Red Quinoa and Edadame Salad

Reluctant Entertainer's

Red Quinoa and Edamame Salad

I saw this recipe on Sandy's blog and realized I had most of the ingredients on hand.

I modified Sandy's recipe slightly.

We ate a little bit of the salad, but I'm taking the majority of it to a get together tomorrow night.

David's not a huge quinoa fan, but we all really like edamame.

Surprisingly, the boys really liked this salad.

I did too!

This salad is chock full of protein, fiber, and nutrients.

It's very simple to assemble.

Start by cooking 1 cup of quinoa in 2 cups boiling water as you would rice.

Then toss together with thawed edamame.

Season with an oil dressing and serve at room temperature.



I really like how different it is.

Really, really good!

Double click to print as a 5x7 recipe card.

Bon Appetit!

Roux-Based Gumbo

Gumbo (Roux-Style)

When we were in New Orleans at Christmas, Brennan discovered Gumbo and couldn't get enough.

I think he ordered it at every meal.

I like my mom's Gumbo recipe that is tomato-based that I will make for the family soon and share here.

But Brennan was introduced to the roux-based variety in New Orleans, so I decided to make it for him yesterday (with his help of course).

The old joke goes:

Betty:  I'd love your jambalaya recipe.

Thelma:  First you make a roux...

Betty:  Never mind.

I don't have a lot of patience for making roux on the stove, so I was thrilled to discover Alton Brown's oven-based roux!  I made it for yesterday's Gumbo and it was perfect.

I picked up Gumbo Filé (ground leaves of the sassafras tree) and then read that you use Filé OR okra in Gumbo to thicken it.  Since Gumbo without okra is like a day without sunshine, I made it with okra and served the Filé on the side.  But, it isn't necessary for my recipe below.

You start with Alton's Roux.

Simply mix the flour and oil together and put in a baking dish.  This pie plate was perfect.

Then bake at 350 for an hour.

It comes out perfect and you're ready to put it in your pot to start the Gumbo.

(If you like your Roux darker, then leave it in the oven up to 15 minutes longer).

Add your vegetables and cook for 10 minutes.

Then add sherry and combine well.

If you don't want to use sherry you can just add more broth.

Then add your broth, herbs, spice, crab meat, and Worcestershire sauce.

Simmer for 30 minutes uncovered.

Then add your thawed okra (frozen that's been thawed works really well as a thickener).

Then add your shrimp and heat through.

I tossed the shrimp in a little Old Bay Seasonings before adding them to the Gumbo.

I made a big pot of rice.

The only other condiments were the Gumbo Filé and Tabasco.

I like my Gumbo with a lot of rice.

If you prefer yours like a soup, just use more broth.

You'll notice we didn't even bother to remove the bay leaves - we were all anxious to get to the Gumbo.

I figured we'd just treat it like the baby in the King Cake!

I was a winner!

This Gumbo as a huge hit yesterday. 

I'll certainly be making it again and again.

As with any soups there are endless combinations. 

I'll probably add chicken or sausage next time, but it certainly doesn't need it.

Double click to print as a 5x7 recipe card.

Bon Appetit!

Vegetable Spring Rolls

Vegetable Spring Rolls

I was pretty sure I was going to keep this recipe to add to my FAIL list, but it ended up being surprisingly OK, which is why I don't have a great after photo.

I love, love, love Spring Rolls.

I had my first Spring Rolls in Hawaii - my friend's mom was Vietnamese and would make them a lot, from vegetables and herbs (like mint) from her garden.

I have made lots of Egg Rolls, but had never tried Spring Rolls, so picked up a packet of Spring Roll Skins to try my hand.

Once we sat down to lunch, I reminded the family that (like always) I appreciated them trying the new dishes I was making, but they could help themselves to a peanut butter sandwich if they didn't care for the meal.  I was already planning my own peanut butter sandwich.

Surprisingly - everyone liked the Spring Rolls. 

David even said he thought he liked them better than Egg Rolls.  Well, what do you know?

My main concern with Spring Rolls was that I found conflicting information online about how to prepare them.  Basically - do they need to be cooked after assembling?

A couple of sites said they did, so I fried them like Egg Rolls.

Then I found a couple of recipes where you don't cook them after assembling.

Bottom line - I'm trying them again, following different recipes, to see if I can come up with an even better way to make these.  But for now, he's how I made:

Batch #1 of Vegetable Spring Rolls.

I started by asking my helper to make a delicious filling.

We sauteed cabbage, carrots, and chopped garlic in a little olive oil until it was tender.

Then we added left over Chana Dal and cooked Japanese noodles.

As with our recent Egg Roll recipe, Brennan then added a mixture of corn starch, molasses, and soy sauce to the vegetables and combined it well.

Our filling was ready.

Spring Roll skins are made from rice flour, where Egg Roll wrappers are made from wheat, water, and eggs.  They need a little extra prep before they're ready to use.

Aren't they cool?

You prep them by soaking them for a minutes in hot water.

One website recommended a pie plate, perfect.

Can you see it in there?

Then we placed them on a paper towel to fill.

They tear easily so you have to be careful.

You just fill and roll them up like an egg roll.

At this point, according to some online recipes, you can eat them as is.

I'm not so sure - I plan to do more investigating.

But we cooked them in olive oil on the stove and served them with soy sauce and Sweet and Sour Sauce as we did egg rolls.  I was surprised but they were actually very good.

Again, no great after shots here, because they seemed like quite a mess to me as we were cooking them.  But looks can be deceiving, apparently!

You can add a variety of cooked meats, vegetables, noodles, grains, rice, and seasonings to your filling.

The combinations are endless - which is half the fun.

Double click to print as a 5x7 recipe card.

Ăn ngon nhé

Vietnamese for Bon Appetit!



Vegetable Fried Rice

Vegetable Fried Rice

A dish that is always popular in our house is any kind of fried rice.

I had a lot of vegetables on hand so made up a big dish of Vegetable Fried Rice with Brennan yesterday.

It was really good.

I started by heating a little sesame oil in the frying pan and chopping up some Daikon radish and garlic to cook for 3 minutes.

I used a mandolin to slice 3 carrots and cook them as well.

Then I added a pinch of salt and let the vegetables saute for a few minutes.

I like brown rice, but my family doesn't, so I cooked 1 c of white rice (it makes 3 cups of rice) and then added it to the vegetables.

I drizzled 3 Tbsp of water on top, along with soy sauce and rice wine vinegar.

I tossed it and let it cook for 10 minutes or so.



Just before moving to a serving bowl I added some chopped broccoli and let it cook for a couple of minutes.

It was good re-heated for dinner as well!

Other great ingredients could be:

**Shrimp or Chicken

**Water chesnuts

**Bamboo shoots

**Scrambled egg

**Edamame

**Scallions

**Cabbage

**Peas

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食飯

sihk faahn

Cantonese for Bon Appetit!



Daikon and Carrot Pickles

Vietnamese Daikon and Carrot Pickles

So my guess is you're not thinking this dish sounds all that delicious?
It really is though!

Homemade refrigerator pickles are supposed to be really good for your immune system.
Many vegetarians, vegans, and others on medically-recommended diets (like those recovering from chemo) eat them daily.

I made up a jar and we've all been eating them for the past couple of days.
I've never made cooked pickles before (through the canning process), so I was happy to see how easy this refrigerated pickles recipe was.

This version is traditionally Vietnamese.  I modified several recipes I found on various recipe sites.

You start by julienning 3 carrots and Daikon radish and placing them in a bowl.

Sprinkle 2 tsp of sugar and 1 tsp of salt over the vegetables.  Toss them until they are tender enough that you can bend a piece of Daikon without it snapping.  It took about 5 minutes.

Then place the vegetables in a collander and rinse and drain them well.
In the bowl add 1/2 c sugar, 1 c white vinegar, and 1 c warm water.
Mix it well to dissolve the sugar.

Pack the vegetables in a clean glass jar and pour the vinegar mixture in.
Seal and refrigerate 24 hours before eating.

I am sure you can substitute a sugar alternative for the real sugar in this recipe, but I just followed the normal directions. 

Ways recommended to enjoy the pickles:

**In place of coleslaw or sauerkraut
**As a side dish with your meal
**On pork or beef sandwiches
**Chopped up in fried rice
**Chopped up on a salad
**In a spring roll

Double click to print as a 5x7 recipe card.

Ăn ngon nhé Vietnamese for Bon Appetit!