Friday Favorites with La Domestique

Friday Favorites is back! Today we're talking with Jess from La Domestique. I really like the concept behind Jess' blog. She picks a new ingredient every Monday and gives you a bit of background on it.  Tuesday she gives you 10 ways to use the ingredient, and then she shares a recipe too. You can also find her articles over at the Whole Foods Cooking Boulder blog. Follow along with Jess for endless inspiration and check out her list of pantry items for Spring.

Jess, what's your favorite food?

Image courtesy of La Domestique

Jess: Oranges always cheer me up and stimulate my palate with their varied colors and sweet, tart flavor. I enjoy every part–the juice in vinaigrettes and refreshing drinks, the flesh tossed into salads, fragrant zest to flavor cakes, and chocolate-coated candied orange peel as a sweet treat. 

Thanks Jess! We're headed to Asheville to visit family and I couldn't be more excited for a weekend away. Have a great Easter weekend!

Orange sesame stir fry & brown rice noodles

My younger sister lived off bowls of Ramen noodles as a kid and I know a lot of college students do too. Ramen might be quick to prepare, but those noodles don't contain much nutritional value. There are no vegetables and they are incredibly high in sodium, not to mention preservatives. All the flavor resides in those little mystery foil packets.

I was inspired by this week's Food Matters Project recipe to make a big vegetable stir fry. Stir fries are great, because you can pack them full of vegetables like cabbage, mushrooms, carrots, turnips, bean sprouts, onions, and more. I mixed in some brown rice noodles to make this a one pot dinner. Since I used brown rice noodles this dish is gluten free, but soba or buckwheat noodles would work great too.

I added garlic and ginger to the orange sauce, and used local spring onions in place of the scallions. No mystery foil packet here. And don't worry about heating the leftovers up, they taste delicious as a cold noodle salad the following day.

This dish honestly doesn't take too long to prepare. Your health is important, so spend a little extra time preparing your food. You won't regret it.

Orange sesame stir fry & brown rice noodles
Adapted from The Food Matters Cookbook
1/2 lb brown rice noodles
2 tbsp sesame seeds
1.5 oranges, zest and juiced
2 tbsp tamari
1 tsp honey
2 tbsp sesame oil
2 spring onions, sliced thinly
1 container mung bean sprouts
2 carrots, grated
1/2 turnip, grated

1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated

2 garlic cloves, minced
6-8 mushrooms, sliced thinly
1/4 of savoy cabbage, sliced
1/4 c cilantro

Cook brown rice noodles according to the package. When cooked, drain, and put into a large serving bowl.

Heat sauté pan over medium. Add sesame seeds, cooking until toasted. Set aside.

Mix orange zest, orange juice, 1.5 tablespoon of tamari, and honey in a small dish. Heat a tablespoon of sesame oil over medium heat. Add the sprouts and half of the spring onions, cooking until lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Then add the grated carrot and turnip, stirring well. Add the ginger and half of the garlic, cooking until fragrant. Now mix in the orange sauce. Cook for a few minutes, until the sauce thickens. Remove from heat and pour over the noodles. Mix well.

Heat the remaining sesame oil over medium heat. Add the remainder of the spring onions and the mushrooms to the pan. Add the remaining tamari to the pan. Cook for about 5 minutes or until the mushrooms are cooked down. Now add the cabbage, stir, and cook until wilted. Remove from heat, mix into the noodles, and sprinkle with cilantro and sesame seeds. Enjoy!

Move over, Quinoa.

There's a new kid in town.

Meet millet. A whole grain, non-glutinous like quinoa. I know this isn't the first time I've mentioned millet, but when I started having stomachaches after eating quinoa, I turned to millet. It takes about as long to cook as quinoa and has a mildly sweet flavor. It's perfect as a pilaf or eaten underneath a pile of sauteed veggies and beans. And like I mentioned in the post below, it makes a great binder for croquettes and bean cakes.

I found this delicious breakfast recipe in Rebecca Katz' Cancer-Fighting Kitchen cookbook. Rebecca provides clean, healthy recipes and advice for those cooking for someone going through chemotherapy. But I think most people could benefit from eating this way. I've made her gluten free almond muffins and can't wait to try her vegetarian pot pies. 

This has quickly become my favorite winter breakfast. If you're looking for an alternative to oats, this is your answer. The millet is cooked with orange juice along with water, which adds a lovely natural sweetness to the cooked grain. Cinnamon, cardamom, and ginger spice it up as the almond milk and coconut oil make it creamy. Paired with the dried fruit compote, this breakfast is rich in fiber and will give you that push you need in the morning.

Orange millet

Adapted from Katz' Cancer Fighting Kitchen
1 1/4 c water

1/4 c orange juice

1/2 c millet, rinsed

1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp cardamom
1/4 tsp ginger
dash of sea salt
1 T orange zest
1 tsp coconut oil
1/4 c almond milk

Add water and orange juice to a pot over high heat. Bring to a boil, then add the millet. Stir in cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, and sea salt. Cover and cook for 15-20 minutes. Once the millet is cooked, remove from heat, and add the remaining ingredients. Makes 3-4 servings.

Dried fruit compote
1 c prunes
1/2 c raisins
1/2 c apricots
2 cinnamon sticks
1/2 tsp cardamom
1 tsp lemon juice

Soak prunes, raisins, apricots, cinnamon and cardamon in water overnight. Bring all the ingredients (minus the lemon) to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 45 minutes to 1 hour. The liquid should be syrupy. Remove from heat, add lemon juice and toss out the cinnamon sticks. Makes about 3 cups of compote.

Top the millet with compote and enjoy. Add a dollop of plain yogurt for a nice contrast to the sweetness.

Cranberry-ginger relish

As a kid, I remember lavish Thanksgiving meals that my mom labored over for days. Great attention was given, making sure it was just right. Green bean casserole, sweet potato souffle, buttery rolls, squash casserole, cornbread stuffing, smoked turkey (my dad's job), marinated carrots, cold and warm pumpkin pie. The only dish that wasn't homemade was the cranberry sauce. It came right out of a can, was sliced and served. It never seemed to belong on the table with the rest of the meal. Everyone would take a slice, but no one was going back for more.

A few years ago my mom changed that. She bought fresh cranberries and made a cranberry-orange relish that was quite delicious. We all raved about it and went back for seconds and thirds. Every year since then she makes that relish. 

Today I share my version of cranberry relish in honor of those many, many Thanksgiving meals that were made for me with love. Thanks mom and Happy Thanksgiving to all.

Cranberry-ginger relish

Adapted from Martha

1 bag fresh cranberries

juice of 1 orange

zest of 1/2 orange

3/4 c maple syrup

1 tablespoon ginger, grated

1 cinnamon stick

pinch of sea salt

2 tsp red wine vinegar

Add the cranberries, juice, zest, maple syrup, ginger, cinnamon stick and salt to a saucepan. Bring to a boil. Don't worry about the popping, the cranberries are supposed to do that. Reduce heat and simmer for another 10 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the vinegar. Cool and serve. You can make three days ahead and refrigerate until ready-to-eat. 

Pomegranate-orange rice salad with kale

Thanksgiving has really snuck up on me this year. I can't believe it's already that time. We've decided to stay put this year. I'll be running the turkey trot Thanksgiving morning, which I've always wanted to do. That way I can work up an appetite before the big meal. I'm not sure what I'm making this year, so I thought I'd share some last-minute ideas here with you.

Sarah's poppy seed-crusted butternut squash
Brussels sprouts with hazelnut & pecorino
Decadent pumpkin soup
Roasted cranberry sauce
Ashley's cider vinegar-braised greens
Warm lentil salad
or anything listed here
Jacqui's pumpkin hazelnut bread

Do you have your meals planned out already? What are you making?

Several years ago I made a celery and pomegranate flecked rice dish for Thanksgiving. I had forgotten about that until I picked up a few pomegranates at the store over the weekend. I decided to make a simple brown rice salad packed with kale, carrot and celery. I love the color the seeds bring to the dish as well as their burst of flavor. Pomegranates are also an excellent source of antioxidants.

Pomegranate-orange rice salad
Serves 4-6
2 cups cooked brown rice (warm or cooled)
1 medium carrot, grated
1 medium celery, diced
seeds from 1 pomegranate
1 T orange zest
1 T fresh orange juice
2 T sesame oil
1 tsp tamari
1 tsp minced ginger
1 T minced dill
2 c raw kale, cut into bite size pieces
dash of olive oil

Mix the rice, carrot, celery and pomegranate into a large bowl. Whisk the orange zest, juice, oil, tamari, ginger and dill together in a smaller dish. Put the kale in a small dish and drizzle with a dash of olive oil. Massage well with your hands for five minutes or until the greens start to break down. Add the kale to the rice mixture, pour the dressing over top and mix well. Serve immediately or refrigerate.

Farmer's market surprise

Look what I picked up at the farmer's market last week.

Yes, that's orange cauliflower. The vibrant orange color comes from extra beta-carotene, which means this guy has more Vitamin A than it's cream-colored sister. That's reason enough to pick it up at the market. I made a version of this roasted cauliflower recipe with it. Oh and this isn't the only strange color you might see cauliflower around your farmers' market.

Have you found an interesting vegetable or hybrid fruit at your market lately?