I'm a big fan of pretty much all the vegetables that kids really hate. Brussels sprouts probably aren't that great when they're boiled to a bland mush, but I can't really imagine anyone hating them when they're cooked right.
2 lbs brussels sprouts
2 shallots, sliced
1/4 cup olive oil
2-3 tbs balsamic vinegar
1 tbs maple syrup
salt and pepper
1/2 cup pine nuts
Preheat oven to 425. Trim the brussels sprouts and get rid of any ugly outer leaves. Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil and add the brussels sprouts. Cook until crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Drain and drop them in a bowl full of ice water. Drain again. Cut the sprouts in half.
Put the sprouts in a bowl and mix with the shallots, olive oil, vinegar, maple syrup and salt and pepper. Pour them onto a baking sheet and roast for about 20-25 minutes, stirring once or twice. Toast the pine nuts in a dry frying pan for 3-5 minutes over low heat just until light brown. Sprinkle over the brussels sprouts and serve.
I wasn't really sure what to call this but I figured it wouldn't make sense to call it Chinese Chicken Salad since it doesn't have any chicken and it doesn't seem very Chinese to me, so I went with Wonton Salad, even though those crunchy things on top are made from gyoza skins instead of wonton skins.
I used this recipe but left out the chicken and added some cilantro, green onions, and toasted sesame seeds.
I've heard this takes a long time to make, but when you're not worried about authenticity and you use prepared flat bread instead of making the crust from scratch, packaged veggie ground round for the meat, and canned tomatoes, it takes about 30 minutes.
Lahmajoon 6 small flat breads 12 oz veggie ground round olive oil for sauteing 1 onion, chopped 1.5 cups crushed tomatoes garlic powder, sweet paprika, red chili flakes, salt n pepper 1/4 cup finely chopped parsley lemon juice
Saute the onions in the oil until soft and add the ground round. When the ground round starts to brown, add the tomatoes and spices and cook for a few more minutes. Remove from the heat and let it cool down.When it has cooled, add the finely chopped parsley and mix.
Preheat the oven to 400. Spread the meat mixture in a thin layer on each of the crusts. Drizzle with olive oil and heat in the oven until the crust is crunchy, about 10 minutes. Squeeze lemon juice over the top and serve.
1/3 cup soy sauce 1/2 cup sake 2 tbs sugar 2 scallions, minced 2 small chunks of fresh ginger, smashed 1 shallot, minced 1/2 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon sesame oil sesame seeds 2 cups seitan, sliced
1/2 head napa cabbage, shredded 1 red pepper, sliced 1/2 small cucumber, sliced 1/2 small red onion, sliced 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped 2 green onions, chopped sesame seeds
In a saucepan, combine the soy sauce, sake, sugar, scallions, ginger, shallots, salt and pepper and 1 teaspoon of the sesame oil. Bring to a boil over moderate heat and cook until reduced, 8 to 10 minutes. Strain the sauce into a small bowl. Saute seitan in 1 tbs oil until brown on all sides. Spoon over a few tbs of the sauce and cook until the seitan soaks it up. Combine the salad ingredients and put the seitan on top. Use the remaining sauce as dressing for the salad.
Having fly-infested barley makes barley tabbouleh kind of unappetizing so I got some bulgur to try to make it traditional and flyless. The package told me to get Bulgur #1 for tabbouleh (I wonder what kind of Mediterranean dish #18 Bulgar is used for) and I trust packages of bulgur so I did.
Tabbouleh 1/2 cup bulgur #1
1 cup hot water
2 tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1 small shallot
1/2 hothouse cucumber, diced
1 bunch fresh flat-leaf parsley, leaves finely chopped
a few leaves fresh mint leaves, finely chopped
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1-2 lemons, juiced
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Put the bulgur in a large bowl and pour in the hot water. Cover with a dish or plastic wrap and let stand for about 30 to 45 minutes to rehydrate. Drain if necessary.
In a mixing bowl, combine the tomatoes, shallots, cucumber, parsley, and mint. Season with salt and pepper. Add the bulgur, lemon juice and olive oil. Fold everything together. Refrigerate for a while before serving.
Red Pepper Hummus 1 red pepper
olive oil for sauteing
1 can chickpeas, drained
1/4 cup tahini
3 lemons, juice
salt and pepper
garlic powder
1/8-/1/4 cup olive oil
chopped parsley
Saute the red peppers. Combine all the ingredients except the parsley in a food processor. Adjust seasonings and fold in parsley. Serve with baked pita triangles.
Stuffed Grape Leaves 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1/2 cup long-grain rice
1 cup broth
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/2 tablespoon tomato paste
1 tablespoons finely chopped dill leaves
1/8 cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
15-20 grape leaves
1 lemon, juiced
To make the filling, coat a large saute pan with 1/8 cup of the oil and place over medium heat. Add the onion and lemon zest and stir until soft, about 10 minutes. Add the rice, saute for 2 minutes, stirring to coat. Pour in just 1/2 cup of the broth. Simmer until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is al dente, about 20 minutes, adding more broth if necessary. Add the lemon juice and tomato paste and cook for 5 minutes. Scrape the parboiled rice mixture into a bowl and add the dill and parsley; season with salt and pepper. Allow to cool. While it's cooling, drain the grape leaves and carefully pull them apart. Put them into a bowl and cover them with cold water. Let them soak until you are ready to roll.
To assemble, lay a grape leaf on a work surface, shiny-side down. Put 1-2 tablespoons of the rice filling near the stem end of the leaf. Fold the stem end over the filling, then fold both sides toward the middle, and roll up. Squeeze lightly in the palm of your hand to secure the roll. Repeat with remaining grape leaves and filling.
Place the dolmades in a wide deep skillet, seam-side down in a single layer. Pour the remaining 1/2 cup of broth, remaining olive oil, and the lemon juice over the stuffed grape leaves. The liquid should reach halfway up the rolls.
add some water if necessary. Cover the pan and simmer over low heat for 30 minutes until almost all of the liquid is absorbed. Serve at room temperature or cool.
If you have to drink flavored vodka, mix it with fresh orange juice, grapefruit juice, and sake. But don't spend $1.50 on an Australian orange, especially when you could walk down the street to what's left of The Valley's orange groves and get one for free. 1 oz sake 1 oz mandarin vodka juice of half a small grapefruit juice of half an orange
Shake ingredients with ice and fine strain into a martini glass.
I'm a big fan of pretty much all the vegetables that kids really hate. Brussels sprouts probably aren't that great when they're boiled to a bland mush, but I can't really imagine anyone hating them when they're cooked right.
