salads

You say tomato, I say “tomahto”…

~ Gary Bechard ~ Leave a comment

I am not sure I would call the whole thing off, and some folks will have probably already seen the featured picture on FaceBook, but I thought I would go ahead and commit this short, but extraordinarily tasty recipe to the food blog.  As the story goes (and you know how that is), I was walking through the local groceria when I saw a beautiful vision. (key dreamy music) The vision was of multicolored Heirloom tomatoes together in harmony in the bin longingly asking for some attention. As readers of this blog will know, sometimes vegetables speak to me and these were no different and were asking me to do something creative and colorful.  I chose a wide variety of different colors and sizes because they all have a slightly different flavor profile. However, all of the different types of tomatoes have a kind of sweetness to them so I wanted something to balance the flavors and that is where the Kalmata and green olives plus some sweet onion came in.  This recipe was kind of a departure for me in that I decided on a side dish before I even picked out the protein.

We Can All Get Along (mixed Herloom tomato salad)

Gary Bechard – The Well Fed Cyclist

Ingredients:

4 to 5 – Heirloom tomatoes of varying size and color, cut into small wedges

8 to 10 – Miniature San Marzano tomatoes sliced in half length wise

8 to 10 – Yellow Cherry tomatoes sliced in half

1/3  – Medium sweet onion, sliced and quartered

1/4 cup – Kalmata olives sliced

1/4 cup – Green olives with pimento sliced in half

1/8 cup – Champagne vinegar

Construction Instruction:

On a large plate or small platter put down the bed of onions spacing them evenly across the entire surface, layer on each of the types of tomatoes making sure to kind of mix up the colors (have some fun with your food for once people) at the end sprinkle the different kinds of olives evenly on top.  To top it all drizzle the champagne vinegar on top and chill for about 40 minutes so that the flavors REALLY get to each other ( averitable flavor orgy, if you will).

This was served as a side for simple baked salmon filets with steamed cauliflower as the other side dish.  I meant to do some pearled cous-cous but the meal just did not need it.

Enjoy!

Early in the morning, uh huh, before you eat your breakfast, uh huh…gotta run around, round, round

~ Gary Bechard ~ Leave a comment

Sorry, old Army PT running song was kind of in my head and I had to get it out and, yay, verily a title for this blog post was born. Before I get into the food part of this, I remember vividly when I was first in the Army, almost 40 years ago, and sometimes miss it terribly.  Back then, the Army food used to get a bad rap but I met some soldiers who were the cooks that would match even some of the best chefs I see in this area.

Exciting things happening here on the old ranch especially when it comes to the way we are eating and possibly to the way I will do my future recipes. Now, as we ease into the Mediterranean inspired food and away from what we were eating on a regular basis (Pittsburgh “chunk-o-rama” type food), I feel a whole lot better.  My son and daughter would say that we were “eating clean”, not quite paleo but good enough, and we should have done this much, much sooner.  Besides having a ton more energy, the side benefit is the 5 pound drop in weight and one inch off the waist since starting this a week and a half ago. Climbing hills on the bike will be much easier without having a 3 year old strapped to my front. That is not to say that my other recipes are bad but they are not quite as clean as the ones we have been having lately. I am going to start today with a quick recipe for my version of cole slaw which uses three types of cabbage and NO, that’s right, NO mayonnaise. It is terrbly simple but oh so good.

My Way (mixed cabbage cole slaw)

Ingredients:

Slaw:

5 – Tuscan cabbage leaves, fine shred

1/2 –  Savoy cabbage head (very small), fine shred

1/2 – Red cabbage head (very small), fine shred

1/2 – Sweet onion, sliced very thin

2 – Whole carrots, peeled and sliced very thin, or run them through the “spiralizer”

1/3 cup – White raisins

Dressing:

1/4 cup – Olive oil

1/8 cup -White balsamic vinegar

1 tsp – Thyme leaves

1/2 tsp – Coarse ground black pepper (or to taste)

1/2 tsp – Lemon peel

1/2 tsp – Soy Sauce or liquid aminos (the stuff that tastes like soy sauce but has no salt)

1 tsp – Toasted sesame seeds

Construction Instruction:

In a large bowl, combine the salad ingredients and fold them together so that everything is evenly distributed. In a separate bowl, combine the dressing ingredients and whisk together until smooth. Toss the slaw with the dressing until evenly coated and place in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes.  The time in the fridge will help all the ingredients get to know each other and will help break down the Tuscan cabbage a bit.

Enjoy!

The Well Fed Cyclist

Getting something to come out of the closet…

~ Gary Bechard ~ Leave a comment

Did you ever look at things in your pantry and wonder, “what in the world was I thinking when I bought that?” I know that I have and that is what happened before this recipe was created. You see, there was a time when I was thoroughly enamored of the “South Beach Diet”. I decided to do that diet after gaining about 10 pounds eating from recipes that came out of Paula Dean’s cookbooks (she has gotten better, however, because I think her sons are making her). There I was kitchen cruising one Saturday looking for something different to have with grilled fare and ran across a box of couscous tucked way in the back behind some random cat treats. Thinking that cat treats really would not go with grilled anything, I decided on the couscous. I remembered couscous from my South Beach phase and also remembered that it was something the South Beach diet was in love with because of its being whole grain and such. The box was leftover because we rapidly found out that eating the South Beach way costs an extra couple hundred dollars a week, if you are doing it correctly and that is all I have to say about that.

Couscous on its own is pretty nondescript and has a sort of nutty taste to it. It is very easy to prepare and most of the times will only take about five minutes. I figured a good way to dress it up would be to add some roasted or grilled vegetables to it. I like this recipe warm or cold so the decision would be up to you depending on what you are having. If you are having burgers and such, cold is most likely the way to go. You can even prepare it a day ahead so the flavors REALLY get to know each other (a veritable vegetable orgy, if you will). I like it warm when I am serving chicken or roasted pork. I hope you enjoy this recipe.

Revved up Roasted Vegetable Couscous
(makes 4 to 5 servings)

1 – Red bell pepper
1 – Green bell pepper
2 – Sweet onion slices (kid of on the hefty side)
5 – Large Portobello mushroom slices
15 to 20 – Asparagus stalks
Kosher salt – to taste
Coarse ground black pepper – to taste
Rosemary – to taste
Basil – to taste
Garlic powder – to taste
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 – Box of couscous (normally the box will have a bit more than a cup of stuff in it and a serving is ¼ cup dry)

There are a couple of ways you can go here with the vegetables. I normally do them inside on a cookie sheet but if you are feeling froggy and want to do them outside on the grill that is okay too.

Oven instructions:
Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees (you can do 400 but sometimes the vegetables roast too fast) and take out two regular sized cookie sheets. Slice the peppers (I normally cut mine into 8 pieces to do the roasting) and place on a cookie sheet (or baking pan) with the onions and Portobello mushrooms. For the other cookie sheet, prepare the asparagus spears by taking one spear and gently bending it while holding the ends until it breaks. Where it breaks is the length you will cut the remaining spears to. Doing this gets rid of the hardened and bitter ends. (Think the curmudgeonly old man parts of the asparagus.) Place the spears in a single level on the cookie sheet. Over each set of vegetables drizzle (don’t drown) with olive oil and toss to make sure they are all coated (you going to sort of tan them), season with your desired amount of herbal goodness and place in the oven until done. If you are like my daughter, you will want to know what “done” looks like. So to that end, the peppers will soften and blacken around the edges, the mushrooms will become soft shrink and darken, the onions will become translucent and soft and the asparagus spears will shrink, become softer and blacken at the ends. After the vegetables are done, set aside to cool.

Grill instructions:
I have a perforated stainless steel cooking sheet that I use for vegetables on the grill. The difference between the oven and the grill is that I brush them with olive oil and season as I am grilling them but they will look the same when they are done. The grill I normally try for between 350 and 400 degrees and do all the vegetables at the same time and take them off as they get done.

Next, prepare the couscous per the package instructions and while that is happening medium chop the vegetables. When the couscous is done add vegetables and mix until all vegetables are evenly distributed.

If you want this can be served warm (you will most likely need to heat the vegetables up after chopping them while the couscous is cooking) or you can cool everything in the refrigerator for about a half hour and serve tossed with a couple splashes of white balsamic vinegar (or your favorite Italian oil and vinegar dressing).

Enjoy!

Who knows what lurks deep in the minds of moms?

~ Gary Bechard ~ Leave a comment

For me,  that it is probably unconditional love and support. First, Happy Mother’s Day to all! I wish I were going to be able to cook for my mom today but it might take me a while to get there (about 15 hours). However, I will be cooking but it is going to be spaghetti and meatballs with a nice smooth marinara, all fresh made of course.

I neglected to show a picture of the “Spiralized” salad yesterday so that is the cover shot for today’s post and I wanted to continue to add to the “Burger Week” post I did a while back with what was the second installment for that week. This was the first of the beef burgers and was mighty tasty.  I hope you try this and as always, Enjoy!

Burger Week Part Deux…

Welcome back campers to the second installment of burger week. Today is the first of the beef burgers and was recently created because SOMEBODY had to use the fresh sage. It might as well be me, is what I say. I also (play taps please) sacrificed one bottle of one of the best beers on the planet (in my humble opinion) for the betterment of burgerkind. However, at least I had the remaining 5 to assuage my guilt and remorse about my hoppy friend. I am not sure how many of you will remember the band, “New Riders of the Purple Sage” but this burger’s name is a play on that.

Have fun with this recipe and let me know how it turned out.

The Well Fed Cyclist

New Riders of the Fresh Sage Burger
(makes 6 – 8 servings)

2 lbs – Very lean ground beef (I do 96/4 or 93/7)
8 to 10 leaves – Fresh sage (chopped fine)
3, 3 inch sprigs– of rosemary (strip leaves and fine chop)
¾ bottle (9 oz) – Fat Tire Ale (drink the last ¼ bottle you deserve it. You ARE cooking after all.)
1½ tsp – Kosher salt
1tbsp – Coarse ground black pepper

In a large bowl combine beef, sage, salt, pepper, rosemary and the Fat Tire Ale. Mix thoroughly making sure all ingredients are distributed evenly through the mixture. Take and make into 6 to 8 patties (depending on who you have eating). Cook these on a medium hot grill (400 to 450 degrees) until desired doneness.
Serve the burgers on a toasted bun with a robust cheddar (I like Vermont white or New York sharp) or perhaps some smoky Gouda and some Heirloom tomato (if you want to).

Look deep into the spinning spiral…

~ Gary Bechard ~ Leave a comment

I am probably a latecomer to the Vegetti, and no it is NOT a gynocological instrument but it IS a simple kitchen tool that easily slices almost any vegetable into thin spaghetti like strips. I prefer to call it a “spiralizer”. My sister swears by hers and my daughter the same thing but me, nope, I like being the old fashioned curmudgeon, stuck in his ways and seem to bask in the toil that is julienning vegetables for interesting salads. I mean how else are you going to be able to elicit gratitude for the amount of time it took to make the meal? Well, not wanting any gratitude (I guess some gratitude would be nice) and being more than willing to do dinner last night, I decided to give the tool a whirl.

The dinner consisted of salmon, a mixed salad using the “spiralizer” and potato nests. You are most likely wondering what in the world is a “potato nest” but I got the idea from seeing a pasta nest in the grocery store and thought that the Vegetti could help me make that happen. The whole meal turned out fantastic!  and I ended up being very impressed with the Vegetti /”spiralizer”. Preparation time was only about 20 minutes and cooking time about 50 minutes. (It was a big piece of fish). I hope you try this and let me know what you think.

The salad consisted of “spiralized”, seedless cucumber (about a half), 1 small zucchini, 1 small yellow squash, half a Daikon radish (peeled), a large carrot (peeled) and the only things that were not run through the device, very thinly sliced onions and roasted red pepper strips. Combine these in a large bowl and lightly toss them together with  a light vinegar and olive oil dressing chill and enjoy.  I made my dressing with White balsamic vinegar (adds a bit of sweetness) 1/4th cup,  with 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, 1/2 teaspoons of dried parsley, celery seed, salt and pepper.

Now is the fun part. I took some regular russet potatoes (pick narrow ones) peeled them and ran them through the “spiralizer”. Then I piled them in loose heaps (kind of like pasta nests) on a cookie sheet that had been sprayed with Pam, added a sprinkle of salt and pepper, sprayed the heaps with Pam and baked at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes or until the edges of the strips start turning a little bit golden brown.

Below is the recipe for the salmon.  I have always said that fish should be treated simply because you never want to take away from the essence of the fish and trust me, each type of fish has its own essence.

Simple Salmon

Gary Bechard – The Well Fed Cyclist

(Serves 3-4)

Ingredients:

1.5 to 2 lbs – Salmon fillets (about 8 ounces per person, 4 fillets, preferably wild caught)

1tsp – Coarse ground black pepper

1 tsp – Sea salt

1 tsp – Smoked paprika

1 tsp – Dried Parsley

½ tsp – Thyme leaves

3 ounces – White wine

Construction Instruction:

Arrange the salmon in a ceramic baking dish in which you have put the white wine. Dust the top of the salmon with the herb ingredients and cover the dish with foil. Bake the fish at 350 degrees for about 35 to 45 minutes or until the fish starts to flake easily. (I always start checking my fish at the 30 minute mark because sometimes the filets are thin and take less time and you do not want to overcook them.) The idea here is to cook the fish slowly so that the flavors are infused into the fillets.

I served this with a mixed vegetable salad and potato nests.

Enjoy!