Quinoa and Black Bean Salad

If you haven't tried quinoa (keen wah), here is a great recipe to start you off. This salad is tasty, crunchy, healthy and different from your everyday type of salad. Great thing to take in your lunch or to a work pot luck.

It has the highest protein profile of all the grains, has more calcium than milk and is a good source of iron, phosphorous, B vitamins, and vitamin E.

Ingredients:

1 cup quinoa, rinsed
2 cups veg stock or water

----------------------------

for dressing:

2 tbsp lime juice (1 lime)
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

---------------------------

for the salad:

1 tbsp olive oil

1/2 cup yellow onion, diced

1/4 cup red pepper, diced

1 medium to large carrot, diced

3 green onions, white and 3 inches of green part, chopped

1 stick celery, chopped

1 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/4 tsp sea salt

1/2 cup cilantro, rough chop

1 can black beans (preferably Eden brand) rinsed and given a lemon and salt spritz

Method:

1. In a medium sized soup pot bring stock and quinoa to a boil. Reduce to simmer, cover and cook for 12-15 minutes until all of the liquid is gone. Spread quinoa onto a cookie sheet, rake with a fork and let it cool.

2. Combine lime juice, 2 tbsp of olive oil, salt and pepper in jar; shake to mix.

3. Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a small saute pan, saute yellow onion for 2 minutes, add red pepper and carrot, saute 2 mins, add spices and saute 2 mins.

4. Toss gently to combine quinoa and beans, onion mixture, green onions and celery, then cilantro. Toss in enough dressing to coat. Serve at room temperature.

Serve with avocado if desired.

Quick Delicious Spinach, Avocado, Pumpkin Seed Salad with Lime Dressing

Okay, just a quick entry to inspire you to throw this salad together when you are in a rush but still want something healthy. Dylan and I actually had this as a 3:00pm snack last week...you know the after lunch but not quite dinner but I'm kind of hungry sort of thing. I saw this (or something similar) one night on Food Network while watching Nigella. She served smoked salmon strips with hers.

1 bag of organic spinach-I know it says "pre-washed" but I always wash it again and give it a spin around the salad spinner to dry it. Place in serving bowl.

1 avocado-slice it in half and remove the seed. Holding each half in your hand run the knife top to bottom then across to make little chunks. Use a spoon to scoop out the avocado right into your serving bowl.

Pumpkin Seeds-use as many as you want, raw or toasted organic seeds. Throw those in the bowl.

1 Lime-halved. Juice each half into a jar, add an equal amount of olive oil and some sea salt to taste.
Shake.

Poor the dressing over the greens, toss, and eat away. No, there's no picture, we ate the whole thing so fast there was no time!

What to bring to the Potluck Orzo Salad

You know the problem. There's a potluck at work or a baby shower or something of the sort and you're supposed to bring a dish. Someone beat you and signed up for "chips and salsa" first. Someone else signed up for your back up plan of "plates and napkins." Okay, you're going to have to cook. These potlucks often have an abundance of sweets but not enough "real food." Not to worry, we have the ideal recipe for you. You don't have to heat it up, it's "real food" that everyone will love and you will be praised for months to come going down into the history of pot lucks as "Remember when Jill brought that fabulous Orzo Salad?" Yeah baby, that's you!

This is Dylan's recipe which was inspired by a rice salad in The Silver Palate Cookbook which both of us love.

Orzo Salad

3 cups of dried orzo
1 sweet red pepper, chopped into small pieces
6 scallions, cleaned and finely sliced, white and light green parts
1 cup dried currants
1 shallot, peeled and finely diced
2 cups frozen peas
1 medium sized carrot, chopped into fine dice
1/2 cup kalamata olives, sliced
1/4 cup chopped Italian parsley
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Organic Feta
Pine Nuts, toasted

Vinaigrette (recipe follows)

Cook the orzo in boiling water until just tender and firm to the bite. Drain and run under cool water for a minute to stop the cooking. Set aside in strainer.

Blanch the frozen peas in boiling salted water for about 3 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold water, drain again. Set aside.

In a good sized bowl add the red pepper, the scallions, the currants, the shallot, the olives, the carrot and the parsley. Mix. Now put in your peas, mix gently. Add the orzo and mix again. Set aside and make the vinaigrette.

Vinaigrette:
2 tablespoons prepared Dijon mustard
4 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt (add up to 1/2 tsp as desired)
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon chopped Italian parsley
1/4 cup olive oil

Measure mustard into bowl. Whisk in vinegar, sugar, salt, pepper and parsley. Whisk in olive oil and adjust seasoning to taste.

Now, let's finish the salad that's going to make you famous. Add about 1/2 of the vinaigrette to the salad and toss. It should be moist, not wet. Add your feta and toss again. Transfer to a nice serving dish and cover. Sprinkle pine nuts on top before serving and bring extra dressing with you. This salad is best served at room temperature so the flavors explode in your mouth. Remember to let us know how it turns out and don't forget the little people when you're famous.

Roasted Butternut Squash Salad with Sherry Maple Vinaigrette & Croutons

In case I haven't mentioned it yet, my partner, Dylan, is a nurse in the ICU at Children's Hospital. On this rainy Saturday she happens to be working and I was wondering what I could make her for dinner. She loves salad but on this cold evening that didn't really seem fitting. I went thumbing through some cooking magazines and various cook books for inspiration and came up with this combination. Her response? "Wow, I feel like I'm at a restaurant!" We probably won't get to make this again until next fall, but if you hurry you can squeeze it in before squash goes by the wayside. This salad has some wonderful surprise flavors...raisins soaked in port, sweet maple syrup and spicy Dijon mustard in the vinaigrette oo la la.


Menu: Roasted Butternut Squash Salad with Sherry Maple Vinaigrette, Homemade Garlic-Parmesan Croutons

Roasted Butternut Squash Salad
adapted from The Best of Fine Cooking Fresh, Fall 2007

1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup port
1 butternut squash (about 2 lbs.)
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
2 Tbs. olive oil
2 Tbs. real maple syrup
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 medium head frisee, trimmed, leaves torn into bite size pieces
4-6 cups mixed fresh organic salad greens, rinsed clean and spun dry

Cover the raisins with port and let sit for at least 3 hours. I used a 1997 Zinfandel Port from the Napa Valley. I felt kind of guilty opening it for some raisins of all things, but truth be told I don't drink port (obviously, since it's been in my liquor cabinet for, oh, 11 years now).

Heat the oven to 400 degrees F and then (and oh how I hate this part) peel the squash and cut it into 1/2 to 3/4 inch cubes. Feel free to cheat and use the pre-cut squash you can find in stores these days. You can really use any kind of squash that you have on hand as long as it is flavorful. I cut open an acorn squash and it was pale, pithy and bland -- yuck! That went into the compost pile.

In a medium sized bowl toss the squash and onion with the olive oil and maple syrup. I use a grade B organic maple syrup, which has a nice flavor without being overpowering. Spread onto a rimmed baking sheet (good idea to put some parchment paper down first) into a single layer and sprinkle on a little salt and pepper. Roast, stirring occasionally, until the squash is just cooked through and it and the onions are browned -- approximately 20 minutes. You can do this step in advance if you'd like and then just microwave it before adding it to the salad.

Toss the greens and frisee together in a large bowl with about 1/2 cup of the vinaigrette (recipe follows). Plate individual salads and add some of the still warm (not hot) squash and onion mixture. Drain the raisins and sprinkle some on each salad. Serve with garlic-parmesan croutons (recipe follows).

Sherry Maple Vinaigrette

1/3 cups sherry vinegar
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
2 Tbs. real maple syrup (I use Grade B - very mellow)
1 Tbs. finely chopped shallots
1 cup grapeseed oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

Combine the vinegar, mustard, maple syrup and shallots in a bowl and whisk in the oil in a slow, steady stream. Season with s & p to taste.

Garlic-Parmesan Croutons

These croutons are easy to make, hard to mess up and they taste really good. These can be made using the bread of your choice. Tonight I used 5 slices of some ciabatta we had on hand and a few slices of sour dough bread stolen from the loaf we had in the freezer. The garlic is subtle so as not to overpower your salad or dressing.

6 cups bread, cut into bite size pieces
3 tablespoons of olive oil
2 large cloves of garlic, crushed, chopped up
sea salt
parmesan, finely grated

Put your oven to 400F and get out a 9x13 baking sheet with edges

Pour olive oil into a bowl and stir in the garlic. Allow to sit for a few minutes.
Add the bread to the bowl and toss until all of the pieces get a little oil. Spread the bread onto your baking sheet. I then use my microzester, holding it over the bread and lightly grating some parmesan onto the bread squares. Lastly sprinkle the bread, again lightly, with salt.

Bake for 5 minutes, turn, and bake for another 5 minutes, watching carefully so nothing burns. Remove from oven and place on paper toweling, allow to cool. If needed add another sprinkling of salt. Store in airtight container.

Orzo with Spinach, Feta and Lemon

Today cool, overcast and Orzo Salad. This is my version of a Rebecca Katz recipe that can be found in one of my fave cookbooks, One Bite at a Time. I love how bright the lemon makes this dish and I think it will perk up your day too.

1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup finely chopped red onion
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp finely chopped garlic
3 cups fresh spinach-clean it spin it and give it a rough chop
1/3 cup crumbled organic feta cheese
1 tsp fresh lemon juice
1 Tbsp grated lemon zest
1 cup orzo
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts-more if you love them like I do


In a large saute pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions and a pinch of salt and saute until just starting to brown. Add the garlic and saute for 30 seconds. Add the spinach and a pinch of salt and cook until wilted (a couple of minutes will do it). Now, add the feta cheese, the lemon juice and half the zest. Taste. If you feel it is lemony enough, don't use the rest of the zest. However, if you like the adventure go ahead and put it all in.

Meanwhile, on the stove...Bring yourself a couple quarts of water with a 1/2 tsp of salt to a boil. Add the orzo and cook about 10-12 minutes-firm but not hard in the middle. Drain. Put the orzo in a beautiful dish and stir in the spinach mixture and the pine nuts. Enjoy!

Serves 4