So last week I told you about the fruit stand I went to where I found these peaches, but I neglecting to tell you about all the wonderful veggies they had too.  So I’m back to tell you they had VEGGIES!  Lot’s of them and they were beautiful!  They had peppers, zucchini, sweet corn, fresh herbs and so much more.  What does a girl do with all this stuff looking back at you.  You pick them up and bring them home and get busy in the kitchen.  That’s what happen and this orzo salad was born.  It’s light, it’s fresh, and it’s filled with all things good…well at least all things good in my book.  After all it’s filled with a rainbow of colors and in your mind you sing “Over the Rainbow” when you make it and then you smile.  I just love that!  Again, that’s why this salad is pretty darn good in my book. 

We enjoyed it as a side salad and we also enjoyed it with some grilled chicken tossed with it.  That’s the beauty of salads like these you can pair it with something or leave it the way it is and it’s still a rock star!  It’s already a planned side dish for the 4th of July due that reason. 

Enjoy everyone!  See you back here soon.

Grilled Vegetable Orzo Salad

Print Recipe

1 large red bell pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces

2 large zucchini, cut into 1-inch pieces

2 tablespoons olive oil

sea salt and fresh ground black pepper

1/2 pound orzo

1 1/2 cups fresh baby spinach, chopped

1 ear sweet corn, kernels cut from cob

3 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped

Dressing:

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon grapeseed oil

3 tablespoons lemon juice

1 teaspoon lemon zest

1/4 teaspoon seat salt

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Instructions:

Heat a grill pan over medium-high heat. 

In a small bowl, toss red pepper and zucchini in 2 tablespoons olive oil, salt, and pepper.  Place vegetables in the preheat grill pan.  Grill vegetables until soften.  About 5 to 8 minutes.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook orzo according to package instructions.  Rinse with cold water until the orzo is no longer warm.  Pour orzo into a large bowl and toss with grilled vegetables, spinach, corn, and basil.

Whisk together olive oil, grapeseed oil, lemon juice, lemon zest, and salt and pepper.  Pour dressing over salad and toss until dressing is incorporated.  Season to taste with additional salt and pepper.

Serve at room temperature or cold.

Get Grillin’ with Family Fresh Cooking and Cookin’ Canuck, sponsored by Ile de France Cheese, Rösle, Emile Henry, Rouxbe and ManPans.

It’s Friday evening here in Hong Kong and Friday morning back at home.  My first week down and another week and half to go.  It’s been a busy week so far and I’m still trying to adjust to the time zone change.  I’ve got my fingers crossed that  tonight is the night where I can finally get some much needed sleep.  Tomorrow is another busy day but I have to say Hong Kong is a very lively place to be.  It’s not my first time here but I have to say each time I’m amazed by this city.  It’s like New York City.  There is fashion, lights, glitzy, people, food, and so much more.  Fun place to be.  I plan on posting pictures soon so stay tuned.

Now moving on to this couscous….I love asparagus and I’m so happy it’s spring time and aspragus is in season.  It’s one of my very favorite vegetables.  When I was at Whole Foods getting things stocked up for the family before leaving for China the asparagus was calling my name as I stocked up on fruits.  Made my way to the asparagus and gave in and added a bunch to the cart.  Once I was home I decided to make this light and fresh couscous for lunch by using some things that were in my cabinets.  Turned out fabulous and I wish I had some right now as I type this from my hotel room in Hong Kong.  Once I’m home this is on my list to make again.  It was light, fresh and perfect for spring time.  And if you want you could add chicken. 

I hope everyone is well and have a fabulous weekend! 

Asparagus Primavera with Couscous

Print Recipe

1 1/2 cups dry couscous

1 pound asaragus, rinsed and bottom thirds snapped off

1 cup shredded carrots

15 ounce White Northern beans, rinsed and drained

2 cups loosley packed baby spinach, cut into strips

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar

2 tablespoons orange juice

1 teaspoon garlic, minced

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

Instructions:

Fill a shallow pot with about 1-inch of water and bring to a boil.

In a separate medium pot, bring 1 1/2 cups water to a boil, then add couscous.  Remove from heat, stir and cover.  Couscous will be ready in 5 minutes.

Cut asparagus into pieces.  Place asparagus and carrots into shallow pot of boiling water, reduce heat to low, cover and let simmer for 5 minutes.  Remove from heat and drain immediately. 

In a large salad bowl, toss remaining ingredients, except parmesan.  Add asparagus and carrots and toss again.

To serve, fluff couscous with a fork before spooning about 1 cup couscous onto each of plates.  Spoon salad over top, dividing evenly and garnish with parmesan.

Sorry I have been missing in action everyone.  Lot has been going on in my busy house.  The hubby and I had the chance to go on a mini getaway this past weekend to Tranquility Bay in Marathon Florida.  My parents were in town and watched the munchkins while we had our very first vacation since the girls birth…so a very long time!!  Going away made us realize how much we need a little getaway every now and then so we can have some me time.  We enjoyed every minute and secretly wished we had one more day.  By the way if you ever make a trip to the Key’s, I highly recommend the Tranquility Bay resort…heaven!  We arrived home on Sunday to two sick little girls that were coming down with a cold which translated to two grumpy little girls.  On Monday we got a phone call from school that the girls had to come home which meant Tuesday they had to stay home too.  Daddy was the fortunate one to stay home…come Tuesday night daddy was sick!  The house is gradually getting better and my fingers are still closely crossed that the little bug they had stays clear from me.  With all this being said I haven’t been able to spend much time in the kitchen which means no post.  But I’m back with this pasta dish which I enjoy both warm and cold.  You would never know this pasta is gluten-free too.  It really is delicious and it’s packed with veggies and my very favorite pesto recipe.  My go-to homemade pesto is not like your normal pesto.  The spinach packed inside the pesto gives you a full serving of vegetables and you combined it with the vegetables already packed inside this pasta and you add an additional serving.  It’s my new favorite pasta for that very reason.  Enjoy everyone!!

Gluten-Free Pesto Chicken Veggie Pasta

Print Recipe

12 ounce package Gluten-Free Organic Brown Rice Pasta

1 bunch asparagus, washed and trimmed and chopped

1 1/2 cups baby spinach, chopped

2 carrots, washed peeled and diced

2/3 cup frozen oraganic peas, thawed

2 cups cooked chicken, chopped

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon minced garlic

Homemade Spinach Pesto

2 cups tightly-packed baby spinach (about 3 oz)

1 cup tightly-packed fresh basil

1 clove (about 2 teaspoons) garlic, minced

1 tablespoon freshly grated Parmesan Cheese

3 tablespoons olive oil

Instructions:

Cook pasta according to package instructions.  Drain pasta and rinse with cold water to stop it from cooking further.  Set aside.

In a small saucepan, bring water to a boil.  Place chopped asparagus into boiling water for 1 to 2 minutes to slightly cook asparagus.  Drain and rinse in cold water to stop the cooking.

In a large bowl combine pasta, asparagus, spinach, carrots, peas, chicken, olive oil and garlic and toss.  Set aside.

To make pesto: Place spinach, basil, garlic, cheese in a food processor and with the food processor running (on but not pulsing), add olive oil through the food chute in a slow drizzle until thick, smooth pesto forms.

Add pesto to pasta and mix to combine.

Serve warm or cold and enjoy.

The week is almost over and only a few more days left of the cleanse.  A part of me wants to jump up and say yippee!!!  Yippee that it’s almost over and not once have I cheat (even though at times it has been tempting).  And then another part of me wonders if I can do it for a few more days.  Hmmmm???  Am I crazy?  Possibly?  I’m 15 days in now and I have to tell you I have felt a huge difference in how I feel.  It’s also made me realize a lot about what I put in my body.  Not that I ate bad in the first place but it opens your eyes to other things like the cup of coffee I drank every morning or the occassional glass of wine I had on the weekends and that I really don’t need those things.  Don’t get me wrong a part of me misses but a big part of me doesn’t.  I do know one thing I am looking forward to not having a smoothie for lunch and dinner.  I think I’ve tried every combination and some have been good and some not so much, but I’m looking forward to the option of having a non-blended breakfast and smoothie this time next week.  I hope I haven’t bored everyone too much with the cleanse and the recipes.  I’ve tried to throw in some other recipes along the way and I’m working on a super sweet treat for next week to extend the pre-Valentine celebration.  But I have to say the cleanse has allowed me to get in my kitchen and learn a few things about ingredients and foods that I didn’t pay attention to in the past.  And I am very thankful for that aspect.  Especially when it comes to feeding the girls and making smart choices when it comes to certain foods.  Ok, enough with my gibber gaber let’s talk about this salad.  It’s another healthy recipe and it was something I honestly tossed together one Saturday at lunch time.  I just came home from Whole Foods with my vegetables and fruits and I was starving.  After making the girls their lunch I started to work on my lunch and this recipe is what came of it.  It happen to be my lunch time meal for most of the week too.  I do have to warn you it’s a random mix of things in this salad, but in the end it was delicious!  So with all that being said I thought I would share it with you in case you are looking for a healthy lunch time salad.  Of course, you can add and take away what you like or don’t like.  The pears in this salad really made it for me because it added that slight bite of sweet which I have missed a bit lately.  So if you are questioning leaving those out I would keep them in.  And if you don’t like them in there you can blame me and I’ll take full credit.

Ok, so here it goes…enjoy everyone and have a super fabulous weekend!  See you next week with some other recipes.

Brown Rice Chicken Veggie Salad

Print Recipe

2 cups cooked short-grain brown rice

1 cup chicken, cooked and cut into cubes (I used a rotisserie chicken)

2 cups broccoli florets

1/2 cup carrots, diced

1/2 cup chickpeas

1/4 cup green onion, diced

1 Asian pear (or pear of choice), chopped

1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped

3 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped

1/2 cup unsalted roasted almonds, chopped

Dressing:

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

2 teaspoons minced garlic

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

fresh ground pepper

Instructions:

Steam carrots and broccoli for a few minutes until they are slightly cooked but still have slight crunch.  Drain and run cold water over the veggies to stop them from cooking.

In a large bowl mix together cooked brown rice, chicken, broccoli, carrots, chickpeas, green onion, parsley, and basil. Set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk together all the ingredients for the dressing.  Add to the brown rice salad and mix to coat the salad.  Top salad with chopped almonds and stir slightly and serve.

Salad can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 days.

Makes about 4 servings

I’m back with another pomegranate recipe as promised.  It’s the second out of three that I’ll be sharing with you this week.  Thanks for all your wonderful comments on the quinoa salad.  Today’s salad happens to be another healthy (and gluten-free) recipe too.  Sorry, you’ll be seeing a lot of these healthy recipes in the next few weeks as I start my 21-day cleanse tomorrow.  Yikes, little scared about that too.  But let the fun begin!  But don’t worry the baked goods will be back.  I think my husband (and kids) would disown me if I stopped baking sweets.  I will also be sharing some healthy baked goods along this 21-day journey too.  And stay tune as I share more about this cleanse, but let’s get back to the salad.  This salad has the best of two worlds with it’s dose of veggies and fruit.  The apples really add a nice crunchy sweetness to the salad and I think really pulls the salad together.  I have to admit, it was one of those salads that came about in my head as I was starring endlessly in my refrigerator and cabinets.  With the words hmmmm happening at the same time.  Are you envisioning it?  Am I painting the picture for you?  Well, sometimes that’s when the best things come to me.  Of course, I seem to tone out the two little girls and the husband in the background when I’m in this zone too.  Not sure how this happens honestly but it does and it’s absolutely fabulous when it does.  And without further ado….

Broccoli Apple Brown Rice Salad with Pomegranate Herb Dressing

Print Recipe

2 cups cooked brown rice, cooled to room temperature

1 apple, cored and diced (I used Fuji)

2 heads broccoli (about 1 1/2 pounds), cut into florets

1/3 cup almond slices, toasted

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Pomegranate Herb Dressing

3 tablespoons POM 100% Pomegranate Juice

2 1/2 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar or apple cider vinegar

2 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 tablespoons fresh basil

1/2 teaspoon garlic, minced

sea salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste

Instructions:

Cook brown rice according to package instructions and cool to room temperature.

Steam broccoli florets until tender and bright green, about 3 minutes.  Transfer the broccoli to a strainer and run under cold water until it stops cooking. Set aside. 

To make dressing, whisk together all ingredients in a small bowl.

In a large bowl, toss brown rice, broccoli, diced apples, and dressing.  Before serving sprinkle salad with toasted almond slices.

Makes about 4 servings.

Next Page »