RECIPE TIME: Braised Coconut Spinach with Chickpeas & Lemon

You can get just about ANYTHING delivered in New York, and believe me, Adam and I take full advantage of this perk of our great city. If we're craving Thai, it can be on the front doorstep in 10 minutes or less. If we want Green-Certified Chinese food (whatever that means), it's a call away. If we want vegan empanadas at 9 pm on a Monday, I'm pretty sure we could get those too.

But alas, when ordering delivery means some unfortunate bloke is going to have to schlepp his way over through the ice and snow, I just can't do it!

Exhibit A:

(I didn't have the heart...)

So instead, we opted for making an easy (and healthy) dinner ourselves on Sunday night. Key word: "easy". Extra bonus: "healthy". As we were cooking it, I realized that this truly is the perfect dinner to accommodate ALL diets. If you're having a dinner party with carnivores, vegans AND gluten/dairy-free folks in attendance, not to worry! This dish from Treehugger.com can make EVERYONE happy!

Ready for some Braised Coconut Spinach with Chickpeas & Lemon? I thought so!

For the prep: Mince 4 large cloves of garlic, zest 1 large lemon (saving the lemon for later), grate 1 Tbs. of fresh ginger, and chop 1/2 cup of sundried tomatoes and 1 small yellow onion.

In a saute pan, over medium-high heat, saute the onions in ghee (or coconut oil) for about 5 minutes until they begin to brown. Next add the garlic, ginger, sundried tomatoes, lemon zest, and a light sprinkle of crushed red pepper flakes (if using). Meanwhile, if you prefer to serve this over a gluten-free grain, cook a pot of quinoa (we chose farro since we're not gluten-sensitive).

Now add 1 (15 oz.) can of chickpeas, drained. Cover the pan and cook over high heat for a few minutes until the chickpeas begin to turn golden and are coated with the mixture.

Toss in 1 lb. of spinach, one handful at a time (if ours looks light on the spinach, it's because we didn't have enough! Whoopsies!).  Let each handful wilt down before adding the next.

Meanwhile, if you'd like to add chicken on the side (or on top), saute your chicken in a little oil, broth, or ghee. Lightly season with salt, pepper and the flavoring of your choice (we chose to season with marrakesh, a Moroccan spice, which complimented the dish perfectly).

Once all the spinach has wilted, pour in 1 (14 oz.) can of coconut milk and stir in 1 tsp. sea salt (or more, if you prefer), the juice of 2 lemons and 1 tsp of ground ginger (optional).

Turn down the heat and simmer for 10 minutes (or until the chickpeas are warmed through). Taste and add more salt and lemon juice, if necessary.

Serve over the grain of your choice - or alone! It's good either way!

And if you're catering to meat eaters, add the chicken breast on the side! Delicious!

Even Walter looked a bit jealous of our fine dining experience! Between me and you, he's pretty sick of his dry cuisine.

And just for fun, our newest Christmas ornaments - Adam gave me an owl (I have a minor obsession), and I gave him a lobster (to commemorate one of our favorite trips to Maine).

Stay warm, friends! And remember, be nice to the delivery guy this holiday season!

Recipe Time: Roasted Acorn Squash with Greens & Beans Quinoa!

Growing up, we received oodles and oodles of fresh summer squash from my grandfather's garden each year. This would have been awesome if I had liked squash, but.... (big surprise) I didn't.

My mother always prepared it in one of two ways - sliced and sauteed OR mushed and mixed in a casserole dish with lots of butter, Saltine crackers and God knows what else. I obviously preferred the latter.

For a long, long time, I actually didn't know that other types of squash even existed! Or that there were other ways to prepare them! So when I received a cute little acorn squash from my CSA last week, I clearly had no idea what to do with it. So I used one of my 'Phone-a-Friends' and dialed up my girl Sarah Kagan over at Beyond the Batter. "She'll know what to do with this thing...", I thought to myself.

And of course, like the culinary genius that she is, Sarah had a great recipe in her back pocket for acorn squash and even better - she proceeded to rush right over and whip up the most fabulous dinner for me and my man. What a gal!

So today, I'm sharing it with you. It's worthy of some blog-time. And who knows... maybe you too have no idea what to do with the damn thing!

Preheat the oven to 375F. While the oven is heating up, cook 1 cup of quinoa according to package directions.

Slice 1 medium-size acorn squash and empty out the seedy middle (you can even save the seeds and roast them later!)

Now cut the ends off the squash and slice it into 3/4 inch pieces.

Place the squash in a large mixing bowl and coat with 1-2 Tbs. oil of your choice (I recommend coconut oil). 

Lightly sprinkle the mixture with cumin powder and sea salt to taste (and cinnamon - we were forced to use cinnamon sticks because that was all we had on hand but ground cinnamon would be much easier!).

Cover a baking tray with parchment paper and roast in the oven for 30-40 minutes until tender (flipping halfway through).

Grab 1 can of white beans and rinse in a strainer until the water runs clear.

In a large mixing bowl, add the beans to the cooked quinoa...

...and mix well! (There's Sarah!).

Now for your dressing: In a small bowl, mix together the juice of 2 lemons, 1-2 Tbsp. of olive oil, 1-2 Tbsp. of red wine vinegar, and sea salt, pepper and red pepper flakes to taste. Pour over your quinoa/bean mixture (if you want to add more later, you can! that part's up to you!)

Meanwhile, saute one bag of frozen kale (16 oz.) with 1/2 bag of frozen broccoli (8 oz.) - or use fresh veggies if you have them!

Add them to the quinoa mixture and you're done!

Serve the quinoa atop a few slices of acorn squash and enjoy how the flavors blend together so beautifully! 

If it's even possible, this dish made our little viewing party of HOMELAND that much better! Terrorist plots... mental breakdowns... and yummy acorn squash. Could my night get any better?

Thanks, Sarah!

Oh...and if you'd like to curb a sweet tooth the vegan way, check out Sarah's recipe for her Pumpkin Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies! I taste-tested (and approved!) more than a few last night!