Cucumber salad

I marked a couple dozen of the 101 simple salads I would like to try. I made #3 to success.

3. A nice cucumber salad. Slice seeded cukes, toss with red onions and salt. sit for 20-60min. Rinse, dry, dress with cider vinegar and dijon.

veggie tacos

Hello there, had a quick and groovy "toppings" style dinner the other night. The big star was a suggestion from Kevin to cook red lentils for 15 minutes till soft and add the taco seasoning right into the dal! The result was tasty tacos that we really enjoyed with the traditional montage of toppings i.e. sour cream, cheese, jalapenos, salsa, olives, lettuce, cilantro.

cabbage tofu etc

Always eat gơi over rice noodles, making it a light yet complete meal. (Also called rice sticks or rice vermicelli, these noodles are usually sold at Asian markets or in the Asian section of some grocery stores.) It's simple to prepare for dinner and even better as leftovers, when the ingredients have have some time to marinate.

Gơi Chay (Vietnamese Vegetarian Salad)
Serves 6

1 pound extra firm tofu
Vegetable oil
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/8 cup soy sauce
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 serrano or Thai bird pepper, deseeded and finely chopped
1 head green cabbage, shredded
2 carrots, peeled and shredded
Large handful of herbs (basil, mint, rau răm if available), coarsely chopped or torn
Rice noodles (optional)
1/2 cup peanuts, crushed

Cut tofu into bite-size pieces and press between clean kitchen towels or paper towels to rid excess water. Heat oil in a skillet and fry tofu until golden brown. Drain excess oil.

In a large bowl, combine lemon juice, soy sauce, garlic, and chili pepper. Add cabbage, carrots, herbs, and tofu to the bowl and toss to combine. Let sit for at least 15 minutes or refrigerate for up to a day before serving.

Serve the salad by itself or over cooked rice noodles and sprinkle with peanuts.

Related:

arugula, mozz, tomatoe, bread

Retrieved from a blog

ended up with:
1 pint grape tomatoes
8 bocconcini (mozzarella balls)
Ciabatta
The arugula from the fridge

I cut up the tomatoes and smushed them with my hands in a dressing of olive oil, salt, pepper and a splash each of red wine and cider vinegar (I’m out of sherry vinegar, which I prefer). Then I chopped the arugula finely and mixed that in, and let it sit for 20 minutes.

I oiled the bread and browned it in the toaster oven, then mashed the vegetables onto it, and topped with the mozzarella.

This isn’t really cooking—too simple. But it was one of the most enjoyable things I’ve eaten in a while. The vinegar gave a nice tang to complement the tomatoes and the peppery arugula, the cheese was creamy, and the prosciutto added salt and savory. Next time I’ll use regular tomatoes and chop them up smaller, to make it easier to eat.

Best of all there was just enough left over for me to eat for lunch on Monday!

japanese ginger dressing

I had this on a salad at a japanese restaurant. Ginger Dressing Recipe #98753

This recipes comes from a posting in the Summer 2004 "Disney Magazine". According to the article, this dressing has been served at the Teppanyaki Dining Rooms in Japan in Epcot since its opening in 1982. It is a nice light dressing that has become a favorite.

by ukichix

5 min | 5 min prep

SERVES 20 , 1 1/2 cups

• 1/2 cup sliced onion
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup white vinegar
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons chopped gingerroot (I use ginger paste)
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper

1. Combine all ingredients into a blender.
2. Blend on low for 1 minute, then high for 30 seconds.
3. Add additional salt or pepper to taste.
4. Chill.
5. Stir before serving on salad.

It starts with a can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed and dumped into a bowl.

a squirt of fresh lemon juice,

a swirl of olive oil,

a pinch of salt,

and some Parmigiano Reggiano.

Stirred together and chilled, it tastes like the sum of its parts – only about 200% percent better.

Taken from orangette

Taken from Brownie points--Something to try

Not only is it the best orange candy in the world, but its amazinglyhomemade.

Homemade candy this good has a catch though- it takes 2 – 3 weeks to make. So steel yourself and find that zen place of candy patience in your heart. It will be worth it, I promise.

What makes these candied orange slices better than the easier candied orange peel? These candied orange slices retain their pulpy fruit and are steeped in a sugar solution without heat. This minimal use of heat offers up an orange candy that has a more juicy, lighter fruity flavor than candied orange peels have.

Candy Orange Slices

modified version of procedure for candying fruit by Jean-Pierre Wybauw in Fine Chocolates, p70. Wybauw’s method utilizes a sugar refractometer- the following method doesn’t.

Fruit Prep:

• Clean three oranges by scrubbing under warm water.
• Slice into thin rounds. This candying method worked on all thickness of slices I tried up to 1/4 inch thick.
• The slices can be kept as circles, or cut into halves or quarters (hemi-circles and quarter-circles).

Blanching:

• Bring a pot of salted water to a boil.
• Have a bowl of ice water near by.
• Add the sliced oranges to the boiling water (may need to be done in batches depending on the size of your pot). Scoop from the boiling water when the slices float to the top and place into ice water to cool.
• When cool, drain and remove the slices from the ice water and transfer to a container large enough to hold all of the slices.

Candying:

• Bring to a boil: 1 kg of sugar and 600 g of water. This step is to just dissolve the sugar (not to cook the syrup).
• Pour the hot syrup over the orange slices. If the orange slices float, weigh them down to keep them fully submerged. Weighing down method I used the first week: placed a plate on top of the orange slices and a glass jar of water on top of the plate.
• Store the submerged orange slices in a dark cool place, like a cupboard or closet for the duration of the candying. I didn’t refrigerate them.
• Each day increase the sugar content of the orange slice sugar solution. Do this by draining off the sugar solution the slices are submerged in, add 100g of sugar, heat the solution to just dissolve the sugar, and pour back over the orange slices.
• Complete this increase-sugar step daily for two weeks.
• Notes

  • I didn’t follow the schedule as written: I skipped a couple days of the increase-sugar schedule, and just resumed the increase-sugar step when I was able to. My impression is that this recipe is not very picky about increasing the sugar each day. I think the variable of time is important though- don’t try to shorten the duration of this recipe.
  • Storage: the orange slices may be stored in the sugar solution indefinitely. No need to refrigerate, they can be stored in a cool dark place, like a cupboard.

Drying and dipping
The orange slices are removed from the sugar solution. Finishing can take multiple different routes:
arrange on a drying rack out at room temperature till less tacky, 1-2 days then

• roll in sugar (plain, vanilla, or with a touch of citric acid),
• or dip in chocolate (white, dark or milk- tempered holds up best).
• or you can do both- like in the picture: dip 3/4 of the orange slice in chocolate and sugar the exposed portion.

Storage of finished candies
In an air tight container is best to keep out humidity. I gifted these in glass canning jars or crunchy cellophane bags. The survivors of my nibbling suggest that these candies hold up well: at least a month, probably more.

Variations
The subject of your candying is the first variation that leaps to my mind. Keeping your choices in the citrus family is easy:

• lime
• lemon
• grapefruit
• buddah’s hand