Cookie and Kate

Favorite Quinoa Salad

August 18, 2017 12 Comments

This post is sponsored by Bota Box Wine.

Introducing my favorite quinoa salad! I’ve published more than a few quinoa salads over the years and I genuinely love all of them, but this recipe is officially my favorite.

This quinoa salad is refreshing, crisp and delicious. It’s made simply with fresh cucumber, red bell pepper, red onion, chickpeas, fresh parsley and a garlicky olive oil and lemon dressing. The salad sort of reminds me of taboulleh, an herbed Lebanese salad with tomatoes and bulgur.

This quinoa salad recipe is also very easy to toss together, especially if you use leftover quinoa. It packs great for lunch, picnics, road trips and plane rides. Bring this allergy-friendly salad along to your next potluck—it’s vegan/dairy free, gluten free, and nut free, for all to enjoy. It doesn’t taste “basic,” but it has a lot of merits that make it a staple recipe in my kitchen. I hope it becomes your go-to quinoa salad recipe, too!

This summer has been punctuated by fun, casual get-togethers with friends. Spontaneous afternoons at the pool, walks around the park, and potlucks—yes to all of the above. It’s nice to have supplies at the ready. My pool bag is packed with magazines and sunscreen, and my fridge is stocked with quinoa salad and Bota Box Wine. I’m working with Bota Box this year and they’ve graciously sent over enough wine to last me all summer long.

Continue to the recipe »

Mexican Green Salad with Jalapeño-Cilantro Dressing

August 16, 2017 12 Comments

Meet the next edition of my giant salad challenge! This “Mexican” green salad recipe is quite possibly the prettiest salad I’ve ever had the chance to photograph, too. Romaine lettuce and mixed spring greens, purple cabbage and cauliflower, cherry tomatoes, cucumber and red onion combine to create one stunning and delicious salad.

The idea behind the salad challenge is that I’m challenging you (and myself) to make an enormous green salad and some homemade dressing to go with it. If you store the salad and dressing separately in the refrigerator, you’ll have salad to last you all week long. I find that I eat a lot more greens and veggies this way, and I’m more likely to grab salad as a snack than a regrettable handful of chips.

I’ve enjoyed quite a few renditions of this salad over the past few months. It was inspired by a local restaurant called Taco Republic’s “Al Verde” salad, which includes Tuscan kale, roasted golden beets, and mayo-based dressing. I always get their salad to balance out the queso and chips I inevitably-but-not-regrettably order beforehand.

I ultimately decided on some ingredients that are a little easier to find at a regular grocery store and prepare for my salad. Freshly toasted pepitas offer a savory, nutty crunch, and creamy feta and avocado make this salad irresistible. This salad isn’t the quickest salad you’ll ever make, but it pays off in sheer quantity and flavor.

I also made my dressing lighter, although it’s still deliciously creamy, thanks to an olive oil and lime juice emulsion plus a tablespoon of tahini (which is optional). The dressing is based on the jalapeño-lime dressing in my cookbook (page 53). In the book, I offered four of my favorite make-ahead salad dressings, plus a simple five-step guide to creating an epic salad. You might want a copy (wink).

Continue to the recipe »

How to Make Tzatziki

August 10, 2017 25 Comments

Tzatziki! Tsaht-ZEE-kee! Otherwise known as that yogurt and cucumber sauce you love at Greek restaurants but worry about mispronouncing (hear the pronunciation here). Tzatziki is a refreshing, chilled sauce or dip made simply with yogurt, drained cucumber, olive oil, fresh herbs (usually mint or dill), garlic, lemon juice and salt.

I tend to associate tzatziki with Greek food, but you’ll find it served across the Mediterranean and Middle East, sometimes under different names or in slightly different forms. Tzatziki is often served with grilled meats and gyros, but I can’t think of a grilled or roasted vegetable it wouldn’t play nicely with. Bell peppers, mushrooms, carrots, asparagus and green beans are all fair game. I might even slather it on grilled corn on the cob. Why not?

You can also serve up some tzatziki with your next appetizer spread. It would go great with toasted pita wedges, crisp raw vegetables, hummus, olives, cheese and crackers. Its many uses don’t end at cook-outs and cheese plates, though.

Tzatziki is also fantastic dolloped on falafel and spread inside pita sandwiches (you could use it instead of the avocado in that recipe). And, I don’t get mad when tzatziki lands on my tabbouleh, lentil salad or chickpea salad.

Continue to the recipe »

Crunchy Thai Peanut & Quinoa Salad

August 8, 2017 95 Comments

I tend to keep to myself, especially in yoga class. It’s not a very social form of exercise, you know? Last year, when I walked into my usual Tuesday evening yoga class and my instructor shouted, “COOKIE AND KATE,” I froze. Kim, a regular in the class, had learned about my blog through her co-worker, and she said, “I know her! I go to yoga with her!”

Then Kim told Kristina, the teacher, and then everyone found out. Including Amie, one of my favorite instructors, who is great friends with Kate Kasbee of Well Vegan. Kate lives in Chicago and was working on a cookbook called Frugal Vegan at the time.

Through the Amie-Kate connection, I got a sneak peek at Frugal Vegan and wrote a blurb for the back cover. “Frugal Vegan offers an incredible array of fresh and simple vegan recipes. Every single one of them manages to be easy to make, affordable and accessible, too.”

Kate came to town for Amie’s birthday party, so I met her for drinks, and a giant green bug landed in her herbed green cocktail. Are you still following? I can’t make this stuff up.

Kate and I bonded over the trials and tribulations of cookbook-making, our love for our funny-looking pups (meet Rex), and the green bug experience. We practiced our half-moon poses at Amie’s backyard birthday party the next day. Maybe I shouldn’t be so shy about my work, since it opens so many fun doors.

Continue to the recipe »

Mango-Rita Green Smoothie

August 5, 2017 31 Comments

I’m still giggling about the time I shared a green smoothie on Snapchat and one of my good guy friends told me it looked totally disgusting. That’s what good friends are for, right? I laughed because I was ninety-percent confident that he would have loved it if he had actually tried it.

It was mostly made of raspberries, but I added some spinach for some extra nutrients. While the raspberry-red and spinach-green colors didn’t combine to produce the most appetizing shade of frozen treat, it was nutritious and seriously delicious.

I’ll never get on the expensive fresh juice bandwagon, but smoothies are a great way to get some extra servings of fruit (and even some greens). With smoothies, as opposed to juice, you get all that goodness without losing the fiber content, which keeps blood sugar levels stable.

When I discovered that I could portion smoothie ingredients in a mason jar or bag to blend later, I started making a lot more smoothies at home. I’ve been rotating through the three make-ahead green smoothies in my book, but it’s about time to change things up.

I recently got a chance to chat with Jen from Simple Green Smoothies. She’s a pioneer of the green smoothie concept. Somehow, I’d never gotten my hands on a copy of her book of the same name, so she offered to send me a copy. It’s beautifully designed and photographed, with over 100 recipes for green smoothies of all varieties—green smoothies for beginners and kids, post-workout, dessert, and even green smoothie bowls.

Continue to the recipe »

Chilaquiles Verdes with Baked Tortilla Chips

August 2, 2017 45 Comments

I travelled all the way to Mexico City last month in search of the best chilaquiles, tacos and quesadillas I could find. I found all of the above, plus quite a few new-to-me Mexican combinations of cheese, flatbread and cactus or mushrooms.

On our last morning there, I walked to the loveliest French-Mexican café down the street called Lardo and ordered chilaquiles verdes. Chilaquiles are a traditional Mexican breakfast made with tortilla chips simmered in sauce (green or red). I happily sat at the bar solo, sipping my cappuccino, admiring all of the copper design details, eavesdropping on the American family nearby, and imagining how fun it might be to travel with my own family someday.

Then my chilaquiles arrived, and all focus shifted to the gorgeous food placed before me. I didn’t know that tortilla chips and salsa could be so beautiful, but these were piled high and covered with dollops of queso fresco, fresh green cilantro leaves and lots of creamy diced avocado. (No egg; apparently I was supposed to order that separately, but I loved them as is).

The chips were perfectly tender, not soggy or too poky. The salsa tasted super fresh, and wasn’t overpowered by the flavor of fried chips. I’ve read that the sauce for chilaquiles varies by region (sometimes it’s red), but I think that green sauce is more traditional in Mexico City. Those chilaquiles tasted as good as they looked, and I vowed to recreate them promptly when I got home.

Which I did, opting to bake my tortilla chips rather than using store-bought or frying my own (big pots of oil scare me). I also made my favorite salsa verde. I tried a variety of toppings and landed on a combination of feta (in lieu of queso fresco or Cotija), red onion (for some color and heat), fresh cilantro, fried eggs (optional), and, of course, avocado.

I carefully picked out just-ripe avocado at the store, and then I forgot to add it for the photos. I went all the way to Mexico City for this chilaquiles recipe, and I forgot to add the avocado. Head smack!

Continue to the recipe »