Food goodness

This was another "Clean Eating" recipe that I tried a few weeks ago and really liked.  It wasn't as good after a day or two when all the dressing was absorbed and it kind of lost some of the lemony zing.  It would be better eaten the day it's made, I think.  So, this would be a good dish to take to a pot luck where everything is going to be eaten that day.   Or, just make more dressing and drizzle some more on the next day to revive it.  It was a good lunch, though, and I will make it again.   Oh, and I used the pre-cooked French Lentils (the black ones) from TJ's instead of cooking green lentils, because I always overcook my lentils and end up with mush. Ingredients 2 cups dry green lentils, 1 can of chickpeas , rinsed, drained 1 bunch of radishes, chopped or sliced ¼ cup fresh basil leaves, chopped (optional, thyme leaves loosely packed, discard stems) 1 bay leaf Garlic  2 teaspoons kosher or sea salt...

YUM. I never would have put this combination together if I hadn't been perusing this cookbook , trying to figure out more things to do with quinoa. The original recipe calls for pancetta, which I left out but which would probably be delicious. It also wanted you to cook the fennel and I have no idea why, because it adds nice crunchiness when it's raw. And there was also some nonsense about putting a lemon in the fennel water that seemed entirely unnecessary. (All that said, I really like this cookbook and am using it more than any other these days, and you can get it on Amazon right now for one (1) cent. Just one penny! Plus shipping, but still! You should buy it.) Also, I just bought some red quinoa at TJ's, and I think it tasted the same but looked prettier than regular quinoa. Vinaigrette: 3 T frozen orange juice concentrate 2 T red wine vinegar 1 T balsamic vinegar 3 T olive oil 1+ T spicy mustard salt and pepper to taste Salad: 3+ c cooked quinoa 1 ...

The thing that makes this salad so delicious is the balsamic glaze, I think -- which is just regular old balsamic, simmered on the stove until it gets thick and sticky and sweet. Mm. Adapted from this recipe . Preheat the oven to 400. Cube about 3 cups of stale bread and spread it out on an oiled baking sheet. Drizzle more olive oil on top. Toast for about 10 minutes in the oven, until golden brown. Pour onto a platter or into a glass baking dish. On another baking sheet or two, spread 2 generous pints of cherry tomatoes  -- different colors look pretty, but any cherry or grape will do; and better yet, make it 3 pints so you have leftover roasted tomatoes tomorrow -- and drizzle with olive oil and sea salt. About 10 minutes in, take the tomatoes out and drain the hot tomato liquid (hotttt) on top of the bread. Don't soak it, just give it a bit of tasty roasted tomato love. Put the tomatoes back in for another 10 minutes, or until they start turning dark and wrinkly. Cho...

From: Serious Eats This is an old-fashioned kind of veggie side dish, but healthy and delicious. As much as I love carrots (yum!), I had a bag of TJ's organic broccoli slaw that I wanted to use up, so I just used that instead. I also used some frozen TJ's pineapple tidbits, which I thawed before adding. It created enough pineapple juice during thawing to add to the sauce. 4 cups shredded carrot 1 (8-ounce) can crushed pineapple in juice, drained and liquid reserved 1/2 cup chopped pecans, toasted and cooled completely 1/4 cup raisins 1/4 cup 2% plain Greek yogurt 1 teaspoon sugar Pinch of salt 1 In a medium bowl, combine shredded carrot, pineapple solids, pecans, and raisins. 2 In a small bowl, combine 2 tablespoons reserved pineapple juice with all the yogurt, sugar, and salt. Stir until no lumps are left. 3 Add yogurt mixture into carrot mixture. Stir thoroughly to combine. Let sit a few hours in refrigerator so flavors can meld, though you can serve immediately if desi...

Source: Real Simple , October 2011 Geoff and I have made this a few times. We've substituted shallots for the red onion. Geoff prefers the red onion, but I'm not really a fan of either one, so we'll be leaving them off my salad the next time we make it. Serves 4 Hands-On Time: 10m Total Time: 50m Ingredients 1 1/2 pounds butternut squash, delicata squash, or sugar pumpkin—peeled, seeded, and cut into 1-inch pieces (we used a 20-oz package of pre-cut butternut squash) 5 tablespoons olive oil kosher salt and black pepper 1/2 cup hazelnuts 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard 6 cups mixed greens (about 4 1/2 ounces) 1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced 4 ounces blue cheese, crumbled (1 cup) Directions 1. Heat oven to 400° F. On a rimmed baking sheet, toss the squash with 2 tablespoons of the oil, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Roast, tossing once, until golden brown and tender, 30 to 35 minutes. Let cool slightly. 2. Meanwhile, spr...

I'm usually not crazy about tabouli because I don't like the taste of bulgur, for some reason, so using Israeli couscous was a nice substitute. We had friends over for dinner last night and served this with stuffed green peppers , and we made the filling out of couscous, chicken sausage, onions, peppers, Parm and oregano. (Loosely based on this Food Network recipe .) 1 package Israeli couscous, about 1 1/2 c dry salt and freshly ground black pepper juice of 2 lemons a big glug of olive oil  generous servings of chopped herbs to taste; we used a blend of cilantro, oregano and mint  a few shakes of zatar (optional but good) 6 ripe tomatoes, seeded and diced bunch of scallions, chopped Bring a medium-size saucepan of water to a boil over medium heat. Add the couscous and cook until al dente, 7 to 8 minutes. Drain the couscous, run cold water over it for a few seconds to prevent clumping, and set aside to cool. Combine lemon juice, olive oil, zatar, and salt and pe...