the delicious salad dressing you get at japanese restaurants has always intrigued me. now i’m gonna make it!! i’m pumped that i even have all the ingredients at home already!

for the dressing you need:

1 large carrot, peeled and roughly chopped

1 small shallot, peeled and roughly chopped

2 tablespoons roughly chopped fresh ginger

2 tablespoons sweet white miso

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

2 tablespoons toasted sesame seed oil

1/4 cup grapeseed or another neutral oil

2 tablespoons water

and the salad:

1 small/medium head of lettuce (I used Bibb) or mixed greens of your choice

1/4 red onion, thinly sliced

1 avocado, quartered

source: smittenkitchen.com

it’s just that time of year, donchathink?

so this is kind of an original recipe because i consulted a number of sources and then just sort of smooshed them together and added some other things :)

ingredients:

- 1 butternut squash, seeded and cubed (i’m lazy so i bought a pre-packaged one so all of the work was already done for me)

- 1 carrot, chopped

- 1 parsnip, chopped

- 1 potato, peeled and cubed

- 1 onion, chopped (i used a sweet vidalia)

- fresh garlic (to taste)

- fresh ginger, chopped (to taste)

- some buttah 

- 3 springs of fresh rosemary (essential in my opinion…nothing beats fresh herbs)

- 1 carton of organic chicken broth (because i’m just like that)

- salt and pep 

ok, this was actually way easier than i thought to make. 

1. throw the butter into a soup pot on medium/high heat and melt it, then add the onions and cook until soft

2. add the garlic and ginger and stir around for a minute or so before adding the squash, carrot, parsnip and potato

3. cook all the veggies for about 5 minutes…maybe a wee bit more, until they soften and start to look and smell lovely

4. add broth until everything is submerged (about 4/5 of the carton) and add the sprigs of rosemary. 

5. bring to a boil and then cover the pot and put the heat on LOW and cook for 40ish minutes.

6. make sure all the veggies are nice and soft, let it cool for a bit and then remove the sprigs of rosemary.

7. blend that puppy until smooth. add the rest of the broth to thin it out a bit and add some salt and pep to taste.

enjoy!!

this delicious tea has once again hit the store shelves. love this stuff. you can even trick your sweet tooth with it (sort of). 

so i bought this cookbook the other day and i LOVE it. it’s very simple and i can’t wait to cook my way through it! last week i made the parsnip and ginger soup (which turned out delicious!) and i’m about to attempt the leek casserole. maybe i’ll write up a few recipes from the the book if anyone is interested :)

i had the BEST salad dressing this weekend. so good in fact, that i returned to same restaurant to get take out TWICE just to have it again.

now i’m going to admit something a bit shameful….

i didn’t use up all of it so i saved the remnants in the little container and…get ready for it….drank it the next day. yup.

now before we all get too excited, i have to tell you that i only have a list of the ingredients in the this dressing, but not the proportions. so maybe we can all work together to perfect it?

GREEN DRESSING OF SHEER AND UTTER AWESOMENESS

- ginger

- garlic

- cilantro

- agave nectar

- rice vinegar

- sunflower oil

Creamy Spinach Soup 
Put 1 chopped onion, 2 peeled garlic cloves, 3 cups water and salt and pepper in a pot over high heat. Boil, cover, lower the heat and simmer until the onion is tender, about 10 minutes. Add 10 ounces chopped spinach and 1/2 cup parsley leaves; cook until the spinach is tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Add 1 cup Greek-style yogurt and purée. Garnish: A spoonful of Greek-style yogurt and chopped parsley.

Squash-and-Ginger Soup 
Substitute 1 tablespoon minced ginger for the garlic and 4 cups chopped butternut squash for the spinach (it will take longer to soften). Skip the parsley and substitute half-and-half or cream for the yogurt. Garnish: A spoonful of cream.

Curried Cauliflower Soup
Substitute 1 tablespoon minced ginger for the garlic, 2 cups cauliflower florets for the spinach (they will take longer to soften), 1 tablespoon curry powder for the parsley and coconut milk for the yogurt. Garnish: Chopped cilantro.

Courtesy of the New York Times

as mentioned in my previous post … courtesy of the New York Times.

2 1/2 tablespoons refined coconut oil

6 scallions, white parts thinly sliced; dark green parts sliced and reserved

1 tablespoon finely chopped peeled ginger

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1/2 teaspoon ground coriander

1 pound large shrimp, shelled

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Lemon wedges, for serving.

1. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Melt the coconut oil in the pan. Add the white scallion slices, ginger and garlic. Cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the coriander and cook 30 seconds more.

2. Add the shrimp and salt. Cook, tossing occasionally, until shrimp are opaque, about 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the green scallion pieces and cook until just wilted, 10 to 15 seconds. Season with lemon juice and black pepper. Serve with lemon wedges.

i made this for din and it was delish! (except the bok choy got too soggy). normally “poached” doesn’t appeal to me, but this was really good!

click pic for recipe from the defunct wish magazine.