A French picnic!

Last week a friend of mine was feeling a bit down, so on Monday I decided to steal her away from work to enjoy a warm spring afternoon in a park and a simple, fresh French-inspired picnic.

I did a little research on the usual fare for a picnic in France and settled on four items. For starters, I made Provençal rosemary almonds.

Provençal Rosemary Almonds

2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoons dried rosemary, crushed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 cups raw almonds

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt the butter in the microwave. Mix seasoning into the butter, and then toss in almonds. Bake seasoned nuts for about 10-12 minutes, stirring once, until toasted and fragrant.

Remove from heat and serve warm or at room temperature.

The main dish was a pan-bagnat (or a variation thereof), the traditional sandwich of Nice, based on the Salade Niçoise.

Pan-Bagnat

1 cloves garlic, pressed
2 tbsp olive oil
1/3 baguette
1/2 can quality solid white albacore tuna, drained
1/4cup red onion, sliced paper-thin
1 hard-boiled egg, sliced thin
1 tablespoons red wine vinegar
Tomato slices
Lettuce
Salt and pepper to taste

Split the baguette length-wise and dig out the center to make room for the filling. Rub the garlic all over the inside of the baguette, drizzle on the olive oil along with salt and pepper, to taste.

Layer on lettuce, onion, tomato, tuna, and egg. Add another little drizzle of oil.

Wrap the sandwich tightly in plastic wrap and chill for about 2 hours.

As a tangy side offering, I also made an easy, fresh cucumber and dill salad.

Cucumber Dill Salad

1 large cucumber, sliced thin crosswise (about 2 cups)
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
3/4 teaspoon dried dill

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and give it a toss.

Chill a couple of hours, tossing every-so-often, until ready to serve.

Finally, I served it all up with a glass of chilled apple tea. I would much rather have gone with wine, but the local laws of Utah are very oppressive when it comes to alcohol. Thus, one cannot bring it into a public park without the risk of being stoned to death...or getting a ticket after some uptight soccer-mom sicks the cops on you.

Apple Tea

2 bags of black tea (or 3 tsp. loose leaf black tea)
2 cups apple juice, divided

Heat 1 cup apple juice on stove until just simmering. Pour over tea bags/leaves and steep 5 minutes. Remove tea bags (or strain out the leaves) and add the second cup of cold apple juice, to expedite the cooling of the tea. Chill your tea until cold.

Good food, good company, and a sunny afternoon...nice.

A Summer salad featuring the miraculous Mother Grain

Quinoa has been in the news a lot these past few years, for a number of reasons. First, it is said to be one of the most nutritious foods known to human kind, with a near perfect balance of carbohydrates, fats, protein, vitamins, minerals, and fiber. Second, quinoa will grow and thrive in soil that is sandy and alkaline and considered too hostile to other crops. Therefore quinoa holds hope to feed the starving on the world, as it grows almost anywhere. Third, it's culinarily flexible and just plain tasty. For these reasons I have been trying to cook more with quinoa, despite the complaints of my younger brothers, both of whom say white rice tastes better. Personally, I don't think American white rice has any flavor worth speaking of, but that's another blog.

Running with the desire for quinoa, I made an easy and simple quinoa and black bean salad for dinner.



Not only bright in flavor, but also vivid to the eye. A perfect, light, Summer dinner.

The original recipe came from Epicurious.com, but I made a few minor alterations to keep it simple. The method is so simply, I can already envision some other regional twists, like Italian Quinoa, Asian Quinoa, and French Quinoa. I'll keep you posted!

Sláinte!

Quinoa and Black Bean Salad

Salad
1 1/2 cups quinoa
1 can black beans, rinsed
1 1/2 tablespoons red-wine vinegar
1 can sweet corn
3/4 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
2 pickled jalapeño chilies, seeded and minced
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro
2 small tomatoes, diced

Dressing
Juice of two limes
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 teaspoons ground cumin, or to taste
1/4 cup olive oil

In a bowl wash quinoa in at least 5 changes cold water, rubbing grains and letting them settle before pouring off most of water, until water runs clear and drain in a large fine sieve.

In a saucepan of salted boiling water cook quinoa 10 minutes. Drain quinoa in sieve and rinse under cold water. Set sieve over a saucepan of boiling water (quinoa should not touch water) and steam quinoa, covered with a kitchen towel and lid, until fluffy and dry, about
10 minutes (check water level in kettle occasionally, adding water if necessary).

While quinoa is cooking, in a small bowl toss beans with vinegar and salt and pepper to taste.

Transfer quinoa to a large bowl and cool. Add beans, corn, bell pepper, jalapeños, tomatoes, and cilantro and toss well.

In a small bowl whisk together lime juice, salt, and cumin and add oil in a stream, whisking.

Drizzle dressing over salad and toss well with salt and pepper to taste.

Salad may be made 1 day ahead and chilled, covered. Bring salad to room temperature before serving.

Serves 4 to 6 as an entrée or 8 as a side dish.