I’m sure you’re like me and you buy something for a recipe and the recipe was “okay” but not something you want to add to your recipe roster.  Several months ago I made a citrus and fregola sarda salad.  I liked it but the husband thought it was less than spectacular.  He eats anything I cook but I could tell he wasn’t enjoying it.  You know when they push things around on their plate to make it look like they’re eating.  Then miraculously before his plate was finished, he was full.  Confirmation.

So, I had half a bag of fregola sarda that I’d vacuum sealed. Fregola sarda is Sardinian pasta where it’s hand rolled by rubbing semolina and a little bit of water a bit at a time and then toasted.  I was stuck with finding something to make with it or toss it.  I hate tossing food.

I found a recipe for caramelized butternut squash (pumpkin) with fregola sarda and chermoula on Food52 and that’s where I started.  I thought it sounded good but It seemed hotter than I had in mind.  Then I went to the pantry and found 5 little pickling onions and a head of garlic.  I went to the fridge and found half a butternut squash (pumpkin), 1 1/2 sweet red peppers (capsicum) and that decided lunch.

First I roasted the peppers (capsicum) at 215C til they were blackish and placed them in a bowl and covered it with cling film for them to sweat their skins off so I could seed and chop them up.   I peeled and chopped the butternut into 3/4 inch pieces and put them in a bowl and drizzled olive oil, a tablespoon of brown sugar, kosher salt and some pepper and mixed to coat.  I placed the orange chunks of joy on some baking paper on a baking tray and popped it in the oven at 185C for about 40 minutes til it was golden brown on the edges but not burnt.  Caramelized butternut squash (pumpkin) – doesn’t that just sound delicious?  It was. Before I added it to the bowl I tasted a piece just to be sure.  It took a 2nd piece before I was totally convinced.  Heavenly.

I peeled the onions and placed them in a microwave safe dish with a pat of butter and some sea salt for about 5 minutes til the edges were just beginning to caramelize. Yum.

After I put the squash in the oven I took a head of garlic, sliced off the bottom (I know we’re supposed to slice off the top but I have better luck doing the bottom.  The cloves come out all caramelized and perfect without getting squooshed.  I took a big sheet of aluminum foil (normally I say tin foil so I don’t have to suffer with alyoomineeum because it just doesn’t roll off my tongue.  it’s aluminum where I come from, no extra i.  I lived in Alcoa, Tennessee when I was in college and they know aluminum there.  lol)  Now where was I.. oh yes.  Fold the foil in two and put a squirt of olive oil and rub the cut side of the garlic in the oil and then roll it around.  Sprinkle some kosher salt on top and fold the edges of the foil around the garlic, twist to seal and pop it in the oven at 200C for about 40 minutes.  The cut edges should be golden brown and the cloves will be all soft and sweet.

While the garlic and butternut were roasting I put half a cup of fregola sarda in a pot of boiling water for 10 minutes and then drained it and placed it a dish to cool, then put it in the fridge.  Btw. when you take the fregola out of the fridge and put it in the mixing bowl, don’t use your hands.  Those little buggers stick EVERYWHERE on your fingers and they don’t shake off.  I had to flick them off with a sharp knife, rolling my eyes as I realized how silly I looked.

Once I washed my hands I went outside.  This is a big thing because it’s been raining so much around here that nobody goes outside any more.  For this salad I needed fresh herbs and we keep them outside so out I went.  Yes, I got wet.  Yes, I yelled at the dog for going in the pool – it’s green from all the rain.  We’ve had 19 inches of rain in the past week and lots more rain expected this weekend. Yes, it’s been flooding.  Yes, I’m still dry.  The pool guy was here this morning and he backwashed the pool for 15 minutes.  I did it for 20 minutes yesterday.  It’s still raining.

Anyway, about the herbs.  You could use anything you have handy.  I chopped off a pot of chives, pinched some young basil leaves and harvested some flat leaf parsley and ran back into the house, yelling at the dog to get out of the pool but not come in because he was all wet.  Thankfully he understands all of that.  He sat at the back door and asked for a bone from the freezer.  I speak dog so I knew what he wanted.  Everyone was happy.

Yes, this is Charlie.  He looks full of marrow bone doesn’t he?  He sleeps under my chair most of the time so when I need to get  up I have to trip over him.  Oh, looking at the photo I know why my headphones don’t work.  Probably need to charge them up with that cord on the floor next to the dog.  Argh.

The cat’s on my old chair over there.   It’s still in my office because it has never made it to the garage on its way to someone else’s house so the Lucy has taken it as her own.  Unless she’s sitting my chair.  My chair is black – it should have been cat hair brown.  She’s a beautiful cat but she doesn’t like anyone except the dog and he hates her. I mean she’s a cat, right?  NO self respecting dog likes a cat – that’s what he told me.  (see above about speaking dog)

The butternut was beautifully roasted, the garlic made the whole house smell good and I was getting hungry.  The cricket test match had just started so that must mean it’s lunch.

I chopped the herbs and put everything in the bowl and then (only then?) decided how I was going to dress it.  I thought I’d just know when I looked at it and it seemed to be asking for extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice with a bit of seasoning.  So that’s what I did.

THIS is when I thought it looked good enough to blog about and ran upstairs for the camera.  Sorry about no prep photos but honestly, roasted veg and garlic isn’t exactly new.  You did get the cat and the dog.  heh.

I plated it up and then called his majesty the husband who does not cook by going to the stairs and yelling, “John!!! It’s lunch!” and then waited so see if he heard me.  I don’t climb the stairs for a personal invitation — but he already knows that and he came right down.

Remember he was the one who didn’t like the previous fregola sarda dish I made so it was iffy but he loved this one.  He likes most anything that has roasted garlic or roasted onions in it.

So if it’s time to clean your fridge or pantry – make a salad.  You’ll save money and the food will be fantastic!

 

 

 

I just got home from a pre-Australia Day party where pizzas were cooked in the outside pizza oven.  It was just next door and several of us made a LOT of pizzas.  Everyone on our street was invited as well as the people across the canal we live on.  It was so nice to catch up with old and new friends.

One family from across the canal live in Christchurch, New Zealand and their house here is their holiday home.  When Christchurch had the big earthquake they lost nearly everything.  Rebuilt and then lost everything again in the 2nd huge quake last year.  Now they live in their garage while waiting for the insurance to pay off to rebuilt their house again.  How sad!

I brought this curried quinoa salad and every bit was eaten.  It’s my very favorite salad.  I call it vegetarian crack but you can call it salad.  I love it because it’s sweet, hot, spicy and delicious.

The only cooking takes 9 to 10 minutes and that’s just putting the quinoa into boiling water and then straining the water off.  Bingo.  There IS a bit of chopping but seriously, how hard is that for the best salad in the world?  That’s what a lovely English gentleman said to me tonight as he got on one knee and begged for the recipe.  Okay, he was pretty tanked at the time so maybe it’s really NOT the best salad in the ENTIRE world but hey, he could be right!

Start by making the salad dressing.  Mix extra virgin olive oil (the good stuff) along with the white balsamic vinegar.  Then add one long red chilli finely diced, the ground cumin, ground coriander, cassia bark or cinnamon and the teaspoon of freshly grated ginger.  Mix well and set aside so the flavors combine well before dressing the salad.  Cassia is also called baker’s cinnamon.  It’s a bit like cinnamon light.

Next, cook the quinoa.  The recipe calls for one cup of quinoa and I just happened to have both red and white in my pantry so I cooked half cup of each.  I think it worked really well.

Boil 2 cups of water in a saucepan, add a pinch of salt and toss in the quinoa.  Cook for 9 or 10 minutes or until the grains are soft but not mushy.  Strain the water off and set aside to cool.  I put mine in a bowl and tilted the bowl and turned the fan on.  It only took a few minutes for it to cool enough to put in the fridge.

Quinoa is a grain-like product originally from South America where the Incas felt the crop was sacred.  It’s good for you too as well as being gluten free. It’s got more protein that other grains, it’s slow digesting with a low GI and polyunsaturated fats.  It’s got lots of calcium, iron and Vitamin B.  It really IS good for you and not only that… it’s part of the best salad in the world!

While the quinoa is cooling, it’s time to start chopping and gathering all the ingredients.  Nothing worse than getting half of something made only to find out some son of a gun ate the dried blueberries you were saving for this salad.

Finely dice the capsicum (green peppers, sweet red peppers or sweet yellow peppers).  I used all three colors just because I love a rainbow salad.  It looks healthy to see all the colors.  Then finely dice a red onion. Finally finely dice a half cup of celery.

Remove the leaves of the parsley and coriander (cilantro) and roughly chop and that’s it for the chopping department.  The rest is just measuring.  It’s 1/2 cup of sultanas or raisins, 1/2 cup cried cranberries, 1/2 cup dried blueberries, a cup of frozen baby peas (thawed) and a cup of unsalted peanuts (save some for garnish).

Take out the bowl of cooked quinoa and toss in all the chopped ingredients and stir to mix.  Then add the dried fruit and stir again.  If you’re going to eat the salad right away, add the peanuts, then add the dressing and garnish with coriander (cilantro) leaves, finely sliced chilli and reserved peanuts.  If it’s going to be a while til you eat the salad, it will keep undressed for up to 4 days.  Just add the peanuts and dressing and the salad is wonderful.

Here’s the recipe.

 

 

 

Today the Friday Morning Cooking group made the best picnic salad I’ve had in a long time. Our group meets every Friday morning at 10 am and it’s a great opportunity to have a cup of coffee or tea, a piece of cake and a chat with friends.  I look forward to my Friday food adventure.

This salad takes a bit of time to prepare because everything has to be sliced or diced but every bit is easy and the salad can be made up to a couple of days in advance.  All you need is your picnic basket, this salad and some chicken.  I’d probably stop at the shop and get a rotisserie/bbq chicken on the way to the picnic and save myself some work on picnic day.  Once you arrive, slice or pull apart the chicken, add the dressing to the salad and plate it up.

The dressing is only chopping a few ingredients, adding a few more ingredients, mix and let the flavors combine before using.  It tastes SO good!  If you want to prepare your own chicken, you can do that too.  Mix some garlic, fresh ginger, soy sauce and lime juice and soak some chicken tenders for 15 minutes and then grill in a hot pan til just done.  For my picnic I used a store bought chicken to save time.

The ingredients in this salad aren’t expensive and it makes a LOT of salad.  You can use Vietnamese mint, plain old regular mint or a combination of regular mint, spearmint and Vietnamese mint.  I used Vietnamese mint and garden variety mint and it was delicious.

If you use a V slicer (mandolin), a salad maker or a shredder or a food processor, then this salad doesn’t take very long at all.  If you’re doing it all by hand, it will take some time but nothing in this recipe is difficult. Just slice and chop and place everything in a large bowl.

Looks messy I know but the taste is oh so good.  Once you have the dressing made and the chopping and slicing done it’s all down to plating or storing for that fantastic picnic you have planned.  The salad mix will stay in good shape for three or four days if you don’t add the dressing til just before you serve the salad.

Just add the chicken, drizzle with the dressing and it’s time to eat!  Here’s the recipe:

 

 

Several years ago I was growing heaps more beets (beetroot for some) than I could eat so I decided to invest in a canning set and make pickled beets.  I was a bit concerned because I’d never made any preserves other than strawberry jam at the time.  I found a recipe from an old cookbook I found in the local library and that was the basis for the recipe I now use.

I no longer have a big veggie garden but that doesn’t stop me from making pickled beets.  Now I watch for cans of baby beets to go on sale and I stock up.  When I have 7 or 8 cans in the pantry, I make pickled beets.  I used to have bright red hands from peeling the beets but now it’s no muss no fuss for me.

Pickled beets are really versatile to have on hand as they go great in a green salad or in a bowl by themselves paired with potato salad and a steak.  In under 15 minutes I’ve got dinner on the table.

 

You’ll need canning jars with new lids.  Don’t risk your wonderful preserves by trying to use old lids.  It’s false economy and you want to keep your family safe.  I toss the jars in the dishwasher and I put the lids in a pan of boiling water for 10 minutes.  That’s all that’s necessary.

You make up the preserving liquid (recipe below) and when that’s done, use your home grown and cooked beets or open those tins and drain them.  Slice an onion thinly and place the beets and onions (as many onions as you like – they aren’t required if you don’t like onions) in the jars to about 1/2 inch from the top.  Pour the hot liquid over the beets to 1/2 inch from the top.  Wipe any spills from the top of the jar so you’ll get a good seal and then put the lids and rings on and tighten but don’t tighted too hard.

Place the jars in a water bath and process in boiling water for 30 minutes.  Remove from the water bath and place on layers of newspaper to cool.  Don’t touch them for 24 hours and by then they should be well sealed.  Store in your pantry and refrigerate after opening.

 

A great quick salad.  Baby greens, orange slices, pickled beets and feta or goat’s cheese.  Juice from the orange mixed with a bit of the preserving liquid makes a great dressing.

This is the salad I just made for myself to eat outside in the Sunday sunshine.  Come on over.