Last night, in an effort to feel more like a sane human being, I decided to forego schoolwork and instead make a nice dinner for myself and eat on the patio while reading Vanity Fair. My favorite cooking blog 101cookbooks had posted a delicious looking recipe for a carrot, dill, and white bean salad, so I decided to try it. And ... it was fabulous! I'll post her original recipe below and let you do with it as you see fit.
But first I'll tell you what I changed... I added a a bit a feta and used chopped white onion instead of shallots. Also, I doubled the lemon juice in the dressing. For the beans I used 1 can of canneloni, 1 can of butter beans, and 1 can of some other random white bean produced by Goya.
I had some of the left overs for lunch today and I have to agree with her that it's even better the next day. I will definitely make this again.
DRESSING:
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon fine grain salt
1/2 cup thinly sliced shallots
SALAD:
more olive oil (or ghee) for cooking
2 cups sliced carrots, cut 1/4-inch thick on deep bias
3 cups cooked white beans
scant 1/4 cup chopped fresh dill
2 tablespoons brown sugar (or honey)
1/3 cup sliced almonds, toasted
Combine the olive oil, lemon juice, salt and shallots in a small bowl. Stir and set aside.
In your largest skillet over medium high heat, toss the carrots with a splash of olive oil or a spoonful of ghee (I love ghee with carrots). Let them cook in a single layer - they'll give off a bit of water at first. Keep cooking, tossing gently every three or four minutes until the carrots are deeply browned. All told, about twelve minutes.
Add the beans and dill to the skillet and cook for another five minutes, or until the beans as well heated through. If you are using beans that weren't canned you can allow them to brown a bit as well (just cook a bit longer, and stir less frequently) - they can handle this in a way that most canned beans can't. If you need to add a bit more olive oil to the pan - do so.
Place the contents of the skillet in a large mixing bowl, sprinkle with the brown sugar and pour the 3/4 of the lemon-olive oil mixture over the top. Toss gently. Let sit for ten minutes. Toss gently once again, taste and adjust with more salt or sugar or lemon juice if needed to balance the flavors. Serve warm or at room temperature and finish by sprinkling with the almonds just before serving.
Serves 6 - 8 as a side.
Friday, July 17, 2009
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Lactose-free Spinach-Artichoke Wonders
Since I have been on this crazy diet this was a real treat and great surprise, and you won't be able to stop eating it!
2-3 c chopped fresh spinach
1 can artichoke hearts, drained
1/4 c veganaise
1/4 c mixed hard cheeses, shredded (Parmesan, Asiago)
1 spoonful chopped/crushed garlic (I didn't have any so I used fresh garlic chives from our weekly CSA pick-up)
Preheat oven to 350. Mix all ingredients except cheese in a bowl until evenly coated with the veganaise. Spray small baking dish with cooking spray. Pour mixture into dish and top with cheese. Bake 15 minutes, or until cheese is all melted. Serve with tortilla chips, crackers etc.
Brad also came up with the sinful idea of using this dip as the filling for sflouatt (sp?). We've made it twice and I think you could probably do without the veganaise, but I'm not sure. Also, we made it once without having pre-steamed the spinach and it didn't seem to make a huge difference, although if you do cook the spinach first, you should probably let it cool so it doesn't make the dough difficult to work with.
2-3 c chopped fresh spinach
1 can artichoke hearts, drained
1/4 c veganaise
1/4 c mixed hard cheeses, shredded (Parmesan, Asiago)
1 spoonful chopped/crushed garlic (I didn't have any so I used fresh garlic chives from our weekly CSA pick-up)
Preheat oven to 350. Mix all ingredients except cheese in a bowl until evenly coated with the veganaise. Spray small baking dish with cooking spray. Pour mixture into dish and top with cheese. Bake 15 minutes, or until cheese is all melted. Serve with tortilla chips, crackers etc.
Brad also came up with the sinful idea of using this dip as the filling for sflouatt (sp?). We've made it twice and I think you could probably do without the veganaise, but I'm not sure. Also, we made it once without having pre-steamed the spinach and it didn't seem to make a huge difference, although if you do cook the spinach first, you should probably let it cool so it doesn't make the dough difficult to work with.
Cashew-jalepeno butter
We sort of stole this idea from the co-op, because they use this butter on several sandwiches. It's AMAZING on the Back to Nature multi-grain crackers! The only mistake we made was buying mild jalepenos rather than spicy ones. sad.
You'll need:
3 c Raw cashews, not roasted
Jalepenos (we just use the ones in a jar)
Canola oil
Blend cashews in a food processer. Once it resembles a butter consistency, add jalepenos (we used about half of the jar, although you may need less if you use spicier ones). Add in oil as needed, to reach desired consistency.
Brad has been eating this on a sandwich with portobello & roasted peppers. It's also delicious in wraps with mixed greens, tomatos, sprouts etc. Be creative...it's a great compliment if you want to give your food a little kick!
You'll need:
3 c Raw cashews, not roasted
Jalepenos (we just use the ones in a jar)
Canola oil
Blend cashews in a food processer. Once it resembles a butter consistency, add jalepenos (we used about half of the jar, although you may need less if you use spicier ones). Add in oil as needed, to reach desired consistency.
Brad has been eating this on a sandwich with portobello & roasted peppers. It's also delicious in wraps with mixed greens, tomatos, sprouts etc. Be creative...it's a great compliment if you want to give your food a little kick!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)