See Us Eat: An Eclectic Dinner at Home

Sunday, September 21, 2008

An Eclectic Dinner at Home

Green Bean Salad with Sesame
This was a riff on a recipe from the New York Times Magazine.

-1 lb of green beans, trim and cut into 1" long lengths
-juice of 1 lime
-2 tb sesame seeds, toasted and coarsely ground
-2 hot peppers, seeded and thinly sliced
-salt and pepper to taste

Boil the green beans until tender/crisp (about 5 minutes), then plunge into ice water to stop the cooking. Drain and set aside. In a small pan, fry the peppers in a bit of oil for about a minute, then pour over the beans. Add the lime juice and the sesame seeds and stir to combine. Serve warm, or at room temperature.

Hearty Veggie, Bean and Barley Soup
This is truly a winter soup, which we enjoyed despite the current season.

-1 cup mixed dried beans and lentils
-1 cup barley
-1 bulb fennel, diced
-2 bell peppers, diced
-4 baby turnips, diced
-3 carrots, diced
-1 onion, diced
-3 cloves garlic, minced
-6 cans chicken broth
-pepper to taste

Sautee all the veggies in a little oil in a deep pot for a few minutes, until beginning to color. Then add the broth and bring to a boil. Add everything else and reduce to a simmer. Simmer for about an hour. Serve when the desired consistency has been reached.