Vegetarian Sundays: Fresh Chilean Summer Salad

 

A few weeks back I mentioned I would share my super easy recipe for Chilean Summer Salad. Well, with summer almost gone I thought it was high time I share that recipe while the tomatoes are still tender and the onions sweet.

Ingredients:

1 LB Tomatoes (I like Heirloom Varieties)

1 Whole Yellow Onion

1 Cu Hot, Boiling Water

1/4 Cup Olive Oil

Salt to Taste

Peel your onion

 

 Slice your onion

 Place all of your onion in a bowl and cover with boiling hot water

Cover with a towel and let stand for 10-15 minutes. You are lightly blanching the onion so all of that onion-i-ness tones down, but you maintain the crispness.

 

Slice your tomatoes and place a large bowl

Drain your onions and rinse with cool water

Add onions to your tomatoes in the bowl

 Add  the olive oil and salt to taste

 Stir well until all ingredients are mixed. Place in the refrigerator until chilled. Serve as a side to tacos, rice and beans or any other deliciousness you can think of!

Vegetarian Sundays::Rice Bowl #1

Happy Sunday everyone! Today I have a quick and easy dinner meal to share with you. It's been one of my favorites for a long time and I love the ease and simplicity of it. Oh, and it tastes amazing. My Rice Bowl is a lot like a Taco Salad in concept, but with an Asian theme twist.

I like to use pre-made potstickers from Trader Joes to top off the bowl and all of the veggies are raw, making this refreshing and still satisfying. 

Rice Bowl Ingredients:

Cooked Brown Rice- 3 Cups

1 Head of Dino Kale- Chopped

2 Whole Carrots Peeled and cut thinly with a mandolin or with a peeler

Handful of Fresh Beet Greens

1 Avocado Thinly Sliced

3 Stocks of Green Onion Sliced

Seseami Seeds to garnish (I used black ones)

Dress:

1/2 Cup Olive Oil

1/4 Cup Rice Vinegar (seasoned kind)

1/4 Soy Sauce or Tamai Sauce

A Few Drops of Saracha Sauce

Construction: Cook your rice until well-done. Steam potstickers and prep all veggies. Mix together the dressing until well combined. Toss Kale in 1/4 cup of the dressing, put aside. 

To put together the rice bowl, place the cooked rice in a bowl, layer the potstickers on top of the rice on one side of the bowl. On the other side spread out the kale. Place carrots, avocado, beet greens on top of the kale. Sprinkle green onions and sesame seeds all over the bowl. Drizzle more dressing to your taste all over the bowl.

Vegetarian Sundays::Baked Ziti

I love baked pasta casserole. They are hardy and tend to have lots of leftovers, a great perk for a Sunday dinner. We have enjoyed Baked Ziti (or as I used to call it as a child- BIG Ziti) off and on and it is always a hit. Here is a our simple recipe that we always follow. Add in any veggies you may have laying around to give it a more of a lasagna flair. Makes a wonderful "dinner is in an hour" meal.

Ingredients:
1 pound of whole-grain ziti pasta
30 Oz Ricotta Cheese
16 OZ shredded mozzerlla
1 egg, beaten
16 OZ tomato sauce
2 cloves fresh garlic, minced
1 TBS Basil
1 onion
1/2 cup grated fresh Parmesan cheese
16 oz mushrooms, sliced
8 oz sliced black olives

To Make:
1. Cook the pasta in water until it is al dente, drain and set-aside
2.In a separate bowl beat the egg and then whisk in the ricotta and mozzarella cheese Add in the tomato sauce and mix until well combined. Set aside.
3. In a skillet add the onion with a little cooking oil until translucent. Add in the mushrooms and cook until the mushrooms have released their water. Stir in the garlic and the basil. Saute for 5 minutes. Add to the bowl of ricotta and sauce you have set aside. Stir in the mushroom and onion mixture. Add in the black olives and stir into the mix.
4. In a large 8X10 casserole dish, grate a little lemon zest across the bottom and pour in the pasta noodles. Pour the ricotta and sauce mixture over the noodles and top with the Parmesan cheese.
5. Bake for 30 minutes at 375 F. Allow to stand and set for about 15-20 minutes before serving.

Vegetarian Sundays: Potato and Tempeh Curry

Here's another tasty find from one of my favorite blogs, 101 Cookbooks. If you have not visited her blog yet, you must. She has oodles and oodles of delicious-wholesome recipes.

We tried out her tempeh and potato curry the other night and let me just say....yum....mmmmm...omg! The left-overs were even more amazing. The spices truly mingled and heightened over night, plus it reheated without a hitch. I served it over brown jasmine rice and topped it with a fine helping of fresh cilantro. The cilantro makes for a nice spark of green to contrast the mostly yellow dish. My whole family enjoyed it and didn't find themselves snacking hours later, which is often a problem in our home.

Hope you and your family find it just as satisfying. Have a wonderful and tasty Sunday!