Weekday Veg TED Video

What's better than a hot cup of coffee and some TED? Nothing. Got 4 minutes? (of course you do), watch this talk by Graham Hill on how being a weekday vegetarian can exponentially boost your health!

Happy Thursday!

The Great Pumpkin Gnocchi Recipe

Random Thought: 

What if ...we ate through our bellybuttons. I have been pondering this all day.

In other news, it's my parents' 24th anniversary. Yay!, I am so honored to be a a product of their love. Congrats Mom and Dad! In celebration and as a "thank-you" for life, I am making them dinner: pumpkin gnocchi. Gnocchi is a funny word, it sounds like it's spelled Y-o-n-k-y. Thank god, it was never given to me during a spelling bee.


Pumpkin is so underrated and the poor thing is only really utilized during Halloween and Thanksgiving, when in reality it's deserved year-round recognition. Team Pumpkin! It's my first-time attempting to make this veggie pasta, but the recipe looks easy enough so lets go!

What you'll need:

• 1 (15 oz.) Can Pumpkin 
• Nutmeg & All-spice (to taste)
• Cinnamon (1/2 teaspoon or to taste)
• 2 3/4 Cups All-Purpose Whole Wheat Flour
• Minced Garlic
• Salt and Pepper 
• Sauce of choice

Directions:

1.) Mix flour, canned pumpkin and seasonings together to form a pumpkin-y dough.  You may need to keep adding flour until it becomes a doughy consistency.

                                         

2.) You may need to add additional flour if the dough is sticky or falls apart; keep adding small amounts until it's no longer a sticky mess. FYI... taking pictures + rolling dough = a phone covered in flour

3.) Create a lightly floured surface, and divide dough into 6 parts. Pretend you work as an Auntie Annies' pretzel maker and roll each piece into a rope about 1 inch in diameter. This recipe made me realized that Annie would have fired me.

4.) Begin boiling a pot of water...add salt to the water, too!

5.) Take the first rope and cut into 1 inch pieces, roll each in the floured surface so it has a light, floured layer. When cutting, I found that small pieces worked best but do you. Place each rolled "gnocchi" on a floured baking sheet. 

6.) Repeat until all of the ropes have been cut and rolled into lovely gnocchi shapes.

7.) Once the water is boiled, add salt and drop in the gnocchi a handful at a time. Gnocchi are finished when they float to the top (like little buoys). Retrieve each veggie noodle with a slotted spoon as they come afloat.

8.) Gently rinse the gnocchi off with warm water, then plate and top off with hot, tomato sauce!

I was pleasantly surprised that the pumpkin gnocchi had the same consistency as regular, pasta gnocchi; so good! Another success were the green beans (above) which were mixed and marinated in pesto sauce.

 Bon Appetite! 

Super Simple Summer Squash Spaghetti Recipe

Just when I thought I've exhausted all possible uses for squash, I had a foodie epiphany. Spaghetti! I love spaghetti and I love squash, so why not! It makes me wonder why I didn't think of this sooner. I wasn't a veggie lover as a kid, but if my mom disguised squash as pasta then I would have dived in face first.

What you'll need:
1 Medium yellow squash
Potato peeler or grater
Jar of tomato sauce


Flavor Booster Add- ins
Onion (check)
Zucchini (double check)
Garlic Powder
Oregano
Basil


Initially my roommate and I were going to use a potato peeler, but that utensil isn't high on the college priority list. So, we used a cheese grater. Genius. Below, Emily is doing a wonderful grating the yellow summer squash (compliments of our landlord). We thought her bright pink nail polish was a nice contrast against the yellow of the squash...really brought out that yellow hue.

Emily grated long squash strands until she reached the core of the squash. We're like Indians with buffalo in the sense we don't like to waste the leftover parts of our food, but we couldn't find a use for the squash core. We couldn't wear it or burn it for fuel, so we tossed it. Sigh. We also grated in a zucchini and onion for flavor and color.

We sauteed the "noodles" on low heat while sprinkling in some spices. Yes, it looks like a giant pan of mush, but it's going to taste fantastic.

Once cooked, plate and finally top off with some tomato sauce! Nom. Nom. Nom.

Ps. It tastes awesome and it's really easy to whip up.
Pss. Try this out before the summer squash get frost bitten!

  

Don't Fear the Tofu

A year ago if you'd say tofu, I'd say no thanks. It's white, jiggly, and kinda mysterious (I mean how do they make that stuff anyways?). Well, I decided to get over my judgmental attitude and give it a try. Tofu is a great low-fat meatless alternative. It's made from soybeans, so it's packed with protein, iron, calcium and other health benefits. Yay for tofu!

I don't have any fancy tofu recipes, so I thought I'd keep it simple and saute it with some fresh vegetables. Below is the brand of tofu I used; I like that it's a lighter version so it cuts some calories while still keeping all the flavor (well, as much flavor as tofu can have). I'm going to jack-up the tofu with spices to revamp its plain reputation. 

I picked a zucchini, some tomatoes and onions from my garden and sauteed them in a separate pan. Note: Instead of slicing the zucchini, I used a potato cutter to make zucchini ribbons; I cut until I reached the seeded and then threw the core away. It give the zucchini a linguine/noodle look. Its a fun way to change up textures especially at the end of the summer when I have sliced up more zucchinis than I can count. I cut the tofu in cubes and sprinkled it with oregano, basil, and black pepper. I cooked the tofu on high so it would acquire a nice crisp.

I kept flipping the tofu until it turned a nice brown and sauteed the veggies until cooked. My dad said the kitchen smelled pretty darn good,...especially since it was, gasp, tofu (he isn't ready yet to trade in his juicy steak for jiggly tofu but, he did try it!...there's still time to convert him).

Once cooked, plate and eat! So simple and, yet, so good. Congrats tofu, you've overcome your plain stereotype and proved yourself a tasty, meat substitute. I say don't judge a book by its cover, or in this case...a tofu by its tofu-ness. Give it a try and it may surprise you. Team Tofu!

  

Healthy Vegetarian Stuffed Eggplant Recipe

I have never stuffed an eggplant or really anything besides a stocking or my stomach; but the opportunity arose this weekend at my local farmer's market. I was magnetically drawn to this beautiful, plump eggplant that was begging stuff meee and eat meeee; so, of course, I must honor its last wishes.

I found this awesome stuffed eggplant recipe from my BFF, Betty Crocker (she's always clutch in these situations).  The recipe calls for ground meat, but I'm going to negate this ingredient to make a delicious vegetarian dish a la moi; plus I can find most of the ingredients in my garden! Eureka. My parents are pumped that I'm making dinner tonight, so in the famous words of Paula Dean: here we go y'all.

What you'll need:

1 large eggplant

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1 onion, diced small (about 1 cup)

1 red bell pepper, diced small (about 1 cup)

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley

1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves

1 1/4 cups grated Romano cheese

1/2 cup panko crispy bread crumbs

1 whole egg

2 small tomatoes, chopped
1  medium zucchini
1 medium yellow squash


Firstly, heat the oven to 350.

Freshly picked veggies from the garden with our main star (far right)

Next, slice open and scoop out your lovely eggplant. I felt like I was preparing my pumpkin for carving, and in a way it's the same idea except you don't carve your eggplant (but I mean, I guess you could...if you do, send me pictures). Leave enough of the eggplant meat intact, so the halves keep their shape. Put the eggplant "guts" in a separate bowl.

I don't know if there is a way around the seeds, but I kept 'em. I think it gives the dish a little more panache, don't you think? Next, take the eggplant "guts" and warm over the stove with water until soft.

While that cooks nicely, chop up your veggies. I added a zucchini and yellow squash in lieu of the meat, but you can add any veggies you want, be creative...this is your time to shine, y'all!

Cook the veggies until sauteed and the eggplant is soft. How pretty. Next, mix the above with the picture below (1 egg, 1/4 bread crumbs, 1/2 cheese and herbs).

+

Mix everything together in a gigantic bowl and you're almost there. I think this was the most involved recipe I have ever taken on from the picking to the chopping to the mixing to the packing; but my dad just walked in and asked "what smells so good", so I know I'm on the right track.

Lastly, scoop the mixture into your hallowed eggplant halves. Stuff as much as you can; you're really going to have to put your snowball packing skills to use.

=

Pretty!

YUM. Sprinkle the rest of the bread crumbs and cheese on top along with some chopped up tomatoes. Stick those suckers in the oven for about 50 minutes and watch carefully. The 50 minutes gave me enough time to clean (ew) and write this post (yay).

She's beautiful!; I feel like a proud mother. It's so funny how a meal can take over an hour to prepare but only minutes to eat; this was definitely worth the preparation though. It was really fresh, organically flavorful and super dooper healthy. Even my dad, whose a "meat & potatoes-kinda-guy," liked it...now that's saying something.

Bon Appetit, y'all.

The Scary Side of the College Cafeteria

Forget what you know about the happy-go-lucky tales of a Bob and Larry. This gruesome tale is about vicious vegtables on steroids and...with vampire fangs (sounds more like the Twilight Zone than Twilight, and you're right). So last week, I went to my school's dining hall for some laxative-infused grub. Thought it would be a positive experience, enjoyable even. No. Above is the sheer madness I encountered--- a picture of the nutritional value of a (*gasp*) vegetarian item....


Here are a few comments (not calories *cough-cough*) I would like to interject:

(1) 3,770 calories is more calories than Michael Phelps eats at dinner time (Yes, I looked it up), and not to burst anyones hopes and dreams, but I don't think we're all gold medalist swimmers.

(2) I now know why my school is in the middle of a rainy season....to negate all that sodium

(3) It makes you wonder how many calories are in the non-vegetarian dishes!...What are we? A pack of wolves? (oh, wait...)

(4) The real reason for the Freshman 15 500

(5) and finally my last plea...why, dining hall, why. As stressed out students, we already eat enough of our feelings. No need to encourage us, we got it under control.


I am all for eating healthy, but beware--not all vegetarian meals are people friendly (unless you're Michael Phelps). Remember: Not all Veggie Tales end happily