Pear and Feta Salad with Citrus Vinaigrette

I try to have one meal a week be a nice big salad. Sometimes I just toss whatever is in the fridge that needs to be used onto a pile of leaves and we pour some balsamic vinegar over the top and call it good--I'm not alone here, am I? Other times I actually think it through and try to make something nice, dressing and all. Tonight, I am proud to say, was of the latter kind. This salad could also be served as a side, obviously. Just omit the chicken and make it on a slightly smaller scale (unless you're one of those who eat the way they should--you know, with half the plate being greens.)

Pear and Feta Salad

1 chicken breast

2 T. oil

8 oz. salad greens (I used baby spinach and red lettuce), slightly chopped if necessary

4 or 5 white mushrooms, rinsed and sliced

1 large celery stalk, chopped

3 small Bartlett pears, chopped

1/2 red onion

handful crumbled feta cheese

Directions:

1. Heat oil in pan over medium heat. Place chicken breast in pan and cover. Cook for 4 minutes on each side, or until cooked through. Remove from heat and let cool slightly. 

2. Meanwhile, place all remaining ingredients in salad bowl. Chop cooked chicken and add to the salad. 

Citrus Vinaigrette

1/4 c. olive oil

1/4 c. citrus vinegar, like Trader Joe's Orange Muscat Champagne Vinegar (which I just bought, and so far enjoy)

1 clove garlic

1 T. Dijon mustard

dash of salt

dried thyme

dried basil

Directions:

1. Mix all ingredients together until fully emulsified. Pour over top of salad and toss lightly.

Fresh Strawberry Salad

I made this for dinner tonight and it has a light, fresh taste and was a delightful side to the quinoa-stuffed zucchini we had as our main course. It would actually make a great summer salad.

Fresh Strawberry Salad
Ingredients:
4 oz. baby spinach, rinsed
4-5 sprigs fresh basil, rinse and stems removed
6 large strawberries, quartered
juice of 1 lemon
3 T. olive oil
salt and pepper

Directions:
1. Place spinach, basil, and strawberries in a serving bowl.
2. In separate bowl, whisk together lemon juice, olive oil, and salt and pepper. Pour over top of salad. Toss if desired (I didn't bother) and serve.

Ginger Roasted Beets

I love roasted beets. I like beets alright in general--pickled beets are amazing--but I'm not head-over-heels for boiled beets. They're all right, but most I've had are kind of bland. Then I happened upon this recipe for roasted beets. We grew beets in our garden last summer and ate these all season long. They are delicious!

Then I learned about golden beets. Hmmmmm...gold? That just sounds too fun to pass up! So I snagged a few and decided to try a different spin on the roasted beets. And BEHOLD: ginger roasted beets were born.

A quick note on the roasting: it does take a while, but the reason they're so good is because it kind of caramelizes the sugars in the beets. Golden beets, I noticed, have a little more mild flavor than red beets and they're not quite as sweet, but they still taste great, and it's a great way to get additional color into your diet!

This makes a small amount: there are only three of us in my family (okay, only two who ate more than one beet--baby does like them she just didn't eat anything tonight) and these were totally gone. So, be sure to amp it up if you need to!

 Ginger Roasted Beets


3 to 4 good-sized golden beets
2 T. oil
2 T. butter
ground ginger
zest of 1 small orange (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a pan with foil and pour in oil.

2. Wash beets and remove stems. (You can use the greens too! Try this recipe.) Cut beets into slices about 1-inch thick. Place beets in foil-lined pan and toss lightly to coat with oil.

3. Roast in oven for 1 hour. After an hour, check on beets--they should be fork-tender. If they aren't, keep roasting them for up to 30 more minutes. (The older the beets, the longer it will take to soften them.) Remove from oven and allow to cool some. (You can actually roast them a few hours in advance like I do, then just warm them up in the sauce.)

4. While cooling, melt the butter in a pan over medium-low heat. Add ginger. I just poured it in until the butter thickened slightly into a sauce--it probably came to about 2 tablespoons. Stir vigorously so the butter doesn't burn. If you choose to add the orange zest, now would be the time to do so.

5. Add beets and stir until completely coated and heated through. Enjoy!

Quinoa Stir Fry

I don't actually know if this would qualify as a stir fry, but I really just don't care. So that's what I'm calling it. I have cooked with quinoa quite a bit as of late--it's a whole protein with none of the fat or cholesterol you get from meat.

For the record, I am a meat lover. LOVER. But I'm also a life lover, which means I've got to reign in my meat-loving-ness once in a while. Not to mention I'm also poor, though to be honest, quinoa doesn't help too much in that regard.

Back to what I was saying before, I've been cooking with it a lot lately, but nothing has really been great so far. Quinoa is really good for you, and tastes like something fish would eat (i.e. bland). It has very little flavor at all. But last night I had a quinoa revelation! I took random vegetables from my fridge, chopped them up and added some dill and--oh, it was just great! The carrots and baby spinach added some sweetness to it and the rest just gave a nice round flavor. Even Mike liked it, and I have been hard pressed to get him in with the quinoa since I started experimenting with it. Anyway, here goes:

Ingredients:
1 c. quinoa, cooked like rice (literally, just cook it like rice; I did add some tomato-chicken bullion to it while it cooked)
2 T. oil
3 medium carrots, rinsed (I never peel my vegetables, it's just too much work)
2 large cloves garlic, peeled (obviously)
2 celery ribs, rinsed
about 8 ounces cherry tomatoes (or any tomatoes of similar size, these are heirloom 'cause that's what I had)

a handful of baby spinach, rinsed and torn

pinch of salt

about 1/2 T. dried dill

Directions:
1. While quinoa is cooking, put oil in a large pan over medium heat. Slice up carrots and add to oil. Mince garlic and add to carrots. Let cook for about five minutes, tossing occasionally so carrots and garlic don't burn.
2. Chop the celery and slice tomatoes in halves and add to the pan. Again, keep stirring occasionally to prevent burning.
3. As soon as quinoa is finished, add it to the vegetables. (You may need to add a little bit of water to prevent burning. A half-cup should do.) Stir to mix. Turn off the burner and add baby spinach; stir until the spinach is slightly wilted. Add salt and dill.

Note: You could use this as a side dish, but we just ate it for supper with no sides. This was enough for me, my baby daughter, and my manly-eating husband, but there weren't any leftovers.

Crangeberry Salad

And yes, I did just blend orange and cranberry. That's how I roll. I realize I've been gone a ridiculously long time, but let's be honest, it's not been my longest hiatus. I really am trying to be better about posting. But sometimes I get in these ruts where I don't make anything new for a week or two. Boring. Not that every meal needs to be new and exciting, but I like to mix it up at least once a week. My other excuse is better: I was gone for three weeks visiting family. Deal.

When I returned from abroad, I discovered the two bags of fresh whole cranberries in the back of my fridge. Ah, yes...what to do with them? My mum had made some awesome sugared cranberries for Christmas but I didn't have the recipe, and you know my rule about posting things on here, so I had to think up something else. Then some friends invited us over for dinner a couple of Sundays ago. "Bring a salad." Of course. That's what everyone brings when they're not making the main dish. Cranberries in a salad sounded different--and most of all it used some of those dang berries! This makes enough for two people, so be ready to pump it up when your family starts asking for it.

Ingredients:
1 small orange, sectioned (I've used clementines and navel, I think I like the navel better)
a handful of fresh cranberries, rinsed
about three handfuls of mixed salad greens, rinsed
a handful of chopped or whole walnuts
1 T. apple cider vinegar
1 T. canola oil
1 T. honey
1/2 T. spicy mustard

Directions:
1. On a bed of the greens, add cranberries, walnuts, and  orange slices.
2. In separate bowl make honey dressing by whisking together vinegar, oil, honey, and mustard. Pour on salad (you may not use it all). Toss lightly.

Note: The dressing is kind of experimental. I didn't make it the first time, we just ate it with a raspberry vinaigrette my friends had. I never keep salad dressing in the house, so I decided to give making one a shot. Honey sounded good, so I did that, but I didn't have any mustard. It tasted fine, but it needed a little more flavor, hence the added mustard. Although maybe garlic would work better. Let me know if you make it what you think!

Garlic Spinach

I was eves-dropping on a conversation a couple nights ago (it's a nasty habit, I know, but I just can't help it!) and I suddenly heard the words "spinach" "garlic" and "olive oil" and I thought,

WHAAAA????

I remember growing up, my mum bribed my little brothers with the idea that they would be as strong as Popeye if they ate all their spinach. (I hope everyone reading this blog is old enough to know who Popeye is. Otherwise, you're probably too young to be using the internet without direct supervision.) I also remember spinach coming mainly from a can and boiled in a pan, although I did know it was eaten fresh and uncooked in faraway parts of the world. Even so, I always liked spinach, at least that I can remember. I remember putting lots of butter and vinegar on it, but I liked it. (My mum's probably going to comment on this post and leave a bunch of "corrections.") Since then I have eaten spinach mostly raw and in salads, which is good, but gets kind of old, I'll be honest. But I know I'm supposed to get plenty of leafy greens every day, so when I heard the aforementioned word-combination I grew terribly excited. Last night and tonight we had this recipe as a side. (My husband is probably less excited than I.)

Ingredients:

2 T. olive oil

LOTS of raw baby spinach (I'm still trying to get the amount right, it just cooks down so much!), I'd say maybe 5 or 6 big handfuls (two hands for me), washed and chopped coarse

1 large clove of garlic, diced

2 t. apple cider vinegar

Directions:

In a pan, heat oil over medium-low heat. Add garlic and saute 1 minute. Add spinach and saute until mostly wilted. Remove from heat and add vinegar. Toss to coat. Serve immediatly.

Did you know cooked spinach has more than 20Mg of lutein per cup and raw spinach only has 3.7Mg? That's pretty interesting, ain't it? Lutein is an antioxidant, in case you didn't know, and directly helps our eyes and skin. On top of that, apple cider vinegar (which is really popular back East, but doesn't seem to be so much out West) is also full of antioxidants and malic acid, which helps fight fungal and bacterial infections. So eat up!

Home Fries

Three words to describe home fries: Classic. Tasty. Potatoes.

Don't feel bad if you couldn't think up such poetic words on your own. My degree is in English.

Home fries are ridiculously easy to make unless you fall victim to one FATAL MISTAKE. But more about that later.

Here's the recipe for some good homey home fries.

Ingredients:
4-5 medium red potatoes
seasoned salt

Directions:
1. Lightly but thoroughly spray a shallow-edged pan. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. After washing the potatoes, slice them in half, and then sliver each half into four or five wedges. BE CAREFUL DOING THIS. Use a sharp knife and watch your fingers.
3. Spread potato wedges in one layer over the pan. Sprinkle seasoned salt lightly over the potatoes. Stir around with a spatula and sprinkle a little more over the potatoes.
4. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Viola! You have classic. Tasty. Potatoes.

WARNING! THIS IS THE FATAL MISTAKE! (And you thought it was cutting your fingers off, didn't you?) Seasoned salt is delightful and tasty and salty, but be careful how much you use. It is better to not have enough than to have too much. You may want to start out light at first and then adjust it next time if you like the fries a little saltier. 

Corn Bread-Oyster Stuffing

I've used this recipe for quite a few years now and we love it!

1-1/2 cups butter
2 pkg (8 oz. size) corn bread stuffing mix
3 cans (7 oz. size) oysters
1/2 cup each chopped onion, green pepper, and celery
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. dried rosemary
1/4 tsp. pepper

1. In 6-qt pot, heat 1 cup water and 1 cup butter, to melt butter. Remove from heat, toss with stuffing mix.
2. Drain oysters; cut in half. In 1/2 cup butter in medium pan, saute oysters, onion, green pepper, and celery, 5 minutes. Add salt, rosemary, pepper. Add to stuffing; toss lightly to mix well.

Makes enough for a large (20-25 lb.) turkey.

Chilean Pevre

This makes A TON! My mum, who still has five kids at home, cuts it in half when she makes it for our family, so you can adjust it accordingly. This is really a party-sized amount, but it's the recipe Vero gave us.

NOTE: Pevre is kind of like a salsa, which means you can chop the ingredients as big or as small as you want. Vero keeps them fairly small, but they're still definitely chunks.

Ingredients:
2 white onions, chopped
10 tomatoes, peeled and chopped (again, adjust according to your family)
fresh cilantro - rinse in cold water; twist off stems; twist to tear in half; chop
2 lemons, juiced
1/4 c. olive oil
1/2 c. salt - I know it's a lot. You'll really use it to taste
Mexican style tomato sauce, to taste (typically between 1/4 and 1/2 cup

Directions:
1. Combine onions with salt (to taste). Mix and let set for 10 minutes.
2. Peel tomatoes, chop cilantro, mix together.
3. Squeeze out excess moisture in onions. Mix with tomatoes and cilantro.
4. Add rest of ingredients and mix together.

It's really good on chips, french bread, or you could even toast the bread a little to make a sort of bruschetta. Tasty!

Sauteed Vegetables

Mike loves it when I've got fresh vegetables and nothing to do with them 'cause then I'm forced to saute them. (Sometimes I just do it anyway, just 'cause they're so good!)

The amounts of course vary a lot, depending on how much you're cooking, so there's not too much of a point to putting amounts at all. I never measure them out anyway when it comes to sauteing. Here are the ingredients though:

Olive oil (some people like to mix this with butter, but I only do that for asparagus)
Minced garlic, or garlic powder
Vegetable (our favorites are summer squash, zucchini, asparagus, and tomatoes) - cut in discs, (just snap the asparagus)
Salt & Pepper

Heat the oil and start to saute the garlic. (If you're using garlic powder, wait until the vegetables are added, then dust it over them.) Add the desired vegetable and saute until they've browned just slightly on either side. Watch them carefully so they don't burn. Pull them out and place on a paper towel to absorb some of the excess oil. Salt and pepper to taste.

I often serve this as a little appetizer when our friends come over for dinner. They take almost no time, and let me finish getting dinner on the table. It honestly amazes me how much everyone loves them every time.

Cloud Biscuits

The recipe we use in our household is from an old National Grange Cookbook. This is often Sunday night fare for us--especially if there is any honey, molasses, or, better yet, company on hand! We love them.

Cloud Biscuits

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tablespoon sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup shortening
1 egg, beaten
2/3 cup milk

Sift dry ingredients together. Cut in shortening until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add egg and milk. Knead. Roll until 3/4-inch thick, cut with biscuit cutter. Place on ungreased baking sheet. Brush tops with a little milk. Bake in 450-degree oven for 10 to 14 minutes or until tops are golden brown.

Baked Brie

This is one of my favorite things from the Jordan Pond House! It's so easy to make, too.

Ingredients:
Phyllo dough (If you buy it frozen, make sure it's thawed enough so that it wont break too much.
     Phyllo is very delicate, so be careful with it.)
Brie (If you buy it in a wheel, cut it into triangles.)
Butter, melted
Directions:

1. For every triangle, you'll need two sheets of phyllo dough. Lay them out, and place the brie near one corner of the sheets, but still have the entire piece on the dough.
2. Carefully take the corner and wrap it over the top of the dough. Wrap the rest of the dough around the brie until the entire triangle is wrapped. Brush butter over parts what will overlap, so that the top piece will stick to the bottom one.
3. Brush the top and sides with butter. Not too much or it will make the cheese greasy. Place in a small pan, put in 450 degree oven until golden brown and flakey. The inside should be gooey.

JPH serves it with crackers and grapes.

Rhubarb Sauce

None of this is exactly measured. Sorry!

Ingredients:
Chopped rhubarb
Water
Sugar

Directions:
Add just enough water to the rhubarb to just barely cover the bottom of the pan. If you think you need more later, you can add it. Put saucepan on medium-high burner. Bring to a boil, while slowly adding sugar. (I add mine in 1/4-cup increments.) Stir often. The rhubarb will break down into mush. The finished product should be a little thicker than soup, but not as thick as stew. It'll be sweet, but you should still be able to taste the sour rhubarb through the sugar.