Hearty Fall Salad

September's Cooking Light included a series of vegetarian grain salads that all looked fantastic. The previously posted quinoa salad was one of them, and here is another. This Toasted Barley, Green Bean, and Shiitake Salad with Tofu was also delicious and worth trying. The toasted barley has a nutty flavor and chewy texture that melds well with the shiitakes and tofu. Adam is not a fan of green beans, so we exchanged them for asparagus spears. The dressing was a bit sweet for our taste, but that could easily be toned down. And, this salad does take quite a long time to make. I would make it over the weekend and pack it for lunches. All in all though, a nice, hearty fall salad for a brisk, sunny day.

Toasted Barley, Green Bean, and Shiitake Salad with Tofu (Cooking Light, September 2010)

Tofu:
1 (12-oz.) package extra-firm tofu, drained and cut into 5 (1-inch-thick) slices
1 Tbs. brown sugar
2 Tbs. lower-sodium soy sauce
1 tsp. grated peeled fresh ginger
1 tsp. dark sesame oil
1 garlic clove, grated
cooking spray

Salad:
2 Tbs. dark sesame oil, divided
1 cup uncooked pearl barley
5 cups water
3/4 tsp. salt, divided
1 lbs. green beans, trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces
10 oz. large shiitake mushrooms, stems removed
1 1/2 cups thinly sliced green onions
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
2 Tbs. lower-sodium soy sauce
2 Tbs. agave nectar or honey
2 tsp. finely grated peeled fresh ginger
1 garlic clove, minced

1. To prepare tofu, place tofu slices on several layers of paper towels; cover with additional paper towels. Top with a cutting board; place a heavy skillet on top of cutting board. Let stand 45 minutes, pressing down occasionally. Cut each tofu slice into 10 cubes; arrange in a single layer in a shallow dish.
2. Preheat oven to 375.
3. Combine brown sugar and next 4 ingredients (through garlic) in a small bowl. Pour sugar mixture over tofu in dish, and turn to coat. Let stand for 25 minutes. Arrange tofu in a single layer on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Bake at 375 for 35 minutes, turning after 15 minutes. Cool completely.
4. To prepare salad, heat 1 tsp. sesame oil in a heavy saucepan over medium-high heat. Add barley to pan; cook 3 minutes or until lightly toasted, stirring frequently. Add 5 cups water and 1/2 tsp. salt; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 45 minutes or until barley is tender. Drain; cool completely. Place barley in a large bowl.
5. Cook green beans in boiling water for 4 minutes or until crisp-tender. Drain and plunge green beans into ice water. Drain well; pat dry. Add beans to barley.
6. Heat a grill pan over medium-high heat. Brush tops of mushrooms with 2 tsp. oil. Add mushrooms to pan, oiled side down. Cook 5 minutes or until browned. Sprinkle evenly with remaining 1/4 tsp. salt. Cool slightly; slice mushrooms thinly. Add tofu, mushrooms, and green onions to barley mixture.
7. Combine remaining 1 Tbs. oil, rice wine vinegar, 2 Tbs. soy sauce, agave nectar or honey, grated ginger, and minced garlic in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk. Drizzle over barley mixture in bowl; stir well to combine. Serve at room temperature or chilled.

The Winning Dog(s)

I have a secret (or not-so secret) love for veggie dogs. So, when I was flipping through an issue of Food and Wine Magazine and saw a recipe for gourmet hot dogs, I couldn't resist making them. This recipe for Hot Dogs with Cheddar and Sauteed Apples is fairly easy and absolutely delicious. They are worthy of serving to guests even. We added onions to the apples for a bit more savory version of this recipe and then served them with doctored baked beans and an avocado and tomato salad for a fantastic, ballpark meal.


Hot Dogs with Cheddar and Sauteed Apples (Food and Wine, September 2010)


2 Tbs. unsalted butter
3 large Granny Smith apples, peeled halved, cored, and cut into scant 1/2-inch wedges
3 Tbs. light brown sugar
pinch of cinnamon
6 hot dogs [or veggie dogs]
6 long pretzel rolls or hot dog buns, split
3 oz. thinly sliced sharp cheddar cheese

1. Preheat oven to 450. In a large skillet, melt the butter. Add the apples and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until barely softened and just beginning to brown, about 5 minutes. Add the brown sugar and cook over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until the apples are tender and lightly caramelized, about 10 minutes longer. Stir in the cinnamon and keep warm.
2. Heat a grill pan. Grill the hot dogs over high heat until lightly charred all over, about 5 minutes. On a baking sheet, set the dogs in the rolls and top with the cheddar cheese. Bake for about 3 minutes, just until the cheese is melted. Top with the apples and serve at once.

Boating Bliss

One of Adam's co-workers and her husband took us out on their boat for a day of fun in the sun and water sports. Although I wasn't so great at water surfing, I had a ton of fun. To feed us on the fabulous day, I made a Curried Quinoa Salad with Cucumber-Mint Raita that was perfect for the hot day. The warm flavors of the curry melded wonderfully with the cool mango and cucumber yogurt. Take advantage of this salad on the next (and maybe last) warm day of the year.


Curried Quinoa Salad with Cucumber-Mint Raita (Cooking Light, September 2010)

1 tsp. olive oil
2 tsp. Madras curry powder
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 cup uncooked quinoa
2 cups water
3/4 tsp. kosher salt
1 diced peeled ripe mango
1/2 cup diced onion
1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions
3 Tbs. chopped fresh cilantro
3 Tbs. currants [I used dried cranberries instead.]
1/4 cup finely diced peeled English cucumber
2 tsp. chopped fresh mint
1 (6-oz.) carton plain low-fat yogurt
1 (5-oz.) package fresh baby spinach

1. Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add curry and garlic to pan; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add quinoa and 2 cups water; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 16 minutes or until tender. Remove from heat; stir in salt. Cool completely.
2. Add mango, diced celery, thinly sliced green onions, chopped cilantro, and currants to cooled quinoa; toss gently.
3. Combine 1/4 cup cucumber, 2 tsp. mint, and yogurt in a small bowl, and stir well. Divide spinach evenly among 6 plates, and top each serving with about 3/4 cup quinoa mixture and about 2 Tbs. raita.

Jamie's Done It Again

Whenever we need a good, hearty meal for a Tuesday night dinner, I know I can always look to Jamie Oliver to deliver. And deliver he did. His recipe for spinach canneloni is fairly easy and definitely worth every little bit of effort it took. We made some garlic bread to sop up the extra sauce and had sausage-stuffed mushroom caps as an appetizer to round out the meal. A side salad is a nice addition as well.

Stuffed Mushrooms (Cooking Light, December 2006)

We made these with chicken sausage and veggie sausage. I was surprised to find out that everyone really liked the veggie sausage mushroom caps, although the filling didn't quite have the right consistency. I guess it just goes to show that you should feel free to substitute what you like; you never know, you might get something better.

24 large button mushrooms (about 1 3/4 lbs.)
cooking spray
3 Tbs. chopped green onions
1 garlic clove, minced
4 oz. 50%-less-fat pork sausage (such as Jimmy Dean 50% less fat)
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
1/8 tsp. black pepper
1/4 cup (2-oz.) 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup dry breadcrumbs
3 Tbs. grated fresh Parmesan cheese

1. Preheat oven to 400.
2. Clean mushrooms, and remove stems; finely chop stems.
3. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add onions and garlic; saute 1 minute. Add sausage; cook until browned, stirring to crumble. Add reserved mushroom stems, red pepper, salt, and black pepper; saute 2 minutes or until stems are tender. Remove from heat; stir in cream cheese and breadcrumbs. Stuff 1 Tbs. sausage mixture into each mushroom cap. Arrange mushroom caps in a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray; sprinkle evenly with Parmesan. Bake at 400 for 30 minutes or until lightly golden and thoroughly heated.

Awesome Spinach and Ricotta Cannelloni (Jamie's Dinners, Jamie Oliver)

2 knobs of butter
olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely sliced
a large handful of fresh marjoram or oregano, roughly chopped
1/4 of a nutmeg, grated
8 large handfuls of spinach, thoroughly washed
a handful of fresh basil, stalks chopped, leaves ripped
2 14-oz. cans of good-quality plum tomatoes, chopped
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
a pinch of sugar
14 oz. crumbly ricotta cheese
2 handfuls of freshly grated Parmesan cheese
16 cannelloni tubes
7 oz. mozzarella, broken up

For the White Sauce
1 pint of creme fraiche
3 anchovies, finely chopped [or capers for a veggie version]
2 handfuls of freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Then find a metal baking pan or ovenproof dish that will fit the cannelloni in one layer so it's nice and snug. This way you'll get the right over of sauce and the right amount of crispiness on top. When I cook this at home I just use one pan to cut down on the lots of washing up! Take your metal pan or a saucepan, put it on a high heat and add your butter, a drizzle of olive oil, one of the sliced garlic cloves, a handful of fresh marjoram or oregano and the grated nutmeg. By the time the pan is hot the garlic should be soft. Put as much spinach as will fit into the pan. Keep turning it over; it will wilt quickly so you will be able to keep adding more spinach until it's all in. Moisture will cook out of the spinach, which is fine. By cooking it this way you don't lose any of the nutrients that you would if boiling it in water.
2. After 5 minutes, put the spinach into a large bowl and leave to cool. Place the pan on the heat, add a little olive oil, the other clove of sliced garlic, your basil stalks and the tomatoes, then fill one of the empty tomato cans with cold water and add this too. Bring to the boil, then turn the head down, add a pinch of salt and pepper and the sugar, and simmer for about 10 minutes, until you get a loose tomato consistency. Then take the pan off the heat and add the basil leaves.
3. By now the spinach will have cooled down, so squeeze any excess liquid out of it and pour this back into the bowl. Finely chop the spinach and put it back into the bowl. Mix it with the liquid, add the ricotta and a handful of the Parmesan, and then use a piping bag to squeeze the mixture into the cannelloni. You can make your own piping bag by getting a plastic sandwich bag and putting the spinach mix into the corner of it. Then twist the bag up and cut the corner off. Carefully squeeze the filling into the cannelloni tubes so each one is fulled right up--really easy.
4. Lay the cannelloni over the tomato sauce in the pan. Or you can pour the tomato sauce into your ovenproof dish and lay the cannelloni on top. To make the white sauce, mix together the creme fraiche, anchovies, and the 2 handfuls of Parmesan with a little salt and pepper, then loosen with a little water until you can spoon it over the cannelloni. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan and the mozzarella pieces, and bake for about 20 to 25 minutes until golden and bubbling.

One of the Best

This was a meal that was absolutely fabulous. We actually deemed it one of our best meals that we have made recently. And, to top it all off, it was pretty fast. We changed the recipe ever so slightly to Salmon and Tofu with Mint-Yogurt Sauce instead of Arctic Char with Cilantro-Yogurt Sauce, but we still accompanied it with the Red Pepper-Coconut Rice that Cooking Light suggested and sauteed broccolini. Delish! Definitely worth trying this week.

Arctic Char with Cilantro-Yogurt Sauce (Cooking Light, September 2010)

1/2 cup 2% Greek-style plain yogurt
1/4 cup finely chopped peeled cucumber
2 Tbs. chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 tsp. fresh lime juice
1/8 tsp. salt
2 tsp. olive oil
4 (6-oz.) arctic char or salmon fillets, skinned
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
lime wedges (optional)

1. Combine first 5 ingredients; chill.
2. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle fillets with 1/2 tsp. salt and pepper. Add fillets to pan; cook 3 minutes on each side or until done. Serve fillets with sauce and lime wedges, if desired.


Red Pepper-Coconut Rice

Bring 1 cup jasmine rice, 1/4 tsp. salt, 1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper, and 1 (14-oz.) can light coconut milk to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in 1/2 cup diced red bell pepper; cover and let stand 5 minutes.

Summer Soup

I have been wanting to make a vichyssoise for some time now, and this one was exactly what I hoped it would be. I'm not sure Adam loved it, but I thought it was a perfect summer meal, and a great way to get your greens in. We topped it off with a pinch of cayenne for an extra little kick.

Spinach Vichyssoise (Vegetarian Planet, Didi Emmons)

1 1/2 Tbs. butter
2 1/2 cups chopped onions or leeks
3 medium russet potatoes, peeled and chopped to make 3 cups
6 cups whole or low-fat milk
4 cups washed and stemmed spinach, firmly packed
1 large pinch fresh nutmeg
about 1 tsp. salt, to taste
1/2 tsp. fresh-ground black pepper
4 tsp. sour cream
chopped chives

1. Heat the butter in a stockpot over medium heat. Add the onions, and cook them, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes or until they have softened. Add the potatoes and milk, and bring the mixture to a simmer over high heat. Cover the soup, and turn the heat to low. Simmer for 30 minutes or until the potatoes are tender. Stir in the spinach, and simmer the soup 5 minutes more.
2. Puree the soup in batches in a food processor or blender. Season the soup with the nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Serve it either hot or cold (chilled for at least 1 1/2 hours), with a dollop or sour cream and a sprinkling of chives.

Variation: For a more imaginative, if somewhat offbeat, vichyssoise, add 2 tsp. curry powder to the onions or leeks after they have cooked for 5 minutes.

Simply Scrumptious Sandwich

This is a super simple recipe, but when Adam and I ate it, we could not get enough. Perfect for a night when you just don't have the energy to cook or when you want an extra scrumptious lunch.

Grilled Smoked-Gouda Sandwich with Mustard Dipping Sauce (Vegetarian Planet, Didi Emmons)

1 tsp. Dijon mustard
1 tsp. honey
2 Tbs. plain whole, low-fat, or nonfat sour cream
3 oz. smoked Gouda cheese, sliced thin
4 slices bread (I like to use large slices of rye bread)
1 tomato, sliced thin
a small amount of thinly sliced onion
2 Tbs. olive oil

1. Make the dipping sauce: Stir together the mustard and the honey in a small bowl. Add the sour cream, and spoon the sauce into two dipping bowls.
2. Lay the cheese slices on two pieces of the bread, place the tomato slices on top of the cheese, and then top with as much onion as you'd like. Place the other two pieces of bread on top of the first two.
3. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Place the two sandwiches in the skillet, and weigh down the sandwiches with either a sandwich press or another skillet. Reduce the heat to low. Pan-fry the sandwiches until they are golden on the bottom, about 3 minutes, then flip them. Continue to cook until the cheese is melting and the other side is golden. Cut the sandwiches in half, and serve them with the dipping sauce.