Lemony Rice Salad

Recently, I took quite possibly the most spontaneous trip I've ever taken.  The Monkey Scientist was down in Florida with his family for Mother's Day and the roommate and I were feeling bored on Friday night.  A lot of our friends were working or out of town, so we didn't have much to do over the weekend.  So around 8 pm on Friday night, we booked a hotel in St. Louis.  We got up at 5 am and drove down there for a couple days.  Just like that.  It was so out of character for me!



We had a blast on our mini vacation.  We've been friends for so long that it doesn't take much until we're both cracking up at each other.  Anyone who knows me well knows I tear up quite a bit when I laugh, and it was only about an hour into the drive that I had to stop and buy a box of tissues.  Once we made it down there, we scalped tickets to a Cardinals-Rockies game and enjoyed the beautiful weather.  While it was cold and miserable in Chicago, the weather was sunny and perfect in St. Louis!



The highlight of our trip was far and away the City Museum.  Have you ever been there?  I don't think I've stopped talking about it since.  It's a giant playground...for adults.  There are caves you can crawl in, tunnels in the ceiling that make you slide along on your belly, and a 10-story slide inside what looks like an old alley between two buildings.  And that's just the inside!  It was absolutely spectacular.  We had no idea what to expect, and we were blown away.  I think we spent almost 4 hours there.  If you're ever in St. Louis it's a must-see!  But I highly recommend you wear work-out clothes, which was the little tip we'd wished we were given!



This rice has nothing to do with St. Louis.  But it is really great.  The roommate had made it a few weeks ago on his night to make dinner, and I liked it so much I insisted he make it again.  It's lemony and fresh - just what I was looking for as we're hitting the peak of Spring.  It would be a great dish to bring to a barbecue this summer since it's just perfect at room temperature.  I know we'll be making this all the way through to fall!



Lemony Rice Salad
from Serious Eats

Ingredients
1/2 cup pine nuts
1 1/2 cups uncooked white rice
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (about 2 lemons)
2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
2 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 cup sliced green onions
1/3 cup golden raisins

Instructions
1. In a small skillet over medium heat, toast the pine nuts, stirring frequently, until just starting to brown. Don't let them burn!
2. Meanwhile, cook the rice on the stove or in your rice cooker, following the package instructions.
3. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the lemon zest, lemon juice, orange juice, white balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper, and olive oil.
4. When the rice is done cooking, stir together the hot rice, pine nuts, dressing, sliced green onions, and golden raisins. Allow to settle to room temperature and serve.

Picadillo and Eggplant Soup

After I made Stuffed Pepper Soup, I wanted to keep turning my favorite recipes into soup.  So where better to turn next than to one of my favorites - Picadillo Eggplant Boats?  So that's exactly where I headed.



Even though I hate tomato soup, I loved the tomato base of the Stuffed Pepper Soup.  Since the original recipe called for tomato paste, I figured it wouldn't be too far of a stretch to use the same liquid base as in the stuffed pepper soup, while keeping everything else nearly identical to the Picadillo Eggplant Boats.  I also used the same general methods of the Stuffed Pepper Soup, since it was super simple and came out so great.



As for the eggplant, I suppose I could have served the soup in boats - but I felt like that'd be a bit messy.  Instead, I chopped them up... OK, the Monkey Scientist chopped them up... and we threw them in to cook down and add more substance to the soup.  I was nervous at first that they wouldn't cook enough, but they turned out pretty close to perfect.



I was nervous about how this soup would be, but we both ended up loving it!  It was hearty, despite it's lack of a grain, and loaded with a unique flavor.  I would never think to add raisins to soup, but they added the perfect bit of sweetness and puffed up so they actually looked like beans.  The balance of sweet, spicy, and umami made this soup a perfect winner for a winter soup.



Picadillo and Eggplant Soup
adapted from recipes I posted for Picadillo Eggplant Boats and Stuffed Pepper Soup

Ingredients
2 tbsp olive oil
1 lb ground pork
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp oregano
1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 tsp ground allspice
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 medium sized yellow onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 small graffiti eggplant, diced
2 cans (14.5 oz each) cans petite diced tomatoes
2 cups tomato sauce (I used one 14.5-oz can and 8-oz can of Hunt's)
2 cups reduced sodium, fat-free chicken broth (I used Cottage Inn)
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp molasses (it helps to spray the measuring spoon with Pam)
1/4 c raisins

Instructions
1. Heat olive oil in a dutch oven or large, heavy pot over medium-high to high heat. Add ground pork and cook until brown, seasoning with cinnamon, oregano, red pepper flakes, allspice, salt, and garlic powder.
2. Reduce heat to medium or medium-low and add onion, garlic, and eggplant. Cook for 5-8 minutes until beginning to soften.
3. Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, chicken broth, apple cider vinegar, molasses, and raisins. Cover and simmer on medium-low to low heat for 30 minutes. Serve immediately.

Picadillo filled Eggplant Boats

The Monkey Scientist and his roommate came over to my apartment for dinner this week and I wanted to make something that had a great presentation and was super flavorful.  I stumbled across this recipe and it peaked my interest - I'm on a huge eggplant kick lately, and ground pork is just loaded with flavor.  Plus the spice combination was so different than my usual Asian palate that I use for pork.



I had just never seen such a flavor combo! Allspice cinnamon, and molasses are usually reserved for baking.  Oregano and garlic powder I'd throw on pizza.  Well, red pepper flakes I put in everything (of course I doubled the proportion in this recipe) so maybe that was a given.  It was incredible how well these spices worked together and were sweetened by the raisins.



I also just adore the adorableness of these eggplant boats.  How cute are these?  You can serve up all kinds of fillings in eggplant, squash, or any other oblong veggie.  A big thanks to my handsome boyfriend for buying me a paring knife to make these boats.



Of course, I had all this eggplant leftover from hollowing out the boats.  I covered it in salt, pepper, and a little olive oil and roasted at 425 degrees F for about 30-40 minutes, then ate it for lunch the next day.  yumyumyum  I love finding ways to add some veggie to my now usual lunch of homemade PB and jelly.



So, did I mention this recipe was awesome?  It totally filled my eggplant craving (which is endless) while filling me up with flavor.  I tried to eat only 2 halves and give each of the boys 3 halves, but I could not stop picking at the filling off of the Monkey Scientist's plate.  Ok and his roommate's plate too.  It's warm and hearty, just delicious.  Plus the presentation is really pretty.  I'd definitely recommend making this next time you want to impress a new date or a dinner party (it would be easy to multiply!)



Picadillo filled Eggplant Boats
slightly adjusted from Healthy Delish on tablespoon

Ingredients
1 medium sized yellow onion, diced
2 tbsp olive oil
1 lb ground pork
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp oregano
1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 tsp ground allspice
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 c water
2 tbsp tomato paste
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp molasses (it helps to spray the measuring spoon with Pam)
1/4 c raisins
3 small graffiti/Japanese eggplants

Instructions
1. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add the onions and cook until just softened, about 4 minutes.

2. Add the ground pork and spices.  Mix well and break up the pork with the side of your wooden spoon.  Cook until golden brown, about 6 minutes.

3. Add the water, tomato paste, vinegar, molasses, and raisins.  Reduce heat to medium-low and cook until the liquid has evaporated (you may need to turn it back up to medium) and the flavors come together, about 5 minutes.

4. Cut the eggplants in half, lengthwise.  Use a sharp pairing knife to carefully hollow out the center of each eggplant half, creating the boats. (Save the extra eggplant to roast for lunch!)  Fill each eggplant half with picadillo (the meat filling).  Bake at 350 degrees F for 15-30 minutes, or until eggplant is cooked through.

Flaxseed, Raisin, and Fig Granola Bars

Homemade granola bars have been all the rage on a lot of blogs lately.  I was finally inspired enough by the figs my mom sent me home with to make some of my own.

Brown-eyed baker made creating granola bars easy with a basic granola bar formula.  The only change I would make is to toast the oats and nuts first because they didn't come out crunchy at all.  Still, super delicious!  Below is both the basic granola bar recipe and the way that I made it.  YUM!

Basic Granola Bar Formula
from brown-eyed baker

1. Rolled Grains (2½ cups)
Suggestions: Oats, Rye flakes, Barley flakes, etc.

2. Nuts, Seeds & Spices (1 cup)
Suggestions: Almonds, Walnuts, Pecans, Pistachios, Sunflower Seeds, Pumpkin Seeds, Cinnamon, Ginger, etc.

3. Sticky Sweetener (1/3 cup + ¼ cup)
Suggestions: Honey, Agave Nectar, Molasses, Maple Syrup

4. Dried Fruits or Chocolate Chips (1 cup)
Suggestions: Raisins, Apricots, Dates, Figs, Prunes, Cranberries, Pineapple, White Chocolate Chips etc.

5. Binder (1 cup)
Suggestions: Pureed Dried Fruit, Apple Butter, Peanut Butter, Almond Butter, Unsweetened applesauce, etc.

Flaxseed, Raisin, and Fig Granola Bars

Yield: 8 to 12 bars, depending on how large you cut them

Ingredients:1 cup unsweetened applesauce

1/3 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup honey
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2½ cups rolled oats

1/4 

cup chopped peanuts
3/4 cup flax seed
1/2 cup chopped dried figs
1/2 cup raisins

Instructions:1. Preheat the oven to 350˚F with the rack in the middle. Lay peanuts, flax seed, and oats in a 9 x 13″ baking dish in a single layer. Bake for about 10 minutes until lightly toasted and golden brown. Set aside and let cool a bit.

2. Turn the oven down to 325 degrees F. Line an 8×8-inch baking pan with parchment paper. (my pan was a little longer than this)

3. In a large bowl, whisk together the maple syrup, honey, applesauce, cinnamon, cloves and vanilla extract. Stir in the toasted oats, peanuts, and flax seed, making sure that it is evenly mixed and all of the oats are moistened. Mix in the figs and raisins.

4. Turn the mixture out into the baking pan and press into the pan, making sure it is evenly distributed and tightly packed.

5. Bake for 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool in the freezer until the bars are firm, at least 1 hour. Remove from the pan and cut into bars. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.