colorful golden beet-lentil-potato salad

This recipe is inspired by the warm lentil potato salad from Smitten Kitchen, plus my friend Biz's legendary pink potato salad with beets. This one has golden beets, which don't dye the rest of the salad pink. It's a perfect mix of salty, crunchy, tangy, and colorful. You pretty much follow the recipe for the warm lentil potato salad, but then add in some roasted beets, cut into small dice.

ingredients:
3 small golden beets, oven-roasted, peeled and cut into small dice
3 medium sized potatoes, boiled and cut into pieces
pickles (or cornichons) chopped small
capers, chopped
1/2 red onion, finely diced
dijon vinaigrette - olive oil, dijon, apple cider vinegar, pressed garlic clove, salt and pepper

basic cheese quiche

So in our weekly farm share we're also now getting 12 eggs a week. I've actually never made quiche before in my life...so I decided to start now. I didn't go all the way though...I used a packaged crust. I just didn't feel like making pastry, and I don't have a tart pan or pie weights, and I need to stop buying kitchen stuff. So, there. That's my justification. :) And it was good, even with the store-bought crust. And easy. It's good hot, straight out of the oven, and also good cold leftover the next day or two. It probably won't last longer than that. I am going to make another one in the next couple of days with the second crust...

ingredients:
5 large eggs
1/3 cup heavy cream
1 cup milk (I used 2%, whole is recommended)
4 ounces Gruyère, 4 oz sharp-cheddar cheese*
salt and pepper
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

*Of course 100% Gruyère, or another Swiss-style cheese would be good, but that's what I had in the fridge, plus Gruyère is so pricey and this way I can save half the chunk for another quiche :) But feel free to improvise on the cheese mixture.

1. In a bowl, whisk eggs, cream, and milk until blended. Stir in salt and pepper, and cheese. 

2. Put egg mixture in pre-baked pastry, spread evenly. Sprinkle with nutmeg. 

3. Bake about 30 minutes, until top is brown and puffed. Shake quiche to test if done: you don't want the middle to be uncooked. (Or test with a knife or toothpick)

Variations:

Quiche Lorraine: with bacon (cut bacon into thick slices, and pre-cook until crisp. Drain on paper towel and add on top of pastry before the egg mixture)

Quiche alsacienne: with onions (Cut an onion in quarters, and then slice paper-thin, saute with butter to caramelize, add to pastry before egg mixture).
FYI: The above mixture just fit in a 9-inch "deep" pie crust, so if you are adding onions, you might need to reduce the egg mixture a bit so it all fits.

Recipe adapted from Quiche au fromage recipe from Epicurious

tangy lentil potato salad with cornichons and capers

This salad might not look like much - it's brown food - but it tastes amazing. So SO good. I am eating the second-day leftovers right now and they are even better. The dressing is full of diced cornichons and capers, which blend in perfectly with the green lentils and so each bite is a tangy, salty surprise. It also takes just about 30 minutes to make, a pretty quick and easy recipe, and great to take for lunch.

ingredients:
2 shallots
1 bay leaf
1 cup Puy (French) lentils
Salt and pepper
1 pound potatoes (fingerling or small)
2 T red wine vinegar
1 to 2 garlic cloves
1 T Dijon mustard
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tsp capers, roughly chopped
2 T cornichons, roughly chopped
1 to 2 scallions, thinly sliced

I followed the recipe on Smitten Kitchen pretty closely, so I'll just send you there if you want to make it. The only thing I would change is that it felt like a bit too many lentils for the amount of potatoes. I ended up taking out about 3/4 cup for another use.  Also, it says to serve warm, but I think it's also very good at room temperature and makes for a good packed lunch (although then you might want to reduce the garlic slightly).

From our winter farm share: shallots, potatoes

eggplant, tempeh and sweet potato roasted with maple glaze

This is a recipe from Heidi Swanson's Super Natural Every Day, which I have made a few times and really enjoyed each time. I feel like I'm on a race this week to use vegetables - either before they go bad or before we get the next CSA installment (on Thursday already!) and we start drowning in vegetables. It's good. This is the best part of the CSA. You have to try new things, have to cook and eat more vegetables. This felt like a bit of a fall/winter dish, but it was a crisp 60-something degrees outside today, and I had eggplant to cook. :)

I love the colors when chopping everything for this dish. The eggplant is such a beautiful purple color, it always makes me a little sad how it turns brown when it cooks.

ingredients:
1-2 eggplant (I used 2 of these long skinny Chinese eggplant)
8 oz package of tempeh
1 sweet potato
zest of 1 lemon
glaze: mix together 1/4 cup olive oil, 1/4 cup maple syrup, some red pepper flakes, and 2-3 cloves pressed garlic (depending on how garlicky you want it...), salt and pepper
garnish: cilantro, plus feta (non-vegan version)

instructions: Preheat oven to 350. Cut the tempeh and sweet potato into 1/2-inch cubes, and the eggplant slightly larger (it cooks faster), about 1-inch cubes. Toss with lemon zest and about 2/3 of the glaze. Roast in the oven about 45-50 minutes, stirring halfway through. When all vegetables are soft, toss with the rest of the glaze and add some cilantro and feta.

This makes a great packed lunch!

This is me playing around on the internet... :)

roasted tomato couscous salad

This salad is based on a memory of a tomato salad I remember making from101 cookbooks that involved toasted capers and half raw, half oven-roasted tomatoes. Instead of a green salad, I used an Israeli (pearl) couscous. It's a really tasty combination of flavors. If you had them on-hand, you could use more fresh herbs (parsley, mint, thyme), and/or olives instead of the capers for some saltiness. 

ingredients:

1 lb heirloom tomatoes – mix of colors

balsamic vinegar and olive oil

1 cup couscous (I used Israeli/pearl couscous)

1 T capers

1 garlic clove, crushed or fine minced

salt and pepper

fresh basil

Heat oven to 425-450. Cut the tomatoes into chunks. If using cherry tomatoes, cut in half. Line the baking sheet with parchment if you want to spare some mess. Roast about half of the tomatoes with a splash of olive oil and balsamic vinegar (and a sprinkle of salt and pepper) until they burst and soften (about 20 minutes), and save the other half to use raw in the salad. Meanwhile, make the couscous according to directions. While that's going, fry the capers in a 1 tsp of oil (careful – they splatter!), until some of the moisture evaporates and you can see them start to brown (they will smell good, too). Mince or crush/press a clove of garlic into the salad, and top with fresh basil.  Mix everything together! It might seem a bit wet at first, but the couscous absorbs the liquid, and the leftovers are good the next day, too! 

exploring Providence: another morning at the farmer's market (and another slaw recipe)

Today was another gorgeous Saturday morning, so after a short jog I biked up to the market to get some veggies for the week. Our CSA share starts in two weeks, so after that I probably won't go to the market anymore. And the weather probably won't be as nice, so I wanted to appreciate it while I can. I still was surprised the farm stands didn't have more greens (didn't see any fresh herbs, salad greens), but they did have lots of end-of-summer fruit - and one stand even had winter squash already! Below is a nice assortment of what they had. Lots of tomatoes, peaches, plums, pears, some corn, watermelon, green beans, potatoes, onions. Lots of good produce!

I also stopped at this Indian spice store (Not Just Spices) on Hope St on my way up there. That will be a good resource. I will really miss By The Pound, an amazing bulk spice/food store in Ann Arbor. But now I at least know where I can get some cheap spices and dried beans. Maybe it will inspire me to try cooking more Indian food. that's something I've always wanted to learn. I also need to explore that area (Summit?) on Hope Street more. They have lots of shops and restaurants and it's really cute looking.

cucumber-pepper slaw with feta

I can't believe it's already September. One of the things I am feeling sad about, as we are enjoying the last weeks (days?) of summer, is that I was traveling so much and missed out on so much summer produce. Sigh. I had a great summer, but I wasn't cooking very much and that I am a little bummed about. Anyways, for this fall Michael and I signed up for a CSA share that is run through Brown, so we will get to enjoy the end-of-summer produce as well as fall's bounty. Which will be wonderful.

The last few days I re-made that grain salad with cherries, blue cheese and pecans. And served it on baby kale (which is a very good product - yum yum). It was really good. If you haven't made it yet, do it! Tonight I wanted to make something different and get some more veggies. So I paired some chicken with a jerk marinade with a fresh veggie slaw.

Another variation, if you wanted to make the veggie slaw more substantial and take for lunch would be to dice or more roughly chop the vegetables, and then mix with quinoa or a whole grain (barley, farro, etc). That would be good, too.

ingredients:
1 medium - large cucumber
1 T salt
2 T olive oil
1 scant T rice vinegar
1/4 tsp sugar
fresh black pepper
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
1/2 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1/2 yellow pepper, thinly sliced
1/2 small red onion, fine diced (or paper-thin slices)
3 oz. feta, crumbled (vegan without the cheese)
roughly chopped basil

1. Cucumber: Cut lengthwise and scoop out the seeds. Then cut cross-wise on a mandoline (thin slices) or with a knife. Salt and put in a colander over a bowl. Let sit 15 minutes while you do the other ingredients, then rinse and pat try with a paper towel. 

2. prep other veggies: thinly slice the jalapeño, peppers, and onion.

3. mix the dressing: olive oil, rice vinegar, sugar, black pepper. Don't add salt because the cukes will add some more saltiness.

4. combine everything and serve. Let sit about 30 minutes before serving.

Slaw recipe adapted from Saveur. I found their dressing to be 4x what I needed, also I was afraid of using a habanero!

We had this for dinner with chicken. For the jerk chicken, I just mixed some jerk seasoning with about 2 T olive oil. I smeared this on some chicken drumsticks and let it marinade a few hours in the fridge until dinnertime. Then cook the chicken in a pan on the stovetop, or grill if you have one.

moroccan-style quinoa with chickpeas and chard

This seemed like a good make-after-breakfast-and-bring-for-lunch salad...however, it's very very hot today. So I will now need to go for a swim before heading to the office for the day. Literally sweating over a hot stove, as the expression goes. I need to get more no-cook recipes to survive the end of August (oops - that's coming up pretty quickly... I mean the end-of-summer heat, which looks like it's extending into September).

ingredients:
oil
1 small onion, chopped fine
1-2 carrots, peeled and cut in small dice
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 tsp ground coriander
1/ tsp red pepper flakes
1/2-1 cup quinoa, rinsed (depending if you want this to be slightly larger)
1 1/2 cups broth (or water)*
3/4 cup canned chickpeas, rinsed (or whole can)
2 T golden raisins
salt and pepper
6 ounces kale, stemmed and chopped (or chard)
2 T pine nuts, toasted
1/4 tsp lemon zest plus 1 tsp juice
2 T crumbled feta cheese (which I didn't have...but would be delicious!)
fresh herbs to garnish (mint, cilantro, and/or thyme)

*use slightly less liquid if using chard (releases more water), and err on the conservative side. it's easy to add a bit more water while cooking, but a bit of a mess if you end up with too much water

instructions:
1. Heat oil in a saucepan over med-high, add onion and carrot, cook 5 minutes (until onion softens). Add garlic, coriander, and pepper flakes and cook until fragrant (30 seconds). Add quinoa and cook, stirring, until toasted and aromatic, about 3 minutes.

2. Stir in water/broth, chickpeas, raisins, and 1/8 tsp salt. Place kale on top, and bring to simmer, cover, reduce to low, and simmer until quinoa is cooked (about 15 minutes). Off heat, gently stir in pine nuts, lemon zest, and juice, and sprinkle with feta, salt and pepper. Drizzle with olive oil if desired.  I also garnished with a bit of fresh mint and thyme.

recipe from Cooking for Two, from Cook's Illustrated

barley salad with cherries, pecans, blue cheese and greens

I have been really excited to organize my new pantry, and put everything neatly in jars and start building up my bulk foods pantry. I really like making whole grain salads, and so I like having things like farro, barley, quinoa on hand. I made this for lunch the other day and Michael was raving about it. It's a really good combination of flavors and textures. It also keeps really well. Keep the salad greens separate, and then you can just mix the barley mixture with the fresh greens when you're ready to eat so they don't get soggy.

2 cups cooked pearl barley
1/2 lemon, squeezed
1/4 cup roughly chopped toasted pecans
2 cups salad greens (mixed or arugula)
1/4 cup dried cherries
1/2 cup chopped red onion (or shallot), rinse if you don't want a strong onion taste
2 tablespoons blue cheese crumbles

This recipe is from Whole Foods, Lunch-in-a-Jar

fresh summer farro with peaches, cucumber and arugula

I hate to start all these posts with apologies... Summer is just not my time for blogging. Since the chocolate cake only a week has gone by, and I've been up through all of Michigan, via the UP to Duluth for a cousin's wedding and a triathlon, to Minneapolis for a Twin's game and some sister time, and back to Ann Arbor through Madison and Chicago. Whew. All in the company of two good friends. But still - the road tripping gets a bit old. Yesterday we were in the car over 12 hours, and the total over the last five days probably comes closer to 30 hours...so I couldn't wait to be "home" (one of many at the moment...) and cook, even if it's just for a week before the next leg of my crazy summer starts up.

This recipe does just the trick...it felt like a cleanse after some eating on the road and lots of eating out the last week. It's very fresh and summery tasting because of the lemon-ginger-mint dressing, and the water-packed cucumbers and peaches. Yum yum.

ingredients:
1 medium cucumber, diced
1 cup farro (uncooked)
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
3 T olive oil
1 T grated fresh ginger
3 firm but ripe peaches (or nectarines), diced
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
1/4 cup chopped mint
3 cups arugula, coarsely chopped

1. Toss diced cucumber in a bowl with some salt, let stand at room temp 1 hour. Rinse, then drain in a sieve.
2. Combine 2 cups water with farro, bring to a boil then simmer 15 mins. (Keep an eye on it - all sorts tend to cook at varying rates and you don't want it too mushy). Fluff and spread out on a plate or a baking sheet to let it cool.
3. Whisk lemon juice, oil, ginger, 1/4 tsp salt in a bowl. Add cucumber, farro, peaches, sunflower seeds, mint, mix well. Refrigerate about 30 minutes (up to 1 day) to let flavors develop.
4. Before serving, add arugula and toss.

based on a recipe from eating well magazine (Red Rice Salad with Peaches and Cucumber)

whole-grain salad with mushrooms, fennel, feta, walnuts and parsley

I'm returning from a month of silence - whew. And posting from Germany, no less. It's been a busy month. Michael was in Minnesota with me, we ran a marathon, spent time with family. I had a big work deadline and was preparing for my three weeks abroad... so I wasn't cooking much while in transit and didn't really have time to post anything. And now while spending time in Germany (and a few days in Switzerland) I'm also eating a lot of good German food and not doing much cooking. My first night I wanted to have Schnitzel, at Felix Austria, which is still my favorite place to go for Schnitzel in Berlin. I've had some Kuchen, all though not too much yet...., also really good Thai food at Fehrbelliner park (Thai people gather there on weekends and sell "street food" in the park - delicious), and Turkish grilled marinated meat with parsley-red onion salad and soft bread. Yum. So good to really enjoy things you can't get in the US - at least not where I'm living.

Berlin varieties: Turkish dinner, Kaffee und Kuchen, Schnitzel and Wurst

But in the airport I did spend a lot of time going through my cooking magazines and tearing out good recipes. Eating Well had a great issue - almost took out all those pages. :) And the other night I got to hang out with my friend Anne, and after a nice long walk to get super-delicious ice cream...we made a nice home-cooked meal. :)  Anne also gave me some recipes from her trusted binder of good ones... I am excited to try those out.

I love grain salads. They're very satisfying and feel really healthy at the same time. This one is inspired by a recipe in Cooks Illustrated. Anne made some cocktails with a homemade rosemary-lemon simple syrup (yum yum) and it felt super summery and perfect to balance out the halloumi, pizza, and schnitzel from the last few days. :)

radish and pecan grain salad with cranberries and arugula

I made this salad for our little outdoor dinner last night and it was really good. I highly highly recommend trying it. It's the perfect combination of fresh flavors, crunchy vegetables and nuts and hearty grains. I adapted the recipe from Food 52  (their picture is a little prettier...I was more about getting dinner on the table than photographing...). The whole grains hold up well and it would be good for a picnic salad and/or lunch - maybe just add the arugula later so it doesn't get soggy.

2 cups mixed grains (like farro, freekeh, wheat berries, wild rice, and quinoa, pearl barley, or any combination of the above - I used pearled barley and wheat berries)
1 cup baby arugula leaves
1 cup parsley leaves, minced
1/2 cup mint leaves, cut in a chiffonade
1/2 pound pecans, toasted
1 cup radishes, cut into thin slices
1/4 cup shallot, minced
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup sherry vinegar (or apple cider)
1/2 cup dried cranberries

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add some salt and the grains, and cook until just tender. If you are cooking wild rice and/or wheat berries, add them first and let them get started 10-15 minutes. Then add any pearled or faster quicking grains. I let the wheat berries cook 10 minutes, then added the pearled barley for another 25 minutes. The rye berries had a nice, slightly chewy texture. When done, drain into a colander and let sit until warm to the touch. Stir every once in a while to help them cool.

2. Mix the dressing: 1/2 cup olive oil, shallot, and vinegar. Let sit.

3. Prep the radishes and other ingredients. Toss everything in a large bowl. Season with a bit of salt.

spicy sesame soba noodles with snap peas and scallions

There are a lot of good variations of this recipe. A noodle (soba or spaghetti will work, too), with a sesame or peanut sauce, topped with scallions and toasted sesame seeds. My friend Rachel makes a great version, which always has a nice kick to it. Here I tried to add some snap peas, which don't mix physically with the noodles super well, but it's a good taste combination. It's a great recipe for picnics and potlucks. :)

1 T peanut oil
2 T minced peeled fresh ginger
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 T sesame oil
2 T soy sauce
2 T balsamic vinegar (or rice vinegar)
1 1/2 T honey (or sugar)
1 T (or more) hot chili oil
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 pound soba noodles (or spaghetti or linguini)
12 green onions (white and pale green parts only), thinly sliced
1 cup sugar snap peas, trimmed and sliced on diagonal.
sesame seeds
optional: peanuts, basil or cilantro

1. Heat peanut oil in a small skillet, saute ginger and garlic 1 minute. Transfer to a bowl and mix dressing (sesame oil, soy sauce, vinegar, honey, chili oil). Whisk.
2. Cook noodles according to package directions (soba noodles cook quickly!) and drain and rinse with cold water. Drain thoroughly and add to a bowl with the sauce. Add sliced green onions and snap peas and mix. Let sit 1 hour to absorb dressing. Then top with nuts and cilantro or basil if you are going to do so, or sprinkling of sesame. Serve at room temperature.

soba noodles with mango and eggplant and lime dressing

This recipe is - big surprise - another one of Synne's from Yottam Ottolenghi. It's one of my favorites, so many good flavors. Eggplant and mango, who would have thought?  But the colors look beautiful together, it feels light and fresh and summery with the lime-vinegar dressing.  In his cookbook Plenty Ottolenghi also writes that "this dish has become my mother's ultimate cook-to-impress fare. And she is not the only one, as I have been informed by many readers." So true!

I made this for friends who came over last night...and it was even warm enough (barely!) to sit outside. Although I know it's bad form (and risky), I often try out new recipes when cooking for friends and guests. I knew the soba noodles would work, but I tried making wild rice burgers for the first time...and that recipe needs some work. I will post it when I re-make them and make some adjustments. they were tasty, but there was something that needs some tweaking so they stay together more as burger-like patties. I'll get back to you on that.


soba noodles with mango and eggplant

1/2 cup brown rice vinegar
scant 1/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
1-2 garlic clove(s), peeled and crushed (depending on how much raw garlic you want)
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
grated zest and juice of one lime 

1/3 cup olive oil
1 medium eggplant/aubergine cut into 1/2-inch chunks 

8 ounces / 225g dried soba noodles
1 large ripe mango, cut into small chunks (how to cut a mango)
1/4 - 1/2 medium red onion, sliced paper-thin
fresh cilantro, garnish

Dressing: combine vinegar and sugar in a small saucepan, stir until sugar dissolves. Add salt, garlic, red pepper, let cool. Add sesame oil and lime juice and zest. Set aside.

Eggplant: Saute eggplant cubes in a saucepan with some oil and a little salt. Do this over med heat so they slowly cook and start to caramelize. Stir occasionally  but you can prep onion and mango while this is happening if you keep an eye out and can multitask. :)

Noodles: Follow package directions, but warning: they cook very quickly. So be ready to watch them once the water boils again, and drain. Rise with cold water and shake off excess water.

In a big bowl: Add noodles, dressing, eggplant, mango, red onion, and cilantro. Toss together. Enjoy!

Optional: You can also add firm fried tofu to make it more of a substantial meal.

best salad ever: mung bean-carrot salad with lemony garlicky dressing

Okay, I haven't been posting much, but what I'm lacking in quantity I am going to make up in quality. :) This is another amazing Ottolenghi recipe I was introduced to via Synne, who brought it to some potluck or picnic in Berlin. And every time I have made it, it has been a favorite and has been completely devoured - no leftovers. I was totally unfamiliar with mung beans, but when cooked properly they have a really nice texture and the salad combines great flavors and colors. (Look for mung beans at natural/whole foods stores, sometimes in the bulk section, or at Asian markets.) This salad holds up well and is perfect for bringing for lunch or picnics - except be warned that it does have a bit of raw garlic... Also, I wouldn't suggest making it when your kitchen is 70 degrees with 77% humidity, as mine is today, but I have been eating avocado on toast and needed to finally cook something. Not that there's anything wrong with avocado on toast...

ingredients:
140g dried green mung beans (about 2/3 cup)
60ml olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp caraway seeds
1 tsp fennel seeds
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed (or 1 garlic clove if you are worried about the raw garlic)
½ tsp dried chili flakes (red pepper flakes)
1 tsp salt
3 large carrots, peeled and cut into 1cm batons
½ tsp sugar
chopped cilantro
Grated zest of 1 lemon
140g feta, broken into chunks

1. mung beans: First get the beans boiling: bring water to a boil, add mung beans and simmer 20-25 minutes. Check after 15 minutes - the beans can vary, and you don't want them to turn to mush (I have done this once before). Taste a couple and see whether they still have some bite. Drain, shake off water, and put in a large bowl.

2. carrots: While the beans are cooking, cut and prep your carrots, into small batons. Put the carrots in a saucepan so they form a shallow layer. Add some water, some oil, and 1/2 tsp of sugar and salt. Bring to a rolling boil and keep on a high heat until the water evaporates and the carrots start to caramelize (about 8 minutes). (This is when you don't want to be doing this on a hot day...oops...) You want the carrots to still be slightly crunchy, not mushy.

3. seeds and dressing: When the beans are almost done or done, heat 2 T oil in a small saucepan and add the seeds. Cook on medium, stirring, until they start to pop (about 3 minutes). Really use your senses here: you will start to smell the seeds become fragrant, and hear them pop. Then pour the beans and hot oil over the beans (in the bowl).  Add the vinegar, garlic, chili flakes, lemon zest, and some salt.

3. Combine everything. I let the beans cool a bit, then added the chopped cilantro and feta, and a drizzle of olive oil.

salmon-asparagus quinoa salad with dill

This was part of my post-run high-protein "refuel" on Sunday after my 18-miler. Less than 6 weeks till Grandma's Marathon now! I had some smoked Alaskan salmon in the freezer from my dad (thanks, dad!) that I had taken out to thaw. I also had some cooked quinoa leftover from the salad with black beans, mango and radishes. All I had to do was roast some asparagus in the oven (with a little olive oil, salt and pepper), and add everything together with some chopped dill. Simple, but I loved the flavors together, and it felt very healthy and very satisfying.