Day 29 Dinner - Asian-Style Wild Rice Salad

This recipe takes a couple of local, seasonal ingredients and is flavored with the tastes of the far east.  The vegetables and grains are packed with valuable nutrients and accented with the bright, sweet citrus flavors of winter and the indispensable Asian condiment, sriracha chili sauce to add some flavorful heat. 

The salad will be slightly wet when room temp.  This is intended to keep it moist when refrigerated, so if you serve it immediately after making, use a slotted spoon and allow to drain, slightly.

Asian-Style Wild Rice Salad
serves 4

1 cup wild rice blend (one that combines wild rice and brown rice)
2 cups light coconut milk
1 T peanut oil
2 cups shelled edamame
4 cups broccoli, finely chopped (about one large head)
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp toasted sesame oil
1/3 cup mirin
2 T soy sauce
1 tsp sriracha hot sauce
juice of 1 meyer lemon
juice of 1 blood orange
1 bunch scallions, sliced
1 cup cilantro leaves

In a small saucepan, bring rice and coconut milk (or vegetable broth) to a boil.  Reduce heat to simmer, add a pinch of salt, and stir well.  Cover and cook until al dente, about 35 minutes. 

In a large wok, heat peanut oil to medium-high.  Add garlic, edamame and broccoli and stir-fry until lightly cooked, about 5 minutes.  Turn heat off.  Add remaining ingredients (except for the cilantro) and the cooked rice and stir very well to combine.  Allow mixture to come to room temperature (stirring occasionally), about 40 minutes.  Toss cilantro leaves with the rice mixture just before serving.  Serve salad at room temperature or cold.

Day 25 Dinner - Barley Risotto with Leeks and Peas

There are few dishes I enjoy more than a steaming hot bowl of risotto.  I love the creamy texture, the warming quality, and the toothsome chew of the rice.  Risotto is not, however, the healthiest of meals.  It is generally made with refined arborio rice, butter, and lots of cheese! 

This version is made with fiber-rich barley instead of rice and nutritional yeast flakes instead of cheese.  The creaminess comes from a little milk added to the stock (which you can replace with more stock for an even healthier version) and the result is a velvety, flavorful concoction that is sure to please the palate.  Nutritional yeast can be found in the bulk section of any Whole Foods.  It is often used in vegan dishes to lend a tangy, cheese-like flavor.  I always have some in my pantry to add flavor without the fat.  If you've never tried it before, give it a shot!  It looks strange, but it is a healthy, flavorful, and very inexpensive alternative to cheese.


Barley Risotto with Leeks and Peas
serves 4

2 T olive oil
1 large leek, halved, sliced and rinsed
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup white wine
1 cup barley, rinsed
4 cups homemade vegetable or chicken stock
2 cups whole milk
1 package frozen peas
zest and juice of 1 lemon
salt to taste

Add olive oil to a large saucepan over medium heat.  Add leeks and saute until soft, about 5 minutes.  Add garlic and saute for another 2 minutes.  Add wine and stir, scraping any browned bits from the bottom of the pan.  Add barley and bring to a gentle boil, stirring frequently. 

Cook until much of the liquid has evaporated, stirring almost constantly, then add stock, one cup at a time.  At each stage, add the cup of liquid and cook, stirring constantly, until much of the liquid is absorbed.  After all the stock has been added, add the milk in two stages in the same manner as the stock.  After adding the last cup of liquid, add the frozen peas.  Cook mixture until most of the liquid has been absorbed, then add lemon zest and juice and turn off the heat.  Stir for a few more minutes off the heat, then stir in salt to taste.  Serve immediately.

Sunday Brunch - Herbed Polenta and Poached Egg with Carrot and Kale Salad

Obe and I just love weekend brunches.  Brunch food, however, is not usually very healthy!  Pancakes, waffles, and eggs benedict are all delicious, but very high in calories and low in nutrients.  So, I've decided to include a brunch recipe each weekend.  That way, we'll still enjoy our favorite weekend tradition without undoing all the hard work we put into eating well throughout the week.

This meal pays homage to those ever-versatile and always beautiful rainbow carrots.  They are sliced, without peeling, so that the bright, bold color is not lost and roasted to al dente perfection.  The polenta is rich and creamy and a little bit goes a long way.  If you want to make a lower-calorie version, omit the milk and replace with vegetable broth or water and cut the amount of cheese in half and sprinkle on top of each serving instead of mixing it in.  But don't forget, a little bit of indulging for one meal a week is usually fine.  We all need to treat ourselves once in a while!

Speaking of treats, I have also included a cocktail with this meal.  Omit the alcohol and you have a healthy and refreshing brunch beverage!

Herbed Polenta and Poached Egg with Carrot and Kale Salad
serves 4

Polenta:
1 1/2 cups vegetable stock
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup polenta (not instant)
1 tsp. salt
2-3 T fresh sage, minced
2 T fresh rosemary, minced
1/2 cup grated gruyere cheese
4 eggs
1/4 cup vinegar

Salad:
1 bunch kale, stems removed and cut into bite-sized pieces
4 small rainbow carrots, washed and sliced into 2 x 1/4-inch pieces
1 T olive oil
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
salt to taste

Make the polenta:  In a medium saucepan, bring milk and vegetable stock to a gentle boil.  Stream in the polenta, while whisking, and reduce heat to a simmer.  Stir continuously (or at least every two minutes or so) for about 10 minutes.  Add herbs and salt and cook until polenta is thick and grains are soft, about 5 to 10 more minutes.  Add gruyere and stir.

While Polenta is cooking, poach eggs.  Fill a large, shallow pan with water and bring to a boil.  reduce heat to about medium-low (just until water stops bubbling), then add vinegar.  One-by-one, break each egg into a small cup and quickly pour into water.  Cook about 3 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350.  Toss carrots and kale with olive oil and salt and bake for about 15 minutes, or until kale is crispy and very lightly browned.  Sprinkle balsamic vinegar and toss just before serving. 

Serve polenta topped with a poached egg and the kale and carrot salad on the side.  Serve with Carrot-ginger cocktail, if desired.

Carrot-ginger cocktail
serves 1

2 oz. Reed's ginger beer (preferable to other brands because it has no corn syrup)
2 oz. Carrot juice
1 oz. Vodka

Chill vodka and a champagne glass in the freezer for 20 minutes or more.  Combine all ingredients and serve.



Day 3 Dinner - Wintry "Dirty Rice" with Brussels Sprouts

I don't know about everybody else, but one of my favorite wintry grains to cook with (and to eat) is wild rice.  Not only does it have a wonderful toasty, nutty flavor but it is rather beautiful in dishes and it happens to be very healthful.  The variety I purchase is Lundberg's, which is non-GMO and sustainably farmed.  Any ol' variety of wild rice should do, and if you don't like wild rice this recipe would work just as well with brown rice. 

This dish is a healthy, seasonal veggie-packed take on Southern Dirty Rice.  Instead of being loaded with giblets and sausage, I use a smaller amount of sausage and bulk up on the brussels sprouts!  Quickly shocking them before adding them to the rice gives the sprouts a nice, toothsome texture and helps them keep their bright, beautiful color.

Wintry "Dirty Rice" with Brussels Sprouts
serves 6

1 T olive oil
1/2 red onion, diced
1 small leek, halved, sliced and rinsed
4 small sausages (I used Marczyk's French Sausage)
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 T fresh sage, chopped
1/4 cup bourbon (may substitute white wine)
2 cups wild rice
4 cups water
2 tsp salt
generous pinch red pepper flakes (optional)
6 cups brussels sprouts, leaves separated

In a large saucepan over medium heat, saute leek and onion in olive oil until onion is translucent, about 2 minutes.  Remove sausage from casings and add to pot in small chunks.  Cook until sausage starts to brown, about 7 minutes, then add garlic and sage and cook 2 minutes.  Deglaze the pan with bourbon, then add rice, water, salt and red pepper flakes and bring liquid to a boil.  Cover pan and reduce heat to a simmer.  Cook until rice is tender, about 45 minutes.  Remove from heat and let sit, covered.

Separate the leaves from the core of each brussels sprout (this takes a while, so do it while the rice is cooking to save time).  Rinse well.  Bring a large pot of salted water to boil and prepare an ice bath in a large bowl.  Add the brussels sprouts to the water and boil very briefly, so that the leaves become tender, about a minute.  Immediately drain and plunge into the ice bath for about 2 minutes or until the leaves are barely cool(but not cold) to the touch.

Add sprouts to the rice mixture and stir until combined.  Taste and adjust salt if necessary.  Serve immediately with a sprig of sage to garnish, if desired.