Fantastic Lentil and Brown Rice Salad

Posted on June 6, 2011

A far cry from two-star Chef Curtis Duffy’s barley grain creation with twelve garnishes (see my previous post)…this quick and easy salad is for the home-cook who wants to eat healthfully with the least amount of effort. Lentils and brown rice are a winning combination: they form a complete protein that is loaded with iron and vitamins. I created this salad years ago when I was recipe testing for Eating for Pregnancy:  The Essential Nutrition Guide and Cookbook for Today’s Mothers-to-Be. It’s still a family favorite. I served it the other day with grilled vegetables, shrimp, and a lovely green salad. If you like cheese, diced feta adds a nice tang. Makes my mouth waters at the thought.

Brown Rice and Lentil Salad
Makes about 3 cups
Dressing
1 tablespoon vinegar, any kind, to taste
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 small garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil, to taste
One 15 ounce can lentils, rinsed and drained, or 1-1/2 cups cooked lentils
1-1/2 cups cooked brown rice
1/3 cup finely diced celery
1/3 cup sliced or diced radishes
1 large vine-ripened tomato, cut into a small dice (about 1 cup), or 12 cherry tomatoes quartered
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

  1. To make the dressing, in a small bowl whisk together the vinegar, mustard, and garlic. Add the olive oil and continue whisking until emulsified. Set aside.
  2. Combine the lentils, brown rice, celery, radishes, tomatoes, and parsley in a serving bowl. Add the resrved dressing and mix gently. Adjust the seasoning and serve. Refrigerate leftovers.

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Homemade Rocks! Hale’s Perfect Banana Split

Posted on May 22, 2011

Wow! Get a load of this stunner made by my eleven-year-old son, Hale. I had just made a batch of chocolate-walnut-coconut-milk sherbet from David Lebovitz’s Room for Dessert…super yummy and light, and I added chopped walnuts for texture…and boom, my son takes one look at it and says, “Mom, can I make a banana split?”

“Sure, but only if you let me photograph it,” I said, smiling.

He agreed, but at the same time made me promise not too take any more food photos when his friends are over for dinner…as I did last night. “It’s just embarrassing when you say, no, don’t eat it yet, let me get just one more shot.”

Fair enough. He’s right. I admit I to being camera crazy sometimes. But I also enjoy a good shot…like the way the blue jimmies match the placemat in this pic. Fun and delicious! Makes me happy. This sherbet will make you happy, too.

Chocolate-Walnut-Coconut-Milk Sherbet
Makes 1 quart
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
5 ounces bittersweet chocolate
2 cups Thai canned coconut milk
1 tablespoon dark rum
1/2 cup chopped walnuts, toasted

  1. Heat the water and sugar until the sugar has completely dissolved.
  2. Coarsely chop the chocolate, add it to the syrup, and whisk until the chocolate has completely melted. Remove from the heat and stir in the coconut milk and rum (the rum is the key to a delicious flavor, but maybe not for kids!).
  3. Chill thoroughly, then freeze in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions.

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Homemade Rocks! 20 Minute Spaghetti Sauce

Posted on May 17, 2011

A simple and perfectly delicious tomato sauce, especially if you like your pasta sauces on the light side. I was in a hurry so I boiled some capellini…but, if you can get fresh, flavored pasta, such as basil, garlic, or lemon, you’re in for a real treat. I topped my plate with tons of basil. Not surprisingly, my kids opted for only Parmesan cheese. As with all my family’s favorite recipes…this comes from Eating for Pregnancy: The Essential Nutrition Guide and Cookbook for Today’s Mothers-to-Be. My #1 family cookbook.

Twenty-Minute Tomato Sauce
Makes about 2-1/2 cups
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 pounds (about 7) large, vine-ripened tomatoes, cut into a ½-inch dice (about 4 cups)
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons tomato paste or ½ cup tomato sauce, to taste
1/3 cup chopped fresh basil or your favorite fresh herbs

  1. In a large saucepan, combine 3 tablespoons of the olive oil and the garlic, and sauté over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the garlic turns a light brown color, about 1 to 2 minutes. Be careful not to burn the garlic because it will turn bitter.
  2. Add the tomatoes, Italian seasoning, brown sugar, salt, and pepper, and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes.
  3. Stir in the tomato puree, and continue to simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in the basil and the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil, adjust the seasoning and serve. Refrigerate or freeze leftovers.

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Perfect eggs for mom…made by mom just the way she likes them

Posted on May 9, 2011

When it comes to cooking eggs, I’m super picky, so picky that I have to make them myself. The yolk has to be perfectly cooked in over-easies, my scrambled eggs have to be just-set (not hard and rubbery), and my omelet has to has to be perfectly cooked in the middle without any brown on the outside. Strange, eh? In fact, it’s so bad that I even make my own eggs in hotels…whenever they let me. The cook behind the egg station usually looks at me kind of funny, like, are you crazy lady, but then obliges. I wanted to try something different for Mother’s Day, so I created these mini casseroles made with steamed spinach, sauteed mushrooms, Parmesan cheese, an egg,  and drizzle of cream. They were lovely with whole wheat bread and a cappuccino. I’m working on the recipe and will it share later.

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The Perfect Breakfast Treat for Mother’s Day: Walnut Spice Coffee Cake

Posted on May 5, 2011

The other day I was interviewed for a Malaysian magazine called UnReserved. The story hinged on Mother’s Day, specifically on the challenges of balancing family, work, and, most importantly, my sanity. I thought about what to serve my interviewer with her coffee (feed the press is a cardinal rule, especially if you’re a cook), and eventually decided on my killer brownies, healthy bird seed bars, and chocolate chip cookies.

Then, at the eleventh hour, it dawned on me to make my deliciously moist walnut cake from Eating for Pregnancy: The Essential Nutrition Guide and Cookbook for Today’s Mothers-to-Be. I said to myself, she’ll be writing about my book, so why not give her a taste from it.

From years of experience, I had wisely saved the final step of frosting the walnut cake until the last minute, just in case the photographers might want a kitchen shot…which they did. I whipped together a caramel frosting and drizzled it over the cake. I have to admit that sometimes my own recipes surprise me. This walnut cake was so simple and oh so good. Nothing was left by the end of the day. Make it for mom…or anyone else!

Walnut Spice Coffee Cake
Makes one 9-inch round cake
Canola oil cooking spray, for greasing the cake pan
1-1/2 cups chopped walnuts
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground ginger
2 teaspoons cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon salt
¾ cup brown sugar
2 large eggs
1/3 cup canola oil
½ cup plus 2 tablespoons sour cream
Confectioners’ sugar or maple glaze for the finished cake

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9-inch round cake pan with canola oil cooking spray and sprinkle with flour; set aside.
  2. Place the walnuts in the bowl of a food processor and process, using the pulse button, until finely ground, but not to the point of forming a paste.
  3. Transfer the ground walnuts to a medium bowl, add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Whisk until well combined; set aside.
  4. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the brown sugar and the eggs and beat on medium speed for about 4 minutes, or until light and fluffy. Add the canola oil and sour cream and beat 30 seconds more.
  5. Using a rubber spatula, fold into the egg mixture the reserved flour mixture until well incorporated. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and bake for 30 minutes, or until a tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
  6. Remove the cake from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes. Run a knife around the sides of the pan and invert the cake onto a serving platter. Dust with confectioners’ sugar or frost with the maple glaze before serving.

Maple Glaze
Makes about 2 cups frosting
¼ cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 to 4 tablespoons milk, depending on desired consistency
2 cups icing sugar

In a saucepan, combine the brown sugar, butter, and milk and heat over medium heat just until the boiling point, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat, cool completely, and then stir in the icing sugar. The frosting should be of a spreading consistency, or if you’d like more of a drizzle, add a bit more milk.

Advance Preparation:  This frosting can be made up to 2 days in advance. Keep covered and refrigerated. Bring to room temperature before frosting the scones.


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So, I Decided on Chocolate Mousse

Posted on April 30, 2011

Remember on my previous  post how I couldn’t decide what to serve the Thai Ambassador to Malaysia for lunch: homemade peppermint stick ice cream or chocolate mousse? Well, I decided on the mousse. Light yet flavorful, with a hint of almond extract, it was perfection. Crispy almond tuiles sealed the deal. YUM!

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Homemade Rocks! Peppermint Crunch Madness

Posted on April 24, 2011

When I mentioned  I was playing around with ice cream, I wasn’t kidding. Peppermint stick is one of my favorite flavors…so I decided to whip up a batch. Now, I have to decide whether to serve this to the Thai Ambassador for dessert at Tuesday’s lunch…or to serve an equally rich and scrumptious chocolate mousse with almond tuiles. Such are the delicious questions that fill my mind every week.

To make this peppermint crunch ice cream, search my blog for my “Homemade Rocks! Vanilla Ice Cream” recipe or go directly to January 2011 and scroll down to my January 31 entry. Follow the directions, but omit the vanilla extract. Instead, to the churned ice cream, add 1 to 2 teaspoons peppermint or mint extract (to your taste…I love a minty flavor so I add 2), a tiny drop of pink food coloring (I used pink not red, but I suppose red will work, or go natural and skip it), and a 1/3 to 1/2 cup of peppermint crunch, which I purchased on-line from King Arthur Flour, but you can smash a couple of candy canes for the same effect. As you can see on the bottom left corner of the photo, before I take the finished ice cream out of the machine, I place my metal bowl on ice to prevent melting. This buys me time to mix in the extra ingredients. Enjoy!

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Homemade Rocks! My Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies

Posted on April 14, 2011

Few things in the sweets category top a still-warm-from-the-oven, perfectly crisp yet melting gooey chocolate chip cookie, and I think this recipe is the BEST on the planet. I’m sharing it under one condition: that you give me credit when people say, OMG where did you get this recipe, and then you send them to my blog, catherinejonescooks.com for more delicious recipes. I love these tasty morsels with a cup of robust coffee, my daughter prefers Earl Grey tea, while my son happily dunks his cookies in cold milk. My husband just stands by the cookie jar in easy reach of the next bite…you can’t eat only one, I’ve tried!

Catherine’s Chocolate Chip Cookies

The secret to this recipe is grinding the oats into a powder, which gives the cookies a wonderful crunch. No nuts are called for here, but add them if you wish. Also, you will notice that I call for baking the cookie sheets one at a time. Yes, this takes way more time, but in my many years of baking in conventional home-ovens (not restaurant ones with serious convection power) I have found that baking one sheet at a time leads to more consistent results. You can bake two sheets at once; see my Cooking Tip below.

Makes about 4 dozen 2-inch cookies
2-1/4 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1-1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose unbleached flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
16 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and center an oven rack. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside.
  2. Place the oats in a food processor and pulse about 10 times, or until they are a broken down to a powder slightly thicker than whole wheat flour. Set aside.
  3. In the bowl of a standing mixer, combine the sugar, brown sugar, butter, eggs, and vanilla extract, and mix on medium speed until light and slightly fluffy, about 3 minutes.
  4. Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and reserved oats and mix on low speed just until combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.
  5. Place heaping teaspoons of the cookie dough on the baking sheets, allowing about 1-inch of space between the mounds. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the cookies are light golden.
  6. Remove from the oven, cool for 3 minutes, then transfer the cookies to a cooling rack. Once completely cool, store in an airtight container. They can be frozen for up to 1 month.

Cooking Tip: To bake two sheets at the same time, position one oven rack one rung down from the top, and the other rack one rung up from the bottom. Place both sheets in the oven at the same time and bake for 6 minutes, then switch the order of the sheets and bake for another 5 to 6 minutes.

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Make Room for the Best Meat Loaf in Town

Posted on April 11, 2011

Whenever my family asks for meat loaf, this moist and delicious rendition, from Eating for Pregnancy: The Essential Nutrition Guide and Cookbook for Today’s Mothers-to-Be, is what I serve. I load it with fresh herbs, and glaze it with a mixture of ketchup, molasses and seasoned rice vinegar. Mashed potatoes, baked potatoes, sweet potatoes and a green, such as broccoli or beans, are standard accompaniments, but get fancier if you wish (I love creamed spinach).

Leftovers are good cold with hit of Dijon mustard (or ketchup for son) in a sandwich made with robust whole grain bread, or alongside  a mixed green salad. Potato salad is awesome, too. I will post a recipe for a sublime classic American version soon, but come to think of it, my Austrian potato salad made with fingerling potatoes and chicken stock would be delicious as well. Good news: this meat loaf can be assembled up to 6 hours before baking, keep refrigerated. The baking time may increase by 10 to 15 minutes. Enjoy!

Best-Ever American Meat Loaf

Serves 10
Canola oil cooking spray for greasing the pan
Glaze
1/4 cup ketchup
1 tablespoon molasses
1 teaspoon seasoned rice vinegar
Meat Loaf
2 pounds lean ground beef (preferably chuck) or a meat loaf mix of pork, veal, and beef
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
2/3 cup thinly sliced scallions
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup chopped fresh dill
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 cup plain bread crumbs
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper or a couple drops of Tabsaco sauce
1/2 cup plain low-fat yogurt or whole milk

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a large baking pan with foil and lightly grease it.
  2. To make the glaze, mix all of the ingredients in a measuring cup or a small bowl; set aside.
  3. To make the meat loaf, combine all of the ingredients in a large bowl and mix with a fork or your hands (wet your hands first to reduce sticking) until well blended. (See cooking tip below for checking the seasoning of the meat loaf mixture before baking it.) Form the meat loaf mixture into a large ball and transfer it to the baking pan. Using your hands, mold it into an oval-shaped loaf approximately 10 inches long and 2-1/2 inches high. Using the back of a spoon, evenly “frost” the meat loaf with the glaze.
  4. Bake for 1 hour and 25 to 30 minutes, or until completely cooked: an instant-read thermometer should read 160 degrees F, and the juices should run clear when the center of the loaf is pierced with a knife or skewer. Remove the meat loaf from the oven and allow it to rest for 15 minutes before slicing. The meat loaf will keep refrigerated for 3 days.

Cooking Tip: To check the seasoning before baking, spray a small skillet with canola oil cooking spray and cook about 1 tablespoon of the meat loaf mixture until well done. Taste the cooked meat and adjust the seasoning in the remaining meat mixture if necessary.

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Delectable and Simple Teriyaki Salmon

Posted on March 27, 2011

Easy and intensely satisfying (healthy, too!). The other day at a lunch in honor or the Australian Ambassador to Malaysia, I served this teriyaki salmon alongside delicate yet meaty green tea soba noodles and crisp-tender Chinese broccoli in oyster sauce. The salmon recipe is adapted  from Blue Ginger: East Meets West Cooking with Ming Tsai by Ming Tsai and Arthur Boehm, a cookbook I’ve owned for many years and am now just beginning to peruse and cook from with delicious results.

Serves 4
1 cup soy sauce
Juice and zest of 2 oranges
3 tablespoons brown sugar
4 garlic cloves, peeled and left whole
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh ginger
1 tablespoon white sesame seeds
4 skinless salmon fillets (about 6 ounces each), preferably center cut for even thickness

  1. Combine the soy sauce, orange juice and zest, brown sugar, garlic, and ginger in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat and simmer until reduced by half or syrupy, about 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the sesame seeds. Allow to cool, then transfer the sauce to a baking dish, add the salmon, turn to coat, and marinate for 1 hour.
  2. To cook, preheat the broiler or prepare an outdoor grill. If using an outdoor grill, spray the grill with cooking spray. Grill or broil (I broiled my fish) the salmon over medium-high heat, turning it only once and cook for about 4 to 5 minutes on each side (the cooking time will depend on the thickness of the salmon…you can check doneness by gently separating the meat with the tip of a very sharp knife to see if it is cooked through). Baste the salmon as it cooks. Serve immediately.

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