It’s winter in Colorado – and that means skiing! If you can’t reach me, I’ll be in the mountains, enjoying the slopes, snow and blue bird days.

Except this weekend, which found us back in the foothills at home, with the boring reality stuff everyone deals with. Cleaning, laundry, taxes, work, investment property tasks, bill paying. You know, the stuff that keeps your life moving forward, no matter how boring it is to partake in.

Today, Sunday, we spent our time with our doggies inside & out, and watched a few extreme sport documentaries: Valley Uprising & Further. Talk about feeling like a fatty, couch potato, loser.

These films showed adventurers, risk takers, thrill seekers, outdoor enthusiasts who took to the forests, rocks, national forests, slopes, mountains with a hunger I envied. These characters were living their lives without the constraints of modern society, without the limitations the work week has. Many didn’t have jobs, spent their nights in tents, in the woods, under the stars. And I couldn’t have be more jealous. Yes, I want to be outdoors more than anywhere else. Yes, I am climbing mountains and skiing and venturing into the wilderness on most weekends. Yes, I want to wonder into the unknown and hear the mountain streams and see clear across the mountain ranges. Unfortunately, not on this particular weekend.

So, lunch rolled around and I became inspired to cook a dish that was ski bum appropriate. A cheap dish, that packs a huge punch, both on the nutritional and flavor scale. And I was wearing my Snowbird sweatshirt, so almost like I was out there with those adventurers.

Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 4 medium carrots
• 1/2 head of cabbage chopped
• 7 button mushrooms
• 1/2 sweet potato (cooked)
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• salt & pepper
• 2 tablespoons of coconut oil
• 1-2 cups cooked quinoa
• Topping Ideas: Raw Pumpkin & Sesame Seeds, Dried Figs, left over refried beans, salt, pepper

Sauce

• 2 tablespoons of Tahini
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 2 tablespoons of Almond milk
• 1/2 can of chick peas

Directions

• Heat oil in a pan, adding garlic – 1-3 minutes
• Chop carrots into buttons – microwave them in 2 tablespoons of water, for 1 min and 30 seconds, so they’re soft
• Add carrots & cabbage to pan. Add pepper and a pinch of salt. Saute for 5 minutes, stirring till all is covered with oil
• Add mushrooms to pan and saute for another 5-8 minutes, stirring occasionally
• For the sauce, combine all ingredients in a cuisine art/blender
• Split the quinoa into two bowls and top with the veggie saute. Add the sauce and toppings and enjoy!