Category: Sides

Main Dishes, Recipes, Salads, Sides, Vegetables

Cumin-Scented Cabbage Salad

Sarah

Even though I rarely post any recipes for vegetables on this blog, I hope you don’t believe that I never eat them! That’s certainly not the case. I think this dip is just one indication of how much I love my veggies! But sadly, most of the ways I eat veggies are pretty plain. At dinner, we usually eat big green salads with our main course. Lettuce, carrots, peppers, cherry tomatoes… all good, but sometimes a bit boring. So I’ll mix it up with roasted broccoli, steamed green beans, or a fancy dilled carrot dish every once in awhile, but that’s about it. When a friend asked me to bring some salad over for dinner one night, I jumped at the chance to be creative. Instead of making my go-to green salad, I switched it up and made a fancy cole slaw. Now, don’t get turned off. It’s not creamy or drowning in dressing. It’s light and fresh and flavorful… simply delicious!

Cumin-Scented Cabbage Salad | The Pajama Chef

This cabbage salad [I much prefer that name to cole slaw, thankyouverymuch] has a few winter veggie staples: cabbage [duh], carrots, and radishes, plus some flavorful additions like green onions and cilantro. If you click over to Jessica’s original post you’ll see that she used watermelon radishes–which look delightful, but aren’t available in Indiana… so check them out if you have a chance. 🙂 But the best part of this salad isn’t the traditional veggies, rather it is the spicy and tangy vinaigrette dressing! This dressing is just awesome. I think it would make an excellent taco salad dressing, actually–it’s just your basic oil and vinegar dressing spiced up [literally] with cumin, paprika, pepper, and garlic. That’s it. Yumalicious! The spice in the dressing compliments the cilantro so well.

Cumin-Scented Cabbage Salad | The Pajama Chef

The flavors of this salad are awesome on day 1, but they also improve as the salad hangs out in the fridge for a few days. I love it when salad’s shelf life is longer than a day…makes me so happy! Be sure to try this salad when you have a chance–I think it would be great with burgers, tacos, soup, and whatever else you can imagine. Enjoy!

Cumin-Scented Cabbage Salad [from Good Cheap Eats]
click to print

Ingredients:

  • 1 head green cabbage, chopped [I used my food processor]
  • 2 large carrots, sliced
  • 5 green onions, green & white parts, diced
  • 6 small radishes, thinly sliced
  • 1/3 cup cilantro,  chopped
  • 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
  • 1/4 teaspoon dried garlic
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/4 teaspoon paprika
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

In a large bowl, toss together cabbage, carrots, green onions, radishes, and cilantro. In a small bowl or glass jar, combine olive oil and vinegar, then garlic, cumin, paprika, and pepper. Shake or stir together, then toss with vegetables.

Serve immediately or keep refrigerated for up to 5 days.

Time: 10 minutes.

Yield: 8 servings.

Appetizers, Recipes, Sides, Vegetables

Asian Peanut Veggie Dip

Sarah

I’m one of those weird people who loves to eat their veggies. Every Sunday, without fail, I chop up a week’s worth of vegetables, crudites if you will, for lunch and snacking. Anything goes–carrots, bell peppers, cucumbers… just whatever looked good at the grocery store. Except celery. I’m not a big celery snacker–that’s Ben’s territory. 🙂 Mostly, I eat these veggies plain and it really doesn’t bother me. I love the taste of veggies. [See, I’m weird!] Carrots and peppers are my fave! But I know that everyone isn’t as weird as me, and sometimes people need incentive to eat their veggies. Is this incentive enough?

Asian Peanut Veggie Dip | The Pajama Chef

Though I don’t usually need much incentive to eat my veggies, I can polish off even more when I have a bowl full of this awesome dip on hand! It’s super simple to make, and has just the right amount of sweetness and spice to make me happy. The Asian dressing [I used bottled but you can make your own] is gingery and garlicky  which pairs perfectly with sweet honey, creamy peanut butter, and just a bit of crushed red pepper for spice. You guys, this is SO good! When I first made it for a church event, I wasn’t sure how it would go over, but it turned out to be insanely popular. I’m kind of sad it took me so long to blog about it, actually. But I guess it’s a good thing… now that I’m reminded of it, I can make it again for this week’s lunches.

Asian Peanut Veggie Dip | The Pajama Chef

This is a dip you could totally eat by the spoonful, but why not pile it up on some veggies and enjoy it that way? It is totally yum-o! I’ll take it with some red peppers, please. What about you? What’s your favorite veggie? Enjoy!

Asian Peanut Veggie Dip

  • Servings: 8
  • Print

adapted from Kraft

Ingredients:

  • 1/4 cup Asian Toasted Sesame Dressing [like this version from Kraft or this version from Marzetti–I’ve had both and they taste similar… or make your own here or here]
  • 1/4 cup peanut butter [I’ve used natural and regular… both work, but it’s a little thinner with natural]
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • crushed red pepper

Directions:

Add dressing, peanut butter, and honey to a small bowl. Whisk well and then add crushed red pepper to taste. Serve immediately or store in the refrigerator, covered, for up to 1 week.

Recipes, Sides, Vegetables

Streuseled Cran-Apple Sweet Potato Casserole

Sarah

Christmas is coming, faster than we know. And I didn’t want to let the season go by without sharing this awesome roasted sweet potato dish. Even though it’s a sweet potato casserole, it bears little resemblance to the typical marshmallow-y sugar concoctions that are ever so traditional. Streuseled Cran-Apple Sweet Potato Casserole

I made this recipe for my family Thanksgiving dinner. I love roasted sweet potatoes as a side dish or light meal any time of year, so I thought that they would be the perfect basis for a new sort of sweet potato casserole! To make them a little more special than normal, I roasted the sweet potatoes in a lovely spiced maple syrup sauce. After they were nice and roasted, I added in some crisp apples and tart cranberries. A sweet oat streusel topped off the dish, and boy was it good! Even Ben, who usually passes on sweet potato casseroles, went back for seconds. That’s a success if I do say so myself!

Streuseled Cran-Apple Sweet Potato Casserole | The Pajama Chef

Plus, as with all good Thanksgiving or Christmas special side dishes, most of this can be made ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator until it is ready to be baked and served. It is absolutely delicious and would be a great addition to your Christmas table! I would love to make it again soon. Enjoy! 🙂

Streuseled Cran-Apple Sweet Potato Casserole [adapted from Cooking Light]
click to print

Ingredients:

  • 2 large sweet potatoes, cut into 1 1/2 inch chunks–about 6 cups, [peeled or unpeeled, your choice]
  • 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon maple syrup, divided
  • 1 3/4 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice, divided
  • 1/2 of a large granny smith apple, diced
  • 1/4 cup dried cranberries
  • 1/4 cup half and half [I used fat free]
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 1/4 cup old-fashioned oats
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup flour
  • 2 tablespoons butter, melted

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place diced sweet potatoes on a large baking sheet, sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Whisk together olive oil, 1 tablespoon maple syrup, and 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice, then pour over sweet potatoes. Using your hands, coat sweet potatoes with olive oil mixture. Roast for 25-35 minutes, turning occasionally, or until fork-tender.

After sweet potatoes are done, transfer to a 10 inch round casserole dish [a 9×9 square dish should work too]. Mix in apples and cranberries.

Next, whisk together half and half, the egg, 1/4 cup maple syrup, and 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice. Pour over sweet potato mixture, then bake at 375 for 30 minutes.

***Casserole can be made ahead up until this point and refrigerated until ready to serve.

Meanwhile, prepare the streusel. Stir together oats, brown sugar, flour, and pumpkin pie spice. Add melted butter and toss to form coarse crumbs.

Before serving, sprinkle streusel topping over sweet potatoes. Return to oven and bake at 375 for 10 minutes or until topping is browned.

Time: 75 minutes [15 minutes active]

Yield: 4-6 servings.

Recipes, Rice, Sides

Brown Rice, Feta, and Tomato Salad

Sarah

I can’t believe it’s almost September! Yikes! Not just because the clock is continually ticking down to when I absolutely have to, have to, HAVE TO have my thesis done (December 15th, no exceptions) but because the end of my favorite produce season is almost near. Oh summer and your juicy peaches, sweet corn reminiscent of candy, fantastic watermelon, sweet tomatoes, crunchy peppers, how I love thee! Not that I don’t like the apples and pumpkins of fall [I mean, hello, I’m a pumpkin-obsessed girl here] or anything like that… but summer means relaxing strolls through the farmer’s market while dripping in sweat because we went running beforehand getting the absolute best fruits and veggies imaginable. And I’ll be sad to see that end. However, there’s still plenty of time to gather yummy summer foods so I’m going to do my best to share all my new favorite summer dishes now, before it’s too late.

This simple rice salad is one of those fabulous summer dishes that I wanted to be sure to share.

Brown Rice, Feta, and Tomato Salad is filled with pantry staples like brown rice and chickpeas, but is spiced up with three of my favorite things on the planet: cherry tomatoes, feta, and mint. Oh goodness, that combination gets me every time!

It is so so so good. You should have seen me trying to maneuver my bites as I ate this salad for lunch on campus last week. I was sitting in the shade of a huge maple tree, balancing my Kindle on my lap while trying to carefully construct each bite to contain a piece of tomato, a chickpea, some feta, and some mint, all while avoiding the rice clusters that I ate last because they weren’t as exciting. I’m sure I looked perfectly ridiculous… and for the record, this is all 100% true, even if that might sound a bit fabricated for the sake of a blog post. Eating outside while reading is pretty much what I do everyday it’s nice outside. I’m trying to break myself of the habit of eating at the computer/while I’m working, to give myself a break in the day. So far, it’s working pretty well. I’ll be terribly sad when late fall comes and it’s too cold to do that… but maybe soon after that I’ll land a great job in a warm climate and I can eat outside year round! That would be nice!

But until then… there’s this fabulous salad, with a wonderful mix of sweet and fresh flavors, paired with hearty grains and legumes [I just looked it up, chickepeas are legumes, fyi] and a little feta for some salty flavor. I think it’s best that I make it it again before tomatoes return to their dreary out-of-seasonness… and it would be remiss of me to not encourage you to do the same!

Brown Rice, Feta, and Tomato Salad [adapted from PBS Food]
click to print

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup brown rice, uncooked
  • 1 15-oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
  • 1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese
  • 1 cup halved grape tomatoes
  • 2 tablespoons chopped mint
  • 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon brown sugar
  • freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

Prepare brown rice according to package directions. After brown rice is ready, set aside to cool.

Meanwhile, combine chickpeas, feta, tomatoes, and mint in a large bowl. In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and brown sugar.

Add about 2/3-3/4 of prepared rice to chickpea mixture and stir to combine. Don’t worry about being precise, just eyeball the amount. I was probably closer to the 2/3 mark. Pour dressing over and toss to coat. Add freshly ground black pepper to taste.

Serve warm or refrigerate for a cold lunch or side salad.

Time: 45 minutes [10 minutes active]

Yield: 4-5 servings.

Recipes, Sides, Vegetables

SRC: Pesto Potato Salad

Sarah

Another Secret Recipe Club Monday! If you’ve missed past SRC posts, the premise is this: you’re assigned a different member’s blog every month. You visit their blog, choose any recipe you want, then make it and share it on your blog. Everyone else posts about their secret blog the same day. It’s fabulously fun to try out new blogs. If you have a blog, definitely check it out and consider joining! I highly recommend it.

For the month of August, I was assigned Cooking Rookie, who blogs over at Cook Book of Trial and Error. This blog is full of enticing recipes and beautiful photography so definitely check it out if you have a chance. I had a hard time deciding what recipe to try, but when I saw this scrumptious Pesto Potato Salad, I was sold. My herbs on the balcony are growing out of control, and this seemed like a delightful way to use some of them up. And let me tell you… it was as delicious as it was delightful!

Cooking Rookie’s original pesto was composed of cilantro, walnut, and lemon… but I decided to use some of my abundant pineapple sage instead of cilantro. I kept everything else the same, though… including the unique addition of plain yogurt to make this pesto potato salad both creamy and fresh. I usually make my potato salad with mayo, but might have to rethink that, because plain yogurt definitely produces a refreshing tang like mayo while being a little healthier. This isn’t to say in my normal potato salad I’ll replace the mayo entirely, but I can see a little half-and-half combo going on.

I was happy that I doubled the original recipe [which is reflected below], because Ben and I devoured this stuff in about 0.2 seconds. not quite a Phelps-inspired 1/100ths of a second but pretty darn close! [Yes, we’ve been watching the Olympics non-stop here… have you?] This Pesto Potato Salad is light, lemony fresh, and creamy. It was a fabulous choice for the August edition of the Secret Recipe Club, if I do say so myself, and I will be forever grateful to Cooking Rookie for the inspiration! I’ll definitely have to try the cilantro version one day. 🙂

Pesto Potato Salad [adapted from Cook Book of Trial and Error]
click to print

Ingredients:

  • 2 pounds new potatoes, chopped in quarters/eighths
  • 1 1/2 cups loosely chopped sage
  • 1/4 cup chopped walnuts
  • zest and juice of 1/2 a lemon
  • 3 cloves garlic, peeled
  • 6 ounces plain yogurt
  • freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and then add potatoes. Cook for about 20 minutes, or until potatoes can be easily pierced with a fork.

Meanwhile, place sage, walnuts, lemon zest and juice [or 1/2 a lemon if you’re lazy like me], and garlic in a food processor. Pulse until everything is well combined, then add yogurt, as well as freshly ground black pepper to taste.

After potatoes are prepared, place in a bowl. Toss pesto with potatoes and serve warm or cold.

Time: 30 minutes.

Yield: 4-6 servings.

Enjoy your day by checking out other great SRC recipes! 🙂 I know I will be!