It is oven-baked shrimps veggie bowl day because shrimps veggie bowl is one of the easiest, fuss-free delicious bowl-meal to prepare - zero to hero, in less than 30 minutes.
Oven-baked shrimps and zucchini with steamed broccoli, carrot, cabbage, greens
There are also other less than 30-minute meals such as Broccoli, Sweet Potato Chicken Salad and Salmon Veggie Bowl.
Wontons/ dumplings, dough-based skin wrapper (carbs) filled with meat-veggies (protein and fiber) is a combination of meal components all in one morsel. In fact, a plate of 12-20 wonton dumplings (depending on dumpling size) can be stand-alone meal for some of us. Homemade or store-bought, freezer-friendly wontons also make great versatile recipes in soups, salads or side-dishes.
Personally, I prefer to enjoy wontons/dumplings with veggies - wonton salad or call it wonton dumplings veggie-bowl e.g. Broccoli Cabbage with Wontons or Asparagus, Cauliflower with Wontons or this Oven-Roast Zucchini and Steamed Broccoli with Wonton Dumplings.
Saratoga Farmers Market right by West Valley College has one of the freshest variety of produce including seafood. Ever since I chanced upon this seafood stall in the market, bought (and tried) the Alaskan wild salmon, I never want to buy salmon belly or salmon collar from the Japanese supermarkets anymore. Usually I go for the belly and collar because these cuts of the salmon are hard to find in the regular stores such as Whole Foods Market, or Sprouts Farmers Market.
This healthy bowl-meal is nutritious and well-balanced with steamed veggies - mix of broccoli, zucchini, yellow and green beans, roasted purple potatoes and roasted (farmer's market!) salmon.
Veggie Bowl with Roasted Purple Potatoes and Roasted Salmon Collar
All else remains the same in building veggie and grain bowl-meals - start with a base of veggies (keep it plenty. use a variety), switch around the protein options (meat or meatless), and opt for whole grains or complex carbs.
Today, the protein feature is Roasted/Grilled Salmon Collar which is great source of protein, omega-3 fatty acids and collagen. Personally, the collar is my favorite cut of fresh wild salmon, just the right amount of flesh and fats ratio. It is not as "meaty"as the fillet, and so rich in flavor (when there's fat and bones, there is flavor!). It's not easy to fail in roasting salmon collars (the fat protects it!) and be guaranteed with delicate, moist tender flesh every time.
In the past few months of preparing veggie-salad meals and grain bowls, I have realized that nothing is impossible. In the standard culinary world of wonton soups, have you ever thought that wonton salads might also work?
With the arrival of autumn, this veggie bowl meal can be customized using what's in season. Pumpkin! And here today, we have butternut squash.
Making your own marinara sauce from scratch is not difficult. But when you are pressed for time, even 15 minutes is a lot of time. Store-bought marinara sauce makes meal preparation easier and reduces cooking time as there is no need to prep. the onions, garlic, tomatoes; and it is not necessary to wait for the ingredients to cook down over the stove.
Pasta marinara sauce is not only good for pasta, it is also quite handy as "seasoning" sauce. For example, simply think shrimps and vegetables stir-fry with tomato-based "seasoning sauce" . Oh, isn't that sweet and sour shrimps? Quite close.
Sweet and soup or tomato-sauce shrimps is the protein feature of the grain bowl today. With store-bought marinara sauce, these delicious tomato-sauce shrimps can be prepared in less than 20 minutes.
Tian.
Does saying it in French makes it more sophisticated? Simply, it is traditional oven-roasted vegetables layers in an earthenware.
Here, a not-so-traditional approach has been adopted for the vegetable tian; or more accurately, it should not be even called a tian since I did not use any earthenware. Instead, a roasting tray with parchment paper is used so that there is no tray or dish to wash after cooking: fuss-free, mess-free. Call it vegetables tian catered to the (lazy) home-cooks.
The only similar action done to mimic the vegetable tian is to prepare and slice the vegetables pretty and layer them pretty. Tian and ratatouille might share similarities in their origin being Provencal French, and both being centered around vegetables such as zucchini, eggplant, tomatoes, onions; but tian is a layered roast while ratatouille is a diced-up stew.
Protein and fiber packed, quinoa is a super versatile whole grain with endless possibilities - healthy fried "rice", exotic "rice" pilaf, creative sushi, comforting porridge/congee, savory snack-size patties, colorful salads, and wholesome plate meals or bowl meals.
With broccoli, zucchini, green beans and red cabbage, you can easily turn this light vegetarian salad to quick supper. Alternatively, if you are making a seafood entree like this Seafood in a Bag, this salad will be your perfect side-accompaniment.
Beans on beans, pulses or more pulses. What do you say? Plant-protein power! Made from organic edamame and mung bean, Explore Cuisine's gluten-free fettuccine* carries the leftover bean "sauce" very well and makes a nice warm veggie pasta lunch on a cool breezy day. Alternatively, make a quick chickpea salad, toss it with pasta and save this pasta salad or Edamame and Mung Bean Fettuccine Veggie Salad Bowl for the hot summer days.
This bean fettuccine* on its own tastes very flavorful, warm or at room temperature (cooked and allowed to cool a few minutes). Personally, I enjoy the natural bean flavor of this pasta as it shines through without any sauce, just like this Edamame and Mung Bean Fettuccine Veggie Salad Bowl.
This "golden" salad dressingis now the "liquid gold" in my kitchen, especially in my homemade salads and workout meals (e.g. Asparagus, Chicken and Potato Salad Meal, Mushrooms, Green Beans, Broccoli Salad Bowl) It is an easy and healthy upgrade from the basic extra-virgin olive oil-apple cider vinegar-garlic-salt-pepper vinaigrette-based dressing.
The gold? Turmeric.
Did you know that black pepper and turmeric is a perfect match which defies the good'ol equation of one plus one equals two? According to some research sources, piperine - the active compound in black pepper will increase and enhance the bio-availability of curcumin (active component in turmeric) hence boost curcumin absorption in the body.
Sometimes, I simply forget but whenever possible, I try to add turmeric in my cooking e.g. when cooking rice, and when preparing salad dressing.
If you enjoy these salad meals, or veggie grain bowls, do check them out here. Or if you prefer a shrimp-similar salad bowl, try this Mixed Veggies, Shrimps, Avocado and Radish Bowl.
Mixed vegetables quinoa is a good starting base in salad bowl meals. Simply top it with tofu, tempeh or legumes/beans to create a meatless salad bowl meal; or pair it with roasted fish, shrimps, scallops, or roasted chicken.
Every summer, hassle-free cooking becomes the preferred mode in the kitchen e.g. Zucchini Quinoa Sushi, Korean Chilled Tofu, No-Cook Tomato-Sauce Pasta.
This summer, I made Mixed Green Salad with Avocado Dressing, Watermelon Feta-Cheese "Pizza"-Salad and these stuffed tofu pouches.
These easy-to-make vegetarian pouches are sure to excite your guests if you are holding a family gathering or party.
Tofu pouches/puffs is quite a common ingredient in Chinese cooking especially in braised dishes in which the tofu pouches will absorb the flavors of the braising liquid.
The tofu skins/pouches are also quite often used in making Japanese Inari Sushi. So, try your luck finding these tofu pouches in Chinese and Japanese supermarkets.
This is an easy side-dish to make from zucchini "noodles"; and kitchen-friendly especially in the hot summer days when you want to spend less time behind the stove. As each ingredient is finely julienned to thin strips, they cook almost instantly, either with a brisk sauté or quick blanching.
If you prefer to have it all raw, you can. However, a lot of Chinese
salad-type dishes e.g. Luffa (Loofah) Salad do not recommend entirely raw food due to the
"cooling" properties of raw food. In Chinese food therapy, consuming raw food regularly when one has a heaty (yang) body-type will not be an issue but when one has a more
"cooling" (yin) inner body-system, it is best to cook the ingredients slightly. Another reason to cook it, is to prevent the possible contamination of consuming raw ingredients/food.
Ever since I successfully made zucchini noodles, I wanted to have a similar dish again but with more colors (which means more nutrition!), layered flavors and versatility.
So here today, I made zucchini noodles with mushrooms, plus multi-colored bell peppers. This dish can be enjoyed with steamed rice or tossed with noodles/pasta to make vegetarian noodles or noodle-salad.
With pesto, I do not even have to cook a sauce for pasta anymore! Okay, quite frankly, some of my pasta dishes e.g. Roasted Vegetables with Pasta, Kale and Tomatoes with Pasta, do not need sauces. Sometimes, a glorious vegetables-saute or vegetables-roast is good enough to be the "sauce" for pasta.
But if there is homemade pesto, ready in the fridge waiting for you, why not use it to make a good dish better?
Think of pesto like a salad dressing, a spread, a dip, a sauce - it is very versatile in appetizers such as Pesto Cucumber Bites, Pesto Pita Bites; side-dishes e.g. Hasselback Potato with Yogurt-Pesto Dressing, and entrees such as Pesto Chicken, Pesto Pizza.
Widely known as no-carb or low-carb noodles and a great alternative to pasta - that did not appeal to me as I cannot do without carbs.
Now, I should have tried Zucchini Noodles earlier since I like how this present itself as a vegetarian side-dish, nicely paired with steamed rice or plain noodles. For the latter, simply toss (real) noodles with the thin zucchini ribbons, and the mix-in is flawless.
As long as zucchini/Italian squash is in-season, fresh and tender, I am quite sure this dish is going to be a regular at meal times. You may also try Stir-Fry Zucchini, Zucchini Fritters, or Zucchini Pizza.
No fancy equipment e.g. Spiral Slicer
Pass the peeler over the side of the zucchini lengthwise to produce long and thin "noodles". As the zucchini "noodles" are so thin, the dish cooks quickly, in a matter of 5 minutes or less. Zucchini "noodles" can be enjoyed raw in salads or cooked/sauteed to make them more tender.
Easy to prepare and fun to customize, pizza is definitely a brilliant menu item when you are expecting a small party or big crowd of guests over for a meal. You just need to load up on fresh ingredients (your pizza toppings!) and get your pizza "base" ready - either store-bought pizza dough or "bread" bases e.g. lavash breads, pita breads. Then everything is just oven-minutes away.
With all the lavash craze, I still make my pita bread pizza. Both are "thin-crust" but pita bread being a little thicker than lavash bread also means there is a tendency to "overload" the former!
This Pizza Pita Overload includes ingredients such as zucchini, a variety of tomatoes (e.g Campari, Cherry), cheese and arugula.
If space is running tight and you do not have a stove oven to start with, you can always "invest" on a Table-Top Oven
Tag: pita bread, pita bread pizza
Zucchini-Chicken Nuggets in the making...
...using the HappyCall Pan.
With grated zucchini, the chicken nuggets were kept moist and juicy!
Healthy and tasty chicken nuggets that will be enjoyed by everyone, and the ease of making these nuggets that will make the cook happy!
There are some ingredients that I never like in the past. Avocado was one of them. Then comes eggplant and zucchini. Gladly, these ingredients have become more acceptable to me now.
Zucchini is hardly a main ingredient in my kitchen until recently. Other than using it to make fritters, zucchini usually complements as a side in a main dish, paired with other squashes or vegetables in a soup or stew or used as a wrap.
With the bounty of zucchini this season, five zucchinis cost $1.10! How could I resist...
Did I say zucchini will be a main ingredient for today? With garlic, red chili pepper flakes, a little soy sauce and sesame oil added to Stir-Fry Zucchini 清炒西葫芦 how can this main ingredient not be a star ingredient?
I used to think that zucchini, similar to cucumber, is not much nutrient-dense; however it is a misconception. Zucchini is a good source of vitamins and minerals such as manganese, potassium and folate. Sharing this Zucchini Stir-Fry with Weekend Herb Blogging hosted at Mele Cotte.
If you are holding on to a wok for everyday stir-fry, are you using a cast iron wok or stainless steel wok?
I am currently using a stainless steel wok that I bought from Taiwan while I was living there for a year. This wok has served me well for more than 3 years.
Tag: zucchini, zucchini stir-fry
Whenever zucchini is paired with red bell peppers, the Christmas mood comes rollin'...
I am pretty much hooked on quinoa. You should have noticed. It is so easy to create a nutritious one-dish meal with quinoa. Plus, cooking quinoa over the stove-top is so much easier (and faster) than cooking rice. The quinoa cooks in just about 10mins.
Work that in parallel with another dish that cooks in the oven e.g. roasted vegetables...
...then fluff up the cooked quinoa (I used truRoots Organic Quinoa
If zucchini cakes fritters can be in ubiquitous existence, why not carrot fritters ?
And they can be made into little cuties and button up with a platter of zucchini and carrot minis.
