Veggie Rice

It's been exactly a month since Sheesh's wedding. It was a beautiful wedding and the most fun I've had (past 10 pm) in a long while. Also, the food was amazing. My favorite things were the delicious short ribs and the "veggie paella" (which was basically veggies and rice). It was so delicious and the kicker was that it was vegan, so no chicken stock, no butter! I have no idea how they did it. But I set out to make a non-vegan version of the dish. It came out good, nowhere near as yummy as the original, but good. And I of course had to resort to my old flavor standbys of chicken stock and a little butter.

Here's the recipe:

Veggie Rice

tblsp. olive oil

1/2 cup diced onion

1 cup white rice

2 cups chicken stock

1-2 cups diced veggies (I used red pepper and carrot and was going to use mushrooms, but forgot and left them sitting in the fridge)

1-2 tblsp butter

kosher salt to taste

In a medium pan heat olive oil, onions, and other veggies on medium heat for about 6-8 minutes.

Add rice and stir into the veggies until everything is combined. Let the rice cook like this for about 5 minutes to get a little bit toasty.

Add chicken stock, throw in the butter and a pinch of kosher salt. Bring to a boil and then reduce and simmer covered for 15-20 minutes.

I serve the rice with salmon which was seasoned with Everyday Seasoning from Trader Joes and broiled for about 7 minutes and kale that was cooked a la salty chard, but with less salt. Overall it was a good meal!

Lemon Pesto Chicken & Roasted Vegetables

This is an easy and delicious and farmer's market-tastic meal:

Pesto is delicious and so easy to make. I never actually measure anything and it always comes out great!

PESTO

1 bunch basil

1-2 cloves garlic

1/4 cup walnuts or pine nuts

pinch of Kosher salt

some good olive oil

some good parmesan cheese, grated

Blend basil, garlic, nuts, salt in food processor until well-pulverized. Then drizzle in olive oil until you reach the desired consistency.

Remove from food processor and stir in parmesan cheese.

(*Pesto freezes well, but if you are going to freeze some, leave the cheese out and add it once you have defrosted it)

CHICKEN

Marinate chicken in good olive oil, fresh lemon juice, salt, pepper, and a tblsp.

of the pesto

Grill or pan fry until cooked through (about 6-8 minutes per side, depending on thickness of the chicken)

ROASTED VEGETABLES

Pre-heat oven to 375

Clean, peel (if necessary) and chop vegetables into similar sized chunks (root vegetables work well- potatoes, beets, sweet potatoes, carrots, parsnips, turnips. Pretty much anything in season will be delicious!)

Toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper and spread out on a cookie sheet.

Bake for 35-40 minutes until golden brown and roasty!

Sprinkle with dried parsley flakes, for a little color and pizzaz.

Side note: My husband complimented me on the roasted vegetables (score one for me!)