Corn Salad

After eating out several times over the weekend, I was excited to make this relatively healthy corn salad.

Ingredients and Directions

1) Take off the kernels from the corn and saute in oil for about 5 minutes. Take off the heat, add chopped red onion and chili powder

2) Meanwhile combine seeded and chopped tomato, cubed avocado, chopped cilantro, lime juice and chopped pepper (Bittman said to use a red pepper, but at $2.60/red pepper, I decided to be a bit more money conscious and chose a green pepper)

3) Once the corn has cooled, combine with the rest of ingredients. Season with salt & pepper and serve

Thoughts: At first I was really excited about this recipe because I love tomatoes and avocados. Once I made it, I thought it was a bit mediocre. However, after it sat for a bit, the flavors be-friended each other, and the taste improved.

P.S. I'll admit I'm not crazy about the photo. It is what it is.

P.P.S. I had this salad for lunch today: it was good, but the avocados have turned brown. Unless you are planning to eat the salad directly after you make it, add avocados only directly before serving.

The Simplest Bean Burger

I'm not a fan of veggie burgers and thought maybe if I made one myself, I'd like it better.

Ingredients and Directions

1) In a food processor pulse cooked or canned beans (I used kidney beans), oats, chili powder, an onion, an egg, and salt & pepper (do not let the mixture get to the pureed state)
2) Let the mixture rest for a bit
3) Form the mixture into patties and let rest
4) Cook the patties in oil for 5 minutes on the first side, turn, and cook for a few more minutes on the second side

Thoughts: the flavor was pretty good, but the patties did not really hold together too well. Not sure I'll make this exact recipe again. Sorry, Mark. If you happen to read this, I'd love to hear your suggestions for improvement :)

Lemony Lentil Salad

Mark Bittman's book arrived yesterday and I was eager to start cooking. The book is huge. I was instantaneously overwhelmed by the number of recipes, tips and suggestions. Luckily, I turned a page to Lemony Lentil Salad and knew right away that's what I will be making because I have been looking for a simple recipe to use up a bag of green split peas (...are they the same as lentils? no clue...I'm sure the book will be able to answer this question though).

The recipe was very simple. Cook lentils in water with a bay leaf and a few garlic cloves (I smashed mine to release more flavor). Then drain and combine with the vinaigrette prepared from lemon juice, lemon segments, minced red onion (or chives or shallots), capers, olive oil, and salt & pepper. The warm lentils soak up the vinaigrette right away.

vinaigrette ingredients

final product

Thoughts: good combination of flavors. Not sure if I overcooked my peas slightly or whether I'll make this again, but a good first try nonetheless.