Couscous Salad with Chickpeas and Goat’s Cheese
June 28, 2007 | Filed Under Salads | 12 Comments
Mmmm! I loved this salad! This Moroccan recipe comes from Valentina. It’s another easy recipe. I think the magic ingredients here are the tumeric and cinnamon.
Instead of chicken or vegetable stock mentioned in the recipe, I used beef stock because that’s all I had. Still tasted good. I left out the preserved lemon cause I didn’t have any but I have made it before (look here). I’ll have to make the preserved lemon again. Very delicious, very flavorable. Thanks, Valentina!
Paz
Couscous Salad with Chickpeas and Goat’s Cheese
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, peeled and chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon turmeric
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1 ½ cups chicken stock ( or vegetable stock for a vegetarian version)
1 ½ cups couscous
420g chickpeas, cooked and peeled
150g goat’s cheese, crumbled
2 red peppers, seeds removed and roasted in the oven
Juice of 1 lemon
3 tablespoons each chopped mint and parsley
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 preserved lemon
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Heat the oil in a large saucepan, add onion and cook over a medium heat for 5 minutes to light brown. Add crushed garlic, tumeric, and cinnamon, and cook for another 30 seconds, then add stock and bring to the boil
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Stir in the couscous, then remove pan from the heat, cover and leave to steam for 10 minutes to soften. Remove covering and fluff up couscous with a fork. Set it aside to cool
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Toss through the remaining salad ingredients, except preserved lemon, and season well with salt and pepper to taste
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Remove flesh from preserved lemon and discard. Rinse the rind with cold water. Finely slice rind and scatter over finished salad to garnish
New York Monday # 77: Happy Monday!
June 25, 2007 | Filed Under New York Monday | 5 Comments
Happy Monday, everyone! Have a great week!
Paz
Hot Meatball Salad
June 22, 2007 | Filed Under Salads | 17 Comments
The weather’s been hot, but not too hot to make these easy and delicious meatballs to go with salad, a recipe from Ilva. By the way, Ilva, I did wash my apron and am wearing it again. 
The recipe calls for rucola or argula salad but I couldn’t find it in the store. Instead, I used baby greens, which worked just as well for me. Ilva uses a simple dressing of olive oil but I decided to add some balsamic vinegar. I was in the mood for that. This is another salad I’ll continue to make this summer. Thanks, Ilva!
Paz
Hot Meatball Salad
500g/17.6oz minced meat
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 egg
2 tsp or more of sambal oelek
Rucola or Argula salad
Cucumber, diced
Small cherry tomatoes
Salt
Olive Oil, extra virgin
- Mix the minced meat with the chopped onion, the egg, sambal oelek and some salt. Mix very well and then make small meatballs the size of a hazelnut and fry them in some butter and olive oil until brown and nice.
- Put rucola, tomatoes and cucumber in a bowl and toss them together before drizzling a litttle extra virgin olive oil over. Add the meatballs, mix quickly and serve!
New York Monday #76: Circle Line
June 18, 2007 | Filed Under New York Monday | 5 Comments
A great way to see a different part of the city, especially when it’s hot.
Have a great week, all!
Paz
Garbanzo and Tuna Salad Recipe with Parsley and Red Pepper
June 13, 2007 | Filed Under Salads | 20 Comments
Kalyn recently posted the above titled recipe for Weekend Herb Blogging. One look at it and I knew what I’d be having for dinner. After a long, hot day, it was the perfect recipe for me because it involved no cooking — practically no work at all. In addition to the ingredients that Kalyn lists, I added some red pepper flakes. The salad is light yet filling. According to Kalyn, the salad can last for two days in the fridge, however in her home it never lasts that long. She’s right. the salad was gone in my home within 30 minutes. No joke! They had firsts, seconds, and thirds. Thanks for the recipe, Kalyn. I plan on making it several more times this summer.
Paz (Still wearing her Mischief Mari designed apron)
Garbanzo and Tuna Salad with Red Peppers and Parsley
(Makes about 4 servings, recipe created by Kalyn)
1 can garbanzo beans (also called chickpeas)
1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
1/4 cup chopped red onion
1 cup chopped parsley (I prefer curly parsley for this) Dressing:
3 T extra virgin olive oil
2 T fresh lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste
Put garbanzo beans in colander and rinse well with cold water, until no more foam appears. Let drain, then pat dry with paper towels.
In small bowl, wisk together olive oil and lemon juice. Gently mix dressing into salad. If you prefer your salads on the dry side, you may not want all the dressing. Season to taste with fresh ground black pepper and sea salt and serve. This will stay good in the refrigerator for at least a day or two, but at my house it would never last that long.
New York Monday #75: A Unique Garden
June 10, 2007 | Filed Under New York Monday | 13 Comments
The city is not really a concrete jungle as some like to describe. I see it as a unique garden, sometimes. I’m loving the different flowers I see all over the place. Here is one of them.
Happy Monday, everyone. Have a great week.
Paz
Cooking in Style!
June 7, 2007 | Filed Under Shopping, Fellow Bloggers | 16 Comments
I’m looking good in the kitchen while I pursue my cooking adventures! <Very Big Grin> Check out my new spankin’, new apron from Mischief Mari’s Superstuff!
My fellow foodbloggers are so talented! In addition to coming up with enticing recipes, they show us many of their other talents as well. I’m talking about bloggers like Mischief Mari, who makes the coolest cookies on the planet. She really does! Check out her cookies here. She’s recently opened a store featuring her design talents with tee shirts, aprons and shopping bags. I love my reversible apron with the cute pocket in the front. When I received it in the mail, I couldn’t wait to try it on. Stop by Mischief Mari’s store here.
Another blogger who also has a store with some wonderful stuff showcasing her photography skills is Meeta of What’s For Lunch Honey? She’s got cards, calendars, post cards, posters… Go take a look here.
Thanks for your work, Ladies! Lovely stuff.
Paz (wearing her apron as she types this)
Ed. Note: Look here for a better photo of the apron. It’s called the ‘Funky Ruffled Apron.’
Orzo Salad: Presto Pasta Nights
June 5, 2007 | Filed Under Pasta, Presto Pasta Nights | 17 Comments
I like all types of salads and eat them all year round. However, it seems to me that summer is the official season when everyone makes salads. This orzo based salad is perfect with which to start out the summer. Orzo pasta reminds me of rich (which I love).
Like all my favorite recipes, it’s easy to put together. The garbanzo beans, tomatoes, red onion, basil, leaves, mint leaves, and red wine vinaigrette are perfect together. Love it!
I’d like to contribute this to the Presto Pasta Nights event hosted by Ruth of Once Upon a Feast. If you have a pasta recipe to share and are interested in participating, check out the guidelines here. Ruth posts a line up of the recipe contributions every Friday on her blog. Go for it!
Paz
Orzo Salad
Giada De Laurentiis
4 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 cups orzo
1 (15-ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1 1/2 cups red and yellow teardrop tomatoes or grape tomatoes, halved
3/4 cup finely chopped red onion
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup chopped fresh mint leaves
About 3/4 cup Red Wine Vinaigrette, recipe follows
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Toss the orzo with the beans, tomatoes, onion, basil, mint, and enough vinaigrette to coat. Season the salad, to taste, with salt and pepper, and serve at room temperature.
Red Wine Vinaigrette
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons honey
2 teaspoons salt
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Mix the vinegar, lemon juice, honey, salt, and pepper in a blender. With the machine running, gradually blend in the oil. Season the vinaigrette, to taste, with more salt and pepper, if desired.
Yield: 1 3/4 cups
New York Monday #74: Who likes Jazz?
June 3, 2007 | Filed Under New York Monday | 10 Comments
All of a sudden, I’m noticing street signs named after people. Here’s the latest one I saw, named after the musician Duke Ellington. Very cool!
Have a good week, everyone.
Paz
Broccoli and Bow Ties - Presto Pasta Nights
June 1, 2007 | Filed Under Pasta, Presto Pasta Nights, Vegetables | 14 Comments
This is one of the very first recipes I tried by the popular T.V. chef, the Barefoot Contessa (Ina Garten). Oh, the simplicity of it!
Broccoli is one of my favorite vegetables. I could eat it forever and a day and never get tired of it. And I like farfalle pasta, although I don’t eat it often.
My favorite part of this recipe is the combination of butter, oil, garlic, and lemon zest prepared and poured over the pasta and broccolli. The smell is delightful and the taste so delicious that I think it’ll appeal to all types of eaters — even picky ones.
I’d like to contribute this recipe to the Presto Pasta Nights event that Ruth of Once Upon A Feast hosts weekly. If you have a favorite pasta recipe and would like to participate, here are the guidelines. Ruth posts a roundup of the recipes contritubed every Friday on her site.
Continue to have a good week!
Paz
BROCCOLI AND BOW TIES
Kosher salt
8 cups broccoli florets (4 heads)
1/2 pound farfalle (bow tie) pasta
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons good olive oil
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 lemon, zested
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 cup toasted pignoli (pine) nuts
Freshly grated Parmesan, optional
Cook the broccoli for 3 minutes in a large pot of boiling salted water. Remove the broccoli from the water with a slotted spoon or sieve. Place in a large bowl and set aside.
In the same water, cook the bow-tie pasta according to the package directions, about 12 minutes. Drain well and add to the broccoli.
Meanwhile, in a small saute pan, heat the butter and oil and cook the garlic and lemon zest over medium-low heat for 1 minute. Off the heat, add 2 teaspoons salt, the pepper, and lemon juice and pour this over the broccoli and pasta. Toss well. Season to taste, sprinkle with the pignolis and cheese, if using, and serve.
To toast pignolis, place them in a dry saute pan over medium-low heat and cook, tossing often, for about 5 minutes, until light brown.
