Mediterranean Grain Salad

Mediterranean Grain Salad

I really love the versatility of a grain salad.  This version comes from Sandy who taught me the yumminess of this kind of dish.  It's great as a side dish, a main dish, to take to a pot luck, and keeps for a couple of days easily in the fridge.  This version was especially yummy!

 

You start with 6 cups of cooked grains - whatever you might have on hand.

I had made couscous (not actually a grain) and brown Basmati rice before and froze them to use later.  So I pulled out some of each and defrosted them.

 

But you could use any grain, or combination of grains including rice, quinoa, barley, couscous, etc.

 

Once I was ready to make this dish, I heated the rice and couscous in the microwave for a couple of minutes to take the chill off and combined them in my large mixing bowl. 

 

To my mixed grains I added a can of chickpeas (rinsed & drained), a jar of Kalamata olives (drained), chopped scallions, a chopped cucumber and fresh basil.  I mixed it all up together and seasoned with garlic powder, Kosher salt, and black pepper.

 

Because I wanted the boys to eat this dish as well, I didn't add tomatoes to the dish, but halved some cherry tomatoes for David and me to top ours with.  If you have tomato lovers at your house, you can incorporate the fresh or sun-dried tomatoes in your grains with the other ingredients.

 

Then I added bottled Balsamic vinaigrette, tossed the salad together, and served it alongside my other dishes for dinner.

 

The grain/vegetable/herbs/vinaigrette combinations are endless, but I liked this Mediterranean flair.

 

If you wanted to, you could also add any additional protein like other beans, meat, cheese, tofu, fish, or shrimp.

 

 

 

 

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Enjoy!

Mango Salsa

Mango Salsa

This versatile recipe comes from Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa herself.  Brennan requested tilapia for dinner this week, and I thought this make-ahead salsa would be an easy topping.  We all liked it and I'll certainly make it again for other dishes.

 

I modified the dish somewhat and will share my changes with you.

 

I started by sauteing onion and minced ginger in olive oil until the onion was translucent - about 10 minutes.  Then I added garlic and cooked it for 1 minute.  At that point I added in diced mango, orange juice, light brown sugar, salt, pepper, and diced  jalapeño and cooked it again for 10 minutes.

 

Ina suggests 2 onions diced, but that seemed like a ton of onion for this non-onion loving set of parents.  So I used 1/2 a yellow onion and the balance seemed right.  I can't imagine quadrupling the amount.

 

I used 1 tsp of diced  jalapeño, but you could certainly use more!

 

Then you transfer the dish to a serving bowl and top with mint.  Ina suggests 2 tsp of fresh mint, but I chopped up quite a bit more.

 

You can then serve it warm, let it come to room temperature, or do like I did and cover it in plastic wrap and pop it in the fridge for later.

It was great on hot out of the oven tilapia!



Double click to print as a 5x7 recipe card.

 

Enjoy!

 

Corn and Chickpea Patties

Corn and Chickpea Patties

I had my first chickpea patty when I took healthy cooking classes with Sandy, Healthy Coach and Natural Foods Chef.  They were delicious.

 

I found several other recipes that were similar and I tried one of them recently - and they were super dry.  There wasn't enough dip to make them palatable.

 

Chickpea Patties are also known as "croquettes" and "burgers".

 

Tonight I made Sandy's version, and they were so much better!

 

I cooked frozen corn and chopped onion in olive oil, then combined the vegetables with corn meal, bread crumbs, herbs, and spices with just a few pulses of the food processor.

 



 

I knew immediately that these were going to be moist.

 

Here is my last iteration.  Waaaay too dry.

 

Once the ingredients were pulsed just to combine, I formed them into patties, dusted them with cornmeal, and heated them for a few minutes on both sides in the same oiled pan I used to cook the onions and corn, spraying on just a little more oil.

 

 

I served them with a Greek yogurt and herb dipping sauce, and delicious!

 

Double click to print as a 5x7 recipe card.

 

Enjoy!

Chickpea and Tofu Mild Curry

Chickpea and Tofu Mild Curry

 

I have never made curry from scratch, so I was excited to try this mild curry from the You Are What You Eat cookbook that I've used so much.

 

There are a lot of ingredients to this dish, but most of them I already had in the fridge, pantry, or cabinet.

 

I started by cooking onions in olive oil for 10 minutes until they were very tender.

(there's a theme, I'm venturing out and cooking with onions more and more these days)

 

Then I added in drained/cubed tofu, chickpeas, fresh cilantro, diced carrots, spices, and water. 

I brought it to a boil, then covered it and let it simmer for 10 minutes.

While it was simmering I boiled a large pot of salted water and cooked a pound of shredded kale for about 4 minutes until it was good and tender.

 

I added in dissolved cornstarch and miso that I had dissolved with a little bit of the curry liquid, and let the curry cook another few minutes.



 

I drained the kale and placed it on a platter, topping it with the curry and some fresh cilantro.

 

 

I served the curry with rice and warmed naan.

 

The flavors are very mild and might need a little more salt during the cooking process.

But everyone liked it and it made for a nice change of pace!

 

Double click to print as a 5x7 recipe card.

 

आप का खाना स्वादिष्ट हो

(Hindi for "Bon Appetit!")



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!

 

Double click to print as a 5x7 recipe card.

 

Enjoy!