Polenta & Orange Salad With Fennel Salsa (GF)

Another recipe, wahoo! Like I said last weekend, I broke into my cookbook collection for some recipe-inspiration. Husband and I love polenta on the grill. Remember my gluten-free grilled polenta bruschetta? Something just magical happens when sizzling brown grill marks are formed on the polenta, making it crispy on the outside and warm and creamy on the inside...mouth watering...Anyway! When going through Makini Howell's cookbook, Plum, and saw the recipe for Polenta & Orange Salad with Fennel Salsa, I knew that was a must try recipe! Grilled Polenta — Vegan — Gluten Free — What are you waiting for? Fire up your grills people!

I ventured slightly off the recipe, what else is new, right?

Ingredients

1 - 18 oz. sleeve of polenta — If you have ever made polenta from scratch, you know how time consuming it can be, stirring endlessly for proper consistency — This is an excellent short-cut to get dinner on the table quickly after work.

6 cups arugula

orange-cilantro vinaigrette

fennel salsa

Orange-Cilantro Vinaigrette

1 T. vinegar

1 T. chopped fresh cilantro, leaves and stems

1 T. gluten-free tamari

1 T. minced, peeled fresh ginger

1 t. sugar

3 T. olive oil

2 T. orange juice

1. Whisk together the vinegar, cilantro, tamari, ginger, sugar, olive oil and orange juice.

Fennel Salsa

2 T. olive oil

2 T. white wine vinegar

2 T. chopped fresh cilantro, leaves and stems

2 t. gluten-free tamari

2 t. minced, peeled fresh ginger

2 t. sugar

3 medium oranges, peeled, segmented, pith and membranes removed

1 medium fennel bulb, trimmed and sliced into 1/4-inch-wide by 2-inch long matchsticks

1/2 cup thinly sliced red onion

sea salt & freshly ground pepper

1. In a medium bowl, combine the oil, vinegar, cilantro, tamari, ginger, and sugar. Gently stir in the oranges, fennel, and onion. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Any leftover salsa will keep a good two weeks in the refrigerator. You can use it as a salad dressing or even as a condiment on a sandwich!

To Serve

1. Cut the polenta into discs and lightly brush each side with olive oil. Heat the grill to medium-high heat, and cook the cakes for 1-3 minutes on each side or until distinct grill marks form.

2. In a large bowl, combine the arugula and fennel salsa. Dress the mixture with 1/4 cup of the vinaigrette.

3. Divide the salad among the plates and arrange your polenta cakes alongside the greens.

4. Enjoy!

Another excellent recipe from Plum is the vegan mac & cheese, check out the recipe here.

Creamy Vegan Pasta Salad with Quick-Pickled Chiles

Dear food, it's been a while...

Hello kitchen, you've been underutilized. Do you feel purposeless?

Appliances and utensils, do you want to come out and play?

My goodness. I went from the Queen of the Kitchen to Queen of the Couch in the last six months. It is so very interesting how you really have no idea how pregnancy will affect you until it really does. The last six months looked a lot like this:

Toast.
Morning sickness.
Something random and nothing with spinach for lunch.
Midday sickness.
Take-out because there was no way I could possibly fathom cooking anything, plus I was starving.
Evening sickness.
Bedtime.
Wake-up.
Repeat.

Thank goodness I'm coming out of that horrible routine and feeling up to cooking again! ...still wondering why it's called "morning" sickness and not killer-all-day-sickness...

Last recipe I posted? Snow (ice) cream, back in January! Time for a new recipe huh? With the last few months's meals consisting of ginger ale and saltines, I was a bit short on food inspiration, so I hit up my Pinterest boards. Being that it is now officially summer, I decided a pasta salad would be quite fitting.

This recipe is: Lemony. Bright. The pickled chiles adds a touch of heat but with an excellent added dimension. Punchy saltiness with the olives. Creamy. Mmm-mmm-mmm, it is just plain good!

Creamy Vegan Pasta Salad with Quick-Pickled Chiles

Recipe by Laura Wright

INGREDIENTS

for the quick-pickled chiles
1 large or 2 small hot chiles, seeded + de-stemmed
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
fat pinch of sugar
pinch of salt

for the sauce
4 green onions
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp grainy mustard
3 tbsp oil

for the pasta
4 cups dry pasta, a small shape like orecchiette or elbows is preferable
10-12 asparagus spears
handful of snap peas, ends trimmed
1/2 cup olives (pitted or not—your choice!)

PREPARATION

Chop the chiles into small pieces and place in a small, non-reactive bowl. In a small saucepan, bring the apple cider vinegar, 2 tablespoons water, sugar and a pinch of salt to a boil. Pour this mixture over the chopped chiles and set aside for at least 10 minutes.

Cook the pasta according to package directions.

Drain, rinse, and set aside.

In a saucepan, bring about 4-5 cups of water to a boil. Remove and discard the hairy end bits of the green onions and chop off just the white parts; you’ll use the greens later. Once the water is boiling, throw the white parts into the water and cook until tender, about 4 minutes. Remove the onions with a pair of tongs (you’ll be using the water again) and place them in the pitcher of a blender.

To the blender, add the lemon juice, mustard, a splash of water, the oil, some salt, pepper, and a bit of the vinegar from the quick pickled chiles if you’d like. Blend the mixture on high until everything is mixed and creamy. Check the dressing for seasoning, adjust, and set aside.

Bring the saucepan of water back up to a boil. Chop the asparagus into small bits and throw them into the water. Simmer until the pieces are slightly tender, about 3-4 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water to prevent further cooking.

Thinly slice the greens from the green onions. Chop the snap peas up as well. Drain the pickled chiles.

In a large bowl, combine the cooked pasta, pickled chiles, cooked asparagus, chopped green onions and snap peas, the olives, and the dressing. Toss it all together and add salt and pepper to your liking. Serve at room temperature or chilled.

What is your go-to pasta salad recipe? Or have you found a recipe on Pinterest you'll be trying this week? Please share!

25 Week Ultrasound

This past week I scheduled an ultrasound and invited my sister, Joy, to attend. To give a brief background, Joy is about to embark on her final year of nursing school...but on a major adventure! From August through November she will be studying abroad in Zambia! Personally, I am so glad she is going because it is definitely an opportunity of a lifetime. But, while in Zambia, our little Valor will be born. Because she will miss the birth, I really wanted her to be a part of the experience and attend an ultrasound. It was such a cool experience. As I laid on the bed, stomach glazed with the jelly, Joy and I held hands and watched Valor squirm around on the ultrasound screen. I will never forget those moments as I watched my sister's eyes fill with delight and the happy tears stream down her face.

Joy, I couldn't ask for anything better than a sister — because of you, I'll always have a friend. Even if I got to choose who Valor's aunt might be, I'd still choose you. Valor is going to be so blessed to call you Aunt!

Only an Aunt can give hugs like a mother, can keep secrets like a sister, and share love like a friend. — unknown

Valor is a healthy little boy, weighing almost two whole pounds — 1 pound 12 ounces! He was moving and giving the tech a bit of a hard time. The only slight concern is that Valor is comfortably in a breech position, as he was at the 20 week ultrasound. He does have time to adjust his position before his due date and I am praying he does, so that my doctor won't have to forcibly turn him. The ultrasound tech said that we will most likely have one more ultrasound closer to the due date to check on Valor's positioning. So, prayers are definitely welcome!

To follow Joy's African nursing adventure this fall, visit her blog.