The Many Colors of Rice: Cranberry-Orange Red Rice Salad

03. September 2011 · 80 comments · Categories: cooking, Dinner, food, recipes, Savory, Side dishes, vegetarian · Tags: , , , ,

Everyone loves rice.  It’s the most important staple food for a large part of the world’s human population, especially in East and South Asia, the Middle East, Latin America, and the West Indies.

The seeds of the rice plant are first milled using a rice huller to remove the chaff (the outer husks of the grain). At this point in the process, the product is brown rice. I’m sure you all know this chewier, nuttier form of rice that healthy folks eat instead of the typical white rice.

Personally, I like white rice.

Black rice is one of several black colored heirloom plants. It’s high in nutritional value and has a similar amount of fiber to brown rice…who knew?! I bet people would way rather eat black rice than brown rice. The rice council of America should start promoting that more. Then maybe Americans would get a little more fiber in their over-processed, fatty diets.

Wild rice isn’t rice at all! It’s actually four species of grasses. It’s not even directly related to Asian rice, although they are close cousins. Like close enough that it’s probably still not ok for them to marry and have kids. ;)

Weedy rice, also known as red rice, is a species of rice that produces far fewer grains per plant than cultivated rice and is therefore considered a pest. Take that red rice!

Isn’t that all you ever wanted to know about rice…and more? ;)

Ok, so now that you’ve had your little lesson for today. Let me introduce you to something delicious. This here salad is apparently made from the weedy version of rice, but I promise you it doesn’t taste weedy at all.

Truth be told, I wanted to use black rice because I thought the color would look pretty with the cranberries, oranges, and mint in the recipe. But the stupid little nyc supermarket I went to didn’t have black rice, and I wasn’t about to go to two or three other markets to maybe find it. Apparently, black rice turns purplish when it cooks, so it probably wouldn’t have been all that much prettier than the red rice I ended up using.

Colors aside, this dish would be beautiful with whatever variety of rice is your favorite. Or even with another grain like wheatberries. That could be tasty.

I’m submitting this recipe to #ricelove. Please join in on the #ricelove fun by linking up any rice recipe from the month of September.  Click here to enter your link and view this Linky Tools list… Powered by Linky Tools


Cranberry-Orange Rice Salad
Slightly Adapted from foodman11 on Epicurious.com

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Serves 4

1-1/3 cups Black, Red or Wild rice
2 large oranges, supremed (peeled and sectioned)
1/2 cup sweetened dried cranberries
1/2 cup diced toasted pecans
1/2 cup sliced scallions
1 Tablespoon olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup chopped fresh mint
1/4 Tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 Tablespoon orange zest
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
sugar to taste

Prepare rice according to package directions; set aside until cool.

Combine cooled rice with remaining ingredients.

Let stand at least 20 minutes for flavors to blend.

Serve chilled or at room temperature.

Not Too Busy for Black Bean Burgers

11. August 2011 · 40 comments · Categories: cooking, Dinner, food, recipes, Savory, vegetarian · Tags: , ,

Confession: I totally used making this recipe for dinner as an excuse to skip going to the gym after work.

Fact: this recipe took me all of about 15 min total to make ( if you don’t count the 20 minutes I spent going to 3 different markets to find whole wheat buns for my picky boyfriend who refuses to eat white bread of any sort)

Conclusion: Apparently I don’t need much convincing to skip a workout (I wish that wasn’t the case).

The good news is that I promised myself, with Nate as my witness, that I will wake up early enough tomorrow to work out before work instead. I even went so far as to tell him that if I don’t wake up when I’m supposed to, he can pull the sheets off me and splash water on my face. Cold water. Now if that’s not a genuine promise, I don’t know what is.

The real point of this whole little story is that this recipe is quick.

And easy.

And requires few ingredients.

And is delicious.

So delicious that your carniverous husband/bf/self won’t notice that it’s missing meat. Plus, its way cheaper and healthier than making meat burgers.

I also want to say that most black bean type burgers fall apart when I try to flip them, but these were unusually sturdy!

Make these: your wallet, waistline and palatte will thank me ;)


Quick Black Bean Burgers
Adapted from Cooking Light (11/09)

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Makes 4 patties

Ingredients:
1 cup bread crumbs/quick oats or a combination (I used half/half)
1.5 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons chopped garlic
1 (15.25-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 teaspoon grated lime rind
3/4 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 large egg white, lightly beaten

Combine oil, garlic, and beans in processor; pulse 8 times or until beans make a thick paste. Scrape bean mixture into bowl.

Stir in breadcrumbs, rind and remaining ingredients. With moistened hands, divide bean mixture into 4 equal portions (about 1/3 cup mixture per portion), shaping each into a 3-inch patty.

Spray a large nonstick skillet and heat over medium-high heat. Add patties to pan; reduce heat to medium, and cook 4 minutes or until bottom edges are browned. Carefully turn patties over; cook 3 minutes or until bottom edges are done.

Farfalle with Zucchini, Tomato and Basil

21. July 2011 · 40 comments · Categories: cooking, Dinner, food, recipes, Savory, vegetarian · Tags: , , , , , ,

So what do you do when you have basil left over even though you already made 3 batches of pesto, one of which went into your Pesto Potato Salad? You look for other basil recipes, of course! Because you just can’t have too much basil.

Now I know there are cilantro haters out there, but do basil haters exist?  That would be weird. That’s like saying you don’t like chocolate.

Basil is such a quintessentially summer herb. Whenever it’s in the kitchen, the aroma perfumes my whole apartment. I just want to bury my face in it and inhale.

I’m not sure if it’s because it smells so good or because I associate childhood memories with the smells. Don’t you love when you get a whiff of something and it immediately transports you back to another time (hopefully a good one)? Smell memories are the best kind.

Anyway, when I had that leftover basil, one recipe immediately came to mind. It’s one that my mom used to make when she did a little catering on the side. It’s an easy, fresh summer meal, and it’s SO good.

The base is a sauce that’s made from soft goat cheese that melts and coats all the pasta and veggies. It’s heavenly. Please make this for dinner this week.

The recipe is below. You’re welcome.


Farfalle with Zucchini, Tomato and Basil
Taken from Mom’s recipe box :)

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Serves 4

Ingredients:
10 oz. Farfalle
2 small zucchini, quartered lengthwise and sliced thin crosswise
1/4 cup olive oil
5 oz. Robiola or other mild, soft goat chesse, cut in pieces
1 large tomato, peeled, seeded, diced
1.4 cup chopped fresh basil
2 cloves garlic

1.  Cook farfalle al dente. Drain, rserving 1/2 cup cookin water.

2. In skillet, saute zucchini in oil on med-high, stirring til golden on edges. Salt and pepper to taste. Add pasta, stir and cook 3 min.

3. Remove skillet from heat, stir in cheese and as much pasta water as necessary to form a sauce.

4. Stir in tomato and basil. Salt and pepper to taste.

5. Serve immediately.

*Note: If you will be saving some for leftovers, save some of the pasta water too, as it thickens in the fridge.

Picnic-Perfect Pesto Potato Salad

15. July 2011 · 25 comments · Categories: cooking, Dinner, food, recipes, Savory, Side dishes, vegetarian · Tags: , , ,

How’d you like that title for alliteration? ;) The reason I say that it’s perfect for picnics or outdoor bbqs is because there’s no mayonaisse in this salad. Which means no spoiling and no making partygoers sick. I think that’s a win-win for everyone.

Plus, I’m pretty sure I haven’t met a person who doesn’t eat pesto. This is a sophisticated take on the typical potato salad. It contains toasted pine nuts mixed in with the taters and sauce.

So how did I decide to make this recipe? Well, let me tell you a little story. It starts like this:

Grocery shopping in New York City completely sucks. The markets are small, with limited supplies and the prices are through the roof. This is the main reason that Nate loves to shop at Trader Joe’s.

TJ’s is great for some things, but for produce it’s really not the best. Since we just moved and have to completely restock our fridge, I suggested we take a walk over to the West Side and get some stuff at TJs and then go next door to Fairway.

I had heard that Fairway is pretty much the best supermarket in Manhattan. It’s large with competitive prices. So this weekend we packed up our shopping bags and headed over.

I have to say that their produce selection far surpassed any other market in NYC. While there, I noticed a bounty of basil. They were selling a gigantic bunch for under $2! Compared to the little package at the other markets for like $4, I was thrilled.

Needless to say, pesto was on my mind.

Now, if you’re going to make the effort to haul out the food processor for this recipe, you should definitely double or triple the amount of pesto you make. I’m sure you know that pesto can be enjoyed many ways, so it’s always good to have some around. I tripled the pesto part of the recipe so I could have some on hand for pasta when I’m feeling lazy later in the week.

I <3 basil.

This dish is best served at room temp but could easily be served cold as well. You should definitely make it for your next summer party.


Potato Salad with Pine Nuts and Pesto
Source unknown

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Serves 4-6

Ingredients:
1 cup packed basil leaves
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
4 Tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1 garlic clove, crushed
2 lb boiling potatoes
salt and pepper

Make pesto- put basil leaves, 2 Tbsp pine nuts, oil, cheese and garlic in blender. Puree.

Steam potatoes, cut in 3/4″ pieces. Place in bowl, toss with pesto while still warm.

Add rest of pine nuts, season with salt and pepper.

Serve room temperature.

Another Summer BBQ recipe! Cheddar Jalapeno Cornbread

12. July 2011 · 12 comments · Categories: Baking, Bread, cooking, food, recipes, Savory, Side dishes, vegetarian · Tags: , , , ,

Nate loves corn bread. Who doesn’t.

Unfortunately for my waistline, I love all bread. But I do find cornbread to be one of the tastier varieties.

There are so many different types, though. I used to think I preferred the slightly sweet ones to the savory ones, but this recipe changed my mind.

Nate, his brother, and I headed down to his mom’s house in PA for 4th of July weekend. And as is required for this patriotic holiday, we had ourselves a barbecue. I thought this cornbread sounded like a perfect accompaniment to our grillings.

The result was cheesy, slightly sweet, salty, spicy and amazing. Lucky for me, Nate’s mom owns a really old cast iron skillet, but this could easily be made in an 8 inch square baking pan.

Please do yourself a favor and make this ASAP. You will thank me.


Cheddar Jalapeno Cornbread
Taken from  Mad Hungry: Feeding Men and Boys 

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Serves 6-8

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup stone-ground yellow cornmeal
1 tablespoon sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon coarse salt
Pinch of cayenne pepper
1 1/2 cups milk
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
1/2 cup corn kernels (frozen, fresh, or left over from a cooked cob)- I used frozen that I got to room temp in microwave
2 tablespoons chopped pickled jalapeños (optional, but highly recommended!)

1. Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C).

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, salt, and cayenne. Blend in the milk, eggs, and butter. Fold in the cheese, corn, and the jalapeños, if using.

3. Scoop into a well-seasoned 10-inch cast-iron skillet or a buttered 8-inch square baking pan and smooth over the top. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, until the top is golden brown and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean.

Note: Do not overbake or the corn bread will be dry. Cut into wedges or squares and serve hot.

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