Sides – Simple Comfort Food – Recipes that are simple and delicious.

Fresh Garden Quinoa Salad

August 21, 2018August 21, 2018 Dax Phillips Leave a comment

My wife and I go through this dilemma, probably like most of you, about once every couple of weeks and that is that we really consider eating ‘more healthy’ and incorporate more fresh vegetables and ‘good’ stuff into our weekly dinner plans. This is not to say that we do not eat healthy. In my opinion we do really well and rarely go out to eat, limit our intake on junk foods, and eat fairly well balanced meals throughout the week. Granted, we are eating more meat than we probably should but I think that defaults to my kids as if it were just my wife and I eating we would most likely be very content eating a nice salad on a daily basis. So not too long ago my wife had mentioned this idea and stated that she would really like to eat more quinoa. I listen to that stuff, and felt it was my duty to turn her on to a nice fresh garden salad. A quinoa salad that was packed full of crunch vegetables, and loaded with flavor.

This quinoa salad is simple to make and is perfect as a main meal, or side dish. It’s got great crunch and an awesome citrus kick to boot.

Let’s get started.

Ingredients:

1 cup quinoa, rinsed and drained
2 cups of water
1 red or orange bell pepper, seeds removed, diced
1 medium sized tomato, seeds removed, diced
1 jalapeno, seeds removed, diced
1 cup red onion, finely diced
1 cucumber, seeds removed, diced
1 cup flat leaf parsley, chopped
1 lemon, zested and juiced
1 cup skillet fried chick peas, optional
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
salt, to taste
cracked black pepper to taste

If you have never cooked quinoa, it could not be easier. It is as simple as rice (without the rice cooker). Simply add water, add quinoa, stir, wait, and fluff.

Let’s begin by bringing 2 cups of lightly salted water to a boil. Add in the quinoa, stir, cover, reduce heat to a medium-low, and cook for about 15 minutes. The water should be absorbed and the quinoa should be translucent. Taste so that it is tender. Once tender, remove from the heat, dump it into a mixing bowl, and let it cool.

Next, prepare all of your diced ingredients. I will leave it up to you if you want to leave the skin on your cucumber or not. I’m a fan on skin on with my vegetables whether that be cucumbers, potatoes, or carrots. Again, I will leave it up to you. Just make sure you get rid of the seeds. Once you have all of your veggies chopped and diced, add them to the bowl of quinoa. If you are going with a bit more protein, add the skillet fried chickpeas (great for texture).

Add the lemon zest, lemon juice, and olive oil. Season with a generous pinch of salt and some cracked black pepper. Give this a good stir to mix everything, and then give it a taste. Does it need more salt, pepper, or oil? If so, go for it and adjust to your liking.

Now you are ready to serve. This quinoa salad is not only super healthy for you, but darn it is delicious. A perfect side dish for a family night meal, or a great leftover to pack for your daily lunch. Enjoy!

Fresh Garden Quinoa Salad

Author: Dax Phillips

Recipe type: Salads

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 15 mins

Total time: 25 mins

Serves: 6-8

Ingredients

1 cup quinoa
2 cups of water
1 red or orange bell pepper, seeds removed, diced
1 medium sized tomato, seeds removed, diced
1 jalapeno, seeds removed, diced
1 cup red onion, finely diced
1 cucumber, seeds removed, diced
1 cup flat leaf parsley, chopped
1 lemon, zested and juiced
1 cup skillet fried chick peas, optional
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
salt, to taste
cracked black pepper to taste

Instructions

Let’s begin by bringing 2 cups of lightly salted water to a boil. Add in the quinoa, stir, cover, reduce heat to a medium-low, and cook for about 15 minutes. The water should be absorbed and the quinoa should be translucent. Taste so that it is tender. Once tender, remove from the heat, dump it into a mixing bowl, and let it cool.
Next, prepare all of your diced ingredients. I will leave it up to you if you want to leave the skin on your cucumber or not. I’m a fan on skin on with my vegetables whether that be cucumbers, potatoes, or carrots. Again, I will leave it up to you. Just make sure you get rid of the seeds. Once you have all of your veggies chopped and diced, add them to the bowl of quinoa. If you are going with a bit more protein, add the skillet fried chickpeas (great for texture).
Add the lemon zest, lemon juice, and olive oil. Season with a generous pinch of salt and some cracked black pepper. Give this a good stir to mix everything, and then give it a taste. Does it need more salt, pepper, or oil? If so, go for it and adjust to your liking.
Now you are ready to serve.

More Quinoa Recipes:

Mexican Elotes Tater Tots

July 19, 2018July 19, 2018 Dax Phillips Leave a comment

Summertime is finally here, and sometimes that is s a great thing or a bad thing. The bad only being that it has been a scorcher in Wisconsin. The temperature has been in the upper to mid 90’s lately with a high percentage of humidity. I don’t perform well in humidity, and as I normally run hot to begin with, when you add humidity that only means I’m a walking puddle. The great thing is that all of the wonderful produce that my wife and family love is in full harvest, and one of them being corn. I’ve always related corn and tomatoes to summertime while living in the midwest, and as we grow a lot of tomatoes in our garden, corn is pretty much on our lunch or dinner table several times a week.

While living in Dallas, I was first introduced to Mexican corn (Elotes), and I fell in love. It was addicting. Grilled or steamed corn smothered in mayonnaise, sprinkled with chili powder and cotija cheese, what was not to love? I had elotes on my mind after buying a handful of corn on the cob, and after rummaging through my freezer (trying to purge frozen items), I located some nice tater tots. I love tater tots, and after looking at both the corn and the tater tots, I knew I could only do justice my making some loaded Mexican Elotes Tater Tots.

Forget the nachos. These are a game changer.

Let’s get started.

2 ears of corn, steamed or grilled, then cut off the cob
1/2 a bag or about 15 oz of frozen tater tots, cooked by directions on bag
2 cups of Supremo 3 Cheese Mexican blend cheese (Chihuahua, Oaxaca, Cotija)
1/3 cup of Mayonnaise
1 tsp chili powder
salt and pepper to taste
1 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped, to garnish
1/2 lime, optional

Start by preheating your oven by directions, or fry the tots if you desire. I baked mine on a cast iron fajita skillet (love), and during this time steam or grill your corn.

Once the corn is cooked to your liking (I like mine a bit al dente), cut it off the cob and place it into a mixing bowl.

Add the mayonnaise, chili powder, and a bit of salt and pepper. Those tater tots need some salt and pepper.

Once the tots are close to being done (and to your liking), and some like them a bit tender and some like them nice and crispy like myself, remove the skillet or baking sheet from the oven. Top all of the tater tots with the Mexican shredded cheeses and place back into the oven and cook for about 5 more minutes or until the cheese is nicely melted.

Once the cheese is nicely melted, remove it from the oven and slide onto your serving plate. I keep mine on the cast iron skillet and place it on top of the wooden board that came with the fajita skillet.

Top with the corn mixture, shower with fresh cilantro, and serve with a lime wedge for additional acidity.

Now block yourself from others, just kidding, and dig in. You talk about everything you can love about Mexican Elotes, these Mexican Elotes Tater Tots just bring it over the top. Simple, quick, and delicious. This is a perfect Summertime snack. Enjoy.

If you are looking for other takes on Mexican elotes, or other corn ideas this summer, give these a try:

Roasted Sunchokes

June 28, 2018June 28, 2018 Dax Phillips Leave a comment

I frequent the farmer’s market every Saturday in my neighborhood. This year they moved the market to a new location, and one which was a great improvement. I was excited several weeks ago to say the least, not only for the new location but to see some of the familiar faces and to check out what was in season.

There was the standard Spring items including rhubarb, some asparagus, honey of course, and then sunchokes. If you have never seen or tried a sunchoke, it is a must try. They are knobby looking vegetables that are way to easy to make, and leave you with almost a nutty flavor. With that being said it was my duty to pick up a pound of them, take some advice from the farmers, and get to work. This is my take on the roasted sunchoke.

Let’s get started.

Ingredients:

4 tbsp unsalted butter
1 tbsp olive oil
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 lb sunchokes, rinsed and cleaned
salt to taste

That’s it my friends. I used garlic and butter only because I was making camerones al mojo de ajo (garlic shrimp) for a main, so the sunchokes would be served as my vegetable and side dish.

Start by heating a skillet on medium to low heat. Add in the butter, oil, and garlic, and let that come to temperature.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Once the butter has melted (do not let it brown), add in the sunchokes, and give them a gentle turn from time to time. You only have to do this to get some flavor, or should I say more flavor onto the sunchokes. Once your oven is preheated, add remove the sunchokes with some tongs onto a baking sheet and place into the oven for about 35 minutes or until they are tender.

Remove from the oven, season with a bit of salt, and plate and serve.

When I plated these, my wife and kids were a bit intrigued, as was I. So my wife and I grabbed a few and were blown away. They are nutty, and almost potato like, but with these had that nice garlic butter and salt addition which topped them off even more.

If you are looking, or if your market still has sunchokes, get them, and hook them up. If you do not want to turn on the oven, feel free to put them on the grill on indirect heat. These make a great side, and to boot are really great for you. Thank you farmers and farmer’s market! I’m glad it is that time of year!

Balinese Sambal Matah

November 13, 2017November 13, 2017 Dax Phillips Leave a comment

Many of you may or may not have heard of sambal. Sambal itself is typically a mixture of chilies and a variety of other ingredients making it one really, really good condiment. Most of us are probably aware of the default Asisan sambal oelek, the red condiment found in Asian markets, or in your ethnic aisle at your grocery store, however there are lots of other varieties. Sambal matah is one of those, and it’s a force to be reckoned with. Simple ingredients make this sambal super addicting.

This is what is known as a raw sambal using fresh ingredients such as chilies, shallots, and lemongrass.

Let’s get started.

Ingredients:

5 shallots, thinly sliced
8 Thai bird’s eye chilies, thinly sliced
4 kaffir lime leaves, thinly sliced and chopped
2 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced and chopped
2 stalks of lemongrass, tender parts (near the bottom) only, thinly sliced and chopped
1 lime, zested and juiced
1 tbsp fish sauce (Red Boat or 3 Crab brand)
1 pinch of salt
1 tbsp coconut oil, warmed until a liquid

That’s it, and trust me when this is all mixed it is a powerhouse of flavor.

Once you have done all of your chopping and slicing, mix everything in a bowl. That’s it.

This sambal matah goes great (in my opinion) with pretty much anything. I’ve even caught myself just eating it by the spoonful. If you love the combination of shallots and chilies, then this will be right up your alley. This sambal is sweet, salty, sour, and spicy. Store this in an airtight container in the refrigerator (if it lasts that long) and serve as a condiment with your favorite dishes throughout the week.

You can find the fish sauce, lemongrass, and kaffir lime leaves at any of your local Asian markets. Hope you enjoy!