#Lunch (What I've Been Eating!) Round Three

I was chit chatting with someone yesterday who was commented on my #lunch Instagram photos.  She said, "Wow - it looks like you spend an awful lot of time on making lunch! Who's got time for that?" So - I told her my secret. It is leftovers. I use what we had for dinner the night before - or maybe combine stuff from two or three nights of meals. For instance, in this post any protein used (except the poached egg) was from some already cooked up meat, like a roasted chicken or pork shoulder. And, I'm a real fan of using canned goods such as tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, coconut milk and broth of all kinds! To finish a dish off, just throw on a handful of herbs drizzle it with olive oil, and sprinkle with finishing salt. Remember, we eat with our eyes first! 

Banh Mi Bowl

To Assemble Banh Mi Bowls:

1.  For each bowl, cut a fourth of a cucumber into sticks, place in a bowl, cover with rice wine vinegar. Do the same thing for 1/8 of a sliced red onion. Plain or even apple cider vinegar can be substituted for the rice wine vinegar.  On the day I made this lunch, I didn't have any carrots or daikon radish on hand, but they are wonderful to give a soak in vinegar and use in this bowl as well. Set the cucumber sticks and red onion slices aside while they sit for at least 5 minutes. 

2. For each serving, use a heaping half cup of left over cooked chicken, beef, or pork.

Whisk together:

2 cloves garlic, put through a press
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons fish sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons Maggi, Tamari or soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
pinch black pepper

Place the cooked meat with the whisked mixture and saute together over medium low heat for a good 5 minutes until the meat gets a crispy brown texture on the out side.

3. According to package directions, cook one serving of rice noodles, or even thin spaghetti. Drain and place noodles in serving bowl.

4. Drain the vinegar soaked cucumbers and any other veggies that might have been soaking, and place them on top of the noodles.

5. Add the meat.

6. Finish with a handful of cilantro, Thai (or regular) basil, and sliced radishes. A few slices of a hot pepper such as jalapeno or Serrano look nice on top.

 Tomato Coconut Curry Soup

 Click here to get the recipe for Tomato Coconut Curry Soup

Citrus Beet Salad

Ingredients and directions for each serving:

About 3/4 cup cooked beets - that's about 1 medium beet per person.
1 medium orange, peeled and sectioned
1 medium grapefruit, peeled, sectioned, and cut into pieces if sections are large
Heaping 1 tablespoon of shelled pistachio nuts
Kosher salt
Pepper
Some good olive oil
A handful of washed and dried herbs such as dill, parsley, or basil 

Peel the beets, cut into chunks and either simmer on the stove in a small amount of lightly salted water until tender - about 7 minutes. Or, roast by putting them in a single layer, drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with Kosher salt, on a baking sheet at 375 degrees for about 45 to 50 minutes or until easily pierced with a fork.

Place the beets, orange and grapefruit slices on serving plate. Top with a handful of herbs. Sprinkle with pistachio nuts, Kosher salt and pepper. Add a swoosh of Greek yogurt on the side. Drizzle with some good olive oil.

Brown Rice Chickpea Stew

Ingredients and directions for four servings.

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 medium onion, diced

1 stalk celery, diced (optional)

2 garlic cloves, peeled and put through a press

1 (15 oz.) can broth - beef, chicken or vegetable

1 (15 oz.) can diced tomatoes

1 (15 oz.) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1 cup rice, brown or white

1 cup water

1/2 cup of protein if desired, such as cooked chicken, shredded beef or pork - or poached egg - check out my happylittle video of how to make them :)

1/2 teaspoon salt

scant 1/2 teaspoon oregano

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves, washed and dried

Heat the oil in sauce pan and saute the onion and celery (if using) until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and saute another 30 seconds. Pour in the broth, diced tomatoes along with their juice, and the drained chickpeas. Add the cup of water and rice. Season with the oregano, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then turn down heat to low and simmer for 45 minutes or until the rice is tender. Ladle into bowls and sprinkle each serving with a tablespoon of cilantro leaves

I'm a Woman Who Eats - Lunch! Round Two

So here's round two of my "healthyish" lunches. If my neighbors ever glance over and see me photographing my food,  I'm sure they think I'm crazy! But so far this little goal of mine to snap a pic of what I'm eating for lunch has been a lot of fun! And - if you are curious about week one - you'll find it here.

Socca (Chickpea Flour Pancake) with Onions, Tomatoes and Chickpeas

Ingredients for 2 Servings:

1 medium tomato
1 medium onion
4 tablespoon oil, divided
1/2 cup chickpea flour (or regular flour)
1 egg
1/2 cup water
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1 cup canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed, divided
1/4 Geek yogurt
Kosher salt for sprinkling
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

Procedure:

Dice tomato and slice onion. Heat 2 tablespoon of oil in a skillet. Using medium low heat, saute the tomato and onion until tender. Add 1/2 cup of the chickpeas and continue to cook another 2 minutes. Set aside.

Meanwhile, mix together the flour, egg, water, salt and pepper. Stir in the remaining chickpeas. Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons oil. Using medium heat, fry two socca pancakes; use half the batter for each one, turning over when the edges are brown and you see bubbles on the surface.

Place each pancake on a plate. Divide the tomato mixture and spoon over the pancakes. Garnish each plate with 2 tablespoons of Greek yogurt and 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro. Sprinkle with Kosher salt.

So Easy Black Bean Soup - Serves 2

Ingredients:

1 (15 oz.) can beef broth
1 (15 oz.) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1/4 chopped cilantro
1/8 teaspoon chipotle chili powder (or smoked paprika)
2 tablespoons Greek yogurt
6 jalapeno slices

Procedure:

Heat broth, beans, cilantro and chili powder to boiling, then turn down heat and cook for 5 more minutes. Divide soup into two bowls. Garnish each bowl with 1 tablespoon yogurt and 3 jalapeno slices.

Chicken Souvlaki in Easy Flatbread

I stuffed the Chicken Souvlaki into Bon Appetit's Easy Flatbread recipe - just click on the links for the recipe!

Fake Pho w/ Zucchini Noodles

I followed my recipe for Fake Pho - click on the link- but instead of noodles, I spiralized a zucchini. I placed the raw "zoodles" in the bowl, and when I poured the steaming broth on them, they retained just the right amount of bite feel.