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Mango Mint Pasta Salad

Sheila — Sun, 12 Jun 2011 04:00:17 +0000

There are times in the summer we just don’t feel like cooking but we still want something to eat that’s big on flavor and nutrition. Pasta salads usually fit the bill. They’re easy to throw together, they’re light, and they’re also quite tasty.

And somehow, mango and mint not only complement each other in terms of taste, but the combination is also quite refreshing.

Another perk is you don’t really need to follow a recipe. You just make some pasta, run cold water over it so it can chill down, wash and dice everything else, and then toss it all together with your favorite dressing.

The dressing I made took me about 2 minutes to makes, and it sure did taste great! It’s an Italian dressing called Aunt Trish’s Salad Dressing (from The Pioneer Woman). If you haven’t tried Aunt Trish’s dressing, I strongly urge you to do so. It’s wonderful!

Anyway, here’s the list of ingredients I put in my salad. There’s really no need to measure anything. Don’t you just love recipes where there’s no measuring required! I know I do.

Mango Mint Pasta Salad

Ingredients:

cooked pasta
fresh mangoes, cut
fresh mint, finely chopped
onions, diced
tomatoes, diced
red bell pepper, diced
fresh spinach, diced
zucchini, diced
garlic cloves, diced
Aunt Trish’s Salad Dressing (from The Pioneer Woman)

Veggie Fried Rice

Sheila — Sat, 28 May 2011 05:38:43 +0000

I love fried rice…especially when everything is fried in sesame oil.Yummmmm!

If you’ve never tried stir frying your rice and/vegetables in sesame oil, I highly encourage you to try it because the sesame oil adds such a wonderful flavor.

I love my fried rice both hot and cold. Either way, it tastes amazing!

On an unrelated note, I’m curious if any of y’all have a black hole in your house. What am I talking about?

Well, do you ever have things mysteriously just disappear. You’ve look everywhere for it and it’s nowhere to be found? I ask because this has happened to us twice this week, and we can’t figure out where these items must be unless they’ve gotten sucked into the black hole which must be lurking somewhere in our apartment. Tell me it’s not just me. I’m not the only one with a black hole in their home…am I?

Veggie Fried Rice

Adapted from: a magazine I picked up at the grocery store. The magazine is called “Chinese Favorites,” and it’s Vol. 8, No. 22, February 8, 2011 issue of Favorite Brand Name Recipes. The publisher is 2010 Publications International, Ltd. The recipe was on page 41 (Stir-Fry Rice and Vegetables).

Minestrone (and some thoughts about Pilates and Yoga)

Sheila — Sat, 21 May 2011 05:02:49 +0000

I love minestrone.

It tastes wonderful and it’s also easy to make. The other nice thing about minestrone is that it’s full all kinds of good veggies and beans. The recipe is also quite flexible. If you have spinach on-hand, you can add some in. You can use any kind of pasta you want, and if you’re watching your carbs, you can decrease the amount of pasta or just not use any.

So what does minestrone have to do with Pilates and yoga? Well…nothing. But I wanted to know if y’all have ever done Yoga or Pilates, and if so, did you find that you worked a lot of muscles you didn’t ordinarily work? I ask this because I’ve found that to be the case with me.

I bought this Pilates DVD…decided to try it and see what it was all about. I kind of figured it wouldn’t be much of a workout because I work out four to five times a week already, and I feel pretty fit.

Let me tell you that I was shocked at just how challenging and difficult a Pilates work-out is (I do about a 1-hour workout.) Some of those exercises were really hard, and I felt the burn immediately. I was surprised again when my body started hurting me several hours after the work-out. My muscles really ached. The job I do is very physical, and I’m a very active person, so this really surprised me. Just goes to show I’m not as fit as I thought.

I’m just curious if any of y’all have had a similar experience with Pilates. If so, how long did it take before you could do the work-out without your muscles aching for hours afterward? I’ve done my Pilates work-out three times now, and the third time has been my best experience. I didn’t hurt nearly as bad as the other two times. So I’m gonna keep at it for a while, and we’ll see how it goes.

As for yoga…I tried it once and never again. I don’t know how y’all do it. It hurt me me a whole lot worse than Pilates. I don’t know why it would hurt so much since I work out and am active. Maybe I’m doing it wrong? What has been your experience with yoga?

Anyway, I’m gonna do my regular workout tonight and then I’m skippin’ my Pilates workout tomorrow morning. I need a little break.

In the meantime, here’s how I make my minestrone.

Minestrone

Inspired by: the minestrone I’ve purchased at Whole Foods and Olive Garden. I don’t know either of their recipes, but I just tried to use similar ingredients that they use.

Ingredients:

1 cup dry red lentils
1 15 oz. can garbanzo beans
1 cup dry pasta (I used fusilli)
1 6 oz. can tomato paste
40 baby carrots
1 medium zucchini
5 green onions
1/2 medium yellow onion
12 garlic cloves
5 tbsp. olive oil
2 1/2 qts. water
1 tsp. sea salt
1 vegetable bouillon cube
1 tsp. garlic powder
basil to taste
oregano to taste
black pepper to taste
salt to taste
Optional: freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions:

Step One: Peel and slice garlic and yellow onions. Wash and finely chop carrots and green onions. Wash and slice zucchini.

Step Two: Fry garlic, onions,zucchini, carrots in 4 tbsp of olive oil.

Step Three: Cook lentils and pasta together in a large pot with about 2 1/2 quarts of water. Stir in the oil, salt, bouillon cube. Stir occasionally.

Step Four: When the pasta is cooked but still firm (al dente), reduce the heat to simmer, and then add the garbanzo beans, and tomato paste to the pasta. Do not drain the water.

Step Five: Stir in the fried vegetables, garlic powder, basil, oregano, salt, and pepper to taste. Simmer for about 15 minutes. Serve warm. Garnish with some freshly grated Parmesan cheese if you like.

Chicken Saagwala

Sheila — Wed, 04 May 2011 00:17:56 +0000

The first time we tried chicken saagwala (chicken in a creamy spinach sauce) was at our favorite Indian retaurant…Little India Cafe. It was just heavenly!! The owner of the restaurant told us that instead of making it with cream, they make it with homemade yogurt. One of these days, we plan to try making homemade yogurt ourselves.

Anyway, the chicken saagwala was so good we wanted to learn how to make it ourselves, and we found out it’s actually very easy to prepare. Kemal has made it twice now in the past two weeks, and both times we’ve thoroughly enjoyed it! Here’s a couple of pictures of it.

It goes great with naan or aloo naan, and the bread helps cut the heat from the spiciness of the dish. Rice will do the same, but oddly enough, we didn’t serve it with rice either time we made it. We probably will next time though.

If you like your Indian food less hot and spicy, just cut way back on the red chili flakes and chili powder.

Speaking of hot and spicy, do you sometimes enjoy meals which set your mouth on fire? We do, but not all the time.

Chicken Saagwala

Adapted from: Petrina Verma Sarkar About.com Guide

Cucumber Mango Soup

Sheila — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 17:55:39 +0000

This morning I wanted something light and refreshing for breakfast so I decided to make a cucumber mango soup which is made with yogurt and served chilled.

It’s terribly easy to make, it’s healthy, and its spring colors are cheery and beautiful.

Best of all, it tastes so good!!!

Do you like cold soups? If so what kind?

Cucumber Mango Soup

Slightly adapted from: www.worldcook.net and Gina Marie Miraglia Eriquez, Gourmet Magazine as seen at www.wellsphere.com

Red Pepper Potato Soup

Sheila — Sun, 03 Apr 2011 03:43:59 +0000

Even though Spring officially arrived about a week or so ago, it continue to be quite chilly. It’s not bitterly cold by any means, but chilly enough that we’re still wearing our winter coats.

And blustery chilly days and nights means we enjoy huge pots of soup to warm us from the inside out.

Kemal is the master of soups and stews, and the red pepper potato soup he made is perfect in every way! It’s a hearty soup filled with chunky pieces of vegetables and lots of potatoes.

There’s nothing wrong with vegetable soups with lots of broth and small pieces of veggies; I like those kind of soups too. But some days you want thick and chunky with rich, bold flavors that make you oooh and aaaah with every bite. And that’s exactly what this soup does!

It’s a spicy soup. It doesn’t set your mouth on fire, but it certainly has a kick.

Anyway, give it a try sometime and see for yourself how beautiful it is and how mellow it’ll make you feel after eating a bowl. It’s such a soothing soup it’s like soaking in a hot tub with fragrant bubbles. It’s truly that good!

Red Pepper Potato Soup

Ingredients:

3 red bell peppers, sliced
1 orange bell pepper, sliced
1 yellow bell pepper, sliced
7 small potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
1 green onion, diced
2 medium yellow onions, diced
2 tomatoes, diced
1 14.5 oz. can petite diced tomatoes
16 garlic cloves
20 baby carrots
1/2 cup olive oil
2 qts. water
1 cube vegetable bouillon
27 oz. chicken broth (you can substitute with vegetable broth if you prefer)
2 tsp. coriander
1 tbsp. paprika
1 tbsp. chili powder
1 tbsp. red pepper flakes
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

Peel and slice the potatoes.
Peel the garlic, leaving the cloves whole.
Fill a large pot with 2 qts. of water, and then add the bouillon cube, garlic, carrots, and potatoes to the water, cooking on medium high, stirring occasionally. You’re going to cook them until they’re soft. (Don’t drain the water.)
While the potatoes, carrots, and garlic are cooking,
Wash and slice the peppers.
Then peel and dice the yellow onions.
Wash the green onion and tomatoes, and then dice them as well.
Set the diced tomatoes aside, and then fry all the onions and peppers uncovered on medium heat in 1/2 cup of olive oil.
You’ll want to fry the vegetables until they’re soft and until the skins of the peppers start getting darker.
Then add the can of petite diced tomatoes, as well as the diced fresh tomatoes.
Stir in the coriander, paprika, chili powder, and red pepper flakes, and cook for a few minutes more.
Cover the fried vegetables, and let them cook a little bit more (a couple of minutes) with the heat turned off.
Add the chicken broth to the potatoes, carrots, and garlic. Don’t drain the water off the potatoes.
Then add the fried vegetables and olive oil to the pot with the potato mixture.
Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Serve warm.

Jamaican Fried Rice

Sheila — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 05:00:05 +0000

If you can’t travel to exotic places, the next best thing (besides looking at photos) is to try to experience its exotic culture by enjoying its cuisine.

Kemal and I would love to visit Jamaica one day, but until we’re able to do that, we’ll have to settle for looking at pictures of this lush paradise and making and tasting the the island food.

Last night we made a huge batch of Jamaican fried rice.

It’s a Jamaican family recipe that I found at “Hannah Lives,” and we very much enjoyed it last night for dinner.

We were unable to find the mushroom soy sauce that Hannah’s father uses in the rice, so we just substituted it with regular soy sauce.

Hannah said you can customize the recipe to your tastes, and so we did. She said you could add some ginger to the oil, but instead of doing that, we added a little bit of some ginger chili sauce. We also had some asparagus we needed to use up so Kemal fried that with the leftover chicken then added it to the fried rice mixture. Turned out great!

And it’s very easy to prepare too! I just diced some green onions and then made some scrambled eggs in butter It should be noted that Hannah’s father prepares his eggs a little differently. He fries his eggs in butter, but instead of scrambling them, he lets the eggs set up and makes two plain egg omelets…without any cheese or fillings…just eggs. Then he cuts the egg up into little pieces. Since scrambling the egg would save time without changing the taste, I went ahead and did that.

Anyway, once that was done, I fried six cups of cooked jasmine rice in sesame oil, and then added the scrambled eggs and green onions. I sprinkled garlic powder over everything, added soy sauce, and stirred the rice mixture around constantly.

While I was doing that, Kemal fried the leftover chicken and cut asparagus in sesame oil and ginger chili sauce. When the asparagus was tender, he added it and the chicken to my fried rice mixture. Then we added some black pepper and a little salt and that was it.

We so much enjoyed our Jamaican fried rice, and it matched perfectly with a mango mojito. Yummmm!!

Anyway, if you’re interested in tasting the flavors of this island paradise, click here to see Hannah’s family recipe so you know the exact amount of ingredients to use when making the fried rice.

Chicken Gyros on Homemade Soft Wrap Bread

Sheila — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 16:57:41 +0000

We love gyros! Kemal says gyros are basically a Greek version of the soft taco, and he’s right.

Gyros are oftentimes made with lamb, but they’re also sometimes made with chicken or veal. The meat is wrapped in a soft bread with tomatoes, onions, and a cucumber-yogurt sauce called tzatziki sauce.

In the middle East, gyros are called shawarmas, and sometimes they’re made with goat meat, as well as lamb, chicken, or beef.

Anyway, the best gyros we ever had were made at a local Lebanese grocery store in our neighborhood. Unfortunately, the deli part of the grocery store no longer exists. That’s a pity because the food was amazing! The meat was spiced just perfectly, and it was so good we asked the cook if they sold the spice mix at the store. He said no…that he just ordered a small amount to use for the gyros he made, but he was kind enough to give us a small container of it to take home.

We still have some of that seasoning mix, and last night Kemal made some chicken gyros that were incredibly delicious!!

All he did was cut some chicken breast into small, thin pieces, seasoned it with the special spice that was given to us, and then he fried the meat in olive oil. With the chicken, he also fried some diced onions and sliced red peppers that were seasoned with the special spice as well.

When we run out of the spice mix that was given to us, we’ll have to improvise. If you click here and then scroll down to the heading “Spice Mix,” you can learn how to season your meat if you decide to try making some gyros yourself.

Then the meat and veggies were served in a soft wrap bread that I made specifically for the gyros.

The soft wrap bread is a King Arthur Flour recipe that I found featured at What Megan’s Making. As soon as I saw her photos of the bread, I knew I had to make it myself. And I knew this bread would be perfect for our gyros!

The way the bread is made is very unusual, not only because it’s made with instant mashed potato flakes, but also because it uses a technique that I’m not familiar with. Part of the process is stirring boiling water and flour together, letting it cool, and then adding the remaining ingredients to that mixture.

I followed the recipe exactly except I added garlic powder to the dough, and the potato flakes that I used also had garlic in it. I used dry active yeast and used less boiling water as instructed in the recipe.

After I rolled the dough out, I baked the bread in a 400 degree Fahrenheit oven instead of frying them. I greased my baking pans with just a little olive oil and baked them until they started browning on the bottom. Then I flipped them and let the other side brown. Since they were so thin, it didn’t take very long at all for the bread to be done on each side. I didn’t time it but I think the total baking time was less than 10 minutes.

So if you make this bread yourself and bake it the way I did, make sure you watch your bread like a hawk. You don’t want it to burn up in there.

After the bread finished baking, I just stacked them on a plate and covered them with a clean kitchen towel.

Anyway, the soft wrap bread has a beautiful flavor, and if you eat a piece of bread without anything on it, you can taste the potato in it. Yummmmmm!!! I’ll definitely be making these soft wraps again!

Finally, after we served the meat and veggies in the bread, we topped each gyro with some homemade tzatziki sauce. We made it by finely dicing half of an English cucumber and then mixing it into some Greek yogurt. Then we stirred in some dried mint and garlic powder. Talk about yummy!!!

Anyway, we sure did enjoy our gyros last night,

and I think next time we’ll make them with lamb. I’m hardly waiting!!

Spinach Pkhali (Georgian Dip/Spread/Salad)

Sheila — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 05:04:33 +0000

A few days ago, I came across a recipe for spinach Pkhali which is basically a Georgian spread, dip, or a salad.

Which is it? Well, basically it’s all three.

You can eat it as a salad. You can spread it on bread. Or you can eat it as a dip.

It’s made with spinach, ground walnuts, garlic, onions, and a variety of spices among other things. It’s also garnished with pomegranate seeds (anvils) that not only taste wonderful with it, but also give it a festive look. Reminds me of Christmas.

Georgian cuisine is not something I’m familiar with, but I enjoyed exploring one of its classic dishes. I must admit I changed the recipe just a bit. I used mango juice instead of water, and I used a dry pomegranate powder (also called anardana powder) in the mix. Instead of cilantro, I used fresh parsley, and instead of white vinegar I used raspberry vinegar.

We had it with tequila lime rubbed tilapia and pomegranate mango salsa salad, and the salsa salad matched perfectly with the spinach pkhali and the fish.

This Georgian dish is quite tasty, and we really liked it a lot!

I adapted the recipe from The Traveler’s Lunchbox who adapted it from Anya von Bremzen’s Please to the Table. Go to the The Traveler’s Lunchbox for the recipe if you’re interested in making it. If you’re nuts about spinach the way we are, I’m sure you’ll love it!

Italian Bread Soup with Veggies and Lentils

Sheila — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 03:56:27 +0000

I had some leftover buttermilk biscuits in my fridge that had gotten stale, so I put them to good use by making an Italian bread soup with a variety of vegetables and lentils.

The soup also has two eggs in it which, along with the chicken broth, adds a wonderful flavor.

It makes for a comforting, soothing meal, and it tastes so good! Give it a try sometime; I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

Italian Bread Soup with Veggies and Lentils

Recipe Inspired by and Adpated from: eat, live, run’s “Springtime Minestrone” and About.com’s “Simple Italian Bread Soup Recipe – Zuppa di Pan Cotto

Ingredients:

55 oz. chicken broth
1/2 lb. sugar snap peas
2 ears yellow corn-on-the-cob
1/2 cup red lentils
1/4 of a bunch of fresh parsley, finely chopped
2 eggs, beaten
2 large, stale buttermilk biscuits
1/4 onion, diced
8 garlic cloves, diced
2 packets Sazon Goya seasoning
2 tbsp. olive oil
2 tsp. oregano
2 tsp. basil
Vegeta to taste
black pepper to taste

Instructions:

In a large pot, mix together the chicken broth, 2 packets of Sazon Goya seasoning, and lentils.
Add the 2 ears of yellow corn-on-the-cob.
Bring the broth to a boil, and then reduce the heat to medium.
While the lentils are cooking, wash and finely chop the parsley, including the stems; stir it into the chicken broth with the lentils and ears of corn.
Peel and dice the onion and garlic cloves, then fry it in 2 tbps. of olive oil until it gets soft.
Add the onion, garlic, and olive oil to the pot with the lentils and corn, stirring occasionally.
When the corn is almost soft, use a pair of tongs to remove them from the soup, placing them on a plate to let them cool.
While the corn is cooling, wash the sugar snap peas, cut them in half, cut the ends off them, and then add them to the soup pot.
After the corn has cooled enough for you to handle, cut the corn off the cobs and add the corn back to soup, discarding the cobs.
Beat the eggs, and then mix it into the soup.
Crumble the 2 stale buttermilk biscuits, and then add the crumbled bread to the pot.
Stir in the oregano, basil, black pepper, and Vegeta.
Reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 15-20 minutes.