Orzo with Caramelized Fall Vegetables, Bacon, and Ginger

Sorry I've been neglecting this food blog! I had a bunch of great summer recipes I planned on posting but then I got really busy at work and lazy at home. Well, at least I know I'll have recipes to post next summer. 

October, where is all the cool and brisk weather we're supposed to be having??? It's been crazy warm the past few days and the girls and I are not pleased. I love fall and it just doesn't feel like fall yet! I'm craving some of my fall recipes (which are mainly soups and stews) but it's just too hot for those kinds of foods. So I was really excited to see this recipe pop up again on my favorite food blog, The Kitchn. It takes a bit of time to make but it's pretty easy and it has all those delicious fall flavors that I've been craving.  I made this dish with turkey bacon because in case you couldn't tell from my past recipes, I <3 bacon (of all kinds), but you can easily make this vegetarian by not adding any bacon, and it can even be made vegan if you omit the cheese at the end as well. Alternatively, I bet this would taste great with some sausage instead of bacon.

Servings: The original recipe says this serves 4 as a main dish and 6 as a side dish, but I think this is a 2-3 mealer for me.

Ingredients:

1 cup dried orzo

1 large sweet potato (or two small/medium ones), peeled and diced

2 medium onions, diced

4 garlic cloves, minced

4 slices of thick bacon, diced (I used Trader Joe's peppered uncured turkey bacon)

6-8 ounces shiitake mushrooms, stems removed and caps diced

1 tablespoon fresh ginger, peeled and minced

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce

2 cups chard or kale, stalks removed and chopped

Grapeseed, peanut, or vegetable oil

Shaved parmesan to top (optional)

Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

• Cook 1 cup dried orzo according to instructions but only for 6 to 7 minutes until it's barely al dente. Drain orzo, stir in a little bit of oil, and set aside.
• Heat a very large pan over high heat and then heat up a little bit of oil in the pan if you're not going to add bacon. (Use an oil with a high smoke point, so that means no olive oil.) If you are making this with bacon, cook the bacon for a few minutes and then spoon the bacon into a bowl and set aside but leave the bacon grease in the pan. (If you're using turkey bacon or a low fat bacon, you may need to add some oil to the pan if there's not enough leftover in the pan.)
• Add the peeled and diced sweet potato to the pan and spread it out into one layer. Cook for about 4 minutes until the potatoes start to brown and then flip/stir the potatoes and cook for another 3 minutes.
• Lower the heat to medium, push the potatoes to one side and add two diced onions to the pan with a sprinkle of salt. Cook onions for a few minutes, stirring occasionally, until they start to brown.
• Add 1 tbsp minced ginger and 4 minced garlic cloves to the onions.  Stir together and push to the side next to the potatoes.
• Add 6-8 oz diced shiitake mushrooms to the pan and let cook for about 4 minutes.  Flip/stir the mushrooms and then cook for another 4 minutes.
• Add back in the cooked bacon and stir everything together. All the ingredients should be browning nicely and the potatoes should be softened.
• Whisk together 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar, 2 tbsp soy sauce, and 2 tbsp oil (I ran out of my other oil and had to use sesame (love the taste of sesame oil!), which doesn't have a high smoke point but at this point most of the cooking is done and I didn't have too many problems so long as the vent fan was on high). 
• Pour the vinegar-oil mixture into the pan and mix everything together, scraping the bottom as needed.  Cook for about 3 minutes. (If the food is really sticking, you can add a tiny bit of water to help scrape.)
• Increase heat to medium-high and gradually add in the cooked orzo, continuing to scrape the bottom as needed. Cook for about 5 minutes. The orzo should be browning nicely, helping to deepen the flavor and color of the orzo with all the other ingredients.
• Stir in 2 cups of chopped chard or kale and cook for about 1 minute so that the greens are just wilted into the mixture.
• Remove pan from heat and salt and pepper to taste.
• Before serving, top each dish with some shaved parmesan (optional).

Sunny and Rosy volunteered to be tasters, but too bad they can't have onions! I did set aside two itty bitty bites of bacon for them after I cooked it.

You don't have to add the cheese at the end but it really adds a nice punch of flavor to the dish!

The girls are looking at the dish so longingly!

Hey, keep that tongue in check Rosy! No tasting!

Ok, enough torturing the girls. Now it's time for their well-deserved bacon treat!

This recipe does take some time to caramelize all the vegetables but it's such a fantastic fall dish! I'll definitely be adding this to my regular rotation of favorite recipes.

Adapted from The Kitchn.

Couscous Salad with Mushrooms, Corn, Black Beans, Scallions and Avocado

I usually don't like avocados in my salad and sandwiches, although I love guacamole.  I think it's because the flavor is so strong and the texture is so unique so that's all I end up tasting and I feel like it overwhelms whatever I'm eating.  But this recipe seemed so intriguing I had to give it a shot.  Plus I'm a big fan of Israeli couscous ever since I had my first taste at my eldest sister's wedding over a decade ago. I'd never cut and peeled my own avocado and man those suckers are super easy to peel!

The couscous salad goes so well with the avocados - a perfect marriage of flavors and textures!  This is a great dish to eat warm or cold for the summer months when avocados are plentiful!

Servings: 2-4 (this is two dinners for me)

Ingredients:
1 1/3 cups of Israeli/pearl couscous (Trader Joe's has a great box of these)
2 tablespoons (approximately) of extra virgin olive oil, divided (or cooking spray)
10 ounces baby bella mushrooms, sliced
1 1/2 cups chopped scallions
1 1/4 cup corn kernels (fresh or frozen)
1 15 ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained
2-3 limes, juiced
1 avocado, pitted and sliced or chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
1-2 tablespoon chopped cilantro
1 sliced jalapeno (optional)
Hot sauce (optional)

Instructions:

• Cook 1 1/3 cup of couscous according to instructions and set aside.
• While couscous is cooking, heat a large pan over medium-high heat.  Add a couple teaspoons of oil or coat with a cooking spray and then cook 10 oz of sliced mushrooms, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until golden grown.  Season mushrooms lightly with salt and pepper and transfer to a bowl and set aside.
• Add another teaspoon of oil to the pan or another coating of cooking spray and cook 1 1/4 cup of corn and 1 1/2 cup chopped scallions, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes until scallions are soft and the corn is browned.  If you want, you can divide the scallions into white parts and green parts and cook the white parts now and set aside the green parts to add in later, but I'm lazy so I just throw them all in the pan.
• Remove pan from heat and add to the pan the cooked mushrooms, 1 can of black beans, and the juice from 2-3 limes.  If you separated the scallion greens earlier, add them back in now.
• Season the mixture with salt and pepper to taste.
• Top each dish with the chopped avocado and cilantro.  Avocado slices look all pretty and fancy but practically it's easier to eat if you just chop up the avocado in small pieces.  
• Optional:  Add a sliced jalapeno or a couple splashes of your favorite hot sauce for some heat!

Sunny looks all tired as though she was the one doing all the cooking!

Yum!

Adapted from Martha Stewart.

Summer White Bean Salad with Vegetables, Basil, and Parmesan

I love reading food blogs that draw their inspiration from the local and fresh ingredients of the day at the farmer's market or gardens.  Unfortunately I don't have the time the time to shop often at farmer's markets and I am terrible with plants.  I tried growing herbs recently on my tiny less than 6-inch balcony/sill and quickly killed them off.  I'm quite lethal with plants.  So my shopping experiences are pretty much limited to random grocery stores and Trader Joe's.  So when I saw the fresh yellow and green zucchini at my last Trader Joe's trip, I thought it would be nice to do a veggie heavy summer salad.  It's too hot to turn on the stove or oven!  This was a perfect refreshing salad and it's a nice vegetarian option to include in my rotation this summer.

So let's just pretend like I got my inspiration while digging up some fresh zucchini from my lovely garden or while slowly strolling down the neighborhood farmer's market in a cute summer dress, and not while rummaging through the Trader Joe's vegetable shelves in my pug fur-covered sweatshorts (yeah that's right, I said sweatshorts).

Servings: 4, but if you're going back for seconds and this is your main dish then more like 2.

Ingredients:
2 15-ounce cans of cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
2 small zucchinis, halved lengthwise and then sliced into half moons
2 cups grape tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1 cup green beans (or haricot verts), trimmed and thinly sliced
1 cup fresh basil leaves, torn or chopped
1/2-2/3 cup of grated Parmesan cheese (depends on how cheesy you want it)
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp lemon zest
2 lemons, juiced
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

• In a large bowl mix together 2 cans of cannelini beans, 2 chopped zucchinis, 2 cups grape tomatoes, 1/2 cup chopped onion, 1 cup chopped green beans, 1 cup chopped basil, 1/2-2/3 cup Parmesan cheese, 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1 tbsp lemon zest, and the juice from 2 lemons.  
• If you want to cut back on the bite of raw onions, try soaking the cut onion pieces in cold water for at least 10 minutes.
• Small zucchini are sweeter than large ones as the seeds from large ones greater than 10-12 inches take on a bitter flavor.
• Season with coarse salt and cracked pepper to taste.

I added a teeny bit of leftover chopped red bell pepper here too but you can't even see it.  Next time I might try adding more to add some more.

Sunny and Rosy are getting pretty good at sitting in the right spot for my photos!  They know they get treats if they pose well!

Adapted from Martha Stewart.

Cold Soba Salad with Chicken, Basil, and Bell Peppers

One of my favorite summer dishes that my mom used to cook when I was younger was simple soba that she'd serve cold in lil bundles that we'd dip in cold tsuyu seasoned with wasabi and with lots of handfuls of chopped green onions and nori seaweed.  That started my love affair with soba.  I continued this love affair in my adulthood, even though I never cooked it myself, by frequenting one of my favorite midtown New York lunch spots, Soba Nippon, where I'd eat soba warm in a delicious broth during the winter and then cold as part of a huge chicken salad during the warmer months.  I haven't come across a soba preparation that I didn't like!

I was recently craving soba again but it's been way too hot and humid to even think of eating it warm in a broth (Chicken Soba Soup with Poached Egg) and I didn't have any tsuyu handy (well I did find a bottle in the very back of my pantry but I won't even tell you how old the expiration date was!) so I decided a cold soba salad would be a perfect healthy and delicious dish!  The fresh basil and vinegar/lime juice sauce really make this meal for me.  And topping it with some coarse salt, black pepper, toasted sesame seeds, and spicy red pepper boost the flavors of the dish.  This soba salad is pretty easy to make and can be really quick to put together if you do all the chopping in advance.

Servings: 4 (but if you go back for seconds then this would serve 2)

Ingredients:
8-9 ounces soba
2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
2 limes, squeezed
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 bell peppers, thinly sliced,
1-2 cups fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced
2-3 cups chicken, cooked and shredded
1 tablespoon sesame seeds, toasted
Salt and black pepper, to taste
Red pepper (gochugaru) (optional)

Instructions:

• Cook 8-9 oz of soba according to packet instructions al dente.  Rinse cooked soba in cold water, drain, and set aside.
• In a large bowl whisk together 2 tbsps toasted sesame oil, juice from 2 limes, and 2 tbsps rice vinegar.  Add salt and pepper to taste.
• Toast 1 tbsp sesame seeds until lightly browned.  Watch this carefully as sesame seeds can go from beautifully toasted to terribly burnt real quickly.  
• Add to the large bowl with the sauce 2 sliced bell peppers, 1-2 cups thinly sliced basil, 2-3 cups shredded chicken, and the cold soba.  Toss until well mixed and sauce evenly covers all the ingredients.
• Top each bowl with toasted sesame seeds and additional salt and pepper to taste.  
• Optional: Add some red pepper for a spicy kick.  I like to add gochugaru, which is a Korean red pepper powder which I mooch from my mom.

Sorry girls, this is spicy and not for you!  I did set aside tiny bites of chicken before adding it to the noodles and gave the girls a lil taste as a reward for posing nicely for these photos.

Adapted from Martha Stewart.

Spanish "Tortilla"

This is one of my favorite recipes for spring and summer because this Spanish omelette is flavorful, but not too heavy, and you can eat it hot or cold.  I actually prefer this cold which makes it great in the warm weather and easy to prepare in advance for weekday meals as I'll cook it up on Sunday night for some of my weekday meals.  It's also a great vegetarian dish (if you eat eggs) so I like to make this when I'm not in the mood for any meats.

I've had Spanish tortillas in tapas restaurants quite often and love them (it combines so many things I love in one dish - eggs, cheese, and potatoes!).  Contrary to what you may think from the name, this is not anything like a traditional tortilla and is more like an egg and potato omelette.  This recipe is not quite like the authentic dish but it's a faster and easier version because you cook the potatoes in advance in the microwave and don't need to flip it because you finish it off with the broiler.

This recipe is also really easy to modify based on personal tastes.  I've made this with other ingredients like green onions and zucchini (instead of the sundried tomatoes and mushrooms) and that was really yummy too, but this one is my favorite version that I make quite often.  Keep in mind that if you eat it cold you may need to season it extra with some salt and pepper before serving. Also, the more additional ingredients you add, the more eggs and milk you may want to consider adding to keep the "tortilla" together.

Servings: 4 (but for me this is a 2-3 night meal dish)

Ingredients:
6 large eggs
2 medium-sized potatoes, peeled and diced
1 medium onion, chopped
3 oz sundried tomatoes, chopped
2-4 oz goat cheese, crumbled (I do 4 because I'm a goat cheese monster)
5 oz baby bella mushrooms, sliced
1/4 cup skim milk
1//2 teaspoon dried rosemary
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Cooking spray or olive oil
Additional salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

• Preheat the boiler.
• Peel and dice two medium-sized potatoes and microwave them, sprinkled with some water, in a lightly covered bowl for about 3-5 minutes until they are fork tender.  I usually do 5 minutes with my microwave.  Drain excess water and set aside.
• Heat a large oven-proof skillet over medium heat and when warm spray with a cooking spray or pour 1-2 tbsps of olive oil.
• Add 1 chopped onion, stirring occasionally, for about 2-3 minutes until the onions are soft.  
• Add 3 oz chopped sundried tomatoes, 5 oz chopped mushrooms, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper, and 1/2 tsp dried rosemary and cook for an additional couple minutes.
• Add the softened potatoes to the onion mix and cook for an additional few minutes, stirring occasionally.
• While the onion and potato mixture is cooking, mix 6 eggs, 1/4 cup milk, and 2-4 oz crumbled goat cheese in a bowl.
• Increase heat to medium-high and pour the egg mixture evenly over the onion and potato mixture.  I sometimes poke holes in the mixture and tilt the pan around a bit to get the egg mixture to spread evenly.  Cook for 2-3 minutes on the stovetop until the eggs are just starting to harden.

• Carefully move the skillet into the oven under the broiler and cook for 3-5 minutes or until the eggs are cooked and the top is golden brown.  Watch the "tortilla" carefully to make sure it doesn't burn as it cooks pretty quickly.
• Remove from oven and either serve warm or refrigerate it to serve cool later (I like both ways but in the summer time I prefer it cool).  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

• Optional: Tease your pugs by placing delicious Spanish "tortilla" in front of them for pictures.  This is especially tempting for Rosy who is also a goat cheese monster.

Rosy kept trying to sneak a taste.  At first she started with licking the plate, but then she got more audacious!

Now these pictures of the single slice of the Spanish "tortilla" look nice and pretty but I feel like this is not really accurate.  Usually my plates are a mess because the slices fall apart and I also don't eat in nice and neat lil slices and instead just heap large amounts on my plate.  So here are a couple pictures of what this really looks like when chowing down!

Mmm!  I just made some tonight for dinner this week!  With this crazy hot, humid, and rainy weather lately I have not felt like cooking after coming home from a gross and sweaty commute.  Hope you enjoy and if you come up with any interesting adaptations let me know!

Adapted from the potato and goat cheese Spanish "tortilla" recipe in The Six O'Clock Scramble cookbook.

Warm Lentil Salad with Bacon and Eggs

I've been missing my yummy lentil soups (Curried Lentils and Tomatoes Stew and Lentil Stew with Bacon and Greens) but not in the mood for hot soups.  I've seen a bunch of variations of recipes for lentils and eggs on the internet so I decided to throw something together based on random things I had in my fridge and I was pleasantly surprised.  This dish was super yummy and satisfying.  And I'm a sucker for a fried egg topper (mmm runny yolk!).  I think this is my new favorite comfort food and it's definitely a lot healthier than my standard comfort foods!

Servings: 2-4 (depends on if you want a big or small dish)

Ingredients:
1 cup dry green lentils
1 bag of baby spinach
1 small onion, chopped
1/4 cup carrots, chopped (you could add more; I'm just not a big carrot person)
4 slices bacon, chopped
4 eggs (or more if you want - the more eggs the merrier!)
1/4 teaspoon thyme
2 cups water
Red wine vinegar to taste
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

• Bring 1 cup of lentils and 2 cups of water to a boil in a medium pot.  Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes.  Drain well.
• Heat a pan over medium heat and cook 1 chopped onion, 1/4 cup chopped carrots, 4 slices chopped bacon, and 1/4 tsp thyme about 4-6 minutes, stirring occasionally, until onions are tender.
• Add the cooked lentils and a bag of spinach to the pan.  Stir everything together until the spinach leaves wilt.
• Add red wine vinegar, salt and pepper to the lentil mixture to taste.
• Fry or poach 4 eggs so that the whites are solid and the yolks are nice and runny.  
• Top the lentil mixture with the eggs (I do two for my dish because I'm an egg monster).
• You can season with more salt and pepper if needed.  Because my taste buds are warped from years of eating spicy Korean food I added a couple splashes of Tabasco sauce (mmm extra vinegar taste too!).

• Mash up the egg and enjoy!

 I hurriedly took these photos and then dug in.  Delish!

Cold Farro Salad with Vegetables and Chicken in a Mint Yogurt Sauce

Ugh, we are not happy with this heat wave going on here.  While I enjoy spring, I have a love/hate relationship with summer.  I grew up in a desert climate so I'm fine with high heat but add in a ton of humidity and having to commute in hot metro stations with no moving air, and I become a grumpy, sweaty mess.  The girls also don't love it as they start panting and snorting quickly on our walks and the humidity does a number on Sunny's deep-set wrinkle.  Anyways, this was my long intro to say that when the temperatures and humidity go up, my desire for cold yet satisfying meals goes up as well.  I found this cold farro salad on one of my favorite food blogs theKitchn but it only had leeks and peas and I wanted to add some more veggies, color, and meat so I kinda just winged it.  Below is the recipe I used for the dish in these photos but I'm sure you can swap, add, subtract a number of ingredients depending on your preferences.  I wasn't expecting to like this dish as much as I did.  I made this week a farro week for my meals to simplify things and I ended up liking this dish more than Warm Farro Salad with Roasted Vegetables, Fontina, and Cheese!  And since this is best served cold, I foresee myself making this often during the summer!

Servings: Original recipe said serves 4-6 but this is a 2 mealer for me!

Ingredients:
1 - 1 1/2 cups farro (original recipe calls for 1 cup but Trader Joe's has 1 1/2 cup 10 minute bags)
2 leeks, halved and then chopped into 1/2 - 1 inch pieces
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt (I use Trader Joe's nonfat version)
1 lemon, juiced
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 cup shredded chicken
1/4 cup red bell pepper, chopped
1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
5 oz baby bella mushrooms, cut into small chunks
1 zucchini, chopped (mine is in large chunks but that's because I was too lazy to cut it smaller)
1 tablespoon fresh mint, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

• Cook 1 - 1 1/2 cups farro according to instructions.  Rinse with cold water, drain, and set aside.
• Heat a pan over medium heat and coat with cooking spray or olive oil.  Cook 2 chopped leeks, 1/4 cup chopped red bell pepper, 5 ounces chopped mushrooms, and 1 chopped zucchini for a few minutes.  You want the leeks to soften but you don't want the other vegetables to get too soggy.  If you want crisper zucchini then I'd recommend adding them for the last minute or two then.

• If you are using fresh peas or forgot to thaw them (like I did), then blanch them by adding them to a pot of boiling water for about a minute until they're bright green and then move the peas to an ice bath to cool.
• In a large bowl whisk together 2 tbsps olive oil, 1/4 cup Greek yogurt, juice from a lemon, and 1 tsp of lemon zest.
• Add to the bowl the cooled farro, peas, sauted vegetables, and 1tbsp chopped mint.  Toss until everything is coated.
• Add salt and cracked black pepper to taste.
• You can serve this warm but I prefer it cold and it keeps well in the fridge.

Rosy's face in the photo below just kills me!

Spot the pug?

And don't forget to give your pugs a teeny lick of yogurt!

The pictures above show the farro salad just after I made it but as I mentioned before, I like it best cold.  Below is when I had it for dinner the next two days.

"What's in that bowl?!  Something delicious for us?!"  (Sorry Rosy, not for you!) 

Persistent lil pugs!

Adapted from theKitchn.