Recipe Review from 6/21/10

Rain, rain, go away. Come back another day. After one of the cloudiest June’s I can recall, we finally got some sun this weekend. It felt sooo good to get outside! We had a bonfire on Saturday night with brats and the fixin’s and no bugs. On Sunday I was able to finish a landscaping job I started last year and start cultivating the garden beds. I know those wiley weeds were lurking, just waiting to pop as soon as the sun warmed them up!

A couple of seasonally appropriate meals even if the weather didn’t seem like it.

Oops, no pics. I forgot to upload them, darn it all. Oh well. Click on the links provided if you would like to see the magazine picture. I'll try and get back later this week and upload mine.

Greek Yogurt Parfaits (Ckng Lght July 2010) 4.0
I didn't use grano as the recipe calls for, but subbed wheat berries. I LOVE wheat berries (as you will soon see from the other recipes). I really like how I can make up a batch, freeze them and then have the nutty nuggets of goodness whenever I want - unless I forget I have a bag frozen and make up a batch anyway...but that's another story. I also didn't use Greek yogurt, but let my regular yogurt just drain a bit in a strainer to make it nice and thick. Great refreshing breakfast. I'll be making these again over the summer.

Greek Yogurt Parfaits
Grano, which means "grain" in Italian, are the polished whole berries from durum semolina wheat. Look for them in health-food stores or Italian markets. If you can't find grano, try wheat berries, barley, or brown rice instead.

Yield: 8 servings (serving size: 1 parfait)

Ingredients
1 cup uncooked grano
12 cups water, divided
1/4 cup orange blossom honey
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
4 cups plain 2% Greek-style yogurt
2 cups fresh berries (such as blackberries, blueberries, or sliced strawberries)

Preparation
1. Soak grano in 6 cups water overnight. Drain. Place in a medium saucepan with remaining 6 cups water over medium-high heat; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes or until grano is just tender. Drain well. Stir in honey and salt. Cool to room temperature.

2. Spoon 1/4 cup yogurt into each of 8 parfait glasses. Top yogurt with 3 tablespoons grano and 2 tablespoons berries. Repeat layers with the remaining ingredients.



Southwestern Cobb Salad (Ckng Lght July 2010) 4.0

Loved the dressing for this salad. It really brought everything together. First time I made the salad, I didn't have the bacon thawed. The second time I made this I didn't have any turkey (I had used up some leftovers) so this became a side salad. I also tossed the black beans with the pico de gallo. Didn't make sense to me to keep them separate. I also used goat cheese instead of queso fresco, as I didn't want to buy such a large package of specialty cheese and I use A LOT of goat cheese in other dishes. Delish. Also, by keeping the ingredients separate until serving, I had a couple days of leftovers available. Can be made vegan by omitting turkey and bacon and use some lightly fried tofu, or for our vegetarians, substitue egg. Recommended.

Southwestern Cobb Salad
Total: 20 minutes
Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients
Vinaigrette:
3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon honey
3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
2 tablespoons canola oil

Salad:
3 slices center-cut bacon
Cooking spray
8 ounces skinless, boneless turkey breast, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 cups torn romaine lettuce
1/2 cup refrigerated fresh pico de gallo
1/2 cup diced avocado
1/2 cup (2 ounces) crumbled queso fresco (used goat cheese)
1/4 cup chopped green onions
1 (15-ounce) can low-sodium black beans, rinsed and drained

Preparation
1. To prepare vinaigrette, combine first 6 ingredients in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk. Gradually add oil, stirring constantly with a whisk; set aside.

2. To prepare salad, cook bacon in a nonstick skillet over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan; crumble. Wipe pan clean with paper towels. Increase heat to medium-high. Coat pan with cooking spray. Sprinkle turkey with salt. Add turkey to pan; sauté 4 minutes or until done.

3. Arrange 2 cups lettuce on each of 4 plates. Top each serving with about 2 teaspoons bacon, 5 tablespoons turkey, 2 tablespoons pico de gallo, 2 tablespoons avocado, 2 tablespoons queso fresco, 1 tablespoon onions, and about 1/3 cup beans. Drizzle vinaigrette evenly over salads.


Summer Barley Salad (Ckng Lght July 2010) 4.0
Weelll...I brainfarted that I was supposed to use barley and instead used wheat berries. Not that I minded the oops. This turned out absolutely fantastic and made some great lunches for the week. Such bright tangy flavors with the creamy feta or goat cheese over the top. This would make a great potluck dish as it is easily thrown together the day before. If you have non-tomato people, just substitute zucchini. Cheese can be served on the side for our vegan or non-dairy friends. Recommended.

Summer Barley Salad
Serve this colorful summer salad with buttery lemon green beans.

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: about 1 cup)

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups uncooked pearl barley
1 cup fresh corn kernels (about 2 ears)
1 cup diced seeded plum tomato (about 2 small)
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
20 kalamata olives, pitted and coarsely chopped
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 garlic clove, minced
3/4 cup (3 ounces) crumbled feta cheese

Preparation
1. Cook barley according to package directions, omitting salt. Drain and rinse with cold water; drain. Cool completely. Combine barley, corn, and next 4 ingredients (through kalamata olives) in a bowl. Combine juice and next 4 ingredients (through garlic), stirring well with a whisk; drizzle over barley mixture. Toss to coat. Sprinkle with cheese.


I have a veggie pizza and fish tacos on the menu for this week - they were supposed to be made this weekend but plans changed. Stay tuned for more summery goodness!