Cooking with the Washington Youth Garden: Fresh Asparagus, Spinach and Mint Tea
May 18, 2010
I’m sure the parents of the 3rd and 4th graders from two D.C. area public charter schools would be amazed by their children’s enjoyment of asparagus and cherry tomatoes, sautéed spinach, and fresh mint tea. Being that I only started enjoying asparagus last year, I was definitely impressed, but that just goes to show the power of fresh picked vegetables straight from the garden.
Last week and the week before, I had the pleasure of giving a cooking demo to students in the Washington Youth Garden’s Garden Science program. Located in the beautiful National Arboretum, the Washington Youth Garden provides environmental science and food education programs for D.C. youth and their families. These programs include teaching gardening and how food gets from farm to plate, how to start a school garden, how to be good stewards of the environment, and how to prepare fresh nutritious food.
Read the full post and recipe »
Filed Under Must Reads, Quick & Easy, Vegan, Vegetables, Vegetarian/Conversions | 3 Comments | Print This Post
Chocolate Rum Brownies
April 27, 2010
Tempting co-workers with afternoon sweets, especially when few people can say no to chocolaty goodness, is not the most helpful thing to do for a group of health conscious folks, however, many still appreciate an afternoon pick-me up so I didn’t feel too bad about bringing in brownies twice last week. Thanks to my co-workers’ willingness to be my brownie taste-testers, I have a delicious chocolate rum brownie recipe to share that’s received multiple approvals.
Have you made brownies from scratch lately? They’re incredibly easy to make, so if you haven’t, put the box aside and give it a try. You don’t even need an electric mixer.
There are a large variety of brownie recipes out there, but your basic chocolate brownie recipe usually consists of ½ cup flour, ½ cup butter or oil, 1 cup sugar, 2 eggs, and cocoa powder or melted chocolate along with a few other ingredients for an 8” x 8” pan. Of course some recipes include nuts and some don’t.
Read the full post and recipe »
Filed Under Desserts | 15 Comments | Print This Post
In Celebration – Yoga Teacher Training Graduation: Chole Curry and Pulao
April 15, 2010
After seven months of weekend-long intensives, weekly classes, teaching practicums, readings, personal practice and study; the nine ladies of the Shakti Mind Body Studio 2009 – 2010 yoga teacher training class have been initiated into the transformative practice of yoga as teachers and life-long students.
As a member of this class, I’m grateful for the experience of the program and I thoroughly enjoyed it. My interest in food and nutrition goes hand in hand with my study of healing movement through yoga and dance, as they all have the power to heal and foster well-being – body, mind and spirit.
During our graduation celebration this past Sunday, we all brought a vegetarian dish just as we had for our lunches throughout the teacher training program. The spread was delicious and beautiful from roasted vegetables to an Asian noodle stir-fry to chocolate dipped strawberries.
Read the full post and recipe »
Filed Under Grains, Rice & Pasta, International Flavors, Vegan, Vegetarian/Conversions | 6 Comments | Print This Post
Moroccan Chermoula Sauce Over
Grilled Halibut with CousCous
April 8, 2010
Well, I didn’t get a spot on the 3rd season of the Food Network’s Grill It With Bobby Flay, but no worries because I still have my recipe for chermoula marinated grilled fish with a savory, yet fruity couscous to share with you. I made some tweaks to my Moroccan chermoula sauce and used it this time to marinade halibut instead of mahi mahi, and I like the dish even better now.
Since I made the first version of this fragrant and earthy sauce used widely in Moroccan, Algerian and Tunisian cooking, I attended a cooking demo with Moroccan native, Chef Samir Labriny of Moroccan Cuisine Academy. At the demo I learned even more about Moroccan cooking, including more about chermoula sauce.
Read the full post and recipe »
Filed Under Grains, Rice & Pasta, Seafood | 5 Comments | Print This Post
Spring Fresh, Summer Ready Pasta Salad
March 24, 2010
Hopefully, where ever you are the weather has been as beautiful and uplifting as the gorgeous spring weather we’ve been experiencing here in the D.C. area. The breakthrough of sunny skies, gentle winds and comfortable warmth has been a refreshing detour from the harsh winter we experienced this year. Now with all the snow melted and days warm enough to leave the jacket at home and breakout the sandals, it’s time to ease up on soups and stews, and move on to lighter and refreshing dishes.
The first touch of spring and lighter fare in my kitchen comes from this nutritious whole wheat pasta salad. Working well as a light side dish for lunch or an afternoon snack, a tasty pasta salad is also a good thing to have in your collection of dishes for your first cook out or BBQ of the season.
Read the full post and recipe »
Filed Under Grains, Rice & Pasta, Light & Tasty, Quick & Easy, Salads, Vegan, Vegetarian/Conversions | 2 Comments | Print This Post
« go back — keep looking »
