Happy New Year: Amazing Black Eyed Peas

Amazing Black Eyed Peas

I was not until I was an adult that I learned that black eyed peas are a New Years Day tradition for many folks.  I don't think I ever ate black eyed peas as a kid and I can't say I've ever cooked them in my home as an adult.  Not too long ago, my friend Harriet had me over for lunch. She was copying some recipes for me and I noticed a black eyed pea recipe in her recipe book. The recipe called for just three ingredients... black eyed peas, nutritional yeast, and Ume Plum Vinegar.  I had actually just purchased a can of black eyed peas and I had nutritional yeast on hand, so I just needed the vinegar. I found it this week at Natural Grocers/Vitamin Cottage.

The recipe as written calls for one pound of dried black eyed peas.  You cook the black eyed peas in a pressure cooker or on the stove top until tender.  To the cooked peas, you two tablespoons of nutritional yeast and two tablespoons of the Ume Plum Vinegar.  Since I was using canned black eyed peas, I just reduced the amount.

The Ume Plum Vinegar has a very surprising taste. The color is a beautiful vibrant purple and I was just sort of expecting it to have a fruity, vinegar taste.  Instead, the combination of the nutritional yeast and the plum vinegar had a rich, savory, salty flavor.  I recommend not adding any additional salt to your dish; I just don't think it's necessary.  The first time I had the black eyed peas, I had it with some left over tofu.  The second time I had the black eyed peas, I had it as you see in the photo above with steamed green beans, cooked barley, and more leftover tofu. I decided these delicious black eyed peas would be great in a Grain Bowl such as this because the sauce would season all the ingredients nicely.  I loved this combination.

Amazing Black Eyed Peas

1 (15.5 ounce can) black eyed peas, rinsed and drained

about 3 tablespoons water

1 heaping teaspoon nutritional yeast

1 heaping teaspoon Ume Plum Vinegar 

Add the black eyed peas and about 3 tablespoons of water to a small pot.  Cover with a lid and bring to a boil to heat the beans through.  Add in the nutritional yeast and Ume Plum Vinegar, cover with a lid and simmer for a few minutes. Enjoy!

I feel nutritional yeast and the plum vinegar both have very strong flavors. I recommending starting with the measurements noted above and add more if desired (up to 2 teaspoons of each). 

Happy New Year!

Easy Fingerling Potatoes

Easy Fingerling Potatoes

Easy Fingerling Potatoes

I've been making these easy fingerling potatoes lately and I think my son will like this recipe.  I told him I'd write up the recipe so he could try it out. At my local grocery store, I find small bags (about 1 pound in size) of fingerling potatoes; they are labeled as "Petite Fingerling Potatoes."  They are a combination of purple and white/yellow fingerling potatoes.  It's been so hot in Southern Colorado that I've not wanted to heat up the oven to roast potatoes.  I came up with this easy method and I really like the results.  I am enjoying these potatoes for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

Easy Fingerling Potatoes

1. Scrub a handful or two of fingerling potatoes. I find 3 or 4 fingerling potatoes is a nice size serving for one person, depending of course on the size of the potatoes. Try to select potatoes that are similar in size so the cooking time is similar.  
2. Toss the potatoes into a pot and add water to the pot, ensuring the potatoes have about 1/2 inch of water over the tops of the potatoes.  Cover with a lid and bring to a boil over high heat; once the water comes to a boil, reduce the temperature and allow the potatoes to simmer covered for about 12-16 minutes.  The potatoes are done when a fork or sharp knife easily pierces into the center of a potato.
3. Drain the cooked potatoes, allow to cool slightly, and then slice each potato in half lengthwise.
4. Drizzle a bit of oil (I use avocado oil but you can use any oil you like for cooking... butter would also be good) into a sauté pan/skillet and heat the oil over medium high heat.  Once the oil is heated, carefully add the potatoes to the skillet, CUT SIDE down.  Allow to the potatoes to brown undisturbed on the cut side without moving the pan or the potatoes.  Once the cut sides are nicely browned, toss the potatoes around in the skillet and cook for another 3 to 4 minutes.  Add a pinch or two of salt to the potatoes toss the potatoes around so that all the potatoes are seasoned.  Serve immediately.

Broccoli Apple Carrot Salad

Broccoli Apple Carrot Salad 

Not too long ago, I posted about a recipe with broccoli, chickpeas, honey crisp apples, dried cherries (or cranberries), and pecans.  It was so good; I was sad when it was all gone.  That recipe was from a blog called "Ambitious Kitchen".  I make a lot of the recipes I see on that blog and they have all been EXCELLENT!

After making the Ambitious Kitchen broccoli apple salad recipe, I had some leftover ingredients.  I had purchased a really BIG bag of prewashed broccoli florets from Sam's Club.  Yesterday I made up a slightly different version of the broccoli apple salad. I left out the chickpeas and substituted some different ingredients based upon things I had on hand.  The dressing is almost the same; the only change I made was to use garlic powder in place of fresh garlic. Sometimes I am just too lazy to chop fresh garlic.  I think my altered version of the salad turned out pretty good.  I love how crunchy this salad is and I think the leftovers are even better the next day.




Broccoli Apple Carrot Salad
Inspired by a recipe on www.ambitiouskitchen.com

Ingredients

• For the salad
• 8 to 10 ounces of broccoli florets, cut into small bite sized pieces
• 1 large honey crisp apple, diced
• 3 medium carrots, grated
• 1/3 cup raw sunflower seeds
• 1/3 cup raisins

• For the dressing:
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 1/2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• ½ tablespoon honey
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• Freshly ground salt and pepper, to taste
• To garnish:
• Extra cherries and pecans

Instructions

1. In a small, dry skillet, over medium heat, toast the raw sunflower seeds. This should take 3 to 5 minutes.  Watch them carefully and stir frequently.  The seeds will turn golden brown in spots and will be very fragrant.  When done, spread the toasted seeds out onto a paper towel to cool.
2. In a large bowl, add the broccoli, apples, carrots, and raisins. Set aside.
3. Make the dressing by whisking together the following ingredients in a small bowl: olive oil, apple cider vinegar, Dijon mustard, honey, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Immediately drizzle over salad. Add in the cooled sunflower seeds; toss all to combine. Taste and add more salt and pepper, if necessary. 

Marinated Vegetable Salad

Marinated Vegetable Salad

A few days ago, I went into my refrigerator and grabbed a bunch of vegetables.  I was just not getting around to eating them and I did not want them to go to waste.  I tossed in some garbanzo beans and whipped up an easy vinaigrette dressing and... viola!... a simple and delicious marinated vegetable salad. This recipe makes four generous servings and I've been enjoying it with grilled chicken.  For this salad, I was going to try to replicate a salad dressing that I love from our local pizzeria called "Pizza Madness". I can tell the dressing has olive oil, red wine vinegar, and maybe dried Italian herbs (????), but instead I made up the dressing I posted about in my last post called "Merlino's Belvedere Salad".

This would be a great salad to bring to backyard BBQ or a potluck at work.  This salad is great when freshly made and is great at room temperature.  The one problem with the leftovers is that, after being in the refrigerator for a few days, dressings or vinaigrettes made with extra virgin olive oil tend to firm up a bit (the oil becomes more solid).  This is not attractive visually and the texture is a bit off putting in the mouth.  I planned to have this for lunch today so I just let the leftover salad sit out on the counter top at room temperature for about an hour and the oil in the dressing returned to a nice liquid state which was a bit more appealing to eat.

The proportions in this salad are very flexible. Like I said, I was just using up leftover vegetables. Feel free to add more or less of any ingredients based upon what you have on hand or what you really like.  I do love the combination of vegetables I used.  I think cannellini beans (white kidney beans) or dark red kidney beans would also be very good in this salad in place of the garbanzo beans.  Crumbled feta cheese or blue cheese crumbles would also be a delicious addition to this salad.

Marinated Vegetable Salad

1 can garbanzo beans (chickpeas), drained and rinsed (15.5 ounce size)
1/2 red bell pepper, coarsely chopped
1/2 to 2/3 of an English cucumber, sliced and cut into quarters
1/2 of a small red onion, finely sliced
1 cup grape tomatoes

Dressing Ingredients:
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons dried basil

Combine the salad ingredients (vegetables and beans) in a medium sized bowl. Set aside

Combine the salad dressing ingredients in a bowl (I used a Pyrex measuring cup with a spout). Stir with a whisk or fork to combine.

Pour the dressing over the vegetable/bean mixture and toss to coat.  Allow to marinate at room temperature for 10 to 15 minutes before serving.  If desired, sprinkle salad with a pinch of salt before serving.

Enjoy!

Super Easy Broccoli Slaw

Super Easy Broccoli Slaw



I really did not intend to make Broccoli Slaw this week; it just sort of happened.  I bought a 10 ounce container of broccoli slaw from the produce section of my grocery store; I was going to make an Asian-inspired stir fry with it.  I had some of my favorite homemade salad dressing in the refrigerator and I got to thinking that the dressing might be good on the broccoli slaw.  I toasted up some finely sliced almonds in a dry skillet to make them a bit crunchier and I added in some dried cranberries.  This broccoli slaw is really good and I love having this sort of thing on a hot day.  It's barely June, but it's been ridiculously hot and dry here in Southern Colorado.

This is not much of a recipe; it's more about assembling ingredients.  I think I got 3 or 4 salads out of one 10 ounce container of broccoli slaw.  I learned that it's a good idea to place the broccoli slaw on a large cutting board and chop it up a bit with a large knife to make it a bit easier to eat.

Super Easy Broccoli Slaw

Makes 3 to 4 salads

1 ten-ounce container broccoli slaw (with shredded broccoli stalks and shredded carrots)
Tangy salad dressing [See recipe below] (about 8 tablespoons total, more or less as desired)
about 1/3 cup finely sliced almonds, toasted in a dry skillet for a few minutes until lightly browned
about 1/3 cup dried cranberries

Combine the above ingredients for your super easy broccoli slaw.  Toss to combine ingredients.

Here is the Tangy Salad Dressing Recipe

5 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
3 tablespoons raw honey
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
a few pinches of dry Italian flat leaf parsley
a few pinches of crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Place all ingredients in a jar; cover with tight fitting lid and shake! shake! SHAKE!

In the photo at the very top, you can see I topped my Super Easy Broccoli Slaw with some grilled chicken. Here is the chicken recipe (It's from The Whole30 Cookbook):  Harvest Grilled Chicken