A New Root

Turnips, friend or foe?

Gorgeous for sure, I had picked one up at the farmers market to try (I owed it to this root veggie, as I [heart] all its cousins). I took it home, found a recipe to try, and then forgot as it sat in my fridge... oops. Luckily all was not lost when I uncovered it, and I made some Honey-Glazed Turnip Wedges.


Verdict? They were ok, I could definately taste the turnip... not my favorite root, but I think it would have fun playing with the rest. How about you-- anyone have a favorite way they like to use this veggie??

California Dreamin: A Salad of Iranian Cucumbers, Cherry Tomatoes, and Onions

Living near the beach in Pacific Palisades, I have to drive a long way to visit one of my favorite places to eat. An Armenian restaurant, California Dreamin (6424 San Fernando Road, Glendale, CA 91201) is located in Glendale some 30 miles inland. Happily a block away is another favorite, Golden Farms (6501 San Fernando Road, Glendale, CA 91202), also Armenian, a supermarket famous for its low prices, fresh produce, specialty cuts of meats, and enormous liquor department.

Reflecting the diversity of the neighborhood, California Dreamin is an all-purpose coffee shop serving American, Mexican, Japanese, Middle Eastern, and Armenian food. I imagine it was once a hamburger joint or the kind of coffee shop that served 99¢ breakfasts.

For years I drove by without stopping. Now I look for excuses to swing by and have lunch.

I'm certain all their food is good but I'm a creature of habit so I always order #8 the Chicken Breast Kabob. The perfectly cooked chicken is tender and juicy. Served with basmati rice, a fire-roasted whole tomato and a pepper, toasted pieces of lavash, and a small bowl of cucumber salad, there's always more than I can eat. Invariably I bring home a to-go box for a late night snack. And they make a cup of thick Armenian coffee that packs more flavor than any espresso.

At some point, I realized I came as much for the cucumber-tomato salad (Salad-e Shirazi) as anything else. The combination of flavors is so deceptively simple. Making the salad at home I shop at the local farmers' markets to get the freshest ingredients. Delicious by itself, the salad is a perfect side dish for grilled meats.

Iranian Cucumber, Tomato, Onion Salad

Yield: 4 servings

Time: 5 minutes

I tried using regular cucumbers but they're too watery. For me the salad only works with Iranian or Persian cucumbers because they have more density and fewer seeds. The traditional version of the salad calls for the addition of an acid, either vinegar or citrus juice (lemon or lime). Personally, I like it without either, but all versions are worth trying.

Ingredients

2 Iranian cucumbers, washed, peeled, thinly sliced into rounds or quarters
1/2 basket cherry tomatoes, washed, quartered
2 tablespoons yellow onion, washed, peeled, cut into small pieces
2 tablespoons olive oil
Sea salt and pepper

Method

Mix together and dress with olive oil. Season to taste with sea salt and black pepper.

Serve as a side dish with grilled meats or to be eaten with grilled lavash or tortillas.

Variations

Add a squeeze of fresh lemon or lime juice, or 1 teaspoon vinegar.

Add finely chopped Italian parsley or cilantro or mint leaves.

Lentil Roundup

The Recap:
The Fitnessista Gina made the famous Snobby Joes (vegan version of Sloppy Joes with lentils)

Heather over at Hangry Pants made some Lentil Burritos that were bundled in homemade WW wraps!!

Jess stopped running long enough to make some Lentil Dal for dinner! Unfortunately she wasn't too excited by the dal, anyone have any tried and true recipes for her/us??

Jen from Eating Bender highlighted an easily portable Lentil Soup :)

While I'm not sure she realized, Kath had some red lentil dal that certain fits the bill for this week's challenge!

Maggie warmed up with Lentil Leek Soup instead of a salad :) Whaddya know, cinnamon even came to the party!

Krista was Kraving Lentil & Rice Pilaf Stuffed Peppers, and now so am I!!!

Meghann graduated from the traditional preparation and came up with some Crunchy Lentil Cheese Bites.

Sabrina (RhodeyGirlTests), featured a Middle Eastern delight on her blog all week-- Umjaddarah/Mujadarah. Hopefully she hasn't gotten sick of lentils and rice!!

VeggieGirl kicked up her Snobby Joes (click for photo) with spaghetti squash, sauteed broccoli rabe, spinach, and garlic. Holy yum is right!!

And we've got my contribution of Sausage w/Lentils & Sauteed Pears.

The Prize:
What else, but Lentil Cookies! :)


*drum roll please*

The Winner:
Arrgh! (to know me is to know i'm not very good at making decisions...) Ok, ok...

**MEGHANN** I couldn't help but be intrigued by your crunchy lentils!!!
please send me your address so I can send you some cookies!! I'll get them off in the mail tomorrow for optimal fresh-ness :) tri2cook [at] gmail [dot] com

really, i think i'm the winner with some great new recipes to try!

Up Next:
the ever talented Gina will be hosting next week, so check her out to see what's up next... I wonder if it will have something to do with all the raw goodies popping up on her plate recently? we'll see!

Last Call for Lentils

Just a reminder to get your recipes in today! I'll put together the roundup tomorrow morning, so you have until, let's say, 4am monday :) (I hope you're not up then, though!!) I decided on a home-baked treat for this week's prize, which I'll be featuring in the roundup so they're fresh and ready to send out Tuesday.

On another exciting note...


Natasha from Healthy and Gourmet honored me with an award this week! Thank you so much!! She's got some great recipes over there, so if you've never checked out her site I'd recommend clicking on over.

Now, I have WAY too many blogs in my google reader, and I check it all too often (otherwise i get so behind!). I love seeing everyone's creations, and so many are deserving of this award, it was really hard to pick! (you're all winners in my book, folks :)) Over a year before I started my own blog, there are a few favorites I always looked forward to reading, so I wanted to take this time to show my appreciation, and say thanks for Excellent Blogs!!

1. Eggs on Sunday - The pictures from Amy's CSA box are always tantalizing, and it seems we have very similar tastes (as in, I would eat anything out of her kitchen!!!). Plus, did you see these? A winning recipe, indeed!

2. Diet, Dessert and Dogs - Not only do I get my dog fix here, but good eats and reads abound. I've seen so many things from Ricki that I want to try-- pureed avocado in quickbread and kasha (I bought some more!) are the ones that came to mind first. And let's not forget my favorite way to prepare baby bok choy so far!

3. Alexandra's Kitchen - Another source of fabulous ideas and tantalizing photos, Alexandra's dessert was a hit with the family :) And these would make a fabulous addition to thanksgiving dinner!!

Mmmm, peanut butter...

Hey look, I made you some Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Blondies :)


I don't like to go anywhere empty-handed, so I'll be bringing these babies along with me today to a friend's game. Sorry for the crappy photo, I'm in a hurry... oh, and i didn't add the peanuts since I didn't have any handy, but my, my these are absolutely delicious!!!!

This little figgy...

Somehow I happened upon a box of figs for 2.99! While I usually eat them straight up, I saved a few this time to try... a Fig and Wheat Berry Salad, a recipe I spied with my little eyes over at npr. I used spinach instead of arugula, white balsamic instead of raspberry vinegar, and goat cheese instead of feta, as that's what I had in my kitchen-- it was delicious!! Love the chewiness of whole grains, and these wheat berries certainly add a great texture to the salad.


Gotten some great looking ideas for lentils, keep 'em coming!!

Lentils and Pears oh my!!!

MMmmmm, I just finished this, and am in love. It's definately a repeater!!! I modified this recipe for Sausage with Lentils and Sauteed Pears a little, just using some cooked chicken sausages I already had on hand. I also cut back on the EVOO, as it really didn't need as much as was called for. Truth be told, I took this picture when I made it on sunday, I had chopped up the pear and reheated it all together tonight when I needed a quick and hearty meal getting home from the gym. Can't wait to have it for lunch tomorrow!