Learning to Love Eggplant Tomato Gratin

Posted on July 10, 2013 by Marilyn

Click here to view recipe.

My Favorite Eggplant Dish

My Favorite Eggplant Dish

There are very, very, very few fruits or vegetables that I don’t love and eat with gusto these days. This adoration for fresh produce, however, was not always the case. As a child I was scrawny and a very picky eater, so they say. My wise mother ignored my fussiness with foods and didn’t ever force me to eat or finish anything which shows that our tastes and horizons often change as we grow older… and wiser.

Eggplant was one of the vegetables I HATED in my youth. My Uncle Lou and Aunt Esther lived in Iowa, about a mile from us, and their back yard contained a family garden. Among other vegetables, they grew and harvested eggplant. Honestly, I didn’t give it a chance and in retrospect this was probably because it has a funny texture and smell unless you try it prepared in different ways.

Elegant Eggplant

Elegant Eggplant

Fast forward. Today, eggplant is one of my absolute favorites. I love the deep, rich and unusual color. And it’s so versatile! I make it using many many many various recipes and sauces and cooking methods. I pulled this one from Mark Bittman’s column and changed it to my taste, adding more basil and pureeing the tomato sauce. And I always pass a bowl of freshly grated parmesan cheese for guests to add if they so choose.

As it turned out, I had a few cups of extra tomato sauce because I didn’t want to douse the eggplant in sauce. As luck would have it, later in the week I ended up with scads of extra turkey loaf. I chopped up some of the cooked turkey loaf and added it to this sauce, then served it over whole wheat spaghetti. SOOOO good.

As a side note, I save dried or stale whole wheat or grainy bread if I don’t eat my way through an entire loaf (often, because there are just two of us at home now). So the bread crumbs are always a staple in my freezer! AND I love the idea of baking slices of beautiful eggplant without gallons of olive oil. Less is more. Because I’m a fan of simplicity I add basil while cooking the tomato sauce rather than layering it in as instructed. Buon Appetito!

Mark and Marilyn’s Global Eggplant with Red Sauce

Serves 4-6

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Ingredients
  • 3 medium sized eggplants, about 2 ½ -3 pounds
  • 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil + a bit to drizzle over the dish before baking
  • 1¼ teaspoons salt, plus more to taste
  • Fresh black pepper to taste
  • 1 large yellow onion, chopped
  • 2 tablespoons minced garlic (I love garlic-use less if you don’t)
  • 2  28-ounce cans diced tomatoes, with their juice (I like Muir Glen fire roasted)
  • 1 ⅓ cup fresh basil leaves (chiffonade)
  • 1 ½ tsp granulated sugar
  • 1 cup whole grain breadcrumbs
  • Optional: 1 cup fresh grated parmesan cheese for serving (pass along side)
Instructions:

Heat the oven to 450°F and place the racks with at least 4 inches between them.

Cut the eggplant crosswise into ½-inch-thick slices and arrange them on two parchment lined baking sheets.

Use two tablespoons of the oil to brush the top of each eggplant slice and sprinkle the slices with ½ teaspoon salt and some freshly ground black pepper.

Roast the eggplant until the slices brown on the bottom and sides, 10 to 15 minutes; turn with tongs and cook the other side until the slices are crisp in places and golden, another five to ten minutes. At this point remove the baking sheets with the eggplant from the oven and lower the heat to 400ºF.

Meanwhile, put two tablespoons of the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. When it’s hot, add the onion, sprinkle with another ½ teaspoon of salt, and cook, stirring occasionally, three minutes. Add the garlic and stir for one minute. Add the canned tomatoes, cut basil and add sugar (always add a touch of sugar when making tomato sauce) and cook, stirring occasionally, until this thickens, 20 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning. I use my immersion blender and smooth out the sauce by pulsing it with the hand blender. Remove two cups of tomato sauce and reserve for another time or purpose.

Cover the bottom of a 9 by 13-inch baking dish with about ½ inch of the tomato sauce. Nestle a layer of eggplant into the sauce. Cover with a thin layer of tomato sauce and repeat a second layer until all the eggplant is used up

Put a thin layer of tomato sauce on top of the dish. Sprinkle with the breadcrumbs, the remaining ½ teaspoon of salt and drizzle with more olive oil.

Bake until the breadcrumbs are golden and the sauce has thickened, 15 to 20 minutes; let rest for 10 minutes before serving. Serve hot, warm, or at room temperature. I garnish each portion with a few whole basil leaves.

If you aren’t serving with cheese, this is vegan. If you use gluten-free bread, it is gluten-free. If you make it my way, it is wonderful.

This is SUCH an easy and hearty dish. I am thinking it would be good with some chopped mushrooms too, sauteed along with the onion if you want it even heartier. And it’s great to put some pasta on the bottom of the plate and top it with a portion of eggplant and tomato sauce – the noodles soak up the juice.

 

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To Market, To Market

Posted on July 3, 2013 by Marilyn
My Favorite Bags

My Favorite Bags

In the trunk of my car you will find an orderly bunch of reuseable grocery bags – probably about seven in all. Seattle recently began charging customers at grocery stores, and even clothing stores, if they require a new paper or large plastic bag for purchases. YAY for Seattle! I have been in the (good) habit for at least five years, always carrying my repurposed bags with me in the grocery stores, but most importantly at Farmers Markets where I buy scads of produce, eggs, cheese, and most of our food for the week.

Pictured are three of my favorite bags and, of course, I have a story for each. For some insane reason, it makes me happy to own these three totes. Most women love clothing, but I wold rather own interesting grocery bag. Go figure…

1) My Pike Street Market Frank’s Quality Produce bag

Actually I have two of these gorgeous babies. They were gifted to me at least 25 years ago by the owner of Frank’s Produce because I was such a loyal customer.The vendors down at the Market knew me and my kids because we visited the bursting stalls so frequently. And back then, canvas bags were a new, novel idea. This bag you see is HUGE, not to mention sturdy and durable … I use it for every single trip to the market. I even bought these bags for each of my three children last Chanukah These reusable bags have withstood numerous washing machine cycles over a quarter century, and vendors and grocery clerks always remark how large and how stable they are. The folks from Frank’s produce stand have been so friendly and wonderful to me all these years – I’m glad I can help advertise their amazing produce … and their bags!

2) My Alchemy Goods Ad bag

I bought one of the original models of this bag over ten years ago when Eli, Alchemy Goods’ founder, just started his company. Eli was my daughter’s best friend since the time they were three years old. Both Rachel and Eli have engineering degrees; Rachel now practices acupuncture and Eli is a renaissance man and owns Alchemy Goods. The handles of this yellow bag are made of recycled seat belts reinforced with bike tires, the main bag upcycled from advertising banners.. I’ve put this bag through the wash as well. It’s holding up well despite constant use and abuse.

3) My latest, greatest market basket type bag (the aubergine one with handles)

This one is collapsible and so stylish, complete with a pocket for my phone and keys. It was a 2013 Mother’s Day gift from my son and family in California! (The gift note read “we hope this makes one of your blog posts!”) I love it, and when filled with colorful fruits and vegetables, I feel very “together” carrying this basket. Bonus: I can use a brush and soap to clean the canvas. So yes, dear children, you made my blog post and I always always think about you when I carry this eggplant colored basket – made by Reisenthel. I’m thinking it would be terrific if I ever have a chance to pick apples for plums from a tree.

Go on, get yourself some fun, colorful, upcycled or trendy bags. You are what you carry!

 

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The Prohibition Cocktail

Posted on June 26, 2013 by Marilyn

Click here to view recipe.

Jonathan enjoying a perfect Prohibition

Jonathan enjoying a perfect Prohibition

Iowa in June – lush, green, gardens already producing basil, garlic and a beautiful array of colorful flowers. On the down side – the rivers are overflowing and flooding is a real possibility.

The evening we arrived, our son-in-law and daughter prepared a wonderful meal of ground lamb nachos with mint sauce. Before we ate, however, Jonathan got busy inventing a new cocktail that he aptly named “Prohibition.” He didn’t write down the quantities or method but I eyeballed his preparation and have a close recipe below. The tastes are very complex – not too sweet and not too boozy. Just how I like ‘em.

About the rye: this is produced in Iowa and according to Rachel, it was made in small batches until very recently when it hit the big time. Today, Costco in Iowa sells Templeton Rye and it is also available online. I found their website fascinating and highly recommend all you history buffs and foodies check it out! This is the first time I have ever tasted rye whiskey and I found that drinking it straight out of the bottle was a bit overwhelming but I loved it in this cocktail! I’ll be bringing a couple of bottles of this stuff back to Seattle.

The Prohibition

(This makes 2 cocktails)

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Ingredients
  • 2 long (3-4 inches) strips of lemon zest
  • 1-2 large lemons (enough for ¼ cup fresh squeezed lemon juice plus zest)
  • 1 heaping tablespoon of good quality local honey, heated in the microwave for 10 seconds
  • ½ cup Templeton rye
  • 2 tablespoons cinnamon/sugar mixture
Instructions

Chill two martini glasses in the freezer for about a half hour, then rub the rims of the glasses inside and out (about ¼ inch down) with lemon juice; dip each glass rim into a cinnamon/sugar mixture. The glasses can be kept in the freezer if you aren’t ready to pour the cocktail soon!

Zest lemon with a zester that allows you to create long, thin strips of peel (my favorite kind is similar to the one pictured here). Drape the peel over your martini glass so some hangs inside the drink to impart the lemon oil.

Heat the honey and lemon juice in the microwave for about 10 seconds and then place into a cocktail shaker with the rye. Fill to two inches below the brim with ice. Shake for about 30 seconds, make a lot of important sounding racket then pour (strain if the shaker doesn’t already have a strainer) into your chilled martini glasses.

Jonathan tried to dissect the beverage, but like I told him, don’t add bitters, don’t add more or less honey, don’t add or delete a thing! In other words, it is perfect as is!

 

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The Basic Brownie

Posted on June 19, 2013 by Marilyn

Click here to view recipe.

The Basic Brownie – Beautiful!

I was recently in Portland, Oregon visiting old friends and having dinner, and, in order to prepare dessert, my hostess pulled out a box of brownie mix. “STOP!!!” I screamed. I started rooting around in her cupboard and refrigerator and quickly collected all the ingredients needed to make brownies from scratch. Hallelujah!

For the life of me I don’t understand why anyone would use a brownie mix. By the time you go to the store, buy the packaged stuff with all kinds of additives, then add eggs and oil…you might as well bake with real ingredients and have a fresh, wonderful pan of decadent, chocolaty brownies.

This is a perfect beginner’s baking project – it requires just a few ingredients and a bit of elbow grease – no mixer, just a large bowl and spatula. Brownies can be simple or provide a base for more elaborate desserts – think a scoop of ice cream on top, hot fudge or caramel or peanuts sprinkled about – even some coarse fancy salt on top of the caramel. Now we’re talking!!! Even a little crème fresh and sliced berries alongside is nice…endless possibilities!

I hope you’ll take the challenge and even do a little side-by-side taste test. You’ll never go back to the box!

Basic Brownies

Ingredients:
  • 2 ounces unsweetened chocolate
  • 1 stick butter (1/2 cup)
  • 1 cup less 2 Tbsp granulated sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • ½ tsp pure vanilla extract
  • ¼ c regular flour
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • 1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts (optional)
Instructions:

Grease an 8 x 8 x 2 brownie pan (remember the homemade PAM? Use it!). and preheat oven to 325 degrees with the rack in the middle of the oven.

Cut one stick of butter into 6-8 pieces and put in a 2 quart glass bowl with the two squares of chocolate. Melt in microwave 45-60 seconds, stopping every 20 seconds to stir well. At the end you’ll have to stir vigorously for a few minutes to dissolve the chocolate. If you don’t have or want to use a microwave, melt slowly in a double boiler or pan on very, very low heat so you don’t burn the chocolate.

Crack eggs and beat with vanilla in a separate bowl. Then stir into the melted chocolate/butter mix. Stir in sugar and combine well.

Mix salt with flour to disburse, and then dump into the liquid mix. Use spatula to blend. Stir in nuts.

Place brownie batter into the greased pan, even the top with a table knife and bake for 35 minutes or until done. Cool on rack, and once they are totally cooled sift powdered sugar over the top before serving.

My mom used to cut and wrap these brownies individually in waxed paper, and then put them into a sealed container — perhaps it was a coffee can with a lid? That way, we could take a brownie without a lot of fuss and bother and didn’t get our fingers all over the rest of the batch!

You can easily double this recipe and bake them in a 9 x 12 pan too.

It doesn’t get much easier than this, folks.

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Perfect Peanut Sauce & Chicken

Posted on June 12, 2013 by Marilyn

Click here to view recipe.

Skewers of chicken & peanut sauce

It’s starting to warm up in Seattle – which means grilling season! The other day as I set about to grill some chicken on the barbeque – I felt the urge to make some type of dipping sauce. And for some crazy reason, my peanut sauce came to mind. I’ve been making this peanut sauce for over a decade; everyone who tries it loves it.   The ingredients aren’t very sexy, but at one point I even thought of mass producing and selling it. I love this for dipping chicken, and sometimes I even thin out the sauce and add it to asparagus, bow tie noodles and grilled chicken with some sliced, colorful peppers for a main dish.  I might use extra peanut sauce for dipping rice paper wrapped vegetable spring rolls.

All the ingredients

I made chicken skewers by the thousands back in the day. Through trial and error, I segued from cutting a longer, thinner piece of chicken and weaving it in and out of the skewer like a needle and fabric. Now I grill the breast halves intact after briefly marinating them in some olive oil and seasoning — then they are allowed to sit for a few minutes before I cube them and stab each square piece with a skewer. This method produces much moister chicken bite that is easy for company to dip and eat. For an appetizer, I figure 3-4 skewers per person (each chicken breast half makes a least 4 for pieces).

Peanut Sauce

Makes 1 ⅔ cups of sauce (enough to serve and lots to repurpose too)

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Ingredients
  • ½ cup chunky commercial peanut butter
  • 1/3 cup rice wine vinegar (unseasoned)
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 3 Tbsp tamari sauce (or soy sauce)
  • 2 Tbsp water
  • 1 Tbsp toasted sesame oil
  • 2 Tbsp commercial chili sauce
  • 2 large garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 tsp fresh ginger root, peeled and minced
Instructions

Whisk all ingredients until well combined and if you like smoother peanut sauce put in the blender or food processor. This can be kept in the refrigerator for one month.

I serve a platter of the chicken skewers and garnish them with fresh cilantro and sliced orange halves, then pass a bowl of peanut sauce or additional dipping sauce as well.

Grilled Chicken Breasts

Serves 6-8 easily

Ingredients
  • 2 chicken breast halves
  • 1 Tbsp olive oil
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • ¼ tsp pepper
  • ¼ tsp smoked paprika
Instructions

Remove the tenderloin from the breasts. Mix all remaining ingredients together and marinate the chicken for about 30 minutes.

Meanwhile preheat a barbecue grill to 400-425 degrees. Oil the grates, and place each chicken breast half on the grill for about 4 minutes. Turn carefully with tongs and continue to cook until barely done. When pressed with your index finger, the meat should feel like the fatty part of your chin.

Remove from the heat and let them rest for 5-10 minutes. Cut into 1-inch cubes (you should get about 12-15 pieces per half) and place each cube on a 5-6 inch wood skewer.

 

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mango sorbet dessert

Posted on June 5, 2013 by Marilyn

Click here to view recipe.

Delicious Dessert

Delicious Dessert

My “baby”, Jake (aka Jakey Boy) recently had his 27th birthday. If he didn’t physically resemble our family so much most people would think he had a different mother and father. You see, he doesn’t like chocolate or anything sweet for that matter. This is not because of health or diet reasons; quite the contrary. He simply doesn’t yearn for sweet things – he rarely, if ever, orders dessert. He’s more of a savory kind of guy, and a foodie in the truest sense of the word.

So I was perplexed about what to make for his recent birthday. Cake? Pie? Crisp?? His sister came to the rescue and sent me a dessert idea that her college roommate Elan made in New York when she visited a year ago. Elan, like me, invents all kinds of food items, and this dessert was genius. Thankfully Rachel emailed him and Elan responded quickly, so I had time to get the mango sorbet. The rest of the ingredients I happened to already have on hand.

This is an easy and simple dessert to throw together to end a meal. The combination of sweet, salty, fruity, crunchy, weird and ordinary all came together and pleased my Jakey Boy. I’ll be making this again for foodie friends.

Note – I’ve included approximately amounts for each ingredient – this is for one serving.

Jakey Boy Dessert

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Ingredients:
  • ½ cup plain greek yogurt, I like at least 2% for this purpose
  • 1-2 Tbsp ball of mango sorbet
  • ½ tsp fruity olive oil
  • ½ tsp honey
  • A few hazelnuts (Uwajamaya in Seattle had them already toasted!)
  • 1 pinch fancy sea salt
Instructions:

Chop hazelnuts not so finely and then toast them in a dry pan (NOTE: you could start with chopped, toasted hazelnuts.)

Portion yogurt in serving dishes.

Scoop sorbet on top of yogurt.

Sprinkle hazelnuts on yogurt/sorbet.

Drizzle honey and olive oil somewhat generously over the yogurt, sorbet, hazelnut.

Sprinkle sea salt flakes over the whole thing.

PS: I think fresh mango slices would be lovely if you want to sub out the sorbet.

 

 

 

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The BEST Bran Muffins – Mission Accomplished

Posted on May 29, 2013 by Marilyn

Click here to view recipe.

Beautiful Bran Muffins with Softened Cream Cheese

Beautiful Bran Muffins with Softened Cream Cheese

You may or may not know this about me, but I’m really not a doughnut or muffin kind of girl. If I’m choosing breakfast food or even sweet food – muffins and donuts and most bakery products are just too sweet and they rarely satisfy me. Give me a bowl of crunchy granola or creamy oatmeal any day!

The one exception – bran muffins. So a few months ago I began to search for a good, solid bran muffin recipe that met my personal prerequisites: not too sweet, hearty and filling. No dry-as-wood-shavings, heavy-as-a-rock muffins for me. Then I remembered a honey-infused bran muffin from a tiny coffee stand many years back before there was a coffee stand on every corner. I became a little obsessed with that bran muffin … and thankfully my research and trials and errors came to fruition. Well… the result isn’t really the same as the original muffins. They are BETTER. Really!

Warning: they are a pain to prepare. You’ll need several bowls so there’s a lot of cleanup. And the ingredient list is loooong. But they are so worth it! Especially if you add dried cherries instead of the traditional raisins (I’m not a huge fan of raisins… not very exciting). You won’t be surprised to learn that I made a few other changes to the Cooks Illustrated original recipe. I added more cinnamon and nutmeg instead of allspice (full disclosure – this was mostly due to laziness since I don’t have allspice in my spice cabinet).

I even bought a brand spanking new muffin pan – my old pan was most likely 41 years old and just didn’t cut it.

This recipe makes 12 generously-sized, hearty muffins. Once cooled, I freeze them in a sealed container and take one out in the morning, defrost it and then zap it in the microwave for 10 seconds. Oh, and then I slather it with softened, whipped cream cheese. Heaven on earth!

Cooling Muffins

Cooling Muffins

When you are in a baking mood and you want a sure-fire, beloved recipe, try these. You won’t be sorry! Have a nice fresh fruit salad topped with vanilla yogurt alongside and you’ll almost feel virtuous about your breakfast selection.

The Best Bran Muffins

Makes 12 muffins

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Ingredients
  •  1 1/4 cups bleached all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup whole wheat flour (I use King Arthur white whole wheat flour)
  • 1 1/4 tsp. non-aluminum baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp. baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp. table salt
  • 1 ½ generous tsp. ground cinnamon
  • 3/4 tsp. grated nutmeg
  • 7 Tbsp butter, softened
  • 1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp dark brown sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 3 Tbsp unsulphured molasses
  • 1/4 cup sour cream
  • 1 cup plus 3 Tbsp buttermilk
  • 1 1/2 cups wheat bran* (Bob’s Red Mill is my favorite)
  • 1 cup dried cherries**

*Wheat bran is available at health foods stores or at supermarkets in boxes labeled Quaker Unprocessed Bran.

**I order 5 lb boxes of these online. They do have added sugar but lots less than craisins or other cherries I’ve found, and I keep them in my freezer for at least six months.

Instructions

Adjust oven rack to lower middle position and preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Mix flour through nutmeg in medium bowl; set aside.

Beat butter in large bowl with a handheld mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy, one to two minutes. Add brown sugar, increase speed to medium-high, and beat until combined and fluffy, about one minute longer. Add eggs one at a time, beating thoroughly before adding the next. Beat in vanilla, molasses, and sour cream until thoroughly combined and creamy, about one minute longer. Reduce speed to low; beat in buttermilk and half the flour mixture until combined, about one minute. Beat in remaining flour mixture until incorporated and slightly curdled looking, about one minute longer, scraping sides of bowl as necessary. Stir in bran and raisins.

Spray a twelve mold muffin tin (each muffin mold measuring 1/2 cup) with Pam or shmear well with butter.  Divide batter evenly among molds using a spoon or ice cream scoop. I spray the ice cream scoop with Pam and this makes the batter slide out easily. Even out the tops of the muffins, and bake until a toothpick inserted into center withdraws cleanly or with a few moist particles adhering to it. I baked mine for about 22 minutes in my oven.

Set the muffin tin on a cooling rack to cool slightly, about five minutes. Lift each muffin and place it on its side in the tin. In another five minutes remove muffins from the tin and cool completely.

Serve warm with whipped cream cheese (beat 8 ounces of plain cream cheese with a couple tablespoons of milk and store in the refrigerator for up to three weeks).

Enjoy! And remember, these are addictive.

PS – I have made mini bite sized muffins as well and they are great – you need to reduce the cooking time (obviously) if these are made into minis – start checking them at 12 minutes. But I don’t bother with the minis any more – who am I trying to kid…I need a whole muffin!

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Beautiful Black-Eyed Pea & Corn Salad

Posted on May 22, 2013 by Marilyn

Click here to view recipe.

Black-Eyed Pea & Corn Salad

Black-Eyed Pea & Corn Salad

Just the other day I started looking through my thousands of recipes organized on my computer…I was hunting for a different salad to prepare with grilled chicken. Something other than the usual lettuce salad, perhaps one that didn’t center on my beloved combination of quinoa or grains and protein…and I happened upon this recipe that I used to make for many catering events.

Liquid smoke isn’t something I particularly like or use very often but in this salad it adds an interesting dimension. This is a really filling, delicious salad – and different than what most folks prepare. Plus it’s easy enough that I can purchase the ingredients way ahead of time and even make the salad and dressing separately a couple days prior to serving – and it still tastes great.

Delicious Dressing

Delicious Dressing

I used to literally make vats and vats of this black-eyed-pea salad – enough for an army. Today I prepare just enough for six people. It is kind of fun to make a smaller amount – it feels more intimate. And leftovers are great (though you might need to drain off some of the liquid). I am making this in the spring before corn is at the markets, but at the peak of summer when corn is fresh, I often grill extra ears for dinner and just repurpose them in this simple, bean-based dish.

I happily moved this recipe to my “Things I love” file so I don’t forget to make it more often!

Black-Eyed Pea and Corn Salad

Serves 6

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Dressing ingredients
  • 2 Tbsp olive oil
  • 2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
  • 2 Tbsp honey
  • 1 dash liquid smoke
  • 3/4 tsp fine sea salt
  • 3/4 tsp ground black pepper
  • 1/4 tsp cayenne or to taste
Salad ingredients
  • 1-15 oz can black eyed peas, drained and rinsed (or 1 ½ cups freshly cooked black eyed peas)
  • 1 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels (if frozen, defrost first)
  • 3/4 cup celery (1-2 stalks, finely diced)
  • ½ large red pepper (1/2 large, diced ¼ inch)
  • 1/4 large white skinned onion (1/4 inch dice)
  • 1/4 cup fresh cilantro (chopped)
Instructions

Shake all ingredients together in a jar – this can be made a few days ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator.

Combine all salad ingredients. Add dressing and stir well so everything is evenly coated. Add the cilantro just before serving so it doesn’t turn brown.

This is a terrific side dish for grilled chicken, fish or mushrooms. I like to let it sit at room temperature after it is ready for at least 20 minutes so the flavors meld.

 

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Happy 2nd Anniversary My Global Kitchens!

Posted on May 15, 2013 by Marilyn
These are a few of my favorite things!

These are a few of my favorite things from a Sunday farmers market last summer.

I cannot believe it’s been a year since my first anniversary post!  Many of you might not even remember it – but I sure do. I discussed my relationship with food and body image.  It was the first time I really went out on a limb – and it was very scary to really talk about what I think and feel about such controversial issues.  Surprisingly, I had more comments, personal notes and buzz with this particular column than any other – and it didn’t even have a recipe or travel information!  Sheesh...

So, I will continue where I left off and tell you more about food, exercise and stocking my kitchen.

1.   Food

I am not in love with (or even in like with) fried foods – i.e. potato chips, donuts, french fries, deep-fried Oreos, or any of this junk-food that so many Americans adore.  I could honestly have any of these items in my cupboards and I’d end up throwing them out as they would get stale.  Really.  It’s not even that they’re not healthful…as you may know, I would eat these things if they “spoke” to me.

Foods I love:

Sweets:  As I’ve said again and again, chocolate is a critical part of my life.  But again – I’m picky. I would let milk chocolate or white chocolate (shouldn’t even be called chocolate) stay in my drawer forever.  Dark chocolate is another story… I need a tiny bit every day, but only if it is high quality chocolate.  And while I don’t need them as frequently, there’s nothing like great fruit pies, my famous black bottom pie, and German Chocolate Cake.  I know, the cake is a wild card but I adore this dessert more than any other and seldom make it because the rest of my family isn’t super excited about it, and I end up gifting a lot of it.  Ice cream doesn’t do it for me either — I know, I know, I’m weird.

Salads and soups:  These are my favorite foods to prepare and to eat as well.  I can’t get enough of tangy salad dressings and weird combinations of nuts, seeds, fruits, veggies, lettuces, grains, proteins…  And I rarely turn away from soups – everything from vegetarian types to hearty, meat-based stews rock my world.

Lamb anything:  This might be why I love New Zealand so much.  During our visit I literally ate lamb every day – it just called to me.  Most New Zealand or Australian lamb is organic and grass fed, by the way.  And I don’t even eat a huge portion – even a little lamb keeps me satiated.

Hot breakfast cereals: Especially when piled with chopped fruit, nuts, or even plain with a pat of butter and milk or cream. LOVE.

Finally, I am embarrassed but must admit that I am a food snob.  I dislike bad food – and am forever on the hunt for decent eats even in remote areas.  Fast food or really bad-tasting, commercial food does nothing for me, and I avoid it like the plague.  I can be a little obnoxious about this. In my next life I will be surrounded only by Mediterranean food and Asian-inspired cooking because I rarely tire of these two cuisines. In addition, I can quickly reach my fill of prepared food, be it from fine restaurants or good quality takeaway places.  I start to crave “my” homemade, I-know-what-is-in-it food.

Well-worn exercise shoes and well-loved chocolate

Well-worn exercise shoes and well-loved chocolate

2.  Exercise

This doesn’t have to be brain surgery.  I know myself well – I am constantly buzzing around like a cockroach. This becomes especially apparent when I am around more sedentary folks. Me?  I rarely sit still.  And I walk vigorously or take a 40-minute spin class several days a week.  Or I love to go to my nearby gym and take part in a yoga or strength training class.  The women at my gym are super nice and I have made lasting friends.  Who would have thought?  And I don’t ever mind walking or “doing” the stairs in my neighborhood alone.  I’m good company.

My point here is that, for me, exercise is essential to feeling good – both physically and mentally. I feel stronger and healthier AND fine with my aging body.

3.  Shopping

OK, this is going to sound very strange. But food shopping is almost meditative for me.  I’ve never been an avid clothes shopper, yet I could get lost at a good farmers market. I become almost religious about showing up at the Queen Anne Farmer’s Market every Thursday afternoon during the summer and the Ballard Farmer’s Market every Sunday morning year around.  I even love my neighborhood supermarket – I’m lucky enough to be within walking distance of a store with the most beautiful produce and flower displays I’ve ever seen. Metropolitan Market is close by, I know the staff there, and although it can be expensive for exotic produce or ingredients, I pretty much stick with a list and find their quality and pricing to be fair.

I keep a running list or wish list of little things that need replacing in my kitchen, be it a few nice dish towels, a new set of measuring cups, etc.  I feel like my kitchen is really up to snuff in terms of pots and pans, gadgets and appliances. I don’t have extra cooking supplies and I use every single item in my kitchen on a regular basis.   But once a year I take an annual pilgrimage to my favorite kitchen shop and gather items that need replacing.    Ahhhh…

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Salad in a Jar!

Posted on May 8, 2013 by Marilyn
Rachel's Scrumptious Salad in a Jar

Rachel’s Scrumptious Salad in a Jar

The other day I was talking with my family about how hard it is to find time to break away from work for a healthful lunch…and we discovered that all of us have our own solution. We all make various forms of make-ahead salads. It takes a few minutes to do the prep but your lunches are set for the week. I used to put mine in a Tupperware container with salad dressing in a separate, small sealed jar, but my daughter started making three or four days worth of “Salad in a Jar.” I like how pretty her jars look (she sent me this picture). Ever since, I now make my salads ahead in large mason jars. (Side note – since learning of my daughter’s ingenious idea – I stumbled upon this blog post – learning that great minds think alike!)

Here is how you do it:

Start by placing salad dressing at the bottom of the jar, then layer items beginning with the larger, heavier fruits and veggies, in this case, roasted beets, toasted nuts and seeds, chopped feta cheese and olives. Next came cherry tomatoes, some grilled chicken or fish and on top are the more fragile greens – here you see Spring Mix.

She takes one jar per day to work and keeps it in the refrigerator. She also keeps a large salad bowl at the office (enough for one large salad). Before eating, just shake the jar like crazy then pour the contents into the serving bowl.

Pretty genius! And every week you can switch the type of salad you make – anything from Salad Nicoise to chicken and asparagus or Thai beef salad. Anything is possible, and it takes the stress out of lunchtime when you are too busy to go out for lunch or prepare a meal from scratch!

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