I was trying to think of something cool and refreshing to throw together for dinner and came up with the idea for this wild rice salad.  It was really easy to make (and the best part is that you can make it WAY ahead of time), and it was also yummy!  I love it when my ideas turn out as good as I envision them being.  I used stuff that I had on hand in my fridge; any vegetables would be good here – peas, carrots, spinach, zucchini, etc.

Wild Rice Salad

1 cup white and wild rice mix

1 3/4 cup water

1 cup grapes

1/4 cup dried cranberries

1/2 cup toasted pine nuts

1 cup broccoli florets, blanched

6 cremini mushrooms, sliced and lightly sauteed in olive oil

Dressing

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

2 TB olive oil

2-4 TB agave nectar (depends on how sweet you want it)

Cook the rice in the water (those are the directions on my package of rice.  Your rice to water ratio may be different.)  Meanwhile, chop, saute, blanche, toast the remaining salad ingredients and put them in a large bowl.  When the rice is done cooking, add to the bowl with the veggies.  Mix together the dressing ingredients and drizzle over the top.  Taste and season with S&P.

Since I had a head of cabbage in my fridge hanging out with my excess phyllo dough from the party, I thought I’d whip up some faux “egg” rolls for dinner last night.

But what to go with them???  Hmm… I had some cabbage and carrots, but nothing else by way of fresh veggies.  I did have some frozen green beans, edamame, and frozen broccoli, so how about a fried rice?  Perfect!

I cooked up a batch of sticky (sushi) rice- just one cup of uncooked rice- which I guess yielded about 2 1/2 cups of cooked rice.  When it was done cooking, I let it cool a bit while I chopped up the veggies.

Vegan Fried Rice

2 1/2 cups cooked rice, any kind will do

1 medium onion, diced

1 medium carrot, diced

1 cup cabbage, shredded

1 cup broccoli florets (I used frozen)

1 cup green beans (I used frozen)

1/2 cup edamame (I used frozen)

1 inch piece of ginger, minced or grated

3 cloves of garlic, minced or grated

1/4 cup of soy sauce (or more, if needed)

1/4 tsp hot sesame oil

Chopped green onions and cilantro, for garnish

Heat a large nonstick skillet or wok over high heat.  Add about a tablespoon of canola oil and stir fry the onions.  After about two minutes, add the carrots.  After about a minute, add the cabbage, ginger, and garlic, being careful not to let the garlic and ginger burn.  When the cabbage has cooked down a bit, add the edamame (still frozen), green beans and broccoli and let them cook for a few minutes.  Scoot the veggies over to the side of your pan and add the cooked rice.  Fry the rice, being sure to separate any clumps, then stir the rice in with the veggies.  Pour the soy sauce and sesame oil over the top and mix well.  Give it a taste and add more soy, if needed.  At the last minute, stir in the green onions and cilantro.

This rice is so awesome!  I have made it a lot of different ways, but I definitely prefer white, sticky rice to brown rice.  I know, I know- I’m going to hell for advocating white rice over brown- but everything in moderation, right? 

Last night’s dinner was not what I had originally planned to make. The plan was for pizza, but I’ve been pretty busy lately getting the food ready for Emma’s birthday party that I just didn’t feel like rolling out the dough. I have what I think is a good pizza idea, though, so stay tuned for that next week.

A quick survey of the fridge and pantry revealed an unopened package of basmati and wild rice blend, a block of tofu and some rainbow chard that I needed to use up. I thought it sounded pretty tasty and got to work on the rice. No secrets there… just followed the directions on the package.

The rainbow chard was equally as simple. I cut off the tough stems, and then chopped up all the large leaves. In a large skillet, I started by sauteeing some onion and garlic. When that was tender, I added in the chard and sauteed for another 5 minutes. When the leaves were wilted, I added in some S&P and a splash of red wine vinegar. It was pretty tasty! I sprinkled some toasted pine nuts over the rice and chard to serve.

I wanted to try something a little different with the tofu, so I started by cutting the block into small squares. I cooked them the same way that I make the triangles- in a nonstick skillet with a dab of canola oil. When they were browned up on both sides, I put a little bit of BBQ sauce on each side and flipped it over so that it could get seared into the tofu. Emma had her usual triangles without the BBQ sauce. For a simple meal, it came together pretty quickly and tasted pretty good.

On the side, we had a little bit of fruit salad, since I had a half eaten banana to use up before it became inedible.

I was totally unmotivated to make dinner one night last week… and I had no idea what to make. I was flipping through ED&BVlooking for inspiration when Dreena’s recipe for Orange Sesame Tofu caught my eye. I had everything on hand and thought it sounded pretty good. To go with it, I also made Dreena’s Coconut Lime Rice and, just because I had some organic green beans in the fridge, decided to also make Dreena’s Lemon-Broiled Green Beans. I followed all recipes exactly, except that I used orange juice in place of the lemon juice on the green beans (since I had a bunch of oranges already juiced).

I like the flavor of the orange sesame sauce on the tofu, but the gelatinous texture was off-putting. I don’t mind that the texture of tofu is a little squishy, but when paired with a squishy, gelatinous sauce, it just didn’t work for me. This was my last favorite part of the meal.

My second least favorite part of the meal was the rice. It wasn’t bad, just kind of blah. I think it’s better paired with a stir fry or curry- anything with a spicy sauce to give it some zing.

My favorite part of the meal was the green bean dish. They were so easy to make and so tasty. I ended up making them again later in the week when my parents came over for dinner.