Category Archives: sides

Guaca-chi The Washington Post, August 7, 2013

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This marriage of kimchi and guacamole isn’t anything close to traditional, but it’s what happened when Food editor Joe Yonan was called upon to make a quick appetizer for a group of hungry people while he was staying in an unfamiliar house.

Don’t mash the avocados the way you would when making guacamole; they’re best left in chunks. The dish is best served just after it has been made.

Serve with tortilla chips or crackers.  Makes 1 3/4 cups (4 appetizer servings)

  • Flesh of 1 ripe avocado, cut into large chunks
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice (from 1 lime)
  • 1/2 cup homemade or store-bought kimchi, preferably spicy, with its liquid
  • Sea salt (optional)

Toss the avocado chunks with the lime juice in a serving bowl.

Chop the kimchi if the pieces are bigger than bite-size, then gently toss it and all of its liquid with the avocado. Taste, add salt if necessary, and serve.

Orange Pecan Wild Rice Ina Garten

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1 cup wild rice
1 1/4 cups veggie stock
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
kosher salt
1 cup green seedless grape, halved
1/2 cup scallion, sliced in rounds, white and light green parts (2 scallions)
1 cup pecan halves, toasted and coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon grated orange zest
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

Place the rice, chicken stock, 1 1/4 cups water, 1 tablespoon butter, and 1 teaspoon salt in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Cover the pot and lower the heat to simmer ( she pulls the pan halfway off the burner) and cook for about 1 hour, until the rice is tender and the grains begin to burst open. Stir the rice occasionally while it’s cooking, scraping the bottom of the pan to prevent it from sticking. Turn off the heat, and allow the rice to steam for about 5 minutes.

Stir the remaining tablespoon of butter into the rice, then add the grapes, scallions, pecans, orange zest, orange juice, 1 teaspoon salt and the pepper and toss. Taste for seasonings and serve hot.

Ridiculously Easy Southwestern Coleslaw

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southwestern-coleslaw

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1/2 medium cabbage
2 carrots
1-2 hot chile peppers, thinly sliced or chopped
5-6 tablespoons salsa verde
1 1/2 tablespoons lime juice
2 tablespoons vegan mayo or lite silken tofu
1/2 teaspoon agave nectar (or other sweetener)
1/4 teaspoon cumin

salt to taste

  1. Remove and discard the core of the cabbage, and cut cabbage in half. Use a food processor fitted with a shredding disk to shred the cabbage and carrots. Place in a serving bowl along with the sliced chile pepper.
  2. Whisk all remaining ingredients together until smooth. (If you’re using silken tofu, you may need to blend it in a small blender or food processor.) Add the dressing to the cabbage and mix well. Add salt to taste. Cover and allow to marinate in the refrigerator for at least an hour. Check seasonings before serving and add more salsa, lime juice, cumin, or salt if necessary.

Asparagus with Orange Sauce – Laura Calder

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  • 2 oranges
  • 1 pink shallot
  • 3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
  • 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • 4 tablespoons olive oil
  • Salt and pepper
  • 20 spears green asparagus, trimmed
  • Parmesan cheese, for shaving
  1. First, make the dressing: Zest one orange into a bowl, then juice both oranges and boil the juice down in a small saucepan to about 3 tablespoons. Meanwhile, mince the shallot and put it in a ramekin with the vinegar poured over. Set aside five minutes. Add the mustard to the zest. When the orange juice has reduced, strain it over the zest. Drain the shallot, discarding the vinegar, and add. Whisk all together, then slowly whisk in the oil. Taste, and season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
  2. Bring a sauté pan full of water to the boil. Salt it, then add the asparagus and cook until tender. Drain, and immediately rinse under ice-cold water to set the colour. Pat dry with paper towels and transfer to a serving platter. Spoon over the sauce. Shave over Parmesan cheese. Grind over some pepper and serve.

Roasted Jewel Vegetables – Ellie Krieger

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1 1/2 lbs carrots — cut 1 inch pieces
8 clove garlic — unpeeled
1 1/2 lbs Brussels Sprouts — cut in half.. The same amount as the carrots
4 med beets — cooked and cut in the same size as sprouts and carrots (added after one hour)
1 tablespoon fresh thyme

Preheat oven to 375F

Toss the  carrots brussels sprouts and garlic together with olive oil and salt and pepper. Place on the sheet pan in the 375° oven for one hour. Add the cooked beets and a sprinkling of fresh thyme toss with vegetables and heat in the oven for 10 minutes to heat.  Serves 8

Baked Rice recipe–Good Eats

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1 1/2 cup brown rice — medium or short grain
2 1/2 cup water
1 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoons kosher salt

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Place the rice into an 8-inch square glass baking dish.
Bring the water, butter, and salt just to a boil in a kettle or covered
saucepan. Once the water boils, pour it over the rice, stir to combine,
and cover the dish tightly with heavy-duty aluminum foil. Bake on the
middle rack of the oven for 1 hour.
After 1 hour, remove cover and fluff the rice with a fork. Serve
immediately.

Recipe Notes from Terry
It’s also super easy to do a lot of rice and then freeze it. I like to have four or five serving frozen into a couple of packets in the freezer. Then I just microwave the packet to get it thawed and hot for a dinner. Only takes a few minutes in the microwave.
terry

Quick Pickles Recipe — Kelsey Nixon

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2 cups red wine vinegar
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 cup kosher salt
1 teaspoon mustard seeds< 3/4 teaspoon coriander seeds 1/2 teaspoon celery seeds 1/4 teaspoon whole black peppercorn 2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed 1 red Fresno , split in half 6 Kirby cucumbers (about 2 pounds)

In a saucepot, combine the vinegar, sugar, salt, mustard seeds, coriander seeds, celery seeds, peppercorns, garlic, chile and 2 cups water and bring the mixture to a boil to dissolve the sugar and salt.

Using a mandolin (or sharp knife), slice the cucumbers 1/4-inch thick and place in a large heat-safe bowl or container.

Once the mixture boils, pour the liquid over the sliced cucumbers, making sure the cucumbers are submerged. Let the cucumbers sit in the liquid as it comes to room temperature, for about 20 minutes. Drain the pickles and reserve the liquid. Serve as is or fry em’ up! To serve, add a little of the pickling juice right on top of the pickles.

Cook’s Notes: Reserve your pickling liquid to use on the pickles later or as a vinegary addition to sauces. The longer the pickles sit in the liquid the softer they become, so for me 20 minutes is perfect. This pickling liquid is great to pickle a variety of vegetables, try carrots, one of my favorites.

DMV notes:used 1/2 jalaopeno, 2 kirby cukes and reduced the pickling liquid to 3/4. Very Tasty!!

Fresh Corn Salad (4-6 servings)

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The fresh corn salad is from the Barefoot Contessa Cookbook.

5 ears of corn, shucked
1/2 cup small diced red onion
3 tbsp cider vinegar
3 tbs good olive oil
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup julienned basil leaves or use chopped chives

In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the corn for 3 minutes until the starchiness is just gone. Drain and immerse it in ice water to stop the cooking and to set the color. When the corn is cool, cut the kernels off the cob, cutting close to the cob.

Toss the kernels in a large bowl with the red onions, vinegar, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Just before serving, toss in the fresh basil. Taste for seasonings and serve cold or at room temperature.

Beatrice’s notes: The first time I made the salad, I cut the kernels off the cob and then sauted in a pan.  The second time I grilled the corn instead of boiling, then cut the kernels off the cob.  Both were good but I liked the grilled flavour better.  The second time I made the salad I added diced red pepper and substituted chives for the basil.  I liked this better than basil.  I think thyme would also be good.

DMV notes: I used two ears of corn, cooked for 3-4 min, cooled kernels removed. Divided other ingredients by 1/3. Used chives. Very quick, easy and TASTY.

Enjoy!