I am finally in holiday and cookie baking mode. The temperature has dropped to about 20-somethingºF here, and all I want to do is hibernate and bake (and eat) indulgent things, and order christmas presents online. My decorations are slowing making their way out of storage, and I am well stocked with wrapping paper, tape, and little boxes to hand out all of the extra cookies I am going to be baking this year.
It's no secret, I am a little in love with the chocolate - hazelnut - almond butter combo. I'll take it any which way I can get it. In the form of a smoothie, a cake, or even these guys that I made recently, but now that I am in the holiday baking mode, I think it is most appropriate that I use my favorite sweet ingredients for cookies.
I love a GOOD cookie. I have a habit (and you might too) where once or twice a week, I sit down with a cookie and a cup of coffee at about 4:00 in the afternoon. It's my little treat to myself. When I indulge, I like all kinds of cookies, from crunchy chocolate chip, to super soft oatmeal raisin, but my favorite kind of cookie is one that is super tasty with a little bit of the guilt shaved off. Guilt in the form of loads of refined sugar and butter. I love to feel like I am being bad without actually being that bad.
This cookie, is that cookie.
These thumbprint cookies are full of crunch and flavor, all sort of things that are good and nothing that is bad. They are made without refined flours and sugars and butter, just a short list of wholesome ingredients like ground hazelnut flour, maple syrup, coconut oil, cacao, and of course, almond butter (yum).
I like to think of these cookies as a really tasty vehicle for shoveling almond butter + chocolate into my mouth.
I've got a salad for you today ... because I just got finished with two weeks of marathon eating, and this week all I want to eat are gigantic salads for every meal. I cannot think of or look at pictures of christmas cookies right now, I am still so full from the past few weeks.
And .... I know in the weeks to come there are going to be so many sweets and bacon wrapped whatevers. I want to psych myself up for all the upcoming indulgence, and to do that I will be eating salads and super healthy stuff on the in-between days.
Don't worry, you and I can get back to talking about more serious holiday eats and treats next week.
So let's talk about this salad. Sometimes I find myself using quinoa and kale for everything, but I am trying to make a better effort to change things up once in a while. You can certainly make this salad with quinoa and kale instead of barley and spinach, but I decided to give barley and spinach the spotlight here, because other grains and dark leafy greens deserve our love too.
Since this this salad is more grain-heavy, it feels more like a meal. Something you can eat for dinner, or a hearty lunch. It's filling but it won't put you over the edge, and it's loaded with healthy goodness. It would also make a great side dish, or brunch salad, or you can just snack on all by yourself all week long (that's what I've been doing).
My favorite part about this salad is the dressing. This dressing is killer. Almonds, sesame oil, and miso ... some of my favorites, all blended together. You can easily use this over so many things .... other salad combinations, roasted vegetables, noodle dishes. I just want to dive in and take a bath in this dressing, it's so darn good.
If you've been hanging around these parts for some time now, you've probably heard all about my Thanksgiving family tradition.
It's around this time of year that I have a lot of conversations that go a little like this:
Person: "Thanksgiving is coming up ... I bet it's your favorite holiday, I bet you already have your menu planned."
Me: "Ummm, not exactly."
Person: "Oh stop. I bet you love to cook for everyone on Thanksgiving."
Me: "Ummm, no. Not really. Actually, we are going out to eat for Thanksgiving. We've been doing it for the past few years and I love it. I love to have someone else do the cooking, and I looooove that I do not have to do the dishes."
Person: *totally perplexed*
I have this same conversation about 10 time between October up until Thanksgiving, and I can completely understand the confused reaction I sometimes get. Every year I go through the ... I miss cooking for Thanksgiving, I am going to cook again this year ... and then I run it by Michael and he swiftly changes my mind. The truth is, we really enjoy going out with our family on Thanksgiving.
Thanksgiving for me over the past few years has become a holiday where me and the fam get spoiled. Someone else does the cooking, someone else scoops an extra serving of stuffing onto my plate, someone else makes an apples pie from scratch, and someone else gets to run the dishwasher more than one time during the day. I get to relax, my family members get to relax, and we get to enjoy some really good food that someone else made. I love it.
Even though I am not cooking this year, that does not mean I will not share a few things that would be on my menu if I was cooking. This colorful dish would definitely be on the menu.
In the past when I have cooked, I like to keep things simple and traditional, but I also like to modernize classic dishes. My definition of modernize in the kitchen is all about using less processed ingredients, less butter, less ...... marshmellows.
This is a healthy, colorful dish that combines broccoli and cauliflower, two vegetables that you would normally find on a Thanksgiving table. Tahini and pomegranates are not ingredients that are normally found on a more traditional Thanksgiving table, but I think once they make their debut, they will be a welcomed addition.
Pomegranate seeds have that wonderful pop that adds an ever so slight bit of tart sweetness. They also add a festive, colorful tone to the dish. The tahini adds a creamy element without adding cream. This side dish won't leave you feeling overindulged.
This takes about 20 minutes to prep and cook, so it is the perfect, easy addition to a big meal. You can also pre-cook the broccoli and cauliflower in the cast iron pan, and wait to put it in the oven to warm up right before you are ready to serve.
Purple cauliflower used to be somewhat of an anomaly, but recently I've been seeing it everywhere. Grocery stores, farmers markets, sometimes it has taken the place of white cauliflower all together. I hope it is as easy for you to find as it was for me. While it has the same flavor as the white, it really make the colors in this dish explode off the plate.