An Easy Rice Salad

Salads are one of the easiest summer meals to make for a lunch or dinner. Yet greens can get boring. Macaroni is the same. Try something different like a rice salad. It's really an easy make and it can be customized to suit tastes.

I decided ti try it after being bored with the usual salad choices. Brown rice is more colorful and nutritious than white. I used Acme's Signature brand.

I used three cups of it and three cups of water to make six servings.

It was boiled,

Then put into a large bowl to cool in the fridge. I let it sit for an hour but for a colder, more refreshing rice try to make it about three hours before serving, Also DO NOT keep the freshly cooked rice out for more than four hours.It can attract bacteria which will cause salmonella - or food poisoning.

The fun part comes with what you put in.

I used sliced Roma tomatoes  along with diced  orange and yellow bell peppers,  red kidney beans and sliced black olives. For more flavoring I used a generous amount about a teaspoon of onion powder along with a large dousing of garlic salt. You could add diced garlic if you want a fresher flavor. Half a cup of olive oil was added along with a teaspoon of red wine vinegar.

It was a flavorful bowl of all sorts of tastes and textures.

What's good with this is that you can add what you want. it would be good with leftover chicken or pepperoni slices. You could add almonds or broccoli for an Oriental vibe. Feta cheese and kalamata olives can give a Greek feel. Have fun with it. It's easily stored and you can have it either for lunch or dinner the next day.

A rice salad is a nice way to beat the heat with easy cooking. Make up a big bowl for a tasty lunch or dinner. Then enjoy this cool and filling alternative to a traditional greens or macaroni salad.

A Cool Rice Salad For Hot Days

It is hard to come up with dinner ideas when the temps reach the 90's and 100's. What is easy to cook and easy to eat? The answer came in today's New York Times Food section. David Tanis' rice salad! Of course .It's a snap to make and a delicious way to beat the heat.

Mr. Tanis' recipe calls for arborio rice mixed with a tahini based dressing. His is crunchy and herby, thanks to the inclusion of currents, pistachios and almonds mixed with mint and chives. I veered off.
First the rice. Arborio does take a longer time to cook. Instant rice is easier. I used Stop & Shop's brand.

I cooked  three cups of it because anything with rice goes quick in my house.

Then I added the veggies,grape tomatoes and one orange pepper.

They were diced into bite size pieces.

I bought already cut celery and broccoli from Stop & Shop's salad bar. I included black

olives into the mix for a Mediterranean vibe.

As for the dressing olive oil and I went for a red wine vinegar instead of my usual apple cider one. Again it gives it a nice dinner in Capri feel.

A sprinkle of sea salt and a quick grind of pepper, mix and you have a salad that takes you through steamy days and nights. As Mr. Tanis suggests you can toss in some chopped hard boiled eggs.Add tuna for a Roman flavor. I'd suggest putting in some chopped roasted chicken to make it more filling.

Thank you David Tanis of A City Kitchen for inspiring

me to create my own rice salad recipe. This is another summer go to recipe that I'll be using in the dog days ahead. It's easy to make and so cool to eat.

Gustavo's Gazpacho My New Favorite

Yesterday I reviewed Susan Lewis Solomont's  memoir Lost And Found In Spain . It is a great book both for Iberophiles and foodies. She also kindly sent a recipe from her time there -  gazpacho - from the embassy chef  Gustavo. I had to try it and I have to say   this is my new summer favorite. I love the fresh taste and the seamless blend of veggies. The coolness of it is a welcome change , especially during these hot June days.

These are the veggies I used, four tomatoes, one green pepper, one cucumber and a garlic clove. Gustavo's recipe called for double the veggies and less garlic but I geared it towards servings for two to three people. I cut back on the cucumbers and the pepper. I added a small minced clove of garlic because I like a more robust garlic flavor.

It was a matter of cutting into small manageable pieces.

                                    First the cucumber is thinly sliced.

Then quartered.  

         

The same goes for the tomatoes.

                       Gustavo's recipe called for a quarter of a fresh onion however my family is not big on that, probably because of its' intensity. I used about a tablespoon of onion powder instead.
                                                       This is the green pepper I used .

                                         Use a large knife for cutting the peppers in half

Then a smaller one for coring, deseeding and dicing.

                                        Use a cup of olive oil for body. Spanish olive oil is recommended but I   
                               used my beloved Fillippo Berio. The recipe also calls for three spoonfuls of
                               vinegar. Three tablespoons of red wine vinegar did the trick.
                                 

Then it was using my immersion blender to create a cool creamy miracle.I added just a couple more tablespoons of olive oil  along with a good pinch of sea salt and fresh ground pepper. Using an immersion blender can be daunting, yet I find it works better than a conventional one. It did take a while and veggie bits and juice got spritzed around  a lot.

The end result was worth it. I love this soup.

It was both incredibly smooth and airy. The fresh vegetable taste was amazing. I could taste the individual veggies yet at the same time , taste the harmonious blend. The only side was a slice of artisanal whole grain ciabatta bread with a drizzle of olive oil.I would say serve this with a chilled red Spanish wine of your choosing.

Ambassador Solomont and his wife, Susan Lewis Solomont were lucky to have such a great chef as Gustavo at the embassy. His gazpacho recipe is a classic. It is also my new favorite summer recipe.

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Rescue Mission

Some dishes flop.It's just the nature of cooking.My cabbage steaks were not a big hit.I should have kept them in the oven for another ten minutes.Another problem was that there was just too much cabbage


There was only one thing to do - turn those crispy leaves into pescoi ,Piedmontese stuffed cabbage.This dish is usually made by first cooking polenta,and then letting it cool.Once cooled it placed in cabbage leaves.These are rolled, like dolmade,grape leaves, tied with just seeing thread(always white) and then fried in butter.The rolls are then fried until the cabbage leaves turn translucent and the polenta can be seen.These are then submerged in a mix of salvia, a type of thyme,red wine vinegar and garlic.

I marinated the steaks in garlic and thyme infused red wine vinegar for two days.

It had a stronger, more pickled taste than the rolls.The polenta was needed.

I used masa harina, the Mexican cornmeal which is finer  than the regular cornmeal.I cooked up a cup of it.

Then I deconstructed a centuries old dish.Instead of being one stuffed inside the other,they were placed side by side.

I put the polenta on the cabbage leaves and magic!!!The same taste that I grew up on.The polenta's mildness was the perfect foil to the puckering tartness.I like this deconstructed way better.There's never the threat of getting thread caught on my teeth

The cabbage steaks bombed.The deconstructed pescoi didn't.This was the perfect rescue mission.

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All Things Artichoke

One of the most pleasant tasting vegetables is the artichoke, Its' mild sweet flavor is addictive and can add to any dish, whether appetizer, or main meal. The verdant globes are a plus to any table.

What are artichokes? Plainly put thistles, those sharp edged pretty flowers that grow wild in gardens and woodlands.It's been cultivated for food since earliest times. and can grow as high as four feet.Homer has mentioned them as early as the Eight Century BCE The Greeks called them kaktos while the Romans named them carduus, hence their cousin's name cardoon.. Henry VII enjoyed them probably believing stories of them being aphrodisiacs. French colonists brought them to Louisiana while  the Spanish introduced them to California. Artichokes have the highest amount of antioxidants of any vegetable. They also possess a chemical called Cynarine which inhibits taste receptors. That's why foods, drinks , and water taste sweet after eating the hearts and leaves. Since this is a thistle, the leaves do have to be trimmed.Melissa Clark gave a how to in her  column A Good Appetite seen in Wednesday's New York Times Food section. The pointed leaves or "petals" have to be snipped using a kitchen scissor.(or regular one if you don;t have the first) Do not trim the stems. They are just as tasty as the artichoke hearts. Using a grapefruit knife, trim away any tough outer petals. If they're thicker than a newspaper and won;t bend between your fingers, then discard. Also scrape out any purplish spikes you see. These, too, are hard to eat along with the white choke.

Artichoke dishes are always special. Ms. Clark makes her with pasta and pancetta. Leeks, lemon and dry vermouth give it a brightness The recipe calls for four to five chokes which will give the ever salty pancetta a sweetness.Chives and mint  along with parsley are also added. One of the best artichoke  recipes is one for stuffed globes. This is a Southern Italian dish, rife with cheese and sausage. It's putting a breadcrumb  and oregano based stuffing into the leaves and then oven steaming them with water and olive oil. Sausage is crumbled into the mix and and moistened with a few drops of olive oil. Pecorino-Rmano cheese is sprinkled on top of this stuffing and then the artichokes can be steamed on the stove top or in  the microwave..A more elegant way of having them steamed and then dipping the leaves in a delicate vinaigrette using red wine vinegar or lemon juice. The artichoke hearts themselves are a tasty treat. They're  marinated in a garlicky oil and come in either jars or cans. One of my favorite brands is Paesana. The flavor is delicate  and not overpowered by too much garlic. They're good on their own as a lunchtime side or dipped in herbed cracker meal and then fried in a combo of butter and olive oil.

Artichokes and their hearts are a delicious addition to any table. Use them in pasta or  just stuff them as a hearty appetizer . They bring a sweet greenness and Spring flavor to the meal.