Category — Sides

Happy Tuesday, friends!  I hope your week is off to a good start.  Today’s recipe highlights the flavors of North Africa – and because it involves a marinade, it’s got great depth of flavor.  But best ever, once you’re ready to cook, it’s 30 minutes from counter to table.  Hooray!

Ginger Spiced Chicken And Rice

Put the chicken in a gallon sized zip-top bag.  For the marinade, combine green onions, orange juice, brown sugar, ginger, oil, garlic, corriander, paprika, salt, cinnamon and pepper in a small bowl.  Pour over the chicken, seal the bag, and mix the contents all around so the marinade covers the chicken.  Marinate in the fridge for at least 2 hours, or up to 6 hours, turning the bag occasionally. 

Drain the chicken, reserving the marinade.  Lightly coat a baking dish with cooking spray.  Arrange the chicken in the dish and pour the remaining marinade over the chicken.

Bake, uncovered, in a 375 oven for about 10-15 minutes, or until the chicken is no longer pink.  Spoon the rice onto 4 dinner plates, and place the chicken atop the rice.  Spoon the remaining pan juices over the chicken and rice.  Serves 4.

Add some steamed green beans on the side, or try these:

Ginger and Honey-Glazed Carrots

Line a baking sheet with paper towels.  In a large skillet, combine water and salt.  Bring to a boil and add carrots.  Return to boiling and then reduce heat, cover and simmer about 12 minutes or until carrots are just tender.  Drain carrots.  Turn the carrots out on to the baking sheet and pat them dry.

To make the glaze – in the same skillet combine butter, honey and ginger.  Stir constantly over medium heat until the butter is melted. 

Add the carrots to the glaze and toss gently until the carrots are throrughly coated with the glaze and are heated through.  To serve, divide carrots among the dinner plates and drizzle with the remaining glaze from the pan.  Serves 4-6.

Both recipes adapted from the Better Homes & Gardens New Dieter’s Cookbook.

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I suspect that lima beans aren’t on your top 10 favorite veggies list, but who knows?  You might surprise me.  I have a great recipe for you today that that just might convince the haters out there . . . trust me, OK?  This is easy, very tasty, and very quick – 15 minutes max from counter to table.  How’s that for incentive to try?

Lima Bean & Feta Salad

Cook the limas according to package directions until just tender – do not overcook them!  Drain them and set them aside.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a heavy frying pan and add the tomatoes and garlic.  Cook over medium-high heat until the tomatoes are beginning to color.  Add the feta to the pan and toss the ingredients together for about 1 minute.  Tip into a large bowl and mix with the beans, dill and olives.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Serve warm or at room temperature. 

This serves 4-6 as a side dish, but it’s a great light lunch or dinner if you serve it with some nice fresh Syrian bread.   How do you tell it’s fresh bread?  Do like all the little old ladies do and squeeze it . . . if it feels soft and slightly springy, it’s the good stuff.  Don’t be shy!

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Ladies and gentlemen, it’s official, I’m on a greens bender.  I’ve had a rough couple of weeks over here and for me, when the going gets tough, I like to treat my body better than ever.  Yes, I’ll admit, there are times when nothin’ says lovin’ like a brownie (or a bag o’ Cheetos, or a candy bar, or a handful of jelly beans – you are reading a woman who ate Wonder Bread slathered with Hellman’s mayo as a kid, OK?), but those things make me feel cruddy if I eat too many of them.  And like I said, I’m feeling funky already.  Greens and and other healthful whole foods make my body feel like it’s humming a happy tune.  I kid you not.

Monday night, I did up some spinach in an unconventional, delicious, yet super quick, virtually no-chopping-required way.  Thought you might want to know!

Spinach With Raisins and Pine Nuts

Put the raisins in a small bowl and cover them with boiling water.  Leave to stand for about 10 minutes until they’re plumped up, then drain.

Heat the oil in a frying pan over medium-low heat, then lower the heat further and add the scallions.  Saute for about 5 minutes, or until soft, then add the spinach (you’ll have to add some, stir it up a bit to wilt, then add the rest).  Once your spinach is wilting, toss in the raisins.  Finish cooking your spinach (the whole process will take under 5 minutes – you don’t want to over-cook your spinach or it’ll be slimy), and then add the pine nuts and salt and pepper to taste.  Makes 4 small side-dish servings, can easily be doubled and played with according to your tastes.

Adapted from The Half Hour Cook by Jenni Fleetwood.

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Cabbage is in season!  Cabbage is sturdy, abundant, inexpensive, plus it’s tasty, and a nutritional powerhouse.  Do you like cabbage?  Have you ever eaten cabbage in anything but cole slaw?  If you’re ambivalent about it, I urge you to give cabbage another shot. 

There are three main types of cabbage: green, red and Savoy. Both green and red cabbage have smooth-textured leaves. Savoy cabbage leaves are more ruffled and yellowish-green (that’s it in the photo above).  Red and green cabbage have a more defined taste and a crunchy texture, whereas Savoy’s is more delicate.  Savoy is my favorite.

What should you look for in a cabbage?  Choose cabbage that’s firm and dense with shiny, crisp, colorful leaves without cracks, bruises and blemishes.  There should be only a few outer loose leaves attached to the stem. You should also know that pre-cut cabbage, either halved or shredded, loses its valuable vitamin C content.

When you get home, keep your cabbage cold:  this helps keep it fresh and retain its nutrients.  Put the whole head in a plastic bag in the crisper of your fridge.  Red and green cabbage will keep this way for about 2 weeks, Savoy will keep for about 1 week.

Here are three of my favorite ways to prepare cabbage – two involve curry powder, but each has a completely different taste.  Each of these recipes was originally intended as a side dish, but I eat each of them as a main course often.  Give them a try, and feel free to post your own in the comments.

 Curried Cabbage

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add the curry powder and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.  Stir in the onion and cook until it’s translucent, about 3-5 minutes.  Add the cabbage and cook, stirring frequently, until the cabbage is wilted and soft to the bite, about 7 minutes.  Remove from the heat and stir in the lime juice and yogurt.  Salt to taste.

Serves 4.  Chickpeas are a great addition for added protein and fiber, as are chunks of well-pressed extra-firm tofu.  If adding tofu, I’d saute that in the oil/curry powder mixture ’til it’s crispy, then remove it from the pan before adding the onions, etc.  You might need a touch more oil in this case because the tofu will sop up your initial oil.  Adapted from Eating Well Magazine.

Curried Red Cabbage Slaw

Combine the cabbage, bell pepper and onion in bowl and toss to mix.  In a small pan, combine the vinegar and sugar and heat to dissolve the sugar;  pour over the vegetables and leave to cool slightly.  Combine yogurt and curry powder and mix this into the cabbage mixture.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Mix in raisins.  Chill.  Just before serving, pour off any accumulated liquid and briefly stir the slaw again.

Serves 4.  Adapted from The Half Hour Cook by Jenni Fleetwood.

Sauteed Savoy Cabbage With Walnuts

Heat the olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat.  Add the cabbage and saute, stirring frequently, until soft to the bite.  If the cabbage starts to brown and/or the pan starts to get too dry, lower the heat and add approximately 1-2 T. of chicken broth.  Remove from heat, stir in walnuts and salt and pepper to taste.  Serves 2 but is easily doubled.  Adapted from a recipe by Ina Garten.

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Some of you who know me know that I’m currently sporting this crazy brace – I have terrible tendinitis in my left leg/ankle and this thing is supposed to give my leg a rest and help decrease the inflammation.  The jury’s still out on whether it’s making any difference in the tendon, but the verdict otherwise is that it’s a huge pain in the a** to wear around.  It weighs over 5 lbs. on its own, and comes up to just below my knee.

For some, takeout would be the way to go, but now, more than ever, I want a healthy meal at dinnertime.  I can hardly exercise at all, and, well, I’m “of a certain age” such that exercising is pretty much a necessity – unless I want to show off everything I eat on my lower-half.  So I’m trying to find more convenient dinners that minimize prep but which also emphasize healthy components.  And where do I go for inspiration?  Trader Joe’s, of course.  [Read more →]

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It’s not over ’til it’s over, right guys?  There is still more time to grill, enjoy eating alfresco and to savor some summery weather.  This menu has been top-of-mind lately because I made it for a family celebration of my daughter’s August birthday last year.  My husband, in particular, found it mind-blowing – in fact, the salad here is what turned him into a fresh fig lover.  Serve it up to people you love, and treat them to a last, fresh taste of summer.

For a main course, this Rosemary Chicken Skewers With Berry Sauce recipe from Simply Recipes is simple to prepare, but looks and tastes like it took much more effort.  The sauce is very delicious.

For starch, this Couscous Salad with Dates and Almonds, from Bon Appetit has a nice sweet/savory thing going on.   I use whole wheat couscous to amp up the nutrition and protein and I also make double the dressing – I find I need more than the amount called for in the recipe (but not the entire doubled amount) to dress the salad.

For greens, this Late Summer Salad is an adaptation of a recipe from the Fields Of Greens Cookbook by Annie Somerville.  It is a beautiful composed salad that makes a striking presentation for your guests.

Late Summer Salad 

Wash the spinach and dry it in a salad spinner.  Arrange it on a serving platter.  Make the vinaigrette. 

Cut the melon in half and scoop out the seeeds, then thinly slice and peel, following the contour of the rind.  Rinse the figs and pat dry.  Cut them into halves or quarters.

Arrange the melon and figs atop the spinach.  Drizzle the vinaigrette over the fruit and sprinkle with pine nuts.

Serves 4 – this can easily be doubled – just use a medium cantaloupe.

Orange Vinaigrette

Combine everything but the oil in a small bowl, then whisk in the oil.  Makes 1/3 cup, but again, can be easily doubled.

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I don’t think this is going to get me any fan press out on the ‘net, but I have been completely digging cantaloupes this year – so much so that I have been eating about 1 entire melon per day, on average.  Cantaloupes are a nutritional powerhouse, with very few calories.  A cup of cubed fruit has more than a day’s worth of vitamin A, nearly a day’s allowance of vitamin C, 12% of your daily potassium needs, and 9% of a day’s folate.  And all this for the low-low price of 50 calories, folks!  Even bestsellers like apples, pears, and bananas have at least 100 calories.

I have been just cubing these super-sweeties up and eating them for dessert or a juicy snack, maybe combining them with some fat-free Fage, but there are some creative ideas in the latest issue of CSPI’s Nutrition Action Health Letter:

• Spritz the chunks with lemon or lime juice, and eat as-is.  Lime sounds particularly good to me.
• I never would’ve thought of this - top the ‘loupe with shaved Parmesan and drizzle it with balsamic vinegar.  That sounds really interesting – I’m going to try that one today. 
• Another one with cheese – fill half a melon with low-fat cottage cheese and a sprinkle of toasted sunflower seeds – yum! 
• Cube it and serve it over a bed of mixed greens and some goat cheese, tossed with a red wine vinaigrette.  Another fruity salad – you know I’ve been lovin’ up on those this summer.

Are you loving cantaloupe?  How are you eating it?

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