Brussels Sprouts Salad with Avocado and Pistachios

I originally published this recipe in May of 2014. I can honestly say I have never made it again until now. It’s a little hidden gem hiding in the TAB archives and I’m excited to bring it back to life. The recipe has been slightly updated along with the photos and post.

An excerpt from the original post 5/16/14:

Cooking for my parents is one of my favorite things to do! The one night I was gone this week I think my parents went into panic mode and didn't know what to do without me cooking dinner. They had to resort to take-out when their "personal chef" was gone. 

Mom, Dad, looks like 2014 is looking a little like 2020 during quarantine. Would you agree? At this time in May ‘14 I had just finished my junior year of college and was home for a couple of weeks before moving to Washington D.C. for my summer internship with Scout. My parents had just moved into a new house and I was obsessed with cooking in their kitchen. Little has changed, their kitchen is still my favorite place to cook.

How cool that recipes can instantly take you back to a certain time of life. Since I obsessively take photos of almost everything that goes into my mouth, I probably remember meals more than others. But I’m sure some of you can agree that a certain recipe can instantly have you travel back in time.

Brussels Sprouts Salad with Avocado and Pistachios
serves 2 as an entree salad, and 4-5 as a side

Ingredients:
3 tbsp. olive oil
1 lb. brussels sprouts
1 small red onion or ½ of one large onion, thinly sliced
½ cup unsalted pistachios, shelled and coarsely chopped
1 avocado, cubed
¼ cup roughly chopped cilantro
juice of one lime
salt and pepper

Directions:
Trim the ends off the Brussels sprouts and thinly slice, so they look shaved. Cut the ends off of red onion and thinly slice into rings. Heat the olive oil in a non-stick pan over medium heat. Add the Brussels sprouts and onion to the pan. Season with salt and pepper and sauté for 4-5 minutes until both are tender.

Stir in the pistachios and lime juice, and cook for 2 more minutes until the Brussels are lightly browned, the onions are starting to cook down and all the flavors are combined. Remove from heat and gently stir in the avocado and cilantro. Serve warm!

Serve this as a side dish next to fish or even with barbecue. It’s also great as a hearty lunch salad and perfect enjoyed in spring and summer!

Annie

Lite Bite: Watermelon & Heirloom Tomato Salad

Summer BBQ, party or potluck? Look no further than this recipe. I have a thing for watermelon feta salads because I actually already have two (here and here) recipes on my site, but this one. THIS ONE!!

Watermelon & Heirloom Tomato Salad

Ingredients:
1/2 medium seedless watermelon, cut into small cubes
16 oz mini heirloom tomatoes (found at Trader Joe's), sliced in half
8 oz feta cheese block, cut into small cubes
olive oil
balsamic vinegar
flakey salt and fresh crackd pepper
small bunch of fresh basil

Directions:
In a large bowl gently toss cubed watermelon, cubed feta and sliced mini tomatoes. Drizzle over olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Not too much, you can always add more later. Sprinkle with fresh cracked black pepper and maldon salt if you have it. Any flakey salt will do. Tear the basil over the top. Tear instead of cut. Tearing will lend to better overall flavor and not brown the basil! Toss gently again and sprinkle a bit more salt, pepper and basil over the top to serve!

P.S. this makes great leftovers and is wonderful paired with grilled chicken (seen below).

Roasted Sweet Potatoes & Figs

We all know I love figs. I also have a mad crush on sweet potatoes. I dreamt up this recipe while trying to come up with as many was as I could to include figs in a recipe. I turned to the world wide web for more inspo and it seems that someone beat me to the chase. Not just anyone, but the great Yotam Ottolenghi (Yo-TAm Oh-toe-LEng-he) of Plenty, Jerusalem and more. We are big Jerusalem fans in my family. Thank you for that Claire and Mike. 

Roasted sweet potatoes are such a staple. Throw my favorite fruit with it and you have an insane side dish. So easy, but impressive. Just what I'm about. 

Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Figs adapted from Jerusalem 
yields 3-4 servings

Ingredients:
2 large or 3 medium sweet potatoes
2 Tbsp. olive oil
salt and pepper
red pepper flakes (optional) 
4 figs, stems removed and quartered
2 green onions, whtie and green part sliced on an angle
2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar

Directions:
Preheat your oven or toaster oven to 475 degrees. (I've been using my toaster oven like crazy in this summer heat to avoid heating my whole house and to avoid an extreme electricity bill).

Slice your sweet potatoes into wedges. Slice in half lengthwise, then in half again, and then again, so you get 8 wedges from one potato. Place the wedges on a roasting sheet and toss with olive oil, salt and pepper and a sprinkle of red pepper flakes.  Roast for 20-25 minutes, flipping them halfway through. 

When your potatoes are almost done, it's time to start making the balsamic reduction. In a small sauce pan, bring the balsamic vinegar to a boil. Reduce the heat and let simmer for 2 to 4 minutes. The balsamic with thicken. You will know when it easily coats the back of a spoon. If it gets too thick you can add a few drops of water to thin it out. 

Arrange the potato wedges and fresh figs on a platter.  Sprinkle over green onions and drizzle with the balsamic reduction. 

Annie

Watermelon Feta Pistachio Salad

Summer food is a love language of mine. It's colorful, fresh, bright, full of flavor, I love it. The unique combinations of summery fruits and vegetables totally gets me. This salad is just that. You get peppery arugula, juicy watermelon, crunchy pistachios, creamy feta cheese, finished off with salty sweet olive oil and balsamic. It works perfectly for a potluck side dish or a summer lunch or dinner. Bonus, there is no cooking involved. Just cut, chop and assemble. 

Watermelon Feta Pistachio Salad
yields 6-8 servings

Ingredients:
1 medium watermelon (soccer ball size)
1/3 cup pistachios, chopped
1/2 cup feta cheese
3 cups arugula
salt and pepper
olive oil
balsamic vinegar

Directions:
Cut your watermelon into 1 inch cubes, removing any seeds, then set aside. Roughly chop the pistachios. 

On a large platter layer your arugula. Top with half of the chopped watermelon, then sprinkle with some of the feta cheese. Layer on the rest of your watermelon and the rest of the feta. Sprinkle the chopped pistachios all over the top. Season with salt and pepper and a drizzle of olive oil and balsamic vinegar. 

All hail summer food!

Annie
 

Zucchini, So Hot Right Now

Zucchini bread, zucchini salsa, zucchini cakes and now zucchini fries. I'm on a zucchini kick, but apparently the rest of the world is too.

After having a casual discussion about zucchini with one of my roommates (we are strange like that) and both mentioning how we've always wanted to make zucchini fries, it seemed like the time was of the present. I googled a recipe, adapted it a bit to make them healthier, then found myself sitting down to a whole plate of z-fries for dinner. 

Baked Zucchini Fries
yields 16 fries

Ingredients: 
1 medium zucchini
1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs
whatever seasonings you have in the pantry (I did a combination of salt, pepper, dried rosemary and garlic salt)
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 egg white

Directions:
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Wash and dry your zucchini and cut the ends off. Cut your zucchini in half. Then slice each half down the middle. Slice into fourths so you end up with about 16 fry shape pieces. 

Mix bread crumbs and seasonings in a shallow dish. Pour flour in a separate dish, and beat your egg white in another dish. Dredge each fry in flour, egg, then bread crumbs and then place on your baking sheet. Once all your fries are coated, bake for 25 minutes until brown and crispy! 

I served mine with a spicy sriracha/ketchup combo! Extra tasty guilt free fries people!

You can serve these as a snack, side dish, or like me, a main dish! I find this totally acceptable considering all the health benefits of these little summer squashes. Low in calories, help prevent cancer and heart disease, have more potassium than a banana and can even help reduce constipation :0. Here are 35 more ways you can use this constipation reducing veggie. TMI? nah.

Annie