Fresh Basil and Mushroom Salad

I was power-walking home today, and as I carefully ran across the street, my polka dot umbrella blew itself inside-out. That is quite a tricky situation to maneuver in the midst of crossing a busy street in the rain, while carrying a heavy purse and wearing mittens. Today is one of those Seattle days where the cloud cover is so thick, that it is hard to image the sun is actually shining in other parts of the world. I just want to get indoors as quickly as possible and drink a warm mug of something and put on my slippers. I tend to drink more coffee on days like today, which would explain the other million people doing the same thing. You just crave the warmth of the mug in your hand and the community-based urge to get out of the cold and into the roasted bean-scented havens.

Enough about coffee. I could go on forever. I actually have a true sadness for people who don't drink coffee. I am sure some people feel the same way towards me and my seafood repulsion. But still...

...Back to the blown-out umbrella. I was walking home thinking about my Food Group dinner party happening tomorrow night. It has been months piled on months since we have gotten together and I am so looking forward to seeing everyone. I have a packed schedule up until the party starts, so I took advantage of a two hour window of time tonight to go to the grocery, get ingredients and wine, and prepare my dish. I am still on my mushroom honeymoon. I have been craving garbanzo beans and Great Northern beans the last few days as a result of talking with my vegetarian brother the other night. Last night I made a teriyaki stir fry with garbanzos. So tonight I chose white beans to boost the protein levels of the materializing mushroom salad. A little basil, a little lemon juice, and a few other ingredients and we have ourselves a salad. Now all I have to do is grab my container and hop in my car tomorrow. I will wear a hood.

Fresh Basil and Mushroom Salad
Makes about 6 cups


Definitely (and carefully) use a mandoline to cut the mushrooms if you have one. If not, thinly slicing with a sharp knife will be just fine too. The fresh basil gives the mushrooms and beans a nice refreshing hint. Serve alongside a fried egg or chicken sausage. Or bring to a potluck. It will surely fit in with everyone.


20 fresh basil leaves, cut into thin ribbons
1 garlic clove, minced
2 lemons, juiced
1 tsp Dijon mustard
Salt and pepper to taste
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 can Great Northern beans, drained and rinsed
10 crimini mushrooms, very thinly sliced

Whisk the basil, garlic, lemon juice, mustard, salt, and pepper together in a bowl. Slowly drizzle olive oil into the mixture while simultaneously whisking. This will form an emulsion. Toss the dressing in with the beans and mushrooms.

Cauliflower with Spicy Peanut Sauce

As you may have noticed through the less frequent posting schedule, I have been super busy lately. So busy that by the time I get home at night, I usually cook a quick 'repeat' dinner. I was thinking on the bus ride home tonight how I haven't made a new recipe in weeks. My normal is to come home and make some sort of roasted vegetable and protein for dinner. I usually make enough to bring with me to work the next day. But all in all, I make very similar dinners every night and therefore my blog has suffered.

So this post is in honor of my fall back sauce. After continuous nights of roasted vegetables with olive oil, garlic powder, salt, and pepper, I remember 'Alli's Peanut Sauce'.  This is an ever-evolving sauce made primarily from the condiments in my refrigerator door. It is a tad different every time I make it, so this post is representing tonight's menu.

Sometimes I use real ginger, and sometimes ground. Sometimes I use sesame seeds, and sometimes I skip them. Sometimes I use vinegar, and sometimes I forget vinegar. Sometimes I rhyme slow, sometimes I quick.


My take home message is this: experiment with your ingredients. Add more or less of certain parts. If you want extra heat, add some Sriracha. Use lemon juice or vinegar for some tang. Pour in extra soy sauce for a saltier flavor. This is a very forgiving sauce, so let it be an open canvas.

Cauliflower with Spicy Peanut Sauce
Makes 2 servings

This dish is a nice complement to a protein, such as a fried egg or baked chicken. Add brown rice to the plate if you want another hearty dimension. Please experiment with all the different flavors going on too.

1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon peanut butter
1 tablespoon sweet chili sauce
1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon hoisin sauce
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/8th teaspoon ground ginger
Red pepper flakes to taste
1/8th onion, diced
1 tsp olive oil
2 cups cauliflower, chopped

Combine garlic, peanut butter, chili sauce, soy sauce, water, hoisin sauce, Dijon mustard, ground ginger, and red pepper flakes in a small microwave safe bowl. Microwave on high for 20 seconds so all the ingredients heat through. Remove from microwave and whisk into a smooth sauce. Set aside.

Heat a medium skillet over medium-low heat. Pour in olive oil and heat for a few minutes. Add onions and saute until translucent, 5 to 8 minutes. Stir in the cauliflower and add a little bit of water. Cover pan and cook until cauliflower is almost falling apart, about 10 minutes.

Remove from heat and pour in sauce. Stir the cauliflower until fully coated. Serve immediately.

Portabella Mushroom and Wild Rice Dressing

It is the first Sunday of the month, which means...Recipe Swap time.  Christianna, of Burwell General Store has given us the assignment of recreating a wild rice dressing from a restaurant called Pine Tavern in Bend, Oregon.  Wild rice is one of those grains that I often forget about, which is unfortunate, because it is an nice earthy addition to the table.

There is a very special element to wild rice.  I don't know if it is because it is expensive, or that it is often eaten on festive occasions, but I am always happy to see it.  My first memory of wild rice is from a historic restaurant in Ohio called the Golden Lamb.  It was one of my family's 'special occasion' restaurants.  I would sit on my desk at school dreaming of apple butter and wild rice the week before going to the Golden Lamb. We would get all dressed up to make the long drive to Lebanon, Ohio.  I had the same impatient Christmas Eve excitement.  Once we got there, I ordered the same dish every time; roasted chicken with a wild rice pilaf.  A warmly lit crowded dining room, homemade apple butter and a basket of freshly baked grainy rolls; this girl was in heaven.

In our postprandial bliss, we would stroll through the Inn attached to the restaurant.  The red carpeted hallways held doorways to historic rooms where former presidents and famous people had stayed during their travels through Ohio.  I was always a little bit creeped out by this haunted aspect of the Inn, so I would be ready to get to the cinnamon scented gift shop on the ground floor.

So it was a pleasant reminder of the Gold Lamb when Christianna assigned us a Wild Rice dressing.  I wanted to stick with the heartiness of a dressing, so I kept the celery and wild rice.  One cup of bacon drippings sounded a little rich for me, so I swapped that for olive oil, a little butter and chicken sausage.  The curry powder was an intriguing component, but I wanted to keep things traditional.  As the song goes, I used parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme.  Thank you Christianna for giving us this recipe.  It was a fun trip down memory lane, translated into a more modern version that will be my leftovers for lunch this week.

Portabella Mushroom and Wild Rice Dressing
Makes about 6 cups

It has been a few months since Thanksgiving, so this recipe will bring the festive aromas into your February kitchen.  Feel free to swap in a different meat, or take out the sausage altogether.  Either way, you will be warmed with wild rice and mushroom goodness.

1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 medium onion, diced
3 stalks celery, diced
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried rosemary
1 tsp dried sage
1 Tbsp butter
1 cup uncooked brown rice and wild rice blend
1 1/2-2 cup broth (chicken, vegetable or mushroom)

2 chicken sausage links
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 Portbella mushrooms, thinly sliced
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped
2 green onions, diced
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat 1 Tbsp olive oil on medium heat in a medium pot.   Drop in the onions and celery and saute until they have softened , about 10 minutes.  Add in the thyme, rosemary, sage and butter and stir to coat.  Pour in the rice and broth and bring to a boil.  Lower to a simmer, cover and cook until rice is done, about 35 minutes.  Add more broth if necessary.

Meanwhile, boil the chicken sausages until done.  Remove from heat, and cut into coins.  Heat a separate saute pan on medium.  Add in the other 1 Tbsp olive oil.  Drop in the mushrooms, thyme and garlic powder.  Saute until the mushrooms are cooked through.  Add in the sausage pieces and cook until all the flavors have blended.

When the rice mixture is done, pour it into the mushroom and sausage pan.  Stir in the fresh parsley, green onions and salt and pepper to taste.

Upgrade 2012

I am probably going to sound like an insanely broken record, but I am dedicating this post to yet another one of my New Year's Resolutions: to upgrade my life.  This is intended to materialize in many forms.  For example, as I suggested in a previous post, I am continuing my 2011 resolution to branch out with my recipes like cooking more eggplant.  Expanding my culinary repertoire by opening new cookbooks, attempting recipes that would have previously intimidated me, allowing myself to make something that I may not actually like the taste of, and purposing buying ingredients so I have to research what to do with them...these are my interpretations of upgrading my cuisine.

Another upgrade is my camera.  Now that I have been blogging for a little while, I saw 2012 as a pivotal time to upgrade my photography.  Thanks to my dear friend B, I learned what to buy, what reference book to have at my fingertips at all times, and have an upcoming photography class given to me as a gift from my six girlfriends.  So this post is the first post with the new camera.  These are literally my first pictures, so you will have to bear with me as I get more accustomed.  Hopefully from here on out, my pictures will get better and better as I navigate my way through the book.

Another upgrade is adding more blues and purples into my life.  You know that feeling when you are attracted to a person, or an object or a landscape, and feel your eyes open just a little bit more?  Well, that is what happens when I see these colors, and therefore have accented my apartment with them in the form of water glasses, pillows and more.

But the main lesson and goal of Upgrade 2012 is to approach life fearlessly.  The most intimidating experiences are the ones that make me feel so empowered afterwards.  If that means going up and talking to the keynote speaker at a conference, or buying that dress that is a little out of your 'style' range, or taking that class that places you way out of your comfort zone...Do It.  Trying something is way more interesting than sitting at home thinking about it and never doing it.

So embrace 2012 and make it a year of truly going for what you want, even if it means breaking out into a cold sweat from time to time.  The end result (and the experience) are so rewarding.  Speaking of which...below is one of my first photographs of food with the new camera.  This was my dinner from a few nights ago:

White beans in a tomato sauce
Sauteed kale
Roasted cauliflower
Dried figs

Let's all 'Carpe Diem' and make it that much more interesting...

Chicken Piccata

As you may have noticed over the past several months, my posting schedule has been a little bit less frequent than it used to be...and realized that I haven't formally explained my reasoning.  Those of you that follow me on Facebook and Twitter may be in the know.  But I want to keep everyone in the loop in the case that you don't have said accounts.  I have been contributing a whole other set of recipes to another site called FaveDiets.com .  If you click on the green highlighted word there above, it will take you to the site. If you then click on my name, you will be directed to my page.  I have become a 'Featured Foodie' on the site, and every Monday you will see a new recipe and photo.  It has been a really great community and is inspiring to cook up recipes on a scheduled basis.  So now I have two opportunities to share the happenings in my kitchen.

Now let's get down to brass tacks.  Chicken Piccata.  Last week this dish popped into my view a handful of ways...on websites, on magazines and on menus.  One day at the grocery store I figured I needed to buy capers and shallots in preparation for making it sometime.  I needed to find out what this Piccata business was all about.  So last week I was home for lunch after having included myself in a hard workout in the morning.  So I was craving a hearty protein filled lunch.  Enter Chicken Piccata.

I realized before making the dish that I didn't have every ingredient the recipe called for, such as white wine, parsley or lemon juice.  Those ingredients were improvised with apple cider vinegar, fresh basil and caper juice, respectively.  I incorporated my experiment with the original below because one aspect I definitely would change from what I did, is to use lemon juice for sure, over caper juice.  Caper juice is a little pungent, so I do not recommend.  But otherwise, this was such a satisfying and hearty lunch, that I was honestly sad when my plate was empty.



Chicken Piccata
Adapted from Cooking Light January/February 2012
Yields 2 servings


Cooking chicken with a little bit of flour, butter and oil bumps it up several levels on the taste scale.  Shallots, capers and basil add such an earthy and fresh dimension to the gravy that you really do feel complete after this meal.


3 Tbsp flour, divided 2 Tbsp/1Tbsp
2 chicken breasts (boneless, skinless and free range if possible)
Salt and pepper
2 tsp butter
3 tsp olive oil, divided 2tsp/1tsp
1 shallot bulb, peeled and finely minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 Tbsp apple cider vinegar (or 1/4 cup white wine)
1/2 cup broth (mushroom, chicken or vegetable), divided in half
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1 Tbsp capers
3 Tbsp fresh basil, julienned (thinly chopped)

Prepare a small plate with 2 Tbsp of flour for the chicken dredging station.  Set aside while you place the raw chicken in a large plastic bag or between two pieces of plastic wrap.  Using something heavy, like a 10 pound weight (such as myself), or better yet, a real meat mallet...pound the chicken until it has become thin.  Remove from plastic, sprinkle with salt and pepper on both sides.  Dredge them through the flour on the plate until both sides are nicely coated.  Wash hands.

Heat a medium skillet on medium heat.  Plop in the butter and 2 tsp of olive oil and allow to melt/heat up.  Carefully place the chicken breasts into the pan.  Cook each side for about five minutes, until fully cooked in the middle.  Remove, place on a plate and cover with a paper towel to keep warm.

Using the same pan, pour in the remaining tsp of olive oil.  Add in the shallots and cook for about 2 minutes. Drop in the garlic next and cook for 1 minute.  Pour in the apple cider vinegar (or wine) and cook until almost all of the liquid has cooked out.  Measure out 1/4 cup of your broth of choice and spoon in the remaining Tbsp of flour.  Whisk until fully incorporated.  Pour this into the pan with shallots.  Cook for a few minutes until it has thickened a bit.  Add the remaining 1/4 cup broth and cook for a few more minutes.  Remove from heat and add in lemon juice and capers.

Spoon the gravy on top of each of the chicken breasts.  Top with a sprinkling of fresh basil.  Serve with a nice green vegetable and a glass of wine.