Perfect Protein Salad

I've been sick all week. I haven't been this bed ridden from sickness for a long, long time. Many, many years. Anyway, in the course of 3 days I got super sick with a high fever, got a cold sore, and had a panic attack. I'm guessing there are some stressors in my life? I was lying here for like the third day this week, thinking what would be really perfect for me, and this salad came to mind.
I love this salad. The inspiration came from that salad from (insert your grocery store's name here). All delis make a version of this. But, my version was far superior:) It's fresh, crunchy, tasty, and makes me feel wonderful. My body loves protein. My body loves LOTS and LOTS of protein. In fact, I really don't function without LOTS and LOTS of protein. And we all know I love vegetables... so this salad is perfect for me.
It's very versatile. It's awesome because you can really use any vegetables you have on hand. I could really go for some broccoli up in here. I wouldn't leave out peppers or celery for their crunch, or onion for it's flavor (obviously). You can mix up the amounts to suit your tastes, but this suits mine. Also awesome is the fact that it makes a huge batch, and it lasts forever, so you can eat it alllll week, and possibly a few days into the next. You can eat it as a side dish with a lovely turkey sandwich on whole grain bread with whole grain mustard, for lunch tucked into a piece of pita bread, over some fresh lettuce or cabbage, or just in spoonfuls straight from the fridge for a protein boost mid-afternoon.

Perfect Protein Salad

So many servings.

2-3 cups cooked wheat berries

2 cups drained garbanzo beans

1-2 cups cottage cheese 

(1 cup cottage cheese, 1 cup feta cheese is great, too)

1 red onion, diced

3 stalks celery, diced

2-3 medium carrots, shredded

1 cucumber, diced

1 pepper, diced

 3-6 green onions, sliced

3 or so cloves of garlic

3 tablespoons raw, unfiltered apple cider vinegar with the mother

3-5 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, to taste

fresh parsley, chopped, to taste

1-2 teaspoons dried dill, to taste

1-2 teaspoons of your favorite mixed herb seasoning

2 teaspoons sea salt

1/2-1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Ok, I could add "to taste" after all of the ingredients. You get the picture.

While you cooked those wheat berries was a great time to prep all those vegetables ;) When you've magically done all of that, throw it all in a bowl.

Eat.

Errr... I can't leave it like that. I like to add the wheat berries to the vegetables, 'banzos, and cheese, then mix. Then I grate the garlic over the bowl with my microplane (this is really important). Then I add the vinegar, lemon juice, herbs, and seasonings. I taste it, and then I re-season accordingly. Don't OVER-season; keep in mind more flavor will develop after it has had time to hang out a bit. You can always re-season after the resting period.

It's best if you let all those lovely flavors meld together in the fridge for a few hours before consuming, or overnight if you can. Just put it in a huge tupperware, or several smaller ones, or better yet use your awesome pyrex mixing bowls to make it in, then pop the lid on.

Enjoy all week:)

Sesame Green Beans

Lately, I've really been into the recipes from the blog For the Love of Cooking. They're for the most part simple, straight forward, healthy and satisfying meals. I try a lot of recipes off of blogs, and from home cooks in general, because that's what I enjoy supporting. We made these sesame green beans the week before last, and then again last week. I love green beans--roasted, steamed, sauteed, you name it. These are addictive!

A few notes: The recipe calls for 1 lb of green beans for the amount of sauce. I had so much sauce left over. I mean, enough to coat two servings of rice and vegetables a few days later. So, if I were you, I'd make all the sauce, but reserve half of it for another meal. Or, if you're not into that, just cut the sauce recipe in half. Also, I choose to use haricot verts. Not just because they're French (ha... ha). They're thinner which means less cook time, longer which means more fun to eat, and they have a more complex flavor that I love. If you can't find haricot verts, any variety of green bean will do--look for ones that are as young and thin as possible, or just increase your cook time. I would not use canned green beans for this... The original recipe also calls for boiling them. I choose not to boil my vegetables. Also, sesame oil is expensive, but I think it's vital to this recipe - every ingredient usually is with an ingredient list this short. It's only expensive in American supermarkets--turn to your local Asian supermarket. I can buy about 8 ounces of sesame oil at QFC for $7-$12, or I can buy 56 ounces of sesame oil at H Mart for $19.99 :)

Sesame Green Beans

adapted from For the Love of Cooking

1 lb of green beans

2 tsp rice vinegar
2 1/2 tsp soy sauce (or to your liking)
1/2 tsp sesame oil

1-2 cloves freshly minced garlic (or to your liking)

Sea salt

Pepper

Sesame seeds to garnish

Trim your green beans. Line up the tough ends and just snip them off, leaving the long and pretty tails on the other end.

Fill a pot with 1-2 inches of water, place a steaming basket filled with green beans inside, and steam for about 4-5 minutes. Be very careful not to overcook them--not only does this result in a loss of flavor, but also a loss of important vitamins and nutrients.

Meanwhile, combine the vinegar, soy sauce, oil, and garlic. When your green beans are done (with a crunch, but not too raw, and definitely not even close to being soggy!), toss them in the bowl with the dressing. Season with sea salt (at first I wrote seal salt) and pepper to taste, and garnish with sesame seeds.

Serves 2 in my veggie-fanatic-green-bean-obsessed household, but probably 4 in any normal household.

Use that leftover sauce! Cook up some rice in chicken broth, and steam some carrots, green beans, and broccoli. Toss the veggies in the leftover sauce, serve over the rice, and pour any extra sauce over the rice. Top with sesame seeds. It's delicious for lunch.

Easy veggie recipe #1: Quick Garlic Butter Green Beans

In my effort to make vegetables more approachable, the theme of these recipes is going to be simply, easy to remember, without the need for much measuring. This is as easy as it gets, in my opinion, while still being amazingly tasty. Also, very easy to customize and add on to to create a different flavor, or a "fancier" dish.

Quick Garlic Butter Green Beans

A handful of green beans per person, I usually make this for two, so two handfuls, I also prefer haricot verts over american green beans (About 1/2 lb)
1 spoonful of butter
A couple rounds of the pan of olive oil (About 1 tablespoon)
1 spoonful of minced garlic (About 1 tablespoon)
Salt and pepper to taste

Place a saute pan over medium to medium high heat. Add the butter and oil. Heat until rippling. Reduce heat to medium, add the garlic and the green beans. Stir to coat. Saute openly for 3-4 minutes, then cover. Let cook another 2 minutes or so, stir and check for doneness. I like my vegetables very crisp-tender, so I'm usually done at this point, or another minute or two. But, you can cover for another two minutes, then check again for softer green beans. Or if you are using thicker ones. After the first time, you'll be a better judge of how long you need to cook them.

Sometimes I openly saute without covering, and let them get a little blackened. Other times, when using thicker green beans, I steam them for a couple minutes, blanch them to retain their bright color, then add to some garlic sauteeing in butter just to reheat and serve.

Sometimes I cook some chopped bacon first, then take out the bacon, add the garlic and green beans, and serve with the bacon over the top. Nuts are a lovely addition, as are herbs. Bacon and hazelnuts would be delicious. Pepitas would be fantastic. We've done pearl onions with them. I'm doing bacon, caramelized shallots, and pepitas with them for Thanksgiving. Whatever you want!

For a fancy presentation of simple green beans, try cooking the green beans in garlic butter until very crisp tender, and setting aside. Cook bacon until cooked through but not crisp. Wrap 4-5 green beans in a slice of bacon, secure with a toothpick, and bake for about 10 minutes to crisp up the bacon, and finish off the green beans. Take out the toothpick, and serve! Looks amazing, but is suuuuper easy.

On a side note, I'm a very precise and logical person. Not measuring things for recipes I'm sharing is totally out of my comfort zone. But, when I cook my simple veggie side dishes, I never measure, so I'm not sure why I feel the need to do so for the recipes I share.

I hope you enjoy. Although, how could you not... I mean, come on, garlic and butter!? You can throw that on anything...