Lemon Quinoa Salad

Everywhere I go, everyone always loves this salad. It's very versatile and is delicious served warm or cold. 

Pictured above is a loaded quinoa salad that has corn, black beans, jalapenos, red and yellow peppers, onions and fresh herbs.

Below is a greek style quinoa salad with kalamata olives, cucumbers, chunks of feta and tomatoes

And lastly, this one is a fresh take on quinoa salad with lemon zest and juice, cucumbers, toasted almonds, red peppers, tomatoes, garbanzo beans and chives.

So, use whatever ingredients you like or whatever you have on hand!


Below is a basic recipe for a lemon quinoa salad and you can add or subtract whatever you'd like.

Lemon Quinoa Salad

1 medium onion, diced

3 garlic cloves, minced
1½ cups quinoa, rinsed and drained

3 cups water or chicken stock

1 1/2 tsps. dried Italian seasoning

½ tsp. ground cumin
1/4 tsp paprika

zest and juice from one lemon

1 can garbanzo beans
1 cup fresh tomatoes, diced
1/2 bunch scallions, white and light green tops only, finely chopped
1/2 cup slivered almonds, toasted

1 1/2 Tbsps. fresh cilantro, finely chopped
1 1/2 Tbsps. fresh parsley, finely chopped
~ Salt and pepper to taste

Saute onion and bell pepper in a good splash of olive oil, until tender. Add garlic and heat until fragrant, 30 seconds. Add quinoa to onion mixture and stir around and toast for about 2 minutes. Add water, a large pinch of salt and spices. Bring to a boil. Lower heat, cover and let simmer for 20 minutes. Quinoa is done when it doubles in size, becomes slightly translucent and spirals appear on each grain.  

Stir in lemon zest, lemon juice, garbanzo beans, tomatoes, scallions, almonds and fresh herbs (if you have other ingredients you want to add, now is a good time). Season with salt and pepper. 

Taste - Smile - Share

Spring Salad

A.K.A refrigerator salad. These are the best kinds. You get to clean out your veggie drawer and use all of that good produce before it goes bad! I like to load mine with lots of toppings and a little bit of lettuce. All those tasty toppings are the best part!

This one has avocado, cucumbers, tomatoes, carrots, chives, peas, strawberries, sunflower seeds, celery and black pepper.

My favorite vinaigrette for a tossed salad is one my sister-in-law came up with. It's so tasty and everyone always loves it. 

Whisk together olive oil, red wine vinegar, Italian blend seasoning, salt and pepper and a little chevre (creamy goat cheese). It's soo good.

Couscous Salad

I haven't cooked with couscous before, so I thought I would give it a try tonight. This couscous salad was delicious! Garlic, scallions, and red peppers are lightly sauteed then mixed with cooked couscous, tomatoes and fresh basil. The salad gets a drizzle of balsamic vinegar and then a quick bake in the oven. Once it's removed, you top it with fresh parmesan cheese and then dig in. All my family loved this and we polished off the entire dish.

Picture: Gourmantine

Couscous Salad

Ingredients

• 1 cup couscous
• 1 cup boiling water
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup diced red bell pepper
• 4 green onions, sliced
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes
• 1 cup fresh basil leaves
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 pinch ground black pepper
• 1 dash balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Stir couscous into boiling water and return water to a boil. Cover and remove pot from heat. Let stand 5 minutes, then fluff with a fork.
3. While the couscous is cooking, heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Stir in garlic, green onions and peppers; saute briefly. Stir in tomatoes, basil, cooked couscous, salt and pepper. Mix together and transfer to a 1 1/2 quart casserole dish. Splash some balsamic vinegar on top.
4. Bake in a preheated 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) oven for 20 minutes. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese while still warm.

Recipe Source: Allrecipes.com

Dinner at Mom's

My mom enjoys the simple pleasures of a good meal and good wine shared with family and friends. She's a great cook and loves to entertain. She is always trying out new recipes and with great success. So, when she invited my family and I over for dinner the other night, I knew we were in for a treat.

On the Menu:

Champagne and Cassis

Shrimp Ceviche

Ranch Vegetable Bruschetta

Salad Bar
Baked Ziti
Gingerbread bars with champagne lemon glaze

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In honor of my mom, I'll start with dessert first. These gingerbread bars are amazing. The Champagne Lemon glaze is my Aunt Lori's recipe and she uses it on my many different desserts because it's just so tasty. The gingerbread bars were moist and chewy and the champagne glaze puts them over the top. These are the perfect holiday treat.

Dessert

Gingerbread Bars with Champagne Lemon Glaze
Bon Appétit | July 2009
Yield: Makes 24
2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup (packed) dark brown sugar
7 1/2 tablespoons sugar, divided2 large eggs
1/4 cup light (unsulfured) molasses

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour 15x10x1-inch baking sheet. Place 2 cups flour in medium bowl; transfer 2 tablespoons flour to small bowl and reserve. Add spices, baking soda, and salt to flour in medium bowl; whisk to blend. Using electric mixer, beat butter, brown sugar, and 6 tablespoons sugar in large bowl until fluffy. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time, then molasses. Add dry ingredients to butter mixture and beat to blend. Spread batter evenly in prepared pan. Sift reserved 2 tablespoons flour evenly over batter, then sprinkle evenly with remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar.
Bake gingerbread until golden brown and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 22 minutes; cool completely in pan on rack. Cut gingerbread crosswise into 4 strips, then cut each strip into 6 pieces, forming 24 bars, each about 31/2x13/4 inches. DO AHEAD: Can be made 2 days ahead.Store airtight at room temperature.

* Serve these with a small scoop of vanilla bean ice cream and grating of fresh nutmeg. If you're feeling ambition add some crystallized ginger for decoration.

Champagne Lemon Glaze

2 cups powdered sugar

2 Tablespoons melted butter

Zest from one lemon

2-3 T champagne or sprite

Whisk powdered sugar, melted butter and lemon zest together until smooth. Add champagne one tablespoon at a time and mix until spreading consistency. Add more champagne if too thick or more powdered sugar if too thin. Pour over cooled gingerbread bars.

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Beverages

Champagne and Cassis
4 oz chilled Champagne
1/2 oz Crème de cassis
Raspberries for garnish, optional

Pour the champagne into a champagne flute. Add a healthy splash of Crème de cassis and drop in a few raspberries. Serve

*If you want to make them a little fancier use Chambord in place of the cassis.

I think these Christmas suction cup glass markers are very festive and adorable. Find some here.

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Appetizers

Ranch Vegetable Bruschetta

1/2 Cup Ranch Veggie dip

1 loaf french bread, cut diagnolly into 1-in slices

1/3 cup olice oil

salt

1/2 an english cucumber, diced

2 medium tomatoes, diced

1/4 cup red onion or chives, diced

preheat oven to 400 degrees. Brush each slice of b

read with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Toast in oven for 4 to 5 minutes. Cool completely. Spread each toast with veggie ranch dip. Combine cucumbers, tomatoes and onion in a medium bowl. Spoon vegetable mixtures on top of ranch. Serve

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Shrimp Ceviche

This recipe comes from my aunt Lori who is an amazing cook.

1 lb bay or salad shrimp

1/2 lb lump crab

1 small container pico de gaio, drained

1 jalapeno

diced cilantro

lime juice

salt to taste

cumin to taste

Any other spices you like

Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Serve with crackers or thin slices of toasted baget.

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Main Course

Salad

Growing up, my grandma (my mom's mom) always had the family over for Sunday dinner and one of her staples was a salad bar with endless toppings. It's a great way to serve salad and everyone gets to choose what they want.

Salad Bar

Big bowl of lettuce

Homemade Ranch (a must!)

Vinaigrette, Cesar etc.

Shredded Carrots

Small Garbanzo beans

Red Kidney Beans

Sliced Mushrooms

Chevre

Shredded Beets

Chopped Green Onions

Baby Corn

Black Olives

Tomatoes

Raw Broccoli and Cauliflower

Sunflower Seeds

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Baked Ziti

Recipe from Marguerite Henderson's, Savor the Memories.

Barbecue Chicken Salad with Ranch

My mom loves barbecue sauce. So of course, her favorite salad would be one topped with bbq'd chicken (or bbq'd meat of some kind). She came over yesterday during lunch to visit my girls, so I thought I would try and throw together a tasty salad with what I had on hand.

We had grilled chicken left over from the night before, so I cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces and marinated it with some Jack Daniels barbecue sauce. If you like barbecue sauce, this is a tasty one.

Here's the marinated chicken. The picture was an afterthought, so it only captures a few pieces in the bottom of the Tupperware. Anyhoo, not important.

On top of the lettuce, I layered fresh garden tomatoes, slices of English cucumber, tortilla chips (for crunch and saltiness) and slivered almonds. For the dressing, I whipped together a homemade ranch. If you're going to have ranch dressing, it has to be homemade! It's soo good.
Picture Source: Simplyrecipes

So there you have it. The salad was very good if you like this combo of flavors. Fresh tomatoes and cucumbers along with crunchy chips and almonds, paired with bbq'd chicken and cold ranch dressing...yum!

BBQ Chicken Salad with Ranch

One small package mixed salad greens

2-3 tomatoes sliced

1 English cucumber sliced

1/2 cup toasted almonds

Cooked chicken marinated in bbq sauce, cut into strips

1 cup Tortilla strips

Homemade ranch

Layer all the ingredients, crack some fresh black pepper on top and serve. You can thin out a little bit of barbecue sauce and drizzle that on the top too.

* Grilled corn, toasted edamame, black beans...there are many tasty additions you could add to this salad.

Homemade Pizza

On the cover of the October Issue of Food and Wine there was a yummy looking rustic pizza and a glass of wine. It looked so good, that my husband and I decided to make our own pizza and enjoy a glass of wine.


My husband went to Whole Foods (Whole Paycheck our friends call it) and picked up whole wheat pizza crust, pizza sauce, shredded mozzarella, fresh mozzarella and basil. At home, I caramelized a red onion and chopped up tomatoes from my parents gardens. We layered the sauce, cheeses, tomatoes, onions and basil and drizzled it with olive oil and sprinkled it with salt and pepper.

We baked the loaded pizza pie at 500 degrees for about 7 minutes and then put it under the broiler for a minute to brown the cheese. It turned out really delicious! We paired the pizza with a chopped salad.

For the salad, we sliced up a head of iceburg lettuce into 4 wedges and topped it with cucumber, tomatoes, caramelized red onion, bacon and homemade ranch dressing. I snipped some basil over the top and added a little cracked black pepper. It was a very tasty salad. We washed down the meal with a bottle (or two) of red wine.

Something to Savor

One of my favorite cookbooks that I turn to over and over again is Marguerite Henderson's Savor the Memories. Marguerite is a local Italian cook who started the charming and wonderful gourmet deli, Cucina, in the Avenues. Now she teaches cooking classes from her home (which are really fun!) and writes cookbooks (among her many culinary endeavors).

All the recipes I've tried from Savor the Memories have been absolutely delicious! They have simple ingredients, they're easy to assemble and the flavors are just amazing. It's a must have cookbook! To visit her website, click here.

One of my favorite recipes from Savor the Memories, is Rigatoni with a Creamy Fontina-Sausage Sauce. The name says it all. This dish is sooo good! The sausage sauce bursts with flavor and the combination of al dente rigatoni noodles smothered in a creamy tomato sauce, topped with fontina cheese and baked until bubbly and golden is to die for. I would recommend this dish anytime. It's always a hit!

Here is the yummy sauce made up of tomatoes, sausage, cream and spices.

After it simmers, it's poured over the rigatoni pasta

Chunks of fontina and freshly grated Romano cheese crown the pasta.

And then it's into the oven...

And 20 minutes later, cheesey, wonderful goodness emerges and is ready to be devoured with a nice salad and bottle of wine.

One of my favorite salads to serve with almost any meal, is a simple tossed salad with a chevre vinaigrette. The dressing recipe comes from my sister-in-law and everyone always loves it and asks for the recipe. There isn't an exact, measured recipe, but I can tell you what goes in it and you'll have to experiment and come up with a version that suits your tastes.

Dressing
Olive Oil
Red Wine Vinegar
Italian seasoning blend
Chevre (creamy goat cheese)
Salt and Pepper

Whisk Olive Oil and Red Wine Vinegar together (a few Tablespoons of each). Add Italian seasoning (1/2 tsp to 1 tsp). Whisk in chevre to thicken (1 Tbs. or so). Add salt and pepper to taste.

*Next time I make this I'll try and measure the ingredients so I can write down something more concrete.

For the Salad

Mixed greens
Toasted pine nuts or sliced almonds
Chunks of Chevre (left over from dressing)
Optional
Cucumbers, thinly sliced
Tomatoes, diced small
Avocado, sliced
Cranberries