Lemon basil bowtie pasta salad

I love this summer side dish. It's just right for a light lunch, or as an accompaniment to grilled chicken or fish.

Here's what you need:

1 box of bowtie pasta
1 bunch of baby asparagus
1 bag of frozen peas
@ a handful of sundried tomatoes (I used the ones NOT packed in oil)
@ a small handful of fresh basil, chopped
Juice of one large lemon or two small ones
@ two tablespoons of basil olive oil (if you can't find the infused oil, substitute plain olive oil)
salt/pepper to taste

Wash the asparagus and cut the ends; then grill until just tender. I did mine stovetop on the grill pan, drizzling with just a tiny bit of olive oil as they cooked.

Set aside to cool, then cut into inch long (or bite size) pieces.

You can either leave the peas to defrost on their own, or steam them quickly in the microwave. If you steam them, set them aside to cool. Chop the sundried tomatoes into bite size strips.

While you are preparing the vegetables, set a large pot of water to boil and cook the pasta according to package directions. When the pasta is ready, drain and drizzle with a bit of olive oil to prevent sticking.

Once all the ingredients have cooled to room temperature, toss the pasta and vegetables together in a large bowl. Add the lemon and basil oil, chopped fresh basil, salt and pepper to taste. A word on the lemon: be generous. If you feel like you can't taste the citrus, add more. It's the tang that gives this dish unique flavor.

Serve at room temperature, sprinkled with parmesan cheese.

Black bean salad

This one comes from a good friend—a simple summer side dish that we've been gobbling up for years. When I finally asked for the recipe, I was surprised to find how easy it is to prepare. This black bean salad goes great with just about anything you can throw on the grill, from hamburgers and hot dogs to chicken and steak.

Here's what you need:
2 cans of black beans, rinsed and drained (I used Goya brand)
2 ears of corn
1 small roma tomato, chopped
@ 1/4 of a red onion, finely chopped
@ 2-4 tablespoons fresh cilantro, finely chopped
salt/pepper to taste
Juice of 2 limes
@ a tablespoon of olive oil (optional)

In a large bowl, mix the corn kernels and the black beans.

Add the tomato and onion.

Give it a good stir.

Add the chopped cilantro (I admit to loving cilantro, so I used more rather than less...). Salt and pepper, to taste.

Toss with lime juice, and a bit of olive oil. A word about the dressing: the lime juice is key. You want to taste that fresh citrus when you take a bite. My friend adds a bit of oil when she makes it, but her mom doesn't. It works both ways.

I doubled this recipe for 10 people, and served it with burgers and a pasta salad. There was enough left over for my husband and I to have with our dinner the next night. Enjoy!

Tomato-basil panzanella

Here on this part of the East Coast, this weekend ushered in a burst of summertime weather typically more conducive to early August instead of early May.  It was downright HOT outside and I had zero interest in turning on the oven (or doing much cooking, truth be told).

I did, however, have a craving for one of my absolute favorite summertime dishes, a simple panzanella salad. That's a fancy way of saying "bread salad."  I could eat this as a meal and on Saturday night when everyone else in the family had leftover pizza, that's exactly what I did. 

My go-to-panzanella recipe comes from page 42 of Veggie Meals, by Rachael Ray. For Saturday's salad, I halved the ingredients since it was just me having the salad.  (The Husband and Boo sampled some of it.)  According to Rach, this serves 2 as a supper and 4 as a starter.



3 medium vine-ripe tomatoes, diced
20 leaves fresh basil, stacked, rolled into logs, then thinly sliced
1/2 pound fresh mozzarella, cubed into bite-size pieces (optional)
2 crusty, chewy rolls, cubed (day-old Italian is fine)
3 tbsps. extra-virgin olive oil (3 turns around the bowl)
1.5 tbsps red wine vinegar (a couple splashes)
coarse salt and black pepper, to taste

(My notes: on Thursday, I purchased some delicious breadsticks from the farmer's market.  They were already seasoned with basil and oregano, so I just added a little dried basil - didn't have fresh - to the salad.  The three breadsticks that I used were perfect, as they were the perfect amount of staleness for this.  I substituted some shredded mozzarella for the fresh.  Not quite the same, but in my book, any mozzarella is better than no mozzarella. Finally, I added in some diced cucumber.)

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl.  Let stand for 10 minutes to allow bread to absorb juices, then serve.

Seriously, could this be any easier? (No, it really couldn't.) Plus, it is especially delicious the next day, after the flavors have had time to blend overnight ... and you can make this in advance for any summertime get-togethers or when you need a simple dinner.

Savory spring salad

It's spring break. I haven't cooked in days because we were on break and traveling or having guests. When that happens, we eat out a lot, or we eat other people's food. But, a few days ago, I made one of my favorite salads.

I know. Salads aren't exciting, and probably most people reading this know how to make a damned salad. But this salad is for people who are sensory seekers, who want flavor to savor with their greens, people who can handle the almost overwhelming combination I'm about to present to you. And, like I noted, it's spring. A great time for salads.

Regardless of your salad attitude, I can tell you that this little baby will load you up with all the green leafy things, colorful crunchy things, fiber, flavor, and sabor you'd need for a good lunch or a "light"-ish dinner. This is good (green) stuff.

That means, of course, that you're gonna need some greens. I use an organic spring mix with baby spinach added in. Top this with shredded carrots and shredded broccoli slaw. I buy these in bags at the store...if you can't find that, then I guess you'd need to shred these yourself or add in larger chopped pieces of these items.

Get the tartest apple you can find. Small, brightly green Granny Smiths, nicely chilled, are my favorites for this. Slice it thin, as thinly as you can. I use an entire apple for this salad. Keeps the doctor away, I hear, and I could use that.

Green olives--saltilicious!--go great on this (to my sensory and salt-seeking palate, anyway). I used the sliced kind with pimentos. Adds a nice color and yet another flavor to the mix.

I'm a sucker for blue-veined cheeses. For this salad, I go for gorgonzola, but bleu cheese would do, as well. I lay out for really good cheese, and the flavor a truly tasty blue adds to something like this cannot be beat.

Finally, there's meat. My preferred addition here is smoked turkey breast, sliced (we get the nitrate-free variety). Bacon, microwaved to crisp, is also good if you don't have turkey. This salad has so much flavor and substance, though, that you can dispense with the additional animal protein altogether if that's not your thing.

For the dressing, I prefer balsamic vinaigrette (I go with Newman's Own) or Marie's Greek Vinaigrette. Adds even more zing to this already zingy combination. Like I said, I'm a flavor seeker. I often make my own dressings, but for this salad, either of these is a wonderful finish.

Chill it until you eat it. Then, sit down with your fork and dig in to the cold, crunchy, salty sabor that is this salad. Mmmmmm.

Guest post: Roast leg of lamb and spinach salad

I am Armenian. And you can't be Armenian without learning how to make a lamb roast. Of course, I suffer from the "I cannot cook as good as my mother" syndrome. No daughter of an Armenian mother ever feels that she measures up, however, I think I have come very close. When I first started cooking, I deliberately made dinners that wouldn't compete with my mother, such as chicken curry and tuna casserole. It was a cop out, but a start.

With that in mind, it's hard to believe that I ever had the courage to tackle a roast leg of lamb. Believe me, I have had my share of mishaps here—under cooked, over cooked and just plain tasteless. But I kept at it until I found the perfect formula. Dare I say, it's even better than my mother's?  

Roasting requires a bit of trial and error. You may have to make a dish several times, before hitting on the exact seasoning and cooking time. But if you follow my advice, I promise you a shortcut to success.

Ask your butcher to roll and tie a 4 pound leg of lamb. 

Then marinate it for four hours in: 

1/2 cup of olive oil

1 tablespoon ground coriander

1/2 tablespoon of paprika

1 teaspoon of salt

1/2 teaspoon of pepper

Here's an important tip: Do not ever use citrus in the marinade. It makes the meat tough. 

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Roast the lamb for 25 minutes, uncovered. Then lower the heat to 300 degrees and continue roasting for approximately an hour and a half (two hours total roasting time) or until a meat thermometer registers 155 degrees.

Let the meat rest for about 15 minutes before slicing. Ideally, lamb should be served on the rare side, but if you prefer your meat less pink, you can increase the cooking time. 

I served the lamb with a wonderful spinach salad. The recipe for the salad comes from my cousin's restaurant Charentsi 28 in the capital city of Yerevan, Armenia. I visited my family in Armenia last year, and loved the beautifully updated traditional dishes served at the restaurant.

To make the salad, you need:

1 bag of baby spinach (buy the pre-washed stuff)

1 bunch of beets (do not discard the leaves as they are going into the salad)

Portobello mushrooms (again, buy pre-sliced but rinse them)

1 cucumber, peeled and sliced 

1 red onion, sliced thin

Cut and wash the beet tops and mix with the spinach greens in a large bowl.

Boil the beets, until the skins come off easily (I then roast the beets until tender, but you could just boil them till they are tender.) Set aside to cool.

While the beets are cooking, saute the mushrooms in butter for about 4 minutes (add water to avoid burning if necessary). Drain most of the liquid. And set the mushrooms aside.

For the dressing (the most important part) you need:

1/3 cup olive oil

1/4 cup lemon juice

1 large clove garlic, crushed

about 1/2 tsp salt and a 1/4 tsp pepper (to taste)

Using a wire whisk, mix the dressing ingredients well and set aside until just before serving.

To assemble the salad, add the sliced onions and cucumbers to the bowl with the spinach and beet tops. Slice the cooled beets and add, along with the mushrooms to the greens. Pour the dressing on and mix well. Using lemon instead of vinegar in the dressing makes all the difference here. Enjoy!

*****

Now that Virginia has expanded her repertoire beyond chicken curry and tuna casserole, she is pursuing a wide range of culinary adventures both at home and abroad. She blogs at In The Heart of a Former Hippie and can be found studying cookbooks and travel brochures in her spare time.