Tag: Cilantro

Crispy Salmon with Herb Salad

Salmon and salad are a great healthy go-to on a weeknight. You can have your meal on the table in under 20 minutes! This salad is a nice alternative to your traditional salads. Made with four different herbs and spicy arugula, the salad adds a ton of flavor to the crispy salmon. The lemon dressing is fantastic as well! This recipe is from Cooking Light’s cookbook: The New Way to Cook Light.
Ingredients: (serves 6)
  • 1 1/2 cups arugula leaves
  • 1 1/2 cups fresh flat-leaf parsley
  • 1 cup fresh cilantro leaves
  • 1 cup small fresh basil leaves
  • 1/2 cup small fresh mint leaves
  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • cooking spray
  • 6 (6 ounce) salmon fillets
  • 6 lemon wedges

Continue reading Crispy Salmon with Herb Salad

Quinoa Chicken Curry

I’m excited to share with you this recipe for Quinoa Chicken Curry, but before I do, I wanted to share a bit about quinoa.
Although quinoa seems to be a bit of a “new” super food, it has actually been around for thousands of years and was considered one of the most important crops of the Incas. This grain-like seed is really easy to cook (you cook it like rice) but is chock full of nutritional benefits. Quinoa’s high protein content makes it a great choice for vegans and vegetarians. It is also a complete protein which means it contains all the essential amino acids. Quinoa is also rich in vitamins and minerals, including magnesium, phosphorous, zinc, iron, potassium, calcium, vitamin B, folate, and riboflavin. Quinoa is also naturally gluten free, and can be ground into a flour that allows for gluten free baking. Whew.
I really didn’t know much about quinoa, or how to use it. So I was excited to be given the chance to review The Complete Idiot’s Guide Quinoa Cookbook to learn more about it.  The book is full of quinoa recipes, including breakfast, dinner, and even dessert recipes. I wanted to try one of the more traditional preparations of quinoa, but can’t wait to delve into the more interesting uses for it in future posts (Lemon Poppy Seed Quinoa Cupcakes, anyone?) The book had a recipe for Quinoa Indian Chicken Curry that sounded absolutely fantastic!
Ingredients:
  • 1 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed and drained
  • 4 cups chicken broth, divided
  • 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch pieces
  • 4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
  • 6 teaspoons curry powder, divided
  • 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 cup frozen peas
  • 1 medium head cauliflower, chopped into 1 inch pieces
  • 1/2 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp celery seed
  • 1/2 tsp fennel seed
  • 1/2 tsp turmeric
  • 1/3 cup plain low-fat yogurt
  • 1/3 cup nonfat sour cream
  • 1/2 cup cashews
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp pepper
Yields 5 cups, or about 4 servings.
Continue reading Quinoa Chicken Curry

Chilean Sea Bass Tacos with Chipotle Cream

I have never made a taco recipe from Cooking Light that I didn’t love. Honestly, how do they manage to deliver fantastic recipe after fantastic recipe? This one for Chilean Sea Bass Tacos with Chipotle Cream is no different, although the original recipe was made with red snapper. I’ve been having really bad luck recently coming across the fish I want when I go to the market, so I had to sub in Chilean sea bass instead.
Ingredients:
  • 1/2 cup fat-free sour cream
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 1 canned chipotle chile in adobo sauce, seeded and minced
  • 1 1/2 cups chopped onion, divided
  • 1 1/2 cups chopped tomato, divided
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
  • 1 pound Chilean sea bass
  • 1 teaspoon grated lime rind
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
  • 4 (8-inch) fat-free flour tortillas
Continue reading Chilean Sea Bass Tacos with Chipotle Cream

Seared Chicken with Avocado Salsa

I have inexplicably been picking up an avocado each and every time I buy groceries. I didn’t have a recipe for the avocados, I just kept buying them. I guess my subconscious really wanted one. So I finally sat down and found a recipe highlighting them: Seared Chicken with Avocado. I added some tomato to give it a bit more freshness but the rest of the recipe is pretty intact.
Ingredients:
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons blackened seasoning
  • 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
  • 1 teaspoon coconut oil
  • 1 diced peeled avocado
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
  • 1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and finely chopped
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice (about 1 lime), plus the zest of the lime
  • 1/2 a tomato (or one plum tomato), diced

Continue reading Seared Chicken with Avocado Salsa

Black Bean Soup with Orange Jalapeno Salsa

Every food blogger dreams of walking out of their day job and never looking back to pursue a full-time career in food. Most keep this as a fun little pipe dream to think about while sipping on their morning coffee. Michael Natkin, however, did the unthinkable. He took a sabbatical from his job as a software engineer and spent 6 months immersed in food, experiencing Italy and Israel through food with his family and interning in the kitchen at Cafe Flora. He dove into the world of food full time this year.
His blog, Herbivoracious, has been going strong since 2007. If you’ve never seen it, go there. Now. I’ll wait…. Fantastic, right?!

Michael’s cookbook based off his super popular blog, Herbivoracious: A Flavor Revolution with 150 Vibrant and Original Vegetarian Recipes, was released on May 9. Michael has been touring America to promote his book and recently came through Philadelphia. He hosted a food blogger event at the fantastic R2L, where local bloggers (like yours truly) were treated to bites from the kitchen and the opportunity to chat with Michael himself.

So, the cookbook is vegetarian. It honestly doesn’t even need to be mentioned though because the recipes inside the pages of this book are not wimpy, skimpy meals. As his blog states “You Don’t Have To Be A Vegetarian To Love This Cookbook!” and he is so right. The recipes are really inventive and sound so appetizing that you won’t even wonder where the meat is. Michael kindly allowed me to pick any recipe I wanted from the book to use for this post and boy did I have a problem. I am not exaggerating when I tell you I tagged over 50 recipes as possibilities.
see?
I finally decided on this recipe for Black Bean Soup with Orange Jalapeno Salsa when I mentioned it to my boyfriend and his eyes lit up. I altered the recipe ever so slightly, so check out the original at the link. You should check it out anyways because Michael gives some really great tips prior to the recipe.
Ingredients:
  • 6 cans black beans
  • Vegetable broth
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 white onion, diced
  • 1 yellow bell pepper, diced
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 tablespoon dried oregano
  • 1 teaspoon dried cumin
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground chipotle
  • 6 mandarin oranges (or fewer, larger oranges)
  • 1/4 cup red onion, finely diced
  • 1jalapeno pepper, finely diced
  • 1 handful cilantro leaves
  • salt to taste
  • Sour cream
Each recipe in the cookbook mentions any dietary restrictions that are satisfied within the recipe. This soup is vegetarian, vegan if the sour cream is omitted, and is gluten-free. This recipe serves 6. 
Continue reading Black Bean Soup with Orange Jalapeno Salsa

Cumin Spiced Fish Tacos with Avocado Mango Salsa

With Cinco de Mayo this past weekend, I couldn’t stop thinking about making some kind of Mexican-themed meal this weekend. So I was pretty excited when my boyfriend suggested Fish Tacos on Sunday. My trusty Cooking Light obviously had the perfect recipe to fulfill our craving. These Cumin Spiced Fish Tacos with Avocado Mango Salsa get an extra boost of flavor from toasting the cumin seeds before grinding. If you can’t find cumin seeds, ground cumin will work for the recipe as well, just skip the toasting part.
Ingredients:
  • 1 tablespoon cumin seeds
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
  • 1/2 teaspoon paprika
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 pound tilapia fillets
  • 1 tablespoon coconut oil
  • 1 cup sliced peeled avocado
  • 2/3 cup finely chopped peeled ripe mango
  • 1/4 cup chopped green onions
  • 1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
  • 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro
  • the juice of one lime
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
  • 1/2 can black beans, rinsed
  • 8 oz sour cream
  • 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
  • the juice and zest of 1/2 a lime
  • 8 (6-inch) corn tortillas

Continue reading Cumin Spiced Fish Tacos with Avocado Mango Salsa

Black Bean Mango Salsa on Jalapeno Parmesan Crisps

You can never have too many quick appetizers on hand. I am loving the Kitchen Table Makers Crisps. I already did one post on the Rosemary Parmesan Crisps, so it was time to get a little spicy. I used Kitchen Table Makers Jalapeno Parmesan Crisps and topped it with a yummy Black Bean Mango Salsa. The original recipe had jalapenos within the salsa, but after tasting the Crisps, I decided they had enough heat that the additional jalapeno might be too much. If you’re a huge spice fan, feel free to add a bit of chopped jalapeno to the salsa.
Ingredients:
  • 1 can (15 oz.) black beans, rinsed and drained
  • 1 firm, ripe mango, diced
  • 1  tomato cored and chopped
  • 1 orange bell pepper, diced
  • 1 yellow bell pepper, diced
  • 1/4 of an onion, diced
  • 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
  • 1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
  • the juice of 2 limes plus zest
  • Salt, to taste
  • Jalapeno Crisps

Continue reading Black Bean Mango Salsa on Jalapeno Parmesan Crisps

Black Bean Tostadas

Tostada normally refers to any meal in which a tortilla is deep fried or toasted. They were originally in response to tortillas that had started to get stale but could still be eaten. The toasted or fried tortilla is topped with beans, cheese, sour cream, lettuce, onions, salsa and then topped off with chicken or pork. Today, you can find all types of tostadas: seafood, vegetarian, vegan, etc.I found a recipe for a quick tostada in the Cooking Light Fresh Foods Superfast  cookbook and altered it a bit to remove most pre-made products (I don’t usually get to supermarkets). The result was still a quick and really delicious weeknight meal.

Ingredients:
1 can of black beans
5 tablespoons fresh salsa
3 tablespoons chopped cilantro
1/8 cup reduced-fat sour cream
1/8 cup chopped cilantro
2 tablespoons water
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 8-inch flour tortillas
Cooking spray
3/4 cup shredded Romaine lettuce
1/2 an avocado, sliced

Preheat the broiler.
Drain and rinse the black beans. Add to a saute pan coated in cooking spray. Heat on medium heat, pressing on the black beans so they mush a bit.
Add the salsa. If you do not have time to make your own salsa, you can pick up fresh salsa at the supermarket or specialty grocery stores. Add the chopped cilantro and stir.
Cook for 2 minutes until heated through. Remove from heat. Combine the sour cream, cilantro, water and pepper in a separate bowl.
Shred the lettuce and slice the avocado.
When the broiler is preheated. Spray the tortillas on each side with cooking spray and add two tortillas to a cookie sheet. Broil for two minutes or until charred. Mine puffed up a bit in the oven, so I just pushed down the center to make room for the beans.
Add the beans evenly to each tortilla.
Top with lettuce.
Drizzle with the sour cream mixture.
Top with avocado.
This was so satisfying! I loved the crunch of the tortilla to contrast the creaminess of the filling.

If the salsa is pre-made or store bought, this is a really quick meal, about 15-20 minutes from start to finish.

I loved the flavor, but this could certainly handle a little bit of heat, maybe some chopped jalapeno mixed in with the salsa.

After a bite or two, I went back to the salsa and added another tablespoon to my tostada to give it a bit more flavor. If you like salsa, I suggest doing this.

This could easily be altered to use chopped beef or sauteed chicken if you’d like. However, it was absolutely delicious with the black beans.

Sriracha Deviled Eggs

My little sister loves deviled eggs. She loves them to such an extreme, that we chose a restaurant (Supper in Philadelphia) during Restaurant Week solely because they were known for their amazing deviled eggs of the day. (The rest of their food is awesome too, definitely worth checking out). During Restaurant Week, they were offering their Sriracha Deviled Eggs, which my sister devoured. So when I was offered to try Land O’Lakes eggs through the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program, I knew I wanted to make them for her. Luckily, Supper took the guesswork out for me and shared their recipe with Meal Ticket a few years back.
Land O’Lakes eggs come from hens that are fed an all-vegetable, whole-grain diet with no animal by-products.
Courtesy of Land O’Lakes
Although I primarily use eggs for baking or as an ingredient in a larger dish, I wanted to highlight the eggs for this recipe.
Ingredients:
6 Land O’Lakes eggs, hard boiled and halved
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 teaspoon Dijon
2 teaspoons Sriracha
The juice from 1/2 a lime
The zest from 1/2 a lime
1 teaspoon chopped cilantro

Fill a large bowl with ice water. To hard-boil the eggs, add 6 eggs to a large pasta pot. Cover with 1 inch of water and bring to a boil. Boil for 8 minutes uncovered. Remove with a slotted spoon and add to the iced water for 30 seconds and remove. To crack the eggs, roll back and forth on the counter and peel the shell off of the egg.
Halve the eggs.
Scoop out the yolks and transfer them to a bowl. I used a half teaspoon so that the spoon was smaller than the yolks. They are pretty easy to kind of pop out.
Use a fork to mash the yolks. Add the mayo, Dijon, Sriracha, lime juice, zest, and cilantro to the yolks.
Mix to combine, try to work out any chunks that may remain, you want it as smooth as possible. Add the mixture to a ziplock bag. If you have a pastry tip, feel free to use it. If not, just cut off one of the corners and squeeze the mixture into each egg white.
Garnish with chopped cilantro and a sprinkle of paprika.
I’m not a huge fan of hard-boiled eggs, so I let my sister and friends be the judge of these eggs. When I asked my sister what needed to be changed, she told me nothing, she loved them just the way they were.
My friends managed to eat a dozen deviled eggs within minutes! Some even said they were some of the best deviled eggs they’ve had –they clearly haven’t been to Supper yet.  🙂
The Sriracha adds some heat to the eggs but is not too spicy. The lime flavor does shine through, so if you are not a fan of lime, cut out the zest (the original recipe did not have zest in it).
Print
Sriracha Deviled Eggs

Total Time: 20 minutes

Yield: 12 servings

Ingredients

  • 6 Land O’Lakes eggs, hard boiled and halved
  • 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
  • 1 teaspoon Dijon
  • 2 teaspoons Sriracha
  • The juice from 1/2 a lime
  • The zest from 1/2 a lime
  • 1 teaspoon chopped cilantro

Instructions

  1. Fill a large bowl with ice water. To hard-boil the eggs, add 6 eggs to a large pasta pot. Cover with 1 inch of water and bring to a boil. Boil for 8 minutes uncovered. Remove with a slotted spoon and add to the iced water for 30 seconds and remove. To crack the eggs, roll back and forth on the counter and peel the shell off of the egg.
  2. Halve the eggs.
  3. Scoop out the yolks and transfer them to a bowl. I used a half teaspoon so that the spoon was smaller than the yolks. They are pretty easy to kind of pop out.
  4. Use a fork to mash the yolks. Add the mayo, Dijon, Sriracha, lime juice, zest, and cilantro to the yolks.
  5. Mix to combine, try to work out any chunks that may remain, you want it as smooth as possible. Add the mixture to a ziplock bag. If you have a pastry tip, feel free to use it. If not, just cut off one of the corners and squeeze the mixture into each egg white.
  6. Garnish with chopped cilantro and a sprinkle of paprika.
Schema/Recipe SEO Data Markup by Yummly Rich Recipes
0.1
https://icancookthat.org/2011/11/sriracha-deviled-eggs.html

Kara-Age Popcorn Shrimp

One of the best parts of starting this blog is that I get to make food outside my comfort zone. I try to make new and different recipes to expand cooking repertoire. As a member of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program, I received a box of Kikkoman Kara-Age Soy-Ginger Seasoned Coating Mix. Kara-Age (pronounced KAH-rah AH-geh) is a method used in Japan in which meat is coated in a soy sauce, garlic and ginger, dipped in flour, and fried. Although Kara-Age is typically used for chicken, I decided to try to make a “Kara-Age Popcorn Shrimp”.

Ingredients:
1 lb peeled and deveined shrimp (medium or small)
1 package Kikkoman Kara-Age Mix
1/3 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon chopped cilantro
1 teaspoon chopped mint
Juice from 1/2 a lemon

Heat the oil in a saute pan over medium heat. Depending on the size of your saute pan, you may need more or less oil- you want about 1/4 inch of vegetable oil in the pan. Heat the oil to 350 degrees.
Pour the package of Kikkoman Kara-Age Mix into a plastic bag.  Add the shrimp to the bag, seal the bag, and shake well to coat each piece of shrimp evenly.
Remove shrimp from the bag and discard the remaining mix.
Pan-fry 6-8 shrimp at a time in the hot oil for about 2 minutes per side, or until shrimp is cooked.
Remove from the pan and drain on a paper towel.
Repeat with remaining shrimp.  Squeeze lemon juice over the cooked shrimp and sprinkle with chopped cilantro and mint. Serve hot.
I tend to think all fried things taste the same. Well, Kikkoman just proved me wrong. The soy-ginger flavor still shines through the crispy fried coating and delivers awesome flavor. The cilantro-mint-lemon topping adds even more flavor to the dish without competing with the seasoning.
This can be served as an appetizer, or as a meal. I love how quick this was, probably 10 minutes in total to prepare and make. Very little effort for a whole lot of flavor!
To make this recipe healthier, instead of frying the shrimp, broil them on a sheet coated in olive oil. Spray the shrimp with cooking spray before broiling.

Vegan Chilled Corn Soup

I had a realization a few days ago that summer is almost over. And the end of summer means the winding down of fresh ingredients. So for the next few weeks, I am going to try to make meals that really highlight all of those in season vegetables (like my post about Fettuccine with Fresh Tomato Sauce). For seasonal recipes, Cooking Light continues to be my go-to magazine. Because it comes monthly, the recipes change with the seasons and freshness of produce. In the September issue, Cooking Light featured seven “Trailblazing Chefs” including recipes from some of the chefs. Chef Brandon Sharp, the executive chef of Solar located at the Solage Calistoga spa resort in the Napa Valley, has a recipe for Chilled Corn Soup that will make the most of summer corn. Plus, its also vegan and mostly fat free, win!
Ingredients (makes 6 servings):
4 large ears shucked corn
4 tablespoons canola oil
3/4 cup chopped onion
6 sprigs fresh thyme, tied in a bundle
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
1 garlic clove, minced
3 cups water
1/2 cups diced peeled avocado
1/2 cup diced radish
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper

Begin by shucking your corn. You can buy already shucked corn in the supermarket which will work just fine, just don’t use frozen corn kernels for this recipe. Prepare some of your ingredients: chop the onion, mince the garlic and bundle the thyme.
Using a knife, cut the kernels from the ears of corn. Using the dull side of the knife blade, run the knife back over the cobs to remove the remaining pulp and corn starch from the cobs into a separate bowl.
Heat oil in a saute pan over medium heat. Add the chopped onions, tied thyme, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. It’s best to tie the thyme for easy removal later.
Reduce the heat to medium low and cover. Cook for 8 minutes or until the onions have softened, stirring occasionally. Add the corn kernels and minced garlic, cover, and cook for 4 minutes.
Add the corn starch/pulp, water and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt.
Turn the heat to medium-high and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and discard the thyme. Pour half of the corn mixture into a blender.
Remove the center piece of the blender lid so that the steam can escape. Place a clean towel or paper towel over the hole in the blender lid to avoid splatters, and blend until smooth. Strain the mixture through a sieve into a large bowl.
Using a spoon, push the liquid through the sieve and discard the solids.
Repeat with the remaining half of the corn mixture. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours.
When you are ready to serve the corn soup, dice the avocado and radishes, and chop the cilantro. Add to a bowl. Squeeze the lime juice over the avocado and radishes. Be sure to get it on all pieces so that they don’t oxidize and turn colors. Add the ground red pepper and mix to combine.
To serve, ladle 1 cup soup into each of 6 bowls, top with 2 tablespoons of the avocado mixture.
The soup was so creamy and smooth, it tasted like it was made with heavy cream. The corn starch/pulp thickens the broth which gives it that creamy quality. The radishes added a nice crunch to the dish, and the avocados add a bit more creaminess and a little bit of good fats to make the dish more filling. I loved the cilantro, it enhances the other flavors. What a delicious soup!

Avocado-Corn Chowder with Rotisserie Chicken

I swear, every single recipe I’ve come across in the past week has included avocado. I am somewhat blaming one of my coworkers, who manages to consume at least 1/2 an avocado a day, every day. So this recipe choice is very much influenced by her avocado obsession. My CSA share’s inclusion of corn this week made this a must try. I adapted this from Cooking Light‘s August Issue.

 

Ingredients:
2 ripe avocados, divided
1 1/2 cups water
The juice of 1 lemon
The juice of 2 limes
1 teaspoon honey
1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
A pinch of ground red pepper
1/4 rotisserie chicken, shredded
Corn kernels from 3 ears of corn (or 1.5 cups of defrosted corn kernels)
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1/3 cup chopped scallions
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Peel and chop 1 avocado and put into a blender.

 

Add the water, lemon and lime juice, honey, 3/4 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, and pinch of red pepper. (Add more red pepper if desired) Blend until smooth.

 

Place in the freezer for 15 minutes. During this time, chop your red bell pepper, scallions, and cilantro, and peel and dice your remaining avocado. Shred the chicken as finely as you choose.

 

Combine the diced avocado, bell pepper, corn and scallions and pour the avocado puree over the mixture. Mix to combine. Spoon into four bowls and top with chicken and cilantro.

 

This meal is too easy to not try. Using frozen corn kernels and rotisserie chicken makes this a 20 minute meal. I made this the night before in the hopes of having it for lunch the next day. I was a bit worried that it might oxidize overnight and turn an unappealing color, but the citrus from the lemon and lime kept that from happening. The original recipe uses orange juice instead, but that didn’t sound all that appealing to me. I also substituted rotisserie chicken for grilling my own chicken because I had bought 1/2 a rotisserie chicken to make another dish from Cooking Light also.

 

I loved that the citrus came through in the dish, but could have used a bit more red pepper flakes. This is a very chunky chowder, which makes it feel like a real meal versus a too smooth soup. My coworker even tried a bite, and she approved. I will be making this for lunch again in the near future!

Fried Rice with Sweet Soy Sauce

I really try to make an effort to bring my lunch to work each day. My office is absolutely freezing, so I tend to gravitate towards warm lunches. Because of this, I am always looking for new pasta and rice recipes that sound like they would reheat well and still taste good. As usual, Cooking Light came to the rescue with the August issue’s Fried Rice with Sweet Soy Saucerecipe. I made all four servings so that I could have a batch for dinner, and get a few lunches out of it.

 

Ingredients for Fried Rice:
3 tablespoons peanut oil, divided
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
3 finely chopped shallots
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 serrano chile, seeded and chopped
4 cups cooked  rice
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 thinly sliced daikon radish
1/3 cup fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced
1/3 cup fresh mint leaves
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
4 lime wedges
Ingredients for sweet soy sauce:
1/4 cup lower-sodium soy sauce (or coconut aminos to make gluten free)
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar (The original recipe used dark brown sugar. I didn’t have any. Oh well)

Begin by cooking your rice. You can just cook the rice in water because the soy sauce will add plenty of taste, no need to waste your chicken broth.

 

While your rice is cooking. prepare your shallots, garlic and chile. I am a wimp about heat and serraro chile can really be hot, so I removed all seeds before chopping. If you like spicy food, keep the seeds in.

 

Slice your daikon radish. I used a mandoline slicer.

 

Prepare your herbs.

 

To make the sweet soy sauce, combine the soy sauce and brown sugar in a saucepan. Heat over medium heat. Simmer for 2 minutes or until the brown sugar is incorporated into the soy sauce. Set aside.
Add 4 eggs to a bowl and lightly beat.

 

Add 1 tablespoon peanut oil to a large saute pan over medium-high heat, swirling to coat the bottom of the pan. Pour eggs into the pan and cook for 2 minutes or until they set. Remove and set aside.

 

Increase the heat to high and add 2 tablespoons peanut oil to the pan. Add your shallots, garlic and chile and saute for 1 minute.

 

Add the cooked rice and cook for 3 minutes or until lightly browned.

 

Add cooked eggs and soy sauce mixture.

Season with salt and pepper and mix to coat. Add to bowls and top with radish and herbs. Serve with a lime wedge.

 

This meal was really tasty, not only the first time around but also when reheated. The serrano pepper gave a subtle heat to the whole dish which counteracted the sweetness of the soy sauce, great combination! When I packed it for lunch, I kept the rice mixture in one container and a few radish slices,herbs , and a lime wedge in another container. I heated the rice in the microwave and topped them with the radish slices and herbs, then squeezed the lime juice over the whole dish. Perfect!

Cilantro Lime Hummus

I can never have enough hummus, it is one of my favorite snacks (although I tend to eat so much of it, it’s not really a snack!) I’ve had hummus on the brain for a while now. Be Well Philly must have read my mind, because they posted this great Cilantro Lime hummus recipe that I just had to try. As a plus, cilantro came in my CSA share this week!

Ingredients:

  • 1 garlic scape, roughly chopped (or 2 cloves garlic)
  • 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 14-oz. can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup tahini
  • 1/2 bunch fresh cilantro
  • Juice and zest of 2 limes

Continue reading Cilantro Lime Hummus

Portobello and Black Bean Quesadillas

I have been really panicking about using all of my CSA ingredients this week. I am headed to the beach next week and can’t stand the idea of these ingredients going to waste! Thankfully, Cooking Light had a recipe that incorporated a lot of the ingredients I received this week.

Ingredients:
4 flour tortillas
Cooking spray
2 portobello caps, chopped
2 tablespoons balsamic vinaigrette (recipe below)
1 cup black beans, rinsed and drained
1 teaspoon minced green chilis
1 cup  preshredded 4-cheese Mexican blend cheese
1/4 cup chopped red onions
Fresh Salsa
Sour Cream, optional

 

Ingredients for the balsamic vinaigrette:
(you’ll have some leftover for a salad later)
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2-3 cloves of garlic, minced (I used 1 garlic scape… came with my CSA share)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup olive oil

To make the vinaigrette, add the vinegar, garlic, salt, and pepper to a bowl and whisk until the salt dissolves. Add the oil in a slow steady stream, whisking constantly. You can also just add the ingredients to a jar and shake to combine.
 
Place your tortillas on a plate and cover with a damp paper towel. Microwave for 1 minute and leave in the microwave while preparing the rest of the dish.
Cook your mushrooms in a saute pan coated with cooking spray. If you don’t have cooking spray, use a bit of olive oil, maybe a teaspoon. Saute the mushrooms for 2 minutes, or until tender.
Add the vinaigrette, black beans, onions and green chile. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes, until the liquid evaporates. Mash the mixture slightly. If you have a potato masher, Cooking Light suggests using that. I don’t, so a fork will have to do!

Spoon 1/4 of the mixture onto each tortilla.

Divide the cheese equally among the tortillas.

Fold the tortillas in half.
I have a panini grill/griddle, so I used that to cook the quesadillas. If you do not have one, just use the same saute pan you used to make the black bean mixture, just wipe it down well before! Coat with cooking spray and place two quesadillas on the griddle/pan. Cook 2 to 3 minutes on each side or until the cheese is melted. If using a griddle, I cooked them for about 5 minutes.  Repeat with remaining quesadillas.
Cut each quesadilla into three wedges. Serve with salsa and sour cream.

 

I was afraid this wouldn’t have much flavor, but the vinaigrette and slight spice from the green chilies added just enough interest without going over the top.  I couldn’t get enough of this dish!  The salsa was a perfect complement as well. I am definitely adding this to my list of repeat meals.

 

Exit mobile version