Weather in New York is really crazy these days: the temperature goes from the upper seventies to the forties in one day, leaving us unable to determine how to dress and what to eat. Well, I decided to dress in very light layers, and devised a solution for the second problem: I'll have a salad. Not only it's healthy and refreshing, a salad, for lunch or even dinner, is the best way to smooth over these crazy bouts of temperature, giving you a bright outlook, a fresh vision of the world, even if the weather outside is going crazy, from sunshine to rain.
After all it's very comforting to feel that there is something constant in this life: if it's not going to get reasonable out there, at least inside, spring is coming on time!
Another upside for salads: you can brown bag the leftovers and take them with you to work for a healthy lunch.
BLACK EYE PEAS SALAD
I've been thinking of cooking some black eyed beans for a while, so today I took out the jar of beans from the pantry and declared that I was going to cook them two ways: in a salad and in tomato sauce. My husband immediately said:"I'll only have the salad". So salad it is. I had already measured 3 cups, picked them and put them in water to soak overnight. Still, no problem it will be a huge salad! You'll need:
3 cups of dry black eye peas
3 to 4 celery stalks
A handful of baby carrots (about 8 to 10)
1/2 medium red onion
2 tbsp lemon juice
3 tbsp canola oil
3 tbsp cumin (more to taste)
Salt and pepper
As with every dry beans, pick the beans to make sure that there are no small stones or any foreign object, rinse them several times and soak them overnight in water.The next day, drain the beans and rinse them one more time, then boil them in salted water. You may need to add more water to the pot until the beans are fork tender. While the beans are cooking, chop the red onion in the food processor. I don't like to see, or bite into big chunks of onion, so I tend to pulverize the onion. Then chop the carrots and add them to the processor until you get small dots of carrot. Finely chop the celery stalks. Put everything in a large bowl. When the beans are done, drain them and let them cool for a while. Add the beans to the bowl, mix with the chopped vegetables. You can add the seasonings directly to the bowl and mix (that's what I usually do), or if you prefer, prepare the dressing in a separate small bowl by mixing the oil, the lemon juice, the cumin and salt and pepper together, then add them to the salad and mix. Adjust seasoning and serve with a mixed green salad, or just a mixed salad (lettuce, cucumber and tomato).
CELERY ROOT SALAD
I love this salad, but it's been a while since I made it. The reason is very simple, and a bit silly: I can't seem to find the appropriate blade for my food processor to grate the celery root!
But this time I decided to go manual, after all our grandmas did not have a food processor and they made it anyway, at least I guess. So, I brought out the box grater and started to work, hoping that it would not make a big difference. Actually it didn't. You'll notice that this is not really your typical salad, it has a different flavor, and Oriental flavor because I like to add to it a pinch of curry powder and some raisins. It makes you go "Hmmm, what's that flavor?". You' ll need:
1 whole celery root
7 or 8 baby carrots
2 celery stalks
1/2 small red onion
A handful of raisins
1 tsp mustard
2 tbsp mayo
A pinch of curry powder
1tsp lemon juice
Peel the celery root (sorry I didn't take a picture of it beforehand) and cut it in 4. Grate the pieces on the large side of a box grater, or if you didn't lose the blades of your food processor, go ahead and grate it in small strips, the thickness of the fine spaghetti. In the food processor pulverize the onion, then the carrots. Transfer everything into a large bowl, then add finely chopped celery and the raisins. In a small bowl mix the mayo with the mustard. In this particular case I prefer to have them in a different bowl, so that I can add just as much as I need to my salad, not more. Drizzle the lemon juice over the mixture. Sprinkle the curry over the shredded vegetables, add the dressing tbsp by tbsp, mixing constantly to incorporate. Check the seasoning to see if you need to add some salt and/or pepper. Sometimes the mayo/mustard mixture is enough. Serve the salad in a bowl made of a leaf of iceberg lettuce or radicchio.
And for dessert:
MIXED BERRIES AND GRAPE SALAD
This is the easiest dessert you can make. I like to tweak the recipe, so instead of just mixing berries, I add to them some grapes. It's so easy you don't need a recipe for it. Just get some blueberries, blackberries, raspberries and strawberries to your taste. I like to rinse them, drain them and put them in a bowl. Of course you have to hull the strawberries and, if they are very large, cut them the size of the other berries. Also cut a bunch or so of seedless green and red grapes, lengthwise and add them to the bowl. Add 2 tbsp sugar and a tsp of lemon juice. Mix everything carefully so that you don't break the berries. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours to allow the berries to macerate in their juices. Serve as is, or, if you really want to make it fancy, serve topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
I've been thinking of cooking some black eyed beans for a while, so today I took out the jar of beans from the pantry and declared that I was going to cook them two ways: in a salad and in tomato sauce. My husband immediately said:"I'll only have the salad". So salad it is. I had already measured 3 cups, picked them and put them in water to soak overnight. Still, no problem it will be a huge salad! You'll need:
3 cups of dry black eye peas
3 to 4 celery stalks
A handful of baby carrots (about 8 to 10)
1/2 medium red onion
2 tbsp lemon juice
3 tbsp canola oil
3 tbsp cumin (more to taste)
Salt and pepper
As with every dry beans, pick the beans to make sure that there are no small stones or any foreign object, rinse them several times and soak them overnight in water.The next day, drain the beans and rinse them one more time, then boil them in salted water. You may need to add more water to the pot until the beans are fork tender. While the beans are cooking, chop the red onion in the food processor. I don't like to see, or bite into big chunks of onion, so I tend to pulverize the onion. Then chop the carrots and add them to the processor until you get small dots of carrot. Finely chop the celery stalks. Put everything in a large bowl. When the beans are done, drain them and let them cool for a while. Add the beans to the bowl, mix with the chopped vegetables. You can add the seasonings directly to the bowl and mix (that's what I usually do), or if you prefer, prepare the dressing in a separate small bowl by mixing the oil, the lemon juice, the cumin and salt and pepper together, then add them to the salad and mix. Adjust seasoning and serve with a mixed green salad, or just a mixed salad (lettuce, cucumber and tomato).
CELERY ROOT SALAD
I love this salad, but it's been a while since I made it. The reason is very simple, and a bit silly: I can't seem to find the appropriate blade for my food processor to grate the celery root!
But this time I decided to go manual, after all our grandmas did not have a food processor and they made it anyway, at least I guess. So, I brought out the box grater and started to work, hoping that it would not make a big difference. Actually it didn't. You'll notice that this is not really your typical salad, it has a different flavor, and Oriental flavor because I like to add to it a pinch of curry powder and some raisins. It makes you go "Hmmm, what's that flavor?". You' ll need:
1 whole celery root
7 or 8 baby carrots
2 celery stalks
1/2 small red onion
A handful of raisins
1 tsp mustard
2 tbsp mayo
A pinch of curry powder
1tsp lemon juice
Peel the celery root (sorry I didn't take a picture of it beforehand) and cut it in 4. Grate the pieces on the large side of a box grater, or if you didn't lose the blades of your food processor, go ahead and grate it in small strips, the thickness of the fine spaghetti. In the food processor pulverize the onion, then the carrots. Transfer everything into a large bowl, then add finely chopped celery and the raisins. In a small bowl mix the mayo with the mustard. In this particular case I prefer to have them in a different bowl, so that I can add just as much as I need to my salad, not more. Drizzle the lemon juice over the mixture. Sprinkle the curry over the shredded vegetables, add the dressing tbsp by tbsp, mixing constantly to incorporate. Check the seasoning to see if you need to add some salt and/or pepper. Sometimes the mayo/mustard mixture is enough. Serve the salad in a bowl made of a leaf of iceberg lettuce or radicchio.
And for dessert:
MIXED BERRIES AND GRAPE SALAD
This is the easiest dessert you can make. I like to tweak the recipe, so instead of just mixing berries, I add to them some grapes. It's so easy you don't need a recipe for it. Just get some blueberries, blackberries, raspberries and strawberries to your taste. I like to rinse them, drain them and put them in a bowl. Of course you have to hull the strawberries and, if they are very large, cut them the size of the other berries. Also cut a bunch or so of seedless green and red grapes, lengthwise and add them to the bowl. Add 2 tbsp sugar and a tsp of lemon juice. Mix everything carefully so that you don't break the berries. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours to allow the berries to macerate in their juices. Serve as is, or, if you really want to make it fancy, serve topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
No comments:
Post a Comment