shaved asparagus salad

Shaved Asparagus SaladThis time of year the asparagus is fresh and typically on sale. 2 things that are always good in my book. Like most people, I love roasting or grilling my asparagus but ever since shaved asparagus pizza became a staple in our home I thought…why not raw?

Of course the asparagus does not stay raw in the pizza recipe, but it is shaved and tossed with olive oil and seasoning before being cooked. Which means it’s sitting there, tempting a hungry cook. I have eaten enough raw asparagus ribbons to know that there’s a salad to be had. And boy is it a good one.

Shaved Asparagus SaladThis is incredibly easy to throw together guys. Simply shave a bunch of asparagus, toss with some seasoning and BAM, you are done. Just be sure to eat shortly after tossing. The salt will draw the water out of the asparagus, and acidity will make it lose it’s crunch.

Shaved Asparagus Salad If you want to keep this vegan, sub in toasted pine nuts for the cheese. Do not go to wild with adding other flavors though. This is one of those meant to stay simple recipes. Few ingredients, bold flavors, perfectly delicious.

Enjoy!

brandyjsig

 

 

shaved asparagus salad
 
Prep time
Total time
 
Author:
Recipe type: salad
Cuisine: vegetarian
Serves: 2 large salads
Ingredients
  • 1 bunch asparagus, about 2lbs
  • ¼tsp red pepper flake
  • juice of ½ lemon
  • pinch of salt
  • pinch of pepper
  • ¼cup large grated parmasen cheese
Instructions
  1. Shave the asparagus by holding the end and shaving with a vegetable peeler away from your body, up to the tip of each stem. The part that you are holding will be what you normally cut off of the asparagus. Discard the end and repeat with remaining stems. Toss all ribbons in a large bowl.
  2. Throw red pepper flake, lemon juice, salt, pepper and cheese in bowl with ribbons. Toss. Taste to adjust salt and pepper. Enjoy!

Shaved Asparagus Salad
Posted in healthy eats, recipes, vegetarian | Tagged | 3 Comments

lime shortbread cookies

Lime Shortbread CookiesLast year when I posted these lemon shortbread cookies I always thought I would be making the lime version sooner than later. Well later came before sooner, unless you call almost a year sooner. Nonetheless lime shortbread cookies are here, and they are every bit as delicious as their lemon cousins.

A bowl of powdered sugar setting out is basically an invitation to a 21 month old. [21 months?! Say it ain’t so!!] Especially to one who would consume sugar morning, noon and night if his parents were insane. We have a nephew who would hide sweets behind his back, in his pockets, via grandma.. we now have a sugar bandit of our very own. Bing, you’re cute, but you cannot be trusted. [Probably why you are so cute. Dang.]

In case you wondering, filthy windows make light gorgeous for food photography. That is what I am going with at least.

Lime Shortbread Cookies Lime Shortbread CookiesHere is what I do know about shortbread cookies:  They are a snap to make. Here is what I don’t know about these particular cookies:  What to call them.

Some say shortbread cookies others say lime meltaways. Either way they are delicious disks of limey goodness and that is really all that matters, isn’t it?

Lime Shortbread Cookies Lime Shortbread CookiesServe these up with your next batch of tea or iced coffee. They would also be wonderful for a spring or summer shower/party. They are the perfect light and zippy treat for this time of year!

Enjoy!

brandyjsig

 

lime shortbread cookies
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Author:
Serves: 2 dozen
Ingredients
  • ⅔cup unsalted butter, softened
  • ⅓cup plus 1tbsp powdered sugar
  • zest of 2 limes
  • ¼cup lime juice
  • 1tsp vanilla
  • pinch of kosher salt
  • 1¾cup all purpose flour
  • 1tbsp corn starch
  • ⅔cup powdered sugar (for dusting)
Instructions
  1. Cream butter and sugar in a stand mixer until light yellow. Add lime zest, juice and vanilla, mix on low until combined. Add salt, flour and corn starch, mix on medium until dough is smooth.
  2. Place dough on a lightly floured surface. Divide in half and roll each half into a log (about 2" in diameter). Wrap log in plastic wrap in place in fridge for at least 2 hours.
  3. Preheat oven 350 degrees, line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Remove logs from fridge and plastic wrap. Cut into ⅓" slices and place on sheet (they do not spread much so you can place them close but not touching).
  4. Bake for 10 minutes or until the bottoms begin to become golden. Remove from oven and allow to cool on sheet for 5 minutes or until cookie can be handled enough to toss but not yet completely cool. Gently toss with powdered and then allow to cool completely on a wire rack.

Lime Shortbread Cookies
Posted in breakfast, cookies, recipes, something sweet | Tagged | 5 Comments

no sugar, sort of

Seems like it’s been awhile since we’ve talked health, fitness or diet. Things I think about constantly…which don’t we all in some way? —- “Man I really need to workout.” “Boy do I need a detox.” “Good grief nice weather is coming and I still feel the holiday bulge.” —- In some way or another thoughts like these come in and out of most of our minds. Whether we do something about them or not is up to us. If you ask me it’s about being ready, and a couple weeks ago I was definitely ready to say  au revoir to sugar.

In the past I have touched on fitness and recently shared my experience with correcting my diastatis recti condition. My core has gotten stronger and my back no longer hurts, so something is going right there. But as far as getting back into great shape I am sort of in a “meh” stand still.

So how do we get rid of the “meh”? There are tons of ways but for me it starts with diet. Nothing puts me more in a yuck funk then when I am constantly putting junk into my body. Sugar, in particular processed foods like candy and anything that is meant to sit on a shelf for like ever, clouds my mind and plants a giant road block in my motivation. The “meh” was really getting to me, and after a handful of Cadberry mini eggs I decided enough was enough.

Instead of a major detox [which I wholeheartedly support and have done several times, simply wasn’t ready for it this go around] I opted for a conscious slash of sugar, as well as some flour and dairy. Did I eliminate completely? No. For instance the half & half still made it into my coffee and there was a dinner or two that involved some cheese. But for the most part it was all gone. The first few days were pure hell. A dull annoying headache lingered for over 48 hours (good grief was I grumpy). But after that was over I felt great, no better than great, I felt free of the “meh”.

2 weeks later I can now have a little sugar or a little bread (which I crave far less than I used to) and neither make me want more nor feel weighed down. My belly is far less bloated, and this is the best part, I can think clearly. I am having a hard drive issue at the moment, which is quite frankly incredibly stressful as there are files I don’t want to lose, but I am handling it loads better than I would have earlier this month. Loads better.

So what am I mostly eating? Lots and lots of water and feel good foods. Here’s a condensed breakdown of some of my options:

Simple DetoxBreakfast

Coffee with half&half with:

  • Banana
  • Oatmeal
  • Egg, avocado and veggie of some sort

Lunch

  • Omelet with veggies
  • Spinach salad with fruit, nuts, olive oil and red wine vinegar
  • Salad like my avocado chickpea recipe on a plain organic rice cake

Dinner

I make sure I have plenty of brown rice and eat with

  • roasted veggies
  • beans and spices
  • corn tortillas with beans, salsa, avocado

Snacks

  • unsalted raw almonds
  • lara bar
  • rice cake with almond butter
  • fruit

This is a very simple rundown of what I make sure to have on hand and consume more than other options. Now that I am fairly free of the “meh” I do eat things like pizza for dinner – but I at least try to keep it to one slice and consume a salad to help fill me up. As far as the sugar goes I will of course have a little pancake or a bite of some amazing cookies you will be seeing soon, but there will be no overdoing it. [For example, 2 weeks ago me would have scarfed down 25 jelly beans this past weekend. Today me went the whole Easter weekend without touching candy, well, other than my “Easter Bunny” duties but none went in my mouth.]

If you are not ready for a total detox try this sort of, halfway method. I really didn’t know whether it would work, as I typically start with the full blown detox, but I am so grateful that it seems to be doing the trick.

Now onto amping up the fitness routine and getting myself into good shape. I am so ready.

xoxo,

brandyjsig

 

 

Posted in health & fitness | Tagged | 1 Comment

easter on the island 2016

4 years ago we unknowingly started a tradition of spending Easter on Kelleys Island. Unfortunately our streak was broken in 2015 by a bitter cold winter and a waffling ferry schedule. With Bingham having not yet experienced an egg hunt via lakeside, we were determined to make it up to Kelleys this time around. I for one could not be more grateful that we did.

Easter 2016There’s just something about that first trip to the island of the year. Sure it’s a little cool, only a fraction of the restaurants are open and the trees are bare as can be. But there’s still that promise of gorgeous lake days to come… filled with coffee by the waves, long weekend walks and relaxing in a way that one can only do while on island time.

We missed Sticky for most of the weekend because he had to work Friday and Saturday. Of course he could of stayed home on Sunday…but then he would have missed his kids dominate an egg hunt. That is worth getting up at 5AM to catch a ferry anytime, any day.

I hope all of you had a fantastic Easter weekend!

xoxo,

brandyjsig

 

 

Posted in Easter, holidays, personal | Tagged | Leave a comment

brunch considerations

The weekend is here! I don’t know what it is about Spring that gets me in the mood for brunch (and that’s SUPER in the mood since I truly could brunch 365 days a year) but I crave it from the time Monday comes till it’s on my table the coming Saturday. There’s sweet, there’s savory, there’s usually always a cocktail. It’s got everything, for everyone. The best meal ever, hands down, forever and ever. I HEART BRUNCH.

While PPJ offers many options for brunch, I have rounded up a few favorites for this time of year in particular:

032516_brunch_options

1shaved asparagus pizza/2strawberry, avocado & spinach salad with feta and poppy seed dressing/3tomato galette/4vegetarian quiche/5waffles with roasted balsamic strawberry sauce/6asparagus, spinach & feta fritata

Cheers to the weekend and brunch!

xoxo,

brandyjsig

 

 

 

Posted in brunch, recipes | Tagged | Leave a comment