Guys, let’s all take a second to recognize that one month of summer is behind us *sigh*. Those of you who know me personally know that summer is my favorite time of year. It’s honestly a crime that I can’t move somewhere warm because everyone I love lives in this hell hole called the Midwest where they like to pretend they like “seasons”. Let’s be real, everyone at your work who spends all summer waiting for fall immediately complains the second we get weather under 55 degrees. If you’re one of these people, I have a beautiful recipe today to make you embrace summer and all the magnificent color and wonder it has to offer, Summer Vegetable Hash.
This recipe is one that is so simple, elegant and nourishing that it kind of speaks for itself but I’m going to fan girl it anyway just in case. This recipe is rich and filling while also being healthy so it’s kind of a win win. It’s a true celebration of the summer veggies like zucchini, squash and eggplant. Plus it has one of my favorite ingredients, fresh parsley and it’s topped with a fried or poached egg. I don’t know if you guys were aware, but adding a fried egg onto anything immediately kicks it up a notch, do it as often as possible. Unless of course you don’t eat eggs, we don’t judge in this environment.
Speaking of judging, I wanted to take a second to talk about something serious and I thought a post about something as effortlessly healthy and summer vegetable hash would be a good platform. I have struggled my whole life with body image, dieting, exercise and the right thing to do for myself, I think most of us have. This problem is exacerbated in today’s times by social media because we now aren’t only getting these things from tvs and magazines but it’s basically being fed into our eye balls all day every day.
And now I think it’s almost worse. Before us women had to worry about looking good and what food would make us look good. Today it’s basically the same thing but instead of being honest about the message it’s hiding being “health” and what it means to be healthy. Now, I’ll never knock anyone trying to live a healthier lifestyle whether than be eating better, working or or practicing mindfulness. But a lot of times, this now just feels like another thing everyone else is doing perfectly and you are failing at, like it’s one more thing we have to worry about and one more thing to pack into a day. If you feel like this ever, I just wanted to take some time to say, you’re not alone and you’re not crazy.
I wish I had the answers for how to deal with the negative body image and now negative lifestyle image we all have to deal with but I don’t have a cure. Right now the only thing I have is to remind you that if literally everyone feels like this, than that means NONE of us are doing this perfect! So try to stop beating yourself up so much, and definitely don’t fall into the trap I do of beating myself up about beating myself up (it’s awful). I want to start talking about these issues more often on the blog because if I’m serving any purpose, I’d like it to be helping people realize that taking care of yourself and living healthy doesn’t have to be rocket science. So today I’ll leave you with the words of my third favorite man on the planet (behind my dad and Andrew duh), Michael Pollen …. Eat Food, Not too Much, Mostly Plants.
Lots of Love,
Jackie
Summer Vegetable Hash
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 10 mins
- Total Time: 20 mins
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Category: Breakfast
- Cuisine: Vegetarian
Description
A simple, healthy and nourishing breakfast with bright, seasonal zucchini, squash and eggplant and topped with tangy green goddess dressing.
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp salted butter
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tbsp fresh thyme
- 1 tsp red pepper flakes
- 3 yellow potatoes, cleaned and chopped
- 1 large eggplant, chopped
- 2 zucchini, chopped
- 2 yellow squash, chopped
- 2 tbsp dijon mustard
- 1 tsp salt and pepper
- 1 tbsp dried oregano
- 1/4 cup dried parsley
- fried or poach eggs
- Green Goddess Dressing
Instructions
- Melt the butter in a large cast iron skillet or non-stick pan over medium heat. Add in the garlic cloves, thyme and red pepper flakes and saute until the garlic becomes fragrant.
- Add in the potatoes, eggplant, zucchini and yellow squash. Saute until the vegetables soften this takes about 10 minutes but is a little faster if you cover them for 2-3 minutes at a time and stir in between. Add in the dijon mustard, salt, pepper and oregano, toss and saute for another 3 minutes.
- Toss the vegetables in fresh parsley and add the fried or poached eggs right before serving and top with our green goddess dressing.
