Mom’s Salad, Basic

I’ve just recently realized that my mom has some pretty unique and inspiring recipes.  One of which is a classic that I’m sharing with you here:

Ingredients:

Salad

• romaine lettuce
• jazz apple
• celery
• walnuts
• fresh dill (optional, and not always present)

Salad Dressing (measurements are more like guidelines)

• ~1/2 cup Simply Lemonade brand lemonade
• ~3-4 tbsp olive oil
• ~1/4  tsp ground cumin (optional)

*in the picture you will notice a piece of broiled steak which, though not part of the salad, always accompanies any meal at my mom’s house.

This is usually a lunchtime salad; a dinnertime salad would have many more exotic ingredients like tarragon or some kind of tiny leek that I don’t know the name of and you can only find at the Persian store. More to come on that…

Thai Salad

 

Recipe for Thai Salad

Mung Bean Salad

Cook mung beans (boil in water for 30-40 minutes).  drain.

Toss with: chopped green onions, thinly sliced green cabbage.

Drizzle with: lemon juice, olive oil, salt, pepper.

Alterations:

1. sub mung beans for french green lentils
2. sub flat-leaf parsley and red onion for green onions
3. add chopped cabbage, matchstick carrots, matchstick red bell pepper
4. add ground cumin

Eat with  roasted chicken and Moroccan Roasted Cauliflower.

Blackeyed Pea Summer BBQ Salad {food notes}

2 cans Blackeyed peas
Fresh sweet Corn, skillet sautéed in oil
3 Tomato
Green onion
Sweet mini bell peppers
Fresh oregano
Serrano peppers
Cumin
Lemon
Lime
Salt & pepper

Moroccan Roasted Cauliflower

This is a bomb side dish.  Plus, cruciferous veggies prevent cancer and are a good source of sulfur.

Ingredients:

• cauliflower, chop into 1/2 inch flat pieces
• 3-6 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1-2 tbsp hot red pepper powder (or red chili flakes, paprika)
• 1-2 tbsp ground cumin
• 1 tbsp thyme
• olive oil
• salt & pepper

Method:

1. Toss the cauliflower and garlic in olive oil.
2. Arrange the garlic/cauliflower on a baking sheet so that the pieces lie flat and sprinkle with spices and salt.  I try to get everything well dusted with cumin and chili powder.
3. Roast in oven at 425 for 30 minutes.

Pineapple Salsa + Rockfish

chop up a pineapple, chopped hot pepper rings (the kind that come in the jar that everyone uses on hotdogs/deli sandwiches), green onion, lime juice.

Saute rockfish in butter, add salt.

Yum

(when I get a new camera I will start taking pictures again)

Terry’s Living Wraps

This is one of the best things I’ve EVER eaten, ever.  No joke–this salad burrito is mind blowing, even when you aren’t taste-bud intoxicated with THC.

Collard Green leaves provide the wrapper and the rest is stuffing.  In addition to the stuffing ingredients you can also add/substitute: shredded cabbage, radishes, mushrooms, shredded daikon root, cucumber, shredded carrots, tofu, ground chicken, peanut salad dressing, etc.

• 2-3 collard green leaves, whole, stems removed
• pea shoots or any other type of sprouts
• arugula
• baby spinach
• cilantro, chopped
• avocado, sliced
• green onions, chopped (optional)
• a few tbsp of olive tapenade/baba ganoush/hummus (optional, but highly recommended)
• olive oil
• ground cumin
• salt (optional)

Pile up your veggies and toppings at the stem end of a collard green leaf.  Sprinkle with cumin and drizzle with olive oil.  Roll it up like a burrito or cabbage roll; it’s not necessary to fold in the edges.  Eat.  Sigh with content.

Spaghetti Squash w/Sage Turkey Tomato Sauce & Spicy Corn Salad

• 1 spaghetti squash
• ¾ lb ground turkey
• A few splashes of Worcestershire sauce
• 4-5 Roma tomatoes, chopped
• 1 tsp Garlic powder
• ½ tsp lemon pepper
• 6-8 fresh Sage leaves, chopped
• Olive oil
• water
• Salt
• Parmesan cheese (optional)

• Three ears yellow corn, cut from the cob
• ½ red onion, diced
• ~1 tbsp cumin seed, crushed up a bit
• 1 spicy red pepper, thinly sliced
• crushed red pepper (optional)
• Canola oil
• salt

Method:

1.      Cut the spaghetti squash lengthwise, scoop out the seeds, and bake the spaghetti squash (cut side down in 1 inch of water) in the oven at 400F for about 45 minutes.

2.      Heat a few tbsp of olive oil in a skillet over medium high heat and brown the turkey.  Add Worcestershire sauce, tomatoes, a cup of water, salt, garlic powder, half of the fresh sage, and lemon pepper.  Cover and simmer for 40 minutes until all the water boils away and the sauce is thick.

3.      Heat a few tbsp canola oil in a skillet until it’s very hot.  Add the corn and sauté for a few minutes. Try to char it a bit.  Add the cumin during the last minute of cooking.

4.       In a small bowl, toss the red pepper, red onion, crushed red pepper, and corn together.  Season with salt to taste.

5.      Top spaghetti squash with turkey tomato sauce, fresh sage, Parmesan cheese, and serve with corn salad on the side.



Turkey Chili

I was pleasantly surprised with this chili.  It had a really good flavor and was filling, yet not heavy.  Fresh corn is almost a must!  Part of the reason I stay away from chili is because it reminds me of dog food (not that I’ve ever eaten dog food, but still), thick and mushy.  This chili is soupy-stewish, and delicious AND healthy!

• 2-3 ears of corn, kernels sliced off
• ~1 lb ground turkey
• 2 jalapenos, sliced
• 1 white onion, diced
• 1 tbsp paprika
• 3-4 tbsp mild chili powder
• 1/2 tsp red chili flakes
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp marjoram
• 1/2 tsp thyme
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1/4 tsp cumin seed
• 4-5 splashes of Worcestershire sauce
• ~2 cups of beef broth
• 2 baskets of cherry tomatoes + 4 diced roma tomatoes
• 1 can of kidney beans, rinsed
• fresh chopped cilantro (garnish)
• salt & pepper

1. In a pot over medium heat, saute the onions and jalapenos in oil.  Add the ground turkey, Worcestershire sauce and spices.
2. Add the tomatoes and beef stock (enough to cover the contents of the pot).  Cover and simmer for about ~45 minutes.
3. During the last 10 minutes add the corn and kidney beans.  Adjust the spices to your liking.
4. Garnish with cilantro.

This doesn’t really need to be eaten with anything else, but if you want it to last, you can serve this with a sour cream/yogurt, bread/corn bread, even tortilla chips will work.   Since I don’t have a lot left over from last night (a sure sign of success), I’m baking up some spaghetti squash and topping it with this chili.

White Bean Salad via Simply Recipes

I was making Kale soup and needed a white bean garnish.  I found the following recipe on simplyrecipes that looked so easy and so very yummy too!  This seems to be the perfect Autumn picnic dish–I can see it at the lake already 🙂

Here’s the link to the original recipe: Quick and Easy White Bean Salad

Here’s what I did:

1. Quick soaked and cooked 1/2 lb of white beans.  Rinsed in cold water.
2. Diced 1/2 red onion and chopped ~1/3 bunch of flat-leaf parsley (about 2 tbsp).
3. 1/2 tbsp white wine vinegar,  the juice of 1/2 a lemon, a drizzle of olive oil, and salt.
4. Tossed it all together.
5. Served atop Kale-Tarragon Soup (although, I think the salad was better a la carte).

It was truly delicious.  Next time I’ll add cherry tomatoes and chives! I’d also like to make it with butter beans.

Homemade Curry Powder & Vegan Pumpking Curry via vegan-food.net

I have friends who have just turned vegan.  Fortunately, I know it can’t last forever (much like “the warrior diet”), but I’m game since it gives me a culinary challenge  🙂  I found this nice-looking recipe on vegan-food.net for vegan pumpkin-apple curry.  First I’ll give you their recipe, and below it, I’ll give you mine :

Spiced Pumpkin and Apple Curry

INGREDIENTS

• 1 T sunflower oil
• 1 large onion, roughly chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• 500 g / 1.1 lb pumpkin or butternut squash, deseeded, peeled and cubed
• 2 small sweet potatoes (about 400 g / 0.9 lb), peeled and cubed
• 400 g / 0.9 lb baking potatoes, cubed
• 1 medium cooking apple, peeled, cored and diced
• 2 t mild curry paste
• 1 t turmeric, plus extra to garnish
  
• 2.5 cm / 1 inch fresh ginger, finely chopped
• 2-3 bay leaves, torn into pieces
• 1 vegetable stock cube
• 50 g / 1.75 raisins
• Seasoning

METHOD

Heat the oil in a pan, add the onion and fry for 5 minutes until golden.

Add garlic, pumpkin, sweet potatoes and apple. Stir in the curry paste, turmeric, ginger and bay leaves. Add 500 ml / 1.05 pints water, the stock cube, raisins and plenty of seasonings. Bring to the boil, stirring, then cover and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are just tender.

Spoon into shallow bowls and top with a pinch of turmeric. Serve with flatbread, if liked.

Serves 4

Of course, I’m going to change it a bit. First, by making my own curry paste/powder  (there’s no way in hell I’m going to spend 6 bucks on a jar that’s going to get lost at the back of my fridge, probably forever).

Since this is a sweeter curry (vs. a spicy one) so I’m going to add cloves, black cardamom, and cinnamon.

Clean out your coffee grinder and add:

• 1 tbsp of coriander seeds (if you have ground coriander, use that)
• 1/2 – 1  tbsp cumin seeds  ( all recipes say use 1 tbsp, but I hate cumin)
• ½ tsp whole cloves ( again, you can use ground if u have it)
• ¼  tsp black mustard seeds
• 5 black cardamom pods

Grind into a rough powder. Transfer to a bowl and add:

• 1 tbsp turmeric
• 1/2 tsp paprika or chili powder
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger
• 3-4 cinnamon sticks

Ta-da! Curry has been created!

[nassy recipe]

• curry powder
• 2-3 bay leaves
• 3 cloves of chopped garlic
• 1 yellow onion, sliced
• 1-2 medium potatoes, peeled & chopped
• 2 medium sweet potatoes (not yams), peeled & chopped
• 1 medium butternut squash, peeled, deseeded, and chopped*
• 1 medium granny smith apple, peeled & diced
• 2 tomatoes, chopped
• 1/2 cup raisins (why not?)
• water
• oil
• salt & pepper

*this took me 15 minutes!  It’s serious business, be careful.  My advice is to cut the squash in half, peel the top with a knife/veg peeler, and chop. With the bottom bulb, cut it in half, scoop out the seeds, peel it, then cut it up like a cantaloupe to remove the stringy seed stuff.

Sauté the onions in oil for a few minutes.  Add the garlic and sauté for 30 secs. Add the potatoes, apple,  squash, and curry powder.  Sauté for a minute.   Add  bay leaf, tomatoes, raisins, and enough water to cover the vegetables.  Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer on low until the veggies are done to your taste.  To thicken the curry, I took a cup of sauce from the pot, added flour to make a paste, then slowly added more sauce until it was fairly runny, then added the whole thing back to the pot.

I am making this curry the long way because I want the flavors to “develop”.  If you want curry in a hurry, omit all salt until the very end and cook with medium heat–it should be done in about 20 minutes.

Butternut Squash Soup

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cooked butternut squash (you can use and uncooked one, but I happened to have half of a cooked one in my freezer)
• 1/2 chopped onion
• 1 chopped potato
• chicken broth/veggie broth/water
• salt and pepper
• butter

Method:

1. Saute the onions in butter until translucent.
2. Add broth, squash, potato, carrot, and celery seed.  Simmer for 10-15 minutes or forever, until all the veggies are soft. Add more water/broth if needed.
3. Blend with a hand blender.
4. Garnish with scallion, salt/pepper, yogurt, etc. Serve.

I didn’t have chicken broth so instead I added water and a pinch of turmeric, celery seed, dill, garlic powder, coriander, ground ginger, a bay leaf, thyme, and cayenne pepper.  It turned out much better than I had expected.  I was also surprised because when I tasted it out of the pot it tasted bland, but when I ate it in the bowl it was DELISH!  maybe it was the scallions and salt & pepper?

Summer Squash Stew

I invented this stew tonight, it went great with the homemade bread I made.

Ingredients:

• 2 green Mexican Squashes, chopped
• 2 yellow squashes, chopped
• 1/2  onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2-3  Roma tomatoes, chopped
• 1/2 tbsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp thyme
• 2 chicken thighs (or use chicken stock)
• 2 bay leaves
• oil
• salt & pepper

Method:

1. Brown the chicken in a few tbsp oil and remove from the pan.
2. Saute the onion with some salt until soft. Add chopped squash, garlic, bay leaves & spices, and tomatoes.  Saute for a few minutes.
3. Add the chicken back to the pan and cover with water (or chicken broth).  Simmer for 15 minutes.
4. Serve with crusty bread.

You can also serve this over rice pilaf or mashed potatoes.

I’m using the leftovers to make soup:  Add carrots and a bit more yellow squash boiled with chicken bones/stock and topped with parsley-mint pistou (summer squash soup/pistou recipe & image below from smittenkitchen)

Greek-ish Lima Beans

Ingredients:

• 1/2 lb of dried lima beans, overnight soak or quick soak
• olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1-2 tsp fresh dill, chopped
• chopped parsley or oregano (optional)
• 4-6 juicy tomatoes, chopped  or a big can of diced tomatoes
• feta cheese
• fresh bread

Method:

1. Simmer the beans for ~30 minutes. Drain.
2. In a casserole dish, combine the tomatoes, garlic, herbs, and beans.  Drizzle a hefty amount (~1/2 cup) of olive oil and stir.
3. Bake at 375 degrees for 1/2 – 1 hour.
4. Top with feta cheese crumbles and eat with fresh bread.

I made this a second time using a big can of diced tomatoes,  and I served the feta cheese separately:

Bread and Butter Pickles via Smitten Kitchen

recipe and images via smitten kitchen

Makes 4 cups of pickles, filling a 1-quart jar.

• 1 pound cucumbers, sliced 1/4-inch thick — “pickling” or kirby cucumbers work best here
• 1 large sweet onion, thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup Kosher salt
• 1/2 to 3/4 cups sugar (see note above)
• 1/2 cup distilled white vinegar
• 1/4 teaspoons ground turmeric
• 1 tablespoon mustard seeds
• 1 tablespoon coriander seeds (if ground, use 1 teaspoon)
• 1/4 teaspoon celery seed

In a medium bowl, combine the cucumbers, onion and salt. Mix well. Cover the mixture with ice. Let stand at room temperature for two hours.In a pot, bring sugar, vinegar and spices to a boil. Drain cucumbers and onions. Add to vinegar mixture and bring almost back to a boil. Remove from heat and cool. You can store the pickles in an airtight container for up to three weeks in the fridge. They will begin tasting pickled in just a couple of hours.

I making this recipe as I’m blogging this, but without onion and celery seed, and with 1/2 cup of sugar and t tbsp of black mustard seeds.  I’m still waiting for it to pickle, but I’ll update you on how it turns out. YAY Pickles!

Buffalo Chicken Salad, low cal style!

I LOVE Buffalo wings to death!  But they are SO messy and they never come with enough veggies (plus I hate carrots, why are there always more carrots than celery?).  I’ve often dreamed of the day when buffalo wings could be made into a salad, and I don’t mean topping a ranch salad with buffalo coated chicken fingers–yum, but no! I JUST DON’T WANT TO FEEL GUILTY ANYMORE! Hence, this recipe 🙂

Ingredients:

• a few handfuls shredded green cabbage*
• a thinly sliced celery spear (mimic the cabbage)
• a few tbsp Blue cheese dressing
• 1 chicken breast (boneless skinless)
• 1-2 tbsp butter
• 2-3 tbsp hot sauce, or cayenne pepper

* tip: to get the cabbage shredded, use the horizontal slits on your cheese grater.  You can use a mandolin, but I sliced off the tip of my finger the last time I used one. 😦

Method:

1. Heat you oven to 350 degrees and bake the chicken for 40-50 minutes.
2. Heat the butter until it melts, add hot sauce or cayenne.
3. Chop the chicken into bite-sized slices and toss with the hot sauce-butter.
4. Toss the celery and cabbage with the blue cheese dressing.  Top with the buffalo chicken.

I know I didn’t reinvent the wheel here, but I found a way to eat my favorite food and not feel guilty about it!

Everything Cabbage

I love cabbage, but I generally don’t eat it if it’s not in coleslaw. How could I have gone so astray?  It’s the most versatile food: a vegetable with a mild flavor and crunch, and is good to your stomach lining (good for me).  Inspired by a TLC special on extreme diets (one raw-food dieter used zucchini as a substitute for pasta) combined with my love of coleslaw, last week I decided to use cabbage instead of noodles and haven’t looked back since (of course, we’ll see how long I can last on cabbage + random ingredient).

For me, the largest detriment to eating raw vegetables is that they are cold, and I need warm and snuggly food in my life! I found a way to overcome this obstacle: heat up the cabbage yet maintain it’s crunch (see Leah’s Udon).

Here is an ongoing list of tossings for hot cabbage (I’ll add more as I think of them):

• Salt and pepper (classic)
• Cilantro pesto, basil pesto,etc.
• Indian curry/korma sauce (from Trader Joe’s)–Add it to the hot pan and sizzle it up!
• Lolita’s Hot Sauce with sour cream on the side
• Yogurt-garlic-dill sauce and fried crushed red pepper (Red and White Sauce)

For Cold Cabbage:

• Dressing: coleslaw, blue cheese, miso, spicy peanut dressing, etc.
• Salt, black pepper, olive oil, a squeeze of lemon (next to a fried egg, yum)
• make Blue-Herb Slaw
• Peruvian Aji Sauce

Good Earth Thai Salad, Spicy Peanut Dressing

This recipe is one my favorite salads from Good Earth Cafe.  I wish I invented it, but I didn’t 🙂

• shredded red and green cabbage
• sliced strawberries
• sliced almonds
• red and green bell pepper, julienned
• sliced red onion
• fried wonton strips/chow mein noodles
• fresh mint & basil, chopped
• spicy asian peanut dressing*
• pesto grilled chicken (optional)
• garlic bread (optional)

Toss it up and devour 🙂

* you can make your own below, these days I get mine from Trader Joe’s

Nassy Spicy Peanut Dressing:

• 1/4 cup of peanuts or 1 – 2 tbsp peanut butter (start with a little bit and add more to taste)
• 1 bunch cilantro with stems  (why waste?)
• 1/2 of a jalapeno pepper
• a splash of rice vinegar
• 1 tsp of soy sauce
• 1/2 – 1 tsp of sesame oil
• a small wedge of iceberg lettuce (optional, it adds liquid and makes the pepper taste more mild)

Blend in a food processor until smooth.  I add the smallest amount of every ingredient (especially when using soy sauce and sesame oil), then add more to taste after it’s been blended.  My advice is to do the same and remember that patience is a virtue 🙂

 

Leah’s Udon

A friend of mine told me this recipe and I was salivating immediately. And, as Leah pointed out, it only dirties one pan and one cuisinart!

Ingredients:

• package of udon noodles
• asparagus, chopped up
• peanuts
• cilantro

Method:

1. Cook your noodles, in the last 2 minutes of cooking add your asparagus.
2. In a food processor, process a handful of peanuts and cilantro.
3. Drain the noodles and asparagus and toss with the cilantro-peanut mix.

NASSY ADAPTATION: Since I have been all carbed out these days, I have modified this recipe.  I omitted the asparagus and used shredded cabbage instead of udon.  I put some oil in a HOT pan and threw in the cabbage, not to cook it ( I hate limp cabbage) but to heat it up and get a crisped burn scent to it.  I tossed the cabbage with the cilantro-peanut mix.  YUM,  another perfect diet dish:)

Here is the original recipe (I don’t know where it’s from, besides my inbox):

Gingery Soba Noodles with Peanut/Cilantro Pesto and Asparagus

4 tablespoons unsalted peanuts

1 garlic clove, sliced

1 packed cup cilantro (note that the taste is in the stems, not the leaves)

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon salt

4-5 tablespoons olive oil

1 8 ounce package of soba noodles

1 bunch of asparagus spears

2 tablespoons peeled grated ginger

1 small bunch spring onions, thinly sliced

crushed peanuts for garnish

1)  in food processor, pulse peanuts and garlic – add cilantro and lemon juice – salt, pulse and add olive oil to taste

2)  boil soba noodles – during last few minutes, add asparagus – drain

3)  toss noodles with cilantro pesto, ginger, spring onions and garnish with peanuts

i added the ginger to the food processor to not make more mess.  i also put in a little less ginger b/c i think a little goes a long way and more garlic.  it is really yummy and i think you could make it with any veggies in season.  i am loving my cuisinart.  we seriously had dinner on the table in less than 1/2 hour.  i made this b/c i had so much cilantro left over from the taco recipe and it worked out well.

Turkish Egg Salad

I am not an egg salad fan.  It’s so sulfury, mayo-tasting, and the texture is so mushy–it weirds me out. But this salad is so light and tasty, which may be a function of the high quality ingredients available in Turkey.  The eggs were fresh, the parsley wasn’t bitter, and the onion wasn’t overpowering.  It meshed so well. Although this is another Turkish recipe, I’ve seen similar recipes under the Mediterranean Foods denomination.

Ingredients:

• 3-4 hard boiled eggs chopped
• 1 Vidalia onion quartered andthinly sliced
• 1 bunch parsley medium/finely chopped
• 3-4 tbsp olive oil
• 1 lemon juiced
• salt & pepper
• fresh dill (optional)
• baby arugula chopped (optional)

Method:

1. Toss the eggs, onion, and parsley (and dill/arugula) in a bowl.
2.  Add the lemon juice and olive oil to taste. Top with salt & pepper.

What else can I make with this?

Sauteed chicken wings or fried fish and crusty french bread.  This can also be used as a garnish over a spicy black bean soup with some greek yogurt.  For lunch, stuff it in Pita bread with a bit of mayo and lettuce.

*********************UPDATE**********************************

I made a version of this recently and it was so good I should have made more, but since it was an experiment I was cautious.  It would have been even better had I added a few more eggs, chopped chives, arugula, and fresh dill.

• 3 eggs, boiled and sliced
• a few leaves green leaf lettuce, finely chopped
• a handful spring mix, finely chopped
• finely chopped parsley
• 1/2 white onion, thinly sliced
• Danish blue cheese
• a few tbsp dried dill
• a few tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 lime, juiced
• 2-3 tbsp sour cream
• salt & pepper

Method:

1. Mix the lettuces, parsley, onion, and eggs. Toss with the dressing and top with blue cheese.
2. Dressing : mix the buttermilk, sour cream, dill,olive oil, salt & pepper, and lime juice to taste.