Black Bean Salad

The Southwestern Black Bean Salad was tasty and satisfying. It reminded me of a salad I love at our favorite restaurant down on Folly Beach, Taco Boy. The dressing was really good, although I did add a little sugar since it was a bit tart. That could be b/c I used bottled lime juice leftover from making mojitos. I jazzed up the salad a little - I added some roasted red peppers, some chives I needed to use up and a little cumin. I also mixed the avocado into the salad rather than slicing it on top. It was topped with grated sharp cheddar. I did not include the olives, that just sounded weird. It was a nice light supper on a warm evening and an even better lunch today. I think I may make up batches for this just for lunches in the future.

This week's pick.

This week I pick Southwestern Black Bean Salad because I have some lovely avocados that need to be eaten.

A week later. . .

I finally post my review of the peanut sauce. We're big fans of peanut sauce in the Cooper-Burger household. It is a go-to dish when I can't think of something to make but I have pasta, veggies and maybe some tofu. The version of the sauce I usually make is very similar to the Moosewood recipe, where the hot water is whisked into the peanut butter. This method is so much easier than cooking the sauce on the stove top. I thought the spice was just right, although I did use a rather heaping spoonful of chili-garlic sauce. . .We had it with a tofu and veggie stir fry with carrots, peppers, sugar snap peas and broccoli. I mixed the sauce with some spagetti, topped that with the stir fry that had been flavored with the soy/ginger/garlic. . . marinade from the tofu, then drizzled more peanut sauce over the dish. It was fantastic!
I'll make this again, for sure. I'd like to try the variation with the coconut milk in it, that sounds fabulous.

Slacker

I don't know what my problem is. . .I'm going to blame it on spring fever. I haven't really felt like planning meals and cooking lately. I'm sorry!! I think I'm getting over it. I'm planning on making the peanut sauce this evening - I'm looking forward to it, peanut sauce is one of our favorite go-to meals. I'll pick a recipe for the coming week this evening.

Week Eight Pick

I'm picking the Spicy Peanut Sauce... not quite sure yet which way we're going to go with it, but it looks yummy.

Oh my goodness. . .

the Moroccan spiced fish was soooo good!! I made the spice mix pretty much as written, although I couldn't understand why I had to choose between ground ginger and cinnamon, so I split the difference and used a bit of each. We use fresh mahi mahi for the fish. It smelled so good when it came out of the oven. On Sunday night we ate it as above - in pita sandwiches with sliced tomatoes, cilantro yogurt sauce and cabbage. That was delicious and a perfect light warm weather meal. We had planned on using the leftovers for fish tacos on Monday, but I really wanted to use the all the yummy juices the fish produced while baking and didn't think fish tacos would really allow me to do that. So I made up a Moroccan veggie saute with onions, garlic, zucchini, carrots and the rest of the cabbage, with some of the spice mix, a bit of white wine and veggie stock and some raisins and dried cranberries. Oh, and chickpeas (I wanted to make enough of the veggie saute to have for lunch the next day). We had that over couscous with the rest of the fish chunks and sauce (warmed over low heat in a saucepan) drizzled over it. I topped it with a bit of mint and the cilantro yogurt sauce. Yum!! We will definitely have this fish again, it is so good and so easy to make and such a departure from my usual fish usual preparations.

Soup's warm glowing, warming glow

That's a bastardized Simpson's quote about television, but I thought it was appropriate in describing the loveliness of this soup on a chilly night. We had it last Tuesday when we were still in the middle of a nasty cold snap (it's in the high 70's now. . .weird weather this year). Anyway, the soup warmed us up thoroughly with it's spice and heat. I wish it was a bit more filling though, I was trying to save enough for lunches the next day, but Dan and I were both hungry after one serving. I'm sure some of it is the missing 4 ounces of squash - there were only 10 oz, instead of 12 oz, containers at the store. I would have though the tofu would fill us up. . .but no. I added a bit more chili paste in the beginning as well and thought the resulting heat was just right. I put a couple splashes of fish sauce in there too b/c I couldn't resist. The flavors were even better the next day at lunch. I'll definitely be making this again b/c it is quick and tasty. I think I'll try it with shrimp next time, I think that would be delicious.

Trifecta

And on the third night.... I made Moroccan Spiced Fish. I've got enough leftovers now to not have to cook for at least a couple of days. Good timing, since Anshul is working long hours. We both loved this! I have a Moroccan Spice Mix that my dad bought once when he was here and wanted to make tagine, so I did alter the recipe a little. It has coriander, cinnamon, cumin and mint in it. I added some tumeric and cayenne. Otherwise followed it as written. I thought it was really delicious and would put this marinade on other things too. I made some couscous and baked sweet potato fries to go with it, and some cilantro yogurt sauce to put over the top. It was a great mix of flavors! I liked that there was some sauce leftover with the fish, so that the couscous wasn't too dry. Anshul only likes sweet potatoes when they are cut like fries, don't ask me why, so that's what I did. I was patting myself on the back when I actually got down to cooking at 8pm because I had cut them earlier in the day when Sahana was napping and I was so happy I did otherwise we wouldn't have eaten until 10pm. I threw some of the Moroccan Spice Mix, garlic, s/p, and olive oil on them before baking them. This was definitely a winner of a meal! It had a lot of components, but other than chopping the sweet potatoes wasn't too much work.

Alcoholic Cheesy Rice

I made the Rarebit Risotto on Wednesday night. We both enjoyed it, but I think I'm with you - not sure that it's something that I would jump at making again. I used a lot less cheese too, but there's other things I'd rather eat if I was going to knowingly consume that much cheese (like mac n' cheese or enchiladas). I think risottos aren't my favorite - I like eating for 5 or 6 bites and then it gets too repetitive for me - same flavors, same texture. Not sure why I don't feel that way about pasta. Anshul says it's because I can only see rice as a side dish, which means that while I may be able to pass as Kashmiri if I'm tan and dressed up in the right clothes, I will never truly eat like one. Anyway, back to the Rarebit, I used a Flying Dog Porter and that seemed like a good fit. I liked the broccoli in it and the tomatoes. Come to think of it - can you put broccoli and tomatoes in mac n' cheese. This risotto really gave me a craving for it! And that way I could feel like it was somewhat healthy. I bought beets to try your beet salad - I'm not a beet convert yet, but my sister has been trying to get me on board. But I was tired and it was late so I just made a salad instead. So now I have some beets waiting to be used... soon, soon. I'll give you the report when I do.

Soup in San Diego

I'm still trying to adjust to life without winter - namely when I do make chili and butternut squash soup? Well, I guess since it dips into the 40s some nights, I can pretend that it's not 60s and sunny during the day! And this Thai Butternut Squash Soup is a good reason to do so! Mmm... I loved it! Anshul didn't think butternut squash fit with Thai flavors, but what does he know about Asian food? :) I loved it - the sweet with the spicy and the sour. I threw in a little extra red curry paste at the end because I thought it needed just a bit more kick, but otherwise made it just as the recipe was listed. I thought the spinach and the tofu gave it a nice texture. We had some leftover homemade pizza dough which we brushed with garlic, olive oil and cilantro and cooked on our pizza stone. It was a perfect match.

Week Seven Pick

I pick Moroccan Spiced Fish. We're on a fish kick!

Week Seven Pick

I pick Thai Butternut Squash Soup for this week. In fact, I'm going to make it tonight. I hope it can take some chill out of the 26 degree night!! Brrrrrr!!
I'm going to make the chickpea spread you picked last week tonight as well. I'm hosting book club tomorrow, so I held off on making it. Based on your glowing review, I'm sure the ladies will love it.

We had the interesting Rarebit Risotto on Wednesday of last week. I used Abita Turbo Dog for the beer in the recipe - an excellent beer, by the way. I was worried about how this was going to turn out at first b/c my small tastes to check the "doneness" of the rice were very bitter tasting. However, by the end the flavors had come together and were much sweeter and richer. I used approximately 2 cups of cheddar, probably a bit less. I cannot imagine how you could cram four cups of cheese into this. It would end up as cheesy rice mush, I imagine. As it was, it still felt a bit decadent, but not too heavy. I liked the contrast of the sweet cherry tomatoes with the rich savory rice. All said, I'm still committed to classic risotto. I think that Dan really liked this though, so we may have it again someday. It certainly won't make the regular rotation. I cannot handle the caloric guilt, especially if it isn't earth-shatteringly good.
On the side we had a raw beet salad from a Mark Bittman recipe. It went well with the risotto and the sweet/tartness of the salad was a pleasant contrast the richness of the risotto. It is similar to the carrot salad we made previously, and is and excellent way to get your cancer fighting antioxidants!!