Corn Salad

I am always on the look out for easy vegetable dishes to take for lunch. When I saw this corn salad in this month's "Everyday Food" I had to try it. I changed up the recipe a little to suit my tastes and what I had on hand. But I think this could be a lunch box staple. I got everything ready the night before and just tossed it together before I left for the lab.

The salad originally had jalapeño pepper - but I don't like the heat so I used some green onion. I also used a different dried spice. The dressing was originally lemon - but I had a couple limes so I decided to use lime instead.



Corn Salad
(adapted from Everyday Food, March 2007)

1 cup frozen corn, thawed
1/4 cup red pepper, chopped
1 green onion, sliced
1/2 tsp dried basil
2 tbsp lime dressing

1. Mix all the ingredients.

Lime Dressing
(adapted from Everyday Food, March 2007)

juice from 1 lime, around 1/8 a cup
1/8 a cup rice wine vinegar
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp dijon mustard
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 cup olive oil

1. Put all ingredients in a jar with a tight fitting lid and shake shake shake.
(makes about 3/4 of a cup)

Molten Chocolate Cake

Happy Valentine's Day. (recipe)

Tasty Spinach and Mushrooms

Last night I had my little brother over for spaghetti - not with cream sauce again; we had a meaty tomato sauce. But I overestimated the number of mushrooms I would need so I had three left over.

I came up with this tasty vegetable side. If you didn't have a shallot (I had some left over when I cooked a fancy meal for one of my friends and now they are my new favourite ingredient) you could use some chopped onion and garlic. I was tempted to add some garlic too, but I was too lazy and too hungry to chop it up.

The spinach I used was only mostly defrosted. I find I have to take it out 24 hours before to have it fully defrost in the fridge and I wasn't that organized today. But it would probably be better if you could manage to fully defrost the spinach.

This made 2 servings, but obviously could be easily doubled.

Tasty Spinach and Mushroom
1/2 package of frozen chopped spinach, mostly defrosted
3 large button mushrooms, sliced
1 shallot, chopped
1 tbsp butter
2 tbsp toasted pine nuts
salt
pepper

1. Heat butter and add shallot when the butter is hot. When the shallot begins to soften add the mushrooms. Once the mushrooms start looking cook, but before the moisture totally evaporated add the spinach. If you spinach it a still a bit frozen, push the mushrooms to one side of the pan and cook the spinach in the other side until it breaks up.
2. Once the spinach starts to steam add a large pinch of salt and some pepper to taste. Finish by tossing with the pine nuts.

Linguine with cream sauce

Last week the New York times had a recipe for a lemon cream sauce for pasta. It was kind of unusual - but delicious with the salmon I made to go with it. Later on I mixed it up a bit and used the same technique to make a shrimp cream sauce. Today I made a mushroom cream sauce. Below is my basic technique.

1. Fry something savoury, like mushrooms and garlic, in butter.
2. Add 1/2 white wine and reduce it by 2/3s.
3. Add about 1/4 cup cream. (It will curdle. But it doesn't matter). Cooks for another 2-3 mins. Take off the heat.
4. When the pasta is cooked, drain and return to the hot pot. Toss with the sauce and add 1 tbsp grated parmesan cheese.

(This makes enough for 1 person - ME!)


But, after three times in one week I think I am going to have to give the creamy linguine a break and go back to my lentils.