Bulgur Wheat Salad

This Salad is fine as a meal by itself or as a side with grilled meats and fish. With the fresh chopped herbs it really packs a lot of flavor.  Its one of my fave for the former for a quick lunch.

Bulgur wheat is simply cracked wheat berries. It used to be a staple at the hippy stores, but I've  been finding it in mainstream grocs these days.  Yeah...and its cheaper that way too.  Nice complete grain and its easy to cook.  If you can do rice, you can do this.

I always have chicken stock on hand so this isn't entirely vegan, to make it that way simply use a good veggie stock.  As you don't know how much salt is in the stock, hold off salting the bulgur wheat until you taste it.

Bulgur Wheat Salad

• 1 c bulgur wheat
• 2 c veggie or chicken stock
• 1/4 t black pepper
• Salt
• 1 c sliced mushrooms
• 1 small zucchini quartered and sliced
• 1 clove garlic minced
• 1/2 onion chopped
• 3 T chopped cilantro
• 3 T chopped mint
• juice of one lemon
• 2 T olive oil

In small sauce pot bring stock to a boil.  Add bulgur wheat and reduce heat to low and simmer/steam 20 minutes. Remove from heat and lest stand 10 minutes covered.

Add mushrooms to a large non-stick fry pan with a tablespoon of oil.   Sautee over med/high heat until the mushrooms start to brown, about 3-5 minutes.  Add zucchini and cook 3-5 minutes until they start to brown.  Add onion and cook to translucent.  Add garlic and cook 1 minute.  Remove from heat.

Prepare dressing with lemon juice, olive oil, herbs, and black pepper.  In large salad bowl add bulgur wheat and fluff with a fork.  Pour over the veggie mixture and toss lightly to combine.  Pour over the salad dressing and toss to dress the salad.  Test of salt and add as needed.  Serve warm.

Slaw 2 ways...its how I gotta do it some days`

I

I have some picky eaters.  One likes only the traditional southern style slaw, the others like the Thai style.  Its easy enough to make both so I do.

To make life easier I take a small head of cabbage, quarter it then finely slice it all at once.  Voila...enough cabbage for 2 batches of slaw.  From there its about the dressing and that is just stupid easy.  

The traditional southern is what I learned back in "Men's Contemporary Living" back in high school for crying out loud.  The other is an adaptation of the one my cousin makes...Thai with the flavors amped up a bit.

Traditional Southern Cole Slaw

• 4 c sliced cabbage
• 2 T finely sliced onion
• 1/2 c Miracle Whip
• 2 T apple cider vinegar
• 1 T sugar
• pinch salt
• Pinch black pepper.

Whisk together the Miracle Whip, vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper.  Add to sliced cabbage and onion.  Toss to coat.  Chill for at least an hour for the flavors to marry.

Thai Cole Slaw

• 4 c sliced cabbage
• 1/4 c thinly sliced onion
• 1/4 c peanuts
• 2 T chopped cilantro
• 1/2 c Miracle Whip
• 2 T  rice wine vinegar
• Juice of one lime
• 1 t curry powder
• 1 t fish sauce
• pinch salt

Combine Miracle Whip, vinegar, lime juice, curry powder, fish sauce and salt.  Whisk until smooth.  Pour over sliced cabbage, onion, cilantro and peanuts.  Toss to coat.  Chill for at least an hour for the flavors to marry.

Tuna Tarragon Mac Salad

Today is classic May Gray, with wind warnings and red flag starting at 3PM.  What's that got to do with food?  Plenty.  The latter means its going to be extremely hot and dry for the next several days as it harkins the return of the Santa Ana winds.  Nothing is more refreshing than a cold salad on a hot miserable day and this fits the bill.

I use good canned in water tuna.  Simple honest tuna flavor with no added fat calories...the dressing will add plenty of that.

I use frozen peas as they are already blanched and are ready to go.  By all means since this is fresh pea season use them, just blanch in salted water and shock in ice water to keep them brilliant green.

I sprinkle the herbs onto the hot drained pasta as the residual heat and moisture will cause them to release their flavor oils and deep flavor the pasta.

Tuna Tarragon Mac Salad

• 12 oz Shell shaped Pasta 
• 1 T minced tarragon
• 1 T minced parsley
• 1 half small onion minced
• 1 c sliced celery
• 1/4 diced dill pickle
• 2 cans tuna, drained.
• 1 c frozen peas
• 1 c Miracle Whip
• 3 T dijon mustard
• 2 T dill pickle juice
• 1 t salt
• 1 t fresh ground pepper

Cook pasta according to package directions in well salted water.  Drain.  Pour pasta into mixing bowl and sprinkle with herbs.  Toss lightly.  Set aside while prepping veggies and pickles.

Put minced onion, sliced celery and dill pickle into bowl.  Flake tuna and sprinkle over the veggies.

Prepare dressing by whisking together Miracle Whip, mustard, pickle juice, salt and pepper.  Pour over the pasta and toss lightly until all are well distributed and coated with dressing.  Chill at least 3 hours in fridge before serving.

Coffee Brined Pork Loin Chops

What?  Coffee in a brine.  Absolutely.  It brings smokey bitter notes to a naturally sweet meat like pork.  Grill it over sweet mesquite and omg...its terrific.

The coffee you use will make a difference. I prefer bold roasts for the rounded bitterness.  A medium roast will work in a pinch.  Skip right over the light "breakfast blend" roasts as they are too light to work well with this brine.

Costco sells pork loins, whole strips about 2-3 feet long on the cheap.  This lack of butchering on their part is a bonus for me in that I can cut it into thick loin chops or modest sides loin roasts.  All at a fraction of the cost the local groc charges.  Wrap it up in good freezer paper and its good to go for a couple of months before use.

I use the Thai red chili in this.  I like the heat and flavor.  If you can find it your groc is challenged and you need to tell them to get on the ball and stock them.  If that doesn't work you can substitute a red jalapeno pepper.

Coffee Brined Pork Loin Chops

• 4 large 1 1/2" thick pork loin chops
• 1 1/2 c water
• 1 heaping T coffee
• 1" piece of ginger sliced
• 4-5 cloves garlic - smashed
• 2 Thai red chili - sliced horizontally
• 1 T dried thyme 
• 1 t kosher salt

In sauce pot add ginger and coffee grounds.  Bring to a boil.  Then remove from heat and cover, let steep for 5-10 minutes.  Strain the mixture tossing coffee grounds but reserving the ginger slices.  Add smashed garlic, sliced Thai chili , salt and thyme.  Put the pork loin chops into a large food storage bag, pour in coffee mixture with the veggies and herbs.  Seal bag, place in a large bowl to catch potential leaks, and refrigerate for 6-8 hours.

1 hour prior to grilling pull the pork loin chops from the fridge and allow it to sit on counter to come to room temperature.  This ensures even cooking.  Remove chops from bag, pat dry with towel and grill 5-6 minutes per side until cooked through. (FDA recommends 165f, I' go with 150 so its still juicy but no longer pink).

Orange Sriracha glazed salmon and Herbed Bulgar Wheat

This is stupid easy and fast.  Can you boil water?  If so the bulgar wheat is done.  Can you turn on a burner under a grill pan?  Bang...your done.

Seriouisly, some nights no one has time to fuzz and fiddle in the kitchen.  Tonight was one such night.  Busy baby sitting the grand meant little time in the kitchen.  Timing is everything so start the Herbed Bulgar wheat first, then move to the salmon.  This dinner is fast..on the table in 20 minutes.

Herbed Bulgar Wheat

• 1 c bulgar wheat
• 1 can chicken broth
• 2 T dried onion
• 1 T chopped cilantro
• 1 T chopped parsley

Bring chick broth and dried onion to a boil.  Remove from heat and add bulgar wheat and herbs. Stir.  Cover.  Let sit 15 minutes.  At end of the cooking time remove lid and fluff with a fork.

Orange Sriracha Glazed Salmon

• 2 salmon filets
• 4 T Orange Sriracha sauce
• salt 
• pepper

Heat a non stick grill pan over medium high heat.  Salt and pepper the salmon filets generously on both sides.  When grill pan is hot, spritz with non stick cooking spray and put salmon down.  Cook 4-5 minutes until the side is opaque about half way up the side of the salmon filet.  Flip over, reduce heat to medium.  Divide Orange Sriracha sauce and spread on the cooked side of the filets.  Cook 3-4 minutes longer until opaqueness meets in the middle.  Turn off heat and remove from pan, let rest 3 minutes and serve over Herbed Bulgar Wheat.

Orange Sriracha Glaze and when to tamper a bit

Sometimes I get a recipe and do it as is and its perfect. Other times it needs a tweak or two.  The Orange Sriracha Glaze fell into the latter category.  I used substitutes that the originator suggested as frankly I was too lazy to track down one of those hippy health food stores for "coconut amino's" and coconut oil.  Not that I'm against hippy food, I do plenty, its just buying stuff for a couple of dabs in a glaze just didn't make economic sense.

Once the basic sauce was done, wow...it blew my socks off.  The Sriracha was intense and the orange notes were just not coming through.  It also was just a tidge watery.  Depth of flavor was called for and I amped up that with two additional Asian flavors, oyster sauce and hoison sauce. In that vein I also added 1 T orange zest.  Et voila...it thickened nicely, and more importantly was balanced allowing the Sriracha to still be a player, but not over power the citrus notes of the orange.  Also the original recipe called for toasted sesame seeds...gross I don't trust anything that looks the same going in as it does on exit...the oil packs more flavor with no funny gritty bits.

And...while we are at it, don't get me wrong, I love my Calphalon, but sometimes you need a non-reactive pan like stainless steel. Really love my stainless lined copper for those acidic reductions that need to be untainted with the flavor of aluminum. This sauce needs a long slow simmer to reduce it to the consistency of a glaze and I fear the amount of acid in it would create an off flavor if I didn't use the non-reactive pan.

Orange Sriracha Glaze

• 1 c fresh squeezed orange juice
• 2 T Sriracha sauce
• 4 T honey
• 2 T low sodium soy sauce
• 1 T orange zest
• 1 T Oyster sauce
• 1 T Hoison Sauce
• 1 t sesame oil

Strain out the pulp from the orange juice and measure 1 cup.  (About 3 large navel oranges).  Add to non-reactive heavy bottom sauce pan.  Add Sriracha, honey, soy sauce, orange zest, oyster sauce, hoison sauce, and sesame oil.  Over medium low heat stir just softly to combine ingredients and bring to a boil.  Simmer on low heat until reduced to about 1/2 cup liquid, about 30 minutes. Test for seasoning and add a pinch or two of sea salt if needed.  Cool and store covered in a glass jar.

Spicy Orange Sriracha Chicken

• 1 lb chicken 
• 3 cloves garlic
• 2 T low sodium soy sauce
• 1/2 Medium onion cubed
• 1 medium red bell pepper cubed
• 3 T peanuts
• 2 t sesame oil
• 12 oz Udon noodles.
• 1/4 c Orange Sriracha Glaze

Dice chicken into a 1/2" dice.  Chop garlic and toss with chicken.  Sprinkle on the soy sauce.  Cover and marinate at least an hour, up to 4 hours in fridge.
Add Udon noodles to boiling water to warm and separate into strands.  Drain and toss with a sesame oil and set aside. 
Cube bell pepper and onion.  Heat wok with a couple of tablespoons vegetable oil until shimmering.  Add bell pepper and onion.  Stir fry a minute or two.  Add marinated chicken and stir fry until cooked through, tossing often.  Add peanuts ans stir fry one minute.  Reduce heat and add Orange Sriracha glaze.  Toss to coat.  Add Udon noodles and toss to coat and heat through, about 2 minutes.  Serve hot.

Special Thanks for the original glaze recipe to "Robb Graves" who created it and "Rusty Trombone" who passed it along to me.  Good stuff there Maynard.

Harissa Lemon Shrimp

I'm a fan of spicy food. I'm a fan of trying new stuff. This was a home run without trying.

Harissa Mina is a wonderfully spicy Moroccan chili, pepper and spice blend. I've seen it used a lot of times on the Food Network as an ingredient in marinades or as a condiment.  I used it in the former for this recipe.

Harissa Lemon Shrimp

• 2 lbs 16/20 Shrimp, peeled and deviened
• 1/4 c lemon juice
• zest of one lemon
• 1/4 c Harissa
• 1/4 c olive oil
• 1 T dried Thyme

Clean shrimp and arrange on skewers.  Lay in in non reactive dish.

Combine lemon juice, zest, Harissa and oilve oil.  Pour over shrimp.  Turn to coat evenly.  Marinate for 30 minutes.

Grill over gas or charcoal grill on medium high heat.  Place shrimp skewers on grill.  Grill 2-3 minutes, turn over and grill additional 2-3 minutes until bright pink and opaque through out.