Autumn Rainbow Salad

If you don't already know...I adore Halloween! It's my favorite holiday and I plan all year for it;dreaming up fun food and decorating ideas.  It's trial and error really. Not all my ideas are good ones. In fact, this week I had to concede defeat to Candy Melts and Chocolate. I spent the whole day in the kitchen wrestling with chocolate that wouldn't melt properly and those dreadful candy melts. I told my husband if I ever attempt a recipe that calls for Candy Melts, just remind me of this day AND the last time I used candy melts for a Halloween blog. *Sigh*

Castellon's Kitchen-0   Candy Melts-2

Anyway, there's no need to dwell on the past, let's look at this gorgeous salad. I was inspired to make this Autumn Rainbow Salad when I saw this salad on Pinterest. I loved that the carrots were carved into little jack-o-lanterns along with the potatoes that looked like little ghosts.  Super cute idea! Admittedly, I tried to cut my carrots into the cute little jack-o-lanterns...see? But I wasn't too happy with the way they came out. This one here is the best one. Anyway, I scrapped the idea to make jack-o-lanterns out of them and opted to just keep them as pumpkins. Still cute, but much more versatile. My salad could now be made for Halloween, Thanksgiving or just a simple fall meal with a cute little detail to keep it festive. I topped this salad with Green Goddess Dressing because I like the creaminess with all these crunchy veggies, but feel free to use your favorite dressing. In fact, I used a vinaigrette with leftover salad and it was super yummy too! Enjoy! 

Autumn Rainbow Salad 
(Serves 8)

3 cups of mixed red/green lettuces
1 1/2 cups red cabbage, thinly sliced
1 1/2 cups savoy cabbage, thinly sliced
1 large carrot, sliced
1 cups orange cauliflower, cut into small florets
1 cup blueberries
1 cup golden raisins
1 cup pumpkin seeds
1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled 

Prepare all veggies. Layer serving platter with red/green lettuces. Top lettuces with vegetables in a rainbow pattern finishing each end with crumbled feta cheese. Top with your favorite dressing! 


Green Goddess Dressing
2 cups mayonnaise
1/2 ripe avocado, mashed
2 green onions, chopped
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1/4 cup olive oil
3 T white wine vinegar
1 garlic clove, minced
2 t. fresh tarragon, chopped (1 t dried tarragon)
salt and pepper

Mix all ingredients in a blender. Store in air tight container and refrigerate until use. Shake well before serving.



How to: Pumpkin shaped carrots

First, cut about a two inch slice off your carrot. I worked in small increments because it was easier to work with smaller sections of carrot when you cut out the stem portion. 
Cut along the length of the carrot only cutting about a quarter inch deep. Then, cut 45 degrees from the first cut to notch out a quarter round piece of carrot. Make another cut about 1/4 inch from the first cut and opposite the notched out side. This will be the stem of the pumpkin. Repeat the notching on the other side of your latest cut.

After notching out both sides of your first cut it should look like this. A roughly shaped pumpkin.

Use a paring knife to trim away the sharp corners and round out the pumpkin shape. Ta-Da! Pumpkins. Now cut the carrots into many pumpkins.

Other Halloween recipes to try:
Ghoulish Goat Cheese Torte            Midnight Sushi w/Wasabi Skulls         Pickled Shrunken Heads

Midnight Sushi with Wasabi Skulls

It is officially Halloween in my kitchen. The kiddos were at a sleepover this last Saturday so I was able to play around with an idea I had for a fun Halloween-inspired main dish.
I call it Midnight Sushi! My husband suggested the name. I was thinking something like Sinister Sushi, but I liked his name better. It's basically a super cool looking Spicy Tuna Roll with veggies. I can't have a meal without my veggies. 
The most noticeable difference is that I made it with Forbidden Rice instead of sushi rice. I saw some forbidden rice at the store a few months ago and bought it wanting to make a Halloween dish and voila! This is the result...Can you just imagine eating this at midnight on Halloween? Yum. 

(This is my simulated nighttime pic...I think it turned out pretty cool considering it was daytime when I took this picture. I've been playing around with lighting so that it looks like it's night time.) The daytime shots are down below. :)

I really like the way it turned out. Forbidden rice when uncooked is gorgeously black! See?

But once it's cooked it becomes a beautiful deep burgundy-purple color. 

When cooked properly for 30 minutes, Forbidden Rice is nutty and has a chewy texture with a little bite to the grain. Normally, Forbidden Rice wouldn't be sticky enough for sushi so, for this recipe, I cooked it two times in my rice cooker to get a more sticky consistency. 
The first time with equal portions of rice and water. The second go around, I added about a half a cup of additional water and flipped the switch again. It turned out sticky with some of the grains broken. Perfect for sushi but not for a pilaf! In fact the nutty flavor of the rice really elevated sushi for me. Typically sushi rice just gets me really full without a lot of flavor, but this rice tasted amazing with the spicy tuna and veggies. :) My husband even said, "I think you got something here! This is really good, the rice really adds to it." High praise from my sushi-loving husband.

Note: I tried rolling some of these rolls with the rice on the outside but it was not successful. When I went to cut the roll, the rice fell off the nori sheet. Darn. So definitely roll the rice on the inside. Like this. :)

 Midnight Sushi
(Makes 4-6 rolls)

2 cups Forbidden Rice
2 cups plus 1/2 cup water
Dressing
3T rice wine vinegar
2 T sugar
1 t salt

1/4 lb sushi grade tuna, finely minced
2-3 T garlic chili sauce (to taste)
splash of low-sodium soy sauce
1 t. mayo
radish sprouts
red bell pepper, sliced thinly
cucumber, sliced thinly
Sushinori sheets

Make rice according to rice cooker instructions and then cook the rice a second time, adding about a half a cup of additional water.  While rice is cooking, prepare the dressing. 
Dissolve the sugar and salt in the rice wine vinegar and set aside. Once the rice is done cooking, let it cool for about 10 minutes and then pour the dressing over the hot rice and mix well. Let the rice cool completely to room temperature. 

Prepare tuna to your desired spiciness and prepare all veggies, cutting them thinly. 
Assemble the sushi following these instructions here.


Wasabi Skulls

For a festive addition, I used a mini Halloween cookie cutter to mold the wasabi into a skull shape. I used a small knife to draw the nose and mouth and a chopstick for the eyes...pretty cute huh?

Other Halloween Food Ideas:
Spiderweb Eggs                       Amputated Appetizer          Mummified Meatloaf

Summer Salad with Corn, Tomato and Basil

As summer comes to a close and I ready my boys to head back to school, I can't help but think back to my summers when I was young. For me, summer seemed like an eternity. By the last month, I was ready for school to start and see all my friends again. Now that I'm home with my kids, I wonder if  summer goes by fast or slow for them? I know they are definitely not ready to go back to school like I was and I'm not sure why that is. Is it because we did too much and didn't rest enough? We vacationed in Palm Springs, visited the Living Desert Zoo and WWII Airplane Museum. We also went to the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium and watched a live Shark dissection, which was totally cool! We watched Wiener Dog Races for the third year in a row. The boys went camping with the cub scouts, we watched two baseball games: Dirtbags and Angels, hiking, bike riding, movie watching, beach going and spent endless hours in the pool. Not to mention, the many sleepovers, play dates, birthday parties, barbeques, and summer camp excursions to Soak City, Bolsa Chica State Beach and Raging Waters. We even squeezed in a 5 week reading class for my youngest son. 
I know I'm exhausted, but maybe they are too. When I was little, our summer vacations were open ended expanses of days with nothing to do, with no set activities. We would go outside, find our friends on the block and make our own fun, climbing trees, swimming and riding bikes. Our family trips consisted of going up to Northern California to see family for a few weeks. The rest of summer was up to us to fill up our time. And maybe that's the difference. 
As a parent today, I feel pressured to fill up my kids' time. I feel like it is up to me to keep them engaged and active. My parents didn't do any of that. We were free to create and fill up our time. Yes, we were bored...but we survived it and ended up making some pretty great memories just being outside and having long, slow days ahead of us. 
But that was a time when life was a bit slower. We didn't have cell phones, cable TV, or video games. We didn't have the pressure to respond immediately to a phone call, text or email. Those things didn't exist. If you weren't home to answer the phone, you missed the call. No message would be waiting for a reply. I know those days are long gone and my kids live in a technology driven world of texts, cable TV, video games and everything requiring immediate response. But hopefully they will look back on these busy summers and remember them as the fun, easy days of childhood.

With all the long, tiring days, the last thing I wanted to do when I got home was spend a lot of time in the kitchen. So here's a delicious and easy summer salad. It's easy, because it's made with raw white corn, no cooking necessary, cherry tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, basil and tossed with the marinade from the mozzarella with a splash of red wine vinegar. A cool delicious salad that's a snap to pull together. Enjoy!

Summer Salad with Corn, Tomato and Basil 

Serves 6

6 ears of *white corn kernels (about 4 cups)
1 cup of cherry tomatoes, halved
1 container of marinated fresh mozzarella balls, halved
small bunch of green onions, thinly sliced (I forgot to add these...Oops!)
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves

Dressing

Use 1/4 cup of marinade from the fresh mozzarella and add 3 T of red wine vinegar and salt/pepper to taste.

Combine corn, tomatoes, cheese with the dressing and toss. Cover and refrigerate for 15 minutes or up to two hours. When ready to serve add basil, toss and enjoy.

(*I do not recommend using yellow corn for this recipe, it's not crunchy or sweet enough.) 

Other Summer Salad recipes to try:
Mom's Macaroni Salad              Zucchini Ribbon Summer Salad       Summer Fruit Salad w/Ginger&Lime 

          

Miso Cod on Garlic Roasted Bok Choy with Tangerine Butter

This amazing dish was the follow-up meal to my Red Quinoa and Veggies Spring Rolls from last weekend when my kiddos were away camping. Funny, it seems so long ago now, especially since I haven't been able to get back into the kitchen since they got home. I'm not blaming them for my absence from the kitchen. Rather, I'm taking a slow approach to summer using this first full week to hang out with my kids. We went to the movies, the park, a few days of swimming, a play date, a birthday party, and a whole lot of doing nothing. But mostly, if I were honest, I've been waiting for a little summer inspiration and it finally came today in the form of Corn Cakes. I found a new recipe that I'm dying to try from a new App called, All the Cooks. I just joined on my phone and it's a really cool app. It's a cooking platform for home cooks to share their recipes and then others can make the recipes and post snapshots of their attempt at the recipe. So far I haven't made or shared anything yet. But I definitely found a promising recipe that will kick off this year's summer vegetable...Corn!
Each summer, I showcase a summer vegetable. Last year it was zucchini. The year before tomatoes. This year I have 3-4 corn recipes to share that are absolutely perfect for summer. 
In the meantime, as I prepare these amazing corn dishes, enjoy this easy Miso marinated Cod over Garlic Roasted Bok Choy. 

Miso-Marinated Cod over Garlic Roasted Bok Choy with Tangerine Butter
(marinade recipe from foodgal.com )

4 cod fillets
1/4 cup sake
1/4 cup mirrin or vodka
3 T white miso paste
1 T sugar
2 T toasted sesame oil

3 Bok Choy, quartered
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 T olive oil
2 T unsalted butter, melted
zest/1 tsp of tangerine juice
Garnish: sliced green onions and/or sesame seeds

Heat sake and mirrin in a small sauce pan until boiling and boil for 2 minutes and remove from heat.  Add miso, sugar, and sesame oil until melted and combined. Let marinade cool. In a ziplok bag add marinade and fish and marinate over night in the refrigerator.  

 
Mince garlic and add olive oil. Let sit for a 15 minutes.  
Line roasting pan with the quartered Bok Choy and baste the bok choy with garlic infused oil. Roast in a 400 degree oven for 15 minutes. Not too long, I like it crunchy. :)

Melt butter and add Tangerine juice and zest. Set aside.

Pan fry or grill fish over medium-high heat about 4-5 minutes on each side.
Serve Cod over Roasted Bok Choy and then drizzle melted tangerine butter over the fish and Bok Choy. Enjoy!

I forgot to add sesame seeds before. Delicious!

Other recipes to try:
Red Curry Tilapia with Vegetables     Shrimp Poboy Lettuce Wraps                 Grilled Halibut Tacos

Red Quinoa And Veggie Spring Rolls

I made these Veggie Spring Rolls last weekend when my kids and husband were away on a camping trip. I had the house to myself for two whole days! Yippee! I can't even remember the last time I had time alone. Not just time to do nothing, but time completely alone with no obligations, no pressing itinerary and nobody around to interact with. No small talk, no chit chat. I didn't even have to listen politely to someone else talking. I was completely alone and it was exactly what this weary introvert needed to recharge from a very stressful first half of 2015. :)
I got up early each day and sipped coffee while I sat in my favorite chair by the window and drank in the solitude. I went for long walks in the cool early morning hours enjoying being up before the world got busy and loud. I got reacquainted with my kitchen, where I planned some blog dishes and cooked food that I wanted without worry that the kiddos wouldn't like it. I took my time with my alone time, there was no urgency to be anywhere than where I was and it was amazing. I ate healthy food, read a book, and took naps. It was better than any vacation I could've taken. I felt totally recharged and ready for a fun summer with my mind peaceful and calm once again.
These Red Quinoa and Veggie Spring rolls were one of two dishes I made during my "alone time" weekend. Perfectly lite and flavorful and packed with summer veggies and topped with two spicy sauces, a Spicy Peanut Sauce and Spicy Soy Sauce. I couldn't decide which one I like best so I alternated sauces with each bite. Delicious! Give them a try. Enjoy!

Red Quinoa and Veggie Spring Rolls
(Inspired by Naturally Ella)

1 cup Red Quinoa
2 cups Water
1 T Simply Asia Sweet Ginger Garlic Seasoning
Spring Roll Wrappers
Red Leaf lettuce
Asparagus
Cucumber
Clover Sprouts
Green Onions
Cilantro Leaves

Prepare Quinoa according to package directions. I used chicken broth instead of water and I added 1 T of Simply Asia- Sweet Ginger Garlic Seasoning to give the quinoa added flavor. Set aside to cool.

Prepare all veggies.
Place Spring roll wrapper in water to soften and then place on cutting board. Add veggies and quinoa to middle of wrapper and then fold edge of the wrapper over the veggies. Then fold the two sides and roll like a burrito. Cut in half with a sharp knife and serve.


Spicy Peanut Sauce
2 T peanut butter
1T garlic chili sauce
1 T low sodium soy sauce
3-5 T hot water (add until desired consistency)
1 t sesame oil
chopped peanuts (garnish)

Spicy Soy Sauce
1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
2 T garlic chili sauce
1-2 T honey
Green onions and sesame seeds (garnish)

 

Other recipes to try:
Shrimp w/Chili Garlic Cream Sauce      Sweet Chili Lime Tofu                  Simple Sesame Noodles

Spicy Carrot and White Bean Hummus

I was inspired to make a version of Spicy Carrot Hummus after I grabbed this small snack from the store one day. (see picture below) I was hungry but didn't want too much to eat and it sounded amazing...Zesty Sriracha Carrot Hummus! What's not to like, right? I was super excited to try it. 
It had great texture and the carrot flavor was prominent but overall it was a bit too sweet for my taste with very little "zest". I wanted more zest from the Sriracha. Anyhoo, all was not lost to the experience because I was inspired to make my own and spice it up.

For my taste, it definitely needed some heat but it also need a strong flavor to complement the sweetness of the carrots so I added Garam Masala to give the carrots some depth and let me tell you it was amazing. 
I've made this a few times now, the first run through was great with layers of flavor, from the carrots, tahini, lime, cilantro and the Garam Masala with a little heat at the finish. My husband LOVED it.  
The next time, I jacked up the heat by not only adding Sriracha, but also cayenne and red pepper flakes. Amazing! The hotter the better I say. This recipe is really great hot but you can adjust to your taste if you prefer it milder.

Spicy Carrot and White Bean Hummus

1- 1 1/2 cup cooked carrots
1- 14 oz can of white beans, drained and rinsed
1/4 cup Tahini, sesame paste
1 T water
1 clove of garlic, chopped
juice of one lime
1/2 cup of cilantro leaves

1-3 T Sriracha sauce (to taste)
1/8 tsp. Garam Masala
red pepper flakes (to taste, I used about 1/4 t) 
cayenne pepper (to taste, I used about 1/8 t)
kosher salt (to taste)
Garnish with chopped cilantro

In a food processor, combine Tahini, water, garlic, beans, cooked carrots, lime juice and blend on high until smooth. Add Garam Masala, cilantro, Sriracha to boost color and add spiciness, add cayenne, red pepper flakes. Add salt to taste. Garnish and serve with pita chips or fresh veggies. Enjoy!
 
Other Appetizers to try:
Homemade Hummus and Pita Chips           Fried Chickpeas                          Moroccan Carrot Dip

Spicy Carrot and White Bean Hummus would be great on my Veggie Sandwiches too!

Pineapple Chicken with Coconut Rice

 

Summer vacation is finally here, and what better way to kick of the steamy summer months with an amazing grilled chicken dish! This recipe has got to be my new favorite recipe! It's INCREDIBLE tasting and super easy to make.
The chicken is marinated in pineapple juice, lots of garlic and lemon zest/juice and then it's grilled. Which in itself is pretty delicious, but then you top the whole kit and caboodle with big rustic chunks of pineapple and red bell peppers that have been sauteed in...wait for it...brown butter, honey and Dijon mustard! To. Die. For. It is really that delicious!

I love the look of this chicken dish with its rustic chunks of pineapple and red pepper served family style on a big platter! But I imagine this would be equally amazing as kabobs, brushing on the browned butter mixture after grilling, just like BBQ sauce...yummy.  Sounds perfect to me, I'll give the kabobs a try this summer!  Hope you will too, enjoy!

Pineapple Chicken with Coconut Rice (adapted recipe from Diethood)
Serves 4

4 chicken breasts, boneless, skinless
1 20-oz can of pineapple chunks, juice reserved
4-5 garlic cloves, minced
salt and pepper
Zest and juice of one lemon
1/4 t paprika
1/8 t cayenne pepper

Topping
3 T Brown butter (from ~4T unsalted butter)
2 T Honey
1 T Dijon mustard
Reserved pineapple chunks
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped into 1-inch pieces

Coconut Rice
1 3/4 cup Jasmine Rice
1-14 oz. can low sodium chicken broth (~1 3/4 c)
1-14 oz. can lite coconut milk (~1 3/4 c)
1-2 T Canola Oil

Marinade: 
Combine pineapple juice, minced garlic, salt & pepper, lemon zest and lemon juice, paprika and cayenne pepper into a Ziplock freezer bag and add chicken breasts. Zip bag closed and allow chicken to marinate in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours. 

To make Coconut Rice:
Over medium heat, add canola oil into large saucepan and then add Jasmine Rice. Toast rice, stirring often for about 4 minutes taking care not to burn the rice. Then a add coconut milk and chicken broth and stir well. Cover and let cook for about 10 minutes. Turn off heat and then let sit for 15 minutes.

Grill the chicken, wrap with foil to keep warm. 

To make browned butter: (or substitute with regular melted butter)
In a small skillet, heat 1/4 cup butter and allow the milk solids to brown to a dark golden color. Pour off the liquid portion of the browned butter into a clean large skillet, leaving behind the browned solids in the smaller skillet to discard.

Stir the Dijon mustard and honey into the melted browned butter and then add the pineapple chunks and red bell peppers. 
Over medium high heat, saute until bubbly and fragrant about 4 minutes, stirring occasionally.  

Pour the sauteed pineapple over your grilled chicken and serve with Coconut Rice. 
Garnish with sliced green onions.

Other Chicken recipes:
Chicken Florentine                            Easy Ranch Chicken                      Honey Butter Chicken