Technique drawn from Mel’s Kitchen Café
I have made a more complex version of this dish, but today I wanted a simple side dish that would not distract from the star dish, the chicken. Also, half of my diners this week are not eating starch, so it would be wasted effort. I have been trying to make Mexican rice for years with only limited success.
Karl’s Simple Mexican Rice
Filed under Rice, Side Dishes, Starches, Vegan, Vegetarian
Jan has requested chili rellenos to go with my molé chicken this Sunday. A quick look at recipes on-line told me that it is a fussy recipe that has several steps fraught with peril. You have to broil, deseed, and then stuff the chilies without breaking them. Then you have to coat them in a egg batter and deep fry them, still without breaking the chilies or having the coating fall off.
Karl’s Chili Rellenos in a Casserole
Filed under California Fusion, Casserole, Side Dishes, Vegetables, Vegetarian
One of our favorite dishes from a local Chinese restaurant is Salt and Pepper Chicken Wings. I am sure right now you have a picture of heavily salted wings covered in black pepper in your mind. You would be wrong, the peppers in this dish are Jalapeños.
Karl’s Salt and Pepper Cabbage
Filed under California Fusion, Green Vegetables, Side Dishes, Vegan, Vegetables, Vegetarian
Adapted from a Pacific Coast Farmers’ Market Association recipe
Jan and I were at our local farmers’ market and Jan spotted a table with piles of free printed recipes. This one appealed to her, so I made it for her. It substitutes cherries for tomatoes, the common base ingredient of brushetta. I took it one step further and used my favorite, Rainier cherries.
Karl’s Cherry Bruschetta
Filed under California Fusion, Side Dishes, Vegan, Vegetarian
Adapted from a America’s Test Kitchen recipe
Miriam requested grilled vegetables for her birthday dinner and gave me a list of vegetables she wanted. I could have just thrown them on the grill, but ATK recently did a show on Tunisian Mechouia. Looking at other recipes on-line, this dish can vary from a vegetables puree to the chunky salad produced by chef Julia Collin Davison at ATK.
Karl’s Tunisian Mechouia
Grilled Vegetable Salad
Filed under Barbeque, Salads, Side Dishes, Vegan, Vegetables, Vegetarian
I am making Surf-and-Turf for Miriam’s birthday dinner this weekend. I am making a Tunisian salad and I thought lemon couscous would be a good compliment. I have made lemon couscous before, but I thought I could improve it.
Karl’s Lemon Saffron Couscous
Filed under Pasta, Side Dishes, Starches, Vegan, Vegetarian
Miriam asked for Surf-and-Turf for her birthday and we are having several friends and relatives over, I decided I needed several starters to keep them at bay while I finished cooking.I though that a selection of small plates would give them something to nosh on while they waited. In addition to the cabbage, I made cucumber pickles and Shishitō.
Karl’s Salt Pickled Cabbage with Japanese Chilies II
Kyabetsu Shio-zuke Tsukemono
Filed under Green Vegetables, Pickles, Side Dishes, Vegan, Vegetables, Vegetarian
Shishitō peppers are the hot new pepper in California—which is surprising since most of them are very mild. Miriam and Chris requested them for her birthday dinner this Saturday. Jan and I wanted to know what all the fuss was about, so I cooked some up this week.
Karl’s Pan-roasted Shishito Peppers with Lemon
Filed under California Fusion, Side Dishes, Vegan, Vegetables
Surf-and-turf is a high protein meal that begs for a variety of interesting vegetables. I decided to make some quick pickles for Miriam’s birthday party this Saturday. I thought some sweet and sour pickles will offset the grilled vegetable dishes I am making.
OOPS: I just caught the typo. Ummm, tastes like pork.
Karl’s Persian Refrigerator Pickles
Filed under California Fusion, Pickles, Side Dishes, Vegan, Vegetarian
Jan wants to go to a movie for Mother’s Day, Avengers: Age of Ultron. For me this means making dishes that I can prep ahead. To go with my steamed mussels, I decided that a rice salad would be nice. In days past I would probably have used white Jasmine rice, but with my diabetes I am going with whole grains.
Karl’s Wild Rice Salad
Filed under Rice, Salads, Side Dishes, Vegan, Vegetables, Vegetarian
karllueck
Miriam
Jabberwocky Stew 