(Please … I know that top picture is horrible. Keith took it with his phone because the dish wasn’t all the way cooked until we got to my in-laws. As if we would have thought ahead and brought the camera….)

Every year, we celebrate Easter dinner with Keith’s parents. It’s always a lovely visit: Owen gets to play with his cousins, we all get to chat with Keith’s aunt and grandmother and we linger around the dining room table, wondering when the 37 people will arrive to help us eat the absurd amount of dessert that is crowding us.

This year, I was asked to bring a not-green-beans-or-potatoes-vegetable. It’s really rare that I cook just carrots as a side dish; they are usually part of a stir-fry or medley. But when I asked both Keith and Owen what vegetable they would like me to make, they both said, “Carrots!” So carrots it was. I had some leftover scallions in the fridge, so I immediately thought of using soy sauce in a glaze.

There are about a million soy-glazed carrot recipes floating around the internet. Some have honey, some have ginger, all sound delicious. I wanted mine to be a bit different. I used Rachel Ray’s recipe for honey-soy oven-glazed carrots to help with ratios and cooking times, then I went to town with my scallions, added some garlic for a bite and substituted agave syrup for the honey — all sprinkled with more scallions and some slivered almonds for crunch.

The best part is that these are gluten-free, since we used wheat-free tamari instead of soy sauce, and are very friendly for anyone who has issues with refined sugar. The only sugars that my son can tolerate are raw agave syrup, grade B maple syrup and palm sugar, and even those we use in very strict moderation. These carrots made everyone happy, and got rave reviews even from the folks who will eat anything (I’m looking at you, Rich).

Soy-Agave Glazed Carrots

Ingredients:

• about 12 carrots, peeled and cut diagonally into chunks
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup agave syrup
• 1/4 cup tamari or soy sauce
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 scallions, sliced, with green and white parts separated
• sliced or slivered almonds

Whisk together the olive oil, tamari, agave syrup and garlic. Toss with carrots and white parts of scallions. Arrange in an oven-safe pan and cook at 375 degrees for about 30 minutes, stirring every so often.

Sprinkle with green parts of scallions and slivered almonds before serving. I think sliced almonds would look prettier, but I didn’t have any in the house. You could also sprinkle with chopped fresh cilantro, parsley or basil … any of those herbs would be delicious.

I’m really not sure what is possessing me to make all of these quinoa recipes lately. Probably because they are easy and I can toss in whatever is sitting in my fridge or freezer which works since I’ve been an extremely lazy grocery shopper lately. Regardless, quinoa is delicious and this latest incarnation got the highest raves from a semi-picky husband, or at least one who is not always forthcoming with his meal compliments.

I served this one with some roasted chicken parts, meaning we really only wanted half of a chicken so Keith wielded his cleaver (so macho) and chopped the sucker into about eight parts and we cooked half. I rubbed them with paprika, onion and garlic powders, sea salt, black pepper and thyme, and roasted them on 350 convection roast, flipping once, until done. Please don’t ask me how long that was because I never time things, I just keep peeking. Somewhere between 30-45 minutes would be my best guess, and we cooked the dark meat a little longer than the white meat.

I regret to inform you that I really didn’t measure the dressing ingredients for the quinoa recipe very well. I’m a drizzle-taste-redrizzle kind of gal, but it’s really all to taste anyway; there’s no exact recipe. I think this would be a wonderful vegetarian main dish with some chick peas added, or even some pan-fried tempeh chunks.

The perfect addition to this would be some crumbled bacon; the next time I make it I will unquestionably add bacon, turkey bacon or crispy prosciutto.

Quinoa with Corn, Spinach and Pine Nuts

Ingredients:

• 1 cup quinoa
• 2 cups water
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 cups frozen corn kernels
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
• 2 good handfuls baby spinach
• 1/4 teaspoon toasted cumin seeds
• about 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• about 1.5 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• about 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• seas salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Bring the quinoa, garlic and water to a boil, then lower to a simmer, cover and cook until water is absorbed. This might be about 15 minutes, or you might check a couple of times and never time it, like I do.

Meanwhile, toast the cumin seeds in a dry pan until fragrant. You can wait until they pop if you like, but there’s plenty of flavor released before that. Do the same for the pine nuts.

When the quinoa is finished cooking, add the corn and pine nuts and cover for a few minutes to let the corn warm. Then add the spinach and cilantro. Next, drizzle the oil, vinegar and lemon juice and taste until you get the ratio you like best. Season and serve.

It all started with a craving. Keith wanted something “stuffed” for dinner; he wasn’t picky, which actually made it harder, but he finally decided that he wanted stuffed Cornish game hens. Once I talked him out of actually stuffing them (since about a tablespoon of stuffing would fit into that tiny little cavity) then we really had something.

Instead of preparing a traditional bread stuffing, I decided to play with my red quinoa, bought some time ago yet never used. All of my favorite stuffing ingredients went into this inventive side dish: apples, currants, celery, sage, onion and fresh parsley.

I loved everything about this concoction, though Keith and I decided that to make it truly restaurant quality, we’d have to throw in a pat or two of butter to finish it off (which I’ve included in the recipe). What really made it better than average, though, was the red quinoa. I like it so much better than regular quinoa, and I’m so sorry I’ve had it sitting on my pantry shelf for months. It’s hearty and nutty and rich; I’ll definitely be cooking with it more often.

Red Quinoa Stuffing with Apples and Currants

Ingredients:

• 1 cup red quinoa
• 2 cups water
• 1 teaspoon chicken Better than Bouillon
• 3-4 stalks celery, chopped
• 1-2 apples, chopped
• 2 small cloves garlic, minced
• 1 very small onion chopped (about 1/2 cup)
• 1/2 tsp each dried sage, rosemary, thyme
• 1/4 cup chopped parsley
• 4 chopped scallions
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup sunflower seeds
• 1/4 cup currants
• a tablespoon or two of butter, optional

Add the quinoa, water and chicken bouillon to a pot and bring to a boil. Cover and reduce to simmer and cook for about 15 minutes or until water is absorbed. Set aside.

Meanwhile, heat a skillet and turn a bit of olive oil into the pan. Add the celery, apples, garlic and onions and saute until tender. Add the sunflower seeds, currants and dried herbs and saute a few minutes more. Season with sea salt and pepper.

Add the quinoa to the skillet and heat through, then remove from heat and add the parsley, scallions and the butter (if you choose). Season again to taste.

We served this with the Cornish games hens, of course, stuffed with onions, garlic and herbs, with some roasted Brussels sprouts on the side and a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc we’d never tried before. A wonderful way to spend a Saturday night.

Cooking a special dinner and eating at home is one of our favorite ways to celebrate. One of our New Year’s resolutions is to stop being so selfish about it — it’s time to entertain more and share the wonderful spreads we enjoy creating. Now that Owen’s getting older and most of our friends have kids his age, there’s no excuse.

Last year on New Year’s Eve (which we’re still celebrating just the three of us), Keith and I made rack of lamb with a berry pomegranate balsamic sauce, edamame and fresh basil risotto and roasted Brussels sprouts. This year, we’ve decided to stick with the theme: rack of lamb with lamb sausage crust and fresh grape pan sauce, our favorite drunken risotto, and probably just some mesclun salad or roasted green beans. We’re weird about the rack of lamb. I promise we’ll branch out soon.

The point of this post is actually to give you some ideas of interesting side dishes to serve for your celebrations … I really beat around that bush, didn’t I? Oh, and to give myself a place to remember all of these side dishes I’ve been wanting to try and haven’t yet.

Try the heirloom squash farrotto — yeah, they made risotto with farro … brilliant! With yogurt, chick peas and fresh cilantro, there’s a Middle Eastern vibe combining with the Italian farro and the wholesome squash that is so unique and tempting. This would be the perfect accompaniment to grilled marinated chicken breasts.

It’s easy to class up green beans, and I often do them with shallots, some pancetta or prosciutto and fresh herbs and lemon juice. This recipe for scrumptious green beans has got to be bursting with flavor — ginger, mustard seeds, cumin, fresh cilantro and lemon juice all see to that. I’d love to have these alongside beef tenderloin.

So simple, with only five ingredients, yet so elegant, this roasted beet and feta gratin with fresh mint is spiked with garlic and suggested to be served with lamb. Maybe this recipe should be calling to us lamb-a-philes….

This stuffed pumpkin could really be a vegetarian main dish, as the wild rice, mushrooms, tofu and cubed bread make it hearty. As a side dish, I’m feeling roasted chicken would be the perfect pairing. A bottle of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc and you’ve just served a speactacular meal.

These vegetable galettes with millet and tarragon could also be a lovely vegetarian lunch with a mesclun salad, but they’d be wonderful with wild salmon.

I love Brussels sprouts. My favorite way to cook them is roasted in the oven and then drizzled with a touch of aged balsamic or maple syrup. After trying Heidi Swanson’s recipe for shredded Brussels sprouts and apples … roasted is still my favorite way. Really, I adore Brussels sprouts (and Heidi’s recipes too) so much that I’d probably eat them raw with a side of olives, but Heidi’s recipe is not going to convince a Brussels sprout on-the-fencer to join the minority of Brussels sprouts lovers.

I didn’t think sauteing the sprouts made them tender enough or brought out their delicately strong flavor enough. While they paired fine with the other ingredients in the recipe (pine nuts, apples, maple syrup….) I just didn’t find it special enough.

What I would try next time is roasting my Brussels sprouts as I normally do, along with some apple chunks. Then I’d toss with some pine nuts and pecorino romano before drizzling with aged balsamic. I think this would bring together the best parts of my favorite way to serve Brussels sprouts with Heidi’s ideas.

But they do take a great picture, those cabbagesque beauties….

I give the credit to Keith for this one, because I would have just done takeout after this busy week. But seeing as he was willing to make this ribeye steak with sauteed grape tomatoes and brie, the least I could do was something beside steamed green beans.

After blanching the green beans, I sauteed them with garlic, sliced scallions, chopped Roma tomatoes and chopped Kalamata olives. When done, I sprinkled with a bit of fresh parley and some freshly grated pecorino romano cheese.

We rounded out the meal with half a butternut squash, simply baked at 400 degrees until tender, with a bit of olive oil.

Simple, but with just a few special touches to make our meal feel more like a weekend feast than a weeknight necessity eat.

Somehow everything that makes a perfect dinner just jumped into this post and before I knew it, a very special dinner menu was born. It’s definitely not something I’d cook for a weeknight, but if I had a quiet weekend this might be just the menu. It’s a definite for a special occasion, though — I’m thinking a romantic dinner for two … but then again, aren’t most busy moms?

This blueberry sauce for beef just sounds so perfect … but I’ve become a lazy cook lately and it might not get made until a special occasion. Since the anniversary already passed, along with the birthdays, I might just have to wait until New Year’s Eve or Valentine’s Day to enjoy this one … though it really isn’t hard to make.

Here’s the side dish to my beef with blueberry sauce, since I’m feeling too lazy to make this spiced tomato gratin, but oh, does it get my salivary glands into a tizzy….

And for dessert — chocolate nut cake. I love that Bea over at La Tartine Gourmande mostly cooks gluten-free. Her desserts are divine and I can always find something that fits our way of eating … with perhaps some sugar substitutes.

What do you think? Serve it up with a gourmet mesclun salad and it’s the perfect dinner.

I don’t know about you, but our CSA farm has us up to our eyeballs in green beans (and yellow beans … Owen thinks the yellow are better but they’re all the same to me). I’ve been trying not to blanch and freeze them, and I’m scared to pickle or lacto-ferment them (botulism waiting to happen….), so we’ve been looking for ways to eat them fresh and not feel like we’re eating the same beans every night.

1. Toss your green beans into a potato salad. Yeah, we’re swimming in potatoes too.
2. Saute green beans with summer squash or zucchini, tomato, onion and garlic. Toss in some fresh herbs after you remove the veggies from the heat.
3. Lemon green bean and celery salad sounds so summery and fresh, and shallots and fresh parsley round out the flavors.
4. I’d eat almost anything if it had blue cheese on it, and these green beans with blue cheese and walnuts are no exception.
5. This Asian green bean stir fry is so easy — just dump in a bunch of stir-fry veggies and some black bean sauce and you’re done.
6. You know it’s a Paula Deen recipe because there’s butter and bacon, but these fancy green beans with teriyaki sauce, honey and cashews sounds good enough to eat.
7. Steam green beans and toss with some lemon juice and stone ground mustard.
8. Steam some green beans again, and toss with some butter and salt-free seasoning blend.
9. Green beans with tomatoes and feta uses frozen green beans, but use your fresh ones (you could use your fresh tomatoes too) and enjoy your harvest.
10. Vibrant tasty green beans is basically just green beans with leeks and dill, but that can’t be bad, right?
11. Add some green beans to a rice salad or quinoa salad.
12. Make a salad nicoise.
13. Serve steamed green beans with pesto.
14. Saute green beans with garlic, then toss with lemon juice and capers.
15. Yummy, spicy Szechuan green beans with ginger, garlic, scallions, chili paste and soy sauce uses a special cooking technique to keep the beans tender but not mushy.
16. Toasted almond green bean salad is so simple, but with the sesame oil and sesame seeds accenting the almonds, it’s got to be wonderful.
17. Green beans a la Bob — just shake some crushed red pepper over them.
18. Toss cooked green beans with the fresh herbs of your choice, something crunchy (think nuts or seeds) and something tangy (balsamic vinegar, lemon juice, yogurt).
19. The answer to my fear of pickling (really a fear of canning) might just be this cheat recipe for quick pickled green beans.
20. Green beans with roasted nuts and cranberries has the bean, the crunch and the sweet-tart … oh yeah.
21. How can some of my favorite things all be combined in one green bean dish? Because someone has the brilliance to invent green beans with walnuts, fennel, and goat cheese — and they threw in mustard.

It would be fairly easy to think of 21 more things since green beans are so versatile … and delicious. What’s your favorite thing to do with green beans?

When this time of year rolls around, I make quinoa tabbouleh, pretty much a different way every time. I did a few funky things this time, so I wrote it down, lest I become like my father who’s famous for making wonderful dishes … once. Because he never writes down the recipe, therefore we never get it again.

Wow, huge digression. The reason I make quinoa tabbouleh in late summer is because I have many of the ingredients growing right here in my own yard: flat-leaf parsley, mint, roma tomatoes, cucumber and chives (though I used scallions in this recipe).

I made it this time because on vacation last week, I had an amazing red quinoa tabbouleh with some seared yellowfin tuna and a tahini yogurt sauce. It was perfection in every way and so I had better-than-average tabbouleh on the brain. While I didn’t make it to the store to get red quinoa (which is definitely on my list) and I didn’t really set out to duplicate the Ocean House’s tabbouleh, I ended up with one that Keith and I couldn’t stop snitching before the meal was even served, so I did something right.

Quinoa Tabouleh

Ingredients:

• 1 cup dry quinoa
• 2 cups water
• 1-2 teaspoons miso (depending on how subtle you want it)
• 1-2 scallions, finely chopped (about 1/4 cup)
• 2/3 cup flat-leaf parsley, chopped
• 1 tablespoon fresh mint, chopped
• 8 medium roma tomatoes, chopped
• 1/4 cup slivered almonds, toasted
• 1/4 cup diced cucumber

For the dressing:

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• a dash or two of chili powder
• 1/4 teaspoon toasted cumin seed, coarsely ground in a mortar and pestle
• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
• sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Put the quinoa, water and miso in a pot and bring to a boil. Turn heat to low, cover and cook until water is absorbed, about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, do all the chopping, toast the cumin seeds in a dry pan until fragrant, remove them, then use the same pan to toast the almonds. One less dirty pan — score!

Next, you can whisk together the dressing ingredients.

After quinoa has cooled, toss everything together, again with the dressing and serve at room temperature.

We served this tabouleh with Ellie Krieger’s rubbed pork tenderloin, only we grilled it instead of pan searing and baking it. It was delicious!

I’ve been planning this post for a while, but a couple of things have spurred me on. First of all, we have been getting the most amazingly delicious cabbage from our CSA farm. While I adore garlicky Asian cabbage, cabbage and chick pea salad and sweet and sour cabbage wedges, I really enjoy a good, mayonnaise-free coleslaw.

The other reason — I’ve committed to bringing a coleslaw to a Labor Day weekend cookout, and you can be darned sure it’s going to be one that I will eat. Besides, I feel as though it’s my duty to expose the brainwashed masses to mayonnaise-free potato salads and coleslaws to open their minds and refine their taste buds. I mean really, people, why would you want to eat something that makes you gag? What do you mean mayonnaise doesn’t make you gag? No matter….

This snappy, crunchy vegan coleslaw is gluten-free (probably most of them will be) and bursting with flavor. Cumin, dill, caraway seeds and golden raisins are highlighted by a champagne vinegar and agave dressing. Oh yeah, there’s cabbage too.

Clever, clever, clever … this multicolored coleslaw recipe gives you the choice of three different dressings. Depending on your main dish, you can choose a balsamic dressing, and Asian-inspired one or a Mexican fiesta.

This mayonnaise-free coleslaw reminds me of a Waldorf salad with cabbage — it’s got walnuts, apples, celery and radish and a simple rice vinegar dressing.

Citrus-spiked jicama and carrot slaw is definitely a new twist on tradition, but with a simple citrus dressing and some chopped fresh cilantro, less is more. Or maybe my very own mango coleslaw has the pizazz you’re looking for, with almond butter and ginger in the dressing.

Maybe a traditional Carolina coleslaw suits your fancy more … it’s got celery seed, dry mustard, green pepper and onions. Very, very basic, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Emeril’s delta coleslaw is a souped-up version of this.

Now we’re talking different again, but this recipe for mayo-free coleslaw is really interesting. Mandarin oranges, pears, raw garlic, tamari sunflower seeds, cumin seeds and lemon juice jazz up cabbage in an intriguing way.

I just realized, in looking at this recipe for spicy no mayo coleslaw, that I’ve never had a spicy coleslaw before. It might just be time to remedy that, however I’d probably use some peppers a little milder than habeneros!

This recipe for mayo-free cabbage salad combines a few of the ideas here into one salad — some citrus, some carrots and apple, agave syrup and a new ingredient: sesame seeds. This one sounds really good to me.

As does this parsnip and apple coleslaw … there’s still cabbage, but a honey-laden dressing, parsley leaves and walnuts mae this one special. Plus, I can really appreciate how this blogger goes on about the indignity of mayonnaise. And now we’ve come full circle, and I’ve got a new mayonnaise-hating friend.

Here’s a quickie for you … a potato salad that I threw together with some goodies we got from our CSA farm this afternoon: red potatoes, green and yellow beans, herbs from our garden (basil and parsley) and radishes from the local farm stand. The dressing was simple — just cider vinegar (but I think I’d use red wine vinegar next time), olive oil and stone ground mustard. Oh, and I almost forgot the sprinkling of feta.

You could definitely add some raw garlic to the dressing or some scallions or onions to the salad, but I love that I used what was freshly picked just today.

In the interest of trying new foods, I grabbed some escarole off of the choice table of our CSA farm a couple of weeks ago. I was told that it was a versatile, somewhat bitter green that can be cooked or used raw in salads. Loving radicchio and arugula as I do, I thought I’d give it a try.

A day or two after bringing the escarole home, I pulled out salad ingredients and the escarole. To make a very long story short, I was able to save the salad but it didn’t include escarole. I just found the texture too tough to eat raw. So in my refrigerator the escarole sat.

I had been playing around with a few ideas on how to cook the escarole, and I kept coming back to white beans. Wouldn’t you know that when I went to the CSA farm the next week, Rachael Ray‘s recipe for beans and greens (which I could find nowhere in the internet to share with you) was included in the newsletter, and one of the suggested greens was escarole.

After I finished patting myself on the back for thinking like a famous cook, I took a closer look at her recipe. Man, was it boring! I know some flavors are so wonderful that simple recipes are best, yada yada yada, but I knew I could do a little better than onion, garlic, beans, greens and chicken broth.

White Beans and Escarole with Fresh Herbs

Ingredients:

• 1 medium onion, finely diced
• 3 large cloves garlic, minced
• 15-ounce can white beans, rinsed and drained
• 2 cups (or so) of escarole, roughly chopped
• 1 cup (or so) white wine or chicken broth
• 1/3 cup (or so) mixed herbs (I used flat leaf parsley, sage, basil and rosemary), chopped
• 1/2 tomato, finely diced
• juice of half a lemon
• sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
• pecorino romano for sprinkling

Saute onion and garlic in olive oil until tender. Add the escarole and wilt. Add the white beans and white wine and simmer for about five minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the herbs, tomato and lemon juice. Season. Sprinkle with pecorino romano or parmesan cheese just before serving.

We served this dish with some grilled sausage (I think it was the smoked turkey and chicken pesto flavor) and that was dinner, but it could easily be a vegetarian main dish.

I was fraught with indecision, I have to say, about the lemon juice versus a drizzle of balsamic vinegar. I suppose you could try either, but I went with the lemon juice and I was very glad that I did. It added just a bit of brightness that I was looking for in the dish, whereas the balsamic would have changed the flavor entirely. Experiment with it and see what you think works best.

Usually I strive to find something original to add to a recipe to give it the “wow” factor. Hearts of palm in a sweet pea and black lentil salad, kelp noodles, well, with anything normal and homemade strawberry ice cream with coconut milk and Greek yogurt.

Some dishes, though, just don’t need anything funky mucking up the works. Margherita pizza, and broccoli saute using all that’s growing seasonally. I know I’m somewhat deviant — I think you’ve probably all caught on to that — but I get positively giddy when I eat something that has grown locally. My favorite Sunday game is guessing what we’ll get on our way to our CSA farm that week, and when it’s from our own yard, watch out … I’m a crazy woman.

This broccoli dish is everything that excites me: broccoli from our CSA farm, basil from our own garden and a tomato from the best farm stand in town. We’re talking local, baby! This is going to be as good as Kona’s farmer’s market pizza, I just know it!

I must digress for a moment and share with you the head-spinning fact that I had my first summer tomato today. Not the tasteless, store-bought, hard-as-a-rock tomatoes — I’m talking about the sweet, meaty fresh-off-the-vine down the street tomatoes … so juicy, so sweet, so delectably ripe and flavorful. Man, it was a good day. Digression over.

Summer Broccoli Saute

Ingredients:

• 1 giant head of broccoli, chopped
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 medium tomato, chopped
• 1 good handful fresh basil, chopped chiffonade style
• aged balsamic vinegar for drizzling
• pecorino romano cheese, grated, for sprinkling

Heat a little olive oil in a skillet over medium heat then add the onion and broccoli. Saute for a few minutes, then add the garlic. Cook until vegetables are tender-crisp and a bit golden, maybe 5 to 10 minutes. Add the tomato and heat through, and toss in the basil after removing from heat. Before serving, drizzle with the aged balsamic and sprinkle with the pecorino romano cheese. Toss and serve.

This couldn’t be a more simple, classic recipe, but it’s the perfect way to use your summer harvest — and get your joy on from all the fresh, local food you’ve included in one dish.

I’m not sure I know anyone who isn’t attending or hosting some sort of 4th of July celebration this weekend. And why not celebrate? The kids are out of school, looking forward to a fun summer and there’s something patriotic to remember… with sparklers and loud things.

You’re either making or bringing a side dish to go with those burgers and dogs, so you may as well bring something new. I’m pretty sure if you showed up at my door with a potato salad dripping with mayonnaise that I wouldn’t let you in, and that rotini pasta salad with the bottled Italian dressing … well, there’s really no excuse.

These side dishes are easy to make, crowd-pleasing and non-offensive to your mayophobic hostess. What do you mean, your Aunt Sally isn’t afraid of mayonnaise? Well, she’ll like the following recipes anyway.

Tabouleh says summer to me. Maybe it’s because I’ve got most of the ingredients growing in my garden: tomatoes, mint, parsley, scallions. You can try the traditional tabouleh recipe made with bulgur wheat, or make it with quinoa instead, my favorite way.

Grilled zucchini and chick pea salad has a lovely tahini dressing and is so summery with the zucchini charred to perfection on the grill.

If the thought of quinoa with your tabouleh made your ears perk up, perhaps you’ll enjoy pesto quinoa with corn and baby spinach. This one might corner the market on summery, but don’t tell the grilled zucchini.

Remember Aunt Sally? Gourmet potato salads for the mayophobic, more potato salads for the mayophobic, and even more potato salads for the mayophobic should just about cover it. We’ve got your back, Aunt Sally.

Talk about refreshing …. this fennel, arugula and green apple salad is crisp and balanced and sweet and tart and goes with just about anything.

Instead of a traditional cole slaw, try this red cabbage salad. You’ll enjoy the sweet crunch and uniqueness at your cookout feast.

Aw, Heidi Swanson gets me every time. Her summer green bean salad sports cherry tomatoes, fresh herbs, lemon juice, honey, cream and hazelnuts.

If you’re bringing the green salad, try my favorite gourmet mesclun salad. It’s got minimal chopping and enough unique ingredients (but easy) that your guests will be impressed … and toast those pine nuts. Or, Kona’s vegetarian caesar salad might fit the bill.

I’ve done two versions of black lentil and sweet pea salad. This is the first, and it’s full of scallions, fresh basil and mint and sherry vinegar. Then I riffed and came up with sweet pea, black lentil and hearts of palm salad, this time using cilantro, lime juice, tamari, rice vinegar and ginger. Take your choice — they are both delicious.

Roasted broccoli salad with red pepper vinaigrette — need I say more?

This light and easy carrot and snap pea salad can be dressed up a thousand different ways if you so choose, but the flavors of the carrots and snap peas speak for themselves.

There are so may ways to make a black bean corn salad, but I did one this week with fresh basil, lime juice and balsamic vinegar that was just about perfect. I’d like to say that someday I’ll post the recipe, but I didn’t write anything down .. I’m becoming my father.

My mother makes the most delicious chopped salad with honey lime dressing … she totally stole it from Epicurious, but sometimes she pretends she doesn’t remember where the recipe came from. She’s like that.

Last but not least … if you’ve got a little extra time on your hands, there’s nothing cooler than serving homemade ketchup at your barbeque.

We’re into the full swing of summertime and cookout season, and I couldn’t be happier. I had my own little cookout not so long ago and I was looking for a unique pasta salad to serve. Frankly, I was sick and tired of the usual mayonnaise-y, mostly flavorless pasta salad. Not that I’m some sort of weird mayophobic like Deb, but I do like to change it up. So, I scoured the internet looking for delicious pasta salad recipes, and let me tell you — I found one!

Epicurious’s whole wheat pasta salad with grilled zucchini and olives is a total winner. Seriously, it might be my favorite pasta salad ever. I was a little suspicious at first, mostly because of the whole wheat pasta, but it worked well in the salad. If you really hate whole wheat pasta, though, just use regular, I won’t tell anyone. It’s not the quickest pasta salad to whip together, mostly because you have to grill all the slices of zucchini. It’s certainly not difficult, there are just a lot of steps.

The results are worth the work, though. The blend of flavors really works well. There is a distinctive Greek flair to the salad, with lots of garlic, feta cheese, Kalamata olives, and a red wine vinegar based dressing. If I were to do anything different next time, I think I would add a little bit more feta cheese (I love feta cheese), and some more of the zucchini. I cut the zucchini a bit thinner than the recipe called for (because I really wanted to use my mandoline), and I think it got lost a little bit in the salad. It is advertised as a “grilled zucchini” salad, after all. I wanted that grilled veggie flavor in every bite.

Rest assured, if you follow this recipe to the letter, you are not going to be disappointed. The dressing is light, but flavorful and chock full of garlic and basil. The olives and feta add a nice salty bite to the side dish, and the onions and tomatoes pile on an additional level of flavor. There’s a lot going on in the salad, and it will definitely spice up any cookout. Next time you’re looking to feed a crowd, leave the boring pasta salad at home and try this one.

I realize that I have a problem. My abhorrence for mayonnaise has become a fell-fledged obsession with mayonnaise-free potato salads. And why not? With any of the recipes I’ve tried and posted in the past, I’ve never once felt shortchanged or disappointed. In fact, I know many people who make potato salad without mayonnaise just because they are lower in fat and calories and actually taste better.

My theory is that the lack of the traditional mayonnaise brings out the creativity in the recipe creators. But that’s my gain; if they want to overcompensate for the missing ingredient by giving me flavor combinations like the ones below, I’m all for it. Step aside, mayonnaise and pickles — potato salad just got better.

Roasted onion and sweet potato salad really tempts me — doesn’t the combination of sweet potato, bacon and mustard sound divine? Don’t forget the sweet potatoes and onions are roasted, not boiled and raw. There’s some green pepper for crunch too.

This Caribbean sweet potato salad is great — I made this one. I like that it’s sweet potatoes and regular potatoes combined, and I’d highly suggest making this one ahead of time. The night I made it, it was just okay, but two days later, when all the flavors had time to meld, it knocked my socks off.

This layered potato salad with creamy avocado dressing is an over-the-top beauty. It’s made with three different colored potatoes (orange, white and purple) and layered with a veggie and olive … for lack of a better word, tapenade. I’m betting this one is delicious as well as gorgeous.

Are you looking for simple? It doesn’t get much easier than this potato and orange salad. Consisting of only six ingredients (and salt and pepper), I’m betting the flavors blend perfectly. Potato, orange, pimento, red wine vinegar and olive oil and onion … can’t be bad! I would have a very difficult time not adding a few capers to this one though….

I love hummus. I love garlic. How could anyone go wrong with this Mediterranean garlic hummus potato salad? You’ll also find plain yogurt, pine nuts, parsley and lemon juice in this fine salad.

Now here’s a different one for you … blissful red anjou potato salad combines potatoes, pears, macadamia nuts, coriander and a very simple rice vinegar dressing. That sounds like a balance I’ve got to try.

Anyone hankering for an old fashioned German potato salad? Yoo-hoo, Bob, it’s got bacon….

This French potato salad is simple and elegant, with sliced potatoes instead of chunked and shallots, mustard, lots of fresh herbs and a champagne vinaigrette.

Yummy — this balsamic vinegar potato salad, with roasted red peppers, black olives, artichokes and oregano sounds delicious, easy to prepare and kinda impressive. It reminds me of a pasta salad but with potatoes instead.

Don’t forget to check out gourmet potato salads for the mayophobic and more potato salads for the mayophobic. Enable my potato salad OCD.

Now that spring is here, it’s time to clean up the grill and start cooking outdoors. One of my favorite side dishes is baked beans. There are many varieties of canned baked beans on the market such as B&M, Van Camp, or Bush’s. All of these are good beans and will go well with anything you might grill up, but if you want to step it up a notch and make it look like you really went all out for the BBQ, try my easy recipe to make your own baked beans. They’ll satisfy even the pickiest eater and convince everyone you slaved all day in the kitchen making these.

If you do want to spend more time cooking these baked beans you can start with your favorite type of dried beans. Soak them overnight to soften them up. Cook them to taste, and then use them for the baked beans. I’m usually too busy this time of year to spend that much time on one dish. It is much easier and faster to start with canned Pork and Beans. I will normally by the cheap store brand because by the time I get done doctoring the beans up you will not be able to tell that they are the cheap ones anyways.

Redneck Baked Beans

Ingredients:

• 2 15 oz. cans Pork and Beans
• 1/2 pound bacon
• 1 med-large onion diced
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup molasses
• 1-2 teaspoons dry mustard

Fry the bacon and set aside. I like to leave my bacon just a bit less done than I would normally cook it. When I am cooking bacon for breakfast I like it to be good and crispy, but when I am adding it to the beans I leave it a bit softer.

After I fry the bacon I will add the diced onion to the pan and cook just until they turn clear. Dice the onions as large or small as you like. I really like the flavor of onion cooked in bacon grease, so I dice mine into fairly large chunks. Crumble up the bacon and mix it in with the onion.

Open the two cans of beans and pour into a casserole dish. Add in the bacon and onion mixture, the brown sugar, molasses, and dry mustard. Mix well.

Place the casserole dish in a 350 degree oven and bake for 1 to 3 hours. The longer you bake the beans the thicker they will become so check them after 1 hour and then every half hour after that until they are at your desired thickness.

After removing the beans from the oven, let them cool for 10 to 15 minutes before serving. Garnish with some shredded cheese, bacon strips, or onion greens if you like.

You can also make these beans in the slow cooker. Put all the ingredients in the slow cooker in the morning and let them cook all day. By dinnertime the beans will be perfect.

Owen doesn’t ask for much food-wise. When you come right down to it, the kid will eat almost anything that isn’t in the squash family (though we have recently found that if you braise zucchini in a lemongrass coconut sauce, it becomes heaven in a five-year-old’s eyes) so meals are pretty easy around here. When he asked for “that rice with the egg in it” this week, I knew I had to cook up a batch of fried rice for him.

But this post isn’t about the fried rice (which in our house consists of whatever’s in the fridge and some eggs with tamari stirred in … if you want a real recipe, Pia’s pork and shrimp fired rice or Jeff’s grouse fried rice are what you’re looking for) — it’s about the garlicky Asian cabbage that I made as a side dish.

There’s this marvelous little Thai place down the street from us whose signature dish is the Yoong Tong special noodles. Rice noodles, ground chicken (or maybe it’s pork….), a sweet and salty garlicky brown sauce and lots of cabbage — that’s what I was thinking about when I was tossing things into the Le Cruset with my cabbage tonight.

As usual with my recipes, all measurements are approximate and you need to use your own taste buds and cooking preferences to make this recipe your own. I’m so sure the next time I make it I won’t look at the recipe and it will come out with a different personality just as delicious as this batch.

Garlicky Asian Cabbage

Ingredients:

• half a medium head of cabbage, thinly slice (I used my food processor)
• 1 large clove garlic, minced
• 3 large scallions, sliced on the diagonal
• 1/2 teaspoon fish sauce
• 2 teaspoons tamari or soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon rice vinegar (but I really just sprinkled)
• 1 tablespoon hoisin sauce (again with the sprinkle … or was it a drizzle?)

Heat a skillet over medium heat, add a bit of oil and toss in the cabbage and garlic. Stir until the cabbage begins to wilt, then add the scallions. Add the fish sauce, tamari and vinegar and cook for a few minutes. You want the cabbage to be cooked but still crunchy, so if it’s mushy you’ve cooked it too long (You’re allowed one do-over since you still have half a head of cabbage left!).

Add the hoisin sauce and mix thoroughly. Remove from heat and serve.

I loved this cabbage served with the fried rice, but it would pair nicely with chicken satay, any Asian-inspired rib dish, stir-fried tempeh or your favorite.

Sometimes recipes come from weird places. I had some leftover baby spinach to use up, which is kind of normal, but how many of you happen to have chopped strawberries waiting for a home? If you overestimated when you made strawberry pancakes for breakfast, you’ll know what I’m talking about.

The flavors of all the ingredients in my salad were so lovely and distinctive that I didn’t want to overdress, so I chose to lightly sprinkle only three ingredients on my salad to finish it off.

Easy Spinach and Strawberry Salad

Ingredients:

• baby spinach
• chopped strawberries
• slivered almonds
• hearts of palm, sliced
• feta cheese (or goat cheese if it doesn’t cause your five-year-old to break out in hives)
• finely chopped shallots
• rice vinegar
• raspberry vinegar
• lemon juice

Toss all ingredients together in the ratio you prefer and serve. It really is that simple. I probably used about three times as much rice vinegar as I did raspberry vinegar and lemon juice, and of those two I used equal amounts. You might like a different ratio. There’s really no right or wrong here, and there’s really no recipe at all — just some distinctive flavors that come together to please your taste buds.

You could easily make this a dinner salad by tossing in some grilled chicken  or salmon. We served it alongside grilled game hens and some sweet potato / potato hash with shallots and thyme. The only thing we wished was that we had more baby spinach to use!

Spring has sprung and my palate has finally lightened up. Yes, I’m ready to say goodbye to my comfort food until the fall brings the chill once again. Stews and soups are fading out, salads and grill meals are taking the stage.

There’s something lovely about the way baby spinach transcends all seasons for me. I was able to stir it into soups and stews all winter long, or serve hot fare over a bed of baby spinach. Now, mixing it into salads, and in this case, a quinoa dish, works just as well. If you’re the five-year-old, shoving handfuls into your mouth straight from the fridge works, but my tastes require something only slightly more sophisticated.

Adding pesto to cooked quinoa is a neat trick we use often in my house, because it’s easy and really flavorful. I chose sliced leeks instead of onions for a change, and the corn adds a sweetness to this dish that your taste buds won’t want to miss. I was really happy with the way this simple creation turned out, and it went fabulously with some shrimp broiled with lemon juice.

Pesto Quinoa with corn and baby Spinach

Ingredients:

• 1.5 cups dry quinoa
• 3 cups water
• 1/2 cup grape tomatoes, halved
• 1/3 cup pesto
• 1 red pepper, chopped
• 2 cups corn
• 3 large handfuls baby spinach
• 1 leek, sliced
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Add water and quinoa to a medium pot and bring to a boil. Turn down heat, cover and simmer until water is absorbed, about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, saute leeks and red pepper in a bit of olive oil until the leeks start to fall apart and the pepper is tender. Add corn and heat through. Remove from heat and add the cooked quinoa, pesto and lemon juice, and mix thoroughly. Toss in tomatoes and spinach, season and serve.

Passover sucks.

I’m never sure how many people are familiar with Judaism in the world outside of my little urban-suburban East Coast super-Jewish bubble, but to recap, Passover is a week-long festival. During Passover Jews celebrate being freed as slaves from Egypt (though then we went and wandered in the gosh-darn desert for forty years, so I’m not sure it was much of an upgrade).

It’s celebrated by having a seder which is a big, traditional meal that, in a truly Jewish fashion, involves you sitting around and talking about how much your ancestors suffered so you could sit here and eat brisket. That’s not why it sucks. I like that part. I can listen to some stories of suffering if it means I get potato kugel at the end of it. No, the part that sucks is that on Passover, you cannot eat anything that is leavened, or has risen at all. Basically, does it have flour in it? You’re probably not allowed to have it. And this means that every food that has ever made you happy is pretty much cut from your diet for a week. Bread? No. Pasta? Nope. Rice? It depends on where you come from, but most Jews say nuh-uh. No cereal. No crackers. No chips (except potato chips). No pizza. Nothing with a breaded crust. No baked goods. Pretty much all desserts are gonzo.

Fear not, though, because Jews have a (really, really terrible) solution known as matzah. It’s basically a giant, crumbly cracker that’s used in various states of being ground up, and it pretty much instantly dries out everything, including your mouth. Also, if you eat too much of it, it gives you constipation something fierce.

This holiday has always seemed a bit weird to me. It’s never seemed very Jewish to me to limit one’s eating capabilities. The only reasoning I can possibly come up with is that if there’s one thing Jews like more than eating, it’s complaining about how hard we’ve got it, and this holiday ensures that no matter how cushy your life is, once a year, you and the rest of your people will be sitting on the toilet pissed off, or with your nose pressed against a bakery window, or staring at food blogs showing off baked Easter goods like a giant, cosmic middle finger.  At least once a year you will on some level understand the pain and suffering of those less fortunate than you, because you are deeply sympathetic to the feeling of literally being willing to kill someone for some freaking bread.

Every family, though, has various solutions to dealing with this. There are certain desserts every family has and certain recipes (usually involving lots of potatoes and cream or chocolate to mask the taste of matzah) that the use to get them through the week. My mother, for example, whose birthday often falls during Passover, has a truly decadent chocolate nut cake with the world’s best, fudgiest frosting. Since, sadly however, you can’t sit around eating chocolate-covered raisins the entire week (woe), my personal favorite family recipe is one my mother got from a friend about eleventy bajillion years ago that makes what we call Passover Rolls. And these suckers are amazing. They’re not really bread, but they’re so much like bread that by eating them you almost feel like maybe, just maybe, you’re not going to die constipated, bitter, and without good food in your stomach.  They take about twenty minutes and even if you’re not keeping kosher for Passover, I suggest you try them. They’re delicious.

Magical Matzah Rolls
(Makes eight medium-sized rolls)

1 cup matzah meal
2/3 cup water
1/3 cup oil or melted butter
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1 tbs. sugar
3 eggs

1. Boil together water, oil, sugar, salt, and cinnamon.
2. When the mixture comes to a boil, immediately take off the flame and mix in the matzah meal. You should mix until your dough is firm and comes away from the sides of your pot, then let it cool for a few minutes.
3. Add and mix in eggs to your dough one at a time — the mixture should be very loose. If it’s too loose and liquid, refrigerate the dough until it’s solidified to a more ideal texture.
4. Heat oven to 400°.  Either grease a cookie sheet or line it with parchment paper. Scoop out about a tablespoon of your dough and place them on the sheet about two inches apart from each other.
5. Put in oven and let bake for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, turn the oven down to 300° and let the rolls cook for five to ten more minutes, or until they’re brown. Rolls keep well, but are best when they’re fresh.

My grandmother was a wonderful, sweet lady. My grandmother could not cook anything very well — except for potato cakes. I had not thought about Grandma’s potato cakes for a long time when out of the blue the other night my wife asked me if I have ever had potato pancakes. I remembered Grandma’s potato cakes and have been craving them all week. This morning I ended that craving.

My Grandma made potato cakes when ever she had leftover mashed potatoes. She would serve them for breakfast, lunch, or dinner depending  on the amount of left over mashed potatoes and her mood. These potato cakes are so simple and yet tasty and filling I don’t know why I have not made them for years. This is simple comfort food that brings back many fond memories of my childhood. Since I did not have any leftover mashed potatoes I had to make some fresh. I hoped that would not ruin the taste of the potato cakes.

Potato Cakes

Ingredients:

• 4 to 5 medium potatoes mashed
• 1 egg
• 1/3 to 1/2 cup flour
• salt and pepper

If you are making these potato cakes from leftover mashed potatoes add the egg and the flour and mix well. If you are using fresh mashed potatoes then let them cool after mashing them before mixing in  the egg and flour. Mix in salt and pepper to taste.

In a medium skillet heated to a medium high temperature add either a few tablespoons of vegetable oil or bacon grease. I know that the vegetable oil is healthier, but I, like my grandmother, always use bacon grease. It adds much better flavor and I love bacon.

When the oil is hot, or the bacon grease is melted add a couple of spoonfuls of the potatoes to the pan and flatten with a spatula. Let the cake cook for a few minutes and flip. The cake should have a nice golden brown color just like a pancake.

If the cake does not want to hold together like a pancake add a little more flour to the remaining mashed potatoes to help keep it together. The key to making these potato cakes come out correctly is to make sure that you keep plenty of bacon grease, or oil, in the pan. If you add more grease let it heat up to temperature before cooking the next cake.

As I made these for breakfast I topped them with fried eggs, crumbled bacon, and diced onions also cooked in bacon grease. Did I mention I love bacon? Add some country gravy, salsa, or ketchup and you are ready to eat. If you really want to get crazy you can top them with some pancake syrup like my wife does.

I’m a fan of just about every vegetable. Like anything, however, I do like some more than others. I could totally eat broccoli every day of the week and twice on Sunday, but I’ve recently found a new favorite. Bok Choy has found a soft spot in my heart. The little quasi-cabbage is delicious and so simple to make. I think for a long time I dismissed it, figuring that it was just another one of those bitter greens that have become so trendy. What I discovered, however, is that Bok Choy is a mild and delicate vegetable, with a lovely flavor and pleasant firm texture that holds up with cooking.

Lately, I’ve been pairing it quite a bit with steak, substituting it for my beloved broccoli. The leafy green really lends itself to a quick braise, and that’s usually the treatment that I give it. One of my favorite styles is to give it an Asian flair, with a little spice and plenty of salty umami.

Asian Braised Bok Choy

Ingredients:

• 2 bundles of bok choy
• 1-2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• crushed red pepper flakes to taste
• salt and pepper to taste
• 3 tablespoons of Chinese cooking wine, or Sherry
• 3 tablespoons of soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1/2 teaspoon sesame seeds
• 1 tablespoon canola oil

Chop off the very base of the bok choy and discard. Don’t chop too much off, though, the base is delicious. Roughly chop the remaining bok choy and rinse thoroughly of all dirt. Over medium high heat, add the canola oil, followed by the bok choy. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Let cook for 2-3 minutes until the bok choy wilts slightly. Add the garlic. Add the wine or sherry and allow most of it to cook off. Repeat with the soy sauce. When the bok choy is tender and cooked through, and most of the liquid has evaporated, sprinkle the pan with sesame oil and seeds and stir everything together.

Whenever I serve something like this cabbage salad, I get “the look” from Keith. Don’t you know that if it’s vegetarian, it’s not really a meal? Man, Kona — you must be starving! Tonight I sent Keith out to the grill to cook up some barbequed chicken drumsticks to go along with that air-food vegetable dish, so I was off the hook, but I truly believe this cabbage salad is hearty enough to stand alone. I’ll let you know after lunch tomorrow….

I had half a cabbage in the fridge to use up, along with some fresh cilantro, and from there all of the other flavors fell into place. I took a bit of inspiration from Heidi Swanson’s Tassajara warm cabbage salad when I added some feta. I couldn’t help it — I have this salty-luscious sheep’s feta right now that really complemented the other flavors in this salad. It was a natural.

Play around with the amounts of the different ingredients. I used a teaspoon of cumin seeds and dry-toasted them in a skillet for a few minutes, until they were browned and fragrant, but I thought at times that they overpowered the other flavors, so I think a 1/2 teaspoon would be plenty. Keith loved every last cumin seed in there, so you’ll have to adjust it according to your tastes.

Cabbage and Chick Pea Salad

Ingredients:

• 2 carrots, shredded
• about 4 cups sliced cabbage
• 1 can chick peas, rinsed and drained
• 1/2 – 1 teaspoon cumin seeds, toasted
• 1/2 – 3/4 cup feta cheese, crumbled
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

For the dressing:

• 4-5 tablespoons lemon juice
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 tablespoons tahini
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Whisk together dressing ingredients and toss together with all of the rest and enjoy.

I toyed with the idea of adding some fresh parsley as well, along with some baby spinach chopped chiffonade style. I think both would have worked great in this dish and I’ll probably try it next time. You could alter this a million ways, but I’m telling you, the saltier the feta, the better.

You’ve probably figured this out by now, but I’m a riffer. A certain dish gets stuck in my head, and I riff off a recipe inspired by it. In this case, I’ve riffed off one of my own recipes (I tend to do that a lot, actually) — black lentil and sweet pea salad.

Keith and I had been thinking about this one recently, and he was dying to have it for dinner tonight. My fresh basil was scanty and left a lot to be desired so I decided to change this recipe up a bit. It turned out that I changed it quite a lot, so much so that it deserves its own recipe. I shall call it “Sweet Pea, Black Lentil and Hearts of Palm Salad,” but only because George was already taken. Yes, I’ve been cooped up with a sick kid all week … I’m getting a little punchy!

Sweet Pea, Black Lentil and Hearts of Palm Salad

Ingredients:

• 2 cups sweet peas (I used frozen)
• 8 ounces black baluga lentils (from Trader Joe’s)
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
• 1/4 cup hearts of palm, sliced

For the dressing:

• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 2 teaspoons tamari
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/2 – 1 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• a dash or two of garlic powder

Whisk together dressing ingredients and toss with all the rest. Could it really be so easy?

I was thinking some sliced or slivered almonds would taste wonderful on this salad, which could also be served warm as a side dish. You could probably throw in some scallions for that onion-y bite or some Chinese noodles for a bit of crunch. You could probably do a lot of things I haven’t thought of too. Whatever you decide, we’ve already decided that in our house, this one’s a keeper.