Texas Caviar Rice and Beans

Texas Caviar Rice and Beans

 

This recipe comes straight from the July 2013 Southern Living, and is a really good recipe for a Meatless Monday, or if you want leftovers for a couple of lunches.  David really liked this dish, which always helps :)

 

My very quick iPhone photos don't do the beauty of this dish justice, but here they are.

 

 

Start by mixing up a Texas Vinaigrette of olive oil, fresh lime juice, chopped fresh cilantro, hot sauce of your choice, minced garlic, chili powder, cumin, Kosher salt, and black pepper. 

 

Then drain and rinse a can each of black-eyed peas and black beans.  Place in a bowl (or a saucepan like I did) and add 1/3 c finely chopped roasted red bell peppers, and 1/4 c finely chopped poblano pepper (I skipped this).  Add half of the vinaigrette and let sit for awhile (20 minutes or so).

 

 

 

Make up Basmati rice.  I had brown Basmati so I followed the direction, but any rice would work well in this dish.

 

Heat the beans on the stovetop (the recipe suggests doing it in the bowl in the microwave - either way), then serve.

 

 

 

Options for serving with this rice and bean caviar:

Chopped Romaine

Warmed Tortillas

Shredded Cheese

Tortilla Chips

Remaining Vinaigrette

Halved Grape Tomatoes

Chopped Cilantro

Thinly Sliced Celery

Thinly Sliced Green Onions

Salsa

Pickled  Jalapeño  Peppers

Guacamole

Sour Cream

Lime Wedges

 

 

 

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Enjoy!

 

 

Dill and Chive Peas

Dill and Chive Peas

 

This quick and easy side vegetable comes from the October/November 2012 Taste of Home magazine.

 

We like peas around here, so I thought I'd give this a try.  It couldn't be simpler.

 

I heated frozen peas in a Corning Ware dish according to the package directions.

I drained out the little bit of excess water.

 

Then I mixed in the other remaining ingredients - butter, Kosher salt, fresh chives, dill, and lemon pepper.

 

And served immediately!

 



 

They're very tasty, and so quick to make.

The original recipe calls for fresh dill, but I used dried dill.

I'd like to try it with fresh dill the next time I think to pick some up!

 

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Enjoy!

 

Roasted Garlic-Sweet Pea Spread

Roasted Garlic-Sweet Pea Spread

I found this recipe in the March 2012 Southern Living and immediately ripped it out, along with the other 4 green pea recipes the page included.  This one sounded great for a party appetizer, so I made it yesterday.  I've modified it somewhat from the original.

You start by snipping off the pointed end of a garlic bulb and placing it on a piece of tin foil.

Then you drizzle 1 Tbsp olive oil over the bulb and fold the foil up, sealing it well.

Cook it at 425* for 30 minutes.  Then let it sit for 10 minutes.

I blanched peas in boiling, salted water for 2 minutes, then drained them and put them in the food processor, along with Parmesan, basil, mint, and lemon juice. 

Then I squeezed out the roasted garlic into the food processor, making sure to avoid any garlic papers.  I processed the mixture up while drizzling in olive oil.

Then I seasoned with Kosher salt and black pepper to taste, transferred it to a serving bowl, covered, and chilled it until the party.

Last night I served the pea dip with crackers, but I think it would be great with pita bread, baquette, or vegetables as well.

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Enjoy!

Really great taste, lots of requests for the recipe!

Homemade Hummus

Homemade Hummus

Recipe from Sandy Thomas

I've shared a few of Sandy's recipes that I've slightly modified for my family's tastes.

Her recipes are so good, and easy to make, and are dishes that we all really like.

Sandy is a Holistic Health Coach and friend.  If you are local, you should consider her cooking classes that start up again in the Fall.  I had such a great time attending them this spring!

Find out more about Sandy's services at www.zenchoice.com

Our family really likes hummus.  David prefers it on bread, pitas, or these new lentil chips that I found at our local health food store.

While I like hummus on chips any time, I usually use it is as a dip with vegetables instead of ranch dressing.

I understand that hummus is originally from Egypt, but is very popular throughout the Middle East, and luckily now in the U.S.!

I usually have one of these packages on hand, but last year started making hummus when I realized how easy it was, and how I could make it without the additional preservatives.

I've followed a few different recipes for hummus that are essentially very similar.

But I liked Sandy's a lot when we made it in class, so this is the one that I'll probably stick with going forward.

This recipe makes about 3 cups of basic hummus.

You can divide the hummus like we did and make different varieties once you have your basic recipe made. 

The seasoning and flavoring possibilities are endless!

Fresh hummus can be kept in the refrigerator for about a week.

My helper made this dish for us.

He methodically got out all the necessary ingredients, placed them in the food processor, then pulsed it to the consistency we like - pretty smooth.  He scraped down the sides of the food processor once, but overall it took about 5 minutes from pantry to finished product.

We used 2 cans of chickpeas, rinsed and drained, 3 cloves of garlic, juice from one lemon, olive oil, black pepper, Kosher salt, cumin, tahini, and water.

I buy tahini at Kroger.  It's much like peanut butter, but a little thinner and is made from sesame seeds.

The only modification I made from Sandy's original recipe was to add a little more olive oil and water to make it a little bit wetter, like the Sabra brand.

Once you have this basic hummus made, you can dig in, or you can make any number of different varieties.  Here are some of the varieties Sandy shared and that I've made in the past.

Cucumber Dill

David asked for the cucumber/dill variety the night we made this batch of hummus.

So I took 1 cup of the hummus and added about 1/3 c of chopped cucumber (skin on), and 1 Tbsp chopped fresh dill.  It was fantastic with vegetables!

Roasted Red Pepper

I've also made red pepper hummus in the past by adding in 1/4 c jarred roasted red peppers (well drained) into the food processor before serving.  This is fantastic on pita.

Pine Nut & Garlic

I made a pine nut and garlic version one night for a party by adding 3 additional cloves of garlic into the food processor, then topping with 3 Tbsp pine nuts before serving.  This was a big hit.

Cilantro Chimichurri

For a Mexican-themed get together I made a cilantro chimichurri recipe by using ingredients in classic chimichurri sauce (which I absolutely love).  I added cilantro, parsley, red pepper flakes, lime juice and zest, and just a splash of soy sauce and Balsamic vinegar to my basic hummus.

Sun Dried Tomato

One of my favorite varieties is the sun dried tomato version.  I just added 1/3 c of jarred sun dried tomatoes in oil to the food processor.  Great on crostini.

Olive Tapenade

I love, love, love olives and tapenade in general.  I made a tapenade hummus one time but it wasn't my favorite.  I added extra garlic and olive oil, lemon juice and zest, capers, and a splash of Balsamic.  Once I took the hummus out of the food processor, I mixed in coarsely chopped Kalamata olives.  I might need to play with this recipe again because it sounds delicious as I'm typing it!

Hummus is healthy, flexible, and delicious.

What's your favorite variety?

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بالهنا و الشفاء!
(Egyptian for Bon Appetit!)

Baked Fish with Carrot and Leek Puree

Gillian McKeith's

Baked Fish with Carrot and Leek Puree

Last week I bought a leek on impulse, and realized last night I needed to use it soon.

I found this recipe in my new You Are What You Eat cookbook by Gillian McKeith and thought I'd try it out since I had all the other ingredients on hand!

I started by cleaning and chopping 4 carrots and a leek.

In case you weren't aware, leeks are very dirty inside so they need to be cut open lengthwise and rinsed well.

Then I added a vegetable bouillon cube.

I buy this brand at Kroger, and really like it.

I just barely covered the vegetables with boiling water, then let it simmer with the top on for 10 minutes or so, until the carrots were tender.

Then I pureed the vegetables and broth using my handy handheld blender ("soup puree-er" Brennan calls it).  My mom got me this for Christmas a couple of years ago and I love it.

At the same time I seasoned tilapia with salt and pepper and cooked it at 400* until flaky - about 10 minutes.

Then I cooked frozen garden peas in boiling water for about 3 minutes.

I drained them, reserving 1 Tbsp of the liquid, and tossed the peas with olive oil and cleaned, chopped fresh mint.  Thomas would like me to point out that he went outside in the rain to pick the mint from our pots.  Such a helper.

I seasoned the peas with a little Kosher salt and black pepper, then I smashed the pea mixture up a little with the back on my spatula.

To plate the dish you place some of the carrot and leek puree on the plate. 

Then lay a piece of fish on top, then top off with your peas.

I was really surprised with how well this dish went over. 

The carrot and leek puree was really delicate and flavorful.

Everyone in my family loves tilapia, so I knew that would be an easy sell.

And the peas were really tasty.

No leftovers at all!

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Enjoy!

Asian Noodle Salad

Asian Noodle Salad

This recipe is inspired ny one I received from the chef who leads the Healthy Cooking classes I'm currently taking on Fridays. 

It sounded like a great recipe for our family tonight.

A big thank you to Sandy for a bunch of new recipes to try!

Like most recipes I make, I customized this one.

I used noodles and veggies that I had on hand.

I decided to use Mei Fun rice noodles that I had in the pantry since this was an Asian inspired dish.

The original recipe says that you could use spaghetti, or really any noodles.

Most rice noodles require soaking for a few minutes before boiling just like you would spaghetti, so I soaked it for about 3 minutes, drained it and put it in boiling water until done.

The results. 
I rinsed it in cold water and drained it very well.

While the noodles were cooking, I sliced up some vegetables I had on hand and sauteed them in olive and sesame oil until tender.  I seasoned with garlic powder and a little Kosher salt.

For this dish I sliced 2 carrots, 3 large napa cabbage leaves, 3 scallions, and half a bag of snow peas.

I tossed the noodles with Thai Peanut Sauce and mixed in the sauteed vegetables.

Then topped with chopped peanuts.

It was really good, and everyone asked that I add it to my list of recipes that we use again and again!

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Enjoy!



Bob's Red Mill Soup Mixes

Bob's Red Mill

Soup Mixes

I really like Bob's Red Mill packaged foods.

I find them in our health store and in Kroger locally.

They are all natural and taste great.

Tonight I made this Vegi Soup Mix for the first time.

It is full of lentils, split peas, barley, and tiny pasta.

And it couldn't be easier to make.

I brought 8 c of vegetable broth to a boil and added 2 c of the soup mix.

Then I let it simmer on low for an hour.

Served with heated crusty bread - it was a great starter for tonight's meal!

Enjoy!

Black Eyed Peas and Corn Bread

Black Eyed Peas and Corn Bread

We all love a simple dinner. 

I decided to make black eyed peas from scratch (a bag of dried peas) and knew a batch of iron skillet cornbread would be the perfect complement.

I made the peas in the crockpot and it couldn't be simpler.

I didn't have any ham to season them with, but I did have some leftover shredded rotisserie chicken so I used that instead, along with chicken broth.  It was really, really delicious!

It doesn't look like much, but you basically add everything to the crockpot, then cook on medium for 6 hours.

And that's really all there is too it!

It was really, really good.

I made up a skillet of cornbread following the instructions on the package and dinner!

To reheat the next day, I put it in a pot on the stove and added a cup of broth.

This recipe is basically from what I had on hand, and what I thought sounded like it would work well.

You can change up the ingredients easily for this recipe.

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Y'all Enjoy!



Chana Dal

Chana Dal

(Bengal Gram Dal)

Recently I picked up a bag of legumes that I had never seen before but thought would be fun to try out.

I found Chana Dal in the Indian section at Jungle Jim's International Market in Cincinnati.

Thanks to Google, I knew I could find a recipe or two for this yellow looking pea.

I did, indeed, find lots of recipes online for Chana Dal, and many many blogs and website talking about the great nutritional value (it's a 5 on the glycemic index!) of this cousin to the chickpea.

I married several recipes to come up with my own version of Chana Dal.

It is absolutely delicious!

source

You start by soaking a cup of Chana Dal in water for 2 hours.
Drain and pick through.

Then boil 3 c of water on the stove and add the Chana Dal.  Cook on low for 30 minutes.
Then add spices and simmer.

Heat a little oil in a small frying pan and add mustard seeds and garlic.

Too much oil here.

Once the mustard seeds have popped and the garlic has lightly browned, add all to the Chana Dal.

The boys thought it was corn while I was cooking it.
Does look like it with the turmeric added!

I served the Chana Dal with Pappadam that I also picked up at the store.

They're like little Indian tortillas, made from lentil and rice flours.
You dip your fingers in oil and smear a little on each Pappadam and then microwave them for 50 seconds to make them softer and easier to fold up.

The Chana Dal was delicious.  Everyone in the family liked them, and so good for you!
The Pappadam were OK but I'd like to experiment with other ways of using them.

I could see using Chana Dal in a variety of ways:  plain, as a dish with rice, as a side dish with a curry, in egg rolls...


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आप का खाना स्वादिष्ट हो
(āp kā khānā svādiṣṭa ho)
Hindi for Bon Appetit!

Linguine with Scallops and Peas

Real Simple's

Linguine with Scallops and Peas

I found this recipe in the September 2011 edition of Real Simple magazine and I modified it for our tastes. 

You can add Panko bread crumbs, cooked with butter and lemon zest to the top if you like.

I think it sounds like a delicious addition, but I have two who don't care for Panko so I omitted this step.

Cook linguine in salted water, adding frozen peas during the last 2 minutes of cooking.

Drain, reserving some of the pasta liquid.

Thaw (if necessary) bay scallops (which I had on hand) or sea scallops and pat dry.

Sear on both sides in melted butter and toss together with the pasta and peas.

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Enjoy!