Awards Season Is Still Going Strong

Rabbit, rabbit!

Once again, a fellow blogger whom I admire very much has flattered me with the Kreativ Blogger Award. If you haven't already, please pay The Colors of Indian Cooking a visit. Writer Kathy Gori serves up some delectable dishes, and I learn something new whenever I read her blog.

I'm supposed to tell you seven fun facts about myself, but I have decided not bore you with that part again. I am just an ordinary person (unlike Kathy, who has voiced Hanna-Barbara cartoons!!)

The rules also state that you must pass the award on to seven other bloggers. This, I will do. A lot of great people inhabit the blogging community, and it was difficult to pick just seven last time, so I'm glad I get another chance.

November Edition Nominees (in Alphabetical Order):

Brooklyn Farmhouse

Eating Local in the Tropics

Just Cook It

Living in the Kitchen With Puppies

Mediterranean Cooking in Alaska

Salty Seattle

Sunshine Mom

These bloggers differ greatly from one another, but each electrifies the blogosphere with passion and creativity. Congrats to them! (If this is your first time receiving the award, please tell us seven interesting facts about yourself and nominate seven other blogs that you are proud to follow.)

Next on the agenda...

Results of the Roasted Salad pictured above? Meh. The vinaigrette was a little weird. I couldn't cut the tartness of the lime without adding more olive oil, and since I had already used olive oil in the roasting process I was hesitant to make a big oily mess of the whole affair.

As always, please feel free to tweak this at home and email me/comment with your results.

Roasted Salad

Ingredients

Roasted Vegetables

3 sweet potatoes, peeled and diced large

1/2 red onion, diced large

2 stalks celery, rinsed and sliced

1/2 tsp. olive oil

1/8 tsp. cinnamon

Pinch ground cloves

Salt 'n' pepper to taste

Sweet Lime Vinaigrette

1 tsp. lime juice

Pinch salt

1 Tbsp. olive oil

1 tsp. honey

Quick dash dijon mustard

1/8 tsp. celery seed

Pinch black pepper

Directions

Heat oven to 425.

Toss the sweet potato, onion, and celery in a mixing bowl with the olive oil, cinnamon, cloves, salt, and pepper. (This seems like a small amount of olive oil, but little fat is needed for roasting.)

Spread the mixture in a baking pan or other oven-proof vessel. If possible, maintain a single layer.

Bake at 425 for 25 minutes.

Go read the next chapter of your book or something.

Remove veggies from the oven. Transfer them to a heat-proof container with a lid that seals. (Do not put the lid on yet.)

While the veggies are cooling, squeeze the lime juice into a small cup or dish and add salt. Let this sit at least ten minutes, then whisk vigorously. Add the rest of the vinaigrette ingredients and whisk again.

Pour the vinaigrette over the veggies and put the lid on. Holding the lid firmly, shake to distribute the vinaigrette. Leave this on the counter and go read another chapter of your book or something.

When the mixture has cooled down enough to refrigerate without compromising your fridge's other contents, shake it one more time and chill for two to forty-eight hours. Shake or stir again before serving. Can be brought to the table chilled, at room temperature, or reheated. Serves 4.

Hope you had a happy Halloween!

Beat the eggs. Whip the cream. Show no mercy.

Kicking Off a Compulsory Vegetarian Week: Lentil and Broccoli Rabe Salad with Honey-Orange Vinaigrette

All right, so it's not compulsory in the literal sense. No one is holding a gun to my head making me go vegetarian this week. But my husband and I agree that if we can't afford that "fancy" free-range, grain-fed meat, we don't want meat at all. It disturbs us to think of the cruelty that goes on in those factory situations.

In any case, there are plenty of fantastic dishes out there centered on eggs (yes, I still bought cage-free eggs... I'm hopeless! We're going to be kicked out and living under the 408 overpass in no time), cheese, beans, and/or legumes. Publix had one lonely bundle of broccoli rabe that needed a home, and since I'd never tried broccoli rabe, I snapped it up, thinking it would go great in a lentil salad I had planned.

Hooray! Success!

For those of you who have never tried it, broccoli rabe is like regular broccoli with a kick. Raw, it tastes bitter. But lightly steamed and then chilled in a sweet garlicky marinade, it adds a mild spice and enhanced green flavor that both my husband and I loved. Liz and Mary at Green Flamingo Organics are growing some as we speak, which is another reason I was curious to try it. Can't wait to get it from them and other local sources later this fall.

Lentil and Broccoli Rabe Salad with Honey-Orange Vinaigrette

Ingredients

Lentil and Broccoli Rabe Salad

1 c. steamed lentils

1 c. cooked brown rice (great use for leftover rice)

1 thick slice red onion, finely chopped or minced

2 carrots, finely chopped or minced

3 c. broccoli rabe, chopped

Honey-Orange Vinaigrette

1/3 c. olive oil

1 1/2 Tbsp. Balsamic vinegar

1 Tbsp. orange juice

2 tsp. holly honey

1 tsp. lemon juice

1 large or 2 small cloves garlic, crushed

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

Directions

Steam the broccoli rabe until just tender (about three minutes in the microwave). Drain, allow to cool, then combine with the rest of the salad ingredients.

In a cup or bowl, add the salt to the vinegar and whisk until well-dissolved. Add the rest of the vinaigrette ingredients and whisk together.

Pour the vinaigrette over the salad ingredients and combine. Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours to suck the bitterness out of the broccoli rabe and let the garlic do its thang. Serves 4 as a light main dish; not recommended as a an appetizer due to its strong palette-numbing flavor, but use your discretion.

This would also have been super-good with feta cheese and dried cranberries. As far as serving suggestions, my two cents' worth of advice is to pair it with something simple. My husband and I preceded it with hot chicken broth and fresh bread for a well-rounded, seasonally-appropriate meal.

As usual, if you try any variations at home, let me know how it turns out!

Beat the eggs. Whip the cream. Show no mercy.

Farm-Fresh Malabar Spinach With Broccoli and Red Onions in Garlic Cream Sauce

I was disappointed to learn that, even lightly steamed and served in an "Ow! Sweet merciful Dionysus, my arteries!" sauce, Malabar spinach has the same texture as sinus-infection lougies. Major bummer, being that the rest of this side dish was THE BOMB. Next time I'll steam the hell out of it, despite my compulsive wariness of overcooking.

Farm-Fresh Malabar Spinach With Broccoli and Red Onions in Garlic Cream Sauce

Ingredients:

2 c. broccoli florets

½ red onion, sliced thin or diced large

Approx. 2 c. well-packed Malabar spinach (why, oh, why don’t I have a kitchen scale yet? And don’t give me any of that “because your grocery bill is too high as it is” nonsense!)

3 Tbsp. chicken drippings or clarified butter

3-4 cloves garlic, chopped

2 Tbsp. flour

½ c. milk

½ c. heavy cream

Salt-n-pepper

Directions

Steam the veggies separately, then combine (the onion can be steamed with the broccoli if desired, but the spinach will take a much shorter time).

Meanwhile, heat the drippings or butter in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the garlic and sauté until soft. Whisk in the flour. Continue whisking until you’ve made a roux the color of brown sugar. Add the milk and cream. Continue whisking until the sauce thickens. Remove from heat.

While they’re still hot, salt and pepper the veggies to taste. Add the sauce to the veggies slowly, stirring as you go (you will probably have leftover sauce.) Serves 4 as a side dish.

Any extra sauce will keep for a few days in the fridge; and in fact, like many garlicky sauces, it’s better as a leftover. It’s good with chicken, root veggies, pasta, rice… the list goes on. Stir well before serving.

Beat the eggs. Whip the cream. Show no mercy.