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In Celebration of Simplicity: The Salad

11/24/2013

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I don’t know about you, but when I hear the words “CHAOS” and “HOLIDAY PANDEMONIUM” on the radio, I pretty much sink into what one could call the antithesis of warm-festive-fuzzy feelings about the holidays.

Let’s be real. I and many of you work more than 40 hours per week. We love our jobs, we love our families, we love the food (!) but from time-to-time, “the holidays” sounds like one more thing we may or may not be able to love, get into, and get to well. Which totally, totally stinks.

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Red Russian kale, Red Onions, Hemp Seeds, Peas. I used Trader Joe's Superfood Preserves and my tried-and-true dressing recipe to make this gem.
Add to this that on so many levels food is your life! But the thought of preparing something magical to share with others in the spare hour you’ll have between work and that potluck is just overwhelming. I know. I’m telling my story, here.

At first, this totally bummed me out. I refuse to bring chips and salsa anywhere! Not when I know I could make the salsa, make the chips, goddammit. Yet in daydream land, yes, why yes I COULD make whatever I want! In this instance, though, reality calls for simplicity. And bringing my nightly meal of brown rice and kale may not exactly go over well.
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Romaine, Avocado-Evoo Mash, Avocado, Cucumbers, Kimchee.
For this reason, I have become the salad maven of many parties I go to. I love that making a good salad can be so easy, and yet can be so different every time. Yet for some reason people shy away from having fun with salads. They fail to realize that, with a few small rules, a salad is virtually impossible to eff up.

For salad success, I suggest you stick to these rules. Then your celebration will be ON without the headache!
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Baby Kale, Orange slices, Avocado, and Jicama. Orange Juice EVOO Vin. This was a salad from The LAB in Asheville.
1. Keep it Simple
The best salads only have 3-4 ingredients, and are topped with a stellar dressing.

2. Quality over Quantity
Splurge on good greens instead of just buying as many vegetables as possible. Then buy 2-3 additional veggies that you know you love on their own. That way, you can vary the salad, and in the worst case scenario you can use the veggies for something else. (I’m the queen of turning my leftover salad goodies into stir-fry!)
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Spinach, Golden Cherry Tomatoes, raw sliced Golden Beets, Peas, Hemp Seeds, EVOO, Apple Cider Vin.
3. Supersize the Superfoods
With your delicious greens as a base, use nuts, seeds, and superfoods to amp up the nutritional value without affecting the flavor too much. In particular, I add frozen organic peas and hemp seeds to almost every salad. (Peas are SO GOOD FOR YOU.) Hemp seeds, chia, sesame,  pumpkin...these are all so great, too.

4. Oldies are Goodies
That quarter cup of roasted potatoes that you just couldn’t bring yourself to eat or trash last night? The 5 lb of grapes that you found at the market but can’t fathom eating all of? These are your gems! Simple leftovers and refrigerator overages are a salad’s best friend. Don’t be afraid to use them!
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Red Russian kale, leftover Roasted Sweet Potatoes, Sesame Seeds, Shredded Beets, Tahini-Balsamic dressing.
5. Feature One Favorite
It can be really tempting to put all of your favorites in one salad, but I’ve found that the best salads have only one “star.” That rule can apply to an ingredient, a “protein,” a texture, or the dressing, but generally speaking you only want one ingredient that’s prominent in flavor and pizazz. Aim for balance, and you’ll always win!

6. Dress for Success
If your dressing doesn’t wow you, your salad experience won’t either. I always make my own dressing based on this very simple guideline: equal parts each of my favorite oil, vinegar, and variable, a sprinkle of salt, lots of pepper! The “variable” is my favorite condiment, sweetener, or jam at the time. Think orange juice, tahini, balsamic reduction, preserves, maple syrup, mustard, sesame oil. If you start simple, over time you’ll learn how to bedazzle it to your own liking without any loss! If making the dressing scares the pants off of you, then yes, you can buy your favorite bottled variety! No one will judge you. Just watch out for added sugars that contain no benefit… “grape juice concentrate,” for example.

To Salad Success and Happy Celebrating!


Hannah

Comment below, and tell me what your favorite salad combinations are!
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TODAY ONLY: Yummy Food for Philippine Relief Fund!

11/22/2013

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I was granted a beautiful wake-up “call” this morning by a fellow blogger here in Charlotte who has her eyes set on things other than herself. Here I was, cuddled under my comforter, really pissed off at Carl the girl cat, staring at Instagram with the constant question in the back of my mind- “how can I get more readers?!”

The question was drowning in the resonant thought of me me ME ME!!! Then I stumbled across the day’s post by one of my favorite bloggers, Angela, over at Oh She Glows. She was re-posting this from a friend of mind in Charlotte who writes an awesome blog. Diana over at The Chic Life has put something REALLY AWESOME together to raise money for those struggling after the recent typhoon in the Philippines.
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So in lieu of my plans to ramble today about salads, holidays, work, and me, I thought I’d invite you to join in the fun for the benefit of others. This auction is only happening today!! And there are so many yummy goodies to choose from. A lot of the donors will even cater to your specific dietary needs, so vegans need not beware! 

Thank you, Diana and Angela, for reminding me of what other people are going through. 

To life and love,

Hannah


Click here or on the pics above to start bidding. 


Click below to donate directly to the benefiting organizations:
American Red Cross - World Food Programme Typhoon Relief
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Awaken Your Soul with Pesto Pizzaz

11/17/2013

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I can hardly begin to express the gratitude I am feeling for this past week. SO many exciting possibilities came my way!
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About three weeks ago, I was in a slump. Feeling frustrated. Not sure what to do. We’ve all been there, but this was about something I’ve remained positive and hopeful about since day ONE. I’m not exactly sure what happened, but it’s fair to say that my zeal was slipping away and my heart was starting to fear the unknown factors on the table.

That all changed this week. I asked the universe for some clarity. I expressed in my own rambling, stressed out way - yes, to the universe - a promise. I promised that I would keep my eyes and ears open for clarity to come my way, so that when it did I could hear it loud and clear.
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Man. Did that happen or what?! 

So, this clarity? Well, it’s not that I suddenly have The Answer. It’s more that I’ve been enlightened to the many wonderful possibilities that lie ahead of me. Instead of thinking that the source of my worry was confronted with an If-Then list of Choice A or Choice B, I’ve now been allowed to see that life rarely works that way. Rather, the seemingly binary choices I have before me are more like a piano piece, where each note represents a different option. If played correctly, the resulting tune will sound dull and cute at worst.

BORING. I don’t do dull. Cute? Maybe?
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Fuck that. BRING ON THE CONCERTO. I want my life tune to be somewhat jarring, even, yet grounded in its strength and fervor. It’s gonna shake people up a bit, in the absolute best way possible.

So now, the meal I’m about to share with you represents this “concerto.” It’s a twist on pasta and pesto. I recently awoke from a long-standing pasta hiatus that I didn’t even realize I was on. It’s cold out, and while necessary, sometimes salads just don’t leave you feeling as cozy and warm… grounded! ...as a good old bowl of noodles. The pesto here is bangin' with flavor. I was gifted this delightful bunch of Mustard Greens from Coto Family Farms, and I’ll be damned if I was going to eat another bowl of sauteed greens this week. It took me a minute to come up with, but I really wanted to use the greens in an unexpected way without losing what they're best known for- their kick!

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I really hope you enjoy this. It was incredibly simple, and something I would love to share with friends at my next potluck. You can even use the pesto to make an awesome pizza sauce! 

With cozy pizzaz,
Hannah


Just a few recipe notes I think you'll find important:
1. Do not be so silly as to think you can stick a plastic spoon into the food processor and actually miss the blade. Nope. It's not going to work.
2. If you do disregard the above suggestion, I take no blame for the annoying experience you'll have of "sifting" through the pesto to find the pieces of your spoon.
3. Yes, why yes indeed, this pesto is WORTH sifting the plastic pieces out of. An alternate option would be to start from scratch. 
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Mustard Green Pesto with Charred Heirloom Tomatoes
1/2 Bunch Mustard Greens (~ 5 large leaves)
1/2 Cup Pine Nuts + 1 Tbspn, lightly toasted

1/2 Pint Heirloom Cherry Tomatoes 
1/4 Cup Thawed Green Peas
1/8 Cup Olive Oil + 1 Tspn
1 Small Lemon's Juice
1 Clove Garlic
1 Tspn. Nutritional Yeast
1/2 Tspn Salt
1/2 Tspn Black Pepper

Pesto:
1. Tear greens into pieces just small enough to fit into food processor. Pulse until course.
2. Add pine nuts, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, salt, and pepper. Process until course and combined.
3. Scrape bowl of the food processor. Process while drizzling olive oil until a paste is formed. 

Charred Tomatoes:
1. Toss halved tomatoes in 1 Tspn olive oil and sprinkle with salt. 
2. Roast on a baking sheet at 400.
3. Check pan every 10 minutes and flip tomatoes.
4. Remove once they begin to blacken. 

Plate:
Toss Mustard Green Pesto over low heat with your favorite whole grain pasta, about 1 tablespoon pesto per serving. Add green peas until warmed. Top each serving with 1/4 cup Charred Tomatoes and 1 tablespoon toasted Pine Nuts. 


Enjoy!
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Yummy Photos to Get You Through Hump Day!

11/5/2013

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It dawned on me today that I did something incredibly incredibly cruel to you all, yesterday. And I am here to take full responsibility for my mistake. I don’t know what I was thinking - apparently I wasn’t thinking at all. You have been such a loyal group of friends to follow me, through thick and thin, and then I go and do something like this?

I’m sorry. Really, I am.

I will never ever ever EVER post a recipe again that doesn’t also include dynamic photos of the final product. I mean, HELLOOOOOOO?!

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I feel so relieved.

So without further ado, I will share with you how yes, tonight, for the third night in a row, I savoured, enjoyed, delighted over...fuck, DEVOURED the amazing Smokey Butternut Squash Sauce with Pasta and Veggies brought to you by the lovely Angela over at Oh She Glows.

Peace and Greens,

Hannah
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To make today’s version, here’s all you need to do::

1. Prepare 1 cup of your favorite whole wheat pasta according to package directions, and set aside.
2. Roast 1 cup whole, washed brussel sprouts for 30 minutes, or until slightly charred, at 400 degrees. (Toss in olive oil and salt, first.)
3. For last 15 minutes of brussel-sprout roasting time, add 1 bulb chopped fennel. (Also oil and salt first.)
4. Add ½-1 cup ANGELA’S AWESOME SAUCE to pasta over medium heat, and stir until well-coated and warm.

Serve all together, topped with thawed frozen peas and a dash of Smoked Paprika!



Do you forgive me, now? ;)
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From A Gal Who Knows Comfort Food

11/4/2013

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It’s been a bit of a grueling few days for me, if I’m being really honest. And it doesn’t help that right when I’m convinced that the weather is still in Summer mode, it turns out that no, it actually is on track with the seasons and it is going to be freezing cold out.

I’ve also had a cherished relationship come to an end. I’m working through it, and though it's hard, my life is still grand, and I still have so many things to be grateful for.

One of the things I’m extremely grateful for is the plethora of food bloggers out there who inspire me on the absolute freakin’ REGULAR. When I feel uninspired, when I’m bored, when I want something good to read, when I want to laugh or cry, who knew that food bloggers of all people would be the ones to cheer me up.

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The imposter Mac'n'Chreese that doesn't hold a candle to Angela's masterpiece.
I have to add that it’s always in so many more ways than one. Take, for example, the fact that the other day my vegan boxed Mac’n’Chreese was..…"meh" doesn’t even describe its lackluster lack of umph. Yes, I should have known! I haven’t bought a boxed and powdered mix of any kind in ages. I don’t even buy pre-made pizza dough out of the sheer belief that if it takes less than 4 ingredients, I can make it! But sometimes when one has a hankering for cheese and for ease, a box is the only thing that will suffice.

Pardon me, I don’t say this often, but I was wrong.

Little did I know that on the blessed ol’ interweb, a wonderful woman named Angela had already saved the day with her Smokey Butternut Squash with Pasta and Greens.

Oh. My. God.

I’m not a sauce person. I don’t need it, I don’t crave it. Cheese, on the other hand? I’m doing damn good to have made it this far. 6 months vegan (minus the one time I cheated)! So when I found Angela’s post, my curiosity when viral.

It’s sad, really, because I found the recipe, and then the night that I was going to make it I realized I had forgotten to soak the cashews. Total bummer. That’s when I dove into boxed-food land, which - to my own self-awareness credit - taught me the lesson to never go back.

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Where the magic happens!
I finally ended up making this sauce on Sunday, when I barely had time, but I wasn’t able to really dig in until Monday night.

I may never eat another thing again! I topped some whole-wheat rotini with fresh peas and warmed kale, sauced it all up, and voilah. That was the first night. Tonight I steamed turnips and added yet again the sauce with kale. I’m dying over here. I simply cannot get enough.

So thank you, Angela. Thank you for saving the vegan day with the comfort food of comfort foods for those cold, sad-ish nights.

You are officially my hero.

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The sauce that just might change your vegan LIFE!
To the joys of cold weather,

Hannah

For more inspiration from Angela, check out her inspiring blog, Oh She Glows!
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