Clementine Brown Rice Salad with Edamame and Cranberries

In the winter I can sometimes find it difficult to come up with a good, fresh salad that incorporates seasonal ingredients. It's not like summer when all it takes are a few garden fresh tomatoes and a handful of basal to call it good. But, although it takes a little more thought in the winter, beautiful salads made with in season produce can be done. Take this salad for instance, it uses a lot of things that you may just have stored in your cupboard or freezer; dried cranberries, edamame, brown rice, and slivered almonds. Add to this some fresh, sweet and juicy clementines, a few thinly sliced green onions and some feta cheese and you have the perfect combination for a hearty winter salad, great as a flavorful side or a light main coarse, whichever you prefer. Either way you won't be disappointed.

The combination of all the different ingredients in this salad are just perfect. Sweetness from the clementines, tartness from the cranberries, crunch from the almonds and creaminess from the edamame. It is also a beautiful salad, full of all the different colors. The clementine juice and honey in the dressing give it just the right amount of sweetness mixed with the acidity from the lemon juice and vinegar. I really do love this salad. The perfect way to add freshness to those gloomy winter days. 

Clementine Brown Rice Salad with Edamame and Cranberries

Ingredients

For the Salad

• 1 cup brown rice*
• 1 cup frozen, shelled edamame beans
• 4 clementines
• 3 green onions
• 1 cup of sliced or slivered almonds, toasted
• 3/4 cup dried cranberries
• 1/2 cup feta cheese

For the Dressing

• 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons fresh squeezed clementine juice
• Salt & pepper to taste

Directions

Cook rice according to package directions*. Set aside to cool while you prepare the rest of the salad. (Brown rice can also be prepared a day ahead and stored in the fridge until needed.) 

Fill a small pot with two inches of water. Bring to a boil, add edamame and cook for about 3 minutes or until tender. Drain and set aside. 

Peal clementines, tear into segments and place in a large bowl. Thinly slice the green onion and add to the bowl. Add in the brown rice, edamame, toasted almonds and cranberries. Mix all together. 

In a small bowl, whisk together all of the dressing ingredients and pour over the salad. Mix it until everything is well incorporated. Add in the feta cheese and give it another  mix.

*Check out 

this

 post for my all time favorite, super easy method for making brown rice that turns out perfectly every time!

California Asian Pasta Salad

A few weeks back, I was searching around for a pasta salad to make. It's not as if it is difficult to find pasta salad recipes, they seem to be everywhere, but it is difficult to find a unique pasta salad recipe. I wanted a recipe that wasn't so summery, wasn't full of fresh vegetables that I just can't get right now. It also seems as though the majority of pasta salads are Italian inspired, which I absolutely love, but this time I felt like something different. After searching around online for a while I found this recipe for a California Asian Pasta Salad from Costa Kitchen. It sounded light, yet substantial and not too summery.  It's full of fresh ingredients and covered in an interesting and delicious sauce. Top it off with some avocado right before serving and you have a hit! I thought it was absolutely delicious, and is one recipe I know I'll make again!

To be honest, while this salad is easy, it did involve a trip to the store for several ingredients I don't usually have on hand, but it was totally worth it. Toasted sesame seeds, green onions, toasted almonds, fresh spinach and plenty of avocado all blended together in a perfect union. Topped with a dressing that includes mango chutney, raspberry vinaigrette, and soy sauce, a little sweet a little salty, yum! You get crunch from the almonds and sesame seeds, and creaminess from avocado, mixed altogether with the fantastic dressing, just thinking about it makes me drool. I give this recipe two thumbs up; try it, you won't be disappointed!

California Asian Pasta Salad

From 

Costa Kitchen

Ingredients

• 3 Cups Dice Avocado
• ½ Bunch Chopped Parsley
• ¼ cup toasted sesame seeds
• 16 oz package Corkscrew pasta
• ½ bunch chopped green onions
• 2 Cups spinach cut in strips
• 1 cup toasted slivered almonds

Sauce:

• ½ Cup Soy Sauce
• ¾ Cup Vegetable Oil
• ¼ cup mango chutney
• ½ cup sugar
• ¾ cup Raspberry Vinaigrette
• 1/8 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper

Directions

Whisk together sauce ingredients. Set aside.

Cook pasta. Drain and run until cold water to stop the cooking. Once cooled and drained, place pasta into a large salad bowl and add in parsley, toasted sesame seeds, green onions, spinach and toasted almonds. Toss together with sauce. Refrigerate until cold or overnight. Top with avocado right before serving and crack some salt and pepper over the avocado to taste. Enjoy!

Pan-Roasted Carrots

I've never been very good at side dishes. Coming up with the main course is the easy part, but I have a hard time figuring out what to eat with it. I often end up with a salad, green beans or some roasted broccoli, all delicious but not always very inspiring. A few weeks ago, while I was looking for something just a little different to have with dinner, I came across this recipe. It was perfect because I actually had all the ingredients which is amazing. Glazed carrots may not be anything new and amazing, but these were absolutely delicious, the perfect accompaniment to my roasted chicken dinner.

This recipe is fairly straight forward and easy. Cut up the carrots, throw them into a super hot pan to get them nice and caramelized, then just add the rest of the ingredients and cook unit done. Easy as that. A simple recipe that is sure to please. Perfectly cooked carrots, slightly sweetened with a light glaze.

Four beautiful carrots

Peel the carrots 

Start cutting

A bowl of carrots, cut on the bias

Into the pan they go, make sure it's nice and hot

You want them to get dark and caramelized, caramelization = flavor

Finished and glazed, so yummy

Pan-Roasted Carrots
From: America's Test Kitchen, Cooking for Two, 2010
Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 4 carrots, peeled and sliced 1/2 inch thick on the bias
• salt and pepper
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 1 teaspoon brown sugar
• 1 small sprig of fresh rosemary

Directions
Heat oil in a 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add the carrots, 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the carrots are golden brown, 8 to 10 minutes.

Stir in the broth and sugar, then add the rosemary sprig and bring to a simmer. reduce the heat to medium-low, cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the carrots are tender, 6 to 8 minutes.

Uncover, remove and discard the rosemary sprig, and continue to cook until the liquid evaporates, about 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve.

Simple Winter Mushrooms

I never really cared all that much for mushrooms. I think it was just the texture thing and the fact that they are a fungus. I mean really, who thinks that eating a fungus sounds appetizing? They are just kind of weird. That said however, in the past year or two, mushrooms have been growing on me. They can really add some nice flavor to different dishes, and can add meatiness to an otherwise umami-less meal. The more I use mushrooms, the more I like them. A few weeks ago I was at Eastern Market in Detroit on Saturday morning, picking up some vegetables to use over the next week. I got sidetracked when I walked by the guy selling mushrooms and saw these beauties. I knew I had to try them, even at twenty bucks a pound. I snatched up a quarter pound and took them home, not having any idea of what I was going to do with them.

I don't remember everything the mushroom man told me, but I believe these are winter chanterelles (if I'm wrong please let me know, I really know next to nothing about mushroom varieties). I just thought they were so pretty; the golden color and the slender elegance of the stems just made me want to eat them right there. I asked the mushroom man what to do with them, and he said all they need is a few minutes in a pan with butter, that sounded good to me.

After spending a few minutes online, I decided that I was just going to use butter and a little of the thyme that I had in my fridge. There is really no recipe for this, all I did was melt a nob of butter in my pan, threw in the thyme leaves and let the butter cook for a little while until it was starting to brown slightly, then in when the mushrooms. Sauté those up for 3-4 minutes and you're done, that's it. It couldn't be simpler, and the aroma in the kitchen was buttery and delicious. The results were outstanding. My very first thought upon taking a bite was, meaty. The mushrooms were so meaty and hearty, it was hard to believe they are a fungus, it was almost like eating a piece of meat. They were buttery (obviously) and full of flavor. There was nothing bland about these mushrooms. Adding the little bit of thyme really complemented the natural flavors, it was the perfect combo.

Although I probably won't buy these little guys again very often (too expensive), I will definitely make them again. So simple and so delicious. This experience has really made me excited to try other kinds of mushrooms, and to use mushrooms in new and different ways. They really are a unique and interesting food that I want to get more comfortable using and better at preparing in delicious ways.

 Delicate and beautiful

 A mushroom forest!

 Into the pan with the butter and thyme

 Saute for a few minutes

Plate them up, add a little salt, and dig in