Kale, Avocado, Apple, Wild Rice and Pomegranate Salad

Made this a couple days ago and as you can see, it keeps pretty well for a leftovers lunch!
Inspired by a salad I got from B. Good, I simply replicated it. Their salad includes thick-cut pieces of bacon which is yummy! I left that out but of course you can add that -or- as I tried today at work, falafel! The falafel works great. This could also be a satisfying side at Thanksgiving or for turkey leftovers.

1 bunch of kale, washed and torn into bite-size pieces, into a large bowl.
dressing for kale: a light drizzle of olive oil and cider vinegar, salt & pepper
After dressing, use your hands to blend it into the kale, squeezing it a bit so it absorbs and tenderizes. The kale will turn a bright green.

Squeeze half a lemon into a cereal-bowl size of water. As you chop the apple, then avocado, this prevents it from browning.

1 chopped apple of your choice. I went with an Empire. Crispy and tart, not too sweet.
1 pomegranate, seeded (you only need half the seeds). Watch a YouTube tutorial if you've never seeded a pomegranate. The trick is cutting it open properly thus not destroying the seeds in the process.
1 avocado, chopped into same size pieces as apple. 
dried cranberries (1/2 cup)
sunflower seeds (1/2 cup)
wild rice (the variety I bought took 55 minutes to prepare) (1 cup)
2 stalks of snipped scallion greens

Toss it up and enjoy!

Red Curry Ginger Squash Soup

This is great to freeze and reheat! I’ve been enjoying it for light lunches lately- microwave for 5 minutes. I found freezing them in coffee cups super handy rather than the plastic container. 

You can use any squash, I made this a couple times using a kabocha squash and a butternut. You could even save time and buy the squash precut. 

2 Tb unsalted butter (or olive oil for vegan version)

1 small yellow onion, chopped

2 Tb peeled and finely chopped ginger

1 Tb Thai red curry paste  

1 1/2 pounds squash, peeled and cut into 2” pieces

1 stalk lemongrass

One 13.5 ounce can coconut milk

2 makrut lime leaves or zest of 2 limes

2 Tb fresh squeezed lime juice, more to taste

1 Tb sugar, more to taste

2 tsp kosher salt, more to taste 

In a large stock pot (too large for regular but good if doubling the recipe) melt butter over medium heat and cook the onions and ginger 4-5 minutes to soften. Add the curry paste and cook a minute, until fragrant.

Add the squash and 2 cups of water and cook until mushy, about 15 minutes. 

Peel off the outer leaves of lemongrass, chop off the very bottom and top third and discard. Split the bottom third lengthwise and add to soup along with the coconut milk and lime leaves. Simmer for 30 minutes. Fish out the lime leaves and lemongrass and discard. Season with lime juice, sugar and salt. 

Purée the soup using a stick blender, blender or food processor. Pass soup through a strainer (not necessary but will find some bits of ginger).

Can be made up to 4 days in advance or frozen up to 2 weeks. 

Surf and Turf Black Pepper Udon Noodles

Adapted from the lovely new cookbook I’ve been enjoying, Myers + Chang At Home: Recipes from the beloved Boston eatery. The only thing I changed was using udon instead of Shanghai style noodles (Twin Marquis brand)/or linguine. Leftovers were good for lunch. I did make a smaller, almost halved recipe. 

Blueberry Cornmeal Cake

Made with frozen blueberries. Work quickly to fill the pan (s), the better stiffens up quickly after adding them! I used 9x5 and 2x5 pans, lined with parchment and cooking spray. The small pan took 45min, larger was more like an hour. It's a tender, fluffy cake, so good! Don't forget the lemon zest with the butter and eggs.

• 8 tablespoons butter (1 stick), room temp
• 1 cup sugar (200 g)
• 1 cup flour (125 g)
• 1/2 cup cornmeal (60 g)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
• 1/3 cup sour cream (80 g)
• 2 cups blueberries (190 g)
• Streusel topping
• 1/2 cup sugar (100 g)
• 6 tablespoons flour (45 g)
• 2 tablespoons cornmeal (15 g)
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• pinch salt
• 2 tablespoons cold butter, cut into pieces (55 g)

Preheat over to 350 degrees. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Mix dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Add eggs and vanilla to butter mixture. Mix in 1/3 flour mixture, 1/2 sour cream, 1/3 flour mixture, remaining sour cream. To the remaining 1/3 flour mixture, fold in blueberries.Hand fold into the batter. Pour into a buttered and floured 8" square pan. Make streusel: Mix dry ingredients together. incorporate butter bits until mixture becomes sandy in texture. Sprinkle over batter and bake about 40 to 45 minutes.

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Pork Shumai Meatballs

This is a Home Chef meal kit recipe that I’ll definitely make again. Taster approved!

14oz ground pork
3/4 cup jasmine rice (or less- maybe a 1/2 cup, we had plenty)
2 green onions, thin sliced on an angle (half added to meatball mixture)
2 garlic cloves
1 fl oz soy sauce
5 oz snap peas
2 tsp chopped ginger
.35 oz rice flour
1/3 fl oz toasted sesame oil
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
2 fl oz ponzu sauce

Cook the Rice
Boil 1 1/2 cups water with rice, bring to simmer and cover 18 min. Fluff with fork and set aside.
While rice cooks, prepare meatballs. Preheat oven to 400.

In a medium bowl, combine pork, soy sauce, half of the green onions, ginger, rice flour, half of the sesame oil, pinch of pepper. Form into golf sized meatballs. Brown in tsp olive oil over medium high heat on two sides, 2-3 min on each side. Put on a foil lined baking sheet sprayed with oil. Bake 8-10 min.
While they roast, sauté snap peas.
Wipe meatball pan clean and heat on medium. Add 1tsp olive oil and remaining sesame oil. Cook garlic 1 minute. Add snap peas and green onions (save a pinch for garnish) and cook until tender and lightly charred, 4-5 minutes. Season with a pinch of salt and red pepper flakes.

Plate and drizzle ponzu sauce over (or serve on side for dipping).

Shrimp Pad Thai For two

This recipe was adapted from my Home Chef meal kit. It's supposed to be made with 10oz sirloin strips but they sent a pork tenderloin instead! I usually like my pad thai with chicken and shrimp. You could also use fried/scrambled egg. Their recipe was bland without the addition of thai peanut sauce. Andrew and I sampled http://www.watcharee.com/watcharees-thai-peanut-sauce at Whole Foods once and loved it. It totally perked up the flavor here. They also make a pad thai sauce.
Will make this again! Taster approved but go easy on the sambal.

3 garlic cloves
3 green onions
1/4 c. honey roasted peanuts
1/4 c. Cilantro
5 oz. rice noodles
1/3 lb shelled raw shrimp
2 tsp. Sugar
1 carrot, peeled and grated
1/4 c. Oyster sauce
1/4 c. Thai peanut sauce
1 tsp Sambal
Lime wedges

Boil water for noodles.
Mince garlic.
Thinly slice green onions, separating white parts. Chop cilantro.
Coarsely chop peanuts.
Prep carrot.
Add noodles to boiling water and cook 3-4 minutes. Reserve 3/4 cup cooking water and drain noodles in colander. Toss with 1 tsp olive oil to keep them from sticking together. Set aside in a bowl.
Put 2 tsp olive oil in pot used for noodles and cook shrimp. Before they are done, add garlic and sugar, cook 1 minute.
Add carrots and white portion of onions and cook 1-2 minutes until carrots soften.
Finish pad thai:
Add oyster sauce, noodles, 1/2 cup reserved water and peanut sauce. Cook, stirring occasionally until noodles are just tender, 2-3 minutes. Add sambal (to taste, it's spicy). Add remaining water to achieve desired consistency.
Plate in a shallow bowl. Garnish with peanuts, cilantro and green onions. Lime wedge on the side.

Glazed Carrot Salad

glazed carrot salad

Yield: 6 to 8 servings

• 1 ½ pounds carrots (about 10 medium carrots)
• 1 tablespoon plus ½ teaspoon coarse sea salt
• 2 tablespoons peanut oil
• 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds, toasted (see sidebar, page 9)
• ¼ cup packed chopped cilantro
• 2 tablespoons roasted peanuts, crushed
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint

Preheat the oven to 425°F. Line a large roasting pan with parchment paper.

Put about 12 cups of water in a large pot and bring to a boil over high heat. While the water is heating up, cut the carrots into sticks by cutting them in half crosswise, trimming away the edges of each piece to form a rough rectangle, then quartering each rectangle length-wise. (Compost the scraps or save them for another use.)

When the water is boiling, add 1 tablespoon of the salt, then add the carrots and blanch for 1 minute. Drain the carrots well, then pat them dry with a clean kitchen towel.

Put the oil, lemon juice, maple syrup, cinnamon, garlic, cumin seeds, and the remaining ½ teaspoon salt in a large bowl and mix well. Add the carrots and toss until evenly coated. Transfer to the lined pan (no need to clean the bowl). Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 10 minutes. Remove the foil, gently stir with a wooden spoon, then bake uncovered for about 10 minutes, until the carrots start to brown.

Return the carrots to the bowl. Add the cilantro and toss gently to combine. Serve garnished with the peanuts and mint.