Off The Counter

 

This week's Off The Counter is a salad introduced by a dear friend.  The mix of ingredients is a surprising combination of radishes, oranges and black olives.  Take a look at how pretty  and surprisingly yummy it is.  Ingredients and instructions below.

Salad Ingredients: 1 red onion, 1 bunch of radishes,  3-4 oranges, canned black olives, parsley, olive oil, rice vinegear, salt and pepper.

Slice one red onion and soak  in olive oil and salt for a least 20 minutes.   Cube radishes and oranges and add to a bowl with black olives.  Mix in the onion and olive oil.  Toss all the ingredients together then add a splash of rice vinegar, some chopped parsley leaves, salt and pepper.

If you have any questions, please let me know.  Enjoy!

 

Off The Counter

 

Off The Counter features my latest food obsession:  ranch dressing.  Not just any random dressing,  but the classic Hidden Valley one we all grew up with.  At some point the foodie mania that took over our generation got the best of me and I simply discounted it as a staple destined to be kept in the back of the refrigerator, out of sight and out of reach.

Lately, however, even my pickiest little eater has been dipping veggies in it and therefore  tasting foods he would have never otherwise sampled.  I realized that this old time favorite of mine has become a vehicle for trying new foods for my discerning young eaters.  If you and your family are not already dipping in it, move it towards the front of your fridge.  It is well deserving of  this new and  're-evaluated'  placement...

What's your new/old food obsession?

Off The Counter

 

Welcome to "Off the Counter",  the new foodie section of Cocoon's blog.  I've only done a couple of food related posts and each one of them has been very well received (thank you!).  I noticed that every photo taken for those posts was of the same spot on our kitchen counter.  The exact spot where I measure, chop, whisk and stir with my children in tow.  Cooking has become somewhat of a parenting survival method for me.  It's one of the few activities wherein all three of my kids participate at the same time.  Not an easy feat but one well worth the effort.  Kitchens are the heart and soul of a home, sharing the cooking experience with children gives them the opportunity to create, explore and relate to food on all levels.  With that said, take a look and read about our most recent salad creation:  beets, apples and blue cheese.  Mind you, the kids did not want to taste the salad but they all took a sip of the beet infused water (know when to pick your battles).

Salad ingredients: beets, apples, blue cheese and arugula

Dressing ingredients: Olive oil, seasoned rice vinegar, honey, salt and pepper.

Boil beets until they soften, peel and then toss them with olive oil and salt.  Roast for about 15 minutes.  This allows them to dry out a bit.  Chop the beets and apples into large cubes, set them on a bed of arugula and top with blue cheese.  The dressing is prepared to taste (adding a bit of honey tends to off-set the pungency of the blue cheese).

Enjoy!

 

 

 

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Recovery Soup

After a long and barely comfortable red eye flight back to the east coast, I knew that a good homemade soup would help us recover from our weary travels.  The soup of choice:  borscht.  A mixture of gold and ruby red beets,  this Russian favorite is perfect to cleanse the blood and regulate one's system.   Topping the soup with sour cream and fresh dill adds the right bit of freshness and lightness a winter day requires.  Take a look at the not so measured ingredients and remember to make it your own.  I sauté cubed beef and then deglaze the pan with red wine to give the broth depth and richness, but you can easily prepare this soup vegetarian style.

Ingredients- cubed beef, canola oil, red wine, onions, beets, celery, carrots, broth of choice, sour cream, dill, salt and pepper.

Brown cubed beef and remove, deglaze pan with red wine, sauté onions, add chopped beets and broth. Simmer and return beef to pot.  When beets are tender, blend the soup leaving a few beets whole.  Add salt and pepper, then top with sour cream and dill.  Enjoy!

If you ever have questions about my not so precise cooking techniques please do not hesitate in asking.