What's cooking? part 4

i made a salad of

pearl couscous
beluga lentils
pickled red onion
green pepper
cumin
chipotle chili powder

with a dressing of

avocado
lime
basil
white vinegar
honey
garlic

served on a bed of baby spinach and avocado slices and oven roasted tomatoes

SO GOOD

oh man that sounds like the best salad

La Lechera, was that a Nate Dogg homage?

you have to ask?

No, but I feel it needed attention and commendation

:)
words to live by

xps it was really tasty! and it was my first time cooking/eating black beluga lentils AND jalapeno pepper!! the original recipe i adapted it from used quinoa instead of couscous and cilantro instead of basil.

that sounds like a mighty tasty salad, i would agree
good job!

I'm so hung over and tired I read "beluga lentils" as "bela lugosis" o_0

ooh justine how was the jpno?

I find they're not as hot as everyone pretends they are.

Not bad! The recipe called for a whole one, I only used half and also doubled the vinaigrette ingredients, it was def hot but totally edible. I really want to get better at eating spicy food bc I hate being such a baby about it.

P.s. I love pearl couscous, it's my new favorite food

Pearl couscous is such a delight. I just wish it was an actual grain ;_;

you can get a wholegrain version

(it is good)

Turning a quart of already-thick yogurt into labneh (yogurt cheese). Should I blend in fresh herbs, y/n?

y

ok, I have these out in the garden:

rosemary
oregano
spearmint
peppermint
dill
sage
parsley
chives
basil

also have lemons and garlic in the house. I'm thinking about dill + lemon zest in half, something else in the rest.

spearmint, oregano, parsley in the rest imo

i get mixed up with giant cous couses but the wholegrain one is great, yes. also in the US it's sometimes sold as Israeli Cous Cous & in the UK it's Palestinian Cous Cous.

"Ten Tips to Cook Well" from El Yucateco

in the UK it's Palestinian Cous Cous.

i have never seen it called that here!

Have we talked abt chicken stock recently? Carcass (and maybe other butcher-provided parts--recommendations?), onion, garlic, celery, carrot, and parsnip. Any other must-adds?

necks and wing tips are good - they provide a lot of gelatin. I usually do a mix of roasted carcass and a few non-roasted parts. Leave the skin on.

this pwns http://www.10thkitchen.com/2011/11/raw-kale-salad-with-lemon-and-pecorino/
i ate it with grilled cheese too. i skipped breadcrumbs and used pre-grated (but real) parmesan because i had it to make shells and had to use it up. it still worked!

Oh that is my faaavorite.

Also try adding toasted pine nuts, if you have them/like them. In place of breadcrumbs.

i feel like i could eat it every day and breathe garlic onto everyone. i was gonna try pecans or walnuts with it too.

guy at farmers' market sells $1/lb kale and you can't get less than a pound. i could never figure out how to use it all in a week!

I blend it in smoothies in the morning

yeah i used to do that it's just that my blender sucks!

I made that salad for a dinner party using lacinato/Tuscan/dinosaur kale and it was sooooo gooooooood

I have some chicken stock in the fridge I made on friday that needs using or freezing. I always addd all the celery leaves into mine as well as celery sticks. Also some whole black peppercorns, some bay leaves, some stalks of fresh thyme and oregano.

Also I didnt think you could eat kale raw! I thought it was like silverbeet and really bitter raw?

(I have some growing in my garden that should be ready to harvest in maybe 2-3 weeks Im hoping)

I had some asparagus salad on vacation that I somewhat recreated:
- Grilled some asparagus, leaving it with grill sear but crunchy (somewhat overcooked this time)
- Coated walnut chunks w/raw sugar and roasted them on the grill next to the asparagus (overdone, but mostly fine)
- minced raw shallot
- dressing w/some white balsamic raspberry blush vinegar, a little oil, and some sugar

Could use some fresh herbs, but it was good on its own. I bought some feta to throw in but it didn't need it.

I eat raw kale all the time! All kinds, but I think lacinato is best raw. We go through about a pound a week...my lazy favorite is the 1lb box of rainbow kale they sell at whole foods -so easy to throw it in anything.

Hmm ill have to try some of my now-growing tuscan kale and see what its like while its still young :)

mh next time you should put some cayenne pepper (just a light dusting) with the sugar on the walnuts before roasting/toasting -- heavenly!

i made a raw kale salad last night with pine nuts, pancetta, parmesan, lemon, oo and it was vv good.

also grilled chicken on top

Baby kale is really easy to have raw but if you're nervous about raw kale massage a bit of olive oil on the leaves and let them rest for a while -they'll be a bit softer.

I never see the kind of kale around anymore that's so tough it's almost like plastic? The kind that would actually cut your hands. We used to use it around the containers in the salad bar when I worked in a dining hall! I don't know what that was, but it's not the kind you should be eating raw? But all the kale at stores and markets now is perfectly edible raw, it's not even that tough.

Yeah when i was a kid my parents said kale was for garnish. Sometimes we'd bring it home in our doggy bags from restaurants and feed it to the neighbor's bunny. I didn't realize humans ate it til a few years ago!

i just made the most delicious dwenjang stew. after all this kale talk, i went and added a bunch of kale and it was amazing.

i have broccoli, pea shoots and bell peppers that i want to save for a stir fry next week, bc i am unexpectedly gonna be out of town the next couple of days. i really really don't want to cook them at all - can i just chop and freeze them? will pea shoots freeze ok?

Pea shoots last FOREVER (like, weeks) in a Baggie in the fridge!

I wouldn't freeze them -- my guess is that they would freeze like lettuce ie not well. Surely they'll be ok in the fridge?

yeah all those things last a long time except for brocs in my experience

this stuff is already a week old

the bells were a little wrinkly when i bought them

i planned to make stir fry last night, but i made this huuuge pot of red lentil curry at the start of the week, and it turned out way better than i expected. my house has smelled like really good curry all week.