Beans and Barley are yummy and easy!

I made this Barley and Black Bean Salad from EatingWell.com on Thursday, ate it for lunch and dinner, and gladly ate it for lunch for two more days. It is good both hot and cold (lukewarm, not so much). I had pretty much everything (or close substitutes) on hand, and made this on a whim without buying any ingredients especially for it. 

1 cup barley, cooked according to package directions 

1 15-ounce can black beans, rinsed

1/2 cup corn (thawed if frozen)

1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro

2 tablespoons lime juice

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

Pinch of cayenne pepper

Salt & freshly ground pepper to taste

Combine cooked barley, beans, corn, cilantro, lime juice, oil, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper in a medium bowl

I doubled the recipe so as to use the whole bag of barley. I skipped the corn. (I'm not into corn, don't stock it in my pantry or freezer.) My cans of beans were 19 oz. instead of 15. I used flat leaf parsley instead of cilantro because that's what I had. I mixed the spices, lime juice, and olive oil in a mini blender, and pureed the parsley in said blender, making a salad dressing. Though I think the parsley was meant to be in coarsely chopped pieces, adding color to the dish, but I have a short attention span and no food processor, so no way was I going to do that much of that kind of chopping. 

 

My package of barley didn't have cooking directions, just a recipe for stew, so I had to turn to the internet for directions.  In short, barley can be prepared like slow-cooking rice, except it's 2 1/2 to 3 cups of water for each cup for barley. (spiffy directions from ehow.com)

I packed a serving of this dish into plastic ware on Thursday and put it in the freezer. I microwaved it on Saturday afternoon and it was very good.  So, yes, it freezes well. Yet another reason this is a great dish. 

P.S. I made this again, and this time I found a good substitute for the corn: grated carrot. It was delicious, again. 

Sounds good

I'm watching The Tonight Show and Jay Leno has Mel Gibson on. They were talking about their personal burger-making techniques. 

Jay Leno said he puts mixes ice chips into the meat so it stays moist. As a fan of well-done burgers who has eaten too many charcoal briquette mimics, I would like to try this.

Mel Gibson's signature burger sounds scrumptious. Grate onions on a cheese grater, mix them in with the meat and sprinkle in some cumin. Mmmmmm....

P.S. See, late night TV can be educational!  Whether it's exotic animals visiting, cooking demos, or William Shatner explaining how to artificially inseminate horses (for real), there is a lot to learn by tuning in. 

P.P.S. Watching Conan O'Brien run on the beach to "Eye of the Tiger" in the promo spots is something between surreal and hilarious. The man's proportions would seem impossible if he didn't actually have them: roughly 60% legs and swizzle-stick thin, like Jack Skellington in Nightmare Before Christmas. I am looking forward to his return to TV next week on The Tonight Show.

Spanakopita made easy, or not, whichever you prefer

First of all, spanakopita is a Greek spinach pie/casserole. When St. George's Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Springfield has its festival, "Glendi" (Greek for "party"), Chris and I line up for the spanakopita and other awesome Greek goodies.  That is one long line, and one worth waiting in. 

To have the best shot at reproducing the cathedral's wonderful spanakopita and all the extravagant glendi goodies, I splurged on the cathedral's cookbook. Tonight was not the night to make the authentic, involved, version, so I make the Spanakopita with Bisquick from the next page. I have included both recipes, and have made both successfully. 

SPANAKOPITA (the authentic/involved version)

3  10-oz. Packages frozen chopped spinach, thawed

4 medium onions, chopped

6 whole green onions, chopped. 

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup water

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1/4 cup fresh parsley, minced

1/4 cup fresh dill, minced (optional)

1 tsp cream of wheat (I skip this)

5 eggs, beaten

1/2 cup cottage cheese

1 1/2 cups feta cheese, crumbled

1/2 cup farmers' cheese

1 lb. phyllo pastry sheets

1 to 1 1/4 lbs. butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350F. Drain spinach thoroughly in colander, squeezing out excess moisture. In large skillet, saute onions in olive oil over medium heat until tender, stirring constantly. Set aside. In a large bowl, place spinach, seasonings, herbs, and sauteed onions. Mix well. Add eggs and cheeses and stir to blend all ingredients well. Butter bottom of a 14"x11" pan. Line buttered pan with 8 phyllo sheets, buttering each sheet, making sure to overlap and drap up the sides of the pan, trimming excess phyllo. Spread prepared spinach mixture evenly over phyllo sheets. Top with another 8 sheets, buttering each sheet. Trim phyllo sheets used for top to be the same size as the pan. Finally, sprinkle a few drops of water over top sheet to keep phyllo from curling during baking. To make squares for serving, score through top 8  phyllo sheets with a sharp knife, making 5 equal rows lengthwise and approximately 8 equal rows widthwise. Bake spanakopita for 55-60 minutes or until golden brown. 

SPANAKOPITA WITH BISQUICK 

(or, in our case, we use Trader Joe's Multigrain Baking & Pancake Mix)

6 eggs, divided

1 1/4 cups milk

2 cups Bisquick mix

1 Tablespoon oil

2 10-oz. packages frozen spinach, thawed

2 bunches of scallions, chopped

3/4 cup feta cheese, crumbled

1 cup grated cheese (we used mozzarella)

Squeeze dry the thawed spinach. Mix together 2 eggs, milk, Bisquick, and oil to make a batter. Pour half  the batter into a 9"x13" pan. Make sure batter is close to edge of pan. Saute spinach and scallions in a little oil. Add 4 well-beaten eggs, feta, and grated cheese. Carefully spoon spinach mixture over batter in pan. Top with remaining batter. Bake at 350F for 15 minutes, reduce heat to 325F and bake for an additional 30 minutes.

Notes: Since the block of feta was only 8 oz. not 12 oz., I used the whole 2-cup bag of shredded mozzarella, which made the dish more to Chris' tastes.

Little Easy Details

I found these pictures when I was going through my cell phone, trying to delete some to make room for new ones. (Old phone, not much memory.) 

I think I made the cakes for my 26th birthday/family potluck/advance celebration of cousin Katie's birthday. The frosting is store-bought, which I prefer to homemade. (Except the Price Rite store brand, which is made with lard, WTF?) The retro polka dots are Necco wafers. They are made in the Boston area by the same company that makes Conversation Hearts for Valentine's Day, and the wafers are the same material as the hearts. I don't know if the wafers are available nationwide, but around here, they're always available in the drugstore checkout candy lineup. 

Cutouts on a pie. Even if you're slapping together a pie with a can of filling and prefab refrigerated crust, this is an easy way to make it special. Try simple shapes like hearts, stars, clovers... 

My Boston Trip--Chapter 4: Breakfast at Thornton's

After checking out of our hotel for noon, we were happy to find out we could keep our parking spot at the hotel until 3 P.M. for no extra charge. We decided to tour the Christian Science complex because (#1.) it was right across the street, (#2.) the tour was free, and (#3.) we'd been by it several times, so why not just go in? But, of course, we couldn't tackle the tour on an empty stomach!

We ate breakfast at Thornton's, a small establishment in the Greenhouse Apartments building, directly across from the Christian Science complex. Thornton's serves breakfast and lunch, and we were in time for either. The decor is sunny Caribbean colors of yellow and peachy pink, with framed Impressionist prints on the walls. The side facing Huntington Avenue is essentially a sunroom, letting the sun shine in from above too, making the small restaurant feel more open but also like a cheery warm greenhouse. The tables were topped with glass over plastic "lace" tablecloths. They should seriously consider getting rid of the plastic tablecloths, because they have discolored to a dingy yellow that looks dirty, unappetizing, and mars the otherwise fairly nice setting.

Chris got the eggs benedict, and I got a twist on that: the "Italian Benedict". Instead of a poached egg over ham on an English muffin, covered in hollandaise, it was a poached egg on grilled focaccia bread with prosciutto, topped with creamy pesto sauce. It was definitely a unique dish. It was a little complicated to eat because thin prosciutto doesn't yield to a steak knife as well as a slab of ham would, instead squirming out of the way. I found myself disassembling my meal and eating it ingredient-by-ingredient, rather than in bites that had a little of the different ingredients and their tastes together. By the time I got to the focaccia at the bottom, it was soggy from the sauce and meat juices. However, the "Italian Benedict" was delicious.
My dish was served with melon, and both dishes came with home fries. The home fries were over-spiced, too much heat, not enough flavor, and an unpleasant after burn. Unfortunately, I've had too many home fries with this flaw; too many cooks make the same kind of errors with home fries, perhaps big-batch cooking makes it harder to season them just right.
Some of the other patrons were enjoying lunch, and what they had looked delicious, so we may very well come back to try out the lunch menu.

My Boston Trip--Chapter 3: Dinner at Daily Grill

After Chris and I finished our naps and watching Spongebob, it was getting to be almost 9. Chris suggested dinner at The Cheesecake Factory down the street in the Shops at Prudential Center. When we arrived, the place was packed, with what was easily dozens of people waiting to be seated. We were told that the wait was about 20 minutes, but we were too hungry for that, and the shops were closing down, so we couldn't really bide time there. We opted to look elsewhere, and that was smart; as we walked down the sidewalk and looked in the windows, we saw every table in each dining room was taken. Even on a Tuesday night in a lousy economy, The Cheesecake Factory will be busy...


We turned the corner and walked into the next restaurant we came to, the Daily Grill, also in the Prudential, which was operating at a mellower pace. It was after 9 by then, so the lights were low and only a handful of people were there. We were seated immediately and enjoyed our dinner in quiet with a flickering candle between us. The decor was dark wood and leather, polished but relaxed. The TV in the bar was set to the Red Sox game. The windows onto Huntington Avenue let in the native ambiance of cosmopolitan Back Bay.


I selected my dinner from the special three-course prix fixe menu, while Chris opted for an ample caesar salad. I began with a mixed green salad with balsamic vinaigrette, which included shredded carrots, tomatoes, radishes, and mushrooms.
For the main course, I had the sea scallops in orange fennel beurre blanc (butter) sauce with asparagus. I was impressed. The pan seared scallops were juicy and since the technique of pan-searing meat or fish leaves an "underdone" center, the inside texture was slippery, and the taste was a little like salmon sushi, but nothing like the butter-and-ritz-cracker-crumb smothered baked scallop casseroles. (I've had too many rubbery scallops in my life; maybe since scallops look like marshmallows some people might get the impression that they should have the same texture.) The sauce struck a perfect balance of the flavors of sweet/tart orange, subtle notes of the licorice-like fennel, and the creamy sweet butter. I would definitely get this dish again. In fact, I am craving it right now.
For dessert, I split the creme brulee with Chris. The oval ramekin was garnished with two halves of a strawberry, one for each of us as we leaned over the table to dig into the dessert positioned between us. I was sharing to be nice. It was so good, I wanted it all to myself, but Chris had been very nice to indulge me on this trip, so I owed him at least that much. Oh yeah, and it was romantic. Right.

The tab came to less than $50 for two of us (both drinking water). On our next Boston trip, we'll skip the Cheesecake Factory and go right to The Daily Grill.



The Daily Grill is actually a chain, but the nearest one is in the D.C. area. The restaurant originated in Beverly Hills, but now has 24 locations in upscale locales, like Boston's Back Bay and D.C.'s Georgetown.
The Boston location's hours are Mon-Thur, 11:30am-10pm; Fri - Sat, 11am-11pm; Sun, 11am-10pm.