The ‘I Need Healthy In My Life’ Grain Salad

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This light & cleansing dish will set you back on track

The ‘I Need Healthy In My Life’ Grain Salad

This is a great good-for-what-ails-you one bowl dinner, perfect to get yourself back on track after a weekend of decadence.

Adapted from Radish and Pecan Grain Salad from Food 52

2c. mixed cooked farro, pearl barley and brown rice
1c. arugula
1c. parsley
1/2 c. fresh tarragon
1/2 lb. pecans, toasted and chopped
1/4 c. walnut oil
1/4 c. tarragon vinegar
1 c. radishes, sliced wafer thin
1/4 c. shallot, minced
1/4 c. olive oil

Set a large pot of salted water on to boil while you prepare the salad.

While the water is coming up to a boil or while the grains are cooking, mince the parsley, tarragon and shallot. Slice your radishes wafer thin.

When the water has come up to a boil, add the farro, pearl barley and brown rice. Cook until tender, 30 – 45 mins. If you’re worried about everything not cooking at the same time, cook big batches of each separately and freeze the leftovers in zipper bags for a quick weeknight meal base.

When the grains are done to your liking, drain into a colander and set aside to cool.

While the grains are cooling a bit, place your pecans into a dry pan over medium-high heat. Toast until fragrant and beginning to color. Remove from the heat and chop.

Add the rest of the ingredients to the bowl of grains, toss, season to taste with salt & pepper and serve.

Serves 2 for dinner with enough leftover for lunch.

October 28, 2011

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This is the last sneak peek, promise 🙂

October 27, 2011

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Yet another sneak peek of the behind-the sofa area for my DH. Is that another skull I see?

October 26, 2011

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Aah! Heads!

October 25, 2011

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Sneak peek #3 of the newly (almost) finished behind-the-sofa area for my out of town DH.

You know Im totally not posting any useful pictures of it, right? 🙂

October 24, 2011

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Another tease.

October 23, 2011

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Sneak peek of the new behind the sofa area 🙂

October 22, 2011

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Aventura skylight
br /br /a href=https://gastography.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/20111022-195049.jpgimg src=https://gastography.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/20111022-195049.jpg alt=20111022-195049.jpg class=alignnone size-full //a

Faker Pot Roast

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Beefy, Satisfying Goodness

This recipe takes leftovers from a pretty good dinner and transforms them into satisfying comfort food that won’t break the calorie bank.

Dinner 1: Slow-Cooker Chipotle Beef Tacos with Cabbage and Radish Slaw from Real Simple Magazine

This dinner was pretty good. The beef smelled great, but came out somehow lacking in the spice and smoke department. Don’t get me wrong, this beef was good — juicy, perfectly tender and all around a nice main component — it just wasn’t the ballsy spicy richness I half hoped it would be. It tasted more like a pot roast.

Which got me thinking….

Dinner 2: Faker Pot Roast

Mmmm…. pot roast. Pot roast is one of those dishes that picks you up, gives you a nice snuggly blanket, a soft place to sit and a nice book to read. Pot roast tucks you in. I remember as a kid opening the door to the house on cold winter nights and being buffeted by the wall of warm beefy goodness only pot roast that’s cooked all day in the Crock Pot can provide. Good times.

I wasn’t feeling making another haunch o’beast, so I decided to do the next best thing. I winged it with ingredients I had on hand.

Faker Pot Roast

This spin on pot roast transforms humble leftovers into a deeply satisfying super quick to throw together weeknight meal.

Leftover slow cooker chipotle beef, approximately 1 1/2 cup.
1 c beef broth
1/4 c. red wine
1 1/2 c. carrots, sliced into 1/4 inch thick coins
1 leek, halved lengthwise and sliced into 1/4 inch thick moons
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1/2 lb. egg noodles
1/4 c. chopped parsley
1 Tbsp. butter

Warm 1 Tbsp. olive oil in a large high-sided pan over medium heat. Once the oil is up to temperature, add the leeks, onions, carrots, wine and broth. Sautee 5 mins.

Put a large pot of salted water on to boil. Once the water is boiling, add the egg noodles. Cook to al dente according to package directions

Continue cooking veggies 10 minutes, or until the carrots are soft. If at any time things look too dry, add additional wine and/or stock.

About 2 minutes before cooking is finished, add the leftover beef. Stir to combine until the beef is warmed through. Add the noodles and toss to combine. Remove from the heat. Add the butter and parsley and stir to combine until the butter has melted.

Serves 2

October 21, 2011

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Lighting @ GiGi in Midtown. We ate there for the first time in a long time this evening, and were pleasantly surprised. The menu seems to have taken a turn for the better with bolder flavors and more interesting dishes.