Showing posts with label vegetarian. Show all posts
Showing posts with label vegetarian. Show all posts

Grilled Summer Whole-Wheat Flatbread

Tuesday, June 18, 2013
 
It’s summer time… (Enter Rascal Flats tune here…) and our family tries to both cook and eat outside for every meal. I try to never cook inside to keep the need for air conditioning down to nothing. Now with our new house, which is nestled in the middle of a dozen or so beautiful trees, we never seem to need artificial/conditioned air so I really don’t want to mess up the balance of this wonderful environment we have going! So… the grill is my kitchen in the summer months!
Also, I have learned over the years that the kids just love to have a dinner time “theme.” We have done taco Tuesdays, pizza Fridays, breakfast for dinner night and meatless Mondays and everything else in between. The kids get excited when they know what to expect (but still have a surprise with fillings and toppings etc…). Right now we are all on a pizza/flatbread kick so we have pizza 1-2 nights per week. I really like this basic flatbread recipe for the dough.  It doesn’t contain yeast and it is so easy to throw together. I love a super thin crispy crust that still has a bit of a chew to it. This dough meets those requirements!  This post is especially dedicated to my new friend Pricilla, who isn’t convinced that grilled pizza is a super simple dinner optionJ.  So Pricilla (and everyone else who has never grilled pizza or flatbread) give this a try and let me know how it comes out!

The whole-wheat flatbread dough (serves four)

1 cup whole wheat flour, plus 1 tablespoon for dusting as you roll out the dough
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
¼  teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
¾ cup fat-free Greek yogurt (if your herbs are very moist you may only need ½ cup of yogurt)

No need to get out the mixer (then there is less to wash after dinner).  Just use your hands to mix this dough. Combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and parsley in a medium mixing bowl.  Slowly incorporate the yogurt, adding ¼ cup of yogurt at a time, mixing until the dough is smooth. The dough should just pull together and release from your hands when it’s ready.  Wrap the dough in plastic and let rest for 30 minutes to an hour.

Toppings

This is totally up to you and your taste buds! This pizza was made with our favorite summer toppings:
1 ½ lb ripe fresh beef steak tomatoes
8 ounces of fresh mozzarella, sliced
1 cup of fresh pesto (recipe below)
½ cup fresh basil, chiffonade (fancy term for cutting into long, thin strips) or torn
Balsamic vinegar for drizzling (optional)
 
 

Assembly

 
Pre heat your gas or charcoal grill to medium/high heat. Assemble all of your toppings on a try to take out to the grill with you. Remove dough from plastic wrap and place on a floured board and separate into 2 pieces or 4 if you want to make individual flatbreads. Roll out to desired thickness. You could try and make it pretty and round, but I don’t bother, I like a more rustic shape, AKA I don’t have the patience for perfectly round pizza dough! Oil one side of the dough and slip it onto the grill. Grill until nice grill marks form, about 3 minutes.  Then oil the top of the flat bread and flip it over with a metal grill spatula, like flipping a pancake.
 
Brush the grilled top with pesto (recipe below) then layer the tomatoes and mozzarella. Grill until the bottom is cooked and nice grill marks form, approximately 3 minutes. Slide flatbreads onto a tray or sheet pan and top with basil and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar. Enjoy your grilled pizza and your cool house!
Rustic!
Side one almost done! Time to Flip!
Ready for toppings

Just close the lid and wait for the cheese to start getting all melty:)
 
Add your basil and Enjoy!
 

Basil Pesto

1 garlic clove, peeled
2 cups fresh basil leaves
¼ cup toasted pine nuts
1 tablespoons lemon juice
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
½ cup - 3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
½ cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese
into the bowl of a food processor, add the garlic, basil leaves, pine nuts, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Pulse until finely chopped. With the food processer still running, slowly pour ½ cup of olive oil. Check for a thick, yet smooth consistency, adding more oil if necessary. Transfer to a bowl and stir in ½ cup Parmesan cheese. Adjust seasoning as necessary/to taste.
Follow this peso recipe through adding the oil and freeze for a quick last minute pasta or pizza sauce or sandwich spread. After it’s defrosted add the parmesan!

 
 
 
 
 
Posted by The Junk-Free Chef at 12:01 PM 1 comments
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Simplicity and Balance – Vegan Mexican Spiced Lettuce Wraps

Sunday, September 9, 2012

Oh how I miss the long lazy days of summer! We are in full fall swing now which looks something like this… Liv is in 3rd grade and Jack in Kindergarten, now finally at the same school. That seems like something to celebrate right? Well yes and no… You see Jack starts school at 7:40 and Liv at 7:50 but there is NO, and I mean NO, parking at the school so we have to be there at 7:20 if we have any hope not to be towed from a fire lane. Liv and I walk Jack to class and wait the 20 minutes for Jack to go in, and then I walk Liv to class and kiss her around the corner, so nobody sees, then head back to my car by 7:55. Now kid free, I should have a ton of time right? Well… Jack gets out of school at 11:10, except for on early release Wednesdays when he is out at 10:25. Liv gets out at 2:07, except for on early release Wednesdays when she is out at 1:10. So yep, back and forth and back and forth I drive!

Yesterday I drove to the school at 7:20 did my usual routine of walking the kids to class AND it was my day to volunteer in Jacks class, but not until 8:20! This puts somewhat of a monkey wrench my typical efficient use of time, I mean what to do for 25 min at the SCHOOL? So, I hopped in my car and drove the 2 miles home ran into the house, literally, and started a load of laundry and a load of dishes, watered my little seedlings, fed and watered the chickens and made all of the beds. Then I hopped back into the car and drove back to the school where I ran a table group in Jack’s class that involved helping 23 kindergartners determine what pictures started with the letter F and then cut and pasted them on to a new sheet of paper. I love helping in the classroom! The kids, especially kindergartners, are soooo darn cute! I got out of there at 9:30, not bad except for it was Wednesday so I had to be back to pick up Jack at 10:25 which really means 10:05 if you want to park (legally). So again I was faced with what to do with a short amount of time??? Fortunate for me I keep my gym bag in the car and live only 1 mile away from the gym so off to the gym I went… I got six miles of running in before I was back at school to pick up Jack, ok I was sweaty and maybe not smelling the best but I fit in my work out!

Now I know some of you are thinking yah busy until 2:10 then what? Well HOMEWORK every day times two kids (God bless you who have more), Monday both kids have Faith Formation, Tuesday is soccer practice, Wednesday gymnastics, Thursday is soccer practice (again), Friday Rick plays softball and we all typically go as a family to watch, Saturday we have soccer games and then finally Sunday is our day of rest and prayer! So my every minute is spent trying to create efficiency in our family and how we function so we all can enjoy some balance in our lives! Balance between family time and responsibilities, stewardship and indulgence and work and rest. It is all very complicated behind the scenes, so naturally I crave simplicity!

I have mentioned before that I like to balance our meals between animal protein based and vegetable and grain protein based. We typically eat 1-2 vegetarian or vegan dishes per week for dinner and mostly all vegan or vegetarian lunches throughout the week. I have taught my kids that balance is important in all aspects of life, and too much of anything is almost never good. One thing that has been an important lesson for them is balance while you eat. I have taught them to turn their plates while they eat, literally. Eating 1-2 bites from each thing offered on their plate at a time to ensure that when they are full they have had at least some of everything. It is fun for them to remember not to eat all of one item first. But let’s face it sometimes that’s even too completed! So to make life simple we have the foods you can eat with your hands, and even better are the foods that can be eaten with only one hand! Now come on, even if you are a diehard carnivore you have to try this vegan dish! You won’t be sorry you did and I guarantee you will add it to your favorite menus for the nights you have limited time for dinner! The kids LOVE to build their own wraps! This dish offers simplicity and balance for you and your family with little effort involved! Enjoy!



Vegan Mexican Spiced Lettuce Wraps

(adapted from Peas and Thank You)
 
Serves 4 (with left over beans to be used for salad toppers- now that’s efficient!)
2 teaspoons chili powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 tablespoon Olive Oil
1 tablespoon water
3 cups of cooked chickpeas (recipe below), or two 14 oz. cans, drained and rinsed
One head of bibb or red lettuce, leaves removed and washed
1 cup shredded carrots
1 cup jicama, julienned
1 cup chopped tomatoes 
1/2 slice red onion
 1 cup bleu rosemary avocado sauce or guacamole 
1 can sliced olives, drained
1 cup shredded cabbage
¼ cup chopped cilantro
Pickled jalapenos, as desired

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, oregano, cumin, salt, lime juice, oil and water. Add chickpeas and marinate for at least 30 minutes or overnight.

Place chickpeas on a baking sheet covered in aluminum foil. Bake for 20-30 minutes, stirring once during cooking, until chickpeas are slightly crispy. Prepare lettuce leaves and rest of trimmings and place in small bowls for little hands to grab:)



Jack ate four wraps!


Liv ate a "deconstructed" wrap:)
 

Make your Own Chickpeas

2 cups dried chickpeas
1 yellow onion, peeled and quartered
4 cloves garlic, crushed and unpeeled
1 bay leaf
3 sprigs of fresh thyme
2 tablespoon salt

Overnight soak 2 cups dried chickpeas in cold water, covering chickpeas by at least 6 inches. Drain chickpeas and place in stockpot. Cover chickpeas with cold water by two inches. Add onion, garlic, thyme and bay. Bring water to a boil, reduce heat add salt and simmer for 1 ½-2 hours or until tender. Drain chickpeas and discard onion, garlic, thyme and bay. Spread chickpeas out on a sheet pan to cool. Use immediately or refrigerate for up to five days.

May you have balance and simplicity this week!

Nicole
Posted by The Junk-Free Chef at 4:07 PM 0 comments
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