Yummy Yellow Rice Salad with a Kick

I love salads composed of rice, beans and/or pasta. My brain thinks I'm eating a healthy salad and my stomach is happy because it's actually FULL (unlike those salads with pitiful greens). For today's overcast / cloudy lunch, Rob and I whipped up a very bright and sunny Yellow Rice Salad with Roasted Peppers and Spicy Black Beans from Bon Appetit. It's good. REALLY GOOD.



I didn't realize it until I started collaborating on this blog, but I clearly have some cooking themes. Cilantro shows up A LOT. Lime Juice -- ditto. Cumin is also one of my favorite flavorings and I'm rather surprised that I haven't grown tired of it. This recipe is no exception. I had to add more roasted red peppers (shucks) to make up for the lack of green bell pepper, but it wasn't missed.

Eggplant, the other white-fleshy meat

Rob finally admitted to me the other night that he really doesn't like eggplant. I was holding two beautiful shiny purple globes in my hand, ready to be sliced, when he announced it. "In fact," he said, "I kind of hate it. Sorry." It was heartbreaking to hear from the person that I cook for the most.

Eggplant is one of those vegetables that people tend to love or hate -- that firm consistency and it's an unusual looking veg, that's for sure. But I think that's why I adore it -- it's like the underdog of vegs. I feel like I cook with it just to introduce it's 'other yummy side' to people who are initially turned off by it.

The good news is that I think I've figured out how to include it in meals so that Rob (and others, and you know who you are) might eat them. I hide them with other deliciousness. Pasta Salad with Eggplant, Tomatoes, and Basil from Cooks Illustrated Guide to Grilling and BBQ is one way to do this. The eggplant was grilled, fresh tomatoes and basil added to a large warm pot of pasta and sauce. Rob loved it (really). He even scarfed down the leftovers for lunch the next day. My heart has healed. I realize that Cooks online recipes are subscription-only, so I also found a free pirated version (tsk tsk).

Corn Never Had It So Good

It's not corn season yet, so the frozen bagged version usually needs a little help (i.e., love) to coax out it's best qualities. Pair it with a spicy, salty salad and voila, corn-yum. Granted, once you add avocado, lime juice, cherry tomatoes, and cilantro you barely notice those cute yellow kernals, but it's all good.

I've tasted *other* black bean and corn salads... as there are many varieties. But this one has avocado. Who doesn't love avocado? Plus, this one also has a lime dressing.... mmmmm limey.... So this one is my favorite and I've made it enough times to know that it's also the favorite of many.
Black Bean and Corn Salad II from AllRecipes.com

So this past Saturday our neighbors (very kitchen-experienced) invited us and another set of neighbors (also very kitchen-saavy) over for dinner. After a delicious appetizer of spinach/artichoke dip and crusty french bread, we had a feast that included a beefy rib roast and cheesy scalloped potatoes. They were so so so tasty (naturally).

After much wine and bizarre discussions, we were pretty happy.

And then we had fresh berry handpies. Yes, perfect little pies that fit in your hand. Is there anything better than that?

Pass it On

Tonight I made what I call a "Food Revolution" dinner. We got Jamie Olivers latest cookbook from the library and decided to make a meal from it. The reason this entry is called "pass it on" is that in the introduction of the book he talks about the various statistics - health related/food related - that he talks about on the show. About how people eat in, but they buy take out to eat in  and that he wants people to learn how to cook and then -- pass it on -- share the love and ability to cook with others. So that's what I am doing. I am passing it on.

I will admit that I have been an avid follower of the show ever since I saw his TED Talk. I do think he's on to something. His "Food Revolution" even came at a perfect time for me -- when I was also in the middle of this personally. So....anyway, I sat down with the cook book and my husband and my daughter  (I don't know where the boy was) and decided on what we would have. Better yet, my daughter would help me cook it!

We decided on 3 things

Mediterranean Chopped Salad (Page 123)
Broccoli with Asian Dressing (Page 220)
Crunchy Garlic Chicken (Page 241)

I will go over the recipes in order that I made them so that the pictures are in order! I -- of course -- always cook the things that take the longest 1st so that ideally, the whole meal is ready at the same time.


Crunch Garlic Chicken 

1 clove of garlic
1 lemon
6 crackers (probably more -- I used saltines because he referenced a british brand that I was unfamiliar with)
2 tbsp butter
4 sprigs of parsley
sea salt & black pepper
2 tablespoons heaped all purpose flour
1 large egg
2 skinless chicken breasts
olive oil

To Prepare the chicken - peel the garlic and zest the lemon. Put the crackers into a food processor with the butter, garlic, parsley, lemon zest and a pinch of salt & pepper. Mix until it is very fine and poor onto a plate. Sprinkle the flour on a 2nd plate. Crack the egg into a bowl and beat with a fork. Lightly score the undersides of the chicken. Put a piece of plastic wrap over each and "bash" a few times with the bottom of a pan (or something hard!) until they flatten out. Dip the chicken into the flour until coated, then dip into the egg and finally into the crumbs. Make sure the entire chicken breast is coated.

Bake or pan fry. For baking - heat the oven to 475' and bake for about 15 mins.










 Broccoli with Asian Dressing

Steam about 1 1/4 lbs of broccoli. While it is cooking prepare the dressing. Grate a thumb size piece of ginger and finely chop a clove of garlic and place in a bowl. Add one fresh red chile. Stir in 1 tbsp sesame oil, 3 tbsp olive oil, 1 tbsp soy sauce, juice from one lime and drizzle in a teaspoon of balsamic. Whisk together. Serve over broccoli just before serving.








Chopped Mediterranean Salad

Handful of black olives
1/2 red onion
1 red chile
3 firm ripe tomatoes
1 romaine lettuce
fresh basil
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Balsamic Vinegar
sea salt & fresh black pepper

Get a large chopping board and a large sharp knife. Take out the olive pits if they were not already pitted by pressing down on the olives with the knife.

Start chopping the harder crunchier veggies first -- peel and slice your onion, chop the chile. Chope the olives and tomatoes and bring it all to the center of the cutting bard. Continue chopping and mixing together. Add the lettuce and basic and chop well. Once everything is well chopped you'll have a big mound of salad on the board. Make a well in the middle and add 6 tbsp olive oil (I only added 4, 6 seemed like a lot!), 2tbsp balsamic and a good pinch of salt and pepper. Mix it all up and serve straight from the board or put in a bowl.



As you can see, I had my daughter helping me. She did a great job. She zested lemons and "bashed" the chicken. It was great fun. Best of all, she ate like ALL her broccoli  - and I think it's because she had a hand in making it. Sadly, the meal did not go over well with the boy. I tried to choose veggies that he'd like, instead he wouldn't try it. Oh well... next time I will cook with him and see how it goes.

So... how was everything? My favorite was the salad. I could have eaten it all. Loved it. I see more chopped salads in our future. The broccoli was pretty darn good too. My least favorite was the chicken. I wasn't overly impressed with it. It was ok, but nothing spectacular by any means. So now, go cook one of these things yourself!

Southern Salad

I tend to favor salads with heft, but not necessarily in the form of meat. I prefer pasta, rice, potato and bean salads. This bean salad suddenly shows up at our table at least twice a year, signaling the onset of spring or summer. It's cool and crisp, spicy and sharp. The heft appears as black-eyed peas, which I cannot usually locate on the canned shelves, (only dried, unless I'm in a health-food store).

This Black-Eyed Pea Salad recipe is from Sunset magazine. There are bountiful similar black-eyed pea salad recipes out there, but I like this one's coolness of the tomato and cucumber, and the addition of cilantro and serrano.

I always make it with one large modification: reduce the onion by one-half or more. Be sure to follow the instructions and rinse the onion to deaden the sharpness. It calls for lemon juice, but I prefer lime. Welcome Spring!

I Want Chicken Tonight, Chicken Tonight

7 times out of 10, when I ask Rob what he wants for dinner, he starts singing "I want chicken tonight, chicken tonight." Naturally, this is not very helpful, but then, neither are the other 3 times out of 10 when he says "orzo!" Sigh... one can make only so many orzo dishes. However, this ultimately means that I can make whatever I want, which is definitely helpful.



I don't make a lot of chicken. When I was living by myself as a first year grad student and as a new cook, I probably made chicken 30 different ways (mainly varying the 'sauce'). I sort of became sick and tired of chicken, unless it's roasted (pre-brined, of course) or drowning in sauce (as in chicken pot pie or enchiladas). Tonight I was haunted by a flashback - I had to make 'cooked chicken breasts'. So, unlike my younger attempts with chicken that lacked flavor depth, I decided to sear them in olive oil, encrusted with salt and pepper. Thankfully, that did the trick.

The meat is then is shredded for a southwestern style Chicken, Rice, and Black-Bean Salad from Everyday Food Magazine. Like Rachel Ray, Everyday Food recipes are hit and miss. This one, however, went above my fairly low expectations. Why? Well, how can any 'southwestern style' salad with black beans and tomatoes NOT include lime juice, cilantro or avocado. I had serious reservations. The only spice was cumin, and the only dressing was white wine vinegar and olive oil. Sounds positively boring. Plus, the plum tomatoes were not looking so hot - rather unripe (see photo). I was absolutely wrong - it was really really good and I haven't a clue as to why. I'll make this one again for sure.

Eat Your Heart Out, Columbus

Columbus may have 'discovered' America, but I have recently uncovered TWO new things about myself and food. Looks like I win.

I love satisfying salads (those that contain much more than greens). I also love chickpeas. So it's only natural that I would want to make this recipe: Brown Rice and Chickpea Salad from Cooks Illustrated. Being as how it's a Cooks recipe, it's kind of a pain in the ass (fussy), but it was worth it. This was the first time that I've ever used dried chickpeas. Yes, the canned variety worked just fine in the past, why mess with tradition? Well, the only recipes I try to stick to very carefully are those from Cooks. I respect the scientific process and they work hard to determine the best way to fix something. Fine. Dried chickpeas. Soak them for many hours (I remembered ahead of time - yay!), and wait, what's this? I tasted one and huh... these are actually pretty good as is once they've been soaked... [tried a second handful] hmm... nutty, creamy... nothing like those that come out of a can [tried some more]... Oh crap, now I'm going to have to soak chickpeas from here on out [grumble... tasting more] because I could have eaten them all raw. Who knew? Cooks did I suppose.


Anyway, back to the recipe. The salad has a curry-basil sauce that is especially tasty, and you top with toasted almonds (do *not* skip the toasted almonds). This would make a great take-along lunch. Except that Rob is currently busy scarfing down the rest.

I am pleased to announce that I have discovered THE best and easiest way to cook kale. It should have been obvious to me to roast kale since I cook nearly everything else this way. So why didn't I think of this already? Crispy Sesame Kale from the Vegan Yum Yum cookbook. The cookbook is really great, and her blog is beautifully scrumptious, so check them both out. Toss the kale with some dark sesame oil and sesame seeds, and throw into the oven for 10 min. Easy, healthy and insanely delicious.

My Favorite Way to Eat Fresh Fruit (sans pie)

Winter can be tough on a healthy cook. Tasty fresh fruit and vegetables are not widely available (nor affordable), especially for those of us that don't live in warm, temperate climates (I found this out while living in Wisconsin: "where are the freakin' good tomatoes in January?!"). Alas, I have learned to deal with it pretty well by disguising the lack-luster not-at-peak flavor.

The best way to enjoy fruit off-season, hands down, is in pie^H^H^H fruit salad. I don't know what it is about cut-up fruit, but I am 10,000% more likely to eat it if someone slices it beforehand. Is it laziness? Maybe I don't like gooey syrup fingers. Whatever the reason, this fruit salad idea is genius. Plus, there are so many variations, so I don't become bored.

Instructions for Fantastic Fruit Salad: Take whatever fruit looks halfway decent (fresh ONLY please), take it home, wash, slice and mix. Dressing is optional, but more fun. And please, for heaven's sake, go easy on the dressing. Don't kill the fruit by drowning it. The key to a great salad is to include a favorite fruit every time, even if it's a little more expensive or maybe not lookin' so hot in the store. This one star fruit will get you to eat it. For me, the fruits that finally draw me to the salad are berries. Blueberries and raspberries excite my taste buds enough to eat something healthy. Steer clear of too much pineapple or citrus, and you're good to go.

My favorite salad fruit are: cantaloupe or other firm melon, grapes, small seedless oranges, tiny amounts of grapefruit, and lots of berries (be gentle with raspberries and blackberries so they don't mush). Watermelon is good but can become watery (shocking), and some fruit like mango, banana and pineapple can be a bit strong if used too heavily.

Today I went with this recipe: Fruit Salad with Honey-Lime Dressing from Bon Appétit. It's a great choice for dressing up the salad and disguising its winter flaws. I used cantaloupe, strawberries, blueberries and a little mango. Lime or lemon juice, yogurt (or sour cream) and sweetener (honey is best). I also sometimes chop up some fresh mint and throw it in there.

Mmmmm honey. This brings me to my recent discovery - Tupelo Honey. If being unmonitored, I might eat this honey straight from the jar, or at least half a dozen spoonfuls. This stuff is G-O-O-D. Go get some.