining tablespoon olive oil, champagne vinegar and nutmeg
  5. dice dried apricots into small pieces, slice green onions, tear prosciutto and break walnuts into smaller pieces and crumble feta into the farro bowl
  6. when you’re almost ready to serve, roughly chop or tear spinach and stir into the salad

© 2016, domenicadreamsofcalamari. All rights reserved.

Salmon Tacos w/ Tzatziki and Quick Pickled Veggies

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{serves 3}

  • 1/2 lb salmon
  • 3 tortillas (maybe a couple more)
  • tzatziki sauce (garlic yogurt sauce)
  • lettuce or shredded cabbage, tomatoes, any additional taco fillings

for the quick pickled veg:

  • 3 small cucumbers
  • 1 medium sized white onion
  • 1 cup water
  • 2 cups white vinegar
  • 1/2 tbsp black peppercorns
  • 1 tsp white sugar
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp coriander
  • 5 sprigs fresh dill
  1. slice cucumbers lengthwise into long thin strips and slice onion
  2. in a large jar or other glass container combine all pickling ingredients (except for the cucumbers and onions)
  3. when this vinegary mixture is all combined add the cucumbers and onions and let sit until ready to eat
  4. grill or bake salmon as preferred and assemble tacos

© 2016, domenicadreamsofcalamari. All rights reserved.

Chocolatey Date and Banana Breakfast Bowl

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This one goes out to the late Beach City Burrito. Which closed a long time ago and has been many things since but still haunts my memory with its date shakes. When I was learning to surf as a youngin with my dad, the mention of a date shake was a sure fire way of getting me out there even in the worst conditions. They came in big styrofoam cups and were so creamy! What was their secret? We’ll never know. And I’m sure they were nowhere near healthy.

Well, life goes on so I guess I’ll just work on perfecting my rendition. This really wasn’t anything like ye old BCB date shake but it had dates and bananas and tasted really really good so.. there’s a connection.

  • 3 dates
  • 1 1/2 frozen bananas + a couple slices of a non-frozen one for garnish (optional)
  • 1/2 tbsp cocoa powder (unsweetened)
  • a few dashes cinnamon
  • 1 tbsp greek yogurt
  • 2 tbsp sunflower seed butter (or your nut butter of choice)
  • a splash water
  • chia seeds/ flax seeds
  1. pit dates and cut one in quarters for garnish (optional)
  2. in a blender blend frozen bananas, yogurt, sunflower seed butter, cocoa powder and some cinnamon and some water
  3. add water as needed for your desired consistency
  4. pour into a bowl (or cup, whatever floats your boat) and top with more cinnamon, seeds, banana slices and the last date

© 2016, domenicadreamsofcalamari. All rights reserved.

The Mean Green Smoothie Bowl

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So I’ve never been too much of a smoothie lover (wild, I know) but lately I’ve been getting into experimenting with different ingredients and things. I try to find ways to pack as many nutrients into my morning smoothies and that usually (*usually) translates to a pretty tasty way to start the day!

Looking to my parent’s freezer for inspiration, I found huge amounts of frozen spinach and thought I’d go for it. Spinach is pretty interesting. It has protein, fiber and tons of vitamins. It also blends in (literally ha!) with other flavors really well.

  • 1/2 banana
  • 2 tbsp sunflower seed butter- or your nut butter of preference
  • a couple of handfuls of frozen spinach
  • 1/2 cup frozen mango
  • splash of water
  • 1 green tea bag
  • flaxseeds/ chia seeds/ blueberries or whatever goodies you want to sprinkle on top
  1. basically just blend everything together… oh yeah, cut open the tea bag and pour contents in the blender. add water as needed, break apart spinach if it’s clumpy.

© 2016, domenicadreamsofcalamari. All rights reserved.

Chicken Meatballs with Quinoa and Middle Eastern Spices

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These were inspired by some whole foods chicken meatballs I tried that had quinoa in them. The quinoa keeps them moist and gives them an interesting texture. Using quinoa also makes the meat go much further so it’s a very affordable and healthy way to go about making meatballs.

  • 4 garlic cloves
  • 1 lb ground chicken
  • 1 cup + 1 tbsp cooked quinoa (preferably cooked in chicken broth)
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tbsp tahini
  • 2 tbsp panko breadcrumbs
  • 1/2 tsp ras el hanout
  • 1/2 tsp za’tar
  • 1/4 tsp salt/pepper (each)
  • 10 leaves mint
  • 5 sprigs parsley
  1. pre-heat oven to 350ºF
  2. in a large glass bowl combine ground chicken and the cooked quinoa
  3. mince garlic and chop herbs finely (mint and parsley)
  4. add garlic, mint and parsley to the bowl along with the ras el hanout, zatar, salt and pepper, stir to incorporate
  5. add egg, tahini and breadcrumbs and continue to mix until everything is evenly distributed
  6. roll into balls and spread evenly on baking sheets
  7. bake for 15 minutes then turn with tongs and continue baking for another 15 minutes

*especially great served with garlic-dill yogurt sauce

© 2016, domenicadreamsofcalamari. All rights reserved.

Herby Summer Gratin with Squash and Cauliflower

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  • 1 head of cauliflower
  • 1 medium sized summer squash
  • generous sprinkle turmeric
  • 1 cup chicken broth
  • 1 egg
  • 2 tbsp mustard
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 1 pack dill (15ish sprigs)
  • juice of 1/2 of a lemon and zest of a full lemon
  • 1 1/2 cups panko breadcrumbs
  • 10 leaves sage
  • 2 tbsp asiago
  • pinch nutmeg
  • 5 pats butter
  • pepper
  • 2 shallots
  1. parboil cauliflower for 10 minutes (so that it’s still firm but easily stab-able with a knife), then let cool
  2.  cut cauliflower and squash into 1/2 inch pieces and put them in a big pot
  3. mince garlic and add to the pot
  4. add chicken broth, mustard, turmeric, nutmeg, 1/2 the dill (destemmed and minced), lemon zest and lemon juice
  5. add pepper to taste then mix in an egg
  6. pre-heat oven to 350º F
  7. in a small bowl combine bread crumbs, the other half of the dill (destemmed and minced), sage and asiago (grated or cut in really small pieces)
  8. melt 3 pats (fat slices) butter and incorporate into the bread crumb mixture
  9. in a large, shallow baking dish spread cauliflower-squash mixture evenly and bake for 45 minutes
  10. meanwhile melt the other 2 pats butter (and a splash olive oil) over medium low heat and slice shallots
  11. put them in the melted butter and let them cook slowly
  12. remove from oven and spread bread crumb mixture over the top and continue broil for 2 more minutes
  13. serve with extra mustard!

© 2016, domenicadreamsofcalamari. All rights reserved.

Savory Spring Oatmeal

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This savory oatmeal is super simple and so tasty. It’s also kind of healthy comfort food (!)

[serves 1]

  • 1/2 cup oats (dry)
  • a couple of ounces of smoked salmon
  • 5 asparagus
  • salt/pepper
  • 2 tbsp capers
  • 2 spoons yogurt sauce
  1. preheat oven to 350º F
  2. drizzle asparagus with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper and roast until they’re starting to brown
  3. cook oatmeal according to direction
  4. top with asparagus, salmon, yogurt sauce and capers

© 2016, domenicadreamsofcalamari. All rights reserved.

Smoked Salmon Spring Salad w/ Dill-Garlic Yogurt Sauce

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I went to my cousins’ wedding in Seattle and got kind of obsessed with smoked salmon. I literally ate it in at least one meal a day for two weeks, which was possible on my college budget thanks to Costco. They have this two pack of black pepper covered smoked salmon that is definitely, probably not sustainably raised or caught but it is delicious and is justifiable in my little budget. One day I will buy only sustainably caught fish but…you gotta do what you gotta do. So anyways here’s a smoked salmon salad recipe with a kick-ass yogurt sauce.

  • 1/4 cup marcona almonds
  • a couple chunks smoked salmon
  • 1/2 avocado
  • bed of lettuce
  • 1/2 cup thawed frozen peas, corn, green beans (or whatever veggies you’ve got on hand)

dill yogurt sauce*

  • 2 cups plain yogurt (on the runny side preferably)
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 2 tbsp capers w/ 1 tbsp caper water
  • 1 tbsp dijon mustard
  • juice of 1/2 lemon
  • 1/2 tbsp tahini
  • 10 sprigs of dill
  1. mince garlic and juice lemon
  2. in a bowl combine yogurt, garlic, lemon juice, tahini, mustard, capers and caper waters
  3. pick dill of stems and incorporate into sauce
  4. add a dash of water if it’s too thick and continue to stir

*this sauce is better the longer it sits, I’d recommend making it the night before for the ultimate flavor

  1. then assemble the salad and dig in

for more recipes to use any leftover yogurt and smoked salmon check out this savory spring oatmeal or this exciting risotto

© 2016, domenicadreamsofcalamari. All rights reserved.

Cabbage Rice Soup

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This is something I kind of threw together haphazardly and it actually came out pretty well (meaning this is not really a recipe). These are a lot of intense flavors so I would suggest tasting the broth as you go and adding or adjusting as you see fit. Cabbage, as I’ve noted in other blogs, is a beautiful thing because it is cheap, healthy, versatile, tasty AND it lasts a long time so if life happens and you don’t end up eating at home for 5 days (god forbid), your cabbage will still be there. This makes a lot, which is A-okay because it just gets better as the flavors develop through the week. It would be great served with a poached or soft boiled egg on top. It would also be great with some mushrooms or other sauteed veggies in there but it’s also kind of beautiful in its simplicity. Rock on, cabbage.

  • 1 medium sized green cabbage
  • 1 few squirts of sriracha plus more for serving
  • a couple handfuls of rice
  • 4 cups chicken broth
  • 3 garlic cloves
  • 2 tbsp ginger paste
  • 3 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp furikake
  • 1 tbsp sesame oil (or other kind of oil if you don’t have it)
  1. quarter the cabbage then chop/slice it into bite sized pieces
  2. mince garlic
  3. heat oil over medium-high heat in a big shallow pan with a lid, and saute the garlic
  4. add in cabbage and cover with broth
  5. add soy sauce, ginger paste and sriracha and cover, turn down heat and let simmer for a while
  6. once cabbage starts to break down stir and add in rice and furikake and more liquid if need be (water or broth)
  7. continue stirring occasionally until rice is cooked through and you’ve got enough saucy cabbage to last a week!
  8. top with sriracha (optional, obviously) and a sprinkle of furikake

© 2016, domenicadreamsofcalamari. All rights reserved.

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