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It’s super easy! You need: 1 big onion, very thinly sliced 4-5 cloves garlic, chopped or thinly sliced 1 lb mixed greens (or kale, or collards, or mustard, or whatever you like) can o’ chickpeas ton of cracked red pepper 1 can veggie stock EVOO 3-4 lemons honey (or maple syrup, brown sugar, agave, whatever you use) black pepper, salt, maybe a little cumin or whatever other spices you like whatever grain you like (brown rice, couscous, quinoa if you don’t hate yourself for buying it, whatevz you want. wild rice would be nice! or orzo or some other small pasta.) sliced toasted almonds. or pine nuts, or whatever crunchy things you like. Slice the onion, throw it in a large deep pan/cast-iron/whatever you got.  No oil yet.  Sautee that shit on high until it all starts to brown and caramelize (makes the whole thing sweeter + tastier.) Don’t burn them, you just want them sorta clear and a little bit golden, maybe a little brown on some of the edges. They’re gonna stick a little, that’s okay.Lower the heat, add a lil’ olive oil, toss in your garlic and as much red pepper as you like and sautee for a little bit.  (I use a lot of red pepper, cuz I like things SPICY.) Add a little water and with a wooden spoon deglasse the pan, aka scrape all that burn-y oniony goodness off the bottom of the pan from when you cooked those onions before. Add a can of veggie or mushroom stock, some salt, lots of black pepper, a few teaspoons of honey. Bring to a slow boil.  Go ahead and put your water on for your grains now as well, assuming they’re of the variety that takes about 20-30 minutes to cook, and do whatever that requires. Toss in all those greens and then squeeze the lemons over top of them, sprinkle a little more salt and pepper.  (Strain the lemon juice to keep the seeds out, duh.)  Cover the whole thing with a big lid for like five minutes, remove, marvel at how much smaller that pile of leaves is after it’s wilted.  Stir a little.  Add water if necessary, but probably not.  The greens continue wilting down and getting darker and should be just barely covered with water, not drowning, but definitely not dry.  Keep it at a low simmer for 15-20 minutes (or longer, depending on your pan/green of choice) until things start to look tender and done.  Dump those chickpeas in there, stir, simmer for a few more minutes.  If you like raisins, those can be a tasty addition at this point too.Serve over grains and sprinkle with almonds. Voilá! If you eat cheese, some parmesan or other hard cheese (maybe manchego?!) would be nice grated on top as well. If you eat meat or fish, would be tasty under some grilled salmon, chicken, or even a pork chop. Makes a lot, but just mix all the leftover grains and greens together and then nuke the whole mess for lunch the next day and eat with some tomato soup. A+.

It’s super easy! You need:

  • 1 big onion, very thinly sliced
  • 4-5 cloves garlic, chopped or thinly sliced
  • 1 lb mixed greens (or kale, or collards, or mustard, or whatever you like)
  • can o’ chickpeas
  • ton of cracked red pepper
  • 1 can veggie stock
  • EVOO
  • 3-4 lemons
  • honey (or maple syrup, brown sugar, agave, whatever you use)
  • black pepper, salt, maybe a little cumin or whatever other spices you like
  • whatever grain you like (brown rice, couscous, quinoa if you don’t hate yourself for buying it, whatevz you want. wild rice would be nice! or orzo or some other small pasta.)
  • sliced toasted almonds. or pine nuts, or whatever crunchy things you like.


Slice the onion, throw it in a large deep pan/cast-iron/whatever you got.  No oil yet.  Sautee that shit on high until it all starts to brown and caramelize (makes the whole thing sweeter + tastier.) Don’t burn them, you just want them sorta clear and a little bit golden, maybe a little brown on some of the edges. They’re gonna stick a little, that’s okay.

Lower the heat, add a lil’ olive oil, toss in your garlic and as much red pepper as you like and sautee for a little bit.  (I use a lot of red pepper, cuz I like things SPICY.) Add a little water and with a wooden spoon deglasse the pan, aka scrape all that burn-y oniony goodness off the bottom of the pan from when you cooked those onions before. Add a can of veggie or mushroom stock, some salt, lots of black pepper, a few teaspoons of honey. Bring to a slow boil.  Go ahead and put your water on for your grains now as well, assuming they’re of the variety that takes about 20-30 minutes to cook, and do whatever that requires. 

Toss in all those greens and then squeeze the lemons over top of them, sprinkle a little more salt and pepper.  (Strain the lemon juice to keep the seeds out, duh.)  Cover the whole thing with a big lid for like five minutes, remove, marvel at how much smaller that pile of leaves is after it’s wilted.  Stir a little.  Add water if necessary, but probably not.  The greens continue wilting down and getting darker and should be just barely covered with water, not drowning, but definitely not dry.  Keep it at a low simmer for 15-20 minutes (or longer, depending on your pan/green of choice) until things start to look tender and done.  Dump those chickpeas in there, stir, simmer for a few more minutes.  If you like raisins, those can be a tasty addition at this point too.

Serve over grains and sprinkle with almonds. Voilá! If you eat cheese, some parmesan or other hard cheese (maybe manchego?!) would be nice grated on top as well. If you eat meat or fish, would be tasty under some grilled salmon, chicken, or even a pork chop. 

Makes a lot, but just mix all the leftover grains and greens together and then nuke the whole mess for lunch the next day and eat with some tomato soup. A+.

spicy lemon-garlic braised mixed greens (kale, mustard, collard, turnip) with quinoa, chickpeas, and toasted almonds #vegan #detox #foodstagram

spicy lemon-garlic braised mixed greens (kale, mustard, collard, turnip) with quinoa, chickpeas, and toasted almonds #vegan #detox #foodstagram

Perfect Fried Rice

Why so many food posts lately?! I have no idea. Deal with it. Today: Fried rice, but you know, minus the gut bomb and growing regret part afterwards, and with way more veggies than the few wrinkly peas you see sometimes.

Fried rice always feels like a.) kind of a cop-out to order takeout and b.) the unhealthiest thing ever to eat, and attempts to make it at home (at least for me) always seem to end in…. a greasy disgusting mess of overly-salty rice mush.  Gross.

HOWEVER. This is not always how it has to be! You are totally allowed to mess with concepts, like “what fried rice is.” Forget your notions of $3 greasy takeout and failed attempts to re-create it! Fried rice can totally be a meal in and of itself.

Like that huge coconut lentil stew I posted last week, wok-fried rice with plenty of tofu and veggies is another great, cheap way to feed a shit-ton of hungry people or just yourself for a week straight. And honestly, it’s surprisingly healthy, especially if you add a ton of veggies, use brown/wild rice, and keep the oil and sugary/salty sauces to a minimum. (Garlic and ginger go a long way for flavor, seriously.)  And once you’ve stocked up on the seasonings (most people might not always have soy sauce and sesame oil and cilantro on hand, but, uh, I do) it’s super cheap and easy.  It’s also really easy to adapt to vegan or gluten-free diets, or you can replace the tofu with shrimp, chicken, pork, or steak for your meat-eating friends.

The secret is all in the prep, which is also super easy and fast once you get the hang of it.  As usual, sharp knives (and a perverse enjoyment of, say, “julienning peppers”) help a ton, and a really awesome nonstick/well-seasoned wok is absolutely necessary.

You’re gonna need:

  • Rice (preferably leftover/a lil stale - mine was fresh, hence the sorta sticky appearance in above photo, but I kinda like it that way too.)  Long grain white is probably what you’re expecting, but I find wild rice/brown rice blends work really nicely here, or even brown basmati. Different rice will yield different texture — sushi rice, for example, will likely become a nightmare risotto-esque mess, but firmer varieties will get all nice and firm and crispy.
  • Firm or Extra Firm Tofu
  • Eggs (if you eat them)
  • Veggies of your choice that require cooking (mushrooms, onions, zucchini/squash, eggplant, asparagus, broccoli)
  • Veggies of your choice that are tastier almost-raw (bell peppers, carrots, bok choy, sugar snap peas, soybeans)
  • Pineapple, if you want. Canned and chopped or fresh and chopped is fine.
  • Nuts, if you like them (cashews, peanuts, or almonds are nice)
  • Enough garlic to kill an army of vampires
  • Green onions
  • Cilantro, if you are, like me, of the “no such thing as too much cilantro” school of cooking
  • Sesame oil
  • Hot sauce (SRIRACHA 4LYFE)
  • Some sort of marinade (either pre-made teriyaki type sauce, or just use the recipe below.)

Ready? OK, cool. Let’s go.

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Coconut Lentil Curry with Quinoa

I like to pretend like every day I plan some amazing meal and go all-out to cook it, but the truth is most of the time I’m excruciatingly lazy and like, whip something together out of whatever is in my house. (Or just eat omelettes. I eat a lot of breakfast for dinner. I won’t tell if you won’t.)  I was a little low on basics last week and as I desolately stared at the leftover vegetables, lentils, and coconut milk in my pantry, I remembered that Caroline posted a tasty-sounding lentil curry soup recipe a while ago, and I’d been all about some really tasty curried lentils I had at a dinner party a few weeks ago.  I was also craving Indian or Thai takeout, but all the options that deliver to my house are super oily and not great. I figured I’d wing it and try to come up with something similar to all those things, with whatever I had in the house. Miraculously, it turned out to be maybe one of the tastiest things I’ve ever made (despite the rather unflattering photo) and is definitely going to become a staple.



It’s also vegan, for those of you who care about that kind of stuff, and is super healthy and full of protein and fiber and other good stuff, and even my super-carnivorous other half (“Meg, all the food you make is basically vegetable mush, I want a steak”) admitted that it was damn good.  It’s also relatively cheap, and the huge pot that this recipe yielded fed me for like a week.  

SO! Onward! You will need:

  • Lentils (I cheat sometimes and get the already cooked ones from Trader Joe’s, so either those, or dry ones that you’ve already prepared/soaked.)
  • 1 piece fresh ginger root
  • 2 onions
  • lots of garlic (about half a bulb, or a whole one if it’s small)
  • oil
  • 1 can coconut milk
  • spices you like: curry, cumin, pepper, cinnamon, garam masala, etc
  • vegetables: I used zucchini, bell peppers, carrots, and spinach.
  • 1 can chickpeas
  • 1 large bunch fresh cilantro

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LENTILS WITH COUSCOUS AND MINT

I’ve been trying to make an effort to cook at home and bring lunch to work more often,  and as a result I’ve been spending my Sundays preparing giant bowls of salads that I can grab and go in the mornings.  This lentil salad is one of my favourites — it’s spicy, sweet, refreshing, filling, and ridiculously easy to make (well, if you like chopping, which I totally do, OH GOD YOU GUYS I COULD JULIENNE PEPPERS ALL DAY THE BEST STRESS RELIEF EVER IS DICING CELERY I LOVE KNIVES.) We also already know about my near-obsessive ongoing love affair with fresh mint — and this is just another option for it before summer’s over.

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