RED THEME FOR A SALAD

Posted in Salads, Vegetarian-friendly by sallybr

As the weather gets warmer, I opt for a light lunch whenever possible. However, after a workout session with Tony Horton, I need a lot more than a serving of lettuce with some parsley sprinkled all over it. 😉 Last week I prepared a salad based on red quinoa with a bit more substance, but still compatible with the 90F day. It turned out delicious! It lasted a couple of days in the fridge, and got even better. If you do that, just bring it to room temperature half an hour or so before lunch time.

QUINOA SALAD WITH ROASTED BEETS
(from the Bewitching Kitchen)

for ginger-orange vinaigrette
1/8 cup rice vinegar
1/8 cup fresh orange juice
1 tsp orange zest
1 Tbs sugar (or less, if you prefer)
1 Tbs grated ginger
1/4 cup grapeseed oil
salt and pepper to taste

for salad:
1 cup red quinoa, rinsed
2 medium beets, peeled and cut in large chunks
olive oil
salt and pepper
2 celery stalks. diced
fresh mozzarella cheese. diced
walnut pieces, toasted

Place the rinsed quinoa in a rice cooker, add 2 cups of water and a little salt. Cook, adding a little more water if when the machine turns off you think the quinoa is too crunchy for your taste. It should be ready in 15 to 20 minutes. Fluff the quinoa with a fork, and let it cool. Reserve.

In a medium bowl, place the pieces of beets, add a little olive oil just enough to coat the pieces, season with salt and pepper. Transfer the pieces to a baking sheet, and place in a 400 – 420 F oven to roast until done (about 40 minutes, depending on the size). Reserve.

Prepare the vinaigrette by mixing the vinegar, orange juice and zest and the sugar, until the sugar dissolves. Add the oil slowly to form an emulsion, and season with salt and pepper. You won’t need to use it all, save the leftover in the fridge, it keeps for about 1 week.

Assemble the salad by mixing all the ingredients and adding as much dressing as you like. Adjust seasoning, and serve.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

My little rice cooker does a great job cooking all sorts of grains (and seeds, like quinoa). I usually don’t bother with precise amounts of water, I try to add less rather than too much. In case the cooker turns off but the grains are not exactly how I want them, I add a small amount of water and switch it back on for a few minutes.

I wanted to have this salad over a bed of baby spinach, but forgot all about it when I first made it. On the following day, with the spinach, the salad looked really nice, but then I forgot to take pictures. Such is life. But, please feel free to use your imagination! 😉

ONE YEAR AGO: Couscous Salad with Zucchini and Pine Nuts

TWO YEARS AGO: A Simple Salad a la Jacques Pepin

(that proves that three years in a row I’ve got salad in my mind! ;-))

27Apr2012

A SUPER HEALTHY SOUP

Posted in Soups, Vegetarian-friendly, Veggies by sallybr

It seems that every year, right when I get all excited that the cold weather is gone for good, a few chilly nights pop up to say hello. Chilly as 50F! For a Brazilian, it’s the dreadful boundary between life and death. So, faced with such adverse circumstances, I made soup. Complete improvisation from a few ingredients I had laying around in the fridge and the pantry. I felt incredibly energized after dinner, and even won a wrestling match with Oscar! It must have been the spinach. 😉

ZUCCHINI SPINACH SOUP
(from the Bewitching Kitchen)

1 Tbs olive oil
1 stalk of leek, finely sliced (white part only)
3 zucchinis, medium size, sliced 1/4 inch thick
1/4 to 1/3 cup of canned white beans
4 cups vegetable stock or water (plus more if needed)
1 to 2 cups baby spinach leaves
salt and pepper
freshly squeezed lemon juice
low fat yogurt to taste for serving

Heat the olive oil and saute the sliced leeks, allow them to get golden. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Add the zucchini, cook the slices for a few minutes, stirring every once in a while, until they get a bit of color in some spots. Add the white beans, cook for a couple of minutes, add the vegetable stock (or water), bring the whole thing to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, and cook, covered, until the zucchini is tender (20 minutes).

Add the spinach, cook until the leaves are just wilted. Puree the soup in a food processor, blender, or with an immersion blender until the consistency you like. If too thick, add more water or vegetable broth. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper, sprinkle lemon juice, and keep warm until serving.

Pour some into a bowl, and add a dollop of yogurt seasoned with a pinch of salt and pepper.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

All amounts for this soup are quite flexible. The spinach, added at the very end, gives it a nice bright green color, and a strong herbal flavor, so add as little or as much as your palate appreciates. I used an immersion blender because I like my soup to be a bit chunky and find that with other methods it’s harder to control the texture. But, if you prefer a smoother soup, use a blender. The beans made it creamy without the addition of any fat, and also turned it into a more substantial soup. A thick slice of rustic bread was all we needed.

A final note: if you are in a daring mood, add a splash of Sriracha to the yogurt. Takes the soup to a whole other level… 😉

ONE YEAR AGO: Cinco de Mayo Dinner Celebration

TWO YEARS AGO: Thom Leonard’s Country French Bread

4Mar2012

WATERCRESS SALAD

Posted in Salads, Side dishes, Vegetarian-friendly, Veggies by sallybr

In case you haven’t noticed, I have a weak spot for words. I fall in love with certain words (no matter what’s the idiom) the very first time I hear or read them. Watercress is one of those. I just love to say it, and I love to see it written with the twin s’s at the end shushing along hand in hand. And I also love the veggie, but where we live it’s hard to find. Plus, when we do find watercress it’s pricey, and sold in plastic containers that require a degree in Puzzle Solving to open. It’s precious stuff! When I found a carton at the grocery store the other day I gently placed it in my cart, hurried home and made a salad that received intense nods of approval from all guests. Full disclosure: there were two guests, me and my beloved. 😉

WATERCRESS SALAD WITH GINGER VINAIGRETTE
(from the Bewitching Kitchen)

Watercress, preferably young leaves
Orange segments
1 avocado, sliced
cherry tomatoes, cut in half, lightly salted
squeeze of lemon juice

for ginger vinaigrette
1/8 cup rice vinegar
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp grated ginger (or use 1 Dorot cube)
salt and black pepper to taste
1/8 cup grapeseed oil

Start by making the vinaigrette. Dissolve the sugar in the rice vinegar, add the ginger, salt, and pepper, and whisk. Leave it at room temperature for 10 minutes while you prepare the salad. Right before dressing the salad, you will add the oil, form an emulsion by vigorously mixing it.

Cut the avocado and sprinkle the slices with lemon juice to prevent oxidation. On a serving plate, distribute the watercress leaves, the avocado slices, tomatoes, and orange segments.

Add the dressing (you may not need it all, save leftovers for later), adjust seasoning, and….

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

If you don’t like ginger, this vinaigrette is definitely not for you… Both rice vinegar and grapeseed oil are very mild in taste, so you need something to perk this dressing up. If ginger is a no-no, add some lime zest and a little squeeze of lime juice. That should do it.

Blood oranges are perfect if you find them in your markets. In that case, I’d probably use yellow grape tomatoes, just to mix the colors. Chow-mein noodles are another great addition to this salad. I avoid bringing them home, though, because they usually win the battle against my will power.

ONE YEAR AGO: Carrot and Sweet Potato Puree

TWO YEARS AGO: Chocolate Bread

1Mar2012

THE WHEAT BERRY TRANSMOGRIFICATION

Posted in Side dishes, Vegetarian-friendly, Veggies by sallybr

A post dedicated to “The Big Bang Theory” fans… 😉

Wheat berries are an amazing ingredient. You can use them for breakfast, desserts, salads, risotto-type dishes, you can add them to soups and stews. Since I am always searching for side dishes to incorporate in our menu, wheat berries are a great alternative to give some rest to the usual suspects: rice, pasta, and couscous. The other day I was feeling adventurous, and decided to create my own recipe for them. Problems started right away. A search on my cookbooks and online sources left me surprised (and quite puzzled) at the many different methods used to cook the grain. Some people swear you must soak them overnight. Some insist you need a pressure cooker. I threw caution to the wind, didn’t soak them, didn’t invite the pressure cooker to play, but simply cooked them in salted water as if preparing pasta. It took a little over 1 hour to get them the way I wanted: tender but not mushy. After that, I incorporated them with two veggies I adore, and… side dish mission accomplished!

WHEAT BERRIES WITH BUTTERNUT SQUASH AND CELERY
(from the Bewitching Kitchen)

1 cup wheat berries
1 medium butternut squash, cut in medium dice
olive oil
salt and pepper
smoked paprika
1 large celery stalk, cut in slices

Heat the oven to 420F.

Cook the wheat berries in plenty of salted water until al dente (depending on the brand, it might take from 1 to 2 hours). When cooked to your taste, drain, and reserve. If not using immediately, add just a little drizzle of olive oil to prevent the grains from sticking too much. Can be prepared a couple of days ahead.

While the wheat berries are cooking, place the diced butternut squash in a bowl, and drizzle olive oil just enough to lightly coat the pieces. Season the squash with salt, pepper, and smoked paprika. Add them in a single layer over a rimmed baking dish. Roast in the hot oven until cooked, and the edges start to brown (25 to 35 minutes).

Mix the cooked wheat berries with the roasted squash, add the raw celery, incorporate everything together gently. Adjust seasoning, and serve.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

We both loved this recipe! Roasted butternut squash has a special place in my heart, and now stores in our neck of the woods carry those cute little bags with the cut veggie, so I often cave and bring those home to make my life easier.

We are also quite fond of raw celery. In this recipe, it gave the needed “crunch factor” to oppose the chewiness and softness of the wheat and squash. The squash, when roasted, tastes a little sweet, so the smoked paprika and the celery help cut through that.

We enjoyed this dish with grilled pork tenderloin, but of course it goes well with all sorts of main dishes, standing also on its own if you add a hearty salad.

Hope you try it!

ONE YEAR AGO: Curried Zucchini Soup

TWO YEARS AGO: Roasted Onion and Asiago Cheese Miche (an outstanding bread!)

7Feb2012

MISO IT UP

Posted in Vegetarian-friendly, Veggies by sallybr

Green beans show up at our dinner table once a week, most of the time in a quick preparation with slivered, toasted almonds. It’s nice to have some recipes that you can almost pull on your sleep. This version from Bon Appetit is almost as simple, but feels a lot more special because it uses miso. I suppose it’s the funk factor, that umami component that adds extra flavor. Try this recipe, even if you don’t normally use this Japanese gem in your cooking. You’ll love it, I am sure.

GREEN BEANS WITH MISO AND ALMONDS
(adapted from Bon Appetit)

2 + 1/2 pounds green beans
salt
1/4 cup white miso (may use less if you are a miso newbie)
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons mustard
2 tablespoons grapeseed oil
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 cup slivered almonds, toasted

Cut green beans in pieces 1 to 1.5 inches long. Cook them in a large pot of boiling salted water until crisp-tender (less than 5 minutes). Transfer to a large bowl of ice water to cool. Drain well.

Whisk miso, vinegar, mustard, oil, and sugar in a small bowl. Season with salt, but very lightly because miso is already salty. Place green beans in a large bowl. Pour dressing over; toss to coat. Garnish with almonds.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

I always have miso in the fridge. It keeps for a long time, and shows up more and more in recipes everywhere. I often add it to sauteed mushrooms, but green beans match equally well with the sweet-saltiness of miso. Yin and Yang. Gotta love it!

This dish is a great side for chicken, salmon, steak, or pork. And leftovers are excellent even at room temperature.

ONE YEAR AGO: Ziti with Fresh Artichokes and Meyer Lemon Sauce

TWO YEARS AGO: Chicken Soup on a Chilly Evening