Greek pasta salad

When I get in a cooking slump, it usually means I need to turn to my several recipe stocks: this blog, my cookbooks, recipes that I bookmark, and recipes that I pin on Pinterest. While I don't post everything on Pinterest, it's a great way to visualize things I've made and would like to make, all in one place.

I found this recipe via Pinterest, and it turned out great. Ignore that the picture on the original website is so pretty, and mine looks like standard potluck fare. Well, actually, this would be good for a potluck!

I followed the recipe pretty exactly, only using whole wheat pasta instead. I would recommend halving the amounts of oil and vinegar, then adding more to taste. Some white beans would've been a good addition, for extra protein.

This meal had only minor prep-work (chopping, mostly) and cooking (only the pasta), and lasted in my fridge for about 3-4 days.

Panzanella

Not to sound like a Martha Stuart wannabe (thought I might secretly be), but I literally threw this salad together on my way to my weekly ladies breakfast club. I hadn't planned what to bring, so as soon as I woke up I started scrounging the few extra foods that I had leftover. I had a large tomato that I knew I should use, some red onion, and frozen chunks of bread that I had previously stashed for an unknown future. It turns out you can make a pretty good panzanella from these ingredients! And, luckily, the lady who was hosting the breakfast has an overabundance of basil in her backyard.

I followed this recipe from Ina Garten, substituting my less-fancy mustard and red wine vinegar for the original ingredients. I also didn't have any of the other vegetables, although that would've been good.

I'm glad I got a chance to make this salad, as I've wanted to for a while, but it's not something that you can keep leftover. Maybe for a future party!

Tofu stir fry with bell peppers and green beans

I wanted to try out a new marinade this week and I'm still breaking in my new ceramic pans, so a stir fry seemed like the right thing to do (my roommate just moved out; left me lots of food goodies). There are many different ways to cook tofu, but today I tried making it the way it is often served in restaurants; dry-fried, then marinated.

So I cooked the tofu first, in two batches and with minimal oil. Then I set it aside to marinate in the peanut sauce (which you could make yourself, and it would probably taste just as good if not better). While the tofu was marinating, I stir-fried 1 sliced onion, about 1 (maybe more?) thinly sliced red bell pepper, garlic, ginger, and green beans (added in that order). Then, when everything was just about cooked, I added the tofu and a bit more of the marinade.

Meanwhile, I cooked up some jasmine rice. I think some basil added to the stir fry would've been a good topping, but this was good as is!

Fruit salad

I don't eat very much fruit... it's just a lifestyle choice, I guess! But I made some sangria this week, and ended up with a lot of leftover fruit. So I threw it together in a salad, added a splash of lemon juice, and a sprinkling of cinnamon and nutmeg.

The ingredients were: half a container strawberries, 1 nectarine, 1 green apple, and 1 orange. I made the sangria from those same amounts, combining with about 3 liters white wine, 1 liter sparkling peach-flavored water, and 1/2 cup simple syrup.

Quinoa salad

The other day I thought that quinoa and golden raisins might be a good combinations. After some quick Googling, I borrowed a recipe from this site. I ended up making what I would call quinoa tabouli, because it had the same taste as traditional tabouli.

I used most of the same ingredients as the original recipe, but substituting zucchini for cucumber, lemon juice for lime juice, olive oil for sesame oil (although sesame would have been good), and no cumin, no mint, no radish. I also added chunks of local feta cheese.

I cooked together only 1 cup of quinoa and 2 cups water with the raisins. This created about 4-5 servings of salad in the end. This dish was great because it stayed fresh in the fridge for quite a few days, and I didn't get tired of it!

Spicy and gingery soba noodle salad

I based this salad off of something my friend got at a sushi restaurant. Sometimes it is rewarding to stray from usual menu items!

I cooked some soba noodles and a combination of frozen edamame, corn, and peas in boiling water, then let them all cool. I then tossed everything in a combination of Sriracha and ginger-sesame salad dressing. I added a good deal of shredded ginger, and a little bit of rice vinegar. I then added some finely chopped radishes.

Upon serving, I added chopped spinach, tomatoes, and Sriracha peas (so addictive!). Next time I would use more noodles-- this made three servings, but the amounts are all easily adjusted.