lunch

August 26, 2021 by Lindsey | Dolly and Oatmeal

Autumn is right around the corner! Yikes, when did that happen!? The summer kind of breezed by in a way, but I’m excited for the fall - cooler weather (hopefully!), honeycrisp apples, winter squash, cozy nights, heavier blankets - all the good stuff.

Ames is heading into TK (transition to kindergarten), so not quite a kindergartener yet (his birthday is September 27th, which falls after the district’s September 1st cutoff), but he’ll be attending TK at our local elementary school which is both amazing, and completely insane to me. My little guy going off to big school! I don’t think I’ve wrapped my mind around how huge that is, but I’m just wishing it to be a wonderful experience for him.

One way I’m welcoming the new season both figuratively, and in life, is by making these delicious grilled cheese sandwiches. I’m using Little Northern Bakehouse’s wide slice whole grain gluten-free bread for these, because I wanted that traditional grilled cheese feel (most gluten-free bread is a bit more squatty in size). It’s basically a large format gluten-free bread! Like all of their products, the wide slice has a wonderful airy quality, while also having a great hearty texture and flavor. And my kids love that they get more sandwich compared to a regular sized piece of gluten-free bread. It’s really the perfect canvas for all things sandwiches, toasts, but especially grilled cheese sandwiches! The bread stands up wonderfully to being stuffed and grilled, and delivers such an amazing crunch!

We make a homemade spicy green harissa (I typically leave this off of the kids sandwiches, but if your kid likes spice, go for it!) to spread on the sandwich - it’s bright and herbaceous, and quite fiery. Then we blanch some broccoli rabe, and toss it with some vegan cheese shreds. We pile this high on our bread and fry it some vegan butter. I usually serve it with a soup, or vegetables on the side for the kids. This is my favorite cozy dinner meal, but it could totally stand to be just as awesome for lunch. I hope you get to make these :)

*This post was created in partnership with Little Northern Bakehouse. All thoughts and opinions, as always, are my own.

Broccoli Rabe Grilled Cheese w/ Green Harissa | gf & v

| Makes 2 Sandwiches |

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Method:

Make the green harissa. Combine all the ingredients, except the olive oil, in a food processor fitted with a metal “s” blade. With the motor running pour the olive oil through the pour spout, and blend. Stop the motor and scrape down the sides. Blend once more until everything is combined. Taste and adjust any seasonings. Pour into a small bowl, and set aside.
Make the grilled cheese. Trim the bottom 1-inch off the ends of the broccoli rabe. Bring a salted pot of water to a boil. Toss the broccoli rabe in, and blanch for 1 minute, until bright green and wilted. Drain, and run under cold water. Wring out the broccoli rabe in a dish towel until dry.
Roughly chop the broccoli rabe and add it to a bowl with the cheese shreds. Toss everything together, and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Use 1 tablespoon of butter and butter one side of each slice of bread; place the bread on a work surface, butter side down. Spread the inside of the bread with about 2 teaspoons green harissa, and top with the broccoli rabe-cheese mixture.
Heat your skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add half of the remaining butter, and place sandwich in. Cook each side for 1-2 minutes, until golden brown and cheese is melted. Repeat with remaining sandwich.
Serve immediately, and enjoy!

Ingredients:

Green Harissa (makes roughly 1/2 cup)

1 1/2 cups packed cilantro
1 1/2 cups packed parsley
1 serrano pepper
2 cloves garlic
1 1/4 teaspoons fine salt
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

Grilled Cheese (makes 2 large sandwiches)

1/2 bunch broccoli rabe,
1 cup vegan cheese shreds
Fine salt & freshly ground pepper
4 slices Little Northern Bakehouse Wide Slice Gluten-Free Bread
2 tablespoons vegan butter, at room temperature and divided
1-2 tablespoons green harissa

VEGAN SHAKSHUKA TOASTS / April 22, 2021 by Lindsey | Dolly and Oatmeal

We’re still settling in to life in the new house. It’s a larger space than the apartments we’ve always lived in, so it’s a welcome adjustment. We also have a pretty spacious backyard that I’m looking forward to setting up, and hopefully having friends and family over when it’s safe. Warmer weather, more and more vaccinations everyday, it seems like things are finally inching towards a new day. With that in mind, I can’t help but want to make brunch food. A DIY bagel bar, a make-you-own-toast station, all the pancakes and waffles one could imagine, and a big pot of shakshuka. These are things that run through my head regularly.

In that vein, I thought a combination of a few of those ideas sounded super fun. So here we have it, Shakshuka Toast! Shakshuka is a staple in North African and Middle Eastern cuisine, which consists of: onions, pepper, garlic, spices (I like adding harissa paste, but it’s not a deal breaker), canned tomatoes, and in this vegan variation we use butter beans instead of eggs. We pan-fry some toast with olive oil, rub it with some garlic, sprinkle it with some flaky salt, then on goes the shakshuka sauce. We serve it warm with some chopped radishes, maybe some herbs - you could also top it with a dollop of plant-based yogurt as well. This kind of meal is made for a family style meal, and I actually love that with making this version vegan, here isn’t the pressure to poach the eggs perfectly. Super low maintenance, which is something to love.

We’re using Little Northern Bakehouse Sprouted gluten-free bread here. They sent me some try to a few weeks ago, and my kids and I love it. It does double duty as an everyday sandwich bread, while also being great to jazz up for a fancy toast brunch situation. It has an airy quality, but also has great texture and flavor (if you’re gluten-free, then I’m sure you know that’s a hard thing to come by!). I especially love using their sprouted bread for all these reasons, and also because the sprouting process makes nutrients more accessible and more easily digestible. It stands up great to the shakshuka here (but don’t let it sit too long, like with any bread, it will get soggy), adding a wonderful crunchy texture.

*This post was sponsored by Little Northern Bakehouse, as always all the thoughts and opinions are my own.

VEGAN BUTTER BEAN SHAKSHUKA TOASTS | GF

| makes 8 toasts |

print the recipe

ingredients

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus more for frying the bread
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 red bell pepper, seeded and finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1-2 tablespoons prepared harissa paste (depending on how spicy you want it)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon coconut sugar
1 (28 ounce) can whole San Marzano tomatoes, crushed with a masher or your hands
1 teaspoon fine salt
Fresh ground pepper, to taste
1 15-ounce can butter beans, drained and rinsed
Spray oil (preferably high-heat oil like avocado)
8 pieces Little Northern Bakery Sprouted 7 Grain Gluten-Free Bread
1 clove garlic, sliced in half
Flaky salt
Sliced radishes, for serving
Fresh dill, for serving

method

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-low. Add onion and pepper, cook, stirring every so often until soft; about 15-20 minutes. Add garlic and cook until tender and fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add in the harissa, cumin, coriander, turmeric, and sugar. Stir, and cook for another minute. Pour in the tomatoes, salt, and pepper. Bring everything to a simmer, cover and cook for about 30 minutes, until the sauce has thickened.
Fold in the beans. Taste and adjust any seasonings, adding more salt or spices if necessary. Remove from heat and cover.
Heat a small skillet over medium heat. Once hot, spray with oil, place bread in the pan, and spray the other side of the bread. Cook for 1-2 minutes per side, until toasted. Remove from the pan and rub one side of the toast with the cut side of the garlic. Top with flaky salt, and repeat with remaining pieces of toast.
Serve toasts with a heaping serving of the shakshuka. Top with sliced radishes, fresh dill, and more flaky salt. Serve immediately.

similar recipes:

miso-tahini avocado toasts w/ black sesame gomasio

Cilantro & hemp salad on tahini yogurt toast

LETTUCE TACO CUPS W/ CHIPOTLE-SPICED WILD SALMON / June 25, 2020 by Lindsey | Dolly and Oatmeal

LETTUCE TACO CUPS W/ CHIPOTLE-SPICED WILD SALMON | dolly and oatmeal

hi friends, it’s been a while. before we get to our recipe i wanted to take a minute to let you know where my head and thoughts are at. we’re currently living through the largest civil rights moment of our lives, and since this blog, my recipes, and current events shape and inform my thinking, it’s necessary that i make a few comments here and how i am going to continue anti-racism work - In and off this platform. i started my blog years ago in hopes of creating community; a community that could share in conversations, in cooking together, in forging positivity and relationships. but i want to acknowledge that through my own ignorance and privilege, I didn’t create an inclusive community. i didn’t take an active role to diversify the blogs or cookbooks i read, or the social accounts i followed. i wasn’t an ally to the voices of the Black and POC community in this way. going forward that is changing.

typical content will continue here (however infrequent that is these days 🙃). but, know that I’m here to do long-term work and growth. i’m committed to doing better. with that, let’s get to our recipe.

there’s a local taco spot that frank and i love. they have legitimately gooood tacos. pre-COVID we would order them every weekend. since we love them so much, i made a riff of the ones i typically order. i swapped in some roasted wild salmon, added grilled avocado (grilling it is optional, but it adds a nice smoky flavor), pickled red onions, and some homemade chipotle cashew crema. while Mexican crema is typically made with sour cream, buttermilk or heavy cream, for a dairy-free version we use soaked cashews to achieve a similar texture. to flavor it, all we add is some fiery chipotle peppers in adobo ( jalapeños that have been smoke and dried and stored in an adobo sauce), a bit of acidity, salt, and some water. and bonus, it can made ahead of time so you’re not preparing everything on the same day. i love them in a lettuce cup situation, frank not so much. if you’re like him, grab yourself some tortillas and you’ll be good to go 😉

lettuce taco cups w/ chipotle-spiced wild salmon | gf/df

notes:

-i roasted the salmon here, but since it’s bbq season, grilling would also be a great way to prepare it. i would try to cook the filet whole, to avoid drying it out. let it cool for a few, then slice the filet into taco-sized pieces.

-if you don’t have salmon/don’t like it you could use halibut or shrimp as well

print the recipe!

| serves roughly 4-6 |

1 pound wild salmon filet
2 teaspoons avocado oil
1 teaspoon chipotle powder
salt, to taste
1 head bibb lettuce, leaves washed and pat dried (or gluten-free tortillas of choice)
1/2 cup chipotle cashew crema
lime juice

optional toppings:

grilled or sliced avocado
pickled red onions
chopped cilantro

method

preheat oven to 450°F. place the salmon skin side down in a large baking pan, drizzle the salmon with the avocado oil, chipotle powder, and season with salt. bake in the center of your oven for 15-20 minutes, until the salmon is cooked through. let the salmon sit until room temperature, about 30 minutes.
assemble the taco cups. place the bibb lettuce cups on a large platter. start by pulling or cutting 2-3-inch pieces of salmon and fitting them in the cups. add grilled or sliced avocado (if using), and pickled red onions (if using). drizzle with chipotle cashew crema, a squeeze of lime juice, and a pinch of salt. garnish with chopped cilantro (if using). eat immediately.