recipes

MADE: Sandwiches, Cranberry Chipotle Sauce, and Caramelized Green Beans

kristy, Leave a comment

This year for our little Thanksgiving, Devin and I skipped the main meal and went straight to leftovers, opting for sandwiches instead of a main course. I loved what we ate so much that I decided to put all the recipes here so that we can find them in future years, when I hope we will be able to share them with more of the people we love. They’re also good recipes for anyone who’s wondering what to do with leftover turkey (or tofurkey : ), an extra bag of cranberries, or frozen green beans.

Devin and I eating in the kitchen, by candlelight

OK, so first things first: The Sandwich.
Devin made sourdough bread using a recipe from Flour, Water, Salt, Yeast, a very good cookbook for any aspiring breadmakers. The bread was fresh from the oven, and we just added a little mayo (my favorite kind is Just Mayo, but any kind works) and some tofurkey (but you could use turkey or any other kind of meat or “meat.” My favorite are the Tofurky-brand Hickory Smoked deli slices. Non-vegetarians are always skeptical, but everyone I’ve fed them to in the past 15 years has loved them!) The crucial finishing touch for this sandwich was cranberry chipotle sauce (see recipe below).

Cranberry Chipotle Sauce

  1. 1 12-oz bag of fresh or frozen cranberries
  2. 1/2 cup sugar
  3. 1/4 cup maple syrup
  4. 1 or 2 minced chipotle peppers in adobo, depending on how spicy you want it to be. If you don’t have a can of chipotles in adobo, use 1/2 tsp. or 1 tsp. of chipotle powder.
  5. 1 orange, juiced
  6. 1/8 teaspoon cumin
  7. 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon

Combine all the ingredients in a small pot and cook over medium heat until the cranberries begin to burst (about 5 minutes). Lower the heat to medium low and cook for 5–10 more minutes. You’ll know it’s ready when the mixture has thickened up. This recipe is adapted from Alyssa & Carla.

Cranberries in a pot, green beans in our skillet

Caramelized Green Beans

We also ended up with a big bag of frozen green beans, so I tried to find a new way to use them and ended up using this recipe by Lynne Curry. You can make it with butter, ghee, or olive oil, and we didn’t use the full amount (I think we used approximately 4 tbsps.). We also used onion instead of shallots and no mushrooms because we didn’t have any. The result were smooth creamy green beans that tasted like a whole other kind of vegetable, and best of all, no squeaking! (Have you ever noticed that frozen green beans usually turn out squeaky?)

We also sautéed some purple kale and had it with our meal. Even though we missed being able to gather with friends and family, it felt special to make a meal, light some candles, and sit down to eat together. (Usually, Devin and I eat at totally different times, so it really felt like an occasion!) And we even dished up a little plate for Chloe.

Our table by candlelight

I hope wherever you were, you felt loved and supported. These are hard times for all of us, but I’m finding hope in following the news about vaccines and improved treatments for COVID-19. Public health experts are still begging us to stay home, mask up, and practice social distancing,* but there is an end in sight, and I’m praying that we can all hug and breathe the same air safely someday very soon.

*Did you know: in the U.S., we call staying six feet apart maintaining “social distance,” but in Mexico, it’s called “sana distancia,” which means “healthy distance.” I think that’s kind of beautiful.

On the morning of Thanksgiving, someone wrote this in chalk on the sidewalk in our neighborhood: May you have hope, May you have strength, May you have some joy, May you be safe and well.


Here’s to healthy distance and better days ahead.

MADE: Sandwiches, Cranberry Chipotle Sauce, and Caramelized Green Beans

MADE: Pickled Rhubarb

kristy, Leave a comment

It’s rhubarb season, and, if you know what rhubarb is, I know what you’re thinking: pie, pie, pie.

I hadn’t heard of rhubarb until I was 19 years old. That was the year I got to share a slice of strawberry-rhubarb pie with my friend Clara. That little piece of pie was delicious and life-changing. I’m serious. It helped me get a job, start dating Devin, and find myself in a perpetual pie contract. So yes, I know how good strawberry-rhubarb pie can be.

But rhubarb is bountiful. It grows and grows and grows, and if all you’re doing is putting it in pie, you’re missing out.

My first venture beyond rhubarb pie was this upside-down cake, which I highly recommend.

Next I started putting it in salads. I’ve tried tons of salad recipes, most of which call for pickled rhubarb. And last spring, I figured out my favorite way to pickle it. A few people have asked for the recipe, so I’m sharing it here (though really, it is so easy, it hardly qualifies as a recipe. Perfect for summer!).

Screen Shot 2018-08-06 at 11.50.21 PM.png

Quick-Pickled Rhubarb

Ingredients:
• 2–3 rhubarb stalks (depending on their size)
• 1 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup water

Instructions:
1. Slice the rhubarb in half-inch pieces
2. Place in a container that has a lid (I like to use a pint jar because the lid seals tightly).
3. Pour in the sugar, vinegar, and water.
4. Shake up the jar.
5. Make sure the rhubarb is completely covered. If you need, add a little more vinegar/water.
6. Leave in fridge for at least 2 hours (1.5 if you’re really hungry––but the longer it marinates, the better it tastes.
7. Serve with your favorite salad.

If you need a salad recipe to go with this, I like to use kale chiffonade, millet, strawberries, and toasted hazelnuts. Between the strawberries and the rhubarb, I don’t usually use a dressing, but you could always make a strawberry balsamic vinaigrette, if you’re feeling fancy.

MADE: Pickled Rhubarb

MADE: Tacos al Pastor y Micheladas

kristy, , , 3 Comments

One of my favorite Madison bloggers, Tomissa Porath, often blogs about beer. I don’t know very much about beer, but when we became friends, I just had to invite her over for micheladas because, despite her extensive beer knowledge, she had never had one. (In case you haven’t either, a michelada is a beer cocktail from Mexico.)

Once I started to think about micheladas, I decided I had to make tacos, too! And then I got so focused on tacos, I forgot to buy the beer. Oops. Thankfully, I was able to call my friend Kate who saved the day and allowed us to have a balanced meal. ; )

Processed with VSCOcam with f2 preset

Tacos al Pastor
Recipe translated and adapted from Chef Oropeza.

If you’ve ever walked into a taco place, you’ve probably seen a big spinning orange piece of meat with pineapple at the top. This contraption is called a trompo (because it resembles a spinning top), and it is used to make my very favorite kind of taco. Unfortunately, restaurants almost never have a vegetarian version (the spinning meat is pork), but making them at home is really easy and you can use any meat or protein you like, so don’t despair!

My only ingredient note is that you’ll want to go to a Mexican grocery store to make sure you can find all the ingredients you need. My favorite in Madison is Mercado Marimar, which also makes fresh corn tortillas––a must for good tacos. As for special tools, you will need a blender or food processor.

Ingredients (makes 8-12 tacos)

(for the filling)
* 4 dried ancho chiles  

* 3 dried guajillo chilies

* 75 grams (roughly 2.5 oz.) achiote paste (3/4 small bar)

* 1 or 2 garlic cloves

* 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

* 3/4 cups orange juice

* 2 tablespoons canola oil

* generous pinch of salt pizca de sal

* generous pinch of black pepper

* 16 oz. OR 24 oz. of your preferred protein (my favorite is seitan) Note: if you are using a protein like tofu or seitan, make sure to check the drained weight on the package. For example, the packages of seitan I bought listed the total weight as 1 lb. 2 oz., but the drained weight was 8 oz. Make sure to drain your tofu or seitan! Otherwise, your tacos will be watery. The more protein you use, the less saucy they will be, but as long as you marinate it for a little longer, it should still be very flavorful.

* 1 package of corn tortillas (you need at least 12 tortillas; most will have about 30). I recommend buying freshly made tortillas if you can find a tortillería in your town because the taste difference is enormous.

(taco garnishes, served in separate little bowls to pass around)
* 2 cups chopped pineapple (if canned, drain)

* 1 onion, finely chopped

* ½ bunch cilantro, washed and finely chopped taza de cilantro lavado, desinfectado y picado

* 10 key limes, halved OR 5 big limes, quartered (if you and your guests don’t usually eat a lot of lime, buy less)

* 1 small can (7 oz.) of your favorite Mexican salsa(s)––not the American kind––I recommend salsa verde from Herdez or La Costeña

Instructions

1. The first thing you want to do is prepare the dried chiles. Rub their exteriors with a kitchen rag to make sure there’s no dirt on them (there usually isn’t, but nothing is worse than gritty food). Run them under cold water. Cut off their stems (a pair of scissors works well for this). Then, cut a slit up the side of each chile and remove the seeds. Did you know seeds are what make chile peppers spicy? If you like spicy tacos, you can leave some seeds. Finally, place them in a bowl of medium-hot water to soften them for about ten minutes. They should feel plump and re-hydrated.


2. Next place the chiles, achiote paste, garlic, vinegar, orange juice, oil, salt, and pepper in the blender or food processor. Blend until you have a smooth sauce. This sauce is called an adobo.

3. Chop your meat or preferred protein into small pieces, and marinate it in the adobo. If you are using a smaller quantity of meat or vegetarian protein, 10 minutes should suffice. If you are using a larger quantity, marinate it for longer (~20 minutes).

4. Heat a small amount of oil in a pan (I used a cast-iron skillet), and cook your meat or protein thoroughly. I used medium-high heat and cooked the seitan until it was slightly crispy on the outside (about 10 minutes), but I don’t know anything about cooking meat, so cook it as you usually would. It should be really hot when you are done. Cover it and set it aside while you heat the tortillas.

5. There are lots of ways to heat tortillas, so you can choose the way that seems most practical to you. I recently learned that you can lightly moisten them and put them on a baking sheet at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for about 6 minutes, flipping once at the 3-minute mark. To me, this is so much easier than heating them one or two at a time on the stove. Make sure you wrap up your stack of tortillas in a kitchen towel after you’ve warmed them. Place them in a basket with a lid or another container with a lid to make sure they stay hot.

6. Bring the tortillas, meat or protein, and all the garnishes to the table. This way everyone gets to make their own tacos. Enjoy!


Michelada

Making a michelada is super easy, and since this recipe makes one drink at a time, it’s totally customizable. Experiment with your preferred quantities of sauces and lime juice to find your perfect blend!

Ingredients

* a light or dark beer of your choice (we had Corona and Negra Modelo)

* Salsa Maggi

* Valentina hot sauce

* 1 or 2 key limes or half of a big lime

* Tajín or rock salt for the rim of your glass (I recommend Tajín)

* a frozen glass, beer mug, or mason jar

* 2 little plates (at least slightly bigger than the mouth of your glass)

Instructions

1. Take one of your plates and moisten it with a little water.

2. On the other plate sprinkle a bit of Tajín or salt.

3. Rub the rim of your glass first in the plate with water and then in the plate with Tajín or salt.

4. Squeeze the lime into your glass.

5. Add ½ tablespoon of Valentina hot sauce and ½ tablespoon of salsa Maggi.

6. Pour the beer in the glass, and enjoy!

MADE: Tacos al Pastor y Micheladas

MADE: Burritos de Frijoles

kristy, , , , , , 1 Comment

I’ve mentioned on the blog before that what most Americans consider burritos, I consider something else entirely, but the other day a friend of mine shocked me. He said that he thought burritos were American because he’d never had one in Mexico (even though he’s spent time traveling there).

Suddenly, my mission was clear.

I’m here to set the record straight on burritos and to give everyone an opportunity to taste the truth.

The burrito was invented in my home state of Chihuahua, Mexico. Sources say it is from Ciudad Juárez. People say the best burritos in Chihuahua are from a small town called Villa Ahumada. (I don’t have a recommendation for where to go because there are so many vendors and restaurants that it would be impossible to rank them.)

When I explain burritos to my gring@ friends, I always start by saying that the burrito is a simple food. Equivalent foods are things like a grilled cheese sandwich or tomato soup. Sure, you can make those things fancier and more complicated, but the plain versions you grew up eating probably taste really good and comforting to you.

The key to a good burrito is good ingredients. If you have delicious beans and fresh tortillas, you don’t need anything else for a delicious meal. I promise. I actually have a theory that most U.S. burritos are compensating for their lack of quality with quantity.

So, what is a U.S. burrito? Usually the components are rice, beans (usually whole beans, which makes no sense), some type of meat, assorted vegetables, guacamole, salsa, sour cream, and cheese, all wrapped in a humongous tortilla. Sometimes this kind of burrito is called a Mission-style burrito, and it is said to have originated in San Francisco’s Mission District. When we were there this summer, Devin and I passed a restaurant that claimed to be the birthplace of  Mission style burritos, and I stood across the street shaking my head and muttering, “Esos ni son burritos” and “¿A quién se le ocurrió esa porquería?” until Devin dragged me away.

my nemesisA Mexican burrito by contrast has just two ingredients. A flour tortilla that is small (in comparison) and some kind of filling (the most popular is refried beans, but you could also have rajas con queso or a guisado of some kind of meat). Please note that burritos do not have beans AND meat. You have one or the other. Simplicity is key. You can top your burrito with salsa (the saucy Mexican kinds, not the chunky American ones) and/or cheese.

An important note about cheese: yellow cheese is not Mexican. I don’t know who created the “Mexican shredded cheese blend,” but it is a lie. In Chihuahua, the best cheese is Asadero made by Mennonites. I wish I could give you some, but they don’t export it. I recommend a white cheese like Queso Chihuahua, Monterey Jack, or Daiya Mozzarella shreds, which are vegan and I really love.

When I had the conversation I mentioned at the beginning of this post, I realized that I should share a recipe for a good bean burrito. That way everyone can taste what it’s like. Bean burritos are inherently portable because refried beans stick to the tortillas, so this recipe is especially handy if you’re looking for a grab-and-go food.

Someday soon I will share my recipe for beans from scratch in a post entitled Beans From My Mothers, but I wanted to make this recipe as easy as possible, so I went to Trader Joe’s because they have stores all over the U.S., and some of their Mexican food is really good. (The frozen tamales they sell are imported from Mexico, and they’re delicious!)

Burritos de Frijoles

The ingredients are flour tortillas, a can of refried beans, and salsa verde to serve on the side. I didn’t get cheese because I usually don’t put cheese on my burrito, but see above for cheese recommendations.

ingredients My aunt Menry taught me to put little can of salsa casera in beans before refrying them, which gives them a great flavor. These beans from Trader Joe’s approximate that flavor really nicely (ignore the low-fat thing; I would never feed you “diet food,” but these are really good and there’s no full-fat equivalent).

Here’s what you do:

1. Heat up the beans on the stove or in the microwave. Make sure to stir and heat them thoroughly.

2. While the beans are warming, heat up the flour tortillas one or two at a time on a comal or a pan on the stove. Flip them to make sure they get hot on both sides. Make sure to wrap the hot tortillas in a kitchen towel, so they stay nice and hot while you finish heating rest. One can of beans is enough for a little more than half the tortillas in the package depending on how full you like your burritos.

3. If you’re using cheese, make sure to put it on the beans when they are piping hot. That way the cheese will melt. You can stir it in if you want to have the cheese melted throughout the beans or you can put it on top, or you can do both depending on how much cheese you want.

4. Scoop some beans on a tortilla, pour a little salsa on the beans, roll up, and enjoy!

bean burrito

MADE: Burritos de Frijoles

MADE: Chocolate Raspberry Cake

kristy, , , , Leave a comment

On Wednesday, Devin asked, “How would you feel about hosting a birthday party on Saturday?”

And I said, “A birthday party?! For whom?”

He blushed and said, “Well…me.”

Oops.

In my defense, this was the day after I locked myself in the house because I couldn’t find my keys. Where did the keys finally turn up? My purse.

Right.

Clearly, I haven’t been at my brightest lately, but once I realized his birthday was Monday (that is, two days ago), I got excited, especially after he asked if I would make a cake. Contrary to what this post might suggest, I love celebrating Devin’s birthday. Last year we had a big brunch and then went roller-skating. One year I commissioned a piñata that was six feet tall. And the very first party we threw together was a ‘60s-themed birthday party for him.

At 20, I’d never baked a cake from scratch, but I had a vision of chocolate cakes in the shape of records, complete with grooves and those round LP labels on top. Luckily, I had a very generous friend named Alison who had baked me the best cake I’d ever had. That’s the cake I wanted to make for Devin, and Alison was so generous she even gave me the recipe.

The first time I baked it, it was really hard. I thought I would mess it all up, and every single one of my roommates had to help me (to bake and to stay calm), but in the end, we had record-shaped cakes, and everybody loved them.

This past Saturday I baked that cake again. I know I would have liked it for nostalgic reasons no matter what it tasted like, but I promise you, it tasted even better than I remembered. Plus, when I made it for the first time six years ago, Devin went to the store to get drinks and came back with the September issue for me. When I made it this year, Devin went out and came back with a piano. I’m sure my imaginary lawyers would totally advise against this, but I’ll just go ahead and say it: this cake is magic.

Chocolate Raspberry Cake with Chocolate Ganache Icing
(adapted from Vegan with a Vengeance by Isa Chandra Moskowitz)

Chocolate Raspberry Cake with Chocolate Ganache Icing

Ingredients

* 1 1/2 cups all-purpose white flour
* 1/2 cup cocoa powder
* 1 teaspoon baking powder
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 2 1/4 cups soymilk (or another type of milk)
* 1/2 cup coconut oil (or another oil)
* 3/4 cup raspberry jam or preserves
* 2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
* 1 1/4 cups sugar
* 6 tablespoons margarine (or buttery spread of your choice)
* 10 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips (1 cup and 2 tablespoons)
* Optional: fresh raspberries or sprinkles to decorate the cake

Tools

* 1 or 2 cake pans (I used two 8-inch pie pans because we hadn’t finished unpacking our kitchen, and they worked perfectly. You could also use one slightly larger cake pan and make a single-tier cake)
* 1 small bowl
* 1 large bowl
* 1 medium pot

Directions

1. First, make the ganache icing. It sounds fancy, but it’s ridiculously easy! Bring ¾ cup of soymilk to a low boil in a medium pot. Add the margarine and let it melt. Then, turn off the heat and stir in chocolate chips until smooth. Let sit for at least one hour to thicken. At that point, it should be easy to pour over your cake.

2. Next, get your cake materials ready! Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, and grease your cake pan(s) with a little margarine or oil.

3. Mix your dry ingredients in a small bowl: flour, cocoa powder, baking power, baking soda, and salt.

4. Mix your wet ingredients in a large bowl: 1 ½ cups of soymilk, the coconut oil (make sure it’s liquid! If it’s solid, melt it in the microwave), ½ cup of the jam or preserves, the vanilla, and the sugar in a large bowl and mix. You can use an electric mixer or your muscles (I used just a fork and it worked perfectly). The jam should be mostly dissolved with the rest of the ingredients, but a few small clumps are okay.

5. Add the dry ingredients to the wet in batches and mix until everything is mixed together. If you’re going to use two pans, divide the batter between the prepared pans. Otherwise, pour it into one pan. Bake at 350F for 40-45 minutes, or until a toothpick or knife comes out clean. (I baked mine for exactly 41 minutes, so make sure you check it at 40!) Remove from oven and let cool in pans.

6. It’s time to put icing on the cake! When the cakes have cooled, spread one layer of cake with the rest of your raspberry jam or preserves. If you’re making a single-layer cake, just mix the raspberry jam with the chocolate ganache. The ganache should be the perfect consistency for pouring over the cake––my favorite way to spread icing on a cake because it’s easy and looks nice.

7. Decorate it to your liking! Raspberries on top look really pretty, but so would sprinkles or nothing at all––a chocolate cake is a thing of beauty on its own.

MADE: Chocolate Raspberry Cake

MADE: SUMMER WRAPS

kristy, , 2 Comments

I’ve been feeling pretty weird about sharing this recipe because I used collard greens, which have traditionally been used in African-American cuisine and have recently been aggressively marketed by Whole Foods in hopes of making them trendy and driving up the price. (Writer/feminist/activist Mikki Kendall aptly calls this “food gentrification.”)

So, before I tell you the recipe, I want to clarify that I am very much opposed to driving up prices and making fruits and vegetables even more inaccessible for low-income people and people of color around the world. The good news: you can use any kind of sturdy green for this recipe. I used collard greens because that’s what was sent in our local-food package that week, but I think lettuce or chard would be even more delicious!

The key thing for me is to eat as much fresh food as I can (it tastes better than canned or frozen stuff) and learn how to cook with what I have. Instead of buying into food trends, I think we should consider what’s best for our planet and our communities––if that seems hard to figure out, just buy what’s cheapest!

Summer Wraps

ready to roll

To make these wraps, you’ll need

• greens with big leaves (like chard, collard greens, or lettuce)
• meaty filling (like tempeh, tofu, or meat)
• assorted vegetables for topping (like caramelized onions, baby greens, and carrots)
• readymade barbecue sauce (OR ketchup, vinegar, maple syrup, and chipotle powder)

1.If you’re using lettuce, skip this step! If you’re using a green like chard or collard greens, start by blanching them. That way they won’t be so tough to eat, and they’ll have time to cool before you’re ready to eat them. Blanching basically means dunking vegetables into boiling water for a few seconds, but this recipe has good instructions if you need a reference.

2. Devin makes fantastic caramelized onions, but they take a while to cook, so you’ll want to start these early in the process, too. Here’s a recipe for reference.

3. We usually make our own barbecue sauce because it’s so much cheaper, especially since we have an endless supply of maple syrup from Devin’s family farm, but store-bought is just as good. If you’ve never made it before, take note: barbecue sauce is ridiculously easy to make, but you do need a little time for it to cook down. (The more you make, the longer it takes.)

Combine

1 cup ketchup
¼ cup vinegar (I usually use apple cider vinegar)
3 tablespoons maple syrup (you could also use honey or another sweetener)
½ teaspoon chipotle powder, a.k.a. my secret ingredient (I use it in everything!)

…and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally until it’s nice and thick (around 15-20 minutes).

4. Cook your “meat” of choice. Devin and I cut tempeh into thin slices and cooked it in a skillet with a little bit of oil, flipping the pieces once to make sure they got crispy on both sides. It took less than 10 minutes.

5. Chop your other veggies pretty small so that you can fit them into the wrap easily. We had baby greens (they were microgreens, I think) and carrots, so all I did was wash the baby greens and shred the carrots using a vegetable peeler.

6. Put out all your ingredients on the table, and let everyone make their own wrap. Make sure not to fill it too much, and roll it like a burrito.

It’s all easy, and you could make everything ahead of time to take for a picnic.

Happy summer!

MADE: SUMMER WRAPS

MADE

kristy, , 2 Comments

Confession: aside from writing and thinking up ways to disrupt the social order, cooking is my biggest hobby. I was pretty annoyed with myself when I realized that because it’s not exactly exciting. At all. I wish I were a painter or a drummer or even an electric racecar driver, but I’m not. I’m not even a chef, just a home cook who gets excited when her Crockpot soup tastes good. Is that worth sharing? I kept thinking about it and came up with two things:

Q: First of all, how lame is it that my hobby is something women were forced to do for generations?
A: SO LAME. My grandmother would not be impressed.

Q: On the other hand, how cool is it that my hobby involves preparing something that is necessary for human survival, saves me money, and helps me keep my friends alive, too?
A: That sounds better. I have to cook, so I might as well enjoy it, and actually, Devin almost always cooks with (and without) me, so in our house cooking isn’t “womyn’s work,” it’s a shared chore and one of our favorite things to do together. (I know my grandmother would be happy about this because she once told me that she thought American men were a little more feminist than Mexican men because they weren’t afraid of the kitchen.)

All that to say, I’m going to start sharing my favorite recipes here! Devin and I almost never make the same things two weeks in a row because every week we get a package of whatever fruits and vegetables are in season from Nextdoorganics, so we often find or make up new recipes. And all the food we make is seasonal and vegetarian, which sounds fancy, but is really code for cheap! My hope is that the recipes will be helpful or inspiring to someone.

And now, without further ado, I present unto you…last week’s lunch.

Salad with Roasted Beets, Israeli Couscous, and Orange

salad x smoothliminal

First you’ll want to peel, chop, and roast the beets because that takes the longest. We peeled and chopped about 10 beets (you could use any amount) into half-inch pieces while we preheated the oven to 400° Fahrenheit. Then, we spread them out in a glass pan and tossed them with some olive oil and a little salt before putting them in the oven. We cooked them for about an hour, stirring occasionally. If you’re cooking fewer beets, they won’t take as long. The number-one tip for roasting vegetables is to cut everything roughly the same size and cook it in one layer so it all cooks evenly. You’ll know they’re done when you can easily poke them with a fork.

Next you’ll want to make the grain. Devin and I happened to have Israeli couscous in our kitchen, but you could use any grain. Israeli couscous is really easy to cook because it’s not actually couscous. It’s just little balls of pasta, so if you can cook spaghetti, you can make this.

2 3/4 cups broth or salted water
2 1/4 cups Israeli couscous

Bring water to a boil and then pour in the Israeli couscous. Turn down the heat and simmer uncovered (check it every 5 minutes until it’s the consistency that you like your pasta; it took me less than 15 minutes).

Chop or tear whatever lettuce or greens you want with your salad. We used a small head of leafy lettuce. Then, chop the orange into bite sized pieces. You could also use any fruit. I calculate one half of a fruit per person because I love having a lot of fruit in my salad.

Finally, toss it all with your dressing of choice. I adapted this pomegranate vinaigrette (leaving out the oil and mustard) because we happened to have pomegranate molasses, but balsamic vinaigrette would also be really good. I tossed the dressing with the beets when they came out of the oven and poured more on my salad right before eating it.

I packed up all the ingredients separately to prevent sogginess then took them to work the next day. Ta-dah! It’s an easy, cheap salad if you make it at home, but a New York restaurant would probably charge more than $10 for something similar.

MADE