Time: 30 minutes

Serves: 8

Inspired by: I started making my fiesta couscous with quinoa occasionally because it’s healthier and started thinking that it would be nice to have a savory version of the quinoa as well. I add the below ingredients and loved it! I’ve decided that I prefer quinoa in a savory dish than a sweet one.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups quinoa (any color, but I prefer white to red or black)
• 2 ½ cups water (I always use 1 1/4 cup water for 1 cup quinoa)
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2-4 teaspoons olive oil
• freshly zested or grated lemon peel from 2 lemons
• juice of those 2 lemons (or more if you love lemon)
• 1 cup chopped flat leaf parsley
• 1 bunch finely chopped kale or spinach or both (optional – when using kale I usually remove any tough veins)
• ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
• ½ teaspoon ground white pepper
• ¼ teaspoon cayenne (optional)

Preparation:

• Rinse quinoa in a fine mesh sieve – run under cold water until water runs clear.
• Transfer to medium saucepan, add 2 ½ cups water, 1 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon olive oil.
• Bring to a boil, cover, and reduce to a simmer; cook until water is completely absorbed – about 20 minutes.
• While it is cooking, zest and juice two lemons (I like meyer lemons). Add to that 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon olive oil, and the black, white and cayenne peppers.
• Remove from heat and add the above lemon juice/zest/oil/salt and pepper mixture and combine well.
• Add parsley and any other greens, toss well and put the lid back on for another 5 minutes so the greens can wilt.
• Toss again until well combined.
• Season further to taste.

Notes: This is good hot or at room temperature so it’s easy to make ahead for dinner parties. It’s great as a leftover and heated up the next day too.

Time: 30 minutes

Serves: 4 as side dish

Inspired by: My Armenian grandmother and my mom always made this when I was growing up. The family loved it. We still love it. I believe the only things that have changed in the recipe is that the amount of butter used has probably decreased a bit and I’ve begun using Basmati rice because it’s more flavorful and aromatic than the long grain white rice I grew up with.

Ingredients:

• 1-2 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup vermicelli noodles broken into 1 inch pieces
• ¾ cup uncooked Basmati rice
• 1 small can organic chicken broth (get regular – not the low salt stuff)
• ¼-1/2 teaspoon salt (optional – depends how salty you like it)

Preparation:

• Melt butter in skillet over medium heat and lightly brown vermicelli noodles (about 5 minutes).
• Combine with all other ingredients and bring to a boil.
• Then remove from heat or keep on a very low simmer for about 20 minutes or until moisture is absorbed and rice is consistency you like.
• Just before serving, you can add just a bit of very hot water or additional chicken broth to make it juicier.

Notes: For making larger quantities and for easier prep for parties, check out my baked rice pilaf recipe. This is great with any meal, but nice to incorporate into a Mediterranean-themed meal such as hummus or baba ganoush as a starter, and served with lemon-herb chicken kabobs and Greek salad.

Wine Suggestions: This is a fabulous enhancement to a meal if you are serving a high acid white wine or a red wine with some tannins because of the salt and butter. For those who enjoy a rich, buttery, California chardonnay – that could be a very complimentary pairing as well.

Time: 20-25 minutes

Serves: 6-8 as side dish

Inspiration: Amazing musician and artist in the kitchen, Tony Khalife, exposed me to a few super healthy foods I’d never cooked before, such as kale. He whipped this up one day and I loved it so much I’ve been making it ever since.

Ingredients:

• 1 small white or red onion
• 1-2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 bunch kale
• 2-4 portabella mushrooms (shitakes work well too)
• 1 small Japanese eggplant (optional – I love the sweetness and texture that this brings to the dish)
• Salt and pepper

Preparation:

• Wash kale and mushrooms.
• Cut the onion in half, and then slice thin.
• In a large skillet or wok, sauté the onion with olive oil until it is caramelized (about 10 minutes).
• Slice the mushrooms and add them to the onions.
• Cut the tough ends off the kale, hold all the leaves together on a cutting board and begin slicing thin strips.
• Add the kale to the skillet once the mushrooms have softened, and cover for about 5 minutes.
• Add salt and pepper to taste – continue cooking – covered or uncovered until done.

Time: 20-25 minutes

Serves: As many as you’d like

Inspiration: Tony Khalife taught me so much about the basic cooking of beautiful foods. He also taught me that sautéing an onion to start off a dish makes the house smell beautiful and rounds out the flavor and texture of many pan-fried vegetable dishes like this one. I love all kinds of mushrooms. I typically do this dish with Shitake mushrooms, per the recipe below, but last night I couldn’t find them and bought Cremini’s instead (photo above).

Ingredients:

• 1 small white or red onion
• 1-2 tablespoons olive oil
• Green beans
• Shitake mushrooms (can do equal parts beans/mushrooms or vary it by your taste)
• Salt and pepper

Preparation:

• Wash mushrooms and green beans and snip off the ends of the beans.
• Cut the onion in half, and then slice thin.
• In a skillet or wok, sauté the onion with olive oil until it is caramelized (about 10 minutes).
• Cook shitakes until they begin to soften.
• Add green beans, salt and pepper to taste, and cook uncovered for about 10 minutes or until the veggies are at your desired firmness. You can also cover them for the first 5 minutes or so to speed up cooking as they will steam a bit.

Notes: If you use Cremini’s or other fast cooking mushrooms instead, add the green beans before the mushrooms. Cook until they are about 5 minutes away from being finished, and then add the mushrooms for the last five minutes or so.

Wine Suggestions: You’ll probably select a wine that goes best with your main course, but if you are considering wines that are most complimentary to green beans, good pairings are Sancerre or Gruner Veltliner. A light, earthy red such as a Red Burgundy is a fabulous pairing with the mushrooms – you might consider that if you go very heavy on the mushrooms and light on the green beans.

Time: 20-30 minutes

Serves: 8-10 as a side dish

Inspired by: My good friend Sue who is amazing with both food preparations and wine and champagne selections! This was one of the several dishes she brought to a gourmet thanksgiving dinner party this year. Even those who don’t normally like cranberry sauce really enjoyed this refreshing side dish.

Ingredients:

• 1 bag cranberries
• 12-15 kumquats
• Approximately 1/4 cup sugar (taste for desired sweetness)
• Approximately 1/2 cup fresh, strong crystallized ginger (quantity can very according to your taste)

Preparation:

• Chop cranberries with sugar in a food processor and then dump into a large bowl.
• Pull the stems off of the Kumquats and cut into halves.
• In the same food processor (no need to clean), chop the kumquats with the ginger.
• Dump the kumquat-ginger mixture into the bowl with the berries and mix well.
• Refrigerate and serve the next day.

Notes: This is more of a light fruity salad than a relish/condiment, so I categorized it in both places.

Time: 15-20 minutes

Serves: As many as you’d like

Inspired by: Green beans are one of my least favorite vegetables, but when they are dressed up with things I like such a nuts and cheese, it changes everything.

Ingredients / Preparation:

• Green beans for as many as you are serving.
• Wash beans and snip off ends.
• Toss in olive oil, salt and pepper.
• Saute over medium heat for 5-10 minutes (depending on the texture you prefer). Sprinkle with grated Manchego (or any hard salty cheese) and toasted almonds.

Wine Suggestions: You’ll probably select a wine that goes best with your main course, but if you are considering wines that are most complimentary to green beans, good pairings are high acid, unoaked wines that can compliment herbal flavors such as Sancerre, Verdejo or my favorite would be a Gruner Veltliner that seems to pair well with most anything.