Cookbook Project Week 10: Clean Start

I feel like I’ve been eating lots of complicated, heavy meals lately, so I wanted to make some simple dishes this week. I decided on Clean Start by Terry Walters for the cookbook of the week because it’s full of simple, healthy and delicious recipes. My friend Jessica gave me Clean Start for Christmas and I was quite excited about it because I love Miss Walter’s other book, Clean Food. All of the recipes in it are easy to make and super nutritious. I like this book because it’s starts out with basics on things like greens, grains and beans, and the recipes are divided into sections by season. I’m a big proponent on eating with the seasons, so I give the book a big thumb’s up. I also really like the clean page layout and the color photos at are sprinkled throughout the book.

By the way, I totally cheated and cooked from all four seasons!

I started out with Lemon Pepper Tofu and Kale with Leeks. I also made some quinoa to go with it. I make sautéed kale all the time, and I love leeks but I had never thought to combine the two before. Total genius! The tofu was super simple and incredibly delicious. We loved it so much that Dennis and I ate all of it and I had to make another batch for us to have for lunch the next day with the leftover kale and quinoa.

Zucchini Carrot Muffins. These muffins are gluten-free and made with zucchini, carrots, bananas and raisins. They were so good that I made a second batch as soon as we finished polishing the first one off.

Polenta with Portobello Mushrooms, Greens and Tomato Vinaigrette. I cheated a little here. Instead of roasting the veggies in the oven, I sautéed them on the stovetop. And although I love polenta, I don’t like it mushy, so I cooked it in the oven to firm it up a bit. I let the vinaigrette sit in my Vitamix for a little while, and it thickened up, so it was more of a sauce by the time I poured it over the dish. I sprinkled everything with a little nutritional yeast and a few sliced olives. This was super yummy and actually tasted even better reheated the next day for lunch.

Penne with Roasted Vegetables and Basil Sauce. This is a nice simple pasta recipe with roasted fennel, peppers and tomatoes. It was quite tasty and reminded me that I don’t cook with fennel enough.

Pan Seared Tofu with Ginger Lime Glaze and Brown Rice with Leeks, Shittakes and Arame. Yes, this does look quite a bit like the first dish I made, but it was different. The tofu was delicious and the rice was really good too. In addition to fennel, I need to remember to cook with sea vegetables more!