Orzo and Basil Salad

Orzo and Basil Salad, page 153

I do not have a single picture of this recipe. Instead I'm sharing one of our favorite treats and then I'll get to the recipe. This picture is from a recent food & wine pairing party we hosted. It's something I discovered a few years ago and have done my best to share with anyone willing to eat with me.

Extra Sharp White Cheddar and Honey

Have you tried it? Is is a favorite? Do you kids like it? What kind of cheese do you like best? Local honey? Lavender honey? Clover honey? Truffle infused honey? "Off the shelf does it really mater what kind" honey?

Please do tell, because I want to know. And really, I probably need to know.

On to Orzo and Basil...

I followed this recipe well. I used the suggestions for substitutions and some of the additions too. Only, I didn't eat any of it. I trusted Jonathan and Elliott and the empty bowl. I didn't eat any, because I used Orzo and I'm unable to eat the kind I had. I've not found a GF Orzo except online. I've not see it at my local grocery or at TJ's. Maybe I could try it with arborio rice? Gluten Free readers, what do you think? 

In the corner of page 153 the time given for this recipe is 10 minutes. It's quick FZ pals, very quick. Here's my hint, cook the Orzo in the morning when you are fixing this, put it in the fridge for the day and it'll be perfectly ready to mix with the other ingredients and be called dinner.

Kitchen Action
Lacking in Pantry: Not-A-Thing
Additions, Subtractions or Method Changes: Nothing. Well, I used canned beans.
What I'll try next time: Use a GF pasta.
How it Scored:
Jonathan: 4.5
Elliott: 4

Pasta Salad with Olives and Beets

 Pasta Salad with Olives and Beets, page 144

I love beets.

Elliott loves beets.

Jonathan tolerates beets.

Chas will not touch beets, but thinks the way they turn things, specific things, pink is awesome. 

I don't use the microwave often. Actually, we keep it in the garage, so it has never dawned on me to cook potatoes or root veggies this way. When I read the description of this recipe suggesting that the beets be cooked in the microwave, I chopped them, placed them in a glass bowl and into the garage I went. Six minutes later they were nearly finished. I'll use the microwave this way again. Thanks Chef Biju and Dr. Lim!

I was out of my favorite penne rice pasta from Trader Joe's, so I tried a new brand and it was swirly. I like swirly, it would work. Too bad it was just ok. I'm glad the boys have a soccer tournament in Kansas City in a few weeks. KC = TJ's I'll head to the Missouri side to stock up. Any of you know why I'll go to the MO side, not the KS side? Hint: it's not because it's closer to where the tournament is being played.

Beets, nuked & sauteed.

Pasta, boiled. 

Sauce to make. 

Elliott helped with this part. He placed the remaining ingredients into a bowl, mixing them well. As he chopped the olives, he popped a few in his mouth. Elliott is an olive, black olive, lover. Quickly he learned black kalamatas, taste a little different from the black olives he finds at Christmas dinner. You know, the kind you put on you fingers and chomp off one by one until your cheeks look like a chipmunk? "Ewwww!" He was not a fan. But he kept on stirring. 

We added the sauce to the beets and pasta, covering them well. This was pre-soccer, so I placed the pan in the oven until we got home. Actually, I ate a bowl before we left for the pitch. Delicious. I loved the zing of the mustard, olives and lime. 

Kitchen Action
Lacking in Pantry: lemon
Additions, Subtractions or Method Changes: lime for lemon and I did use Parmesan.
What I'll try next time: I'll try it with regular olives. I think Elliott would like it better this way.
How it Scored:
Jonathan: 2.5, he liked the sauce, just tolerated the beets
'becca: 5, loved it!
Elliott: After the olive taste, he wasn't a fan.

Bread Salad

Bread Salad, page 147

 <----  from this to this  ------>

make it crunchy

add in halved grape tomatoes, sliced orange and yellow peppers, shredded spinach

sprinkle with some of this and a little of that...

...and call it a bread salad.

Kitchen Action

Lacking in Pantry: nothing
Additions, Subtractions or Method Changes: I used a whole grain bread and classic french bread, tore it instead of slicing into cubes. {I most always break or tear bread, instead of using a knife.} I tried to caramelize onions, but I cooked them just a little too long and they turned out to be a sticky mess. I scrapped it. I totally forgot the grated Parmesan until about 30 seconds ago when I reread the recipe as I wrote.
What I'll try next time: Remember the cheese.
How it Scored:
Jonathan: "It sure has lots of bread." "It's suppose to, silly. It's a 'bread' salad." "Oh, I see." 4
Elliott: 3
Chas: 4 for the bread. Only the pieces without balsamic and no veggies. The challenge continues friends!
Tim: I didn't get a number score, but he ate it (being polite or enjoying it...not sure.)
'becca: absolutely a FG* dish. I imagined it to be a 5, because if I could have, I'd have eaten the whole bowl.

*FullaGluten

White Bean Salad

White Bean Salad, page 129

"Grilled bread salads are easy last-minute items that can accommodate most any good hearty leftover bread." That is the first line in the description of this recipe. Thank-goodness it's 100% true. I made this one evening, after a hot and humid day, serving it with millet salad. Both were delicious and great as leftovers for a couple of days to follow. 


When I see artisan breads on the day old rack at the grocery, I toss them into my basket and then in the freezer at home. As a lover of bread, but no longer able to eat it, I find joy  in making sure my boys have good bread to accompany many dinner meals. I had most of the items the recipe called for and pulled a loaf of bread from the freezer. No trip to the grocery required! 

What do you do with the peel of the lemon after you have juiced it? Save it for zest? Compost? Toss it in the garbage? I cut mine into smaller pieces and put them down the disposal. They kinda make a loud grinding, clunking noise to begin, but then the lemon aroma fills the air. I love that. Sometimes I even cut up a lemon just to make the kitchen smell lemon-y and I'm sure that the lemon juice cleans the disposal better than chemical cleaners, right? Humor me, answer yes. Thank you.

We are headed into a stretch of triple digit days in the Ozarks and I plan to make more salads, drink chilled wine and much water. I find the heat effects the way I eat and what I eat. Does this happen to you?




Kitchen Action
Lacking in Pantry: Notta
Additions, Subtractions or Method Changes: I used more carrots, didn't use onion or red pepper flakes, used romaine lettuce, because that's what I had on hand and extra parmesan. Most always, extra cheese.
What I'll try next time: I'd like to try it with the onion. Maybe this week, since all of my boys will be away. I have no onion haters here and no one to kiss with onion on my breath. Sounds like a plan.
How it Scored:
Jonathan: 4
Elliott: 3
Chas: 0 (like the millet salad, he wouldn't try it. I think he made his own dinner this night. Stinker.)
'becca: 4.5 I had mine over lettuce, making it GF. Yum!

Millet Salad

Millet Salad, page 278

The first time I purchased millet I thought of birds. Millet reminds me of bird seed. This spring I made a muffin recipe from another favorite cookbook, Super Natural Everyday, by Heidi Swanson. I took them to an early morning soccer game to share with the parents. Because they contained whole wheat, I'd not tried them and when asked how they tasted I replied, "Well, I am not sure, but they probably taste, um, healthy? They contain millet, so I'm calling them my healthy birdseed muffins." To which a few people chuckled and bit into the muffin they were holding. Healthy is a good description, one person noted and the others, enjoyed them, one even asked for the recipe. 

With healthy and songbirds on my mind, I approached this recipe. I prepared the millet in the morning and allowed it to cool on the cook-top for the majority of the day. I was also preparing the White Bean Salad, page 129, for dinner the same evening. The two complimented one another, making a nice light choice for a hot and humid southern night in June. I also chilled a bottle of Pinot Grigio. There is something lately about white wine. It must be the warm days, because typically white is not my choice, but it was this night and as the days become increasingly warmer I'm sure it will be again. 

We ate this salad as a side dish that night, but the following day I put it in a tortilla for Jonathan as part of his lunch and I ate it inside a piece of lettuce, Turkey Lettuce Wrap style. Although it was a light and refreshing salad the night I fixed it, I found it to be even tastier the following day. This would be a fantastic dish to take to a picnic with friends. It can be enjoyed on the side, as the main dish and who knows, you may even have song birds show up, hoping you accidentally trip over a tree root, spill your plate and share with them. 

Kitchen Action

Lacking in Pantry: Chives

Additions, Subtractions or Method Changes: Because I didn't have chives and I have mint growing in the yard, I used fresh mint.

What I'll try next time: I'll cut the recipe in half. 

How it Scored:

Jonathan: 3.5

'becca: 4

Elliott: 2

Chas: 0 (wouldn't try it)

Egg & Chorizo Sandwich and Beet Juice

Richard is one of my most favorite people in NWA. His heart is big, his words are encouraging and ladies he's available. He drops by our home "African Style" (unannounced) and my family is always so happy to welcome him. He works at the same company with Jonathan and has become a dear friend not only me, but my family. My mom and dad, sister and brother all know him and love him too. But he's MY First Friend.

The picture to the right was taken at the finish of the Branson 70.3 & Sprint race (l-r: Dirk, Richard, me and the Duck). Where else but Branson, MO do you cross the finish line and are greeted by a "Ride the Ducks" duck and Saloon girls? I had to get a picture of 1 and passed on the other. This was my 3rd triathlon and had it not been for his encouraging words, I may not have made it past my first. Thanks FF, you are the best! 

Cooking and Eating through The Feed Zone readers...Welcome Richard!

***

Below are recipes as cooked by myself that come straight from ‘The Feed Zone Cookbook. I gotta admit, since my BFF ‘becca Nimrod mentioned it, I have been hooked on this book. The food is amazing and simple to create. Plus, I’m a bit of a ‘rule follower’ so I like following the recipes.  And it sure beats the “food guideline” that I have been following for the past year of BORING food. Lets dig in.

Egg and Chorizo Sandwich, page 48

Kitchen Action: So this one appealed to me because I have done breakfast sammiches before. This one is interesting because it used chorizo. Which I have not cooked with before. And I’m Hispanic! Meh.

Anyway, if you are looking for chorizo in the store, it is near the refrigerated dough and yogurt. Makes no sense to me but that’s where it is. Because I thought it would cook like a breakfast sausage, I made patties out of it. When it hit the pan, the chorizo separated due to the fat and was more like a chorizo crumble. Oh yea, this is gonna be good.

Lacking in pantry: nada

Additions/Substitutions or method changes: For ‘rustic bread’ I used a loaf of neo-tuscan boule. Also added cheddar cheese and cilantro that I had from the night before. On the poached egg, I actually like it when the yolk is gooey and sopps up the bread. So good.  The bread had chorizo, egg yolk, melted cheese and cilantro in it. Oh wow…

What I’ll try next time: Make more of it! Once you toast the bread, place the chorizo and egg on top. Its magic.  Always good with beet juice (see below) and a mug of freshly roasted TTR coffee.

How it scored (1 low – 5 high): 10. No really.

Beet Juice, page 113

Kitchen Action:  I’m a huge fan of juice. I bought a Breville Juice Fountain about 4-5 months ago and have been ‘on the juice’ ever since. My favorite has always been apple-orange-carrot-ginger so trying a new juice was a bit of an adventure for me.

Lacking in pantry:  Nothing. After picking up beets and a few other items from the Bentonville Farmer’s Market, we are set.

Additions/Substitutions or method changes:  Subbed the apples for oranges because I had oranges. A lot of oranges. Still tossed in 3 apples for sweetness but the gala apples here are really small. Had to kick it up a notch. And few stalks of celery because they were sitting in the fridge. What the hay!

Also, the only change I made was to make more of it. I am not a fan of juicing daily just from a cleaning the machine and counters and cabinets and floors perspective. So I juice weekly and fill a jug so I can just pour it out as I need it.

What I’ll try next time: nada nada

How it scored (1 low – 5 high):  4.98. I give it a near perfect score because it is a great juice and I can definitely notice a difference when drinking or not drinking beet juice The 0.02 miss comes from the fact that the beet turns your hands and your pee red. Sorry, had to subtract something for that.

Simple Biryani

Simple Biryani, page 224

This was the first recipe my FF* made when he received The Feed Zone in the mail. A big thank you to him for supporting TTR with his purchase. FF, I sure hope you enjoy the book as much as our family.

This was far more delicious than I expected. I did make a few changes due to lacking ingredients and 3 very hungry boys and 1 very hungry momma. The biggest change was the addition of chicken. I used 2 of my favorite spices I pick up while in Rwanda, along with a bit of kosher salt and diced onion to flavor the chicken. I allowed it to cook as I chopped and cooked the veggies and the rice cooked in the rice cooker.

Have I told you how thankful I am I have a rice cooker? Well, I am. I do however wish I'd purchased the smaller version. I have yet to cook 10 cups of rice.

I chopped more veggies than the recipe called for, but kept the amount of rice the same. With the addition of chicken it was a little less rice-y than the picture on page 225. Here are a few pictures from my kitchen...

Do you have reusable produce bags? Are they this cute? I picked these up at a friend's Etsy shop, but it's no longer in business. It should be, because these bags are darling and imaging how many fewer plastic bags people would use if they also used darling reusable produce bags. Just in case you are wondering, cuteness does play a factor in bag purchase, be it a handbag or grocery bag.

 Chicken, seasoning and onions, ohmi!

Maybe I used more than 1/4 cup of raisins. I like them. 

Kitchen Action
Lacking in Pantry: Cashews & Peanuts
Additions, Subtractions or Method Changes: I used sliced almonds and only 1/2 an onion; grape seed oil, not olive; extra curry powder and a bit of chicken masala spice. Oh, and fresh grated ginger and chicken.
What I'll try next time: cashews or peanuts.
How it Scored:
Jonathan: 4.5
Elliott: 4.5
Chas: 3 (he only had 1 bite, but still gave it a 3)
'becca: 5 warm and 4.5 cold the following day

*FF = First Friend
Richard was the first person I met when we were relocating to AR. We were waiting to go into a yoga class and were both wearing Newton running shoes. Newtons are gaining popularity, especially among triathletes, but this time last year I noticed far less on feet. I shared I had just run my first (and probably only) marathon and was going to make the leap to triathlon. He invited me to the kick off for F5 the very next day. I joined and the rest is history. He has been an encourage-er, support and is a great friend to me and my family.

Roasted Beets and Greens

Roasted Beets and Greens, page 126

Elliott and I are the only two in the house who like beets. Most often we enjoy them boiled and mixed with feta and in the summer I make a yellow and red shredded beat salad with an orange dressing. It tastes like sunshine. OK, earthy sunshine. Chas and Jonathan were out for an evening last week, leaving Elliott and I home for dinner and a movie. And beets.

Together we chose the dishes we would prepare, made a list, hopped in the car and headed to the grocery. We picked up everything on the list and maybe a couple of extras, like a candy bar at the check out. He comes by his love of chocolate honestly. I promise.

Dinner was Recovery Grilled Cheese (check back tomorrow) and Roasted Beets & Greens. The movie was The Green Lantern. The company, a momma and her first born. I cherish the one on one time with my kids. It doesn't happen too often, but when it does, I cherish it. The conversations and laughter, questions and answers, stories shared. It's just good.

Kitchen Action
Lacking in the Pantry:
We had everything we needed.
Additions, Subtractions or Method changes:
I left out the olive oil from the dressing.
What I'll try next time:
Maybe add a little lemon zest to the dressing.


How it scored:
Elliott: 4
'becca: 4