Vegetarian Salads Taste So Good

What, something that is really good for you and it taste good too? What, it is so easy even a two year old can make it? There are only 7 ingredients? You can add diced tomatoes which I would have done if it was summer!

1 Large Cucumber

1 Can Chickpeas

Juice of a Lemon

1/3 Cup Tahini 

Salt 

Pepper

Olive Oil

Dice up vegetables, mix lemon and tahini. Salt and pepper the dish and drizzle the salad with olive oil.

Oh, quick after thought...Look for the tahini at your middle eastern stores for the best deal.

Food.

So.. this is the year I am re-embracing my ability to cook. I guess you could say I was being rather stupid. I think I put the thought of me cooking on the back burner because I felt a bit too domestic. I felt like I had no one to share this passion with.

Wow was I wrong.  In the few days I have already realized that it brings people together. I even have a date on Thursday. It is helping bring the joy back into my life. I have re-claimed something that makes me happy. I guess I had been thinking 'oh someone else can do this better than me, so why try'. There is always going to be someone better at cooking then me (duh! my mom of course). All I can do is better myself at this game. I have already made two very interesting dishes. Not sure if someone else out there has made them. If so(or not) I hope that I can either cover your naked plates or just inspire some kind of imagination.

This dish was inspired by the Food & Wine, January 2012 issue that I stole from my mom over Christmas break (SORRY MOM). It was perfect. I had all the ingredients at home and even a bit more to add. The recipe was created by Madhur Jafferey (NPR INTERVIEW) in the article 'American Icons'*.

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
2 Jalapenos, minced
1 1/2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
3 pounds Swiss chard- rinsed, stems cut into 1/2-inch pieves, leaves cut into 1-inch ribbons
Salt
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

In a large, deep skillet, heat oil. Add the cumin and cook over moderately high heat until slightly darkened, 10 seconds. Add the jalapenos and ginger and cook, stirring, until fragrant, 1 minute. Stir in the chard leaves and stems with the water that clings to the leaves and a pinch of salt. Cover and cook over low heat, stirring, until the chard is tender, 12 min. Uncover and cook over high heat until most of the liquid has evaporated, 2 minutes.

Add the lemon juice, season the chard with salt and serve.

THE ADDITIONS:

4 Tablespoons of ginger ( I went a bit overboard)
1/4 cup olive oil ( substituted for vegetable oil -just what I had)
1/3 Head of Red Cabbage, cut into 1-inch ribbons (substituted for 1 pound of swiss chard)
1/2 Spanish Onion, julienned
2 1/2 Cups Organic Arugula (substituted for some of the Swiss chard)
1 Store bought pie crust
1 Egg
Pepper

PHOTOGRAPH TAKEN BY KAITLYN MCQUAID

PHOTOGRAPHS TAKEN BY KAITLYN MCQUAID

ADDITIONS

1.  Simply added onions with the jalapenos and ginger.
2. Cabbage was added same time as the chard.
3. Added some pepper about  2 teaspoons.
4. Arugula was added 5 mins before the chard is completely cooked.
6. Let dish drain.
7. Places pie crust on baking sheet and put purple char mixture in the middle. Stacked it high (used about 2/3) and then folded the edged to just about the middle.
8. Paint the pie crust with an egg wash.
8. Baked open pie at 300 degrees for about 20 to 30 mins. Just so the top is golden brown.
9. Squeeze on some lemon and Enjoy!

* Interviews by Daniel Gritzer, Food Photographs by John Jernick

Rain Days At Home

Salad of the Day

Chop the following:

Can of Chickpeas

1/4 of a Cauliflower

Bunch of Parsley

Roasted Red Pepper

Whisk the following in order:

Juice of one lemon

2 Tablespoons of Apple Cider Vinegar

1 1/2 Tablespoons of Dijon mustard

Teaspoon and a pinch of Grey Sea Salt

Few grinds of some Black Pepper

3 Tablespoons of Greek yogurt or sour cream

3 tablespoon olive oil

Dress the salad when ready to eat, you don't want it to get soggy like it is outside.

Comforting Cheese Cake

My first real interest in 6 years is back home in the Big Apple. I have never felt this way before about anyone. I wake up and I think of him, where he is and what he might be doing. I try to stop, but I can't. I lived this past year with no internet or television. I am aware of what I can do to keep myself busy. That is why I created this blog, to share with whomever is interested my emotional escape, GOOD FOOD. I know, I know I'm sounding cheesy and I have never done this before, but feel free to skip these ramblings and go straight to the good stuff.

You may find rare things in my foods. I work with what I got! I'm only 23 and went to a Private College for 5 too many years = BUDGET! Don't you worry I still get my french cheese, my gin and three meals a day (yes, in that order)!

After laying in bed till 3:00 pm, it's a holiday Mom! I decided it was time to do something worth while. So...

Comforting Cherry CheeseCake

-This is not your usual cheesecake. It is an eggy breakfast tart, not to sweet. It is just right.

Crust

2 C. Unbleached all-purpose flour
1 C. Granulated sugar
1 1/2 Sticks Unsalted Butter
1/4 ts. Salt
2 Eggs

Mix all flour, sugar, butter, and salt until all is blended to a sandy texture. Add eggs one at a time. Dough may be sticky, but do not add more flour. Press dough in a tart pan with a removable bottom. Let chill for an hour. Preheat oven to 350. Bake with foil and pie crust weights (a bowl or beans are fine with tin foil) for 18 min. Take foil off and crisp the crust for another 7 min.

Cherry Cream
3/4 lb. fresh cherries pitted*
3 8oz. packages of cream cheese
1/2 C. orange blossom honey
1 C. sugar
4 eggs lightly beaten
1 ts. vanilla extract
Lemon zest **
Mix all together and pour over crust in tart pan. Bake at 325, for 1 hour and 35 min. When time is done open oven and let cake cool on the oven rack.

*an easy way to pit whole cherries is in a blender. Pulsating ONLY a few times and then pitting by hand.

**if you don't have a zester use a fork, but make sure that when zesting it is over the bowl. We want them FLAVONOIDS and LIMONOIDS from the rind in the batter!

Due to the varying temperatures of stoves, make adjustments to the cooking time. If you find that your stove in other recipes over cooks things take a few min. off or visa versa!