Portobello and Bell Pepper Quesadillas

I recently discovered just how "meaty" mushrooms can be...surprising, right? More like I am behind on this revelation. I've been enjoying roasted portobello mushrooms on these quesadillas, but I think they'd be great served in a kale salad too.

For these quesadillas, I recommend pairing with a simple salad to get in more vegetables (I found myself missing this component when served exclusively for dinner). I also like to serve this with a zesty deconstructed guacamole--mashed avocado seasoned liberally with salt, pepper, and lime juice.

Portobello and Bell Pepper Quesadillas

Adapted from The Candle Cafe Cookbook

Ingredients

• 2 large portobello mushrooms, sliced
• 1 red bell peper, sliced
• Olive oil
• 1/4 tsp seasoning salt, or to taste
• 1/4 cumin or chili powder, optional
• 1 1/2 C cooked beans (black, white, or pinto)
• 1 clove garlic
• 1/4 tsp salt, or to taste
• 1/2 tbsp lemon or lime juice
• 6 sprouted grain tortillas
• 1/2 C cheddar or non-dairy cheese

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Toss the sliced mushrooms and bell pepper with oil, salt, and any seasonings. Spread evenly over a large baking sheet and roast for 30 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, combine beans, garlic, salt, and lemon/lime juice in a food processor or blender. Pulse until incorporated. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed.
3. When the mushrooms and peppers finish roasting, remove from oven and increase temperature to 400 degrees.
4. To assemble the quesadillas, spread the bean mixture over one whole tortilla. Top with one third of the mushroom and pepper mixture, then top with a third of the cheese. Top with another tortilla and place on a baking sheet.
5. Assemble remaining quesadillas, placing in a single layer on the baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes, flipping half way through. Cut in wedges and serve hot.

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Chicken Entree Salad with Potatoes and Lemon Vinaigrette

I've been enjoying dinner salads a lot these past few weeks. I love how simple they are to put together and how flavorful they can be with the right ingredients. This salad came together by chance: I was curious to have potatoes on salad after trying them at work (and reading about them here) so in they went, then I had extra tomatoes, leftover salad dressing from earlier in the week, and cheese in the fridge! Subsequently, I ate this for at least one more dinner...don't tell anyone my secret.
The juicy chicken paired well with the slight tartness from the vinaigrette and meatiness from the potatoes, keeping me coming back bite after bite. I think this salad would be lovely with green beans or chopped asparagus when tomatoes aren't in season.

Chicken Entree Salad with Potatoes and Lemon Vinaigrette

Ingredients

• 2 C salad greens
• 2 chicken thighs or 1 chicken breast, cooked and sliced
• 3-4 baby yukon potatoes, cooked whole and quartered
• 1 tomato, diced
• 1-2 tbsp lemon vinaigrette, or to taste
• Grated Parmesan or Romano cheese, optional

Method

1. Plate your salad greens with baby yukons and cut tomatoes, then layer the sliced chicken on top.
2. Drizzle the vinaigrette over the salad, then grate cheese over, if desired.

The beauty of this recipe is ingredients for this salad can be made ahead of time and refrigerated, or made fresh right beforehand. As such, this salad is just as good served with warm chicken and potatoes as it is cold.

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Taco Night!

There are many things I love about taco night:

1. It's a "build it yourself" type meal, so everyone can pick and choose their favorite ingredients.
2. The ingredients look so fresh and pretty all set out on the table.
3. This is a great way to highlight seasonal produce with sliced veggies and homemade salsas.
4. It's fun!

To have your own taco night...

1. The ingredients:
• Small corn tortillas, wrapped in damp paper towel and warmed in microwave
• Shredded meat (slow cooked and seasoned chicken thighs/pork shoulder/beef roast) or beans
• Grated cheese
• Veggies (shredded lettuce, green onion, tomatoes, cilantro, radishes, etc.), the more varied in color, the better!
• Salsas, hot sauces
• Sour cream
2. Gather up small plates and bowls for the ingredients. Split the ingredients between the dishes, mixing up the colors as much as possible. I put the bright yellow cheese against the dark greens, and the bright pink and red against the cilantro and scallion greens. Jars of salsa, sour cream, and hot sauces go out as is.
3. If serving alcohol, crack open some beers or make up a pitcher of margaritas. Perhaps a round of tequila shots for the more adventurous??
4. Sit down and enjoy! Encourage people to use their hands to grab ingredients--this is not a formal occasion ;)

Any leftovers make for great next day lunches or dinners. I like to use my leftovers to create fresh salads, quesadillas, or Chipotle-style rice bowls.

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Carrot Salsa Slaw Tacos

I used most of my carrot salsa slaw in making some vegetarian tacos. Tacos are one of those things that everyone does a little bit differently and I doubt I am anywhere near traditional, given that I have no idea what "traditional" means here. I'd recommend subbing out any salsas or hot sauces you might like for the carrot slaw, adjusting the heat in that recipe.

I prep all ingredients ahead of time then assemble as the tortillas are ready.

Corn tortillas

Cheddar cheese

Black beans (for a meatless alternative)

Carrot Salsa Slaw

Corn, raw, cut fresh from the cob

Cherry tomatoes, halved

Heating my tortillas over medium low to medium heat until pliable, then put on a little cheese and allow to melt slightly. Remove tortilla to plate and add ingredients as desired.

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Fresh Tomato Soup with Vodka

I wasn't expecting to, but I really love this soup. I've never tasted any tomato soup with such a strong tomato flavor. Granted, this was also my first experience with homemade tomato soup.

I used homegrown tomatoes, the last ones of the season for this. It's a tasty way to use up a bunch of tomatoes.



Fresh Tomato Soup with Vodka

2 lb ripe tomatoes, chopped
2 green onions, chopped
2 tsp sugar
2 tbsp tomato puree
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
3 tbsp olive oil
2 1/4 C vegetable stock
1/3 C breadcrumbs
1/2 tsp dried herbs of choice
salt and pepper
2 tbsp vodka

1. Put the tomatoes, green onions, sugar, tomato puree, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, and vegetable stock into a stockpot and let simmer for about an hour, covered, stirring occasionally.
2. Add the breadcrumbs, dried herbs, and season with salt and pepper. Continue to cook for 20-30 minutes.
3. Add the vodka, then serve.

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Mango Summer Rolls

This recipe is basically just an assembly of fresh ingredients and can be customized as much as you want to incorporate your favorite flavors. This is my version, adapted from Vegan with a Vengeance, incorporating the ingredients I had on hand. I recently saw Giada De Laurentiis do a fruit spring roll that looks quite delicious, so really, the sky's the limit.

Mango Summer Rolls

Ingredients

• Rice paper wrappers, softened in hot water
• 1 mango, peeled and sliced into matchsticks
• 1 cup sprouts or delicate greens (I used pea shoots)
• 4 oz saifun bean threads, softened (or rice noodles)
• Cilantro, mint, coconut, ground peanuts, etc (optional)

Method

1. In the lower portion of the rice paper wrappers, place a few tablespoons of noodles, any optional ingredients, 5 slices of mango, and sprouts.
2. Tuck the sides of the paper in and begin rolling. Keep covered with a damp cloth, chilled, until ready to eat.
3. Serve with dipping sauce.

Summer Roll Dipping Sauce

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup rice vinegar
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 tsp shiracha hot sauce, or to taste
• 1 tsp soy sauce, or to taste
• 1 garlic clove, pressed/minced
• 1 1/2 tsp super-fine sugar

Method

1. In a small bowl, mix all ingredients until combined. If necessary, microwave for a few seconds to dissolve the sugar.
2. Serve chilled.

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yellow dal

I mentioned homemade chicken stock yesterday--I decided to make yellow dal with it. I found this recipe in the foodday section of the newspaper while browsing through the recipes. It also happens that I bought yellow split beans at an Asian grocery store this weekend.

I have absolutely no experience with Indian cooking so I didn't know what to expect. The recipe was really easy to make, though, and tasted pretty good. Unfortunately, I forgot to add salt when cooking but it's a fairly easily remedied mistake. Here's my lunch, served over brown rice--



Yellow Dal

the peas:
1 C yellow split peas
1/2 bay leaf
1/4 tsp tumeric
3 cups chicken stock (obviously not vegetarian, but I don't mind)
Salt

1. Rinse the peas extremely well with running water in a sieve. Water should run clear. Add the peas to a pot with the other ingredients. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally, then reduce to a simmer for 20-30 minutes until tender. Season with salt.

the tadka:
1/4 C vegetable oil (or ghee)
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 C thinly sliced onion
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

1. In a pan, heat the oil over medium high to high heat. Add cumin seeds and fry for 10 seconds, then add the onion. Cook the onion over medium heat for 12 minutes until golden brown. Add in the crushed red pepper flakes and cook for another 2 minutes or so.
2. Serve the tadka over the top of the dal.
   

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soup and sandwich dinner

It's fall and butternut squash is in season. What better way to prepare it than roast it, then make it into a soup?? I was really inspired to make soup after seeing Thai Spiced Pumpkin Soup on 101 cookbooks. The recipe does call for acorn squash, but I used butternut since I had it on hand and it tastes great!

Pair that with a grilled cheese sandwich, enhanced with cheese, apple, and bacon and you've got a seriously good meal.

This recipe comes from Tyler Florence, another one of my favorite Food Network chefs. If you are tired of eating the same old, I have nothing else to eat so grilled cheese will do, sandwich, be sure to give this one a try!

(Not your ordinary) Grilled Cheese

2 slices of bread
green apple, sliced thin
2 pieces of bacon, cooked until crisp
white cheddar cheese, sliced
dijon mustard
butter

1. Heat a griddle over medium heat.
2. To assemble the sandwich, spread a layer of dijon mustard on one slice of bread. Layer the cheese, apple, and bacon on top, then add the other slice of bread. Butter the bread and place onto the griddle, butter side down. Be sure to butter the other side of the sandwich at this time.
3. Cook the sandwich until golden brown, flip, and cook the other side until golden as well.

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Jamaican Jerk Spiced Tofu

I found this recipe, thinking I had tempeh waiting to be used...turns out I was wrong! So I decided to use extra firm tofu instead.



Jamaican Jerk Spiced Tofu

1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 block extra firm tofu, cubed
2 carrots, shredded

Vegetable/canola oil for the pan

Combine the spices in a bowl; set aside.

In a skillet, heat oil over medium to medium high heat. Add tofu and stirfry until lightly browned. Add the spices to the pan and toss with tofu, then add carrots.

Serve over rice.

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Moroccan Chicken with Tomatoes and Zucchini

This next recipe is from Robin Miller's cookbook. I got it at the library and really enjoyed it for its easy, yummy recipes. The recipe is great for fall when zucchini is in season. The dish tastes very nice over basmati rice to make a meal.

Moroccan Chicken with Tomatoes and Zucchini

Ingredients

• 2 tsp olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 1/4 lbs chicken breasts, diced into 2 inch pieces
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp cardamom
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 14 oz can diced tomatoes
• 1 medium zucchini, diced

Method

1. Heat a skillet over medium high heat, add oil and cook garlic for 60 seconds. Be sure not to burn!
2. Add the chicken and brown well on all sides. Next, add the spices and cook for another 60 seconds or so.
3. Add the tomatoes and zucchini and simmer until the chicken is cooked through, 5 minutes or so. Season with salt and pepper.

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Japanese Dry Curry with Tempeh

I heard of tempeh from my vegan cookbook a while ago, saw it at the grocery store, decided it looked scary, and didn't buy it. But then I came across this recipe on Just Bento which made tempeh seem a little bit scary. So I went back to the store and picked some up.



All I know about tempeh is it's soybeans, I believe fermented soybeans (same concept as Japanese natto, only not stringy and smelly). If you're interested, check out the wikipedia entry on it or a quick google search. But I do promise, it's not as scary as it seems!

I won't go into too much detail about the recipe, but it was pretty simple. I choppd up some vegetables in a food processor, sauteed them until tender, then added some spices, then the tempeh. Heat through and serve over rice! The recipe made enough for about 4 lunches.

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Dry-rubbed Salmon Filet

I got this book from the library a few weeks ago. I'll admit, the title did sound kind of boring, but open it up and it's got a great layout, great pictures, and unique recipes. I found myself bookmarking more pages than I ever expected. The first recipe I've made is dry rubbed salmon. Sounds totally different than anything I've ever seen or tried, but wow is it good! I halved the recipe which made about 4 servings.

Dry-rubbed Grilled Filet of Salmon

Ingredients

• Filet of salmon, approximately 1-2 lbs.

For the rub:

• 1/2 cup raw cane sugar
• 1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
• 1/4 cup grated lime zest, from about 3 limes
• 1/4 cup coarse sea salt
• 2 tbsp chili powder
• 2 tbsp cumin

Method

1. Mix together all the rub ingredients. Spread evenly over the salmon fillet, gently rubbing into the flesh and let sit at room temperature for 1 hour (or in the refrigerator for 2).
2. Prepare the grill.
3. Scrape dry rub off the salmon; grill for 10-12 minutes or until cooked all the way through.

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Napa Crusted Pork

I really enjoy herb crusted pork for some strange reason. I've made it three times now, twice with gravy, and it tastes so good! A few days back, I decided once again to pull out this trick using herbs and oil I received from my parents' recent trip to Napa Valley.

This is a fun recipe to try out different herb combinations, fresh or dried. Here is my approximate recipe (I lost the real one). Basically, you're looking for a paste-like consistency. I have used this on a large pork loin cooked in the oven and also a tenderloin grilled outside.

Herb Crust for Napa Crusted Pork

3 tbsp. stone ground or Dijon mustard
2 tbsp. dried herbs*
1 tsp. extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt
1/8 tsp. black pepper

Make enough of this to coat your meat, whatever size it may be.

*My herbs were a blend of thyme, fennel seed, savory, rosemary, lavender, and cracked bay leaves. I have used an Italian herb blend, as well as a blend of fresh rosemary and thyme.

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