Recipe: Edamame Salad

My local grocery store makes an amazing edamame salad at their deli department that I can't stop thinking about.  I LOVE edamame and I recently took a hike to Trader Joe's to stock up on their frozen bags.  They're so easy and versatile.  Here's my spin on a refreshing alternative to potato salad, coleslaw, and macaroni salad.   The portions for this recipe makes a to of edamame salad, so think outside the box and bring this to your next cookout!

Edamame Salad

1 package frozen edamame, shelled

1 15 oz. can black beans, drained

1 15. oz can whole kernel corn, drained

2 Tbsp. roasted red peppers, chopped

1/2 large red onion, chopped

1-2 Tbsp. fresh cilantro (you can substitute any fresh herb if you are a non-cilantro fan. parsley would work great.)

1 tsp. chopped garlic

juice from 1 small lime

2 tsp. red wine vinegar

2 Tbsp.extra virgin olive oil

salt & pepper to taste

Boil edamame about 5 minutes.  Drain and set aside.  Rinse and drain corn and black beans.  Add to edamame in large bowl.  Add cilantro, onion, garlic, and roasted red pepper.  Mix to combine well.  Squeeze lime juice and add salt and pepper.  Add olive oil and red wine vinegar and mix well.  Chill for about 1 hour before serving so flavors can marinade.

Mama Mia! It's my first recipe!

I just took a nice long walk around my neighborhood and when I came home I was starving.  I took a quick look in the fridge and in 5 minutes, I came up with a new, healthy, and delicious omelete.  Of course I ate it before taking a picture...I won't do that again!  Try this for a yummy alternative to the western or spanish omelette.

Italian Omelet

3 egg whites

1/4 c. part-skim ricotta cheese

1-2 Tbl. chopped red onion

1 Tsp. basil (i used dry but you could do fresh if you have it!)

1-2 Tbl. marinara sauce (I used Barilla Spicy Marinara)

salt & pepper

In a small skillet, pour egg whites to cover base and form an omelete shell.  While eggs cook, add ricotta to "melt" a little, and basil.  Right before folding, add onions and marinara.  Flip once for even cooking. Enjoy!

Food Facts: the beginning

As far as the food route that got me here, let's start this blog with a shout-out to my mother, whom I love dearly.   She has an admittedly picky palette and no patience for the kitchen, so growing up we ate the following foods on rotation:

1. Meatloaf.  Mom used to say, "just slab a slice of cheese on it and cover it with ketchup.  It's like a cheeseburger!"  Um.  No it is not.  Because of this tortuous experience I will NEVER eat meatloaf again.  This is a promise.

2.  Chicken Tarragon.  This is the one and only meal of my childhood that I still thoroughly enjoy and have yet to fully master the recipe.  I will blog this up at some point.  This is a promise.

3.  Baked Ziti and meat-sauce.   All together now: "whomp whoommpppp".

4.  Burgers. IN THE OVEN.  [This is a good moment to point out that when I was little I saw a news report about e.coli at Jack-in-the-Box restaurants in California.  We don't even have JITB restaurants on the east coast, but I didn't eat burgers again until I was maybe 13 or 14 years old after that.  My parents tried to tell me I was being ridiculous, but I literally thought I would keel over and die with just one bite.  Cue my slight paranoia.  Then when I was around 18 I started eating ground turkey in place of beef.  Now whenever I try to go back to beef, it hates me.  Revenge much?]  Anywho- burgers in the oven are the single most disgusting thing I can ever think of eating.  The fat gets all congealed on top and it tastes like shoe leather. ga-ross.

5. Salmon Croquettes.  What is a "croquette" you ask?  It's canned salmon and breadcrumbs smooshed into a patty and fried in a pan.  Clearly a hit with the after-school crowd.

6.  Tuna noodle casserole.  I can't even discuss this without wanting to vom.

7.  Hot dogs. Boiled. You love it.

Needless to say my adventures in eating were kind of non-existent.

I also have a dad (hi, dad) with slightly more adventurous and advanced taste buds, and he introduced me to things like un-canned salmon, spicy (turkey) chilis, and eventually, my greatest love of all: SUSHI.  More on that in another post.

We dined out a lot when I was younger, and that certainly helped to form my love of food, and eating.  I was the 8 year old ordering fettuccine alfredo when the rest of the kids were getting chicken fingers.  I was also the fat kid.  So there was that.

Today, my personal food pyramid includes the following favs:

-Seafood.  If it swims, i eat it. if it swims and it's raw, i devour it.

-Pasta.  Whole wheat is good, but i love a fresh ravioli, a fettuccine, and a cavatappi.  all of these are mostly always covered in my next favorite...

-Cheese.  I would marry cheese if it was legal.  

-Coffee.  Ok, so technically not a "food."  But i consume it daily and can't have it any other way.

-Chocolate.  Dark.  WITH SEA SALT. I definitely have a sweet tooth, and for that, I'm giving my mom another shout-out.

Future blogs will feature my favorite go-to recipes for my favorite meals.  I come from the Rachael Ray School of Eye-Balling, so you won't see any set measurements or anything.  What you will see is home cooked, easy, and inexpensive meals and sides, a few desserts, and lots of love for food.

come back soon!

-d.

um....now what?

I'm starting a blog...eventually.  I have a million ideas and I want to share them all with you, but like everything in my life, this project isn't quite there yet.

If you like food---trying it, frying it, smelling it, cooking it, or just plain thinking about it--i think you might want to come back.

stay tuned!

-d.