Easy Asparagus Salad and reflections on Home

Home.

It's an idea that has always been really important to me.  I've always loved to travel and even embraced moving from one coast to the next to finally another country. But in all of my travels the one thing that's been important to me is to have a home.  When I first moved to LA, Boston was my home.  I can't pinpoint when it happened, but on one of my many trips back to Boston, LA started to feel more like home.  As I headed to Logan to catch the 5 hours flight back to LAX, I had the sense that I was returning home, to the place I belonged, where I most liked to lay my head.  That's not to say Boston didn't still hold a place in my heart, it was where I grew up, where my oldest friends are, where my parents and one of my siblings are.  But there was that small almost imperceptible shift that happened somewhere in the first year or so I lived out West that made it my home.

Meatless Monday: Grilled Halloumi on Baby Romaine & Pomegranate Vinaigrette

I made it pretty clear when I started writing the Meatless Monday posts, that one of the reasons I was doing this as a way to get the boy and I to eat more veggies.  One of the simplest things I try to throw together with every meal, meatless or not, is a salad.

Growing up I loved blue cheese dressing, something I likely picked up from my father who still favors blue cheese, along with other creamy dressings.  Now don't get me wrong it's hard for me to turn away blue cheese, especially when it comes to buffalo wings, but I know that it is not the best option for  everyday.  In recent years I've discovered that when eating salad at home, rather than buy pre-made vinaigrette it's just as easy and more tasty to throw together my own.  Sometimes I'll take the time to  whisk ingredients together in a bowl but more often than not I will throw one of my various vinegars and a bit more of one of my various oils, with some salt & pepper and toss it as is.   The key to making this work and keeping it from getting boring is to have an arsenal of oils and vinegars.  We always have olive oil, grapeseed oil and at least one nut oil.  Other types will come and go, but those are some of our pantry staples.  For vinegars, I have balsamic, red wine, white wine, and lately a pomegranate balsamic that's really great.  But that too will rotate based on what I see when I go to the market and my favorite store for oil, vinegar and hot sauce Taste the Fourth Sense.

Fennel, Cucumber and Green Bean Salad with Roasted Potatoes and Creamy Yogurt

One of my favorite wedding gifts came to us or me specifically from a friend of the boy's, who he works with alot, Ms. AB.  She was staying at the same hotel as my parents and I happened to run into her just before the rehearsal dinner in the hotel lobby.  It was then that she presented me with this beautiful cookbook:

It was even personally inscribed by Ms. Barbara Lynch herself.  Ms AB worked in Boston last spring and by some amazing twist of fate became friends with Chef Lynch.  Cue the green-eyed monster rearing it's ugly head.  She cooks my type of food, and though I've only been to The Butcher Shop getting to the other restaurants is high on my wish list for trips to Boston.  

Shrimp & Mango Salad Lettuce Wraps

One Sunday, not to long ago when the boy was away at work and I was doing all kinds of boring things around the house, I decided that even though I was home alone and cleaning and doing laundry I was going to take the time to make a nice lunch for myself, so that I could sit and enjoy our recently revamped backyard. I looked around the kitchen and realized I had some beautiful organic lettuce and cherry tomatoes that needed to be used. For protein I was craving shrimp, which we luckily had in the freezer. All the other ingredients were things we happened to have on hand and I wanted to see how they would all work together.

Shrimp & Mango Salad

1 avocado - diced
1/2 mango - peel and diced
10 large shrimp
8 cherry tomatoes - halved
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 Tbsp or more lemon juice
1 head Boston lettuce - leaves in tact and washed and dried
salt & pepper

1. Preheat grill on low heat. If the shrimp have shells, peel all but the tail, and place on soaked bamboo skewers. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and place on heat grill. Grill shrimps for approximately 3 minutes per side until they are just pink all the way through.
2. Remove shrimp from skewer and remove tail shell. Cut each shrimp into 2-3 pieces.
3. Mix together the mayonnaise, lemon juice and add salt & pepper to taste. Carefully toss with shrimp, mango, avocado and tomato.
4. Lay lettuce leave out in a single layer on a platter. Place a small scoop of salad onto each leaf. Wrap up leaf to eat.


All in all this made for a delicious Sunday lunch and one I anticipate to making the next time I have friends over on a hot day. It's perfect for summer, as the only cooking is outside on the grill and the whole thing comes together very easily. I'm sure it would be very tasty on some bread for a sandwich, but I was going for a low carb version and the fresh Boston lettuce worked perfectly. Enjoy!

"Waldorf" Lettuce Wraps

Not too long ago, I invited a good friend of mine and her boyfriend over to watch the NHL Playoffs. It was something we had been talking about doing for awhile but never set and when we finally did it was of course totally last minute and something I wasn't able to do my normal planning for. It was the weekend we picked out my brand new puppy, had a birthday party, the one I made the strawberry cupcakes for and had to go shopping to prep the house for the puppy, plus the normal household chores, it was busy. Then Sunday night came and 30 minutes before our guests were set to arrive I realized I needed to get a few little munchies together, all of us had eaten dinner but it is unacceptable for me to not have snack to offer my guests. I looked around the kitchen and thanks to our new organic veggie delivery, Mama Earth, I was able to throw together a delicious and tasty twist on a Waldorf Salad.

In the title of the post "Waldorf" is in quotes because a traditional Waldorf Salad has apples, grapes, celery, walnuts and blue cheese, I didn't have all of those ingredients on hand so I improvised.


"Waldorf" Lettuce Wraps
Makes 6-8 wraps

1 small head Boston lettuce
1 Golden Blush Apple
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 Tbsp lemon juice
salt & pepper to taste

1. Wash and dry whole leaves of Boston lettuce. Leave the skin on the apple and cut it into a 1/2" dice.
2. In a small mixing bowl whisk together lemon juice and mayonnaise, add salt a pepper to taste.
3. Toss apples and pecans with the dressing. Lay lettuce leaves on a platter. Scoop 2 Tbsps of apple pecan mixture onto lettuce leaves. Sprinkle with sea salt and fresh cracked pepper. To eat, fold up lettuce leaf and viola!


I love how simple and flavorful the dressing is, it's perfectly tangy and pairs so well with the apples and nuts. It made for a pretty presentaion on the plate and is so good if you are ever entertaining people who are gluten free. That wasn't the case here, but it was tasty and appreciated nonetheless.

I mentioned Mama Earth at the start of the post, they are an organic fruit and vegetable delivery service that the boy and I started about a month ago that we love! Not only are half of our groceries delivered weekly, they are fresh and organic and mostly support local producers. There are veggie delivery service like this in many major cities and I highly recommend doing some research to find them. I know the fabulous Domestic Diva used LOVE veggie delivery in LA. You can also search CSA (community support agriculture) opportunities in your area. there wasn't a CSA that was convenient with our schedules, so this was the next best thing and I have to say I love it, because not only do they have fruits and veggies but you also have the option of adding other organic grocery items to your weekly order. Check out produce deliver options in your area. I guarantee once you do you won't turn back.

Enjoy!

Arugula Salad

With the warm days we've been having recently and after my recent trip back to LA I've been on a bit of a salad kick lately. Arugula is one of my favorite greens, it's got a nice peppery bite and is perfect mixed in with other greens or on it's own. Citrus season is just about over, but as I was putting this salad together I had one last blood orange that I wanted to put to use and decided to make it into a vinaigrette which along with the arugula and fresh raspberries made the perfect salad for a warm day.

Arugula Salad

4 cups fresh arugula - washed and dried
1 pint raspberries
2 Tbsp blood orange juice
1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1/4 + 2 Tbsp cup - extra virgin olive oil
Sea Salt & Pepper

1. Place arugula in a salad bowl.
2. Put the blood orange juice into a small bowl and stream in the olive oil, whisking the whole time. Taste and add salt & pepper to your preference.
3. Pour dressing over arugula and add in 1/2 of the raspberries. Toss and top with remaining raspberries and a pinch or two of sea salt.


This is my favorite kind of dish, so simple in preparation and yet so full of flavor. The peppery arugula goes so well with the sweet dressing and tart berries, and then the occasional crunch of the seas salt. It's something I anticipate making many different variations of as different fruits and vegetables come into season. On a side note, I just recently converted to using sea salt as my main salt in the kitchen and I have to say I LOVE it. It has made such a difference in everything I make, whether it is cooked into a dish or sprinkled on top of eggs, it's wonderful. Enjoy!

Salad Time!

As I've mentioned in a few of my posts I'm on the South Beach Diet right now. Phase 1 is a killer! This salad is not Phase 1 friendly (because of the Pomegranate) but it's something I made a few weeks ago that I just haven't had time to post until now. It's so ridiculously easy and so tasty, I can't wait until next weekend when I can make it again.

The key to this salad is the dressing. It's a Blueberry Balsamic Vinaigrette but made with ingredients I bought at Taste the 4th Sense on the Danforth in Toronto. The Blueberry Balsamic is actually one of their Zests. Click here on their site to get a full explanation of what a Zest is. My short version is: it's a vinegar that is mixed with herbs and seasonings so all you need to make a dressing is 2 parts oil to every 1 part zest. It couldn't be easier!

More on Taste, it's this fabulous store here in Toronto that specializes in mostly local-made products. My favorites are the oils, vinegars and zests, but they also have an amazing collection of hot sauces, mustards and fun condiments. Whenever we go in there is always something new and they encourage tasting of EVERYTHING, another high point for me! A really cool thing for those of you not in the Toronto area is that you can order online and they ship internationally. I highly recommend the products featured in this recipe and a recent purchase of ours, the Garlic Grapeseed Oil is amazing on a Caprese salad. A fave of the boy's and my father's is the Scorned Woman Mustard, you have to email them to order it but it's worth it. Enough gushing about this place that doesn't even know I exist or am writing about them! Onto the recipe:

Chicken & Pomegranate Salad with a Blueberry Vinaigrette
(note most measurements are approximate)
serves 1 as an entree or 2 as a side

SALAD
2 handfuls of mixed field greens
1/2 cup of shredded chicken (I used a roasted chicken I bought at the grocery store you can also just oven roast 1 boneless skinless chicken breast on 375F for 20-30 minutes with salt, pepper & olive oil)
6 grape tomatoes - halved
1 Tbsps pomegranate seeds (for an easy way to procure those pesky pomegranate seeds check out this post over at Steamy Kitchen)
1 Tbsp chopped walnuts

DRESSING
1 Tbsp Blueberry Balsamic Zest (click here to order)
2 Tbsp Citrus Grapeseed oil (click here to order)

1. In a small bowl add the Balsamic Zest. Evenly pour in the oil as you constantly whisk the mixture to combine.
2. In a salad bowl toss the greens, tomatoes, chicken and walnuts with the dressing. Place salad on a serving plate or in a bowl and top with the pomegranate seed and walnuts.

Now if you don't want to wait to ship the specific oil and vinegar I used and aren't anywhere near Toronto, I do think this salad can be just as good with a straight Balsamic Vinegar and oil. I would just add some garlic, pepper and lemon juice, and anything else that strike your fancy. I've also seen different fruit flavored vinegars at my local grocery store but have never tried them. Or is you are feeling really ambitious you can try this recipe to make your own Blueberry Balsamic or this one to make your own Citrus Oil. I've never tried either recipe but hope to sometime soon. Enjoy!

Chicken Salad

For as long as I can remember my dad would make chicken salad with leftover chicken. One of my favorites was always when he would make it with leftover barbecue chicken and it would have the flavor of the grill and sauce throughout. Well, I roasted a chicken the other day and made a chicken salad with the leftovers. I think I'll have to make for dad next time I see him because I'm pretty sure he'll really like it.

Chicken Salad
(all measurements are approximate)

3 cups of cut up chicken (if you don't roast or grill your own, the roasted chickens you buy at the supermarket work well too)
1 half small onion diced
1 handfuls of chopped walnuts
1 handful dried cranberries
1/2 green apple diced
1/4-1/2 cup mayonnaise
2-3 tbsp Dijon mustard
Fresh cracked black pepper

1. In a large bowl mix chicken, onion, walnuts, cranberries and apple.
2. Add mayonnaise 1/4 cup at a time and Dijon mustard a tbsp at a time to get the chicken salad to your preferred consistency.
3. Once it's all mixed add plenty of cracked black pepper, it adds just the right amount of bite to offset the sweetness of the fruit. Enjoy in a sandwich with some cheddar cheese or scoop some onto a salad.

The boy was very impressed by this salad. It was clearly not what he was expecting when I said I was going to make chicken salad. I was originally just going to use just cranberries and walnuts but on first taste it was missing something and the onions and apples added a brightness and crunch that really pulled it all together.

Gaucho Style Steak with Chimichurri Sauce & Watermelon Feta Salad

Last night we did a family dinner with my siblings, boyfriend and I AND one of my good friends from cooking club, her husband and sister-in-law. It was a great night of Olympics viewing with Michael Phelps continuing to break records and win golds and the US women's gymnasts also won the top two medals in the individual all-around. Anyway, onto the food...

Both recipes were new and things I had never tried before. I made a Chimichurri sauce for the first time and also tried out a Watermelon & Feta salad, which by now everyone should know that salty with sweet is one of my favorite flavor combinations. The dishes came from different sites and weren't recommended together but I am really happy with how it all worked together. As always my comments/additions are in red.

Steak Gaucho-Style with Argentinian Chimichurri Sauce
from the Food Network
serves 4 (I doubled the recipe)
Argentinian Chimichurri Sauce:
1 cup lightly packed chopped parsley (ideally, flat leaf "Italian" parsley)
3 to 5 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon chili pepper flakes
2 tablespoons fresh oregano leaves (optional) (I used a 1/2 cup of chopped cilantro)
2 tablespoons shallot or onion, minced
3/4 cup vegetable or olive oil 3
tablespoons sherry wine vinegar, or red wine vinegar (I used red wine vinegar)
3 tablespoons lemon juice

Steak:
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
3 tablespoons salt (I seasoned the steak with Montreal Steak Spice)
2 1/2 pounds rib-eye, New York strip, or sirloin steak (We used NY Strip)
1 1/2 inches thick 2 baguettes, sliced into 1/4-inch-thick slices

1. Preheat a grill.
2. Place all chimichurri sauce ingredients in a blender or food processor and pulse until well chopped, but not pureed. Reserve.
3. Dissolve cayenne pepper and salt in 1 cup hot water. Transfer to a squeeze container. (As I didn't have a squeeze bottle and had some guests who weren't fans of spicy I skipped this step but want to try if next time)
4. Place the steak directly over a hot grill, baste with the chimichurri grilling sauce, and grill until the outer portion of the meat reaches the desired degree of doneness. (We cooked it to medium rare)
5. Remove the steak from the grill and slice long strips from the outer edges of the steak.
6. Instruct guests to pick up a steak slice from the cutting board with their fingers, place it on a slice of baguette, and enjoy.
7. Return the remaining steak to the grill, baste, and grill until more of the steak is cooked. 8. Remove and repeat the slicing and serving procedure until steak is consumed. For extra spicy steak, baste 2 or 3 additional times with the cayenne pepper mixture during grilling process.
8. Spoon chimichurri sauce over steak. (Also brilliant on any grilled fish or chicken)

Watermelon Salad with Feta
from SimplyRecipes.com
Serves 6-8 (This is one of those recipes that I used the measurements as a guideline and just threw it together as I felt it worked)

1/2 cup chopped red onion
1/2 cup lime juice (4-6 limes, depending on how big and juicy the limes are)
A quarter of a medium sized watermelon, rind removed, black seeds removed (if there are any), chopped into 1-inch cube-ish pieces, about 8 cups (I bought the already cubed watermelon and just cut it into smaller pieces)
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/2 cup fresh mint leaves, chopped
1/2 cup fresh parsley leaves, chopped (I used all my parsley for the Chimichurri so I skipped this)

1. Soak the chopped red onion in the lime juice while you are prepping the other ingredients, about 15 minutes.
2. Gently combine all ingredients into a large serving bowl.
3. Serve immediately. Salad will get soggy overnight.

The salad turned out perfectly, I don't think there are any major changes I'd make. Next time I make the steak, I want to make sure to have a sqeeze bottle to baste with the cayenne pepper sauce just to amp up the spiciness. I also want to try to mix it up with the herbs a bit and do 1/2 parsley and 1/2 cilantro based on research I did on Chimichurri sauces, cilantro is a common ingredient which is why I subbed it in for the oregano, but I want to play around with the proportions next time. Overall it was a success and a great summer meal for guests, it takes just about as long to make for 2 people as for 8. Enjoy!

The Perfect Summer Sunday Supper

This past weekend was beautiful here in LA and while I spent some time on Sunday reading on my roof deck, I decided it was the perfect day for a traditional summer meal of burgers and potato salad, cole slaw or some kind of cold salad. The July issue of Bon Appetit magazine is their BBQ Issue and is chock full of awesome grill recipes (I'm sure I'll be trying more of them in the coming weeks). They did a whole article on burgers and I decided that I must try one of them out. There were lamb burgers, pork burgers, fish burgers, but I decided I was really craving a traditional beef burger. Plus Sundays at the grocery store tend to be insane and I was not in the mood to try and track down ground lamb or pork. I was going to make a Honey Dijon Potato salad that I saw Rachel Ray do on 30 Minutes Meals (I know she is so over exposed but I still love this show), but I am trying to be conscious of carbs and decided that a nice, fresh green bean salad would be great. So I hopped on the Food Network's website and low and behold there was a Rachel Ray recipe for a green bean salad, that looked simple and tasty.

Recipes are below and as always my edits/comments are in red.

CHEDDAR BURGER WITH BALSAMIC ONIONS AND CHIPOTLE KETCHUP
from Bon Appetit Magazine July 2008
serves 6

ONIONS
1 lb red onions cut crosswise into 1/3 to 1/2 inch thick rounds
3/4 tsp course Kosher salt
1/2 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1. Heat the grill to Medium-High heat
2. Arrange the onion rounds on a baking sheet. (I advise using a tooth pick to hold the onion rounds together as they cook, I lost a few rings in my grill and will definitely do this next time) Brush with oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
3. Transfer onion rounds to grill rack and close the cover.
4. Cook until grill marks appear, approx 204 minutes per side
5. Reduce heat or move onions to a cooler part of the grill (I moved mine up to the top rack) Close cover and cook until onions are tender, approx 10 mins.
6. Transfer to bowl and bowl with vinegar (remove toothpick at this point) Can be made up to 3 days ahead
7. Cover and chill.

CHIPOTLE KETCHUP
1 cup ketchup
1 1/2 tsp chopped chipotle chiles from canned chipotles in adobo
2 tbsp adobo from canned chiles
2 tsp or more balsamic vinegar

1. Mix ketchup, chiles, adobo sauce and balsamic vinegar in a small bowl.
2. Season with salt and more vinegar, if desired. Can be made 3 days ahead.
3. Cover and chill.

BURGERS
2 1/4 lbs ground beef
6 thick slices sharp cheddar cheese (I chose to use a chipotle cheddar)
6 large English muffins
6 tomato slices (optional)
2 cups fresh spinach leaves
Approx 2 tbsp Montreal Steak Seasoning or any other grill spice blend

1. Heat grill to Medium-High heat
2. Mix meat with grill spice and shape into 6 1/2 inch thick patties.
3. Cook burgers to desired doneness, approx 3 mins per side for medium rare.
4. Grill English muffins cut side down. Top burgers with cheese and close cover to melt.
5. Assemble burgers with muffins, ketchup, onions, spinach leaves and tomatoes if desired (we didn't have tomatoes and I didn't miss them at all)

This was a very easy recipe and the little bit of extra time it took to make the onions and ketchup were well worth it. They added alot of good flavors to a traditional burger. My brother would prefer I not use the chipotle cheddar next time, but I liked it, so I guess it just depends on your preference. I also really enjoyed the spinach leaves in place of lettuce.


GREEN BEAN SALAD
from Rachel Ray and the Food Network

1 pound fresh green beans, washed and trimmed
1/4 red onion, sliced thin
1/4 European cucumber, cut into thin sticks resembling shape and size of green beans
1/2 pint grape tomatoes, halved
Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
1/2 lemon, juiced
Coarse salt and pepper

1. Steam green beans in 1/2 inch boiling water covered for 3 or 4 minutes. Cold shock beans by running under cold water and drain well.
2. Place beans in a bowl and combine with onions, cucumber and tomato.
3. Dress salad with a generous drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil and the juice of 1/2 lemon.
4. Season salad with coarse salt and pepper, to taste.

This salad couldn't have been any easier or any tastier. I followed the recipe almost exactly (considering I never measure anything) and it was the perfect complement to the hearty & spicy burger.

Overall this meal was a total success, especially when paired with a nice cold beer, I will definitely be making both dishes again.