Thai Quinoa Salad with Ginger Peanut Dressing

Thai Quinoa Salad with Ginger Peanut Dressing

Ingredients

• ¾ cup uncooked quinoa

• 1-2 cups shredded red cabbage

• 1 red bell pepper, diced

• ½ red onion, diced

• 1 cup shredded carrots

• ½ cup chopped cilantro

• ¼ cup diced green onions

• ½ cup cashew halves or peanuts(honey or dry roasted are good)

• Fresh lime, for a bit of tang

• For the dressing:

• ¼ cup all natural peanut butter

• 1 shallot, chopped

• 3 garlic cloves, chopped

• 2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger

• 3 tablespoons soy sauce

• 2 tablespoons fish sauce

• 1 tablespoon honey (use agave if vegan)

• 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar

• 1 teaspoon sesame oil

• 1 teaspoon olive oil

To cook quinoa: Rinse quinoa with cold water in mesh strainer. In a medium saucepan, bring 1 ½ cups of water to a boil. Add in quinoa and bring mixture to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to low and let simmer for 15 minutes or until quinoa has absorbed all of the water. Remove from heat and fluff quinoa with fork; place in large bowl and set aside to cool for about 10 minutes. You should have a little over 2 cups of quinoa.
To make dressing: Add peanut butter and honey or agave to a medium microwave safe bowl; heat in microwave for 20 seconds. Add in ginger, shallot, garlic, soy sauce, fish sauce, vinegar, and both sesame and olive oil and stir until mixture is smooth and creamy. 
Next fold in red pepper, onion, cabbage, carrots, and cilantro into the quinoa. Garnish with cashews and green onions. Serve chilled or at room temperature with lime wedges if desired.

green bean salad with apricots, almonds and tarragon

GREEN BEAN SALAD with APRICOTS, ALMONDS & TARRAGON
1 lb. haricot verts (or green beans), trimmed
3 apricots, cut into chunks
1/4 cup sliced almonds
1/4 cup feta

FOR DRESSING:
1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
1 shallot, chopped finely
3-4 sprigs of tarragon, remove leaves from stems and chop 


Prepare an ice water bath; set aside. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add a generous amount of salt and the green beans. Cook until bright green, about 2 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer to the ice water bath to stop cooking. Drain, shaking off excess liquid; set aside.


Mix dressing ingredients.  In a large bowl, toss together green beans, apricots, almonds and feta. Pour desired amount of dressing over mixture and toss to coat evenly.  

quin whaaaa??

I'm always on the look out for a tasty new salad.  It's nice to have a big batch on hand for lunches and dinners throughout the week. this particular quinoa salad is filled with herbs, veggies, lemon juice and vinegar. plus it's pretty versatile in terms of herbs and veggies that can be included, and the freshness of the lemon vinaigrette makes it perfect for spring and summer. i just learned that quinoa is a close relative of beets and spinach, part of the reason why it's so healthy.  it's also extra good for you because of its high levels of protein, amino acids, fiber, magnesium, phosphorus and iron. to top it all off, it's gluten-free. go quinoa.  

Refreshing Quinoa Salad

1 cup quinoa

2 cups water

1/2 cucumber, cubed

3 roma or on the vine tomatoes, cubed

4 green onions, chopped

2 tablespoons fresh mint, chopped

1/3 cup italian parsely or cilantro, chopped

1/4 cup basil, chopped

1/3 cup lemon juice

1/2 cup red wine vinegar

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

4 cloves of garlic, chopped

Rinse quinoa in cold water in a fine mesh colander and let drain well. Bring water to a boil. Add quinoa and bring to a full rolling boil. Cover and reduce heat to a simmer; simmer for 5 minutes. Turn off heat and let the quinoa slowly finish for another 10 minutes. Cool in the refrigerator.

Peel and dice cucumber. Dice the tomatoes. Thinly slice green onions. Chop fresh mint,  chop cilantro or parsley and basil. In a bowl mix together lemon juice, vinegar, salt, pepper, garlic and olive oil.

When the quinoa has cooled, toss with cucumber, tomatoes, green onions, herbs and dressing.

Super Italian, Italian Supper

Super Italian, Italian Supper (this is a fake palindrome. And by fake, I mean not really a palindrome at all.)

Warm summer nights call for hot Italian suppers. Lily had us over on Sunday evening to enjoy the sunset, drink a lemon & red wine spritzer and cook up maximum quantities of delicious Italian eats.

Recipes are still being acquired, but here is what was served:

1. Copious amounts of prosciutto & coppa, for starters. This was a meat-pile-mountain on a plate. We were not allowed to know where this meat came from. Apparently, Greg’s friend Jason uncovered a meat goldmine somewhere. Out of principle (that’s right, I have principles), I usually try to avoid eating meat from unnamed, mysterious sources. Not on this day. No, sir. Lily found the irregular cut meat leftovers in the fridge on Monday, and we ate them for dinner again, on day two. So good. No regrets.

2. Appetizer pizza with kalamata olives, onions and other deliciousness, courtesy of Alisha & Ben

3. Wisecrackers with goat cheese, nectarines and honey (already talked about it)

4. Garlic bread with fresh herbs from Lily’s garden, what were these herbs, Kelly? Mint, thyme and basil, perhaps. It tasted good, but no one knows what was in there exactly.

5. Roasted fennel and prosciutto salad with mixed greens from J.Son Santino. This came dressed in a homemade vinaigrette.

6. Beet salad with Arugula from Lily (see recipe below)

7. Braised oxtails also from Lily. She taught us that oxtails are not actually from oxen, but from regular cows. Thanks, teacher, you make my brain smarter each day that I know you.

8. Pasta Alla Checca with Heirloom Tomatoes alla K. Grubenhoff

9. Mine was the strawberry dessert soup (Strawberry Gelato) that no one ever ate. Mwoh mwoh. Here is the lesson of the day, freeze the boiling milk mixture for ice cream or gelato BEFORE pouring into the frozen tub of an ice cream machine. It WILL NOT work if you skip this step or try to freeze the tub AFTER it contains boiling liquid.

Lily’s Roasted Beet Salad with Arugula

INGREDIENTS
Beets, sliced (Roasted in tinfoil at 375 until they are easily sliced or stabbed with a fork)
Arugula

Dressing
1 shallot, chopped
½ cup red wine vinegar
Juice of 1 lemon
Olive oil

Mix dressing ingredients. Marinate roasted beets in dressing for 4+ hours or overnight, if you can. Toss with a few handfuls of arugula right before serving.

salads101...101salads

the minimalist, Mark Bittman, published an article on 101 salads last week. they all take less than 20 minutes and are truly a product of his genius.

here are some of my faves from his list...

astonishing

tomatoes, peaches, red onion, red pepper flakes and cilantro. drizzle with olive oil and lime or lemon juice.

there is no better use of raw carrots

shredded carrots, cumin seeds, olive oil, lemon juice and cilantro. raisins can add some sweetness to the mix.

this will be even better in the fall

slice fennel and crisp apple, and mix with mustardy vinaigrette and parsley.