side dish » Living Lou

Carrot Salad

Last week I mentioned this health kick that I’ve been on lately and this Carrot Salad is a result of said new health kick. There’s something about February that has me craving the freshness of summer, and I think this salad definitely brings that freshness to the table (ha! literally and figuratively). I’ve also had carrots on my mind recently with the relaunch of an old favourite app of mine, CarrotLines™ Powered By Tommy Europe™. Now I’m sure you all know that I am a total app addict – hence my tweet about Songza the other day (seriously obsessed with the 60s French Pop Playlist), but CarrotLines is the only health app I have on my phone because quite frankly, with the CarrotLines app, I don’t need another one.

My favourite feature of this free app is the bar code scanner, it’s amazing. When you scan the bar code of a product, it pulls up the nutritional information and tells you if the product fits with your nutritional goals, whether it be low-fat or gluten free etc. Plus, there is exclusive nutrition and fitness video content by Tommy Europe. I’ve loved using the app while grocery shopping and for purging my pantry of items that I really shouldn’t be eating. I already had the CarrotLines app on my phone so all I needed to do was update it, but if you don’t have the app you can download it from the Canadian app store.

Now, to spread the #carrotlove I've created this delicious Carrot Salad. It's so simple and is a great way to change up your salad routine.

Carrot Salad (serves 4-6)
Recipe by Lou

Ingredients

For Salad
5 large carrots, peeled and grated
4 mini cucumbers, sliced
1 green onion, sliced

For Dressing
1/3 cup olive oil
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
3 tbsp lemon juice
1 clove garlic, crushed
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

In a large bowl, toss together vegetables for the salad.

In a small bowl, whisk together the dressing ingredients.

Pour dressing over salad and toss to coat.

Carrot Salad is one of my favourite salads because not only is it gorgeous and colourful but also really easy and delicious.

- Lou

Disclaimer: I am proud to be a media sponsor and brand ambassador for CarrotLines™ Powered By Tommy Europe™. All opinions expressed are my own.

Rice and Beans

A couple of weeks ago, I was asked to take part in something called “The 10 Day Consumer Challenge” basically, you’re only supposed to buy necessities for ten days. You know what that means…no movies, no chocolate bars for that 5pm chocolate craving (no, it is not a necessity!) and no ordering in dinner – it’s a lot harder than it sounds. Until finishing the challenge, I never realized how many things I buy on a regular basis that are completely unnecessary. I mean, did I really need that burrito during class the other day or was I just bored? And as much as I love seeing movies on the weekend, maybe a couple of nights a weekend, I should just watch what’s on TV. I saved a heck of a lot of money by only purchasing what I needed and not what I wanted - I’m going to try and implement a few of the “10 Day Consumer Challenge” principles on a regular basis – as a college student, I can’t get enough of saving money.

What the challenge also had me thinking about was pantry staples – and the meals you can create from items already stocked in your pantry. I couldn’t even tell you the amount of times I look in my pantry and walk away saying there is nothing to eat or to make for dinner. In reality there are cans of beans, tuna, crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes, rice and pasta. About halfway through the challenge I was a little uninspired by the ingredients in my pantry, but knew I couldn’t go out and buy anything because I had everything I needed for a good meal at home, that’s where this Rice and Beans recipe came from. It was super quick and filling, plus I had lots of leftovers for lunch and dinner the next day. It works great as a side dish or even as a main course because the black beans add a ton of protein.

Rice and Beans (serves 4-6)
Recipe by Lou

Ingredients

1 tbsp olive oil
1 cup uncooked long grain white rice
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 jalapeno, cored and finely chopped (leaving in the seeds depends on how hot you like it)
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1 1/2 cups cold water
1/2 cup crushed tomatoes
1 (19 ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed

Directions

In a saucepan, heat olive oil over medium heat.

Add rice, stirring to coat in oil. Toast rice for 1-2 minutes.

Add the garlic and jalapeno, stirring to combine with rice. Cook until fragrant – about a minute. Next, stir in spices and oregano. Add water, tomatoes and black beans. Bring to a boil, cover and turn off heat. Steam for 20 minutes or until liquid has been absorbed and rice is cooked.

Serve as a meal or with your favourite Mexican foods like my favourite Shredded Chicken Tacos. I challenge all of you to try out the “10 Day Consumer Challenge” – let me know how it goes! Did you find any changes?

- Lou

Rosemary Skillet Potatoes

What do you picture when you think of a blogger? Because right now I feel like the most typical blogger ever. I’m sitting in my bed in my pajamas, at 1:07am writing a post that I should have written weeks ago. I should really be sleeping since I have to be on set early tomorrow morning to work a minimal 12 hour day. But woops, I’m sitting here picking my split ends and writing a post.

How bloggerish of me!

But as you see above, bloggers usually talk about themselves because, for the most part, we’re writing about ourselves. It’s kind of weird now that I think of it. Do we have to really love ourselves to blog? I guess it depends what you’re blogging about, because I just really love food.

So even though right now I am totally the most stereotypical blogger, I’m going to do something atypical and talk about another blog and another blogger because it’s time for another Secret Recipe Club! This month I was assigned the blog Biking and Baking. Sarah, shares a wide array of wonderful, vegan recipes and I love her outlook on cooking/baking – it’s ok to have some failures. One of my goals for this year was to make more vegan meals so Sarah’s blog was the perfect fit! I decided to make her Rosemary Skillet Potatoes because despite all the wonderful baking recipes, I’m still a little scarred from my many attempts at Vegan Pancakes.

Rosemary Skillet Potatoes (serves 4)
Recipe adapted from: Biking and Baking

Ingredients
1 lb new potatoes, diced
1 small red onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp dried rosemary
1 tsp grill seasoning
1 tbsp olive oil + more for frying

Directions

Toss potatoes, onion, garlic, rosemary and grill seasoning with 1 tbsp of oil.

Heat some oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Add potato mixture to pan and cook for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Zucchini Fritters

Zucchini is everywhere right now, but after looking at hundreds of recipes online on other blogs, I realized that I’m really lacking in zucchini recipes on here. Gasp! But don’t worry, I’ve got you covered. I’ve got a couple of zucchini recipes up my sleeve for those of you with bountiful zucchini growing in your garden or for those of you like me, who just really like zucchini. Zucchini Fritters are a pretty typical way to enjoy zucchini, I wanted to make mine a little different and I added fresh basil which compliments the zucchini wonderfully.

There aren’t many foods, other than the holy trifecta of bacon, eggs and toast, and we can’t forget pizza that you can eat for dinner and breakfast, but you can add these Zucchini Fritters to that list. I feel like these would even make a good packed lunch because they taste amazing when they’re cold. I like to eat mine with a little ketchup mixed with sriracha – it’s so good.

Zucchini Fritters (makes 6)
Recipe by Lou

Ingredients

1 small onion, shredded
2 zucchini, shredded
1 tbsp minced fresh chives
1 tbsp minced fresh basil
1 egg
2 tbsp plain yogurt
2 tbsp corn starch
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 + 1/4 tsp salt
Oil for frying

Directions

In a colander lined with paper towels, place zucchini with 1 tsp of salt. Allow to sit for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, using more paper towel if necessary, squeeze out as much liquid from the zucchini as possible.

Combine zucchini with remaining ingredients in a large bowl.

Cover the pan with oil, heat over medium-high heat. Using an ice cream scoop, drop one scoop per fritter into the hot oil. Cook for 2-3 minutes per side. If you find that the fritters are cooking too quickly, turn the heat down to medium and continue frying.

If you’re looking for more ways to use up your zucchini, try my Stuffed Mushrooms.

- Lou

Garlic Smashed Potatoes

I really love potatoes, especially in the summer, they are just such a great side dish to go along with grilled chicken or steak.

This recipe for Garlic Smashed Potatoes comes from the lovely Jen of Jen’s Journey, which was my assigned blog for this month’s Secret Recipe Club. Jen’s site is full of fun giveaways as well as many recipes, I was originally planning on making her Jalapeno Cilantro Hummus but these potatoes were calling my name. The only major change I made to the recipe was cutting down on the amount of butter. After reading many posts on Jen’s site, I feel like I’ve really grown to know her, she is so honest and open which is something that I really appreciate when reading a blog.

This recipe makes enough for about 3 people, but can easily be doubled.

Garlic Smashed Potatoes (serves 3)
Recipe from: Jen’s Journey

Ingredients
1 lbs of new potatoes
olive oil for the pan
salt & pepper to taste
1/2 tsp paprika
2 tbsp melted butter
2 cloves garlic, crushed

Directions

Pre-heat oven to 400.

Boil potatoes for 12-15 minutes or until tender.

Meanwhile, prepare a baking sheet by spreading olive oil on a baking sheet. Sprinkle the baking sheet with salt. N

Next, combine garlic with butter in a bowl.

Place the potatoes 2 inches apart and using a potato masher, smash the potatoes. Sprinkle them with salt, pepper and paprika. Brush evenly with butter and garlic mixture.

Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes or until potatoes are crispy.

I find that these Garlic Smashed Potatoes go really well with summer, like the way country music goes so well with summer. Am I right or am I right?

- Lou