Monday

29

September 2014

0

COMMENTS

Creamy Cucumber and Tomato Salad

Written by Rachel, Posted in Appetizers, Fruit, Gluten Free, Herbs, Lunch, Quick and Easy, Salads, Sides, Vegetables, Vegetarian

Creamy dreamy salad. Perfect for these last days of summer. The tomato is ripe and sweet, the cucumber crisp and cool, the dressing bright and herb-filled. It’s one of my favorite ways to eat salad.

A couple of months ago, I planted a sprig of mint in the dirt. No roots, just thought I’d try it and see if anything happened.

It grew.

I have more mint than I know what to do with. And I’m not complaining.

It adds a wonderful refreshing taste to this dish.

I’m also growing some parsley and basil in my garden. I can never have enough of these fresh herbs. When they come in our Abundant Harvest Organics box, sometimes they’re gone in a day (like when I made Basil Pesto). I love being able to step just outside the door and snip off whatever I need for a dish.

Those fresh herbs are the highlight to an easy dressing. I’ve also added some Greek yogurt, fresh onion and garlic (just a bit), some balsamic vinegar, and some olive oil for flavor. The herbs might be the star, but those flavors all go so well together.

Also, raw onion, I know… But, try it – it’s not too much, and when it’s minced and mixed in with all those other flavors, it’s not overpowering. If you don’t feel like braving onion breath, just leave it out, or use some chives. They’ll work just fine.

I thought I’d peel the cucumbers. Not a requirement. But, I thought it would be nice. It’s one of the few veggies that I do peel.

Tomatoes are sliced, not too thick, not too thin.

And just like that, dressing is drizzled over and you have a great side.

You could make double the dressing and save it so you can eat this salad every day. It could be used as a dip for carrots and celery, you could dip a Grilled Cheese into it, you could dip pretzels, crackers, or sesame sticks in it.

But, the best way to eat it, I think, is to use it on this salad, and to pair it with the Fish Wellingtons that I made the other week. I’d definitely suggest making both, then inviting a good friend over for lunch.

Happy Eating!

Creamy Cucumber and Tomato Salad

Recipe Type: Salad, Side, Lunch, Vegetarian, Quick and Easy

Author: Rachel Oberg – De Ma Cuisine

Prep time: 10 mins

Total time: 10 mins

Serves: 2-4

Ingredients

Dressing: 1/2 C Greek yogurt
1 T fresh basil, chopped
1 T fresh mint, chopped
1 T fresh parsley, chopped
1 T onion or shallot, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
2 T olive oil
to taste salt
to taste pepper
splash balsamic vinegar
Salad: 1-2 cucumber, peeled and sliced into rounds
2-3 tomatoes, sliced into rounds

Instructions

Whisk together dressing ingredients. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.
Place cucumber and tomato on plates, alternating slices of each. Top with dressing.

Monday

8

September 2014

0

COMMENTS

Massaged Kale and Tuna Salad

Written by Rachel, Posted in Dairy-Free, Dinner, Fish, Fruit, Gluten Free, Lunch, Main Dishes, Meat, Quick and Easy, Salads, Sides, Vegetables

Sometimes I just need a good salad. Salads are versatile and delicious, but sometimes aren’t hearty enough to be considered a main course. So I like to add a bit of protein so there’s a bit more to it.

For this salad, I chose tuna. Because it’s what I had. Because I like it. I used canned for this one. But, then a few weeks later I discovered fresh tuna at the grocery store, and the leftovers from that dinner would work just as well (maybe better, hello, fresh!).

You could also use chicken, turkey, ham, quinoa, garbonzo beans, or lentils.

‘Cause why not?!

Then there’s the kale. It’s one of my favorite green veggies. But, I also love chard and spinach too. If you don’t have any of these dark green goodies, regular lettuce will work fine too (just don’t do the massaging step). A hearty butter lettuce works great, but use what you have in your fridge.

Kale is tossed with a bit of olive oil and some salt, then massaged for a few minutes. Your hands will turn green. That’s normal.

It will get darker and feel a bit limp, like it does when it’s cooked. I love kale this way. Easier to digest and super yummy.

You can really use whatever dressing you’d like. Although I’d suggest some sort of vinaigrette or something lemony. I just squeezed some lemon and drizzled a bit of balsamic over top. Perfect with the olive oil that was already all over the kale.

I like a lotta crunch in my salads. Usually nuts and carrots do the trick. Sometimes croutons are added. Here I’ve also got apples, because I happened to have some on hand. But, again, use what you have (and what goes well with tuna, or whatever protein you’ve chosen).

At other times, I’ve also used grapes (in season now, so yummy with tuna!), cucumber, apples, cheddar, and almonds. This is one of my favorite combinations. It would go well with a nice butter lettuce, or the massaged kale.

Tomato is also a good addition.

Use what’s in season and what will compliment the other ingredients, and you’re sure to find a winning combination.

However you toss it together, this hearty salad will hold up well prepared the night before for a work or school lunch. But, like most foods, it’s best eaten fresh, right after you’ve made it, standing at the kitchen island, out of the serving bowl… or maybe that’s just me.

Happy Eating!

Massaged Kale and Tuna Salad

Recipe Type: Main, Lunch, Side, Salad, Fish

Author: Rachel Oberg – De Ma Cuisine

Prep time: 15 mins

Total time: 15 mins

Serves: 2

Ingredients

Tuna: 1 can tuna, drained (or about 5-6 oz. leftover cooked tuna)
1/2 lemon, juiced
1 t olive oil
pinch cayenne
to taste salt
to taste pepper
2 T green onions, chopped
Salad: 3 C kale, torn into small pieces
1-2 T olive oil
1-2 T lemon juice
1/2 to 1 T balsamic vinegar
to taste salt
to taste pepper
1/4 C carrot, thinly sliced into rounds (or instead of carrots and green onions, try: grapes, cheddar cheese, cucumber, and apple)
1 apple, roughly chopped
1/4 C roasted and salted almonds, roughly chopped
(could also add chopped tomato)

Instructions

Combine all tuna ingredients together. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.
Pour 1 T oil and a bit of salt onto kale. Massage with hands for 2-3 minutes (or until kale looks darker, wiltier, and a bit like it is cooked).
Top kale with tuna and remaining ingredients.

Thursday

4

September 2014

0

COMMENTS

Deconstructed Lasagna

Written by Rachel, Posted in Cheese, Dinner, Fruit, Gluten Free, Herbs, Inspired By, Kid-Friendly, Lunch, Main Dishes, Pasta, Quick and Easy, Sauces, Sides, Vegetables, Vegetarian

This is an ode to lasagna.

Or lasagne.

I don’t really care how you spell it. What matters is that it tastes amazing.

But, it’s a lazy lasagna. It’s a quick and easy lasagna. It’s a lasagne whose best parts have taken apart and reassembled.

Deconstructed.

It starts, as most dinners cooked by me do, with lots of veggies. You could totally add more. Summer squash would be great. More greens are always fun. Grated carrots are fabulous.

You know how it is, use what you have.

Today, I have chives.

Had.

They all went into the pasta.

A good decision.

It’s always a good idea to add a little bit of the starchy pasta water to a pasta sauce. It helps the sauce to stick to the pasta when it’s combined.

Since the point of this dish was to make a lasagna-like meal, it has many of the same elements. I went for a vegetarian version, because I didn’t have any ground beef. I think that beef would still be delicious, but I really liked it without.

I finished photographing and couldn’t stop eating it.

I wrote “Oh my gosh! So freaking good!!!” at the top of the page in my notebook where I’d written down the recipe.

I could eat this again and again. With or without the beef.

With the ricotta. Definitely with.

What didn’t seem like a lot of pasta ended up as just the perfect amount. I always overestimate how much pasta I’m going to need.

I’ve invited Tim for dinner.

Because we’re married and he lives here.

Because I’m the cooker and this is what I’ve made for dinner…

But, I totally think this would be a great dinner party meal too.

Happy Eating!

Deconstructed Lasagna

Recipe Type: Main, Dinner, Pasta, Vegetarian

Author: Rachel Oberg – De Ma Cuisine

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 25 mins

Total time: 35 mins

Serves: 3-4

If lasagna were taken apart, this amazing pasta would be the result. It’s rich, creamy, and delicious.

Ingredients

pasta
1 T olive oil
1 onion, diced
to taste salt
to taste pepper
1 C greens (collards, spinach, chard, kale), chopped
4 small tomatoes, diced
1/2 t dried rosemary, chopped
1/2 t dried thyme
1/2 to 1 t dried oregano
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 bunch chives, chopped
1 T balsamic vinegar
8 oz. tomato sauce
1 T fresh parsley, chopped, divided
1 T fresh basil, chopped, divided
1/2 C water from cooked pasta
1 T lemon juice
15 oz. ricotta, divided
parmesan cheese, grated, for serving
lemon wedges, for serving

Instructions

Cook pasta. Reserve the pasta water when pasta is almost done and the water is starchy.
Heat skillet, add onion, salt, and pepper. Cook over medium or medium-low heat for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add collards through oregano. Cook for 3 minutes. Then add garlic and chives. Cook for 1 minute more.
Add balsamic vinegar and cook for 30 seconds. Add tomato sauce, half of the parsley, half of the basil, pasta water, and lemon juice. Stir to combine and simmer for about 5 minutes.
Stir in half of the ricotta. Cook for about 30 seconds more. Remove from heat and taste and adjust seasoning if needed.
Top with a dollop of ricotta, some parmesan, and a squeeze of lemon.

Notes

To make this recipe gluten-free use your favorite GF pasta.

Monday

1

September 2014

2

COMMENTS

Irish Nachos

Written by Rachel, Posted in Appetizers, Cheese, Dinner, Gluten Free, Herbs, Kid-Friendly, Lunch, Main Dishes, Potatoes, Quick and Easy, Roasting, Sides, Snacks, Vegetables, Vegetarian

Confession: I’ve never actually had Irish Nachos. I’ve seen some pictures though, so maybe that counts for something. Tim had them once when he was out with friends. He came home and talked about how good they were.

They seemed like something that I could make.

It all starts with potatoes. You could slice them thin and round if you’d like. I cut them in to chunks because it’s quick and easy.

I need more quick and easy when it comes to meal preparations.

Since we get a weekly box of produce from Abundant Harvest Organics, I try to add as many veggies as possible to our meals. The longer I do it the easier it is and now it’s become second nature. All the times that I’ve made my Irish Nachos, I’ve added some sort of greens. I just love their flavor when they’re roasted.

This particular version of Irish Nachos has more veggies than Tim would prefer (just a little too piled on for him). I’ve made them two or three other times with less. He liked those better. So use my recipe as a suggestion box and tweak it and adapt it to suit your family.

I feel like Irish Nachos ought to have some sort of green onion sprinkled over top. That might just be me. In any case, I really like what they add to the dish.

Crisped up potatoes are gathered into piles.

Mmmmm piles of potatoes.

Then all of the toppings are piled on. You can do them in whatever order you’d like.

Don’t forget the cheese. They are nachos after all.

Since I recently cut a bunch of corn off the cob, I’m using it in everything. Summer Pizza, Squash and Egg Wraps, and Quinoa Salads… It’s good to have corn on hand.

My favorite part, whenever there’s hot cheese involved, are the crispy bits of cheeeeeese. Every last bit needs to be scraped off the pan.

Every last bit.

Happy Eating!

Irish Nachos

Recipe Type: Main, Dinner, Side, Snack, Potatoes, Vegetarian

Author: Rachel Oberg – De Ma Cuisine

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 40 mins

Total time: 50 mins

Serves: 2-4

Ingredients

4 potatoes, cut into long chunks
1 T olive oil
1/2 t (or more) salt
to taste pepper
1/2 to 1 C greens (collards, kale, spinach, chard) cut in a chiffonade (thin ribbons)
1/2 to 1 C green onions (or chives), chopped
1/2 to 1 C cheese, grated
2 cobs corn, cut off the cob
yogurt, for topping
lemon wedges, for serving

Instructions

Pre-heat the oven to 350F.
Toss potatoes with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Place on 1-2 baking sheets (don’t overcrowd them – use two sheets if needed), and bake for 15 minutes, flip them (and rotate the position in the oven if using two sheets), and bake about 15 minutes more (or until potatoes are crispy outside, tender inside).
Gather potatoes into piles (as many piles as there are people eating), and top with greens, onions, cheese, and corn. Bake for 10 minutes more.
Serve topped with yogurt and a squeeze of lemon.

Monday

11

August 2014

6

COMMENTS

Mediterranean Quinoa Salad

Written by Rachel, Posted in Beans, Cheese, Dinner, Eggs, Gluten Free, Grains, Herbs, Kid-Friendly, Leftovers, Legumes, Low Carb, Lunch, Main Dishes, Potlucks, Quick and Easy, Quinoa, Salads, Sides, Vegetables, Vegetarian

We took a sick day a while back. But, we still needed to eat. I was going to make this quick salad and head back to bed. I felt a cold coming on and had done something to my back. So I was enjoying many many episodes of Gilmore Girls.

The tough thing about working from home and working as a food blogger is that every meal that is deemed good enough for the blog has to have photographs. It takes a lot of effort to stop working. It takes a lot of self control to force myself to just focus on dinner and not wonder whether or not I’m making a mistake by not photographing or writing it down.

Sometimes I’m glad when the sauce breaks.

One of my go-to easy meals to make for a sick day, or to take to a potluck (that hopefully doesn’t fall on the same day), is a quinoa salad. This one is full of veggies and protein. Just what we needed to give us a little lift when we weren’t feeling our best.

A veggie that will add both flavor and color is corn. Corn season is in full swing, so I’m using it in just about everything I can think of. Cutting corn off the cob when it’s not going to be used right away is a good idea, since the sugars turn into starch after a few days, making it less sweet. Corn that you’re not going to use can be frozen raw, for another time.

Collard greens, kale, or chard are cut chiffonade-style (thin ribbons). They add extra nutrients to this already healthy dish.

My in-laws went to Nazareth last year and brought me back some saffron. I’d never used it before and it was fun to experiment with in this dish. If you don’t want to use saffron, feel free to leave it out. If you want to use it, just a pinch will do.

The dressing is made up of some of my favorite things: lemon, honey, olive oil, and garlic.

I like a bit of feta in a salad like this. If you wanted to make this a vegan salad, omit the feta and honey and use your favorite vegan cheese and some maple syrup instead. For added protein (quinoa has lots too) I added garbanzo beans (chick peas).

There are plenty of fresh herbs, lots of cucumber and squash, and kalamata olives (for those of us that like them – Tim does not, but I love them).

I served this simple meal with some nectarines and plums, and a slice of lemon to squeeze over top.

There were leftovers, so a day or two later we had the same thing for lunch, topped with a fried egg.

My favorite way to fry eggs is covered over pretty low heat. Cracking the eggs into a bowl before adding them to the pan will allow any shells to be removed without scorching your finger on the bottom of the hot skillet.

Serve the salad cold, topped with a hot egg.

Perfection.

If you’re good at poaching eggs, those would be great on top too. One of my summer goals is to learn how to make Eggs Benedict, so hopefully my poaching skills will improve slightly. However, I’ve been distracted by our lovely front yard and the beautiful weather and haven’t done much learning.

I think we have about three more months of summer here in L.A., so I’ve got time.

Happy Eating!

Mediterranean Quinoa Salad

Recipe Type: Main, Salad, Side, Vegetarian, Gluten-Free, Eggs

Author: Rachel Oberg – De Ma Cuisine

Prep time: 10 mins

Total time: 10 mins

Serves: 4

Ingredients

1-2 C cooked quinoa
1-15 oz. can garbonzo beans
1/2 C summer squash, chopped
1/2 C cucumber, chopped
2 T basil, chopped
1 T oregano, chopped
1 stalk green onion, chopped
1 cob corn, cut off the cob
1/4 C feta (optional)
dressing: juice from 1/2 lemon
small pinch saffron
1/8 to 1/4 t smoked paprika
good pinch pepper
to taste salt
3 T apple cider vinegar
1 t honey
1 clove garlic, minced
pinch ground ginger
1/4 C olive oil
olives (optional), for topping
lemon slices, for serving

Instructions

Combine the quinoa with the beans, veggies, herbs, and feta.
Whisk together lemon juice through ginger. Slowly add the olive oil, whisking it in, creating an emulsion.
Mix dressing with salad.
Serve topped with olives and a squeeze of lemon.

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Sides Archive

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Creamy Cucumber and Tomato Salad

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Massaged Kale and Tuna Salad

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Deconstructed Lasagna

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Irish Nachos

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Mediterranean Quinoa Salad

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