FOUR BEAN HEATH SALAD WITH HERBS AND GRAINS

Rita Heikenfeld


Dressing:
2/3 c. red wine vinegar
1 1/3 c. Olive oil *Add last may not need all
1 T. plus 2 tsp. ground cumin 1 tsp. chili powder (or more to taste)
1 T. plus 1 tsp. minced garlic  \
1 T. plus 1 tsp. dried oregano (rub in your diced hands to release oils)

Salad:
4 cans of beans, rinsed well and drained : garbanzo,black, red and light kidney
1 large yellow or orange bell pepper
1 bunch of green onions, (snipped with scissors or chopped green you wish)
5-6 plum tomatoes (or 1 can diced add last, you may not need all of tomatoes, not drained, in the winter)
1 handful of chopped cilantro, to taste taste (or more to 1 handful of chopped flat leaf parsley, to
taste)
4 ribs of celery, diced
sea salt and pepper to taste
1 bag fresh baby spinach (or any salad)

1/2 c. cracked or bulgur wheat, reconstituted*. (Do it!)
* To reconstitute cracked wheat: Take 1/2 cup of wheat and rinse it under cool water
3 times. Place in a bowl and leave 1/4 in on top. Drain when wheat is soft. You can do
a day ahead, but I find by the time I have done everything else for this recipe, it's
done.

Mix first 7 ingredients, going easy on the oil. Set aside.
Mix the bean and veggies, but not the spinach. Add salt and pepper to taste, then the drained wheat. Mix in the salad dressing (You may not want to add it all. I do.) with the veggies/beans.
Serve over spinach. Placing spinach in the dish quickly wilts it, so it's best kept fresh
and separate. This keeps well as the vinegar lets it last longer. (The notes below are
mine, not Rita's)
You can also add chicken or stuff in a pita. Great recipe.

Note: Don't let this small step of cracked wheat stop you from trying this. My
neighbors and I call this the "girl dish". I don't know if it's the estrogen in the beans or
what, but we have trouble sharing this recipes with anyone else.

Beverly Koch's Cowboy Caviar

1 cup oil
3/4 cup of sugar
3/4 cop of apple cider vinegar-heat to dissolve sugar. Cool and set aside.
Chop peppers (all 4 colors) and a finely chop 1/4 cup of red onion. Drain 1 can black beans and 1 can of white corn.
Mix all vegs  into a bowl with cool oil mix let sit covered over night or for 6 hours. Then drain and serve!

Asian Shrimp

Yield 4 servings

Ingredients:

Kosher Salt

Black Pepper

Raw Shrimp peeled, de-veined 1 lb.

Minced Garlic 1-1/2 T

Minced fresh Ginger 1T (optional)

1/4-1/2 cup white sake or Sherry

Seasoned rice Vinegar 2 T.

5 Stalks scallions, white & green parts

¼ cup Cilantro, chopped

2-3 T fresh lime juice

1/3-1/4 cup Sweet Chili sauce (Mai Ploy)

¼ cup roasted peanuts chopped (optional but do it!)

1-2 T canola oil

2 oz. cold butter cut into small pieces

½ an avocado diced (or you can use mango or papaya diced (optional). We loved the avocado

Preparation:

Pat shrimp dry, eliminating the excess moisture.

Season with kosher salt & pepper to your liking (easy on the salt)

Heat a nonstick pan on medium heat and when warm add canola oil.

Add the shrimp for a few minutes and sautee on both side to obtain a light cold color. Shrimp is done when it kisses its tail- don’t let it do that here! Transfer shrimp to a bowl.

Add garlic and ginger to the pan and cook briefly. Don’t allow the garlic to color.

Quickly mix the shrimp, garlic,ginger,scallions & Sake (or Sherry) in the pan & reduce the liquid to half.

Add the rice vinegar, again reducing liquid to half.

Turn off the heat and add lime juice & sweet chili sauce. Using a whisk, beat in cold butter. Add cilantro & mix well. Top with avocado (or mango,etc) and peanuts. We served on a bed of greens but can eat alone or over rice or noodles.

CHICKEN THAI-STYLE WITH CRISP VEGETABLES

 CHICKEN THAI-STYLE WITH CRISP VEGETABLES
1/2 c. sesame seed, 1/4 c. toasted and cooled, 1/4 cup untoasted
4 boneless chicken breasts, sliced into 8 thin breasts
1/2 cup soy sauce
2 T. lemon juice
2 T. rice wine vinegar
2/3 cup olive oil
1/2 - 1 tsp. sesame seed oil (store in refridgerator)
2 t. scant ginger peeled and minced (or microplaned/grated)
2 tsp.sugar
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
salt and pepper to taste
1 English cucumber sliced thin
1/2 cup or more chopped cilantro
1 green onion snipped with scissors

 2 c. Panko bread crumbs (Japanese style breadcrumbs)
Toast sesame seeds and set aside to cool. Slice chicken horizontally for thin breasts. Toss soy sauce,lemon juice,rice vinegar,olive oil,sesame seed oil,ginger,sugar and red pepper flakes. Pour 1/4 cup over chicken and set the rest aside for the salad. Marinate for 10 minutes (longer you marinate, the better the flavor!) Combine Panko, untoasted sesame seeds, salt and pepper. (Taste the crumbs, they should be well seasoned). Dredge chicken in crumbs, (patting so it sticks) and place in a large heated skillet of 1/3 cup olive oil. Cook in batches bout 2 minutes each side until brown and crispy. Set aside. Mix spinach, onion, cilantro, cucumber, and 1 T. toasted sesame seeds, toss. Place chicken on greens and drizzle vinaigrette over chicken and greens.

Note: Do ahead: You can marinate over night in fridge, fry and lay on a bake sheet.
Reheat in 350 degree oven for 10 minutes.