2! That right 2 super quick Kamut pasta recipes and a litte gloating!

ok so tonight I'm doing a freakin' uber happy dance!!  I ran 5K in UNDER 30 Minutes!!!!!!  thats more than 3.5 minutes off my best time so far!!
I started dabbling in to the world of running a year and a half ago, started with a couple of Km's-  it took almost twenty minutes and I was panting!! Running and I have since had an on again/off again relationship.  I took a LONG hiatus starting end of summer/fall until about a month ago and have since slowly (very slowly) gotten back on that horse!!
Over our relationship (mine and the running's) I've really haven't been as good to running as it has to me.  I stood him up on dates, didn't call, I would always purchase a cute outfit for our dates but they just stayed in my closet.
Its not fair because running has always been good to me, he's always there no matter the day or time, willing to work around my schedule, he's help me fit in to those "skinny jeans", and he always always makes me feel better:)
So tonight I made a commitment to running, I was gonna give him everything I got and I did! And just like always running made me feel AMAZING!!! 

ok...  so enough of my creepy personification of an activity on to the good stuff,  why you really came here..  RECIPES!!!  I apologize for the photos I only had my crappy point and shoot available.

Each of these recipes take less than 15 mins!! 

today's feature is Kamut Pasta!!!  Kamut is awesome super tastey and with 8 grams of fibre and 14 grams of protein per serving it kicks ass!!

number 1!!

LEMON GARLIC KAMUT PASTA WITH CHICKPEAS

• 1 lb Kamut pasta (or whole grain pasta)
• 4 large garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon dried hot red pepper flakes
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• Finely grated zest from lemon
• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 2 cups spinach
• reserve 1 cup of pasta water!
• 1 cup chickpeas

boil (in salted water) pasta and chickpeas (I always boil canned chickpeas for a bit just to soften the up a bit.  I prefer the texture) cook pasta until desired texture, drain but keep 1 cup of water
in a pan heat oil, garlic, and papper flakes.  Sautee for a few mins  add lemon juice, then toss in pasta and chickpeas, add spinach and mixed until spinach is wilted
if pasta is dry add some of the reserved water 

garnish with zest, pepper, parsley

recipe number 2!  inspired by the ohsheglows.com blog!

CREAMY AVACADO PASTA

• 1 medium sized ripe Avocado, pitted
• 1/4 lemon, juiced 
• lemon zest for garnish
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1tsp chili flakes
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt, or to taste
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 6 oz Kamut pasta
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste 
• parsley for garnish

Directions:
1. boil pasta until desired tenderness
2. Meanwhile, make the sauce by placing the garlic cloves, lemon juice,chili flakes and olive oil into a food processor. Process until smooth. Now add in the pitted avocado,and salt. Process until smooth and creamy.
3. When pasta is done cooking, Pour on sauce and toss until fully combined. Garnish with lemon zest, parsley and black pepper. Serve immediately. Makes 2 servings.

Kamut Energy Bars

Homemakers was on a roll this month!!  I got this recipe through inspiration for their puffed brown homemade energy bars recipe.  This is both sweet and salty- my fav combo! <3
They turn out to have a texture much like a rice crispy square! They are quite yummy and full of good for you ingredients!

4 cups of Kamut puffs (you could also use puffed rice cereal)
1/2 cup dry roasted peanuts
1/2 cup cashews
1/4 cup sesame seeds
1/4 cup sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds mixed
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup shredded coconut

1 cup liquid honey
1 tsp cinnamon 
1 tsp sea salt

oil for greasing bowl and 9 x 13 baking dish

grease bowl and baking dish


chop the peanuts and cashews

mix all of the dry ingredients except salt

in large pot boils honey and salt

honey expands while cooking so make sure you have a good sized pot!!

cook honey until 3/4 of cup approx 5 mins

mix immediately honey in to the dry ingredients

mix well then immediately press mixture in to baking dish

pat down the mixture in baking dish as the mixture firms up make sure they are good and packed in to the dish

allow the mixture to cool  and firm completely- about an hour cut into bars

mmmm nuts :)

kamut puff cereal-  found at the health section of lawblaws

looky all those yummy ingredients!

delicious and nutritious local honey

boil the honey

mix then press in to baking dish

cut in to bars

Vietnamese Spicy Tofu with Mango and Herbs

OK so I came across this recipe in this month's Homemakers Magazine (God, I feel OLD admitting that I was reading Homemakers), its actually a chicken recipe but I vegged it out!!

It was FREAKIN DELICIOUS! Seriously I think I want to make out with myself.

I was really apprehensive about making this at first because using fresh herbs in the past has kinda resulted in epic failure!  I would use too much, ones that did not go well together, and all together grossness!  Ah memories of learning to cook in college....  I apologize to all of those who I dated and cooked for in my college years.  I thank you for being sweet and eating it with a grin!!

Here's the recipe I halved it so if I didn't like it I wouldn't be throwing out too much, but I could have made the whole thing!!

8 oz firm tofu
4 tsp cornstarch
2 tbsp sodium reduced soy sauce divided
2 tsp minced ginger (I LOVE ginger!!)
1 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/3 cup veg stock (keep some more around for deglazing the pan as you go)
1 tbsp lime juice
11/2 tsp granulated sugar
3 tbsp peanut or veg oil
1/2 cup sliced shallots
half red bell pepper cut in to bite sized pieces
1 tbsp Thai chili (I didn't have this I did have a hot Hungarian  ;) so I used that instead) 
3 cloves garlic minced
1 green onion
1 firm mango peeled seeded and cut in to bite sized pieces
Thai basil and mint (to taste)

Directions
press tofu to dry - wrap in  paper towel, and place a heavy pan on it for 10 min
toss tofu in cornstarch, 1 tbsp water, 1/2 soy sauce, ginger, coriander, black pepper- let stand for 10-15 mins
in another bowl, mix broth, 1/2 soy sauce, lime juice, sugar until sugar dissolved

heat 2 tbsp oil in pan and stir fry tofu 3 mins
remove with slotted spoon
add rest of oil and shallots, stir fry until brown (2 mins) and scrape up any sticky bits, you may need to use stock or wine to deglaze the pan at this point
add red pepper, chili, and garlic stir fry for 1 min
add mango stir fry for 30 secs
add broth, lime soy mixture
heat til boil return tofu and mix to ensure all is coated
add herbs and green onion until slightly wilted then remove (approx ten secs)

serve with rice, noodles, etc.  I had mine with brown rice vermicelli-  sorry there's not pictures of the process in cooking but things were added in such rapid succession that there wasn't really time!

Beautiful and fragrant ingredients:

 Just them sitting on the counter had a beautiful and wonder aroma...

With their powers combined they became this magnificent dish!! :)

Spinach and Mushroom Crustless Quiche and green smoothie

Today was my second day on a row at the gym!  I always wonder why I fall off the workout wagon because I love how awesome I feel immediately after!
I had planned to make this last night but Chris came home from work and wanted to go out for dinner.  I wasn't going to argue.
This is the week I work 1-9, so I decided to make it today and use for my lunches this week as it reheats well. 

I make quiche alot but I thought I would look online for some inspiration.  So many of the recipes online are sooo fat laden, and I'm not sure they'd taste much better than my lower fat version. Many of them used whole cream and 3 cups of cheese!! 

Ingredients

3 whole eggs
3 egg whites
1 tbsp olive oil
1 cup milk (reg or soy)
2 tbsp of onions, diced
1.5 cup mushrooms, sliced
1/2 cup broccoli 
4 cups spinach, chopped (or 1 pkg of frozen spinach thawed and drained
1/4- 1/2 cup cheddar cheese or feta (opional)
salt and pepper to taste
green onions or chives (optional)

pre heat oven to 350

sautee onions and mushrooms in olive oil, approx 8 mins
add broccoli
add spinach until whilted  then remove from heat
beat eggs and milk together, add salt and pepper

grease a pie dish

add spinach, mushroom mixture
pour egg over
add cheese and green onion (if using)

bake in oven for 35 mins or until tooth pick comes out clean and egdes start to golden

serve with green salad

Everyone at works poke fun at me because I'm pretty much eating every hour while in the office!

heres an example of what my lunches for work look like:

2 pc of quiche
berries with banana
2 clemintines
1 apple
almonds
rice crackers
veggies and hummus
and some pretzels for a treat!

while my Quiche was in the oven I made my self a post workout smoothie/ my lunch
I've recently started adding spinach to my smoothies, it sounds disgusting but I promise you you can't taste it!  Its a great way to add veggies in to your diet, I might try steaming my spinach next time as raw spinach has an acid that inhibits the absorption of iron and calcium and cooking it break it down.  The spinach addition is inspired by the green monster movement started by a woman named Angela who write the blog Oh She Glows (which has fantastic vegan recipes) google oh she glows or the green monster movement!!

this smoothie has- ice cubes, soy milk, blueberries, spinach, ground flax seed and all natural peanut butter

belnd it all up-  looks a little weird and off because of the greenish tinge but its pretty darn yummy!!

the travel mug you see in the background is awesome!  It was a christmas present from my SIL and I love it! I'll tell you all about its awesomeness next blog, I'm off to work!

Homemade Granola, my new best friend

I made some of this last weekend and it rapidly disappeared from the pantry!!  I had it with milk for breakfast, on yogurt for a snack, and just on its own 'cause its so darn delicious!
I made another batch and just had to share it with you!  So simple and all natural unlike some of those granolas you buy in a store.

Measure just like grandma used to do
dry:

2 1/2 cup oats
1 handful almond
1 handful pecans
palmful shredded coconut
some sunflower seeds
some pumpkin seeds
some sesame seeds
heapin handful of dried cranberries
chopped up dates
cinnamon
nutmeg

really use any combo of nuts/seeds/oats/dried fruit you like

wet:
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
1/4 cup oil (I used canola)
1 tbsp honey

directions

preheat oven to 350

mix dry ingredients except for fruit

then add wet ingredients and mix thoroughly

bake in oven on lightly greased sheet for 20-25 mins stirring once

take out cool and add fruit, I sprinkled mine with some ground flax at the end to to give it a little extra health punch!!

:)  ENJOY

now this granola doesn't really clump together, I'd prefer if it did but its so simple and delicious that it doesn't really matter....

YUMMMMM 

Mmmm Mmmm Minstrone

I got stuck at work a little late tonight and have been craving this all day....
so worth it!!

I adore soup-  I'd eat it every single day.  I also love cooking soup because it's next to impossible to screw up (except when I was in college there were some epic fails back then).  I also like that there are very few rules to making soup. Only 1 really saute onions and garlic first.

So this is my super easy awesomely tasty Minestrone, allow yourself to make adjustments based on what you like and what you have on hand-  I really wish I had zucchini but I didn't the end result was still light and delicious!

Ingredients:

1 small onion chopped
3 cloves garlic minced
1 red pepper chopped
1/2 green onion chopped
1 cup carrots chopped
1 cup mushroom (I used little button mushrooms halved but use what ever mushroom you would like)
1 cup broccoli include stems!  stems are delicious and often get discarded, peel them and use them!!
1/2 cup peas (frozen)
1/4 edamame (frozen)
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can red kidney beans (drained and rinsed)
1 cup whole wheat pasta (I used macaroni noodles)
1 container of vegetable broth (I use Campbell's Organic Vegetarian Vegetable, I like it because I know what the ingredient are not crazy scientific made in a lab names)
salt and pepper to taste

some ingredients all chopped up-  I almost forgot the carrots!!

Wal-mart brand beans I'm a cheapo!!

Directions:

saute onions and garlic until translucent
add other veggies (except edamame and peas) saute for a another 2 mins

add diced tomatoes (whole can incl juices)

looking so so good already!!!

add broth and canned beans

now sim-simma!!!

simmer for 15- 20 mins til veg start to get soft

you may find you need to add a couple of cups of water- I did

salt and pepper that bad boy up!

add pasta,  boil for 3-5 mins

add edamame and peas and bring back to boil.

STOP!!!  you don't want mushy pasta!

your done! :)

Now be awesome like me and make a kick ass sand which to go with it!!

put in a bowl, and garnish with green onions or some parm cheese- completely optional!  I used some green onions because they're so pretty!!

my sky high veggie sand which was:
spinach
cucumber
tomato
broccoli sprouts
mushrooms
pickle
cheese
on a Swiss multi grain DEEEE-LICIOUS!

OK so this recipe isn't intricate of full of crazy flavours and spices, its really light simple and fresh and the flavours of the produce really shine!

Kitchen Clean Up Kickin' Cabbage Rolls

Happy New Year and thank you for stopping by!!  I hope you enjoy and I look forward to your comments and feedback. 

So I planned to make a risotto this evening but I didn't make it to the grocery store and forgot that today's a holiday and they close early.
so while searching through the fridge and cupboards I came up with this little concoction . The filling can also make a delicious stuffed pepper

so the ingredient list is up for interpretation, I used whatever I had that needed to be used up:

1 onion diced
4 cloves garlic diced (I love garlic)
2 small potatoes diced
1 green pepper diced
1 red pepper diced
the bit of zucchini i had left diced
half of a pack of mini Bella's diced
1 cup carrots diced
2 stalks of celery diced
1 1/4 cup wine-  now pout that one cup in to a glass and drink up!!  enjoy the cooking experience!!!
head of cabbage
1 cup veg broth or water
red chili flakes
salt and pepper to taste
parsley
1 can diced tomatoes
tomato paste
tomato sauce (homemade or store bought)

oil
2 cups rice

filling:
saute onions and garlic in pan with oil add chili flakes to taste
add wine
mix in rest of diced veggies
add 1 cup of water or veg broth
cook until veggies start to soften
add seasoning to taste
add diced tomatoes and tomato paste
add rice
mix

try the mix and adjust flavouring as desired

while making the filling remove the core of the cabbage and boil for 8 minutes
run under cool water to cool cabbage enough to handle
carefully peel the leaves off one at a time and trim off the hard stems

pre heat the oven to 350 degrees

place filling on leaves and carefully roll the cabbage around careful not to tear

place in oven safe dish and top with tomato sauce (I used a store brand spicy sauce!)

bake at 350 for 30 minutes

serve and enjoy with a salad