Summer dinners

I went back to my beloved Winter vegan salad!  I just couldn’t stay away, ha!

I had bulk roasted butternut squash and cauliflower for the kids and then stole some for my salad too because I had all the rest of the ingreds…

When the cards fall into place like that…you can’t ignore the signs!  So I just HAD to make it.  And guess what – it was as good as ever.  Obvs.

And now for a few more dinners from the week.

Salmon + brown rice + asparagus with an almond butter miso sauce.

This sauce is very close to Gwyneth’s version from It’s All Good, but I made it with equal parts miso, almond butter, and water with a small dollop of gochujang (optional).

Here’s that veggie roasting marathon I mentioned before.

I did Brussels sprouts too.  Apparently I am in denial of the change in season.  Anyone else still roasting Brussels and winter squash in 100 degree heat??  Please, tell me there are some others out there!

These don’t look like much but they were PERRRFECTLY cooked with a slightly under pink center and firm outside that flaked apart easily to the touch.  I cranked the oven to 450 and they were done in under 10 minutes (because they were smaller cuts).

Beautiful!

Next up a shrimp summer noodle bowl with (GF) brown rice spaghetti and butternut “squoodles” (no?? not a good nickname??).

This was the best impulsive Costco buy we’ve had in a long while.  Usually I buy the normal (basil) pesto for Kyle, but this one appealed to me because it is vegan and has walnuts instead of pinenuts or parmesan.  Also it’s organic and uses my recent obsession – sun dried tomatoes.

I sautéed some shrimp in it, and then used the leftover sauce to sauté the tomatoes until they burst.  Yum!

The butternut squash noodles were leftover from the ones I bought at WF a while back (I froze half of it after cooking it).

The basil AND the tomatoes are from our garden!  Woo hoo!

Our tomato plant is going bonkers!

Per usual, it has started to take over the entire yard…it’s like a monster!  Tomatoes sure do love Davis.

Anyway.

Here’s what the dish had:

• arugula
• butternut squash noodles
• brown rice noodles
• tomatoes
• sun dried tomato and basil pesto
• shrimp
• basil

Ohhhh guys this was a winnnnner!

Kyle was going heads over heels for it and I was right there with him.

I don’t know what it is about sun dried tomatoes and basil and arugula and everything else in the Mediterranean diet, but I am SO IN.

I like that the kids are into shrimp too.  For a while they were kinda meh (after loving it so much they may have OD-ed on it).  It’s a super easy protein to keep on hand and lends itself to last minute meals quite nicely.

And finally…

From this cookbook.

It’s vegetarian and seasonally focused.

I turned my back on these walnuts toasting in butter (Earth Balance) and oil and look what happened!

Ack!  No multitasking when toasting nuts.

I rinsed out the pan and then started over with the cabbage and green beans.

Then I added more Earth Balance to the quinoa before assembling the bowls.

The idea of grapefruit with all these other things was unique and interesting, which is what caught my eye about the recipe. I’d never think to put them together, although I never think to use grapefruit much at all.  The kids tried some but didn’t like it (understandable, it’s a distinctly sour/tart flavor).

Luckily the walnuts weren’t too badly burnt and offered a smokiness that worked with the rest of the bowl. Combined with the creamy avo and veg it was a well rounded meal!