Left –Over Salad Dressing

20 Jun

This is a concept I learned from Katy at the Yoga Center… 

When we cook at the yoga center, salad is a big part of each menu and we do a home-made salad dressing to go along with it.  The first time I was “in charge” of the salad dressing I did not know what to do.  I have never made salad dressings in such bug quantities or know how to season it.  One rule we have at the yoga center is that we do not taste food before it is finished and “offered” to the Supreme Being.

Here comes Katy to the rescue…  She told me to check if there was any salad left over from the lunch service and to start from there.  What!?!?!?  Well, this is how left-over dressing came about.  The SALAD in the name is two-fold – it’s a salad dressing and it’s made from left-over salad…  The concept is to take what you have in the fridge, particularly a little bit of lettuce or a little piece of onion to season the dressing.  You season it and voila – salad dressing that’s natural and free of preservatives…

Because this is a concept made to use up any leftovers you might have in your fridge before they go bad, this is more a method than it is a recipe… so bear with me in regards to the ingredients list.

 

 Leftover Dressing

LEFT-OVER SALAD DRESSING

A handful of whatever salad greens you might have… I have even used a bit if shredded cabbage for coleslaw, red cabbage, mesclun, arugula, icebrg lettuce, you name it…
½ carrot – if the salad already has carrots, you don’t need to add more
1 tomato – again, if the salad you have left over has tomatoes, no need to add more…
¼ onion
½ cubanelle pepper
1 tbs salt
1 tbs garlic and herbs seasoning
3 tbs vinegar or the juice of 2 lemons/limes
About ½ cup olive oil – I rarely measure this…
About ¼ cup water – to thin it out a bit… it may end up being too chunky
Optional add-ins:
1/3 cup yogurt
4 oz cream cheese
 ¼ cup egg-less mayonnaise

 

  1. In a blender add the salad, onion, carrot, pepper, tomato, vinegar or lemon juice and seasonings.  Add the olive oil and blend together well.  If you feel the mixture is too thick, add the water in little increments until it reaches your desired consistency. 

I sometimes add all the ingredients except the olive oil and drizzle it slowly through the chute on the blender cover to make sure the oil emulsifies and that it does not separate afterwards.

 

You can use this as a sald dressing over greens or sometimes I also like to drizzle on top of steamed/boiled veggies, like potatoes, sweet potatoes, cauliflower, broccoli, etc.

Tags: ,

Spearmint Infusion

18 Jun

I learned to drink herbal teas when I was living in NYC… I started making myself chamomile and linden teas to help me go to sleep.  Chamomile and linden are both commonly used as relaxers.   Later on, I also started to drink teas as part of natural treatments – that’s how I got to know lemongrass tea, peppermint tea, Siberian ginseng tea, cold care mixes, etc.  

But I have never been too fond of hot beverages while living in Puerto Rico… I just start sweating after drinking any hot tea, for a treatment or not.   But, when I visited Israel in 2000 , ittle did I know I would fall in love with a tea… or an infusion, I should really say.  At the end of each meal we would be offered a mint tea – a handful of spearmint leaves in hot water; mix the water up with brown sugar or honey and you have the loveliest after dinner drink.  It helps in digestion and tastes awesome.  During our visit to Israel, I would finish all our meals with a few cups of that…

But since then I have learned to be very careful when asking for a mint tea… in a Middle Eastern restaurant or otherwise.  Because tea is really a specific plant that’s dried or cured and commercial teas out there mix that plant with other herbs to make flavored teas…  Tea usually has caffeine, the main reason I do not drink coffee or chocolate.  So every time I get the craving of mint tea after eating falafels, etc.  I am usually left with the unfulfilled desire for one…  And since that trip I remember with fondness those spearmint infusions. 

Spearmint is not as widely available here in Puerto Rico and when I tried to grow it here next the beach, the leaves get too bruised by the constant heat. But now, with my CSA box, I get spearmint grown in Aibonito on a weekly basis. So I can enjoy my spearmint tea while watching my TiVo…

 

 Spearmint 1

 SPEARMINT INFUSION

2 sprigs of spearmint
About 1 ½ cups of water
Honey or Brown Sugar to taste

 

  1. In a small saucepan with a cover, bring the water to a boil.  When water is boiling (or at least shows little bubbles in the bottom of the pan), turn the stove off.  Place the spearmint sprigs in the water and cover.
  2. Wait for at least 15-20 minutes for the leaves to steep in the hot water.
  3. Strain the leaves from the water into a mug and season with honey, brown sugar or even agave nectar…. your preference.

 

This is great as an after-dinner drink… they serve it at Le Bernadin in NYC.  They use French presses used to make coffee to present the spearmint leaves and water… when you press on the lever, then you’re left with the liquid infused with spearmint flavor.  Yummy…

Tags:

Asparagus Dip

15 Jun

Inspired by these asparagus sandwiches or maybe a little bit lazy for not wanting to roll out sandwich bread for an upcoming Francophones party…  I decided to make an asparagus dip.  All the flavor and texture of the sandwich filling in an easier-on-the-cook format…

 

Asparagus Dip 3

 

ASPARAGUS DIP

1 jar of asparagus spears
¼ cup of egg-less mayonnaise
8oz of cream cheese
Garlic salt to season to taste

 

  1. In the bowl of a food processor combine the asparagus, egg-less mayonnaise, cream cheese and the garlic salt.  Pulse until it becomes a paste. 

 

Serve with crackers or on top of crostini…

Tags: ,

Provençal Sandwich

13 Jun

This is a sandwich inspired by the ingredients left-over from the Cheesy Lasagna I made with Natalia the other day…

I discovered Provençal Mushrooms during my trip to Montevideo, Uruguay.   I visited for work to shoot a TV commercial there and let me tell you… Uruguay is not a place too welcoming of vegetarians.  Just like Argentina, Uruguayan cuisine is filled with “parrilladas” and meat, meat and meat everywhere… what’s a vegetarian girl to do??

These provençal mushrooms were  in the menu of El Palenque, one of the most famous restaurants in Viejo Montevideo, next to the Mercado del Puerto.  I had them with French fries and the combination of the garlic sauce, parsley, lemon juice was exquisite.  I like it so much I went again to the same restaurant to eat the same thing a few times… not out of necessity, but out of gluttony.

When I saw the left-over spinach and sliced mushrooms I decided to combine them into a neat little sandwich inspired by those awesome mushrooms in Uruguay… perfect for a Sunday lunch at the beach.

 

 provencal sand 3

 PROVENCAL SANDWICH

¼ cup of defrosted spinach, squeezed dry
2 button mushrooms, sliced
1 scallion
1 small garlic clove, made into a paste with some salt
¼ cubannelle pepper, cut into strips
2 tbs fresh parsley, chopped medium
The juice of 1 lemon
Salt and pepper to taste
2 oz of goat cheese
Handful of organic arugula leaves, washed and dried
Olive oil
1 whole-wheat demi baguette

 

  1.  In a small skillet over medium heat, pour about 1 tbs of olive oil and sauté the scallion and the peppers.  Add the garlic paste and stir to combine to avoid the garlic to burn.
  2. After a few minutes when the peppers have softened, add the mushrooms.  Move them around a few times to make sure they cook on both sides and absorb the seasoning.  Add a little drizzle of more oil if you find the pan is too dry.
  3. When the mushrooms have acquired some color, add the spinach and parsley to the pan.  Season with salt and pepper and add the lemon juice.  Cook for just a few minutes and turn off the stove.  Let the residual heat of the pan finish cooking the filling.
  4. Now, cut the demi baguette into two halves and scoop out some of the soft dough inside to make some room for the filling.  Drizzle with some olive oil and toast in a toaster oven to your desired crispiness.
  5. Spread both sides with goat cheese.  Transfer the filling to the bottom bread.  Drizzle with a bit extra olive oil.  Place the arugula leaves and then cover with the top bread.

 Provencal Sand 2

 

All you need now are the French fries…

Tags: ,

Orange’d Roasted Carrots

11 Jun

My CSA box has graced me with so many carrots this season that I’ve had to look for new ways to make them … they’re super cute, because they’re mini carrots.  But I, my mom and the yoga center have been blessed with so many carrots this year.   And they keep coming each week.

CSA - Zanahorias

Roasting is a great and easy way to enjoy carrots.  Just drizzle them with seasonings and leave them in a toaster oven for about 30 minutes, enough time for me to do my daily meditation. 

This is how I made them the last time…

 Orange Roasted Carrots

 

ORANGE’D ROASTED CARROTS

3-4 mini carrots, washed and peeled
The juice of one orange
About ½ tbs of Olive oil
A sprig of fresh thyme
Kosher salt and Freshly cracked pepper

 

  1. I wash well and peel the carrots… if you don’t peel them, they show this darker skin on top after you cook them that is not very appealing to me.
  2. Place carrots in a roasting dish, squeeze the orange juice over them, add the olive oil, and season with salt, pepper and thyme.  Make sure the carrots are well coated with everything.
  3. Place in a 400F oven for about 30 mins.  The juice will reduce quite a bit…

 

Enjoy as a side dish…

Tags:

← Older Entries
Newer Entries →