Tag Archives: ny times

Quinoa Black Bean Salad

Posted on July 2, 2012 | 3 comments

I’m already thinking of dishes to take to 4th of July festivities.  So many salads have mayo (gag) in them and have a short potluck shelf life.  This one can stay at room temp indefinitely.

I could eat this every single day of the summer, mixing and matching veggie add-ins.  It’s really THAT good.

Adapted from the NY Times.

Try it for yourself.

For the salad:

  • 1 cup uncooked red quinoa
  • 1 (14oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 red pepper, chopped
  • 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, finely chopped
  • 2 green onions, chopped
  • 1 cup fresh corn (optional) *see note
  • 1 small avocado, chopped into 1 inch pieces

For the dressing:

  • 4-5 tbsp of fresh lime juice (juice from 2 small limes)
  • 1/2 tsp Kosher salt, or to taste
  • 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, finely chopped
  • 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 tsp ground cumin, or more to taste (I used 1 tsp, I love cumin)

Directions:

1. Cook 1 cup Red Quinoa according to package directions.

2. While quinoa is cooking, prepare the chopped vegetables and whisk together the dressing.

3. Allow quinoa to cool after cooking for about 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork. Add the beans and vegetables and toss well.

4. Drizzle dressing over salad and toss well with salt and pepper to taste. Bring salad to room temperature before serving. Keep fresh in a sealed container for 1-2 days. Makes about 5 cups.

Note: I defrosted and drained frozen corn before adding it to the salad, but the result was rubbery corn. I painstakingly picked out every, single, kernel after that eff up.  I would suggest using fresh corn only, if the season applies, otherwise I wouldn’t bother with the frozen stuff.

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Posted in CSA, Dinner, Fridge Finds, Make Ahead, Meatless Monday, Quick Cooking, Salad, Seasonal Ingredients, Vegan, Vegetarian

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Stuff An Acorn Squash, Not A Turkey

Posted on November 24, 2010 | Leave a comment

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I launched this mini “save the turkey” campaign via my Facebook page last week wherein I actually paid $20.00 to adopt a turkey, which equates to sponsoring a month of food for the poor little guy to offset what he might have sold for at the market to become someone’s dinner Thursday (yikes take a breath!).  This brought on the usual slew of “what are you gonna eat for dinner if not a turkey?” commentary from people who think that vegetarians/vegans only eat lettuce.  Oh, and for this behavior, I was basically called a Communist by one of my Republican friends.  A Communist, really?  Huh.

While Mr. Wonderful and I basked in the yum that is Chipotle tonight, chasing a Costco expedition high that ended with the purchase of more wine, cheese and bread than two people should even contemplate purchasing, we discussed what parts of Thanksgiving we liked best and it was hand’s down:  sides and desserts. Mr. Wonderful maintains that basically you eat like 2 pieces of dry turkey out of obligation and then head right for the stuffing, cranberry chutney, potatoes and gravy, green bean casserole, 7-layer salad, sweet potatoes and dinner rolls.  I don’t disagree.  As long as I can remember I headed right for the scalloped potatoes, the spinach gratin, sweet potato casserole, corn pudding, and of course, the homemade yeast rolls.  Top it off with a little pumpkin pie, and…oh, I forgot to mention the endless precursors to Thanksgiving dinner, where you stuff yourself before you stuff yourself with as many gherkins that will fit in your mouth at once, black olives you wear on the tips of your fingers and nibble off that taste like the tin can they fell out of, little cubes of cheddar “fancy” cheese where the serving size is a fist-full, along with all you can eat Wheat Thins and Triscuits, I mean, seriously, this is Americana at it’s finest.  Who needs a turkey? Not us.  Oh, and keep those little wieners in bbq sauce to yourself too. Sick.  Sick.

Here is my “main dish” for Thanksgiving, it mixes a few of my fave sides all into one delish, not to mention beautiful dish.  Give it a try, I bet you will serve more of this than that Turkey Lurkey.  I have yet to go home with leftovers.  Consequently, if you do have leftovers, you can wrap these individual portions in plastic wrap and freeze for up to 2 weeks, defrost in fridge and warm back up in the oven to rehash their goodness when you need a quick bite to eat, post food coma day.

Quinoa and Wild Rice Stuffed Acorn Squash
  • 6 small acorn squash, halved and seeds removed
  • 6 cups water
  • 1 cup uncooked wild rice (), rinsed
  • 1 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed
  • 2 tsp EVOO, optional
  • 4 green onions (white and pale green parts), chopped
  • 1/2 cup chopped celery
  • 1/3 cup chopped granny smith apple tossed in a bit of lemon juice to keep from browning
  • 1 T fresh sage
  • 1/2 cup dried cranberries
  • 1/4 cup golden raisins
  • 1/3 cup dried apricots, chopped
  • 1/2 cup chopped and toasted pecans, walnuts, or hazelnuts
  • 1/2 to 3/4 cup fresh-squeezed tangerine or blood orange juice
  • Salt to taste
  1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Arrange squash halves cut side down in baking dish or roasting pan. Bake until tender, 25 to 30 minutes.
  2. Meanwhile, make filling. In large saucepan, bring 4 cups water to boil. Add wild rice and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until rice is tender, about 40 minutes. Drain if necessary.
  3. In another large saucepan, bring remaining 2 cups of water to boil. Add quinoa. Reduce heat and simmer until water is absorbed and quinoa is tender, about 12 minutes.
  4. In large, deep skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add green onions, celery, apples, and sage, and cook, stirring often, until vegetables begin to soften, about 3 minutes. Add dried fruits and nuts and cook, stirring often, until heated through. Using a fork, fluff quinoa and wild rice, then add both to skillet. Add juice and mix until heated through. Season with salt.
  5. To serve, remove squash from oven and arrange on serving platter. Spoon filling into each squash cavity and serve.

More pics to come.  This recipe adapted from Vegetarian Times, 2007.

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Posted in Fall Food, Make Ahead, Recipes, Seasonal Ingredients

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Fresh bread, 45 minutes, no yeast. Really. It’s yummy too!

Posted on November 8, 2010 | 122 comments

Turns out you can make bread that tastes good, without much time, yeast or overloading your very busy napping, I mean working, schedule on a Sunday afternoon.  I forget that I own this cookbook until I see that someone else has dug out a keeper of a recipe from it.  I made more potato soup this afternoon in the crock pot from basically what we had in the fridge, 6 baking potatoes, 2 small yellow onions, a handful of baby carrots, 4 dried chiles, fresh thyme, a little half and half, and some skim milk while we were busy with grading, laundry, cleaning, etc and this quick savory bread was the perfect compliment to that delish dish.

Olive Oil and Salt Quick Bread
Adapted from Mark Bittman’s How To Cook Everything Vegetarian

Ingredients:

  • 1/3 cup of extra virgin olive oil
  • 3 cups all purpose flour (I used whole wheat flour)
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1/2 – 1 teaspoon salt, preferably sea salt
  • 1 cup of warm water

To Do:

  1. Heat the oven to 375 and grease an oven proof dish or skillet – 8-9″ is probably best.
  2. Put the flour, baking powder, and salt in a food processor. Turn on the machine and slowly add the olive oil and most of the water.
  3. Process for 30 seconds. The dough should roll into a ball and barely sticky.  If it hasn’t come together yet, add remaining water a tablespoon at a time, processing for 5 seconds each time.  If you want to add herbs, cheese, whatever, to the dough, do it now.
  4. Put the dough into the pan and flatten it until the dough fits to the edges.  Flip and press again. Cover tightly with foil and bake.
  5. After 20 minutes, remove the foil and sprinkle the top with coarse seat salt and herbs (if you like). Bake for another 20 minutes. The top will be golden and it will spring back when touched.

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Posted in Fall Food, Less is more, Make Ahead, Recipes, Soup

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Tofu Mushroom Lettuce Wraps

Posted on July 25, 2010 | Leave a comment

Can you tell that today’s weather in West Michigan was rainy and icky?  I have a lot of posts and have done tons of cooking today.  Don’t worry, I also got all of the laundry done, I’m a girl, so I can multi-task you see.  After my farmer’s market visit this A.M. I had dried mushrooms, some amazing carrots and radishes, beautiful red leaf lettuce, and then some celery and mushrooms from the fridge that were just about to be read their last rites.  So, I took another NY Times recipe and adapted it for my ingredients, tastes, and made it a little more substantial than an appetizer.

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For the Sauce:

  • 2 tablespoons reduced sodium soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar or rice wine vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon red wine (fruity or dry, makes no difference, I used Bogle Petit Sirah-tip: don’t use a wine for cooking you wouldn’t drink and love)
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons Splenda
  • 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
  • 1 teaspoon cornstarch + 1 tablespoon water

For the filling:

  • 8-10 dried mushrooms, soaked in warm water until softened, about 45 minutes (save this liquid it’s a fab base for mushroom soup later, freeze it)
  • 20 or so baby portobella mushrooms chopped up fine, stir fried and carmelized then left to cool
  • 2 tablespoons canola oil
  • 4 celery stalks, strings removed with a vegetable peeler, finely diced (to make 1 cup)
  • 3 carrots, peeled and finely diced (to make 1 cup)
  • 4 scallions, green parts only, trimmed and minced (to make 3/4 cup)
  • 2 ounces firm tofu, pressed and crumbled
  • 1 teaspoon dark sesame oil
  • 2 to 3 tablespoons crushed peanuts or cashews
  • 2 sleeves soba or udon noodles cooked and drained
  • 1 lime sliced
  • grated fresh ginger
  • grated fresh radish
  • mung bean sprouts
  • Hoisin sauce or Black Bean Sauce

1. For the sauce: In a small bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, vinegar, wine, sugar and pepper. In another small bowl, stir together the cornstarch with water. Set bowls aside.

2. Before you begin with the stir-fry portion, make sure all of your ingredients are chopped uniformly, and DRY for the best flavor and texture.  For the filling: Drain mushrooms, trim tough stalks and finely dice mushrooms; there should be about 2 cups with both dry and fresh after they reduce. Place a large wok over high heat and add canola oil. When oil is hot, add mushrooms, celery, carrots and scallions. Stir-fry until celery and carrots are crisp-tender, about 45 seconds. Add soy sauce mixture and stir for 20 seconds. Add cornstarch mixture and stir until thickened, about 30 seconds.

3. Add tofu and toss gently, being careful not to break up tofu too much. Add sesame oil and noodles and toss again. Transfer to a serving bowl and sprinkle with nuts.

To serve:

8 to 12 whole leafy lettuce leafs (I used red leafy lettuce, would be GREAT on napa cabbage leaves too)

Hoisin sauce as needed (ick, I hate Hoisin, I used Black Bean Sauce instead)

Spritz of lime juice to taste, extra sprinkle of nuts and mung bean sprouts, grated ginger and grated radish

WARNING:  this is not a first date dish.  Super duper messy, slurping, soy sauce down your arms dripping, sloppy deliciousness.

Next day:  serve the leftovers on a bed of rice (you will have plenty of leftovers)

If you are unfamiliar with any ingredients or you want to know what you can sub to give the dish a similar flavor, visit Cook’s Thesaurus.

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