stir fry with black beans

i make this all the time.  it is really easy, amazingly good and good for you.  i normally just use whatever veggies i have on hand. tonight i had some onion, zucchini, yellow squash, portabella mushroom, red and yellow sweet bell pepper, carrots and broccoli. 

i use a wok to cook it because it's huge and can fit all the veggies and it also cooks it in a way i like (browns lots of pieces on high heat).  put some oil in the wok and throw it all in!  i don't normally season it at all, as at the end i add soyaki to the entire mix, but also because the veggies taste great stir fried by themselves (also, i think because I've used this wok so many times there is flavor build in...haha). sometimes i will take some out before adding everything else and put it in some Tupperware to use for the rest of the week in other dishes. 

when the veggies are cooked and browned a bit i add a can of whole black beans and some soyaki.  then i cook it a bit more to let all the flavors meld, just a few minutes.  by this time i am impatient and my mouth is watering and I'm picking pieces out to "test."  spoon some into a bowl and top with avocado slices, in my opinion, the avocado really finishes the dish, makes it go from "good" to "amazing," but i am quite fond of avocados and could be giving them more credit than they deserve :) 

i made this once a long time ago when i had lots of veggies going bad in my fridge that i had to eat, and now i find i make it almost once a week.  LOVE this one!

cold lunch

i didn't have time to cook anything between classes today, but put together a tasty meal anyway.  cut up some cucumber, sweet yellow pepper, and carrot, then some leftover balsamic chicken.  put all that, plus half an avocado (love them), and a handful of black grapes on a plate, and ate with hummus and some black corn chips. yum. easy-peasy and delicious.  then i ran out the door to class.

midnight munchies

had a few of the gingerbread thumbprint cookies with raspberry jam i made a couple days ago for a bit of a snack before bed with a cup of peppermint tea. delicious!  will definitely make for sweet dreams <3

got a bit hungry...

so i was a bit hungry but didn't want to cook dinner quite yet, so i decided to make a yummy snack. this one is easy and quite tasty.  i guess you could just call it a goat cheese and beet open faced sandwich? but even that is going a bit far.

all you need it some bread, i normally use french baguette, but i happened to buy this amazing kalamata olive bread at Trader Joe's the other day so i used that, then some goat cheese and beets.  normally i roast my own beets, or at the very least you can microwave them with some balsamic and olive oil, using fresh is always better, but again when i was at Trader Joe's i grabbed their packaged roasted and ALREADY PEELED (makes life so much easier!!!) beets.  i had this sandwich in mind when i bought them, so i knew i could whip it up in minutes if i was hungry. 

so it's simple: toast the bread in a toaster, or oven, when hot and browned, spread a generous amount of goat cheese on, then top with sliced beets. Enjoy!!!  the saltiness of the cheese really compliments the sweet/earthiness of the beets.  it really is an amazing little snack, or  hors d'oeuvre (thanksgiving is soon!). 

i know a lot of people are a bit adverse to beets, but you shouldn't be!  they are really delicious if prepared the right way.  i know i didn't like them the first time i had them (at gramma's on thanksgiving from a can, quite disturbing), it took me a while to like them, but once i did i really cant get enough. 

also, i have to point out, as a nutrition major, that beets are wonderful powerhouses of nutrients.  beets contain vitamin C, Potassium, Niacin (vit B-3), Pantothenic acid (vit.B-5), Pyridoxine (vit.B-6) and carotenoids, and minerals such as iron, manganese and magnesium.

ENJOY:)

First Post!

I've never had a blog before, but since so many people have told me i should start one, and I've definitely considered it before, here it is.  i have a blog.  so, for all of those food lovers out there, i will try to be consistent on my food adventures and post regularly, and keep my camera nearby.  this actually seems quite exciting, as i love food and cooking, and love sharing it with others, and in this way i can share it with quite a few more people than just my friends and family.  so, first post down. not so hard. now, to cooking :)