On Saturday I had plans to go to a Korean barbecue for dinner. Though I wouldn't be partaking in the giant piles of pork and beef that are sliced thin and cooked on a tabletop grill, I still knew I would be eating a ton of food. So, I decided to have a light, easy lunch.
My salad was composed of baby lettuces from Truck Patch Farms topped by halved cherry tomatoes and sliced apricots. And sunflower seeds (my salad weakness) from Connecticut, so not too far away. I also used a seasoning blend called Salad Elegant from Penzey's—it includes paprika, parmesan cheese, poppy seeds, sesame seeds, etc.
On the side I had the last two slices of focaccia with some chipotle goat cheese from Cherry Glen. Unfortunately the focaccia was a bit too far past its prime—a little too dried out for my taste. So I ended up sort of working the goat cheese into the salad.
This was such a boring (though tasty) lunch that I hope it will not become my One Local Summer entry this week, but I am going to the beach this weekend, so my cooking opportunities will be limited.
Today I am "wasting" a potential cooking day by making some beans for Mark Bittman's vegetarian refried beans recipe (from his excellent book, How to Cook Everything Vegetarian. Making beans from scratch takes a while but it doesn't involve much hands-on work, and the payoff is great.
Plus, dried beans are so cheap. I am using about half a bag of kidney beans that cost me $2 from the Indian market. That and some chopped onion, a little bit of oil, salt and pepper, cayenne and cumin, and some diced jalapeno, and I have my refried beans. Top that with a fried egg and some cheddar cheese, with a salad on the side, and I have dinner. And actually everything I am using is local except for the beans themselves (and the oil and spices, of course). Not bad.
Your salad may seem boring but it looks yummy to me! Be sure to take and post a picture of the beans....they sound interesting.....*Ü*
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