Four Bean Salad

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food, foodie, pot luck, recipe, relish, salad, side dish, vegan, vegetarian

For years, I thought that I didn’t like four bean salad. It turns out, I didn’t like any of the four bean salad I tried. It was usually too vinegary or had mushy green/wax beans. Fresh wax & green beans are imperative to making a tasty and refreshing four bean salad.

Four Bean Salad ♥ Young Wifey’s Blog

Ingredients: wax beans, green beans, 1 can dark red kidney beans, 1 can garbanzo beans, 2 stalks of celery, 1 carrot, 2 green onions, 1/2 c. rice vinegar, 1/3 c. olive oil, 3 Tbsp. honey, 1 Tbsp. minced garlic, fresh ground Himalayan pink salt, fresh cracked four-color pepper

Directions: Chop celery, carrot, and green onions then set aside. Cut wax beans and green beans into 1″ pieces. Bring small pot of water to boil and blanch wax beans and green beans (for about 3 minutes). Drain and rinse kidney & garbanzo beans. Whisk together vinegar, oil, garlic, honey, salt, and pepper. Toss together all ingredients and chill before serving.

*Garnish with fresh shaved parmesan cheese (or nutritional yeast if vegan).

XOXO,
Young Wifey

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Classic Italian Pasta Salad & Toppings Bar

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food, foodie, pasta, pasta salad, potluck, recipe, salad, side dish, vegan, vegetarian

Hubster and I never agreed on what ingredients to put in a classic pasta salad. That is, until I began serving it with a toppings bar. It’s a fantastic way to make sure everyone at your picnic enjoys this classic side dish!

Young Wifey’s Classic Italian Pasta Salad w/Toppings Bar

Classic Italian Pasta Ingredients:
1 lb. tri-color rotini pasta (cooked al dente, drained, and cooled), 1 chopped red bell pepper, 1 c. broccoli florets, 1 c. cherry tomatoes (halved), 1 c. grated carrots, 1/2 c. chopped yellow onion, 4 Tbsp. chopped parsley, 1 Tbsp. minced garlic, 1 Tbsp. chopped oregano, 1 tsp.  rosemary, 1/3 c. red wine vinegar, 1/4 c. olive oil, fresh ground sea salt, fresh cracked black pepperClassic Italian Pasta Salad Directions:
To make dressing, mix together oil, vinegar, herbs, and seasoning. Pour over pasta and toss to coat. Toss in vegetables. Keep chilled until ready to serve.

Topping Bar Suggestions:
sliced black olives, Spanish olives, fresh grated cheese, bacon crumbles, mini pepperoni, small pieces of prosciutto, anchovies, capers, cheddar crumbles

What toppings do you like on your pasta salad? 

XOXO,
Young Wifey

Tabbouleh

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bulgur, bulgur wheat, cucumbers, food, foodie, mint, parsley, recipe, salad, side, side dish, tomatoes, vegan, vegetarian

It’s difficult to find bulgur wheat here, so it’s been a while since I whipped up a batch of tabbouleh. I recently found a decently price on-line supplier, so it’s time to indulge again.

Tabbouleh

Ingredients:
1 c. bulgur wheat, 1 c. hot water, 1 medium cucumber, 1/2 pint of cherry or grape tomatoes, 1/2 c. sun-dried tomatoes (julienne strips), 1/4 c. chopped green onion, 1 1/2 c.  chopped parsley, 1/2 c. chopped mint leaves, 2 lemons, 1/2 tsp. ground cumin, olive oil, fresh ground sea salt, fresh cracked black pepper, romaine lettuce (optional), feta (optional)

Directions:
In a large bowl, mix together bulgur and hot water. Allow to sit for an hour. Juice & zest lemons. Cut cucumbers and half tomatoes. Toss together all ingredients (except romaine & feta) and chill.

Serve over romaine lettuce and sprinkle with feta.

Now it’s your turn:
What’s for dinner tonight?

Carrot Slaw

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carrot, food, foodie, picnic, salad, slaw, vegan, vegetarian

I love carrot slaw, but the not the type you see at most picnics. You know, the one with too much mayonnaise and raisins in it (I really dislike raisins). I want my carrot slaw to be crunchy and cleansing to my palette.

Carrot Slaw

Ingredients:
3 c. julienne carrots, 1 golden delicious apple, 1 c. lemon juice, 3 Tbsp. fresh chopped parsley, 3 Tbsp. brown sugar, 1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard, 1 tsp. celery seed, fresh ground sea salt

Directions:
Cut apple into julienne strips and immediately soak in lemon juice for 1 minutes. Toss apple and carrot sticks together. Mix together lemon juice, parsley, sugar, mustard, celery seed, and sea salt. Pour dressing over carrot slaw and toss to coat.

What’s on your plate?

Hot Quinoa Salad

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brown rice, food, foodie, quinoa, recipe, salad, side dish, vegan, vegetarian

Pumpkin doesn’t like quinoa. I know, impossible right? I can remember as a kid, I didn’t like to eat it either. I thought it was birdseed (and amaranth too). So my trick to get him to eat it is to make it a 50%-50% blend of brown rice and quinoa. And I doctor it up and make a hot salad side dish (although I’d eat it as a main dish).

Hot Quinoa Salad

Ingredients:
2 c. cooked quinoa (hot), 2 c. cooked brown rice (hot), 2. c. garbanzo beans (hot), 1 c. sun-dried tomatoes, 1/2 c. crumbled feta, 1/2 c. kalamata olives, 1/4 c. olive oil, 3 Tbsp. lime juice, 1 Tbsp. minced garlic, 1 Tbsp. fresh rosemary, 1 Tbsp. fresh parsley, fresh cracked black pepper, fresh ground sea salt

Directions:
Mix together all ingredients except feta. Sprinkle feta on top of salad and serve hot.

Pumpkin’s verdict? “It’s alright, but I eat all of it first so I can wash the taste out of my mouth with the yummy food I saved.” Haha, maybe next time!

What tricks do you use to get reluctant eaters to try new things? 

Black Bean Soup

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beans, black beans, dinner, food, foodie, peppers, postaday2011, recipe, soup, tomatoes, vegan, vegetable, vegetarian

I’ve mentioned several times before that Hubster isn’t a soup fan. Since soup was my father’s forte, I just can’t accept Hubster’s dislike. And soup in summer? It just tastes incredibly better with garden fresh veggies. Besides, our nights do get chilly here…

Black Bean Soup

Ingredients:
1 qt. vegetable stock, 4 c. cooked black beans, 2 medium tomatoes, ½ c. shredded carrots, ½ red pepper, ½ green pepper, 2 scallions, 1 lime, fresh cilantro, ½ tsp. cumin, ½ tsp. coriander, fresh cracked black pepper, fresh ground sea salt

Version 1 Directions:
Dice tomatoes and peppers. Chop cilantro and slice scallions. Zest and juice lime. In a large soup pot bring vegetable stock, lime juice, lime zest, cilantro, scallions, salt & pepper to a boil. Add beans, tomatoes, carrots and peppers, cover and allow to simmer. Serve hot and garnish with a spring of fresh cilantro.

What’s not to love about fresh garden veggies?

Summer Veggie Pasta

Tags

dinner, food, foodie, light fare, lunch, pasta, postaday2011, recipe, side dishes, sugar snap peas, tomatoes, vegan, vegetarian, White Cat wine, zucchini

Everyone has their own favorite summer veggie pasta dish, the perfect light balance for a hot summer evening. Mine always varies depending on which fresh vegetables I harvest from my garden or purchase at the farmer’s market.

I prepared the linguini al dente according to package directions. Then, I sautéed a small minced shallot in White Cat wine (I also love cooking with Red Cat wine) and added fresh sugar snap peas, wedges tomatoes and sliced zucchini. I sprinkled in some dried basil (from a plant I harvested earlier this summer). Finally, I tossed the pasta into sautéed veggies and served with fresh grated pecorino romano.

White Cat Summer Veggie Pasta

This would be really excellent with shrimp… mmm… Too bad Hubster needs to eat too…

What fresh vegetables are in your summer veggie pasta dish this week?