Greens, Cannelini Beans, and Stuff

Hi!

I was absolutely NOT in a cooking mood last night, and my cupboard stood me in good stead!  Ha!

We liked this so much that I wrote it down, and I thought I'd share it here, too!

I am still cleaning out parents' boxes, so I still open a box, look inside, and if I feel like I'll start a crying jag, I close it and shred something, instead.  I appreciate the time "off," and I appreciate being able to return to this.  Sometimes, the fact of cooking saved my sanity!  I am very grateful for that!!  I hope you enjoy this very easy main-dish recipe!!  Marlyle


Greens, Cannelini Beans, and Stuff

1 Tbs. coconut oil or butter
1 large onion or leek, quartered and thinly sliced
2 cloves minced garlic
12-16 oz. bitter greens, rinsed and drained  (I used a mix of kale and Romanesco.  And if I didn't have fresh stuff, I would use frozen, chopped spinach.)  Chop into fairly large pieces.
1 28-oz. can diced tomatoes  (If I'd had ripe tomatoes, I'd have used fresh, I think.  2 lbs.?)
16 oz. can large white beans--cannelini beans, rinsed and drained
1/3-1/2 cup raisins, currants, cranberries (dried, sweetened), chopped dried figs, or any other dried fruit    you like.
Salt and pepper to taste


Melt the coconut oil, or butter, in a large skillet.  Add the onion/leek, and sauté until wilted, or about 5 or 6 minutes.  Add the garlic, and saute until soft and fragrant, another 2 minutes, or so.  Add the chopped greens, and cook until wilted (or melted, in the case of frozen!  Ha!)

Add the tomatoes, beans, and fruit.  Cook, covered, on low heat until the fruit is softened and swollen.  Add water if you need to.

Steve liked a little Parmesan sprinkled across it; I liked it plain.

Sweet-ish Broccoli Salad

I'm eating this for breakfast, although I realize that most people would eat it for lunch or dinner. Fortunately for me, it's great any time of the day!

This makes one serving--Steve prefers "regular" breakfast food! Ha! You can double or triple the vegetables for more servings. The dressing will need to be added and stirred, adding more if it's needed, to maintain a crunchy consistency.

And finally, I used my mini-chop for the broccoli and carrots. Bless the inventor of this gadget!

4 large broccoli florets, chopped

4 baby carrots, chopped

2 Tbs. thinly sliced green onion

6 grape tomatoes

small handful of raisins (I would use cranberries here for Chelsea; she hates raisins.)

6 walnut halves, broken up into 3 or 4 pieces each--small chunks

1/2 c. olive oil

1 Tbs. dijon mustard

1 1/2 tsp. agave nectar (you could also try pure maple syrup, and this can be doubled for a sweeter dressing.)

2 Tbs. balsamic vinegar

1/4 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. pepper

Combine broccoli, carrots, green onions, tomatoes, raisins, and walnuts in a small bowl.

Whisk together the olive oil, dijon mustard, agave nectar, balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper. Pour about 2 Tbs. on salad. Taste and add more, if you'd like.

I thought this tasted great--and I'm not a big sweet-eater!! Ha! I hope you enjoy it!

Portabella Mushroom Salad

I've been playing with a raw food diet, and in the course of this playing, I've learned a couple of nifty tricks to make things taste cooked without any cooking! Woohoo!

One of these is marinating stuff I wouldn't have thought to marinate before. Marinades soften vegetables, so you still get the vitamins, minerals, and enzymes present in uncooked food, and you also get the feel of cooked vegetables in your mouth. For instance, if you take a vegetable peeler and make strips of zucchini (down to, but not including, the seeds) and marinate them, they end up feeling like pasta, but there's no heavy, bloated feeling that accompanies the pasta--at least, for me! Ha!

And the best part is that you can have tasty, feel-good food without cooking--which, in summer, absolutely works for me!

Serves 4 hearty appetites

For the mushrooms:

4 large portabella mushrooms, stems and gills removed, caps sliced in 1/4" widths

1/4 cup olive oil

3 Tbs. soy sauce

2 tsp. apple cider vinegar

Pour the oil, soy sauce, and vinegar into a covered bowl. Shake well to mix. Add the mushroom slices. Shake again to coat. Refrigerate for several hours. The longer they're marinated, the better they taste! And don't worry about soy sauce giving them an Asian taste; when the mushrooms are added to everything else, the flavors blend well.

For the salad:

1 5-oz. bag salad greens

1 5-oz. bag baby spinach

1 beet, grated (I use my food processor--less mess! And beets are optional!)

1 large, or 6 "baby," carrots, grated

1/4 jicama, cut into 1/2" cubes

4 green onions, thinly sliced

Mix the greens and spinach. Divide them between 4 dinner plates. Separately sprinkle the grated beets, the grated carrots, and the jicama over the greens. Top with the green onion slices.

For the dressing:

1/4 c olive oil

1 1/2 Tbs. red wine vinegar

1 1/2 Tbs. apple cider vinegar

1 small shallot, minced

1 small clove garlic, minced

1/16 tsp. pepper

1/8 tsp. salt

Add to a covered bowl and shake well to blend.

To serve:

Divide the salad between 4 plates. (See above.) Place the mushroom slices on the salad, spooning a little of the marinade over the mushrooms. Pour some of the dressing over each salad. You can serve this alone or with garlic bread. (Garlic bread isn't considered "raw!" Ha!) MMMMMM!

Shrimp and Quinoa with Sun-Dried Tomatoes: Dinner from Trader Joe's!

Some nights I am too lazy - I mean, BUSY, to cook something that requires a recipe, but I really want some “real” food. On those nights, a frozen dinner just won’t do. This is a recipe I discovered when I was trying to clean out my fridge at the same time that I was trying to get out of cooking anything that required thought. As it turned out, it was really good!

All ingredients can be found at Trader Joe’s, too – so if you live near one, it’s a one-stop-shop!

The Recipe
Serves 6

1 package Trader Joe’s quinoa (about 2 ½ cups)
1 1-lb package Trader Joe’s frozen, cooked shrimp (any size), tails removed
1 jar Trader Joe’s Julienned Sun-Dried Tomatoes (undrained)
2 Tbs olive oil
3 Tbs dried basil
Salt and pepper to taste
Grated Parmesan cheese (for topping)

Prepare the quinoa according to the package directions. (This will require about 15 minutes of unattended cooking time.)

While the quinoa cooks, thaw the shrimp. (I put them in a bowl of water and put the bowl in the microwave on the “defrost” setting. Works like a charm.)

Add the cooked, thawed shrimp to the quinoa, along with the jar of tomatoes, the olive oil, basil, salt and pepper. Stir well to combine.

If you’re feeling dedicated, serve over cooked vegetables (green beans or broccoli would be good). When I want comfort food, I just spoon some of the shrimp/quinoa mixture into a bowl, top it with Parmesan cheese and eat it. YUM. Good-tasting and good for you! Woo-hoo!

(Yeah, the picture isn't great. It tastes better than it looks, though! ;D)