Quinoa Salad

L bar-b-qued chicken on the outdoor grill. It was the first time L ever used a grill, and the chicken was a huge hit. I contributed this "Mexican" salad offering. The recipe originated on Trader Joe's website, and I adapted as I saw fit.

A classic American summer meal!

... Photo shows L and S imbibing more of what is best about the American side of their heritage at Hyde Park.

1/2 cup TJ Red Quinoa cooked in 1 cup TJ vegetable broth
1 large bunch cilantro, chopped fine
3 whole scallions, chopped
1 fresh ear of sweet corn, kernels cut off and added raw
1 box TJ's little fresh tomatoe's, halved
1 can black beans, rinsed
1 ripe avocado, chopped

dressing: juice of 1 fresh lime, olive oil, salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

I originally coookd 2 cups of quinoa because the vegetable broth came in a 4 cup box and I did not want any leftover broth. When I went to assemble the ingredients, it seemed like the salad would be better with a higher ratio of vegetables to grain . So we ended up with a pot of leftover cooked quinoa instead. The recipe also called for some TJ salsa out of a jar, an ingredient we actually had. But I thought the salad looked and tasted perfect without it.

P's Birthday Tart with adaptations by R

It was P's birthday while we were away in Woodstock , so R whipped up a wonderful tart with ingredients on hand at the rental house. Her notes are in bold italics.

Plum-Almond Tart

Adapted from Bon Appetit, October 1998

Makes 1 9-inch tart

For crust
1 cup all purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 tablespoons ice water
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract (We didn't have vanilla extract
so I put a little more sugar and lemon juice into the crust)

For filling
1/3 cup whole almonds (about 2 ounces)
1/3 cup sugar
1 large egg
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
4 teaspoons framboise raspberry liqueur (I used cranberry juice instead)

12 ounces ripe red-skinned plums, pitted, cut into 3/4-inch-thick wedges (I substituted cherries and peaches for some of the plums)

1/4 cup red currant jelly (I used 4-berry jam instead and added lemon and a little balsamic vinegar )

Whipped cream (optional)

Make crust:
Preheat oven to 375°F. Combine first 3 ingredients in processor. Using on/off turns, cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse meal. Mix 2 tablespoons ice water and vanilla in small bowl. Pour water mixture over dough. Process until moist clumps form.

Gather dough into ball; flatten into disk. Roll out on floured surface to 12-inch round. Transfer to 9-inch-diameter tart pan with removable bottom. Trim overhang to 1/2 inch. Fold overhang in and press, forming double-thick sides. Using fork, pierce dough all over. Freeze 15 minutes.

Bake crust until pale golden, about 30 minutes (crust may shrink slightly). Cool on rack. Maintain oven temperature.

Make filling:
Finely grind almonds with sugar in processor. Add egg, butter and 2 teaspoons framboise. Process until batter forms. Pour filling into crust. Arrange plums atop filling. Bake until plums are tender and filling is golden and set, about 50 minutes.

Melt jelly with remaining 2 teaspoons framboise in heavy small saucepan over medium-low heat. Brush jelly mixture over plums.

Cool tart. Serve at room temperature with whipped cream, if desired.

Woodstock Shabbat--lemon ricotta pancakes

Shabbat morning breakfast in Woodstock with 4 Kreimers, 2 Kreimer-Komoravs, 1 Fuchs and 1 Fuchs-Kreimer.

R made a wonderful breakfast of lemon ricotta pancakes, making due without benefit of all the prescribed ingredients and equipment. And they were still excellent. Now that takes talent!



eggs, separated
ricotta(she used cottage cheese)
sugar
lemon zest
flour
fresh blueberries

The recipe said to beat the egg whites separately. Lacking a beater, R whisked them by hand and L helped with an electric immersion blender.

What a great way to start the day!

Spinach Ricotta: Two Ways

R requested that I post the "spinach ricotta" dish I used to make so often. I can think of two different ones, a pie and a stuffed mushroom dish. Both make excellent entrees, so I am posting both.

Spinach Ricotta Pie
by Mollie Katzen http://www.molliekatzen.com/recipes/recipe.php?recipe=ricotta

Spinach Ricotta Mushrooms

preheat oven to 350

Take some large portobella mushrooms, rinsed and patted dry --cut off stems and chop them up for the filling
Brush mushroom caps very lightly with oil. Arrange on a baking sheet, cup side down. Bake for 12 minutes. Pour off any liquid.

saute a bunch of fresh spinach, washed, stems removed, finely chopped,
a few cloves garlic, minced, the mushroom stems and fresh basil in good olive oil

Combine with ricotta cheese along with crumbled feta, salt and pepper to taste.

Turn mushrooms over and pat dry.
Stuff each drained cap with ricotta filling mixture.
Sprinkle freshly grated parmesean cheese over top of filled caps.

Bake 10 to 15 minutes more, or long enough to heat filling through, then place under broiler until lightly browned.

The key is to keep the mushrooms from being soggy. Also, FRESH basil(a lot of it) helps.

Special optional extra: one can mix toasted pine nuts into the ricotta filling. I usually do.

Tunisian Lentil Soup

Recipe from: Mollie Katzen's Vegetable Heaven



This works in the crock pot or on the stove.


Yield: 6 servings

1 to 2 (15-ounce) cans chickpeas)

1 cup uncooked lentils (any kind), rinsed and picked over

1 cinnamon stick

2 tablespoons olive oil

4 cups minced onion

2 tablespoons minced garlic

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon turmeric

1 1/2 teaspoons cumin seeds

2 teaspoons ground cumin

2 to 3 bay leaves

1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes

Black pepper and cayenne to taste

6 cups water or broth (my secret ingredient--GOOD canned broth)

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (or to taste)

Optional Toppings:

Yogurt

Minced fresh parsley or mint

Japanese Cole Slaw for Pot Lucks

This is a fun recipe that requires virtually no work but makes a hit at pot lucks.

Bring dressing in a jar and the other ingredients in a bowl, or(if really in a hurry) still in their packages from the store.

2 lbs dry cole slaw in plastic bags from the supermarket(it is sold like this)
2 packages worth of Ramen noodles, broken into little pieces
cashews, sesame seeds,sunflower seeds, peanuts, almonds(any combo that is available to you)
8 scallions chopped(required) along with
green and/or red bell peppers chopped(optional)

Dressing:

4 tsp sugar
6 Tbl vinegar
1 cup oil (peanut if possible)
2 flavor packets from the Ramen packages

Mix non dressing ingredients in a bowl
Mix dressing ingredients in a jar with a lid
Assemble and serve. The noodles will be raw and crunchy. They taste good.
If this sits out for many hours already mixed, that is also good. Noodles will be soft, People seem to like this dish either way.

NOTE: The photo is courtesy of the web.My salad looks prettier.

My friend Lisa Tuttle read this post and added the following recipe, whic I bet is even prettier.

I use 2 8-oz. bags of purple cabbage, 1 8-oz. bag of shredded carrots, 2 drained 11-oz. cans of mandarin oranges, and 1-2 handfuls of dried cranberries. The recipe also has scallions but just 1/3 cup, and 1/3 cup of cashews or pine nuts and no ramen noodles.

The dressing I make is 4 tablespoons brown sugar, 4 tablespoons red or white vinegar, 1 tablespoon of juice from the can of mandarin oranges, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, 1/2 cup vegetable oil, 1 vegetable bouillon cube or 1 teaspoon dried consommé powder and a dash of garlic powder

Chili for 12 in cock pot

Here is how to serve 12 for dinner when you are going to be out all day.

I make a big pot of vegetarian chili in the crock pot first thing in the morning.
When it is time to serve, I put out
white corn chips, salsa from a jar, chopped avocado, grated sharp cheddar, quartered limes, sour cream, and lots of chopped cilantro.

Here is the recipe:

In a frying pan:

Saute in olive oil 2 onions and a green pepper and a red pepper
Add chili powder, cumin and cocoa powder to taste(more chili powder than cocoa powder or cumin)
Add a 16 oz package of soy crumbles
Keep stirring until the soy crumbles are really coated in the oil and spices. This is key.

From here on in it is just dumping things in the crock pot

1) The material from the frying pan
2) 2 14 oz cans of chopped tomatoes with mild chilis(del monte)
3) 3 15 oz cans of black beans(rinsed)
4) 4 T strong black coffee (important)
5) 1/2 c vinegar
6) 1 glass jar of Classico tomato sauce

Cook on low in crock pot all day.

If you got home an hour early, you could probably use a regular pot.

Frozen Yogurt Birthday Cake(pie)

When F and R were young, frozen yogurt was popular in our area and there were wonderful frozen yogurt shops where you could get a soft yogurt cone or a fancy pie.

Being a traditionalist, I recently wanted to buy one of the pies for F's birthday,just like I used to buy when she was young.

To my dismay, I found that only one TCBY store remains anywhere near us--and it wasn't so near.

What to do?

I hit the internet and found many, many recipes for frozen yogurt pie. After reading them all, I made up my own.

Mix 12 oz Dannon Frozen yogurt(coffee) with 4 oz Dream whip. Add chocolate chips to taste. Put in graham cracker crust. Freeze for 6 hours...Garnish with dabs of whipped cream and more chips. Eat.

Be creative.You can also use key lime pie yogurt. Or any flavor you like or that brings back memories for you.

seven vegetable feast for the seventh night of Pesach

We had a family dinner for the last eve of the holiday, using my friend Betsy Teutsch's idea of Seven courses, each one a different vegetable dish.
With the help of our Boonin relatives, great cooks all, we had a wonderful party.
PLEASE NOTE: Table design by Rabbi Marjorie Berman. She leads the seder and decorates the table too!

Cold Sweet Pea Soup with Fresh Mint
Grilled Asparagus
Mushrooms
Artichokes dipped in Sauce
Roasted baby Potatoes
Spinach Gnocchi in Tomato Sauce
Carrots Glazed in Ginger

Strawberries and Mangos dipped in Chocholate


The little potatoes were prepared according to Smitten Kitchen, a website
I learned about from R.

Mustard-Roasted Potatoes
Adapted from Gourmet, December 2007

Makes 10 servings

Nonstick vegetable oil spray
1/2 cup whole grain Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick or 1/2 ounce) butter, melted
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon peel
1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
3 pounds 1- to 1 1/2-inch-diameter mixed unpeeled red-skinned and white-skinned potatoes, cut into 3/4-inch-wide wedges

Position 1 rack in top third of oven and 1 rack in bottom third of oven and preheat to 425°F. Spray 2 large rimmed baking sheets with nonstick spray. Whisk mustard, olive oil, butter, lemon juice, garlic, oregano, lemon peel, and salt in large bowl to blend. Add potatoes; sprinkle generously with freshly ground black pepper and toss to coat. Divide potatoes between prepared baking sheets, leaving any excess mustard mixture behind in bowl. Spread potatoes in single layer. Roast potatoes 20 minutes. Reverse baking sheets and roast until potatoes are crusty outside and tender inside, turning occasionally, about 25 minutes longer.