Heart Beets

Happy Valentine's Day!

I had big plans for a Valentine's Day post and of course I procrastinated for too long. I was going to interview my coworker (and after work running partner) and her husband because they are both avid runners and they recently started blogging together! I love how supportive they are of each other even though Paul is "a mad runner" going for distance and time and Shamala is going for opportunities to photograph the change of seasons. I'll get it together and ask them some questions, but for now you can visit Live Boulder Run Bolder and read about their running adventures together.

Last night at the end of my run home from work I stopped at the grocery store. After wandering around for way too long in a daze, this is what I came up with: a red, creamy, tangy dinner that is perfect for a romantic evening with your dog and cat.

Heart Beets with Brussels Sprouts and Pumpkin Seeds
My bff in college used to make a delicious dish with toasted sesame seed oil, pumpkin seeds, and kale.We'd eat it while getting drunk on Chardonnay in her kitchen, deciding before the end of the evening that we were the most awesome people ever. So this is Valentine's Day for me: Red and pink veggies flavored with some of my favorite memories.

Chop your (heart) beets and halve your sprouts and lay on a cookie sheet. Sprinkle with toasted sesame seed oil and a liberal amount of pumpkin seeds. Salt and pepper and bake in a 350 degree oven for 40 minutes or so, stirring every 5-10 minutes. Keep an eye on these guys because you don't want to burn them. For softer veggies you can cover with aluminum foil for the first 20 minutes and then uncover for the rest of the time.

Creamy Coconut Rice with Lemony Leeks and Fish
Cook a cup of basmati rice in one cup of water and one cup of coconut milk. (Or one part rice, one part water, one part coconut milk for the amount you want to make.)

Building the flavors (this is for one serving but can be adjusted accordingly):

Slowly melt a couple of tablespoons of butter in a skillet.
Cut one leek in half (to wash out the leaves carefully) and dice the light green parts, and then add it to the butter. Add salt and sweat it on low heat, stirring frequently.
Add four chopped cloves of garlic and stir.
Add the juice of half a lemon and half a cup of water and continue to stir.
Add half a cup of chopped basil.

You should have a nice buttery and lemony broth. You can add a little more water if there isn't enough juice. Because at this point you want to add a fillet of tilapia  and spoon the leeks and broth over the top and cook. Flip once.

Serve the fish and leeks mixture over the rice!

And of course this Valentine's Day meal is not complete without some red wine and Jose Gonzalez.