Two Summer Salads

In the summer, I like to make quick, one-dish meals that can be served hot or cold. Or room temperature, most often. I thought I'd share a couple of simple recipes that can be adapted to whatever you have on hand.

Miso-Soba Noodle Salad

I made this salad a few weeks ago when I had some leftover grilled salmon to use up. I added a chopped red pepper and some green onion, and dinner was born. Here are the steps:

1. Cook and drain half a package of soba noodles according to the package directions. Drizzle a little sesame oil over them to keep them from sticking together.
2. In a small bowl, combine one Tbs. each of miso, sesame oil, and rice vinegar with one tsp. of honey and chili garlic sauce.
3. Add veggies/protein to your noodles. Suggestions: grilled salmon, shrimp, tofu, peppers, cucumber, green onion, snap peas, spinach, carrots, zucchini, or anything you have lying around.
4. Pour dressing over noodles/extras and mix in.
5. Garnish! More suggestions: toasted sesame seeds, thai basil, cilantro.

Curried Cauliflower Salad

This one involves roasted cauliflower, which is wonderful. You should try it if you've never had it.

1. Cut a large head of cauliflower into florets and toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Pour onto a baking tray and roast at 425 degrees until it becomes caramel-colored around the edges, stirring once during the baking time.
2. While it's roasting, put the following in the bottom of a large bowl: one chopped green onion, juice of half a lemon, a handful of raisins (golden are nice).
3. Then, toast a handful of sliced almonds in a small frying pan over medium heat.
4. When the cauliflower is done, add it to the bowl with the raisins and onion.
5. Sprinkle with the juice of the other half lemon and curry powder, to taste. People like curry powder to varying degrees, so I'm not going to specify the amount. I like everything to have a nice dusting of yellow. Mix well.
6. Garnish with the toasted almonds.

This is great for potlucks! It could also work with broccoli, carrots, or green beans--any sturdier vegetable that will stand up to roasting.

Strawberry-Rhubarb Muffins

Tonight, I made a second batch of strawberry-rhubarb muffins. They turned out much better than the first batch, probably due to me not forgetting two ingredients this time. Here's the recipe:

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup chopped rhubarb
1 cup chopped strawberries
zest of one lemon
1 cup plain yogurt
1/4 cup skim milk
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
2 Tbs. vegetable oil
turbinado sugar

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a muffin tin with baking spray. Mix together wet and dry ingredients separately, and then combine. Fill muffin cups 3/4 full, sprinkle with turbinado sugar, and bake for 20 minutes.

Mmmmm...May.

How did more than three weeks pass since my last post? It's been busy at the Schitt household. CSA season is in full swing, and I just started summer school. Plus, the freelance writing projects have been more complex and challenging. But I have no complaints! We're still finding time to cook delicious meals, just not as much to write about them. Here's a quick look at some of the things we concocted in May.

Morels, ramps, goat cheese, and truffle oil in puff pastry? I'm a little embarrassed. That was kind of ridiculous.

Here's a lovely frittata with roasted root veggies. It looks like I used the first of the chive haul, which has been plentiful.

Fish tacos! Jon made these, and they were good.

This was a great broccoli soup I based on a recipe I found at 101 Cookbooks. I ended up substituting a big bunch of ramps for the garlic and onion, but otherwise I followed it pretty closely.

I believe I made this salad to go with the soup. Sorrel, strawberry, and avocado with yogurt-chive dressing. Yum.

This was a muffin experiment that went slightly awry, due to me being scatterbrained and leaving out two ingredients. They definitely have potential, though, so I going to try again. Hopefully, it'll work out and I'll post the recipe soon.

This soup was so good. If I can remember what the heck I put in it, I'll post a recipe for this one too. I know it involved sunchokes and nettles, and I think I wrote it down, um...somewhere.

Jon made this very fresh-tasting pasta dish. It involved white beans, farm-fresh feta, asparagus, and pea vine. Nice work, babe!

These are strawberry rhubarb cheesecake bars, also made by Jon. He whipped them up before we went to tailgate with some friends at a baseball game, put them in the freezer to cool more quickly--and left them there. They were pretty good frozen, so I can only imagine what they might have tasted like just after this photo was taken.

Back soon with recipes!

Alaskan Halibut and Kale

I'm slowly getting back into Spring Mode. The first week of our CSA is almost behind us and I'm just now using some of the ingredients (kale and chives). The freshest ingredients call for the simplest preparation, and I'm happy to be using "our" farm's yields once again.


Another Fish Wednesday has come. The wild Alaskan halibut was oven baked with a crust of home-made bread crumbs and chives. The Red Russian kale was sautéed with garlic, pepper flakes, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar.

An Appetizing April

I thought I'd take a few minutes to post the rest of the photos we took in April--the ones that didn't warrant an entire post to themselves. It's not that these meals weren't equally yummy. It's just that there are only so many hours in a day.

This pizza was inspired by some leftover pesto I found in the fridge. You'll notice notice that half has onions and half has olives. A veritable pizza compromise.

We ate this minestrone for, like, 12 meals. Or at least that's what it felt like. It was so good, though! Probably the best one we've made up ourselves. And the croutons were especially delightful.

Because I like to cook and eat healthy things, I sometimes feel a little pressure to represent at potlucks. I have it in my head that if I don't make a salad with lots of veggies or whole grains, I'll end up eating a meal comprised of cheese and brownies. Therefore, the opportunities for me to make something truly decadent are few and far between.

This Easter, though, I decided I didn't care. Also, I was getting together with a group of friends who excel in the ways of the kitchen. Hence, this bittersweet chocolate tart sprinkled with sea salt. I didn't photograph the plating, but I served it with a butter rum sauce and brown sugar whipped cream. It was ridiculous. I don't think anyone ate for the rest of the day afterward. But my craving for whipping up something sweet (and salty!) was satisfied.

This was a nice little curry Jon made one night. It looks so pretty sitting there in the bowl, it's making me hungry.

Here's another Jon meal. It was a really interesting fish preparation made with apple juice, of all things. And the sauteed sprouts are a favorite at our house.

One of my favorite pasta dishes revolves around tossing fresh pasta with ricotta cheese, lemon juice, and red pepper flakes. Jon was hesitant the first time I made it, but was quickly converted. This version also involved broccoli, red peppers, and sun-dried tomatoes.

This fantastic recipe came from 101 Cookbooks. I didn't follow it exactly, but the general idea was there. Make this. I mean it.

More soon!

Two Meals in One

A couple of weeks ago, Jon and I took advantage of the early spring by dusting off the grill. Since the weather seemed too good to be true, we thought we'd better do enough grilling for two meals while we had the chance.

Jon was in charge of meal #1, and he made grilled fish wraps with a yogurt sauce and some grilled asparagus. Everything was delicious, and went immediately into the "Make Again" file.

While he was working on that night's dinner, I put together some simple veggie skewers. I used peppers, cherry tomatoes, mushrooms, onions, and a zucchini, and brushed everything with olive oil. After sprinkling some salt and pepper, they were ready to hit the grill. By the time Jon had assembled the wraps, the skewers were also done. They went into a glass bowl and then into the fridge for the next night's dinner.

When it was time to make dinner the next day, all I had to do was boil water for pasta. I took the veggies out of the fridge and let them come to room temperature while the pasta cooked. After I drained the pasta, I put it back in the hot pot and added the grilled veggies, plus a little red wine vinegar and some Pasta Sprinkle from Penzey's. Toasted pine nuts and feta cheese finished off the dish.

I think pretty much everything we cook is yummy, but this was seriously one of the best easy dinners I've made. Simple and perfect, and ready in the time it takes to boil water. Try it!

A Tale of Two White Bean Salads

I'm not sure why, but I've been loving white beans lately. They, like other legumes, are are great way to get some extra protein and fiber into your diet. Plus, they're tasty. I made two white bean salads within the past couple weeks--one was my own recipe and one I found on 101 Cookbooks--and I've shared them with you below.

Greek Tuna and White Bean Salad
I made this salad after work one day when I needed something quick to round out some leftover vegetable soup. It took me less than 15 minutes to make, and was delicious!

1 - 5 oz. can of tuna, drained (packed in water, no salt added)
1 - can of white beans, drained (cannelini, great northern, navy, or white kidney)
a handful of cherry tomatoes, halved
a slightly smaller handful of kalamata olives, halved
1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese
1 Tbs. chopped fresh oregano (or 1 tsp. dried)
1 Tbs. olive oil
2 Tbs. fresh lemon juice
salt and pepper

In a medium bowl, combine the tuna, white beans, tomatoes, olives, feta, and oregano. In a smaller bowl, combine the olive oil and lemon juice. Pour the dressing over the salad and mix well. Salt and pepper to taste.

Carrot, Dill, and White Bean Salad
The second white bean salad was devoured by my book club before I had a chance to photograph it. OK--actually, I forgot. But there's a lovely photo here, along with the recipe. I was in a hurry and also forgot the brown sugar, but didn't miss it. This would be a lovely side dish with grilled fish or chicken, or it could be a main dish with a green salad and fresh bread.

Enjoy!

Jon's Stir-Fry Tips & Tricks

I've only been cooking for a few years now so there aren't many topics on which I feel qualified to give advice, but tonight I put together my best vegetable stir-fry yet so I'm going to ride this wave of confidence and provide a list of tricks that helped me put it together. [/run-on]

1. What You Got?
Stir-fries are your friend when it comes to getting rid of vegetables you've got lying around. It's hard to go wrong when assembling ingredients to heat up in a pan with some sauce. I always have onions and garlic handy as a base, but tonight I included cabbage, carrots, and broccoli to provide most of the volume in my dish. Other suitable veggies include bell peppers, cauliflower, fennel, celery, mushrooms, pea pods, green beans, frozen California mix, or those tiny little ears of corn.

2. What's Your Angle?
Pick a flavor profile. Sesame ginger? Kung Pao? Szechuan? I often steal a sauce recipe from the internet. It usually doesn't matter if you don't use the whole recipe. You're just looking for some ideas for ingredients. Tonight I decided on "Spicy Peanut with Shrimp" and found a recipe that included these basics: 3 parts soy sauce; 2 parts peanut butter; 1 part rice vinegar. For the 2-3 servings I had I chose Tablespoon as 1 part, adding a little chili garlic paste and brown sugar to the mix for fun. Make sure your sauce tastes good on its own before starting the cooking, though it should probably be extra salty (soy sauce does that) or you'll end up adding extra salt or soy at the end.

3. Get It Together
I like to chop all my veggies ahead of time so I'm not scrambling to get things ready as I'm cooking. I often put them in their own little bowls like I'm on a cooking show or something. It's especially handy when you're adding things at different times and the timing is crucial.

4. Hot Hot Hot!
The hotter your pan the better. I use a small wok, which is designed for this kind of thing. Before I had a wok I used a basic non-stick pan and that worked pretty well too. Regardless, when veggies contact hot metal it makes them awesome, so keep everything moving to maximize contact. It's right there in the title: "stir" + "fry" = ____________.

5. HOTTER!
I like spicy food, so I included a few chili peppers with this. I usually remove the seeds from spicy peppers before cooking them. I think it's easier to control the level of heat that way, plus you get more of the flavor of the peppers. Tonight I used three serrano peppers and some red thing that I picked up on a whim. It was shaped like a jalapeno but it was quite a bit hotter. I can't remember the name. The result was a great slow-burn spiciness that went really well with beer.

6. Who's On First?
It took me a while to learn that it really matters what order the ingredients go in. Tonight I started with sesame oil, then I let some fresh garlic and ginger swim around in that until it got smelling good. I would normally add onion at this point but tonight I had green onions instead of my usual yellow. Next I put in the carrots and broccoli because those have to cook longer than most other vegetables. In fact, to get those cooking faster I added a couple splashes of water and put the lid on for a minute or two, effectively steaming the veggies. Later came the cabbage, peppers, and green onions, none of which take long to cook. Finally I put on some pre-cooked shrimp and my sauce, only long enough to get it all hot before removing from the heat. (actually I added a dash of cornstarch in the last minute to soak up some of the liquid)

7. Finish It
Always have a garnish. It's a chance to add something to round out your flavor profile, and it makes you look like you know what you're doing. To go with my spicy peanut stir-fry I added both chopped peanuts and cilantro. To chop the peanuts I just put them in a ziploc and went at them with a rolling pin. Other fun garnishes include lime wedges, any fresh herbs, bean sprouts, crunchy chow mein noodles, etc.

That's about it. Here's how it looked served over brown rice...

More Meals from March

We finally finished uploading the backlog of photos, so here are a few more from the past few weeks.

If I remember correctly, this risotto ruled. It might have been the best one I've ever made. But for the life of me, I can't remember why I made it with what appears to be green beans. Seems like a strange risotto choice. This is why I need to write things down!

This was a delicious but time-consuming cabbage casserole. Sounds gross, I know. It really was good, though, but it took forever to put together. Not sure I'd make it again because of that.

We do love our cabbages, large and small. This brussels sprouts recipe was super simple and super yummy. It was basically just the sprouts sauteed with garlic and lemon zest, topped with toasted hazelnuts and feta, over quinoa. Loved it!

Jon made this halibut with yummy sauce over wild rice. Mmmmm, creamy winey capery sauce.

Jon's potato leek soup. Simple and satisfying!

Recipe of the Week: March 29

Seared Ahi Tuna and Salad of Mixed Greens with Wasabi Vinaigrette
Hi! Jon here. I like to cook for Aimee and I often cook fish. Recently I decided to get the sashimi grade ahi tuna at our local fish market. I found a fun little Rachel Ray recipe (linked above) and followed it pretty closely. I opted for real wasabi paste instead of the super horseradish-y stuff, and I added half an avocado to the top of each of our plates. The results were delic -- err, YUM-O!

Recipe(s) of the Week: March 22

The February issue of Vegetarian Times had a really great group of healthy soup recipes, and Jon and I made three of them. Seriously, they were all so good I can't even pick a favorite. Try them! There's nothing like a pot of soup on the stove to make your house smell amazing. All of these recipes make enough to have leftovers, which are perfect for the next day's lunch.

Smoky Split Pea Soup
This one takes the longest to make, and you have to soak the split peas overnight. But it was delicious! And once you get started, it's really not that much work.

Red Pepper-Carrot Soup
You can finish this in a lot less time than the recipe suggests if you roast the peppers over a burner rather than in the oven. Just put the pepper on a skewer or use some tongs and hold it over the burner until it's black all over. And don't worry too much about getting all the skin off. I think a few charred bits add a nice smoky flavor.

Minestrone with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and White Beans
This recipe comes together the quickest, and has a great flavor. If you don't have white wine vinegar, I think red wine, champagne, or sherry vinegar would be fine.

That's all for now! Next up: Jon's Seared Ahi Salad with Wasabi Vinaigrette. So good!

January and February, 2010

In 2008, Jon and I bought a new digital camera and on a whim, decided to photograph everything we cooked. It was a means of recording the things we liked and didn't like, recommendations for the next time around, and a way to show our friends and family how we spend many, many of our waking hours. Though at first we weren't sure we'd make it the entire year, we discovered that that we really enjoyed it, especially the positive comments from our (few) loyal readers.

In 2009, we decided to take the year off. We attended something like seven weddings last summer, including our own. We had little time to relax, much less take pictures of food. But we missed it! And so, in 2010, we decided to start a real food blog--one that looks a little nicer and that people might actually want to read.

This is the first installment. We've been photographing food since the beginning of the year, but I only recently became ambitious enough to organize everything and start writing about it. In the interest of space and your attention span, these are just the highlights of the past few months.

 Here's a yummy veggie curry made by Jon.

Mmmmmm, chili.

A beautiful, buttery apple pancake.

A proper German meal (even if my bratwurst were fake).

Jon's baked whitefish and some of the best cauliflower I've ever had.

More to come soon!