Mediterranean Quinoa Salad

Ingredients

• 1 cup quinoa, uncooked
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup diced, seeded, unpeeled cucumber
• 1 can (14.5 oz each) Hunt's® Diced Tomatoes with Basil, Garlic and Oregano, drained
• 1 can (2.25 oz each) sliced ripe olives, drained
• 1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese
• 1/4 cup chopped red onion

Directions

• Directions
• Cook quinoa according to package directions, adding the salt.
• Meanwhile, combine cucumber, drained tomatoes, olives, cheese and onion in large bowl; set aside.
• Spread cooked quinoa in 13x9-inch baking dish. Cool slightly in refrigerator 5 minutes. Add quinoa to vegetable mixture; toss gently to combine. Serve immediately or refrigerate until cold.

Houston's Knock-Off Ribs

Stater Brothers had a sale on pork ribs, and I got way too many.  That's what happens when you leave your husband with the butcher and wander away.   I've got half in the freezer, and the other half I'm grilling tonight using this recipe:

HOUSTON'S KNOCK OFF RIBS

I know they won't be like Houston's exactly, but it's worth a try.

I followed it with the exception of being out of Liquid Smoke and substituting Smoked Paprika in my steam water.  I'm using smoky mesquite coals as well.

This recipe included a bbq sauce recipe, thank goodness, because after I steamed the ribs I realized I didn't have any bbq sauce in the fridge!

Smells yummy!

I didn't use wax paper;  melted wax disaster sounded bad.

So I used parchment paper instead and it worked fine.

After the steaming, this is how the ribs came out.

Meat was already falling off the bone! 

Slathering of the bbq sauce onto the steamed ribs.

Grilled bone side down for 10 minutes.

And voila!

This picture isn't a good one, but here we have a couple 

finished ribs and some home-dressed coleslaw on the side.

Straciatella Soup

This is a tweeked version of Mario Batali's Roman Style Egg-Drop Soup (Straciatella)


Ingredients
6 cups brown chicken stock, recipe follows
3 eggs
3 tablespoons semolina flour
3 tablespoons grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
1 tablespoon Italian parsley, finely chopped
Pinch nutmeg
Salt and pepper
12 oz can diced tomatoes
8 oz orzo or small pasta


Brown Chicken Stock:
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 1/2 pounds chicken wings, backs, and bones
3 carrots, coarsely chopped
2 onions, coarsely chopped
4 ribs celery, coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
1 bunch parsley stems


Brown Chicken Stock Directions:
In a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan, heat the oil over high heat until smoking. Add all the chicken parts and brown all over, stirring to avoid burning. Remove the chicken and reserve. Add the carrots, onions, and celery to the pot and cook until soft and browned. Return the chicken to the pot and add 3 quarts of water, the tomato paste, peppercorns, and parsley. Stir with a wooden spoon to dislodge the browned chicken and vegetables bits from the bottom of the pan. Bring almost to a boil, then reduce heat and cook at a low simmer until reduced by half, about 2 hours, occasionally skimming excess fat. Remove from heat, strain, and press on the solids with the bottom of a ladle to extract out all liquids. Stir the stock to facilitate cooling and set aside. Refrigerate stock in small containers for up to a week or freeze for up to a month.

Directions
Measure out 1 of the 6 cups of brown chicken stock and refrigerate so that it is cold.
In a large stock pot, bring the remaining 5 cups of chicken stock to a boil. Add pasta and tomatoes.  In a large bowl, combine the cold broth, eggs, semolina, cheese, parsley and nutmeg and whisk until well blended. Whisk the mixture into the boiling stock and reduce heat to low. Continue to whisk for 3 to 4 minutes. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper and divide evenly among 6 warmed soup bowls. Serve immediately, topped with more grated cheese if desired.

Houston's Kale Salad

For the peanut vinaigrette:
½ cup peanut oil
2 Tablespoons toasted sesame oil
2 Tablespoons seasoned rice wine vinegar (or apple cider vinegar)
1 Tablespoon soy sauce
1-½ Tablespoons honey
Dash of cayenne pepper

For the salad:
4 heaping cups chopped kale (from one smallish bunch kale, leaves washed and de-stemmed)
1 cup finely slivered green cabbage
¼ cup chopped fresh mint
¼ cup chopped cilantro
1 scallion, slivered
3 Tablespoons chopped peanuts (I use roasted salted peanuts)

Make the dressing by whisking all the ingredients together in a small mixing bowl. Alternately, you can add the ingredients to a small jar with a tight-fitting lid and shake vigorously to combine.

Combine all the salad ingredients except the chopped peanuts in a large bowl. Add about half the dressing and toss well, adding more dressing as needed so that all the leaves are lightly coated. (You will probably have leftover dressing.) This salad tastes better if dressed at least 30 minutes before serving, giving the vinaigrette a chance to mellow out the crunch of the raw kale leaves.

Add the chopped peanuts right before serving and toss again, seasoning to taste with salt and pepper. Makes 4 salad servings, or 2 main course servings.