ham potato bean salad

i have leftover ham. i checked a few epicurious recipes for ham salad and came up with this. i finished the girl with the dragon tatoo, and they kept having sandwiches on rye bread. no sandwich, but a definite swedish influence.

cubed ham
chopped onion
sliced green onion
jalapeno
can o beans (northern or blackeyed peas)
diced celery
mustard
oil (i used walnut)
vinegar (" balsamic)
drizzle of honey
frozen peas
chopped cooked potatoes
horseradish
capers
salt
pepper
lemon juice
lime juice
dill weed
red pepper flakes
chopped tomatoes or halved cherry tomatoes
chopped green or red pepper


toss. taste. adjust. let sit one hour. eat.

IItalian ground beef and peas

so the previous recipe, peas and onions, were on simply recipes blog, and this link was at the end of that entry. the blogger said that this recipe was her italian grandmother's recipe. a woman who was a fashionista and owned a beauty salon.

so i made it. and she was right. simpler is better, in this case. i made it with basil and thyme. i asked david if he thought the beef looked medium rare, and asghast, he said, "but we don't want to eat ground beef medium rare!"

1 large white onion diced

1 pound ground beef, seasoned with salt and pepper

1 - 2 cups frozen peas

olive oil

1 t butter

red chile flakes

freshly grated parmesan or pecorino (optional)

fresh herbs (mint, parsley, basil, oregano, thyme...they all work)


Heat olive oil and butter. Add onions, saute until soft. Add ground beef that has already been flavored with salt and pepper. Cook until medium rare. Add in frozen peas, right at end and allow them to defrost and heat up, while the meat is on its way to medium-well done. Toss in fresh herbs, red chile flakes. Season to taste.


Note: This is an EASY recipe. You may be tempted to keep adding other ingredients, but the simplicity is what gives this dish it’s proper structure and flavor. More is not always more.

Simple peas and onions

Simple Peas and Onions Recipe
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Ingredients

* 1 pound shelled peas, fresh or frozen
* 1/2 onion, chopped fine
* 3 tablespoons butter
* 1/2 cup chicken stock (use gluten-free stock for gluten-free version, and vegetable stock or just plain water for vegetarian version)
* Black pepper
* Salt
* Pinch of sugar (optional)

Method

1 Heat 2 tablespoons of butter in a sauté pan over medium-high heat. When the butter foam recedes, add the chopped onions. Sauté the onions for a few minutes until they just begin to brown.

2 Add the peas and the chicken stock and bring to a rolling boil. Taste for salt and add if needed (you might not need to add salt if your stock is already pretty salty.) If you want, add a pinch of sugar to highlight the sweetness of the already sweet peas.

3 Stir the peas and onions often – you want the stock to reduce by about half without overcooking the peas. When the stock has reduced, turn off the heat and add the remaining butter and some black pepper. Serve at once.

If you want, sprinkle on some sliced fresh mint.

Serves 4.

swiss chard salad

Saturday, July 28, 2007
The Raw Challenge: Swiss Chard Salad

I challenge you to look in your frig, look in your cupboards, your pantry....and come up with a delicious meal without using a recipe - we'll call it cooking without a net. I'll be the first to enter the challenge. Here's my entry. Please note that I use rough estimates for amounts of some of the ingredients. That's partly the fun of this challenge. Just throw it in until it looks and tastes yummy. If you want to make this particular recipe, experiment. Combine ingredients until it tastes good to you. Or change them - substitute ingredients that you prefer. Be adventurous!

Swiss Chard Salad


salad ingredients:
one avocado
one head swiss chard (red or green)
one handful asian greens
one red pepper, chopped
one small zucchini, julienned
one small cucumber, sliced
one cup fresh peas, cut into 1 inch pieces (leave them in the pod)
one large carrot, sliced
one cup fresh snap beans, cut into 2 inch pieces (I used black snap beans though green is easier to find)
1 - 2 tablespoons fresh dill, finely chopped
1 - 2 tablespoons fresh basil, julienned
1/4 cup raw pecans, chopped
1 - 2 tabelspoons raw sunflower seeds
2 tablespoons dark raisins

dressing:
extra virgin olive oil
fresh lemon juice
wheat-free tamari (I use San-J)
agave syrup
sea salt
freshly ground pepper

For the salad: Wash and spin the swiss chard until dry. Repeat with Asian greens (can use mesclun mix). Peel and roughly cut the avocado. Add to greens in salad bowl and mush with your hands until the avocado has coated the greens. I know, it's weird, but trust me, it works. It softens the greens, especially the chard AND it helps the dressing bind to the greens. Plus, it's delicious!

Put into salad bowl along with other ingredients. Toss to combine.

For the dressing:
Combine ingredients and whisk. Pour over salad. Mix well.

Eat.

Yum.

Notice, the recipe for Swiss Chard Salad is completely raw. No, I haven't completely gone over to the raw side, but I'm trying to incorporate more and more raw into my diet. It's so easy to eat gluten free when you eat raw (for the most part). And here's the thing - yesterday, just because it was really hot and I didn't want to heat up the kitchen or even go near the grill, I decided to eat almost completely raw for the whole day. I've been a little afraid to do that because I figured I wouldn't get enough to eat and I thought I'd end up going to bed hungry or wake up at 3 AM famished. Completely the opposite. I felt fantastic all day. Sated and satisfied and never too full. Here's what my food day looked like, just in case you're interested.

Pisi e Orzo

i used a cup of organic chicken broth and a cup of v8 and water for the broth. need to use up barley in the pantry and peas in the freezer.

straight forward barley and pea soup recipe that will be nice in late spring when fresh peas reach the markets. To serve 6:
Prep Time: 40 minutes
Cook Time: 60 minutes
Ingredients:

* 12 ounces (300 g) pearled barley
* 2 quarts good vegetable broth
* 6 ounces (150 g) freshly shelled peas
* 2 ounces (50 g) pancetta, either ground or diced
* An onion, minced
* 1 tablespoon minced parsley
* Salt & pepper to taste

Preparation:
Pour the broth into a pot, add the barley, and simmer it gently, covered.

In the meantime sauté the pancetta with the onion and the parsley; as soon as the onion begins to brown add the peas and cook, stirring, until the peas are about half cooked. Stir the pea mixture into the barley, check seasoning, and continue simmering the soup until the barley is done.

Yield: 6 servings barley and pea soup.

C & D

Elizabeth has been making smitten kitchen's chicken & dumplings recipe for at least a year and i'm resolved to making it today. despite the fact that i have the aforeposted chicken thighs marinating for dinner today. because i LOVE chicken and dumplings, and not the kind with flat dough. THIS kind. and i can freeze some for dv while i'm gone to chi town.

oh, E says that adding carrots and celery make it prettier and tastier. Not to mention it stretches the recipe just a little bit farther.

Post Script: this was hugely successful. Donna had it for lunch with us and she mused that this could be her favorite dish ever. Homey, and healthy.