Mushroom Barley Salad

Dear readers,
     You may have noticed that some time has passed since the last post...and that some time had passed before that one. I can explain. You see, I was a first year teacher and let me tell you, the end of the school year is nuts. I kept thinking that I would get around to making something, maybe alfajores, but no such luck. Since my bff and co-blogger Amber has been busy at work--and away on her honeymoon!--things have been too quiet around here. Sorry for that! I'm planning to get back on track this summer.
      Let the cooking begin!
Love, Alexis

Sorry about photo quality--I had to resort to using my iPhone.

     I started getting The Food Network Magazine a few months ago, because Amber gave me a gift subscription for Christmas. (Thanks!!) The magazine is entertaining to read and always features very approachable recipes. I LOVE Saveur, but I don't usually end up make too many of its recipes. The TNW, on the other hand, has tons of practical weekday meals as well as more ambitious weekend projects. I had yet to make a FNW recipe, which I felt was completely unacceptable.
    When the new issue arrived a couple of days ago I dug around for something simple to ease my way back into the kitchen. I decided on a mushroom barley salad recipe. Mushrooms? Barley? Always a happy couple!
     The original recipe was a side dish, but I tweaked it and re-imagined it as a main. If you are good at planning ahead, soak your barley over night in to shorten the cooking time. Conversely, I cooked my barley earlier in the day, then warmed it up and mixed in the other ingredients at dinnertime. The lemon I used was huge, so the "juice from one lemon" was slightly overpowering. Other than that, this recipe is simple and satisfying. It can be served hot or cold. I considered adding garlic when sauteeing the veggies, but decided to stay closer to the original with this version. If you feel adventurous and want to try the garlic, let me know how it goes.

Mushroom and Barley Salad

~Print Recipe~

• 1 cup barley
• 2 1/2 cups broth
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, separated
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 small carrots, sliced
• 2 stalks celery, halved lengthwise and sliced
• 2 cups baby spinach
• 4 ounces mushrooms, thinly sliced
• 20 or so shrimp (we used pre-cooked)
• 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
• Juice from one lemon (small or medium-sized, not too large)
• 2 teaspoons whole-grain or dijon mustard   (or more to taste)
• Salt and pepper to taste

1. Bring broth to a boil in a medium pot. Stir in barley and cook for 15 minutes (for pre-soaked barley) or 35-40 minutes (for unsoaked).
2. Meanwhile, heat a large pan with 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat. Add chopped onions, carrots, and celery. Sautee about 5 minutes, then stir in mushrooms. Continue cooking until mushrooms are almost cooked through, about 3 minutes more. Stir in shrimp, cooking for 1-2 minutes. Then add spinach and continue stirring just until spinach starts to wilt, 1-2 minutes.
3. In large bowl, whisk lemon zest, lemon juice, mustard, remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil, salt and pepper. Add the barley mixture and toss. Adjust seasoning as needed. Can be served hot or cold (though be aware of food safety issues if serving cold).

Serves 4

Creamy Meyer Lemon Tart

Spring, 2003: A handwritten sign in a downtown Berkeley restaurant window announced, "We buy Meyer lemons." It was the first I'd heard of them and I had no idea what they were. I figured maybe they were a cross between a lemon and a lime. (Nope!) Every time I walked home I saw the sign, but I never ate at the restaurant or looked into the Meyer lemon mystery.

Fast forward to Spring, 2011: As an avid reader of food blogs and magazines, I am hearing about Meyer lemons left and right. People are raving. Desserts abound, but savory dishes do, too. I read recently that Alice Waters brought Meyer lemons from her backyard all they way to a speaking engagement in the Midwest some years back. Oh and by they way, as it turns out a Meyer lemon is more like a cross between a lemon and a mandarin orange. Intriguing.

Though I've been hearing much about them lately, I have yet to see them in the grocery store. Maybe fancy stores carry them, but my neighborhood store does not. Fortunately, I have relatives that live in California. My dad just brought me a big bag of Meyer lemons direct from a California backyard.

As luck would have it, I also happened upon a "creamy lemon pie" recipe. I like this recipe because it is "light" (non-fat sweetened condensed milk, reduced-fat graham crackers and the like), but it does not taste like you've cut any of those corners. It is rich and creamy, sweet and very lemony--or in this case, Meyer lemony (which is marvelously the best flavors of lemons and oranges at the same time, and not too sour either.) Anyone can make a great dessert if you put enough fat and sugar in it, but a guilt-free dessert that doesn't taste guilt-free--now that's really a find. At least in my mind it is.

I'm calling this a tart and not a pie because it just doesn't seem thick enough to be a pie. (I'm sure that's not really how one is able to tell the difference between a pie and a tart, but I'm sticking with it.) The slices look a little on the dainty side, but I swear to you, once you taste this tart you will understand. It makes up in taste what it lacks in bulk. Each bite is so flavorful that you savor it slowly. And anyway, I'd rather have a small slice of something delicious than a big slice of something lackluster.

Oh, and did I mention that this recipe is ridiculously easy? Pretty sure it doesn't get better than that. I made two and froze one for a week. (It was just as good the second time.)

Creamy Meyer Lemon Tart

 ~Print Recipe~

• 6 whole reduced-fat cinnamon graham crackers
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 11 ounces fat-free sweetened condensed milk
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon lemon zest

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grind graham crackers in a food processor until you have fine crumbs. Place crumbs in a small bowl and set aside.
2. Melt butter on stove top or in the microwave. Pour over graham cracker crumbs, mixing with a fork until completely moistened. Press crumbs evenly into the bottom of a 9-inch pie pan (or spring-form pan, or a tart pan). Cover with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator while preparing filling.
3. In a medium bowl, combine condensed milk and eggs. Beat with an electric mixer until smooth. Add lemon juice and zest. Stir until incorporated. Pour into prepared crust.
4. Bake pie for 15 minutes. Cool completely. Serve chilled and topped with fat-free "whipped cream" topping. (I think a sprinkle of zest or candied peel would be a good finishing touch.)

Easy Salad Dressing

I needed a salad to bring to a dinner party. The main course was clam chowder, so I wanted something light for the salad dressing. I love clam chowder,  but I didn't want the whole dinner to be too rich and creamy. I found a quick, easy and "bright" dressing online and made minor adjustments. Lemon juice replaces vinegar in this dressing which makes it just different enough than a vinaigrette to keep things nice and interesting. The garlic adds a great depth of flavor. (If you are not into garlic, substitute with something you like and post the variation in the comments!) The salad was a hit!

Lemon, Garlic and Olive Oil Dressing

~Print Recipe~

• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced or pressed (more or less to taste)
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper (or more to taste)
• 2 tsp salt

1. Add all ingredients to a container with a tightly sealing lid.
2. Shake contents vigorously until the oil is well-incorporated, about 1 minute.
3. Drizzle over salad and toss to coat.

This recipe makes a large batch. Store remaining dressing in the refrigerator.

Becky's Lemon Meringue Pie

In honor of Mother's Day, this one is my Mom's classic pie she brings to all special occasions, and it always looks gorgeous.  It's from the 80's, and utilizes the microwave (ooh la la).

What's in it

For filling:

1 un-thawed  frozen pie crust

1 1/2 C water

1 1/4 C sugar

1/2 C lemon juice, fresh squeezed

1/3 C corn starch

1/4 tsp salt

2 Tbl butter

2 Tbl lemon zest

6 eggs, separated

For meringue:

6 egg whites

1/4 tsp cream of tartar

1/2 C sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla

How it's made

Pre heat oven to 300.

Transfer crust to glass pie pan.  Prick crust and brush 1 egg yolk over crust.  Cook on high (in microwave) 6 minutes, until brown.  

Combine next 5 ingredients, and stir until cornstarch is dissolved.  Cook uncovered until thick and clear, about 7 min.  Add butter and lemon rind, blend well.

Beat remaining 5 yolks until thick.  Whisk into lemon mixture, mix well.  Cook on high 2 min, whisk again.  Continue cooking on high 1 1/2 minutes.  Pour into pie shell.

Beat egg whites with cream of tartar, add 1/2 C sugar gradually and beat to soft peaks, add vanilla and continue beating until peaks form.  Pour meringue onto pie filling, and form into peaks.  Bake in oven for 10 minutes until lightly brown.

Iced Very Lemony Pound Cake

A recent dinner with friends had a theme: home. I used to always request lemon pound cake for my birthday when I was a child, so it was an easy choice for this gathering. I found the recipe my mom used in her original Moosewood Cookbook--and found out why it's called a pound cake. I looked at the ingredients list and decided I didn't actually want a pound of butter in my cake, thankyouverymuch. So, I turned to the internet. Recipes abound. Some use lemon extract or shortening--YUCK! I found this recipe on the Martha Stewart website, and since I feel like I can pretty much trust Martha at this point, I decided to give it a try. With a twist, of course.

The Cake:

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened, plus more for pan
• 3 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled), plus more for pan
• 3/4 cup low-fat buttermilk
• Zest of 2 lemons, finely grated
• 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice (about 2 lemons)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 cups sugar
• 5 large eggs

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, with rack in lowest position. Butter and flour a bundt pan or two loaf pans.
2. In a small bowl, combine buttermilk with lemon zest and lemon juice. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda.
3. With an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
4. With mixer on low, add flour mixture in three parts alternately with the buttermilk mixture in two parts, beginning and ending with flour; beat just until smooth (do not overmix).
5. Pour batter into the pan and smooth the top. Bake until a toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean, 50 to 60 minutes (tent with foil if browning too quickly).
   

The Sauce:

• 1/3 cup lemon juice
• 1/4 cup sugar

1. Leave the cake in the pan and set it on a wire cooling rack. As soon as you take the cake out of the oven, poke small holes in the top with a toothpick. Drizzle half of the lemon sauce over the top, letting it soak into the cake.
   
2. After the cake has cooled for 10 minutes, turn it out onto the cooling rack. Poke more holes in the top and drizzle the remaining lemon sauce over the top.
3. Let the cake cool completely before icing.

The Icing:

• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 3-4 tablespoons lemon juice
  

1. Whisk the powdered sugar to remove clumps. Stir in lemon juice in small quantities until all of the sugar is dissolved and desired consistency is reached. I used 3 tablespoons and still found it to be slightly runnier than I'd have liked.
   
2. Set the cake's cooling rack over a baking sheet lined with waxed paper. Pour glaze over cakes, letting it run down the sides. Let dry, about 30 minutes--if you can wait that long. This cake is good warm, as well as cold the next day.
   

Tahini-Lemon Sauce

The abundance of Lebanese restaurants in Portland naturally fuels a lively debate over which one is the best. There are many theories, from Ya Hala to Al-Amir, but it is the first Lebanese restaurant I was introduced to that remains my favorite. Nicholas, the hole in the wall off Grand, vastly out-ranks the others--for only one reason: the tahini. It's ridiculously divine and I am simply incapable of describing it well enough to do it justice.

Every time I go, I order the vegan mezze platter--which last for at least two meals. It includes falafel and hummus, all you can eat pita, a garbanzo dish, tabouleh and more. It's all delicious, but I'm really just looking for that huge puddle of tahini. One dip with a chunk of fresh, hot pita and I'm completely, utterly satisfied. The long wait for a table? Worth it for that one bite.

Here is a recipe I decided to try, since I can't afford to eat out much any more. It's from my trusty original Moosewood Cookbook--copyright 1977. This turned out very well--and far outshined the falafels (from a mix--next time from scratch!) we also attempted. I'm fairly certain it's as close as I'm going to get without the secret recipe from Nicholas' kitchen.

• 1 1/2 cups tahini (sesame seed paste--found near the peanut butter in the supermarket)
• 1 1/2 cups plain yogurt
• 1 medium clove crushed garlic (I love my jar from Trader Joe's!)
• 1/2 cup fresh-squeezed lemon juice (around 3 lemons)
• 1/4 cup chopped (or finely-minced if mixing by hand) scallions (I used regular onions.)
• 1/4 cup chopped (or finely-minced if mixing by hand) parsley
  
• Salt to taste
• 1 or 2 dashes cayenne
• 1 or 2 dashes paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin (or more, to taste--I'm a huge fan of this spice...)
• 1 or 2 dashes of tamari

1. Combine ingredients in a food processor and pulse until creamy and smooth. (You can also use a wisk or an electric mixer.) Sample the mixture and add ingredients to suit your taste.