My Cooking Spot

When Girl Meets Kitchen

Easy Restaurant Style Salsa

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restaurant-style-salsa

Spring and summer is here and my favorite thing is chips and salsa. I really think that I have an addiction.  I love eating it all summer long. This recipe is so good, and crazy easy to make. I made it with canned tomatoes, but if I could, I would use home grown tomatoes.

I wish I grew my own tomatoes, because there is nothing like the taste of fresh out-of-the-garden tomatoes. For real! Mmmm, my mouth is watering just thinking about it.

But, since I don’t have fresh, I just used canned, and this salsa was totally delicious. You can make a ton of it, and as long as it is refrigerated, it should last up to two weeks.

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Zucchini Ribbon “Pasta” with Almond Basil Pesto

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With bikini season around the corner, I have been looking for ways to cut some calories, but I don’t want to cut any taste out, because that never works for me. I am too much of a foodie. I have heard of using vegetables in place of pasta, but I don’t have a mandoline, or the machine that cuts the veggies into the cute spaghetti strings, so I had to compromise.

I decided to take a vegetable peeler and just peel my slices of zucchini into beautiful ribbons. I actually liked it a lot better. I have been trying to think of other vegetables that I could peel into ribbons. Eating healthy can be fun! Or so I like to tell myself.

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I also wanted to get some healthy omega vitamins so I decided to make an almond pesto rather than using the traditional pine nuts. I like the nuttiness flavor that the almond brings and the texture of the almonds replace the parmesan cheese that I did not add. However, you can absolutely add parmesan to this recipe, I just chose to exclude it to save some calories, and I didn’t miss it for one minute.

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Winter Braising Greens Soup

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Winter Braising Greens Soup

Another wintery month means continued sparse pickings at the local farmers markets. Without doing the work to preserve produce from growing season – the local options become quite limited. Squash, potatoes, and greens populate the sparse tables of most of the farm booths. The later one, the greens, begins to pique my interest because they look a bit different than during the rest of the year.

During these chillier months, all the greens are sold in miniature size. Completely adorable but also perfect for cooking with since there’s no cutting or de-stemming required. I like to buy the pre-washed bags of braising greens for the quick convenience – great for quick weeknight dinners like pureed soups.

This soup meets a number of allergy friendly requirements as long as you use vegetable stock and oils considered safe for whatever needs you’re serving. It’s vegan, gluten free, and makes a great way to get in a good serving of dark leafy greens.

Winter Braising Greens

Makes 4 servings

 

 

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The Best Vegan Pumpkin Pie Recipe

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vegan-pumpkin

Be Thankful for Vegan Pumpkin Pie.

That spicy and creamy custard filling. That flaky and rich buttery crust. You know what I’m talking about… pumpkin pie! The time is finally here to indulge in this classic taste of the holidays.

Wouldn’t you love to gratify those taste buds of yours while also choosing the healthiest and cleanest version of this pie? With so many diet restrictions these days, I am always looking for ways to make our favorite recipes enjoyable by all. So, when my clients began asking for a vegan, flax free pumpkin pie, I knew I had my work cut out for me. Thus this journey began, to construct a pie void of all the above ingredients, but of course, not while compromising that classic and delicious taste.

Voila! From my kitchen to yours… vegan pumpkin pie. Enjoy

I decided to make my crust from scratch, but you could easily buy a frozen one.

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