Spaghetti Squash Korean Kimchi Bowl

I wasn't originally planning on posting this, but after snapping this dinner on snapchat (annietucker93 <-- if you don't follow me) I got enough responses asking for the recipe. So, here we go. 

While Claire was in town we made homemade kimchi and also had dinner at our favorite new Korean spot. With Korean food on the brain and two big containers of kimchi, we did a little research on ways we could use it up. Claire is easily the most experienced eater in the family having been to Japan, Morocco, Australia and more. I always love to hear what she has been eating and cooking!

I came up with the recipe for this kimchi bowl inspired by different rice and noodle bowls I saw. Having just bought a spaghetti squash and being borderline obsessed with spaghetti squash, it seemed like the perfect base. It all kind of came together by throwing the contents of my fridge into a bowl, but it worked. 
**Read the directions all the way through first, so you can get the flow of when things should be made. 

Spaghetti Squash Korean Kimchi Bowl
yields 2 servings

Ingredients:
1 spaghetti squash
1/2 cup edamame, thawed
1/2 cup shredded carrots (about 6 baby carrots)
1/2 cup kimchi
2-3 cups spinach
2 eggs
1 garlic clove, minced
olive oil
salt & pepper
seasme seeds

Sauce:
2 Tbsp. tamari
1 tsp. sesame oil
2 tsp. chili paste
1 garlic clove

Directions:
1. Preheat your oven to 400. Cut the spaghetti squash in half, and scrape out the seeds. Rub with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place face down in a baking dish and bake for 35-45 minutes. Here is a step by step tutorial. Or (I cheat) you can just pop it in the microwave for 5-10 minutes like I do.

2. When your squash has about 15 minutes to go, start to prepare your add-ins.

3. Thaw your edamame if frozen and grate your carrots on a box grater, set aside.

4. Heat a tiny bit of olive oil in a small pan over medium. Add in your minced garlic clove then the spinach and sautée until wilted. I splash in a little bit of water at the end to flash fry it a bit. 

5. Once your squash is done cooking it is time to prepare your soft boiled egg. You want this to be the last thing you do. To make the perfect soft boiled egg, place a small sauce pan filled with water over high heat. Once it comes to a boil, carefully drop in the eggs. Keep the water boiling and set your timer for 6 minutes, no minutes more. Let cook while you prepare your bowl.

6. Use a fork to create strands of spaghetti squash and get out of the skin. In a small bowl whisk tamari, sesame oil, chili paste and 2 Tbsp. water. In the same pan you cooked your spinach in, toss the spaghetti squash with the sauce until it is all covered and heated through. Place the squash in a bowl and then layer in the spinach, edamame, carrots, and kimchi.

7. At this point your timer should be going off. Take the egg out of the hot water with a slotted spoon and run under cold water. Peel your egg, carefully. Slice in half and add the runny egg to your bowl. Sprinkle it all with sesame seeds and serve!

Annie

CB&J Smoothie

The taste is similar to the childhood classic peanut butter and jell, but with cashew butter and blueberries this smoothie is brought up to age and multiplied in health benefits. It is a recreation of my current fav from our local smoothie place, Organic Squeeze.  The menu may allege it to be "kid friendly" but that doesn't mean adults can't enjoy it too. 

I took oldest sis to Organic Squeeze after a spin class while she was in town last week. I insisted she try the CB&J. She loved it. One of my roommates and I are hooked on this flavor too, so I've been set on recreating it. With a few rounds of testing I think I got it to taste to be just like the original. 

P.S. the pink himalayan sea salt is key! It gives it that little salty bite you find in a PB&J sandwich! And I find no problem with having pink salt around the house. 

CB&J Smoothie
yields 1 smoothie, inspired by Organic Squeeze

Ingredients:
1 cup almond milk, depending how thick you like it
1/2 cup frozen blueberries
1/2 frozen banana
1 Tbsp. cashew butter
2 Tbsp. oats
1 tsp. flax seeds
pinch of pink Himalayan sea salt
handful of ice

Directions:
Throw all your ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.

Annie

Best Banana Bread

Banana bread is like a blanket. One bite feels like that moment when you first tuck your feet into bed and pull the covers up to your neck. Warm, cozy and comfortable...

How bout that poem? Ya it was a stupid as you were thinking it was. But in all honesty banana bread is an ultimate comfort food. Anything you can eat for breakfast, dessert or a snack is a win!

This recipe makes some tasty batter and even better bread. You will get one or two loaves from this recipe depending on the size of pan you use. I like to use the disposable foil pans you can find at the grocery store and bake up a couple of loaves. Wrapping one up and using as a hostess gift and freezing the other to pull out for breakfast when I have company in town.

Banana Bread
yields (1) 9x5in or (2) 8x4in loaves

Ingredients: 
6 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cup white sugar
2 eggs
4 tsp. milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3-4 overripe bananas
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda

Directions:
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease one or two loaf pans, depending on what size you are using, with cooking spray and set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat sugar and butter on medium for two minutes. Scrape the sides then add the eggs one at a time. Add the milk, vanilla and bananas then mix. The batter will look a little lumpy and curdled but that's right!

Add the flour and baking soda and mix. Scrape down the sides and make sure everything is combined. Divide the batter among the two loaf pans, making sure to save a little bit to lick the bowl:) For (2) 8x4 pans bake for 45 - 55 minutes, for (1) 9x5 pan bake for 55 -65 minutes, until a knife is inserted into the middle and comes out completely clean.

*Saves in the freezer really well just wrap in foil then place in a large ziplock baggy. When you are ready to eat, just pull out and let it thaw on the counter. 

Annie

Sweet Potachos

I ate the whole pan. I thought I would just throw that out there at the beginning to give you a pre-cursor for how amaze these are. I'll also let you know that I thought these would be a huge fail, but they blew my expectations out of the water. Step aside tortilla chips, sweet potatoes just upped you.

Veggie chips can be a little tricky so I did my research to give you the best tips! Cutting your sweet potatoes super thin is key to get them to crisp up and hold all of your toppings. A mandoline makes it so easy, but if you don't have one just do your best to cut them as thin as possible. I'm slightly obsessed with my new mandoline (I got this one from Kuhn Rikon), and it is the main reason I came up with this dish.   I've been looking for any kind of veggie I can slice up thin. I'm weird. 

Tips:
-slice super thin
-bake on foil lined baking sheets
-coat the foil with oil, toss the sweet potatoes in oil too
-wait to salt until they are done baking
-let them finishing crisping with the oven door propped open and the oven turned off
-if some burn a little, that's even better (in my opinion)!!

Sweet Potato Nachos
serves 1-2 depending on how hungry you are

Ingredients:
1 medium sized sweet potato, thinly sliced
olive oil
sea salt
1/2 cup Mexican blend cheese
1/2 avocado, diced
1/2 cup leftover carnitas meat ;)
red onion, cilantro, plain greek yogurt, salsa

Directions:
Preheat your oven to 325 degrees. Line 2-3 baking sheets with foil. Pour about 1-2 Tbsp. of olive oil on to each foil lined sheet. Use your hands to spread it around and cover the whole surface.

Using a mandoline or a really sharp knife, thinly slice your sweet potato. Place in a bowl and toss with another tablespoon of oil. Place each piece of sweet potato on a cookie sheet. Make sure they don't overlap or touch. Place all of the cookie sheets in the oven on separate shelves. Bake for 15 minutes, rotating which pan is on top after 8 minutes. Cook the last 7 minutes. Pull the sheets out and flip over all of your sweet potato chips. Sprinkle with a little bit of salt then place back in the oven. Turn off the oven and crack open the door. Let the chips dry out for about 20 minutes. 

Once your chips are crispy, pull them out and load onto a small baking sheet. I used my toaster oven because it is small and perfect for one batch of nachos. Layer the chips in an even layer, then sprinkle on half of the cheese. Top with the carnitas meat and then the rest of the cheese. Broil for about 5-10 minutes until your cheese is melting. Pull out and top with diced red onion, cilantro, avocado, salsa and plain greek yogurt as a sour cream replacement. 

Snap pictures of these to your friends and make them really jealous. 

My roommate took one bite, and said "ya, you need to make those a lot." I have another sweet potato in my pantry just waiting to be mandolined and made into sweet potatchos. 

Annie

Almond Butter Blossoms

I know I talk about being allergic to peanut butter a lot, but I'm clearly missing out so just let me blab. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, never had one, Reese's cup, never had one, peanut butter blossoms, never had one. Until now, kind of.

Thank you almond butter for being my vice and helping me feel like a normal kid. I've made my own almond butter and jelly sandwiches before, I've even tried to make homemade Reese's using almond butter instead of PB, and now I have made my very own Almond Butter Blossoms. 

Even if you aren't allergic to peanut butter, you must give almond butter a try. The nutritional benefits in almonds totally kicks peanuts tush. It's so versatile. It's subtle nutty flavor is just enough flavor, but also discrete when added to smoothies, oatmeal, flourless desserts etc. 

Having never had any kind of nut butter growing up, coming around to the flavor of AB took some time. Justin's Almond Butter is what finally got me hooked. Justin's has maple, honey, vanilla and classic flavored almond butters. The vanilla pretty basically tastes like frosting, but it's healthy, so there's that.

This cookie is just like it's counterpart, but subs the PB for AB! The cookie is slightly sweet and nutty with a little kiss of sweet chocolate . I had peanut butter blossom pros taste these cookies and they requested I bring them more. I'll take that as a good sign! 

Almond Butter Blossoms
yields 2 dozen cookies

Ingredients:
1 package of Hershey's Kisses
1/2 cup shortening
3/4 cup Justin's Classic Almond Butter, softened
1/3 cup white sugar
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/2 cup flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. milk
more sugar for rolling in

Directions:
Unwrap about 24 Kisses and set aside. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. 

Beat the shortening and almond butter in an electric mixer until combined {Justin's is a little thicker than most almond butters so nuke it in the microwave for 15 seconds first). Scrape down the sides then add in both sugars and beat for 2-3 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla and mix to combine. Stir in flour, baking soda and salt. Lastly add the milk.

Using a cookie scoop, form 1-inch balls and roll in extra sugar. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 7-8 minutes. Immediately press a Kiss into each cookie, cracks will form. The Kisses will get glossy from the heat of the cookie but they won't melt! Cool completely before serving! 
 

Annie