Rice Salad, Chicken and Brocoli

Yesterday I wanted to make a rice salad, but have never had one I really liked. So I turned to my favorite cookbook, How to Cook Everything, by Mark Bittman and found his rice salad with apricots. He suggested rice or other grains and I picked half a cup each of wild rice, wheat berries and pearled barley. Unlike rice, these grains have a "bite" to them and are also very healthy.

I also had a roasted chicken with sriracha aioli (Sriracha hot sauce and mayonnaise) on the side for dipping and steamed broccoli.

The meal was delicious! The broccoli was good with the rice and the aioli. The rice was a little sweet, a bit spicy and savory. This dish will definitely be making more appearances in my home.

I did not have dried apricots, so I substituted dried cherries and raisins.

Mark Bittman’s Rice Salad with Dried Apricots

½ cup each wild rice, pearled barley and wheat berries, cooled

1 cup chopped apricots or raisins and dried cherries

½ cup slivered almonds, toasted

½ cup chopped scallion

¼ to ½ vinaigrette made with white vinegar and walnut and olive oil

1 tablespoon ground coriander

2 teaspoon ground ginger

1 ½ teaspoon cayenne

S&P

½ cup cilantro leaves, chopped

Combine rice, fruit, almonds, and scallion and add vinaigrette. Sprinkle with spices and salt and pepper. Stir in cilantro and taste for any adjustments in spice

Chicken Soup and Stock

I was inspired to make chicken soup because the root vegetables at the Farmer’s Market were so fresh and gorgeous. I make my chicken soup from scratch—that is, with homemade chicken stock. You can buy chicken stock—even organic free range—but it is not comparable to homemade. Homemade chicken stock is much richer and will make anything you use with it taste better.

Some cooks make chicken stock by adding the chicken and cooking it to death and then throwing away the tasteless chicken. There is no reason to do this! Instead, cook chicken until it's done--about an hour if cut into pieces--then throw the bones back into the pot so they can flavor the stock.

Chicken Stock

1 chicken, cut into 8 pieces (do not use organs; neck is fine)

1 onion, quartered, skin on

2 stacks celery, roughly chopped

2 carrots, roughly chopped

1 parsnip, roughly chopped

1 turnip, roughly chopped

Handful parsley

Salt and pepper

Put chicken pieces into a large pot, add remaining ingredients and fill with water. When water comes to a boil, lower hit to a medium simmer and skim off any scum that forms on the top. Boil for about an hour. Remove meat and reserve. When meat is cool, discard skin and remove meat from bones. Throw bones (and any of the vegetables) back into the pot and simmer for at least another hour. Occasionally check water level. You can simmer for hours, if desired. Remove bones and vegetables (a Chinese slotted spoon is perfect.) Store stock in containers. Fat will rise to top and can be removed when refrigerated.

Chicken Soup

Stock

Chicken cut or torn into bite-sized pieces

Root vegetables—carrot, celery, parsnips, turnips, celery root, jicama, etc cut into bite-sized pieces

Brown or white rice or pasta

Broccoli, Kale, spinach, peas, seaweed (optional)

Lemon zest (optional)

Heat stock and add root veggies and white rice and cook 20 minutes. If using brown, add 25 minutes earlier. If using pasta, cook separately and add at end.  Add other vegetables and chicken for last 5 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste.  Plate soup and add lemon zest to bowl.

Dinner: Swordfish Tacos

I made swordfish tacos last week for dinner is celebration of the summer-like weather. Tacos are great year round, however, I like to grill the swordfish outside and the dish is light and perfect for warm temperatures. (When it's cold, I saute fish and do this dish inside.)

I love this recipe...feel free to use all or some of the vegetables in the slaw--it's meant to be flexible. The chipolte  sauce is delicious and works really well in this dish.

Swordfish Tacos(or any firm fish)

Fish: 4-6 ounces per person

Grill any firm fish until done, let cool a bit, then crumble into small pieces

Tortillas

2 flour per person, grill lightly on grill or gas stove or heat in oven

Slaw

Red cabbage, thinly sliced or shredded

Red onion, thinly sliced or shredded

Tomatoes, cut into small chunks

Cucumber, sliced thin

Lettuce, thinly sliced or shredded

Avocado, cut into small chunks

Mix together and toss with some sauce, below

Recipe for the Chipolte Pepper Sauce (4-6 servings)

1 cup sour cream / Greek yogurt

1/2 cup mayo

1dried diced chipotle pepper soaked for 30 minutes (seeds removed) or powder

1 small garlic clove chopped

Zest of one lime and juice

2 Tablespoons of salsa

Salt   

Mix all ingredients 

To assemble: Put fish, slaw and extra sauce on each tortilla.

Cold Noodles and Sesame and Asian Style Slaw

The first time I had Cold Noodles and Sesame was in a Chinese restaurant in New York City in the early eighties. I was in college at the time and my boyfriend took me to the restaurant…it was my first experience eating anything spicy and I loved them immediately—even though it took me ages to eat the first few times, as my taste buds had to adjust to the spiciness. 

I learned how to make them and ate them constantly when I was poor and living in Provincetown. Over the years, I have tweaked the recipe; they are now quite different from the original I like—better, in my opinion. Taste the sauce and adjust to your liking.  

Cold Noodles with Sesame Sauce

Serves 4-5

1 pound Chinese-style dried noodle or spaghetti/fettuccine

5 cloves garlic, minced

1-2 tablespoons ginger, minced

3 tablespoon black or white sesame seeds

1 bunch scallions, chopped

1 cucumber, cut into long thin shreds

Sauce:

2 tablespoon San-J® All Purpose Szechuan Hot and Spicy Sauce

1 cup crunchy or smooth natural peanut butter

3 tablespoons soy or tamari sauce

1 teaspoon sesame oil

Hot pepper flakes to taste

Water

While heating water to cook pasta; sauté ginger, sesame seeds and garlic. Adjust heat to low and add ingredients for sauce, stirring well. Add small amounts of water until you like the consistency—should be thin enough to coat the pasta easily. Taste the sauce, as you may want to add more of one or more ingredients. If it is too hot and spicy, add more peanut butter. Cook pasta, drain and toss in the sauce. Embellish with cucumber. Serve room temperature or warm. 

Asian Style Slaw

3 parts olive oil

1 part white rice vinegar

1 part soy sauce

1 part toasted sesame oil

crushed garlic

Pepper

Cabbage, sliced very thinly

Red onion, sliced very thinly

Cucumbers, peeled and cut into matchsticks

Combine dressing and toss with vegetables. Serve noodles on top of salad.

Grilled Pork Chops and Green Flageolets

I was in an Asian market a few days ago and spied dried Green Flageolets—a kidney bean from France—they looked cool, so I bought them. Ditto on black quinoa (I love the color black in foods because of the contrast they provide with other food). I also scored Chinese Yardlong beans—they are really long and come tied in a bunch. I like them because they are less starchy than green beans and have a really great taste. As far as I know, only Asian markets carry them. I was going to use the quinoa for dinner, but wanted to use the baby Yukon potatoes I had before they got soft.

My husband grilled two pork chops (grass fed and free range) that we ate two nights in a row. The second night, I put the leftover meat on top of the flageolets, added a bit of water and steamed both. 

The meat is so good that I like it best simply grilled outside.

Note that I recommend a cast iron pan for beans and potatoes. I love using cast iron because you can cook on high temperatures and brown food. The potatoes and beans, when cooked on a cast iron pan, get brown and crispy and delicious.

The flageolets were really good! (That said, if I didn’t have them, I’d substitute kidney beans.) The first night, I mixed up the ingredients and served it cold, but decided the garlic tasted too strong raw. It was much better when heated the next day. The recipe, below, is the improved version.

Note that I don’t have amounts on all the recipes…just use your judgment. I love rosemary and use a ton of fresh from my garden for the potatoes. (Dried is also very good.) The rosemary gets all brown and delicious when cooked with some butter.

Grilled pork chops

Warm green flageolets salad

Sautéed Chinese Yardlong beans

Sautéed baby Yukon potatoes

Grilled pork chops

Salt and pepper both sides, grill until slightly pink inside. Let sit a few minutes before serving.

Warm Green Flageolets Salad

1 1/2 cups or 1 can cooked flageolets or kidney beans

3 stalks celery, chopped

3-4 cloves garlic, chopped

4 scallions, chopped

3-4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

½ cup parsley, chopped

Juice from ½ lemon

Salt and pepper

On low heat, sauté garlic in oil until soft, then add all remaining ingredients but lemon. Heat through, turn off heat and add lemon. Serve warm or room temperature.

Sautéed Chinese Yardlong beans

Chinese Yardlong Green Beans, haricot verte or regular green beans, chopped into bite-sized pieces

Garlic, minced

Peanut oil

Lemon

Heat a cast iron pan or wok on high and add peanut oil until hot. Stir-fry beans until they begin to brown, then add garlic. Turn off the heat and add lemon juice.

Sautéed baby Yukon potatoes

Boil whole baby potatoes 12 minutes and drain. Sauté, preferably in a cast iron pan, in butter, rosemary, paprika, salt and pepper till browned.