Curried Barley Veggie Salad

A hot summer afternoon, do not feel like turning on the stove, yet craving for a hearty lunch…..I bet many of you feel the same way sometimes.  Well, today was definitely one of those lazy days.  I knew I had a cup of cooked barley and some veggies.  Barley, two little eggplants, one red bell pepper, some scallions, cilantro, fresh garlic and ginger….I knew I could come up with lunch, but yes, the stove must be turned on.  And, this is how the colorful barley salad became lunch with leftovers for another day!I find it easier to write an unscripted recipe, because that is how I cook most of the time.  A little of this, a pinch of that, some broth, etc. etc.  Here I chopped some scallions and tossed into a hot pan with olive oil, followed by minced ginger and garlic.  A couple of minutes later in went the diced red bell pepper followed by the diced eggplant.  Sprinkled some salt and red pepper flakes.  When the veggies were softened, I added some curry powder and gave it all a good stir.  I let the curry do its magic and when the aroma had wafted all over the kitchen, added the cooked barley and heated it through.Garnished the salad with some chopped cilantro and toasted cashews.  It was delicious at room temperature. The cashews were an afterthought — but absolutely worth it.

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Pasta Salad With Asparagus

I’m not a big fan of creamy pasta salads – in fact, pasta salads are something I rarely make.  However, pasta salads save me a lot of trouble when I haven’t really planned on something to take over to a friend’s summer barbecue, or as in this case, for a barbecue in my backyard.  Some time ago I posted another pasta salad recipe using tiny bow-tie pasta and everyone seemed to love it.

Last weekend, NYC had some gorgeous weather and a few friends decided to drop by.  Hmmm….I was looking for inspiration on what to dish up with stuff from the pantry and fridge. I didn’t spend a lot of time deciding on two salads, a chickpea salad and a pasta salad, and of course, some chicken on the grill.  Some fresh corn and peppers found place on the grill too.  My favorite, the pasta salad with the tiniest little pasta, cute little stars.  I’ve no idea what it is called, but recollect buying it because it was so pretty.

A bunch of fresh asparagus went in along with onions, fresh garlic, parsley, and red pepper flakes.  Finished it off with a drizzle of freshly squeezed lemon juice and extra virgin olive oil.  No cheese or mayo.  Sounds weird, doesn’t it?  But believe me, there were no leftovers and the pasta remaining in the bag was grabbed up by a friend for her barbecue the next day (now I have to go find some more of this cute pasta!)

You don’t need a recipe for this, do you?  Just in case you need it, here is what I did.  Boiled a huge pot of water, added salt, and the pasta. The pasta was done in about 5 minutes.  In another pan, heated some olive oil and tossed in finely diced onions, sliced garlic, parsley, and chopped asparagus. I cut the asparagus diagonally into tiny bits to match the size of the pasta.  A huge pinch of red pepper flakes (I know, it is not used in traditional pasta salads), but I’ve rarely done anything traditionally. Tossed the warm pasta right in with a couple of tablespoons of pasta water.  Easy and simple, yet delicious.  I hope you try it out.

 

Chorizo-potato stuffed sweet mini peppers

You can do a lot with a bag of colorful sweet mini peppers, isn’t it? Stuff them with anything you like – browsing for ideas I came across sweet cream cheese stuffed peppers too!  Who knew?  Well, I wasn’t going with anything sweet, nor was I in a mood to spend too much time in the kitchen as today is a beautiful sunny day in NYC.  So, I decided to just 3 main ingredients – chorizo, potatoes, and parsley – that’s it.  Since the chorizo was salty enough, I skipped salt altogether but sprinkled some freshly ground black pepper on the potatoes and mashed them.

Are you tempted to bite into one of these tiny parcels of chorizo-potato…..these are addictive and delicious.  Sometimes simple everyday pantry items can transform a recipe, and this one is a keeper.  The pictures below tell you what I used and what I did – no recipe measurements.

One bag of sweet mini peppers….

Two links of diced chorizo, one large potato (mashed), and a whole lot of fresh parsely….

Stuffed and ready for the oven….

On to the foil-lined baking sheet with a healthy drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil….

Roasted for 20-25 minutes in a 400-degree oven….

Pick any one you like and dig in….Perfect as an appetizer or side or whatever you want to call it.  Vegetarians and vegans can substitute tempeh or firm tofu for the chorizo and add any other seasonings of your choice.

 

 

Special Photo Challenge: Inspiration

A Special Photo Challenge this week is about Inspiration and what inspires you to blog? It says “We blog because there are people, places, things, and ideas that we care about so much we can’t help but tell the world about them.”  True.  I started this blog to write about healthcare issues as the name of the blog suggests. Somewhere along the way I posted a few recipes because I’m so passionate about food, and found that it attracted more traffic than my healthcare posts.  And, now I blog mainly to post photographs of colorful recipes, places, and things that draw my attention.  Here is the inspiration for me to write about food and recipes….my recipe appeared in a food magazine recently, and you can read about it in my earlier post. I’m humbled but also encouraged and inspired to do more of what I love to do – cook, take pictures, and blog about it.

I am passionate about all things food and cooking, which means I have to start a new blog or change the name of this blog. Until then, I’ll keep blogging about food and photography.

 

A “Fine Cooking” achievement!

I couldn’t come up with a suitable title for this post – should I go about saying that I’m featured in the Fine Cooking magazine.  My recipe made it to the magazine.  You might recognize this magazine if you love to cook and buy or subscribe to some cooking magazine (s). I don’t subscribe to Fine Cooking – and this is not an advertisement for the publishers – I’m not getting any rewards or prizes for posting this here, but received a complimentary copy of this issue, and you bet that I’m holding on to that for a long time to come 🙂

This issue of Fine Cooking is special.  Yes, the editors did think I was passionate about cooking and very graciously chose my recipe for the December 2012/January 2013 issue.  Was it some fancy recipe that required a trip to the grocery store for ingredients?  No, in fact you’ll be surprised (if you get to the bottom of this post) that most of the ingredients might be in your pantry right now.  I say that because Thanksgiving is just days away and Sweet Potatoes – the star of the recipe – might be in many kitchens already waiting to be whipped up in casseroles and pies, breads and more.

So, I guess the picture tells you what I dished up – Sweet Potato Curry.   Curry?  Not a favorite for Thanksgiving I guess, but for those people who are always looking for a tweak on some recipe – here is a very simple and easy recipe. If you are a vegetarian, use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth. If you like your curry spicy, use more than a pinch of cayenne or chili powder. You could add cubed potatoes to the mix or any other vegetable – but for me this is divine. The color is so vibrant, it just looks so gorgeous and tempting, and can be used with rice, couscous, or with flatbread or pita bread. The sauce is delicious and perfect for dipping a piece of bread. It would also be delicious with idlis and dosas.

Here is the rest of the story….