This is a Trader Joe’s recipe that takes about 5 minutes to make and is a complete crowd pleaser. Makes a great snack with a side of pita chips or serve a scoop on top of a salad.
Ingredients:
– 1 package TJ’s pre-cooked lentils
– 1/2 cup chopped basil
– 1 container TJ’s bruschetta sauce (in refrigerated section)
– 1 container TJ’s crumbled feta (4oz should do it)
Steps:
1. Mix everything together
2. Eat
Enjoy!
I made this last night for our Passover Seder, and it was really well received, so here’s the recipe. I feel like this one may not quite fall into the “so easy” category because it involves a number of steps, but try it out and let me know how it goes. The recipe is for a potluck-amount (20 adults). Cut it down if you’re just making it for your family.
Ingredients:
– About 3 pounds of waxy potatoes, cut into 1-inch chunks
– Olive oil
– Half of a red onion, chopped
– 1/2 a cup of apple cider vinegar
– 1 large apple, chopped
– 4 celery stalks, chopped
– 1 fennel bulb, finely chopped
– 5 sprigs of cilantro
– 1 very juicy lime
– Salt and Pepper
Steps:
1. Mix the potatoes in a bowl with olive oil until they are well coated. Dump into an oiled pyrex dish and bake at 300 until cooked through (about 30-45 minutes). They should be golden and slightly browned on the edges.
2. While the potatoes are baking, soak the red onion in the vinegar. This will “pickle” them and take out some of the punch while maintaining a yummy flavor (I ready too many cooking magazines).
3. When the potatoes are done, let them cool.
4. While they are cooling, strain the onions to add to the potato salad, but save the vinegar. Whir together the vinegar, cilantro, lime, salt and pepper in a blender.
5. Now mix everything together in a big bowl! Let sit for at least a couple of hours before serving.
Again, try this recipe and let me know how it comes out. The sweet-salty-vinegary-crunch should pretty much knock the socks off of all the grandma’s at your next picnic.
I asked my friend Mike if he would mind sharing his sauerkraut recipe on my blog. The kraut he brought over last week was, quite literally, one of the most delicious things I have ever tasted. It’s the kind of condiment that can be eaten straight out of the jar, or added to a million other dishes… like on top of a bed of lettuce, over rice and tofu, or, sure, why not on a hotdog? Kraut is ridiculously easy to make. You basically just soak vegetables on your counter under salty water for a week or two. Check out the books he recommends. Then try and it bring a jar over for me!
From Mike:
Sauerkraut! Super delicious and nutritious . . . Teamin’ with probiotic bacteria and beneficial enzymes! Fermented vegetables such as sauerkraut have been celebrated world-wide as a healthful delectable for thousands of years. Famously, Captain Cook kept his crew healthy and free of scurvy by carrying and consuming barrels of sauerkraut on long sea voyages where fresh produce was scarce.
I have been making lots of farro salads recently. They are hearty enough to eat as a light lunch, and make a perfect side dish for quiche, soup, or meat/fish.
To start, cook the farro. I use the rice cooker, and a 2:1 water:grain ratio. Then add any of these combinatons. Definitely let me know if you have other ideas for add-ins! Salt and pepper these to taste.
#1:
– roasted butternut squash cubes
– goat cheese
– capers
– chopped red onion
– fresh thyme
– olive oil and balsamic vinegar
#2 (adapted from Cooking Light):
– chopped apple
– chopped celery
– chopped red onion
– bite-sized pieces of smoked salmon
– lemon juice and olive oil
#3:
– roasted butternut squash cubes (love these!)
– crumbled feta cheese
– two raw kale leaves, shredded
– lemon juice
– chopped red onion (again!)
– capers or small, salty olives
– truffle oil (trader joe’s makes a nice fake one)
These make a fantastic 4th-of-July potluck item. Unless, of course, like me, you somehow manage to eat most of them before you get there.
Ingredients:
– 6 hardboiled eggs (or however many you want to make)
– 1 green onion, sliced thinly
– 1 sprig of cilantro, finely chopped
– 1/2 a juicy lime, juiced
– 2 green, jalepeno-stuffed olives, finely chopped
– about 2 tablespoons of mayonaise
– a dash of salt, chipotle chili powder, and smoked paprika
Steps:
1. Cut the eggs in half lengthwise and scoop out the yolks
2. Smash the yolks together with all of the rest of the ingredients until it forms a smooth paste
3. Scoop the paste back into the hollows in the halved whites
4. Arrange on a plate and add an extra dash of paprika on top for a pretty finish
These also make a great quick snack if you keep them in the fridge (way better than grabbing a handful of chips)!
Enjoy, and happy 4th!
This is really easy, quick and taaaaaaasty. Serve with salad and a main dish like chicken or fish, or just eat it in a bowl as a meal!
1. In a saucepan, saute a chopped onion in oil until translucent.
2. While the onion is saute-ing, put a pot of water on to boil. When the water boils, add two cups of dry bowtie pasta and cook until done. Drain.
3. Crack an egg into one cup of toasted buckwheat groats and mix until all of the groats are coated.
4. Add the groats to the sauted onion and cook until dry, breaking up any clumps as you go.
5. Add two cups of water (or broth) to the groats, turn down the heat, and simmer, covered, until all of the water is absorbed. Add the bowties and salt and pepper to taste.
6. Enjoy!
I made this for Rosh Hashana last week. It is great as a side dish (for example, with lox and bagels) or as a snack at any time of day.
1. Boil a bag of egg noodles. When they are done, rinse in cold water until cool.
2. In a bowl, mix:
3. Add the noodles to the bowl and stir up and dump into a greased pyrex baking dish
4. Bake for an hour or so, covered with tin foil, until the kugel looks cooked-through
5. Cut into squares and serve! What a treat!
I’m still stuck on the garden bounty theme here. Please bare with me.
I make this one ALL of the time. It is so fast and light and refreshing… and a perfect way to use those crispy, sweet summer cukes.
1. Slice a cucumber or two into thin rounds
2. Drizzle with a tiny dash of soy sauce and a dash of toasted sesame oil. Toss to coat.
3. Throw in some toasted sesame seeds or chopped green onion or a dash of pepper if you want, but only if you’re feeling fancy-pants
Crunch, crunch away!
While we’re on the subject of cabbage… (we were on the subject of cabbage, weren’t we?) Another fantastic way to enjoy it is by letting it ferment.
Making sauerkraut is unbelievably easy – and incredibly tasty. However, I’m not here to tell you about that at the moment. Rather, I’d like to inspire you to try making another tasty sour treat: fermented green beans. I first learned about fermented green beans on a trip through China. Mmmmmm. Try this out and let me know what you think:
1. Trim enough raw green beans to fit into a wide mouth glass jar. Pack them in so they can’t float around. If the beans are from the supermarket and are a little floppy, soak them in cold water for a bit to crisp them up before packing them into the jar.
2. Pour about 1/8 cup of salt into the jar. Don’t used iodized salt. Use un-iodozed sea salt or kosher salt.
3. Pour enough cold water into the jar to make sure the beans are completely covered. Shake the jar up so that the salt gets mixed around. If the beans float up, put a cup or other weighty object into the mouth of the jar to keep the beans submerged. If they hit the air, they will get moldy.
4. You can shove in some seasoning if you want at this point, for example, a few garlic cloves or a bit of sliced ginger. Or, if you like things hot, a chili pepper!
5. Cover the top of the jar loosely with a towel (no lid), wait a week, then enjoy! Note: Depending on your climate, it may take a little less, or a little longer than a week for the beans to ferment to your preferred level of sourness. Taste ’em as you go so you can catch them the minute they hit your liking.
6. Store the beans (with the lid on the jar) in the fridge, so they don’t continue fermenting.
You can put the beans on top of a salad, add them to a stir-fry, or serve them in a bloody mary. Or, go for it, just eat them straight out of the jar.
I am not a fan of the type of coleslaw I grew up with – mayonaise-y and sweet – nope, not a fan.
In the past few years I have discovered that there are other ways to make slaw, namely, by ditching the sugar and mayo and adding in more of the flavors I adore. Crispy and refreshing, this particular slaw goes great with chili, an egg salad sandwich, or tacos.
1. Shred up 4 or so cups of green or napa cabbage. (You can actually now buy pre-shredded cabbage in the produce section if you are feeling so inclined).
2. Chop in at least a half a cup of green onion, more if you like green onion a lot.
3. Make a dressing by shaking the following ingredients up in a jar:
4. Mix the dressing into the shredded cabbage and let it sit in the fridge for a few hours. You may need to add a bit more salt if it tastes too bland.
Crunch, crunch! Yum, yum!
So Easy Homemade 