Grilled sweet potato and scallion salad

I wanted to find a light recipe for the sweet potatoes. Here is one from Bobby Flay on the Food Network. I'll be following the reviewers suggestions of less vinegar and less dressing.

Ingredients

nocoupons

• 4 large sweet potatoes, par-cooked and cut into 1/2-inch slices
• 8 scallions
• 3/4 cup olive oil, divided
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 1/2 cup cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 2 teaspoons honey
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1/4 cup coarsely chopped flat-leaf parsley

Directions

Preheat grill to high. Brush potatoes and scallions with oil and arrange on grill. Grill potatoes for 3 to 4 minutes on each side, or until just tender. Grill scallions until softened and marked. Remove scallions from the grill and cut into thin slices.

In a large bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup olive oil, the mustard, vinegars, and honey. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Add potatoes, scallions, and parsley and toss until potatoes are well coated. Transfer to a platter and serve.

 **Good salad. I didn't think grilling (I have a gas grill) made much of a difference to the sweet potatoes- however, if you use a charcoal grill, I'm sure it would. Nice salad. Can't wait to try it on day two.
##It was not all that much better on day two. I won't make it again.

Warm lentil salad

This recipe comes from the Orangette blog. What a great site! I'll be serving this lentil dish with a fresh salad of greens with sliced sugar snaps on top.

French-Style Warm Lentil Salad
Adapted from Epicurious.com

This lentil salad isn’t exactly like the ones I’ve eaten in France – those were usually plainer, with just vinaigrette and flecks of raw shallot – but I like it just as much. (And – bonus! – it doesn’t leave me with shallot breath.) It also keeps and reheats well, and it tastes even better the next day, which makes it perfect weekday lunch material.

1 cup French green (also known as “Puy”) lentils, picked over and rinsed
3 cups water
1 Turkish bay leaf
½ tsp. salt, divided
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 medium carrot, finely chopped
1 celery stalk, finely chopped
2 medium garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp finely chopped fresh thyme
5 Tbsp. olive oil, divided
2 Tbsp. plus ½ tsp. red wine vinegar
½ Tbsp. Dijon mustard
Crunchy sea salt, for serving
2 Tbsp. finely chopped Italian parsley, for serving

In a medium saucepan, bring the lentils, water, and bay leaf to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, until almost tender, about 15 minutes. Stir in ¼ teaspoon salt, and then simmer, covered, for another 3 to 5 minutes, until tender but not falling apart.

While the lentils simmer, warm 1 tablespoon of the oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-low heat. Add the onion, carrots, celery, garlic, thyme, and 1/8 teaspoon salt, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are just softened, about 7 to 9 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the vinaigrette. In a small bowl, whisk together 2 tablespoons vinegar, mustard, and remaining 1/8 teaspoon salt. Add the remaining 4 tablespoons olive oil, and whisk to emulsify.

When the lentils are ready, drain them in a colander or sieve, and discard the bay leaf. Dump them into the skillet with the vegetables, and add the vinaigrette. Cook over low heat, stirring gently, until heated through. Stir in the remaining ½ tsp. vinegar, and serve warm, with crunchy salt and parsley for sprinkling.

Yield: 4 side-dish servings

 **Great salad. Easy to make. Should have put the parsley in it. I will next time!
##Keeper. 

Steamed greens with sweet sesame dressing

Although this recipe calls for spinach, I will be trying it with the asian greens we get this week.
The recipe comes from a site in New Zealand- Ruth Pretty. I'll be serving it with marinated tempeh cut into thin strips, marinated in the teriyaki marinade from last week.

Ingredients

90g (1/2 cup) sesame seeds
90ml(6 tbsp) soy sauce
18g (1 + 1/2 tbsp) sugar

90ml (6 tbsp) mirin
salt and freshly ground pepper
750g spinach leaves (destalked)

Method

• To make Sweet Sesame Dressing: Place sesame seeds into a dry frying pan and toast till they are golden. Place sesame seeds into a mortar (or food processor fitted with a metal blade) with enough soy sauce so that seeds can be crushed with a pestle to resemble a paste. Add remaining soy sauce, sugar and mirin and mix to combine. Season to taste. Cover and refrigerate till required.
• Fill a steamer base with water and bring to the boil. Add spinach to steamer basket and steam for 3-4 minutes or till tender but still bright green. Drain well.
• Place dressing into a small non-reactive saucepan and, over gentle heat, bring to the boil. Simmer for 1-2 minutes or till dressing thickens. 

 
 










** I liked this dish. It was easy to make and the greens were delicious the next day with the sauce. One of my daughters loved the tempeh.

Leftover Steak and Vege soft tacos

Needing a light meal using left over steak. Found this one.

STEAK AND VEGETABLE SOFT TACOS

by Russell Skall, Fleming's Executive Chef

PREPARATION TIME: 15-20 minutes

INGREDIENTS

3 Tbsp. red onion, diced

3 Tbsp. green pepper, diced

2 tsp. jalapeños, finely diced

2 Roma tomatoes, diced

1 tsp. garlic, minced

1/2 tsp. Kosher salt

1/2 tsp. black pepper, fine grind

2 tsp. fresh lime juice

2 tsp. apple cider vinegar

1 TBS. extra virgin olive oil

5-6 oz. leftover steak

1 cup shredded lettuce

7-8 cilantro leaves

4 flour tortillas

Taco sauce to taste

PREPARATION

Cut the red onion and pepper into ¼-inch dice and place in a mixing bowl. Cut the jalapeño in half and remove the stem and seeds. Mince and add to the mixing bowl with diced tomatoes and minced garlic. Add the Kosher salt, black pepper, lime juice, vinegar and 1 tsp. olive oil to the mixing bowl and mix well. Allow to marinate for 20 minutes. Cut the leftover meat into ¼-inch dice, then season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Place 2 tsp. olive oil in a small sauté pan on high heat. Add the meat and sear 1-2 minutes. Place the warm steak in a clean bowl and reserve. Place the sauté pan back on the high heat with a little olive oil. Cook the vegetables for 2-3 minutes to soften. Place in clean bowl and reserve. Place some of the meat in the middle of a tortilla, then top with some of the vegetables and shredded lettuce. Pull the cilantro leaves off the stem and place on top. Finish with your favorite sauce. Fold the tortillas and serve. Makes 4 tacos.

* I won't be using bell peppers or the cilantro. We'll use spelt tortillas. I'll be using my pickled jalapenos that I canned last summer.  Daughter One's plate Daughter Two's plate **These were great. Easy to make.

Pineapple Fried Rice

I adapted this recipe from the cookbook called Fresh: Healthy Cooking and Living from Lake Austin Spa Resort. Make sure the rice is cold or it will be too gummy.


1 C diced onions
1 1/2 T minced fresh ginger
4 C cooked rice
1 C shredded carrot
1 C minced pineapple
2 eggs, beat lightly
1/2 t salt
4 green onions, chopped
1 green chili, chopped

In a wok, add some oil and fry the garlic, just until it begins to color. Add the onion and ginger; saute for a few seconds. Add the rice, carrot, and pineapple; stir- fry for a minute or two. Add the onions and chili. Stir for a minute. Add the eggs and stir. Finish with salt to taste.

**So easy to make.

Oyster Mushroom and Onion Salad

I was looking for a way to use the wonderful oyster mushrooms we get from LPO. Can't wait to try this salad. I found the recipe by chance- hope it is good! I'll be adding strips of grilled beef to the recipe for some additional protein.

The secret here is to marinate the onions until they are sweet and soft. The marinade then becomes the salad dressing, with the fragrance oranges and honey. This would also work well with young almond-flavored Agaricus mushrooms like A. augustus. The recipe serves 4 as a side salad, or two as a main course.

12 oz. Pleurotis ostreatus (oyster mushrooms), coarsely sliced or whole
1 head of Romaine or leaf lettuce
1 small red or sweet onion (Walla Walla or similar), sliced in paper thin rings
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup honey
1/2 tsp. salt
Zest of 1 large orange
Juice of 1 large orange
1 Tblsp. soy sauce
4 Tblsp. sherry
1 tsp. fresh grated ginger
1 Tblsp. olive oil
2 Tblsp. rice wine
1 splash soy sauce
1 clove garlic
1 grated carrot
Marinate the onion two hours in advance. Slice the onion paper thin, separating the layers into ringlets. Place the onions in a bowl. In a small saucepan, heat the honey, red wine vinegar, salt, sherry and soy sauce until the honey is thoroughly melted and the mixture is almost boiling. Pour the liquid over the onions. Mix in the zest and the juice of one large orange. Set aside for about two hours at room temperature.

Prepare the plates for serving. Chop the lettuce into medium strips and spread onto plates. Sprinkle grated carrots over the lettuce. Place the marinated onion on top of the carrots, reserving the marinade for later.

Sauté the oyster mushrooms. In a wok or frying pan, heat a tablespoon of olive oil with a high flame, then add the chopped garlic, stirring. As soon as the garlic starts to turn slightly tan, about 30 seconds, add the mushrooms and stir to avoid burning the garlic. After about two minutes the mushrooms should be starting to sear a bit. Add the rice wine and a splash of soy sauce (to taste) and heat for a few more minutes until the mushrooms have absorbed most of the wine (the rest will evaporate.) Distribute the mushrooms onto the onions, on top of each salad, then dribble the onion marinade onto the salads as dressing. Serve immediately.

* I'll be adding several strips of grilled beef to the top of this salad.

 Salad without the beef.

Salad with the beef.
**Nice salad. The mushrooms were delicious. I liked the marinated onions as well. Easy to make.

Steamed Asian Greens with Honey Soy Sesame Dressing

This recipe looks like a nice way to eat our LPO asian greens. I paired it with the teriyaki salmon (recipe on blog). You can find this recipe on food network.

1 1/2 pounds spinach, baby bok choy, Chinese broccoli, or a combination
3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds, plus more for garnish

Pour about 1-inch of water into a wok and bring it to a boil over high heat. Put the greens into a bamboo steamer and cover. Put the steamer into the wok and steam the vegetables for about 5 minutes or until they are just tender. Meanwhile make the dressing by combining the soy sauce, vinegar, honey, oil, and 1 teaspoon sesame seeds in a small bowl. Put the cooked greens onto a serving platter, drizzle the dressing over them, and toss well to coat. Garnish with sesame seeds and serve immediately.

 **Great accompaniment to the salmon and rice. I thought the dressing was fabulous on the salmon.