Fajita Salad with Lime Chipotle Vinaigrette

Ingredients:
Flank steak
2 poblano peppers, sliced (whatever peppers float your boat)
1 onion, sliced
2 serrano peppers, sliced
Green leaf lettuce

Vinaigrette:
¼ cup olive oil
Juice of 2 limes (1/4 cup lime juice)
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 teaspoon honey
1 chipotle chile, chopped finely
1-2 tablespoons adobo (adjust to your tastes)
¼ cup roughly chopped cilantro (coriander)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1-2 teaspoons salt pepper to taste

Optional:

Corn

Beans

Cheese

Rice

Directions:

Saute onions and peppers. Sear steak and slice. 

Add all vinaigrette ingredients to food processor and pulse. 

Assemble salad. 

Fergus Salad

From Lucky Peach.  This is really easy with the food processor slicer thing.

Ingredients:
Healthy splashes extra-virgin olive oil
A little gesture balsamic vinegar
+ sea salt and black pepper
A handful capers (1 T)
2 raw beets, peeled and finely grated
1⁄4 raw red cabbage with its core cut out, very finely sliced
1 small red onion, peeled, cut in half from top to bottom and finely sliced
6 healthy dollops crème fraîche
2 healthy bunches chervil, picked

Directions:
Mix everything together for the dressing. Toss all your raw red vegetables in the dressing, then on six plates place a bushel of this red mixture. Next to this, nustle your blob of crème fraîche as if the two ingredients were good friends, not on top of each other as if they were lovers. Finally a clump of the chervil rested next to the other ingredients in the friendly fashion. A very striking salad ready for the eater to mess up.

http://luckypeach.com/recipes/fergus-salad-2/

Thai Meatballs in Curry

Ingredients:
1 pound ground pork
4 scallions, sliced thin (both green and white segments)
4 cloves garlic, minced, divided
2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger, divided
3 tablespoons red Thai curry paste, divided
1/4 cup panko bread crumbs
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh cilantro, plus more for serving
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh basil
1 tablespoon canola oil
2 limes, zested and juiced
1 (15-ounce) can coconut milk
1 cup chicken stock
4 cups chopped spinach or baby bok choy
Salt
Fresh ground black pepper

Directions:
In a large mixing bowl, combine the meat, white parts of the scallions, 2 cloves of minced garlic, 1 tablespoon of grated ginger, 1 tablespoon of curry paste, panko, cilantro, basil, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper. Use your hands or a wooden spoon to thoroughly mix all the ingredients together until just combined. Try not to overwork the meat.  Roll into 1-1 1/2 inch meatballs.

Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the remaining garlic and ginger, stir to combine with the oil, and cook for about 30 seconds, until fragrant. Add the remaining curry paste, and cook for another 30 seconds, then stir in the lime zest, coconut milk, and chicken stock. Bring the sauce to a simmer.

Gently place the meatballs into the sauce. Cover and simmer for 30 to 35 minutes, until the meatballs are cooked through.

Stir in the spinach or baby bok choy and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes, until wilted. Remove the pan from the heat, stir in the lime juice, and add additional seasoning, as needed.

Slow-Cooker Cassoulet

I'm not sure this is the healthiest thing ever but it was really good.  It definitely overcame the slow-cooker's tendency to suck the flavor out of everything.

Ingredients:
½ pound dried small white beans (I used black eyed peas)
4 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed, plus 1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 medium-large onion, chopped
2 carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
2 cups cored and chopped tomatoes, with their juice (canned are fine)
3 or 4 sprigs fresh thyme or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
2 bay leaves
¼ pound slab bacon or salt pork, in 1 piece
4 hot Italian sausages, about 3/4 pound
1 pound boneless pork shoulder
2 duck legs
Chicken, beef or vegetable stock, or water, or a mixture, as needed
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Directions:
Combine beans, crushed garlic, onion, carrots, tomatoes, thyme, bay leaves and meats in a slow cooker, and turn heat to high. (If you like, brown sausage and duck legs in a skillet before adding.) Add stock or water to cover by 2 inches. Cover and cook until beans and meats are tender, 5 to 6 hours on high heat, 7 hours or more on low.

I forgot to do all of this: When done, add salt and pepper to taste, along with minced garlic. If you like, remove cassoulet from slow cooker, and place in a deep casserole; cover with bread crumbs and roast at 400 degrees until bread crumbs brown, about 15 minutes. Garnish and serve.
 


http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1017177-slow-cooker-cassoulet

Hummus

I used this recipe for hummus....it was incredible.  It had the consistency of marshmallow cream, it was really fluffy.  I guess it must be the baking soda.

http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1017734-zahavs-hummus-tehina

Ingredients:
1 cup dried chickpeas
2 teaspoons baking soda
Juice of 1 1/2 large lemons (about 1/3 cup), more to taste
2 to 4 cloves garlic, grated
1¾ teaspoons kosher salt, more to taste
1 cup sesame tahini
½ teaspoon ground cumin, more to taste 

Directions:
In a bowl, cover chickpeas by at least 2 inches of cold water. Add 1 teaspoon baking soda and let soak at room temperature overnight. Drain and rinse.

In a medium pot, cover soaked chickpeas by at least 4 inches of water. Add the remaining teaspoon baking soda and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium high and let cook at a vigorous simmer until chickpeas are quite soft, 1 to 1 1/2 hours. (Overcooked chickpeas are the secret to creamy hummus, so don’t worry if they start to break down a little.) Drain.

While chickpeas are cooking, make the tahini sauce. In a blender, combine the lemon juice, garlic and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Let mixture sit 10 minutes. Add tahini, remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and the cumin, and blend until a thick paste forms. Add 1/3 to 2/3 cup ice water while blender is running, a little at a time, until sauce is smooth. You’re looking for a perfectly smooth, creamy sauce.

Add the warm, drained chickpeas to blender with tahini mixture. Blend until perfectly smooth and not at all grainy, stopping to scrape down sides of bowl occasionally. This blending may take upward of about 2 minutes; just keep going until the mixture is ultracreamy and fluffy, adding a little water if you need it to make the contents of the blender move. Taste for seasonings, adding more salt, lemon juice and/or cumin as needed.

To serve, spread the hummus on a plate, dust with paprika, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with parsley. 

Roasted Beets with Tahini

Ingredients:
Bunch of beets (including greens)
Garlic clove
1/4 cup tahini
Half a lemon

Directions:
Roast the beets until done, about 40 minutes, at 425.  Just scrub them a little bit, wrap them in tinfoil and stick them in.  They're done when a fork slides in easily.

Meanwhile, make the sauce and greens.  For the sauce, put the garlic through a garlic press and mix it in with the tahini.  Whisk the juice from the lemon half in, and then whisk in 1/4 cup of water, until the sauce is creamy/runny.

Sauté the beet greens in a little oil with salt and pepper.

Spread the greens out on a plate.  Slice the roasted beets and lay out on top, and pour the sauce over everything.

Salsa Verde Chicken Chili

Ingredients:
2 (14.5-ounce) cans white beans, rinsed and drained
4 cups chicken broth

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 large yellow onion, diced
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and minced (whatever is in the fridge)
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1-1/2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 teaspoon ancho chili powder
Salt
2 chicken breasts shredded (I boiled for 20 mins while soup sauteed)

1/2 can of corn 

1/4 cup fresh chopped cilantro
1 cup salsa verde and/or 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice, from one lime, plus more to taste

Optional For Serving
Crushed tortilla chips
Avocado

Instructions
In a food processor, blend 1/2 of the beans (1 can) with 1 cup of the chicken broth. Set aside both the puréed beans and the remaining whole beans.

Add the vegetable oil to a large pot or Dutch oven and heat it over medium heat. Add the onion and peppers and sauté until soft, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté for one minute more. Add the cumin, coriander and ancho chili powder and continue to cook, stirring frequently, for 1 minute more to toast the spices. Add the chicken stock, puréed beans and 1/2 teaspoon of salt; bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes.

Stir in the shredded rotisserie chicken, reserved whole beans, corn, cilantro and lime juice; bring back to a simmer and cook until everything is heated through, about 5 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning with more salt and lime juice, if necessary. 

Serve the chili in individual bowls with avocado and crushed tortilla chips.