What did you eat for lunch in high school? Sloppy Joes? Burgers? Maybe chicken fingers?

True to form, I did not eat such traditional cafeteria foods. I ate three bean salad.

Allow me to explain.

My high school had an exceptionally awesome lunch lady, meaning that she made a lot of things from scratch and kept the salad bar stocked with truly delicious homemade soups and salads. Don’t get me started on her chicken and dumplings soup. (one word: addictive).

It was at that salad bar that I first tried three bean salad—the traditional kind with lots of vinegar and probably too much sugar. I got a craving for that salad today, and I happened to have the main ingredients (i.e., beans!) on hand. I added my own twist with a honey mustard vinaigrette and a pop of color from an unusual type of potato.

Three Bean Salad with Purple Potatoes

Serves 6

Ingredients

• 2 small purple potatoes (8 oz total), cut into bite-sized pieces*
• 12 oz green and wax beans, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 tablespoon whole grain mustard
• pepper, to taste
• 1-15 oz can kidney beans, drained and rinsed

  don’t you just love the color of these things?!

Method

1. Place about 1 inch of water in a pot and set over medium-high heat. Allow to bring to a boil, then place a steamer basket** on top. Add potatoes and cover. Cook for 8 minutes or until fork tender.

2. Once potatoes have cooked, remove from steamer basket and set aside. Rinse out steamer basket to remove any starch and purple pigment, and add in green and wax beans. Cook beans for 5-7 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, assemble the vinaigrette in a large mixing bowl. Combine oil, vinegar, honey, mustard, and pepper. Whisk well to emulsify.

4. Add potatoes, green beans, wax beans, and kidney beans into the bowl with dressing. Stir to coat all ingredients. Chill for at least one hour prior to serving.

 

Notes

*You could use any potato you like here—I just like the pop of color that the purple potatoes provide. Sweet potatoes would also be great!

**Boiling the vegetables would be the traditional way of preparing this recipe, but I like to steam them instead to retain as many nutrients as possible. It’s up to you, of course—whatever is easiest for you.

Nutrition per 1/6th recipe (~5 oz): 163 Calories, 5.0g fat, 0.7g saturated fat, 0mg cholesterol, 126mg sodium, 27.0g carbohydrate, 7.3g fiber, 5.9g sugars, 5.9g protein

 

Eat by color, my friends!

Filed under: Recipe | 2 Comments »

Yesterday afternoon was a gorgeous one here in Durham, so Seth and decided it would be a good day to tackle another item on our bucket list. So we headed out to Duke Gardens for likely the last time for a long time.

The Sarah P. Duke Gardens have a special meaning for Seth and me, as we visited the gardens just days after our relationship began. Remember?

Good times.

Anyway, this time around we were not so bundled up—it was a scorching 88 degrees yesterday! The heat didn’t deter me from taking plenty of photos.

As you may know, I get a little camera-happy when I have lots of pretty flowers to photograph. Plant life is definitely my second favorite thing to photograph (behind food, of course).

I also captured a few shots of the animal life throughout the gardens.

    The Sarah P. Duke Gardens really are a magical place. It brings back memories of sorority garden parties, springtime picnics, and all the happy times I had in college. Sniff, sniff.

In case you’re keeping track, that leaves eight more items left on the bucket list.

 

 

When was the last time you visited a botanical garden? What is your favorite subject matter for photographing?

Filed under: Bucket List | 7 Comments »

I know this will surprise you, but I’ve eaten a lot of kale chips over the years.

Remember my food jag last spring? That combination is still a favorite, but these days I find myself serving up kale chips weekly as a side on (veggie) burger night.

All that kale chip-makin’ has provided plenty of opportunities to stray from the plain jane (but still oh-so-delicious) seasoning of just oil + salt. Cayenne and garlic often make appearances, but the most recent combination was so tasty that I just had to share.

Lemon Pepper Kale Chips

Serves 2

Ingredients

• 1/2 pound fresh kale, stems removed and torn into bite-size pieces
• juice of 1 large lemon
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• olive oil cooking spray

Method

1. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees F.

2. Meanwhile, spray a baking pan with cooking spray. Add kale, lemon juice, salt, and pepper.

3. Stir to distribute the ingredients evenly. Spray with a bit more oil before popping the pan in the oven. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until edges are dark and crisp.

Note

These chips are delicious as is, but my sauce expert tells me that they’re quite tasty when dipped in Goddess dressing. <<< click for my recipe!

Nutrition per 1/2 recipe: 49 Calories, 1.6g fat, 0.2g saturated fat, 0mg cholesterol, 172mg sodium, 8.8g carbohydrate, 2.5g fiber, 2.0g sugars, 2.3g protein

Filed under: Recipe | No Comments »