The Food We Eat

Indian-style Bread salad (Bread Upma)

 

This dish brings back waves of nostalgia. Growing up, bread upma was my favorite hot after-school snack. What's not to like - it has a perfect balance of sweet and salty, and just a bit of kick from the green chilis (which you can easily omit). You don't want to load this up with too many spices, or you'll completely lose the subtle flavor of the bread.

 

Growing up, mom used to make this dish to use up leftover bread, and all we had was white bread. To keep the bread from completely turning to mush, Mom used to use a healthy dose of oil (I'm sure Mom disagrees). No, I'm not complaining -- oil-fried bread? Yum! These days, I'm trying to eat a bit lighter, and I like bread with texture, so I have adapted this recipe a bit. I use day (or week) old Ciabatta bread. I love the way the bread thirstily soaks up the tomato mixture, and yet holds its integrity. Yes, leave the crust on!

As go other ingredients, I like red onions here, for color, and sweetness. Also, I think turmeric makes this dish. If you don't like it that much, use half the amount. I think skin-on spanish peanuts would be fabulous, but I didn't have any in the pantry, so I used regular split roasted, salted peanuts instead.

If you are stressed out about carbo-loading, then you can add in some more nuts. Also, a nice olive-oil fried egg on top would just be great! I hope we still have some leftovers; I know what I'll be having for breakfast.

For today, it was a perfect evening snack with a nice cup of strong Indian Chai.

Indian-style Bread salad (Bread Upma)

Serves 2 as a meal; 4 as a snack

2 tbsp olive oil

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

3 cups cubed day-old Ciabatta bread

1/2 red onion, chopped (1 cup)

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 jalapeno (or serrano) chili, diced

1 roma tomato, diced (1 cup)

1 cup frozen green peas

1/2 tsp turmeric

3/4 or 1 tsp kosher salt (depending on taste and salt-level in your bread)

2 tsp sugar

1 tbsp fresh squeezed lime juice

1/4 cup peanuts

cilantro, for garnish, and to taste

Method:

1. Heat olive oil in medium saucepan. Add cumin seeds. Fry 30 seconds. Add onion, garlic, chili, and salt. Saute 5 minutes till onions wilt and color slightly. Add turmeric. Saute 30 seconds. Add tomatoes and saute 2-3 minutes till they turn pulpy. Add sugar and green peas, cook a few more minutes.

2. Add bread cubes. Stir gently, but thoroughly to coat with the tomato-onion mixture. Saute a few minutes till bread absorbs some of the tomato pulp. Squeeze lime juice, add chopped cilantro and peanuts, stir well and serve. Pass extra lime slices on the side.

Emerald City Green Salad

This salad is inspired by the namesake at the PCC Natural Markets deli. This is a wildly popular item at the deli, and it is delicious the way they make it, but of course I always like to tweak recipes my way (not that I know the recipe they use even if I wanted to exactly duplicate it). This makes for a fantastic lunch - it is nutritionally dense and very filling.

We harvested some fresh Kale and Swiss Chard from my local CSA farm this week, and this salad is a fantastic way to use up those yummy dark greens. Kale can be tough when eaten raw, but the magic is in how you cut it. Take out the stems, stack the leaves, roll into a bundle lengthwise, and cut into thin 1/4 inch wide ribbons. Treated this way, kale tastes like a complex salad green. Do the same for the swiss chard. I do like to cook with the swiss chard stems, but I saved them for another use. But I don't like kale you whine say. Well, if it gets you to eat the salad, you could use spinach if you want in addition to, or instead of the kale or swiss chard.

Also, chopped red onion would be nice in the salad. Some chopped up fennel bulb would be awesome, but I didn't have any. As goes the cheese, I love the sharp, tangy, stinky properties of gorgonzola and I think it adds a nice punch to an otherwise earthy salad, but if you don't care for gorgonzola, you could use feta or even goat cheese. If you're vegan, you could leave out the cheese entirely. You see, the beauty of a salad is that it is  like an artists canvas. You can add in whatever color or texture you are in the mood for.

In any case, this is a wondefully filling and crunchy salad. And you just feel so damn healthy when you eat it. But most importantly, it is absolutely delicious. Do give it a try and let me know what you think.

Emerald City Green Salad

Inspired by PCC deli and Cynthia Lair

Serves 4-6

Salad:

8 Swiss chard leaves

6 Kale leaves

1 Red bell pepper

1 Orange bell pepper

1/4 cup chopped parsley

1/4 cup chopped basil

1/4 cup dried cranberries

3 cups cooked wild rice

Gorgozola cheese for garnish

Dressing:

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

1/4 cup fresh orange juice

Grated rind of 1 orange

1 tbsp agave nectar

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

Method:

1. Cook the wild rice. I use a ratio of 2 1/2 cups water or stock: 1 cup raw rice. Cook for approx. 1 hour until the grains are cooked al dente. Do not cook into a mush.

2. Wash and chop the greens. Chop the bell peppers into small cubes. Rough chop the basil and parsley.

3. Make the dressing by simply mixing all the dressing ingredients.Toss the greens, bell peppers, parsley, basil, and cranberries with the salad dressing.

4. Add the warm rice on top of the greens and wait for 5 minutes. This will just barely wilt the greens and really bring out the color. Now toss the rice and greens, mixing well. Check for seasoning. The salt might seem less, but be cautious before adding more. Remember that if you are using cheese, that will add some saltiness to the salad.

5. Garnish with cheese, if using, and serve at room temperature. A cup of green tea is great on the side. Bring on the goodness!

Curried Chicken Salad with Raisins and Almonds

This is so ridiculously simple -- do I actually need a recipe for this? If this is what you're thinking, I do not blame you one bit. However, let me ask you this? How often have you eaten a chicken salad that you have really liked? In my experience, they either tend to be too mayo-ey, or too sweet, or way too crunchy, or not crunchy at all. It all comes down to one simple thing -- Balance! Simple word, but not so simple to acheive. Be it in food, our life, work, social committments, we are always striving to achieve that perfect balance. Oh sorry -- forgot this is a food blog. Lets just keep the subject simple --- Chicken Salad.

Now why did I think of making this? Well, it was a hot hot weekend, and we'd eaten a lot already - July 4th BBQ, friends over on July 5th, and we were now having some neighborhood friends over for brunch. I thought I'd keep it relatively light, simple, and summery. My first thought were something to do with eggs, but just didn't feel like that brunchy type stuff. Given that our friends were coming over around 12:30, I thought I'd do something lunch-y instead. So here goes......

Oh another thing! With all due respect to Luisa on Wednesday Chef, I actually think raisins work quite well with chicken salad. And that is funny coming from me, as it is only in the last few years or so that I have developed a liking for fruits in my food. I used to have a big issue with sweet in my savory food. That included fruit-based salsas with grilled seafood or chicken, apricots and prunes in stews, pineapple on pizza (wait! I still hate that stuff). Over the years, I have grown to tolerate, and sometimes even appreciate the balance of sweet-salty one achieves by artfully using fruit to complement flavors. But this is an art - you use the right kind of sweet and Genius! Use the wrong kind or amount, and you have a mess! Something akin to too much grape jelly in the crockpot meatball sauce (what is up with that?).

Anyway, back to brunch/lunch. We had curried chicken salad sandwiches alongside a tossed green salad with fresh strawberries. Oh! We started with a Chilled Melon Soup. Civilized, huh?

Curried Chicken Salad with Rasins and Almonds

Adapted from Cooks Illustrated, Best Recipe

Serves 6 as a main course

CHICKEN

4 large bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts (approx 3 lbs total)

1 tbsp canola oil

Salt

SALAD

3 medium celery ribs, cut into small dice

2 medium scallions, white and green parts, minced

3/4 cup mayonnaise ( I used canola mayonnaise)

2 tbsp juice from 1 lemon

2 tsp curry powder

2 tbsp minced fresh cilantro

6 tbsp golden raisins

3 tbsp roasted slivered almonds

Salt and fresh ground black pepper

For the chicken:

Adjust an oven rack to the middle position. Preheat to 400F. Set the chicken breasts on a foil-lined jelly roll pan. Brush with the oil and sprinkle generously with salt. Roast until a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the breast registers 160 degrees, about 40 minutes. Cool the chicken to room temperature. Remove skin and bones and discard.

Gently pry the chicken breast meat off the bone. Cut each breast onto 3 pieces so you don't end up with very long and unmanageable shreds. Use your hands to pull apart each piece. Shred into small chunks. Don't over-shred into long strings or the salad tastes stringy instead of creamy.

Note: The chicken can be prepared a day ahead. Once the chicken breasts have cooled, remove the skin. Store the chicken in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Best to shred the meat right before making the salad.

For the Salad:

Mix the shredded chicken and all the salad ingredients together in a large bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve. The salad can be refrigerated for a day.

I served the chicken salad on toasted ciabatta rolls. You could use any bread of your choice, or a wrap, or even serve on greens.

Shaved Fennel and Radish Salad

It is hot out there. Ok, I'm a wimp. But its hot by Seattle standards. I wanted something healthy, light, and cooling for lunch today. I had a work party later in the afternoon, and wanted to save some calories for noshing there.

I didn't feel up to my usual greens, so I decided to try something fun and different. I have a feeling we'll be eating much more of this. My inspiration was from Elise's post on Simply Recipes. Of course, I'm sure it would have been fabulous exactly the way Elise made it, but I have this disease -- I just cannot use a recipe without tweaking it. I know this is a very common disease amongst foodies :-) And not to mention, I love the color and crunch of baby radishes. I hope you enjoy this as much as I did.

Shaved Fennel and Radish Salad

Serves 1 for lunch; 2 as side

1 fennel bulb

5 baby red radishes

4 leaves of anise hyssop (aka licorice mint)

1/2 tsp grated lemon rind

1 tbsp fresh lemon juice

2 tbsp olive oil

pinch of sea salt

few turns of fresh pepper

block of parmagiano reggiano cheese

This salad looks gorgeous and what is even better is that it comes together in a snap. Its is refined enough for a ladies luncheon, yet is simple enough to take along to a summer family picnic. Of course the catch is that unless you have extraordinary CIA (the culinary one) quality knife skills, it is a real snap only if you have a mandoline. There are some great ones out there, but I have a cheap plastic one that I purchased a few years back from the Restaurant Supply Store. It works great, and is small, so it fits in my kitchen drawer. If you don't have a mandoline, I would add one to your Christmas wish list right away. If you are confused as to which one to buy, FYI Cooks Illustrated recommends this one and this one. You're welcome :-) Actually, come to think of it, I need a new one myself. Mine does not allow any adjustment for thickness, which is not so cool! If I did, I would have shaved the fennel a bit thinner. Who says you don't need more gadgets??

If you want to learn more about anise hyssop, click on the link I have above. Thanks to the wonderful folks at my new CSA (Community Supported Agriculture), I am discovering some really cool herbs this year. The kids and I were over there a few days back and plucked some Anise Hyssop leaves. They are delicious. Its is called 'Licorice mint' aptly, since the leaves taste a bit like licorice, mint, and chocolate? The boys munched on some and yelled aloud "Mom, come smell our breath. Its minty!". I figured the flavor profile fits in perfectly with the salad, so why not? It was good. You can add any herb you want, but I think thyme, basil, or chives would work quite well.

As goes olive oil, use the best you can find. In a simple salad like this, the ingredients really shine, so a good olive oil would be well worth it. Save the cheaper stuff for cooking with.

To assemble the salad, slice the fennel bulb and the radishes on the mandoline. Make a chiffonade with the anise hyssop leaves. Shave the parmagiano into long strips (I find that a vegetable peeler works great for this). Toss all the salad ingredients together very gently.  Dress with a bit more olive oil. That is it. Serious.

Serve as is or with some crusty bread on the side. Hmmmmm a glass of Prosecco would just make it fantabulous!! Enjoy!

Warm Pasta Salad with Roasted Corn and Tomatoes

School is out! The kids' preschool end-of-year picnic was cancelled (almost) this year. The teachers had booked a neighborhood park for 2 dates, and we were rained out both days. The kids were bummed, especially A since it is his last year at the Montessori. He will be going to public school for 1st grade in September. Actually, I'm not sure who is more bummed out, him or me. Nah! Not even a question. Its Mommy. It is so wonderful that he is growing up into a fine young man (of 6), but I am struggling with his turning-6 thing. I was really sad when R turned 3 (at 3 you're officially not a baby anymore) and took me a few months to get over that. And now, A is 6. He is leaving the safe, homey environment of the private preschool that he's been at since he was 3. He is going to be on a School Bus!! I know, some of you must be thinking that I'm totally pathetic, and I don't blame you a bit, but I am just not ready for the munchkins to grow up. And no, that does not mean that you can drop you little daiper-bottomed ones off at my home :-)

Anyway, back to the picnic. One of the preschool Moms was crazy nice enough to host the Annual school picnic at her house the Friday. Bless her heart! The kids were very excited, and it helped that the weather was great, she has a magical backyard, and there was tons of booze food.

My contribution was a Pasta Salad. Not much of it was consumed, but I really liked it and enjoyed the leftovers over the weekend. It works well served over some fresh leafy greens with a light lemon vinaigrette.

Warm Pasta Salad with roasted Corn and tomatoes

Adapted from The Gourmet Cookbook

1 jalapeno chile. chopped fine

2 pints cherry tomatoes, halved

3 tbsp fresh oregano, chopped

4 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped

5 scallions, greens parts only, sliced thin

4 ears shucked corn, or approx 3 cups

1 large onion, sliced

1/4 cup olive oil

3 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 tsp red chili flakes

2 tsp ground cumin (fresh ground preferable)

Juice from 1 large lemon

Grated rind from 1 lemon

salt and fresh ground pepper

1 lb pasta, such as fusili

1 1/2 cups crumbled queso fresco cheese

1/2 cup crumbled ricota salata

Broil corn about 2 inches from heat, 5 to 10 minutes, until black spots appear. Leave to cool 10 minutes.

Add onion to a dry cast-iron skilet and roast stirring frequently, until browned but still crisp. Transfer to a plate to cool.

Add tomatoes, oregano, cilantro, corn, and onion in a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper.

Cook pasta in a large pot of salted water until al dente. Drain.

Add oil to a skillet and heat. Add garlic, chili flakes and cumin, and cook stirring, until fragrant, approx 1 minute. Add to tomato-corn mixture.

Combine pasta, tomato-corn mixture, lemon juice, and lemon rind. Toss in cheeses and combine gently.

Serve warm or at room temperature.