During a recent purge of The Time Machine, aka, my freezer, I discovered a couple bags of bulgur that I bought a while ago, hoping to try my hand at tabbouleh.  After watching an episode of Barefoot Contessa, I knew I had to make Ina Garten’s recipe.  I had everything I needed in the pantry and refrigerator (the theme of Frugal Fridays), so I got to work.  The result was delicious, just a tad too salty for me, so the recipe I’m including below has less salt than her original recipe.

This is a quick, easy, high-fiber grain dish that  I plan on making again and again.  I’ve been trying to add some diversity to the grains that we eat, and this one is a winner.

If you want to join me for Frugal Fridays, you can find out how to do it here.

continue reading "Ina Garten’s Tabbouleh for Frugal Fridays"

Master Chow and I don’t buy iceberg lettuce, opting for greens with more nutritional bang for the buck.  But about five or six years ago, I ordered and iceberg lettuce wedge with blue cheese dressing in a restaurant, and became a fan.  I love the dish, but rarely order it, and had never made.  I decided to remedy that on New Year’s Day, and Master Chow thoroughly enjoyed it, too.  Apparently, it went well with the prime rib and popovers that I made for dinner (more on those in future posts).

I turned to Deb’s recipe over at Smitten Kitchen.  I used some gorgonzola cheese that I had on hand, and substituted . . . are you ready? . . . soy bacon for the regular stuff.  Master Chow, aka He Who Loves Pork, was delightfully surprised at the result, and announced that the soy bacon worked well in the dish.  Hooray!  I also didn’t have any chives on hand, so I thinly sliced some scallion greens.

Some thoughts:  I will definitely be making this dressing again, and will try it on our usual fare of romaine lettuce.  If you like a thick dressing, this is not the one to try without adjustments – this is a thin, flavorful dressing with a lot of depth to it.

Feeling overloaded and bloated from all the baked goods and sweets that have been making frequent appearances in my life ever since Thanksgiving, I felt the need for something light, refreshing, and healthy. So, I pulled out my July 2007 issue of Bon Appetit, and decided to whip up a batch of Cabbage and Corn Slaw with Cilantro.One of the things that appealed to me about this recipe was its lack of mayonnaise. I wanted something that I could fill up on, and not have an iota of guilt over what I had just eaten. I had all of the ingredients on hand, except frozen orange juice, and coleslaw mix. So, I shredded up my own cabbage mix, and used Dole brand Pineapple-Orange-Banana frozen juice concentrate. Believe it or not, it tasted great!

Cabbage and Corn Slaw with Cilantro

Adapted from a recipe by Pam Anderson in Bon Appetit, July 2007

1/3 cup frozen pine-orange-banana juice concentrate, thawed
2 T. fresh lime juice
1/3 cup unseasoned rice vinegar (this can be rather hard to find – this is rice vinegar that does not contain sugar. If you can find only seasoned rice vinegar, increase the lime juice to taste)
1/3 cup olive oil
1/2 head of purple cabbage (about 8 oz.), shredded
1/2 head green cabbage (about 8 oz.), shredded
2 large carrots, grated
2 cups of frozen corn
1 medium red bell pepper, stemmed, cored, cut into thin strips
6 medium green onions, thinly sliced
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
kosher salt and pepper to taste

Whisk orange juice concentrate, lime juice, rice vinegar, and olive oil in small bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Dressing can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.

Combine cabbage, corn kernels, carrots, red bell pepper strips, sliced green onions, and chopped cilantro in large bowl. Toss with enough dressing to coat. Season slaw to taste with salt and pepper. Let stand 15 minutes for flavors to blend. Toss again and serve.

I am on a mission: to use up food items in my pantry and freezer. Like most people, I will buy this or that to use for a specific dish, then I forget all about it. Or I shop for produce, and loose a cucumber in the back of the refrigerator.

Not one to waste food, I discovered said English cucumber tucked away in a corner of the “chill chest,” to coin a phrase from Alton Brown. I also had some feta cheese to use up, as well as a bag of orzo that had been sitting around for a while. Oh, yes, and that red onion. And a lemon or two. What to do?

Well, I turned to Rachael Ray after seeing her whip up a Pine Nut Orzo salad on her show, 30 Minute Meals. Master Chow and I thought it was nice on its own when we had it at lunch, but it really shone when we paired it later that evening with a rib eye steak (for him) and some scallops and shrimp (for me). Since I have half a pound of orzo left in the cupboard, I’ll be making this again!

Pine Nut and Orzo Salad
Adapted from a recipe by Rachael Ray
4 to 6 servings

Drain orzo and add to the onions and lemon juice, along with the pine nuts, parsley, feta crumbles, about 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, salt and pepper. Top with the olives, tomatoes, and cucumbers.

One day, I found myself blessed with about 12 ears of fresh, farmer’s market corn. I wanted to try something different that would not heat up my kitchen (at the time, the temperature was hovering around 100 degrees), so I decided upon a black bean and corn salad.

I adapted this from many different recipes that I looked at, including one by Rachael Ray of “30 Minute Meals” fame. All measurements are approximate – tweak the recipe to suit your tastes.

You can use dried black beans that you cook yourself, but as I said above, my goal was to keep my kitchen as cool as possible, so I used canned.

Black Bean and Fresh Corn Salad

4 cups fresh corn, cooked and sliced off the cob (about 8 ears)

2 cups black beans, rinsed and drained (if canned)

1 small red bell pepper, finely diced

1 small red onion, finely diced, or sliced into rings

Tabasco, to taste. (I used about 8 shakes of the bottle, but then I don’t like heat.)

salt and pepper, to taste

1 tablespoon ground cumin

3-4 tablespoons fresh lime juice

1/4 cups olive oil

3 T cilantro, finely chopped. (I love cilantro, but you can add more or leave this out.)

Whisk salt, pepper, Tabasco, and cumin into the lime juice. Stream in the olive oil, whisking all the time.

Mix together the beans, corn, bell pepper, and onion. Add the lime juice dressing. Mix in the cilantro before serving.

Gets better if you let it set a spell.

This makes a lot of salad, plenty for 6-8 people.

Panzanella is an Italian bread salad that makes wonderful use of the bounty of summer – fresh, ripe, juicy tomatoes. Fragrant basil. Crisp cucumbers.

I always heard that it was a creative Italian way to use up stale bread. I’ve always loved panzanella, but was never really satisfied with different variations that I tried over the years. Until I picked up the September 2006 issue of Fine Cooking, one of my favorite cooking magazines. On the back cover I found a panzanella recipe that I decided to try, and have made about four times in the last month – it’s delicious. Below is my adaptation, where I omit only the three tablespoons of chopped fresh mint (there are enough flavors in this salad, and I believe it doesn’t need the mint).

Other recommendations – use good artisanal bread, if you have access to it. This is not the time to cut corners; this salad benefits from good olive oil, vinegar, fleur de sel, and freshly ground pepper.

One final note – it’s best to add the bread to the salad just before serving so that it does not get soggy. You can mix the rest of the salad in advance (let it sit at room temperature – refrigeration affects the taste and texture of tomatoes), but add the bread at the last minute.

Panzanella

Adapted from Fine Cooking Magazine, September 2006

Makes about 6 cups, and serves 4 to 6.

(4) 1/2-inch-thick slices from the center of a round sourdough loaf
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
kosher salt or fleur de sel
freshly ground black pepper
1 small shallot, sliced into thin rings
3-4 tablespoons red wine vinegar (I like things vinegary, so I use 4)
1 small clove garlic, chopped coarsely
3-4 cups (about 1 1/2 pounds) tomatoes, chopped in a quarter-inch dice
1-1/2 cups small English cucumber, chopped in a quarter-inch dice
3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
2 tablespoons capers, rinsed and drained

Heat a grill pan (I just use a cast iron skillet). Using 1/4-cup of olive oil, brush both sides of the bread slices, and season with salt and pepper. Grill both sides of the bread, checking often, until lightly browned. When cool, slice the bread into 1/2-inch cubes and set aside.

In a small bowl or measuring cup, soak the shallot rings in the vinegar for approximately ten minutes. Using a slotted spoon, move the shallots to a large mixing bowl, and reserve the vinegar.

Sprinkle the chopped garlic with 1/4-teaspoon of salt. Using the side of a chef’s knife, mash the garlic into a paste. Add garlic, 1/4-teaspoon salt, and 1/8-teaspoon pepper to the reserved vinegar. Whisk in 1/4-cup of olive oil to the vinegar mixture.

Gently toss the dressing, vegetables, basil, and bread together. Add more salt and pepper to taste, if needed.

Enjoy!

Note: Creampuffs in Venice offers her treasured family recipe for Panzanella, here.