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Lactose Free, Recipes, Rice Dishes, Salad, Side Dishes, Vegan, Vegetarian, Veggies

Haricots Verts and Freekeh with Minty Tahini Dressing

April 11, 2015

Freekeh, an unusual grain with a novel name! The first time it caught my attention was in Berkeley at the Pasta Store. I like cooking with many different types of grains. They make interesting side dishes, and in this case, a great salad. The name Freekeh is a process which means “to rub” in Arabic. The wheat is harvested when young and green then roasted, dried and rubbed. It has a subtle smokey flavor and a pleasant, chewy texture. It’s delicious.

Freekeh looks a bit like bulgur once it is cooked. In fact, if you can’t find freekeh, you could substitute bulgur but freekeh has a chewier texture and more interesting flavor.

I included Madagascar pink rice in my salad. I love the color and texture it added to the salad. This beautiful rice cooks in just 20 minutes.

Fresh herbs are scattered over the salad just before serving.

I am a big fan of any dressing that contains tahini and lemon juice!

This salad is so good I made it three times in a one week period. I packed it up for my work lunch and tossed the beans, freekeh, rice and walnuts with the dressing just before I sat down to eat.

Haricots Verts and Freekeh with Minty Tahini Dressing

Adapted from Bon Appetit

Serves 2

Ingredients

1/4 cup cracked or uncracked freekeh, rinsed

1 cup Madagascar pink rice (optional)

6 ounces haricots verts, trimmed

1 very small garlic clove, finely grated (I used my microplane zester)

2 – 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons tahini

1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh mint (or 1/2 teaspoon dried mint)

1/2 teaspoon pure maple syrup

2 tablespoons coarsely chopped walnuts (I baked them in the toaster oven for 5 minutes)

a few sprigs of dill, cilantro, flat leaf parsley

crushed red pepper flakes

Preparation

Cook freekeh in a medium saucepan of salted simmering water until al dente, 12 – 15 minutes (uncracked freekeh will take longer to cook, 30 minutes or so). Drain and rinse under cold water; set aside. You will not use all the freekeh for the salad.

Cook Madagascar pink rice if using, following directions on package. (I make 1 cup of rice at a time and serve leftover rice with mock chicken tofu the following day).

Cook haricots verts in a medium pot of boiling salted water until crisp-tender, about 3 minutes (very thin haricots verts may take just 2 minutes to cook). Drain and transfer to a large bowl of ice water; let cool. Drain and pat dry.

Whisk garlic, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, oil, tahini, mint, maple syrup, and 1 tablespoon water in a medium bowl; season with salt. Taste, add more lemon juice if desired.

In a large bowl, stir together 1/4 cup each, cooked freekeh and pink rice if using (use more freekeh if you skip the pink rice). Add green beans and toss with enough dressing to coat everything nicely. Season with salt. Divide on to two plates, top with toasted walnuts, small sprigs of dill, tender leaves of cilantro and parsley. Sprinkle crushed red pepper flakes over the salad and serve.

Dinner, Lactose Free, Recipes, Side Dishes

Creamy Chive Potatoes

March 8, 2015

This simple and delicious potato side dish is a dream come true. Everything except the chives goes into a pot and simmers, for a short time until the half & half reduces and becomes a luscious coating for the creamy Yukon Gold potatoes. Luckily for me, being lactose intolerant, Organic Valley makes a lactose free half & half which is carried by Mana Foods in Paia.

It seems I’m never able to catch up with all the food magazines that I subscribe to. There are stacks of them all over the living room and they get higher and higher as the months go by. So every now and then I’ll plop down in my comfy chair and spend an hour or two looking through these food magazines wondering what I might have missed. This recipe is a good example. It comes from Bon Appetit’s May 2013 issue that was delivered to my home nearly 2 years ago.

What I love about this recipe is that it has just four ingredients, it’s ready in 30 minutes, and, most importantly, it’s delicious!

These potatoes make a great side dish for steaks, roasted or grilled chicken, pork tenderloin or pork chops. They are so good I even have the leftovers with eggs for breakfast.

Creamy Chive Potatoes

Adapted from Bon Appetit

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled, cut into 1/2″ cubes

1 1/2 cups half & half (I used lactose free Organic Valley half & half)

4 tablespoons unsalted butter (I used Earth Balance Buttery Sticks)

kosher salt

1/4 cup finely chopped chives

Preparation

Combine potatoes, half & half, and butter in a large saucepan; season with salt. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer very gently, stirring occasionally, until potatoes are tender (the tip of a paring knife meets no resistance) and sauce is thick, about 20 minutes.

Season with salt; stir in most of the chives. Top with remaining chives before serving.

Dinner, Lactose Free, Recipes, Side Dishes, Soups

Hearty Tomato Herb Soup

February 19, 2015

I enjoy soup but it is not something I would typically order in a restaurant. More often than not, they contain dairy and being lactose intolerant, I have to pass. So when I’m in the mood for soup I make my own at home, and lately, I’ve been in a soup mood. Maybe it’s due to the weather here on Maui. It has been pleasantly cool and we’ve had more rain than we have seen in years. We can go months and months without a drop! So a bowl of hearty soup in February seems just right for lunch.

This soup is full of vegetables and fresh herbs. There’s a tad of butter for sautéing the vegetables, but other than that, it’s fat-free.

Luckily, we have some nice tomatoes in the garden now. Tomatoes are not the easiest fruit to grow. They need a lot of attention (in our area), but with patience, you will be rewarded with the most delicious, juicy tomatoes ever. If you don’t have fresh tomatoes for this soup, there are many good canned tomatoes you may use instead.

I appreciate our beautiful basil, Italian parsley, thyme, and oregano growing happily in the back yard. They add a wonderful fresh flavor to this soup. By the way, this soup can be quickly prepared in an hour or so.

Hearty Tomato Herb Soup

Serves 8

Ingredients

1 tablespoon butter or olive oil (I use Earth Balance Vegan Buttery Sticks)

1 medium onion, chopped

1 cup diced carrot

1 cup diced celery

1 cup diced zucchini

2 cups peeled, seeded, diced tomatoes

2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley

1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme

1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano

1 bay leaf

3 cans chicken broth (14 ounce)

3 cups water

1 cup cooked, chopped green beans

1 cup cooked rice (brown or white)

salt and pepper

grated parmesan, optional

Preparation

In a large saucepan sauté onion, carrot, and celery in butter over medium heat for 5 – 7 minutes. Add zucchini and sauté another 4 minutes or so. Add tomatoes, herbs, bay leaf, broth, and water to saucepan. Bring to a boil, turn down the heat and simmer for about 45 minutes.

Add cooked green beans and rice to pan. Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle grated parmesan over soup if desired.

Recipes, Salad, Side Dishes, Vegan, Vegetarian, Veggies

Vinegar-Roasted Beets

November 2, 2014

I’ve always loved roasted beets. I was looking for something a little different from what I have done in the past. These beets are infused with a tangy-sweet flavor after being roasted in vinegar with fresh herbs. They emerge from the oven perfectly seasoned and add beautiful color to any salad. The beets are moist, tender, and as Chef Jaime Malone says “they are dressed from within.”

Mana Foods had some pretty golden beets, so with this recipe in mind, I brought a few home and popped them in the oven.

So simple. Rice vinegar, water, salt, a bit of sugar and some herbs and garlic. It takes just 5 minutes hands on time while the remainder is spent in the oven (I used my toaster oven).

You could eat the beets alone, with a drizzle of good olive oil and some Maldon sea salt and pepper. I made a big salad with some homegrown tomatoes and crunchy cucumbers, sprinkled a bit of feta cheese over the salad, and used my favorite dressing.

Vinegar-Roasted Beets

Food & Wine Magazine

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups rice vinegar (unseasoned)

1 1/4 cups water

1 tablespoon sugar

1 tablespoon kosher salt

1 1/2 pounds small beets

2 thyme sprigs

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1 bay leaf

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 425°. In a large, deep oven proof baking dish, whisk the vinegar with the water, sugar and kosher salt. Add the beets, thyme, garlic and bay leaf. Cover the baking dish with heavy-duty foil and roast for about 50 – 60 minutes, until tender, turning halfway through the cooking time. Remove the beets from the baking dish, and let cool completely, then peel and slice into rounds or wedges.

*If you have a toaster oven that will accommodate the baking dish, by all means use it. There’s no need to pre-heat the toaster oven.

Dinner, Italian, Lactose Free, Pasta, Recipes, Side Dishes, Vegan, Vegetarian

Cherry Tomato Vinaigrette

October 12, 2014

Summer is officially over yet this record hot weather will be with us for at least another month. Nevertheless, it hasn’t deterred me from baking brownies or simmering short ribs for 2 1/2 hours in the oven, but it does bring to mind meals that can be prepared in a jiffy, like this simple tomato sauce.

Though the recipe refers to this as a vinaigrette, it is also referred to as a condiment and as such, is equally delicious on grilled sourdough bread, or grilled chicken, pork or fish. It adds beautiful color to all these dishes. I love serving the tomatoes on thin capellini noodles for a summery lunch or dinner.

Cherry Tomato Vinaigrette

Bon Appetit Magazine

Serves 2

Ingredients

1 pint cherry tomatoes

3 tablespoons olive oil, divided

1 shallot, finely chopped

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

2 tablespoons finely chopped chives

crumbled feta (optional)

Preparation

Cut half of the cherry tomatoes in half.

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the shallot, and cook, stirring often until softened, about 4 minutes.

Add halved and whole tomatoes to the pan and cook, stirring occasionally, until beginning to release juices, about 4 – 6 minutes. Crush some of the tomatoes with the back of spoon.

Add 1 tablespoon vinegar and remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil; season with kosher salt and pepper. Serve warm or at room temperature; add chives just before serving and sprinkle with feta cheese.

Dinner, Japanese, Lactose Free, Recipes, Salad, Side Dishes, Vegan, Vegetarian, Veggies

Japanese Cucumber Salad

October 5, 2014

I love crunchy, sweet, cucumbers, especially Keiki Cukes. Their size is perfect, they are seedless, and snappy. I discovered this Jamie Oliver recipe on Leite’s Culinaria and I was smitten.

Lemon grass adds a fragrant note to the dressing. It pairs well with the ginger and rice vinegar. As the editor-in-chief of Leite’s Culinaria, Renée Schettler Rossi says, this is not the most traditional Japanese recipe despite Jamie Oliver’s title. And, as Renée says further, “I’m not holding that against it.”

I diced up a bit of cucumber and sliced carrots into pretty florets to add texture and color to the silky sliced cucumbers. A generous handful of torn mint and a little cilantro sprinkled over the cucumbers add that special brightness to the salad. For those of you who are not fond of cilantro you may leave it out, but don’t skip the mint.

Japanese Cucumber Salad

Adapted from Leite’s Culinaria

Serves 4 as a side dish

Ingredients

3/4 – 1 pound Japanese, Keiki, or other small, seedless cucumbers

1/4 small carrot, sliced very thin (optional)

Handful of fresh mint, torn into small pieces

Handful of fresh cilantro, torn into small pieces

Dressing:

3 tablespoons unseasoned rice vinegar

1 teaspoon soy sauce

1 1/2 teaspoons sugar

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon finely grated ginger

1 teaspoon finely minced lemongrass

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

Preparation

Dressing:

In a small bowl, combine the vinegar, soy sauce and sugar. Mix until the sugar dissolves. Whisk in oil. Add ginger, lemongrass, and salt & pepper to taste.

Thinly slice cucumbers lengthwise, using a mandoline, handheld slicer, or potato peeler, making thin ribbons. Lay cucumber slices on paper towels and lightly pat dry. Slice a small portion of a cucumber into small cubes, about 1/4 cup (I use the leftover edges of the cucumber I sliced into ribbons, omitting any seedy flesh). Finely slice carrot if using. Lay cucumber ribbons on a plate and diced cucumbers on edges of plate along with the carrots. Sprinkle with torn mint and cilantro, and drizzle a generous amount of dressing over the salad.

***The dressing can be made a day in advance and the vegetables may be cut a few hours before serving.

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Side Dishes

Haricots Verts and Freekeh with Minty Tahini Dressing

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Creamy Chive Potatoes

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Hearty Tomato Herb Soup

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Vinegar-Roasted Beets

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Cherry Tomato Vinaigrette

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Japanese Cucumber Salad

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