Food Matters Project #39: Bulgur Wheat Mango Salad with Avocado

Remember last week how I talked about how awesome salads are?  Well, this week we have another one!  I’m hoping all of you will be trying out some of these soon!

Another Monday brings a new Food Matter Project post!  This weeks host is Jessica, of Cheese Please.  She chose Mark Bittman’s Chickpea Salad with Mango Chutney.  Also, check out what other FMP participants posted here.

I actually made this recipe last week, I needed a salad that was filling and healthy to prepare for the Nashville Rock ‘n Roll Half Marathon.  I’m putting together a post about my trip to Nashville- so be on the lookout for some delicious food photos.  Until then, make this salad and enjoy it!  This is perfect for the spring, as the weather begins to warm up.  I found myself eating this out on our porch, sitting in our new chairs, and sipping a glass of wine.  Relaxing!

Bulgur Wheat Mango Salad with Avocado
Adapted form: The Food Matters Cookbook (pg 174)

This salad would also be great in mid- to late-summer when peaches are in season, just swap two of them for a mango.

1/2 cup uncooked bulgur wheat
2 cups cooked or canned chickpeas
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 small onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
1 mango, chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
juice of 1 lime
pinch of salt
pinch of pepper
1 avocado, sliced

Cook bulgur wheat according to package directions.

In a large bowl, mix together the cooked bulgur wheat, chickpeas, garlic, onion, cilantro, mango, olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper.  Serve with the avocado on the side, or in the salad.

Book Club: Cantaloupe Agua Fresca

I hosted my Book Club at our house last week, there were 8 of us here to talk about The Corrections, and catch up on what’s going on in our lives.  Check out what else was on the Book Club menu!

Today we have another birthday celebration!  Sam’s turning another year older!

Happy Birthday Sam!!!

Sometimes our book club turns into a wine club.  Everyone brings a bottle of wine, and it’s fun to taste-test and find one that each of us enjoys!  But within the next year, our book club will be getting two new members- 2 babies!  Since all of us need a fun drink, I decided to make something tasty and non-alcoholic for the mamas-to-be!

This is also great if you mix it with a little champagne, prosecco or white wine.  It can be a great drink with dinner, or something you can enjoy for an outdoor lunch!

Cantaloupe Agua Fresca
Adapted from: Bon Appetit (June 2012)

2 cantaloupes
3/4 cup lemon juice
4 cups of water
1/2 cup basil leaves

Peel and chop the cantaloupes, removing the seeds.  Then purée them in a food processor or a blender.  Strain the purée into a bowl through a cheesecloth or fine-mesh sieve.  Then add in the lemon juice, water and basil; stir well.

Pour into a pitcher and refrigerate before serving.

Food Matters Project #8: Vegetable Coq au Vin

Another Food Matters Project post, but this recipe was chosen by us- and I was so excited! We chose this recipe since we liked how Mark Bittman took a different take on it. He suggested swapping out some of the chicken for vegetables, such as eggplant and green beans. And just like every recipe from The Food Matters Cookbook, it is delicious!  Check out everyone dishes here.

For a supper club last winter we had made coq au vin (it’s French for “rooster with wine”). It’s a rustic French recipe which calls for braising chicken with wine, mushrooms and some pork fat. The recipe which we tried was from Barefoot Contessa, and everyone cleaned their plates!

So when I was browsing The Food Matters Cookbook, I couldn’t help and notice that Mark Bittman suggested a healthier version of this dish, with the addition of more vegetables. I didn’t need to look any further, and reserved this recipe for us.

Vegetable Coq au Vin
Adapted from: The Food Matters Cookbook (page 466)

When making this dish, I added even more eggplant and green beans than the recipe called for, while decreasing the amount of chicken. The eggplant melts into the sauce, so serve this dish with a baguette! I also didn’t use as much salt or pepper, but feel free to adjust it to your taste buds. Another addition that I’d make in the future, is to add carrots- about 3-4 chopped in pieces- and add it in at the same time as the other vegetables. By making this one day in advance, the flavors mature and sink in. You can also serve it over noodles or potatoes.

2 medium eggplants
3 tbsp salt
4-6 strips of bacon, chopped
5 chicken drumsticks, bone-in & with skin
3 tbsp olive oil
4 large shallots, chopped
3/4 lb shiitake mushrooms, roughly chopped
10 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups chicken stock (preferable homemade)
2 cups fruity red wine (I used pinot noir)
3 bay leaves
1 lb green beans, ends trimmed
1 tbsp fresh thyme, chopped
2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
1 tbsp salted butter
1 tsp pepper

Cut the eggplant into disks, and sprinkle each disk, on each side, with salt. Allow the eggplant to rest for 20 minutes on a cutting board covered with paper towels. Then cut the eggplant disks into smaller pieces (into quarters or eighths).

In a Dutch oven or large pot, add in the bacon and cook it over medium-high heat. Stir occasionally until the bacon gives up its fat and becomes crisp. This should take about 5 to 10 minutes. Then remove the bacon from the pot, and set it aside. With the pot over the burners, add the chicken. Allow it to cook, turning and rotating as necessary. Once all sides are browned, then remove the chicken from the pan.

Add in some olive oil, shallots, eggplant and mushrooms. Cook the vegetables, stirring occasionally, until they being to turn brown (about 15 minutes). After about 5 minutes, stir in the garlic.

Then add the stock, wine, bay leaves, green beans and herbs. At this time, return the chicken and bacon into the pot. Bring the liquid to a boil, then lower the temperature and allow it to cook for about 20 minutes. The chicken should be cooked through at this point, if not, cook for another 5-10 minutes.

Next, remove the chicken from the pan and add butter to the liquid. Allow it to cook until it is reduced by half, and becomes saucy and thick. Sprinkle in pepper, or any additional salt.

If you’re making this dish ahead, refrigerate it at this point. If you’ll be eating it soon (or when you’re reheating), then add the chicken back into the pot and allow to warm up for about 5 minutes. Remove the bay leaves. When serving, garnish the dish with parsley.

European Food Adventures- Vienna

The second portion of our trip included Vienna (we first visited Poland).  This was the first time either of us had been there, and we really enjoyed it!

Vienna, Austria

One of the well known Viennese specialties is Sacher Torte.  It is a chocolate cake invented by Franz Sacher (an Austrian-Jewish confectioner) in 1832.

Fun Fact #2: Prince Metternich wanted a special dessert from his personal chef, but the chef was sick.  Therefore, his 16-year old apprentice, Franz Sacher, took on the task.  The torte was created for a special occasion, and all of the guests enjoyed it.  Sacher ended up opening his own specialty delicatessen and winery after finishing his training.  Then his son, Eduard, continued the family legacy and perfected his father’s recipe.  The torte was first served at the Demel, and then at the Hotel Sacher, which he established in 1876.  The cake continues to be one of Vienna’s famous culinary specialties.

We might have had our dessert before dinner that day!  =)

Sam and I both really love mushrooms.  I know there are many of you out there that do not like them, but I find them delicious!  Fortunately for us, we had mushroom soup a number of times while in Europe, one of them being in Vienna.

We stumbled upon Restaurant Ferdinandt.  A section of their menu was seasonal, where I found this mushroom soup:

This tasty soup was made out of chanterelles.  Being a mushroom lover, I can only repeat- every bite was amazing!  Here, in the US, chanterelles are expensive and depending on where you live- hard to come by. But in Europe they are fairly inexpensive and many food stands and farmers markets were selling them, so we indulged!

Don’t you worry, we still got our Vitamin C when we ate some fruit.  A fruit that my Mom loves, and we haven’t been able to find in the US, are red currants.  They are native to Europe and have a great mix of tartness and sweetness.

When I was little, my Mom and I used to pick red currants every single year.  Some ended up in the baskets to take home, others in our tummies!

Of course, while Sam and I were in Vienna, we tried a lot of beers.  Here’s a picture to prove it.

Every beer needed a tasty European dish!

While we meandered the street of Vienna, we ended up trying two different establishments, turns out they had the same owner.  It was only after we left the second place, we found out they were extremely close together (around the block!).  How I love winding European streets, it can be fun to get lost!

The establishment(s) that deserved two visits in one day were Bierhof and Hopferl!  Apparently there is a third restaurant, but we didn’t not find it.

Sam had the rostbratwürste (grilled sausage) with bratensaft (gravy) and braterdäpfel (fried potatoes).  The potatoes had the perfect crisp to them!

Meanwhile, I tried out the wiener saftgulasch (Viennese goulash) with spätzle (egg noodles).  I ate my plate clean!  Goulash is a Hungarian soup, but it’s a very popular soup in East and Southern European countries.  Spätzle is a popular egg noodle in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Hungary.  The gravy was perfect with it.

Of course, brats and beer are not the only thing that Austria specializes in.  They also have wine.  While wandering the streets, we found a wine bar!

One evening we found was a specialty grocery store.  Below it was Meinl’s Wine Bar.

The store had a number of European wines: French, German, Italian and Spanish (plus more!).  But we wanted to try some Austrian wines.

I’m not sure if either of these can be found in the U.S.- but in case they can, our recommendations are: Helmunt Bruckner and Umathum.  Both of these had a deep juicy quality, reminiscent of dark red cherry quality.  While we tried out these wines, we also indulged in:

Sam thought that this beef tartar looked like a muppet.  Which muppet do you think it was?

As you can tell, we ate very well while we were Vienna!  Up next: Munich, Germany.

Penn Quarter Farmer’s Market Summer Salad

Yes, it was a Farmer’s Market day today!  As I’ve written before, the Penn Quarter Farmers Market, here in Washington DC, is amazing!  It’s held every Thursday and we’ve been purchasing various fruits, vegetables, meats and eggs from there every week, it’s something I look forward to!

For over a week I’ve been craving a vegetable salad.  Just fresh veggies- easy and simple!  The weather has also cooperated today, it wasn’t too hot, which made it even better.  After making dinner, we went up on the roof and had our delicious salad, with some wine.  There was a nice breeze, and it wasn’t hot and humid.  Couldn’t have asked for a better Thursday night dinner.  I think there will be many more of these as the summer continues.

Penn Quarter Farmer’s Market Summer Salad

2 large heirloom tomatoes, roughly chopped
9 small cucumbers, sliced
1/2 red onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives
3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/4 cup olive oil
juice of 1 lemon
salt & pepper to taste

Toss all ingredients together, and serve.  Bread and wine taste delicious with this!