Filed under: side dishes and salads
Today was a day to splurge on some serious game day less-than-fat-free chow, as I knew I was going to be able to celebrate my Vikes schooling the Packers. Plus, my husband is a Packer fan, and I thought he might want a little something to eat while he cried in his beer.
This scrumptious, rich and delicious recipe was taken from the Food Network website here, and is Paula Deen’s Three Cheese Hot Artichoke Dip. I made some very, very minor modifications for personal taste which I’ll list below. Hit the link above if you want Ms. Paula’s original.
Hot Artichoke Dip
8 oz. softened cream cheese
1 c. mayonnaise
14 oz. can of artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1 small bunch of green onions, white parts chopped (about 6 onions?)
1/2 c. grated parmesan
1 c. shredded mozzarella
Approximately 6 shakes of Tabasco
1 dash of Worcestershire
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In mixing bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth. Add mayo and again beat until combined. Add all other ingredients and stir together until well combined. Transfer to a pie plate or baking dish. Bake about 40 minutes until bubbly and top is lightly browned. Serve with crackers or veggies. I served it with Triscuits, which was delish!
Filed under: side dishes and salads
I think I perhaps mentioned an attempt this year to grow my own tomatoes. We’ve gotten some, but truth is, I tried to container grow them, and having no clue what I was doing, I overcrowded. The ones that are surviving are delicious, though, and I never understood the joy of growing my own food until this year.
Yesterday Cooper picked a few small ones for me and I immediately thought they’d be enough for some vegetarian BLTs for tonight’s dinner. Then I remembered the other scrumptious looking locally gown beauties I saw at our neighborhood grocery store last night, and I thought of the perfect side dish for our BLTs….a Caprese pasta salad.
Yeah, I know…not overly original, but I can assure you that when I just had my first biteful of that basil, tomato and mozz, I didn’t care in the least!
Here’s what I did this time…
Caprese Pasta Salad
3 c. dry pasta of choice (I used whole wheat rotini)
4 to 5 med. tomatoes
10 large basil leaves
1 c. mozzarella pearls
salt and pepper
2 cloves garlic
2 T. olive oil
1 T. balsamic vinegar
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Cook pasta according to directions. Rinse and allow to cool.
In the meantime, chop tomatoes into bite sized pieces.
Chiffonade basil leaves by rolling them up together and slicing thinly.
Add chopped tomatoes, basil shreds and mozzarella to pasta.
In small bowl, add balsamic vinegar, garlic cloves either finely diced or put through garlic press, and salt and pepper to taste. Slowly whisk in the olive oil. When whisked together, pour over pasta, tomatoes, basil and mozzarella. Toss gently and serve or chill to serve later.
Mmmm, mmmm. I could never tire of this combination of flavors. So simple and such a wonderful fresh taste of summer!
This morning, Cooper, D.Jones and I walked to a local farmer’s market. I have been trying to talk D.Jones into joining a local CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) where you pay a fee beginning in February and throughout the growing season, you pick up a weekly 3/4 bushel box from a neighborhood drop site and enjoy locally grown, seasonal produce.
He thinks I wouldn’t use it all and we would feel awful for wasting any of it. I’m trying to convince him otherwise.
So, when we went to the farmer’s market today, we picked up some gorgeous beets and I promptly went home and began looking up recipes with which to use them.
I found this recipe from Giada de Laurentiis and made a few minor modifications to come up with this….
Beet and Goat Cheese Salad
1/4 c. balsamic vinegar
2 large shallots, thinly sliced
1 T. honey
1/4 c. olive oil
salt and pepper
4 to 5 med to large beets, cooked and peeled and cut into bit sized cubes
4 c. mixed salad greens
1 handful walnuts and 1 handful almonds, toasted
1 oz. craisins (I used an individual snack pack)
1 ripe avocado, cut into bite sized cubes
crumbed goat cheese
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Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Line baking sheet with foil.
Whisk vinegar, honey and shallots in bowl. Slowly add olive oil while whisking.
Place cubed beets in bowl and drizzle with just enough of the above vinaigrette to toss to coat. Place beets on foil-covered baking sheet and roast for 12 to 15 minutes. The beets will begin to carmelize. Remove from oven and set aside to cool.
Toss mixed salad greens, walnuts, almonds, and craisins with remaining vinaigrette. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Divide salad between 2 to 3 large plates. Place cubed avocado and beets on top of salad and then sprinkle with goat cheese.
In an effort to make a meal that was not only organic, but seasonal as well, which I am sometimes bad about being mindful of, we enjoyed the heck out of some delicious and juicy summer tomatoes the other night.
Roasted Tomato Soup with Basil with homemade croutons
3 lbs. tomatoes, halved
1 small onion, quartered
3 garlic cloves
1 T. olive oil
2 T. thyme
salt and pepper to taste
handful of basil leaves (10 to 12?)
Grease baking pan. (I used a paper towel with a bit of olive oil and rubbed the entire inside of a baking dish). Place tomatoes, onion and garlin in baking dish. Drizzle with olive oil, then sprinkle with thyme and salt and pepper. Bake at 400 degrees for half and hour. Remove from oven and allow to cool a bit.
In blender (for smoother consistency) or in food pro for a slightly chunkier soup, process until blended. Transfer to sauce pan and heat through. (at this point, I was thinking the soup was a tad thin for Cooper to enjoy, so I added 1/2 cup of soy milk…but it’s not necessary).
For croutons:
I took a fresh baguette and sliced it thinly. Then cut each slice into small cubes. While tomatoes in baking dish were cooling, I tossed the cubes with a small bit of olive oil, spread them on a cookie sheet, reduced oven temp to 350, sprinkled them with garlic salt (you can use any herb) and baked them until they were crunchy and turning slightly golden.
To round out our meal, I added a side of the following salad:
Onion, Tomato and Cucumber Salad
3 tomatoes, chopped
2 large cucumbers, peeled, seeded and chopped
1 med. onion, diced
1/4 c. olive oil
2 T. mayo
1 T. brown rice vinegar
1 T. dijon mustard
1 clove of garlic (put through press)
Crumbled feta for topping
Salt and pepper to taste
In large bowl, combine onion, tomatoes and cucumbers. In small bowl, whisk together oil, mayo, dijon, vinegar, minced garlic, salt and pepper. Pour over tomatoes, cucumbes and onion and then toss to coat. When serving, sprinkle with feta.
I’ve been eating a vegan diet for some weeks now and haven’t found it too difficult to maintain, honestly, until today. Today I thought I’d make my cheesehead hubby a nice little treat before I had to run off to class and leave him with the wild child. My husband hasn’t protested one bit about not having anything other than soy cheese in the house lately, though I know it’s a hardship for him. The man loves his cheese, and truth be told…I’m guilty as well.
So, in good faith I made these little puff pastry tidbits and next thing ya know, I was diving into the gouda. I’m so ashamed. Not really. It was delish.
Anyway, I figure I’ll just limit that kind of stuff and still try to eat conscientiously for the most part. Thankfully I never did place a title on anything I’m doing as far as eating and/or lifestyles, so I’m not a cheating vegan or anything, I’m just a girl who doesn’t want to do any harm, but can’t always give up the goods. 
Kay, here’s what we had for dinner last night that caused my downfall. The salad was good, but honestly, I prefer spinach to arugula, or a nice mix of both. Arugula alone to me is just too much.
Arugula Salad
1 package of organic pre-washed arugula leaves
1/2 large while onion, thinly sliced
2 med tomatoes, cut in wedges
Dressing:
2 T. olive oil
1 T. lemon juice
1 T. white wine vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
Combine arugula, onion & tomato. Whisk dressing ingredients with a fork or small whisk and drizzle over salad. Toss gently.
The salad was nice and light, and I love using the fresh, sweet, summer tomatoes. Which leads me to “the” pizza bites. Mmm…worth every minute of the cheese consumption.
Meditteranean Puff Pastry Pizza Bites
1 sheet of puff pastry dough (if frozen, thaw according to directions)
3/4 c. shredded gouda
1 diced tomato
1/3 c. kalamata olives, pitted and chopped
1/2 c. crumbled feta
minced basil for topping, if desired
Unfold puff pastry and cut sheet into 16 squares. Transfer squares to greased baking sheet. Sprinkle squares with gouda, then top with tomatoes, olives and feta. Bake at 400 degrees for about 18 minutes or until beginning to brown on edges and bottom of puff pastry.
Sprinkle with basil, if using, and serve warm.
Filed under: side dishes and salads
If you’ve read any of my prior posts, you probably get that I love couscous. In particular, Israeli couscous. So, with that in mind, I try to incorporate couscous into many of our meals at home. It helps that our three year old is also a fan.
You also may have read in prior posts that my husband is a pickier eater, at times, than said three year old. He tries very hard not to criticize anything that I make, but sometimes it’s apparent that he’s not overjoyed….the other night being one of them.
The other night he announces that he doesn’t really like Israeli couscous. Ooops. Oh well. He could have said something like a year ago….
Today though, he’s out of town, so out comes the Israeli couscous! That, added with one of my favorite combos of tomato and basil, and I have one totally yummy salad for lunch.
Garlicky Tomato and Basil Couscous
1 1/2 cups Israeli couscous
2 cups water
15-20 grape tomatoes
fresh basil leaves (8 to 10 leaves or so)
1/3 c. pine nuts
3 to 4 cloves of garlic, finely diced or put through garlic press
olive oil (1/3 cup plus 1 or 2 T.)
1/2 lemon
salt and pepper to taste
Cover bottom of medium saucepan with olive oil (1 to 2 T.). Add 2 cups Israeli couscous and toast on med-low heat, stirring constantly until beginning to brown. Add 2 cups water and increase heat to bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to low. Let simmer for approximately 10-15 minutes or until water is absorbed.
Remove couscous from pot and let cool in large bowl.
While couscous is cooling toast pinenuts in skillet over low heat, just until warmed. Then add to couscous.
Cut grape tomatoes in halves or thirds and add to couscous. Wash basil leaves and tear into small pieces. Add to couscous.
For dressing:
Whisk together 1/3 c. olive oil, juice of 1/2 lemon, 3 to 4 garlic cloves put through a press, and salt & pepper to taste.
Pour over couscous, tomatoes, basil and pinenuts and toss.
**Add-ins**
I love the crunch of onion in cold salads, so I also added about 1/4 of a red onion, finely diced. The salad is wonderful without it, and some may find the onion overwhelming, but I like it with the onion. Also, right before serving, I added a little bit of freshly shaved parmesan to the bowl. I also found that to be a nice addition.
Filed under: side dishes and salads | Tags: spicy potato salad, vegan potato salad
Even though when I looked out my window this morning, I saw this…
and this….
I still remembered that it’s Palm Sunday. Which means that Easter is only a week away. Which means that it’s Springtime. Or should be anyway. Snow? On April 5th? I mean, c’mon. Even in Minneapolis that’s just wrong.
But anyway, back to my early morning train of thought. So, it should be springtime and springtime for some reason equals my mom’s potato salad. Or at least the early version of it. If I’m lucky I get many opportunities throughout the summer to enjoy it.
They say that you shouldn’t mess with perfection, and my mom’s potato salad is definitely perfection, but I thought I’d actually try my hand at making up a potato salad from scratch. All my own doing. Which is kind of scary, but exciting nonetheless. I mean, I seriously love potato salad and you may remember my attempt at a vegan potato salad last year, though that was loosely based on my mom’s. This one’s all mine, and so I can do what I want….and I like spicy. Not crazy spicy…though I do recall a time many many years ago that D.Jones bet me to eat some super sonic chicken wings that came with a warning that said they could cause blisters around your mouth. Yeah, that’s smart…and I did it. Gross.
Okay, back to my potato salad. Here it is. If you like potato salad and you like spicy…this is good. Very good.
And for those of you who know D.Jones, you know he doesn’t eat potato salad or pasta salad. He says pasta and potatoes are not meant to be served cold. Weirdo. But this morning I needed a taste tester other than myself and he was kind enough to oblige. So drumroll…..he loved it! I never thought I’d see the day!
Spicy Vegan Potato Salad
4 to 5 potatoes depending on size
3 stalks of celery
1/2 red onion
8 radishes
1 c. light canola mayo
1 T. dijon mustard
1 tsp tabasco
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp celery seed
fresh ground black pepper to taste
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Put the potatoes in a large pot and cover with water. Put on stovetop on high heat to boil until potatoes are fork tender.
While the potatoes are boiling, dice the celery, red onion and radishes and put in large mixing bowl.
When potatoes are fork tender, remove from water to cool.
While potatoes are cooling, mix canola mayo (I’ve never used this particular product, but it’s good), dijon, tabasco, sugar, salt, celery seed and black pepper. Set aside.
When potatoes are cool to the touch, remove the skins, and cut into bit sized pieces. Add potatoes to vegetable mixture and fold together gently so as not to break up your potatoes.
Scoop dressing on top of potato/veggie mix and fold in lightly until well-blended.
Can be served at room temperature immediately or chill and serve.
Filed under: side dishes and salads
Ahh..the challenges of being married to a man who is vegetarian and a picky eater. That’s right. Vegetarian I do. That’s easy. But add to the mix no potato salads and no pasta salads and I’m sometimes stumped.
Since we’ve been frequenting Common Roots Cafe, though, D.Jones has become more open-minded to salads that are not leafy and green. For example, he is starting to enjoy some nice quinoa salads, and a brown rice salad here and there. Though he’s picky about the salads, too. He doesn’t like them if they have craisins, raisins or any kind of fruit in them. He also prefers that they don’t have nuts like walnuts in them. Sheesh.
Today I found a recipe that I thought might just make it past his scrutinizing glare, so I gave it a go. Doug’s response…”two thumbs up!”
Borrowed from the book Quick Fix Vegetarian by Robin Robertson, the original recipe is called mediterranean orzo salad. Here’s my version:
Orzo Salad for D.Jones
1 1/2 cups orzo
2 cloves garlic
2 T. white wine vinegar
1 heaping tsp Dijon mustard
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
fresh ground black pepper
1/2 to 3/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
1/2 cup mixed meditteranean olives, chopped (you could use kalamata, greek, or whatever combo you like)
fresh chopped parsley…a few sprinkles. Whatever looks good
5 to 6 scallions, chopped
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
Cook the orzo in a pot of salted boiling water until tender. 5 to 7 minutes or so. Drain and rinse under cold water.
In small bowl, whisk together garlic either minced or put through a garlic press, along with the vinegar, mustard, olive oil, salt and pepper to taste. I used a fork and whisked it all until it was well blended. Set aside.
In large bowl, combine orzo, sun-dried tomatoes, olives, parsley and scallions. Pour dressing over the salad and toss to combine.
Serve at room temp or cool in refrigerator to serve chilled.
It turns out beautifully colorful and absolutely delicious!
