Well…7 weeks strong on the anti-sugar train. And now the experiments shall begin!
A few weeks ago I made a dish with the random vegetables I had left over from the week and it was a delicious success.
I like cooking but I often feel like I’m being wasteful as I’m usually the only one eating, as a single lady. So I try to make single serving recipes or something that actually tastes good warmed up as a leftover. And this dish does!
So now I’ve recreated it based on some of my favorite vegetables. I’m not a professional, so I’ve probably done some things wrong, but the important thing is that it tastes good, is healthy, and is sugar-free. Hooray!
Single Girl [or Guy] Sauté
makes about 6 servings
Here’s what you need:
-1 tbsp coconut oil
-1 red onion, chopped
-2 handfuls brussel sprouts, quartered
-2 yellow squash, sliced into bite-size pieces
-2 cubanelle peppers, seeded and chopped
-1 zucchini, sliced into bite-size pieces
-1 handful of kale, chopped
-2 tbsp red wine vinegar
-7 oz coconut cream
-1 1/2 cups quinoa, uncooked
-Shredded parmesan, to serve
-Salt and pepper to taste
First, here is your soundtrack. My philosophy is you shouldn’t spend time in the kitchen without music. Just be careful that your dancing doesn’t get too out of line when you have the knives out. I had to learn this the hard way.
Heat coconut oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add onion and cook until it starts to sizzle and turns bright purple.
In another large pot, cook the quinoa. But first, rinse it! Use a mesh strainer to do this.
Typically you use two parts water to one part quinoa in the pot (so for 1 1/2 cups quinoa use 3 cups water), on high until it boils. Then cover the pot and simmer it, about 15 minutes. You’ll know it’s done with the wheat germ pops (it looks like a little white ring).
Let this cook while you are sautéing your veggies.
Now back to your pan of onions – Add brussel sprouts and cook for about 5 minutes.
Add yellow squash and cook for another five minutes. The brussel sprouts should start to become tender at this point. Make sure you keep stirring so nothing sticks to the bottom of your pan.
Normally I would add the zucchini at the same time as the squash, but I had already steamed the zucchini and stored it in the freezer so I’m adding it last.
Next add your peppers to the pan. Cubanelle peppers are not hot, but have a slight sweet taste to them. Plus they provide a nice crunch and are pretty!
Your squash and brussel sprouts should be tender now. Continue to cook until the peppers begin to soften, just a few minutes.
At this point I added the zucchini as I had pretty much completely cooked it before. It looks strange and wrinkly because I had previously steamed and frozen it. But it still tastes delicious!
By now your quinoa should be cooked. Make sure its not burning!
You can drain and rinse your quinoa, but I left it in the pot.
At this point, you want to add your veggies to the quinoa. I literally dumped the veggies into the quinoa pot.
Now we’re gettin weird!
Using the same pan you used for your veggies, bring the heat down a bit and add a handful of kale. Swirl about 2 tbsp of red wine vinegar in the pan. Stir it constantly. This will turn the kale bright green. Also make sure you scrap any onion/veggies that stuck to the pan previously. After a few minutes, transfer the kale to your quinoa pot.
Almost done!
Lastly, add the coconut cream to the mix. I use this brand I find at my local Whole Foods. Make sure you use unsweetened.
Just pour it over and mix the whole pot really well. You may need to melt your coconut cream first – you can do this in the microwave.
And just like that, you’re done!
Add some shredded parmesan and salt and pepper to your taste.
Now you have several more meals for the week! This is a dish that does taste good when it’s warmed up.
You can substitute/add/remove veggies to your preference. Enjoy!
lovely findings 