Vinaigrette

• 1 T white wine vinegar
• 1 t honey
• 1 t brown mustard
• 3 T olive oil
• Salt and pepper

Salad

• 1/2 red onion
• Olive oil
• 2 2/3 C vegetable broth
• 2/3 C pearl barley
• 4 ounces raw shiitake mushrooms, sliced
• 1/2 C chopped fresh parsley
• 1 t salt

Directions

For Vinaigrette: Whisk together vinegar, honey and mustard. Slowly add oil while whisking, until emulsified. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Peel onion half and coat with oil. Place on baking sheet and roast until tender, about 30 minutes. Chop coarsely.

In a medium pot, bring broth to a boil and add barley. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, until barley is tender (35 to 40 minutes). Drain any excess liquid; spread barley on a baking sheet to cool.

In a sauté pan over medium heat, cook mushrooms with 1 tablespoon of oil until tender. Mix sautéed mushrooms into cooled barley, along with onion, parsley, salt and Vinaigrette. Adjust seasoning as desired.

• 4 chicken breasts
• Olive oil
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 C mayonnaise
• 1 1/2 Tbs chopped fresh tarragon leaves
• 1 C small-diced celery (2 stalks)
• 1 C green grapes, cut in 1/2

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Place the chicken breasts on a sheet pan and rub them with olive oil. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Roast for 35 to 40 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through. Set aside until cool.

When the chicken is cool cut the chicken into a 3/4-inch dice. Place the chicken in a bowl; add the mayonnaise, tarragon leaves, celery, grapes, 1 1/2 to 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper and toss well.

Let stand overnight.

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I’ve made this one several times, it’s kind of bland if you serve it right away - letting it stand brings all the flavors together really nicely.

Tuna Burgers

• 2 cans tuna, well drained
• 1/4 c. minced onion
• 1/4 c. minced celery
• 1 c. bread crumbs
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. pepper
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 c. mayonnaise

Mix all ingredients together and fry as you would hamburger patties.

OR!

Press into 8 inch square baking pan.  Cover and bake at 325 degrees for 20 minutes.  Then uncover, turn up to 350 and bake for another 15 -20 minutes until golden

• 2 1/2 C cooked quinoa, at room temperature (about 1 1/2 C dry)
• 4 large eggs, beaten
• 1/2 tsp fine-grain sea salt
• 1/3 C finely chopped fresh chives
• 1 yellow or white onion, finely chopped
• 1/3 C freshly grated Parmesan or Gruyère cheese
• 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 C whole grain bread crumbs, plus more if needed
• Water, if needed

Combine the quinoa, eggs, and salt in a medium bowl. Stir in the chives, onion, cheese, and garlic. Add the bread crumbs, stir, and let sit for a few minutes so the crumbs can absorb some of the moisture. At this point, you should have a mixture you can easily form into twelve 1-inch thick patties. I err on the very moist side because it makes for a not-overly-dry patty, but you can add more bread crumbs, a bit at a time, to firm up the mixture, if need be. Conversely, a bit more beaten egg or water can be used to moisten the mixture.

Heat the oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium-low heat, add 6 patties, if they’ll fit with some room between each, cover, and cook for 7 to 10 minutes, until the bottoms are deeply browned. Turn up the heat if there is no browning after 10 minutes and continue to cook until the patties are browned. Carefully flip the patties with a spatula and cook the second sides for 7 minutes, or until golden. Remove from the skillet and cool on a wire rack while you cook the remaining patties.

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Delicious! It’s like the best veggie burger ever.  I’ve already made a second batch with a big handful of finely shredded carrots, and I bet zucchini or minced mushrooms would also be delicious.  I think cooking the quinoa in some stock (veggie or maybe beef) would add a subtle underlying flavor, too.  If you wanted you could make a zesty batch with some red pepper flakes or maybe minced jalapeno or chipotle peppers…

They were a little dry, which is why I’m always thinking about sauces: One day I took them for lunch with a smear of zesty ranch on top; another day with some sliced avocado and salsa and sour cream (I bet they’d be good slightly crumbled as burrito filling).  This most recent batch I had a little bbq sauce and sour cream mixed on the side.

• 1 avocado
• 1 Tbs lemon juice
• 1 Tbs fresh chives, minced
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/8 tsp fresh ground pepper
• 12 slices sandwich bread
• 2 Tbs mayo
• 1/2 lb roast beef, thinly sliced

Mash avocado, lemon, chives, salt, and pepper.  Spread on 6 slices of bread. Spread the other 6 slices with mayo.  Layer roast beef, cut sammich into thirds.

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I mixed the mayo in with the avocado mash.  It’s a really great subtle flavor, nothing too overpowering.  I do wish Trader Joes was still selling their frozen avocado halves — this recipe is supposed to make 6 sammies — and even going heavy on the spread you’d probably still get 4, which is just a LOT of the same sammich. 

• 1 1/3 pounds lean ground beef (20% fat)
• 1 large onion, minced (about 2/3 cup) (skipped)
• 3 tablespoons water
• 4 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Mix all ingredients in medium bowl to blend well. Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour and up to 1 day.

For each patty, shape 1/4 cup mixture into 3/4-inch-thick round. Heat heavy large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add patties to skillet and cook to desired doneness, about 3 minutes per side for medium-rare.

Makes about 20 patties.

                                                         —-

I made my patties a little smaller - about 4 heaping teaspoons (I have a 2 tsp cookie scoop - I used two scoops/patty).  They definitely have a bite back. I’m going to make a yogurt-cucumber-mint sauce, but ranch would probably do in a pinch. 

Also, I think it could benefit from maybe a half or whole cup of bread crumbs (or ground oatmeal), maybe just to stretch it out a bit.  It’s a lot of spice, given that meat shrinks up when it cooks.  Of course,  they are called spicy meat patties.

• 3/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 3/4 cup water
• 4 teaspoons coarse kosher salt
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1 3 x 1/2-inch strip lemon peel (yellow part only, removed with vegetable peeler)
• 12 ounces cherry tomatoes, grape tomatoes, and/or pear tomatoes
• 1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh dill
• 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 1/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper

Pour vinegar and 3/4 cup water into small saucepan. Add salt, sugar, and lemon peel. Bring to boil, stirring to dissolve sugar and salt. Remove from heat. Let cool 20 minutes.

Pierce each tomato 2 times with slender wooden skewer. Toss tomatoes, dill, garlic, and crushed red pepper in large bowl. Add cooled vinegar mixture. Let stand at room temperature at least 2 hours and up to 8 hours.

• 5  Tbs olive oil, divided
• 1  medium butternut squash (about 2 pounds), cubed (1/4-inch)
• 1  Tbs dried thyme
• 1/2  tsp salt
• 1/2  tsp freshly ground pepper
• 7  Tbs butter, divided
• 3  C chopped onion
• 5 1/4   all-purpose flour, divided
• 1  C milk
• 1/8  tsp ground nutmeg
• 1 2/3  C shortening
• 2  tsp salt
• 2/3  to 3/4 C ice water

Combine 3 tablespoons olive oil and next 4 ingredients in a large bowl; toss well. Spread squash mixture in a 15- x 10-inch jellyroll pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 450º for 15 minutes; stir squash, and bake 5 more minutes. Set aside.

Heat 3 tablespoons butter and remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat until butter melts. Add onion, and cook 20 minutes or until caramelized, stirring often.

Melt remaining 4 tablespoons butter in a small heavy saucepan over low heat; whisk in 1/4 cup flour until smooth. Cook 1 minute, whisking constantly. Gradually whisk in milk; cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until mixture is thickened and bubbly. Stir in nutmeg. Stir sauce and squash mixture into onion mixture. Let cool.

Combine remaining 5 cups flour, shortening, and 2 teaspoons salt using a fork or pastry blender until mixture is crumbly. (Mixture should have small lumps.) Sprinkle 2/3 cup ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time, evenly over surface; stir with a fork until dry ingredients are moistened. Shape into a ball; roll out dough to 1/8-inch thickness on a lightly floured surface. Cut dough into 4-inch circles. Place about 2 tablespoons squash mixture in center of each dough circle. Moisten edges of dough with water. Fold dough over filling, and pinch to seal. Place on a foil-lined baking sheet.

Bake at 450º for 18 minutes or until golden.

Note: You may use thawed frozen empanada dough instead of the homemade pastry, if desired.

• 1 1/2 Tbs butter, melted
• 1/2 to 3/4 tsp curry powder, depending on desired spiciness
• 3/4 lb sweet potato, cut to 2 inch pieces (about 2 C)
• salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 450 F.

Mix melted butter and curry powder, salt, and pepper.  Toss with chopped sweet potato.  Spread potatoes in a single layer on baking sheet.  Bake 15-20 minutes, until tender. 

Serves 2.