For those who think that going without meat, sugars, and processed foods means a bland, boring diet, think again. Buying local, seasonal, fresh produce and paying attention to what you eat pays off with big dividends.
The truth is, you'll save money and feel better. What's more, you won't be giving up convenience. Most of these dishes can be made in 30 minutes or less.
Salads
Arugula Salad with Avocado
Arugula Salad with Hazelnuts, Carrots, and Avocados
Arugula Salad with Persimmons and Pomegranate Seeds
Black Kale, Kabocha Squash, Cheddar Cheese and Almonds
Bulgar Salad with Celery
Carrot Salad with Lemon-Soaked Raisins
Chopped Parsley Salad
Cole Slaw with Capers
Couscous Salad with Grilled Vegetables
Egg Salad
Farmers' Market Fresh Chopped Vegetable Salad
Grilled Corn Salads
Grilled Vegetable Couscous Salad
Grilled Vegetables
Parsley-Grilled Corn Salad
Potato Salad with Corn
Risotto with Summer Vegetables
Roasted Beet Salad
Salad-e Shirazi: Iranian Cucumbers, Cherry Tomatoes, and Onions
Spinach Salad
Tomato and Avocado Salad
Tomato, Avocado, Corn and Garlic Toast Salad
Wilted Spinach Salad
Soups, Snacks, Sauces, and Side Dishes
The Amazingly Versatile Blackened Pepper
Baked Sweet Potatoes with Sauteed Shallots, Garlic, and Mushrooms
Braised Sprouted Broccoli
Cannelini Beans with Roasted Tomatoes and Spinach
Caramelized Vegetable Pasta
Chermoula Sauce for Salads, Side Dishes, and Entrees
An Easy Saute with Brussels Sprouts and Carrots
Grilled Artichokes
Grilled Corn on the Cob
Grilled Vegetables
Farmers' Market Fresh Vegetable Saute
Homemade Vegetable Soup
Kale Sauteed with Garlic and Farm Fresh Vegetables
Kimchi Ramen Soup
Kosher Pickles
Mushroom Soup
Potatoes, Mashed, for Breakfast
Quesadillas, Open Faced
Ramen Soup with Kimchi and Farmers' Market Fresh Vegetables
Roasted Brussels Sprouts
Roasted Garlic-Tomato Sauce
Roasted Tomatoes
Roasted Tomato Sauce
Salt Crusted Fingerling Potatoes
Salt Steamed Broccoli
Sauteed Beet Greens
Sauteed Kale with Vegetables
Steamed Artichokes
Summer Vegetable Risotto
Sweet Potatoes Grilled
Sweet Potato Inari Sushi
Tapenade the Frugal Cook's Secret Weapon
Tomato-Vegetable Soup
Tomatoes, Roasted, for Easy-to-Make Sauce
Tomatoes, Roasted Whole or Sliced
Vegetable Soup
Vegetable Soup for Cold Weather
Entrees
Brown Sugar Pork Ribs
Chicken Wings with Kimchi Glaze
Curry, Easy-to-Make
Ginger-Soy Sauce Poached Black Cod
Cioppino with Roasted Tomatoes and Garlic Toasts
Ginger-Soy Black Cod
Green Garlic and Clams
Grilled Shrimp
Grilled Shrimp with a Tex-Mex Dry Rub
Kimchi Chicken Wings
Low Cal Breaded Fish Fillets
Israeli Couscous with Vegetables
Italian Sausages and Roasted Tomatoes
Native American-Style Salmon
Pasta Alla Checca
Pasta with Roasted Corn and Garlic
Ribs, Brown Sugar Glaze
Risotto with Farmers' Market Fresh Squash Blossoms and Baby Zucchini
Roasted Cherry Tomato and Shiitake Mushroom Pasta
Salmon with a Garlic-Citrus Glaze
Sauteed Fish with Capers, Corn, and Tomatoes
Skewered Cherry Tomatoes
Tequila Glazed Shrimp
Tofu, Beet Greens, and Brown Rice
Tofu with Crispy Toppings
Desserts
Baked Cherries
Baked Plums
Custard
Fig Tart with Crystalized Ginger Crust and Roasted Almonds
Honey Poached Apples and Pears with Cinnamon, Vanilla, Raisins, and Peppercorns
Inspired by California-Mediterranean cuisines and farmers markets, I cook healthy, flavorful dishes that are easy-to-prepare yet elegant. I write for Zester Daily, One for the Table, Luxury Travel Magazine, Huffington Post & New York Daily News. My latest Amazon eCookbook is 10 Delicious Holiday Recipes. My handcrafted chocolates are available at www.dchocolates.com. "Subscribe via email" and you'll get an email whenever I post a new recipe.
Friday, January 29, 2010
Thursday, January 28, 2010
How to Store Shiitakes and a Mushroom Soup That's Perfect for Chilly Days
At most supermarkets, shiitakes aren't cheap so they have to be used sparingly. But at Asian markets, they're inexpensive. $3.99/pound at Mitsuwa in Santa Monica and $2.69/pound at SF Supermarket in Little Saigon. At those prices, it's reasonable to buy several pounds.
In general, shiitakes come in two forms: the slender stemmed variety and the ones which are fatter, with thicker stems and caps. Mitsuwa and SF Supermarket sell the fatter variety, which have a meater flavor.
With so many on hand, they can be used liberally in pastas and soups, grilled, and sautéed with garlic and shallots.
But how to store the ones not eaten those first couple of days?
Everyone knows that mushrooms should only be stored in the refrigerator in paper bags because kept in plastic they quickly go bad. Use a brown paper bag--not a white one, which is coated with wax so the moisture stays inside the bag--in combination with paper towels. The moisture that normally accumulates on the outside of the mushroom is absorbed by the layers of paper.
Kept in the refrigerator another week or two, the brown paper bag-paper towel combination acts as a dehydrator pefectly drying the mushrooms. This technique only works successfully with shiitakes.
If by chance any of the dried shiitakes develop mold, discard and keep the good ones. In my experience, more than 95% will dehydrate without harm.
To reconstitute dried shiitakes, put them in a heat proof bowl, pour in enough boiling water to cover, place a smaller bowl on top to keep the mushrooms submerged. Leave for 30 minutes until they soften.
Gently squeeze out the water but reserve the liquid for later use. Cut and discard the stems. At this point the mushroom caps can be cooked as if they were fresh.
Shiitake Mushroom Soup with Garlic
Shiitakes have a meaty, sweet flavor that is deliciously satisfying in this easy-to-make soup, perfect for a drizzly winter day.
Yield: Serves 4
Time: 45 minutes
Ingedients
2 cups shiitake mushrooms, fresh (stems and caps) or reconstituted (stems removed), washed, thin sliced
4 garlic cloves, peeled, finely chopped
4 shallots or 1 small yellow onion, peeled, findely chopped
4 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade
1 tablespoon olive oil
Sea salt and pepper
Method
In a large sauce pan, sauté the mushrooms, garlic, and shallots with the olive oil until lightly browned. Add the chicken stock and, if using reconstituted mushrooms, 1/2 cup of the soaking water. Simmer 30 minutes.
Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper as needed.
Variations
Substitute water for the chicken stock to make a vegetarian version, in which case simmer the mushrooms a bit longer and add 1 tablespoon of butter for flavor
Season with 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary
Add to the saute 4 cups spinach leaves, washed, stems removed, roughly chopped
Add to the saute and brown 2 Italian sausages, roughly chopped,
Add to the saute and brown 1 chicken breast, roughly chopped
Add to the saute 1 cup fresh, deveined shrimp, roughly chopped
Add to the soup 1/4 cup cream and 1 tablespoon butter
Add to the soup at the end 2 packages ramen noodles cooked first in boiling water for 10 minutes then divided equally among the 4 servings
In general, shiitakes come in two forms: the slender stemmed variety and the ones which are fatter, with thicker stems and caps. Mitsuwa and SF Supermarket sell the fatter variety, which have a meater flavor.
With so many on hand, they can be used liberally in pastas and soups, grilled, and sautéed with garlic and shallots.
But how to store the ones not eaten those first couple of days?
Everyone knows that mushrooms should only be stored in the refrigerator in paper bags because kept in plastic they quickly go bad. Use a brown paper bag--not a white one, which is coated with wax so the moisture stays inside the bag--in combination with paper towels. The moisture that normally accumulates on the outside of the mushroom is absorbed by the layers of paper.
Kept in the refrigerator another week or two, the brown paper bag-paper towel combination acts as a dehydrator pefectly drying the mushrooms. This technique only works successfully with shiitakes.
If by chance any of the dried shiitakes develop mold, discard and keep the good ones. In my experience, more than 95% will dehydrate without harm.
To reconstitute dried shiitakes, put them in a heat proof bowl, pour in enough boiling water to cover, place a smaller bowl on top to keep the mushrooms submerged. Leave for 30 minutes until they soften.
Gently squeeze out the water but reserve the liquid for later use. Cut and discard the stems. At this point the mushroom caps can be cooked as if they were fresh.
Shiitake Mushroom Soup with Garlic
Shiitakes have a meaty, sweet flavor that is deliciously satisfying in this easy-to-make soup, perfect for a drizzly winter day.
Yield: Serves 4
Time: 45 minutes
Ingedients
2 cups shiitake mushrooms, fresh (stems and caps) or reconstituted (stems removed), washed, thin sliced
4 garlic cloves, peeled, finely chopped
4 shallots or 1 small yellow onion, peeled, findely chopped
4 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade
1 tablespoon olive oil
Sea salt and pepper
Method
In a large sauce pan, sauté the mushrooms, garlic, and shallots with the olive oil until lightly browned. Add the chicken stock and, if using reconstituted mushrooms, 1/2 cup of the soaking water. Simmer 30 minutes.
Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper as needed.
Variations
Substitute water for the chicken stock to make a vegetarian version, in which case simmer the mushrooms a bit longer and add 1 tablespoon of butter for flavor
Season with 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary
Add to the saute 4 cups spinach leaves, washed, stems removed, roughly chopped
Add to the saute and brown 2 Italian sausages, roughly chopped,
Add to the saute and brown 1 chicken breast, roughly chopped
Add to the saute 1 cup fresh, deveined shrimp, roughly chopped
Add to the soup 1/4 cup cream and 1 tablespoon butter
Add to the soup at the end 2 packages ramen noodles cooked first in boiling water for 10 minutes then divided equally among the 4 servings
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