Friday, June 27, 2014

Marinated Pasta & Chicken Salad with Soy Bean & Sesame Oil Dressing

Recipe By: Miriam Borys
Salad Dressing Recipe from Alexandra Borys and her good friend Gretchen.

The highlight of this pasta salad is without a doubt the salad dressing recipe which was given to me by my daughter Alexandra who borrowed the recipe from her friend Gretchen. Originally the ladies used this dressing to drizzle over roasted vegetables, which is so very delicious as well. I thought it would be amazing added to a pasta salad and I was right. The combination of the soy bean paste and sesame oil is amazing so thanks to Alexandra and Gretchen for this amazing salad dressing idea. 

Ingredients:

12 oz cooked pasta of choice - chilled (I used penne, gluten free but any sturdy pasta will do)
1-2 cups cooked leftover chicken

1/4 cup red onion
1 c fresh parsley 
1 1/4 cup grated carrot (I broke down and bought a sturdy grater and it made all the difference in my prep…so much easier, see the pic below)
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese for the top
1/2-3/4  cup soy bean sesame oil dressing (see recipe at the end )

Cook pasta as per directions until just before el dente. Don’t overcook.
Strain and cool down with cold water. Strain again and refrigerate cooled pasta until prep is competed.
Dice red onion and parsley and add to a larger mixing bowl.
Cut up cooked chicken into chunks and add to red onion and parsley. ( I created this recipe because I had some left over chicken to use up but other proteins can be used).
Peel carrots first and then grate carrots and add to chicken mixture.
Make salad dressing and hold in fridge until pasta is cold.
Once the pasta is cold add the pasta to the prepared vegetables. Add 1/2 - 3/4 cup of soy bean sesame dressing and toss well until all ingredients are coated with the soy dressing.
This would be a great recipe for a summer picnic. 

Thank you to Gretchen and Alexandra for adding this amazing recipe to my repertoire. Now I can’t get enough of this flavour combination and I want to use this dressing on everything…  



Soy bean/sesame oil salad dressing (the original recipe from Gretchen and Alexandra was half of this one so you could easily make a smaller amount if needed)
2 tbsp. fresh ginger - grated
2 small garlic glove
4 tbsp. soy bean paste  or white miso paste
4 tbsp. tahini
2 tbsp. honey
1/2 cup rice vinegar
4 tbsp. sesame oil
4 tbsp. olive oil
For the salad dressing add all the above into a blender. Blend well until all lumps are gone. Pour into a clean glass mason jar to chill until needed.

Chef Miriam Borys, B.Ed., MA.
'Cooking Uncovered'
http://www.youtube.com/user/mlborys?feature=mhee
blog: www.cookinguncovered.blogspot.com
Website: www.miriamborys.com







Tuesday, June 17, 2014

Silver Wolfe Anti Inflammatory Salad - Layered vegetable salad with parsley & red cabbage



Recipe by: Devon Wolfe - Kelowna BC  - Devon Wolfe is a childhood friend who loves the freshness and health benefits of red cabbage, parsley plus all the other fresh vegetables in this salad.  Thank you Devon for a great salad idea.

Presented By: Miriam Borys

Servings: 8-10

Ingredients:
1/4 pkg. arugula & kale green mix
1/2 yellow bell peppers- sliced
1/2 red bell peppers- sliced
1/2 cucumber - sliced
1 carrots - shredded (we have found that shredding
 the carrot makes the carrot a lot easier to eat)
1/4 cup red onion - peeled and diced
1/2 bunch parsley, stems removed and diced
1 1/2 cups red cabbage - shredded or sliced
2-3 tbsp. fresh dill
Salad Dressing of Choice or my Soybean & AppleCider Vinegar Salad Dressing


Most of the vegetables above can be sliced on a Mandoline
Arrange prepared vegetables, washed, sliced, diced or shredded in a glass bowl starting with the arugula mix and layering in the order above or as you choose. This is a very colourful salad and works very well in a large glass salad bowl. 
I choose to not dress the whole salad but put the salad dressing on the table so each person can choose the amount of dressing for themselves.

Please click on the link attached to go directly to my delicious Salad Dressing with Soybean Paste and Apple Cider Vinegar  http://cookinguncovered.blogspot.ca/2014/06/salad-dressing-with-soybean-paste-and.html




2nd layer - bell peppers

3rd layer - sliced cucumber rounds

4th layer - shredded carrot

5th & 6th layer diced fresh parsley & diced red onion


 
top with red cabbage  & a sprinkling of fresh parsley reserved for the top


Salad Dressing with Soybean Paste and Apple Cider Vinegar

DRecipe Title:  salad dressing with soybean paste and apple cider vinegar 

coming soon....layered anti inflammatory vegetable salad with red cabbage....perfect for this dressing!



By: Chef Miriam Borys

Ingredients:

1/2  Shallot
2 small pieces fresh ginger - peeled first (approximately 2 tbsp.)
1 cup fresh parsley 
  juice of 1/2 lemon
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp. soybean paste (white)
1 tbsp. honey
pinch salt

Add all the above to a blender. Blend well. Pour into a clean glass mason jar to chill until needed.


Chef Miriam Borys, B.Ed., MA.
'Cooking Uncovered'
http://www.youtube.com/user/mlborys?feature=mhee
blog: www.cookinguncovered.blogspot.com
Website: www.miriamborys.com



Sunday, June 15, 2014

Split Pea and Ham Soup

Recipe Title: Split Pea and Ham Soup

By: Miriam Borys

Servings:  5-6 

Ingredients:
1 recipe ham stock (see recipe below)
saute vegetables first in olive oil






3 tbsp. olive oil
2 large onions - peeled and diced
1 zucchini (tasty but not necessary if you don’t have this in the house)
4 carrots - peeled and cut into thin rounds
3 cups green split peas (these do not have to soak overnight but they need to be rinsed well 3 times to remove the impurities, once rinsed I soak these peas in warm water while I am dicing up my vegetables)
2 cups ham pieces if available (ham cut up into small chunks) 
rinse split peas well first 

Procedure: 
Heat up the soup pot and add oil.
Sauté onions on medium heat, add zucchini if using and sauté until transparent (just cooked)
Add diced ham, carrots, split peas and stock to the sautéed onions.
Allow to come up to the boil and reduce the heat to medium and simmer for approximately 45 minutes until the peas have dissolved and the soup is thickened. Stir regularly as the peas (starch) will burn on the bottom.
Add salt and pepper to taste and serve.
Serve hot with fresh bread or your families favourites crackers.



How to make ham bone soup stock from scratch.
After my family enjoys a ham dinner I always save the bone(s) and if not used immediately I freeze it to make stock later on. 
full of delicious vegetables - side view
Today I took the ham bone and ham scraps out of the freezer saving the ham scraps for the soup part.
Put the following in a large soup pot ( I use a 10L stainless steel pot):

-ham bone
-cold water to cover bones (approx. 6 Litres)
- washed vegetables from the fridge that are old and wilted (this included a day old salad, one old corn cob, wilted celery, wilted green and red onion, wilted cucumber, carrots & zucchini. - all these vegetables are still edible but not perfect for a salad or a vegetable plate)
bay leaf (if available)
bring up to the boil and simmer for a long as you have before you make the soup. Today my stock simmered away for 3 hours. Keep in mind that the stock will reduce and will be become more concentrated after this amount of time. That is why I start out with so much water.
strain through a wire mess strainer saving the delicious ham stock  and discarding the used vegetables.

Chef Miriam Borys, B.Ed., MA.
Recipe Blog: 'Cooking Uncovered': www.cookinguncovered.blogspot.com
YouTube Channel: 
finish ham stock

finished soup