Except I don’t really go to potlucks. But if I did, I’d bring this always.  So full of vegetables, and the dressing is INSANE (in a good way).

It has been one heck of a week.  On Monday, I turned 28.  There was Chinese food, great friends and so much cake (funfetti with pink frosting, perfect for a 28 year old).

Alyssa and I decided the cake must be magic, because we both had AMAZING runs on Tuesday. She busted out some crazy fast mile repeats, and I did a 6 mile run with 4 tempo miles all under 7:00 min/mile!

We started a space unit at school, and this week the kids made Alka Seltzer rockets. I love my job.

Today I went for my second run of the week (I guess I’m going for quality, not quantity at the moment) and ended up doing 4.5 miles at 7:30 min/mile. It didn’t even feel that hard! I don’t know where this speed came from– or if it will stick around — but I like it.

I just made a few changes to this salad as it was originally written on Ashley’s beautiful blog. I served it over a bed of mixed sprouts, which was heavenly, and I left the sweetener out of the dressing. There are so many little tweaks you can make to personalize it!

Clearly I could never be a food stylist.

I kind of tried to artfully arrange slices of beets, avocado, and grapefruit, but then I sort of ruined it by chucking handfuls of walnuts and pomegranate seeds on top.  At least it’s healthy!  

This salad is part of my continued quest to eat a large variety of produce and not just handfuls of chocolate chips.  It’s definitely an uphill battle.

Being home all day definitely makes it easier to eat a ton of produce (if I can keep myself from eating everything I bake).  In just over a month I’ll be back at work and I’ll have to do a little more planning in advance to make sure I have healthy lunches and snacks on hand.  I always kind of failed at that last year, and ended up eating peanut butter and jelly pretty much every day.  But I’m hoping that now I can figure out combinations I like, that I can prep in advance, so my lunches are interesting and healthy.

Roasting beets takes awhile, and so does sectioning grapefruit, so this probably won’t end up as one of my go-tos when packing my lunch.  But it’s so pretty and so full of good things I definitely plan on making it again!

Recipe:
2 medium beets, peeled
1 tbsp olive oil
4-6 oz baby spinach
1 grapefruit
1 avocado, thinly sliced
3 tbsp toasted walnuts
seeds of 1 pomegranate

dressing
3 Tbsp freshly squeezed grapefruit juice (squeeze the membranes left from sectioning the grapefruit)
juice of 1 lime
2 Tbsp walnut oil
1 tsp dijon
1 tsp agave
salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 375. Cut the beets into thin wedges and toss with the oil. Wrap in foil, place on a baking sheet, and bake for about 40 minutes, or until tender. Let cool completely.

To section the grapefruit, cut off the outer rind and membrane, then cut out the sections (here’s a how-to with pictures).

To make the dressing, whisk all the ingredients together.

Place the spinach in a large bowl and toss with the dressing. Divide among individual bowls, then top each with a few slices of beet, avocado, and grapefruit. Sprinkle with walnuts and pomegranate seeds.

I had possibly the laziest weekend ever, but we got some much-needed stuff done around the house, including hanging pictures (FINALLY! It only took us 6 weeks of living here)

There are still a ton of bare walls, including above the crib, but we’re going to order a tree decal soon. (Yeah, it better be really soon considering I’m due in LESS than 3 weeks!)

We got a HUGE box of baby stuff from Amazon, including the Twilight Turtle, which I completely adore. I kind of want to order one for our room too.

It’s basically a fancy night light that projects stars onto the wall and ceiling in calming blue and green light.
Mike re-potted a ton of plants for our porch garden, and I sat on the front steps providing moral support. I’m really good at that these days.

I made this salad for dinner tonight because I knew it would leave enough leftovers for both of us to take to lunch tomorrow. It’s really similar to the pineapple quinoa I made a few months ago, but makes an excellent dinner when topped with a fried egg.

Recipe:
(adapted from The New Moosewood Cookbook)

4 cups freshly cooked brown rice
3 tbsp peanut of vegetable oil
2 tbsp sesame oil
1 1/2 cups crushed pineapple in juice (do not drain)
1 garlic clove, finely minced
3 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp rice vinegar

2 green onions, finely chopped
2 stalks celery, thinly sliced
1 red bell pepper, julienned
1 green bell pepper, julienned
1 cup roughly chopped roasted peanuts
leaf lettuce
fried eggs (1 per person)- optional

Whisk the oils, pineapple, soy sauce, garlic, and vinegar together in a large bowl. Toss with the rice, then cover and chill while you prepare the vegetables.

Taste the rice and adjust the seasonings if necessary. Stir in the green onions, celery, bell peppers, and peanuts. Serve over lettuce, topped with a fried egg (if you wish)

I was initially doubtful when I looked at the recipe because I’m completely lame when it comes to combining new flavors. Since I’d never seen this combination before, I just didn’t know what to think. I’m so glad I tried it though. It was amazing on its own last night for dinner, and just as good today for lunch, tossed with fresh spinach.

The best thing about this salad is the roasted tomatoes. I love that it’s tomato season and I wish it could last forever. As tempting as they are plain…

tossing them with oil, a little sugar, and a pinch of salt and baking them for about 40 minutes elevates them to a whole new level of buttery sweetness.

I am slowly starting to love having time to do domestic things like roast tomatoes in the middle of the afternoon and make breakfast for Mike in the morning.

Fried eggs + avocado + hot sauce on toasted wheat bread.

I even packed his lunch.

We were joking last night about how I’m turning into a housewife. I don’t think I could ever actually be a full-time housewife but it’s kind of fun for right now. I’m hoping that the online course I’m taking for professional development helps prevent my brain from atrophying.

Recipe:
(adapted from Super Natural Every Day)

1 pint grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
2-4 tbsp olive oil (eyeball it – a good drizzle is fine!)
pinch salt
2 tsp sugar
3-4 cups black beans (2 cans, rinsed and drained)
crumbled feta (about a handful)
toasted sliced almonds (about a handful)
juice and zest of one lemon
fresh spinach (optional)

First roast the tomatoes: Toss the tomatoes, salt, sugar, and oil together and bake on a rimmed baking sheet at 350 F for about 40 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool.

In a medium bowl, toss beans, feta, toasted almonds, lemon juice and zest, and cooled tomatoes together and adjust ingredients to taste. Toss with spinach if desired.

She is measuring perfectly and was SUPER active… flipping around and kicking and punching like crazy. It was absolutely AMAZING to see, and we are so excited (even though I was convinced for the past few months that we were having a boy!)

They gave us a TON of pictures!

And on a completely unrelated note, I made some pretty delicious potato salad.

After having wasabi potato salad from Delica the other day, I realized it had to be pretty easy to make at home. This wasn’t an exact copy of their recipe because I used celery instead of snow peas, and I kind of made it up as I went along, but it tasted great, and I love how easy it is to adapt it to your tastes (this one definitely had a kick).

I found wasabi powder at the Asian grocery store, but I’m not sure if different brands have varying levels of pungence, so I’d add it about a quarter teaspoon at a time just so you don’t completely burn out your sinuses.

Recipe:
3/4 lb baby red potatoes, halved or quartered (into bite-sized pieces)
2 stalks celery, thinly sliced
2 Tbsp rice vinegar
2-3 Tbsp mayonaise
pinch salt
2 t powdered wasabi (or to taste)

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add the potatoes. Cook for about 15 minutes, or until fork-tender (but not falling apart!)

Drain and submerge into cold water to stop the cooking, then drain again. Toss in a bowl with a pinch of salt and the rice vinegar.

Stir in the mayonnaise and celery and mash up some of the potatoes. Add wasabi to taste. Chill for at least an hour before serving.

If you ever find yourself in Berkeley like I did the other day, please do yourself a favor and visit Berkeley Bowl. The produce section is indescribably amazing. Not only do they have about 20 different kinds of apples and 10 kinds of potatoes, they have signs telling you where each and every item was grown. Except for the shallots and a red onion (which I got at Trader Joe’s a while ago), all the produce in this salad is from California. There were huge piles of local asparagus, ripe avocados, and beautiful oranges. Mike’s only request for dinner was lots of vegetables, so I decided a salad — with barley to make it more filling — would be perfect.

Since I’m not working this week, it was the perfect opportunity to go meet Mike for lunch in the city.

We went to the Ferry Building, which has a huge variety of lunch options. We ended up at Delica.

I got 3 salads: wasabi potato salad (awesome), burdock salad (also tasty), and the hijiki and soybean salad (which is really similar to something I’ve made before).

My only complaint is that the serving sizes were TINY, but that was okay because it meant I had room for dessert!

Cookies and cream gelato… I need more of you in my life.

I love this weather and this view!

Recipe:

dressing
1 tbsp finely chopped shallot
1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tsp orange zest
pinch sugar, salt, and pepper
2 tbsp olive oil

salad
1 cup pot barley (slightly less processed than pearl barley, which you can sub if that’s what you have)
2 cups water
3 ounces mixed salad greens
12 spears asparagus, thinly sliced on the diagonal
1 avocado, diced
1/2 cup roughly chopped walnuts, toasted
1/4 red onion, thinly sliced

Bring the water to a boil and add the barley. Turn down to low and simmer, covered, about 45 minutes or until barley is tender. Let cool.

Blanch the asparagus: Bring a small pot of water to a boil. Add the asparagus and cook for 30 seconds, then drain and submerge into cold water to stop the pieces from cooking. Drain well and set aside.

Put the greens and barley in a large bowl. Add the dressing and toss, then add the asparagus, avocado, walnuts, and onion. Mix to combine, then serve.

Once again the weekend went by WAY too fast, but at least it was a good one and I don’t feel like I wasted a moment of it! Here’s a little re-cap (which I promise WILL tie in with this recipe).

Saturday started VERY early at the National Science Teachers Association conference.

I went to a bunch of different presentations which all (obviously) revolved around teaching science. It was really inspiring and convinced me even more than I already was, that I’m in the PERFECT profession for me. That’s a good feeling.

After that Mike came into the city and we did some shopping. I am nowhere near ready to shop the maternity section yet, but I definitely need tops with a little more room. I’m still at that awkward “is it a beer belly or a baby?” stage, so I’d like to disguise it as much as I can. Mike had been talking all week about surprising me on Saturday night. He had a restaurant picked out but wouldn’t give me any clues about it until we arrived. He picked a winner!

Gracias Madre is a vegan, organic Mexican restaurant and it is AWESOME! I tried to take pictures of the food but it was dark inside, and nobody wants to see overly grainy, yellow pictures of unidentifiable food, so I’ll spare you. Their vegan Caesar was INSANE. Romaine in a perfect, creamy dressing with chunks of avocado and topped with toasted pumpkin seeds. I kind of wanted to go stalk the open kitchen until I figured out the dressing, because it was so good. I also got mushroom enchiladas (good, but the mushrooms were over-salted and the tortillas were under the filling and sauce instead of wrapped around them, which was kind of weird). The mole was superb though… just the right amount of sweetness. They came with black beans and the BEST kale I’ve ever had. Ever. And I’ve eaten a fair amount of kale in my life. It was crisp but not undercooked, slightly spicy, and really garlicky. LOVE.

Usually after Mexican food I just feel bloated and gross, but even though I ate until I was pretty full, it was a satisfied and good full, not an I-need-to-put-on-sweatpants-immediately-or-I-will-pass-out full. It definitely helped that they didn’t bring chips to the table…

The time change kind of messed with me like it always does and I didn’t get started on my 18 mile run until 8:30 (SUPER late for a long run!) The highlight of the run? I saw some buffalo!

I have no idea why Golden Gate park has buffalo, but they do…enclosed in an electric fence AND a tall chain-link fence. The run was pretty awesome until about 15 miles. Then I started feeling kind of dizzy and weak, so I chugged a bunch of water and walked for a few minutes. I felt a lot better after my walk break, and my knee held up pretty well, so that was a plus. Boston is only 5 weeks away!

Between the run and the amazing vegan dinner, I realized I’ve been relying WAY too much on bread and cheese as staples lately, and I know I can do better for myself and my little parasite/fetus. So I need to make a lot more things like this. I mean, I still have a brownie recipe I’ll share later this week, and I made some pretty fabulous (but not so healthy) pizza on Friday night, but I’m going to try to get back to focusing on healthy, whole food vegetarian and vegan meals. Lets see how that goes…

This was the first time I think I’ve ever had fresh tarragon, and if you like fennel, you will love it! It has a slightly licorice-like flavor, and it really mixes nicely with the vinegar and shallots here. I love fine bulgur, because you don’t even need to cook it! Just give it about 15 minutes to soak and it’s ready. The recipe originally called for green lentils, but I really liked it with white beans instead. And the toasted walnuts are a must for both crunch and flavor! Mike made lettuce wraps with it, which looked pretty tasty.

Recipe:
(adapted from The Gourmet Cookbook)

2 cups cooked and drained white beans
1 cup fine bulgur
1 1/2 cups water
1 large shallot, finely chopped
3 tbsp red wine vinegar
2 medium carrots, finely diced
2 stalks celery, finely diced
3 tbsp chopped fresh tarragon
3 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup walnuts, toasted until fragrant
romaine leaves (optional)

Combine the bulgur and water in a medium bowl and set aside to soak for about 15 minutes. Fluff with a fork.

Stir the vinegar and chopped shallot together in a small bowl and let stand for about 10 minutes.

Put the celery, carrot, and beans in a large bowl. Stir in the bulgur, shallot mixture, and tarragon and drizzle with the olive oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve over romaine if desired, topped with a sprinkling of toasted walnuts.

The honey mustard dressing and crumbles of feta bring it all together. I love this salad… I just wish I’d made it sooner.

Recipe:
serves 4-6

salad
5 ounces salad greens (I used baby romaine)
1 medium sweet potato, peeled and diced into 1 cm cubes
2 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper
1/4 cup sliced almonds
2 ounces feta, crumbled

dressing
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tbsp honey
2 tsp dijon mustard

Preheat the oven to 425. Toss the sweet potatoes with 2 Tbsp olive oil and a few pinches of salt and pepper. Spread on a parchment-lined baking sheet and cook for about 25 minutes or until tender. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and let cool.

While the sweet potatoes are in the oven, spread the almonds on a baking sheet or in a cake pan. Toast in the oven, shaking the pan every 30 seconds or so until golden brown.

To make the dressing, whisk all the ingredients together in a small bowl.

Put the lettuce in a large bowl and add the dressing. Toss well, then distribute among salad plates or bowls. Top with sweet potatoes, almonds, and feta.

Around here, Christmas means cookies…

more cookies…

snow (which fortunately didn’t stick!)

gingerbread houses

candles from when my mom was a kid (not sure why they look so creepy here)

and maybe some more cookies

As much as I love stuffing myself with cookies (my sister made all of them and she is an insanely good baker), sometimes I just need vegetables. And look, they can be festive too!

I first made this salad for my work Christmas part and although it’s pretty basic, it’s delicious and brightly colored and perfect for Christmas (even if the tomatoes aren’t exactly seasonal. Oops). I have a basil plant in my kitchen so it was easy to include fresh basil, but I realize that can be a challenge this time of year so it’s not absolutely necessary.

Recipe:

one head of romaine lettuce, large outer leaves removed
a few handfuls assorted cherry tomatoes (a mix of red and yellow is good)
a few tbsp fresh basil, thinly sliced
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
1-2 ounces crumbled feta
2 tbsp minced roasted red pepper

3 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp dijon mustard
salt and pepper

Cut the head of lettuce crosswise into 1″ pieces. Wash and drain thoroughly, then place in a large bowl

Slice the tomatoes in half and add to the lettuce.

Rinse the red onion slices under cold running water and drain well.

Toss the lettuce, tomatoes, basil, onions, feta, and red peppers together.

Whisk the olive oil, balsamic, mustard, salt and pepper, and add to the salad (you may not need to use all of it). Toss well and then serve.