Chayote Black Bean Salad

 Finally, I''m back to blog my cooking again!!!!! I tried this Mexican Salad from Perfect Mexican cookbook in the past. I tried again and I used chayote instead of avocado. It gave crunchy texture. It is a light healthy salad. 

Ingredients
Serves 4-6
6 garlic gloves

1/4 cup olive oil
juice of 1 lime
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp paprika
5 scallions , thinly sliced
1 head romaine lettuce
8 oz canned corn kernels, drained
17 oz canned red kidney beans, drained
2 chayote instead 2 avocado
2 ripe tomatoes
1 jalapeno pepper small chopped ( optional)
half cup fresh cilantro 
Handful of crisp tortilla chips.

Method
To make the dressing combine lime juice, and oil with the vinegar,chili powder, cumin, and paprika in a small bowl, then set aside.
Toss the scallions with the lettuce and arrange on a serving platter. Pour half of the dressing over the leaves, then arrange the corn,beans, avocado or chayote, and tomatoes  over the top.sprinkle with the jalapeno pepper and cilantro.
                                 

Kale, Quinoa, and Avocado Salad with Lemon Dijon Vinaigrette

It is a snowy day! I decided to cook healthy salad with all my favorite ingredient in it. I found this recipe from Allrecipes website http://allrecipes.com/recipe/230050/kale-quinoa-and-avocado-salad-with-lemon-dijon-vinaigrette/print/?recipeType=Recipe&servings=4

I normally make some changes but I didn't change anything. I love this recipe! 

Ingredients

• Salad
• 2/3 cup quinoa
• 1 1/3 cups water
• 1 bunch kale, torn into bite-sized pieces
• 1/2 avocado - peeled, pitted, and diced
• 1/2 cup chopped cucumber
• 1/3 cup chopped red bell pepper
• 2 tablespoons chopped red onion

• 1 tablespoon crumbled feta cheese
• Dressing
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 1/2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 3/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions

1. Bring the quinoa and 1 1/3 cup water to a boil in a saucepan. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the quinoa is tender, and the water has been absorbed, about 15 to 20 minutes. Set aside to cool.
2. Place kale in a steamer basket over 1 inch of boiling water in a saucepan. Cover saucepan with a lid and steam kale until hot, about 45 seconds; transfer to a large plate. Top kale with quinoa, avocado, cucumber, bell pepper, red onion, and feta cheese.
3. Whisk olive oil, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, sea salt, and black pepper together in a bowl until the oil emulsifies into the dressing; pour over the salad.

Chayote Salad

I never ate chayote until tonight. I saw a cooking show where they used it and I wanted to give it a  try. It looks like a green pear. It is crunchy not sweet and I thought salad might be a good idea.  I saw recipes with corn and avocado. I came up with very simple idea.


Ingredients:
3 chayote's cubed
2 avocado's cubed
1 cup cooked corn
cilantro
Dressing:
2 tbsp olive oil
1 lemon
salt
 Preparation:
Mix all the ingredients and  mix the dressing and then toss with the dressing.

Orange and fennel salad

I decided to make a fennel salad tonight. I searched from google and found this easy recipe. Most of the time I make some changes with the recipes but I didn't change anything with this recipe. It is simple and delicious. Here is the link:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/robin-miller/orange-and-fennel-salad-recipe.html

Ingredients:

1 large fennel bulb, trimmed and thinly sliced
2 medium oranges, peeled
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons sweetened dried cranberries

Preparation:

Place the sliced fennel in a salad bowl. Slice oranges to divide flesh sections and add to bowl. Drizzle with olive oil, red wine vinegar, and salt and pepper. Toss, top with sweetened cranberries and serve.

Chickpea Salad

I made a chickpea salad yesterday. I wasn't posting my cooking for a while but I decided to post this salad recipe. I loved it so much. I found it online when I was searching chickpea recipes. The link is;
http://www.inspiredtaste.net/19298/fresh-chickpea-salad-recipe-with-lemon-and-dill/
I only made one change for this recipe. I didn't use can chickpea. I always get dry chickpea and soak at night and boil until it cook the next day.
Ingredients,

• 1 1/2 cups (227 grams) diced cucumber
• 2 cups (170 grams) chopped small tomatoes
• Two 15-ounce (425 grams) cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1/4 cup (59 ml) lemon juice
• 1/4 cup (59 ml) olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon honey
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
• 1/3 cup (28 grams) crumbled feta cheese
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

1. Combine cucumber, tomatoes and the rinsed chickpeas in a large bowl.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, olive oil, honey and the mustard. Season with salt and pepper then stir in the chopped dill.

Add dressing and feta cheese to salad and toss until well mixed. Cover then refrigerate at least 15 minutes before serving giving time for all the flavors to come together

Pineapple & Mango Salsa

This recipe is from cookbook called Perfect Mexican. I never had pineapple and mango salsa. I love the taste.
Ingredients

1/2 ripe pineapple diced
1 ripe mango diced
2 tbsp chopped fresh mint
2 tsp brown sugar
Juice if 1 lime
1-2 tsp tabasco sauce
1 large tomato seeded and diced
salt
Preparation Method
Add all the ingredients together and mix well. Cover and chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes to allow the flavors to develop. Stir again before serving.

Roasted pepper-cheese dip

This recipe is from cookbook called Cooking Light. It is a very delicious dip for cheese lovers.

 Ingredients
2 large red bell peppers
2 large unpeeled garlic gloves
1 (8-ounce) 1/3 less fat cream cheese
2 tsp balsamic vinegar
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper


Preparation Method
Preheat broiler.
Cut bell peppers in a half lengthwise; discard seeds. Place peppers, skin sides up, on a foil-lined baking sheet; flatten with hand. Add garlic to baking sheet, and broil 4 minutes or until blackened.
Let stand 15 minutes and  then peel peppers and garlic; discards skin.
Place roasted peppers and garlic in a food processor; process until smooth, scraping sides of bowl once. Add cheese; process until smooth. Spoon mixture into a bowl. and stir in vinegar,salt and crushed red papper. Serve immediately or cover and chill.

Turkish carrot salad with garlic yogurt

This simple carrot salad is from my childhood. My mom made it very often. It is very simple and light dish. I use fat free yogurt.

Ingredients
2 cups Greek style yogurt 
4 medium carrot grated
2 cloves garlic, crushed
3 tbsp olive oil 
salt
Flat leaf parsley for garnish



Preparation Method
Heat oil in a non stick pan over medium heat. Add carrots cook stirring occasionally, 10 minutes or until almost soft. remove from heat;  leave to cool.
Combine yogurt and carrots in a serving bowl. Add garlic ;toss. Add salt to taste.
Cover salad and chill for at least 1 hour. Spoon into serving bowls;garnish with parsley.

Salsa cruda

This recipe is from cookbook called Perfect Mexican. I used for the fish burritos. I was very tired and hungry when I was taking the picture.  I should clean around the bowl. The taste was good.

Ingredients
6-8 ripe tomatoes, finely chopped
3-4 garlic cloves
1/2 bunch fresh cilantro leaves chopped
3-7 fresh jalapeno seeded and finely chopped
1/2 tsp ground cumin
3-4 scallions, finely chopped
1/2 lemon juice
salt




Preparation Method
To make a chunky -textured salsa cruda, stir all the ingredients in a non metallic bowl, adding salt to taste.
Cover and chill until required.
To make a smoother-textured salsa, process the ingredients in a food processor or blender. Cover chill until required.

Tuscan white bean salad with tuna

This recipe is from cookbook called Super Salads. As son as I saw this recipe I remembered my mom used to make Turkish recipe called "piyaz". It is meze ( side dish) and very famous in Turkey. We mostly eat with kofte ( Turkish meatball). That recipe didn't have tuna. I used tuna with water but recipe used tuna with oil. 
Ingredients

2 cans (14oz) each white beans,
drained and rinsed
2 can ( 15 oz) tuna with water
1 medium red onion, sliced
3 tbsp olive oil
1 lemon juice
1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
Preparation Method
Toss beans,tuna, onion, oil, lemon juice and parsley together in a large serving bowl.
Sprinkle with chopped parsley just before serving.

Bulgur with green lentils and walnuts

I was searching recipes and I found this website Almost Turkish Recipes. I will try recipes from this website. I like the recipes. Of course, I made some changes as usual.

Ingredients

1 cup hot water
1cup bulgur
1 cup cooked green lentil
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
2-3 green onions, finely chopped
1/3 cup chopped parsley
1/4 cup chopped fresh dill ( I didn't use it )
1 red pepper or 1 green bell pepper, finely chopped
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 tsp or less red pepper flakes
1 tbsp finely chopped fresh basil or 1 tsp dried basil flakes
1 tsp dry mint flakes
3 tbsp olive oil ( recipe didn't have it)
1 tsp or less black pepper
 1 lemon juice
salt
optional a couple of cherry tomatoes
grape leaves (if unavailable, lettuce would do)
I didn't use grape leaves. 

Preparation Method

-Put bulgur in a bowl and add hot water. Stir once, cover with a thick towel and wait until bulgur soaks all the water.
-If you have fresh grape leaves, boil some water and cook grape leaves for 2-3 minutes. Set aside and let cool.
-Add tomato paste to bulgur and mix it well with the back of a spoon or your hands until paste is homogeneously distributed.
-Add lentils.
-Add green onion, parsley, dill, tomatoes, green pepper, basil, mint, red pepper flakes, black pepper, walnut, olive oil and salt.
-Serve bulgur with lentils with grape leaves or lettuce. Put some in the middle of a leave, make a roll or a bundle and enjoy.

Larp oh Chiang Mai

Today is 4th of July. Happy 4th of July everyone:) I should be cooking American cuisine today but I cook Thailand food instead. This recipe is cookbook from called The food and cooking of Thailand. We love this dish and make it very often. It is like chicken salad and very light.

Ingredients:

450 g/1 lb minced (ground) chicken

1 lemon grass stalk, root trimmed

3 kaffir lime leaves, finely chopped

4 fresh red chilies, seeded and chopped

60 ml/4 tablespoons fresh lime juice

30 ml/2 tablespoons Thai fish sauce

15 ml/1 tablespoon roasted ground rice

2 scallions (spring onions), finely chopped

30 ml/2 tablespoons fresh coriander (cilantro) leaves

Thinly sliced kaffir lime leaves, mixed salad leaves and fresh mint sprigs, to garnish

 Preparation Method

Heat a large, non-stick frying pan. Add the minced chicken and moisten with a little water. Stir constantly over a medium heat for 7-10 minutes, until it is cooked through. Remove the pan from the heat and drain off any excess fat. Cut off the lower 5 cm/2 in of the lemon grass stalk and chop it finely.

 Transfer the chicken to a bowl and add the chopped lemon grass, lime leaves, chilies, lime juice, fish sauce, roasted ground rice, scallions and coriander. Mix thoroughly.

 Spoon the chicken mixture into a salad bowl. Sprinkle sliced lime leaves over the top and garnish with salad leaves and sprigs of mint.

 

Lentil Tuna Salad

I found this recipe from cookbook called 1000 low fat. We like spicy food so I added jalapeno pepper.  This recipe is our another favorite dish. We loved it.
Ingredients
2 ripe tomatoes
1 chopped jalapeno pepper ( optional) 

1 small red onion
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp whole-grain mustard
1 garlic clove, crushed
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1 cup dry lentil, boiled until cooked and drain
2 7 oz can tuna, drained
2 tbsp chopped cilantro
salt and pepper
Preparation Method
Using sharp knife, deseed the tomatoes and then chop them into fine dice. Finely, chop the red onion.
To make dressing, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, mustard, garlic, cumin and ground coriander in a small bowl until thoroughly combined. set aside until required.
Mix together the chopped onion, diced tomatoes, and drained lentils in a large bowl.
Flake the tuna with fork and stir it into the onion, tomato, and lentil mixture. Stir in the chopped fresh cilantro an mix well.
Pour the dressing over the lentil and tuna salad and season with pepper to taste.

Sweet and Sour Pickled Beets

I make this pickled beets and keep them refrigerator so I can add them to  salads.

Ingredients
4 beets peal and sliced
1/2 cup white vinegar
1 pinch salt
Preparation Method
Place the beets into a large saucepan with enough water to cover the beets by 1 inch. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the beets are easily pierced with a fork, about 40 minutes; drain but leave 1/2 cup juice. Add white vinegar and salt. Refrigerate until you need to use.

Coleslaw

I didn't post recipes for a while it doesn't mean that  I didn't cook. I cook everyday but I was using recipes that I already post them. It is too much work cook and post a recipe but I'm not going to give up. I will post recipes. I spent a lot of time for cooking this Sunday. This recipe is from cookbook called Super Salads.

Ingredients

1/2 head medium green cabbage shredded
1 large carrot grated
3 scallions thinly sliced
2 celery stalks, thinly sliced
3 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 lemon juice
1 tsp dijon mustard
salt and pepper

Preparation Method
Place cabbage in a large bowl with carrot,scallions,celery and parsley:toss to combine. Whisk mayonnaise, lemon juice and mustard in a small bowl until well combined. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add dressing to salad: toss gently to combine.

Hot and sour noodle salad

We came back from New Jersey. We ate little heavy last couple days so I have to cook some light dishes this week. I made this salad couple of times and we love it. This recipe is from cookbook called The food and cooking of Thailand. Here it is,
Ingredients
200g/7 oz this rice noodles

small bunch fresh cilantro
2 tomatoes seeded and sliced
1 can baby corn cobs, sliced
4 scallions thinly sliced
1 red bell pepper seeded
and finely chopped
juice of 2 limes
2 small fresh green chillies,
seeded and finely chopped
2 tsp sugar
1 cup chopped peanuts
salt
2 tbsp soy sauce
Preparation Method
Bring a large pan of lightly salted water to the boil. Snap the noodles into short lenghts, add to the pan cook for 3-4 minutes. Drain then rinse under cold water and drain again.
Set aside a few cilantro leaves for the garnish. Chop the remaining leaves and place in a large serving bowl.
Add the noodles to the bowl,with the tomato slices,corn cobs, scallions, red pepper, lime jiice, chillies sugar ans toasted peanuts. Season with the soy sauce then  add little salt.
Toss the salad lightly but thoroughly. then garnish with the reserved cilantro and serve immediately.

Rotini - Vegetable Salad with pesto dressing

We will go to block party today so I decided to make pasta dish. This recipe is from cooking light cookbook. It is very easy and  taste delicious.

Ingredients

1 large garlic clove, peeled
1 cup packed basil leaves
2 tablespoons grated fresh Parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 cups cooked rotini
(about 2 cups uncooked corkscrew pasta)
1 1/2 cups diced zucchini
1 1/2 cups halved cherry tomatoes
1 (15-ounce) can cannellini beans or 
other white beans, rinsed and drained
I used chick peas

Preparation

Drop garlic through food chute with food processor on; process until minced. Add basil, cheese, salt, and pepper; process until finely minced. With food processor on, slowly pour water and oil through food chute; process until well-blended.
Combine rotini, zucchini, tomatoes, and beans in a large bowl; toss well. Add pesto mixture, tossing gently to coat.

Green papaya salad

 This recipe is from website http://www.thaitable.com/Thai/recipes/Green_Papaya_Salad.htm  I didn't use green beans and dry shrimp. We love green papaya salad. When ever we go to Thai restaurant always  order green papaya salad.

 Ingredients
1 green papaya 

4 garlic cloves minced 
3 green chillies seeded chopped 
1/2 tsp salt 
2 tomatoes, cut into thin wages
3 tbsp Thai fish sauce
1 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp crushed roasted peanuts 

Preparation Method 
 Many Asian supermarkets have shredded green papaya and that is what I use. However, if you can only find whole green papaya, the papaya can be peeled and shreded using a regular cheese grater with medium to large sized holes. When you get closer to the center, you will see the white immature seeds inside. Stop and move onto another part of the papaya. Discard any seeds that got into your bowl.

In Thailand, green papaya salad is made using a clay mortar, wooden pestle and a spatula. Smash a clove of garlic first. Then add  halved cherry tomatoes. Pound a few times just to bruise the beans and get the juice out of the tomatoes. Add chili peppers and crush them just enough to release the hotness, unless you like your salad really hot. Add the green papaya, toasted peanuts, fish sauce, lime juice and palm sugar. Use the pestle to push the mixture up in the mortar and the spatula to push it down so that the mixture is mixed well.

However, if you do not have a big enough mortar you can crush garlic, tomatoes. Set them aside in a large bowl. Add  fish sauce, lime juice and palm sugar to the bowl. Add green papaya and mix well.

Pasta salad with roasted vegetables

 I made up this pasta salad. It is very healthy dish. 

 Ingredients
3 tbsp olive oil 
salt and pepper 
1/2 lemon juice

1 head  broccoli cut into florets
1 red bell pepper cut small pieces
1 cup mushroom
2 small zucchini sliced
1 cup pasta cook according to package direction 

Preparation Method

Mix all the vegetables with olive oil salt and pepper. Roast the in the oven 45 minutes.
Mix with cooked pasta and add lemon juice.

Cauliflower Salad

I made up this recipe. It was easy.

Ingredients

Ingredients

• 1 head cauliflower, trimmed and cut into bite-size florets
• 1 tablespoon mustard
• olive oil
• 2 lime juice
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup chopped parsley
• ground black pepper to taste
• red pepper flakes for garnish

Directions

1. Place cauliflower in a large saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil and cook until just fork tender, about 10 minutes. Drain and cool slightly.
2. In a large bowl whisk together the mustard, olive oil salt, and pepper. Add the cauliflower,  dressing and stir until well coated. Garnish with red pepper flakes and parsley. Cover and refrigerate for 2 to 24 hours. The longer the cauliflower salad chills, the better the flavor.