Roasted Vegetable and Feta Farinata

If you are like me, and love roasting vegetables along with a BBQ, or year round for that matter, this recipe is a great way to use up any leftovers. You can use any combo here – I used zucchini, red pepper and purple onion as that’s what I had on hand.  As with my other farinata recipes, these cut and freeze great for lunches, and I have been keeping one on hand on a regular basis for just that.  This will be a great way to use up the abundance of zucchini I’ll likely get during my summer CSA too 🙂

On to the recipe !

Asparagus and Gouda Farinata

This recipe was just something I whipped up on the weekend with a bunch of asparagus and shredded gouda.  Farinata is a simple dish made from chickpea flour and comes out as kind of a cross between a custardy pancake and a quiche, but is egg-free, gluten-free and vegetarian.  It can easily be made vegan through the addition of a vegan cheese substitute. The mix-in possibilities are endless, and you can eat this for any meal.  I consider this a kind of spring version of the dish.

On to the recipe!

Roasted Beet and Goat Cheese Waffles

My waffle iron is getting a lot of use this past week!  I love savory waffles and the combination of beets and goat cheese made for a tasty filling here.  And those beets were probably the last vegetable that I used up from last year’s CSA (Wysmykal Farm), just in time to start preparing for the next one.  I tend to use every bit of my beets, by cooking the greens in various ways, and usually roasting the beets, much of which ends up frozen for later use.

You can, of course, also use boiled beets, or even try them pickled, but I love how roasting the beets brings out their sweetness.  And for me, it’s also simplest that way.  I just give them a rinse, wrap them in foil and toss them in the oven at around 350 until they are soft, let them cool, and the peels come right off.  They freeze well, and then you have them on hand for soups, salads, or recipes like this.

Chipotle Squash and Cheddar Waffles

 

Snow days and freezer overflows mean lots and lots of cooking.  This past week I’ve made soups and stews to use up the last of my CSA frozen veggies from the year along with a few other things.  I’ve been trying to choose my carbs more carefully in the new year so decided to whip up a few new waffle recipes to have for snacks, breakfast or in place of sandwich bread (I had a breakfast sandwich with one of these today, so good!).  These waffles are gluten free and good for a little extra protein.  And best of all, easy to make.

Beer and Cheddar Chickpea Waffles

These savory beer and cheddar waffles are great for breakfast, lunch or snacks.  Enjoy them on their own with a dipping sauce of your choice (I have a dijon mayo here), or as I also have, used them in place of sandwich bread! And as long as you use a gluten-free beer, the chickpea flour used in these waffles means that they are not only filled with extra protein, but gluten-free too.  As with other waffles I’ve made, I also find that these stand up great to freezing, and are easily re-heated.

Grilled Nectarine and Goat Cheese Salad with Molasses Chipotle Dressing

This new summer salad balances sweet and heat with a little smokiness thrown in for good measure.  Juicy sweet nectarines are lightly grilled and along with creamy goat cheese, top a mixed green salad that is finished with a bright and spicy molasses chipotle dressing.

Smoked Cheddar and Beet Green Farinata

This time of year, I am always on the look out for new ways to use up all the greens that come in my CSA (Wysmykal Farm!).  This week’s delivery (a half share at that!) came with kale, some new turnips as well as little beets.  I cooked the kale and turnip greens separately so that I could whisk them into morning eggs, as well as freezing some for later.  I never toss the greens from my beets either, so while I was roasting them today to eat through the week, I whipped up this hearty farinata that’ll come in handy for quick lunches through the week, with some destined for the freezer.

Farinata is a kind of pancake made with chickpea flour.  It bakes up to kind of a dense custard-like texture and the combinations for what you can mix in are endless really.  It is already vegetarian and if you opt out on the cheese (or opt in a dairy-free version), this also makes for a great vegan meal.

Savory Chickpea Waffles (aka “Fa-waffles ! )

Apologies for the extended blogging hiatus !  I’ve still been cooking, just not developing any new recipes.  And sadly, I got into a little bit of a blogging slump.  It happens.

Thankfully my inspiration was not lost forever.  I tend to get really back into the swing of things once my CSA starts up for the year and I have to get creative with all my veggies.  The main recipe you see here (the waffles) didn’t use any of that up yet, but that lovely salad you see there is full of lovely new greens from Wysmykal Farms.  The feta is local too, from Holmestead Cheese.

I’m a big fan of using chickpea flour in every day cooking.  It satisfies a carb craving, but also delivers about 20 grams of protein per cup, which is a great bonus in healthier eating, especially if you are following a vegetarian diet.  I mostly like it for its taste, really, and after checking out this recipe for socca waffles, I was inspired to incorporate falafel flavors into a handy (and might I add, non-fried) meal or snack.  I opted to leave out flour or bulghur in the recipe, which also ended up making it a gluten-free waffle.  I was really pleased with how these turned out. And they whip up in no time.

As you can see, I served mine with a tahini sauce (I used this one) and a salad with a simple herbed lemon and EVOO dressing.

Ready for a recipe?

Shakshuka Breakfast Bake

I have gotten into the sort of bad habit lately of rushing out the door in the mornings and later starting the day with a granola bar from my work stash.  I’m lazy in the mornings, and much prefer to lay in bed a little longer than get up and make breakfast, especially during the colder months.  If I am going to eat at home, it has to be something quick and easy, preferably savory and more protein than starchy. So granola bars, while not the worst thing I could eat for breakfast, aren’t really hitting the spot.

I have done make-ahead breakfast / brunch bakes before and pleased with the results (check out my Greek Brunch Bake and my Tunisian Squash Casserole).  I like to use chickpea flour to add a little extra protein and fibre to my eggy bakes, and with the addition of vegetables and a little cheese, this makes for a pretty well-rounded, filling breakfast.  Plus, all the add-ins tend to make this a little more freezer friendly.  Win win !

For this one, I took my inspiration from the traditional shakshuka dish (eggs poached in a spiced tomato sauce) and ran with it.  Shakshuka itself is a simple, but delicious vegetarian dish, but on its own, not so freezer friendly, so this worked really well for what I wanted.  On to the recipe!

Creamy Kale and Lentil Soup

I still had some kale left over from my colcannon waffles the other day so I decided to make pot of soup and have done with it.  This is a hearty and rich version of a green lentil soup that will yield four approximately 2 cup servings.  I found this really filling, so I just had it with a little salad, but I would imagine it would be just as good with a biscuit or maybe a half sandwich.