Menu planning isn't working for us. I need something more flexible and less defined. Who the heck cares WHICH vegetable I'm eating on Thurs? We have bags upon bags of frozen ones, and rows of stuff in the fridge. So, I'm concocting a new plan.
Monday (I'm teaching):
- Buffalo burgers and fries, and Steve can work out the rest of the details.
Tuesday (Steve in class):
- Some type of fish (salmon, tilapia, etc)
- Grain (quinoa, rice, etc) with added chopped veggies
- Frozen fruit dessert
Wednes:
- Some variation of chicken
- Rice pasta
- Vegetable of choice
Thursday (Steve in class):
-Breakfast for dinner (extra pancakes, for lunch during our hectic Friday)
Friday (family movie night):
- Jack and Andrew can decide what we eat
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Beets and brown rice
Baked Beets and Brown Rice Salad Recipe
1 pound red beets (3 medium)
2 1/2 Cups Cooked Short Grain Brown Rice
2 Tbs Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Tbs Freshly Squeezed Lemon Juice
1 tsp Raspberry Vinegar, more if needed
1/4 tsp Salt, plus more if needed
2 Tbs Thinly Sliced Scallion Greens (optional)
2 Tbs Pine Nuts, for garnish
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Trim off any beet greens, leaving about a half-inch of stem intact. Rinse the beets. Wrap each beet individually in a tightly sealed aluminum foil packet. Set the beets on a foil-lined baking pan and bake until you can easily pierce them to the center with a paring knife, approx 60-90 minutes. (You can pierce the beets right through the foil.)
When they are cool enough to handle, gently rub the foil of each still-sealed packet against the beet. Slip off the beet skins along with the foil. Trim off the tail and stems ends. Cut the beets into 1/4-inch dice and set them in a bowl or storage container. Add the rice and toss until the rice is “dyed” beet red.
In a small bowl, whisk together the oil, lemon juice, vinegar, and salt. Toss the dressing with the beets. Adjust the seasonings, adding more vinegar and or salt, if needed, to intensify the flavors. Let the salad sit until the grains absorb some flavor, about 15 minutes. Stir in the scallion greens (if using) just before serving. Garnish with pine nuts. Serve at room temperature.
1 pound red beets (3 medium)
2 1/2 Cups Cooked Short Grain Brown Rice
2 Tbs Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Tbs Freshly Squeezed Lemon Juice
1 tsp Raspberry Vinegar, more if needed
1/4 tsp Salt, plus more if needed
2 Tbs Thinly Sliced Scallion Greens (optional)
2 Tbs Pine Nuts, for garnish
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Trim off any beet greens, leaving about a half-inch of stem intact. Rinse the beets. Wrap each beet individually in a tightly sealed aluminum foil packet. Set the beets on a foil-lined baking pan and bake until you can easily pierce them to the center with a paring knife, approx 60-90 minutes. (You can pierce the beets right through the foil.)
When they are cool enough to handle, gently rub the foil of each still-sealed packet against the beet. Slip off the beet skins along with the foil. Trim off the tail and stems ends. Cut the beets into 1/4-inch dice and set them in a bowl or storage container. Add the rice and toss until the rice is “dyed” beet red.
In a small bowl, whisk together the oil, lemon juice, vinegar, and salt. Toss the dressing with the beets. Adjust the seasonings, adding more vinegar and or salt, if needed, to intensify the flavors. Let the salad sit until the grains absorb some flavor, about 15 minutes. Stir in the scallion greens (if using) just before serving. Garnish with pine nuts. Serve at room temperature.
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Arugula pesto, sun-dried tomatoes, and pasta
I just discovered arugula. Dreamy!
In homage to arugula, I designed a dish around it: Rice pasta spirals with sun-dried tomatoes and arugula pesto.
To make the dish:
- Fill a large bowl with ice water. Then, bring a stockpot of water to boil and insert a bag of arugula (like you're cooking pasta). My bag was 7 oz.
- When water starts to boil again, use a strainer to pull out the cooked greens. Insert them into the ice water to stop the cooking. Then squeeze out all the water (I used clean dishtowels).
- The boiling water from the arugula can now be used for the rice pasta, since it's at the right temperature already. Snazzy, eh? Conserves water AND time.
- While pasta is cooking, food process the cooked greens with a tsp salt, garlic to taste, and 1/3 cup olive oil. I also added about 1/4 cup of pine nuts.
- When the pasta is done, toss the noodles with the pesto, sun-dried tomatoes, and salt to taste. We like our salt and garlic, so I use more of both. :)
I thought it was delicious, and it was even better as leftovers, after the ingredients married.
In homage to arugula, I designed a dish around it: Rice pasta spirals with sun-dried tomatoes and arugula pesto.
To make the dish:
- Fill a large bowl with ice water. Then, bring a stockpot of water to boil and insert a bag of arugula (like you're cooking pasta). My bag was 7 oz.
- When water starts to boil again, use a strainer to pull out the cooked greens. Insert them into the ice water to stop the cooking. Then squeeze out all the water (I used clean dishtowels).
- The boiling water from the arugula can now be used for the rice pasta, since it's at the right temperature already. Snazzy, eh? Conserves water AND time.
- While pasta is cooking, food process the cooked greens with a tsp salt, garlic to taste, and 1/3 cup olive oil. I also added about 1/4 cup of pine nuts.
- When the pasta is done, toss the noodles with the pesto, sun-dried tomatoes, and salt to taste. We like our salt and garlic, so I use more of both. :)
I thought it was delicious, and it was even better as leftovers, after the ingredients married.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
