Mediterranean Salad and Brown Rice

This Mediterranean Salad is a classic horiatiki/Greek salad gone wild.....Greek feta cheese, tomatoes, cucumber, red or gold bell peppers, Italian parsley, red onion, and Kalamata* olives from your favorite small producer are supplemented with carrots, purple cabbage, asparagus, mushrooms, avocado, romaine. and fresh flat leaf parsley, basil, and oregano ...most any vegetable can be added, this is what was on hand for this particular Mediterranean Salad.





Red onions and mushrooms may be marinated for an hour to mellow the onion.

To 3TB of Red Wine vinegar add 1tsp of honey, 1 tsp of dried oregano, 2 TB chopped fresh oregano, 1 minced clove of garlic, and 2 TB olive oil....add 3-4 sliced crimini mushrooms, and 1/4 thinly sliced red onion....allow to rest for one hour.
The marinade will be used as the dressing, and added to the final salad

Slice or chop tomatoes, cucumber, and vegetables available, toss with marinaded onions and mushrooms,
crumble in 2 oz of feta cheese, toss, and drizzle with marinade.

Serve with warm brown rice, pita bread or your favorite baguette

Salads are the time to be creative, go a little wild with your ingredient selection! No two salads should ever be exactly the same....
Just be sure to taste as you go along


From WebMD.com:
Slideshow: Top Cancer-Fighting Foods

Serving Suggestions for the Roasted Veggies in the Fridge

serve with brown rice. shown: curry roasted cauliflower and ginger carrots

And the perfect use of all those yummy farmers market veggies broiled and roasted a few days ago..brushed with a little Balsamic vinegar and olive oil, placed under the broiler with a slice of provolone and served on a grilled La Boulangerie baguette

La Boulangerie's  excellent breads are available at the Friday farmers market at the Bank of America Plaza in downtown Los Angeles

Om Winter Raw Greens Mix

Seasonal greens, fresh dill, mint, flat leaf parsley, shaved walnuts, kidney beans, shredded red cabbage, shaved purple, orange, and gold carrots, marinated mushrooms and chopped purple onion, ....

A splash of olive oil, sea salt, and a generous splash of 30yr Sherry Vinegar.

delicious as a salad, or mix with warm brown rice or other grain for a complete meal. Top with grilled fish for a wilted green salad, and sophisticated presentation. Winter Raw Green mix is also a great bread or toast topping, add a little babaganoush or hummus and yumm!... 

Cali Buddha Winter Dinner

Crimini mushrooms tossed in rosemary, thyme, garlic and a splash of olive oil...broil 5-7 minutes.

Broiled, herbed mushrooms have a special connection with brown rice, and you need little else for a delicious dinner.  A few shavings of Parmesan may be added, and a tiny splash of Balsamic vinigar for something extra special.

Short grain brown rice simply steamed. Bring 4 cups of cold water to a boil, add a dash of sea salt and 2 cups brown rice, return to a boil, cover and reduce heat to low simmer, cook 40 minutes, and no matter how tempted you may be, DO NOT remove the lid before 40 minutes, after 40min. remove from heat and let rest 5 minutes...and it will be perfection

Baby Bamboo...asparagus is at its best simply steamed, and this can be done in the microwave in 40 seconds, the microwave works remarkebly well for vegetables and even fish, but make sure you use absolutely no plastic, ever, in the microwave, only glass. A squeeze of meyer lemon makes it complete

Purple carrots poached in fresh ginger spiked orange juice. May be poached on the stove top or the microwave. Don't over cook, they should have a nice crunch, and yes, orange or gold carrots work equally well, as do beets. 

Angou Pear, walnut, winter lettuce such as Mizuna, dried cherry, red wine vinegar macerated red onion, and Roquefort cheese combine for a heavenly salad that loves to be with brown rice

Healthy, One Pot Lusciousness

 

So easy! Brown rice, short grain is best for this dish, assorted vegetables, fresh herbs, a few small pieces of fish, and a 2 quart saucepan with a lid.  Bring 2 cups of water to a boil, add one cup of brown rice, return to a boil, add root veggies, reduce heat to a simmer and cover with lid, simmer aprox 35 minutes. ...DO NOT REMOVE LID BEFORE 35 MIN*...Turn off heat, add fish, fast cooking veggies, tofu if you have it, and fresh herbs, cover, and let stand 15 minutes-with no heat...

  serve with a splash of soy sauce and a few drops of sesame oil, or a drizzle of olive oil.

As shown with cilantro, mushrooms, eggplant, green beans, carrots, and cilantro. The above dish was prepared with a cutting board, sharp knife, and a single burner hot plate in an artist studio with no kitchen.  Ingredient cost was $6.00 using sushi grade fish, and a hand full of veggies from a local Korean market.

*The secret to steamed rice is very simple, after bringing rice and water to a boil, cover and reduce heat to low, and Do Not Remove the Lid. That's it, just that easy.