Cauliflower Fried Rice

A simple and healthy side dish, or even a main dish, if you like.

I start with raw cauliflower that is grated in the food processor, or by hand. Use the big grater attachment, you want some bigger pieces and not tiny bits.

First, get all your ingredients ready to go ahead of time, do not assemble as you go as you will end up with over cooked fried rice!

Serves about 4

Ingredients

• 2 tsp sesame oil
• 1-2 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 1-2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 cup celery, small dice
• 1/2 cup carrots, small dic1/2 cup white onion, diced
• 2 eggs, well beaten
• 4 cups fresh cauliflower, grated
• 1/2 cup Ham, small dice (optional)
• 1/2 cup Bacon, diced (optional)
• 1/4 cup green onions, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup frozen green peas, thawed
• 2-3 Tbsp soy sauce

Other optional items/substitutions

• 1/2 cup broccoli, very small florets
• 1/2 cup red bell pepper, diced small

Over medium high heat in a large non-stick skillet, add the sesame oil, vegetable oil and bacon (if using), use it to saute the celery, carrots and carrots until they start to soften a bit and the bacon is cooked, about 5 minutes.  Add the garlic and heat until just soft, about another 2-3 minutes. I add the well beaten eggs to the veggies and mix to 'scramble'.  You can make the scrambled eggs big or small by stirring more, it's up to you.  Add the raw cauli rice, the ham (if using) then the green onions and peas.  Stir to "fry" the mixture, and adjust seasoning with soy sauce.  You can add salt and pepper, if desired.

Try not to over cook the cauliflower rice, as it will start to lose moisture and make your fried rice soggy.

You can serve along side some grilled meat or fish, or even a Chinese stir fry.

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Greek Green Lentil Salad

I had this salad years ago at a Greek restaurant in Vancouver BC (The Greek by Anatoli) and loved it so much. I am not sure if this is 100% the same, but this is what I dreamed up over the years thinking about it.  It has all my favorite flavors!

I finally made this for a party at my house for my birthday. Lots of friends and family came and brought other Greek goodies to share, so it wasn't too hard to host my own party.

I bought my green French lentils in bulk, they are my favorite! I think other lentils would work too.  I just simmer the lentils in water until they are tender, then drain and add them in.  They do tend to swell quite a bit, so be careful that you don't cook too many.  If you do (like I did), you can freeze them to add to soups, or toss with roasted veggies for a nice side dish.  You could even saute them with some butter and spices and make a nice 'bed' for a piece of grilled fish, chick or pork.

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

• 1 cup green lentils, cooked and drained (cooled)
• 1 cup of cherry tomatoes
• 1 can of garbanzo beans, drained
• 2 cups of arugula (or spinach)
• 3/4 cup of feta, crumbled
• 2-3 Tbsp parmesan cheese
• Juice of one lemon
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Since I was prepping this ahead of time, I added everything to the bowl except the arugula and put it in the fridge.  When we were ready for dinner, it was easy to add the arugula and give everything a toss. I tasted to make sure the seasoning was right, and served it right away.

Here is it is all tossed and ready to serve. It lasted well on the buffet and there weren't any leftovers.

Since this was a Greek party for my birthday, I wanted to share our outfits and back drop.  In case  you're wondering why I am wearing pink star glasses... well, I have to admit it was actually a Mamma Mia Greek party.  We had a blast and it was a fun way to usher in my 60th year.  Singing and dancing until 3am almost killed me, hahaha, but a great time was had by all.

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Black eyed Pea Salad with Lime, Cumin & Cilantro

This salad came to be while I was making another salad, the Spanish Chickpea and Tuna salad I posted yesterday.  While I was cutting up the veggies, I started thinking of the bag of frozen black eyed peas that I had thawed, that was sitting in the fridge waiting for me to become inspired. I didn't intend to blog this one, but it was so good I had to share. Sorry for the lack of photos here.

Making two salads at once it a real time saver, and on a hearty salad like this one, and the one from yesterday, they are good keepers for your lunches, plus they are very healthy!

NOTE(S):

• While I used frozen black eyed peas for this, I suggest the canned for this recipe.  I think they are a bit more tender and flavorful.

• Also, I had some leftover smoked chicken breasts in the fridge, which I cubed up and threw into the salad when someone requested a "meaty" salad.
• Other veggies would be good too... tomatoes, jalapenos, cucumbers.  What have you got, what do you like?

Makes about 5 cups
Ingredients

2 cans (15 oz) black eyed peas, drained and rinsed.
1/3 cup cilantro, chopped
1/2 cup bell pepper, diced small (I used a combo of yellow and red)
1/4 cup red or white onions (or even green onions)
Juice of 1-2 limes (about 2 Tbsp) 
2 Tbsp oil (olive or vegetable)
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 1/2 cups of cooked chicken, diced (optional)

In a large bowl, add the black eyed peas, cilantro, peppers, onions. Combine well.  Add the lime juice, olive oil and spices.  Stir and adjust flavors with salt and pepper.  Add chicken, if using.  Allow flavors to stand and meld for 15-20 minutes before serving.


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Spanish Chickpea & Tuna Salad

I tried this dish at a tapas bar in Spain.  A quiet, unassuming bowl among many other exciting salads, in the top left of the photo below, only some of the bowl is in this shoot.  I tried some, because it looked so pretty.  I was instantly in love.

We'd been wandering all morning in this city square filled with coin, stamp and other collectibles flea market.  We'd gotten off our cruise ship early that morning, and frankly after 7 days on a cruise ship, you'd think you'd be full still?
Nope...  
Having been off the ship for five hours, we were all ready for our next meal.  There were many cute little places in the Gothic district, but it can be so hard to tell which is going to be good.  Many looks SO touristy...

This place appeared to be a chain restaurant, but it was just ready to open and we could see inside to the great looking buffet of tapas, all ready for us to check it out.  

This was a good value and easy for a group to eat so that everyone got exactly what they wanted.

Some of the dishes... seafood paella

Potato tortilla on a slice of bread with a hot pepper, interesting!

Spanish Meatballs

But, onto the recipe for that salad I talked about earlier!

Serves 5, makes about 5 cups

Ingredients

    

2 cans chick-peas, drained and rinsed

Salt, to taste for the chickpeas

Fresh ground black pepper, to taste

1⁄4 cup extra virgin olive oil (to taste)

1 (6 ounce) can tuna, drained and broken into large flakes

1/4 cup red onion, diced

1/4 cup red or yellow bell pepper, diced small (I used a bit of both)

1/4 cup cucumber, diced small
1/4 cup celery, diced small

1⁄4 cup red wine vinegar (to taste)

3 Tbsp chopped fresh Italian parsley

In a large bowl, gently toss together the chickpeas, the tuna, onion, bell pepper, the olive oil, vinegar, chopped parsley and lots of freshly ground black pepper.

Add more olive oil, vinegar, or salt and pepper as you like.

Serve slightly chilled.

If you think red onions are too strong, try this trick.  Pour boiling water over the minced onions, drain and add to the salad.  This makes them less strong, which many people object to in red onions.

 

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Tilapia with Black Beans & Kale

I know I lost some of you immediately with the title.  
Some people seem to have an unnatural dislike of both tilapia and kale.  
So, I guess they're not reading anymore, so let's not worry about them, okay?

I thawed the fish a couple of days ago, but I've been too wiped out to cook.  
To sum it all up, two nights ago, I suggested scrambled eggs instead of really making something.  My hubby acted like that was a grand idea, hence the reason I love that guy!  

The next night, ditto.... both of us exhausted.  He suggests we go have "happy hour" for dinner.  So, yep, of course that happened and we happily had street tacos, nachos and beer.

Ahem, today I planned ahead and thought through this.  
What was really easy?  
What did I have already on hand?  
What was healthy? 
Because you know... I was eating nachos, tacos and beer last night, I needed something that was good, and good for you.

Serves 2 (easy to double)
Ingredients

2 tilapia fillets
3 cups kale, chopped
1/4 cup onion, thinly slivered
1/2 cup chopped tomatoes, or canned drained tomatoes
1/2 can of black beans, rinsed and drained
2-3 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp lemon zest
Fresh lemon for serving

Preheat the oven to 375.

Cut up the onion, the tomatoes and the kale.  I did the onions quite thin, as I knew I was only going to cook them for a short time.

Kale?  I use a big knife and cut the ribs out, then I chop, chop, chop them into small pieces.

 
Add to a big bowl. Add the beans, chili pepper flakes, the lemon zest and the olive oil.  NOTE- don't add the lemon juice until serving as it sometimes makes the kale a yucky color.

Toss to coat. Add a little salt and pepper, toss again.  It's totally OK to taste it now and make sure it tastes good.

Put two large pieces of foil on the counter (about 18 inches long) and add a big pile of the "salad" kale mixture.  Top with a fillet of fish... ummm... the tilapia  (not the MacDonalds sandwichs- hehehe).  

Salt and pepper the top of the fish. Fold up the edges, making a little flat envelope, like the one pictured below.  Put on a baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes in a 375 degree oven.  

Serve at once, but be careful opening the foil it will be very, very steamy.  Serve with a big wedge of lemon.

Link to My Favorite Tilapia Recipes
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Pineapple Cucumber Salad

How about a four ingredient salad?
Yep, this one is so easy, fresh and tangy. And good for you.

I know some of you don't like cilantro, that's okay, I'd suggest substituting mint, or parsley.

This would be great for a barbecue, or a picnic, or even a weekday salad with some grilled fish.

Serves 4
Ingredients

1/2 fresh pineapple, cut into chunks
1 English cucumber (or 6 Persian cucumbers) cut into chunks
2 limes, juiced
1/3 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
Salt, to taste (optional)

Cut the pineapple and cucumbers up and put in a large serving bowl.  Chop the cilantro, add to the pineapple mixture.  Juice the limes and stir to combine.  Taste and see if you'd like to add salt.  You could add a sprinkle of sugar too.. I guess it depends on your taste buds.

Enjoy!


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Apple Parsnip Soup

I can't say this was my favorite soup. 
And you know I love soup. Love.

Everywhere I have been looking lately, I see soups with root veggies and apples.  
However, I am not sure I am a huge fan.

It's not often that I cannot salvage something and make it something yummy.  
I mean, there's always something you do to save it.  
More stock, a bit of acid (like lemon or vinegar) more salt & pepper.
But this one, this one was just too sweet for me.  My hubby refused to eat it.  
Parsnips, apples and apple cider are all sweet- combined in soup it is just too much.
Though, I did eat it, and kept thinking how I might change it if I was going to make it again.
I've made some notes below.

A couple of things I can say about this soup is that I do think that kids would really love it.  
Warm, sweet with a hint of spice.  I think they would like it.
It could also be a good with a salty, grilled ham and cheese sandwich. 

Serves about 8
Ingredients

2 Tbsp olive oil
1 cup onion
1 garlic clove
1 Tbsp curry powder
1 1/2 tsp fresh ginger, grated  
2 cups apples, peeled and chopped  (Suggest reducing to one cup instead...)
4 cups stock, vegetable or chicken
3 cups parsnip, peeled and chopped
1 cup apple cider (suggest omit this and replacing with more stock)

Saute onions and garlic for 3-5 minutes over medium heat in a dutch oven or 6 qt soup pot.  
Stir in the curry powder and fresh (or dried) ginger.
Add stock and the chopped apples and parsnips.
Cook covered, 30 minutes
Blend until smooth with a stick blender, or in batches in your regular blender.

Serve with sour cream or cream fraiche, and a sprinkling of chives or green onions.

Farro, Cherry & Walnut Salad

Farro isn't a grain that everyone knows, but it's a chewy, nutty grain that is very satisfying.
Mixed with a bit of crunch from walnuts and celery, sweetness from honey and cherries and tangy goodness from lemon and dijon mustard.  
As you can see from the photo I used whole frozen black cherries in this salad...  I just couldn't wait until next Summer to get fresh cherries! However, I must say I think this salad would also be good with other fruit like peaches, or orange sections. Use your imagination, what have you got, what do you like?

I served this at room temperature as a side dish for my Bourbon glazed chicken. It would also be great for lunches, or even as a meatless entree with a green salad, or some soup, on the side.

The original recipe came from Cooking Light in 2013.

NOTE- You can buy farro in the whole foods bulk section, or at Trader Joe's, like I did.
NOTE NOTE- Farro is not gluten free, but is more easily digestible than most wheats.

(I used the 10 minute farro from Trader Joe's but I included the instructions for regular farro)

Serves about 6-8
Ingredients

5 cups water 

1 1/2 cups uncooked farro

1/2 teaspoon salt, divided 

3/4 pound sweet cherries, pitted and halved (about 2 cups) 

2/3 cup diced celery 

1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts, toasted

1/4 cup packed fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice 

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard, whole-grain or regular

1 tablespoon honey, or agave

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 

Bring 5 cups water to a boil in a large saucepan. Add farro and 1/4 teaspoon salt to boiling water; cook 15 minutes or until al dente. Drain; cool at room temperature 15 minutes. Combine farro, cherries, celery, walnuts, and parsley in a large bowl.

Combine lemon juice, mustard, honey, pepper, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, stirring with a whisk. Gradually add oil, stirring constantly with a whisk. Pour dressing over farro mixture; toss to coat. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Need some other ideas for farro?
Farro Mushroom Risotto