Basmati Rice Salad with Asparagus and Leek

We wanted a side dish for our delicious burgers and I decided to raid the fridge and come up with something. Left over basmati rice from our Charlie Trotter cooking extravaganza the night before (more on that later), 6 spears of steamed asparagus and a leek and dinner was ready!

BASMATI RICE SALAD WITH ASPARGUS AND LEEK

2-3 cups cooked basmati rice
6 spears steamed asparagus, cut on the bias into 1 inch pieces
1 leek, white and light green parts, split, cleaned well and cut into half moons
olive oil
salt and pepper

- In a sauce pan heat the oil on low and saute the leek until soft

- In a large bowl combine the rice, asparagus and leeks

- Toss with dressing and serve room temperature

LEMON WHITE WINE VINEGAR DRESSING DRESSING

Juice of 1 lemon
White wine vinegar
Olive oil
Salt and pepper

- In a jar add the juice of a lemon and a Tablespoon or so of white wine vinegar

- Add olive oil to taste, whisking as you go

- Add salt and pepper to taste
- In

Miso Dressing

1 Tbsp miso paste
3 Tbsp soy sauce or tamari
2 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 Tbsp sesame oil
1/4 tsp sambal

Steamed Vegetables, Brown Rice and Miso Dressing

A dish I've now made twice in the course of the last couple of weeks.  One cup brown rice, 1 1/2 cups water, bring to a boil then lower to a simmer for 20 minutes.  In the meantime chop up vegetables of your choice (I used carrots, red bell peppers, some adorable little baby bok choy they had at the co-op last week) and steam them, adding the toughest vegetables first, the carrots, then the bell peppers and bok choy stems, then finally the bok choy leaves.  I also had half of a red onion which I sauteed and added to the mix.

So really, a simple rice and veggies dish.  But, the best part is a new miso dressing I made.  Delicious and perfect for a nice simple meal like this one.

MISO DRESSING:

1 Tbsp miso paste
3 Tbsp lite soy sauce
2 Tbsp rice vinegar
1 Tbsp sesame oil
1/4 tsp red chili paste

whisk together and serve over you rice and veggies.  Leftover dressing will keep in the fridge for a few days.

Brown Rice and Steamed Veggies with Asian Dressing

In an attempt to kick of 2010 right and get the weight loss plan underway I'm working hard to monitor my eating. 

I decided that a good lunch for the week would be brown rice with steamed veggies.  I was going to use quinoa but didn't have any at home.  I used up some bell peppers I had that needed to be used and most of a head of bok choy which I love and which gives it a little asian flair.  It's nice and clean food, simple as can be.

BROWN RICE AND STEAMED VEGGIES WITH ASIAN DRESSING

1 cup brown rice
3 small yellow bell peppers chopped
1 large red bell pepper chopped
2 green onions sliced
1 head bok choy chopped, stems and leaves
**Note:  use whatever vegetables you like or have on hand!  Snap peas, broccoli, spinach all would be great additions as well

Cook the brown rice according to the package.  I get the best results when I put 1 cup of rice in just over 1 1/2 cups of water.  Bring to a boil, lower to a simmer, cover and cook about 35 - 40 minutes.  No peeking!

Chop up all the veggies and prepare a steamer (the Dream Steamer is one of my favorite items off of my registry).

Add the vegetables to the steamer in order of how long they will take to cook.  There are no hard fast rules, just use common sense.  Leaves take no time at all, the harder and crunchier the vegetable, the longer the cooking time.  I added the bell peppers first, then the bok choy stems, then the green onions and lastly the bok choy leaves.

I packed up a few tupperwares with rice and a healthy topping of veggies to bring to work for lunch.

FOR THE DRESSING
1 Tbsp miso
3 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
2 Tbsp soy sauce
2 Tbsp sesame oil
Freshly grated ginger to taste (about a 1in. piece)
red chili paste (to taste)
dash of fresh squeezed lemon - about 1-2 tsp
dash of fish sauce (optional)

Put all the ingredients (except the fish sauce) in a bowl and whisk to combine.  Keep tasting and add bits of this or that until you get the right flavor.  At the very end I added a tiny dash of fish sauce, just to give it a little kick.

I stored the dressing in a separate little jar and used on top of my rice and veggies. 

The dressing was particularly delicious.  I was the envy of everyone in my office with the fabulous smells coming from my lunch.