Wow, I have so many recipes to add, and no time to do it! I will try to get caught up soon.
Here's a simple recipe for a cold cucumber soup that is perfect for a hot summer day.
Ingredients:
2-3 cucumbers, peeled and seeded, roughly chopped
1 clove garlic
1 tablespoon dried dill, or 3 T. fresh
1 teaspoon dried parsley, or 3 t. fresh
1/2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 container plain yogurt of your choice (greek, low fat, soy, etc)
salt to taste
Throw everything into your Vitamix, blender, or food processor. Blend until smooth and chill overnight.
If you want to make this soup a bit more savory, follow these directions:
* blend all ingredients except yogurt, adding 1/2 cup vegetable broth/stock. omit the lemon juice.
* after blending, transfer to bowl and stir in 1 container of greek yogurt. chill as directed. (the greek style yogurt will thicken the soup, which is necessary after adding the broth)
Showing posts with label cucumbers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cucumbers. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Rice & More Portable Food
I made a great lunch today to take to work. It's funny that the more effort I put into making my lunches, the more excited I am to eat them at work (and the more satisfying they seem)...
And one basic rule I'm learning about healthy eating is this:
Make your rice at the beginning of the week!!!
Every sunday I make a big container of rice to keep in the fridge for the week. (Don't forget to sprinkle it with a few spoonfulls of water each day to keep it from drying out) There's so much you can do with a big container of brown rice:
* add a few spoonfulls to soup to help thicken it
* make rice pudding
* spoon into a tortilla with beans & veggies to make a burrito (portable food!)
* mix with sauteed onions, mushrooms, and herbs then stuff in bell peppers and bake
* open a can of beans, drain, season, and pour over the rice
* rice + avacado + diced tomato + black beans
* rice + lentil soup + jack cheese
* rice + green peas + cheesy sauce (real or vegan)
* rice + broccoli + cheesy sauce
* rice + baked tofu + sauteed bok choy + teriyaki sauce
* INARI!!!
This sunday I spent the morning in Chinatown here in Philly. I went with no plan other than just to peek around at all the great food. While there, I picked up some aburage in an Asian grocery store. Aburage are seasoned fried tofu skins that you can stuff to make inari sushi. If you are not a fan of sushi, you might still enjoy inari, because you can really make it your own (no raw fish). Here's a basic recipe for inari. I use brown rice, which is not nearly as yummy or sweet as white rice, but I'm use to it. I know there is such a thing as sweet brown rice, and at some point I will experiment with it. The aburage I found was frozen (it also comes canned), and came with the rice seasoning packet--very convenient!
Making the inari isn't very time consuming if you take a few steps to prepare things the night before (like make your rice). Thaw the packets in the fridge overnight, and have a vision of what you want your entire meal to include. Inari can also be eaten as a snack, but I like to take it to work for lunch because it is PORTABLE FOOD!!
My delicious lunch today contained:
* 4 inari (made with brown rice, grated carrot, a little bragg's liquid aminos, and sesame seeds)
* Quick pickles (from an earlier post)
* Lentil ginger soup (canned lentil soup, pureed in the blender w/ fresh ginger, cumin, and corriander)
(Keep the inari at room temp for the morning at your office, and throw the rest in the fridge till you're ready to eat)
And I love that the inari is pocket-like, keeping with my accidental theme this week!
And one basic rule I'm learning about healthy eating is this:
Make your rice at the beginning of the week!!!
Every sunday I make a big container of rice to keep in the fridge for the week. (Don't forget to sprinkle it with a few spoonfulls of water each day to keep it from drying out) There's so much you can do with a big container of brown rice:
* add a few spoonfulls to soup to help thicken it
* make rice pudding
* spoon into a tortilla with beans & veggies to make a burrito (portable food!)
* mix with sauteed onions, mushrooms, and herbs then stuff in bell peppers and bake
* open a can of beans, drain, season, and pour over the rice
* rice + avacado + diced tomato + black beans
* rice + lentil soup + jack cheese
* rice + green peas + cheesy sauce (real or vegan)
* rice + broccoli + cheesy sauce
* rice + baked tofu + sauteed bok choy + teriyaki sauce
* INARI!!!
This sunday I spent the morning in Chinatown here in Philly. I went with no plan other than just to peek around at all the great food. While there, I picked up some aburage in an Asian grocery store. Aburage are seasoned fried tofu skins that you can stuff to make inari sushi. If you are not a fan of sushi, you might still enjoy inari, because you can really make it your own (no raw fish). Here's a basic recipe for inari. I use brown rice, which is not nearly as yummy or sweet as white rice, but I'm use to it. I know there is such a thing as sweet brown rice, and at some point I will experiment with it. The aburage I found was frozen (it also comes canned), and came with the rice seasoning packet--very convenient!
Making the inari isn't very time consuming if you take a few steps to prepare things the night before (like make your rice). Thaw the packets in the fridge overnight, and have a vision of what you want your entire meal to include. Inari can also be eaten as a snack, but I like to take it to work for lunch because it is PORTABLE FOOD!!
My delicious lunch today contained:
* 4 inari (made with brown rice, grated carrot, a little bragg's liquid aminos, and sesame seeds)
* Quick pickles (from an earlier post)
* Lentil ginger soup (canned lentil soup, pureed in the blender w/ fresh ginger, cumin, and corriander)
(Keep the inari at room temp for the morning at your office, and throw the rest in the fridge till you're ready to eat)
And I love that the inari is pocket-like, keeping with my accidental theme this week!
Monday, September 15, 2008
Cucumber Feta Salad
I got this one from my favorite greek cookbook. Of course I have no idea where it is right now so I can't give you the name and author. It's a really great cookbook, so as soon as it surfaces I will come back to this post and add the info.
* 2 cucumbers, peeled and diced (any cucumber will do with this recipe. The original recipe does not require the cukes to be peeled, and they are sliced in rounds, but I like it better peeled and diced.)
* 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese (Use the nice sheep or goat kind from either France or Greece. Cheap, crappy, pre-crumbled feta will ruin it. Believe me, its worth the extra $$)
* 1 big handful of fresh mint leaves, chopped (You have to use fresh mint for this one, dried will not do. If you find yourself completely mintless, subsitute fresh or dried dill instead.)
* 6 tablespoons olive oil
* 3 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice
* salt & pepper to taste
Throw your cukes, feta, and mint leaves in a bowl and set aside. In a seperate bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, salt & pepper. (Remember, if you make an adjustment to the quantity of dressing, always keep the ratio 2 parts oil to 1 part lemon juice.) Pour dressing over the salad and toss well. Serve at room temp immediately.
Notes:
This will keep in the fridge for 1-2 days, but make sure you bring it out about 1 hour prior to serving so the oil can come back up to room temp. Toss well again.
I LOVE to eat this with a nice crusty baguette. This salad is meant to have alot of leftover dressing pooled at the bottom of the bowl, and its very yummy to sop it up with a baguette.
Remember that if you subsitute the fresh mint for dried dill, only use about 1/3 of the amount.
* 2 cucumbers, peeled and diced (any cucumber will do with this recipe. The original recipe does not require the cukes to be peeled, and they are sliced in rounds, but I like it better peeled and diced.)
* 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese (Use the nice sheep or goat kind from either France or Greece. Cheap, crappy, pre-crumbled feta will ruin it. Believe me, its worth the extra $$)
* 1 big handful of fresh mint leaves, chopped (You have to use fresh mint for this one, dried will not do. If you find yourself completely mintless, subsitute fresh or dried dill instead.)
* 6 tablespoons olive oil
* 3 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice
* salt & pepper to taste
Throw your cukes, feta, and mint leaves in a bowl and set aside. In a seperate bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, salt & pepper. (Remember, if you make an adjustment to the quantity of dressing, always keep the ratio 2 parts oil to 1 part lemon juice.) Pour dressing over the salad and toss well. Serve at room temp immediately.
Notes:
This will keep in the fridge for 1-2 days, but make sure you bring it out about 1 hour prior to serving so the oil can come back up to room temp. Toss well again.
I LOVE to eat this with a nice crusty baguette. This salad is meant to have alot of leftover dressing pooled at the bottom of the bowl, and its very yummy to sop it up with a baguette.
Remember that if you subsitute the fresh mint for dried dill, only use about 1/3 of the amount.
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Quick Pickles
This recipe is a favorite of my husband and son. Tastes yummy on a hot summer day.
* 1 english cucumber, sliced into 1/4 inch thick rounds (use any cucumber you like, but I like the english ones because they do not have alot of annoying seeds)
* 1/2 cup seasoned rice vinegar (find this in the asian section of the grocery store. rice wine vinegar comes in seasoned or unseasoned, so make sure you get the seasoned one)
* 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
Take a gallon size ziploc bag and throw your vinegar and salt in it, shake to mix. Add the cucumber slices. Close the bag and shake to mix again. Lay the bag FLAT on a shelf in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before serving. Serve cold, just pour right out of the bag and into a bowl, vinegar and all.
Notes:
These can be kept in the fridge for up to 3 days, depending on how thick you cut the cukes. Remember that you just made pickles, so the longer they stay in the brine in the fridge, the less crispy they will become.
* 1 english cucumber, sliced into 1/4 inch thick rounds (use any cucumber you like, but I like the english ones because they do not have alot of annoying seeds)
* 1/2 cup seasoned rice vinegar (find this in the asian section of the grocery store. rice wine vinegar comes in seasoned or unseasoned, so make sure you get the seasoned one)
* 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
Take a gallon size ziploc bag and throw your vinegar and salt in it, shake to mix. Add the cucumber slices. Close the bag and shake to mix again. Lay the bag FLAT on a shelf in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before serving. Serve cold, just pour right out of the bag and into a bowl, vinegar and all.
Notes:
These can be kept in the fridge for up to 3 days, depending on how thick you cut the cukes. Remember that you just made pickles, so the longer they stay in the brine in the fridge, the less crispy they will become.
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