Warm Chorizo and Cabbage Salad

I was at the laundromat with Justin when I came up with this idea.  I'm not sure where it came from... I knew we had a pound of chorizo in the freezer and I think I was just trying to come up with some sort of "different" salad idea.

It came out really tasty!  I'd describe it as a Mexican-style mushu... or a warm slaw?  One of Justin's coworkers had gifted us with a huge zucchini, so I just scooped that out (I actually sauteed the scooped zucchini filling with my onion and poblano), rubbed some olive oil on the inside and outside, seasoned with salt and pepper and baked in a preheated 425 oven for about 17 minutes, until tender.  Then stuffed it with the chorizo and cabbage salad.  Very good!  But the next day, I just ate it in a bowl by itself like a salad.

I don't think we've used any Good Riddance with our recipes yet - "There's No 'I' In Team".  -jen

WARM CHORIZO AND CABBAGE SALAD
Time:  about 30 minutes
Difficulty:  Easy
Makes:   about 8 cups

• 1/2 pound chorizo sausage (the meaty kind, not the melty kind)
• 3/4 cup onion, julienned
• 1/2 cup poblano pepper, julienned
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 3/4 cup white wine
• 3/4 cup Restaurant Style Salsa
• 3 cups cabbage, shredded
• 1/2 cup carrots, shredded
• 8oz (half a 14oz can) corn, drained
• 8oz (half a 14oz can) garbanzo beans, drained
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
• 1/2 cup green onion, diced
• salt and pepper to taste

In a large skillet, brown chorizo until cooked through.  Remove with a slotted spoon, place in a large bowl and set aside.  Using 2 tablespoons of the sausage grease, saute onion, poblano and oregano until softened and onion is translucent.  Remove with slotted spoon and set aside in same bowl as sausage.

Delicious brown bits!

While pan is still hot, add white wine and salsa, scraping up the browned bits from the pan.  Bring to a boil and then simmer for 5-7 minutes, until reduced to half.  Add cabbage, carrots, corn and beans, stirring to coat with sauce.  Cook for just a few minutes so that cabbage is still crunchy and not cooked all the way through.  Toss with cilantro and green onion.  Add a little salt and pepper if necessary.

Can be served as just a salad.  Can be put into zucchini boats (I halved my large zucchini, scooped it out, salt, pepper and olive oil on inside and baked for 15-20 minutes at 425 on a greased cookie sheet until tender), then stuffed with cabbage salad.  Could be rolled into a burrito, served as a taco, rolled in an egg roll wrapper and fried.  Served with rice or pasta.  Whatever!

Italian Orzo Salad with Lemon Basil Vinaigrette

We do a lot of salads similar to this, but Justin was specifically craving an orzo salad.  We thought we'd use the cherry and yellow tomatoes out of our garden, as well as the poblanos Justin grew.  (Poblano taste real similar to green bell peppers, and I figured most people are more familiar with bell pepper, so I put that in the recipe.)  What I really love about this salad, though, is the Lemon Basil Vinaigrette!  I so love making my own salad dressings.

I know I just used Op Ivy a few recipes ago, but we were listening to them in the car whilst running errands this morning, and so all day I've been singing "Bombshell".  Actually, I've just been singing the "Oh yeah!" backup vocals part.  I'm really good at that part.  -jen

ITALIAN ORZO SALAD
Time: 40 minutes (mostly just chopping veggies)
Difficulty:  Easy
Makes:  6-7 cups

• 1.5 cups dry orzo pasta
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 1 cups broccoli florets
• 1 cup cucumber, seeded and diced (about 1 medium)* 
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1/2 cup bell pepper, diced (about 1 small pepper)
• 1/2 cup green onion, diced (2-3 medium onions)
• 1/2 cup carrot, shredded (about 1 medium carrot)
• 1 large clove garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes, diced
• 1/4 cup green olives, rough chopped
• 6 oz mozzarella cheese, small cubed
• 1/2 cup Lemon Basil Vinaigrette (see recipe below)

*  To seed a cucumber:  Cut off both ends.  Cut cucumber lengthwise.  Run a small spoon down the length of the seeds, scooping them out. 

Bring chicken broth to a boil in a large pot.  Stir in orzo and cook 10 minutes, pasta should be al dente.  Drain in a strainer and transfer to a large bowl.  Set aside to cool slightly.  (Good time to cut veggies and make the Lemon Basil Vinaigrette!)

Add all remaining ingredients to cooled orzo and toss.

LEMON BASIL VINAIGRETTE
Time: less than 5 minutes
Difficulty:  Easy
Makes:  about 1/2 cup

• zest of 1 lemon (about 1/2 tbsp)
• juice of 1 lemon (about 3 tablespoons)
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 tablespoons canola oil
• 1/2 cup basil leaves, packed
• 1 small green onion
• 1 large garlic clove (about 1/2 teaspoon)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt 
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/8 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon anchovy paste (optional)
• 1/8 teaspoon sugar
• 1.5 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
• pinch of red pepper flake

Add all ingredients into a blender and blend until combined.

Cauliflower "Couscous" Salad

This recipe is vegan/vegetarian, gluten-free, and low-carb!  Oh yeah, and it tastes amazing.  We try to eat low-carb most of the time and jumping on the cauliflower bandwagon the other day, I was making some pizza crust out of cauliflower, cheese and eggs.  I was supposed to "rice" the cauliflower in the food processor, but I did it a little too long and the pieces came out more like couscous than rice.  Then I mixed in some minced garlic and dried oregano as  part of the crust recipe, and decided to give it a taste.  Totally gave me the idea to do a couscous salad out of it.

I can't actually tell you how incredibly stoked I am at how good this came out.  I really enjoy Mediterranean-style cold salads.  I used to do them with rice, but I don't eat rice anymore.  So we started doing them with barley and couscous... but they're still pretty high-carb.  This solved the problem and I foresee us having this salad in the fridge on a frequent basis for lunches during the work week and quick dinners.

I decided to go with Lagwagon's "I Must Be Hateful".  I was feeling pretty hateful tonight towards a medical issue I'm having.  Seemed apropos.  -jen

CAULIFLOWER "COUSCOUS" SALAD
Prep Time:  10 minutes
Cook Time:  10 minutes
Makes:  About 6 cups
Requires:  Food Processor

• 1 large head of cauliflower, diced large
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
• 2/3 cup English cucumber, seeded and diced small
• 2/3 cup bell pepper, diced small
• 1/2 cup green onions, diced small
• 1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes, diced small
• 1/2 cup carrot, shredded
• 1/4 cup green olives, chopped
• 1/4 cup giardiniera, chopped (optional)
• 2-3 tablespoons fresh basil, julienned or chopped
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• juice of 1 whole lemon
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

Place large-diced cauliflower in food processor and process until it looks like cooked couscous.  Place in a large, microwave-safe bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap (I recommend using glass so the plastic wrap sticks).  Microwave on high for 10 minutes.  Fluff with fork.

Add all remaining ingredients and stir until mixed.  At this point, you can serve it while it's still warm, or refrigerate and serve chilled.

Per 1 Cup Serving:  Calories-130, Fat-9g, Carbs-11.5, Fiber-4, Protein-3g

Asian Cabbage Rolls & Cucumber-Tomato Salad

Justin's made an Eastern-European style cabbage rolls a few times and we have a recipe for them here.  But ever since he did, I was thinking of other things we could stuff cabbage rolls with... and I instantly craved an egg roll-type pork filling.  Today I finally remembered to make it, along with a chopped vegetable Asian style salad.

Wow.  I first posted this using a song we already used.  That was smooth.  Let's go with something different.... and angry.  Paint It Black doing "Labor Day".  Because sometimes... it feels like a nine to five death march.  -jen

ASIAN CABBAGE ROLLS
Prep Time:  15-20 minutes
Rest Time:  30 minutes
Cook Time:  35 minutes
Difficulty:  Medium
Makes:  About 12 rolls

• 1 pound ground pork
•  whole Napa cabbage leaves
• 1.5 cup Napa cabbage, chopped fine
• 1 cup mushrooms, chopped fine
• 1/2 cup shredded carrots
• 1/2 cup bean sprouts, chopped
• 1/3 cup green onions, chopped fine (2-3 medium onions)
• 1/3 cup red bell pepper, finely diced
• 1 small jalapeño, finely diced
• 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
• 4 teaspoons garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced
• 2 tablespoons dark soy sauce
• 4 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
• 1 teaspoon fish sauce
• 1 teaspoon Sambal (Asian chili paste)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

On a large cutting board or your counter, use a rolling pin to flatten the whole cabbage leaves, one
leaf at a time.  This will help with the rolling process.  Make sure to break down the ribs.  Set aside.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

In a large bowl, combine all remaining ingredients.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or as long as overnight.  Drain off any excess juice.  Lay two cabbage leaves out, slightly overlapping with the stems nearest you.  Measure 1/4-1/3 cup of the meat mixture and place in the center of the leaves.  Starting with the stems, carefully roll-up over meat, tucking sides in as you go.

Place rolls seam-side down in a 9x13 baking dish.  (Line with foil for easier clean up!)  Cover tightly with foil and bake at 400 degrees F for 30-35 minutes, until pork is cooked thoroughly (160 degrees).

Serve with Asian Dipping Sauce (recipe below).






ASIAN DIPPING SAUCE
(It's like pot sticker sauce!)

• 2 teaspoons fresh ginger, minced
• 2 teaspoons garlic, minced
• 2 teaspoons green onion (1 medium onion)
• 1/4-1/2 cup dark soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 1 teaspoon toasted sesame seed oil
• 1/2 teaspoon Sambal (Asian chili paste)

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl.

CUCUMBER-TOMATO SALAD
Time:   15 minutes
Difficulty:  Easty
Makes:  about 4 cups

• 1 to 1.5 cups cherry tomatoes, halved (about 16)
• 1/4 cup green onions, chopped (3 medium onions)
• 2 teaspoons fresh ginger, minced
• 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
• juice of 1 lemon (about 2 teaspoons)
• 2 tablespoons toasted sesame seed oil
• 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds

Split cumbers in half length-wise.  Using a spoon, scoop out the seeds and discard.  Dice cucumbers.  Add remaining ingredients and toss.  If you can make this ahead of time, the taste improves after it rests a while. 

Mexican Four Bean Salad

We'd gotten all the ingredients for Mexican dinner tonight - taco and/or enchilada stuff, ingredients for fresh guacamole, fryin' up some corn tortillas for fresh chips.  But lunch time rolled around, we'd skipped breakfast, and I decided to make 3-bean salad for lunch.  Looking in the fridge, I was staring at all the tasty Mexican ingredients and decided to do a spin on my salad.  It rocked!  I think we're going to use some of it in our tacos or enchiladas tonight!  Way better than refried beans!

Just learned about this band and kind of digging their sound - think I'll check out more.  Latterman singing "We Work the Night Shift".  -jen

MEXICAN FOUR BEAN SALAD
Time:  15-20 minutes
Difficulty:  Easy
Serves:  4-6

• 1 can (15oz) garbanzo beans
• 1 can (15 oz) red kidney beans
• 1 can (15oz) white beans
• 1 can (15oz) green beans
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice (about 1 lime)
• 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1 teaspoon Mexican oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon celery seed
• 1/4 teaspoon (4 dashes) green Tabasco sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup chopped green onions (about 4 medium sized) 
• 3/4 cup chopped red bell pepper (about 1/2 a pepper)
• 1/2 cup chopped green olives (or black if you prefer)
• 1/2 cup cilantro, chopped 
• 2 teaspoons chopped jalapeño (fresh or canned)
• 1 heaping tablespoon minced garlic

Combine all four cans of beans in a colander.  Rinse, then set aside to drain.

In a large mixing bowl, combine lime juice, vinegar, and mustard.  While whisking, slowly drizzle the olive oil in until combined.  Whisk in oregano, cumin, celery seed, Tabasco, salt and pepper.  Add the drained beans to the dressing.  Add green onions, bell pepper, olives, cilantro, jalapeño and garlic.  Toss to coat.  Serve at room temp.

Jerk Chicken with Plantain Chips & Salad

I've done a couple different variations of this recipe at home now and still haven't gotten it perfected but it's still awesome and a really quick and easy way to get some Caribbean flavors in your belly.  This version isn't too hot even though it has two habaneros because de-seeding them takes out most of the heat.  So if you like a hotter meal, only de-seed one of the peppers or if you like nuclear heat, don't de-seed at all.

I served this with a simple fresh salad and some fried plantain chips on the side to try and stick to the Caribbean theme but when I went to make my mango salad I discovered that my mango was no good and so I substituted an apple and a fresh tomato that I had making it decidedly less Caribbean but still pretty tasty.

To go with this recipe I went for some Lagwagon, Falling Apart, since they are one of our favorites in this house and we have yet to feature them in a post.  Shocking!  Not sure how they slipped under our radar but no longer will they escape this blog!

 

Jerk Chicken
Time: Marinade - 15 minutes, Chicken - 25 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Servings: 8+

• 2 habanero peppers, stemmed and seeded
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 1 medium yellow onion, about 1 cup
• 1/2 cup chopped scallion
• 1 tbsp fresh grated ginger 
• 1 tsp fresh thyme
• 1 tbsp dark brown sugar
• 1/4 tsp fresh ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp fresh ground nutmeg
• 1 pinch ground cloves
• 3/4 tsp ground allspice
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
• 4 cloves garlic
• juice of 3 limes
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro

Now, the marinade part is simple.  Throw all of the above in a blender or food processor and let her rip till at all blends into a smooth homogenous mixture, a couple of minutes ought to do.  When everything is all chopped, blended, liquified, and incorporated, simply toss your chicken in a container with the mix and let it marinade for at least overnight, but the longer you let it go, the better it gets.  I usually let it sit for 24 hours.  Anything over 48 hrs is not going to do much for you.

Note: If you are only making enough to serve 2-3 people, halve the marinade recipe as this easily makes enough to cover 8+ pieces of chicken.

When you are ready to do up the chicken you have a couple of options.  Tradition dictates that the chicken be cooked in a halved oil drum over hard wood charcoal but any grill would do as I know no one who grills in a halved oil drum outside of the Caribbean.  However, we simply baked ours off in the oven, since it wasn't grilling weather and I wanted jerk chicken.  450 for 30 minutes will do if you are doing legs and thighs and if you want some of that charred grilled quality to it, toss under the broiler for a few minutes after baking.

Fresh Salad

• 1 fresh tomato
• 1 apple
• 1/2 yellow onion, diced
• 1/2 cup yellow bell pepper, diced
• 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
• juice of 1/2 lime
• salt & pepper to taste

The salad is everything listed above, just tossed together and served on the side.  It's a light, refreshing accompaniment to the spicy, savory chicken and the starchy, salty plantain chips.


Plantain chips are also easy if you'd like to try those.  Get a hold of a couple of plantains at the market and slice the skins off since they don't peel very easily.  I follow the edges of the peel, they have 3, with the tip of a paring knife and then take off the ends.  After that treatment they peel fairly easily.  Slice them into 2 inch thick rounds and fry them in oil for about 2 minutes.  Remove from the oil and drain them.  Smash the rounds flat using the bottom of a coffee mug or something equally wide and hard.  Fry them again in the oil for another 2 minutes, remove and drain.  Salt liberally and serve.

Asian Salad Dressing & Marinade

Asian Dressing with Chinese Chicken Salad

For years now, when we've wanted an Asian dressing, we've just thrown some crap together.  Some have been good, some have been not-so-good, but we never wrote down what we did.  So a little while ago, I decided I was going to get myself a solid recipe that I could make that would be consistently awesome every time.  Bam!  Here it is!  I love this dressing!  We use it for all kinds of things: green leaf salads with some cucumber, shredded carrot, green onions and cashews; marinade for chicken or pork (but only marinate it for a few hours or the vinegar and lime juice will "cook" the meat and make it kind of mealy); sometimes we'll toss some veggies like broccoli, onions, bell peppers and zucchini with it and then roast them; made a Thai-style 4-bean salad with it.  Very diverse.  Very yummy.

I was in an Elvis mood the other day (because I love Elvis)... but then I remembered U.S. Bombs' "Rocks in Memphis" and had to listen to it again.  You think Lisa Marie has even heard this song?  -jen

ASIAN SALAD DRESSING AND MARINADE
Time:  all of like... 5 minutes, maybe, if you measure slowly
Difficulty:  Easy
Makes:  1.5 cups

• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup rice vinegar
• 1 teaspoon fish sauce
• 2 tablespoons hoisen
• 2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
• juice and zest of 1 lime
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 tablespoon hot mustard (or any mustard)
• dash of sriracha (or more, if you want it spicy)
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon chopped ginger
• 1 cup canola (or vegetable) oil

Combine all ingredients together in a blender and blend for a few seconds!  You can store this in your refrigerator for a few weeks at least.  It should emulsify pretty well, so there shouldn't be much separation.  Just give it a quick shake before use!

Italian Chopped Salad with Dressing

In keeping with Justin's summer theme on the last post, I made this fantastic summery vegetable salad with a homemade Italian dressing.  I'd been feeling like raw veggies lately, and one thing with veggie salad is that it's usually cut into large pieces that you can fit two, maybe three veggies on the fork.  I wanted this salad chopped a little smaller so that I got all the flavours with every bite.  It reminds me of a large-chopped relish.  But it was really good... especially after it sat refrigerated overnight.  And it's versatile!  The first night, we just ate it in a bowl.  The next night, we sprinkled it onto lettuce greens.  I was thinking it might be tasty warmed and served on crustini, too!

When we make olive oil and vinegar based dressings, we usually just whisk all the ingredients together and you get big bits of dried herbs.  It's always good, but I was thinking about the dressing packets you can buy at the store, so I took all my dry dressing ingredients and blended them into a fine powder with our herb grinder and then used the stick blender to blend it into the oil. It came out good, so you could do it that way... but for the ease of those without herb grinders or stick blenders, I posted regular blender instructions

As soon as I started thinking about posting this salad as a summer salad, I got The Atari's "Boys of Summer" song stuck in my head.  Well really, it's Don Henley's song, I guess, but it's their version that got stuck on repeat.  It's a little poppy... but so was the original, and I still like that one too. :P  -jen


the Ataris - boys of summer by dairygalpal

ITALIAN CHOPPED SALAD WITH DRESSING
Time:  15-20 minutes prep
Difficulty:  Can you handle a knife?
Serves:  About 6, as a side dish

• 3 medium zucchinis (about 2 cups), large dice
• 2 carrots, large dice
• 1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
• 1 orange bell pepper, large dice
• 1 cup crimini mushrooms (about 7), large dice
• 1 medium shallot, diced 
• 3 green onions, diced
• 1/4 cup parsley, chopped
• 1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
• 1 and 1/2 cups mozzarella (12oz), diced
• 1/2 cup rough chopped green or kalamata olives 
• 1 can (15oz) garbanzo beans, drained
• 1 can (15oz) red kidney beans
  
• 3 teaspoons capers, drained
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 1 and 1/2 cups Italian Dressing (see recipe below)
• 1/4 cup pepperoni, diced (optional)

Place all ingredients into a large bowl.  Toss with dressing.  Serve at room temp.
Note:  I'd have put some fresh herbs in this if I'd had any on hand, but since I didn't, I didn't want to put it in the recipe.  Maybe 1/4 cup chopped basil or flat leaf parsley.

ITALIAN DRESSING
Time:  7 minutes
Difficulty:  E-Z
Makes:  1.5 cups

• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon Accent or MSG (optional)
• 1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon coriander
• 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1/3 cup white wine vinegar
• 1 cup olive oil

 In a blender, combine all dry ingredients and vinegars.  While blending, remove the middle spout of your lid (most blender lids have these) and very slowly drizzle in the olive oil so that ingredients emulsify.

Couscous Veggie Salad

So we've done a few couscous salads in the past but have continued to refine them over time till we've come up with this version.  It's very Mediterranean tasting, very light and refreshing, and a great side dish for a heavier main course or good as a main course all on it's own.  It's super easy to prepare and can be made in either large or small quantities with little to no trouble.  And it's fairly healthy as far as pasta salads go since it's loaded with fresh veggies and has no heavy dressing or anything on it.  I know, I know.  Cooking to Die for right?  Well, after a lot of artery clogging stuff we have to balance things, even if only just a little.  And who better to do some salad tunes than those rowdy hardcore boys from the east coast, Minor Threat?  So enjoy some Salad Days while you whip this dish up or while you eat. - justin

Couscous Veggie Salad
Time: 20 min
Serves: 6-8
Difficulty: Easy

• 1 cup instant couscous
• 1 1/2 cups chicken broth (water is okay but less tasty, even bouillon is better than nothing)
• 1 whole cucumber, peeled, seeded and diced
• 1 red/yellow/orange bell pepper, seeded and diced
• 1 medium shallot, minced fine
• 2 green onions, minced fine
• 1 cup broccoli, diced
• 1/4 cup green olives, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup feta cheese
• 1/4 cup fresh basil, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp fresh mint, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
•  zest and juice of 1 lemon
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp fresh ground black pepper

I find it's best to prep all the veggies and whatnot ahead of time as it's a toss everything in the finished cous cous kind of dish and not much time is involved in anything but the prep.  If you happen to be using English or "hothouse" cucumbers, ignore the part about seeds as they won't be present.

In a medium saucepan, bring your stock to a boil.  Stir in the instant couscous, cover and turn off the heat.  Let sit for five minutes.  Transfer the couscous to a large salad bowl and fluff with a pair of forks until any large clumps are broken up. Add all the remaining ingredients and toss thoroughly.  It's that simple.  This can be served chilled or just after combining everything; it's up to you.