Southwestern Quinoa Salad

This recipe is from Relish magazine that has a ton of great recipes. It is super easy to make. I used a can of black beans and frozen corn. The lime cilantro vinaigrette gives it a very fresh flavor!

1 cup quinoa, cooked accordingly

1 can black beans, drained

2 cups corn (frozen is fine, cook for 2-4 minutes in water)

1 orange or red bell pepper, diced

1 jalapeno, seeded and diced

6 T. fresh lime juice

2 t. ground cumin

1/2 t. chili powder

1 t. salt

1/2 cup olive oil

1/3 cup chopped cilantro

Let quinoa cool after cooking. Mix drained beans, cooked corn, bell pepper and jalapeño. Add quinoa. Mix lime juice with spices and add olive oil. Pour over salad and add cilantro.

Quinoa Tabbouleh

A fabulous new restaurant opened in Denver called True Food and the cookbook is full of great recipes. I am a huge fan of quinoa and this is a delicious fall salad with beets, pomegranates and marcona almonds

 

1# beets

1-2 cups red quinoa (depending on how much quinoa you like)

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

3 garlic cloves, mashed and minced

1/2 t. salt

pinch of red pepper flakes

1/3 cup chopped Italian parsley

1/4 cup chopped fresh mint

3 scallions, chopped

2 oz. arugula

1/2 pomegranate, seeds removed and reserved

1/4 cup chopped Marcona almonds (or any almond-Marcona are crispy)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Rinse beets and wrap in foil, bake for one hour, until easily pierced with a knife. Cool, peel and dice and set aside.

Bring 4 cups of water to a boil, add rinsed and drained quinoa and simmer, covered for 20 minutes, until the quinoa is dry and fluffy. Cool.

In a salad bowl, whisk the oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt and red pepper flakes. Add the beets, quinoa, parsley, mint, scallions and arugula and toss well to combine. Garnish with pomegranate seeds and almonds.

 

Party Menu and a great vinaigrette

I had a lunch with four girlfriends yesterday and the menu was perfect!

Ina’s chunky blue cheese dip yogurt dip with tiny multi colored potatoes and asparagus crudite

Ina’s roasted figs and prosciutto

Ina’s roasted shrimp salad

Mixed greens with Jody’s vinaigrette including arugula from my garden and watercress, garnished with sliced avocado, cucumbers, diced mixed peppers and colorful cherry tomatoes

Thumbprint chocolate caramel tartlets

from my previous post!

Jody’s vinaigrette-my sister makes the best vinaigrette-these are the basic ingredients and adjust to the amount you want to make. I am giving the amounts I just made that yields about one cup.

1 clove chopped garlic

3 T. rice wine vinegar

1 T. balsamic vinegar

dash of soy sauce

dash of maple syrup or other sweetener

1/2 cup olive oil

Shake up in a jar!

Carrot Ginger Dressing-Little Flower Cookbook

I recently bought the Little Flower Cookbook from a little cafe in Pasadena. It’s a tiny book full of great recipes for savory tarts, baked goods, salads and dressings, soups, sandwiches and sweets. I have made two recipes so far but will probably make every recipe in this book-they all sound delicious.

I am always looking for a new vinaigrette and this is a delicious one

1 shallot, peeled

2 cloves garlic, peeled

3 T. fresh ginger, peeled (about a 3″ knob)

1/2 cup grated carrot

1/2 t. ground mustard

2 t. soy sauce

1/2 cup rice wine vinegar

1 t. toasted sesame oil

3/4 cup canola oil

1/4 cup olive oil

salt to taste

Add all ingredients, except the oils, to the blender, puree. Add oil slowly. Season to taste. Makes 2+ cups!

Ina’s Roasted Shrimp Salad

Hot weather has descended on us in Denver so I am making this in the morning so I don’t have to cook later! You can scale this recipe down for the size you will use. I only roast 1/2# of shrimp for the two of us.

Roasted Shrimp Salad

Serves 6

2 1/2 lbs. fresh shrimp, peeled and deveined

1 T. olive oil

salt and fresh black pepper

1 cup mayonnaise

1 T. grated orange zest (2 oranges)

2 T. freshly squeezed orange juice

1 T. good white wine vinegar

1/4 cup minced dill

2 T. drained capers

2 T. small diced red onion

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Pat the shrimp dry and place on a sheet pan. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper and toss together. Roast 6-8 minutes, turning once while cooking. Allow to cool on the pan for 3 minutes.

Meanwhile make the sauce by  combining remaining ingredients  and whisk together. When the shrimp have cooled toss them in the sauce. Allow to sit for 30 minutes to absorb flavors or chill up to 6 hours. Serve on a bed of lettuce and garnish as you wish! The sauce for  the shrimp is so delicious, you will want to put it on everything!

Spicy Quinoa, Cucumber and Tomato Salad

This recipe comes from Martha Rose Shulman who writes a weekly column in the NY Times Health section under Fitness. Her recipes are amazing! This is a wonderful easy recipe using quinoa, which I really love.

1 cup quinoa

3 cups water

Salt to taste

2 cups diced cucumber

1 small red onion, finely minced (optional)

2 cups finely diced tomatoes

1 to 2 jalapeño or serrano peppers (to taste), seeded if desired and finely chopped

1/2 cup chopped cilantro, plus several sprigs for garnish

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar or sherry vinegar

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 avocado, sliced, for garnish

1. Place the quinoa in a bowl, and cover with cold water. Let sit for five minutes. Drain through a strainer, and rinse until the water runs clear. Bring the 3 cups water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add salt (1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon) and the quinoa. Bring back to a boil, and reduce the heat to low. Cover and simmer 15 minutes or until the quinoa is tender and translucent; each grain should have a little thread. Drain off the water in the pan through a strainer, and return the quinoa to the pan. Cover the pan with a clean dishtowel, replace the lid and allow to sit for 10 minutes. If making for the freezer, uncover and allow to cool, then place in plastic bags. Flatten the bags and seal.

2. Meanwhile, place the finely diced cucumber in a colander, and sprinkle with salt. Toss and allow to sit for 15 minutes. Rinse the cucumber with cold water, and drain on paper towels. If using the onion, place in a bowl and cover with cold water. Let sit for five minutes, then drain, rinse with cold water and drain on paper towels.

3. Combine the tomatoes, chiles, cilantro, vinegar, lime juice and olive oil in a bowl. Add the cucumber and onion, season to taste with salt, and add the quinoa and cilantro. Toss together, and taste and adjust seasonings. Serve garnished with sliced avocado and cilantro sprigs.

Yield: Serves six.

Wild Rice and Edamame Salad

I found this recipe on line through a CBS site -it is so colorful and full of my favorite foods. I used two cups of dry wild rice to make 4 cups cooked. I just covered the wild rice with water and 3″ to spare and cooked it for about 45-50 minutes. Drain and you are ready to make this salad which makes enough for 8-1o servings easily!

1/2 cup blanched sliced or slivered almonds,

2 T. sesame seeds

4 cups cooked wild rice

3 medium scallions, white and light green parts,      thinly sliced

2 cups cooked, shelled edamame, thawed and cooked   if frozen

2 medium carrots, small dice

1/2 cup dried cranberries

3 T. olive oil

2 T. toasted sesame oil

1/4 rice vinegar

2 t. honey

salt and pepper to taste

Toast nuts in medium frying pan over medium heat, stirring often until golden about 8-10 minutes-do not let burn. Transfer to a bowl. Toast sesame seeds in pan about 2-3 minutes-transfer to bowl with the almonds.

Add the rice, scallions, edamame, carrots and cranberries to a large bowl with almonds and sesame seeds.

Whisk olive oil, sesame oil, rice wine vinegar, honey and a pinch of salt and pepper until combined. Drizzle over the rice mixture and toss to combine. Taste and season with more salt, pepper and vinegar. Cover and chill for at least one hour before serving.

Nana’s Egg Salad

Hardboiled Eggs, finely chopped

Scallion or red onion, finely chopped

Celery, finely chopped

Carrot, grated

Bacon, crumbled

Mayonnaisse

Dijon

I am not giving amounts as it is up to you how much you want of any of these ingredients. My grandmother made egg salad sandwiches on whole wheat bread for us whenever we were going on a road trip or stopping at her house en route to somewhere else. I remember going there from Colorado to NYC and she fixed my friends and me the hugest breakfast and then she sent us off with egg salad sandwiches for all of us! I still make egg salad whenever I go on a road trip with my friend Laurie and feed it to her on crackers as we drive to our destination!