Black Bean, Corn, & Tomato Salad

Once we had the large batch of homemade tomatillo salsa, it was only a matter of time before taco night. Here, a simple side salad to accompany beef tacos, slices of avocado, and lime and cayenne sprinkled cucumbers. Perfect for August.

1 ear corn
1 can black beans
1 tomato
1/2 jalapeno
1/2 red bell pepper
large handful cilantro
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp coriander
1/8 tsp ancho chili powder
juice of 1/2 lime
pinch of salt

- Drain and rinse the black beans.

- Cut the kernels off the corn and boil for a few minutes until tender.

- Roughly chop the tomato.

- Dice the red pepper.

- Chop the cilantro.

- Combine everything in a bowl with the spices and lime juice. Chill and serve.

Stir Fried Vegetables with Lemongrass

Inspired by our Thai cooking yesterday, and the lemongrass and coconut milk I now had on hand, I decided to try this recipe from The  Food & Wine Annual Cookbook: An Entire Year of Recipes 2010.


I was thrown off initially by the coconut milk - soy sauce combination but it was an amazingly savory combination. A nice, healthy vegetarian meal, perfect when paired with Jason's potatoes, peas and green beans in red curry and coconut milk.

STIR FRIED VEGETABLES WITH LEMONGRASS

2 stalks of lemongrass, tender inner white bulb only
3 Tablespoon vegetable oil
1 very large shallot thinly sliced
3/4 of a head of cauliflower cut into small florets (about 1 pound)
12 asparagus spears, cut on the diagonal into 1 inch slices
1 red bell pepper cut into 1 inch pieces
2 medium carrots, shredded
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut milk
3 Tablespoons soy sauce
Freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup sliced basil

Jasmine rice for serving

• Heat oil in a large skillet
• Add the shallots and lemongrass and saute over high heat until the shallots start to brown, about 2 minutes 
• Add the cauliflower, asparagus, bell pepper and carrot along with 1/2 cup of water and cook over medium-high until the vegetables are crisp tender, about 3 minutes
• Stir in the coconut milk, soy sauce, and 1/4 cup water and bring to a simmer until cauliflower is perfectly cooked
• Remove from the heat and add black pepper
• Stir in the basil
• Serve over rice

Abundance of Appetizers

I was adamant this year that I wanted to go out to dinner for my birthday and not to stay home and cook. I've never been one to go out to eat too frequently, and with the grad school budget that frequency has become even smaller. However, this seemed like a good excuse to go out and let someone else cook for us!

However, it's nearly impossible to keep us out of the kitchen for an entire Saturday so we decided to put together a few appetizers and a signature drink to share with our guests before heading out. We poured through a few cookbooks and in a shocking turn of events got a little carried away, but everything was delicious!

Grilled Prosciutto Wrapped Goat Cheese Stuffed Asparagus

Ceci Bruschetta

Pepperonata

Cucumber Tartine

Sparkling Wine with Watermelon, Ginger and Lime Agua Fresca

Peperonata

We served this with grilled baguette slices and slices of mozzarella. Delicious. The recipe came from a book called Farm to Table that Jason and I have been enjoying from the library.

PEPERONATA

1/3 cup Extra virgin olive oil, divided
2 cloves garlic confit, minced
1 Tbsp red pepper flakes
4 Large sweet peppers (we used 2 red, 1 orange and 1 yellow) thinly sliced
2 cups red onion
1 Tbsp fresh thyme
2 Tbsp capers
3 Tbsp red wine vinegar
2 Tbsp fresh oregano leaves chopped
salt and pepper

- In a large skillet, heat 3 Tbsp olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic and red pepper flakes and saute about 1 minute

- Add the peppers, onions and thyme, reduce heat to medium and saute until peppers are soft

- Add capers and remaining oil and saute for about a minute. Transfer pepper mixture to a bowl

- Turn off heat, add vinegar to the skillet and reduce by half (the residual heat from the pan should be enough to make this happen, if not, turn heat on low for a minute or two)

- Pour the vinegar over the pepper mixture and add the oregano. Season with salt and pepper.

- Serve over a piece of crusty bread with a slice of mozzarella

How Much Ham Can One Woman Take?

Through a strange (and perhaps cruel) twist of fate, I found myself this week in possession of an 8 lb ham.  This, after eating ham on Easter and bringing home leftovers that we just finished.

However, I cannot bear to waste food and so last night I baked the ham, maple glaze and all.  I have a wedding to attend this weekend and am concerned about how bloated I will be after the consumption of this much pork and sodium.  I plan to bring a good portion of the ham to work to share!

Earlier in the day I had come across a recipe for Tabasco Quinoa on 101 cookbooks.  I figured a healthy dose of quinoa and veggies might help counteract the pork overdose.  The idea of adding butter to my nice healthy dish turned me off, so I adjusted the recipe a bit, using very little tabasco butter but ramping up the straight tabasco and adding roasted red peppers in with the asparagus.  The smokey flavor of the roasted peppers is a really nice compliment to the pork and helps add a new dimension to the quinoa itself!

TABASCO, ASPARAGUS AND ROASTED RED PEPPER QUINOA

4 Tbsp butter room temperature
Tabasco (start with 15 drops and move up from there)
1 tsp lemon juice
2-3 tsp dijon mustard
1 cup quinoa
1/2 lb asparagus cut into 1-2 in slices
2 red peppers
salt and pepper

For the Tabasco Butter:

Cut the butter into slices and blend in a food processor.  Add tabasco, the lemon juice and mustard and continue to blend.  Taste and adjust seasonings as necessary.  Set aside.

Rinse the quinoa.  Combine the cup of quinoa with 2 cups of water and bring to a boil.  Lower to a simmer and cook until all the water has been absorbed, 15-20 minutes.

Set up a bowl with water and ice.  Steam the asparagus for just a minute or two, until the asparagus turns a beautiful, bright green.  Shock in the cold water bath to stop it from cooking.  Drain.

Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.  Turn the broiler on High and roast the two bell peppers, turning until the peppers are charred on every side.  Put the peppers into a covered bowl to steam which helps loosen the skin from the peppers.  Once they are cool enough to handle, peel off the skins and remove the seeds.  Chop the peppers into thin slices approximately the same length as the asparagus.

Add a tablespoon of the tabasco butter, the asparagus, red peppers, salt and pepper to the quinoa and mix well.

Summer Indeed, Vegetable Terrine!

It only took until August, but I am in full summer swing these days. I finally feel like I have some free time to do what I want and am really trying to get back into the cooking mode.

Thursday evening I made pickles. The next day I took off the afternoon and went a little crazy with the cooking. I used an obscene amount of our pots and bowls, but it was well worth it!

First off, the vegetable terrine. I've been wanting to make one of these for quite some time, even though I'm not totally sure what defines a terrine. I'm pretty sure its the layering in a loaf and weighing down that does it.

I researched a couple of recipes and then ended up borrowing bits from each and coming up with my own. It is labor intensive but then you just put it in the fridge and eat it the next few days.

AMY'S SUMMER VEGETABLE TERRINE

- loaf pan & saran wrap

- 3-4 red bell peppers

- 2 zucchini

- 1 eggplant

- 1 lb spinach

- 8oz. log of goat cheese

Peppers: preheat the oven to about 350-375 and roast the red peppers. Put in a covered container until cool enough to handle. Peel off the skins and slice the peppers into long, wide strips.

Eggplant: slice lengthwise, salt and set out in a colander to drain (this helps draw out some of the bitterness). When ready to use, rinse and pat dry. Heat up a grill pan. Brushing each slice with olive oil, grill the slices on both sides and set aside.

Zucchini: slice into rounds. Sautee in a little oil and garlic until softened (I also added some salt and pepper during this step. It was the only seasoning I used). Pull out of the pan and discard the garlic.

Spinach: sautee spinach in a little oil until wilted.

Once all of the veggies are ready, line the loaf pan with saran wrap leaving enough hanging over the sides so that you will be able to wrap it over at the end.

First layer the red peppers. I put 2 down on the bottom and used the rest of the pieces to cover over the long sides of the loaf pan. Leave the short ends free as from this angle you will be able to see all the layers of the finished product. Try to cover all of the spaces as this will be the outside of the finished terrine. Save a pepper slice or two to put on the top (which will be the bottom of the finished terrine). It is important to keep the slices on the sides upright while layering the rest of the veggies.

Next put a layer of eggplant slices followed by a layer of zucchini rounds.

On top of this layer I spread a thin layer of goat cheese (I used about 6oz. of the 8oz.)

Top this with spinach, followed by another layer of zucchini and another layer of eggplant.

Finish it off with the remaining red pepper slices and fold the ends of the side peppers over the top as much as possible. Wrap the saran wrap over all of it tightly.

Put the loaf pan on a plate and weight down the top of the terrine. I used a glass tupperware filled with dried beans that fit just inside the pan. Refrigerate 8 hours to overnight.

To serve, flip the pan over onto a plate lined with arugula or spinach. Pull off the loaf pan and remove the saran wrap. Voila! Cut into slices with a sharp knife. It should hold its shape pretty well.

This dish was simply delicious, clean and simple. I ate it for the next 2 or 3 days and never grew tired of it.