Shaved Fennel Salad

The Shaved Fennel Salad from Super Natural Every Day is my new favorite twist on the cucumber salad I've made for the past few years.  Like many who have the book, I've gravitated toward recipes with beautiful photos, and this salad has none.  When Heidi posted it on her website, complete with photos to remedy the fact that it's photo-less in the book, I took notice and mentally filed it away to make.  Whenever we start getting new goodies from the CSA again, I like to search the sites I love for recipes I haven't tried, and I rediscovered this one.  The recipe instructs you to let the sliced zucchini sit to absorb the lemon juice and dill for 20 minutes to an hour, which I found to be too little time.  (The first time I made this, I let it sit in the fridge for 2 days out of necessity, and the second time I actually followed the instructions with poor results.)  The lemony salad is a great match for the arugula, but does not work at all with regular lettuce.

The salad also made a lovely accompaniment to the Rye Soda Bread and Dill Butter from the same book, which we took on a picnic to Duke Farms (a lovely picnic for a lovely place).

Roasted Broccoli and Shrimp

Hi! I swear, I'm trying to post more often now that I'm cooking more. This month the 101 Cookbooks Library is featuring Melissa Clark, NY Times food writer and someone who understands the challenges faced by home cooks.

I started with a roasted shrimp and broccoli recipe, something super simple and easy that is still healthy. I love the cumin, coriander, and just a bit of spice - I used red pepper flakes. Next time, I'll roast the broccoli for a bit less time, so there will be some crunch left to it.

And I'm looking forward to some more quick, simple, healthy, and most of all tasty meals from Melissa Clark's books.

2012 Whole Living Healthy Detox: Week 2

Well, week 2 is over, but it was much easier than week 1.  We made quite a few tasty meals.  We started  the week off with a family Christmas party - we brought baked salmon with chimichurri sauce.  We also revamped one of our favorites, lemon pepper shrimp, to be detox-friendly (and MUCH healthier).  Typically, this dish consists of whole wheat orzo and broccoli sauteed with garlic, topped with shrimp in a lemony, peppery, garlicky, buttery sauce.  We left out the orzo and we left out the butter, making the shrimp with only the lemon, pepper, garlic, and a bit of olive oil, so there wasn't much of a sauce.  We were very pleased with the results!

Throughout the week, we also ate our Dark Days meal of beans and cabbage, and I improved upon my favorite smoothie from last week, the Carrot Mango Smoothie, by adding some strawberries to it as well.  We used up the only soup in the freezer that we can eat, a veggie-filled base for Soup au Pistou, to which we added white beans and a cube of basil puree to give it flavor.  One day for lunch at work, I had half a bag of frozen edamame for lunch, which surprisingly filled me up a lot!

I also managed to squeeze in another recipe from Plenty, one of the two featured cookbooks for January.  The recipe is for Saffron Cauliflower, shown up above, which we ate as a side with salmon.  Because you cook the cauliflower, onions, and golden raisins in the oven, covered, the saffron flavor steams into them.  If you really like saffron (I find it overrated, but that's just me) you will probably like this dish.  I would have preferred if the cauliflower mix was left open to roast and crisp up a little, but it was an OK dish.  I probably won't make it again.

This week is week 3, the final week of the detox.  It's going to take all my willpower not to go straight back to sugar and coffee and bacon!  Wish me luck!

Salmon with Red Pepper and Hazelnut Salsa

As you probably already guessed, this detox is tough.  There is such a limited amount of things that I am permitted to eat.  Salmon is one, and even with chimichurri sauce (OMG, I love it) I was starting to get bored of it really quickly.  I also want to be able to participate, at least a little bit, in the featured cookbook thing for the month - we're doing Ottolenghi and Plenty together, two books I've been dying to cook from, and there are only a select few recipes I can make from them while doing this detox.  As it turns out, I had this salmon recipe flagged already, and I was excited to be able to try it.  I knew when we started mixing together the salsa ingredients that it was going to be a huge hit.

Honestly, I could eat this salsa every day, on anything.  It is so good.  It sticks to your expectations about what a salsa should be while totally blowing them away.  I am obsessed with it and I can't wait to have it again.  This is the way salmon was meant to be eaten.  I had my leftovers for lunch the next day, but Ken ate that second serving right after finishing the first, and I was tempted to do the same.  (I'm glad I prolonged my gratification by saving it.)  As a huge bonus, this was really simple and easy to make, so I expect it to become a staple in our house.

A few notes on the prep... mainly reminders to myself :)  Roast the hazelnuts and the peppers at the same time.  Cook the salmon opposite of the recipe directions, so that you get a crispy skin.  Make the salsa the day before if possible (oh, and double it while you're at it!) and this will come together in a flash.

Eggplant Stuffed With Rice and Tomatoes

This recipe for Eggplant Stuffed With Rice and Tomatoes appeared in the NY Times Recipes for Health with a collection of stuffed vegetable recipes for late summer vegetables - zucchini, eggplant, tomatoes, and bell peppers.  It's been on my radar for a few weeks, and I decided to give it a try.  As I often mention, I cook for two, not twenty as I sometimes would like to believe, so when I started to take out the ingredients for this recipe, I opted to make roughly half of it.  Even so, not all of it was eaten :( but what was eaten was very good.  I tried the dish both cold (as suggested) and hot and it worked both ways.  The thick, vibrant sauce, made from grated tomatoes and interesting spices, made it even better.  I ended up cooking the dish for far longer than intended - I opted for brown basmati rice, so it needed a bit more time to cook.  (My mom tried the related recipe for stuffed tomatoes, and the rice didn't cook at all.  So I was cautious when starting, but this recipe called specifically for uncooked rice.)  I omitted the mint because I didn't have any, and the cilantro was really enough herb for me, especially with the strong flavor of the sauce.  This was a tasty "farewell to summer" recipe, which I ate with a friend at a picnic table in a sunny park on my lunch break.  I'll be keeping this in mind as an eggplant recipe for next summer.

Spicy Vegetarian Chili

I love chili.  Now that it's getting cooler, it's pretty much all I want to eat.  I'm looking for recipes to use up the last of the summer produce - this Spicy Vegetarian Chili did the trick.

I followed the recipe pretty closely, though I used a bit less lemon zest/juice, omitted the fennel seeds (yuck) and used two serrano peppers, seeds and all.  That was a bit of a mistake - I should have knocked out a few of the seeds, as it was good but over-spicy.  My mom ended up sending it all home with me.  (I was hoping to share, but I can't say I'm too disappointed...)  For this recipe we cracked open our first jar of home-canned whole tomatoes.  They are super tasty and have a strong and delicious tomato flavor.  I can't wait to use them in more dishes over the winter.  Hopefully I'll get the chance to put up a few more before tomatoes are totally gone.

I can make variations of chili all winter, but I look forward to next summer's produce and revisiting the hearty and healthy chili recipes I've found this year.

Fattoush (A Variation)

 

I found this recipe in Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone.  It appealed to me immediately when I saw sumac in the list of ingredients - a spice I love but can't find much use for.  The other main ingredients - cucumber, tomato, pepper, and herbs - are widely available right now.  Just reading the recipe made me realize that sumac is the spice in the side salads at Sahara - I have been trying to figure this out for years.  When I tasted the salad, it was confirmed.  I followed the recipe except for excluding the mint, and I used two small yellowish-orange peppers instead of the green ones called for.  I also skipped the toasted pita.  I don't have any pita, and I don't like soggy pita either.  I ate this with a fork.

This is a bright, simple, flavorful summer salad.  I think it would be perfect for a picnic.  I expect to be making this again soon.

Fruit and Nut Filling for Baked Zucchini

This is the second recipe I tried from Tender, and it was so much better than the first.  I did run into several issues - my zucchini didn't cook through, for one, even though I was cooking much less of it than the recipe called for - but I was able to overcome them pretty well.  One note for myself for next time is to omit the breadcrumbs.  If this amount of filling is needed, double the couscous instead.  The breadcrumbs, though I had to improvise them using lavash which may have affected their success, did not really add anything to the dish.  The yogurt-dill sauce was delicious and compensated for the slight dryness of the couscous filling.  I would also love to try this with the fat round zucchini that you can actually hollow out and stuff.  Quinoa could make a nice substitute for the couscous and would add protein to the meal.  I could also see turning this into a kind of grain salad... chop up the zucchini (maybe grill it first?) and mix it all together.

Indian Spiced Cucumber Salad

I made this cucumber salad to use up some of the cucumbers in the fridge.  It consists of diced cucumbers, lemon juice, two diced serrano chiles, peanuts and large-flake coconut, cumin and mustard seeds, and a handful of cilantro thrown in at the end.  As I was making it I couldn't help but doubt myself.  I really had no idea what it would taste like and it was not a combination of things I would have ever thought to try.  I didn't think it could possibly taste good.  But it did.  We ate it with some store-bought whole wheat naan bread.  It would be a great side salad to surprise people with at a picnic.

I'm not ready to do my CSA post for this week yet so I figured I would post this instead and work on that tomorrow.  Cheers!

Red Lentil and Chard Soup

I've had Ottolenghi: The Cookbook sitting on my shelf for a while now.  I like to flip through and look at the pictures.  But the recipes are usually a little too demanding for me.  I've heard only success stories from people who have made recipes from this book, but I just didn't have the time or energy.

We wasted a lot of Swiss chard from the farm last year, so this year I am determined to make better use of it, and this Ottolenghi recipe used the first of the Swiss chard this year.  Red lentils, sauteed onions, Swiss chard, cilantro (coriander, as they call it), plus seasonings with which you can't go wrong - cumin, cinnamon, coriander seed, garlic, a bit of butter, and a squeeze of lemon at the end.  The smell is filling my house right now.  I wish I could send the scent through the internet.

As with most of the recipes in this book, this Red Lentil and Chard Soup is pretty time consuming.  I cooked the red lentils about 36 hours in advance - I didn't have time to do the whole thing right then.  I left that on the back burner while I made something else for dinner, then finished it in the day after next in the morning - it took about 2 hours with all the chopping and such.  Just the delicious scent is worth it though, and the flavors are ones that I tend to love.

Raw Tuscan Kale Salad

This one comes from the pages of In the Kitchen with a Good Appetite, by Melissa Clark of the New York Times.  I know her from the XYZ series.  Fortunately for you (and for me, since I didn't feel like digging through the book when I made this) Heidi has featured the recipe on her site.

I, too, was skeptical.  Raw Tuscan Kale Salad.  Raw kale.  Kale is thick and sturdy and the opposite of delicate spinach.  Somehow it works and I love it.  Lemony, garlicky, and of course cheese makes everything better, doesn't it?  The red pepper flakes add a kick, and I forgot the black pepper and didn't miss it at all.

I wanted this to sit and absorb the dressing (and what a coincidence, that's a step in the directions...) so I tossed it together right away when I got back from my workout and let it sit while I took a shower.  By the time dinner was ready it was pretty good.  By lunch the next day it was even better.  I'll make this again and again with all the cavolo nero I can get my hands on.

Herbed Shrimp and White Bean Salad

We made this Herbed Shrimp and White Bean Salad for dinner down the shore this weekend.  We all agreed it was more of a lunch salad.  I loved the peppery arugula and the variety of herbs.  Shrimp is always good.  I could see using a bit more dressing next time.  The bean mixture and dressing would be so delicious tossed with a hearty grain for a different take on the salad.  What a delicious summer salad.  I'll be taking some inspiration from this for other fresh, light salads.

Greek Yogurt Ice Cream

When I first flipped through Ancient Grains for Modern Meals, this Greek Yogurt Ice Cream was one of the most appealing recipes to me.  I've had the barrel of my ice cream maker in my freezer for a while now, waiting to make some good ice cream, and so I gave this one a shot.  It contains Greek yogurt (I used 0% Fage), heavy cream, honey, lemon juice, and limoncello.  It came out pretty good, even though I used nonfat yogurt.  One thing I want to try next time is cutting down on the honey.  The flavor of the honey is great, but the sweetness was just too much.  As you can see in the photo, I topped it with some sliced strawberries.  Yum!

Lemon Quinoa with Currants, Dill, and Zucchini

When I first heard about the new book Ancient Grains for Modern Meals, I was pretty stoked about it.  I ordered it not too long after I heard about it and as I flipped through, I was really excited to try some of the unique recipes.

Before I had a chance to make anything, Heidi featured this quinoa recipe on her blog, 101 Cookbooks.

A few days later I gave it a shot.  Unfortunately, I was pretty disappointed.  I only had a bite.  It was not appealing to me at all beyond that.  I think it was the dill - I don't think I like dill - and the over-lemon flavor.  I had actually had doubts about putting in that much lemon juice, but I talked myself out of it and did it anyway.  Heidi halved the amount of currants, which sounded like a really good idea AFTER I had already made it, and she also added feta, which was kind of a "duh" moment for me... how did I not think of that?  It was on the recipe page as a suggested variation!

I also tried Heidi's suggestion of making quinoa patties with the leftovers.  I only had a bite of these as well.  I burned most of them (yay!) and they were pretty dry and needed some kind of sauce BUT I liked the mix much better in patty form than I did originally.  Unfortunately, I doubt I will be making this again.  If I do attempt it, I will be trying a variation that does not include dill or so much lemon juice.  But I have a feeling that some of the other recipes in the book will make up for this.

Pan-Seared Scallops with Arugula Salad

For this arugula salad, I used a lemon-olive oil dressing with salt and pepper, shaken in a little glass jar.  We pan-seared the scallops, seasoned with salt and pepper, and de-glazed with white wine.  An easy weeknight meal using arugula from our CSA.  I ate double the salad part!

Lemony Ravioli with Baby Broccoli, Onions, and Walnuts

Here's one that I made up myself :)  Orange-striped ravioli, filled with asparagus and Gruyere, plus sliced onions and baby broccoli florets and stems sautéed with garlic, topped with toasted walnuts and a lemon-olive oil dressing.

Roasted Chicken with Potatoes

Toward the end of April, I was trying to use up some of the biggest things in my freezer.  I had a whole chicken in there and decided it would be a good weekend project to figure out how to roast a whole chicken.  I turned to Mark Bittman (via How to Cook Everything) and I found not only several flavor options for roasting a chicken, but also how to add potatoes or roasted vegetables, and how to carve said roasted chicken.

Of course, I didn't actually touch this chicken at any point (what are boyfriends for?) but I did everything else.  I used rosemary from my new potted herb plants out on our balcony and I think it worked really well with the potatoes.

I certainly have no intention of regularly roasting chickens, but it's nice to know it's super easy!

Harissa Ravioli

The Harissa Ravioli is this week's second Super Natural Every Day recipe.  It's somewhat similar to the Harissa Spaghettini recipe I posted last month - they both have a spicy, lemony harissa oil dressing.  This one, however, uses ravioli as the pasta (we used a spinach/ricotta stuffed ravioli) and broccoli florets.  We added feta to the Harissa Spaghettini, and this recipe actually calls for it.

We liked this a lot.  We are really digging the stuffed pasta dishes.  Here, I could have swapped out some of the broccoli - maybe for some of the leftover asparagus from the Tortellini Salad.  I used half of the harissa called for, and it was plenty spicy - this stuff is pretty strong.  I omitted the black olives out of laziness (and Ken hates them) and we decided on toasted slivered almonds for the crunchy aspect, but I'd like to try the pepitas next time.  The recipe says it serves 4, but we used slightly less ravioli and polished it off between the two of us.  I see some more stuffed pasta dishes in our future!

Tortellini Salad

I chose a few recipes to make from Super Natural Every Day this week and bought all the ingredients - now I'm committed to making them!  First up this week was the Tortellini Salad, with crisp broccoli and asparagus, creamy avocado, a lemony-garlicky dressing, the bright flavor of cilantro, and crunchy toasted almonds.  It's served at room temperature, which is perfect for warmer weather.  It wouldn't be too difficult to vary the vegetables, and I could even see doing a grilled version - grilled asparagus or zucchini instead of quickly cooking it in the pasta water - even leftover grilled vegetables would work well here.  We used an asiago-ricotta tortelloni (they're bigger than the little tortellini) which brought a great saltiness that tied the outside of the pasta to the inside.  I'd like to try tortellini next time, since it would more closely match the size of the cut vegetables.  I can't wait to get deeper into this book - so far I'm very pleased with the recipes I've made.

Fettuccine with Asparagus Puree

Here's another one from Super Natural Cooking - Fettuccine with Asparagus Puree.  I've been trying to get rid of certain things in my freezer and I quickly got sick of eating microwaved frozen asparagus as a side to things.  When I saw this recipe, I thought it would be perfect to try.  I'm a fan of vegetable "pesto" on pasta - lots of nutrients without having to spear each piece.  You basically just puree asparagus, spinach, and common pesto ingredients - lemon, grated cheese, garlic - and use it as a sauce for pasta.  The recipe called for pine nuts, but since I don't have any and they are $$$ right now, I opted for blanched slivered almonds, which worked just fine.  You could feed this (and the Winter Pasta) to kids and call it Monster Pasta or something.  It's neon green, so what better way to coerce children into eating veggies?  (It might work for adults, too.)