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Veggie

Crystal Miso Salad

one and a half slices local simple recipes food

Crystal Miso Salad

one and a half slices miso ginger soy salad noodles recipe thai

Single serve. Veggie forward. Cold. Clean. Fresh. & Crunchy.

🥢🍋‍🟩🌶️🫑🥒🥕🫚🥜🫛🥢

what you need

2 small Persian cucumbers, sliced lengthwise and very thin

1 extra large carrot, peeled and then shaved using the carrot peeler

the green parts of 2 green onion stalks, sliced

1 cup finely sliced red or savoy cabbage

1 cup steamed and cooled shelled edamame

1 cup rice vermicelli noodles, cooked according to package directions 

1/2 cup roasted peanuts, coarsely chopped 

1 small handful of fresh cilantro, washed and coarsely chopped 

🥢

1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger root

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon plain miso paste

1 tablespoon creamy, runny peanut butter

2 tablespoons hot water

1 teaspoon sea salt

the juice of 1/2 a lime

1 teaspoon rice vinegar

1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil 1 teaspoon chili oil (such as Momofuku)  

🥢

1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds

how to make it

Method: lots of chopping and peeling

Utensil: peeler, mostly

First, the veggies. Peel the carrot, chop the cucumber, steam the edamame, chop the cilantro, chop the cabbage, chop the green onion, and toss it all together in a mixing bowl.

Then, the dressing. Combine all ingredients in a jar and shake vigorously. Adjust for taste. It should be slightly thin.

Finisher. Cook the rice noodles and strain them into the vegetable mixture, careful to keep them somewhat separated as they have a tendency to cool together in a chunk. You can also toss them in a little sesame oil to help with this. Add the peanuts and toss everything once or twice. Then add the dressing and toss until everything is coated. You should have one heaping bowl full when this is all done. 

Garnish with toasted sesame seeds and eat with chopsticks.

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Omni

Turkish Chicken Kebab

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Turkish Yogurt Marinated Chicken Kebab

oneandahalfslices turkish chicken kebab kabob yogurt marinade

I think it’s time to get back into bowls again. I mean, how versatile. Perfect for weeknight dinner. Maybe you all have tried my Mexicali bowls made with homemade black beans. Consider this its Mediterranean best friend. Yogurt chicken is a Turkish staple. The probiotics and enzymes in the yogurt serve to tenderize the meat keeping it super moist and juicy. The chicken chunks are best marinated overnight though, if you are really feeling lazy like I was in this recipe, I simply used half a batch of tzatziki sauce that I had whipped up for snacking as the marinade. Skewered together is Whiffletree Farm chicken and Potomac Vegetable Farms bell peppers, poblanos, and thick, juicy red onions. All on a bed of herbed, olive oil-drizzled rice. The perfect weeknight dinner.

what you need

1 large chicken breast, cut into large chunks 

3/4 of a cup of 0% fat Greek yogurt

1/4 cup of olive oil

half a bunch of fresh dill, chopped finely

salt, pepper, paprika, and/or sumac to taste 

juice from half a lemon

half a large red onion, cut into large chunks

2-3 bell peppers, sweet peppers, or peppers of choice, cut into large chunks

2 cups of basmati rice, cooked according to package instructions

fresh cucumbers, tomatoes, and/or cilantro for garnish

🍢🍗🫑

how to make it

The night before or the morning of, mix Greek yogurt, olive oil, dill, spices, and lemon juice together in a container. Dice the chicken breast into large chunks and mix it into the yogurt marinade. Let sit.

Note: If using wooden skewers especially on a grill, it is best to soak them for at least one hour before cooking. You can also put tin foil on the tips to keep the wood from burning. You could also just use grown up metal skewers… but of course I don’t have those.

Place chunks of chicken and vegetables in alternating patterns on the skewers. I like to use a bell pepper cap on each end. I also like to minimize the excess yogurt on the chunks of chicken. Cook on the grill for approximately 20 minutes or until chicken is cooked through, rotating about every five. 

Place a cup of rice in a bowl, arrange two skewers over top, and garnish with fresh vegetables and herbs. Drizzle lightly with good olive oil and enjoy hot.

More Mediterranean
one and a half slices tzatziki cajik turkish greek

Tzatziki

Tzatziki sauce is a staple of Mediterranean cooking. There are several variations on the theme to include the Turkish Cajik and Haydari sauces. The basic idea is to combine cucumber, dill, mint, lemon, or garlic in some meaningful way and use it as a dipping sauce. It’s great with fresh vegetables or pita, but also delicious as a dipping sauce for red meat as in a kofte or kebab. Authentically, at least for Cajik, the cucumber is grated and then pressed to expel water, but this version is a whole lot simpler. It was part of our recent Mediterranean dinner

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one and a half slices recipe hummus Mediterranean

Hummus

Guys, I am never buying store-bought hummus again. Big statement. But it is way less difficult to make than you think. This creamy, beautiful hummus requires two cans of chickpeas and not much else. It pairs well with tzatziki/cacik sauce and is a staple for any Mediterranean spread. It also has a lot of protein for those who are #plantbased. Highly recommend. Give it a try with some homemade pita. Lemony, garlicky, imminently dippable, and minimal. 🍋🧄🍋

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one and a half slices borek cigara boragi recipe

Borek

Borek [boh-rek] (plural Böreği) is a delicious Turkish/Eastern European street food that I added to the OneandahalfSlices repertoire in college when a Turkish friend took the time to teach me a little of his home cuisine. I would go as far as to call borek the Balkan empanada – pervasive with a distinct variation on the theme in every country. It can be baked, fried, filled with cheese, filled with greens, filled with meat, but usually involves Phyllo dough (unless you are me and are too lazy to deal with Phyllo dough). This particular borek is called Sigara because it is rolled into tubes like a cigarette. It makes a great brunch, lunch, or light dinner option (as pictured here) and has its origins in Ottoman cuisine.

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Veggie

Vegetable Stew and Simple Croutons

OneandahalfSlices food blog recipes One and a half Slices Virginia eat local

Winter Root Vegetable Stew with Easy Croutons

oneandahalfslices winter root vegetable stew recipe croutons hearty winter

I was today-years-old when I discovered croutons. Obviously, I’ve had a crouton before but I’ve certainly never made one or put them in anything. Well that’s all about to change. Before any of you get intimidated and think that a garnishment like a crouton is far too fancy for you to whip up on a weekday soup night, let me explain exactly how unfussy and zero frills this whole crouton business is. Before I began preparing the stew this afternoon, I took a brief moment of silence for all the two-day-old loaves of bread I have chucked in the past decade. Aside from fantasizing about all the fall of soups in which these croutons are to find themselves in short order, this winter root vegetable stew is precisely the thing your overflowing CSA bag calls for. When you’ve got too many turnips, carrots, potatoes, and a sack full of random winter greens, this is the soup you make. If you need the extra carb, add barley. And if you can’t live without meat, add chicken. Otherwise, enjoy as is… and don’t skip the croutons. I channeled major #fallvibes by serving this up with a batch of my Autumn Sangria. 🍷🍊🍷

what you need

2-3 shallots or 1 yellow onion, crudely diced

3 cloves of garlic, crudely minced

1 tablespoon course sea salt

2 tablespoons thyme

3 tablespoons olive oil 

2-3 potatoes of choice

1 turnip

4-5 carrots

1 bunch swiss chard or kale

(butternut squash, sweet potato, parsnips, celery, and other root vegetables also welcome)

5-6 cups vegetable stock

(optional) 1/2 cup raw barley

For the croutons:

6-7 pieces of old, crusty, hearty bread, cut into 1/2 inch chunks

1/2 cup olive oil

3/4 cup parmesan cheese

3 tablespoons dried rosemary

1 tablespoon salt

how to make it

In a Dutch oven or large soup pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat and add the shallots and garlic. Sauté for a few minutes, careful not to burn the garlic, and add the thyme and salt. You can also throw in some red pepper flakes if you want a little bit of spice. Once the mixture is aromatic, you can add the vegetable stock, stir it well, and bring it to a gentle boil.

Preheat the oven to 350. While waiting for the soup to boil, dice your root vegetables of choice, in this case, potatoes, turnip, and carrots. Add them to the soup, cover, and simmer gently for 30 to 40 minutes. Throw in the barley as well, if using. Pro tip: If you want to add a bit of depth to the flavor, throw in the rind of a block of parmesan cheese. Just don’t forget to take it out before you serve!

While the soup is simmering, cut your winter greens into thin strips. When potatoes are soft, uncover the soup, bump the heat back up to a gentle boil, and add the greens. They will only take 5 to 10 minutes to wilt.

In the meantime, toss your bread with the olive oil, cheese, rosemary, and salt. I find it makes sense to add the olive oil in stages to avoid it being immediately absorbed into the top layer of bread. Once the croutons are prepped, spread them out on a baking pan and bake in the oven on 350 for 15 minutes. Finish the croutons with two to three minutes under the broiler.

Ladle up a bowl, top with croutons, and enjoy the coziest meal you’ll eat this winter. 

Soups Begging for Croutons
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Veggie

Brussels Sprouts Salad

OneandahalfSlices food blog recipes One and a half Slices Virginia eat local

Shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad

one and a half slices healthy vegetarian recipes sprouts

For those who think you don’t like Brussels Sprouts, pause… let’s see what happens to them when we add a decent flavor profile. This healthy, clean salad is crunchy, flavorful, and interesting all in one bite. It’s fresh like summer, crisp like springtime, and full of fall and winter flavors. A perfect snack, app, or dinner if eating light. Makes me think that maybe some Instagram Reels are worth watching…

what you need

1 bag of Brussels Sprouts

1/4 cup Thompson raisins

1 red pear, diced

1/4 cup roasted pistachios (you could also use Marcona almonds)

3/4 cup Parmigiano Reggiano cheese

1 handful of fresh mint, sliced

4 tablespoons lemon juice

1/8 cup olive oil

Salt and black pepper to taste

how to make it

Remove outer leaves on Brussels Sprouts and cut them top down in thin strips, breaking them apart in a large bowl.

Add the raisins, diced pear, pistachios, cheese, and mint, and toss to combine. Squeeze lemon juice and add olive oil on top, tossing once more to combine thoroughly.

Enjoy!

More Salads
caesar salad sauce recipe one and a half slices

Caesar Salad

Your classic, tried and true, foolproof, Caesar Salad Dressing Recipe. Side salad or main course, this is really all you need. Add grilled chicken, avocado, hard boiled or fried egg, or red onion and you’re good to go.

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Watermelon Feta Salad

Sometimes when the summer turns hot and the appetite begins to naturally wane, the fresh and light, zesty and fruitful begin to take precedence over the hearty. My solution to that is a collection of fruit-forward glorified snack meals that inventively leverage my latest CSA harvest and don’t fill me up to the point of sluggish. Summertime is the time for watermelon – the hydrating, vibrant, impossibly sweet fruit that gave me my childhood moniker ‘Watermelonie.’ A favorite springtime flavor combination is strawberry-basil or strawberry-mint. Turns out that this also works well with watermelon. So if you’ve got one to spare this summer, try this as a salad or a snack. It’s got 3-4 total ingredients and won’t disappoint in the flavor category.

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one and a half slices greek greek salata salad recipe

Maroulosalata

Most people think of Greek salad as tomatoes, cucumbers, feta cheese, and plenty of olive oil. Marousalata, however, is a salad frequently served in Greek homes. It is a simple salad. An every day salad. An everybody salad. And here to stay in my kitchen. 

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Veggie

Crispy Cranberry Brussel Sprouts

OneandahalfSlices food blog recipes One and a half Slices Virginia eat local

Crispy Oven Cranberry Brussels Sprouts

oneandahalfslices brussel sprouts crispy recipe holiday

Crispy Brussels Sprouts are a fall favorite but this recipe definitely adds some #Christmasvibes by adding both the color and the flavor of dried cranberries. If you really want to up the flavor profile, you could also crumble on a very small amount of bleu cheese. This dish was part of the 2021 Roasted Goose dinner alongside my Perfect Mashed Potatoes and Citrus Dill Roasted Carrots but these sprouts make the perfect Fall-Winter side dish to almost any meal.

what you need

1 bag of Brussels Sprouts

1/4 cup dried cranberries

3 drizzles olive oil

1 scant drizzle balsamic vinegar

Salt and Pepper to taste

(optional) 2 tablespoons finely crumbled bleu cheese

how to make it

Preheat oven to 375. Wash the Brussels Sprouts and cut them in half (the larger ones in quarters). In a mixing bowl, coat the sprouts in olive oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper, tossing thoroughly. 

Spread sprouts out onto a baking sheet and bake for ~30 minutes or until crispy. Toss with dried cranberries and serve immediately, topping with bleu cheese if desired.  

one and a half slices christmas goose dinner recipes
🦃More from the 2021 Holiday Collection🎄
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Veggie

Citrus Dill Carrots

OneandahalfSlices food blog recipes One and a half Slices Virginia eat local

Citrus Dill Roasted Carrots

one and a half slices citrus dill roasted carrot recipe

These carrots make for the most elegant side dish. Orange citrus, fresh dill, and the natural sweetness of a sun-grown carrot all come together luxuriously to serve as a simple, last-minute side. Last week the Potomac Vegetable Farms Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) share had all-you-can-take carrots, so this dish was a must for my Christmas 2021 Roasted Goose Dinner, alongside Perfect Mashed Potatoes and Oven Roasted Cranberry Brussels Sprouts.

#Christmasvibes

what you need

1 group of small to medium carrots

3-4 tablespoons fresh dill, finely chopped

2 tablespoons butter

Juice from 1/2 an orange

1 pinch of salt

how to make it

Preheat oven to 375. Peel the carrots. Leave the smaller carrots whole but cut the large carrots into halves or, if necessary, quarters. 

Squeeze orange juice over carrots in mixing bowl and sprinkle with dill. Toss to combine. Melt the butter in a cup and pour it over the carrots. Sprinkle with salt.

Arrange carrots on foil on a baking sheet and bake for ~30 minutes until carrots begin to brown. Turn carrots once and cook for 5-10 more minutes if necessary. Serve warm.

OneandahalfSlices roasted goose recipe simple holiday
🦃More from the 2021 Holiday Collection🎄
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Veggie

Vegetable Soup

cropped-Transparency-01

Easy Vegetable Soup

one and a half slices vegetable soup easy recipe

***update! For the original tomato-y, Minestrone-esque recipe, keep scrolling. Here is the latest variation on the theme which is more like a chicken noodle-style soup.

Sauté some combination of shallots, onions, sliced garlic, and celery in olive oil until soft. Season generously with salt, black pepper, and red pepper flakes. Throw in a tied bundle of herbs and a bay leaf. Add 6 cups of water, 1 tablespoon of tomato paste, 1 chicken bullion cube, and 1/2 cup white wine, and bring to a rolling, generous boil for ~10 minutes. At this point, you can add some combination of: diced carrots, small diced potatoes, yellow or white lentils, peas, or any other vegetation that gives you pleasure. Simmer, covered, for 45-60 minutes. When you’re 10 minutes out, throw in some super thin or large wavy egg noodles. Serve hot, spicy, and comforting.

🥣
vegetable soup recipe simple weeknight one and a half slices

So… for those who follow the blog, you know that last weekend was luxurious. I mean, decadent to the point of “oh my gosh, all I want is a large bottle of water and some mashed potatoes” on Sunday afternoon, decadent. We also had about 10 million vegetables in the fridge from the CSA that we hadn’t touched (this time of year provides an overload of sweet potatoes and other root vegetables). So we decided to throw together a soup with… whatever was left in the fridge. With this recipe, literally anything goes. Whatever you’ve got in the fridge. Whatever is left over. It can be vegan/vegetarian or use leftover meat. It can be super starchy and hearty, or lighter and more vegetable-forward. In any form, it is simple, warming, and humble – a subtle reminder that we are fortunate to be able to indulge in anything more than this on a regular basis. This was how people cooked 200 years ago in America… in Italy, in France, in Morocco. Peasant food. Make-it-through-the-winter food. I am just as appreciative for dishes like these (and beef stew, and homemade beans, and tagine) as I am for Pot Roast and Pavlova. Also, if anyone else spent their childhood at Medieval Times, this is totally the soup they serve!

how to throw this one together

(everything in bold went into my soup)

Broth 

Place 6-8 cups of water, 2-3 chicken or vegetable bullion cubes, and 1 16oz can of chopped tomatoes in their juices into a large pot stovetop. This will be your soup base. Now you’re going to want to season it.

Let’s go with 2 cloves of garlic, sliced; 2 shallots, diced (or an onion); a handful of chopped parsley from the garden; and a bundle of errant thyme and rosemary sprigs from the fridge. Diced celery will also go nicely. Season generously with salt, and less generously with black pepper and red chili flakes (unless you’re like the Piemaker and would prefer to chop up the world’s hottest pepper and throw that in there as well). Lemon zest would also be cool.

Bulk

Here you have several options for how to expand your soup. An Italian version would have you add noodles – I am partial to those extra wide egg noodles. You could also throw in some fresh barley (another favorite, but we were out), brown rice, and/or potatoes. If you go with brown rice, I suggest cooking it separately and pouring the soup over it at the end. Everything else can be thrown right into the pot as it simmers away on medium heat.

I chopped up 4-5 small potatoes from the CSA and also added about 1/2 cup of lentils I had lying around. We also threw in a can of pinto beans, but it could have just as easily been red beans or kidney beans. Now is the time to add leftover chicken or sausage you may have if so inclined. 

Vegetables 

Lastly, send in the veggies after your soup has come to a healthy simmer for about 20 minutes. Also, keep the lid on as much as possible so the liquid doesn’t evaporate.

I added chopped carrots, additional celery, additional onion, and a handful of brussels sprouts that were leftover from the whiskey pairing event last weekend. You could also add a deep green like swiss chard or kale.

And that, my dear friends, was it! Lid on, heat low, simmer for 1-1 1/2 hours. Serve with crusty bread, or over rice, or just by itself. We are having the leftovers tonight with a batch of fresh cornbread… because Monday.    

Other Soups
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Omni

Pot Roast

OneandahalfSlices food blog recipes One and a half Slices Virginia eat local

OneandahalfSlices Pot Roast

From the @whiskey_CA_mmelier Collaboration Dinner

pot roast recipe one and a half slices whisky pairing

This is the main course for the Whiskey Pairing Dinner and, my, what a deep, flavorful pot roast this is! Let me start by saying that I sourced a 4.6 pound chuck roast from the Spring House Farm Store to feed the four of us and had no regrets. A simple pot roast is easy enough to pull off especially if you have a slow cooker, but this really takes the flavor profile up a notch to make this velvety, sinful, fall-off-your-fork roast with plenty of fall veggies. Pairing. For the roast, @whiskey_CA_mmelier wanted something to play with bourbon (all of our fav), especially since we went rogue and kicked off the evening with a scotch pairing (how dare we). He selected several aged bourbons that were exceptional but definitely dominated the roast. It wasn’t until we made our way around to the milder Noah’s Mill that things started to make sense. Noah’s Mill from the Willet Distillery- those who haven’t tried it are missing out. And it complemented this roast perfectly.

what you need

A 3-5 pound chuck roast

2 onions, 1/2 diced and the rest quartered 

4-6 thick carrots, cut into chunks

4-5 celery stalks, 2 stalks cut into chunks, 2 stalks diced

4-5 red potatoes, peeled and quartered 

3 cloves garlic, sliced finely 

1 bundle of fresh thyme

1 bundle of fresh rosemary

2 bay leaves

2 table spoons Worcestershire sauce

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 1/2-2 cups good red wine

2 cups beef broth

3 tablespoons black coffee 

1 tablespoon soy sauce or Tamari

3 tablespoons olive oil

Salt and Pepper to taste

PairingNoah’s Mill Small Batch Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey from the renowned Willet Distillery.

how to make it

Heat oven to 325 and heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a Dutch oven over high heat. Truss the roast (in other words, tie it up) and brown it on all sides. Remove from Dutch oven and set aside on a plate. 

Lower stove heat to low. Add one more glug of olive oil, the sliced garlic, the minced onion, and the diced celery to the pot (I also added a few diced shallots for good measure). Season with salt and black pepper. Sautee for a minute or two. Deglaze the pan with the soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, tomato paste, and coffee, scraping up all the brown bits from the bottom as you stir and bring the mixture to a simmer (might need to raise heat to low-medium).

Toss in the bay leaves, the bundle of rosemary/thyme, and the beef broth, and bring the liquid to a light boil. Situate the roast back in the liquid trying not to let the roast pin the herb bundle to the bottom.

Place half the chunked carrots, celery, onions, and potatoes around the roast, which should be sticking out of the liquid just a bit. Top with another glug of wine, and season generously with salt and pepper. Secure the lid on the Dutch oven and throw the whole shooting match in the oven for 2 1/2 ish hours depending on the size of your roast (my 4.6 pound roast took 3 1/2 hours but a smaller roast will likely take less time). 

Remove from oven and serve warm. The liquid should be mostly cooked down by now to a sort of gravy. You may have to spoon some fat off the top which is perfectly normal. 

More from the Collab Dinner
one and a half slices sazerac rye whiskey rcipe

Sazerac

This is the opening cocktail for the Whiskey Pairing Dinner. The Rye Sazerac is one of the oldest, prohibition-era cocktails. It’s classic, elegant, and simple. With rye whiskey, lemon, absinthe, and bitters, a Sazerac is as refined as a cocktail can be. Here we present this  simple cocktail recipe as a forward to the rest of a classic meal. The absinthe on the nose provides an interesting twist to a classically whiskey-based cocktail. We used Sazerac Rye as the base.

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brussels sprout recipe whiskey pairing whisky one and a half slices

Spicy Brussels

Brussels Sprouts are one of our favorite falltime veggies, especially when they’re made crispy. There are so many unique toppings for sprouts (sprouts!) that they’ll never get boring. Here they are paired with a round, fruit-forward Orkney Island Scotch Whiskey to really accentuate their sweetness.

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pecan pie recipe maple bourbon one and a half slices

Pecan Pie

This is the dessert for the Whiskey Pairing Dinner generously provided by The Piemaker. I’ve never been a huge pecan pie fan (nor was I a big Key Lime Pie fan) until The Piemaker came into my life. This pecan pie is as ‘from scratch’ as it comes, with hints of bourbon and maple folded into the filling, served with a luxurious maple cinnamon cream. This is a decadent dessert – decadent is an understatement. But if you’re looking to level up your Holiday meal game, this is the place to start. We definitely felt the need to eat one and a half slices… 😃

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