Chicken Salad

For Debbie:

2 Chicken Breasts
Salt, Thyme, Lemon Peel
Mixed Greens (in this case, Boston Lettuce and Spinach)
1 Cucumber
2 Tomatoes
Dressing (in this case, Green Goddess)

The interesting stuff here is primarily in the dressing. We used the Penzey's Spices Green Goddess dressing base and mixed it up ourselves. I also used homemade mayonnaise (from How to Cook Everything, but recipes are pretty easy to find. Basically just egg, lemon juice, oil, and some spices). Any good herby dressing or vinagarette would work well, though. Then I put a little salt, thyme, and grated lemon peel on a cutting board and chopped it finely. Rub that on the chicken and let it stand for 10 minutes or so. Preheat the broiler and set the rack close to the heat. Brush the chicken with olive oil, and broil for about 4-5 minutes/side, or however long it takes to get done. Cut it into strips. The rub can be varied however you like, and can be omitted (at least salt and pepper the chicken, though).

Toss the greens and vegetables, serve in bowls with dressing and chicken strips on top.

Italian Tofu Curry

My attempt at "fusion" cuisine, I guess. I started with the idea of seared tofu, and when I was done brainstorming I had spinach, tomato, and basil. My measurements here are approximate.

1 Pkg Firm Tofu
1 Onion
1/2 Cup Coconut Milk
1 Can Diced Tomatos
2 Tsp Minced Ginger
2 Cloves Garlic
1 TB Lime Juice
2 Cup Spinach
1/4 Cup Chopped Basil
1 TB Sweet Curry Powder
2 Tsp Red Pepper Flakes

Press the tofu and cut into triangles or strips. Dice the onion. Sear the tofu in a pan with a little oil and set aside. Sautee the onion, garlic, and ginger for about 3 minutes, add tomato, coconut milk, lime, basil, curry powder, and red pepper flakes. Simmer for a few minutes, then wilt in the spinach. Serve tofu on pasta or rice and top with sauce. Grate some parmesan on top.

I messed this up slightly, as I tried to do it all at once in a single pan, and ended up wrecking the tofu. It tasted just as good, but I imagine having crisped up the tofu it would be even better. There is something, though to simmering the sauce in a pot that the tofu is also in, so I need to figure out how to perfect this. We served it all over a spinach linguini. I forgot the parmesan, but it would be delicious, I'm sure.

Tuna with Tomatoes, Parsnips, Spinach, and Chickpeas

This is one of those "clean out the pantry because I don't want to go to the store" kind of recipes, but it's pretty good, easy, and made almost entirely of stuff that I typically have on hand. A. was initially suspicious of this, but seemed to like it.

2 cans Tuna
2 cans diced Tomatoes
2 cans Chickpeas
2 Parsnips
Spinach
Onion
Garlic
Rice

Steam parsnips. Sautee onion and garlic for about4-5 minutes. Add tomatoes, parsnips, and chickpeas and bring just to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 5-7 minutes. Add tomatoes and a couple handfuls of spinach and simmer, covered, for another 5 minutes or so. Serve over rice.

We had 3 good-sized servings leftover; could probably have stretched it into four. The parsnips were the one thing that I added that weren't standard on-hand ingredients, and I didn't actually steam them beforehand. I would steam them the next time, though, as they didn't get as tender as I would have hoped.

Lentil Soup

Followed a recipe today, from 101 Cookbooks: Lentil Soup. Instead of a can of crushed tomatoes I just smashed up three tomatoes (and broke a wooden spoon in the process). Instead of larger leafy greens, I used spinach. Finally, we stirred in some pepper, cumin, coriander, and paprika, along with more salt. We used regular yogurt instead of greek for the saffron yogurt topping, and it was delicious.

Notes: Don't crush tomatoes with a wooden spoon. This soup needed more tomato to it, though I would like to try it with red peppers instead sometime (or also). Things to try: wilted cabbage, peppers, carrots, garlic, bacon, bay leaf.

Stuffed Red Peppers with Spinach and Ricotta

A meatless variation on stuffed peppers, though it would easily accommodate meat.

4 red bell peppers
1 small container Ricotta cheese
Handful of Pine Nuts, toasted
1 Onion
Spinach
Parsley, chopped

Hollow the peppers and steam for 5-10 minutes (could also boil according to some references. I also wonder how it would work if I didn't do either).
Caramelize the onion
Chop the spinach and sautee so slightly wilted
Fold onion, parsley, spinach and pine nuts into the Ricotta
fill Peppers, bake 375 for 20 minutes (time and heat variable)

Served with link of italian sausage. Had two peppers left over, but not sure how well they'll store.

Note: it probably would have tasted a little more flavorful with some spice - some of the references I consulted mentioned nutmeg, so I should try that next time. Garlic would be a good addition as well. Any number of herbs would add something to this, too. And could use uncased italian sausage, browned, mixed in with cheese, and stuffed directly in the peppers