House Spouse

The best meals seem to come about by happenstance around here. A major part of the appeal of these meals is not merely their tastes and textures, but their simplicity and the unexpected/unplanned nature. Kind of like that kind of day where you start with a bike ride to the grocery store in the morning, but then you get a phone call from a friend who wants to have brunch. You mention you’re at the store, so why don’t you just come over and make breakfast. And then after breakfast, you and the friend decide to take a walk to check out some garage sales and end up running into another friend who says she’s planning on going to the beach in an hour and why don’t you two join her. She’s packing a picnic basket and a frisbee, so just bring your bathing suit and a towel. You look at each other and think, Sure, why not? The day continues on like this, with unexpected meet ups and adventures. By the evening, you look back over the past 12 or so hours and think, This day was awesome! It’s the kind of day that starts out with an errand, but ends up being a simple, unplanned and totally enjoyable day.

That’s how this salad went for me. It was simple, wholesome and really satisfying and totally unplanned. I made up some whole wheat couscous this morning for Andrew to take with his lunch. I love how fast couscous is. He had made some peanut sauce and packed the broccoli I’d steamed, but didn’t have time to make rice–brown or white. I saved about a half a cup for myself and stuck in the fridge.

Later, after an errand out to the library and the drug store, I came back ready for lunch. I opened the fridge and three items called out to me: the couscous, a jar of slow-roasted tomatoes and a jar of fire roasted sweet red peppers marinating in olive oil and white balsamic vinegar. I also found some fresh basil needing to be used today. I sliced up the peppers, tore some basil and tossed them with the tomatoes, couscous and a pinch of salt.

It’s pretty humid and warm out today, so this salad was a quick and refreshing little mid-day meal. It’s full of roasty, tangy and fresh clean flavors. I still have more tomatoes and peppers in the fridge and plenty of leaves on my little globe basil plant, so I’m planning on having a second round of this meal tomorrow for lunch.

While I didn’t have these ingredients on hand, I imagine some toasted pine nuts and crumbled goat cheese would take this to another delicious level.

Summer Couscous Salad

1/2 cup whole wheat couscous, prepared and chilled
1/2 cup slow-roasted tomatoes
1/4 cup slices of marinated fire-roasted sweet red peppers (instructions below)
1-2 T chopped fresh basil
pinch of salt

Roast the red peppers over a low, open flame on your stove top until they are blackened on all sides. Place in a dish and cover with plastic wrap. Set aside for at least 10 minutes. This will steam the peppers and make peeling them easier. Supposedly. I never find them all that easy to peel and just end up rubbing off all the charred stuff under running water. Then I pat them dry, remove the seeds and the stem and slice. Place the peppers into a bowl or a mason jar and add a couple of glugs of olive oil. Splash in some white balsamic vinegar and shake the jar gently (or stir if using a bowl) to make sure all the peppers get coated. Refrigerate.

Add all of the salad ingredients except salt to a dish and toss to combine. Season to taste. You can add some of the marinade from the peppers if you’d like or just splash in more olive oil and vinegar.

Last week, our friends Steve and Nadia brought over some cauliflower from the farm where Nadia is interning. Steve doesn’t care for cauliflower so they gave us two medium heads. I immediately recalled a recipe for Cauliflower Waldorf Salad I’d picked up from the Meat Lite series on Serious Eats some months ago and how much Andrew enjoyed it. I thought I’d give it a try with just cauliflower and omitting and substituting some of the ingredients in the original recipe. I did and it was just as delicious! Instead of raisins (which I originally omitted anyway as I’m not a fan), I used dried cherries. And instead of toasted walnuts, I substituted toasted slivered almonds. I left out the chicken completely and instead used twice as much cauliflower. Finally, I left out the celery and the apples and slightly altered the recipe for the dressing. The result was a cool and creamy salad with a great balance of tangy and nutty flavors. The almonds improved the texture by adding crunch, and the dried cherries were a perfect sweet foil to the mellower taste of the roasted cauliflower.

Here’s my adaptation to the recipe:

Roasted Cauliflower Salad with Toasted Almonds and Dried Cherries

2 medium heads of cauliflower, chopped into 1-inch florets
1 T vegetable oil
1/2 cup toasted slivered almonds
1/4 cup dried cherries

For the dressing:
1/2 tsp Kosher Salt
1 1/2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1/3 cup plain yogurt
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
10 grinds black pepper
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1 tsp dried dill

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Toss the cauliflower pieces with the oil and the salt. Spread them out on a baking sheet. I used a Silpat underneath to prevent any sticking. Roast for 30 to 40 minutes, or until the pieces are tender but firm, and golden brown.

While the cauliflower roasts, make the dressing by whisking together in a large bowl. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

When the cauliflower is done, remove it from the oven and let it cool to room temperature. Add to the bowl with the dressing the almonds, cherries and cauliflower. Stir gently to combine. Season if necessary. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes for the flavors to come together.

Serve the salad on toasted bread, mixed greens or on its own. I love this as a substitute for a chicken salad sandwich.

My life-long aversion to cherries, in any form, has begun to dissolve. A few weeks ago, I bought some dried cherries for some cookies I planned on making and tried them, as I always do, to check and see if I liked them yet. And, I did. A lot. While I haven’t attempted the cookies yet (there were some really hot days right after I got the cherries–too hot to turn on the oven), I’m not entirely sure I have enough for my recipe. I enjoyed them that much.

Then, Andrew bought a bag of sweet dark cherries from our grocery store. The next several nights, we sat on the couch sharing a bowlful and spitting the pits and stems into a small ramekin.

Then, we saw that Klug Farms had an assortment of varieties for sampling at the farmer’s market on Tuesday. Andrew was with me, so I encouraged him to try them and tell me which was best. At this point, I’m not completely convinced that I’m a cherry person. He, on the other hand, is and if I’m going to make something with cherries, I’d much rather it be something he prefers. He chose the sour cherries and I bought a quart of them.

I thought about canning them. They are the prettiest little things to look at. But why can them when I have the perfect amount for a pie? Plus, a classic cherry pie would be a good third date: if I couldn’t love a cherry pie then I couldn’t love cherries. Plus, last month’s Bon Appetit had a recipe with rave reviews on Epicurious.  I prepared the crust that night and pitted the cherries while indulging in a little TV. (Side note: That night, I had a dream about holes being punched into the street outside my window with a giant cherry pitter-like construction vehicle.)

Yesterday afternoon, after hours of reading dense theology articles at the library, I came home ready to start my pie. The plan was to share it with some of our favorite friends while watching Top Chef Masters, perhaps the most boring food reality show to ever air. All went according to plan. No debacles or flubs to report on. The show was even extra boring, with all likable chefs and no one to really root against or for. I followed the recipe almost exactly and had no problems at all. I wanted to dive in as soon as it came out of the oven, but was committed to waiting until it fully cooled and our friends showed up.

The verdict: this pie is good, but I’m still not convinced I love cherries. I think we’re just going to be friends. I am, however, convinced that this is the best pie crust I have ever made. It’s perfect and flaky. I noted this and have committed to preparing a blueberry pie using this crust recipe in the next couple of weeks. Blueberries, I’m totally committed to, so instead of being a test of my commitment, the blueberry pie will just be a trip down memory lane:

(Keep reading for the recipe.)
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