Lemon Quinoa and Chickpea Salad

A couple people mentioned the lack of 2 Teaspooning in recent weeks. I promise, no one's missed any kitchen excitement, as I haven't really cooked anything since the sun came out in late June. I do not enjoy a warm oven or stove when the weather is warm.

But I do love quinoa and chickpeas, and both are great additions to salads. They're cheap. They're lovely at any temperature. They're light and don't overwhelm salads, like some other additions (cheese, meat). And along with the healthy fiber and protein in chickpeas, quinoa is a complete protein. I remember from a college Nutrition class that complete proteins are necessary for humans, but since they're primarily found in animal products, it's sort of lucky to find them in vegetarian/vegan foods. So there you have it. Eat more quinoa.

Both chickpeas and quinoa also have an impressive history: chickpeas have been eaten for at least 7,500 years, originally in the Middle East and Mediterranean. Quinoa is a South American food, eaten for 6,000+ years, and considered the sacred "Mother of All Grains" by the Incas.

If you don't know quinoa, it's similar to couscous: fluffy, light in flavor, quick-cooking. It's officially a "pseudocereal," not a real grain (couscous is officially a pasta). It can be red or yellowish -- red is prettier, but less common in stores. Quinoa is low-maintenance: add boiling water and cover for 15 minutes.

For this salad, I made my quinoa rissotto-style, adding a little water at a time and stirring, then adding a splash of lemon juice, salt and pepper, and sliced scallion at the end. I added canned chickpeas (rinsed and drained) in the last minute of cooking, to heat them. Then I tossed over mixed lettuce and herbs from the garden. Very little hot-stove time, and definitely better than a diet of popsicles.

Brightly-colored Thai beef salad

I meant to blog about this dish when I first made it, but now that I've tried it twice I can assure you it was no fluke the first time. I could make this once a week and be happy with it. And, I think it would be great for an outdoorsy potluck. Come on over. I'll make it for you.

Also exciting: we have enough lettuce in the garden to make an entire salad! Plus lots of arugula, and radishes, cilantro, fennel, chives, scallions (or something oniony I've been using as scallions -- whatever the old owner left us).

Pardon the bloody beef pics, you vegans and vegetarians. Marinated tofu would be great instead, though I can't imagine a comparable vegan substitute for the fish sauce in the dressing.

And for future reference: fish sauce is a questionable predecessor to whipped cream. Tonight we had this before strawberry shortcake. Although Brian said both were delicious, I think I'll opt for a mango sorbet or something more Thai-appropriate next time. (As if I really plan my dinner along with coordinating desserts.)

Thai beef salad

From Everyday Food, May 2010

For beef:

• 2 T soy sauce
• 2 tsp fish sauce
• 2 tsp sugar
• 12 oz flank steak (8oz is plenty if you're making this for two people)

Combine and marinate overnight in the refrigerator or for ~15 minutes on the counter. Heat a heavy pan over high, place steak in and turn to medium. Cook 3-5 minutes on each side, for medium-rare steak. Let rest while you prepare the salad.

For salad, toss:

• Enough lettuce to make the size salad you want, of whatever variety you want. The magazine says 2 heads of bibb lettuce. I used a large bowl full of assorted Very Fancy Raven's Garden lettuce.
• 1 cucumber, peeled, seeded, sliced 1/4-inch thick
• 1 C cherry tomatoes, halved
• 2 carrots, shaved with a vegetable peeler
• 1/4 C fresh mint + 1/4 C fresh basil (or whatever herbs you want. Cilantro? Fennel? Sure.)
• Oh, I also used about 1 C shredded red cabbage the first time I made this.

For dressing, stir together:

2 tsp fish sauce

2 tsp toasted sesame oil (which I bought only for this, but is amazing)

2 tsp sugar

1 T minced fresh ginger

1 small minced jalepeno (I used less than half and it was plenty)

2 T lime juice.

Toss dressing with salad. Slice rested steak thinly, then add to salad. Eat.

Šopska Salata, salad of the Western Balkans

Some folks bring trinkets from far-away lands, littering the shelves of friends and family with exotic tchotchkes. Some send postcards. And some share food.

Matt is the last of these -- the best option, in my opinion. His holiday visit from Serbia brought chocolate filled with Pop Rocks and a bottle of Rakia ("potent" is an understatement. See Rakia in the glass in the photo above, courtesy SoSofia.com).

Also on the Serbian menu: Šopska Salata, a simple Balkan salad. From Matt:

"Šopska Salata, found on every dinner table across almost all areas of the Western Balkans
(for large salad):

• Two tomatoes
• Large cucumber
• Green pepper or similar
• Large Onion (add small hot pepper if you like)
• Firm Feta cheese that you can grate (or substitute Greek Mizithra)
• Oil (traditional: sunflower, lux: Extra Virgin)
• Vinegar (traditional: something real simple, lux: Balsamic)
• Salt, Pepper

Peel and roughly chop/section all veggies and put in bowl, cover with shredded cheese, leaving it on top. Individually season with a spritz of oil and vinegar to taste, same with salt/pepper. Wash it down with copious amounts of Jelen Beer, and serve as a garnish to your giant pile of grilled mixed meat:"


If meat with a side of meat is not on your menu, this salad would be great with with grilled fish, fried chicken or barbecue.

Good Things to Those Who Wait

Top courtesy Zeets Jones
Middle: via Cooking Light
Bottom: "Nuthatcher atop a Persimmon" painting by Japanese aritst, Koson Ohara

"What is that?" a curious co-worker asked as she walked past my desk last week. I laughingly replied, "I'll have to let you know", as I, too, was a bit baffled by the strange tomato-like fruit sitting on my desk. Now that I've done my research, I'll tell you what it is: a persimmon (pronunciation: \pər-ˈsi-mən\), a fruit native to China that eventually found its way to California in the mid-1800's. Its color can range from a light yellow-orange to dark orange-red and it has the most beautiful flower-like leaf pattern on top. The first sentence in Wikipedia's entry on this mystery fruit describes it as "the fruit of the gods," which certainly sets some pretty high expectations! It is packed, however, with some godly great nutrients like beta-carotene, Vitamin C and potassium.

There are essentially 2 types of persimmons:

#1 The Fuyu: Small, squatty and flat -- like a tomato. In season late October through December. They can be firm when ripe (like an apple) and you can either wait until the Fuyu gets soft before eating, or you can eat them right away when they are still firm and crisp.
Uses: Can be cooked into stews or pies, included raw in salads or yogurt, or eaten all by themselves as a fruit snack.

#2 The Hachiya: Acorn-shaped. Patience, my dear: You're going to have to wait to enjoy this one. Due to its high tannin level, if you bite into an unripe hachiya, your mouth will be puckering due to its bitter, astrigent flavor. Think a forgotten cup of tea that has been seeping all day. This happened to me the first time I tried a persimmon and it was not pretty. When ripe, it possesses a rich, sweet and somewhat spicy flavor -- though you may have to wait upwards of weeks (yes, you read that correct: WEEKS) for it to ripen.
Uses: You're probably gonna wanna bake with this one. Most commonly used as a puree in cookies, cakes, brownies, breads, puddings, flans, and sauces.

Here's a round-up of some interesting recipes I found:

Persimmon Tarte Briochée
Gorgeous photo and recipe courtesy the blog, @ Down Under


Persimmon Bread by James Beard
Recipe info and photo courtesy the blog Moveable Feasts

Persimmon Salad with Sweet Ginger Vinaigrette
Photo and recipe via Food Gal