Dinner

Grilled Dijon Salmon Skewers + your complete Labor Day BBQ menu!

August 15, 2016 by Dani 12 Comments

I was at the farmer’s market this morning and I overheard someone say to a little girl, “are you excited about school tomorrow?” I almost did a double-take. School starting ALREADY? I feel like summer just got kicked off! Also now that I’m no longer in school/don’t have kids, I have little concept of a school calendar these days. We still do have a month of summer left, and let’s be honest - the fall time in San Francisco is actually warmer than summertime here. So bring it on!

What the start of school/end of summer means is that LABOR DAY is around the corner! And as far as I’m concerned, it’s not Labor Day without some kind of BBQ situation. When Rachel reached out to me and some other bloggers about collaborating on something this summer, we had a great idea of sharing a complete and completely healthy Labor Day BBQ menu for you. Today, our blogs are a one-stop shop for an appetizer, side dish, entree, and dessert to take care of all that planning for you.

Kacy from Healthy For Real brings us the appetizer - a Hearty Black Bean, Corn, and Kale no-fork-needed bite.

Rachel from Little Chef Big Appetite whipped up this summery Farro Salad with Cherries and Walnuts. Seriously can’t wait to make this and pair with my entree!

I brought to the (virtual) table these Grilled Dijon Salmon Skewers. They are so easy and paleo to boot! And Vanessa from Noble Bakery provided the Bourbon Peach Pie - it’s gluten free, vegan, and sugar free!

So there you have it - your whole menu!

As most of you know, I’m a major salmon fan. When I was traveling up to the Pacific Northwest for my previous consulting gig, my “What I Ate Wednesdays” provided some insight into my can’tstopwon’tstop love for salmon. Now that I’m not traveling every week for work anymore, I don’t have the corporate American Express to have salmon every night for dinner! I’ve had to learn how to cook salmon for myself! My go-to recipe is usually along the lines of this, or I often pair plain roasted salmon with these zoodles. In fact, we had salmon and zoodles for dinner last night.

Anyways, I’ve had to get creative to keep salmon interesting around here, and I knew this Labor Day menu collaboration would be an awesome time to learn a new way to cook salmon - on the grill!

The key to cooking really great salmon is twofold:

Use fresh salmon
Don’t overcook it

Frozen salmon - while being an awesome, convenient, and often more affordable way to eat salmon - gets sort of a mealy texture when defrosted and cooked. That’s not to say I don’t ever use frozen salmon, it just doesn’t make for really great salmon. And it’s easy to want to overcook salmon because people are so afraid over undercooked meats and fish, but I promise - you really want your salmon medium-rare!

Give these skewers (and those tips above!) a try this Labor Day, and don’t forget to check out the other ladies’ blogs for the rest of your menu!

Grilled Dijon Salmon Skewers + your complete Labor Day BBQ menu!

Prep time

35 mins

Cook time

10 mins

Total time

45 mins

These 5-ingredient grilled dijon salmon skewers are delicious and make quite the presentation for any BBQ!

Author: Dani California Cooks

Serves: 8 skewers

Ingredients

2 lb salmon, cut into 1-inch squares
4 tbsp dijon mustard
2 tbsp olive oil
Juice of one lemon, plus 4 lemons sliced thinkly
Freshly chopped parsley
Salt and pepper

Instructions

In a small bowl, whisk the juice of one lemon, olive oil, dijon mustard, and a dash of salt and pepper
Take your wooden or metal skewers, and slide on one square of salmon
Pinch one lemon slice together, and then slide on next to the salmon
Repeat with another salmon square, another lemon, and then one more salmon
Repeat with the rest of your skewers
Brush on the dijon and olive oil sauce, and let marinate for up to 30 minutes
Heat up your grill or grill pan on medium-high heat
Skin side down, place the skewers and grill for about 4 minutes on each side, depending on the thickness of your salmon. You never want to overcook salmon!
Take off the heat, and serve with fresh parsley

Blueberry Zucchini Muffins

July 15, 2016 by Dani 13 Comments

Let me just say that these muffins are one of my best recipes yet and I can’t wait to make another batch this week - they were gone so fast. These are a twist on the classic blueberry muffin, being gluten free, dairy free, refined sugar free, with the bonus of vegetables and healthy fats!

What to do when you’re gifted three quarts of hand-picked blueberries, carefully brought as carry-on luggage all the way from Virginia? Well…bake a pie first of all. But secondly, bake muffins of course! Since I’ve been incorporating more carbohydrates and healthy fats into my diet, I feel like I’ve had a whole new world of recipes open up to me. I used to only have one snack in the afternoon - usually a protein bar or an apple with nut butter - but now that I’m eating snacks throughout the day I’ve been excited about all of the opportunities to try and make and EAT new snack recipes. Where have I been these last several years, just eating sad protein bars as a snack? My previous eating habits baffle me sometimes. It’s like the same feeling as reading my diaries from middle school - “I hope Jeremy invites me to his bar mitzvah and we slow dance!” *palm in face* I’m really glad to be moving in a more normal direction with my relationship with food. As for still being like my 13-year-old self…well let’s just say that no one is seeing those journals except for me You should really see my Pinterest boards - the only thing I’ve been pinning recently have been muffins and bars and snack balls and healthy brownies and cookies and all of this stuff that I used to think was “off limits” but now I can happily incorporate into my day-to-day. You can probably expect to see lots of recipes like that around here in the future, starting with this gem of a muffin recipe!

These muffins were gone in a flash. I think I’m going to make them again this weekend. There’s something magical about the mix of almond and oat flours. The flavors are nutty and complex, but the texture is not too dense or anything. And there’s nothing better than fresh blueberries in every bite.

I hope you have a great weekend, and enjoy the food you love with the people who you love to be with!

5.0 from 1 reviews

Blueberry Zucchini Muffins

Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

35 mins

Total time

45 mins

Your classic blueberry muffin - but with a gluten free, vegetable twist! Adapted from Ambitious Kitchen.

Author: Dani California Cooks

Serves: 9

Ingredients

1 cup oat flour
1 cup almond meal/flour
¼ teaspoon salt
¾ teaspoon baking powder
1 egg
⅓ cup maple syrup
1 tsp cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ cup unsweetened almond milk
1 tablespoon coconut oil, softened
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
½ cup chopped walnuts
1 cup fresh blueberries
1 zucchini, grated
Sprinkling of rolled oats, optional

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F
In a large bowl, mix the flours, salt, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon
In a separate bowl, beat the egg with the maple syrup, coconut oil, and vanilla extract
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry, and add the zucchini
Fold in the walnuts and the blueberries
In lined muffin tin (or unlined but sprayed with oil) spoon til about ¾ of the way to the top
Sprinkle rolled oats and lightly press into the muffins to stick to the top (optional)
Bake for 20-25 minutes
Remove, and enjoy!
Store in the fridge

If you like this, you’ll love: Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Muffins

Shrimp Pasta Salad

June 10, 2016 by Dani 14 Comments

This easy pasta salad comes together in less than 30 minutes, and is dressed in a light lemon vinaigrette, with plenty of garlicky shrimp and vegetables mixed in. It tastes great at room temp or warm, and can be a delicious entree or side dish this summer!

Sometimes when I hit “publish” on a post, I’m writing it to a specific audience and I forget that, for example, my mother reads the blog too! And coworkers! When I posted a “What I Ate Wednesday” not too long ago, I wrote that I didn’t really enjoy the texture of the Banza chickpea pasta and soon enough, there was an e-mail from the nice folks at Banza in my inbox saying they had read the post and wanted to know if they could send me another box so I could re-try it with a different cooking technique and see if I liked it! I said yes, and it kicked off a whole month of me providing feedback to brands/restaurants because it seemed like they were actually paying attention and I was kind of reaping the rewards…?

I joke-tweeted at our local ice cream shop when they were closed once that we were #devastated that we couldn’t get our ice cream fix in. Boy was I surprised that free ice cream coupons arrived at my doorstep the following week! (Side note - Nate frequents this place so much and orders a whole pint to himself normally). I e-mailed the manager of a restaurant after we had had a gross delivery and they too, sent me a gift certificate. I actually felt kind of bad about that e-mail, in retrospect. It kind of felt like I was going out of my way to complain.

I’m one of those people who responds a lot better to positive reinforcement than constructive criticism. I actually have had to do a lot of research at work for this recently - on how managers should be giving feedback to their staff. There’s a ton of science behind for every 1 critique, you need to give 5 compliments to “balance” it out. We often carry the criticism with us and dwell on them way more than we remember praise or a job well done. And positive reinforcement invigorates a workforce, motivates them, and encourages them to keep doing well what they are doing well!

So to these brands - like Banza, like the ice cream place, like the restaurant - I do enjoy your products! I’ll repeat that five times to get the critique out of your head. In fact, this pasta using Banza was delicious. I just needed to try out their cooking technique they recommended, which was to cook it a little bit longer. It did make it so the pasta didn’t hold up so well, but the texture and the flavor was spot on. Thanks for reaching back out and convincing me to give it another try!

I’m off to LA this weekend to reunite with one of my best friends who just returned from Peace Corps, and hang out with my parents and grandfather. I hope you all have a great weekend!

5.0 from 1 reviews

Shrimp Pasta Salad

Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

15 mins

Total time

25 mins

This pasta dish comes together in less than 30 minutes, and is filled with fresh shrimp, lots of vegetables, and a zesty vinaigrette.

Author: Dani California Cooks

Serves: 4 servings

Ingredients

1 box of pasta (I used Banza chickpea pasta)
1 lb fresh shrimp, peeled and devined
2 large garlic cloves, minced
Juice of 2 lemons, plus juice of 1 other lemon
1 bell pepper, chopped
Several handfuls of fresh spinach
½ cup chopped italian parsley
½ cup red wine vinegar
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil, plus 1 tbsp
Salt and pepper

Instructions

In a small bag, mix the shrimp, garlic, juice of 1 lemon, and 1 tbsp olive oil. Let marinate for 10 minutes
Mix the vinaigrette, but whisking the vinegar, olive oil, lemon juice, parsley, and a dash or salt and pepper
Bring a large pot of water to boil, and add the pasta. If using Banza, don't over cook or else it will fall apart!
In a medium saucepan, toss in the shrimp with all of the marinade
Add the bell peppers and sautee until the shrimp is cooked through on each side, turning once
Strain the pasta, and in a large bowl mix the shrimp and bell peppers, spinach, pasta, and vinaigrette
Serve with parmesan cheese!

If you like this, you’ll love: Roasted Summer Vegetable Pasta with Vegan Pesto

German Sweet Potato Salad

May 27, 2016 by Dani 8 Comments

A paleo take on german potato salad uses sweet potatoes and maple syrup for a light, versatile, and flavorful side dish!

The first time I had German sweet potato salad actually had nothing to do with my own German heritage! No, it was a potluck I went to over a year ago where we all had to bring dishes from our childhood (great idea for a dinner party, by the way). My colleague supplied her grandmother’s German sweet potato salad, and it was heaven - sweet, tangy, crunchy, chewy, carby, and somehow fresh all at the same time. I was hooked!

I’ve asked my grandfather many times what he would eat growing up in Germany, and he always returns with something along the lines of “sausage, sausage, pastries, sausage, and sausage”. Well. I’ve never visited Germany (hate to admit it) but I think I would do just fine on a diet of meat and sugar, thank you very much.

The moment that I had my colleague’s dish, I knew I wanted to recreate it. The flavors are incredibly versatile, and I thought it would pair well with just about anything. We were invited to a wine tasting at a friend’s apartment, and she mentioned she was making pulled pork. A-ha! The perfect time to recreate the potato salad.

Quick interjection with a few photos from the wine tasting hosted by Wines for Humanity. I think my friend got a Groupon for it, and it was a really fun afternoon on her rooftop. We kept the party going for hours afterwards!

The ingredients for this recipe are simple and classic. Bacon and maple syrup. Sweet potatoes and parsley. A little vinegar for tang. So even if it isn’t a dish from my childhood, it’ll definitely be eaten a lot throughout my mid-twenties!

German Sweet Potato Salad

A paleo take on german potato salad uses sweet potatoes and maple syrup for a versatile and flavorful side dish!

Author: Dani California Cooks

Ingredients

3 medium sweet potatoes
⅓ cup chopped parsley
3 tbsp maple syrup
½ cup white vinegar
¼ cup water
4 pieces of bacon
½ cup chopped white onion
Salt and pepper

Instructions

Bring a large pot of water to boil
In the meantime, cube the sweet potatoes
Once boiling, toss the sweet potatoes into the water and cook until tender but not mushy and falling apart (probably 5 minutes)
Remove and drain
In a saucepan, cook the bacon, and set aside on a paper towel
Remove most of the bacon grease from the pan, and then return to medium heat
Add the onions and cook until translucent
Add the water, vinegar and maple syrup and bring to a boil, then reduce for 1-2 minutes
Add the sweet potatoes to a large bowl, and crumble the bacon on top
Add the parsley to the bowl as well
Pour the onion mixture over, and toss gently with salt and pepper to taste
Serve warm or at room temp

If you like this, you’ll love: Sweet Potato Crust Frittata

Zucchini Turkey Burgers

May 6, 2016 by Dani 8 Comments

Sometimes turkey burgers can be kind of plain and dry, but these ones are packed with garlic, onions, and shredded zucchini. They are delicious plain, wrapped in collard greens, and freeze beautifully!

Things you don’t realize before you leave your job:

You give back your work phone and your number (and if you’re me, these are the same as your personal)
You give back your work laptop (and if you’re me, this has become your personal laptop)
You don’t have access to your work e-mail (which is tied to a lot of your favorite random website log-ins)

So yes, come 5pm, I will be computer-less, phone-less, work e-mail-less, but completely freeeeee and not tied to any 9-5 over the next two weeks!

I’m not going to lie, it doesn’t feel odd right now that this is all coming, but I’m sure next week when life is going on at my current company and I’m no longer a part of it - I bet I’ll have a little FOMO. Or maybe it won’t. I wish I could keep you posted through Instagram, but yeah - I’ll be phone-less until I get my number back and can get a new phone!

In the meantime, I plan to whip up a LOT of recipes. You know, practicing for all of the future brown bag lunches and dinners I’ll get to prepare now that I’ll be local to working in San Francisco. This turkey burger recipe is definitely going to be on the weekly rotation for the meal plan. They are so easy to make, and so juicy. Even Nate who claims he doesn’t like turkey loved the way these were spiced. I’m on a total garlic and onion kick these days, so it only makes sense that these were extra delicious. I ate them three times this past weekend…

I wish I could get excited for grilling season and for making these burgers outside, but alas, San Francisco gets super cold come May/June/July! It’s the most bizarre weather phenomenon, but as Mark Twain said, the coldest winter he ever spent was a “summer in San Francisco”. For some reason, the summer months are our foggiest and our coldest. It’s been absolutely glorious recently, and I hope the weather stays solid for this weekend - we have an outdoor wine tasting on our friend’s rooftop on Saturday!

I still have a few of these tucked away in my freezer that I’m looking forward to re-heating when I want to enjoy my grilling efforts even when it’s gross and foggy out over the next week

Zucchini Turkey Burgers

These turkey burgers are super flavorful and moist, packed with zucchini, garlic, and onion. They are paleo, gluten free, and freeze beautifully!

Author: Dani California Cooks

Serves: 4

Ingredients

1 lb ground turkey
1 zucchini, grated (I used a cheese grater)
3 cloves garlic, minced
½ white onion, chopped
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
Shake of red pepper flakes
Olive oil spray

Instructions

Place the grated zucchini on a paper towl, and sprinkle a little. Let sit for a little bit to allow the zucchini to "sweat" a little
Wrap the towel around the zucchini, and squeeze out remaning water
Mix all of the ingredients, including the zucchini, in a large mixing bowl, minus the olive oil spray
Form 4 patties
On a grill pan or sautee pan that's been sprayed with a little olive oil, bring to medium heat
Place the burgers, and cook for 5 minutes on each side
Serve immediately!
If freezing, let cool before wrapping in saran wrap and placing in the freezer

If you like this, you’ll love: Eggplant & Sausage Ragout

Lemon Chicken with Greek-Inspired Cauliflower Pilaf

April 29, 2016 by Dani 4 Comments

A riff off my classic Baked Chicken in Veggie Couscous, this Greek-inspired dish incorporates lots of lemon, olives, and feta. It’s gluten free comfort food that is so easy to make on a weekday!
When it comes to cooking, there are the things I enjoy doing in the kitchen and the things that I…enjoy less.

I enjoy: the eating part of cooking, making braises and stews that take all day, plating, mixing, serving others, chopping, baking, sauteeing, boiling, stirring, you name it. I love bumbling about my kitchen!

I dislike: Cleaning hard-to-clean kitchen items like immersion blenders, measuring, chopping garlic, and MAKING RICE OUT OF CAULIFLOWER IN MY FOOD PROCESSOR

There are just some things that we should leave to the pros, right? I’ll probably never make homemade crepes and I’m coming close to giving up on making my own sauerkraut, given the last two, um, disasters.

Discovering that Trader Joe’s makes an excellent pre-riced cauliflower has saved me so much time and clean-up!! While I’ve tried freezing cauliflower rice in bulk before, the fresh version tastes a lot better. I probably make this dish once a week on the regular now that I’ve found the TJ’s riced cauliflower - it’s so easy and comforting, but incredibly light and delicious. For those people in your life who may need a little more bulk than just chicken and veggies, I often serve this to Nate either in enormous portion sizes or with some bread on the side.

This recipe contains feta, olives, parsley and lots of lemon juice. However, it’s pretty much the same technique/preparation as my OG recipe. I’ve only begun to think of the dozens of different ways I’m going to prepare this recipe! I hope you enjoy this one - and keep it simple and buy the riced cauliflower instead of making it on your own!

Lemon Chicken with Greek-Inspired Cauliflower Pilaf

Chicken is marinated in lemon and herbs and is nestled into a bed of cauliflower rice with feta, parsley, and chopped olives. It's low carb and gluten free weeknight comfort food!

Author: Dani California Cooks

Serves: 2-3

Ingredients

5 small skinless chicken thighs
Juice of two lemons
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp oregano
½ tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
1 head of cauliflower riced in the food processor or two bags of pre-riced cauliflower (I used Trader Joe's brand)
½ cup chopped kalamata olives
½ cup crumbled feta
3 tbsp + 1 tbsp chopped parsley
Lemon slices

Instructions

In a freezer bag, place the chicken thighs, lemon juice, olive oil, oregano, salt and pepper, Mix well and place in the fridge to marinate for at least an hour
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F
In a 9 x 13 baking dish, mix the olives, parsley, and cauliflower rice. Make five small divets for the chicken thighs. Pour the leftover marinade over the cauliflower rice and mix in
Remove the chicken from the fridge
In a large saucepan, brown the chicken on each side
Nestle the chicken thighs in the baking dish among the cauliflower rice
Top each chicken thigh with a lemon slice
Bake for 30-40 minutes
Before serving, top with more parsley and the feta

If you like this, you’ll love: Mediterranean Chicken Salad with Crispy Chickpeas

Honey Ginger Salmon and Brussels Sprouts

April 15, 2016 by Dani 8 Comments

Salmon is roasted with a simple marinade alongside crispy brussels sprouts. Serve with quinoa or brown rice for a easy, balanced dinner!

Less travel recently has meant more successful forays into meal planning! I write out our dinners on this little chalkboard we have in the kitchen (…you know, just like a french restaurant). I usually mix it up between experimental new recipes and tried and true ones. This week I attempted Paleomg’s Almost 5 Ingredient Spaghetti Pie. It was delicious, but a bit time consuming with all of the different steps. Generally, salmon is on the menu twice a week. Just like my mom, I go to Costco and buy a big piece of salmon that lasts us two dinners and usually leftovers too, depending on my boyfriend’s garbage disposal appetite for the week.

It’s no secret that I adore salmon. I really could eat it every day, and I often do. Costco’s salmon, (while farm raised) does provide a very affordable way to eat this delicious and healthy protein several times throughout the week. Some of my favorite ways to prepare salmon are:

Roasted plain served with these zoodles
Served with baked cherry tomatoes (I always ask my mom to make this when I go to Santa Monica!)
In some sort of asian-style marinade served with vegetables and quinoa like the recipe I’m sharing today!
Oven-roasted with lemon and basil and olive oil
Eaten as leftovers with salad, like this one

Ah, the list goes on and on.

As I write this post, tonight’s menu is…you guessed it…salmon! Going to serve it with asparagus (yay for spring vegetables!) and sweet potatoes. And now I’m off to Costco to buy my beloved fish. There’s a Costco about a mile away from us, and I go to buy just a few items every week. Today I have to buy coffee, onions, eggs, and salmon. I’ll report back if I return home with something that isn’t on the list, which is usually the case. (Update: I actually stuck to the list and didn’t even buy the onions! Those things weighed like 10 lbs and would have taken up all the space in my backpack).

It’s a good thing I don’t have too many eating out plans already for this weekend, because the smallest salmon size I could pick up for tonight’s dinner was 2.25 lbs. Salmon overload for leftovers, please and thank you! The only things I have planned this weekend are a brunch date with girlfriends at Universal (this restaurant calls itself “richly organic”, whatever that means), subbing for cycle on Saturday and also teaching on Sunday, and it’s supposed to be a glorious 75 and sunny out so I’m hoping to do some Dolores Park lounging! Hope you all have a great weekend!

5.0 from 1 reviews

Honey Ginger Salmon and Brussels Sprouts

Author: Dani California Cooks

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients

2 lb fresh salmon
2 tbsp tamari
1 tbsp freshly grated ginger
Dash of ground turmeric
2 tsp honey
1 tsp toasted sesame oil
½ tsp red pepper flakes
4 cups brussels sprouts, cut in half
Olive oil
Salt and pepper

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F
Toss your brussels in a little olive oil, salt and pepper and place on a baking sheet
Bake for 15 minutes
While those are roasting, whisk the tamari, ginger, honey, sesame oil, turmeric and red pepper flakes
Take the baking sheet out of the oven, and flip and push the brussels to the side to make room for the salmon
Add the salmon to the baking dish and pour the sauce over the salmon. Use a brush or a spoon to spread evenly
Bake for another 15 minutes
Serve and enjoy with chopped green onions and lemon!

If you like this, you’ll love: Salmon Bowls with Miso Dressing

Spring Clean Up Your Diet with these Easy Recipes

March 25, 2016 by Dani 12 Comments

Hello to the season of SPRING! Springtime just screams freshness to me - bright, crisp flavors, lots of GREEN, new beginnings, more sun. What better time to clean up a diet and add fresh flavors when you also clean up your house!

So, what’s in season for spring? Saveur has an awesome guide where you can search for recipes by spring ingredient.

Artichokes
Arugula
Asparagus
Beets
Bok Choy
Carrots
Fava beans <- very trendy
Garlic
Leeks
Peas
Potatoes
Radishes
Ramps <- also very “in”
Rhubarb
Scallions
Greens and spinach

I reached out to my fellow bloggers for easy recipes to “spring clean” up our diet using some of those fabulous ingredients, and I have some to share with you.

Creamy Vegan Spring Vegetable Pasta - a pine-nut based sauce with peas and asparagus only tastes decadent

Beet Cauliflower Rice - a fresh take on cauliflower rice with beets and basil

Roasted Radish Chips - sturdier for dipping than kale chips!

Edamame Slaw - even if you dress and toss on Monday, it will hold up throughout the week for easy lunches

Honey Garlic Chicken - sweet, spicy, fresh, and easy

Spring Quinoa Bowl - LOTS of spring produce in this one!

No-Bake Carrot Protein Bars - I have these next on my to-do list to make

Vegan Cobb Salad - I’ll take asparagus over blue cheese any day!

Salmon Bowls with Miso Dressing - easy and hearty!

For more, Sarah has put together a beautiful list of 25 healthy vegetarian recipes for the season.

Hope you enjoy! Have a great weekend!

Eggplant and Sausage Ragout

March 21, 2016 by Dani 11 Comments

Whether you make this in a crockpot or on your stove, this easy and hearty paleo pasta sauce is great over zoodles or your pasta of choice!

At work the other day, people had to name colleagues with “superpowers” and my name came up for having a FOOD BLOG. Yes, if you’re a fellow food blogger - and I know many of my readers are - outside of the blogosphere, you’ve got yourself a superpower!

Maybe it’s that my hobby is something that people can Google, or maybe more of my colleagues need to pursue hobbies, or maybe the fact that I was able to have a hobby outside of work was a superpower in itself. Either way, I couldn’t decide whether to be embarrassed or not.

We talk about this concept a lot at work - called having a “work/life balance” or “work/life fit” - meaning your work is one thing, and your life, your family, and your hobbies is another. For a long time, when I was living with Paige and beginning to date Nate, it felt like my whole “life” was “work” because we all worked together and hung out together!

That’s something that is kind of fantastic about being 26 and living in San Francisco. Everyone is making a decent amount of money and everyone is working a lot. No one has kids and no one is married, but there are plenty of live-in couples like me at Nate. While in DC, I definitely felt the pressure to always be online because there was this unspoken feeling that the employees that don’t have [insert kids/spouse] just had all of this spare time that they should be working. Flash forward two years later, in California, and doing stuff like blogging outside of work is celebrated!

So to my fellow bloggers that have full time jobs, or to readers that seriously pursue hobbies outside of work, or for people whose #1 priority isn’t their 9-5 - join me in California - no, I’m just kidding. Just…keep at it. You never know when someone will think it’s your superpower!

And even if cooking your hobby outside of your 9-5, this foolproof recipe is super delicious and super healthy. My superpower to you!

Eggplant and Sausage Ragout

This eggplant and sausage ragout is an easy pasta sauce that tastes great over zoodles or your pasta of choice!

Author: Dani California Cooks

Serves: 3-4

Ingredients

3 large italian sausages, casings removed
1 large eggplant, cubed
½ yellow onion, diced
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 28oz can of diced tomatoes
1 tbsp tomato paste
2 tbsp chopped fresh basil
Pinch of dried oregano
Pinch of red pepper flakes
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

In a large pot or saucepan, brown the sausage and remove the oil
If using a crockpot, add in the sausage plus all of the other ingredients. Stir and cook on low for 8-10 hours, or high for 4-6
If continuing on the stove, add the onions and the garlic and cook until translucent
Add the rest of the ingredients and stir
Bring to a boil, and then simmer for 2-3 hours
Serve with more freshly chopped basil and parmesan cheese

If you like this, you’ll love: Creamy Vegan Spring Vegetable Pasta

Delicata Squash Salad with Kale, Pecans, and Apples (gluten free)

November 15, 2015 by Dani 24 Comments

This vibrant kale salad is full of fall flavors and textures, and my favorite of all squashes - the DELICATA. It’s one of the few salads I’ve found that actually makes for good leftovers!

I had a lot to write about this kale salad (what can I say, writing about kale really brings out the words in me) but in lieu of what happened in Paris this weekend, I’ve been feeling particularly nostalgic to my semester when I studied abroad in Paris. It was this time five years ago that I was living in the 16th arondissement, drinking wine on the metro, smoking cigarettes, eating pain aux raisins for snacks, and exploring the city of light on my own. My several months in Paris were transformative, and I returned home an adult. My heart goes out to this city that I feel like I owe so much to, and that still enchants me to this day when I see a photo or think about just how perfect the light hits the air.

I think this was taken on my old school blackberry phone!

Studying abroad was the first time that I spent so much time…alone. My cell phone didn’t work there, so I couldn’t just call up my mom when I was walking to and from places. Same with Google maps - couldn’t use those! I lived with a host family that spoke no English (and also who wanted nothing to do with me!). To meet up with American friends, we had to make plans - I couldn’t just walk to the dining hall or the library and see a bunch of people that I knew. I spent a lot of time just in my own head, just getting to know me! I had to figure out stuff on my own.

Paris was also the first time that I started to learn a lot about my body and nutrition. I gained a lot of weight when I studied abroad, which at the time, I wish I had just embraced and enjoyed every pastry and glass of wine! Instead, I went for extremely long runs and sometimes worked out twice a day, triggering my first experience with binge/restricting. All of my Parisian friends were so skinny and would eat carbs after carbs! I would ask them incredulously, “how is it possible that you look this way and eat what you do?!” They would all respond “well are food doesn’t have preservatives like American food”.

While at the time it made no sense to me, I now would not be surprised if that plays a role in American obesity - maybe our bodies don’t process the food the same way that the French do since many of us have grown up on diets of processed foods. In France, farmer’s markets are cheaper than super markets. They also have the whole concept of portion control down…

I know the French would appreciate this salad’s simplicity, and the fact that I’ve served it next to a delicately cooked piece of white fish. Sending lots of (virtual) love over to that city and everything it taught me!

5.0 from 1 reviews

Delicata Squash Salad with Kale, Pecans, and Apples

This vegan and gluten free salad is full of fall flavors, textures, and colors. It makes for great leftovers since kale is so hearty!

Author: Dani California Cooks

Serves: 4 servings

Ingredients

1 large bunch lacinato kale
1 medium sized delicata squash
¼ cup pecans (I used Trader Joe's sweet and spicy)
1 small apple
2 tbsp honey
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
2 tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper
Olive oil spray

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F
Slice the delicata squash lengthwise, and remove the seeds. Then slice width-wise into ½ inch pieces
Coat the delicata squash with a little olive oil spray, salt and pepper. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until golden brown. I flipped once through
Remove the ribs from the lacinato kale, and slice into thin pieces
Remove the core of the apple, and then slice the remaining parts into thin pieces
In a small bowl, whisk the money, olive oil, and red wine vinegar
In a large salad bowl, place the kale and pour the dressing over. With clean hands, massage the dressing into the kale
Add the pecans and the apples
Remove the delicata squash from the oven, and add to the salad and toss
Serve immediate, at room temperature, or store in the fridge for tasty leftovers all week!