Vegetables and Fruit

Healthy veggies that actually taste good.

Chicken Thighs with Ginger Rhubarb Sauce

Sanura

Baked Chicken Thighs with Ginger Rhubarb Sauce over Brown and Wild Rice

One of the initial plans when returning back to a full-time career was to immediately start saving for a washer and dryer for our apartment. There were few times in my early life I remember going with Mom to the laundromat. As a young child, laundry day was dreaded. It’s a boring place. The afternoons were worst, because the televisions only ran soap operas. Back then, there were only a few channels. The wash and spin sound was irritating. The combination of various dryers turning consistently was boisterously loud. As a young family working hard to better our lives, we eventually moved out of apartment living into a newly constructed house with our own laundry room. Even in college, I would come home on weekends to do laundry to avoid the school’s laundromat. Today, using a public laundromat at my age is beyond the farthest imagination of how I was going to live as an adult. Read more →

Quinoa with Roast Vegetables, Kalamata Olives, Black Beans and Feta Cheese

Sanura

Quinoa with Roast Vegetables, Feta Cheese, and Chicken

Oh, holy grain, its quinoa! As one commenter on MyLifeRunsOnFood’s FaceBook page mentioned, it’s the fuel of marathoners. In America’s advancement of fast food that is supposed to save the world (it’s destroying it, but that’s another discussion), we’re missing out on interesting and natural ingredients that are also quick to make. People are increasingly curious about alternative choices outside America’s monotonous food system of taste. Quinoa first appears as tightly wound, packed grains (they’re actually seeds). After they cook, they become translucent and spirally. As mentioned before about seeds and grains, quinoa has a slight corn and nutty taste, for it mostly supports flavorful ingredients. Read more →

Chicken and Roast Eggplant-Tomato Tacos with Turnip Salsa

Sanura

Chicken, Roast Eggplant-Tomatoes Tacos with Turnip Salsa

It’s quite sad that vegetables are considered boring and bland. Truthfully, that’s how it’s presented. A former co-worker and I were at a buffet. It had fried and barbecue chicken, rice and peas, mac and cheese, and all the delicious ceremonial dishes. In the midst of the buffet was the notorious tasteless vegetable platter with grape tomatoes, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, and green bell pepper. Usually, there’s a gooey ranch dressing in the center of the platter. Honestly, I skip over the vegetable tray. The dry taste is not worth the “must-eat-your-vegetables” guilt. As my co-worker grabbed a few pieces, she said, “…Must take a few ‘feel good’ vegetables, but no one ever wants to eat them.” As predicted, the lightly nibbled vegetables were scraped into the garbage when she was done eating. Read more →

Sweet Potato and Rosemary Pasta, Harissa Roast Tomatoes, Collard Greens, and Chickpeas

Sanura
Fresh Sweet Potato and Rosemary Pasta with Harissa Spiced Roast Tomatoes, Collard Greens, and Chickpeas garnished with toasted Pine Nuts
Fresh Sweet Potato and Rosemary Pasta with Harissa Spiced Roast Tomatoes, Collard Greens, and Chickpeas garnished with toasted Pine Nuts

My friends must think I’m avoiding them. April has proven to be whirlwind of hi-strung energy. There are too many priorities that can’t be ignored or delayed. In the beginning of April, I canceled a few coffee dates. Around mid-April, meetings were rescheduled for May, after canceling for the third time. When dates are canceled, it throws another person’s schedule off. It’s not like my friends have extra spare time. In addition to juggling priorities, the landlord schedules much needed repairs and a painting job for the whole apartment. There’s dust and painting supplies everywhere. The saying, if the house isn’t in order, life is unorganized. Read more →

Wheatberry Salad with Mint, Roast Asparagus, and Blood Oranges

Sanura

Wheatberry Salad with Mint, Roast Asparagus, and Blood Oranges

There’s this sudden fascination with grains lately. Such curiosity started last year when amaranth greens were included in a weekly farm share. A quick online search yielded information about amaranth grains. It’s commonly found in the bulk section of organic or natural food stores. Since then, I’ve discovered other types of grains.

Thanks to globalization, plenty of grains have been introduced to our market recently, such as amaranth, barley, quinoa, kamut, kasha, rye berries, and so forth. A few weeks ago, Melissa Danielle, a foodie friend, requested a recipe using wheatberries. Quite honestly, the name of the grain is easily recognized, but its visual appearance is daunting. Situations like this casually remind us how disconnected we are from food and it’s actual source. It’s commonly flattened into flakes for breakfast cereals or granola, similar to corn and oat flakes. It’s also baked in bread for additional flavor and nutrients, hence the name “Whole-Grain Bread”. Read more →