A Kid-Friendly Valentine's Day Menu

I always like to do something fun and festive for my boys when Valentine’s Day arrives. Last year we made Heart-Shaped Pizza using pre-baked dough so to mix things up a bit this year we are making Heart-Shaped garlic bread instead! To go along with the theme, I made pretty pink Beet Pasta (recipe below) and a side of sautéd broccoli rabe– 2 variations on vegetables my kids will actually eat.

Heart-Shaped Garlic Bread

6-8 slices of sourdough bread

3 T butter

1 T olive oil

2 T grated parmesan cheese

1/4 t garlic powder

Use a heart-shaped cookie cutter or scissors to cut hearts out of sliced sourdough bread. Butter each piece and lay them on a baking sheet. Drizzle the whole sheet with olive oil and then sprinkle with the grated parmesan and garlic powder. Broil until golden (about 2-3 minutes).

Use any leftover bread to make homemade croutons like these from the Kitchn.

Enjoy!

Heart-Shaped Garlic Bread

BEET PASTA

recipe from The Forest Feast Mediterranean

8 oz. (225 g) pasta (I used rigatoni here, but any type works)

1 small beet

2 oz. (55 grams) goat cheese

1/2 lemon

2 T olive oil

Fresh parsley (or other fresh herb you like)

Boil the pasta according to package instructions. As pasta cooks, grate the beet using a fine grater or zester (no need to peel). Drain the pasta and then put it back into the hot cooking pot. Add the grated beet, juice from 1/2 lemon, the goat cheese, and olive oil. Add salt and pepper to taste.

* For an even more kid-friendly version of this recipe, just use half of a small beet and leave out the lemon and goat cheese. Instead add 1 T butter to make it a little creamier, and a bit more mild. My kids will protest if I put parsley on top, so I leave it on the side, mostly for the grown-ups to sprinkle.

Enjoy!

Max enjoying Beet Pasta

Broccoli Rabe sautéd with butter & garlic. Sauté on medium high heat until bright green.

Favorite Winter Citrus Salads

I was in the market yesterday and was so excited that blood oranges have arrived! I love to use them in salads and salad dressings — and the color is so gorgeous on the plate.

Winter is a great season to combine citrus in salads since oranges, clementines, Meyer lemons, blood oranges and grapefruit are ripe, delicious, and readily available from your CSA box, farmer’s market, and grocery store.

To celebrate the abundance of citrus right now, here’s a round-up of favorite Forest Feast winter citrus salads….

Blood Orange Cabbage Salad

Citrus Salad

Orange Avocado Salad

Seared Fennel & Clementine Salad from The Forest Feast Mediterranean cookbook

These recipes come together in a matter of minutes, and they act as an easy way to get some extra Vitamin C during cold and flu season!

Bon Appetit!

xx

Erin

Blood Orange Cabbage Salad

Citrus Salad

Orange Avocado Salad

Seared Fennel & Clementine Salad

Seared Fennel & Clementine Salad

This is one of my favorite wintery salads to make this time of year. It is light and bright and the seared fennel adds a nice soft contrast to the other crunchier ingredients on the plate. This salad is delicious any time of year but it is especially good right now with all of the readily available citrus at the market.

Seared Fennel & Clementine Salad

SEARED FENNEL & CLEMENTINE SALAD

recipe from The Forest Feast Mediterranean

2 fennel bulbs (tops removed & set aside)

5 clementines (peel 4 and slice into rounds)

2 T Kalamata olives (whole, pitted)

1 T mint

1 red onion (rings from 1 or 2 round center slices)

Slice the fennel bulbs thinly, keeping some pieces in large slabs. Saute in 1-2 T olive oil & a pinch of salt on medium heat until just a bit tender & golden on both sides (about 5 min.), then spread out on a platter. Top with the clementine rounds, olives, mint, onion rings & a few small fennel fronds. Halve the last clementine & squeeze the juice over the whole platter along with a sprinkle of olive oil, salt & pepper.

Enjoy!

* * *

xx

Erin

Yellow Dress + Yellow Salad!

It’s another edition of #forestfeastfashion where I pair one of my favorite dresses of the moment with a Forest Feast dish!

I just got this yellow floral dress (that’s made in America!) to wear to Alt Summit next week and thought it would be perfect paired with the Yellow Salad from my first cookbook.

It’s a long stretchy faux-wrap, and super comfortable, with big florals (like I love!)

YELLOW SALAD (from The Forest Feast cookbook)

Toss 1 yellow bell pepper (cubed), 1 can garbanzo beans, 1 c yellow cherry tomatoes (halved), 1 small raw golden beet (thinly sliced or diced), 1 sliced (lemon) cucumber, 1/2 c golden raisins, 1 T lemon zest, and raw kernels from 1 ear corn (about 1/2 c). Dress with a little olive oil , salt and a squeeze of lemon, or your favorite vinaigrette.

See some more dress/dish pairings here!

***

Disclosure: The Forest Feast is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com and The Forest Feast may earn a percentage when purchases are made from some links in this post.

Lentil + Sweet Potato Salad

Because I work from home, I love to have some prepped salads on hand for lunch, so I can grab a healthy bowl and keep working. I made this yesterday and it was super filling and tasty! The added bonus was the sweet cherry tomatoes which came from a friend's garden.

LENTIL + SWEET POTATO SALAD

1 (15 oz) can lentils, drained & rinsed in a strainer

1 small sweet potato, baked for 1 hour at 375˚F (or until soft), then cooled & cubed

1/4 c  diced red onion

1 c cherry tomatoes, halved

For the dressing: 1 t rice vinegar, 1 T olive oil, 1 t Braggs amino acid (or soy sauce), 1 t sesame oil. Add a grind of black pepper before serving.

Toss all ingredients in a bowl and enjoy immediately! It also keeps well for a day or 2 in the fridge. Use this as a base and add in what you have on hand! I made a second batch and added chopped radishes which was a tasty, crunchy addition. Other add-in ideas include feta, tofu, pumpkin seeds or fresh cilantro.