Barley Salad with Fresh Herbs and Blackened Tofu Steaks

You can certainly make this salad with or without the barley...I just wanted to combine our grain with a salad last night. The original recipe came from Whole Foods website, but I changed it by using the veggies I had on hand...ie. tomatoes and limas in place of red bell pepper.
"Whole Paycheck" suggests serving the salad in an avocado or papaya half...

Barley Salad with Fresh Herbs:
(Adapted from Whole Foods recipe)

1 cup pearled barley
3 cups+ water
~3/4 lb frozen baby lima beans
~1/2 cup sliced green onions
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
~1/3 cup chopped fresh basil
~1/3 cup chopped Italian parsley
~2 Tbs chopped fresh mint
1 clove garlic, minced
kosher salt to taste
fresh ground pepper to taste
lemon juice (I think I used 1.5-2 lemons worth)
~1-2 Tbs? canola oil

Add barley to water in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for ~35-40 min.
Test to see if its done to your liking before that...

While the barley is cooking:

Bring another pot of water to the boil.

In a large bowl, mix the garlic, lemon, salt and pepper, and canola oil (next time I might add a little mustard too). Set this aside.

When your water has come to a boil, salt the water well, then add your limas. Cook limas as per package instructions.

Drain the cooked limas and then add to the dressing in the large bowl. Stir to coat.
Add all of your other veggies and herbs at this point.

When the barley is done, drain it well then add some of it to the salad.

I didn't use all of it, since I wanted more green and less grain. Save the rest for a soup or to use in place of rice in something else.
Adjust seasonings at this point.

I just set it on the counter until the rest of dinner was done so I could serve at room temp.
We ate this over a bed of baby spinach that had been dressed with a little more lemon juice, a drizzle of olive oil, salt and pepper.


Blackened Tofu Steaks:

1 pkg of organic extra-firm tofu (I like White Wave if you can get it)
Creole seasoning rub
canola oil

Cut the tofu block into 6 slabs. Press as much of the water out as you can. I end up using a lot of paper towels for this.
Need an alternative to that method...maybe some new tea towels are in order.
Once you've gotten the tofu fairly dry, sprinkle with seasoning mix and rub in a little on both sides.
Now brush each side with some canola oil and cook in a non-stick skillet on high heat for about 5 minutes a side, or until done to your liking. That's it.

Anniversary Dinner: Tilapia with Prosciutto and Sage

This was our ninth anniversary dinner from the 5th. I just didn't feel like getting all dressed up to go out, so opted for a nice dinner at home. The Monster brought home a gorgeous bouquet a flowers and the same card that I'd bought him! Too cute. I gave him a horrendous pile of dishes to do...not cute.

This was the meal that produced said pile...

We started the meal with some nice big artichokes. Something The Monster said he'd never eaten before meeting his California gal. I cooked them submerged in boiling water with slices of lemon until the outer leaves pulled out easily. Here's a link that could help you non-artichoke eaters out a bit. She steams hers though.
The dipping sauce is a mix of mayo, Greek yogurt and balsamic vinegar. Yum!

And next...

Tilapia with Prosciutto and Sage with Toasted Walnut Sage Cream Sauce:
(Adapted from Gourmet, December 2004)


Prosciutto and sage add deep flavor to tilapia, which is a mild fish. Separating the two sides of the fillet helps to keep the thinner part from overcooking.

Makes 4 servings.

4 pieces skinless tilapia fillet (2 lb total)
8 thin slices prosciutto (not paper-thin; 6 oz total (I used an artisanal prosciutto di Parma and I used all 8 slices between 2 filets of fish split into 4 pieces.)
12 fresh sage leaves, stems discarded
4 teaspoons olive oil
preparation
Cut fillets lengthwise to separate smaller and larger portions, then pat dry and season with pepper. Wrap each piece of fillet crosswise in a slice of prosciutto, leaving ends of fillet exposed if necessary and tucking 1 or 2 sage leaves between prosciutto and fillet (use 1 leaf for smaller pieces of fish).


Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a 12-inch heavy nonstick skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then sauté the 4 larger pieces of fish 4 minutes. Turn over and sauté until just cooked through, about 3 minutes more. Transfer to a platter and keep warm, loosely covered with foil. Wipe skillet clean and heat remaining 2 teaspoons oil, then sauté the 4 smaller pieces of fish, turning over once, until just cooked through, about 4 minutes total.
Plate over Savory Polenta and finish with Toasted Walnut Sage Cream.

Toasted Walnut Sage Cream:

This is another take on my Pepita Sage Cream Sauce...

pat of butter
1 Tbs chopped fresh sage
about 1/4 cup chopped walnuts
couple good spoonfuls of 2% Greek yogurt
fine sea salt
unsweetened soymilk, or milk of your choice to thin the sauce

In a small saucepan, melt the butter and add the walnuts.
Toss in the sage and cook on medium until the walnuts are a little toasty.
Let them cool slightly then add them and yogurt to a blender and puree.
Add salt to taste and thin with soymilk, or milk of your choice.
Chill in the fridge until you're ready to use it.

Savory Polenta:
Alton Brown's method cooks in the oven freeing up your time to focus on preparing the rest of the meal. I've made it this way 3 times now, and there's no going back to stove top for me!
The only thing I would suggest, is to hold back on the amount of salt he uses. Just add it in to your taste, since the cheese is already salty. You might want the whole amount, but just adding it slowly ensures you won't end up with a too-salty batch. The next day I made a salad of arugula greens with fried egg on top and crispy on the outside-gooey on the inside polenta fingers on the side. I dressed the salad with lemon, olive oil and some of the leftover cream sauce...so good! Just slice up the leftover polenta and saute it in a non-stick skillet with a little olive oil until golden brown on both sides. Serve warm.

We finished the meal with a simple palette cleansing salad of arugula, avocado, and chevre. Tossed only with lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper. Perfect. Least the "Peazer" though so.

Crunchy Buckwheat Cereal

I have NO idea where I got the idea to do a search for buckwheat. Just popped into my head yesterday. But this recipe is what that search yielded. I'll be looking for more ways to incorporate buckwheat into our diets after doing further research on it's properties of goodness. Buckwheat is not a grain at all apparently...it's classified as a fruit and is related to rhubarb. It's gluten- free and has nothing to do with actual wheat. I found a lot of nutritional info on buckwheat, but honestly Oprah's website distilled it best and presented it in the most plain lingo. So I'll link to that buckwheat info page instead. ;-)

Crunchy Buckwheat Cereal:
(VegFamily Magazine)


If you like those Middle Eastern sesame honey candies, this is the cold cereal for you! It totally reminds me of them for some reason...even though I didn't use tahini or honey. :-) I personally think it makes more than 4 servings. I liked it mixed with a lighter puffed cereal (I'm going to mix it with plain puffed kamut tomorrow). It'd probably be too overwhelming to eat a 1/2 cup plain. Another great option is eating this with fresh berries over plain yogurt. Might have to do that tomorrow instead of the kamut! In any case...it's super easy to make, and really good for you. I just happened upon the recipe yesterday and decided to make it this morning for breakfast. The Monster had already eaten his bowl of regular cereal, but I sure enjoyed it!

• 2 cups raw whole buckwheat groats (I bought mine in the bulk section of the regular grocery store)
  
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup, brown rice syrup, or agave nectar (I used agave nectar)
• 1/4 cup nut or seed butter...almond butter, tahini, etc. (I used roasted unsweetened cashew butter, also from the bulk section)

addendum: I have to say...I've started adding a touch (~1 Tb each?) more of both the nut butter and the sweetener and it's extra yummy, just an fyi. ;-)

Preheat oven to 300ºF.
In a medium sized mixing bowl, combine nut butter and sweetener and set aside.
Spread buckwheat on large baking sheet.
Bake for 20 minutes.
Stir buckwheat around a bit.
Roast for 15 to 20 minutes more until golden. I went for the full 20.


Immediately mix hot buckwheat into sweetener and nut or seed butter until buckwheat is coated. Cool. Store in covered jar in refrigerator. To serve, place 1/2 cup of cereal in bowl, cover with milk. Add fresh or dried fruit if desired.

Makes 4 servings

I love this either with unsweetened soymilk, or just sprinkled on top of plain yogurt.

Update:
All right, maybe I'm just a weirdo...but I can't stop eating this stuff! I just finished my 4th helping of the day! I'm loving just snacking on it plain...Ok, now you can make it. :-)