Category Archives: Vegetarian

Pomegranate and Mint Couscous

Couscous is fabulous because it’s kind of fancy (I mean, it’s called couscous) and it’s just so dang easy to make. My favorite type is Near East’s Toasted Pine Nut which is in any grocery store in the rice aisle.

The toasted pine nuts already give it great flavor, but then you can add delicious “accessories” to make it your own. Sometimes I saute garlic, mushrooms and toss in some dried apricots. This week, I bought a pomegranate, added those little red seeds of delish with some fresh mint. It was awesome! The hardest part was getting the pomegranate seeds out. Here’s a video to show you how– I love how this dude makes reference to “you scalp it, you know, like a human being.” Um, creepy…but his technique is pretty awesome.

That’s the hardest part, y’all. Perfect side dish– the mint adds so much fresh flavor and the pomegranate is not only delicious, the color is GORG.

I served it with my Wasabi Cream Salmon and Green Beans with Mushrooms.

Pomegranate and Mint Couscous

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Ingredients

1 box of Near East Toasted Pine Nut Couscous
2-3 Tb chopped fresh mint
1/2 cup of fresh pomegranate seeds

Instructions

Follow box directions to make couscous
Chop mint
Extract pomegranate seeds
Add mint and pomegranate to couscous before serving

http://whatsonparkersplate.flywheelsites.com/2014/03/pomegranate-and-mint-couscous/

Easy Green Beans and Mushrooms

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When I say, “easy,” I mean EASY. Like 4 ingredients easy.

1. Green beans

2. Mushrooms

3. Butter

4. Kosher salt

I love nothing more than to eat raw green beans– it reminds me of summers with my Grandma Ronnie, helping her pop the ends off the beans and eating as many as I was throwing into the pressure cooker for her to steam! She always added a tab of butter to the beans so they would be buttery and delish by the time they were plated up.

I went for years with plain old (boring) steamed beans with NO butter when I was doing a low calorie diet. But now that butter is regular accessory in my low carb/high fat lifestyle, some buttery mushrooms thrown into the mix make this simple side dish *star of the dinner* worthy.

Just steam, saute, mix and eat, y’all!

Easy Green Beans and Mushrooms

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Ingredients

4 cups fresh green beans (ends removed)
1 carton of fresh mushrooms
2 Tb butter
kosher salt

Instructions

Remove the ends of the green beans and steam for 10 minutes.
While beans are steaming, put 1 Tb butter in a saute pan and stir in mushrooms. Saute until lightly browned and golden. They should be done when your beans are.
When beans are steamed, add in 1 Tb butter and fold in the mushrooms.
Sprinkle some kosher salt on the beans and mushrooms and serve immediately.

http://whatsonparkersplate.flywheelsites.com/2014/03/easy-green-beans-and-mushrooms/

Vegan Spiced Walnut “Meat” Taco with Cashew “Cheese”

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So, y’all know my nickname is the Bacon Babe, right? I’m all about meat eating fabulousness– and as far as I’m concerned, bacon is one of the 4 four groups. But, sometimes, it’s healthy to have a meatless meal ~~when you’re out of bacon~~ just to change up the flavor profiles, yo!

So, this is one of the ONLY purely vegan meals I make. It passed the “dude test” with flying colors– JP tried it and asked me if he was eating PORK! (I consider that a success story. Vegans reading might cringe at the thought, though, LOL!) Anyhoo, it’s freaking good.

I taught a group of ladies how to make this meal at my first cooking class– the cashew cheese was the biggest hit, ever.

It’s sooo worth learning how to use a food processor for this. Just use the “S” blade and pulverize the nuts with the ingredients. The red pepper turns the cashews into a pretty shade of Doritos (!) and tastes even better. You can spread this “cheese” on kale chips, bake them and then do a fake out with your kiddos and let them think they ARE eating Doritos. It’s that good, y’all. Seriously. Who’s hungry??!

Save your bacon for another day….

Vegan Spiced Walnut “Meat” Taco with Cashew “Cheese”

Ingredients

For the walnut tacos

1 cup walnuts
4-6 red cabbage leaves

For the walnut spice mix

2 Tb chipotle chili powder
1 Tb coriander
1 Tb cumin
1 Tb dried cilantro
1 tsp onion powder
½ tsp cinnamon
½ tsp kosher salt

For the cashew cheese

1 cup raw cashews (soak in water for 1-2 hours and drain)
1 clove garlic
2 Tb olive oil
1 roasted red pepper
2 Tb nutritional yeast
1 Tb soy sauce
Kosher salt to taste

For the mango salsa

1 mango diced
1 jalapeño
2-3 Tb fresh chopped cilantro
2 Tb chopped red onion
½ lime squeezed

Instructions

For the walnut tacos

Take the one cup of walnuts and pulse in the food processor a few times to crumble into smaller bits (so it looks like taco meat).
Soak walnuts for 3 hours and drain.
Mix spice mix together and sprinkle a couple teaspoons on the walnuts until coated. (You won't need to use the entire amount of spice mix-- just put it in a baggie or a spice container to use for a later time. The spice mix is fabulous on ground chicken, ground turkey or beef as well.)
Preheat oven to 350 and bake the spiced walnuts on a rimmed cookie sheet for 5-7 minutes until warm.

For the cashew cheese

Soak cashews for 3 hours. Drain.
Add cashews and all the other ingredients to the food processor and mix until smooth-- about 1-2 minutes. You can always thin it out by adding a little water to the mixture, but I like the consistency of this proportion a lot. It's cheeeeeesy!

For the mango salsa

Combine ingredients and top on to your taco.
*I like to layer the walnuts on the cabbage leaves, then the cashew cheese, then the mango salsa.

http://whatsonparkersplate.flywheelsites.com/2014/03/vegan-spiced-walnut-meat-taco-with-cashew-cheese/

Shaved Cucumber and Edamame Salad with Creamy Avocado Dressing

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When I was planning the menu for JP’s birthday bonanza feast, I decided to make spicy seared ahi tuna and wanted to serve a cool, refreshing salad to offset the heat.

Meet the most delish cucumber salad. Ever.

And as the 1% of women who really don’t care for salad (hello, save me a double helping of the meat and cheese, please!) I really dig it. And consequently, I ate most of it. Sorry birthday boy.

The shaved cucumber makes for a beautiful presentation and the dressing can double as a dang dip it’s so yum. Sprinkle some black sesame seeds on top and you’ve got a super easy, fancy looking gourmet salad.

Shaved Cucumber and Edamame Salad with Creamy Avocado Dressing

Ingredients

1 English cucumber
1/2 tsp kosher salt (more to taste)
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 peeled whole avocado
1/2 cup cilantro
4 garlic cloves
2 1/2 Tb rice vinegar
juice from 1/2 lime
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 Tb thinly sliced red bell peppers
1 cup peeled edamame
3 scallions chopped
1 tsp black sesame seeds

Instructions

For the salad

Using a vegetable peeler, peel the cucumber down to the core (where you start to see the seeds and save half of the cucumber core)
Cut the long peeled strips in half and put in a bowl
Add edamame and scallions to cucumber
Put salad in fridge while you make the dressing

For the dressing

In a food processor, combine avocado, mayo, garlic cloves, salt, vinegar, cilantro, lime juice and 1/2 cucumber core and heavy cream. Pulse until smooth.
Right before serving, add the bell pepper and fold in the dressing.
Top with black sesame seeds.
Best served chilled.

http://whatsonparkersplate.flywheelsites.com/2014/02/shaved-cucumber-and-edamame-salad-with-creamy-avocado-dressing/

Holy Delish Hummus and Pita Bread

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Holy Delish

What was that Jesus line? “I am the bread of life….” Well, it would’ve been more like “I will die without hummus on this bread” if he had tasted this shiznittabam…

Homemade hummus AND homemade pita bread? Read on, lovelies and you’ll never wanna go store bought again.
Culinary GOD-dess has spoken.

Ingredients

2 cups canned garbanzo beans, drained

1/3 cup tahini

1/4 cup lemon juice

1 teaspoon salt

4 cloves fresh garlic

4 tablespoons olive oil

1 pinch paprika

1 teaspoon minced fresh parsley

1/2 jalapeno pepper with seeds

Combine in a food processor.

Add additional oil and salt for desired taste and consistency.

PARKER’S PITA BREAD

1 tablespoon active dry yeast

1 tablespoon of sugar

1/2 cup of warm water

4 cups of bread flour

2 teaspoons of salt

1 cup of warm water

1 tablespoon of olive oil

Directions: Dissolve the yeast and sugar in 1/2 cup of warm water and set aside, covered for 15 minutes. Dissolve salt in the remaining 1 cup of warm water.

In a large mixing bowl, add flour and make a well in the center. Add yeast mixture and salt water. Knead with hands for 10 minutes in the bowl. Add olive oil and continue to knead until all oil is absorbed. Shape into a ball in the bowl, cover, and place in a warm area to rise until doubled in volume, approximately 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Punch down the dough and knead for 5 minutes more.

Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C), and lightly oil baking sheets.

Take pieces of dough slightly larger than an egg and roll out on a floured surface to a thickness of 3/8 to 1/4 inch. (For larger or smaller pita bread pieces, take more or less dough). Prick the bread with a fork in several places.

Place on baking sheets and bake at 350°F (175°C) on the lowest oven rack for 2-3 minutes, then turn the pitas over and bake for another 2-3 minutes. Remove from oven and saute in a frying pan with 1 Tb of olive oil until lightly browned. When thoroughly cooled, pitas can be stored in plastic bags in the refrigerator, or frozen.

Before using, brown in a lightly oiled frying pan for a few minutes until browned on both sides.

Curried Butternut Squash Stuffing

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A must-have side dish for your holiday spread!

OK, so I admit it. My signature stuffing up until now has been ~~fatty on a platter~~ a sausage smorgasbord. In fact, when I had Thanksgiving with JP’s family for the first time years ago, we had an entire debate about Stuffing vs. Dressing. Down here in the South, it’s called dressing. Where I come from, dressing is what you put on a salad! So, his family nicknamed my dish, “Yankee Stuffing” and like a true chef from north of the Mason-Dixon line, I loaded it with sausage and sage and butter….

The recipe was a hit, bless their little hearts!

So, when the lovely folks at Whole Foods Market asked me to come up with a recipe for a plant based vegetarian stuffing for our segment, I tried to talk them out of it. But Yankee stuffing is my favorite recipe, I sniffed.

Then, I (reluctantly) took the meat-free challenge. When I actually started experimenting with veggie options, I realized that meat doesn’t have to be the star– (sorry, Jimmy Dean!) Instead, butternut squash took the spotlight. It’s light, but savory and scrumptious!

Standing ovation, please!

Ingredients

1 loaf of ciabatta bread cubed and toasted in oven at 375 for 10 minutes

3 cups butternut squash chopped (steam for 10 minutes)

2 Tb curry powder

1 Tb Tandoori Masala spice mic

1 ½ cups vegetable stock

3-4 Tb sage

3 Tb currants

3 Tb toasted almonds

1 box of fresh sliced mushrooms

1 medium onion diced

3 stalks diced celery

3 garlic cloves diced

Saute in 1 Tb olive oil: Mushrooms, onion, celery and garlic

Add 2 Tb curry powder and 1 Tb Tandoori Masala spice mix to 1 ½ cups vegetable stock

Add vegetable stock with spices to bread, squash and mushroom/onion mixture.

Fold in:

3-4 Tb chopped fresh sage

3 Tb currants

3 Tb toasted almonds

1 tsp of kosher salt plus more to taste.

Mix together and bake at 400 for 10-15 minutes.

Whipped Sweet Potatoes with Pistachios and Sage

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Savory, smooth, crunchy and delish!

Who doesn’t love the Southern classic Thanksgiving sweet potatoes with marshmallows and pecans? Since I’ve been trying to ~~keep my ass in skinny jeans this holiday season~~ cut down on sugar, I was inspired to come up with a savory version that cut the sugar without cutting out the flavor. Meet Whipped Sweet Potatoes with Pistachios and Sage…

Ingredients

3 sweet potatoes (peeled and diced)

8oz container of whipped cream cheese

1/2 stick melted butter (4 Tb)

1 tsp kosher salt

1/2 cup heavy cream or half-n-half

3 roasted garlic cloves (roasted in jackets at 400 for 15 minutes, drizzled with olive oil)

Chopped fresh sage

1/2 cup toasted, crushed pistachios

Directions: Boil sweet potatoes until tender, about 15 minutes. Drain and add the rest of ingredients to your mixer. Blend until smooth. Top with sage and pistachios.

Creamed Jalapeño Corn

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Creamy, corny yum…

I normally make roasted corn with jalapeños as a side dish for any Mexican meal because it’s JP’s favorite. This time, I decided to change it up a bit and add a creamy, cheesy component. Ever since I discovered the joys of low-carb living, adding cheese to meals is a welcome indulgence! Corn isn’t exactly low-carb, but I consider it a culinary “accessory”– a little goes a long way.

Ingredients

4 ears of corn on the cob, kernels sliced off

1 fresh jalapeño diced

4 oz full fat cream cheese (half a box)

1/4 cup – 1/2 cup heavy cream (depending on what consistency you want)

Palmful of chopped fresh cilantro

1 Tb olive oil

Directions: Saute corn and jalapeño in olive oil on medium heat until softened, about 10 minutes. I like to crank up the heat a bit and get the corn a little charred, but that’s just me. Then add the cream cheese and heavy cream and stir until melted and combined. Top with fresh cilantro.

Shaken Taters…AKA the best damn roasted potatoes. Ever.

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Shake Your Money Maker!

Yes, that is my messy, 1970’s drab chic kitchen. Notice the box of wine and my Goodwill microwave. That’s how I roll, y’all! I digress.

I like my martinis and my potatoes SHAKEN, not stirred.

I grew up with a New England family who served rich roasts like pot roast and roast chicken every Sunday and there were always roast potatoes with thick gravy on the plate. My Mom, her mother and her mother before her all made roast potatoes the same way: Peel, boil, roast. And they were delicious. But I add a step.

SHAKE, baby SHAKE! The potato slam displaces the starch, so the insides stay soft and the outside gets crispi-fied. (Sorry Mom, Grandma Ronnie and Great Grandma Nea, but mine are waaaaaay better!)

Here’s how to make them. Preheat oven to 400. Peel and slice Yukon gold potatoes lengthwise like this:

Peel then slice

Then toss them into a big pot of boiling water for exactly 5 minutes. You want them to get a little tender, but not soft enough to mash. I always put a timer on or my ADD brain will get distracted and I’ll overcook them. 5 minutes. That’s it! Drain immediately.

Drain your taters!

OK, the fun part is about to start. Are you ready? Put the taters BACK INTO THE POT WITH THE LID ON.

Hold onto the top and sides and shakebabyshakebabyshake!! Like the classic Cars song goes, Shake it up! You’re gonna make the taters a little messy– that’s the whole plan. Trust me. Do it for a solid 30 seconds. You’re making the best potatoes of your life and getting a bicep workout. Your welcome!

There should be little bits of tater all over your lid after the shake!

Now, drizzle some olive oil in the pan and stir to coat. I pour the shaken taters onto a greased wide rimmed cookie sheet and sprinkle with some Montreal Steak Seasoning. I love that stuff. Bake for 20-25 minutes and then turn over. Bake another 20-25 minutes until thoroughly crispi-fied.

They’ll look like this:

Shaken Taters, baked and ready to eat

Shaken Taters are good enough to serve alone. Warning: Carb coma may occur.

Nut-free Pesto

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Go nuts…without the nuts!

Lately, nuts have been ~~giving me itchy, bumpy hives~~ doing not so nice things to my complexion. Pesto is one of my favorite toppings for pasta and pizza– hell, I’d even spoon that green goodness onto my cereal. Pesto Crispies, anyone? Anyhoo, I needed an allergy-free solution: I give you, NUT-FREE pesto. Almost, as good as the real deal.

INGREDIENTS

2 cups basil leaves

3 Tb parsley

1/3 cup freshly grated parmesan

1/3 cup + 3 Tb olive oil

1/4 cup unsalted sunflower seeds

4 fresh garlic cloves

1/2 ts of salt (salt to taste since the parmesan adds quite a bit of saltiness)

Blend all ingredients in food processor. Add a Tb or two of water if you want to thin it down. Spread on fish before baking, or mix into pasta….or dip pieces of pita into it! DELISH!