Side dishes

Miso sesame glazed eggplant

This Japanese eggplant recipe is all about that miso sesame glaze. The glaze is good on all varieties of eggplant (carrots, and Japanese sweet potato too). This recipe is incredibly easy to make and as promised on Instagram, I’m sharing it here.

Here is how it goes. I roast the eggplant first, then coat it with the glaze and run it under the broiler. The trick is getting the timing right so the glaze caramelizes but doesn’t burn. Most recipes called for eggplant halves. I like mine in cubes, so the glaze gets everywhere. Either way this dish is totally dealicious: a.k.a. easy to make and affordable.

Categories

Roasted Brussels sprouts recipe

This is how you clean up Brussels sprouts bad reputation. Roast them with some sage infused brown butter, add chopped hazelnuts, finish with a drizzle of honey. There you have it! Crunchy, nutty, salty and sweet, full of texture and flavor!

Start by browning the butter. Melt it slowly over medium heat swirling occasionally to brown it evenly. When the butter starts to foam and turn tan throw the sage in. Let butter turn brown lightly and remove.

Dress the sprouts with the brown butter, salt, pepper, and chopped hazelnuts and they are ready to roast.

Roast at 400F for 15 minutes. Toss them around halfway. Place it on a serving plate. Drizzle with honey. Heaven!

Categories

Hot weather calls for cold noodles

Oriental Cold Noodles for dealiciouscooking.com

It’s searing hot and it has been that way for a while. The kids are perpetually cranky, the dog doesn’t know what to do with himself and even my tropical self can take this weather anymore.

Cold noodles are just perfect for lunch or dinner when the last thing you want to do is stand over a hot stove. They’re easy to cook, delicious eaten straight out of the fridge and the perfect leftover to pack in the kid’s lunchboxes.

For these recipe I used the veggies I had available (spinach, celery, tomatoes and green onions) but anything goes. The noodles were regular Barilla angel hair but it can be done with any type of noodles oriental or not.

Start by chopping the veggies and mixing it in a large bowl.

Cold Oriental Noodles for dealiciouscooking.com

Prepare the dressing while the noodles are cooking.

Cold Oriental Noodles for dealiciouscooking.com

Rinse the cooked noodles with water until cold. Mix noodles, veggies and dressing. Refrigerate for at least one hour allowing the noodles suck in all the flavors. Eat it straight out of the fridge. Repeat!

Cold Oriental Noodles

Dominique for dealiciouscooking.com
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Cuisine Fake Asian

Ingredients
  

  • For the noodles:
  • 4 cups chopped fresh raw vegetables: spinach celery,snow peas, bell peppers, scallions
  • 16 ounces Chinese egg noodles or long pasta like linguine or angel hair
  • For the dressing:
  • 1 small garlic clove minced or crushed
  • 2 tablespoons dark sesame oil
  • 2 tablespoons agave syrup or 1 tbsp sugar
  • 3 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 2 tablespoons of water
  • 1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
  • 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
  • Sriracha or Tabasco sauce to taste optional

Instructions
 

  • Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt it. Prepare the vegetables: wash, trim, peel as necessary and cut into sizes and shapes of your choice. Mix in a large bowl.
  • Cook the noodles in the boiling water until tender but not mushy. When they’re done, drain and rinse with cold water. Reserve.
  • Whisk together the dressing ingredients.
  • Toss the cold noodles and veggies; top with sauce and stir to coat.
  • Refrigerate for one hour before serving.

Notes

This dressing goes wonderfully with chopped salads too!

 

Black Rice with Kale, Mushrooms, Marsala Wine and Feta Cheese

Heirloom Forbidden Rice Package

This ‘black rice’ came in my Easter basket and to tell you the truth I thought it was just wild rice. I was not excited. Disappointed even.  As I put the bag in the pantry, I briefly read the package description…which led to Google search…that proved I live under a rock. As it turns out this Heirloom forbidden rice is NOT wild rice and it’s the healthiest rice in the world.  How haven’t I heard of it?

Down to the facts. Heirloom forbidden rice (aka black rice) has high level of minerals, antioxidants, is rich in a class of flavonoid antioxidants called anthocyanins, which are potent anti-inflammatories and have specifically been linked to a decreased risk of heart disease and cancer as well as improvements in memory.

Best of all, black rice taste a zillion times better than white or brown rice. It’s nutty, slightly sweet and it looks way sexier than any other rice.

This rice is not cheap so if you want to make it ‘dealicious’ keep checking the Whole Foods bulk section (it goes on sale sometimes) or try Cost Plus World Market where the one I got seems to come from.

There are good recipes out there for black rice but I had to use the kale and mushrooms in the fridge, so I came up with this recipe. It was the perfect side for our baked salmon.  Any type of kale would work for this recipe, but I used Earthbound Organic Baby Kale from Costco. Broccoli rabe (Rapini) or spinach would work too.

Black Rice, Kale, Mushroom with Marsala rice and Feta

 

Black Rice with Kale, Mushrooms, Marsala Wine and Feta Cheese

Dominique for DealiciousCooking
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Ingredients
  

  • 1 cup uncooked heirloom forbidden rice
  • ½ medium purple onion chopped
  • 2 cups crimini or white mushrooms sliced
  • 4 cups of raw baby kale
  • 1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 tbsp Marsala wine
  • 1/4 cup of crumbed goat cheese or feta cheese
  • 2 3/4 cups of beef broth or water to cook the rice
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • black pepper

Instructions
 

  • Start by cooking the rice with the beef broth in the rice cook. If you don’t have a rice cook, simply follow the directions in the package replacing the water with beef broth. If you don’t have directions (bought it in bulk) bring beef broth to a boil and add the rice. Cover and cook for 20-30 minutes in medium heat. Remove from heat and let stand covered. Reserve.
  • On a separate pan, sauté the onion in the olive oil until it becomes translucent. Add mushrooms and Marsala wine. Cook for about 3 minutes and add kale, salt and some pepper. Cook until kale reduces its size and looks fully steamed. Turn heat off. Add the cooked black rice mixing it well. Taste and adjust with more salt and/or pepper. Cover and let it stand for a few minutes, allowing the rice to absorb the kale/mushrooms/Marsala wine juice. Sprinkle the cheese over the rice before serving.

 

Tofu and Spinach Crustless Quiche Gluten Free

Easy Tofu and Spinach Crustless Quiche Gluten Free

This is the first recipe I’ve created using coconut flour.  Normally, I’d use regular flour or whole-wheat flour but I wanted to make a wheat free side dish for our vegetarian dinner tonight. It turned out really good for such a easy and healthy dinner fix. The coconut flavor it’s really noticeable but the kids didn’t mind. They actually really enjoyed it so I’ll be packing some in their lunch boxes tomorrow.

The more I learn about wheat and gluten the more I feel like banning it it from our diet. Also, I’ve been noticing that the less gluten I have on a daily basis the better I feel – less bloated, more alert, less cravings, etc.

Here is what got me really fired up about coconut flour: it’s gluten, grain free, high in fiber and low in carbohydrates. Though it is free from gluten proteins, coconut flour contains an impressive number of other proteins.

I’m still researching and learning about cooking and baking with coconut flour but for this recipe I knew I’d need more eggs and almond milk because coconut flour is very dry and substituting other flours with it doesn’t exactly work. Ditchthewheat has this quick tips & tricks post on dealing with coconut flour.

Coconut flour is way more expensive than regular flour but that’s ok because it goes a long way and it’s healthier. Sprouts sells it in bulk ($3.99 lb. ) so I got a small amount to experiment with.

Here is to a healthy week!

TOFU & SPINACH CRUSTLESS QUICHE – Gluten Free

  • 4 cups of fresh spinach
  • 2 eggs
  • ½ cup of grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1 ½ cup of almond milk
  • ¼ coconut flour
  • 1 half of Trader Joe’s Organic Sprouted Tofu (Extra Firm) or ½ of one Extra firm tofu block (water drained)
  • 1 tbsp of salt
  • 1 tbsp of onion powder
  • ½ tbsp of garlic powder
  • 1 tsp of Paprika
  • 1 tsp of cayenne pepper

Chop spinach slightly and quickly sautéed it in a little bit of olive oil OR cook it in the Microwave for 1 minute (reserve). Blend all the wet ingredients until smooth. Add everything else except for spinach. Blend it well, stopping a couple of times to mix and scoop unmixed ingredients from blender cup walls (coconut flour can get really lumpy.) Lastly, mix spinach with the blended mixture. Spray a small Pyrex or oven dish with spray oil or coat the dish with olive OR coconut oil (use your hands or a sheet of paper towel to spread the oil). Pour the mixture and top with shredded cheese (totally optional). Bake it at 400F for about 20-30 minutes or until top is firm, brown and crusty. Let it cool off before cutting.

Tofu and Spinach Crustless Quiche Gluten Free

 

Mexican Quinoa Skillet

Mexican Quinoa Skillet

When I found the nutritional power of quinoa some years ago I went on a quinoa frenzy. The kids really like it and the possibilities were endless. Quinoa with baked beans, quinoa salads, and quinoa patties were among some of our family favorites.  But one fine day the quinoa magic was gone. “Mom can we just have rice instead?” I was devastated but determined to make them fall in love with it all over again.

And so it happened tonight.

This was a total spontaneous quick fix and a great side dish for our roasted pork loin.

Here is how I brought the quinoa magic back.

I cooked 1 cup of quinoa with some salt, granulated garlic and cumin. While the quinoa was cooking I sautéed one small shallot in some extra virgin olive oil on a skillet.

Sauteed Shallots

I added approximately 3 cups of raw chopped kale.

Chopped Kale

Next, I added approximately 1 cup of organic black beans from a can (rinsed),1 cup of organic frozen corn (rinsed in hot water), salt and pepper.

Black Beans and Corn

I turned the heat off and added the cooked quinoa plus 1 cup of medium heat salsa from a jar. I mixed it well and finished by patting it into an even shape carving a little bit deeper in the center for the eggs.

DSC_0305

I spread some more salsa over the top, sprinkled some Mexican style shredded cheese and cracked two eggs in the middle (one of the yolks didn’t make it. As you see this is the real deal and I was too hungry to care.)

Eggs over quinoa

It baked at 400F until the egg looked cooked then I broiled for just a couple of minutes to get the cheese crispy. I garnished it with chopped green onions and cilantro.

Mexican Quinoa Skillet

 THE DEALs

 Sprouts: Organic curly kale for 98c each this week

Frozen Corn and all frozen brands 20% off ends 03/26

Ralphs: Dozen large eggs grade AA  $1.99