Strawberry, Goat Cheese, and Walnut Salad

I love all the fresh fruits and vegetables that start to become seasonal in spring and travel through the summer. We are entering strawberry growing season, and the market I go to is packed to the brim with the juicy, plump treats. Seriously, I love strawberries. They're so versatile: you can stuff them with cream cheese filling or drizzle balsamic over them, put them in pie or use them in a smoothie. I love combining strawberries with some greens and a little crunch-- which is exactly what this salad does.

This salad is a combination of fresh strawberries, nutty and crunchy walnuts, delicate baby spinach, and just a hint of creamy tang from crumbled goat cheese. I buy walnuts when they're in season and freeze them, because the oils in the walnuts have the tendency to make them expire if you don't. Toasting the walnuts adds a depth and complexity to the salad. Plus it's drizzled with a light and refreshing strawberry balsamic dressing, which: YES.

Strawberry, Goat Cheese, and Walnut Salad

Serves 3                   Serving Size: about 2 and 1/2 cups salad and 2tbl dressing

Ingredients:

• 6c. baby spinach 
• 1c. quartered strawberries
• 2tbl chopped walnuts, toasted (simply cook in a pan, no oil, for about 1 minute on medium-low heat, moving occasionally)
• 1 ounce goat cheese, crumbled

Dressing:

•  1tbl balsamic vinegar
• 1/2tbl extra virgin olive oil
• 2 medium strawberries
• 1tbl honey
• 1tbl warm water

Instructions:

1. To prepare the salad, lay the spinach out on a plate or in a bowl. Evenly distribute the strawberries, walnuts, and goat cheese on the salad.
2. To create the dressing, combine the vinegar, oil, strawberries, honey, and water in a food processor or blender. Puree until smooth and well-combined. Drizzle over salad and enjoy!

Nutrition Information:
Sodium: 84mg
Total Fat: 8g
         Saturated: 2g
         Mono: 3g
         Poly: 3g
         Trans: 0g
Sugar: 8g
Protein: 4g
Calories: 121

Tofu and Veggie Rice

I really used to not like tofu.

Turns out, I was eating it from places that didn't really know how to do it justice.

When you get good tofu -- like good tofu-- it's one of those eye-opening, "oh!" experiences. Almost like Brussel Sprouts. I used to hate those too, until my art teacher (who loved to cook) made the best recipe ever and I fell in love. The same thing happened with tofu for me. I had been failing to find any tofu I actually liked, but then I stepped into a Thai place back in Flagstaff about five years ago and had this fantastic dish of tofu and curry with rice. Instead of being mushy, the tofu was crisp and had a beautiful golden skin on the outside.

I figured I should learn how to do that. As my friend Spencer always says about tattoos, "Start small and work your way up." And you're probably thinking, Michelle, why are you even talking about this? Answer: reasons. Ok, I just wanted an excuse to mention tattoos. But! It does relate. When cooking a new ingredient, I figure the same concept applies. Start small (simple) and work your way up (complex). That's why the first recipe I did was this Tofu and Vegetable Rice. It's very simple, easy to put together, and definitely highlights each ingredient. Tofu is a fantastic ingredient because it is like a sponge in texture: it soaks up whatever flavors you let it. The marinade, which is a combination of sweet-spicy-just-a-touch-salty, permeates the tofu and the rice; plus, it compliments that natural texture of the vegetables. It looks pretty, tastes awesome, and is super healthy. Anyone else as excited for this as I am?

You should be.

Tofu and Vegetable Rice

Serves 4              Serving Size: about 1c.

Ingredients:

Marinade:

• 2tbl freshly ground chile paste (Sambal oelek)
• 2tbl hoisin
• 1tbl honey (strict vegans: use maple syrup or agave)
• 1tsp low sodium soy sauce
• juice of one lemon

Rice:

• 6 oz extra firm drained tofu, pressed of liquid, cut into cubes
• 4oz bella mushrooms, cut into cubes
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 2 small summer squash (such as zucchini or yellow), cut into cubes
• 1/2c. sliced green onions
• 1c. fresh or frozen peas
• 2c. cooked brown rice

Instructions:

1. Whisk together the Marinade ingredients in a medium bowl. Add tofu, and toss to coat. Allow to sit twenty minutes.
2. Meanwhile, preheat a large skillet coated with cooking spray over medium heat. Add the mushrooms, red bell pepper, and squash to the pan; cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until starting to turn tender. Add the green onions and tofu (with the marinade) to the pan; cook another 4 minutes on medium, stirring often. Add the peas to the vegetable-tofu mixture; cook 2 minutes or until warmed through.
3. In a large bowl, combine the rice and the vegetable-tofu mixture, and toss well to combine (you want that marinade coating everything!) Serve with more green onions, if desired.

Nutrition Facts:
Sodium: 386mg
Total Fat: 4g
     Saturated: 1g
     Poly: 2g
     Mono: 1g
     Trans: 0g
Sugar: 11g
Protein: 12g
Calories: 254

Raspberry-Lemon Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

There's something beautiful about the combination of raspberry and lemon. Is it the colors? I've always been a fan of bright colors but that can't be the only reason because I refuse to wear yellow. Of course, I'm sure there are other reasons. Most obviously, taste. I remember, as a kid (heck, who am I kidding: even today) I loved loved loved raspberry lemonade. I also loved cake.

Like, a lot.

My dad would make such cool cakes for my brother's and my birthdays. It was seriously the best. He made a barbie cake, and a Jurassic Park one, along with a few that involved the Disney princesses and Titanic. This is from a guy who had no cake decorating experience. I think he probably spent hours on those things, just because we asked for them. I bet there a pictures floating around in our photo albums (because yes, we are old and don't have everything on the Cloud, or whatever it's called).

Anyways. I figured raspberry+lemon+cake, and then covered with a creamy frosting that adds just enough sweetness to balance the tang of the raspberry and lemon, would be awesome.

It was awesome.

You should make it.

And then eat it (because trust me, you'll want to just stare at it for a while because it's so beautiful but BE STRONG, eat the cake).

Because P.S:
There's chocolate!

Raspberry-Lemon Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Adapted from Cooking Light

Serves 12                    Serving Size: 1 slice 

Ingredients

Cake:

• 1c. light vanilla soymilk
• 1tsp apple cider vinegar
• 1c. all-purpose flour
• 1c. whole wheat flour
• 1tsp baking powder
• 1/2tsp baking soda
• 1/2tsp salt
• 1 and 1/2c. splenda or other calorie-free sweetener
• 2tbl olive oil
• 1/4c. plus 2tbl applesauce
• 2 large eggs
• 1 large egg white
• 1 large lemon, zest and juice
• 2c. raspberries, fresh, washed and dried

Frosting:

• 8oz low fat cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1tsp vanilla extract
•  1/4c. brown sugar
• 1/2c.sugar OR splenda
• 2tbl mini chocolate chips

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Meanwhile, combine soy milk and vinegar in a small bowl; set aside for at least ten minutes (it should get a bit foamy).
3. In a medium bowl, combine flours, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
4. In a large bowl, beat the splenda, oil, and applesauce together with an electric mixer for 1 minute, or until well-combined. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well with each egg added. Add the flour mixture and the soymilk mixture alternately to the sugar mixture, beginning and ending with the flour. Beat in the zest and juice of the lemon.
5. Coat 2 (8-inch) round cake pans with flour-added cooking spray, line the bottoms with wax paper (great how-to instructions here), and then spray with more cooking spray. Pour the batter into the [ans, and sharply tap each one once to remove any air bubbles. Bake at 350F for 32 minutes, or until cooked through. Cool for 20 minutes on a wire rack; then carefully invert the pans onto the rack so the cakes can cool out of the pans for another hour. Make sure to remove the wax paper!
6. To make icing, combine cream cheese, vanilla, brown sugar, and sugar; beat on high until fluffy and light (about 5 minutes).
7. To make the actual cake, place one of the cakes on a serving platter. Frost with about 1/3 of the frosting, and place 1c. of raspberries on top. Make dots of frosting on top of the raspberries, until only 1/2 of the frosting remains. Top with the other half of the cake, and frost that as well (it helps to make a huge pile of frosting in the middle and then spread it out gently to the edges). Top with remaining raspberries, and chocolate chips. 

Nutrition Information:
Sodium: 267mg
Fat:8g
      Saturated: 3g
      Mono: 3g
      Trans:0g
Sugar: 8g
Protein: 6g
Calories: 196

Zucchini Chocolate Chip Muffins

I remember my high-school boyfriend. He was a decently sweet guy, given that it was high school and all of us were growing and had no real clue what the real world was like. He worked at this really fancy restaurant called The Cottage Place in Flagstaff, AZ, and so he thought he was total hot stuff. He used to bring me lunch every week which: awesome. Super good. One of the few things I miss because free food= free time and free happy tummy.

Sometimes we cooked together and it was always semi-stressful simply because I was positive he was judging me (which I'm sure, looking back, he wasn't). He was a good cook, but he didn't know everything (even if he thought he did).I remember that when I discovered the recipe I am about to show you, he was very doubtful. Like: eww, zucchini? In a muffin? And it was just like: bro, calm down, just try it.

(And yes, I do use "bro" on a daily basis. I'm a frat boy stuck in the body of a college girl.)

Anyways. People see "zucchini" and "muffin" and sometimes freak out. Brain explosion. Which, let's be honest, isn't healthy. So how about you do be healthy, and try out something new? Maybe you feel like moist, chocolate-studded muffins with hints of cinnamon and sweet brown sugar. Or maybe you just have a lot of zucchini that you need to use up. Either way, these muffins will do the job. It's a sweet muffin batter with oats tossed in and given a red-carpet makeover with dark chocolate chips. Zucchini keeps these muffins tender and moist, and I assure you that it does not make the muffins taste like vegetables. If you are trying to sneak some veggies into your kid's --or heck, even your-- diet, this is definitely a great way to ease into it. You will be packing in some whole grains and nutrients into a normally empty-calorie treat.

These muffins are so delish, I can barely contain my happiness about them. Honestly. Maybe it’s just summer fever or a long-lasting smugness from making muffins my ex-boyfriend liked even when he doubted me initially, BUT I would gladly swear by these muffins. The chocolate chips get all melty and make each bite sweet and smooth, while the touch of oats create a perfect texture.

P.S.

These make killer jumbo muffins too!

Zucchini Chocolate Chip Muffins

Adapted From AllRecipes

Makes 12 Regular-sized Muffins

Ingredients:

• 1/4c. whole wheat flour
• 1c. all-purpose flour
• 1/4c. dry one-minute oats
• 1tsp baking powder
• 1/4tsp nutmeg
• 1tsp cinnamon
• 1/4tsp salt
• 3/4c. sugar OR splenda
• 1 cage-free egg, lightly beaten
• 1/2c. no sugar added applesauce
• 1/4c. light vanilla soy (or unsweetened almond milk+1/2tsp vanilla)
• 1/3c. dark chocolate chips
• 1c. shredded (grated) zucchini (just grate it like you would cheese, but de-seed them first)

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. In a medium bowl, combine the flours, oats, baking powder, nutmeg, cinnamon, salt, and sugar.
3. In a small bowl, combine the egg, applesauce, and soy. Pour that mixture into the dry ingredients, and mix just until wet (don't over mix!). Add in the zucchini, and mix until evenly distributed. Fold in chocolate chips.
4. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the muffin comes out clean.

Nutrition Information (using Sugar):
Sodium: 96mg
Total Fat: 3g
       Saturated: 0g
       Trans: 0g
Sugar: 16g
Protein: 3g
Calories: 154