Organic Dandelion, Blackberries, and White Peach Salad

Good day all. Busy... busy...busy...all day yesterday as I had to run all around town running errands.  It didn't help that the sun was blazing and the temperature was too warm.  It sapped all of my energy out and by the middle of the day I felt like I was running on empty.  I stopped by at the Corner Bakery for a quick bite and ordered turkey breast panini which was surprisingly good but a little pricey in my opinion. It was also way too greasy, or rather the bread felt like it was slather in butter or grease... They might be using too much grease on their panini grill..hmmm.  At $8 something a sandwich, I think I can do better at home.  My takeaway on the experience is that it  gave me an idea on what to make next in my sandwich series... hehehe.



After a busy day, I went over to the valley to visit family... it was good seeing everyone after a long while.  We had dinner at a Korean BBQ place and was stuffed to the brim. I always tend to overeat when I go to these AYCE (all you can eat) resto. What makes it worse is that I mostly ate meat so it felt really heavy but good nonetheless. Before I left, I got some Philippine lime (kalamansi) from my in-law's tree which I am intending to use in a dish or beverage later this week.

Today, I needed something light and easy to make for lunch to make up for all the meat consumption and heavy meal the day before.  I went to WholeFoods really early to avoid congestion both inside the store and in the parking lot as the place tends to get packed as the day wore on.  I picked up nuts (macadamia, pistacchio, brazil) and granola from their bulk food section.  For the fresh produce, I got a bunch of organic dandelion, white peaches, purple potatoes, and blackberries.  I am so happy with the produce that I picked up as they were really fresh.  The dandelion, peach, and blackberries I am using for this dish while the purple potatoes are intended for another use either tomorrow or monday.



Dandelion is not something that most people would think of when they think of salad greens.  Its not surprising because most people think of it as the weeds that ruin their perfectly manicured lawns  :) What's more surprising though is that this "weed" is edible -leaves, flowers, roots.  Of course, I wouldn't go around people's yards to pick them up as you are not sure what chemicals have been used in that lawn.  For dandelion greens, I go to WholeFoods as they have the organic variety.




As mentioned, every part of the plant , or weed if you prefer :P, is edible.  It can be boiled, stir-fried, or eaten raw as a salad.  The greens has a bite to it, slightly bitter actually, and would probably be an acquired taste.  I do not mind though as I am used to eating sauteed bitter melon (ampalaya) since I was young so the bitter taste do not really bother me.  I usually put fresh fruits such as pears, apples, peaches, and berries in the salad which helps balance the bitterness with the sweetness.  I added lightly toasted macadamia (which, coincidentally, I also eat raw at times) and crumbled feta. I used a simple olive oil and red wine vinegar dressing.



Ingredients:

1 bunch (about 1 lb or so) organic dandelion greens, stalks trimmed

1 white peach, washed and thinly sliced with skin on (you can also remove the skin, if you prefer)

2/3 cup fresh blackberries

1/2 lightly toasted macadamia nuts

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

1. In a bowl, mix trimmed dandelion, sliced peach, whole blackberries, macadamia nuts, and feta cheese.

2. Toss gently and season with salt and pepper according to taste.

3. Serve with olive oil-red wine vinaigrette

Olive Oil-Red Wine Vinaigrette


1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/8 cup red wine vinegar

juice of 1/2 a lemon, seeds discarded

sea salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste.

1. In a bowl, mix the first three ingredients and whisk until well blended.

2. Season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper according to taste

Sweet Chili, Chicken, and Pesto Panini

As I mentioned in my previous post, I stopped by at Whole Foods and found really good quality greens.  My finds included really fresh and good quality basil which were sold in huge bunches.  They looked really good that I picked up a couple.  I was planning on making a batch of pesto which is great to have around for quick pasta recipes, sauce for flat breads, and of course, panini... hehehe

The price per bunch is around $1.75 which is a steal considering the same amount of basil cost a little over $3 at Ralph's and Pavilions.  I know because I checked those stores a couple of days ago but didn't get any since their basil didn't look very fresh...they looked like they have been sitting on the chiller for about a week or so.  I do think the prices for fresh spices are outrageously high that sometimes it makes me want to plant my own...Oh, wait... I might end up killing them like I did my other plants...hehehe

Making your own pesto is really easy because it doesn't involve a lot of slicing or dicing.  All you need to do is place all the ingredients in the food processor and let it do all the hard work.  Washing all the small parts of the food processor afterwards though is the problem.  Too many small parts to clean and wash which requires hand washing to remove all the food particle that gets stuck in the nooks and crannies.  Having a homemade pesto though is, in my opinion, better than store-bought ones since you can control the amount of ingredients that you want to include.  I, for one, like a lot of garlic in mine so I usually put a whole garlic head instead of just a few cloves.  Besides, basil and pine nuts, you can practically use any nuts and greens of your choice to make pesto.  Besides the traditional basil/pine nut pesto, I also like arugula and walnut combo.

After making the pesto, I made chicken pesto panini to go with the wild arugula salad.  This is such an easy to make meal and with some shortcuts, they can be prepared in less than 30 minutes.  Panini is nothing more than a grilled sandwich.  No panini maker?  No problem because you can use you stove top cast iron grill pan.  Just make sure that it is well seasoned to avoid the panini from sticking otherwise you will have a mess on your hand.  And believe me, cleaning a cast iron pan with burnt, stuck-on food is no fun.  Besides the grill pan, you also need something to weigh your sandwich down.  My Le Creuset wok's function has been redefined to double as the weight for making panini...hehehe.

Ingredients:

Basil Pesto

2 cups packed fresh basil

1/2 cup freshly grated parmigiano reggiano

1 head of garlic, peeled (this is just based on my preference but you can use less if you prefer)

1/2 cups pine nuts

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1. Place garlic, pine nuts, and parmigiano reggiano in the food processor.  Pulse for a few seconds.

2. Add basil and pulse some more until it is slightly chopped.

3. With the food processor still going, add the EVOO in steady stream until blended.  Stop to scrape the sides occassionally and then pulse until well blened.

4. Season with sea salt and pepper according to taste.

Sweet Chili, Chicken, and  Pesto Panini

Ingredients:

skinless, boneless chicken breast, boiled and sliced

1 Cubanelle chili pepper - seeded, cored, and  thinly sliced (or any sweet chili pepper variety)

Basil Pesto

Shredded mozzarella cheese

sea salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

ciabatta breads

olive oil

*** NOTE: you can determine the amount of ingredients to use per panini based on your preference.

1. Slice ciabatta into half.  Spread pesto on each side of the ciabatta.

2. On one side, place one layer of chicken.  Season with sea salt and pepper according to taste.

3. Add a layer of cubanelle chili pepper and top with mozzarella cheese.

4. Place the other halfof the ciabatta on top and set aside.

5. Heat your cast iron grill pan over medium heat.

6. Add about 1/2 a tsp of olive oil.  Using a non-stick, heat-resistant basting brush, spread the oil all over the grill pan.

7. Position your panini in the middle of the pan.  Place a layer of foil on top of the panini before placing you weight. 

***make sure that the weight is stable and provides even weight on the panini.  I used a cast iron pan and then topped that with a cast-iron wok to provide a a heavier weight on the sandwich.

8. Grill each side for about 3-4 minutes or until it is toasted according to your preference.  When one side is done, use a spatula to turn it over and cook the other side using the same procedure.

9. When done, remove from heat and slice into two equal portion. Serve with potato chips, fried, salad or your choice of sides.

Walnut Crusted Tuna Steak

This is the main dish that came with the sauteed swiss chard which I had as a very late (ok, really early? breakfast) dinner at around 1 a.m. I had so much to do that day that I didn't really have time to sit down and eat. I defrosted the tuna in the refrigerator the night before intending to cook it for lunch but because of school deadlines, I didn't get around to cooking. By midnight, my stomach was growling becuase I have not had anything all day save for the tub of macadania nuts that I was munching on while typing and searching for information at my school's online library. Darn, it was a little too late when I realized that I was going to use those nuts for my tuna dish...Oh, well...moving on...

So, there I was looking around my cupboard for something to use with my tuna when I found some walnuts...hmmm...possibility, I can just use it as a substitute for macadamia. Off I went to slicing , dicing, sauteeing, coating, and cooking...hehehe... It was a nice dish which was even more special in combination with the sauteed swiss chard. I like my tuna on the raw side so I cooked it rare by slightly frying it in the olive oil just long enough to brown the outside surface.



Ingredients:

3 oz. ahi tuna steak
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
sea salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
a pinch of garlic powder
2 tbsp ground macadamia or walnuts

1. Coat tuna with 1/4 tsp extra virgin olive oil.
2. season with salt and pepper as well as garlic powder
3. coat with ground nuts
4. Heat pan over medium heat then add remaining olive oil
5. Sear tuna until light brown in color on all side or according to desired doneness.
6. Transfer to a serving plate lined with a bed of sauteed swiss chard.
7. Serve warm.

Grilled Steak with Rosenberg, Parmigiano Reggiano, and Macadamia Dressing

Ahhh... summer is almost gone and I cannot say that I am sad because frankly, I am just about tired of the heat. I welcome the cool weather with open arms this year although I shouldn't really get my hopes up, huh? I mean this is Southern California...we hardly get any cold weather here and if we do, they are far and few in between. The reason I am celebrating though is because it has been a long, hot, and humid summer...to me, at least. I wish that we get to see changing of the color of the leaves here in LA, even just once...

This summer has been rather eventful. I went home to the Philippines for our nth college reunion and had a blast. We had so much fun reminiscing our past, the way things were, exploring old digs as well as new ones, eating galore... it was all made special because my fireds were with me. Ha! to think that I was not even going to go homw for the reunion at all. I am so glad that I did though because I got to spend time with people whom I have not seen in a long time. The rest of the summer was spent blogging and cooking for the most part which I really enjoyed after a very long hiatus. Hopefully this will continue for a while...hehehe

This meal is my summer send off as we welcome the dawn of a new season, autumn. Although, to be honest, today feels more like autumn than summer. It has been gloomy since I woke up and went to the store this more...and it still is...hmmm...maybe we will get a cooler autumn and winter this year...nice. For the meal, I grilled a t-bone steak over my stove top griller, not the gas grill, then topped it with cheese and nuts sauce. I also fired some sweet potato fries to go with it.


Ingredients:

A. Steak

T-bone streak or any grilling steak
salt and pepper, to taste
1. Apply salt and pepper to both sides of the steak.
2. Grill steak. 2 minutes on 1 side and another two minutes on the other side for rare. Cook longer if you do not want to eat rare.
3. Remove from heat and onto a serving dish. Top with the dressing and serve with sweet potato fries.

B. Resenberg, Parmigiano Reggiano, and Macadamia Dressing

1 oz Risenberg cheese, crumbled
1 oz Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, grated
2 Tbsp chopped macadamia nuts
small bunch of mint, roughly chopped
small bunch of parsley, roughly chopped
3-4 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
sea salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
2 cloves garlic, chopped

1. Place macadamia, mint, parsley,garlic, and olive oil in a food processor and process until chopped finely and incorporated
2. Add both cheeses and process again until incorporated.
3. Season with salt and pepper according to taste.



Adapted from 30-minute entertaining cookbook by L. Pickford.

Hummus

Hummus is a middle eastern dip composed of tahini, chick peas, lemon juice, and salt which are mashed together or pureed using a food processor. It is a thick dip which is usually accompanied by pita bread. The main ingredient for this dish, aside from the chick peas, is tahini. Tahini is a ground sesame paste which is common ingredients for dishes in the Middle East, East Asia, and North Africa.

This hummus recipe is very tasty and flavorful. If you have never tried making your own hummus dip, you should try this one. Store-bought ones does not even compare to this. I have been buying hummus dip for a long time and never really thought about making my own until I decided to make it one day. Well, I have never gone back to buying them from the store ever again. This dish is super simple and easy. Instead of boiling the chick peas yourself, I buy canned oned which makes my work easier and I can have the dip in no time at all.



Ingredients:

1 can (16 oz.) Chickpeas
1/3 cup chickpeas water
4 Tbsp lemon juice
2 Tbsp Tahini
2 cloves garlic, chopped
sea salt, to taste

Garnish:
few pieces of the chick peas
paprika
extra virgin olive oil
pine nuts



1. Place all the ingredients for hummus (chichpeas, chickpeas water, lemon juice, tahini, garlic and sea salt) in a food processor and pureed until well incorporated.
2. Taste and adjust salt according to taste.
3. Transfer to a serving bowl and top with olive oil, chickpeas, paprika, and pine nuts.
4. Serve with pitabread or pita chips.

Pesto Sauce

Pesto sauce is one of the easiest and fastest sauce that you can make because it does not require any cooking. It is also one sauce where you have to make sure everything is fresh because it will really come through for you. This simple yet tasty sauce includes parmigiano reggiano, basil, olive oil, pine nuts, and garlic which are mixed and blended in a food processor. Alternatively, you can use mortar and pestle using a circular motion to grind the ingredients together BUT who has the time or energy to do that? Hahaha... Certainly not I. The only drawback with using a food processor is that you have so many parts to clean afterwards but I will take that anytime of the day than to grind the ingredients manually. Speacking of food processors, I just realized as I was taking one out to use for this dish, that I have not 1 or 2 but 4 different food processors which came in different sizes. Aigoo...what was I thinking when I purchased these babies?...hahaha... Anyways,I used a small processor for thsi dish since I wasn't making a huge batch.

You have to get a block of parmigiano reggiao, not the pre-shredded version because it better in my opinion. Also, you can use walnuts if you do not have pine nuts. although they are a little pricey, I prefer pine nuts over walnuts though. Make sure that you wash and drain your basil before grinding. I used my salad spinner to get rid of the fluid from the basil.


Ingredients:

2 cups fresh basil leaves, stems removed
1/3 cup freshly grated parmigiano reggiano
1/2 cup good quality extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup pine nuts
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
salt and pepper to taste




1. Place basil and pine nuts in food processor.


2. Process until it is grinded. Scrape the sides with spatula.


3. Add olive oil in steady stream while continuing to process using a food processor.
4. Add garlic and grated parmigiano reggiano. Blend until well incorporated.
5. Add salt and pepper to taste.