Dinner

Spaghetti Squash Coconut Curry Noodle Soup

March 27, 2019 by Kat Graham

coconut curry noodle soup being eaten with chopsticks

I’ve been meaning to post the recipe for this coconut curry noodle soup for a few weeks and what sparked me to get down to it was a little conversation I had over lunch today. I talked about how I feel like I haven’t made the time to work on posting more to my blog, despite taking lots of pictures of my final cooked product, I haven’t spent the time to write up the story to go along with my photos and recipes.

One friend said, “Whenever I find a recipe online, I usually skip over all the written content and scroll straight to the recipe.” And then I realized, Oh wait, I totally do that too.

So here it is, plain and simple: I’m a big fan of soup and in the winter time I can’t get enough of it. Today’s coconut curry noodle soup is brought to you by my winter blues and constantly cold hands; if you like spicy soup with lots of depth of flavor, this one’s for you!

cutting board with onion, garlic, thai chilis, lime leaves, and lemongrass

Pro tip: cut your spaghetti squash like this to get long strands of noods!

Coconut Curry Noodle Soup

Print Recipe

Prep Time 30 mins

Cook Time 30 mins

Total Time 1 hr 15 mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine Asian

Servings 4

Ingredients

1 onion, sliced
8 garlic cloves, minced
1 stalk lemongrass, cut into thirds and smashed with a meat pounder
2 thai birds eye chilis, minced
2 inch knob of ginger, grated
1 tbsp red curry paste
1/3 cup almond butter
4 cups chicken broth
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 can coconut milk
1-2 chicken breasts, cut into small pieces (optional)
1 medium spaghetti squash

Toppings of choice

enoki mushrooms
soft boiled egg
chopped spinach
sweet corn
bamboo shoots
lime
chili oil

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Cut spaghetti squash into rounds and place on parchment paper. Season with olive oil, salt and pepper. Place in oven for 30 minutes.
Heat a large pot over medium heat with 1 tbsp coconut oil. Cook chicken until no longer pink and set aside.
In the same pot, add another tbsp of coconut oil, then add onions and cook until translucent. Add garlic, lemongrass, chilis, ginger, and curry paste and cook until fragrant, 1-2 minutes. Add almond butter, fish sauce and chicken broth and bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for 20 minutes. Add the coconut milk in the last 5 minutes of cooking to heat through.
Once the spaghetti squash is done roasting, remove from oven until cool enough to handle. Scrape out noods.
Place one serving of noods into a bowl and spoon soup over top. Top with your toppings of choice! I chose a soft boiled egg, fresh enoki mushrooms, corn, bamboo shoots, spinach, a squeeze of lime and chili oil. Enjoy!

Keyword coconut curry, red curry, soup, spaghetti squash

Sweet Potatoes with Blueberry Pomegranate Chicken

February 9, 2019 by Kat Graham

Blueberry pomegranate stuffed sweet potatoes

I think of these as the grown up version of the baked potatoes I grew up eating at my dad’s house. What was once a russet potato piled high with butter, sour cream, cheese and bacon bits, these babies bring in tender, caramelized baked sweet potato to bring this dish to a whole new level.

Fruity blueberries and pomegranate arils are cooked down to a compote, then mixed with yummy asian flavors like coconut aminos and sesame oil to stuff these sweet lil baked potatoes to the brim. Of course, you need some veggies so crispy brussels sprouts join the crew! A drizzle of tahini, bits of fresh chopped parsley and more pomegranate are thrown on top to finish them off. These baked sweet potatoes literally couldn’t be more stuffed if I tried and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Blueberry Pomegranate Baked Sweet Potatoes

Print Recipe

Prep Time 20 mins

Cook Time 45 mins

Total Time 1 hr 5 mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Ingredients

3 sweet potatoes
olive oil
sea salt

For the chicken

3/4 lb chicken breast, diced
1/2 cup blueberries
1/2 cup pomegranate arils
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp coconut aminos or soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp red chili flakes (optional)

For the brussel sprouts

2 cups Brussels sprouts, cut in half
olive oil
sea salt

For garnish

tahini
pomegranate arils
chopped parsley

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Meanwhile, using a fork, poke holes all over sweet potatoes. Rub with olive oil and salt, then place on a baking tray and place in the oven for 45 minutes.
Place brussels sprouts on a parchment lined baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Place in oven for 30 minutes (pop into oven when sweet potatoes have 30 mins left).
Season diced chicken with salt and pepper, then cook in a cast iron pan over medium high heat.
While chicken is cooking, set a small saucepan to medium heat and add blueberries and pomegranate arils. cook for 5-8 minutes, stirring occasionally until fruit begins to break down. Then, add the garlic, balsamic vinegar, coconut aminos, sesame oil and chili flakes and cook for 2-3 minutes longer.
When the chicken is cooked through, combine in the pan with the blueberry pomegranate sauce to coat.
When sweet potatoes and brussels sprouts are finished, remove from oven. Cut a slit in each sweet potato and stuff with chicken, brussels sprouts, tahini drizzle, parsley and pomegranate arils.

Keyword blueberry pomegranate chicken, stuffed sweet potato, sweet potato

Potato Salad with Radishes and Herbs

January 26, 2019 by Kat Graham

This potato salad was inspired by a beautiful, bright bunch of radishes I spotted in Whole Foods recently. I was doing my grocery shopping according to my list I so carefully write up each weekend, when these bright pink + purple babies were just ASKING for me to take them home. Dare I say no? Of course not!

My biggest demise is spotting pretty produce that I don’t have a plan for. But when they look so pretty, how can I turn away!? So alas, this radish + potato salad was born. I threw out my original salad plan for the week and decided that these bright crunchy balls of delight would be wonderful alongside some warm, crispy baby potatoes. Oh yes, salty, garlicky baby potatoes roasted til the outsides are nice and crisp and the insides are perfectly tender.

They’d need some backup talent to really shine, so lightly charred snap peas, blanched green beans, and parsley and mint make an appearance, too. Finally, a dijon vinaigrette brings the whole crew together. Bon appetit!

Warm Potato Salad with Radishes and Herbs

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 20 mins

Cook Time 20 mins

Total Time 40 mins

Course Salad

Cuisine American

Servings 2

Ingredients

1 lb baby potatoes
3 cloves garlic, minced
1.5 tbsp olive oil, divided
8 radishes, quartered
1/2 lb sugar snap peas
1/2 lb french green beans, cut into 1 inch pieces
1/3 cup caper berries
mint
parsley
salt + pepper to taste

For the dressing

3 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp dijon mustard
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
salt
pepper

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. While the oven preheats, cut baby potatoes in half so they are uniform in size. toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Once oven is hot, place in oven for 45 minutes, adding minced garlic and tossing half-way through.
Meanwhile, boil a pot of salted water on medium high heat. Add green beans once boiling for 3 minutes. Remove and promptly add to cold/ice water to stop cooking.
Heat a cast-iron pan on medium heat with remaining olive oil. Once hot, add snap peas, salt and pepper and cook until lightly charred. Remove from pan and set aside.
Chop parsley and mint and cut stems off of caper berries if you like. I left the stems on because I thought they were cute and I don’t mind throwing out the stems while I eat!
Add dressing ingredients in a mason jar and shake up til mixed thoroughly.
Once potatoes are done cooking, toss into a bowl with radishes, peas, beans, herbs and desired amount of dressing. Divide into bowls and eat!

Keyword herbs, pea salad, potato, potato salad, radish

Bean-free Turkey Chili (Whole 30)

January 18, 2019 by Kat Graham

This bean-free, paleo + whole 30 turkey chili is the bees knees. I’m talking super hearty from the copious amount of vegetables and ground turkey, smokiness from the smoked paprika, heat from the jalapeno and cayenne, and it comes together in the coziest bowl with lots of fresh toppings and….a dollop of coconut cream. No beans + coconut cream, whaat??

My sister and I are guilty of giving up things – like coffee, cookies candy – for lent despite both being non-religious, so when she suggested trying out Whole 30 in January, I was completely on board. I already partake in Dry January anway, so giving up dairy + grains + legumes + corn + soy + added sugar ++++++++ the list goes on, easy, right?

I wish I had a great story about it being really difficult and that I broke down and ate a ton of junk food (i do love cookies tho), but it’s actually turned out way more manageable than I thought! My fridge and counter tops have been overflowing with fresh fruits and vegetables since the beginning of the month and I haven’t binged on buttery popcorn and Tangfastics while I’m bored and watching Netflix. On top of that, my mood has been through the roof, I can’t remember the last time I had a brain fog, and I’m sleeping so much better. What’s the catch?

There isn’t one! Not surprisingly, being more conscious about what you’re putting in your body has some really positive results. Who knew?

Anyway, I’ll stop ranting about how great Whole 30 is, but if you’re thinking about trying it, go for it and I promise you won’t regret it!

So back to this chili. I decided to make this chili because 1) it fit the bill for being whole 30 compliant and 2) it’s January in Vancouver so it’s cold af outside and I wanted a big bowl of something hot to warm me up. I added a some chilled coconut cream (basically just throw a can of coconut cream in the fridge for a day) and I honestly think it tastes better than adding sour cream. It’s super versatile as well, so if you wanted to throw in more vegetables, go for it! If you can eat beans, feel free to add those in! If you’re into dairy, add back in some sour cream or creme fraiche! Do what you love, really.

Enjoy!

Bean-Free Turkey Chili

This bean-free turkey chili is packed with vegetables and is Paleo and Whole 30 compliant

Print Recipe

Prep Time 30 mins

Cook Time 1 hr

Total Time 1 hr 20 mins

Course Main Course

Ingredients

1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion
3 cloves garlic, peeled
3 carrots, peeled
1 jalapeño
1 sweet potato
2 lbs ground turkey
28 oz can of diced tomato
1 tbsp tomato paste
1.5 cup stock
3 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp cumin
1 tbsp oregano
1 tbsp smoked paprika
1 tsp cayenne (optional)
3 bay leaves
salt + pepper (to taste)

For Garnish

jalapeño
lime
cilantro
avocado
chilled coconut cream

Instructions

Dice onion, peppers, carrots, jalapeño and sweet potato. Set aside.
Mince garlic and set aside.
Heat up 1 tbsp olive oil in a large stock pot and saute onion, peppers, carrots, jalapeño until soft, 5-8 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside.
In the same pot, brown ground turkey until no longer pink. Then, add back sauteed vegetables, raw diced sweet potato, uncooked minced garlic and stir.
Add canned tomato, tomato paste, stock, and spices.
Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer for at least one hour. Flavor will continue to develop the longer it simmers.
When ready to serve, spoon into bowls and garnish with chopped cilantro, fresh squeeze of lime, sliced jalapeño, avocado pieces and dollop of chilled coconut cream.