Roasted veggie and quinoa salad

Ingredients

• 1 cup quinoa, well rinsed
• 2 cups chicken stock (plus additional for steaming greens)
• Fresh basil or other herbs, finely diced

• 1 red bell pepper, cut into quarters
• 1 yellow summer squash, sliced in half (remove seeds if you prefer)
• 1 large portabello mushroom, sliced into large strips
• 1/4-1/2 (depending on size) sweet onion, cut into rings
• 1-2 Roma tomatoes, sliced in half
• 2 ears corn, cooked and cut off cobb
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 cup olive oil (plus extra for greens)
• pepper

• 8 cups mustard greens, rinsed and cut into large pieces
• 1/4 cup chicken stock
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil

Preparation

1. Cook quinoa according to package directions, substituting chicken stock for water. Stir in basil or additional herbs after cooking.
2. In a large saucepan, saute garlic in 1 Tablespoon of olive oil until brown, but not burnt (You will have to watch closely). Add 1/4 cup of chicken stock to pot and top with greens. Cover and let steam for 25 minutes, or until greens are bright in color and tender.
3. Toss remaining ingredients in a large pan until evenly coated with oil and vinegar. Spread out vegetables in a single layer. Place under broiler until veggies start to char. Turn once to darken both sides. As vegetables finish you may need to remove some from the pan before others. Chop cooked vegetables into smaller pieces.
4. Layer dish starting with mustard greens, then quinoa, followed by vegetables. You may choose to add liquid from the vegetable pan or additional olive oil if dish is dry.

Barley salad

Do you like potlucks? Of course you do, who doesn't. Do you like Reser's salads? Of course you don't, NO one does! Then stop buying gross "picnic salads" from Safeway and start making delicious summer salads with veggies and grains.

Ingredients
Salad:

• 1 cup uncooked barley
• 1 1/2 cups frozen corn (or about 3 ears fresh corn)
• 1 red bell pepper, cut into small strips
• 1 green bell pepper, diced
• 1/2 cup sliced green onions

Dressing:

• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup lemon juice
• 1/4 cup cilantro
• Salt and pepper

Directions

1. Cook barley according to package directions. Drain and rinse with cold water.
2. In a large bowl, mix barley, corn, peppers, and onion.
3. Mix dressing ingredients and pour over salad. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Mandarin orange salad

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup sliced almonds
• 3 Tablespoons sugar
• 1 bag romaine lettuce
• 1 cup celery, diced
• 2 green onions, diced
• 1 can mandarin oranges

Dressing ingredients:

• dash Tobasco
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• pepper
• 1/4 cup oil
• 1 Tablespoon parsely
• 2 Tablespoons sugar
• 2 Tablespoons white wine vinegar

Directions:

In a heavy bottomed saucepan over medium heat, heat almonds and sugar until sugar dissolves and coats almonds. Stir constantly to prevent burning.

Mix dressing ingredients and pour over remaining ingredients in a large bowl.

Hippie scramble

We found this one while at a Saturday Market in Eugene. I just remember there being a lot of tie-dye, patchouli, and tofu. Needless to say, this one is a bunch of tofu, vegan, organic goodness (although it wouldn't taste bad if you threw a couple chunks of bacon in it)!

 

Ingredients:

• 1 block tofu, drained and pressed
• 1/2 yellow onion, diced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup each green bell pepper, carrots, celery, and other vegetables of choice
• 1 cup mushrooms, sliced
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme, crushed with your fingers
• soy sauce to taste
• black pepper to taste

Preparation:

Stir the spice blend together in a small cup.

Preheat a large pan over medium high heat. Saute the garlic in olive oil for about a minute. Add additional vegetables and saute until cooked to desired doneness. Break the tofu apart into bite sized pieces and saute for about 10 minutes, using a spatula to stir often. The tofu should get browned on at least one side. The water should cook out of it and not collect too much at the bottom of the ban. If that is happening, turn the heat up and let the water evaporate.

Add the spice blend and mix to incorporate. Cook for about 5 more minutes. Serve warm.

Nothin' Beets a Salad!

Dwight Schrute made us work on the farm out in Sisters for 3 weeks before he gave up this little gem. That explains why it has been awhile since our last post.

Ingredients

2-3 large red beets
1/2 cup sherry vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon agave nectar or honey
1 clove minced garlic (or less)
3/4 cup olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
1 pound spinach, chopped 
1/2 cup walnuts or hazelnuts

1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese or chevre

Directions

Heat oven to 400°F. Cut stems off beets and place on a piece of aluminum foil on a baking sheet. Make a pouch out of the foil, sealing it tightly. Bake for 40 minutes. Remove from oven and let beets steam for 10 minutes. Open pouch to cool.

Meanwhile, whisk together vinegar, mustard, honey, and garlic in a small bowl. Whisk in the oils and season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

After beets have cooled, peel off the skins and cut the beet into bite-size pieces. Mix beets with half of vinaigrette, then mix spinach with the rest of the vinaigrette. Transfer greens to plates and top with beets, walnuts, and cheese.

Stolen lentil salad

The bearded man we stole this from called this "East meets West salad." We traded some very important things for this recipe. I'm going to miss my brother...



The ingredients:
2 cups cooked lentils
2 cups grated carrots
1 bunch scallion
1/2 bunch cilantro
1 stalk celery
1 red pepper
1/2 cup sesame oil
1/2 ume plum vinegar

Mix together and enjoy!

Roasted Salsa Verde

Ingredients:
10 tomatillos (about 1 lb.)
1-2 cloves garlic, with the skin still on
2-3 serrano chilies
1/2 white onion
1/4 cup cilantro
salt

Directions:
Remove husks and wash tomatillos. Place tomatillos, whole garlic cloves, and whole serranos on a pan with edges. Place under the broiler and heat until charred on all sides.

Remove outer skin from garlic and stems from serannos. Unless you like salsa on your ceiling, allow the vegetables to cool to prevent a blender explosion. Place tomatillos, garlic, and serranos in a blender and puree until large chunks are gone. Add diced onion, cilantro, and salt to taste.

Green Chili and Corn Quesadilla

This is way basic, but also tasty.

Ingredients:
1 ear corn
1 roasted, peeled, and seeded poblano
1 cup shredded Mexican blend cheeses
4 flour tortillas

Directions:
Boil corn in water for 5 minutes or until tender. Cut corn off of ear. Chop chili into small pieces and mix with corn. Spoon corn and chili mixture onto one tortilla, top with half of cheese and remaining tortilla. Cook until golden brown.

Guiseppi’s Smoky Alfredo

Ingredients: 3 Tablespoons Butter
1 ½ cups of half and half
½ cup Smoked Gouda
1 Garlic Clove
1 Tomato
2 Green Onions
¼ cup of Basil
Salt and pepper

Preparation:
Melt butter in a wide frying pan over high heat until butter is lightly brown. Add garlic and ½ cup of half and half and boil rapidly until slightly thickened. Reduce the heat to medium, add half of the cheese and ½ cup of cream. Let cheese melt and add remaining cheese and half and half. Let cheese melt and add remaining ingredients. Serve over choice of pasta.