Dear Anna,

Well, I had all these letters ready to go on my website last week and then the election happened.

And then I tried to write a post about the election and it was a train wreck.

It’s just been one of those weeks where instead of putting things on the internet and adding to the noise, I needed to listen.

So I spent the week listening to (and reading) the voices of the people whose hearts were broken by the election results. And also a few whose were not.

And I ate a lot of chocolate.

So this week, I am starting fresh with eating clean and trying to write again and that’s why I’m writing you a letter about a quinoa chickpea salad.

You see I’ve been making this salad a lot lately that I keep meaning to tell you about.

Because I think you should make it at Blackberry for your Market Sides Case.

It’s powerful.

As in full of protein and fills you up in a way that gets you through your day. It sticks to your bones. 

Also, bonus! It’s gluten free. Well, at least I think it is. I can’t read all the ingredients in my bottle of chili garlic sauce. Honestly it’s a miracle I was able to translate enough labels to find chili garlic sauce in Germany. But you can study the labels of chili garlic sauce here to determine if it’s clean.

So, first you coat chickpeas in sesame oil and garlic chili sauce and then roast them. I like them to get really done, like crunchy, but you could cook them for a little less time if you wanted.

Then you boil some quinoa. I really like that three colored quinoa. It’s hard to find here in Germany, but as with many ingredients, if I search in multiple (like five) grocery stores and even go to that one that is not at all on my way home, then jackpot! (This is true for quinoa, but not for pumpkin, alas!)

Then you chop up all the vegetables and make a salad dressing out of peanut butter, more sesame oil and more chili garlic sauce. Add some honey or maple syrup and a little lime juice. Then BAM! This salad sings with flavor.

It’s the goods. I promise.

Make it and tell me what you think. I promise to get out of bed and stop reading Twitter if you do.

Love ya,

Al

PS. I don’t know if you have had much time to read about the election with working a lot of hours and running a household and a business and such, so I’ll just leave my three favorite reads right here. Just in case:

This, this and this.

PPS. Here’s the recipe:

Quinoa Chickpea Power Salad

1 can chickpeas, drained

2 cups cooked quinoa (tri-colored is my favorite)

16 ounces lettuce (about 1 head) or you could use kale if you want it to hold up for longer

1 large carrot, peeled and chopped into small pieces

1 cucumber, peeled and chopped

1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes, halved

2 tablespoons sesame oil

1 teaspoon chili garlic sauce

1/2 teaspoon honey

Dressing:

1/ 4 cup sesame oil

1/4 cup peanut butter

1/4 cup chili garlic sauce

3 tablespoons maple syrup (can substitute honey)

1 tablespoon lime juice

1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:

Coat chickpeas with 2 tablespoons sesame oil, 1 teaspoon chili garlic sauce and a squeeze of honey. Roast in a 400 degree oven for about 15-20 minutes, stirring every ten.

Place all salad ingredients in a large bowl and mix dressing ingredients with a stick blender. Add chickpeas to the salad along with the dressing and toss until entire salad is evenly coated.

Serve immediately or package up for lunch power bowls!

Enjoy!

The post A Letter to My Sister about Quinoa Chickpea Power Salad appeared first on Alison Chino.

Cobb Salad With Edamame, Prosciutto and Bacon

I wildly vary my Cobb Salad in the summertime, according to what I have around and what vegetables are in abundance.  For example, if I were to make this same salad today, I would add some thinly sliced yellow squash.

However, a few things stay the same.  There is always bacon.  There is always blue cheese.  And there is always, always this wonderful garlicky vinaigrette.

You can substitute or add turkey and cheddar cheese.  Throw some fresh corn in there.  Like most salads this recipe is super versatile, but you won’t be disappointed if you make it just like it is.

Because it is yum.

Cheers to summer and colorful salads, y’all!

Cobb Salad With Edamame, Prosciutto and Bacon

Salad Ingredients

3/4 pound thick-sliced Petit Jean bacon, cooked, drained and cut into 2-inch pieces

8 cups spring mix or other lettuce

1/2 pound Prosciutto OR you can use roasted turkey breast, sliced 1/4-inch thick

1/4 pound blue cheese, roughly crumbled

2 large hard-boiled eggs, cut into wedges

6 medium vine-ripe tomatoes, cut into wedges

1 medium Haas avocado, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch wedges

1/4 pound edamame, shelled

Dressing Ingredients

1/4 teaspoon dry mustard powder

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1 medium clove garlic, finely chopped

2 tablespoons red-wine vinegar

1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper

Fill a platter with spring mix and arrange everything else in rows on top.

Mix the dressing in a mason jar and pour it over the salad and toss, or serve the dressing on the side.

I decide if I am going to toss the salad by how much will be leftover and by how picky my eaters are.  I serve it both ways.

Lovely Cobb Salad photos are the work of Whitney Loibner

The post Cobb Salad With Edamame, Prosciutto and Bacon appeared first on Alison Chino.

I put together a new salad featuring edamame this week in preparation for Bean 2 Blog, a super fun blogging event at P. Allen Smith‘s Moss Mountain Farm, hosted by P. Allen Smith and The Arkansas Soybean Promotional Board.

Edamame makes a regular appearance on our table, as a dinner side or an afternoon snack.  The kids love it and so do I, so I am excited that my state is growing more of this great crop.

Edamame is basically a common soybean, but it is harvested at the peak of ripening right before it reaches the hardening that makes it a dry bean.

We learned at Bean 2 Blog that our nation’s first plant dedicated to the receiving, processing, packaging and shipping of edamame was built right here in Arkansas last year. The plant in Mulberry is also directly helping Arkansas farmers to grow more edamame by contracting with farmers to plant acres (900 in 2012) of this soybean variety.

All the bloggers got to bring edamame seeds home that have been researched and produced right here in Arkansas.  The soybean plants that make edamame are actually different from the soybeans that are grown for other uses.  Edamame plants are not genetically modified and many of them are grown organically.

I am totally going to take my seeds to Sandy and Michael’s land to plant.

Colorful Summer Salad with Peppers and Edamame

This salad is a bright, colorful cornucopia of summer.  Different colored peppers and purple onions give it stripes of color, but then the tomatoes and edamame make it pop.

Happy day!  A beautiful salad that tastes delicious and is good for you!  High in protein, fiber and iron, edamame is a super legume.

{Printable Recipe}

Ingredients

8 ounces spring mix

1/2 cup shelled edamame

1 cup green beans, blanched and chopped

1/4 cup sliced red onion (about half of a small red onion)

1 cup sliced peppers (any mix of colors)

1 yellow squash, thinly sliced

2-4 tomatoes, sliced

1/4 cup fresh dill, chopped

Dressing

1 cup olive oil

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

2 tablespoons honey

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon dried basil or 1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped

Arrange all ingredients on a platter or in a large bowl.  Mix dressing with a whisk or blender.  Pour over salad just before serving.

Enjoy!

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It is starting to get hot enough outside that you need a good standby recipe for cole slaw.

This recipe is part Ina Garten and part Rhonda Eubanks, my dear friend and catering buddy.

Rhonda and I love to cook together!  We have a great rhythm in the kitchen, and we freely alter each others’ recipes. She makes a slaw with bacon and blue cheese that I love.  The combination is brilliant.  However, she makes hers with bottled dressing and cole slaw mix, so I changed it up a little to have a homemade dressing and freshly chopped cabbage and carrots.  Also, Rhonda adds halved cherry tomatoes to her slaw.

Either way you make it, this slaw is a great addition to a summer picnic.

Recipe for Cole Slaw

Salad Ingredients:
1 large green cabbage, finely chopped
5 carrots, peeled and shredded in the food processor or minced in a blender
5 ribs of celery, chopped
8 ounces bacon, chopped and fried until crispy (I used Petit Jean Bacon, of course!)
6 ounces crumbled blue cheese

Dressing:
2 cups mayonnaise
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons vinegar
2 teaspoons celery seed
salt and pepper to taste

Place all ingredients except bacon and blue cheese in a serving bowl. Mix dressing in a separate bowl. Toss with slaw. Sprinkle blue cheese and bacon on top and wait to mix those in until just before serving.

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One of my Grandmother’s favorite local restaurants serves this salad that I find delectable, and since I cannot yet find it in me to go there without her, I have come up with a suitable imitation of this spring garden salad.

I used arugula instead of salad mix, because it’s my favorite, but I imagine that you could use just about any kind of salad greens.  Yellow squash are really beautiful at the farmers’ market right now.  I love them sliced thinly in salads or on pizza. In addition to being yummy, they add such great color to any dish.

Also, raisins are not usually my favorite, but they work really well in this salad.  You could substitute currants or golden raisins.  Sunflower seeds or pepitas would work as well.

Now, if my Grandmother were still here, we would have to have beer bread alongside this salad, which is full of calories and completely defeats the purpose of eating something healthy like a garden salad.

But she was never much for counting calories anyway.

Lemon Basil Garden Salad

(about 4 servings)

8 ounces fresh arugula (or other salad greens)

1 yellow squash, trimmed and thinly sliced

1 cup fresh broccoli, chopped into small pieces

5 button mushrooms, thinly sliced

1/4 to 1/2 cup sharp cheddar, shredded (I used the lesser amount, but you can vary this to taste)

1/4 cup raisins

Lemon Basil Salad Dressing

1/2 cup olive oil

2 tablespoons champagne vinegar

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon honey

2 tablespoons fresh basil or 1 teaspoon dried basil

1/2 teaspoon coarse kosher salt

Toss all salad ingredients together in a large bowl.  Mix dressing with a hand blender or in a food processor to emulsify ingredients.  Toss dressing with salad just before serving.

Enjoy!

PS. A little news:

I entered this Blackberry Peach Cobbler Recipe and won the Yarnell’s Cobbler Recipe Ice Cream contest, which means that I get a year’s supply of free ice cream!  Exciting!

And, I am going to be preparing it on the local morning news.  If interested you can watch Twitter or Facebook for updates about that!

The post Lemon Basil Garden Salad appeared first on Alison Chino.

Several variations of this Sesame Kale Salad, which is made ahead so the kale can marinate in a sour combination of lemon juice, soy sauce and sesame oil, have been appearing on our table for quite some time now.

I love kale because it keeps longer than salad greens, and this salad is good for two (even three) days after you make it.  The flavor keeps improving as it marinates.

It’s no secret that kale is super healthy and the great part about adding this item to your Thanksgiving menu is that you can make it a day ahead.

I also feel that this salad travels well and is best enjoyed at room temperature so it is a great item to take if you’re in charge of bringing a side dish.  Your hostess will love you for bringing something that doesn’t need to be warmed up in her already crowded oven.

Sesame Kale Salad

1 large bunch Kale greens

8 ounces sliced mushrooms

1/4 cup toasted sesame seeds

1/2 cup pickled purple onions

3/4 cup sunflower oil

1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil

1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

1/4 cup soy sauce

2 tablespoons cider vinegar

Remove stems from kale and chop or tear leaves into small pieces. (1-2 inch pieces)

Mix dressing ingredients in a small bowl. (sunflower oil, sesame oil, lemon juice, soy sauce and cider vinegar)

Toss kale and mushrooms in a large bowl with dressing.  Cover and leave out for 1 hour if serving today or refrigerate overnight.

Just before serving, add sesame seeds and pickled onions.

Note: You can use raw purple onions sliced paper thin instead of pickled, but in this case go ahead and add onions to the kale and mushrooms while salad is marinating.

I try to keep these pickled purple onions in my refrigerator in a jar for salads, slaws and as a side to any Mexican food dish.  They are delicious.

Pickled Onions (from Smitten Kitchen)
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup cold water
2 tablespoons kosher salt
1 tablespoon sugar
2 to 3 really good shots hot sauce
1 red onion, sliced into very thin rings

The post Sesame Kale Salad appeared first on Alison Chino.

I love a salad that can be the main event.

My sister is a master at creating a delectable salad and this one is a keeper of hers.

This salad stars barbequed chicken, which I marinated and Taido grilled.  The dressing has a southwestern flare, but it’s really just barbeque sauce mixed with homemade ranch. Fresh corn cut right off of the cob adds a sweetness to the spicy.

For the younger kids, who don’t love their salad all mixed together, I fixed plates of the same food that is in the salad while I’m throwing it all together.

I made twice as much chicken as I needed so that kids (and adults) could also eat off the platter of remaining chicken pieces.

Barbeque Chicken Salad

Ingredients:

6-8 cups spring mix

Corn sliced off 4 cobs of fresh corn that have been dropped in boiling water for 6 minutes

Barbeque chicken pieces: 2 pounds chicken strips, marinated for 4 hours in 1 cup barbeque sauce and 1/2 cup olive oil, grilled, drizzled with barbeque sauce and chopped into chunks.

8-10 small vine ripe tomatoes quartered

1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped

crushed tortilla chips

Dressing:

1/2 cup homemade ranch dressing + 1/2 cup barbeque sauce mixed together

Assemble all the ingredients on a large platter or in a large bowl.  This part can be done ahead of time.  The platter is a great presentation, and you can serve the salad this way and have the dressing available on the side.  Or you can add the dressing just before serving.

The post Barbeque Chicken Salad appeared first on Alison Chino.

Black Bean Confetti

I am crazy for all the ingredients in this Tex-Mex bowl of yumminess.

Also, all the colors make me happy.

Every once in a while my friend Rhonda and I cater an event for someone.  Mostly we do it because we love cooking together so much.

We recently made two huge bowls of this black bean confetti dip for a big family reunion.

It was a big hit.

This recipe can be made ahead of time if you just leave the avocados out until the last minute.

Grab a bag of tortilla chips and take this confetti dip to your next summer gathering. Labor Day maybe?

Black Bean Confetti

1 bunch cilantro, chopped

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 cans black beans, drained

1 can white corn, drained

1 cup chopped red onion

1 jalepeno pepper, seeded and chopped (you can add more if you want it hotter)

1/3 cup lime juice

1 teaspoon cumin

2 diced avocados

2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved

Toss all ingredients together and serve with tortilla chips.

Enjoy!

P.S. Simon took this picture of me working in our church kitchen while he was hanging around waiting on me.

The post Black Bean Confetti appeared first on Alison Chino.

We had the most delectable lunch at Moss Mountain Farm this week.  In keeping with our soy-themed day for Bean 2 Blog, the topping for the potato was made with tofu and the succotash served with the pork tenderloin was filled with edamame.

I enjoyed the whole meal very much, but my favorite part was, as you might guess, the vegetables.  I decided that the succotash should be liberated out from under the pork tenderloin, so I made it last night all by itself.  And with the exception of Simon, it was a hit.

I added zucchini and took out the cumin since I wasn’t pairing it with the pork tenderloin.  The dish came out great and made a wonderful leftover lunch today.

Edamame is one of my favorite snacks, as it is delicious all by itself.  I love to bring a bag of it with me in the car on a road trip, because like unshelled sunflower seeds, eating the beans out of the pods occupies me in a way that also keeps me alert as I’m rolling down the road.

However, pulling all those soybeans out of the pods for a salad can be a little tedious, which is why it’s so great that you can now by frozen edamame already shelled.  Buying the edamame this way makes this recipe insanely simple.  You should probably make it this weekend and take it as a side dish to whatever Memorial Day event you’re attending.  Someone like me will be so happy to see a bowl full of brightly colored veggies breaking up the heavier picnic fare.

Soy Succotash

(loosely adapted from this recipe at Soy Connection that was served to the bloggers at Bean 2 Blog straight from the LOVELY kitchen at Moss Mountain Farm)

Ingredients:

2 cups edamame

2 cups cherry tomatoes, cut in half (I used regular tomatoes because that’s what I had on hand, but I think cherry would work better)

1 cup corn, frozen or cut off the cob

2 small zucchini diced into half inch pieces

¼ cup red onion, diced small

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon salt

Dash of cayenne pepper

2 teaspoons soybean oil

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and toss.

Heat oil in medium frying pan over medium heat.  Add edamame mixture and cook, stirring constantly, for around 5 minutes or until warm.

Enjoy!

The post Soy Succotash appeared first on Alison Chino.

Last weekend, I helped several friends of mine throw a shower for a precious gal who is soon to marry the son of one of my very dearest friends.

We had so much fun putting this party together, which we had at my friend Rhonda’s beautiful home around the pool.  She and I love to put a menu together, and we have been planning this one all spring.

It was a perfect day, besides being a tad windy, but everyone held onto their napkins while they enjoyed a light lunch and a chance to love on this happy couple.

We plated the food at Rhonda’s bar and set up a table where you could grab your drink and a cookie.  I loved the way this flowed, and as is my preference, lots of this was all done ahead of time!  This leaves more time for visiting with friends at the party.

Taylor and Hayley both have last names that start with “H”, so we used their monogram on everything, which was super fun.  They also love Scrabble, so our decorating master made them a Scrabble pillow and she used Scrabble letters in all the arrangements.  So cutie!

I’ve listed all the recipes below from the party, so you can recreate this yummy lunch if you want!

Tomato and Cheddar Potato Soup

Loosely adapted from Crescent Dragonwagon’s Soup and Bread

2 cups dark beer

6 large potatoes

1 quart chicken stock

3 bay leaves

1 teaspoon basil

1 teaspoon oregano

½ cup butter

1 large onion, diced

2 ribs celery, diced

2 carrots, diced

5 cloves garlic, peeled and minced

1 28oz can diced tomatoes

2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoon soy sauce

2 tablespoons flour

1 cup milk

Tobasco sauce to taste, optional

½ teaspoon dry mustard

12 oz sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Bring potatoes to a boil in the stock and beer.  Add the bay leaves, basil and oregano.

In a cast iron skillet, melt butter.  Saute onion 10 minutes.  Add celery, garlic and carrot.  Cook 10 more minutes.

Add tomatoes and sauces.  Cook until most of the liquid evaporates.

Make a paste with the flour and then gradually stir in the milk.

Add mustard and tobasco (if using).

Stir tomato mixture into the soup pot and add the cheese.

Allow the soup to heat back up after the cheese is added before serving.

Serve hot.

always makes me happy salad

4-6 servings

8 ounces spring mix

1/2 cup toasted pecans

2 cups strawberries, halved

1/2 cup diced feta cheese

dressing:

1/2 cup olive oil

1/4 cup trader joe’s orange muscat champagne vinegar OR regular champagne vinegar with a tablespoon of orange juice

2 tablespoons honey

1/2 teaspoon coarse kosher salt

I use a little hand blender to mix my dressing. It emulsifies it really well. This may be too much dressing depending on how much lettuce you use, but you can always refrigerate the rest and use it later.

Chicken Pasta Broccoli Salad

2 boneless, skinless chicken breast cooked and cut into chunks

1 cup chopped pecans, slightly toasted

8 bacon slices cooked and crumbled

8 ounce Fusilli pasta

1 pound fresh broccoli, chopped

2 cups red seedless grapes, halved

1 cup mayonnaise

1/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup diced red onion

1/3 cup red wine vinegar

1 tsp salt

Boil chicken until done, about 30 minutes. Toast pecans for 5 minutes and set aside.  Fry bacon and set aside.

Boil pasta according to package instructions, drain and rinse with cold water, drain again.

Add broccoli and grapes to pasta.  Mix mayo, sugar, onion, vinegar, and salt together.  Pour mixture into pasta. Combine well.  Just before serving add pecans and bacon and mix well.

Serves 10-12

Beer Bread

3 cups self-rising flour

1/2 cup sugar

12 ounces flat beer

1/4 pound butter melted (1 stick)

In medium bowl combine flour and sugar.  Mix well.  Stir in beer.  Mix well.  Pour mixture into greased, floured 9 X 5 inch loaf pan.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 45 minutes.  Pour melted butter over bread.  Return to oven.  Bake 15 more minutes.  Removed from oven.  Cool in pan on rack for 30 minutes.  Remove from pan.  Slice and serve.

Farmhouse Punch

46 ounce can pineapple juice

46 ounce can apple juice

12 ounce can frozen orange juice

2 quarts ginger ale

Combine juices.  Mix until orange juice is thawed.  Add ginger ale.  Makes 40 8 ounce servings.

Red Zinger Mint Tea

4 red zinger tea bags

4 large sprigs of mint leaves

Makes 2 quarts.

Martha Stewart’s Sugar Cookies

Makes about 16 large cookies

Ingredients:

4  cups sifted all-purpose flour

1/2  teaspoon salt

1  teaspoon baking powder

1  cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter

2  cups sugar

2   large eggs

2  teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Directions:

In a large bowl, sift together flour, salt, and baking powder. Set aside.

Use an electric mixer to cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in eggs.

Add flour mixture, and mix on low speed until thoroughly combined. Stir in vanilla or lemon juice and zest. Wrap dough in plastic; chill for about 30 minutes.

Heat oven to 325°. On a floured surface, roll dough to 1/8 inch thick. Cut into desired shapes. Transfer to ungreased baking sheets; refrigerate until firm, 15 minutes. Bake until edges just start to brown, 8 to 10 minutes. Cool on wire racks; decorate as desired.

Enjoy!

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