Who said you can only cook cabbage on St. Patties day? Not me.

Corned Beef & Cabbage

Since I had to work last Saturday, I decided that I would make a delayed St. Patrick's Day meal. This meal is only a few ingredients and it was made in the crock pot (my favorite!), which made it a very simple yet delicious meal.

Ingredients:

1 lb Corned Beef w/ packet of seasoning

5 red potatoes

5 carrots

1/2 head of cabbage

1 can of beer

Place the potatoes and carrots at the bottom of the crock pot and add the beef on top. Fill crock pot with beer and water so that the meat is covered with liquid. Cook for 8 hours on low. Add cabbage after 8 hours and cook on high for last hour.

Experience?

Very simple to make. The meat makes the dish a little salty, so I might not add the whole packet of seasoning that comes with the corned beef next time and instead add my own herbs and seasonings.

Sunday Special

Lemony Quinoa Tabbouleh

• 1 cup quinoa (well rinsed and drained)
• 1.5 cups water
• 3/4 cup parsley (finely chopped)
• 4 scallions (thinly sliced crosswise)
• 1/2 avocado sliced
• 1/4 cup kalamata olives
• 1 cup grape tomatoes or cherry tomatoes (halved)
• 2 tablespoons fresh mint(minced)
• 1/2 (about 2 tablespoons)lemon (juiced)
• 1 large clove garlic (pressed)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Cayenne pepper (to taste)
• Salt and pepper (to taste)
• Combine quinoa and water in a medium saucepan; bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and cook on medium-low for 20 minutes, or until all water is absorbed and quinoa is fluffy. Transfer to a plate to cool.
• Combine parsley, scallions, tomatoes, avocado, olives and mint in a medium bowl; stir in cooled quinoa. In a small bowl, whisk together lemon juice and garlic. Whisk in olive oil and season to taste with cayenne pepper, salt and pepper. Pour dressing over quinoa mixture and toss well. Refrigerate for 1–2 hours and serve chilled.
• Experience?
  A very refreshing and light meal to start off the spring months. Next time I would make sure to have a glass of Pinot Grigio to balance out the spice of the cayenne in the dish. FYI - really any herb would working this dish, so whatever is in the garden just toss it in!

TGFP (Thank goodness for potlucks)

Thanks to Chester delicious Poblano Soup Recipe! (added cream cheese and pepper jack cheese to recipe)

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Roasted-Poblano-Cream-Soup-104696

How to freeze bread

Freezing bread:

• Cook bread normally
• After bread cools, wrap it in heavy-duty foil and place in a zip lock freezer bag
• To serve: remove bread from bag, but leave it wrapped in foil and thaw at room temperature for a few hours
• Reheat (still in foil) at 300 degrees for 10 to 30 minutes

Middle East Meets Mediterranean Sea

Dinner last night: 

Pita with hummus, babaganoush, tabouleh, cucumbers, and feta cheese accompanied by red lentil soup.

Tabouleh 

3 cups of finely chopped flat leaf parsley

1/2 cup of finely chopped mint

1 onion

2 tomatoes chopped into small cubes

½ cup of fine burghul or I used quinoa

1/2 cup lemon juice

4 tbs olive oil

Salt and Pepper

Soak the burghul in cold water for 1/2 an hour then drain. Mix all the ingredients together, taste and adjust seasoning if needed. Serve with lettuce leaves .

Experience?

I didn't have any burghul so I used cooked quinoa and it worked well.  Would suggest trying to chop the parsley up in the food processor because chopping it up with a knife took a long time.  Really tasty and fresh!

Lentil Soup

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup finely chopped onion

1/2 cup finely chopped carrot

1/2 cup finely chopped celery

1 pound lentils, picked and rinsed

1 cup peeled and chopped tomatoes 

4 cups vegetable broth 

1 tablespoon ground cumin 

1 teaspoon thyme

1 lime

Salt/Pepper

Directions

Place the olive oil into a large 6-quart pot and set over medium heat. Once hot, add the onion, carrot, celery and salt and sweat until the onions are translucent, approximately 6 to 7 minutes. Add the lentils, tomatoes, broth, thyme, cumin, salt, pepper and lime juice and stir to combine. Increase the heat to high and bring just to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover and cook at a low simmer until the lentils are tender, approximately 35 to 40 minutes.  Pour soup in a blender and puree to your preferred consistency. Serve immediately.

Experience?

Very filling.  The dish had a good flavor but was very thick so I would suggest to add some extra liquid, either water or vegetable broth.

Babaganoush

2 large eggplants – whole

6 tablespoons lemon juice

4 heaped tablespoons tahini 

3 cloves garlic – minced

½ teaspoon salt

1 sprig Italian parsley – as garnish

1 teaspoon sesame seeds

1 tablespoon olive oil

           Pierce each side of the eggplants with a fork. Place the whole eggplants in the oven and roast them for about 25 minutes turning them over 2 or 3 times.  (The eggplants are done when the outer shell is blackened or charred, and the inside is soft.)  Allow to cool a little bit. Cut the eggplants open lengthwise with a knife, and scoop out the pulp with a spoon. Put the pulp in a mixing bowl and mash it into a puree with a fork or blender. Discard the skin.  If you use a food processor, be careful not to liquidize the eggplant pulp.  Add crushed garlic, salt, sesame seeds, the lemon juice and the tahini alternately to the mix.  Garnish the baba ganoush with chopped parsley or parsley leaves.  Serve chilled or at room temperature with pita bread or crackers.

Experience?

            This was my first attempt at making babaganoush, so it definitely needs perfecting.  It was missing some flavor, but I couldn't put my finger on it.  It was good when I mixed the tabouleh, hummus, and babganoush together.

Pita with tabouleh and hummus

After having a 3 hour layover in Detroit airport, I feel like I know the ins and outs of the shops and restaurants there.  After scoping everything out for about an hour, I finally ended up at this mediterranean grill... simple pita wrap, but as always, mediterranean food is always a hit with me.

-tabouleh
-hummus
-pita

Experience?
I am going to expand on this idea tonight and probably add in some kalamata olives, feta cheese, and possibly grill up some vegetables to go along with it.  Will update tomorrow how the improvisation goes!

Roasted pepper and turkey sandwich

-Fresh roasted red, yellow, and orange peppers from the italian market in Pennsylvania.
- French roll
- Deli turkey
- Sharp cheese

Toasted to perfection!

Making a sandwich like this made me realize why I get so upset when I go to a restaurant and get a weak tasting sandwich...  With just a few ingredients a simple turkey sandwich can be made great!