Accidentally Vegan: Quinoa Salad with Zucchini, Mint, and Pistachios

I believe I may have already blogged about the Meatless Mondays initiative, but as it's been such a long time since I've updated to begin with... Meatless Monday is a campaign with many celebrity contributors (Mario Batalli, Paul McCartney, to name a couple - I even have the McCartney family Meat-free Monday cookbook), as well as those in the health community, targeted to help reduce the amount of meat the average family consumes with the goal of bettering their personal health and the health of the environment. More often than not, I tend to forget Meatless Monday and treat it like a normal day. While putting together our grocery list this morning, I came across a lovely salad recipe from September's issue of Martha Stewart Living. Now, I'm not the biggest fan of Martha, I find much of her magazine to be rather pretentious and WAY out of my league, but... her recipes are hands-down part of my favorites. She has a great style of writing her recipes (or at least her editors have an excellent way of editing them): they're easy, approachable, and very clear. Her recipes rank among Giada DeLaurentiis, Ina Garten, and the folks at America's Test Kitchen/Cooks' Illustrated for the most well-written recipes. And you know these recipes were tested to ensure they're correct, too, something I feel many cookbook authors and chefs don't do nearly enough. Anyway, I thought that I might keep the menu of meals this week rather light. Neither of us ate very consciously this weekend and I figure a nice salad would help turn that around.

I love quinoa and I love finding new ways to cook and prepare it. While there is some controversy about quinoa and the effect the explosion of first-world demand for quinoa has had on the indigenous people who primarily live off of it, I do love the fact that it's a fully balanced protein and can be a tasty stand-in for most starches, like rice, potatoes, and pasta. I also love zucchini and I don't think I cook nearly enough with it. It's such a versatile little gourd. You can bake it, stuff it, sauté it, roast it, grill it! With two of my favorite ingredients in the forefront, how could this salad go wrong? It didn't, to be quite honest. It was quick to make and incredibly flavorful. The sautéed zucchini provided a lovely sweetness next to the savory quinoa, then there was a punch of lemon from the zest and juice and the brightness of the mint. The pistachios add a lovely crunchy texture and toasted flavor note. A sharpness from the lightly sautéed garlic and the scallions made for a really great flavored salad. The great thing, too, is that it was filling, unlike other lettuce-based salads, which can leave you feeling more bloated than satisfied. Both Marshall and I loved it and I know I'll make it again.

A few things I would think to adjust for next time:

• Cut the amount of quinoa to 3/4 of a cup instead of a full cup.
• Increase the amount of zucchini by a full cup. I love having more green on my plate, plus I think the zucchini got a little lost among the quinoa.
• Skip trying to find/use roasted and salted pistachios. Get the shelled raw pistachios and toast them in a dry pan until lightly browned. You honestly won't miss the salt and I think you might end up with an even better flavor.
• Smash and mince the garlic, instead of slicing it. Honestly, I don't have the knife skills to thinly slice garlic and I'm not digging out the mandolin to slice a clove (or in my case 2 cloves) of garlic. If you choose to smash and mince, be super careful not to overcook the garlic in the pan. You merely want to warm it through and cut the rawness, you definitely don't want to brown it. 

A quick note about Martha's measurement "style": I'm not entirely sure where she gets her "medium" zucchinis that yield 2-1/2 cups thinly sliced. I also don't know where she gets her scallions where 3 of them sliced equals 1/2 Cup. Lastly, I think she gets her lemons from the magical lemon tree in her personal grove, because I've never been able to get 3 Tablespoons of juice from a single one! I ended up slicing 3 small-to-medium zucchinis, 6 rather skinny scallions, and the juice from 2 small lemons. My suggestion is to buy a little extra and if you end up with too much, I'm sure you'll find a use for your leftovers (might I suggest garnishing that gin and tonic with a lemon slice?).

I totally recommend this salad for those warm summer nights when you don't have much time to cook and the kitchen is too hot for much else. Plus - you could always grill your zucchini, instead of sautéing it!

Bon appetit!

Hello Dal-y: Broccolini and Chickpea Dal

Last year I started a subscription to Sunset. Yes, I am my mother, and I've accepted that (to be honest, she is a pretty cool lady). Anyway, I didn't quite know what to expect when I got my first issue in the mail. I knew there were going to be a lot of articles about gardening (have I not mentioned my rather brown thumb?), home renovations (although drool-worthy, can't use them), and travel (okay, that fits into our life a little more). I had a feeling there would be some recipes involved (I mean, what else are you going to do with your perfectly grown summer squash in your homemade redwood raised beds?), but I wasn't sure what kind. I didn't want a repeat of Mario Batalli, in which he goes on in a pompous manner about how readily available he finds monkfish at his local fishmonger's and how his father owns his own charcuterie (or the Italian equivalent) and makes his own salumi and other dried meats and sausage. Oh--you don't have these things available? Too bad, no substitutions for you, peasant! *ahem* Where was I? Oh, right... I was pleasantly surprised to find that Sunset's recipes were easy to follow and were, of course, delicious. Plus, since Sunset is all about the seasonal availability of everything, the recipes coincide with the seasons and use fresh ingredients, which you can find in abundance at your local store, in my case Whole Foods (anyone who follows me on Twitter will know I have a bit of a Whole Foods addiction). 

One of the first recipes I tried from Sunset was this one, Broccolini and Chickpea Dal. Alright, pun aside, I love a good dal. As I've established a number of times before, I cannot get enough of legumes. I think I could easily go vegetarian, as long as I subsisted on nothing but legumes (and, of course, pairing them with the right grain as to ensure I'm getting my complete protein). Of course, this would mean no meat and that would make me a very sad omnivore. Nonetheless, I have been known o make a vegetarian meal every so often and this has become one of my absolute favorites. I also love anything that starts with "brocco-", whether it's plain ol' broccoli or perhaps its bitter cousin broccoli rabe or its sweeter and more tender brethren broccolini, I love it all. I've been known to live off of broccoli (okay, it was broccoli and baked potatoes, but still, my college dorm's mini-fridge wasn't complete without a few bags of already prepared fresh broccoli florets). This dish is perfect: it's spicy, tender, creamy, and perfect for all occasions. I'm sure if you can't find broccolini, you can simply use regular broccoli. Although, I would recommend just trim up the stems a bit more so that it cooks in the time allotted without overcooking the chickpeas. Seriously - this is a meal I would easily make year round. Who cares if it's the middle of summer and you can't get off the couch because your thighs are stuck to it? This will make you sweat just enough to loosen things up and off you go!

Farmer's Market Finds: Rabbit Sausage and Sautéed Russian Kale

Living in California, I am never hard-up for fresh fruits and vegetables.  I sometimes forget that the majority of the country doesn't have this kind of access to the bounty that we have here.  Now, California does sometimes have to rely on other countries during the winter, we still have plenty of fresh vegetables to choose from during the winter and early spring.  Like many little towns and neighborhoods in the San Francisco Bay Area, Campbell has its own weekly Farmer's Market.  This market is always packed, rain or shine, and the vendors are always there.  The majority of farms who have booths are from the Salinas or San Jouquin Valleys.  There are also local artists, a local honey and beeswax seller, and plenty of great hot food booths (including my absolute favorite:  Oaxacan Kitchen).  I'm sad to say that I don't make it out to the Farmer's Market as I honestly should (it's only about a mile and a half from our home).  I did make a point to go this weekend, while Marshall was out.  I honestly think I have more fun at these things than he does, but I made good on my own promise and went Sunday morning.  I made the initial pass through the entire market and nothing really caught my eye.  It was getting into the early afternoon and I was hungry, so I got in line for the Oaxacan Kitchen and looked to my left.  It was the usual charcuterie booth (Fabrique Délices, out of Hayward) and I glanced at their menu.  Then, I spotted it:  Rabbit and Prune Sausage.  My mouth watered.  I had to have some.  After I placed my order for lunch and then made a beeline to buy the sausage.  I finally had a meal in mind:  Rabbit and Prune Sausage with Sautéed Bitter Greens.  My mom used to make a variation of this with red chard and chicken-apple sausage and it was a delicious, healthy, and quick weekday meal.  Before I left the market, I stopped at one of the first booths I walked past earlier and they had bunches of bitter greens.  I picked up 2 bunches of Russian Kale and 1 bunch of Mustard Greens (for later in the week).  I walked away from the market feeling fully satisfied and eager to eat!

I couldn't have made a better decision for dinner tonight.  I was a little worried about the sausage, since I didn't plan on grilling it, but pan-frying instead.  Luckily, the package had some easy cooking instructions:  cook in a pan over medium heat for 15-20 minutes.  Easy enough!  I already knew how to make the greens:  sauté with olive oil and lots of chopped garlic, until wilted and tender.  Since I didn't want to burn either dish, I had some chicken broth (only 1/4-1/2 Cup) on hand to provide a little steam to finish off the cooking.  I had never had Russian Kale before, but the lady selling it said it was great.  After I had the lid on the pan for a bit and uncovered the greens, I got a huge whiff of the forest:  earthy, dewy, and slightly sweet.  I love that smell.  I tasted the greens for doneness and they were perfect:  tender, not mushy, and just slightly sweet.  This is by far the most UN-bitter of bitter greens I have had.  The sausage was cooked perfectly.  The texture of the sausage was a little more chunky than your average mass-produced sausage; definitely more country-style sausage.  You could easily pick out the tender pieces of rabbit and there was just enough chopped prune to add a hint of dark sweetness.  Overall a fantastic dinner:  light, fresh, and fast!