Back in action this workday morning, but I’m still swooning over the meals of last week. Sure, winter tried to derail any and all joy from our lives by starting the month with a snowstorm and concluding the week with several days of frigid temps, but that was the past! And this is now. And our dinners were blissfully delicious. 

The snow is melting, I’m regaining a sense of hope for spring, and our health-focused dinners are merrily rolling along. For the sake of transparency on this health journey, yes, I did have some indulgences over the weekend that included pasta, wine, and frozen custard.  All delicious and all worth it. #balance.

Let’s get to the meals, shall we?

Bibb Lettuce Salad with Garlic Dressing, Broiled Cod

Source: Small Victories by Julia Turshen

Tip: Much like many of Turshen’s recipes, these two were naturally gluten free! 

Review: When possible, we try to have seafood on Sunday nights because we can buy fresh fish the same day and eat it only hours later. So if you see seafood after a Sunday around here, then you’ll know it was probably frozen (example: shrimp!). 

This meal was of the utmost un-fussy and I mean that in the best way. A simple, broiled cod topped with a basic butter-parsley-shallot topping and an ultra-calm salad of lettuce and radishes. Nothing fancy, nothing complicated, just delicious broiled fish with a no-frills salad. Healthy to begin the week, end a weekend, and makes you feel good about your wellness journey- whatever that may mean for you. 

It doesn’t hurt that this dinner was also really yummy despite being so “basic,” which goes to show that the least exciting meals can often become some of your favorites. Not in the mood for a multi-step meal, but still seeking seafood? Add this dish to your dinner rotation. I promise you it’s worth it. :)  

Shredded Tofu with Spicy Ground Chicken and Edamame

Source: Dinner Changing the Game by Melissa Clark

Tip: Make sure to use gluten free soy sauce, AKA Tamari, for this meal. All other ingredients are gluten free. 

Review: If you had told me a couple years ago that I would welcome tofu-based meals into my home, I may have laughed. Nothing against tofu whatsoever, but my palate has grown considerably since starting this blog and I have this cookbook, in part, to thank for that mindset.

Melissa Clark’s semi-meatless meals are just as delicious as the ones featuring all-meat and her entirely vegetarian and/or vegan recipes are excellent as well. Surprise, surprise! And this dish was no exception. 

A solid dinner featuring three (!!) kinds of protein in the forms of tofu, ground chicken, and edamame, I loved how filling this meal was even though there wasn’t a traditional carb in sight! Not only delicious, but super flavorful and a great balance of textures, I enjoyed every morsel in my bowl. I added sriracha on top, an extra splash of Tamari, and a squeeze of fresh lime to give it extra spice and pizzazz. :) 

I look forward to making this meal time and again for a quick weeknight option that is actually far more versatile than I initially assumed. What if we used this dish as taco filling or put it on top of rice?! 😮 Game. Changed. I cannot wait. 

Green Beans with Pork, Garlic, and Chile Pepper

Source: Small Victories by Julia Turshen

Tip: For all Asian-style recipes, be sure to use gluten free soy sauce (Tamari). 

Review: If you’re looking for the most surprisingly delicious dish of the week, then look no further. Sure, the others were awesome and yummy and fun, but this one I’d make again (and inhale) in a second. Call me a sucker for anything Chinese-takeout-related, but this was truly an identical twin to a classic string bean dish on a takeout menu.

For the record, we used a full pound of ground pork to make this dinner heartier, but you could easily use a lot less and it would still be great (but not exceptional). I think the high bean-to-pork ratio is what made it so fun and ultra-delicious. That and the fact that we cooked this in a wok so the beans and pork each got uniquely crispy on their own before being mixed together and creating a dish of pure harmonious joy. Sorry, am I drooling? Oops. 

Be aware that this meal wasn’t nearly as spicy as I anticipated so if you’re not in a spicy mindset, don’t worry! It’s pretty average on the spice meter. We agreed to make it spicier next time because the heat would just make it even more awesome.  

The biggest issue with this dinner was that it was too good, we loved it too much, and uh, there weren’t any leftovers. 😳😋 

Roasted Cauliflower, Feta, and Orzo Salad

Source: Cravings by Chrissy Teigen

Tip: Skip the orzo and use gluten free pasta or rice. We used new (!) Banza Chickpea Rice. All other ingredients were gluten free. 

Review: The hardest part of picking and choosing salads from cookbooks these days is that certain books have way more than just salads that seem appealing! Example? Chrissy Teigen’s first cookbook, Cravings, which has an awesome-looking dish on literally every page. It’s a miracle we made it past the fries, waffles, and wings to find this salad. But have no fear, it was just as fabulous as the fries (I assume). 

Essentially, this was a “pasta salad” but way better because it was packed with veggies and flavors that jumped between salty and sweet, and textures that covered crunchy, soft, roasted, and smooth. The Banza Chickpea Rice was a fantastic substitute for orzo as it mimicked the shape, flavor, and texture very well! And it was much healthier. Win! 

What I didn’t expect from this salad was that it was absurdly delicious despite a fairly minimalist dressing which lightly coated each ingredient (no drowned greens here!). I loved the variety of flavors and textures and that it was scrumptious served warm, but I could instantly see us enjoying it served chilled during a summer bbq. It was also just so pretty to look at! 

Pasta-and-veggie salads don’t make it onto our plates that often, but that’s all changing with this one. It was hearty, healthy, beyond delicious, and had us eagerly excited for more. Conveniently, that’s part of the title of her second book. ;) 

Fried Halloumi Tacos with Guacamole

Source: What’s Gaby Cooking. Grab the recipe, here! 

Tip: This is a naturally gluten free meal as long as you use corn tortillas (which we did). 

Review: Fried. Cheese. Tacos. Need I say more? Beef up your weeknight by making these vegetarian beauties and you will be blown away by their incredible flavor and overall joyful tone. Yes, I’m saying a taco is joyful. What? They were exactly that! 

We decided on this dish after I received an email with the recipe in it and basically said, “This sounds amazing. I’ve found dinner,” which is often how many of our meal decisions are made. Plus, the photo made it look unbelievably yummy so we knew it was probably going to be a success. 

Halloumi, if you weren’t aware, is a very firm Greek cheese, which fries up quite well without any flour or coating (and won’t fall apart). Just make sure that the cheese slices are as dry as possible (blot with a paper towel) before frying. The less moisture the better!

The recipe called for a roasted corn guacamole, but Seth opted to make his own version of the avocado-based goodness which included tomatoes, shallots, Serrano Pepper, lime juice, cilantro, salt, and cumin. It was amazing and I wish we had extra of it right this instant! Guacamole is one of those foods I’ll never turn down; it’s welcome at any meal, any time of day. 

The tacos were fairly minimalist- just cheese and guacamole - but the flavor was bright, bold, and stupendous! I cannot wait to make them again; definitely a great option for taco night with friends. :) Again, you don’t need a billion ingredients to make an amazing meal. Just a few, high-quality ones will do! 

PS: we served our tacos with Right Rice Spanish Rice which is a new product I saw at Whole Foods. It’s gluten free and is a rice-like food that’s made of lentils, chickpeas, and rice. More protein and fiber than regular rice, so we decided to try it! Result? Yum.  

Eats and Events from the Weekend...

During what felt like the fastest weekend of 2019, we did manage to have a bunch of fun, eat great food, and be responsible adults who meal plan and grocery shop during bad weather.

I’m also happy to report (whether you’re interested or not) that my recently-adopted skincare routine is probably (??) working as it promised to do. I think my face is responding well to the new products. I hope. Maybe.

We spent time in Harvard Square on Saturday and popped into a few of the cute stores. I bought new hand soap at Aesop, poked my head in to Milk Bar, and browsed all of the candy at Burdick’s. Harvard Square is filled with charm and history, and often hordes of people, but for some reason it was delightfully calm during our time there. And we got parking! 🤗  

Saturday night we were lucky enough to get the last available bar seats at L’Andana before the place was sufficiently packed (before 6:30pm).

Red wine, mussels out of their shell and in a basil cream sauce, and then GF pasta with broccoli rabe and homemade sausage. An indulgent, stellar dinner for me. Seth had a wagyu steak which he loved. Man, what a treat! No complaints whatsoever except their bar seats are a tad...stiff. I recommend they get seat cushions. ;) 

Amidst the snow, slush, and rain on Sunday we did the usual meal planning (ahoy, salads!), grocery shopping, and some cleaning. To brighten things up we started celebrating Seth’s birthday a bit early by having dinner with his family which not only was delicious (tacos!), but made me wish it had been a three-day weekend. Never enough time for the fun! 

We hope you had a great weekend and that you’re as hopeful as we are that spring isn’t too far away. I cannot tell you how good it felt to walk around outside on Saturday (it was beautiful) without feeling cold or uncomfortable. Come on spring, we are ready for you!

Eat, well.

Mollie and Seth