SPICE-ROASTED VEGETABLES WITH CHICKPEAS + CHERMOULA

I started a post about my place in the work/life/momming balance and I realized I just don't have much to share on figuring through that yet. I understand you don't ever get it "just right," but I am trying to get close enough to where I feel happy with what I was able to give at the end of the day. I want to check all my boxes and still feel like me at the end of the day, but I don't think I get to have that yet. I am trying to be patient and gracious with myself that I still have an infant that wakes up multiple times through the night, but I can't help but feel like I should be able to keep all the balls in the air. We've made these huge strides with women in the workplace but I think we still feel the pressure to do all the home and childcare tasks as well. Blame the internet if you wish, but it's tough trying to be the everywoman. My juggling skills don't look natural quite yet, and I cry too easily when a ball falls, but I'll check back if I figure something out. 

I've been stuck on vegetarian main ideas that satisfy all three of us and I loved this spice combination on the vegetables from Emma Galloways book. Never mind that Hugh added a grilled sausage to his, making this ever the flexible omnivorous meal, but I liked it just as it was. Warm with cinnamon and honey, spiced with garlic and interesting with paprika and coriander. I repurposed the chilled leftovers over greens the next day with a little feta cheese to make a salad of the dish. Don't skip over this if you don't stock cumin seeds, half a teaspoon of dried cumin is fine. Or I didn't have quite enough coriander and it still turned out great. Again, pretty flexible. 

SPICE-ROASTED VEGETABLES WITH CHICKPEAS + CHERMOULA

Recipe adapted from My Darling Lemon Thyme by Emma Galloway

1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas, freshly cooked or one 14 oz. can, rinsed well
3 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp. finely chopped cilantro stems
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tsp. ground coriander
2 tsp. cumin seeds
1 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. honey
1 tsp. sea salt
1/2 tsp. fresh ground pepper
1 lemon
1 bunch baby beets
1 bunch baby carrots or about 4 larger ones
2 small parsnips, cut into quarters
2 baby potatoes
mint leaves, to serve

2 cups cooked whole grains such as quinoa, millet, brown rice etc.

/chermoula/

1 small bunch cilantro
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
juice of one lemon
1 garlic clove
1/2 tsp. ground coriander
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
sea salt

Drain the chickpeas well. 
Preheat the oven to 375'. Place olive oil, cilantro stems, garlic, spices, honey, salt, pepper and lemon zest in a large bowl and mix well. Cut the beets and potatoes in half so they are about the same thickness as the carrots and parsnips. Add the chickpeas, carrots, parsnips and potatoes to the bowl and toss to coat. Transfer to a baking sheet in a single layer. Toss the beets in the remaining marinade and tuck them to one side of the baking sheet (beets stain and will turn everything pink so this is for aesthetics, if you don't mind all pink vegetables, by all means toss everything at once). Roast for 35-45 minutes, stirring everything once, until golden and tender.
Meanwhile, cook your grains and keep them warm. 
To make the chermoula, put all the ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend until a rough sauce is formed. Season to taste with salt. 
Serve the grains topped with the roasted vegetables and chickpeas, scraping up all the spices left on the tray. Drizzle with chermoula and sprinkle with mint leaves. 

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SRIRACHA ROASTED BRUSSELS SPROUTS

We roast a lot of vegetables in the cooler months. Everything dumped onto one large sheet pan, almost any number of spice combinations, and then you just leave them alone. I am all for minimal hands on time these days while trying to keep both kids happy before dinner. I've watched a couple episodes of Cooked on Netflix lately and am so intrigued by Michael Pollans' research about how the world eats - how our tendencies with food and cooking have changed so much over time. He had a statistic that said Americans spend an average of twelve minutes a day preparing food to eat. Twelve! I realize I cook for work and you read food blogs so we'd lie on the upper end of the test group because of that, but no wonder there is more obesity and diabetes than ever before. I get that time is limited. It is an era where most households have two working adults, everyone is tired, fresh produce is more expensive than a frozen dinner, so why would someone choose to cook when it's cheaper and faster and more simple not to? But as a proponent of fresh, real foods, I can argue the case for roasted vegetables on even our busiest of days. A recipe like this that calls for 5 minutes of hands on time and 25 minutes in the oven and could pair with a number or proteins or some quick cooking whole grains. I've made the habit of cooking nearly twice what we eat at one meal so I can repurpose the leftovers which helps save time for  another evening. I really want to start meal planning but I am not there yet. Believe me, we pick up burritos and order pizza in between too, but I hope our food culture swings back stronger towards making more food. I really think cooking this simply is a easy enough to prioritize for the sake of health. We're getting persuaded to believe cooking is too hard, but is it? Preach it, Michael! Anyway. I like the show. 

I created this recipe for Sriracha Roasted Brussels in working with Electrolux and their blog Live.Love.Lux. You can find the recipe on their site.

I have a recipe for a homemade sriracha in Bowl + Spoon (ps. that's a really great price) if you have extra time on your hands or I like the Trader Joes or Sky Valley brands which don't have all the junk in them. 

GRATIN OF ZUCCHINI, RICE + ONIONS

Brown Rice & Zucchini Gratin . Sprouted Kitchen

I am finding that the romance of cookbooks isn't really in flipping through for inspiration, but when I surrender to a recipe's every word. The page is marked with a little post it and I keep referencing back to it's open pages to make sure I'm doing just what it directs. Hopeful it comes out as delicious as the photo leads me to believe and refreshed to have a dish so different than my everyday normals. I am in this strange but wonderful phase where I am not feeling particularly creative in the kitchen, so I am either cooking from cookbooks or resorting to my staples (scrambled eggs, bean and cheese tacos, roasted vegetables, ice cream and an occasional kale salad once I feel guilty enough about too many bean and cheese tacos and an unnecessary ice cream routine). I'm not calling it a rut, it is just a different season and I actually think it's healthy if the work you do is creative. I just want someone else to tell me what to do. I have freelance jobs where I need to pull myself together, but for the most part, I'm just trying new things... except when I'm eating the same thing for the millionth time. 

The Food52 Genius Recipes book came out a couple months back and it is precisely the book you need if you want someone to tell you what to do. The recipes highlight a technique so there are little secrets and tricks that not only help you with the shared recipe, but make you a better cook in general. I am not a detailed or perfect cook myself, so when I find a book that is dedicated to finding the best - the genius recipes - I am all ears. It is everything I am not and I am loving it. In an effort to try to feed all three of us the same thing, I started with my bookmark on Julia Childs' Gratin of Zucchini, Rice and Onions with Cheese. It sort of reminds me of a risotto without the stirring. The only swap I made was brown rice for the white and I don't think it made any compromise of the dish, just needed a smidge more cooking time which is reflected in the recipe below. I know I've been talking a lot of books around here lately, but this would make for an excellent gift for you or the other cooks in your life.

Wishing you a warm weekend!

* House Business. I will be up at The Madewell store at The Grove in Los Angeles next Thursday 6/18 from 6-8pm for a denim happy hour with cookbooks. There is a 20% discount on any purchase over $125 and snacks and drinks so I would love to see you there. Please come be my friend!

Brown Rice & Zucchini Gratin . Sprouted Kitchen

Brown Rice & Zucchini Gratin . Sprouted Kitchen

Gratin of Zucchini, Rice and Onions with Cheese // Serves 6 as a side

Recipe barely changed from Food 52's Genius Recipes

When the recipe says "zucchini juices and milk" it isn't an exact amount of either. I just squeezed the zucchinis of their liquid into a measuring cup after they sat in the salt and then made up the difference in milk to get to the called for 2 cups which was about another cup. Mine took longer in the oven than the recipe led me to believe but that may have been because of the brown rice. The recipe suggests the oven at 425' but I went with 400' since it needed to be in there a good 35 minutes and I didn't want it to burn. The extra moisture in my finished shot is because my zucchini yield was short, yours should look drier. 

• 2 to 2 1/2 lbs. zucchini or other summer squash
• 1/2 cup short grain brown rice (or white rice, as published, if you prefer)
• 1 cup minced onion
• 5 Tbsp. olive oil, divided
• 2 large garlic cloves, minced
• 2 Tbsp. unbleached all purpose flour
• about 2 1/2 cups warm zucchini juices and milk
• 3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese (save a few Tbsp. for the top)
• salt and pepper to taste

Brown Rice & Zucchini Gratin . Sprouted Kitchen

Brown Rice & Zucchini Gratin . Sprouted Kitchen

Shred the zucchini, toss them with a heaping teaspoon of salt and drain in a colander. Reserving the juices. Meanwhile drop the rice into boiling salted water, bring rapidly back to a boil for 8 minutes; drain and set aside. Preheat the oven to 400'.

In a large frying pan, cook the onions slowly in 3 to 4 Tbsp. olive oil for 8 to 10 minutes, until tender and translucent. Raise the heat slightly and stir for several minutes until just browned. Stir in the grated and dried zucchini and garlic. Toss for 5 minutes until the zucchini is almost tender. Sprinkle in the flour, stir over moderate heat for a minute and remove from the heat. 

Gradually stir in the 2 1/2 cups warm liquid (zucchini juices plus milk heated gently in a pan). Make sure the flour is well blended and smooth. Put the pan over moderately high heat and bring to a simmer, stirring. Remove from the heat again, stir in the blanched rice and 1/2 cup of the grated parmesan. Taste carefully for seasoning and add your salt and pepper. 

Butter a 6-8 cup baking and serving dish that is about 1 1/2 to 2 inches deep. Turn the warm zucchini mixture into the prepared pan and sprinkle the remaining parmesan cheese on top. Dribble the remaining olive oil over the cheese. 

Bring the gratin to a simmer on stove top as long as your dish is flame proof. Bake in the upper third of the oven until the gratin is bubbling, top is browned and appears most of the liquid has absorbed. Mine took about 30-35 minutes. Serve warm. 

Brown Rice & Zucchini Gratin . Sprouted Kitchen