Pickled Vegetable Sandwich Slaw

Pickled Vegetable Sandwich Slaw

 

This recipe was featured on Smitten Kitchen this week, and I realized I had all the ingredients so decided to try it right away instead of putting it in my well-meaning, ever-growing folder full of great sounding recipes that I really want to try.

 

Pickled vegetables have all sorts of nutritional properties, and they are really versatile.  I decided to pick up some containers and try it out.

 

This is a refrigerator pickling method - not the heated canning method, so any glass jar with tight lid will work.  You'll see I've started with plastic containers until I find the right sized glass ones that I'm looking for.

 

Deb from Smitten Kitchen suggests any firm, crunchy vegetable, but Deb's tip - she wouldn't use red radishes again because they turn everything pink. 

 

Suggested Vegetables for Pickled Vegetable Sandwich Slaw:

Radishes

Red, Orange, Yellow Bell Peppers

Carrots

Fresh Sugar Snap Peas

Kirby Cucumbers

Cabbage

 

But the list is really chef-preference.

 

 

Suggested Uses for Pickled Vegetable Sandwich Slaw:

On Sandwiches

Alongside Grilled Anything

As a Side Dish

On Top of Salad

On Top of Rice or other Whole Grain

 

 

I started with a mandolin but mine was not working well, so I just julienned the vegetables with a good knife instead.  Then I split them up into my 3 containers.

Next I brought distilled white vinegar, sugar, Kosher salt, and yellow mustard seeds to a simmer until the sugar and salt dissolved.  Then I added cold water and let the mixture cool to lukewarm.

Poured the pickling mixture over my vegetables, made sure they were all covered, and refrigerated them for 24 hours.  They can be eaten within 1 hour though.  They last up to a month in the fridge.

 

So far I've just eaten them by themselves, or with lunch.  But I think they'd be great on a pulled-pork sandwich - julienned even thinner.

 

Very tasty - slightly addictive!

 

 

 A big thank you to Deb at Smitten Kitchen for the recipe!!

 

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Enjoy!

 

 

Hot Purple Cabbage

Hot Purple Cabbage

 

So I made up the name of this recipe.

It comes from my friend Jan, who makes it for holiday meals all the time.

It's originally from Roger's German side of the family.

 

Roger and Jan

Jan brought it to our Oktoberfest Wine Club party a couple of months ago and David and I really liked it.  I'm always up for a new veggie recipe.

 

Jan assured me it was really easy, so I pestered her until she emailed me the recipe :)

 

She said that she puts all the ingredients together in a large pot.

 

I had a really large head of cabbage, so I dealt with the other ingredients first, then added the cabbage.

 

I placed the apple cider vinegar, salt, sugar, and water in first and let the sugar dissolve over medium heat.



 

Then I added in my purple cabbage.  When Jan made this recipe, I think she used red cabbage.  Or, there may not be a difference.  My outcome just looked a lot purple-r than Jan's!  Regardless, it worked just fine.

 

Mix it up, cover, and let it cook for an hour on medium-low heat.  Stir often.

This is after just 10 minutes.

Serve piping hot, even if you have to microwave it again after transferring to a serving bowl.

 

I love the flavors and will make this again soon I'm sure!

 

Thomas had 3 helpings the night I made it, and Brennan had leftovers the next day with his after-school snack. 

 

(Results not typical)

 

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Guten Appetit!

 

Reuben Dip

Reuben Dip

 

We attended an Oktoberfest party last night and I wanted to take a couple of good German dishes.

My friend Kathja shared this recipe for me. 

 

It ended up being great!  I returned with an empty dish.

 

Best part - this is an entirely microwaveable recipe.

Only 5 minutes or so of overall cooking time.

 

 

Kathja is from Austria and said (in her dry German way) that this is a very typical Oktoberfest style dish.  That can be served any month at all!  She loves our obsession with all things Oktoberfest this time of year.

 

She said that she normally uses dried beef for this dish, but if you had leftover corned beef, this is a great way to use up those leftovers.

 

She let me know that men especially love this appetizer for its salty, heartiness.

I found that the ladies liked it too :)

 

I used Armour dried beef.  It's really salty, but the crackers help cut the salty taste.

Really, it was delicious!

 

 

You start by melting a little butter in a microwaveable dish for 30 seconds.

 

Then you add in shredded Muenster cheese (I used Havarti because Kroger didn't carry Muenster), cubed cream cheese, ketchup, Dijon mustard and black pepper.

 

Microwave it again for 1 minute.  Stir it and if it needs another minute, go for it.

 

Don't worry - this isn't the serving dish so don't worry about the messy look.

 

Then stir in the chopped dried beef.

At this point I covered the dish and put it in the refrigerator until we were about ready to leave.

It's not necessary though.

 

When you're ready to serve your dish, place a cup of rinsed and drained sauerkraut in the bottom of your serving dish, top with the beef mixture and stir up just slightly.

 

Microwave for 3 minutes and serve with crackers or small slices of rye bread.

Delicious and decadent!

 

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Guten Appetit!



Nishime Vegetables

Nishime Cooked Vegetables

 

 

Nishime (Ni-SHEE-may) is a style of cooking vegetables that allows the veggies to cook in their own juices, with very little water.  My understanding is that Nishime typically means "Waterless Cooking".  I have read about this style of cooking in a number of places and decided to try it out.

 

You can use just about any vegetables in Nishime, but the ones I see recommended the most often are in the Leafy, Root, and Round vegetable categories.

 

Leafy Suggestions:

Bok Choy, Cabbage, Turnip or Mustard Greens, Kale, Leeks

 

Root Suggestions:

Burdock, Carrots, Daikon Radish, Other Radishes, Parsnips

 

Round Vegetables:

Any Squash or Pumpkin, Broccoli, Brussels Sprouts, Cauliflower, Rutabaga, Turnips, Shiitakes

 

 

The suggestion I saw most commonly for Nishime is to choose 3 vegetables to cook together.

 

Last night I cooked Napa Cabbage, Daikon Radish, and Acorn Squash - and it was a hit!

 

I will certainly use this style of cooking regularly!

 

Every recipe I read for Nishime Vegetables included a piece of Kombu sea vegetable.

I never did get a reason for why it's important, but I figured it was so I purchased Eden brand Kombu at my local natural foods store.  It should last me quite a while!

 

 

I placed a piece of Kombu in my pot and barely covered the bottom of the pot with water.

Some directions say no more than 1/4 inch of water.  Just enough to barely cover the bottom.

 

 

Then I layered my three vegetables on top of the kombu.

The fastest cooking is placed on the bottom, and the longest cooking is placed at the top.

So I placed the Napa Cabbage, then the Daikon, then the Acorn Squash.

 

(I'll use larger chunks of Napa next time)

I sprinkled a little sea salt on top and covered the pot, bringing the vegetables to a boil.

Then (without lifting the lid) I reduced it to simmer for 20 minutes.

 

Then I added a few drops of soy sauce and re-covered the pot for 5 more minutes.

 

And the vegetables were done!

I understand that if there is liquid in the bottom of the pot, then I may have started with too much to begin with.  I'll reduce my water even more next time.

 

Drain and serve.

 

Very much like steaming, the vegetables were sweet and thoroughly cooked and had a comforting feel to them.  A great way to serve vegetables!

 

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どうぞめしあがれ (douzo meshiagare) (Japanese for Bon Appetit!)

 

 

Sauteed Napa Cabbage

Sauteed Napa Cabbage

Sandy has the best recipes, and I am happy that she is willing to let me share some of them with you!  If you are in the area and would like to take one of Sandy's wonderful healthy cooking classes, please visit her website for more information, or let me know and I'll get you in touch with her!

I had a head of Napa cabbage that I decided to cook up with dinner one night.  I used Sandy's technique for sauteing the cabbage and seasoning it just right.

I heated olive oil in a large pan and added pressed garlic, scallions, and some red pepper flakes, letting it cook for a couple of minutes.  Then I tossed in the sliced Napa cabbage.

 

I let it sit for a couple of minutes without stirring, then added in the soy sauce, gave it a quick stir, and served it immediately.  It's a really tasty greens side dish with any dinner!

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Enjoy!

Japanese Soba Noodles

Japanese Soba Noodles

This recipe is a variation on ones I've made before, that my family just loves. 

We like soba noodles, which are also known as buckwheat noodles. 

The sauteed vegetables and flavorful sauce make this a great one dish dinner.

This recipe comes straight out of Vegan Fire & Spice.

The ingredient list is long, but if you cook much Asian food then you most likely have many of these ingredients on hand.

I cooked the soba noodles according to the package.  I ended up using some dark soba noodles that I had left over and added in a new package of lighter soba noodles to get to 12 oz.  You can use whatever kind you have or find at the store.

While my noodles were cooking, I sauteed the vegetables - shredded cabbage, bell pepper, and scallions.  I think additions like like radish, carrots, mushrooms, and peas would also be great.

While the vegetables were cooking I mixed up the sauce of soy sauce, brown sugar, dry sherry, sesame oil, rice vinegar, minced ginger, garlic, and cayenne.  I then added in cornstarch to thicken it.

I added the sauce to the sauteed vegetables and let it thicken.

Then tossed in my drained soba noodles.

And garnished with toasted sesame seeds and parsley.

Delicious and really very quick!

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どうぞめしあがれ (douzo meshiagare)

Japanese for "Bon Appetit"!

Blanched Salad

Blanched Salad

It's always great for me to learn new ways of cooking up vegetables.

This technique of blanching a variety of vegetables to create a salad is probably not new to many people.

But I don't normally blanch my vegetables and then combine them into a salad.

My salads usually include raw vegetables, so this was intriguing.

The technique instructions come from The Great Life book.

You can use just about any kind of vegetable, but the author recommends using a leafy green, a round vegetable, and a root vegetable, or a combination of these types of vegetables.

I had to go back in the chapter to remember which was which!  (See below)

You fill a pot half-way with water and add a pinch of sea salt.  Then you bring it to a boil.

You blanch the vegetables by placing them into the boiling water just until their color brightens, about 2 minutes.  Then you remove them with a slotted spoon, placing them on a serving dish, covered until all the vegetables are done.

You start with the lightest in color and mildest in flavor.

We made our salad with cauliflower, Napa cabbage, and carrots, and blanched the veggies in that order.

And when we were done, we had a great salad that was tasty, but was better with a little lemon juice, a spritz of olive oil, and a little more Kosher salt. 

David and I both liked this cooking technique as a nice change to raw vegetable salad.

And it's so easy to use whatever you have in the fridge!

Green Leafy Veggies:  bok choy, carrot tops, Chinese cabbage, collard greens, Daikon greens, dandelion greens, kale, leeks, mustard greens, parsley, scallions, turnip greens, watercress

Round Veggies:  acorn squash, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, buttercup squash, butternut squash, cabbage, cauliflower, onion, pumpkin, rutabaga, turnips, Shiitake mushrooms

Root Veggies:  burdock, carrots, Daikon radish, dandelion roots, jinenjo, lotus root, parsnips, radishes

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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!



Soba with Cabbage

Soba with Cabbage

This is one of those dishes I thought I'd try, but didn't have high hopes for. 

It was just a side dish, so if we didn't like it, then no big deal.

It turned out really well, and David especially liked it.

I'll certainly make soba again (perhaps without the cabbage for Brennan since he isn't a vinegar fan).

Soba are buckwheat noodles, commonly found at Japanese restaurants.

For this recipe I used 4 packs of noodles (a pack is wrapped together in the purple paper).

You cook them in boiling water just like you do spaghetti, and drain once it's good and tender - about 4 minutes.

At the same time I sauteed packaged shredded cabbage with green onions in rice wine vinegar, then set it aside.

Then I added the drained noodles, soy sauce, more vinegar, chili powder, and sesame seeds and tossed together with the pickled cabbage.

Surprisingly good!

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どうぞめしあがれ

(douzo meshiagare)

Bon Appetit in Japanese 



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.

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Ăn ngon nhé

Vietnamese for Bon Appetit!