blue artichoke

Yesterday, I ran into two people I know who didn't recognize me. One I hadn't seen in about a year and I don't know well, so that wasn't so unusual. The other, though, I know well and just saw a few weeks ago. What's up with that?

While I ponder this, you can take a look at this recipe. I made this salad Monday night and, while good, would be even better as something other than a salad.

Spinach Salad with Sesame Pork

1# pork tenderloin
3 t. dark sesame oil, divided
¼ c. chopped green onions
2 T. low-sodium soy sauce
1 T. honey
1 t. ground ginger
½ t. freshly ground pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced
Cooking spray
1 T. rice vinegar or white vinegar
1 T. water
8 c. spinach torn
2-oz. jar diced pimento, drained
2 T. coarsely grated Gruyere cheese or aged Swiss cheese
2 T. sesame seeds, toasted

Trim fat from pork; slice into thin strips. Combine 1 t. oil, green onions and next 5; rub evenly over pork. Place pork on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray; broil 4m on each side or until desired degree of doneness.

Combine 2 t. oil, vinegar and water in a small bowl; stir with a whisk. Add vinaigrette to spinach; toss to coat. Divide spinach evenly among 4 plates; arrange pork on top of spinach. Top with pimento, cheese and sesame seeds.

Serves 4.
266C, 11.5g fat, 29.9g protein, 11.3 carbs, 4.9g fiber, 8.3 mg cholesterol, 356 mg sodium

Cooking Light, August 1997

Orange-Chive Bubble Buns

¼ c. orange marmalade at room temp.
1 t. freeze-dried chives
4.5-oz. can refrigerated buttermilk biscuits
Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 400.

Combine marmalade and chives; set aside. Separate biscuits; cut each into 4 pieces. Add biscuit pieces to marmalade mixture; toss. Place 6 biscuit pieces into each of 4 muffin cups coated with cooking spray. Bake at 400 for 13m or until golden. Remove from cups; serve warm.

Serves 4.
125C, 1.2g fat, 2.1g protein, 27.8 carbs, 0 cholesterol, 281 mg sodium
Cooking Light, August 1997

The pork was really good and cooked quickly; it would pair very well with some fried rice. The salad was good, and healthier than fried rice, but it wasn't exceptional in any way. The orange bubble buns were also great, and easy, though best cooked in muffin tins without paper liner cups.

Getting to Know All About You: Are you a person who gets recognized?
I'm definitely not. Many, many times, I've been with Blue Grilled Cheese when she is spotted by someone we went to high school with. Though I'm standing right there and know the other person, I'm rarely recognized. I usually keep quiet; I prefer to pass unrecognized.

Posted by Blue Artichoke at 10:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Both of GC's family reunions are over. Both were in Tennessee, and both were fun. The first involved a lot of sitting around, eating, drinking beers and visiting with far-flung family members, only a few of whom I had met before. The second was held in a state park and involved a lot of sitting around, eating, drinking beers and visiting with far-flung family members, most of whom I had met before. It also involved pontoon boat rides around Pickwick Lake, a new three-person tennis game called "thracket", a guys-only golf tournament and many heated matches of Wii tennis, golf and bowling. And lots of food. I discovered how tenuous my will power really is. I think I can avoid temptation because I avoid bringing temptation into my house; when surrounded by Twinkies, Pringles and Chips Ahoy!, though, I find that they quickly end up in my mouth. One morning, I opted out of breakfast followed by snacks and visiting time to exerplore (my new word: exercise + explore) the state park. I walked 4 miles, and felt better about all the fried chicken, bacon and BBQ I ate. Not great, but better.

Now that we're home, though, it's time to detox from beers and fatty foods. I made a nice, light summery salad for dinner that tastes even better than it sounds:

Toasted Quinoa, Snow Peas, Tomatoes, and Mozzarella Salad Quinoa grains are covered with a naturally occurring bitter substance called saponin. Although processors remove most of this soapy substance by either washing or polishing the grain, it is important that quinoa be thoroughly rinsed in several changes of clean water before it is cooked. For added flavor, toast it before cooking.

1 1/2 cups uncooked quinoa, rinsed and drained
3 cups water
1 cup diagonally cut snow peas
3/4 cup (3 ounces) diced fresh mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup chopped red onion
1/2 cup chopped seedless cucumber
1/4 cup chopped fresh mint
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
4 teaspoons extravirgin olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon hot pepper sauce (such as Tabasco)

Heat a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add quinoa to pan; cook 5 minutes or until toasted, stirring frequently. Add 3 cups water to pan; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and cook 15 minutes or until tender. Fluff with a fork; cool. Place quinoa in a large bowl. Add peas and next 6 ingredients (through tomatoes).

Combine rind and remaining ingredients in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk. Add juice mixture to quinoa mixture; toss gently to coat.

Yield: 6 servings (serving size: 1 1/2 cups)

CALORIES 265 (29% from fat); FAT 8.6g (sat 2.5g,mono 3.5g,poly 1.5g); PROTEIN 9.1g; CHOLESTEROL 11mg; CALCIUM 138mg; SODIUM 368mg; FIBER 4.8g; IRON 3.8mg; CARBOHYDRATE 35.1g

Cooking Light, JUNE 2007

This salad comes together quickly and doesn't heat up the house, which is a plus when the kitchen temperature is parked in the 90s and the rest of the house is a balmy mid-80 degrees. Sheesh. I realized that there is very little protein in this meal, so I nuked a couple of Morningstar Farm sausages to serve on the side. They don't really complement the salad, but I was hungry and they were the quickest option. Don't be like me; plan ahead and grill some chicken to go with this salad. Then sit back and gloat over your satisfyingly delicious healthy dinner.

Getting to Know All About You: What has been the most recent new food you've tried?

Posted by Blue Artichoke at 09:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)