Magazine Monday #74: Quinoa & Chickpea Salad with Tomato Vinaigrette

After a disappointing last couple of issues, Canadian Living's March 2011 issue has a lot in it that I have bookmarked. This quinoa recipe is the first of a few recipes I plan on making. I love quinoa, and it makes me feel good to eat it because it's so nutritious. This was an easy salad to put together and I have lots around in my fridge for lunches & snack attacks.

I used fresh dill from my AeroGarden, which I had in abundance until I harvested it all a few days ago to make this dish and the borscht I posted about yesterday. Fresh dill is the shizz!

Quinoa & Chickpea Salad with Tomato Vinaigrette

1 cup quinoa, rinsed
2 cups green beans, trimmed & chopped
1 can chickpeas, drained & rinsed
1 red pepper, diced
1 cup feta cheese, crumbled
(my addition - a whole pile of fresh dill, chopped)

Tomato Vinaigrette

1/3 cup bottled strained tomatoes (passata)
3 tbsp red wine vinegar
3 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp liquid honey
(original recipe: 1/2 tsp each dried Italian herb seasoning and salt)
1/4 tsp pepper
pinch cayenne (which I skipped)

In a saucepan, bring quinoa and 2 cups of water to a boil; reduce heat and cover. Simmer for 12 minutes. Fluff with fork & let cool.

Meanwhile, in a saucepan of boiling water, blanch green beans until tender-crisp, about 3 minutes. Drain & refresh in a bowl of ice water. Drain & transfer to a large bowl. (Fresh green beans at this time of year around here are scarce and not worth the money if you can find them; I used frozen beans which I steamed & then cooled.)

Stir in cooled quinoa, chickpeas, red pepper, and feta.

For the vinaigrette, whisk together all the ingredients and pour over the quinoa mixture; stir to coat.

This is an excellent salad, and the dressing has a hint of sweetness that nicely compliments the saltiness of the feta. Definitely a keeper recipe!

Dill = Awesome

My AeroGardens continue to produce awesome stuff, providing some much needed zazz to my diet. The dill has done tremendously; I couldn't be happier with it. And I finally got around to using it tonight.

I inherited some nice baked potatoes from a catering job I did over the weekend, and this was very exciting because A) they were free, B) I didn't have to bake them myself, and C) I immediately knew what I was going to do with them once they were in my hot little hands - and I knew that my plans would involve dill.

I have felt a need for a shot of summer now that we are in the dead of winter, and nothing says summer more than potato salad! With lots of dill!

Very simple:

2 large baked potatoes, cubed
4 green onions, chopped
2 hard boiled eggs, chopped
2 small carrots, chopped
a whole bunch of dill, chopped
enough mayo to bind everything just nicely

And voilà:


Sooooooo looking forward to this winter being over and done with. In the meantime, I have another use for my dill, also inspired by the catering I did on the weekend, but that is a post for the near future!

At Last - Salad!

My AeroGardens have come through! Yesterday I harvested the first lettuce from my lettuce AeroGarden, and I made a nice fresh salad for dinner. While purchasing the other salad ingredients in LOGS, I gave the lettuce section in the store the finger!


The AeroGardens have been growing for 32 days now. Here are the herbs & tomato plants:

AeroGardening

I have some really generous friends. After complaining about the crap lettuce at LOGS lately, a friend of mine offered to send me some AeroGardens she had bought for herself but never even taken out of the boxes. One thing led to another, and one day the Purolator guy showed up at my place with a huge box full of three 7-pod AeroGardens.

I had no place to put them at first, but as timing & good luck would have it, my dad got a new dining room table yesterday and I got a new bed. Dad came down to help me assemble my new bed and he brought down his old dining room table, and I just set the AeroGardens up on it in my spare room.

This is so exciting! Since I have three, I am dedicating one garden to my dad so he can have cherry tomatoes. The other two are for me; one is for mixed salad greens so I don't have to rely on the crappy stuff from LOGS over the winter (or ever again, for that matter), and the other one is for a 7 herb mix that includes dill, mind, oregano, thyme, and three kinds of basil.

I am totally stoked about this! They are very bright and they make a bit of a humming & gurgling noise because they are pumping water all the time to the bottoms of the seed pods, but that's OK. I can always close the door.

I'll definitely keep you posted!

Cooking with Kylie; Prawn & Mint Salad

Kylie Kwong's Simple Chinese Cooking is rapidly becoming my most frequently used cookbook these days. The food is simple, delicious, and it really fits my budget. The recipes make enough for me to have leftovers if I want them, which is convenient for my work schedule. I am completely addicted to the Prawn Wontons with Spring Onion, Ginger, and Vinegar Dressing; it's just so amazing and I am really getting quick and adept at putting wontons together.

Two nights ago, after indulging in a pre-menstrual grease-filled pig-out, I decided I needed to eat something light, and I decided to make Kylie's Prawn & Mint Salad. I substituted some of the ingredients for ones I liked (cucumber and celery were out, yellow pepper was in, and I used romaine lettuce instead of iceberg), threw this together, and totally loved it! The mint was so nice & fresh and the dressing was light and tasty. I am really digging Kylie's use of malt vinegar in some of her recipes; it's so flavourful and rich.

The recipe for the salad is here.

Ambrosia Salad for a Crowd

This is one of those dishes you find at church potlucks, in delis, and at my work! And, to be honest, I kinda like ambrosia. I mean, marshmallows, coconut, and mandarin oranges? That is a pretty delicious combination! This recipe makes a huge amount and will provide dessert for about 25 - 30 people, though I'm not sure this is an "authentic" ambrosia like you'd find at the deli, because mandarin segments in a can are pricier than fruit cocktail, but when I make it, I often just use the mandarin oranges anyway because I think it's better that way. But even with the fruit cocktail, it's good stuff, and the diabetics at work like it because they can have it, too.

Ambrosia for a Crowd

6 cups mixed fruit or fruit cocktail
3 cups mandarin orange slices
3 cups pineapple tidbits
3 cups miniature marshmallows
1 bag coconut
4 1/2 cups sour cream (we use light)

It's as easy as this: drain all the fruit very well. Combine all the ingredients in a big bowl, mixing lightly. Chill thoroughly. Serve.

Chicken Fajita Salad

This salad helped me with a recent fajita craving. Avocados were on sale at Save-on Foods, four for $2.99 - an excellent price! Use whatever veggies you like.

Chicken Fajita Salad

1 boneless skinless chicken breast, cubed
2 tsp fajita seasoning
3 tbsp water

salad greens
sliced avocado
sliced red onion
chopped peppers
kalamata olives
shredded cheddar cheese

for the dressing: 2 tbsp salsa, 2 tbsp light sour cream, a couple squeezes of lime juice

Fry chicken until cooked, add seasoning & water & simmer a couple of minutes until thickened.

Place chicken on top of salad greens & other veggies. Top with dressing, cheese, and olives.

Excellent!

101 Uses for a Roast Chicken #19: Chicken & Ramen Salad

My mom used to make this great salad with cabbage, ramen noodles, some kind of nut, and a few other things. Alas, I no longer have the recipe. And I for some reason have had this salad on my mind lately... So, I decided to make my own version using some roast chicken, veggies, and a dressing I whipped out of my you-know-what based on what I remember of my mom's recipe. Here's what I did.

Chicken & Ramen Salad

1 package ramen noodles,

1 cup roast chicken

1 can sliced water chestnuts

1/2 cup chopped red onion

1 cup carrots cut into matchsticks

1 can miniature corn, sliced lengthwise, then in half

For the dressing:

seasoning packet from the noodles

2 tbsp sunflower oil

1 tbsp sesame oil

1 tsp soy sace

1 tsp sugar

2 tsp rice vinegar

1. Break the noodles up into small-ish chunks & run under hot water for a few minutes. You want them soft, but still retaining a bit of crunch.

2. Combine salad ingredients in a bowl & toss.

3. To make dressing, whisk ingredients together. Add to ramen mixture & toss.

4. Enjoy!

It was very good! Not as good as my mom's, but still very good. Vary the veggies if you want - this is what I had in my pantry.

On another note, Dave of My Year on the Grill is having a giveaway! Go here for details on how to win a copy of Steve Raichlen's How to Grill.

Magazine Monday #46: Bean & Barley Salad

Before we get to my recipe selection for this week, answer me this simple question: which of these things is not like the other:Yeah, one of my 8 or 9 bean plants is producing green beans. They are tough and stringy and not very good - obviously the product of a bad seed. Hmph.

Anyhoo, let's get onto today's MM recipe. Since I have beans coming out of the old wazoo, I have to start getting creative with how I use them, or else I'll become bored very easily. So, I found this recipe in Canadian Living's July 2009 issue while looking for a side dish to serve with the huckleberry pork loin I made.

Recipe here.

I made a few substitutions. I used spinach instead of arugula and I used cider vinegar instead of the white wine vinegar. All in all, this was a great salad! Light, hearty, nourishing, nutritious - a huge hit. Definitely a keeper!

Also joining me this week:

Cathy of Accountants Can Cook? made a roasted cauliflower risotto from Canadian Living's most recent issue.

Andreas of Delta Kitchen made an absolutely mouthwatering Chanterelle Carbonara from German magazine Essen & Trinken.

Magazine Monday #46: Lemony Potato Salad

I love potato salad - it's one of my summertime favourites. Why I only eat it in the summer is a very good question indeed. Perhaps I need to change that.

Anyway, this recipe from Gourmet's July 2009 issue caught my eye because of it's simplicity and the fact that it uses lemon. I also love lemon!

The recipe is here.

Because I have a ton of dill growing in my garden, I added about 1/4 cup chopped fresh dill - and this salad was superb. I served it for a family BBQ and it was a huge hit. Definitely a keeper recipe from Gourmet!

Joining me in trying out magazine recipes this week are:

Paninigirl made a luscious Berry Tart with Marscapone Cream from an old issue of Gourmet.

Andreas of Delta Kitchen made Chili Pasta from a German magazine called Lecker.

Pierce of Life in the Slow Lane at Squirrel Head Manor made mini sliders from Rachael Ray.

Bobbi of Bobbi's Art made a beautiful watermelon & cuke salad from the most recent issue of Gourmet.

Shrimp & Pasta Salad

Since my appetite has been all out of whack lately, I've had to resort to making total comfort foods! Terrible! Lots of toast, lots of ham sandwiches, even some ramen noodle soup, which is something I never eat unless absolutely desperate. Then there is pasta. I love pasta. I also have, in addition to all of my beans, a great crop of dill this year. Last year I had two bug-infested plants that gave me very little; this year, I have an entire row of as-yet bug-free dill, and I just love it. I came up with this pasta salad recipe after making a lemony potato salad recipe that will be featured in an upcoming post.

Shrimp & Pasta Salad with Lemon & Dill

1/2 lb short pasta (I used penne)
1/2 lb shrimp, shelled & deveined
1 orange bell pepper, chopped
1 handful fresh dill, snipped with kitchen shears
3 green onions, sliced
juice of 1/2 lemon
2 cloves garlic, crushed or grated
1/4 cup light mayo
1/4 cup light (7% milk fat) sour cream

1. Cook pasta till al dente in salted water. In the last minute or so of cooking, add the shrimp. I roughly chop my shrimp so they go a bit further, and this cuts down on cooking time, too. Drain in a colander and run under cold water until completely cool.

2. Combine pasta & shrimp with remaining ingredients. Serve.


This was really good, and it'll last me a few days, too, which is just great. It could have used more lemon but that is easily enough improved upon. I just hope I don't lose my appetite for it, too...

Incidentally, I used the POM BBQ sauce from this post last night as stirfry sauce - I just added some cornstarch. MUCH better. Really good, in fact. Hmmm... POM stirfry sauces... Hmmm...

Pomegranate Vinaigrette

This is the salad dressing I made to go with the salad that went with the brisket that also had a pomegranate sauce. It was really delicious! Again, it was a recipe I totally made up on spec and that I needed to tweak a bit before getting right.

Pomegranate Vinaigrette

1/2 cup POM Wonderful Juice pomegranate juice
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 clove garlic, grated or crushed
1/2 - 1 tsp or to taste lemon grass powder

Put ingredients in a jar, shake the crap out of it, and dress salad!

Tortellini in Herb-Garlic Dressing

If you don't already read Donna-FFW's blog, I highly recommend you do so! You'll learn a lot about food and sex, two things that go great together, and one of which my life sadly lacks. TMI? Too bad!

Anyway, when I saw this recipe I was immediately on the hunt for some tri-colour tortellini. You'd think this would be an easy enough thing for me to find, but no; the local overpriced grocery store sells fancy stuffed pasta, but none if it I like and, like just about everthing at the local overpriced grocery store, the stuffed pastas are overpriced. Luckily, I found some one sale at Save-On in Nelson last week.

Donna-FFW's recipe can be found here.

I tweaked it a bit. I added a cup of diced zucchini, and instead of basil & parsley, I used a whole bunch of cilantro. I also added a tad more garlic. The end result was fabulous! This was a simple meal to put together, and it was light and tasty - just what I needed on a hot, stress-filled day.

Thanks again for another winning recipe, Donna-FFW! You rock!

101 Uses for a Roast Chicken #14: Mexican Chicken & Potato Salad

I roasted a chicken over the weekend - a chicken I got cross-border shopping the week before that cost me 88 cents/lb. The whole chicken cost about $3.50. This is ridiculous: I get all happy & decadent-feeling when whole chickens go on sale for $1.99/lb at my local overpriced grocery store, but this doesn't happen as often as it used to. In fact, when I see them on sale now, they're more like $2.29/lb. This chicken also tasted better than it's Canadian counterpart, was bigger overall, and roasted to a lovely golden colour.

Can you blame me for going to the States? Really? Can you?

Anyway, this week you're getting two whole 101 Uses for a Roast Chicken posts because I made two things with this chicken. This potato salad is one of them.

I know it's not exactly the season for potato salad, but, honestly, is it ever not the season for potato salad? I say no!

Mexican Chicken & Potato Salad

1 lb nugget potatoes, cut into uniform size for even cooking
2 cups chicken taken from a roast chicken
3 green onions, sliced
1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped
1/3 cup low-fat mayo
1/3 cup low fat sour cream
1 tbsp (or to taste) taco or fajita seasoning mix

1. Boil the potatoes in some salted water until they are fork-tender. Drain and soak in cold water until cold.

2. Meanwhile, dice up the chicken and put in a large bowl. Add the onions and cilantro. Combine the mayo, sour cream, and seasoning mix in a small bowl.

3. When the potatoes are cold, dice them up into bite-sized cubes. Add to the chicken. Add the dressing and combine all ingredients.

Enjoy!

Curling Wind-up Dinner

Last night was our ladies' curling club's year-end dinner. This was catered by John Cochrane (not sure of the spelling) who is a local chef. This is my third time attending the dinner and he's cooked for us each time. Each time it's been spectacular. John made the dessert this year, too. Our bonspiel back at the beginning of last month was a financial success (I didn't attend) and because of that, all members got their meals for $5! Amazing value and an amazing meal, and it's always nice to go and hang out with the girls and do something social with them. So, here is the rundown of the food we ate.


We had two appies, a baked brie in phyllo with a grainy mustard sauce. I didn't get a picture of it, unfortunately, but I did get a picture of this spicey shrimp dish, made with tomato sauce and cayenne pepper. The shrimp are dipped in cornstarch and deep fried. This was delish!








We had three salads, and this spinach one is my favourite. Normally, I don't like fruit in an otherwise savoury salad, but this is great: strawberries, candied almonds, and a balsamic dressing.










Greek salad.














This is a ramen & cabbage salad with a rice vinegar dressing.











This salmon was the star of the evening. It's roasted with sundried tomatoes, and herbs...maybe even a pesto-like mixture. It was to die for.











These green beans were really good, too. They were cooked with sesame seeds and fresh ginger.











This was my plate of food. I enjoyed every morsel. We also had bread and basmati rice with our dinner.










Dessert, which John made, too: banana, peanut butter, and chocolate frozen cheesecake. This was good, but not my favourite flavour combination. I tend not to like things flavoured with bananas, though I do like actual bananas.






That's it for this year! Curling starts up again in November - can't wait!

Cellophane Noodle Salad

I had a lot of left overs from the Hot Sour Salty Sweet meal, and I hate stuff withering to waste in my fridge. I had a bunch of cellophane noodles (AKA bean threads) left over from the salad rolls I made as well as a whole bunch of herbs from the herb and salad plate; I also had a lot of lime wedges left over, and I had a decent amount of the Must Have Table Sauce (nuoc cham) sitting in the fridge, too. As I was wondering what to do with this all, I happened upon a recipe in HSSS for Cellophane Noodle Salad with Oyster Mushrooms (p. 144). In reading it through, I got the idea to use up my leftovers in a similar salad.

Cellophane Noodle Salad with Chicken & Herbs

1 chicken breast, cooked, cooled and diced
1 bunch cellophane noodles/bean threads, cooked according to package directions, cooled & snipped into manageable lengths
1 cup chopped mixed herbs: I used mint, cilantro, and basil
2 sliced green onions
juice of half a lime
1/3 recipe nuoc cham (recipe to follow)

Toss everything together gently in a large bowl.

This was fantastic! The flavours were so bright and fresh! My tongue practically danced!

Now, for the nuoc cham, or Vietnamese Must Have Table Sauce (p. 28 HSSS), adapted by me

1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1/4 cup fish sauce
1/4 cup water
1 tbsp sugar
1 clove garlic, grated or minced

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and stir to dissolve the sugar.

Enjoy!