February 4, 2014 by Lindsey | Dolly and Oatmeal

this time of year is always the longest. once we make that turn after the holidays and then new year's, it seems time moves at the pace of a snail. january was kind of brutal with all the snow and polar vortex action. so i'm trying to be more optimistic about february given that it's the shortest month that we've got all year.

but it's easy to be optimistic when you've got a new little hairy dude in your life. a few days ago me and my husband adopted a 10-month old chihuahua mix and we named him quint! quint basically because it's a rad name, but also for all you Jaws fans out there, Capt. Quint. the character is near and dear to mine and frank's heart, plus he's a total badass and doesn't take any crap. we're already seeing some of those traits in our quint, but he also possesses a really loving personality, with an super cute underbite that shows off his pearly whites. his favorite things include: sleeping on our laps at ALL times, curling up in little balls, eating peanut butter cookies, snuggling and giving lots of kisses. all-in-all he's a very sweet dream. i'm already dreaming up of all the homemade doggy treats to make! any links or suggestions are super duper welcome!

back to seasons, months of the year and food...i've been dreaming of spring and its bounty of green. green pestos, green salads, and big, fresh veggie bowls. while we all wait for that day to come, i offer you this equally as tasty roasted veggie bowl. these are my absolute favorite vegetables to roast together, i make them at least once or twice a week. this time, i decided to switch it up and throw them in a big vessel of a bowl and top it off with some garlicky kale tahini. it's totally a super easy dish, that nourishes me all week long, especially in the doldrums of winter.

*head over to One Part Plant where i'm talking a lot about TAHINI!

herb roasted veggie bowl w/ a kale-tahini sauce

| gluten free + vegan |

serves 4 as a meal, serves 6 as a side

inspired by Bon Appetit's Food Lover's Cleanse - both here and here

ingredients

1 cup quinoa, rinsed and cooked
2 large or 3 small yams (or sweet potatoes), halved and sliced into half moons
3 carrots, diced about 1/2 inch thick
1 vidalia onion, sliced 1/4 inch thick
2 handfuls shiitake mushrooms, sliced
7-8 brussels sprouts, trimmed and quartered
4 rosemary sprigs
1/2 cup parsley, minced
1 teaspoon ground paprika
1/2 teaspoon medium grain sea salt
a good coating of olive oil (about 1 1/2-2 tablespoons)

kale-tahini sauce

1/2 cup tahini
2/3 cup cold water
2 large kale leaves, de-stemmed and roughly chopped
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 garlic clove, smashed
1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

instructions

make the tahini sauce

in a medium-sized saucepan of boiling water, cook kale until wilted - about 35-45 seconds. with a slotted spoon, transfer kale to a boil of ice water; let cool and drain. squeeze excess water out and place in the bowl of a food processor
add the tahini, water, lemon, garlic, salt and red pepper flakes. blend, scraping down the sides of the bowl until you have reached desired consistency. (for a more fluid, runnier sauce add more water). place in the refrigerator until ready to use

veggie bowl

rinse the quinoa and place in saucepan with 1 3/4 cups of water. bring to boil, stir, and cover the pot; turn heat to low and cook 10-15 minutes. remove from heat and let it sit for 5 minutes, then fluff with a fork. transfer to a large bowl
preheat the oven to 375° and line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper
combine yams, carrots, onions and mushrooms in a large bowl, add the olive oil, mix and evenly to coat the veggies. add the salt, paprika, parsley and rosemary; mix. in a small bowl combine the brussels sprouts with olive oil to coat and a sprinkle of salt and paprika, set aside. divide the vegetables and herbs between the two baking sheets and bake for 40-55 minutes - in the last 15 minutes add the brussels sprouts and roast for remainder of cooking time
add the roasted vegetables to the large bowl and combine with the quinoa. serve in individual portions with the tahini sauce

enjoy!

chopped tahini salad w/ crushed pine nuts + mint / September 10, 2013 by Lindsey | Dolly and Oatmeal

the weather here has been so insanely gorgeous, temperatures in the low 70s, cool breezes, blue skies, and plentiful sunshine. it's been perfect weather for shorts and a sweater, or your favorite denims with a T. i am seriously looking forward to breaking out a scarf or two, and perhaps my new wool panama hat...just saying. anywho, this salad was the perfect picnic salad, so we did just that...on our fire escape of course. we used our rad picnic blanket (ahem, i mean tea towels), laid them out to cover the beautiful black metal beneath, served our salad, and dug in.

this chopped salad was inspired by a fresh vegetable salad in Jerusalem, and also inspired by the massive amounts of beautiful tomatoes and peppers out there this time of year. you may notice that i include sweet peppers in the ingredient list. mine somehow never made their way into my bag at the farmer's market, but i left them on the list because they i know they will surely be a lovely addition here. the tahini sauce is super dreamy and creamy, there's nothing better than when the tomato juices mix with the tahini sauce and you're left with a slightly tomato-spiked sauce! the crushed pine nuts and mint was kind of an afterthought, but i had the mint on hand and i love the flavor of toasted pine nuts, and thought it would be a great addition. turns out it was, but next time i will add more (i increased the amounts in the recipe below).

the next couple of weeks are fun ones for me and my husband. he will be turning the big 3-0, and i will be celebrating my birthday a few days later. lots of celebration and good times around here. stay tuned for celebration goodies, swiftly followed by detox!

chopped tahini salad w/ crushed pine nuts + mint

salad inspired by, and tahini sauce from: Yotam Ottolenghi & Sami Tamimi's Jerusalem

| serves 4 as a side salad |

ingredients »

2 cups chopped greens
1 cup chopped heirloom tomatoes
1 cup chopped cucumbers
1/2 cup chopped sweet peppers
1 tablespoon fresh chives (i used garlic chives)
2-3 tablespoons toasted pine nuts
2 teaspoons fresh mint leaves
a pinch of salt
smoked paprika to taste

tahini sauce (i halved the original recipe) »

1/3 cup tahini paste
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 small garlic clove, crushed
1/8 teaspoon fine grain sea salt

instructions

for the tahini sauce »

in a medium sized bowl, whisk the tahini, water, lemon juice, crushed garlic and salt until combined
cover, and let the mixture sit in the fridge until ready to use

for the salad »

with a mortar and pestle, crush the toasted pine nuts with a pinch of salt, add the mint and grind until the mint and nuts are small pieces. set aside
in a large bowl, combine the greens, tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers. drizzle the tahini sauce, and garnish with crushed pine nut/mint mixture, chives and paprika

serve with additional tahini sauce and enjoy!

quinoa + black rice bowl / February 27, 2013 by Lindsey | Dolly and Oatmeal

you're probably noticing that the ingredient list for this recipe is really long. you may be thinking that you don't have enough time to make it. but there isn't that much prep work, and all the sautéing doesn't take much time at all. all-in-all you'll be eating this rice bowl in a little over an hour. another awesome thing about this dish is that you can change the ingredients around, and still have the flavors marry well with the sauce.

the original recipe called for brown rice and red quinoa. however, i chose use black rice instead of brown, and regular quinoa instead of red. i chose black rice because while brown rice is good for you, black rice has a whole load of antioxidants that brown rice doesn't. plus, i think it looks prettier in the dish. i chose regular quinoa because it's all i had in the kitchen. i also chose to use swiss chard in place of kale. kale is everywhere this time of the season, i think it's the only thing that actually grows around here in the winter. i always try to use ingredients that are in season, but kale and i do not agree, hence, the chard. additionally, i could see spinach, bok choy, or dandelion, or beet greens as a substitute in this dish. i also added the toasted sesame seeds - in my humble opinion no salad is ever complete without some toasted nuts or seeds. plus, i thought they would play off nicely with the ingredients as well as add some crunch and nuttiness. lastly, i adjusted the sauce a bit. the recipe called for a 1/2 cup of fresh lemon juice to a 1/4 cup tahini. after mixing the two i thought it was way too tart, so i cut the quantity of lemon juice in half. i would taste as you go, and adjust the sauce to your liking.

adapted from Gail Simmons for Food & Wine Magazine - March 2012

6 servings

:: for the bowl ::

1 cup black rice

1 cup quinoa

1 small onion, finely chopped

1 carrot, julienned

3/4 cup enoki, beech, and nameko mushrooms (or shiitake with caps thinly sliced)

1 small zucchini, julienned

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

fine grain sea salt

1 head of broccoli, de-stemmed and cut into small florets

4 large (or 8 small) swiss chard leaves, chopped

1 ripe avocado, sliced into chunks

1/2 cup mung bean sprouts

1 teaspoon toasted black sesame seeds

:: for the sauce ::

1/4 cup tahini

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

2 garlic cloves, minced

2-3 tablespoons warm water

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper

:: directions ::

prepare a medium saucepan for the black rice. prepare rice according to the directions given on the packaging
prepare another medium saucepan for the quinoa. prepare quinoa according to the directions given on the packaging
in a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil on medium. once the pan is hot add the onion - cook until translucent (about 5-6 minutes)
add the carrot and cook for roughly 4 minutes - until they start to soften
add the mushrooms, cover and cook until tender - about 4 minutes
add the zucchini, season with salt (i used about 3 pinches). cook 3-5 minutes, until tender
transfer to a bowl

add the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil to the skillet. add the broccoli, cover and cook, stirring a few times, over medium heat. cook for 5 minutes
add the swiss chard, cook and stir a few times - about 4 minutes
season with salt and stir into the other vegetable mixture

// for the sauce //

in a small food processor (you can also whisk the ingredients together, i only use the food processor because i like it super smooth) combine the tahini, garlic, olive oil, water, lemon juice, red pepper, and salt. blend until combined and smooth

combine the quinoa and black rice in a large bowl - top with cooked vegetables
add the avocado, mung beans, and toasted sesame seeds
i wouldn't recommend adding the tahini sauce all at one, rather, use it for individual portions

:: enjoy ::