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Veggie

Humita

one and a half slices corn baked humita recipe
OneandahalfSlices food blog recipes One and a half Slices Virginia eat local

Humita

one and a half slices corn baked humita recipe

It’s summertime. Which means it is time for Humita. Humita is a quintessential summertime dish that is dear to my heart for many reasons:

  1. In the summer, my Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) provider, Potomac Vegetable Farms, has corn in ample supply! Thanks, PVF! (I have professed OneandahalfSlices’ commitment to local, sustainable agriculture and farming in another post)
  2. It is a highly versatile Argentinian dish that comes in many, many forms. For those that know me well, you know that I consider Argentina part of my cultural heritage despite the fact that I’ve got no official Argentinian blood in my veins. Humita appears throughout the Argentinian culinary atmosphere as a soup, steamed in the husk, baked (shown here), and as an Empanada filler (one of my favorites!).  
  3. Corn is that beautiful, golden color – the color of sunshine, the color of pure joy, and the color of the recently-reimagined Merigold Analytics, my full-time employment as of this Fall!
  4. The corn emoji (🌽) has a secret meaning for my sister and I… 😊
one and a half slices oneandahalfslices argentina

what you need

8 ears of fresh, yellow corn, cut off the cob

2 tablespoons butter

1 sweet red pepper, finely diced 

1 bunch of parsley, finely chopped

1 yellow onion, finely diced

1 cup of whole milk

3 eggs

1 small block of soft white cheese, like gouda, cut into small squares

Salt, pepper, paprika, and cayenne to taste

how to make it

Preheat oven to 350 and lightly butter a cast iron skillet or baking pan. 

On the stovetop, melt the butter in a large saucepan. Add the corn, onion, red pepper, and parsley, and sauté over medium-high heat until fragrant, ~4-5 minutes.

Transfer the corn mixture into a cast iron skillet. In a separate container, beat the eggs together with the milk, adding salt, pepper, and paprika to taste. Pour the egg mixture over the corn mixture and sprinkle the gouda squares over top (if they are larger, you may wish to push them down a bit into the corn). 

Top with a dash of cayenne pepper and bake for ~45-55 minutes until the top is golden.  
More Argentinian Food
one and a half slices ham and melon cantaloupe recipe summer

Jamon con Melon

This is the simplest of appetizers. Elegant and perfectly balanced. Sweet and Salty. aka Melon Carpaccio. #summervibes

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September 17, 2022 No Comments
one and a half slices chimmichurri authentic argentinian uruguayan

Chimichurri

Chimichurri screams summer, grilling, and steaks (or, if you’re me, parrillada). No asado is complete without one of the only condiments found in Argentina. Loaded with parsley and garlic, I like to give mine a little tiny kick, even though traditional Argentinian chimi isn’t usually spicy. But feel free to omit the chili pepper if you’re not feeling the spice. I also add lime because most things are better with lime…The best thing about making this chimi is all the things you can throw it on the following day – eggs, avocado toast, use it as a salad dressing, sandwiches!

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May 1, 2022 5 Comments
one and a half slices birthday present cutting board empanada

What are you cooking today?

If you have never tried to make the OneandahalfSlices Argentinian Empanadas, now might just be the time! This weekend we whipped up a batch along with a simple shredded carrot, hard boiled egg, and golden raisin salad. We stayed hydrated with Yerba Mate and a variety of Fernet Branca-based cocktails.

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February 13, 2022 No Comments
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Sweet

Peach Cobbler

one and a half slices peach cobbler
OneandahalfSlices food blog recipes One and a half Slices Virginia eat local

Easy Peach Cobbler

This time of year (summertime… falltime…) brings a lot of fruit! Now a good homemade pie is, yes, to die for, but let’s be honest… we don’t always have that much time (or inclination to dust the entire kitchen in flour in a curse-ridden attempt to make homemade pie crust). Enter cobbler. Cobbler is one of those things you can make on any weeknight with any fruit in about 20 minutes (plus 1 hour of cooking time). Top it with some vanilla bean gelato (Talenti, of course) and serve it right up. This cobbler recipe is: 1) super quick and dirty, 2) not very sweet, 3) biscuit-y rather than shortbread-y. All fruits welcome beyond peaches… nectarine, plums, pears, berries, apples…

🍎🍑🍏

what you need

~4-5 fresh peaches

1/8 cup lemon juice + zest

Ground cinnamon

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 1/4 cup flour

4 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 cup milk

1/4 cup hot water

Salt

(optional) honey, maple, or bourbon drizzle

how to make it

Preheat oven to 350 and lightly butter a cast iron skillet. Slice peaches to medium thickness and arrange in the skillet as desired. Drizzle with lemon juice and then zest the lemon on top. Sprinkle fruit with cinnamon.

At this point, if you want your cobbler a) sweeter or b) more interesting, you have several options… you can sprinkle it with some additional sugar or you can drizzle the peaches with bourbon, maple syrup, or honey. 

Cream the butter and sugar together in a mixing bowl. Add the vanilla extract, flour, baking powder, and salt, and mix until combined. Add the milk and hand beat until creamy. Spoon the mixture over the peaches spreading out to desired thickness. It is not necessary to cover all the fruit. 

Pour the hot water over top and bake ~55 minutes or until golden. Let sit for 20 minutes and then serve warm with vanilla gelato sprinkled with cinnamon. 

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Local

One Year Anniversary

one and a half slices one year anniversary cookie post recipes
OneandahalfSlices food blog recipes One and a half Slices Virginia eat local

Happy Anniversay OneandahalfSlices!

The first year of OneandahalfSlices was one of immense learning and creativity. From instrumenting WordPress, to logo design, amateur phone photography, Instagram recipe reels, and posting tempo. As of this writing, there are 76 well-curated recipes – some of them as old as my personal culinary history and some of them new to me in 2021. They include meat-forward and vegan meals alike, a lot of international flavors (Moroccan, Thai, Indian, Japanese, Italian), sweet things, and some staple cocktails.

To celebrate, I’ve got three things for you:

1) I asked my very talented and beautiful niece, owner of Liz Bakes, to make some custom OneandahalfSlices cookies for the occasion! Those cookies, along with the custom cat cookies she made honoring the household cats, are featured below. Find her on Insta and DM her to place an order for custom cookies for virtually any occasion. She’s based in Atlanta but ships nationwide.

2) The Year in Review. Scroll down for the Top 9 recipes (most liked, most re-created, most celebrated) from the first year of OneandahalfSlices!

3) A killer playlist for 2022. Need some new vibes to get creative, focused, vibrant? Got you covered. Just hit shuffle.

Now, onward into 2022. Sneak preview of what is to come… Tiramisu, even more ramen!, essential lasagna, even more chocolate chip cookies!, risotto, and many, many other delicious things.

Happy Cooking!

🥘

Liz Bakes Custom Cookies
The First Year in Review

Sausage Lentil Stew

Get the Recipe

Flaky Cobbler

Get the Recipe

Beautiful Berry Pavlova

Get the Recipe

Perfect French Toast

Get the Recipe

Perfect Pot Roast

Recipe & Pairing Dinner

Homemade Granola

Get the Recipe

Skillet Cornbread

Recipe & Story

Best Caesar Salad Dressing

Get the Recipe

Moroccan Chicken Tagine

Get the Recipe
🥗🍴🍻

Finally some shout-outs to those who have supported and entertained me culinarily this year!

(if you’re a Virginian, you’re going to want to read this)

  1. Longstone Farm (farm) – from your Sunday suppers, to your self-service farm stores, to your delicious, local pork, chicken, and beef, I enjoyed every moment I spent with you in 2021. You’re amazing people with an amazing mission, and an inspirational sense of purpose in our local agricultural community. 
  2. Sumac VA (restaurant) – you’ve cooked some of the tastiest meals I’ve eaten in 2021, 100% locally-sourced, in the midst of the most beautiful scenery in Sperryville, VA. Keep cooking!
  3. Patowmack Farm (restaurant) – you’re the most wonderful date night spot in Virginia, MD, and DC hands down. Elegant, inspired, Michelin-quality, locally-sourced cooking at its finest. 
  4. Spring House Farm (farm) – your farm store in Leesburg is enviable and I made a monthly trip out to you for chicken and beef for the entirety of 2021. To be continued in 2022.
  5. Potomac Vegetable Farm (farm) – thank you for being my local CSA, with ample pick-up locations, vegetable and meat options, and excellent organization. Your produce is something I feel good about eating and cooking year-round. 
  6. Whiffletree Farm (farm) – your local turkey and goose do not disappoint for the holidays and your self-service farm store in Warrenton is accessible and convenient. Your grass-fed beef is also unmatched. 
  7. Organic Butcher of McLean (market) – thank you for always having interesting meats and local products. You were the source of my 2021 boar chops, my experimentations with rabbit, and many other experimental meats in 2021.
  8. Seylou Bakery and Mill in DC (restaurant) – your locally sourced pizza on sourdough is quite honestly the best pizza I’ve ever had in my life. Worth the drive.
  9. The Dabney DC (restaurant) – you’ve become one of my favorite Michelin restaurants downtown with an elegant emphasis on local sourcing and Virginia/Maryland-based cuisine. Spending New Year’s Eve with you was unforgettable.
  10. Caboose Brewery in Vienna, VA – from locally-sourced small plates to Virginia’s best, local beer, there is truly nothing better than a Sunday morning run to your Vienna location or an after work stop-in. Plus, the comfy t-shirts!
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Veggie

Brussels Sprouts Salad

one and a half slices healthy vegetarian recipes sprouts
Combine
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!

Sprouts!
+ Raisin
+ Pear
+ Pistachio
+ Parm
+ Mint
+ Dressing
Combine
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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June 9, 2021 1 Comment
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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October 29, 2022 No Comments

Peach Caprese

This is a continuation of my summer eats glorified snack dinners (see Watermelon Feta Salad). For when the summer months take hold, the cicadas ring true, and the humidity is as thick and sticky as fresh Florida honey against a sunset sky, you need something super fresh! During these months, my CSA tends to have all-you-can-take tomatoes, which the Piemaker and I willingly turn into tomato-soup-and-grilled-cheese-movie-marathons (see Roasted Tomato Soup and Grilled Cheese recipes – forthcoming). All you need for this recipe is one of those tomatoes and a handful of garden basil. I fancy it up a bit here with a sweet nectarine and some unnecessary accoutrement, but it does not disappoint as an appetizer, snack, or full summertime dinner plate.   

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August 11, 2021 2 Comments
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Veggie

Vegetable Soup

vegetable soup recipe simple weeknight one and a half slices
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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Veggie

Pasta Pomodoro

pasta recipe pomodoro red creamy simple easy sauce
OneandahalfSlices food blog recipes One and a half Slices Virginia eat local

Simple Pomodoro (tomato) Sauce

pasta recipe pomodoro red creamy simple easy sauce

There is a lot to be said for simple, staple recipes. The French five mother sauces are said to be like the First Principles of cooking. Master these five sauces and you can make any sauce. The five French sauces are: Béchamel, Velouté, Espagnole, Tomato, and Hollandaise. All excluding the latter begin with a simple Roux (fat source, like butter or meat drippings, plus flour – what Americans know as the most basic gravy). 

The béchamel is the dairy-based sauce – think fettuccine alfredo. The velouté is a different kind of white sauce where the creaminess comes from an animal fat like chicken or pork drippings, not milk or cream.  This can be one kind of gravy. The Espagnole is the second kind of gravy, where the drippings come from a red meat. The tomato sauce is, well… tomato. And Hollandaise, from which we get its sister Béarnaise, is a butter, egg yolk, and lemon-based sauce. 

Pomodoro sauce is the Italian name for the simple tomato-based mother sauce, as “pomodoro” means “tomato” in Italian. It is meant to be the quickest, simplest pasta topper and I give it to you here in five simple steps that will keep you away from canned pasta sauce for life (as will my meat-hearty Bolognese sauce). 

🍅

what you need

1/2 onion, diced finely

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoons good olive oil

2-3 handfuls of cherry or roma tomatoes, diced finely, with all their juices

1 handful of fresh basil

1 splash cream or half and half

how to make it

First. Sauté the onion and garlic in 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium-high heat until fragrant, ~3 minutes.

Second. Add 1 more tablespoon of olive oil and the tomatoes (and juices), stirring to combine and cooking for an additional ~5 minutes.

Third. Puree the tomatoes in a food processor and then strain back into the pan to remove the seeds.

Fourth. Add the splash of cream and stir over medium heat until hot.

Fifth. Top with fresh basil and grilled chicken, if desired, then spoon over pasta.
Other Pasta Dishes
one and a half slices fettucine alfredo recipe

Fettuccine Alfredo

Creamy, comforting Fettucine Alfredo is hard to beat. Fettucine Alfredo is one of those “authentic” Italian classics that should be made with reserve pasta water, a little butter, and parmesan, but old habits die hard and I make my alfredo just like my mother. So, yeah, don’t eat a gallon of this stuff, but by all means, throw some steamed broccoli or sliced chicken onto a bed of this dreamy creaminess and float on off to heaven. Any which way, this is pure comfort in a pasta bowl, and perfect for my Sunday afternoon.

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September 17, 2022 2 Comments

Pasta Verte

This is the freshest, crispest, heartiest, lightest, most beautiful springtime thing I can think to make when the chill finally leaves the Virginia air around noontime but the mornings are still a little frosty. You can make it in one pot, with one blender, and with one half hour, which makes it a great weekday lunch if you’re working from home or weeknight dinner if you walk in late. Join me in getting my green on, courtesy of David Frenkiel from Green Kitchen Stories. David takes much better photographs than I do but I’ve made a few design modifications to the original recipe that I think serve this one well. 🌷

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April 7, 2021 No Comments
one and a half slices miso butter pasta recipe fall glow up

Miso Butter Pasta

Girl dinner needed a glow up. (Yes, the OG is still champagne and french fries. And yes, capellini with zucchini still hits. But this dish is WILD good. And it’s giving fall in all the best ways.) It’s got that umami feel in a silky smooth sauce. Very mushroom forward. Loving my city as much as my miso.

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October 15, 2025 No Comments
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Veggie

Creamy Sweet Potato Stew

creamy coconut sweet potato soup recipe oneandahalfslices
OneandahalfSlices food blog recipes One and a half Slices Virginia eat local

Creamy Coconut Sweet Potato Stew

As we bring October to a close and launch into November, we are still sticking to vegan weekdays and meat-friendly weekends. We’ve been out and about to The Restaurant at Patowmack Farm, Clarity, and Founding Farmer’s for our non-vegan exploits, and are soon headed to try Kinship’s sister prix-fix locale Métier.

To pull off vegan weekdays and still keep the gentlemen appeased, I have relied heavily on Laura Wright of The First Mess, arguably my favorite vegan food blog. I’ll get a vegan gravy recipe up here on the blog soon that you won’t possibly believe is vegan – it’s the best gravy I’ve ever had.

But for now, we are a little tired of lentils and were looking for something to do with copious amounts of sweet potatoes (yes, we’ve made Sweet Potato Pie). Hence this little gem was discovered. Creamy with coconut milk, almost like curry. Spiced with flavors of the same. Hearty with sweet potato and flourished with kale. Yes, there are still a few lentils, but they are hardly the stars of the show. This soup is light enough for any season and feels perfectly at home here at the end of October. 🧡

what you need

1 tablespoon coconut oil

1 onion, diced

(optional) 1-2 shallots, diced

1 tablespoon dried chili flakes or 1 hot chili, minced

1/2 teaspoon coriander

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon turmeric

1 small knob of fresh ginger root, minced or grated

1 garlic clove, minced or grated

1 extra large sweet potato, peeled and diced (option here to sub some sweet potato for carrot)

1/2 cup French lentils

4 cups vegetable broth

1 can (13 oz) coconut milk (I used slightly less than 1 can)

1 bunch of kale, swiss chard, or mustard greens, de-ribbed and cut into thin strips

Fresh cilantro, lime wedges, naan wedges, and more chili flakes to garnish 

how to make it

Melt the coconut oil over medium heat on the stove in a Dutch oven. Add the onion and the shallots, and sauté until translucent, ~3-5 minutes. Add the chili flakes, spices, ginger, garlic, plus a hefty pinch of salt. Let sit in pot for another ~1 minute, then stir, scraping any brown bits up off the bottom. 

Add the sweet potatoes/carrots and lentils, stirring everything to combine. Once combined, add the vegetable broth and simmer, covered, for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, check to ensure the sweet potatoes are tender. 

Add the coconut milk and the kale to the pot, and simmer another 5 minutes. Spoon into bowls and top with fresh cilantro, a squeeze from a lime wedge, and more chili flakes. 

Note: I like to buy store-bought naan; cut it into strips or wedges; top with olive oil, salt, and black pepper; and broil for a few minutes in the oven, flipping once. This makes nice little crispy strips to garnish any stew!

🌶🧅🍲
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Lemon Chickpea Stew

stew soup recipe fall One and a Half Slices lemon chickpea vegan dish
OneandahalfSlices food blog recipes One and a half Slices Virginia eat local

Lemon Chickpea Stew

stew soup recipe fall One and a Half Slices lemon chickpea vegan dish

If you didn’t catch my Mushroom Lentil Stew of last week, this vegan beauty came right on its heels. Welcoming Fall in vegan/vegetarian style, the theme of this October is lentils and other legumes. The chickpea is a protein-packed, fiber saturated, hearty meal staple. This soup recipe boasts a super unique flavor comprised of lemon zest, really good olive oil, red chili flakes, and the lowly potato. Just one more example of how fresh, local, in-season produce carries all the flavor you’ll ever need. This stew is filling yet humble. It is bold; it isn’t fancy. It doesn’t require an exotic cocktail pairing… it’s just a simple stew for a simple weeknight to remind you to be thankful for a warm stomach, an engaged palette, and a full plate … (or bowl, in this instance).

Looking for more ways to use chickpeas? Try my Moroccan Tagine.   

what you need

1 1/2 cups chickpeas (if canned, rinsed and drained; if fresh, soaked and boiled)

4 small white potatoes, diced small

1 large carrot, diced small

1 large celery stalk, diced small

1 medium yellow onion, diced small

4 cups vegetable broth

Lemon juice from half a lemon

1 tablespoon lemon zest

2-3 garlic cloves, minced

1 chili pepper, minced (or chili pepper flakes)

Olive oil

Fresh thyme

Salt, pepper, and paprika to taste 

4 cups thinly sliced swiss chard or baby spinach

how to make it

Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Add onions and sauté until translucent, ~5 minutes.  Add garlic and chili pepper, and cook ~1 minute more. Add carrots and celery, and cook ~7 minutes more. Add thyme, salt, pepper, and lemon zest, and stir until combined. 

Add potatoes, chickpeas, and vegetable broth, and simmer on low, covered, for ~30-45 minutes. Uncover and check stew for taste, adding more spices as needed. Ladle about half the stew into a blender and puree until smooth. Add the pureed stew back to the pot. Add lemon juice and chard/spinach, stir, and cook, uncovered, ~15 minutes more. 

Ladle into bowls and serve with toasted naan or crusty bread. Drizzle 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil on top (don’t skip this! adds to flavor, especially if you have good olive oil) and sprinkle with red pepper flakes. Enjoy!
Other Stews
mushroom stew lentil OneandahalfSlices One and a Half Slices weeknight recipe easy

Mushroom Lentil Stew

This stew has all the body and personality of a meat-based stew conceived of French lentils, soy sauce, white wine, hearty greens, and an unabashed serving of mixed mushrooms. (and yes, I sprinkled some Parmesan cheese on top for good measure) It is beautiful, hefty, hearty, vegan, locally-sourced, healthy, easy, and autumnal! WELCOME TO FALL! 🍂🍁🍄

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October 23, 2021 No Comments
creamy coconut sweet potato soup recipe oneandahalfslices

Creamy Sweet Potato Stew

Coming out of Vegan October, we were a little tired of lentils and were looking for something to do with copious amounts of sweet potatoes. Hence this little gem was discovered. Creamy with coconut milk, almost like curry. Spiced with flavors of the same. Hearty with sweet potato and flourished with kale. Yes, there are still a few lentils, but they are hardly the stars of the show. This soup is light enough for any season and feels perfectly at home here at the end of October. 🧡

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November 7, 2021 1 Comment
one and a half slices dahl indian lentil stew

Dahl (Indian Lentil Stew)

Dahl is an understatement of a dish. Pitch “lentils and spinach cooked until mushy” to most people and you’re unlikely to garner much enthusiasm. But this dish… this dish… is a healthy, satisfying, vegan, weeknight game changer. It is rich and hearty, and I am pretty sure you could top crispy, sea-salted naan with Pennzoil and I’d eat it. The curry spices are not as prominent as in most Indian dishes so the flavors are subtle and the lemon keeps it fresh.

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October 22, 2020 3 Comments
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Veggie

Mushroom Lentil Stew

mushroom stew lentil OneandahalfSlices One and a Half Slices weeknight recipe easy
OneandahalfSlices food blog recipes One and a half Slices Virginia eat local

Mushroom Lentil Stew

mushroom stew lentil OneandahalfSlices One and a Half Slices weeknight recipe easy

In recent weeks rolling out of the summer months, I’ve been feeling overindulgent when it comes to food. Too much, too extravagant, not enough appreciation for simple, vibrant flavors and how they nourish a body. So I’m rolling back to simple, hearty, (mostly) vegan foods until Thanksgiving. Queue up the following series of fall-esque, hearty, healthy, locally-sourced, (mostly) vegan/vegetarian dishes. Take this stew for example. It has all the body and personality of a meat-based stew conceived of French lentils, soy sauce, white wine, hearty greens, and an unabashed serving of mixed mushrooms. (and yes, I sprinkled some Parmesan cheese on top for good measure) WELCOME TO FALL! 🍂🍁🍄 And shout out to The First Mess for the base recipe! 

what you need

1 cup French lentils, rinsed

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 finely diced shallots

2 finely diced garlic cloves

~1 pound mixed mushrooms! (any mushrooms! all mushrooms! bring them all!)

2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves

1/4 cup white wine

2 tablespoons soy sauce or tamari

2 cups vegetable broth

1 tablespoon red pepper flakes

1/3 cup plant-based milk (I use Macadamia) or whole milk

3-4 stalks of kale, Swiss chard, or mustard greens

(optional) grated parmesan  cheese for topping

(optional) crusty bread for toasts!

🍵

how to make it

Boil lentils until tender, ~20 minutes. Drain and set aside.

While lentils cook, pour olive oil into stew pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add shallots and cook until translucent, ~4 minutes. Add all the sliced mixed mushrooms to the pot and cook for 1-2 minutes more, until mushrooms begin to glisten. Season the mixture liberally with salt, black pepper, the thyme, the garlic, and the red pepper flakes. Give it a good stir and let sit for 1 minute more.

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Add the white wine and the soy sauce (I use tamari) and stir, cooking for ~3 minutes more. Add the drained lentils, the vegetable stock, and the plant-based milk, and bring the mixture to a slight boil, perhaps increasing the heat to medium-high.  After the mixture boils lightly for 5-7 minutes, ladle half the soup into a blender and puree until smooth. Return the smooth mixture to the soup pot and stir until combined. 

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Slice the kale into thin strips and add to the pot, stirring the entire mixture together. Cover and let simmer for anywhere from 5-15 minutes. The mixture should be thick and creamy, but you are welcome to thin it out with additional broth. Check for seasoning adding salt and pepper as desired. Serve with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese on top and a slice of crust hearth bread!

 

 

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Veggie

Spaghetti Al Limone

one and a half slices local simple recipes food

Spaghetti al Limone

This is a fresh, light, summery pasta dish I have wanted to try for a long time in keeping with my predilection for lemon things (like my equally as simple Little Lemon Cake). Pasta al Limone is an Italian classic (see notes below for short commentary on ‘Italian Classics’). It requires just a handful of ingredients and only takes as long to make as it does to boil pasta. I like it with a piece of lemon-marinated, grilled chicken on top. Lemon and Pasta may not seem like two things that go together but, trust me, they do. It has an elegant simplicity to it that is perfect for a summery Sunday afternoon, a weeknight, or a date night. Do something different. Lemon Pasta. 🍋 

what you need

Zest from 1 lemon

1-2 generous tablespoons lemon juice, depending on desired lemon flavor

1/2 package dry spaghetti noodles

1 handful of fresh basil or mint, cut into strips

1 cup Parmesan Reggiano cheese

3 tablespoons good olive oil

(optional) 1/2 tablespoon butter

(optional) pine nuts, toasted

Suggested chicken marinade: the rest of the lemon juice, salt, pepper, dash cayenne

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how to make it

Begin boiling pasta per directions on package. 

In serving bowl, zest the lemon and add the lemon juice. Grate cheese using fine hand grater, and add olive oil, salt, and black pepper to taste. Using a whisk or a fork, mix ingredients until just combined. When pasta is almost finished, spoon 2 tablespoons of pasta water into the serving bowl along with the butter (if using), and resume combining cheese mixture. Reserve 1 cup of hot pasta water and set aside. 

Strain the pasta and place into serving bowl. It is important you do this while pasta is piping hot. Using tongs, begin to mix the pasta and the cheese mixture until thoroughly combined, adding pasta water 1 tablespoon at a time as needed. Be sparing.

Once sufficiently combined, mix in basil and top with pine nuts (if using). Serve warm with a piece of grilled lemon chicken over the top. 

Afterward on ‘Italian Classics’ The Italians have always created pasta dishes that the rest of the world covets. That perfect, carrot-and-celery-scented bolognese, a light and airy fettuccine alfredo, the illusive meatball. Also, the seemingly simple dishes that are still fantastic – Cacio e Pepe, Pomodoro sauce, Bruschetta, Caprese. So what is so difficult to recreate about authentic Italian cuisine? And why do Italian restaurants here in the US leave you feeling overly full and uncomfortable? The short answer to both questions is ingredients. I have compiled a list of Italian cuisine rules of thumb that are by no means comprehensive but will instantly improve your Italian dishes once implemented. The first is by far the most important.

1) Most American renditions of Italian cuisine are cream and/or butter based. Most authentic Italian dishes are actually olive oil and/or pasta based. In short, we use cream and butter to make our dishes ‘creamy’ all the while removing the natural thickening agent present in all pasta. As pasta boils, the gluten cooks out into the pasta water. This means that a little bit of pasta water acts like a thickening agent that could form the basis for a creamy sauce. This is the case in Pasta al Limone, where the seemingly ‘creamy’ pasta sauce can be created using little to no butter or cream, and only a splash of reserve pasta water. The only dairy you really need is the cheese. See the cooking technique for Pasta al Limone above for an illustration of this practice. 

2) Do not make red sauces heavier by using red wine. Use white wine instead.

3) Use nutmeg to accent white, creamy sauces, and fennel to accent dark, red sauces. 

4) Turn to good olive oil, salt, and pepper for seasoning and saucing first before butter, cream, sugar, and cheese.

5) Do not put sugar in your red sauce. Or buy red sauce with sugar listed as an ingredient. Ever. Period. If you do this, we are no longer friends. 

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