ethnic bean salad

Dunno where I scribbled down this recipe from, so if it is yours, please leave me a comment and I will adjust my post to link back and credit you.

Dressing:
1/2 cup EVOO
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
3 tablespoons lime juice
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon salt
1/2 tablespoon pepper
1 clove garlic
1/2 tablespoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
sriracha sauce

1 can of garbanzo beans, rinsed
a nice handful of edamame, cooked and shelled
half a red bell pepper, diced
handful of cilantro

NOTES: I hadn't scribbled down any amounts for the beans or cilantro, so I am noting what I used. Also, I cut the dressing in half. I didn't have red wine vinegar and used white wine vinegar instead. I grated the garlic and put in 1/2 teaspoon of sriracha.

The recipe didn't call for the edamame or red bell pepper, I just threw it in for color.

I like the flavors of this salad, a little tart, sweet and a little spicy. The taste was similar to the Fragrant Tuna and Chickpea Salad that I often make.

Next time, I would add more bean varieties, a little diced onion and maybe even a can of corn.

I'm making this again.

ideas

Got this idea from Pinterest, but I ran into a couple of problems...

My bell pepper was too small and my eggs too big...

I flipped them over to make the eggs, over easy.

Still this was good with a toasted bagel.

Another idea I got from Pinterest, was for oatmeal.

I tried the peanut butter and jelly version...my peanut butter is the natural type so it isn't sweet and the jelly I used was my favorite, guava, the combo was kinda funky...I think I may stick to my original way, just adding dried fruits.

kabocha & roasted red bell pepper soup

I recently threw together this soup with some veggies I had in the fridge.

Kabocha & roasted red bell pepper soup: (5) 1/2 cup servings

Cook:*
1/4 kabocha (pumpkin), peeled & de-seeded
water

Roast:**
2 medium sized red bell peppers, roasted, skins removed
1 tablespoon olive oil

Soup:***
1/4 onion, roughly chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 chicken consomme cube
3 cups water
pinch of dried thyme
salt
pepper

*Scrape the seeds away.
Cut the pumpkin and place in a pot with water
Cook for 15 minutes.
Cut away the peel, set aside.

**In a 220C (425F) oven roast bell peppers with 1 tablespoon olive oil for 40 minutes.
When cool, peel skins off of bell peppers and remove seeds.

***In a pot, add onions and 1 tablespoon olive oil
Saute until onions are transparent.

Add water and consomme cube, thyme, salt and pepper.
Return pumpkin and red bell pepper to the pot.

Cook on medium until pumpkin is tender.
Turn off heat and whiz with hand-held blender until smooth.

Serve with crusty baguette.

NOTES: This was creamy and delicious, not to mention easy and fast. I hope to make more soups with the upcoming cold weather.

UPDATE: I'm sending this soup to Deb's Souper Sundays.

roasted garlic and red pepper dip

I had some cloves of garlic sitting out and wanted to use them up, so I roasted them with a red bell pepper and made a simple dip out of them.

3 cloves of garlic, unpeeled
1 red bell pepper, washed
1/2 tablespoon EVOO

72 grams of cream cheese (about 2.5 ounces)
grinds of pepper (to your liking)
handful of Italian parsley, chopped, leaves only

Heat oven to 220C (425F)
Drizzle oil over garlic
Roast red bell pepper and garlic for 40 minutes.

Peel skin off of red bell pepper and take out seeds.
Peel garlic

Throw both into a food processor, whiz until a paste
Add in cream cheese, pepper & parsley

Whiz until you get the consistency that you want.

Eat with pretzels or bread.

Enjoy!

NOTES: too bad I had a dentist appointment Monday morning, this would have been perfect to munch on while watching the Super Bowl.

I want to try these two ingredients with garbanzos for a roasted red pepper hummus, I think it will taste like a pre-made hummus I used to buy in Hawaii...

p.s. today is Kenkoku Kinen no Hi (National Foundation Day), the day when the first Emperor, Jimmu, ascended the throne. It is a national holiday, hopefully the weather will be cooperative so we can get out and about, it has been raining here for the past couple of days.

tandoori chicken and couscous

The weather has been getting cooler. Some days are beautiful and sunny while others are kind of gloomy and rainy.

I think Autumn is almost here. At the market, they have started bringing in the chestnuts and pears.

Not sure why I was craving tandoori chicken, but I was.

The last time I made this, there was a slight "problem" in the kitchen.

This time around everything went okay, except that my lack of counter space made for balancing things here and there.

I bought chicken breasts with the skins on this time and marinated them lunch. (since they should marinate for about 4 hours)

The market had an awesome sale on chicken, 48 yen for 100 grams, so I only paid 172 yen (about US$1.72) for 358 grams.

Then at about 15:00 (snack time), I flipped them over in the marinade.

Previously, the pieces I had were smaller with no skin, so I cooked them for only 10 minutes then under the broiler for 17.

Since the pieces I had this time had the skin on them and were thicker, I put them into a 350F (180C) oven (skin side up) for 30 minutes then under the broiler for about 5 minutes.

The skin came out so crisp (of course I had to eat the one I had for dinner!), the meat was very moist.

I also made some carrot salad and couscous with dried fig, cranberries, apricots and nuts (pine nuts, pecan & cashew). I also roasted some red bell pepper and onion. Since I had some cucumber to use up, I cut it up and added it to the plate.

Not the most aesthetic plate, overall it was kind of labor intensive, it was a tasty dinner, which made it all worth it, plus we have leftovers so I don't have to cook tomorrow.

roasted stuffed peppers

The other night I wanted to make something easy for dinner. I had looked online for a roasted stuffed bell pepper recipe, but most were kinda time consuming (roasting the peppers then stuffing them, then putting them back under the broiler).

So instead, I threw several ingredients together raw, stuffed some red bell peppers and roasted them in a 350F (180C) oven for about 40 minutes.

Of course when I threw things together, I came out with more filling than needed.

So, I cooked the rest of the filling on the stove and served it on the side of the roasted peppers.

Here is what I put into my filling:
2 small chicken breasts, cut into small cubes
part of a zucchini, small dice
part of a carrot, small dice
part of an onion, small dice
some leftover cooked rice (about a handful)
some leftover iberico cheese (about a handful grated)
1 eringi mushroom, cut into small cubes
1 tablespoon EVOO
1/4 teaspoon herb de provence

Bake at 350F (180C) for about 40 minutes.

I also had forgotten to add the asparagus I had, so I chopped it up, cooked it on the stove and added it to the remaining filling.

Be careful when you cut the roasted bell peppers open to eat, all the juices from the chicken, and veggies will gush out.

It was delicious, simply seasoned--lots of veggies, some rice, some chicken and not too much work.